“You shouldn’t be afraid of him,” Rydra told the Officer. “But he’s—” During his search for a word, he wondered, How did she know? “Where in five hells did he come from?” “He’s an Earthman. Though I believe he was born en route from Arcturus to one of the Centauris. His mother was a Slug, I think, if he wasn’t lying about that too. Lome tells tall tales.” “You mean all that getup is cosmetisurgery?” “Um-hm.” Rydra started down the stairs. “But why the devil do they do that to themselves? They’re all so weird. That’s why decent people won’t have anything to do with them.” “Sailors used to get
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