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"Such acts are simple here," said Hakin, "so long as the gravity is low. That
is one reason we prefer to train our beasts far out in space. Now we go on to
something new. Up again!" he directed.
The kabror leaped again, and this time Hakin used his long rubbery arms to
turn its body in the air, so
that the beast completed a full somersault before landing. "And yet again, O
Emitter of Sweet Smells!" he coaxed.
After five minutes the kabror could do the somersault by itself, and Hakin was
highly pleased. Mel asked, "What will happen when he tries to do a somersault
in Earth gravity?"
"There will indeed be difficulties," admitted Hakin. "But the kabror has the
necessary physical coordination to overcome them. Note that in this present
low gravity he does not permit himself to leap too high. Of importance is the
fact that here in the ship he can learn what is required of him."
Rover had been watching the training session quietly, sitting on his haunches
alongside Mel. Now he stood up and made talking sounds to Mel.
Mel said, "What is it, Rover? Want to be an acrobat too?" The dog walked
slowly out into the middle of the training space, then leaped into the air. He
went a little too high, thought Mel, almost scraping the ceiling as he turned
upside down. Then he seemed to drift down again, landing softly on his feet.
"Not bad!" cried Mel. "That wasn't at all bad for a first try, was it, Hakin?"
And Rover too looked at the rubber man for approval.
"Very well indeed, O Clever Canine," said Hakin.
"Now you try it, Mel," came Bolam's deep voice unexpectedly.
"I?" Mel grinned self-consciously. "I never tried a somersault in my life.
Never had time for things like that."
"You can start having time right now. Come on, Mel. This ship is just the
right place for you to learn and to acquire confidence."
"I'm no acrobat."
"No reason why you can't become one. You and Rover can put on an act
together."
"And why not the Fragrant One also?" demanded Hakin.
"There's an idea," said Bolam. "A good act with the three of you would bring
down the house.
You've got nothing else to do with yourself on the ship, so you might as well
practice. Your first show will go on in Marsopolis, and that should be easy.
Mars has low gravity too a little more than a third the gravity of Earth.
Acrobats can get some really sensational effects there. Mars is a fine planet
for practicing before an audience and gaining confidence in yourself."
"I still think it's silly," said Mel. "But I suppose it won't do me any harm
to try." He walked slowly and self-consciously into the middle of the practice
space.
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"Do not use your full strength here, My Young Friend," advised Hakin. "Spring
gently, without trying to turn in the air as yet. Learn what your muscles can
do in this gravity."
Mel tried to obey orders, and made what he thought was a modest jump. He rose
high into the air, and lifted his hands just in time to push into the ceiling
and keep from bumping his head against it.
"It isn't the easiest thing in the world to adjust yourself," said Bolam. "The
animals do it better than humans can, at first. But we get there eventually.
Try again."
Mel tried again, not quite so forcefully, and this time he stopped rising
about a foot short of the ceiling, seemed to hang motionless in the air for a
second, and then began to fall again.
"Fine," said Bolam. "Now try the somersault."
At the end of a quarter of an hour, Mel was performing the somersault with all
the skill and apparent self-confidence of an old-timer. And alongside him,
Rover and the kabror performed with equal confidence.
"I think we've got the beginning of an act there," said Bolam.
"There is indeed an act, O Powerful One," agreed Hakin. "It will bring down
the house on Mars. But much practice is yet needed."
"A couple of hours a day, at least," said Bolam. "The exercise will do you
good, Mel. And you'll have something to keep you busy during the long trip
still ahead of us."
"I wasn't worried about keeping busy," said Mel. "I thought I'd learn to be an
animal trainer."
"You can learn that too," said Bohm. "But at first your learning is going to
be limited to watching. It's going to be a long time before we allow you to
handle the training robots. You'll have to learn a lot more
about animals first."
In a little while, the kabror was sent back to its cage. Mel and Rover
continued practicing for a time, until Bolam made them stop. Mel protested,
but Bolam was firm.
"You're young, and your muscles don't feel tired, but all the same they're not
used to this kind of exercise. Better go easy at first. You'll practice for a
longer time tomorrow."
Mel took a short quick shower. He knew that the water would be purified and
recirculated, but even so there was a sign up in the shower room asking
patrons to limit their use of water to the smallest amount possible. And just
in case the patrons were disinclined to pay attention to the request, the
showers were automatically adjusted to turn off after one minute.
More a sprinkle than a shower, thought Mel, as he dressed in clean clothes
that Hakin dug up for him. The rubber man had a fairly extensive wardrobe.
Seeing that he could alter the shape of his body so greatly, he could wear
suits of widely different sizes, and one of his pet economies was to buy for a
very low price a suit which had been badly cut, or a pair of shoes that didn't
quite match, and couldn't be sold to ordinary customers. He could, of course,
change the size of his feet more easily than the tailor or shoemaker could
change the size of clothes or shoes. Lacking Hakin's ability to expand or
contract his body, Mel was careful to pick out clothes that actually fitted
him.
Hakin and Bolam were busy with their animals, and for the first time since he
had stowed away, Mel was able to set foot boldly in the corridors of the ship,
without fear of being caught. He was a passenger now, on just as good a
footing as anybody else. And so was Rover, who followed him.
The ship was no longer accelerating at all now, all the feeling of gravity
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