So here's my next offer.So here's my next offer. When you return, you walk the Hall. And you stay the same. No change, unless you want to change." "Huh?" "I'm changing the Hall. You walk the Hall, you're a resident of Pendor. It's that simple. You and Furry don't have to move to an outcolony or anything like that. You don't get changed by the Hall, except you become a Pendorian design." "What do you mean?" "You talked to Skii about Pendorian nanobiology. That gets substituted for Saman Transfer. And that goes for anybody, Humans, Katkin, Rats, llerkendi. So far. They're the only ones this deal is good for." "What about my Right of Replacement?" "It becomes null and void. Your reproductive ability will go down a lot, because Pendorians don't breed nearly as fast as Terrans do." "My reproductive ability is zero," Nickolai pointed out. "Well, yes," Shardik replied. "So I guess it's a benefit. I was talking about in comparison to orignal Homo Sapiens. You still get full reproductive control, of course." "Why are you doing this?" "Because I've been away from Terra too long," Shardik admitted. "There's never been, as far as I know, an interstellar empire based on respect. I think we could make one. You've proven it, Nickolai... you want to be part of it." "I'm not so sure I want to be 'part of it'," Nickolai said. |