But as one of the senior Civil Service officer's concubines, you have to get this through your thick head, and as soon as possible. You are now under ...explicit orders to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible."Melodie looked over at Vickie, hoping the vet would offer her sister concubine some support. Vickie's support, however, was thrown wholeheartedly to Samantha. "My daughter and niece were there too, and I didn't see anything I found objectionable. I would have if I were still. I came onboard the ship and everyone shunned me except the chefs and farmers. This was allegedly because of instructions from a nonexistent captain that people still followed mindlessly. They answered questions when asked, but volunteered nothing of any value. I assume the saboteurs were acting against me even then.“No one would or even could tell me how to get a crystal except for Ship and as I told you she was entirely uncooperative in the interests of my safety, and her brief to protect me.. He held his tattooed ID sequence in front of the glass eye and... screamed as the pit opened beneath him and everything dissolved in light.Somehow he was still on his feet, in a tube, a long cylindrical tunnel. Eyes adjusted to the shimmering pinkness and focused on translucent curved walls. Were they flexing? Yes, they seemed to ripple to the beat of his pulse. Now they were sinuously flowing, slipping past. No, he was moving -- the vibrolith transport strip underfoot was carrying him away.. The thing was Alice had been quite agreeable, but I just couldn’t go all the way. Mostly because of my nerves, but that wasn’t the only reason.“She just wasn’t the one, mom,” I had said. Mom had hugged me then, and she had felt warm and comfortable. What I hadn’t said then, but had already subconsciously been thinking was: “Why can’t you be the one, mom, even if just for one night?”Eventually I had said it out loud. Nothing had happened until months later, but we had talked about it quite a few.