Smith sighed, knowing it was now or never. 'Look down there. You see that beautiful, slender reed in the black dress?'
'Kataya.'
'Yes….. She's twenty-six, and in the full flower of womanhood. She desperately wants a child, but apparently the rest of us don't do anything for her. And then Dr. Welles, there.' He pointed. 'Thirty-four, and married to a man who can't give her children. Should they both be punished for it? And your own Sylviana. Wouldn't the two of you, at least, consider having a child?'
But Kalus' mind was reeling. The concept of free love was so incredible to him, at once both desirable and unthinkable….. He gave voice to only one of the myriad questions that confronted him.
'Is there no other way?'
'There's always artificial insemination: taking a man's sperm and a woman's egg and placing them together, either in the uterus, or in the laboratory. But that's so cold and mechanical. Also, we're trying to stay a little closer to nature than our predecessors, hoping to avoid some of their mistakes. And for me, at least, there's a spiritual' side to it: which sperm cell is MEANT to fertilize which egg. Can you see what I'm driving at?'
Kalus, who had understood very little, could only say. 'I have made love to only two women in my life. And I should have been more than content with the one, if she….. Well if….. I don't know if I can help you,' he finished weakly. But then, whether because of the alcohol, the other man's openness, or the sheer physical need to let it out, he told him.
'I made love to Kataya last night.'
'Good,' said Smith warmly. 'Good for you.'
'Not good for me. . .or Sylviana. She learned of it, and cast me out.' He lowered his face, bitter and ashamed. 'I feel as if I'm already dead.'