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here, may call me either Adok I or Jim Keil it makes no difference."
"I'll call you Adok I," said Ro. "And you can call me Ro."
"I'll do that, Ro," said Adok I in a tone of voice as if he were repeating an order he had just been given,
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and affirming his willingness and ability to execute it.
Jim shook his head, amused and intrigued by the combination of characteristics the Starkien was
exhibiting. The man seemed humorless to the point of woodenness, obedient to the point of servility, and
in conjunction with these things, evidently considered it the best possible manners to address Jim by the
familiar short form of Jim's first name. Moreover, beyond this, Adok I seemed to assume a strange
mixture of superiority and inferiority toward Jim at the same time. Clearly the Starkien did not for a
moment appear to consider that Jim had the capabilities to perform the tasks that Adok I was himself
fitted to perform. On the other hand, plainly he considered himself completely a creature of Jim's will at
Jim's beck and call. However, thought Jim abruptly, investigation of Adok's character could come later.
There was a more immediate question.
"Well," Jim said, "now that I've got you, what am I supposed to do with you?"
"We should begin with my doing things with you, Jim," said Adok I. He looked over at Ro. "If Ro will
excuse us, I should immediately begin instructing you in the necessities and duties of being a unit
officer over and above those in which I can substitute for you."
"I've got to get back to my pets anyway," said Ro. "I'll come and find you later, Jim."
She touched him lightly on the arm and disappeared.
"All right, Adok," said Jim, turning back to the Starkien, "what do we do first?"
"We should begin with a visit to the quarters of your unit," Adok said. "If you will allow me to show you
the way, Jim "
"Go ahead," said Jim, and immediately found himself with Adok in what seemed to be an enormous,
windowless, high-ceilinged room. In spite of all that space, however, something within Jim felt the
sensation of closeness, an oppression as of confinement.
"Where are we?" he asked Adok, for the polished floor stretching away from them was empty in all
directions for large distances, except for a few distant moving figures almost lost in the dimness and
distance.
"We're at the parade ground." Adok's head came around to gaze at Jim with the first faint sign of
emotion the Starkien had yet shown. After a second Jim realized Adok was registering surprise. "We are
also below ground." Adok gave their depth in Empire terms, which translated to something like half a mile
down from the surface of the planet. "Does it disturb you? It disturbs the High-born, but only a few of the
servants are disturbed by it."
"No, I'm not disturbed," Jim said. "I felt something, though."
"If you are disturbed, you should admit it to me," said Adok. "If you are ever afraid or disturbed, you
should tell me, even if you tell no one else. No one else but I need to know. But it is necessary for me to
know when you are emotionally weakened, so that I can take measures to protect you from such
weakness and hide the fact from others."
Jim chuckled, and the sound echoed eerily away into the distances around them. It was an odd moment
and place for humor, but Jim was finding Adok I strangely likeable.
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"Don't worry," he told the Starkien. "I don't usually feel emotionally weakened. But if I ever do, I
promise to let you know."
"Good," said Adok seriously. "Now I brought you first to this point on the parade ground because one
of the things I cannot do for you is stand certain parades with the unit. At some parades we both must be
present. Now that you have been brought to this spot, you can instantly return to it on your own in case
something may have made you a little late in showing up for the parade. Now, let's go to the armory, and
we'll draw your weapons and accouterments while you memorize that destination also."
The next room they appeared in was more brightly lit and a very great deal smaller than the parade
ground. It was a long narrow room, both long walls of which seemed to be divided into compartments
holding the leather straps and the bands of silver stuff such as those which encircled the legs, arms, and
body of Adok, as well as those of the Starkiens in the room with the Emperor and Vhotan. Adok led Jim
directly to several of the compartments and collected an assortment of the straps and silver bands. He
did not, however, suggest that Jim put them on at this time. Instead, Adok himself carried them, while he
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