'Do you perform surgical operations?'
'Only on the common people, Excellency. I tour the rural villages and insert the implants which every citizen must have ... but not in the shoulder.'
He gave a little chuckle. Tom guessed it was some sort of in-joke and the average guardian, having his hair shampooed, would find it amusing. He decided to take his questions a little further.
'I take it that you are not allowed to do brain implants.'
The man was suitably offended.
'I am a fully-qualified neurosurgeon, Excellency.'
'So you have done implants on my fellow guardians?'
'Only in my surrogate capacity.'
'What about your personal capacity?'
'I perform implants on volunteer surrogates and others, Excellency.'
'By "others" you mean people who didn't volunteer?'
'I mean traitors and the children of traitors.'
There was passion in the man's voice. He dug his fingers into Tom's hair, working up a lather, as he described what should be done to those who defied the rule of law and threatened people like himself.
'They've kidnapped Princess Liala,' he said indignantly. 'Nothing is too harsh for them. If that means getting at members of their families ... so be it. They have to be taught a lesson or there will be no stopping them.'
'Do you know who kidnapped the princess?'
'Plaid Koerno, of course. The death trolls killed one of their senior men last month. I implanted his daughter as a reprisal. Breada Entwhistle,' he spat out the words. 'What sort of family has a name like that?'
'You turned the daughter into a surrogate?'
'I showed those traitors what can happen to members of their family if they go around terrorising innocent people. They have to know they are not the only ones who will get hurt. Fight terror with terror. That's what I say.'
'I thought being a surrogate was an honour.'
'That depends on your role, Excellency.'
'And Miss Entwhistle might not like hers?'
'I don't think she's the sort.'
'In what way?'
'Well, Excellency. You are new here. When you have been around for a while, you will discover that some of your female colleagues have a yearning for sex and that's a bit difficult when you are confined to a jar.'
'And having surrogates gets you out of the jar?'
'You can enjoy in like you are young again, Excellency. You can feel what it's like to lose you virginity a hundred times if you can find a hundred young virgins for me to implant.'