Split Worlds by Tyrone C. Barr

Author:Tyrone C. Barr [Barr, Tyrone C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Erotica
Publisher: Digit Books
Published: 1959-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

BEFORE PADRE BROTHERTON retired to his own room to study Dick Adams’s proposed laws, he told the others, when they suggested an open discussion, that he had listened to the captain’s brief outline with a patience which he was not aware that he possessed. He had no intention of entering into any discussion about them until he had studied them thoroughly.

“They’re clear enough for me,” said Steve Ronson. “I’m Voting for the lot.”

“So am I,” added Bill Spears.

The doctor looked at Derek, a dejected, miserable figure huddled in a chair in a corner of the lounge.

“Why is it the weak are always made to suffer? Can you wonder at it that, when they’d been driven to the end of their endurance, like worms they turned? Here we are at the very beginning again, with the power to make everybody happy, but our own selfishness and the knowledge that our actions are backed by a majority will prevent us from doing that. Frankly, I believe we should vote for all the laws, but with one amendment to the No Marriage law. There should be a clause in it that would allow any two people to live together, permanently, unmolested by unwelcome requests or advances from others. Then we might say that there would be no cause for complaint. If we don’t make some such amendment, then at least one of our company is going to be made to suffer.”

“To hell with that Doc,” Big Gus protested. “It wouldn’t be fair to give one man a decided advantage, would it?”

“It would be equally unfair not to, so what?”

“At least, we’re all in the market the way things are,” said Len Kelly. “If we gave way to Derek and Amy, it wouldn’t be long before all the women were tied up. Then what would happen to the other four men?”

“You’ve a point there,” Doc Wilson replied.

“A good one, too,” Slim added. “I wouldn’t support an amendment. After all, the mutual consent clause gives Derek a one hundred percent claim on Amy if his love is reciprocated.”

“Somebody once told me there couldn’t be love without marriage. As a doctor, Slim, I think I understand the truth of that. Love is very much more than just an act. It’s the natural instinct of a male and a female to think, feel, and act for each other.”

“Then, if marriage is confirmation of love, how do you account for divorces?” asked Big Gus.

Doctor Wilson smiled.

“You will have your little say, Gus. Well, since you ask, I’ll try and explain, though I warn you I’m no divorce judge. I’d say divorce was impossible if the marriage was prompted by love and not mere infatuation, as so often happens. If one of the parties contemplated unfaithfulness — and he, or she, was really in love with his or her partner — then, provided the three factors in my definition of love are present, the mere act of thinking, as the wedded partner would think, would bring with it the feelings of that partner and the act couldn’t possibly take place.

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