 Why did the odd beings from the seventh plant only want interstellar credits?
Everyone in the room was aware of the big young man, and most of the humans present were resentful, for he handled himself consciously and arrogantly, as if his appearance alone were enough to make him superior to anyone. Even the girl with him was growing restless, for she was accustomed to adulation herself, and next to Gabriel Lockard she was almost ordinary-looking. As for the extraterrestrials—it was a free bar—they were merely amused, since to them all men were pathetically and irredeemably hideous. There was a short man standing next to the pair—young, as most men and women were in that time, thanks to the science which could stave off decay, though not death—but with no other apparent physical virtue, for plastic surgery had not fulfilled its bright promise of the twentieth century. "You must allow me to pay your cleaning bill," Gabe said, taking out his wallet and extracting several credit notes without seeming to look at them. And that, coming on top of Gabriel Lockard's spectacular appearance, was too much. He hadn't really wanted to fight, only to smash back, and now it was too late for that. "Then what are you running from, if not me? There he inserted a coin in a locker, into which he put most of his personal possessions, reserving only a sum of money. If he had met with a fatal accident at that point, there would have been nothing on his body to identify him. As a matter of fact, no real identification was possible, for he was no one and had been no one for years. "Games?" the driver finally asked, although he could guess what was wanted by then. "Dice...? Roulette...? Each time it happens, there's a ... well, there's no experience to match it at a thrill-mill." Fortunately the car was flying low, contrary to regulations, so that when they smashed into the beacon tower on the outskirts of the little town, they didn't have far to fall. To the girl's indignation, the stranger not only hauled Gabe out onto the dripping grass first, but stopped and deliberately examined the young man by the light of his minilume, almost as if she weren't there at all. Only when she started to struggle out by herself did he seem to remember her existence.
 So that they could return to Vinau and buy slaves.
 So that they could buy slaves.  So that they could return to Vinau and buy slaves.  To buy booze any time they desired.  So that they could return to Vinau.