【英文小说】结婚的人.docx

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1、【英文小说】结婚的人 The Marrying ManIt wasnt that Pete Cooper didnt love his wives, or that he wanted to see them hurry on into the next world. He always felt real grief when he found himself a widower.But a man must be practical. They were all healthy young women, or at least middle aged when he married the

2、m, good insurance risks, and no insurance agent was turning down the business when Pete asked for a policy that big, especially when Pete was putting the cash on the line to pay up the policy when he bought it.That was the most sensible way for a man in the interstellar service to invest his money,

3、Pete said. When he was out in space traveling at near light speed, and time slowed almost to a stop for him, the few months he spent on an expedition meant that nine years passed for a wife on Earth for a Centauri trip, and Sirius meant fifteen, and Altair twenty-five. So a man only saw his wife two

4、 or three times between trips, and maybe the last time he saw her he had to take her to the old ladies home, and the next time he pulled into Earth the insurance company was waiting for him with a check. Safer than stocks, and there was always the possibility that the loving wife might come to an ac

5、cidental end, which would sadden him, but it meant a double indemnity payment. That sort of satisfied a mans natural desire to have a little speculation attached to his investment.Sally was the seventh. Pete sat fingering the check, feeling genuine sadness at his bereavement.Lovely girl, he told the

6、 insurance agent. It makes a man feel empty to come home from the stars and find that his wife has gone to her reward.The insurance man disguised a cynical smirk behind his sympathetic mask. Yes . a wonderful woman. But it must happen to all of us.He patted Petes shoulder gently. Pete rose, folded t

7、he check carelessly and put it into a pocket. He shook the insurance agents hand.Youve been very kind. Ill take your card . in case I ever need another policy.Pete expected to need another policy before he left for his next trip. He felt unhappy about Sallys being gone, but a man mustnt give in to m

8、orbid self pity. And hadnt he heard somebody say that a man without a wife was like a spaceship without a motor?He strolled about the city, unimpressed by the changes since his last visit. An interstellar man with as much service as Pete was beyond showing surprise at superficial differences. He was

9、 a little annoyed to find that the moving sidewalks were old-fashioned and had been torn out. People now wore little repulsor units on their belts.Walking was tiresome. He stopped at a corner and watched the pedestrians as they whizzed by a few inches off the ground. At least they were clothed; the

10、nudity of the previous century had been somewhat unnerving even to the blas eyes of a time man. And he was glad to see that the women were back to wearing long, well groomed hair. That period when fashion had called for smoothly shaven heads hadnt suited his taste at all.In fact, none of it seemed t

11、o appeal to him very much any more. That was sophistication, the price that must be paid by a man in the interstellar service, watching the centuries go by without belonging to any one of them. He watched a group of young people flit laughing by, felt an unreasoning irritation. Theyd be gone and for

12、gotten when hed made a few more trips.One of the young girls noticed him. She broke from the group and approached.Youre an interstellar, arent you? I hope youll join me. Im Nancy.Pete straightened up and looked her over. A little young, maybe nineteen, but that meant a lower premium. Nice blond hair

13、, big waves of it that stayed in place even when she was moving fast, and even when she was standing still she seemed to be moving. She was really alive, smiling and laughing and talking easily, and in a pleasant low voice. Really healthythat slender but nicely rounded body was good for a hundred ye

14、ars.But then, money isnt everything.A lovely name, he told her. I like girls with old-fashioned names.Nancy, it seemed, wanted to interview a time man in connection with a thesis, and in this particular age there was no taboo against a young girl introducing herself to a strange man. Pete didnt mind

15、 at all being interviewed and having dinner with her and seeing the town with her. And even when he had given her enough material for a dozen theses, she didnt seem in any hurry to break off their friendship.Pete was spending half his waking hours with Nancy and the other half in the mens beauty par

16、lor. Not that he was olda little prematurely gray and somewhat wrinkled from the hard sun of space and the unkind atmospheres of alien planets. And he had his contact lenses changedpaper was scarce in this era and they were using finer print to stretch the supply. But he was still young. He studied

17、the full length mirror and decided hed pass for thirty-five. His actual agethat would be hard to guess. Someday hed look into the company records and figure it out. But mentally, he told himself, Im a young man, even though I walked through this city five hundred years ago.A young man in love.They k

18、new in this era how to make it nice for young people in love, if you could afford one of the better places. Pete sat across the table from Nancy at a tiny table on a roof far above the city. The room was crowded, but some trick of design made it seem that they were alone together. There was real mus

19、ic played by real people. Some of the melodies were old ones that brought a mood of nostalgia to the time man, with memories of past loves. But then he looked across at Nancy, with her innocent laughing eyes, and the beauty of her brought a lump to his throat that drove out all the small loves of th

20、e past. This was it. This time he was really in love.Pete, she said, dont you ever get tired of it? Of jumping through the ages, coming back to find your old friends gone, being a stranger in a strange world? For instance, how about me? Youll be back from Sirius or Altair some day, a year or two old

21、er, and Ill be an old woman? How does it really feel?Pete took her hands and stared earnestly into her eyes. She was more serious than hed ever seen her as she gazed back at him.Its not the right way to live, Nancy. A man doesnt really live, in the real meaning of life. A man needs a woman, a wife h

22、e can come home to. He squeezed her hands gently. Nancy, will you marry me?Her hands trembled in his grasp.I will, Peteoh, Pete, Ive been so hopingand so afraid. But, Pete, your job.?He smiled reassuringly.Im signed up for a trip, but its only a short onethat planet of Proxima Centauri they just dis

23、covered is on the list for a complete survey. But Ill be back inseven, eight years. Then we can really settle down.She bent over the table and kissed him.Ill wait, Pete.No, Nancy. Now. Well be married first; Ill still be here a couple of months, why waste them? I dont want to take any chances of los

24、ing you.I wanted to hear that, Pete. Her eyes were shining with happiness. About getting married now, I meantheres no chance of your losing me.Pete was serious about settling down after the short trip to Proxima. At least he was serious about it now. But after that trip was over.He didnt think about

25、 that sort of thing any more. He had tried to puzzle it out a few times, how he could tell a girl he was making one more trip, and mean it, and then one more and then one more until a happy young girl was suddenly a disillusioned embittered old woman. There was a paradox of conscience here that he h

26、ad given up trying to resolve. When he said he was making one more trip, he meant it. But at the same time he knew that when he came back hed sign up for another. If he meant what he said when he said it, even though he knew hed change his mind laterHis conscience was clear.And of course a man must

27、be practical. His earnings must be invested, and the future provided for. The honeymoon was still new when the insurance agent responded to Petes call.Ive always believed in insurance, he told Nancy. Of course, no amount of money could console me if I came back and found that something had happened

28、to you. But people must prepare for the unpleasant things in life.Of course, said Nancy, who never disagreed with her husband. We have to be sensible about things. I might have an accident, and so might you. We have to face things like that.The insurance man was a little dazed. Hed never sold a poli

29、cy nearly as big as the amount Pete had named.Nobodys had an accident on an interstellar ship in hundreds of years, he assured Nancy. The rate for your husband will be negligiblewe expect him to be around for a real long time. Now, sir, he told Pete, your best buy is our family specialthe full value

30、 to be paid to the survivor. As I said, the cost for you is trivial, and for your wife.He thumbed his rate book nervously. Pete wrote a check to pay the policy in full, and the insurance man walked out in a trance, spending his commission.And Nancy hadnt noticed that Petes signature had gone on a gu

31、arantee that he wouldnt resign from the interstellar service for at least two hundred years, objective Earth time.Pete felt a little sad when his leave began to run out. They sat around evenings adoring each other, not too late, because Pete was a man who needed plenty of sleep or he felt irritable

32、the next day. Nancy never took his bad days seriously. The laughing happiness of youth was still in her eyes, but there was a firmness behind it now, the maturity of a girl who knows how to become a woman.He went down to the spaceport a few times to look over the ship he was signed up for, and took

33、the routine physical. Doctors went over his mind and his body, probing with needles and tubes and questions that were pointless.What do you think of the popular songs of today, Mr. Cooper?What do you remember of your mother, Mr. Cooper?Are you interested in girls, Mr. Cooper?Do you have a close frie

34、ndship with any of the other men in the crew, Mr. Cooper.?The routine this time seemed worse than ever. Actually hed had worse ones, when the medical fashions of the time called for it, but somehow it seemed more annoying this time.Five hundred years, he told the doctor. Five hundred years Ive been

35、living this life and I know more about it than you ever will. Captain Drago told me on the trip to Altairno, Sirius it was, that I was the most devoted man in the service. Pete, he said, when youre aboard, I never worry about the engines, Id rather have you sitting on them than anybody else. Thats t

36、he way he talkedsitting on the engines, he called it.The doctor watched Pete thoughtfully and made notes on the paper before him. And the next day the mail brought the message that Peter Cooper, Master Engineman First Class, was retired from the service. There was a personal letter of congratulation

37、s from an undersecretary, and a notice that his pension would start the first of the following month.Its a mistake! Pete told his wife angrily. Somethings wrong! They didnt talk to Captain Drago like I told them, andNancys eyes were indignant. She sent him steaming back with fire in his eyes, but he

38、 couldnt change the decision. He did get as far as the office of the doctor who had asked him all the fool questions, and he saw a paper he wasnt meant to see. It stunned him into temporary silence.But it wasnt true! Positively not!Definite signs of senility, the notes read. Irritable reaction to qu

39、estioning. Mind wanders, fixes on irrelevancies. Preoccupation with casual remarks of associates.And more. He didnt tell Nancy this, nor did he show her the reply he received to his protest.While a search of our records indicates a subjectivechronological age of approximately 48.6 years, physiologic

40、al analysis puts the condition of your body at a much higher figureit would be guesswork to try to name a figure. However, recent studies indicate that interstellar personnel with long terms of service tend to age at an increasingly rapid rate, due probably to psychological factors stemming from the

41、 knowledge of separation from the natal culture.We are sorry.He kept his hair dark and the wrinkles smoothed out and forced the tiredness from his bones. Other things were harder to fake, but Nancy wasnt a demanding wife. She thought he was about thirty-five, and she thought the blow of being droppe

42、d from the service had taken the life from him. She took his part firmly.Its nothing to be ashamed of, Pete. Not one person in a thousand could pass the examination for the interstellar servicetheyre really tough. And were together.What will we live on? Pete demanded, knowing he was being too irrita

43、ble, but unable to control it. He waved the pension check. Can we live on that? A fine payment for my years of service.Nancy looked dubiously at the check. I thought it was a lot . but dont worry, Pete. You have a wife to stand by you.When Pete found out how his wife had gone about standing by him,

44、he was almost shocked speechless. Almost.You signed up as my replacement on the Proxima expedition! But you cant! Its no job for a woman! And youre leaving me alonefor seven or eight years! They wont take you!They already did. She smiled bravely at him. As the wife of a retired serviceman I had pref

45、erence. We need the extra money, Pete. And it wont be for long. When I come back, well still be young enough to enjoy life, darling. And they pay wella few years of sacrifice now will make so much difference in our future.Pete closed his eyes and thought of how many times he had said the same words

46、to starry eyed young women. It wont be long . well still be young . good pay.Her loving lips tenderly brushed his dark hair.On nice days, Pete sits in a rocking chair on the porch with the other old men. He doesnt bother to dye his hair any more and he reads now with a thick glass, complaining about

47、 the small type they use nowadays. The attendants laugh off his irritability, and some of the visitors who come to see the other old men dont mind listening to his stories about the interstellar service.When it gets toward dusk, he looks into the sky sometimes as the stars appear. Centaurus isnt rea

48、lly there, not here in the northern hemisphere, but he looks anyway. Out there in space, his wife is doing a mans job. Wonderful woman, Elsie.Not ElsieNancy. How could he have made that mistake. Nancy, a laughing young girl who had grown swiftly into a strong mature woman defending her man and her marriage vows.He leans back and rocks faster then, a smile on his face. Sometimes the visitors see him and shake their heads sympathetically, and sometimes he sees them doing it, but it doesnt matter. They dont know. The