He was sure now. Teela Brown had never been hurt; had never learned caution; did not understand fear. Her first pain would come as a horrifying surprise. It might destroy her entirely. The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools. She'd be hurt over Louis Wu's dead body.

The perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum. The universe is hostile.

Skill. She must know more anatomy than most professors. A doctorate in Prostitution? There was more to the oldest profession than met the eye. Louis Wu could recognize expertise in any field. This woman had it.

One mark of a good officer, he remembered, was the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better.

"Exercise is wonderful," said Louis. "I could sit and watch it all day."

"Something's got us!" Louis shouted; and with that the terror had him. They were puppets! Huge and dark and sentient, the Puppet Master twitched their arms and legs and moved them about to an unseen script. And Louis Wu knew the Puppet Master's name.

"We can't go back, Louis."

"No, of course not."

"Not until we can deliver our secret to our respective worlds. And acquire an intact ship."

— Last lines

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Ringworld

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