Monsters That Once Were Men

Monsters That Once Were Men by Robert Silverberg - They were like creatures painted by a drunken artist, ghastly, utterly repulsive caricatures of humanity! Tet, twisted through they were, they were still human...

We were en route from Arenack to Delimon XI when some trouble developed in the gyroscopic drive stabilizers, and so we decided to lay over for repairs at the nearest planet. We weren't in any real hurry to get to Delimon XI, because we were flush from our last hauling job, and didn't need cash in a hurry.

That's our trade, you see—interstellar hauling. I've been a free-lance transport man for the last twenty-eight years, and I like the work just fine. I carry a crew of eight, charge top rates and get them too, and the work is pleasant if you have the right kind of disposition for it, which I happen to have.

But the events of that simple little stopover for stabilizer repairs nearly soured my disposition for good.