 Why were the Venus women transfixed by the Earthmen?
IMAGE OF SPLENDOR By LU KELLA From Venus to Earth, and all the way between, it was a hell of a world for men ... and Apprentice Burnerman O'Rielly particularly. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories Summer 1955. The intercom roared fit to blow O'Rielly back to Venus. A dozen burners on this ship; why did something crazy have to happen to O'Rielly's? Not enough to cause serious trouble this far out from Earth. Ever since Venus blast-off O'Rielly had been in Four's watch room. Well, ma'am, O'Rielly searched every cranny where even a three-tailed mouse of Venus could have stowed away. This, mind you, he felt in an age where no Earth guy for a thousand years had dared raise so much as a breath against woman's supremacy in all matters. That male character trait, however, did not seem to be the overpowering reason why O'Rielly, instead of laying violent hands upon this one's person, heard himself saying in sympathetic outrage, "A shame you had to go to all that bother to get out here!" Except on the Venus layover when he'd been roped into a dice game with a bunch of Venus lads who had a jug to cheer one's parting with one's money. "Venus dames," O'Rielly said dreamily, "don't boss anything, do they?" "Thousand years ago, it was, the first flight reached Venus. So then everybody on Earth got a look, mostly by TV only of course. "Well, that's when Earth dames took over like armies of wild cats with knots in their tails. Before the guys who'd brought the Venus dames to Earth could say anything they was taken apart too small to pick up with a blotter. Earth dames wound up by flying the Venus ones back where they come from and serving notice if one ever set foot on Earth again there wouldn't be enough left of Venus to find with an electron microscope. "Venus boys rared up and served notice that if Earth ever got any funny notions, right away there wouldn't be enough Earth left to hide in an atom's eyebrow. "No Venus dames allowed within fifty miles of their port. Earth guys stay inside the high-voltage fence. Any dame caught trying to leave Venus thrown to the tigers for supper. Same for any Earth guy caught around a Venus dame. Wove Jupiter wiggle worms in to keep the beards moving. Only tried to clear your mind about Venus dames so you could put your brain on your control mess.
 They felt abandoned by their own men who had obsessions with war and little time for them.
 They felt abandoned by their own men who had obsessions with war and little time for them.  The Earthmen were much more attractive and had real facial hair.  The women of Venus liked to break the rules.  Venus was solely occupied by women, leaving them no other option.