Clarity brings shame, and panic

When Eron finally descends back to earth from the clouds of pleasure, it is with a sudden, sharp jolt. What has he done? He withdraws his softening length carefully, and, suddenly fearful of letting the evidence leak out, he quickly lifts up the girl’s legs and puts a rolled-up bag under her to keep them raised.

For a moment he wonders if he could take responsibility – get the Machine to make her his wife, accept her into the community. Or even more wildly, he imagines leaving with her, going into the outside world, forgetting all about the Great Machine…

Insanity! He shakes himself out of it. Once she learns of the monstrous thing he’s done, she’ll hate him for it, and everything will be ruined. Eron needs her help to get the Machine running again – she’s the only hope.

No, she can never know what happened – nobody can ever know. Eron’s course is clear. More than ever now, he has to get things back to the way they were, and forget all about what he’s just done…

The girl seems to have fallen into a deeper sleep. Knowing he still has some time before the effects of the gas wear off, Eron arranges her rags to cover her as well as he can, and carries her back along the passageway to leave her near the hatch. Hopefully, she won’t be too suspicious about how she escaped the gas.