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yourself."
"None of us is doin' good here."
Kerwin turned back to Rail, indicated the far wall. "How long do you think
they'll give us?"
"No way to know. Much depends I should think on how the battle progresses. For
now they must be fully occupied in trying to defeat the
Isotat. I wish we knew how the conflict was turning."
"Yeah." Seeth was pacing nervously. "You can't see nuthin' in this dump."
"Our prospects are certainly less than sanguine," the Prufillian declared. "If
the Sikan win, we are doomed. If they begin to lose they will try to destroy
everything, lest it fall back into Isotat tentacles." A faint smile appeared
on his manicured face. "I would like to be present to see them try to destroy
Izmir. I am not sure he can be harmed by ordinary means."
"Don't be too sure," said Seeth. "These snails pack more than Saturday night
specials and zipguns."
Izmir had spread himself thinner, molding himself more tightly to Miranda's
shape while still avoiding actual con-tact. "He makes a neat dress," she
observed, looking down at herself. "I mean, like, you just can't find colors
like this even in the best material. It's like you're not wearing anything
because you aren't."
"Matter of fact," Seeth commented thoughtfully, "you aren't wearing Izmir.
He's wearing you."
"Well, whatever. He's certainly cool and comfortable."
"You humans." Rail was shaking his head. "One of the wonders of the universe
and she sees it only in terms of a piece of clothing."
"That's consistent," Kerwin pointed out. "She sees everything in terms of
clothing. So you think that no matter what happens we've bought the farm?"
"Agriculture does not enter into it, friend Kerwin. Oh, I suppose the Isotat
might find a way to take us back, though their transport system does not seem
to be as efficient as that of the Sikan. But the chance exists, if not the
likelihood. At least they are from our own galaxy. The Sikan are true
outsiders, in the most extreme sense of the term. I can hardly credit that any
race would find Izmir of such interest that they would take the time and
effort required to make a transgalactic crossing simply in hopes of studying
him."
Kerwin was watching as Izmir shifted lazily around Miranda, changing color and
form as he did so. "Maybe the Sikan know something we don't. Maybe
Izmir has talents and abilities he hasn't revealed yet."
"You don't know the half of it," said a new voice quite unexpectedly.
As unexpected as the presence of a short humanoid figure, which had
materialized in the far corner of their cage. He was flanked by two
companions, none standing more than three feet high. They were stocky but not
squat. One wore a light green three-piece suit, the second shorts and a
long-sleeved blue and puce shirt, and the third an outrageously loud, plaid
business suit, complete with a wide tie featuring a painted portrait of a nude
woman on a shocking purple background.
A contented grin spread across Kerwin's face. "That's fine. It doesn't matter
what the Sikan do now because I've finally gone out of my mind."
"Then we all have," Rail told him, "because I see them too."
The three little men walked over and the one in the middle stuck out his hand.
"Allow me to make an intro-duction of myself. I am Brittle."
Not knowing what else to do, Kerwin shook the small hand. The grip was firm
without being quite normal. As he drew back his palm, a gentle tingling
tickled the skin.
"Aren't they cute?" Miranda commented as Izmir con-tinued to twist and wind
around her like a barber pole on vacation.
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"Cute, hell," Seeth sniffed. "Catch those threads. Where'd you get the clown
suit, Jack?"
The man in the plaid, whose name was Odenaw, replied, "We wished our
appearance to be as harmless and familiar as possible so we would not shock
you. You have suffered too many shocks already."
Kerwin's gaze narrowed. "How do you know how many shocks we've been through?"
"Oh, we've been monitoring your situation from the beginning. We'd been hoping
things would calm down so we could approach you differently."
The third little man said nothing. He kept staring at Miranda. No, not at
Miranda, Kerwin realized, but at the manner in which Izmir had draped himself
around her.
"Everything's gotten a bit out of hand," Odenaw concluded.
"You could say that," Kerwin agreed. "It started with two Oomemians trying to
arrest a bowling ball, and now we've got two galaxies competing for
possession."
"Oh, there's more than that involved," said Brittle. "You've no idea how much
more."
"I didn't think there was anything more." He could say whatever he wanted to
now, Kerwin realized, because he was obviously completely mad. "You know all
about the Sikan, right?"
"Oh, we've been around," Odenaw told him. He was tugging on the lapels of his
plaid jacket. "It's no big deal. You've seen one galaxy, you've seen 'em all.
Massive quasars now those are worth detouring to visit, but ordi-nary galaxies
are common as hydrogen. Even the food's pretty much the same."
"How did you get here? I mean, in here, with us?" Rail demanded. "I have just
about decided that you are real and I am not imagining you, though you could
be a trick of the Sikan to unnerve us. Mass delusions are not unknown."
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