NO. SHOULD I?
"Should you? Why you've barely scraped our culture! Tell you what! Maybe we can make a deal—"
DEAL? WHAT'S THAT?
"I mean, a trade. While you're on vacation I'll swap writers with you. I'll type a story, and you reciprocate with one from your library. Fair enough?"
WELL ... YOU'D BE GETTING THE BEST OF THE BARGAIN....
I nodded humbly. "I realize that. But think of the good you'd be doing, teaching us barbarians the glorious wonders of your civilization...."
That did it. The machine actually purred.
I'LL DO IT. PURELY AS A LARK, OF COURSE....
"Fine. We'll begin next week."
NEXT WEEK? WHY THE DELAY?