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John Gordon turned and hurried upstairs to his room to wash up for lunch. Rick stared after him. What in the name of a simple-minded spacefish did that mean? Homo Terrestrialis. Man of Earth. Earthman! Assignment: Rocket Base Rick turned the phrase over and over in his head, trying to make sense out of it. Earthman? Who wasn't an earthman? The whole human race was composed of them.
But that wasn't all. Etched on the bar was a rather good picture of a knight in armor, in the process of driving his sword through a rocket. Underneath was the inscription: Homo Terrestrialis." "I don't get it," Rick complained. Gordon grinned. "Neither did we. And we still don't get it. But you can be sure we started a few balls rolling. First, Security checked every man's file again.
"I'm going to consult the dictionary before Dr. Gordon comes down." "Maybe she has something there," Rick said. "Let's go." But the dictionary gave no clues. Homo was simply "man," and terrestrial was simply "of earth." "Terrestrial is in here, but not terrestrialis," Barby complained. "Same thing," Rick said. "Adding 'is' just makes it a Latin form.
Your self-control does you credit, Rick. Want one bit of data to chew on while you're waiting?" Rick gulped, then returned the grin. "Yes, sir!" John Gordon lowered his voice to a confidential pitch. "We have an enemy," he stated. "What kind of enemy may be seen clearly in the name by which he goes." He paused. "What name?" Rick asked impatiently. "Homo Terrestrialis."
Rick smoothed it out on the counter and his pulse speeded. It was a good sketch, done in ink, of a knight in full armor. Crushed under one mailed foot was a rocket. The knight carried a shield, and emblazoned on it were two words. Homo Terrestrialis. The mark of the Earthman!
Of course ordinary people didn't refer to themselves as homo terrestrialis, but that's what they were just the same. Scotty was just as puzzled. "Do you make anything out of it?" he inquired. Rick shook his head mutely. As Barby made a beeline for the library, Scotty called after her, "Where are you going? It's lunchtime." She answered without pausing.
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