In some respects, Wye could be quite puritanical. (This was true of all the sectors, though the rigidity of one sector might be completely different from the rigidity of another.) Here, the drinks were not alcoholic but were synthetically designed to stimulate in other ways. Raych did not like the taste, finding himself utterly unused to it, but it meant that he could sip his drink slowly and look around.
    He caught the eye of a young woman several tables away and had difficulty in looking away. She was attractive and it was clear that Wye's ways were not puritanical in every fashion.
    After a few moments, the young woman smiled slightly and rose. She drifted toward Raych's table, while Raych watched her speculatively. He could scarcely (he thought with marked regret) afford a side adventure just now.
    She stopped for a moment when she reached Raych and then let herself slide smoothly into an adjacent chair.
    "Hello," she said. "You don't look like a regular here."
    Raych smiled. "I'm not. Do you know all the regulars?"
    "Just about," she said, unembarrassed. "My name is Manella. What's yours?"
    Raych was more regretful than ever. She was quite tall, taller than he himself was without his heels-something he always found attractive-had a milky complexion, and long, softly wavy hair that had distinct glints of dark red in it. Her clothing was not too garish and she might, if she had tried a little harder, have passed as a respectable woman of the not-too-hardworking class.
    Raych said, "My name doesn't matter. I don't have many credits."
    "Oh. Too bad." Manella made a face. "Can't you get a few?"
    "I'd like to. I need a job. Do you know of any?"
    "What kind of job?"
    Raych shrugged. "I don't have any experience in anything fancy, but I ain't proud."
    Manella looked at him thoughtfully. "I'll tell you what, Mr. Nameless. Sometimes it doesn't take any credits at all."
    Raych froze at once. He had been successful enough with women, but with his mustache-his mustache. What could she see in his baby face?
    He said, "Tell you what. I had a friend living here a couple of weeks ago and I can't find him. Since you know all the regulars, maybe you know him. His name is Kaspalov." He raised his voice slightly. "Kaspal Kaspalov."
 &nbs............