“What, you had them here, too?” Nuts asked with a touch of awe in her voice. Before humanity contacted demmies and taught them science, they had a richly colorful mythology system that made our Greek or Chinese demonologies look like a soccer team lineup.

“Would you kindly step aside?” asked Fu Tichi. “Our passengers hired us to convey them to that glistening cube.”

“Nothing is ever that easy,” came the creature’s answer. “As you say, I am Sphinx. I demand riddles for passage. Answer correctly, and you may you pass.”

“Okay,” said Fu Tichi. “But no math.”

“And nothing about me,” added Nuts. She jerked a thumb in my direction. “I’m his weak spot.”

“Fair enough,” agreed Sphinx.

“Okay, shoot,” said Fu Tichi.

“Don’t you want a chance to live?”

“Poor choice of words,” I snapped, getting fed up. Sometimes you must assert yourself, to stay sane. “Ask your damn question!”

“Okay. No need to be tetchy.” The creature harrumphed, clearing its throat and milking the moment, almost like a demmie. Finally, the fearsome monster intoned:

“What has no feet…”

“No feet, gotcha,” Nuts murmured, taking notes.

“…or legs…”

“Or legs. Righto.”

“…just one arm and hand…”

“Okay. But are they connected, as a unit? Or are they separately—” Yelping slightly, she clammed up when my elbow connected sharply with a rib.

“…very little torso… and not much of a head?”

We all looked at each other, deciding by mute consensus to give Professor Katske the honor of re-stating the riddle.

“What has no feet… or legs…” he repeated, in a classroom voice. “…just one arm and hand… very little torso… and not much of a head? Is that correct?”

The sphinx let out an agreeable roar and nodded its great mane.

Captain Fu Tichi hazarded first guess: “A member of that no-legged four-armed spider-like semi-human species living out on the Rim of the Piranha Sea?” Then he ruefully snapped his fingers. “Oh, right, they have four arms.”

“Horatio McCorkle, the Guru of Cannibalism, right after his flock turned on him?” guessed Nuts.

“A Standard who was a victim of a Lik’em attack,” muttered Coalshack, with his usual wit and style.

“A man!” Fu Tichi shouted, changing his guess, which I’m still not sure was kosher. “Because a man starts as a baby, crawling…”

The captain’s voice tapered off as he realized everyone was glaring at him. “Oh, never mind.”

Cuspitui offered an eloquent, throaty yowl, which my ear nanos translated.

“A fan of the Monstrosities after they lost their 50th murderball game in a row?”

Sphinx shook its shaggy man slowly.

“I wonder if you people are worth the effort.”

All eyes turned to me, and I realized I’d had enough.

“I give up. What doesn’t have any feet or legs, just one arm and hand, very little torso, and not much of a head?”