"Very few. There's no pay, of course, and you will be required to devote a certain amount of time to my service. On the whole, employment on Hel isn't much different than here except that it's a bit more enlightened." "Like slavery?" Miss Twilley smiled unpleasantly. "You're not dealing with a fool." "The concept of freedom is a relative thing," Lyf said. "And who among us, either Devi or human, is truly free. And what is the essential difference between being a slave to society and a slave to an individual? We Devi don't have such a high regard for physical liberty--" "Obviously." "But as long as you do your work, there's no interference with your outside activities. You can think and read as you please. We supply our help with a very complete library--and keep it up to date." "Is that so?" * * * * * Lyf paled to a dull pink. "I wish you'd stop mentally dredging those old lies about fire and brimstone. They're embarrassing. It's been quite a few thousand years since a Devi has derived any satisfaction from sadism. We've removed that particular trait from our race. You won't be overworked or cruelly treated. And you won't be beaten or subjected to physical torture. Since I have no knowledge of what you might consider mental torture, I couldn't say whether there would be any or not. I think not, since no other human has complained of being mentally misused, but I can't tell." * * * * * "Why can't you? You can read my mind." "Only your thoughts, not your emotions or attitudes." Miss Twilley shrugged. "It sounds fair enough, but twenty or thirty years for ten is a high price." "You fail to consider the costs involved. Your physical rehabilitation will be expensive and your financial even more so. I'll have to employ the Time Study Enclave to predict a financial plan for you, and chronography isn't cheap." "Why can't you just give me the money?" Lyf shrugged. "I don't have it--and I couldn't supply you with gold. It would be suspicious and we try to avoid attracting attention to our clients or ourselves. Humans have some rather messy ways of abrogating a fellow human's contract. So you acquire your wealth within the framework of your society--through the stock market in your case." "Oh--I see." "Your money is enough to start you off. I'll show you how to make it multiply." "And if I cheat you?" Miss Twilley asked. "You won't, I'm not utterly naive. There is a security clause in the contract which must be fulfilled." "And what is that?" "I put my mark on you. That makes you a permanent sixth order focus I can contact at any time." "That gives you quite an advantage."