Once again DaBigBoom was lying on his back and watching numbers float up into the darkness. At least this time it was a small number--a solitary four.... Was that all? He felt considerably more beat up than someone who'd only lost four hit points. He picked himself back up."Mmm," Fifi said. She looked down his body and smiled appreciatively.He looked down and saw why. His clothes were fried, at least the ones around his crotch. The front of his trousers and the underpants beneath were gone, as was. " Which crown do you seek?" Gracie finally asked as she studied him."Sandova." You expect my husband to trade me for this help?" I'm hoping to, or I'll go the other route. I'll turn you over to Aric." Aric? He's on Earth. If he dares to return here, he will die." Gracie's voice turned frosty."He must have done something hideous if you want him dead." Phillip walked away from Gracie and returned with a blanket. Draping it around his shoulders he sat back down."He did more than try to take over. I felt there were many eyes in each townhouse unit watching us stroll by in evening clothes; they were all saying, 'I know what they did.'Inside we became a flurry of activity, putting the greatest Christmas-Day-After breakfast together. Sheila reminded me it was Boxing Day in England.The guys arrived about fifteen minutes later. They'd changed clothes, so I guessed that Paul had gone home to his townhouse too.No one asked embarrassing questions, like 'Well, what now?' Instead, we chatted about. He had considerable trouble believing I could've learned that much material, but I'd been examined one-on-one by several lecturers the previous day, and they'd all reported that I had their subject down pat, so he had to believe it. They'd carefully checked for cheating, and it just wasn't a possibility under the circumstances of my testing.Prof had recommended against telling the Dean that I could read seven or eight screens at once, and as far as the Dean knew, I was still using the.