Summary

As the novel opens, Laureline is telling Valerian about her trip up to this point, though she says he has already heard the details before. Laureline is in the Cassiopeia Constellation. She spent some time at the Planet Rubanis gathering information, but she is now traveling again. She says the area has so many people and so much traffic that she is forced to travel at “sub-light speed” in this region (4). She says there is a lot to worry about. She encountered the inhabitants of Zyp, who gave her a brief period of “inner warmth and tenderness” (5). She met up with Apominobas, known as “compulsive talkers,” and purchased a few things they had for sale (5). The Apominobas told Laureline that there are “unscrupulous merchants” who are willing to sell anything (6). Her next stop will be Solum, and she will...