Plot Summary
The main character is Coretti, a dull, scholarly man who studies and teaches linguistics and social interaction theory. He sometimes visits bars to help dull the tedium, only choosing bars which have a low chance of putting him in social interaction.
Coretti meets a woman in a bar who seems to fit perfectly there. He follows her to various other bars and clubs, watching as she constantly drinks and talks with a companion of hers, her appearance and clothing shifting to let her fit in wherever she goes. His performance at work suffers and his appetite decreases as he devotes all his time and resources to tracking the duo.
Coretti spots the man secreting money from some kind of pocket, and realizes that he's discovered a new kind of creature, one that has adapted to modern society more completely than any cockroach, fueled by the alcohol of a hundred bars. The story closes with Coretti's realization that he is, and finally his transformation into, one of the belonging kind.
Read more about this topic: The Belonging Kind
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