Dydeetown World

Epilogue

"So Brode was lying about the memwipe," I said to Lum as we sat at Doc's table in Elmero's.

"Of course. He was putting heavy pressure on you and didn't want her to be any part of the bargain. So he took her out of the picture by telling you, in effect, that she was dead. But he was protecting her, holding her back as a last resort."

A lot had happened in the two days since the showdown at the Pyramid. The Lost Boys' Trust was ballooning with donations. And after Brode played and replayed the vid of his performance on the datastream, the citizenry of Chi-Kacy, Tex-Mex, and the Western Megalops were demanding trusts for their own urchins. Same in Europe and elsewhere.

"Can the outworlds handle all those urchins?" Doc said.

Lum nodded vigorously. "As many as we can send them. The farm worlds will set them up on big tracts and supervise the kids until they're old enough to homestead the land on their own. They'll all be landowners sooner or later. Me, too."

"You?" I said. "Thought you were Brode's new top aide."

"Right. But only for a while. There's a lot of change in the wind and Brode's the man who's going to spearhead most of it."

"Sure. Because he's been such a true-believing oozer all along, right?"

Lum shrugged. "Brode believes in taking Brode to the top. Before the Wendy affair, he was just another Megalops chief administrator, a regional big shot. Now he's sui generis-the only politico standing up for clones and urchins. He doesn't have universal support, of course, but there's enough pent-up emotion behind those issues to carry him a long, long way. He's now a world-class contender for Central Authority. If clone rights and urchin emigration are going to get him where he wants to go, then he'll champion them with all his heart."

"And if the opposite stands would get him there?" Doc said.

"Then he would damn clones and urchins with equal passion and sincerity." Lum shook his head. "An amazing man — the very soul of pragmatism. I'm going to hang around for a while to see how long I can keep him on the right track."

"Nothing ever really changes," I said.

"When change is imposed from the top down, I agree," Lum said. "But this…this is coming from the bottom up. It's hearts and minds making themselves felt in the upper levels. This kind of change can last."

Didn't believe that for a minute but wasn't going to argue.

I said, "We'll see."

"Maybe you will, but I'll be out of here in a few years. After I put in my time with Brode, I'm heading for Neeka."

"Why Neeka?"

"Because Jean will be there. She fascinates me. I want to get to know her better. And maybe, if things work out…"

He let the sentence trail off.

"She's sterile, you know," I said, for no good reason I could think of.

"Of course. But there'll be more than enough of kids around, don't you think? What're your plans, Sig?"

Shrugged. "More of the same."

"No plans for heading Out Where All the Good Folks Go?"

"Not a chance. Born an Earthie, gonna stay an Earthie."

"Want to work for Brode?"

"Not interested," I said. "Don't like politicos, no matter what the wrapper."

"Good for you." He stood and held up his thumb. "Got to run. Where do I pay?"

Waved him off. "It's on me."

We all shook hands and he left. Doc turned to me.

"You mean to tell me you're not even tempted to try a new life on Neeka?"

"Not the least."

"Even though Jean and B.B. practically begged you to come along?"

"Me? A farmer?"

"There's got to be something there for you. They've got cities-"

"They've got towns, Doc. Little towns scattered all over the map."

The thought of all those far horizons and wide-open spaces made me shudder.

"It'll be a shame to let her go," Doc said, eyeing me over his vial of vapor.

Took instant offense at that.

"She's nothing to me."

He laughed. "What kind of a jog do you take me for? You should have seen your face when Lum talked about heading out to Neeka and maybe marrying her."

"You've been whiffing too much, Doc. You've got permanent brain damage."

He wandered off to the bar and left me sitting there thinking about emigrating to Neeka. Crazy idea. And yet, maybe there'd be something out there for a roguey guy like me. Something other than farming. Anything but farming.

It was a thought. A remote maybe.

Wondered if there'd be anything for Ignatz to eat on Neeka.