Ship of Shadows
By Fritz Leiber, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
A half-blind, toothless addict befriends a talking cat--together they must escape their toxic surroundings.
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Plot Summary
Spar is a half blind and toothless bartender at bar for degenerates on a spaceship. This is quite the dilemma though, because he himself is addicted to a substance called moonmist. He wakens from a terrifying nightmare and befriends a talking witch-cat named Kim. Kim helps Spar get rid of his moonmist addiction, but they are still surrounded by shady characters who swarm the bar daily. One of those characters, Crown, is known as a womanizer and bully throughout the spaceship. He accuses Spar of being responsible for the disappearance of his bag, though the bag truly belongs to the Doctor. Spar helps recover the missing bag and returns it to the Doctor, who rewards him with glasses for his eyesight and fillings for his missing teeth. Spar is then captured by Crown and his harem of women. They intend to drink his blood but are stopped by Kim at the last minute.