 In the story, it is stated that "the integrity of the Ribboneers was not to be questioned" -- what potentially negative implications might this have?
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] In repose, Taphetta the Ribboneer resembled a fancy giant bow on a package. Of all his features, only his head had appreciable thickness and it was crowned with a dozen long though narrower ribbons. Taphetta rattled the head fronds together in a surprisingly good imitation of speech. "There are at least a hundred kinds of humans, each supposedly originating in strict seclusion on as many widely scattered planets. Obviously there was no contact throughout the ages before space travel— and yet each planetary race can interbreed with a minimum of ten others ! "Outside of your own world, there's nothing like your species, except superficially, and that's true of all other creatures, intelligent or not, with the sole exception of mankind. Actually, the four of us here, though it's accidental, very nearly represent the biological spectrum of human development. It's reasonable to assume that, if men were set down on a hundred such worlds, they'd seem to fit in with native life-forms on a few of them. "But there are other worlds in which humans who were there before the Stone Age aren't related to anything else there. Taphetta rearranged his ribbons. Man was the most numerous though not always the most advanced—Ribboneers had a civilization as high as anything in the known section of the Milky Way, and there were others—and humans were more than a little feared. Still, Taphetta the Ribboneer was an experienced pilot and could be very useful. The theory is that humans who can mate with each other were once physically close. When we project back into time those star systems on which humans existed prior to space travel, we get a certain pattern. This is one arm of it as it is today and here are the human systems." They were spaced at fairly equal intervals along a regular curve, a horseshoe loop that didn't close, though if the ends were extended, the lines would have crossed. "And whereas there are humans who are relatively near and not fertile, they can always mate with those they were adjacent to two hundred thousand years ago !" I've never seen it demonstrated," murmured Taphetta, flexing his ribbons. The evidence is sometimes contradictory, but we believe we've got the time right." And, of course, if it were a fast-moving star, it might be completely out of the field of our exploration. The Ribboneer glanced out the visionport, where another ship hung motionless in space beside them.
 The Ribboneers could wield their reputation in order to lie, manipulate, and accumulate more power
 The Ribboneers could use evidence from the adjacent mating principle to eradicate 'lower-level' species  The Ribboneers could be held responsible for solving problems that even they are not qualified to resolve  The Ribboneers could use evidence from the adjacent mating principle to further advance their own species  The Ribboneers could wield their reputation in order to lie, manipulate, and accumulate more power