but was a misty shade of blue that he would not find words to describe. Also present was a matching set of lingerie and a garment that could only be a nightgown. Joe knew at once that the clothing would fit perfectly and he was convinced that his stay on Verna would be a pleasant one, at least it would be if this kind of captivity kept up. It had been a confusing day and Joe took a quick shower and prepared to go to sleep. The nightgown was heavenly, but he fell into a calm sleep before he had a chance to enjoy it.

He woke the next morning to the sound of gentle music and he wasted no time in getting into his new outfit although he was not particularly happy with his appearance for his make-up had been washed off the previous night and his beard was now quite obvious. He selected breakfast and had eaten when Rhena's voice sounded softly over a concealed intercom. "Jo-Anne, are you awake? This is Rhena." Joe answered, "Yes, I'm awake and I've finished breakfast. You may come in whenever you like." She entered and wished Jo-Anne a pleasant good morning. Then her face clouded as she said, "I can come back later if you are not ready to receive visitors." Joe looked at his outfit and wondered what had prompted her comment when Rhena realized her mistake and began to apologize. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot that you are not familiar with the way that our apartments are built. I see that you did figure out how to work the food console though, and I really should have explained that to you yesterday. Your things have not been brought in yet so if you don't mind, I'll show you how to use our cosmetic products. I know that you must feel incomplete without them and when I first arrived I thought that perhaps I had gotten here too early. Now I see that you just didn't know where to find things. Can you ever forgive my stupidity?"

Joe assured her that he was not offended and Rhena took him in tow and headed for the bathroom. Opening a cabinet, she explained that the console there was similar to the food console except that this one supplied the necessary articles for personal grooming. She told Jo-Anne to have a seat and then started to apply the various products while explaining their use. "I learned your language by studying recordings of your radio and television signals that were gathered by our unmanned space ships which collect such information for future use, so forgive me if I make some foolish mistakes. Our code experts insist that

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