There was a long moment of silence. “‘Oh dear’ doesn’t sound very promising,” Martia said.
“It could be worse,” Thomas said. “A blue leaf with white stripes comes from a plant known for powerfully hallucinogenic secretions that may be absorbed through the skin. From your comments, you may be suffering some effects.”
“Were there any more of those leaves lying around?” Bright asked.
“Is it serious?” Martia asked.
“No one’s ever reported any deaths,” Thomas said.
“But if they died,” Bright put in, “they probably wouldn’t report it.”
“Most likely,” Thomas went on, “the worst that will happen is you’ll experience some unusual phenomena or see strange sights.”
“As opposed to what?” Martia said, her voice slow and dreamy. “This is the Quasiverse.”
“How will this affect our route back to B
