s in a totally
alien environment, a completely unknown situation. "I'm fine," he said
at last.

She nodded. "You get plenty sleep, all right. Like dead, except when you
talk to yourself."

Then he _had_ spoken in delirium. "How ... how long was I out?"

"Three days," she said flatly. "Almost four." She paused. "You ship
leave."

"Leave?" The Guesser said blankly. "The _Naipor_? Gone?" It seemed as if
the world had dropped away from his feet, leaving him to fall endlessly
through nothingness. It was true, of course. It didn't take more than
twenty-four hours to unload the ship's holds, and, since there had been
no intention of reloading, there was no need to stay. He had long
overstayed the scheduled take-off time.

It created a vacuum in his mind, a hole in his very being that could
never be filled by anything else. The ship was his whole life--his home,
his work, his security.

"How did you know about the ship?" he asked in a dazed voice.

"A notice," she said. She fished around in one of the big pockets of the
gray dress and her hand came out with a crumpled sheet of glossy paper.
She handed it to him silently. It was a Breach of Contract notice.

WANTED
_for_
BREACH OF CONTRACT

JAIM JAKOM DIEGO

AGE: 35
HEIGHT: 185 cm
WEIGHT: 96 kg
HAIR: black
EYES: blue
COMPLXN: fair

Jaim Jakom Diego, Spacetech 3rd Guesser, broke contract with
Interstellar Trade Corporation on 3/37/119 by failing to report for
duty aboard home merchantship _Naipor_ on that date. All citizens
are notified hereby that said Jaim Jakom Diego is unemployable
except by the ITC, and that he has no housing, clothing, nor
subsistance rights on any planet, nor any right to transportation
of any kind.

STANDARD REWARD PLUS BONUS FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST OF
THIS MAN

The Guesser looked at the picture that accompanied the notice. It was an
old one, taken nearly fifteen years before. It didn't look much like him
any more. But that didn't matter; even if he was never caught, he still
had no place to go. A runaway had almost no chance of remaining a
runaway for long. How would he eat? Where would he live?

He looked up from the sheet, into the woman's face. She looked back with
a flat, unwavering gaze. He knew now why she had been addressing him as
an equal, even though she knew he was Class Three.

"Why