Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

“Just take it easy for a few minutes, kid. Flying can take a lot out of you, even without the fall.”

I closed my eyes and waited for my head to stop whirling.

“Aahz? “I said finally.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Tell me about Perv.”

“What about it?”

“It just occurred to me, those Imps seemed scared to death when they realized you were a Pervect. What kind of a reputation does your dimension have?”

“Well,” he began, “Perv is a self-sufficient, standoffish dimension. We may not have the best fighters, but they’re close enough that other dimension travelers give them lots of room. Technology and magik exist side by side and are intertwined with each other. All in all it makes a pretty powerful little package.”

“But why should anyone be afraid of that?”

“As I said, Perv has a lot going for it. One of the side effects of success is an abundance of hangers-on. There was a time when we were close to being swamped with refugees and immigrants from other dimensions. When they got to be too much of a nuisance, we put a stop to it.”

“How?” I pushed.

“First, we took the non-contributing outsiders and ran ’em out. Then, for an added measure of insurance, we encouraged the circulation of rumors of certain antisocial attitudes of Pervects toward those from other dimensions.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Oh, the usual. That we eat our enemies, torture folks for amusement and have sexual practices that are considered dubious by any dimension’s standards. Folks aren’t sure how much is truth and how much is exaggeration, but they’re none too eager to find out firsthand.”