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antiradiation granules. Nictitating membranes covered his eyes like silver monocles. His scalp was bald and convoluted into ridges by wires buried beneath the skin. Itgleamed with conducting gel. He wore only a formal cape of spun gold—hybrids were proud of nakedness, having need for neither clothing nor modesty, An earring dangled from his left ear. The only other jewelry he wore was a platinum ring set with a stone I could not identify. A sonic knife in a sheath was strapped around his left thigh. Fingers and toes were long—each of their tips had a suction pad so the sailor could climb polished surfaces like a tree frog.
    Now his fingers cradled a pair of crystal dice. He shook them in his hand and crooned to them as dice players had done for millennia. A huge stack of chips stood before him. He let them ride on his next throw. His hand went back, then forward. Diamond dice were flung into a field of pseudograv, where they were caught and held. They tumbled in midair. Tiny oscillators in the center of each die flip-flopped randomly between six choices. The dice stopped spinning. LED’s lighted up each facet: two on one, five on the other. Seven. A natural. The crowd murmured. The sailor grinned.
    A croupier pushed neat stacks of chips across the table. With one hand the sailor added them to his other stacks of chips. With the other he gathered up his dice and shook them again. He bet all his chips. I did a quick mental calculation. There was at least a million in front of him.
    I whispered to the woman standing next to me: “How long has he been letting them ride that way?”
    She laughed. “For ninety-eight straight passes. All naturals. All the easy way. Quite incredible, really.” A pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. “They say he’s cleaned out a different casino each night for a week. Always shooting craps. Always throwing naturals. No one can figure out how he’s doing it.” Her eyes narrowed. “He’ll need someone to help spend it.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Corne with me, just in case. You can’t be sure. He might prefer boys.” She began elbowing her way around the table. I followed behind her.
    The sailor brought his arm back again, shaking the dice in his hand. Light glittered off his stack of chips. There was a distant look in his eyes, a look I found disturbing.
    He snapped his arm forward, throwing the dice. They ricocheted in midair, skittering into the crowd. Something was wrong. They were supposed to enter the pseudograv field of the table, not bounce off it. The field strength must have been increased. The croupier retrieved the dice and handed them to the sailor. He threw again. Again the dice skipped in midair above the table.
    An uneasy murmur rose from the crowd. The croupier made an unobtrusive hand signal. Almost immediately the casino manager stood at his side. She was a tall woman, almost as tall as the sailor, but well built. Her hair was short and the color of wheat stubble. Her eyes were emerald. “There seems to be a malfunction with the table,” she said. Sonic earrings amplified her voice. “Technicians have already been summoned to repair it.” She smiled, nodding toward the sailor. “I’m afraid our lucky guest will have to take a break while the table is being repaired. Shouldn’t take too long.” Mirrored fingernails flashed as she waved her hands.
    “There’s nothing wrong with the table,” the sailor said softly. The crowd quieted.
    “Of course there is. You saw for yourself.”
    “I saw what you wanted me to see.” There was something wrong with his voice. The same wrongness lay in his eyes. “You’re afraid I’m going to break this casino like I did the others. You turned up the field on the table. You want to check it out. Can’t figure out how I’m winning, can you? What’s the matter? Don’t you believe in luck? You’ll find nothing wrong with the table. Or the dice. I’m sure you’ve already looked me over with sensors. You