“Yes.”
The youngster’s eyes widened. “You mean you were in space—alone—with a lady?”
Ross nodded and chewed.
“And she didn’t—uh—there wasn’t—well—any problem?”
“No,” said Ross. “You have much trouble with that kind of thing?”
The boy winced. “If I’ve asked once I’ve asked a hundred times for a transfer. Oh, those jet pilots! I used to work in a roadside truck stop. I know truckers are supposed to be rough and tough; maybe they are. But you can’t tell me that deep down a trucker isn’t a lady. When you tell them no, that’s that. But a pilot—it just eggs them on. Azor City today, Novj Grad tomorrow—what do they care?”
Ross was fascinated and baffled. It seemed to him that they should care and care plenty. Back where he came from, it was the woman who paid and he couldn’t imagine any cul
