This is Chapter 10 of The Universal Good Deal, you may want to start at the beginning or go back to Chapter 9.

Jane didn’t go try to go buy anything from the Aliens on that first day. She heard about the long lines, and she felt it was beneath her to do too quickly anything that was popular. But by the next morning, she could no longer contain her curiosity.

She walked down the sidewalk towards the nearest Alien saucer, which was hovering just slightly above the ground in a parking lot. A large, green-skinned, almond-eyed balloon towered above the sidewalk, tied down by metal guy wires. The Aliens had set up three blue canopies in front of their saucer, where it looked like they were doing business. People were waiting in a long line that extended down the sidewalk.

After the president's speech there had been mobs as the Aliens first opened for business. Both within and among Martian communities, contact with the Aliens inspired bitter conflicts over access to what the Aliens had to offer. The Aliens had encouraged such violence at first, as it drove up their prices, but when the violence escalated and became widespread, they instituted rules that they would only sell to customers who were docile and waited in line; they considered that the dead Martians were not good customers. Long lines had prevailed throughout that first night.

Surprisingly, the line moved quickly. As Jane approached the table, she watched the others in front of her for cues on how to interact with the Aliens. The Aliens were behind the tables, and two were standing at the head of the line, apparently keeping more than one person from approaching the tables at a time.

As I have already said, much has been made of the Martians' admiration of the Alien whiteness; however, I believe what would have been most startling to Jane was that the Aliens did not wear clothes like the Martians. It was customary among many of the most widespread Martian cultures to almost completely cover their bodies in artificial skins. Nobody really knows why the Martians wore these clothes of theirs, but some scholars have theorized that the custom was a superstitious response to the weather, the mechanics of which they were notoriously ignorant. It could also have been some strange taboo created in order to heighten the pleasure they experienced in sexual intercourse. Whatever the cause, the Martians were truly shocked by the presence of any person who was not wearing clothing.

Even though Jane had heard that the Aliens did not wear any clothing, she did indeed find their nakedness startling. They were all men, and were all starkly white. As she got closer, Jane could see their bald heads and bare chests—blankly white. It was said that they spoke Martian languages and that aside from their nakedness, interacting with the Aliens was almost like interacting with normal Martians.

And then, in a rush, it was her turn. The Alien waved his hand over the table, as if revealing a magic trick. Arrayed on the table in two neat rows were oddly shaped blobs of some metal, very shiny, very Outer Space. Jane had no idea what they were.

'How many paperweights would you like to buy?' asked the Alien.

'I'm sorry,' said Jane. 'What did you say?'

'How many paperweights would you like?' the Alien repeated.

'Paperweights? You're selling paperweights?'

'There is a surprisingly consistent demand for paperweights throughout the galaxy,' said the Alien.

'I don't think I've ever met anyone who wanted a paperweight,' said Jane.

Jane asked how much they were, and the Alien told her a price, which may have been a little high for a paperweight, although, perhaps, not for one that came from a different planet. Jane bought two and got three free.