“Oh great,” groaned Porsupah. “Here we have a creature that’s survived half a million t-years plus. It supposedly has crossed intergalactic space, destroyed civilizations, and you want to hop on a raft and go sightsee it. Do I make arrangements to pack a lunch?”

“Don’t be snide. Peot as much as said that it wouldn’t do any harm yet. All the more reason for gathering what first-hand information we can, while it remains inactive. Are you saying that you’re not curious and don’t want to go?”

Porsupah sighed through his whiskers. “You always tie things together. I’m curious as hell. Of course I’m going.”

“Me, I want to get back to my ship and forget this entire abomination,” said Hammurabi. “But if you think you can manage it, I’m damned if I’ll pass a chance to get a look at this thing. Might be some money in it, if Kingsley hasn’t got this end sewn up too light. Just one thing, though.”

“What?” said Kitten.

“How do you propose to find it? I doubt Peot would tell you. He seems to feel strongly that humans should stay far away from it.”

“But I don’t think he’ll stop us. You know how his ‘voice’ fades as you leave the chamber. His telepathic range, on our level, anyway, can’t be that great. Even if he can detect the Vom at a distance . . .

“As for locating the creature,” she continued brightly, “that’s simple. Peot said that the main body of his ‘Machine’ is always positioned directly above it. I can get the beacon’s location from salvage authority without Kingsley or anyone else knowing about it. Drop a line downwards, plot map, find creature.”

“You make it sound so easy,” sighed Porsupah again.

The borrowed raft sped rapidly over the calm sea. They reached Repler City ten minutes earlier than Mal had estimated. This was due at least in part to Kitten’s habit of making turns around intervening islands and reefs that threatened to overturn the craft. Fortunately the hoverafts were practically incapable of capsizing.

She almost managed it. Twice.

Instead or docking at the City harbor, they headed straight for the auxiliary landing nearest the shuttleport itself.

The Port was located on a long peninsula. The surface had been planed off, smoothed over, and pitted with sheds, warehouses, coking areas, launch pits, hangers, fuel balloons, and a small but growing atmosphere dock. It could handle shuttlecraft of all but the largest classes. The fine-grained paving ran a running battle with the profuse island vegetation. The flora took advantage of every crack and bare spot to press a vigorous, verdurous counterattack.

The Port harbor area, for ships and hovercraft, wasn’t designed to handle much in the way of cargo. Those activities were carried on mostly at the central city landings. But there was plenty of room for small commercial and pleasure craft. Some of the island’s wealthier inhabitants had yachts and personal submarine vehicles moored there. The landing was located in a small manmade cove at the U where the peninsula met the mainland. Commercial buildings rose to the right, with private homes and botels behind and to the left, hidden behind carefully controlled vegetation.