They were only a few meters from the archway when a stir of movement came from its shadow--the first life Kennon had seen since they descended from the ship. In this furnace heat even the air was quiet. Two women came out of the darkness, moving with quiet graceful steps across the blistering hot concrete. They were naked except for a loincloth, halter, and sandals and so nearly identical in form and feature that Kennon took them to be twins. Their skins were burned a deep brown that glistened in the yellow sun light. Kennon shrugged. It was none of his business how his employer ran his household or what his servants wore or didn’t wear. Santos was a planet of nudists, and certainly this hot sun was fully as brilliant as the one which warmed that tropical planet In fact, he could see some virtue in wearing as little as possible. Already he was perspiring. The two women walked past them toward the airboat. Kennon turned to look at them and noticed with surprise that they weren’t human. The long tails curled below their spinal bases were adequate denials of human ancestry. “Humanoids!” he gasped. “For a moment I thought-” “Gave you a start-eh?” Alexander chuckled. “It always does when a stranger sees a Lani for the first time. Well--now you’ve seen some of the livestock what do you think of them?” “I think you should have hired a medic.” Alexander shook his head. “No--it wouldn’t be reason able or legal. You’re the man for the job.” “But I’ve no experience with humanoid types. We didn’t cover that phase in our studies--and from their appearance they’d qualify as humans anywhere if it weren’t for those tails!” “They’re far more similar than you think,” Alexander said. “It just goes to show what parallel evolution can do. But there are differences.” “I never knew that there was indigenous humanoid life on Kardon,” Kennon continued. “The manual says nothing about it.” “Naturally. They’re indigenous only to this area.” “That’s impossible. Species as highly organized as that simply don’t originate on isolated islands.” “This was a subcontinent once,” Alexander said. “Most of it has been inundated. Less than a quarter of a million years ago there was over a hundred times the land area in this region than exists today. Then the ocean rose. Now all that’s left is the mid continent plateau and a few mountain tops. You noted, I suppose, that this is mature topography except for that range of hills to the east. The whole land area at the time of flooding was virtually a peneplain. A rise of a few hundred feet in the ocean level was all that was needed to drown most of the land.” “I see. Yes, it’s possible that life could have developed here under those conditions. A peneplain topography argues permanence for hundreds of millions of years.” “You have studied geology?” Alexander asked curiously. “Only as part of my cultural base,” Kennon said. “Merely a casual acquaintance.”