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"I'm doing you two favors," said Gloria. "I'm giving up my exercise machine and my papaya juice. Now I
wonder if you can do me one."
"If it is within my power," said the blue man.
"You're an equal partner with Thaddeus," she said. "Why can't you book us onto some world where
stripteasers are appreciated?"
"There are no such worlds," he said gently.
"I knew that son of a bitch lied to me!"
"No," said the blue man. "Mr. Flint knew that there were no worlds except your own, of
course where stripteasing existed. He had no way of knowing that there were no worlds where it
would be appreciated.''
"But you did!" she snapped at him. "You could have told me!"
He shook his head. "You must believe me: I felt as Mr. Flint felt, that it would be a novel attraction that
would delight audiences."
"Why would you think a bunch of lizards and birdmen would be interested?''
"Tunnel vision," he said with a shrug. "I have been a wanderer among the stars for so many years that I
had forgotten how truly parochial local attitudes can be. I felt the fact that / found your act diverting
meant that everyone would. I was mistaken, and I am sorry about it. But don't blame Mr. Flint. He is
even more disappointed with the results of our tour, thus far, than you are."
"I find it very difficult to work up much compassion for Thaddeus," replied Gloria. "He's still bilking the
marks and running the show and bedding every girl who works for him except me. He's making out just
fine."
"He probably would be happy to debate the issue with you," said Mr. Ahasuerus.
"Once you sobered him up and pulled Jenny and Lori out of his bed, that is," said Gloria sardonically.
"Look, Mr. Ahasuerus, I feel cheated and unhappy, and the last thing I need to hear from you is what a
tough time poor old Thaddeus is having, okay?"
The blue man sighed deeply. "I don't know what you want me to say, Gloria. I truly had no idea so many
of you were unhappy."
"What do you mean, so many of us?"
"Jupiter Monk thinks his lion is dying, Max Bloom wants to work at a game that will almost certainly kill
him, Thaddeus is displeased with our choice of worlds. Everyone seems unhappy about something or
other except Billybuck Dancer, that is."
"The Dancer always was different," she said. "Let him shoot at things and spend his life dreaming that he's
gunning down Doc Holliday and he's content. What does all this have to do with me?"
"I just thought you'd like to know you're not alone," said Mr. Ahasuerus.
"I'm more alone than I've ever been in my life," she replied unhappily.
"May I ask a personal question?" said the blue man.
"Why not?"
"I know why some of the others came with us but why did you? You were a star on Earth."
"I thought I'd be a star out here, too," said Gloria. "At least, Thaddeus told me I'd be. And you," she
added, her eyes flashing, "never said different."
"And that's the only reason?" he asked. "To be a bigger star than you already were?"
"What's wrong with that?" she said defensively. Then she sighed. "No, it wasn't the only reason. All my
life I've played in front of slobs. You saw the audiences at the meat show, Mr. Ahasuerus. They never
even looked at me until I'd 'gotten out of my clothes. Just once, I wanted to perform in front of someone
who appreciated what I was doing. Did you ever hear of Gypsy Rose Lee?"
The blue man shook his head.
"I was just talking about her with Tojo. She was the
greatest stripper that ever was. She used to talk to the audience about the stock market, and what books
she'd read, 'and who made her gowns. They were so interested in that they didn't even care how much
clothing she took off." She turned to Tojo. "She never had to worry about being Louise Hovack again.
She was Gypsy. They even made a musical about her life."
"I know," said Tojo softly.
"And you think you'd like to talk about stocks and books to your audiences?" asked Mr. Ahasuerus,
puzzled.
"Of course not!" she said. "My God, you're dense! I'm just using that as an example. She had a class act,
and she played for class audiences in class theaters. They appreciated her art. They'd have been shocked
if she rolled around on the stage and let them paw her, the way the carny strippers have to do. That's
why I came: to find people who cared about how hard I was working instead of how easy I was."
"But if you have such contempt for you audiences back on Earth, surely you must be happier not
stripping at all rather than stripping before them," said Mr. Ahasuerus.
"You don't understand at all!" she snapped. "I was a star on Earth. I was Butterfly Delight!"
"But if the audiences "
"I didn't always work for the carnival," she said defensively.
"I see."
"Thaddeus misrepresented it to me," she added sullenly.
"Then why didn't you leave?"
"For what?" she snapped. "You think a bunch of drunken businessmen playing with themselves beneath
folded newspapers are any better? They were all freaks and slobs!"
"I seem to have missed something," said the blue man. "If all your audiences were like that, then what
benefit accrued to achieving stardom in such a field?"
"Because it made me better than them!" she yelled at him. Suddenly she began crying. "Dammit, it was
the only thing that made me better!"
Mr. Ahasuerus turned to Tojo, a distressed expression on his gaunt face.
"What did I say?" he asked, thoroughly confused.
"It's all right," said the hunchback, getting off his chair
and walking over to put an arm around Gloria. "» *^ne better leave now."
"But . . ."
"She'll be all right," said Tojo, stroking her hair ,
The blue man shook his head, sighed again, and ^ed out the door.
"I'm sorry," said Gloria, tears still trickling down her face. "I didn't mean to make a scene."
"It's all right," crooned Tojo. "It's all right."
"Do you have a Kleenex?"
He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.
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