Guest Night on Union Station by E. M. Foner Read Free Book Online Page A

easily distinguished from the commoners by appearance, namely the presence of the all-seeing eye.” The golden mask dissolved, and the humans winced at the beautiful face marred by an eye in the middle of the forehead.
    “Ugh,” Donna said for them all.
    “Does the third eye give them special powers?” Clive asked.
    “That’s the tricky part,” Libby replied. “The ruling-class Lood males are capable of compelling some humanoid species to obey them, and the ruling-class women can detect falsehoods, creating a sort of balance of power. We aren’t positive about whether the Loods will be able to influence or read humans because the two species have never been in contact before.”
    “You mean one of those guys could turn us into zombies?” Kelly demanded.
    “In terms of capabilities and persistence, the effects the elite male Loods can produce are similar to what upper-class Vergallian women do with pheromones.”
    “You’re not giving me a lot of confidence,” Kelly retorted. “Do you want me to put up these mind-stealers in Mac’s Bones?”
    “It’s up to you, of course, but I’d actually hoped you’d take in the Cayl guest.”
    “The Cayl?” Chastity interrupted. “I thought this whole open house was about trying to woo the species made available by the dissolution of the Cayl Empire.”
    “That’s correct, but as long as the Cayl remain in charge, even through a temporary play-for-pay arrangement, they’ll expect to be treated with the respect due to the rulers of a large empire.”
    “What do they look like?” Donna asked.
    The hologram above the display desk was replaced by something that looked like a cross between a polar bear and a man. The face and hands were the only exposed body parts that weren’t covered with fine white hair, though the oversized snout might have benefitted aesthetically from some fur. The Cayl’s lips were drawn back in a smile or a grimace, showing a mouthful of teeth to rival Beowulf’s. Stubby black claws sprouted from the backs of the hands behind each finger, but something instinctive warned the humans that if the creature made a fist, those claws would protrude like daggers.
    “How big is it?” Chastity asked. “Can you add Clive to the hologram for scale?”
    A three-dimensional image of the Director of EarthCent Intelligence carrying two chairs appeared next to the bear. The Cayl didn’t look half as threatening when it turned out to be a head shorter than Clive.
    “Well, he is smiling,” Kelly said, deciding to take an optimistic view of the toothy display. “Other than the claws and the teeth, he could be more cuddly than a Grenouthian. But I’ll want to show my family the hologram before inviting him to stay in our home.”
    “I wonder if Dring has any experience with the Cayl?” Clive mused.
    “It seems likely, but you’ll have to ask him,” Libby replied. “We know nothing of what the Makers did between the time they asked us not to see them and the time Dring took up residence in Mac’s Bones.”
    “You’ll be updating all of our implants with their languages?” Kelly asked.
    “They’re already included,” Libby said. “The Cayl Empire has been a model of stability for millions of years, and enough young Stryx tour through their space that we can keep the translation tables up-to-date with the latest slang.”
    “You’ve been awfully quiet,” Kelly said to Thomas. “Don’t you have any questions?”
    “I’m afraid that the documentaries I’ve watched have already biased my opinions,” Thomas replied. “According to the Grenouthians, all of the Cayl Empire species tend to get out of hand if there aren’t any Cayl around, so we should probably be prepared.”
    “You don’t think that Gryph can handle a few hundred thousand rude tourists?” Kelly asked jokingly.
    “They’ll be visiting the station, not off in their own fleet like the Wanderers,” Thomas said. “They all look like tough customers in their own ways,