(Samuel Johnson) CHAPTER TWELVE LARRY said softly, “This’s the Teumess calling the Almas. Can you hear me?” The machine translated and repeated his words loudly. “This is Tedorus, Leader of the Almas Spacecraft Pantry,” a voice responded. “Who are you? And why have you not answered our calls before? Are you ready to play? Are you ready to gather for the benefit of the Almas? Are you—” “Whoa there, Tedorus,” Larry said. “I can answer your questions, but only one at a time. I’m not very smart so we have to do this slowly.” Tedorus laughed. At least, the translator interpreted the burping noise coming from the monitor as laughter. It sounded like a human trying to burp the alphabet. “The average Teumess isn’t smart, so if you aren’t up to Teumess average we will have to go slowly indeed.” Larry gritted his teeth, but managed to give a quick “ha-ha”.
