Jestecost, one of the lords of Instrumentality, in effect one of the most powerful men in all of humankind's empire, has a soft spot for the underpeople -- half animal, half human creatures who perform most of the menial tasks and jobs humanity has cast aside in its quest to conquer the stars. Unfortunately, underpeople are regarded as less than human, for obvious if unrighteous reasons, and though Jestecost has an inkling of how this might begin to change, he doesn't quite know what to do about it until C'Mell, a half cat, half human 'girlygirl', one who welcomes returning space travelers to Earth and makes them feel 'at home' in any role they may desire, enters his life.

Jestecost has no such plans for C'Mell -- his ideas are much grander than simple fleshly pursuits -- but what he discovers about C'Mell and her famous father simultaneously elates and terrifies him, for the underpeople may not be as disorganized as commonly thought, and humans and their servants may be closer to equality than anyone realizes.

Published in Galaxy (October 1962).