“Felt your hair?” said Dors Venabili. She looked at Seldon’s hair as though she was of a mind to feel it herself.

Seldon moved away slightly. “Please don’t. The woman made it seem like a perversion.”

“I suppose it was—from her standpoint. Did you derive no pleasure from it yourself?”

“Pleasure? It gave me gooseflesh. When she finally stopped, I was able to breathe again. I kept thinking: What other conditions will she make?”

Dors laughed. “Were you afraid that she would force sex upon you? Or hopeful?”

“I assure you I didn’t dare think. I just wanted the Book.”

They were in their room now and Dors turned on her field distorter to make sure they would not be overheard.

The Mycogenian night was about to begin. Seldon had removed his skincap and kirtle and had bathed, paying particular attention to his hair, which he had foamed and rinsed twice. He was now sitting on his cot, wearing a light nightgown that had been hanging in the closet.

Dors said, eyes dancing, “Did she know you have hair on your chest?”

“I was hoping earnestly she wouldn’t think of that.”

“Poor Hari. It was all perfectly natural, you know. I would probably have had similar trouble if I was alone with a Brother. Worse, I’m sure, since he would believe—Mycogenian society being what it is—that as a woman I would be bound to obey his orders without delay or demur.”

“No, Dors. You may think it was perfectly natural, but you didn’t experience it. The poor woman was in a high state of sexual excitement. She engaged all her senses … smelled her fingers, licked them. If she could have heard hair grow, she would have listened avidly.”

“But that’s what I mean by ‘natural.’ Anything you make forbidden gains sexual attractiveness. Would you be particularly interested in women’s breasts if you lived in a society in which they were displayed at all times?”

“I think I might.”

“Wouldn’t you be more interested if they were always hidden, as in most societies they are? —Listen, let me tell you something that happened to me. I was at a lake resort back home on Cinna … I presume you have resorts on Helicon, beaches, that sort of thing?”

“Of course,” said Seldon, slightly annoyed. “What do you think Helicon is, a world of rocks and mountains, with only well water to drink?”

“No offense, Hari. I just want to make sure you’ll get the point of the story. On our beaches at Cinna, we’re pretty lighthearted about what we wear … or don’t wear.”

“Nude beaches?”

“Not actually, though I suppose if someone removed all of his or her clothing it wouldn’t be much remarked on. The custom is to wear a decent minimum, but I must admit that what we consider decent leaves very little to the imagination.”

Seldon said, “We have somewhat higher standards of decency on Helicon.”

“Yes, I could tell that by your careful treatment of