Eve and the Twenty-Three Adams

Form: Short story

Year: 1958

Publication history:

• 1958 : Venture March 1958 (m) ,
• 1965 : Venture (UK) #20 (April 1965) (m) ,
• 1969 : Dimension Thirteen (pb) , Ballantine, 215 pp.
• 1971 : Eva en de Dreieentwintig Adams () , Bruna (Netherlands), 156 pp., ISBN 90-229-9008-7 (in Dutch "")
• 1979 : Le livre d'or de la science-fiction: Robert Silverberg (pb) , Pocket, 448 pp., ISBN 2-266-00597-9, 5032 (in French "Eve et les vingt-trois Adams")
• 1988 : Voir l'invisible (pb) , Pocket, 448 pp., ISBN 2-266-02713-1, 5032 (in French "Eve et les 23 Adams")

Studies have shown (so this story says) that men on long tours of duty in space tend to get a little tense. Sometimes they start to make mistakes, and in deep space, that can be fatal. The reason for this tension: no women. The solution: the Crew Girl. Every ship (this particular one, the Donnybrook, has a crew complement of 23 men) has on the roster a Crew Girl, whose sole duty is to provide sexual release for the men. But what happens when she won't put out? By today's standards, this story borders on offensive. (Borders on? Heck, it is offensive!) Wouldn't it just be easier to let women serve as crew members? As a side note, the table of contents for Dimension Thirteen lists this as "Eve and the Twenty-four Adams."