"I can read," said Raine.
"But do you know its history ... the story behind it?"
Raine shook his head without interest.
Cap Barlow was still staring at the nameplate. "Perseus!" he repeated slowly. "It goes back to the First Triad Empire when the planets of Earth, Venus and Mars were grouped into an Oligarchy, when Venus was still a frontier. Life there was pretty much a gamble in those days, and the Oligarchs enforced strict laws of eugenics. They set up Marriage Boards and all young men and women had to undergo physical and mental examinations. Couples were paired off only after scientific scrutiny. In other words it was a cold-blooded system which had no regard for what we call love."
The old man paused. "Did you ever hear of Mason Stewart?" he asked suddenly.
Raine shook his head.
"As an individual he's pretty well forgotten today," Cap said. "I suppose you might call him a promoter. At any rate he figured a way to make himself a few thousand extra credits. He got hold of two condemned passenger freighters and with a flair for classical mythology named them Perseus and Andromeda."
Raine, listening, lit a cigarette and blew a shaft of smoke ceiling-ward.
"The Perseus was moored in North Venus," continued Cap. "The Andromeda, in the South. Stewart managed to spread the word that these two ships would be heading for Alpha Centauri to start a new colony. He also let it be known that the passenger lists would be composed of couples who were in love with each other without scientific screening or examination."
"Well, what happened?" demanded Raine with an air of acute boredom.