The radiation held steady all through the next day. I did some more thorough checking, using temperature readings and deep radar on both sun and planet. Everywhere I looked was a new anomaly.

“This star definitely shouldn’t be glowing yet. It’s too spread out; the gas should be too thin for fusion.”

“Is it hot enough to glow?”

“Sure. But it shouldn’t be.”

“Maybe the theories on protosuns are wrong.”

“Then they’re way wrong.”

“Put it on your list.”

And, an hour later:

“Elephant.”

“Another peculiarity?”

“Yah.”

From under shaggy brows Elephant’s eyes plainly told me he was getting sick of peculiarities.

“According to the deep-radar shadow, this planet doesn’t have any lithosphere. It’s worn right down to what ought to be the magma but isn’t because it’s so cold out here.”

“Write it down. How many entries have you got?”

“Nine.”

“Is any one of them worth paying two hundred kilostars to know about beforehand?”

“The radiation, maybe, if we didn’t have a GP hull.”

“But,” said Elephant, glaring out at the huge, dark disk, “they knew we had a GP hull. Bey, can anything get through a General Products hull?”

“Light, like a laser beam. Gravity, like tides crushing you into the nose of a ship when you get too close to a neutron star. Impact won’t harm the hull, but it’ll kill what’s inside.”

“Maybe the planet’s inhabited. The more I think about it, the more sure I am it came from outside. Nothing in the galaxy could have given it this velocity. It’s diving through the plane of the galaxy; it wouldn’t have to push in from the rim.”

“Okay. What do we do if someone shoots a laser at us?”

“We perish, I think. I had reflective paint spread around the cabin, except for the windows, but the rest of the hull is transparent.”

“We can still get into hyperspace from here. And for the next twenty hours. Afterward we’ll be too close to the planet.”

I went right to sleep that night, being pretty tired despite the lack of exercise. Hours later I slowly realized that I was being examined. I could see it through my closed eyelids; I could feel the heat of the vast red glare, the size of the angry eye, the awful power of the mind behind it. I tried to struggle away, smacked my hand on something, and woke with a shock.

I lay there in the red darkness. The edge of the protosun peeked through a window. I could feel its hostile glare.

I said, “Elephant.”

“Mngl?”

“Nothing.” Morning would be soon enough.

Morning.

“Elephant, would you do me a favor?”

“Sure. You want Dianna? My right arm? Shave off my beard?”

“I’ll keep Sharrol, thanks. Put on your suit, will you?”

“Sure, that makes sense. We aren’t nearly uncomfortable enough just because we closed off the bubble.”

“Right. And because I’m a dedicated masochist, I’m going to put my suit on this instant. Now, I hate to enjoy myself alone…”