Matt nodded. "I know that they are described as being a gentle, unwarlike race. I can't imagine becoming really fond of them, but the spools I studied showed them as friendly."
"That's just race prejudice. A Venerian is easier to like than a man."
"Oz, that's not fair," Tex protested. "Matt hasn't got any race prejudice and neither have I. Take Lieutenant Peters-did it make any difference to us that he's as black as the ace of spades?"
"That's not the same thing-a Venerian is really different. I guess you have to be brought up with them, like I have, to take them for granted. But everything about them is different-for instance, like the fact that you never lay eyes on anything but females."
"Say, how about that, Oz? Are there really male Venerians, or is it just a superstition?"
"Sure there are-the Little People are unquestionably bisexual. But I doubt if we'll ever get a picture of one or a chance to examine one. The guys who claim to have seen one are mostly liars," he added, "because their stories never add up."
"Why do you suppose they are so touchy about it?"
"Why won't a Hindu eat beef? There doesn't have to be any reason for it. I go for the standard theory; the males are little and helpless and have to be protected."
"I'm glad I'm not a Venerian," Matt commented.
"Might not be such a bad life," Tex asserted. "Me-I could use a little coddling right now."