[1]. "Spaceship Evelyn Carter, from New-Merrylin on Planet
#@!9, wishing to land, over".
A feminine voice answered back. "Clearance for landing in
Spaceport Mathilda, spaceway Zero Fifteen, at Twenty-seven
O'five Spinach Mean Time. Owner's interstellar identity and
credit number or numbers, please".
"Seventy seven dash Aye Jay five slash semi-colon triple
Why, the identity; Queue You Eye Eee Tea space a-thousand'n
one, the credit". Captain Ace Jejune the XXVII of Euwida,
Queen of Planet #@!9 and associated colonies, waited while
the computer on the other side of the Wireless
TransStellaron Connection checked the numbers on the data
files. Her long hair streamed in straight waves over her
four smooth shoulders. Her arms were bare, but her body was
covered by an elastic 25-pocketed garment that stuck to it,
leaving only two holes in the center, one in front, the
other at the back. Out of these, two tail-like figures
dangled out, together with her hands and feet classifying
her as a decapede.
The landing went smoothly, as usual; so did the greeting
reception by the Mayor of Iyescyef-City, SNZ (=Spinach
Neutral Zone,─ ISCF standing for InterStellar
ConFerences). They all admired her manner of swaying her
front "tail" to and fro during her speech, and asked
permission to trimensphoto her.
After the party was over, it was already 41:25 SMT, and she
slept the rest of the 18 hours left till the Spinach
Calendar day of 59/5/6348 gave way to the next.
During the New Moon ceremonies she met some important
ladies and gentlemen, and discussed with them some
all-important matters of state. Some of these discussions
were with neighboring rulers concerning the oncoming
elections, planned for the end of the next year. She even
succeeded in persuading the queen of Deja-Quolntascia, old
Helen the DCCLXXIV of Troy, to break her ancient
severance-of-relations with the holy grandsister of the
Tetrique sisterhood league of races, Twai the Second of
Rwanda, and go all three of them for a holiday vacation in
the Driplets of Grand Sand-Island, on planet :R-3705, to
reopen negotiations regarding  the Quolntascio-Tetran
quinta-territorial  dispute, originating some three or four
millennia ago.
It was late at night when she finally departed, waving her
fronttail high for farewell, and hurried along to spaceway
015.
   She promised her daughter Ethylene to be back for their
weekly dinner. Jejune the XXVII of Euwida was known as a
word keeper.
To her horror, no trace of her majesty's Evelyn, named
after famous Evelyn Judy Carter of the ancients, was to be
found. It must have been stolen.

[2]. This must have been done by the monstrous Lhwlhkrqptaas
of Acid Island, HM-999x. Only they had sufficient power in
their wings to carry the ship without leaving traces. The
ship was carried, not flown. No one but a decapede could
operate it, and the special operation code to gain access to
the Evelyn's computer was entirely safeguarded against
accidental discovery.
She rushed to a telephone, but the machine's instinctive
   reaction to the number QUIET 1001 was to announce
"Unoperational by credit number", and then become quiet for
1001 milliseconds.  This interesting phenomenon repeated
itself with two other machines. Her fingers,─ six in
each hand, plus her fronttail,─ searched all her
pockets in vain; all the telephone tokens were left in the
Evelyn.
"Pardon, Milady, may I help you?" suggested a young-looking
brass-hopper tentatively. "I see you are in a need for a
temporary loan, Miss..."
"Jejune, young one, and thanks a lot, for I'm in an
   emergency, Mr..."
"Sarcastic, fair one, Scarce Sarcastic from Syracuse,
planet csk-8(d, Sucrose galaxy. Here, take these".
With the sixty tokens he gave her she managed to alert the
local security force, to inform her insurance company, to
complain to the local authorities about the insufficient
measures taken to protect royal property, and to call her
dear Ethylene on the WTSC.
"Some urgent business arose unexpectedly, but I'll try to
be back as soon as possible. It might take me a few weeks.
Take care". And as these words were spoken, down went the
last token with a "cling!" and the call was interrupted.
"Adieus," said the queen, taking out of one of her pockets
(pocket #17, to be exact) a personal visit card, with her
name, title and hotel address; and, hanging it unto the
brasshopper's left tentacle, disappeared, her eight fists
hitting the ground one at a time, her backtail assisting the
balance, at the remarkable pace of 23.7 k.p.h.