Ramar Chind shrugged resignedly and lisped: “How much fuel will they need for their purposes, sir, whatever their purposes are?“ Naturally, his lisping sounded perfectly normal to Garr Symm, [p 109] who also spoke in the sibilantless Irwadi manner.
“You’d really like to know, wouldn’t you?“ Garr Symm said.
“Yes, sir. To put me in a position in which I could better do my—“
“To satisfy your curiosity, you mean!“
“But sir—“
“I am a scientist, Chind.“
“Yes, sir.“
“Didn’t it strike you as odd that a scientist should be elevated to the top post in your department?“
“Of course, sir. I didn’t question it, though.“
“As you know, Chind, when it was decided to planetarize Irwadi as a first step toward driving away the outworlders, the quarters of every outworlder on Irwadi were thoroughly searched.“