"I knew a Hawaiian distance swimmer once who looked much like these Galactics," said Ohashi. He wet his lips with his tongue. "You know, today we had a Buddhist monk from Java at our meeting with Kobai."
"I fail to see the association between a distance swimmer and a monk," said Goré.
"You told us you drew a blank today," said Zakheim.
"The monk tried no conversing," said Ohashi. "He refused because that would be a form of Earthly striving unthinkable for a Buddhist. He merely came and observed."
Francine leaned forward. "Yes?" She found an odd excitement in the way Ohashi was forcing himself to casualness.
"The monk's reaction was curious," said Ohashi. "He refused to speak for several hours afterward. Then he said that these Galactics must be very holy people."
"Holy!" Zakheim's voice was edged with bitter irony.
"We are approaching this the wrong way," said Francine. She felt let down, spoke with a conscious effort. "Our access to these Galactics is limited by the space they've opened to us within their vessel."
"What is in the rest of the ship?" asked Zakheim.
"Rewards, perhaps," said Goré.