The Colors of Space

"It's pretty badly swollen," the girl said, moving it gently. "Does that

hurt? I thought so."

Bart set his teeth against a cry. "It's all right, I tell you. Just

because it's black and blue--"

He heard her breath jolt out, her fingers clenched painfully on his

wounded wrist. She did not hear his cry this time. "And the sun was nice

and green," she whispered. "What are you?"

Bart felt himself slip sidewise; he thought for a moment that he would

faint where he sat. Terrified, he looked up at Meta. Their eyes met, and

she said, hardly moving her pale lips, "Your eyes--they're like mine.

Your eyelashes--dark, not white. You're not a Lhari!"

The pain in his wrist suddenly blurred everything else, but Meta

suddenly realized she was gripping it; she gave a little, gentle cry,

and cradled the abused wrist in her palm.

"No wonder you didn't want it X-rayed," she whispered. Biting her lip,

she glanced, terrified, at Karol, unconscious in the bunk. "No, he can't

hear us; I gave him a heavy shot of hypnin, poor fellow."

"Go ahead," Bart said bitterly, "yell for your keepers."

Her gray eyes blazed at him for a moment; then, gently, she laid his

wrist on the table, went to the infirmary door and locked it on the

inside. She turned around, her face white; even her lips had lost their

color. "Who are you?" she whispered.

"Does it matter now?"

Shocked comprehension swept over her face. "You don't think I'd tell

them," she whispered. "I heard talk, in the Procyon port, of a spy that

had managed to get through on a Lhari ship." Her face twisted. "You--you

must know about the man on the Multiphase, you know they'll--make sure

I can't--hide anything dangerous to the Lhari at the end of the voyage."

"Meta--" concern for her swept over him--"what will they do to you when

they find out that you know and--didn't tell?"

Her gray eyes were wide as a kitten's. "Why, nothing. The Lhari would

never hurt anyone, would they?"

Brainwashed? He set his mouth grimly. "I hope you never find out

different."

"Why would they need to?" she asked, reasonably. "They could just erase

the memory. I never heard of a Lhari actually hurting anyone. But

something like this--" She wavered, looking at him. "You look so much

like a Lhari! How was it done? How could they do it? Poor fellow, you

must be the--the loneliest man in the Universe!"