The Golden Helix by Theodore Sturgeon

Author:Theodore Sturgeon [Sturgeon, Theodore]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi Collection
Publisher: Dell Books
Published: 1980-06-04T23:00:00+00:00

She looked at her teacup. “I’ve never been married.”

“Me too,” he said somberly. “Wait, is that what you-“

“Why do people get married?”

“Kids.”

“Oh, that isn’t all.”

He said, with his mouth full, “They wanna be together, I guess. Team up, like. One pays the bills, the other runs the joint.”

“That’s about it. Sharing. They want to share. You know the things they share.”

“I heard,” he said shortly.

She leaned forward. “Do you think they can share anything like what we’ve had this afternoon?”

“That I never heard,” he said pensively.

“I don’t wonder. Don, your revelation with the rat is as basic a picture of what is called ‘original sin’ as anything I have ever heard.”

“Original sin,” he said thoughtfully. “That’s about Adam an’—no, wait. I remember. Everybody’s supposed to be sinful to start with because it takes a sin to get’m started.”

“Once in a while,” she said, “it seems as if you know so few words because you don’t need them. That was beautifully put. Don, I think that awful thing that happened to you in the sewer was a blessing. I think it’s a good thing, not a bad one. It might be bad for someone else, but not for you. It’s kept you as you are, so far. I don’t think you should try to forget it. It’s a warning and a defense. It’s a weapon against the ‘yin’ forces. You are a very special person, Don. You were made for better things than—than others.”

“About the wasps,” he said. “As soon as you started to talk I begun to feel better. About this, I don’t feel better.” He looked up to the point where the wall met the ceiling and seemed to be listening to his own last phrase. He nodded definitely. “I don’t feel better. I feel worse.”

She touched his arm. It was the only time she had made such a_gesture. “You’re strong and growing and you’re just eighteen.” Her voice was very kind. “It would be a strange thing indeed if a young man your age didn’t have his problems and struggles and tempta—I mean, battles. I’m sorry I can’t resolve it for you, Don. I wish I could. But I know what’s right. Don’t I, Don, don’t I?”

“Every time,” he said glumly. “But I …” His gaze became abstracted.

She watched him anxiously. “Don’t think about her,” she whispered. “Don’t. You don’t have to. Don, do you know that what we did this afternoon was only the very beginning, like the first day of kindergarten?”

His eyes came back to her, bright.

“Yeah, huh. Hey, Miss Phoebe, how about that.”

“When would you like to do some more?”

“Now?”

“Bless you, no! We both have things to do. And besides, you have to think. You know it takes time to think.”

“Yeah, okay. When?”

“A week.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be here. Hey, I’m gonna be late for work.”

He went to the door. “Take it easy,” he said.

He went out and closed the door but before the latch clicked he pushed it open again. He crossed the room to her.

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