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seemed con-tent merely to flirt and tease. That suited him well enough. The verbal play was welcome,
particularly since the rest of the passengers seemed an unusually dull lot. Interesting conversation can be
hard to come by when you're a lot smarter than everyone else. Especially if you tend, as Evan did, to
spend most of the time talking about yourself and your own achievements.
The girl, however, seemed more than willing to sit and listen to him for as long as he chose to spin stories
of his admirable accomplishments. Her name was Mylith.
"So you're going all the way to Repler?
He laughed. "Nobody goes that far."
"This ship does."
"Just some of the cargo."
"Oh. I hadn't thought of that." In one hand she held half a dozen glass straws. They were fused together.
Each was a different color and each contained a different liqueur. She would sip from one straw and then
move on to another as he talked.
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The dress never became more than milkily translucent. Never transparent. The guessing game it forced
on his eyes was still intriguing.
"Where are you getting off?" she asked.
"Inter-Kansastan. Genetics conference."
She made a face. "Sounds dull."
"It probably will be. Ours not to reason why, though. Just to do what the company tells us to."
"I suppose. I'm not quite so enthusiastic." She put a hand on his knee. "Where else have you been? You
said this was your third trip out."
He told her about the conference on Earth and the vacation on New Riviera, and she didn't ask him
about his destination again, but for some reason he still felt uncomfortable. No reason to. He was just
nervous. Ask-ing a fellow traveler his destination was perfectly normal shipboard conversation.
Eventually they returned to the subject of her unique attire. With a sophistication that belied her age and
which he found slightly offputting, she allowed as how since he found it so interesting, he might lice to see
the rest of her wardrobe. He thought about the invitation long and hard before explaining that he was
really very tired and had a lot of reading to catch up on before retiring. If she was disappointed she didn't
show it, but she didn't approach him again. From time to time over the next few days he saw her talking
to other passengers and occasionally a crew member. He wondered if she'd made any successful
assignations since he'd turned her down.
By the time she departed on an intersystem shuttle he was mad at himself for having passed on what
might have been a memorable opportunity. He'd always been over-cautious. His mind assured him he'd
done the right thing. It was not the time for extracurricular involvements. Secrecy and a low profile at all
costs. But the rest of his body was pretty uppset at the decision.
The great slip drove on through space-plus, following a course through a region of abstruse mathematics
only advanced computers could understand, passengers and crew confident that they would emerge in
the right place relative to the rest of the universe when they dropped below light speed and back into
normal space. Two more such jumps relieved the ship of all its passengers save one.
A last jump put them in orbit around an unnamed world.
The company officer who carne for Evan as he was using his window scanner to examine the
cloud-shrouded world below looked like a gnome misplaced in time. A tall gnome. Save for a few
lingering brown patches, his hair was pure white. He wore a neatly pointed beard and walked with a
slight stoop, further enhancing his fairy-tale appearance. That is an impolite analogy, Evan told himself.
There is nothing fairy-tailish about a spinal defect modern medicine couldn't fix.
He looked to be in his late seventies and his voice was strong and sure. A man accustomed to giving
orders. He was polite to Evan but not deferential.
"So you are the one they selected."
"Yes, I'm the one they selected. Time to go?"
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The older man nodded. "You've seen the MHW? Fine. Let's get you suited up. I'm not supposed to
linger in this vicinity any longer than necessary."
Evan indicated the light green comfort suit he was wearing. "What about this one and the rest of my
personal belongings?
"That looks suitable for an inferior lining. Light and smooth. We'll see to the rest of your stuff. You won't
need what you've got on now inside the MHW, but you'll want to have something more comfortable to
wear around the station."
"Then what I've got on will do. You're sure I won't need anything else down below?"
The older man grinned. Evan couldn't tell the pros-thetic teeth from the real ones. "The suit will take care
of all your needs, including those you haven't thought of yet. I've been well briefed on this mission. That's
quite a toy you're going to have to play with. I'm Garrett, by the way."
"First name or last?"
"Middle."
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