I first met James White at the World Science Fiction Convention held in Brighton. A group of us that included Larry Niven and Alfred Bester had drinks in the delightful club bar of the Old Ship, a hotel that predates the English Regency.
Jim White stands about six foot five. Within minutes of meeting me he had given me a badge that read "S.O.P.O.A.H.W.G.," and asked me to join. I had to confess that I had no clue as to what this meant.
"Society of Persons of Average Height with Glasses."
I stand about six two. I looked up at Jim's bifocal spectacles through mine. "Average height?"
"I am prepared to prove that eighty percent of the human race consists of dwarves."
Of course I'd known Jim White's work for years. His most famous series takes place on Sector General, a huge space colony hospital for humans and aliens alike. White also created strange and fascinating aliens in All Judgment Fled, a novel about some of the perils of an interstellar biological survey expedition.
Another member of our party at the Old Ship was Jack Cohen, possibly the world's leading expert on reproductive biology. Jack often creates aliens, and since he doesn't write science fiction, gives them to the first writer who will listen. One of his chance remarks led to the novel, The Legacy of Heorot, by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steve Barnes.
Herewith a story by Jim White, a Person of Average Height with Glasses. It was originally written for Judy-Lynn del Rey, who was a giant.