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Customs and Immigration at Sphene, renowned as the planet s cen-
ter of commerce. Among traders and manufacturers, businessfolk
and apprentices, students and machiavels, he was least likely to draw
attention. People who were focused on money and its acquisition, he
had learned, had little time for those who were not.
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ALAN DEAN FOSTER
It would also be as good a place as any to begin searching for the
person he sought. Whether that individual was still on New Riviera
he had no way of knowing. It was the last place they had talked. And if
the many kudos to the planet that filled space-minus were to be be-
lieved, why would anyone leave Nur for somewhere else? Further-
more, preliminary research had already revealed that the one he sought
would easily be able to access appropriate employment opportunities
on Nur. That seemed as promising a way and place to start as any.
Metropolitan Sphene was large enough to be served by four shut-
tleports. Only two handled passengers, the other two being reserved for
commercial activities. As the sole occupant of a privately owned shut-
tle, even one originating from so disreputable-looking a craft as the
presently camouflaged Teacher, he was directed and guided into the
executive landing area. The mild disdain of port control was palpable.
 Use arrival lane four oh three, the voice declared firmly,  and
be certain to comply with all fumigation and decontamination pro-
cedures prior to disembarkation.
Flinx had to smile as the shuttle slowed and its internal AI
guided it to the designated parking slot. The Nurians were a fa-
mously fastidious lot.
Customs insisted on running a separate scan on Pip, not only to
ensure that she was free of diseases and parasites but also to make
certain she was not pregnant. New Riviera was entirely too accom-
modating to imported species to allow anything out into the wild
without official approval, where it would like as not reproduce and
thrive like mad. With Flinx close by to keep her calm, the irritated
flying snake tolerated the process. It helped that the well-trained per-
sonnel assigned to perform the necessary procedures were calm and
unafraid. They were shielded by their ignorance, Flinx knew.
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60
FLINX S FOLLY
As soon as the last of the efficient but extensive landing and ar-
rival procedures had been completed, Flinx shouldered his travel
satchel and made his way down the succession of access corridors
into the main terminal. The first thing that struck him was the unmis-
takably high degree of general affluence. That, and the general con-
tentment that filled his mind. The majority of emotions that touched
him were happy ones. Not all the port was full of human beings,
after all but most. It was a refreshing change from places like
Goldin IV and Earth, where humanity still struggled harder with it-
self than against anything else.
First he needed to find a place to stay, someplace comfortable but
nondescript, preferably in the busiest part of the city where he would
attract the least attention. Then access to the planetary box, to begin his
search. The kind of search he planned to undertake would probably
veer into the illegal, but that had never slowed or stopped him before.
Breathing in the pleasantly warm, just sufficiently humid air of
Nur, he lengthened his already considerable stride. So far, the stories
that were told of New Riviera had proven to be true. If he did not
feel at home, at least he was comfortable.
It had been a while since Flinx the thief had done any thieving.
As always, he was looking forward to resuming what had, after all,
been the first and only real profession he had ever mastered.
Barkamp Inn, the hotel where he finally settled, was, like every-
thing else on Nur, clean, comfortable, and accommodating. No one
questioned the desire of Alpheus Welles to stay for an indeterminate
time until he had concluded his business. No one inquired the reasons
for his stay. As usual, any curiosity was directed to the new arrival s
unusual pet. Satisfied that it was under the control of its owner, hotel
staff flung no further questions in the redheaded Mr. Welles s direction.
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61
ALAN DEAN FOSTER
For those living and working in a planetary center of commerce
and enterprise, the citizens of Sphene exhibited an air of content-
ment alien to comparable Terran cities like Brisbane and Lala. Not
that the conflict was absent. The usual jealousies and hatreds com-
mon to humankind were present in abundance. One could get mad at
one s neighbor, competitor, or spouse as easily here as on any other
settled world. It was just harder to stay quite as mad, with the sun
beaming down beneficently, the beach so close, and pleasant woods
and lakes beckoning at every turn as soon as one left the city behind.
To embark on his search while preserving his anonymity and se-
curity, he chose a public access terminal located on the ground floor
of a large office building. The structure s architects had made good
use of spun fibers, producing a multistory building in the shape of a
favorite local fruit tree. The most exclusive offices, he learned, were
housed in the  fruits that hung from woven composite-and-metal [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]