be licked."

"Good--get on it right away."

"I'm starting tomorrow."

"Fine--I thought you'd be the right man. Kara! Fix the doctor a drink.
We might as well have a nightcap--then I'll go back to the house and
listen to Henry and Anne's screams about poor mistreated Douglas, and
then back to Albertsville tomorrow. Duty and the credits call."

With mild surprise, Kennon realized that Alexander was drunk. Not
obnoxiously, but enough to change his character. Intoxicated, he was a
friendlier person. If there was any truth in the ancient cliche
about alcohol bringing out a man's true character, then Alexander was
basically a very nice person indeed.

"Well--here's your home for the next five years," Alexander said. "Eight
rooms, two baths, a freshener, and three Lani to keep the place running.
You've got it made."

"Perhaps--we'll see when we tackle this fluke infestation. Personally, I
don't think I'm going to have an easy time. Tomorrow I'm going to be up
to my neck in trouble trying to save your profits."

"You'll do it. I have confidence in you."

"I still think you should have hired a medic."

"This isn't all of your job," Alexander said. "And besides I can't
afford to do it. Oh--not the money, but it might be admitting that the
Lani might be human. And we've gone to a great deal of trouble to prove
they're not." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "There's a story
behind this."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

"Maybe it'd be better if I told it. It goes back over four centuries.
Grandfather was a clever man. After he had secured this island he
became worried about the surviving Lani. He didn't want to be accused
of genocide, since the Lani were so human in appearance. So he had his
medical officer make a few autopsies. The M.D. reported that while there
was similarity, the Lani were probably not human.

"That was enough for Grandfather. He requested a Court of Inquiry. The
court was sitting in Halsey and the hearing was private. Even so, it
leaked and Grandfather was highly unpopular for a time until the lab
reports came in. It cost him over eight hundred Ems and nearly two
years' time to finish the case, but when it was over the Lani were
declared alien, and Grandfather had ironclad discovery rights.

"They really put him through the mill. Grandfather furnished the bodies
and three court-appointed M.O.'s went through them with microscopes.
They didn't miss a thing. Their reports are so detailed that they'r