"Liar! You nearly flunked meta-plastics."

"Well, you did flunk it, so who are you to—?"

"Just don't be over-critical. I think this one looks fairly practical. Well-balanced—"

"That's just what I mean. Observe the unimaginative bisymmetry. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Surely, the inventor was a mechanic and no artist. In this light gravity there was no need for—"

"And how would you improve the design, your high-and-mightiness?"

"First let's remove the covering."

My clothes left my body gently, but with the sound of violent tearing. In two seconds I sat naked, my garments laid back like split bandages.

I shouted, "See here, for God's sakes!"

The aliens had made no visible move, yet they had wielded powerful forces to strip everything I wore from my body, shirt, slacks, underwear and even my shoes ... without so much as pinching my flesh.

I leaped to my feet naked as a straw. They were between me and the door, but they seemed so clumsy.