Stranger in a Strange Land

Feeling jealous of Gillian’s closeness with Smith, Caxton proposes, but she demurs for the time being. Once Caxton understands the true nature of their nurse/patient relationship, however, he accepts it and shares water with the Man from Mars. Jubal then argues that, despite Caxton’s kidnapping and detention, Douglas never intended to kill him, and that as self-serving as Douglas is, a worse alternative is always around the corner. Jubal and Caxton debate the merits of Smith’s wealth and inheritance, an inheritance he cannot acknowledge because he cannot understand the concept of ownership. Jubal then lays out his plan for negotiations.

The “Martian delegation”—Smith, Jubal, and his entourage—flies to Douglas’s palace, and Smith sees for the first time the sprawling cities of Earth and the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. When they land, Douglas’s staff tries to usher them to his office, but Jubal adamantly insists they go straight to the conference room, which is filled with reporters. After answering a few preliminary questions, Dr. Mahmoud—the Champion’s semantician and Smith’s water brother—enters. As a British citizen, he has an aversion to Americans but accepts these Americans as fellow water brothers. After some wrangling over diplomatic protocols, Jubal is ready to proceed.