 What is ironic about the Earthmen selling gas to the Zurians?
"It is an outrage," said Koltan of the House of Masur, "that the Earthmen land among the Thorabians!" Personally, he was in favor of the coming of the Earthmen to the world of Zur. Earthmen may come and Earthmen may go, but clay goes on forever ... and with it, the fame and fortune of the House of Masur." By this, he seemed to imply that the Thorabians would rob the Earthmen, which the Lorians would not. The truth was that all on Zur were panting to get their hands on that marvelous ship, which was all of metal, a very scarce commodity on Zur, worth billions of ken. "Doubtless," said Zotul unexpectedly, for the youngest at a conference was expected to keep his mouth shut and applaud the decisions of his elders, "the Earthmen used all the metal on their planet in building that ship. If it was impossible to hope for much in the way of metal from the Earthmen, what could one get from them? By and by, the Earthmen came to Lor, flying through the air in strange metal contraptions. Speeches were made through interpreters, who had much too quickly learned the tongue of the aliens; hence these left much to be desired in the way of clarity, though their sincerity was evident. The Earthmen were going to do great things for the whole world of Zur. There was also some talk going around about agreements made between the Earthmen and officials of the Lorian government, but you heard one thing one day and another the next. Accurate reporting, much less a newspaper, was unknown on Zur. Finally, the Earthmen took off in their great, shining ship. The anti-Earthmen Faction—in any culture complex, there is always an "anti" faction to protest any movement of endeavor—crowed happily that the Earthmen were gone for good, and a good thing, too. One day, a fleet of ships arrived and after they had landed all over the planet, Zur was practically acrawl with Earthmen. Immediately, the Earthmen established what they called "corporations"—Zurian trading companies under terrestrial control. In spite of the fact that a terrestrial ship had landed at every Zurian city of major and minor importance, and all in a single day, it took some time for the news to spread.
 The gas was collected on Zur
 The gas was collected on Zur  The gas is from Earth and will not power Zurian machines  The gas will be replaced by a new type of gas that Zurians will need to purchase in the next decade  The Earthmen are not selling gas; rather, a material that causes machines to break