"William Morrison - The Cupids of Venus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

The Cupids of Venus
By WILLIAM MORRISON
AS the men filed into the lecture room out of the fog, Makin looked around, but there was no sign
that any of the women had been here. In fact, there was nothing to indicate that the women were on the
same planet. His heart dropped but he hid his disappointment. As Colonel Galchek strode into the room,
he assumed the same cool look of indifference the others showed.
The Colonel stared at them, and the men quieted down. The Colonel had an idea, thought Makin
ironically, that he knew how to impose discipline with a glance, but it was more probable that on this last
lap of their training before the great adventure the men were anxious to learn what lay ahead of them. At
any rate, they listened attentively.
Colonel Galchek was brief. "Gentlemen," he said, "your stay on Venus will be a short one—less than
ten days. You will be forced to undergo in this brief period, hazards of the same kind you would normally
face on Cygnus Beta Two in the course of years. I need hardly say that this sort of training will be
invaluable. It is possible—even probable—that of the sixty men here, one or two will not survive the
rigors of the course." He looked at them coolly, as if wondering which one or two would not survive.
"We shall regret all casualties, of course."
"The dirty liar," thought Makin. "He wouldn't regret a casualty if it was his own grandmother."
"Nevertheless, some casualties are unavoidable. And it is far better to suffer them here, where you
can reveal your weaknesses while there is still time to correct them, than on a planet in Cygnus. We don't
want any unpleasant surprises there. Of the fifty couples finally selected to make the trip, we intend to
have every one survive. We want the Cygnus colony to get off to a good start. We must prove that it's
livable, and that it can take the overflow of the System's population."

HE paused as the men stirred restlessly. "You're picked men and you've already been through severe
training. Your wives have been selected just as carefully as you have. They will be fit mates for you in
every respect."
"Are the women," asked Makin, "undergoing the same sort of training in the final stage?"
"Naturally. On Cygnus they'll face the same conditions as you do. They'll need the same
preparation."
"Are they on Venus too?"
The Colonel frowned. "They are, but that doesn't concern you. You will have no contact with them
until the time for departure. I should like to suggest, gentlemen," he added acidly, "that you confine your
questions to matters that concern this group as a whole. Individual problems will be taken up during your
interviews this afternoon and tomorrow."
The men shrugged. One man opened his mouth to ask a question and then closed it, the question
unasked.
"You'll receive your detailed schedules tomorrow afternoon, after you have all been interviewed. That
is all."
The men broke up and went to their rooms. Makin was not tired, but he could have slept if he had
wanted to, for he had conditioned himself to fall into a sound slumber upon the mental repetition of a
simple nursery rhyme. And from all indications, it would be well to rest up as much as possible for the
ordeal ahead of him. All the same, he preferred to stay awake and think.
He had met the girl he knew as Women's Group Member 47, or W 47, for short, accidentally a
mere two weeks before, on completion of his space flight. She had been sent in to see her own superior
officer at the time he had gone up for a psychological recheck. The elevator signal had been set for the
wrong floor, and he had met her in the waiting room.
 He had known even at the time that it was hopeless, for the matings were being arranged on a
scientific basis, but he had fallen in love with her completely, even, in a manner of speaking, before first
sight. He had fallen in love with the shape of the back of her head, of her neck and shoulders, before she
had turned her head so that he could see her face. The sight of her clear eyes, and the strong yet delicate