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dressed him in and showered. The tingling vibrations all over his skin made him feel better than he had
since he'd been a child.No standing in Linc. No worrying about the power running down before
your turn comes.
He examined the clothes that were stored in the bins next to the bed. They seemed too small for Linc to
wear, but when he tried on one of the shirts, it stretched fo fit his body exactly. The pants, too.
And there are dijferent colors!
One of the wall screens was strangely shaped, long enough to reach from ceiling to floor, and so narrow
that it was barely as wide as Linc's shoulders. And it was bright; it reflected everything in the room very
clearly. Linc had never heard of a mirror before, but he automatically used this one as he tried on clothes
of different colors.
He finally settled on a high-necked shirt that was almost the same shade of blue as his eyes, and a
dark-brown pair of pants. He found slippers in another bin, and even they adjusted their shape magically
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to fit his feet snugly.
"Hello!"
Linc jumped as if an electric shock sparked through him.
"Hello!" Jerlet's rough, husky voice called again. "Can you hear me?"
It was coming from a speaker grill in the ceiling, Linc realized. There was a viewing screen on the wall
facing the bed, but it was dark and dead.
"Look... I don't even remember your name, dammit. I, uh, listen son, I got very upset yesterday and I
acted like an idiot. I'm sorry."
Linc saw that there was a small keyboard on the table beside the bed. Frowning, he wondered if he
should touch any of the buttons.
"It won't do you any good to hide from me. You'll have to come out for food sooner or later," Jerlet was
saying. "And I really want to help you, son. Really I do. The way I acted yesterday... well, I'll explain it if
you'll give me a chance. At
least turn on one of the screens so I can talk to you face to face... what in hell is your name, anyway. I
know you told me, but you mentioned all those other names, too, and now I can't remember... guess I'm
getting old."
Linc stepped across to the table where the keyboard buttons glowed in their different colors. He felt as if
his head was spinning; not just from the low gravity, but from the effort to decide what he should do.
Slowly, reluctantly, he reached out for the buttons.
"If you want to turn on a screen," Jerlet was saying, "just punch the red button on any of the
keyboards "
Linc's outstretched finger touched the red button. Jerlet's haggard, stubbly face leaped into view on the
wall screen across the room.
He was still saying earnestly, "I know I acted like a madman last night, but I can explain... oh, there you
are!"
Linc gazed straight into Jerlet's eyes. They looked sad now. The pain was still there, but it was deeper,
covered over by sadness.
"Linc. My name is Linc."
Jerlet bobbed his head eagerly, making his fleshy jowls bounce. "Yep, that's right. Linc. You told me,
but I couldn't remember."
Linc started to reply, but found that he had nothing to say.
Jerlet filled in the silence. "I see you've cleaned up and changed clothes. Good! How about meeting me
in the autogalley? Got a lot of things to show you."
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"The autogalley?" Linc asked.
"The eating room. Where the food selector is."
"Oh.... Okay."
"Do you know how to find it from where you are?" Jerlet asked.
Linc nodded. "I can find it."
"Okay, good. I'll meet you there." The old man seemed genuinely happy.
He was still smiling when he eased his bulk through the doorway of the autogalley and glided toward
Linc. He stuck out a heavy, short-fingered hand.
"Linc, I dunno what kind of customs you kids have put together down in the living section, but it's an old
human custom
for two men to shake hands when they meet."
Thoroughly puzzled. Linc put his hand out.
" Jerlet waggled a finger at him. "No, no... the right hand."
With a shrug, Linc raised his right hand and let Jerlet grasp it firmly.The old man's a lot stronger than
he looks, he realized.
"Good!" Jerlet beamed. "Now we're formally met. Got so much to show you." He rubbed his hands
together. "Let's start with the food selector. Show you how that works."
They ate well. Jerlet showed Linc all sorts of new foods and tastes that he had never known before. As
the food began to make a comfortable warm glow in his middle, Linc found his worries and suspicions
about Jerlet melting away.
Then they were up and moving through the nearly weightless world of Jerlet. The old man showed Linc
the power generators, the mysterious humming machines that kept electricity going out to all parts of the
ship. Then the master computer, with its blinking lights and odd sing-song voices. And a room full of
servomechs, standing stiffly at attention, mechanical arms at their sides, sensors turned off.
"Are they dead?" Linc asked, his voice hushed.
"You mean deactivated," Jerlet replied in his normal booming tone. "Here... look, lemme show you." He
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