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Lunzie almost laughed, then realized he was being perfectly honest. He had accorded her the moderate respect due a fellow professional, but he felt no particular friendship for her (for anyone?) and would not stir himself to help if she got into trouble. She could change quickly from “fellow professional” to “major annoyance” which in his value system would remove her from his list of acquaintances.

To add to her uneasiness, Tailler did indeed manage to catch her before she left the center and insisted on explaining at length the incident which had made Bias so sensitive to “relationships” between research staff and locals. A sordid little tale, Lunzie thought: nothing spectacular, nothing to really justify Bias’s continuing reaction. He must have had a streak of prudery before that happened to give him the excuse to indulge it.