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Review

A good Barrington Bayley story will give you an idea which is unlike anything you've ever read anywhere else. -- Charles Platt

Bayley is the zen master of modern space opera. -- Bruce Sterling

From the Author

Its theme is the suggestibility of the human mind. An alien being, whose own consciousness is totally solitary and unassailable, is studying this phenomenon because he thinks humankind is a freak of nature, only semi-intelligent and destined for early extinction. All other intelligent species are like him.

The storyline is a series of adventures in experimental societies the alien has set up. Being solitary, the alien has no ethical sense, whereas the protagonist is highly ethical and believes in the doctrine of karma.