Charles L. Fontenay

“ Jakdane, you can't be serious!”
“I am. I say he's an android, an artificial imitation of a man. It all figures.
“Look, Trella, he said he was born on Jupiter. A human could stand the gravity of Jupiter, inside a dome or a ship, but what human could stand the rocket acceleration necessary to break free of Jupiter? Here's a man strong enough to break a spaceship safety belt just by getting up out of his chair against it, tough enough to take a beating with a heavy stick without being injured. How can you believe he's really human?” ”

“ She discovered that two more men with guns were stationed in the bare anteroom and a guard was stationed at every entrance to the house.
“Why all the protection?” she asked Blessing.
“A wealthy man must be careful,” said Blessing cheerfully. “When we don't understand all the implications of new circumstances, we must be prepared for anything, eh?”
There was only one new circumstance Trella could think of. Without actually intending to, she exclaimed:
“You aren't afraid of Quest? Why, an android can't hurt a human!” ”

“ Trella looked at him. He was not badly hurt, any more than an elephant would have been, but his tunic was stained with red blood where the bullets had struck him. Normal android blood was green.
“How can you be sure?” she asked doubtfully.
“Androids are made,” he answered with a laugh. “They don't grow up. And I remember my boyhood on Jupiter very well.”
He took her in his arms again, and this time she did not resist. His lips were very human. ”

“ Trella did not want to believe Jakdane was right, but his reasoning was unassailable. Looking upon Quest as an android, many things were explained: his great strength, his short, broad build, his immunity to injury, his refusal to defend himself against a human, his inability to return Trella's love for him.
It was not inconceivable that she should have unknowingly fallen in love with an android. Humans could love androids, with real affection, even knowing that they were artificial. There were instances of android nursemaids who were virtually members of the families owning them. ”

“ Kregg stumbled to his feet and staggered out. Trella ran to the unconscious Motwick's side.
“That means you, too, lady,” said the bartender beside her. “You and your boy friend get out of here. You oughtn't to have come here in the first place.”
“May I help you, Miss?” asked a deep, resonant voice behind her.
She straightened from her anxious examination of Motwick. The squat man was standing there, an apologetic look on his face.
She looked contemptuously at the massive muscles whose help had been denied her. Her arm ached where the dark man had grasped it. ”

“ Dr. Mansard and his wife had disappeared into the turbulent atmosphere of Jupiter just after his invention of the surgiscope, and it had been developed by Dom Blessing. Its success had built Spaceway Instruments, Incorporated, which Blessing headed.
Through all these years since Dr. Mansard's disappearance, 55Blessing had been searching the Jovian moons for a second, hidden laboratory of Dr. Mansard. When it was found at last, he sent Trella, his most trusted secretary, to Ganymede to bring back to him the notebooks found there. ”

“ He seized the first object his hand touched—it happened to be a heavy wooden cane leaning against Jakdane's bunk—propelled himself like a projectile at Quest.
Quest rose from the table in a sudden uncoiling of movement. He did not unbuckle his safety belt—he rose and it snapped like a string.
For a moment Trella thought he was going to meet Asrange's assault. But he fled in a long leap toward the companionway leading to the astrogation deck 56above. Landing feet-first in the middle of the table and rebounding, Asrange pursued with the stick upraised. ”

“ She was sure that Blessing was wrong, that Quest, whether man or android, intended no 59harm to him. Surely, Quest would have said something of such bitterness during their long time together on Ganymede and aspace, since he did not know of Trella's connection with Blessing. But, since this was to be the atmosphere of Blessing's house, she was glad that he decided to assign her to take the Mansard papers to the New York laboratory. ”

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