“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”
“The second and third test tubes,” Janet noted. “The remodeling of neurons, the increased pain threshold, and accelerated synoptic reactions.”
“Then Kim is a fighter?”
“Yes, of course, Captain. I had no doubts about the results of these tests. And here is the fourth test tube… transformation of the retina and the eyeball… by the way, you should also have a positive on this test. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“The possibility of inheritance?”
“Exactly. If you ever decide to have progeny with Kim… What is it, Captain?”
Before he answered, Alex also lit a cigarette. The doctor waited patiently. Two more test tubes changed color—but Janet had no comment on what was happening.
“Are you well acquainted with fighter specializations, Janet?”
“Reasonably well. I’m not a geneticist, of course, but…”
“Does etiquette constitute any part of a fighter-spesh’s preparation?”
Janet frowned. “Pardon?”
“Yesterday, Kim and I were at a restaurant. A very decent restaurant, by the way… Well… the girl acted like a young lady from the highest circles of society. I’ve had etiquette lessons at the academy, but next to her, I felt like an uncultured natural.”
“And how do you know how many restaurants she’s been to? Captain, if the girl is from an influential Edemian family, she must have had very expensive and well-qualified teachers.”
“Possibly,” murmured Alex. Why hadn’t he thought of this obvious possibility? Maybe because he was used to measuring everyone according to his own standards—those of a provincial bumpkin, who received his first lessons in proper conduct at the flight academy?
“Okay… There was no modification of the skin,” reported Janet after a brief look at the test tubes. “Well, you don’t need a test to see that.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Skin modification—the grayish tint and increased resilience—is not a necessary characteristic of a fighter. And all the main things have already been established, so I can issue a certificate.”
“One more thing, Janet. During her metamorphosis, Kim enumerated all these poets, artists, political figures…”
Janet frowned. “Now that is strange, Captain. Are you saying she’s been pre-programmed with some knowledge of history?”
“Yes.”
“And not just military history, but the cultural realm?”
“Exactly. She didn’t recall Alexander the Great or Kutuzov, or Moshe Dayan, or Lee Dong Hwan, or Mbanu.”
“You consider him a great commander?” Janet grinned wryly. “In reality, his glory is slightly exaggerated—he wasn’t the one who made the main decisions; it was his flag-officer… Well, that’s beside the point… You amaze me, Captain. It really is a strange education for a spesh.”
“And there’s one more thing, Janet. How sexual are the fighters?”
“Same as ordinary people. They are not hetaera-speshes, after all.”
“Well, Kim is… how should I put it… a bit oversexed.”
“Captain, as far as I understand, you helped the girl out of trouble, got her through metamorphosis… now you’re getting her onto the ship. Couldn’t this be a very natural reaction on her part? A crush on the heroic pilot-spesh, a desire to have him, to win his love in return… A mixture of gratitude and calculation?”
“It didn’t look like it, Janet. Last night, the girl offered herself to me. I wasn’t really against it…”
“I can imagine,” Janet chuckled. “I’m sorry, please continue…”
“I suggested that she wait a while… After the metamorphosis, the body should have time to rest.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“We went to a restaurant. It was all very nice. Kim behaved as though she was a member of the highest aristocracy… she was a little flirtatious with me, nothing more than that. But when we got back to the hotel, the whole thing started up again. Changing into her pajamas turned into a strip tease. A couple remarks about the weather got her started telling erotic stories straight out of her own limited experience. Then she offered me a few fun diversions.”
Janet was silent. Looked at the test tubes, got up, started rummaging through her vial rack.
“I’ve had a few dealings with hetaera-speshes,” said Alex. “It’s an expensive pleasure, but every now and then you indulge yourself…”
“So?” Janet poured the remnants of blood from the syringe into a clean test tube. Threw in a few tiny crystals from a vial.
“I could swear that Kim is specialized as a hetaera—that besides being a fighter-spesh, she is also a courtesan-spesh. Is that even possible, from a medical point of view?”
“It’s difficult, but it is possible… Very difficult, Captain. The hetaera’s body modification is minimal, but the psychology is changed completely. A fighter has to kill, with no scruples, no hesitation. Kill anyone who can be defined as an enemy. A hetaera has to love. Really love—selflessly, purely… to give herself to love completely. And at the same time, to be able to step aside, to forget her love, as soon as her services are no longer required. It would be very difficult to combine the two specializations, Captain.” Janet shook a test tube side to side in the air. “It would be more reasonable to suppose that after the metamorphosis, her hormones were out of balance…”
“Well, if we remember history… back when all people were naturals, they somehow managed to combine many roles. Napoleon was a great military leader, right? And at the same time, he was quite a womanizer.”
“With all due respect, Captain, that’s nonsense. In the past, there were people who might today be described as speshes. Military leaders, womanizers, scientists, artists. But every spesh today is a result of the most complex genetic alteration. All the unnecessary stuff is eliminated. Let’s take you, for example—you’re incapable of love, right?”
“Right.”
“By the same token, a fighter might be capable of love, but only to the ordinary human degree. There!” Janet lifted a test tube containing a few drops of pinkish liquid. “You see that?”
“What does it mean?”
“Modified pheromones. One of the characteristics of a hetaera. To be completely sure, it would be best to test for the VIII-Operon, responsible for hyper-sexuality, but I don’t have the right serum…” Janet put aside the test tube, rubbed her forehead. “You’re right. I’m wrong. Kim is both a fighter and a hetaera. Most intricate work!”
“But who would need such a combination?”
“There are several possibilities. To make a female bodyguard, for instance, one who would also be able to provide sexual services. It would be very expensive, very complicated, almost foolish… but possible. It’s not right, Captain…” She looked at Alex gloomily. “Do you understand what has happened? And what the consequences may be?”
“Not just yet.”
“Kim has fallen in love with you.”
“So it seems, but…”
“A hetaera has to achieve reciprocation! Do you see? That’s her specialization. Her reason to exist!”
“I don’t intend to keep her away permanently, Janet! If it’s so important for Kim…”
The doctor sighed.
“It’s not sex that she needs, Captain. To be more precise, it’s not just sex and not only sex! She wants you to fall in love with her!”
“But I’m incapable of that.” Alex threw up his arms. “If something’s not given, it’s not given. I understand that love is a wonderful, pleasant, sacred feeling…”
“Pleasant…” snorted Janet. “Ah, Captain… sometimes I envy you pilots, incapable of love…”