"What do you mean, no?"
"Because I can never tell in advance whether you want the truth or lies. Because either way I give myself a hard time. Look: just ask me the one question. Maybe I won't mind answering it."
"You'll mind. Besides, when we're all finished here, we don't want you to know. What kind of work do you do, Rhodes?"
"You know what kind. I already told you, fifty times."
"What kind of work do you do, Rhodes?"
"I'm a student of extra-terrestrial anthropology at Deneb University, doing field work here on Kedak...."
"Good."
Good, thought Rhodes. They're accepting the truth today, not rejecting it. He settled back in his chair and answered the unimportant initial questions almost automatically. His family back on Earth. Mother, father, younger sister. What he thought of Deneb III and the university there. Why he wanted to be an extra-terrestrial anthropologist. Exactly what kind of field work he was doing on Kedak.
"Reincarnation," Rhodes said. "At least, a planet-wide belief in reincarnation. It's unique in the galaxy, as far as we know, and it sets the pattern for Kedaki civilization."
"You are making a planet-wide study?"