"Well," he says quietly - and then suddenly, abruptly laughs. "Well," he says, a little louder, "at the very least, we'll have some of the finest Cetagandan scientific minds of this generation on the problem. One of whom - "

They break into the little clearing to find the corpse before them. The cold and the death alike are starting to get to the figure; ghem-Miko's skin is ghastly, purpling, hideous. His head is horribly expressionless, slack, and vacant. Byerly tries hard to look unconcerned and casual; he ends up looking nauseated and unsteady.

"Lies before us. What a sight."