Not that the fuzzy aliens were unfriendly. In fact, they loved everything about humans, and adopted various Terran cultures wholesale and in every little detail -- but with a bit of confusion about the differences between fact and fiction. So if the Hokas suddenly started acting out the parts in a riproaring, shoot-em-up western, or brought to life the London of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a pipe-puffing, deerstalker-wearing Hoka, or suddenly decided to fly the Jolly Roger and lead a life of adventure and piracy on the high seas, matey, that was only to be expected. And as the Hokas threw themselves wholeheartedly into progressively wilder worlds from Terran history and fiction, Jones could be excused for feeling that his grip on reality was hanging by a single, thin, increasingly frayed thread....