All Denise could sense of the world outside her little prison was the gentle rocking of the huge freighter that carried her to her destination and the vibrations of its mighty engine. Her mind was too befogged to form any prolonged rational thought. She could perceive that she was under a cruel confinement, remember that she had been betrayed by the man she had come to need and, yes, love. In her misery, she despised herself for the emotional bond she had formed for a man who had taken everything away from her. But then a small stream of the porridge-like substance would be pumped down her tube and, after a few minutes, her mind again would go numb.
* * *
The deadline for the auction in Katangonese time was 2 A.M. Stoner had received an email the day before setting forth the time of the
