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dinginess and boredom, at least.
Elias stirred uncomfortably. "Surely then, your playacting enlightened their lives."
I don't know why that term "playacting" bothered me, or why I felt mulish about the
"enlightenment" part couldn't people just have fun?
Of course not. Not on Citadel.
"It certainly seemed to liven die place up," I agreed which has to be the most understated
description of a revolution that I have ever uttered. "Of course, they wouldn't let us perform just any play
they had a specific one they wanted."
Elias perked up at that. "You will perform whatever play your audience wishes, then?"
"Oh, yes, pretty much. Of course, there are some plays we wouldn't do."
"As is proper!" he exclaimed. I agreed, though I didn't think we had the same kind of play in mind
But Prudence was getting impatient; she had other topics on her mind. "What is it like, on Terra?"
Thin ice, here especially with her brother watching, and her bright eyes so eager. Caution warred
with my natural instinct to impress a pretty girl.
Elias saved me. "Hold, sister! I wish to learn of this play they performed!"
She flashed him a mutinous glare, but she subsided. Mamie noticed and turned to frown. Elias
blithely ignored her.
I figured I'd better answer. "The Scottish play, the one Shakespeare wrote."
"Macbeth?" Elias asked.
Heads turned to stare in alarm all through the car. I felt a cold chill down my back, myself. It was
ridiculous we weren't in a theater, so saying the name of the Scottish play couldn't bring us bad luck
but I wouldn't have said that word, myself. I was amazed to realize how quickly I had become
superstitious.
"That's the one," I agreed. "Of course, we had no objection to performing it & " Black looks from
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several of the company members, but I plowed on. "& since it is a classic, and an excellent play."
"What part did you play in it?" Prudence asked eagerly, leaning forward, those huge eyes gazing at
me in admiration.
Why was I feeling wary? Her questions were anything but personal.
Because she was beautiful, that's why and seemed to be showing an undue amount of interest in
me. Enjoyable, of course any man likes to have a beautiful woman show interest in him but any
amount of interest seems undue, when you're as homely as I am. I mean, if it weren't for my chin, I'd
look like a Neanderthal. Of course, it might help if I combed my hair back, and let more forehead show,
but I didn't really think so. No, if a woman's interested in me, she's either impressed by all the wrong
traits, or she wants something.
Of course, there's Suzanne but she's interested in everybody. Being in the same class with seventy-
year-old Ogden Wellesley is flattering professionally, but not personally.
"I was just a spear-carrier," I said.
Blank looks of incomprehension from both of them.
"That's slang for a person who doesn't have any lines," I explained. Of course, I had spoken two
lines, but I wasn't about to admit it. "He just walks around wearing armor and carrying a spear. One of
the soldiers in the battle scenes."
"Oh." Prudence looked disappointed. "You are not an actor, then?"
"No, I'm the technical assistant. That's supposed to mean that I help the technical director Merlo,
over there; he's also our set and light designer."
She blinked, then frowned, puzzled.
"You don't just turn on some lights and put up some walls," I explained. "You have to plan them
out ahead of time. Here, I'm sure Merlo could explain it better than I could& ."
"Oh, nay!" She put out a hand to stop me as I started to get up. The hand brushed my forearm,
setting up shock waves that worked their way inward fast. I sank back.
But Elias had seen the physical contact; his face darkened. "Sister & "
"An accident, Elias," she said quickly, then turned back to me. "How is it, then, that you were on
the & stage, do they call it?"
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"They do," I said, ^'though in this case, it was a gymnasium floor." Glad of the chance to change
the topic, I said, "Do you have a theater here?"
"Oh, nay!" Elias said, affronted, and Prudence hurried to explain.
"There have never been actors here before you. There is a meetinghouse, but that is for worship.
Elias nodded. "The armory is your most probable place."
Well, back to the gym.
Then it hit me why did they have an armory? Who were they going to fight? They were the only
ones on the planet!
I was about to ask, but Prudence was talking again. "There are halls for attending lectures several
of them, so mat those who have heard one speaker today, may hear another tomorrow."
"Lecture halls? Charlie said, interested. "On what topics do your speakers lecture?"
"Anything that will improve the soul," Elias told him gladly. "Philosophy, theology, metaphysics
& "
It sounded like a really jolly evening.
Prudence took advantage of the diversion of Elias's attention to get in another question. "Is it true
that, on Terra, mere is a continuous riot of pleasure seeking?"
"Always one great big party?" I smiled. "No, Miss Prudence, I'm afraid that's a myth. Oh, mere are
parties every night somewhere, sure, and there are people who are rich enough to spend every night in a
club that serves alcoholic drinks and has a dance floor, maybe even a band and some singers but most
of us have to make do with 3DT, or hanging around on somebody's porch, waiting for pretty girls to
watch."
"Then it is true," she breathed.
Elias turned around, suspicious and watchful. "What is true?"
"That the people on Terra spend their days working for a living, the same as you folks do," I said,
with a meaningful glance at Prudence. "And what do you do during the day, Miss?"
"Oh, keeping house, mending, making clothing." She dismissed the topic with an impatient shrug.
"It is all very boring."
"Sister!" Elias remonstrated.
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"But what do you do during the day?" she asked me.
So I was supposed to do all the talking, then. I suppose, from her point of view, anything we folks
from off planet were doing was by definition more interesting than the things she knew.
"We rehearse," I said. "One play in the morning, another in the afternoon, then perform a third in
the evening, when we're on a planet. Twelve-hour days about half the time. Of course, that's what the
actors do. Merlo and I only rehearse when they draft us for bit & uh, for small parts."
"What do you do while the others rehearse, then?" Her eyes were wide and admiring.
I decided, What the hell, might as well enjoy it, and let myself preen a little bit. "Merlo designs the
set for the next show, and we build it."
"Build it!" Elias perked up. "Then you actually do work with your hands?"
"Oh, yes," I said. "Of course, we've got equipment that makes it possible for two men to do the
whole job, but we two men do have to do a lot of hauling, not to mention hammering and sawing."
"I would be very interested in seeing such equipment," Elias said.
Prudence glanced at him, annoyed.
"I'd love to show you," I said slowly, "but I don't know if you're allowed to visit a ship in port."
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