another.
"And she has only recently arrived on our world," asked one of those I did not know.
"Recently enough," he heard.
"She has been in the pens?" asked another, one of those I did not know.
"She has not been outside them since her arrival," said a man.
That was true. I had little, if any, idea of the nature of the world to which I had been brought.
"Are you interested in her?" asked one of the men I knew, one from the house.
"Have her stand, and turn," said a man. I heard the snapping of fingers.
Quickly I rose to my feet, and turned, before them.
"Interesting," said a man.
"Clasp your hands behind the back of your head," said a fellow from the house.
I complied.
"Arch your back," said another.
My left foot was now slightly advanced. I was bent backwards, my back arched. My hands were clasped behind the back of my head.
"Yes," said another. "Interesting.”
"Belly," said the fellow who had first spoken to me.
Instantly I returned to my belly, as I had been before, my head turned to the left, my arms back, down at my sides, my hands turned so that my palms, their softness, faced up, exposed.
The new fellows, those who were strangers in the house, I gathered, were not to be shown more, not without having requested it, it seemed, not without having, in effect, committed themselves to some degree, in virtue of the expression of some explicit, rather more tangible, interest. Those of the house were skilled in what they were doing.
"Perhaps we should look at others," said one of the fellows I did not know.
"We have items from various cities, and from villages and districts, brought in from time to time, requisitioned, and such," said the fellow from the house. "We have an excellent item from Besnit, blond, whose hair comes to her ankles.”
"It must be an outworlder," said a stranger, impatiently, he who seemed to be first among those I did not know.
"That was my understanding," agreed the fellow from the house.
"But there must be other outworlders," said one of the strangers, rather lightly.
"Yes, we still have several," said a fellow from the house. "As you recall, you looked upon them last night, by lamplight, while they slept, in their kennels. This one, as I understand it, was your choice.”
I lay there. I had not realized that I, and the others, had been looked upon last night, while we slept. There is, of course, no way to prevent that.
"You have seen the papers," said one of the fellows of the house to someone "You have seen the reports. You have spoken to the teachers, and trainers.”
"They have other outworlders," said the cautious fellow, one of the strangers.
"We do not have as many as we did," said a fellow of the house. "They tend to be distributed about. We get only our share. Too, of those we receive, we normally have orders for several.
Some we ship without training, to other houses and such. You must understand that, over the past few years, as their value has come to be more generally recognized, such items have become more popular.”
"And more expensive," observed a stranger, irritably.
"Sometimes," it was admitted.
"Are you sure you want an outworlder?" asked one of the fellows of the house.
"Yes," he was told.
"Given your specifications," said the fellow from the house, first among those of the house, "I really think this item is your likely choice.”
There was a silence.
"You must understand," said the fellow from the house, first among them, "that your specifications are not easy to fulfill. If an item is reasonably skillful in the language it is not likely to be ignorant of the world, and, if it is ignorant of the world, it is less likely to be adept with the language.”
"This one is intelligent?”
"Quite so, subject of course, as made clear, to her origin, and what she is.”
"Let us consider others," said the cautious fellow.
"We have seen them. We have examined their papers, and such," said the stranger who, I took it, was first among them.
"We have
"And she has only recently arrived on our world," asked one of those I did not know.
"Recently enough," he heard.
"She has been in the pens?" asked another, one of those I did not know.
"She has not been outside them since her arrival," said a man.
That was true. I had little, if any, idea of the nature of the world to which I had been brought.
"Are you interested in her?" asked one of the men I knew, one from the house.
"Have her stand, and turn," said a man. I heard the snapping of fingers.
Quickly I rose to my feet, and turned, before them.
"Interesting," said a man.
"Clasp your hands behind the back of your head," said a fellow from the house.
I complied.
"Arch your back," said another.
My left foot was now slightly advanced. I was bent backwards, my back arched. My hands were clasped behind the back of my head.
"Yes," said another. "Interesting.”
"Belly," said the fellow who had first spoken to me.
Instantly I returned to my belly, as I had been before, my head turned to the left, my arms back, down at my sides, my hands turned so that my palms, their softness, faced up, exposed.
The new fellows, those who were strangers in the house, I gathered, were not to be shown more, not without having requested it, it seemed, not without having, in effect, committed themselves to some degree, in virtue of the expression of some explicit, rather more tangible, interest. Those of the house were skilled in what they were doing.
"Perhaps we should look at others," said one of the fellows I did not know.
"We have items from various cities, and from villages and districts, brought in from time to time, requisitioned, and such," said the fellow from the house. "We have an excellent item from Besnit, blond, whose hair comes to her ankles.”
"It must be an outworlder," said a stranger, impatiently, he who seemed to be first among those I did not know.
"That was my understanding," agreed the fellow from the house.
"But there must be other outworlders," said one of the strangers, rather lightly.
"Yes, we still have several," said a fellow from the house. "As you recall, you looked upon them last night, by lamplight, while they slept, in their kennels. This one, as I understand it, was your choice.”
I lay there. I had not realized that I, and the others, had been looked upon last night, while we slept. There is, of course, no way to prevent that.
"You have seen the papers," said one of the fellows of the house to someone "You have seen the reports. You have spoken to the teachers, and trainers.”
"They have other outworlders," said the cautious fellow, one of the strangers.
"We do not have as many as we did," said a fellow of the house. "They tend to be distributed about. We get only our share. Too, of those we receive, we normally have orders for several.
Some we ship without training, to other houses and such. You must understand that, over the past few years, as their value has come to be more generally recognized, such items have become more popular.”
"And more expensive," observed a stranger, irritably.
"Sometimes," it was admitted.
"Are you sure you want an outworlder?" asked one of the fellows of the house.
"Yes," he was told.
"Given your specifications," said the fellow from the house, first among those of the house, "I really think this item is your likely choice.”
There was a silence.
"You must understand," said the fellow from the house, first among them, "that your specifications are not easy to fulfill. If an item is reasonably skillful in the language it is not likely to be ignorant of the world, and, if it is ignorant of the world, it is less likely to be adept with the language.”
"This one is intelligent?”
"Quite so, subject of course, as made clear, to her origin, and what she is.”
"Let us consider others," said the cautious fellow.
"We have seen them. We have examined their papers, and such," said the stranger who, I took it, was first among them.
"We have
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