Suzi placed her hands over her ears. "Please, Jak, your language."
Alger Wilde said indignantly, "Yes, what the hell is the idea talking that way before Suzi?"
I said disgustedly, "I'll be a makron"—she covered her ears there, too—"if I understand how you two figure. I say kert and you're shocked. Five seconds later Wilde says hell, an ancient word meaning practically the same thing, and it's all right."
Wilde said indignantly, "It's an entirely different matter. Hell is now a scholarly word, and quite acceptable. Of course, in ancient times it wasn't and when a cultivated person wished to use a strong expletive he said Hades, which was still a more ancient word meaning the same thing. Using the scholarly expression made it all right."
"I give up," I said and turned to Suzi. "Let's get out of here. I want to talk to you."
She said demurely, "Yes, dear."
I grunted a goodbye to Wilde and arose. There was applause again and the autorch started blaring The Solar System Forever as we left.
"You could get awfully tired of music like that," I said.
Suzi said, "Not me, Jak."
The usually crowded street outside the I.V.S. Building was curiously empty, but I didn't pay much attention. I was trying to figure out some way of talking Suzi into marrying me before the fight, so it was several minutes before I noticed what was out of whack.