Marvin Heber nodded and eyed the newcomer. “If you want to settle, I’m sure we can find a place for you.”

As Junior was trying to think of what to say next, an elderly, spindle-armed beggar in a dusty robe came up to him and asked for alms. His skin was bluish gray. Junior dropped a few small coins in the proffered alms bowl. “Wheels within wheels, bendreth, ” said the beggar.

“Was that a Vanek?” he asked as the beggar walked away. “I’ve heard they’re common in this region, but that’s the first one I’ve seen since I arrived.”

“They keep pretty much to themselves and only come into town to buy supplies now and then.

There’s always a beggar or two about, however.”

Junior said nothing but looked sincerely interested. He recognized Heber for a talker and was quite ready to prove a willing audience.

“They spend most of their time fooling around on their reservation, meditating and carving their little statues.”

“What little statues are those?” Junior asked.

Heber took this opportunity to sit down and share Junior’s shade. “You won’t see any around here.

Some company in the city buys them up as fast as the Vanek can turn them out and sells them as curios-`Handmade by alien half-breeds.’ They’re pretty popular over most of the settled galaxy. The Vanek have no financial worries, no, sir.”

“Then why do they beg?”

Heber shrugged. “It’s somehow mixed up in their religion which nobody really understands. You heard him say, ‘Wheels within wheels’ after you gave him some coins.”

“Yeah,” Junior said. “Then he said, `bendreth: What does that mean?”

“Not much. Bendreth is the Vanek equivalent of `sir’ or `madam.’ They say that to just about everybody. `Wheels within wheels’ has something to do with their religion. According to tradition, a wise old Vanek philospher with an unpronounceable name came up with the theory that the universe was a conglomeration of wheels, wheels within wheels within wheels within wheels.