ssary had brought the emergency
rations and Mrs. Kalmar had simply punctured the self-heat cartridges
and put the servings in front of each guest; the containers were
disposable plates and came with single-use plastic utensils. No garbage,
no preparation, no cleaning up afterward, except to toss them all into
the converter furnace. Dr. Hoyt was still not accustomed to wholly grown
foods; he'd been raised on synthetics, of course, which were the staples
on Earth.

"Well, that was good," said Dr. Lowell, getting up from the table with
his round little belly comfortably expanded. "Now, let's have a few
drinks before we start a professional bull session. Where do you keep
your liquor? I'd like to mix my special so Dr. Hoyt can see we colonials
are not so provincial."

"Good Lord, I haven't had your special for years!" exclaimed Dr. Kalmar.
"Since about the time I came to Deneb, in fact."

"That's why it's a special. Reserved for state occasions, such as
arrivals of colleagues from our dear old home planet."

"Oh, you don't have to go to all that bother," said Dr. Hoyt. "You'd
have to make it twice--once now and once when I leave."

"That won't be for quite a while, will it?" Miss Dupont asked anxiously.

"As soon as I finish my internship. No more alien worlds for me. I like
Earth."

Mrs. Kalmar got him to talk about it, which was much easier than getting
him to stop, while Dr. Kalmar showed the old man where the liquor stock
and fixings were kept. Watching him mix the ingredients with a chemist's
care, Dr. Kalmar felt a glow of nostalgia. He recalled the celebration
at Dr. Lowell's house, several months after he had come from Earth, when
he'd enjoyed himself so much that he'd passed out. It was one of the
pleasanter memories of his start on Deneb.

"Can't mix them all in a single batch," Dr. Lowell explained, bringing
the drinks over one at a time as he finished preparing them. "Mrs.
Kalmar ... Miss Dupont ... our gracious host, Dr. Kalmar ... and now Dr.
Hoyt and myself." He lifted his glass at Dr. Hoyt. "Welcome to our
latest associate--product, like ourselves, of the great medical schools
of Earth. It's a forlorn hope, but may he learn as much from us about
our peculiar methods as we learn from him about the latest terrestrial
advances."

Dr. Hoyt, smiling as if he didn't think it possible, stood up when
they'd downed their toast to him. "To Earth," he said. "May I get back
in record time." He gulped it, said