sickening wrench of... something that threatened to deposit his stomach inside his braincase. Then Dillingham found himself seated on Trach's soft underbelly, both of them jammed into a corner.
Trach snapped around, snake-like, and set him on his feet. "I meant to warn you, Doctor. The shift into overdrive is sometimes a little sticky. I'm used to it, but you could have been hurt. Are you all right?"
"Yes," Dillingham replied, unsettled.
"From here on it will be perfectly smooth," Trach said. "Once this tub makes it through the shift, she's safe—until the shift back. That won't be for a couple of days, your time. We can relax."
Dillingham decided to take him at his word. "Thank you for all your trouble."
Trach touched a button on a complicated machine. "You over-rate the service I performed," he said modestly. "Ordinarily I would be offered a fair commission for straightening out the Gleep problem. But I accepted your contract in lieu of that, and it's worth—"
"A ton of frumpstiggle."
"Which is several times my normal fee. That is a credit my account sorely needs. If I had failed to give satisfaction—"
The machine spewed out a mass of green material resembling fresh cabbage leaves.
"So you weren't just being nice, helping me out?"
"Doctor, it is my business to be nice, and to get paid for it. Too often I'm never given the opportunity. We'll find some attractive disposition for your contract, maybe a semi-private practice on Electrolus similar to the one you had on Earth, and both of us will gain. May I offer you something to eat?"
"That's—food?" Dillingham eyed the armful of leaves.
"Greenchomp, in your idiom. It's the only sustenance my species can tolerate. But the synthesizer can be adjusted for other things—usually. What would you prefer?"
Dillingham contemplated the machine. "I'm not hungry at the moment," he said. "What did you mean about never being given the opportunity to be nice? If you're a diplomat—"
"Free-lance. That means I'm my own boss, but if I don't produce, I starve. I go from mission to mission, and I was doing well enough until recently. But now—well, if I don't make good on Electrolus, I'll be awkwardly near insolvency. I'll have to scratch to provision my ship for the next hop, and that means—"
"Don't tell me. Let me guess. That means you'll have to auction off my contract to the highest bidder."
"Something like that. And I'm afraid they don't offer as much for compatible locations. There's always a fierce demand for doctors and dentists in the radium mines of Ra, because—"
"My curiosity just radiated away. Let's agree that your problem is my problem, and see if we can't solve it."
"If only we could. But it baffles me."
"You seemed to handle the Gleep affair readily enough. I'm no judge, of course, but if you know your job and work at it, I can't see why you should have any difficulties." It was amazing how quickly they had got on intimate terms. The confirmation of Trach's leafy diet and the image of deadly radium mines might have contributed something, however.
"I agree. But somehow I haven't made the grade recently, except on Gleep."
Tell me about it," Dillingham said. "Believe me, I am exceedingly interested."
Trach flexed his tail restlessly. "Consider my last assignment. The planet of Bolt engaged me to set up formal relations with the world of Gulp and arrange for a cultural exchange. I mastered the difficult language of Gulp—it's a glottal dialect—and trained myself to be adept at every nuance of planetary etiquette before setting one webbed foot there. I rehearsed my ritual compliments industriously. I'm sure everything was correct—yet I never got to meet the representatives with whom I had to deal. Despite my numerous hints, then: monarch did not see fit to provide me with the necessary appointments, and finally my lease expired with nothing accomplished. I had to forfeit the commission." His tail slapped the deck in frustration. "How can I be
Trach snapped around, snake-like, and set him on his feet. "I meant to warn you, Doctor. The shift into overdrive is sometimes a little sticky. I'm used to it, but you could have been hurt. Are you all right?"
"Yes," Dillingham replied, unsettled.
"From here on it will be perfectly smooth," Trach said. "Once this tub makes it through the shift, she's safe—until the shift back. That won't be for a couple of days, your time. We can relax."
Dillingham decided to take him at his word. "Thank you for all your trouble."
Trach touched a button on a complicated machine. "You over-rate the service I performed," he said modestly. "Ordinarily I would be offered a fair commission for straightening out the Gleep problem. But I accepted your contract in lieu of that, and it's worth—"
"A ton of frumpstiggle."
"Which is several times my normal fee. That is a credit my account sorely needs. If I had failed to give satisfaction—"
The machine spewed out a mass of green material resembling fresh cabbage leaves.
"So you weren't just being nice, helping me out?"
"Doctor, it is my business to be nice, and to get paid for it. Too often I'm never given the opportunity. We'll find some attractive disposition for your contract, maybe a semi-private practice on Electrolus similar to the one you had on Earth, and both of us will gain. May I offer you something to eat?"
"That's—food?" Dillingham eyed the armful of leaves.
"Greenchomp, in your idiom. It's the only sustenance my species can tolerate. But the synthesizer can be adjusted for other things—usually. What would you prefer?"
Dillingham contemplated the machine. "I'm not hungry at the moment," he said. "What did you mean about never being given the opportunity to be nice? If you're a diplomat—"
"Free-lance. That means I'm my own boss, but if I don't produce, I starve. I go from mission to mission, and I was doing well enough until recently. But now—well, if I don't make good on Electrolus, I'll be awkwardly near insolvency. I'll have to scratch to provision my ship for the next hop, and that means—"
"Don't tell me. Let me guess. That means you'll have to auction off my contract to the highest bidder."
"Something like that. And I'm afraid they don't offer as much for compatible locations. There's always a fierce demand for doctors and dentists in the radium mines of Ra, because—"
"My curiosity just radiated away. Let's agree that your problem is my problem, and see if we can't solve it."
"If only we could. But it baffles me."
"You seemed to handle the Gleep affair readily enough. I'm no judge, of course, but if you know your job and work at it, I can't see why you should have any difficulties." It was amazing how quickly they had got on intimate terms. The confirmation of Trach's leafy diet and the image of deadly radium mines might have contributed something, however.
"I agree. But somehow I haven't made the grade recently, except on Gleep."
Tell me about it," Dillingham said. "Believe me, I am exceedingly interested."
Trach flexed his tail restlessly. "Consider my last assignment. The planet of Bolt engaged me to set up formal relations with the world of Gulp and arrange for a cultural exchange. I mastered the difficult language of Gulp—it's a glottal dialect—and trained myself to be adept at every nuance of planetary etiquette before setting one webbed foot there. I rehearsed my ritual compliments industriously. I'm sure everything was correct—yet I never got to meet the representatives with whom I had to deal. Despite my numerous hints, then: monarch did not see fit to provide me with the necessary appointments, and finally my lease expired with nothing accomplished. I had to forfeit the commission." His tail slapped the deck in frustration. "How can I be
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