Guy Maynard, the Terran, became steeped in Ertinian lore. He went at
it with the same intensity that he went at anything else, and possibly
driven with the heart-chilling thought that he might not be able to
convince Ertene that Sol had a place for her. He saw that possibility,
and prayed against it, yet he realized that Ertene was a planet of her
own mind and that they might decide against alliance. It was a selling
job he had to do.