It doesn't make sense to him but Carissa thinks it makes sense to her and maybe that should be enough.

Keltham can tell that he wants this.

Keltham can tell that he's afraid.

Without any sense of hesitation, Keltham looks within himself for further details, this being the obvious thing one is trained to do next in that cognitive situation.

He's afraid that he'll do this wrongly, if he tries to do it, and not give Carissa what she expects in return because there must be something even if she doesn't understand what it is, or just make a misstep that she isn't expecting, because he's an alien, and she won't forgive him, and Chelish Governance will decide that the alien is too dangerous to have this kind of sex with, and he'll never again get the thing he just discovered.

He's scared of betraying a thing that it means to be Keltham, that he does pay fairly what he owes.

He's scared that -

It doesn't make sense to him but Carissa thinks it makes sense to her and maybe that should be enough.

Keltham can tell that he wants this.

Keltham can tell that he's afraid.

Without any sense of hesitation, Keltham looks within himself for further details, this being the obvious thing one is trained to do next in that cognitive situation.

He's afraid that he'll do this wrongly, if he tries to do it, and not give Carissa what she expects in return because there must be something even if she doesn't understand what it is, or just make a misstep that she isn't expecting, because he's an alien, and she won't forgive him, and Chelish Governance will decide that the alien is too dangerous to have this kind of sex with, and he'll never again get the thing he just discovered.

(That's not realistic, says the wiser part of himself.)

He's scared of betraying a thing that it means to be Keltham, that he does pay fairly what he owes.

(There's limits to what fairness demands of you, when somebody has told you repeatedly that it's being given to you for free.)

He's scared that -

It doesn't make sense to him but Carissa thinks it makes sense to her and maybe that should be enough.

Keltham can tell that he wants this.

Keltham can tell that he's afraid.

Without any sense of hesitation, Keltham looks within himself for further details, this being the obvious thing one is trained to do next in that cognitive situation.

He's afraid that he'll do this wrongly, if he tries to do it, and not give Carissa what she expects in return because there must be something even if she doesn't understand what it is, or just make a misstep that she isn't expecting, because he's an alien, and she won't forgive him, and Chelish Governance will decide that the alien is too dangerous to have this kind of sex with, and he'll never again get the thing he just discovered.

(That's not realistic, says the wiser part of himself.)

He's scared of betraying a thing that it means to be Keltham, that he does pay fairly what he owes.

(There's limits to what fairness demands of you, when somebody has insisted to you repeatedly that a good is being given to you without reciprocal obligation.)

He's scared that -

It doesn't make sense to him but Carissa thinks it makes sense to her and maybe that should be enough.

Keltham can tell that he wants this.

Keltham can tell that he's afraid.

Without any sense of hesitation, Keltham looks within himself for further details, this being the obvious thing one is trained to do next in that cognitive situation.

He's afraid that he'll do this wrongly, if he tries to do it, and not give Carissa what she expects in return because there must be something even if she doesn't understand what it is, or just make a misstep that she isn't expecting, because he's an alien, and she won't forgive him, and Chelish Governance will decide that the alien is too dangerous to have this kind of sex with, and he'll never again get the thing he just discovered.

(That's not realistic, says the wiser part of himself; individuals can be unreasonably unforgiving, but whole governments know better.)

He's scared of betraying a thing that it means to be Keltham, that he does pay fairly what he owes.

(There's limits to what fairness demands of you, when somebody has insisted to you repeatedly that a good is being given to you without reciprocal obligation.)

He's scared that -

That sexual-markets equilibrium makes no sense to him but Carissa thinks it makes sense to her and maybe that should be enough.

Keltham can tell that he wants this.

Keltham can tell that he's afraid.

Without any sense of hesitation, Keltham looks within himself for further details, this being the obvious thing one is trained to do next in that cognitive situation.

He's afraid that he'll do this wrongly, if he tries to do it, and not give Carissa what she expects in return because there must be something even if she doesn't understand what it is, or just make a misstep that she isn't expecting, because he's an alien, and she won't forgive him, and Chelish Governance will decide that the alien is too dangerous to have this kind of sex with, and he'll never again get the thing he just discovered.

(That's not realistic, says the wiser part of himself; individuals can be unreasonably unforgiving, but whole governments know better.)

He's scared of betraying a thing that it means to be Keltham, that he does pay fairly what he owes.

(There's limits to what fairness demands of you, when somebody has insisted to you repeatedly that a good is being given to you without reciprocal obligation.)

He's scared that -