“Picasso”: The Second Lesson in “Sex Ed”

Time: 1992
Place: a typical Soviet school
Characters: Igor Stepanovich Vorontsov (school nickname – Stepashka), 35 years old, a charismatic homeroom teacher, a devout Orthodox Christian; students of the school.

According to the district education office’s plan, there were to be two lectures on sexual life. This second one, too, was conducted during class hour by Stepashka.

He hadn’t yet managed to open his mouth when Ira Golubeva asked him a question.

“Igor Stepanovich, last time you spoke about the creation of man. You know, I read something… and I have a question. Why was it that Adam and Eve did not see their nakedness before the Fall, but afterwards – they did, and began to feel shame?”

“That is very simple. They became strangers to each other. Just imagine a child of about, say, five years old. When his mother bathes him, will he feel shy of her?”

“No,” said Golubeva.

“And if some strange woman comes to bathe him?”

“Well then yes.”

“And what is the difference? A child feels shy before a stranger. It is the same here. Having sinned, the first people became strangers to each other. One may compare what Adam says about his wife before the Fall and after it. Before – he says: ‘This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.’ And after: ‘The woman whom You gave me – she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’ Do you feel the difference? Well then, today we shall speak about family life itself. Choosing a partner we already learned how to do… Isn’t that right, Sorokina?” said the teacher, passing by two girlfriends who were always whispering. “Remember once and for all that family, marriage – is the only thing mankind carried out of life in paradise. The first marriage, between Adam and Eve, was concluded already in Eden, before the Fall. Everything else came later: society, the state, science, school, and all the rest. Think about that…” Vorontsov shook his hands in front of him. “Family is the only fragment of paradise. We cannot even say what nature was like then, what the physical laws were, for after the Fall everything changed – but marriage remained.” He paused a little. “Therefore it depends only on the spouses whether they turn their marriage into paradise or the opposite. So then – the first law of family life: ‘A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.’”

Half the class smirked.

“That is not what you thought,” said Vorontsov. “Or rather – not only that. What does it mean to be one flesh?” He stepped out into the middle of the class. “Here I have two legs, two arms, a head – and everything else. This is my body. Mine! My arm, my leg. In exactly the same way I can say: my wife… Do you understand? Before marriage we may think about a person in categories such as: like – don’t like, beautiful – not beautiful, good – bad. After marriage we can think only in categories of: mine – not mine.” He paced a little across the classroom. “My arm, whatever it may be, sick or healthy, it is mine. Someone else’s may be better, but it is not mine. It is the same with husband and wife. For example, when an arm is ill, we do not at once run to the doctor shouting: cut it off quickly! Right? What do we do? We treat it in every possible way, and only in the most extreme cases, when that sick arm can infect and destroy the whole organism, only then do we amputate it. It is the same in a family. When something goes wrong with a husband or wife, one must by every effort try to set things right, and not rush to get divorced. Because ‘one flesh.’ And by the way, one must also remember that, for instance, if one leg is sick – say, it is put in a cast” – he lifted one leg and bent it a little – “what happens with the second leg? Correct – it takes on the whole weight of the body. It is the same in a family – suppose the husband starts drinking, then the wife bears all the family’s burdens. She doesn’t run to divorce at once, but carries, carries….”

Someone sighed heavily.

“The second law of family life: ‘What God has joined together, let no man separate.’ Strictly speaking, divorce is permissible only in the case of adultery, when marital betrayal occurs. Then the marriage ceases to exist as if automatically. As important as chastity before marriage is – and we spoke of that last time – even more important is fidelity within it.”

“But I don’t agree with you, Igor Stepanovich,” exclaimed Zhenya Kolchina. “Last time you frightened us so that before marriage it’s no-no. That’s just horrible. If people, say, cannot marry at once, what, are they to endure for years? That would drive one mad. Even doctors say it’s harmful.”

“No one, dear Evgeniya, has ever died from abstinence, nor even fallen ill. When a young man and young woman go out together, they must learn to see in each other precisely the beloved person, and not only an object of lust. Do you understand – they must learn to respect one another, to value one another. Otherwise how often does it happen: barely have they met – bang, at once into bed, and start ‘befriending with their bodies.’ But family life does not consist only of sex. In general, as we said last time – in a person one must learn to see not only the body, but also the soul, and the spirit….”

“Well but still, Igor Stepanovich. If people love each other, then not even a little bit is allowed?”

The teacher sighed.

“We already spoke of this. Love and infatuation are two different things. Love is willing to wait as long as necessary. But infatuation, of course, demands everything at once. Let me reveal to you, girls, one man’s secret. A young man courts you – and you say to him straight: so and so, until marriage – no sex. If he loves you, he will wait. But if he only wants quickly to get at your charms, he will vanish like the wind. And think of this also, and it concerns all your behavior. Think that in some five years there will appear in the world a person for whom you will be holy…” Stepashka fell silent and looked around the classroom.

Everyone quieted down. On the faces of the students was reflected intense pondering of this, to say the least, unexpected thought.

“Yes, yes – holy. There will appear a child, for whom you will be the best in the world, the purest and the most righteous. And if only for this person’s sake, do not descend to vileness, baseness, filth, evil deeds. Remember him, this person, when you want to do something bad.”

Vorontsov walked across the classroom and returned to his subject.

“Or again, you know how it happens – a young man wants to drag a girl into bed and gives her an ultimatum: either sex, or I leave you. Well then, know this!” The teacher raised his hand. “If the question is put this way, you may safely leave him yourself, because he will abandon you in any case. Whether you give yourself to him or not – he will abandon you anyway. Exceptions happen only in works of fiction.”

“Well, Igor Stepanovich,” came cries from the boys’ side of the classroom, “that’s not fair! Why do you give away our secrets to them? Tell us something about them too, so we’ll know as well.”

“All right,” agreed Stepashka, “only without the girls. Whoever wants can stay after.”

“Yes, yes,” the boys buzzed approvingly.

“Now – about relations in the family. How do you think – who must be the head in a family?”

The question was provocative. A hubbub arose. The boys argued that it must be the husband. The girls – that it must be the wife, or at least both. They argued heatedly, with spirit. It struck a nerve! Stepashka chuckled and paced to and fro between the rows.

“All right,” he raised his hands up, calling for silence. “Attention – the correct answer. The head in the family is the husband.”

“Oh! Oh!” roared the boys approvingly, and just as disapprovingly – the girls.

“But that is only half the answer. The husband is not only the head in the family – he also bears responsibility for everything that happens in it.”

“So in everything the husband is guilty. Now that is right!” exclaimed Kolchina.

“Do you know why the wife is called ‘zhena’?” asked Igor Stepanovich.

“Why?”

The teacher wrote on the board the word zhena (“wife”).

“The word zhena answers the question ‘whose?’”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in the sense – whose is she, to whom does she belong.”

Vorontsov again took the chalk.

“The word zhena comes from muzhena (man’s),” he added those two letters at the front. “That is, whose? The man’s. And in Holy Scripture it is said: ‘Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’”

“No, Igor Stepanovich!” cried Vika Rakitskaya and even stood up from her desk. “I don’t agree!”

Vika was a beautiful, stately girl, the kind people rarely passed without a glance – but she was so cold and proud that not a single boy in the school dared court her. She had transferred into their class only two years earlier, and in that time she had not become close with anyone, had not made friends, sat alone at her desk, and was not in the least troubled by it.

“What do you not agree with?” the teacher asked again.

“I will never in my life submit to any man!” Vika drew herself up to her full height and proudly lifted her head. In her whole appearance she embodied the correctness and unshakeability of these words.

“Victoria, dear,” said Vorontsov gently. “The fact that you do not wish to submit to anyone means only that you have not yet met in your life a man to whom you would want to submit… Sit down.”

Vika sat. The teacher continued.

“And since there are fewer and fewer such men…”

“Men have shrunk,” inserted Natasha Chernikina in a philosophical tone.

“…therefore the likelihood that you will meet him decreases with every day. But if it does happen, you will forget in an instant all your pride and arrogance, and run after him like a little dog, to the very ends of the earth. You’ll remember my words then… By the way – remember the film Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears?”

“Yes,” most of the class responded.

“Well there – that’s exactly the situation.”

“And still, Igor Stepanovich, it isn’t fair. The husband, it turns out, may command as much as he likes, and the wife must submit all the time?” declared Chernikina. “I think they must have equal rights.”

“You simply cannot understand,” said the teacher with annoyance. “We just said that husband and wife are one flesh, one organism. They share one existence and both must labor to build up their family. There can be no talk of ‘rights’ at all. What rights does the stomach have in relation to the liver? Or the hand in relation to the eye? You are concerned about equality… Tell me, will a plane fly if the passengers have equal rights to steer it along with the pilot? Everyone in a family has his own function, his own place, his own service. In the family, by the way, egoism and altruism are most strongly revealed, of which we spoke last time. Compare, please, two phrases,” he took the chalk and began to write on the board: “‘I want to have a wife’ – and the second: ‘I want to be a husband.’ What is the difference? The difference is that in the first case the person wants to take, and in the second – to give. And I urge you to set your minds precisely on the second variant: ‘I want to be a husband.’ ‘I want to be a wife.’ And you can strengthen this sense still further: ‘I want to be a good wife.’ Well then, remember? The man is the head of the family, he makes the decisions, and he also bears all the responsibility. Let us go on…”

“Igor Stepanovich,” said Kolya Nechayev, “well, that also is unfair. The wife is also at fault sometimes.”

“I am not saying the wife is never at fault. I am speaking of responsibility. In the end, it is the man who proposes marriage, and not the other way around. So he is guilty in everything.”

“Yes!” confirmed Chernikina.

“Well then – you are married,” Igor Stepanovich clapped his hands. “The honeymoon is over. That’s all. Real life begins. With all its joys and hardships. Well, with joys you’ll cope yourselves. But we shall speak about crises in family life.”

“What a word – ‘crisis,’ so unromantic,” said Liza Sorokina.

“You only ever want romance,” turned Kolya Nechayev to her.

“Yes!” cried Liza. “Imagine that!”

“Crisis… yes, the word is unpleasant. But that you will have one, that is one hundred percent certain. Believe me,” Vorontsov laid his hand on his heart. “Inevitably you will be visited by thoughts like: ‘How could I have married such an idiot?’”

The class laughed.

“Or the husband will surely someday think: ‘How could I have married such a fool?’”

The laughter grew even louder.

“Yes, yes – it will come. But the main thing to understand in such cases is that this is all temporary, it will pass. Again the sun will shine, and again you will say: ‘Well, she is not such a fool after all… and really, I was lucky to get her.’ And if you already have children, try to look at your spouse through the children’s eyes. ‘Yes, she’s a fool, and not beautiful, and nags for no reason, and all that… but my children love her.’ Or: ‘Yes, he drinks, and comes home late, and doesn’t give me attention… but for my children he is the very best.’ Try to think like that then – it helps a hundred percent.”

Crises in a family can be of many kinds. Spouses grow estranged, start concealing things, cannot reach agreement even on trifles. Each says to himself: “Yes, it’s a trifle, but if I give in now, she’ll climb on my neck completely.” And off they go, proving their own rightness… Again, discord in sex… also a very telling sign.

The first year of married life is the hardest. Half of all divorces happen in the first year…

“Why?” someone shouted.

“Because people learn many new and unexpected things about each other. For example, the husband throws dirty socks all over the apartment, or splatters the bathroom mirror with toothpaste. A trifle… but you know how such trifles irritate. To adjust to each other takes time. And people sometimes do not want to adjust. They say: ‘Do as I say, and that’s all!’ But he does not want to, for all his life he did things differently.”

“And what should one do?” asked Ira Golubeva.

“What to do – you decide for yourselves. I shall tell you what not to do. Write it down. Five ‘nevers.’ What must never be done when a crisis comes in family life. Of course, one could invent more… So then, the first ‘never.’ Never close up in yourself. Stop talking to each other. Especially women like to do this…”

“There! Again you are picking on women!” protested Chernikina.

“What can I do?” Igor Stepanovich smiled and spread his hands. “They like it… They think something over and go around sulking. You ask: ‘What?’ – silence. Again: ‘What?’ – silence. Then – bang! – an explosion! You say: ‘Well why didn’t you say before?’ And she: ‘You should have guessed…’ So – talk with each other, explain what you like, what you don’t like, explain, ask… praise each other more often.” He saw how the class was giggling and said: “And by the way, an absolutely indispensable thing in family life is a sense of humor. Sometimes without turning everything into a joke, it is simply impossible to go on. So laugh, laugh heartily – and first of all, at yourselves. One sage said: ‘The greatest follies in the world are committed with a clever expression on one’s face.’”

The second ‘never.’ Never take steps that are then very difficult or even impossible to undo. For example, you quarrel. She picks up and throws at him… in one case, a plate; in another – the wedding ring. Do you feel the difference? A plate you can gather up and throw out, and later buy a new one. But to put the wedding ring back on – that is very, very difficult.

“Hence the conclusion,” shouted Dima Goncharuk, “throw plates at each other.”

“In general, there is such a saying: ‘You cannot put minced meat back together.’ Remember that always.”

The students laughed.

The third ‘never’ logically follows from the second. Never say phrases like: ‘I’m not keeping you,’ or ‘If you are like that, then we’d better part,’ and the like. As a rule, these phrases are spoken with entirely opposite intent. A woman, for example, shouts: ‘Go away!’ but in her heart thinks: ‘Don’t you dare do it!’ But you know, there is a proverb: ‘Don’t spit into the well – what flies out, you won’t catch.’ So… Think what a man will most likely answer when told ‘go away’? That he will at once start bowing and saying: ‘Oh my darling, I’ll never leave you.’ Though this is precisely what the woman dreams to hear.

The fourth “never” is almost the same as the third. One must never set ultimatums for each other. To say something like: “If you go with your friends to the football match, then don’t bother coming home afterwards.” What will he most likely say? Exactly. He’ll say: “Well then I won’t come.” Or, for example, he says: “If you don’t iron my shirt on time once more, and I’m late to a meeting because of you, I’ll pack up and go live with my mother.” Even if your other half is frightened by such an ultimatum, afterwards he or she will always be looking for a chance to get even. So – he won’t go to that football match, and then he’ll start tormenting his wife with all sorts of petty nagging, while justifying himself: “Well, I didn’t go to football, did I?” In short, nothing good ever comes from ultimatums.

And the fifth “never.” Never, when you are sorting things out with each other, say: “But in that family over there, they do it this way.” Especially you must never cite your own parents as an example: “In my family my father always did such-and-such, and you…”

“Oh!” exclaimed Gena Belyaev. “But my mom always says that!”

“Well, and what of it?” asked Igor Stepanovich. “Does anything good come of it?”

Gena at once grew crestfallen.

“Nope.”

“Every family is unique. And the relations that form there – they form there. You cannot blindly transfer someone else’s experience, even a positive one, into your own family, if even one of the spouses does not accept it. I told you that the man in the family must be the head. But that is in general, as a rule. Sometimes it is the opposite. I know several families in which the husbands sit under their wives’ heels and don’t want to crawl out. They are quite content there. And what of it? Should we intrude with our rules? If they are happy that way, let them live so.

In general, remember – your family is unique and unrepeatable. No one but you can build and strengthen it. No one can make you happy instead of you. Only you yourselves. And for this you must labor, exert effort, create your family. And then as a result of this labor, of jointly overcoming difficulties, will arise that very real love of which you dream.”

Igor Stepanovich fell silent. The lesson, it seemed, was over. The students were digesting what had been said. And then came Kolya Nechayev’s cry:

“Igor Stepanovich, you deceived us! You promised to tell us about condoms.”

The teacher sighed.

“Well then, listen about condoms…” He paced in front of the teacher’s desk, gathering his thoughts. “There is such a thing as contraception. Though in itself the notion is rather absurd: ‘Unwanted children.’ Sounds wild, doesn’t it? Well, never mind… Contraceptive means are of various kinds: condoms, intrauterine devices, caps, pills, and so on.”

“Plea-e-ease, slower,” joked Kolya. “I’m writing it down.”

“All that is not the main point. The main point is that all contraceptive means are divided into two categories…”

“Oral and…” someone sneered, and everyone laughed.

“No – contraceptives are divided into abortive and non-abortive.”

“How so?”

“As you know from your anatomy course, in the seventh grade, I think, in a woman’s reproductive organs an ovum matures, which is then fertilized by a sperm cell. Then this already fertilized ovum – and as we said last time, in essence this is already a human being – must still reach the uterus and implant there, and then grow. Now, non-abortive means prevent the fertilization of the ovum, while the others, abortive, do not let the already fertilized ovum reach the uterus. In that case a mini-abortion occurs. The same dreadful murder of a new life, about which we already spoke.”

Everyone at once recalled Vorontsov standing on the teacher’s desk.

“So then, not to clutter your heads with excessive detail, I will tell you that except for this beloved condom of yours, almost all the other means are abortive in effect. Now about it, the condom… The condom, like all other means, does not guarantee one hundred percent against conception. Moreover, the condom does not guarantee protection from AIDS and other venereal diseases. Nowadays it has become fashionable to fight AIDS, and they hang noodles on everyone’s ears: ‘Safe sex, safe sex.’ All of it is lies! A condom protects from AIDS only ninety percent, with a little bit over.”

“Well, but still it does protect,” someone tried to object.

“And do you know what ninety percent means,” Igor Stepanovich did not let him finish. “Ninety percent means – ten sexual acts with an HIV-infected person – and you have one hundred percent infection. And what are ten times? If you wish, that can be done in one day.”

The students smiled.

“From other venereal diseases the condom protects even less. So – think with your head. Well then, that’s all I wanted to tell you… Lesson over.”

Everyone began rising from their desks.

“Igor Stepanovich, so are we staying?” the boys asked.

Stepashka nodded.

When the girls had left the classroom, Vorontsov, in a comradely way, perched on a desk, and the boys sat around him.

“To begin with, vagabonds, I’ll reveal to you a terrible military secret.”

The “vagabonds” perked up their attention. Stepashka raised his index finger high and proclaimed:

“Woman – is also a human being!”

All exhaled:

“O-o-oh!”

“I bet,” said Igor Stepanovich, “that you don’t think so right now. You look at women as if they were food. Right?”

Some lowered their eyes, embarrassed.

“But a woman is also a human being,” Vorontsov repeated, “and one must treat her as a human being. There is such a law: ‘What a man sows, that shall he also reap.’ Before doing something to a girl, think that someone may do the same to your sister, your future daughter. If you agree, then… You’re going out with some girl… Try to imagine yourself in the place of her, say, father. Look at yourself from that point of view.”

“Igor Stepanovich, and women’s secrets?”

The teacher shrugged his shoulders.

“Every woman has her own secret. Figure them out… Don’t try to remake a woman after your own pattern, better make it so that she herself wants to become what you want. Some of them, you know, even say: ‘Love me as I am, and I will become what you want me to be.’ And here is another secret. Do you know what every wife wants from her husband? Each has, of course, her own ‘wants,’ but all of them want this. Each wants from her husband good sex and a good salary.”

“Well, that we can manage easily,” the students perked up, clearly meaning the first.

“Don’t be so sure,” objected Igor Stepanovich. “Right now you are so mighty, but ten, fifteen, twenty years will pass… Beer, a soft sofa, television… You’ll grow a belly like this” – he showed with his hands a huge paunch – “and that’s the end. And what is the wife to do? It is then you will have to show your manly strength, not now. By the way, the peak of female sexuality is approximately from thirty-two to thirty-seven, and for many even after forty. What will you be like at that age? So – you must do sports, not drink, not smoke, and so forth.”

“So, it turns out, we must now look for women who are already thirty?” mockingly asked Andrei Portnovsky. “And you – those who are younger?”

“No.” Igor Stepanovich looked intently at Portnovsky. “First of all, I personally have already found mine. And second – sex, of course, is a very important side of family life, but by no means the only one, nor even the most important. And do not forget the second point – the salary. When the husband does not provide for the needs of the family, problems may arise. Not every wife can bear that,” here he sighed deeply. “Therefore you must strive to get a good education, to find a good job. Nowadays it is difficult, the times are such… Well, in general, men, you understand, yes?” said Vorontsov, rising. “To be a man is first of all responsibility. For your wife, for your children.” He paced thoughtfully across the classroom. “In general, a man must always answer for his actions. And always know exactly what he wants. To know what he is doing, why and for what. Especially in relations with girls. Girls… they, for example, can kiss, or even more… just like that, under the influence of the moment, of surging feelings, without realizing it at all. Well, that’s how they are. But a man – no. A man simply has no right to. A man must always understand what he is doing and what he wants. If he kisses, then he must know why he is doing it and, most importantly – what comes next?”

Igor Stepanovich again sat on the desk.

“And here’s another women’s secret. There’s a saying: ‘It’s very difficult to argue with a naked woman.’”

The students laughed.

“So why argue with her? One should right away…”

“Oh,” sighed the teacher, “among the young men I knew, there were several who acted just like that, ‘right away…’ So one of them then lost his apartment, and another threw himself out the window. Thank God he lived. Shrewd women snared them, green boys, and did with them whatever they wanted.” He smirked. “In Ukraine they say in such cases: ‘She grabbed him by the balls with a rope and leads him wherever she wants.’”

There was another burst of laughter.

“Yes, that happens. And quite often. It happens that girls… well, more often already grown, experienced women, drag lads into bed themselves, in order later to marry them or to get something else from them. And when she is naked – with her you cannot argue. And you marry, and you sign over the apartment to her, and who knows what else you do. That’s how they fool our brother. The conclusion – never let such situations arise, when they… well, in short, when with them you cannot argue.” Vorontsov pondered for a moment. “But it also happens the other way around,” he continued after a pause. “It happens that a man desires a woman so strongly that it seems he will die if he does not get her at once. A classic such case is described in the Bible, in the Second Book of Samuel. There it tells how one of King David’s sons, Amnon, burned with violent passion for his half-sister Tamar. In the end, by trickery, he remained alone with her and said straight out: ‘Lie with me.’ And she answered that it is not done so, that he should speak to the king, that is to David, and he would not refuse to give her to him. But Amnon did not listen to her, did not wish to wait. Did not wish to bind himself with those little stamps in the passport, and did violate her. And then, literally at once after the deed, he hated her so that, as the Bible says, his hatred was greater than the love he had felt. So – if you, God forbid of course, ever experience such a powerful desire for a woman that you neither want to wait nor to marry, but want to take her here and now, then know… most likely, that woman will become repulsive to you as soon as you get what you want. Well, maybe not after the first time, but she will certainly become repulsive.”

The teacher again paced a little across the classroom.

“You see – whichever way you turn it, everything comes back to chastity. Purity of relations before is the guarantee of happiness after. In general, remember this: feelings are like a river – the more turbulent, the shallower; the calmer, the deeper and more lasting. Well, that’s all. Lesson over. Thank you for your attention.”

“Thank you, Igor Stepanovich,” said Zalesky, smiling broadly. “We’ll now – no-no until marriage. We won’t even kiss.”

“Yes, by the way, I forgot to warn you – tomorrow we have a test in geometry. Tell the girls.”

The students made for the door.

“Goodbye, Igor Stepanovich.”

“Thank you, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, children,” Stepashka went to the side room for his things.

When he came back into the classroom, he saw Vasya Belov, the very one who once, in the fifth grade, went to their then homeroom teacher, Anna Alexeyevna, to apologize for broken windows.

“What is it, Belov?”

“Igor Stepanovich, what happened to him afterwards? Well, to that one… what’s his name… Amnon?”

“He was killed,” Stepashka answered. “Killed by Tamar’s brother, Absalom… for that very thing.”

But that was not the main question Vasya wished to ask the teacher. Shy, with eyes lowered, he asked:

“Igor Stepanovich… uh… that is… I wanted to ask… What should one do, if, as you say, you desire so much that you simply cannot bear it?”

“O-o-oh,” said Igor Stepanovich, “that, brother, is a whole science. How to overcome the passions that live within you.” He thought for several minutes. “You know, the most effective remedy is pain…”

Belov raised surprised eyes to the teacher.

“Yes, yes,” Stepashka repeated. “Pain. Ordinary physical pain. The stronger, the better,” he smiled. “Well, of course we are not masochists. So let us move to the second remedy. And in second place stands labor. Hard, exhausting labor. Then comes hunger. And then everything else: not to touch, not to look, not to think, to occupy yourself with useful work. But most important is not even this. The most important thing is God’s help. So: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you…’ Well then? Till we meet again, Belov?”

“Yes, yes. Thank you. Goodbye.”

To be continued…

The previous episode of the book is available here.