"The concept of freedom is a relative thing," Lyf said. "And who among us, either Devi or human, is truly free. And what is the essential difference between being a slave to society and a slave to an individual? We Devi don't have such a high regard for physical liberty—"
"Obviously."
"But as long as you do your work, there's no interference with your outside activities. You can think and read as you please. We supply our help with a very complete library—and keep it up to date."
"Is that so?"
Lyf paled to a dull pink. "I wish you'd stop mentally dredging those old lies about fire and brimstone. They're embarrassing. It's been quite a few thousand years since a Devi has derived any satisfaction from sadism. We've removed that particular trait from our race. You won't be overworked or cruelly treated. And you won't be beaten or subjected to physical torture. Since I have no knowledge of what you might consider mental torture, I couldn't say whether there would be any or not. I think not, since no other human has complained of being mentally misused, but I can't tell."
"Why can't you? You can read my mind."
"Only your thoughts, not your emotions or attitudes."
Miss Twilley shrugged. "It sounds fair enough, but twenty or thirty years for ten is a high price."