It would be very different. He would destroy the beast image very
quickly by his tenderness and solicitude, and his virile, forthright
lovemaking. There was no brutishness in him but she would find him
very firm, accomplished, determined to make her realize that Martians
were completely human in every way that mattered--with minds and
hearts that worshipped at the shrine of love, and with bodies which
were lithe-limbed and well formed. Anatomically there was no actual
structural difference between Earthmen and Martians that went beyond
skin coloration and the more superficial aspects of posture, muscular
co-ordination in the higher cerebral centers, and the distribution of
body fat. Martians walked with a slightly stooped posture, but they
could stand straight enough when the need arose. In addition to the
difference in skin coloration their facial contours were at variance
with the human form, and their hands terminated in nails so sharp and
long that Earthmen thought of them as claws.
They were clawlike, but only because the nails contained a network of
tiny blood vessels and could not be cut without causing a Martian to
writhe in pain. Why did it so seldom occur to Earthmen that their own
bodies were primitive to an equal degree and that the heritage of the
jungle had left its mark on them? Why were they so slow to realize that
only the great beauty of their women could overcome such flaws?
Martians were human--as that term was used on Earth. To think of them
as merely _humanoid_ did Earthmen and Earthwomen no credit, for it was
a reflection on their intelligence. And in one respect at least both
races possessed a splendor which no primitiveness could dim. In both
Martians and Earthmen the great organ of love was the same.
Tragor remained for an instant deep in thought, his eyes on the slender
woman for whom he had killed--and he would kill again, if necessary, to
make her completely his own. Then he bent and slipped one arm about her
slim waist, and gently raised her to a sitting position on the deck.
For an instant she seemed scarcely aware that she was no longer alone
with her grief. Her failure to struggle or offer any resistance at all
surprised him. She had surrendered limply to his guiding strength,
allowing him to lift her up and change the position of her body without
crying out or pleading with him not to touch her.
It was a good omen, even though it seemed strange and unnatural under
the circumstances. Then, quite suddenly, he realized that she wasn't
looking at him at all. She was staring dazedly beyond him, at the blank
expanse of metal surrounding the slowly closing hull section. Her eyes
were very wide, the pupils slightly dilated, and her lips were parted,
as if she lacked the will or desire to bring her thoughts to a focus,
and exercise control over the muscles of her face.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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