“So why don’t we ask one of the naked chicks what’s goin’ on?” Trickshot suggested. “I’m up for a little primary research.”

“So I notice,” giggled Uhuna. “Why don’t we ask one of these nice naked men? Or several of them?”

CSFB! bounded over to a handsome pair of Nubians who were sitting together enjoying the lush sticky fruits of one of the colourful trees. “Hi there,” he called, relying on his tongue-stud and ear-ring to do the translating for him. “We’ve just arrived and we were wondering where the holiday director was.”

“We are to be hoping to be finding out what is going on,” Yo added, believing s/he could speak Swaheli.

The couple stared at the strangers for a moment, giggled, then went back to their amusements.

“Yeah, bad time,” CSFB! agreed. “I can see that. Still, great new recipe for fruit cocktail you guys.”

The Manga Shoggoth sighed and rolled over another trio of humans, enveloping them in his biomass so he could analyse them properly.

“Shoggoth!” Hatman called sharply, “Spit them out.”

The Shoggoth allowed the traumatised humans to ooze free of his gelid bulk. The scrambled away desperately, but then seemed to lose interest in escaping the loathsome elder being and went back to their pleasures as if nothing had happened.

“Boy, these folks are pretty single-minded,” Trickshot admitted.

“These mortals are under a powerful psionic influence,” the Shoggoth reported. “A kind of delta-wave dream state. They are being mind controlled.”

“By somebody with a dirty mind,” Trickshot snorted.

“You think?” CSFB! wondered. “I mean, I know some of the folks here are being pretty affectionate, but a lot of them are just playing. Like children. Having fun. This isn’t an orgy it’s…”

“An orgy?” Uhuna asked, intrigued. “What’s that?”

“This is not being an orgy,” Yo agreed. “This is being… no inhibitions, no worryings, no problems, no responsibilities.”

“Should we take out clothes off now and join them?” Uhuna checked. “Or shall we wait for Bill to get here?”

“We get on with the mission,” Hatman said; but even he was feeling the seductive tug of the garden, and he wondered how long even the Lair Legion could resist it.”

• Get out of there.
• Look for the singer
• Take off their clothes and become citizens of paradise