Lua'al-rei hisses at that, actually hisses, and brings one hand up in a curious hooking gesture in front of his face; then, looking ruefully at his fingers, he drops the hand to his lap. "An old superstition," he says. "I'm sorry. Our ancestors knew the nuclear chaos that lies beyond angled space, but that was hundreds of thousands of years ago. We haven't touched the..."

He stops then, turning a little to listen more carefully.