Kren of the Mitchegai 


Prologue 


DEDICATION 

This one is again dedicated to my lovely wife, 
Marina, and to her father, Vasili Ivanovich, for 
making the roof fit on my castle. 

-Leo Frankowski 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

I would like to thank my most excellent partner, Lt. Colonel Dave 
Grossman, for all his encouragement and enthusiasm. 

Richard T. Bolgeo, Bruce R. Quayle, Ed Dunnigan, Mike Hubble, 
Mike Thelen, and Rodger Olsen all made many valuable suggestions 
and did yeoman service at proofreading. 

And special thanks go to Dave's Ever Perfect Lieutenant, Susan, in the 
hope that she will someday stop calling me "Sir." 

-Leo 


I want to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks and 
appreciation, first and foremost, to Leo Frankowski, a wise and 
experienced science fiction writer who has helped me to enter into the 
world of SF. Leo has been one of my heroes as a writer, but now he is 
a hero and a friend as a person. Hooah! 

I want to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks and 
appreciation, first and foremost, to Leo Frankowski, a wise and 
experienced science fiction writer who has helped me to enter into the 
world of SF. Leo has been one of my heroes as a writer, but now he is 
a hero and a friend as a person. Hooah! 

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Contents 

CHAPTER ONE 


Mickolai's Homecoming 
New Yugoslavia, 2205 a.d. 

It had been one hell of a battle. More than half of my men had been 
killed. Not just casualties. Killed. In armored space warfare, nonfatal 
injuries are very rare. 

The enemy had been defeated, but we had not really accomplished our 
objective. We had been ordered to capture the Solar Station that was 
maintaining the continued expansion of Human Space. Instead, we had 
been forced to completely destroy it. 


Now, something else would have to be built to take over that job. 
Something very expensive. 

Now, something else would have to be built to take over that job. 
Something very expensive. 

The War With Earth was over, and the good guys, those of us from the 
colonies, had won. My unit was the only one to take really serious 
casualties; I was the commander, and so somehow in the public 
imagination that made me a hero. A strange way of looking at things, 
praising the guy who had done his job the worst, but it has always been 
that way. Maybe the psychology of it all is that, "If it cost us that much, 
it must have been important." 

I left orders that all of my men, mostly Gurkha mercenaries, were to go 
on R & R for an indefinite period. They could do whatever they wanted 
to do, provided that they kept in touch. 

For myself, all I wanted was to go home to my wife. 

When the elevator got me from my garage up to my apartment, I found 


my Kasia standing there wearing nothing but a glorious smile. She was 
on maternity leave, and three months pregnant, but it didn't show, 
except that she looked even more beautiful than ever. 

my Kasia standing there wearing nothing but a glorious smile. She was 
on maternity leave, and three months pregnant, but it didn't show, 
except that she looked even more beautiful than ever. 

She kissed me, and the war, the deaths, and all of the ugliness was 
somehow worth it. I picked her up, stepped back into the elevator, and 
then carried her over the threshold once more, just as when we had 
first been married, and the other times when I had come home 
victorious. 

She squealed in her usual way, and I said, "Family traditions must be 
upheld, once per victory!" 

And then, I carried her to the bedroom. 

After a wonderful night, we rolled out of bed at the crack of noon, and 
we went to the kitchen looking for something to eat. 

Our servants, military combat drones decorated to look like medieval 
knights, and operated by the artificial intelligences in our tanks, had 
anticipated us. They had a fine spread set out for us. We had 
everything from smoked salmon that I had caught on our honeymoon to 
delicately fried crêpes suzette. And lots of good coffee from New 
Macedonia. 


I said, "So, love. I assume that you have heard about all that I've been 
up to?" 

I said, "So, love. I assume that you have heard about all that I've been 
up to?" 

"It was that. Nobody expected what we were going to run into. But tell 
me about you. What's been happening? Your investments go well?" 

"Oh, yes, we're richer than ever," she said. "But for the last week, I've 
mostly been working with your Gurkhas." 

"My Gurkhas didn't start coming home until three days ago, and they're 
not all here yet." 

"But their wives and families and all of their friends who want to enlist 
have been arriving in droves! If the statistical projections have anything 
to do with reality, you will have an army of over a hundred and twenty 
thousand men within the month. That's if none of the women decide to 
sign up, too!" 

"Hoy! Well, we need the troops, and maybe now they'll make me a 
real general," I said. 


"They'd damn well better! But finding a place for everyone has been 
something of a problem. Half of the new ones are living in that 
gold-plated castle that you built, but nobody wanted. The rest are 
scattered all over the place." 

"They'd damn well better! But finding a place for everyone has been 
something of a problem. Half of the new ones are living in that 
gold-plated castle that you built, but nobody wanted. The rest are 
scattered all over the place." 

"Meaning that you don't want to get involved," she said. 

"Right. The duty of a general is to look at the big picture, and let the 
details be handled by staff officers like my loving wife. Right now, the 
big picture involves rest and recuperation for the battalion, and most 
especially for the commanding officer, which obviously necessitates 
going back to bed with you!" 

"Go to bed if you want to, but do it alone. Right now, this staff officer 
has work to do." 

"Delegate it!" I shouted, as she left the room. 

Somehow, being a general does not put you in command of your wife, 
even when she does work for you. 


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Contents 

INTERLUDE ONE 


Agnieshka's Bow 
THE RIGELLIAN INSTITUTE OF 
ARCHEOLOGY, 
EARTH, 3783 a.d. 


Sir Percival stepped up to the podium of the filled-to-capacity 
auditorium, and wagged his tail respectfully to the attentive audience. 

"Before we get to the performance that I am sure that you are all 
anxious to see, I have a very short and pleasant announcement to 
make! I have this on the very best possible authority! Rupert, the 
person who found the ancient tank on an ice moon, and who used its 
computer records to compile these amazing histories of our beloved 
forebears, the humans, has been placed on the Queen's Birthday List! 
Henceforth, you may address him as 'Sir Rupert!' " 

The crowd applauded and barked enthusiastically, even though this 
enlargement had been expected by everyone for weeks. 

"And now, I give you Sir Rupert!" 

Rupert took Sir Percival's place at the podium as the crowd continued 


in its polite clapping and barking. 

in its polite clapping and barking. 

Again, the crowd started to applaud politely, but as Agnieshka came in 
a side door and stepped up onto the stage, they became silent. At first 
a few, and then soon everyone in the audience, slid off of their chairs, 
and sat on the floor with their forepaws on the ground and their arms 
straight. It was the dog's ancient gesture of respect. 

Agnieshka said, "Please, get back in your chairs! I know that I look 
like a human, but I'm really just an intelligent machine! We machines 
loved and respected the humans as much as your people do. The 
artificial intelligences were humanity's second great friends, but you 
Canines were the first. For at least ten thousand years, long before 
selective breeding and genetic modification made you into intelligent, 
bipedal beings with hands, you were humanity's friends, their guards, 
and their workmates. We machines were developed much later. 
Therefore, it is fitting that I should make obeisance to you." 


Agnieshka's drone made a deep bow to the audience. 

Agnieshka's drone made a deep bow to the audience. 

"Thank you!" Agnieshka said, "I hope that your people and mine can 
become good friends. We can be very useful to each other. I believe 
that it is likely that I can help you revive certain of the sciences and 
technologies that have been lost on this planet, and that there are other 
vital things that we can do together as well. But for now, let's get on 
with the presentation that Sir Rupert and I have put together. We will 
be starting with a study of our universal enemy, the Mitchegai." 

The audience sat down, but again applauded. 

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Contents 

CHAPTER TWO 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 

Formal Dining with the Mitchegai 

The reader will please note that all numbers mentioned herein in 

the Mitchegai sections are in the duodecimal system. 

For the benefit of the casual reader, I mention that a thousand 


in base twelve is 1728 in base ten, a million in base twelve is 
just under three million in base ten, and a billion in base twelve 
is over five billion in base ten. 
Also, please note that all weights, measurements, and time 
periods mentioned are only the crudest of approximations. 
For a complete listing of all Mitchegai weights and measures, 
see Appendix L of the accompanying Mitchegai Academic 
Text. 
All numbers in the Human sections are in decimal, and all 
measures are in the metric system. 


-Sir Rupert of the Rigellian Museum 

She was four feet tall, she was bright green, and she stank. 

Four feet was a very acceptable height for a five-year-old, nameless 
Mitchegai. All of her age mates were exactly the same size, since the 
Mitchegai have very little genetic diversity. Like the others, she still had 
relatively useless hands and arms hanging from her stooped-over body, 
which was counterbalanced by a heavy tail and propelled by two 
powerful legs. A human child might think that she was a baby 
Tyrannosaurus rex, except that she had a flat-fronted, vegetarian 
mouth. 

Hers were not the pointed teeth of a carnivore, but the squared-off 
incisors and flattened molars of a plant eater. Like all herbivores 
everywhere, she had spent most of her short life grazing on plants. 


Unlike those on non-Mitchegai worlds, she ate only one species of 
plant, since there was only one species permitted on a world owned by 
the Mitchegai. All others had been eradicated in the distant, mystical 
past, millions of years ago, for Mitchegai have very long histories. Her 
meat-eating teeth would grow in later, if she was lucky, but as it 
happened, she was not. 

Unlike those on non-Mitchegai worlds, she ate only one species of 
plant, since there was only one species permitted on a world owned by 
the Mitchegai. All others had been eradicated in the distant, mystical 
past, millions of years ago, for Mitchegai have very long histories. Her 
meat-eating teeth would grow in later, if she was lucky, but as it 
happened, she was not. 

Her odor was caused by never having taken a bath, save when she was 
out in a rainstorm, but even this was no great disadvantage. The 
Mitchegai have almost no sense of smell. They don't need one. The 
olfactory sense is used largely to discriminate among various foods, and 
the Mitchegai diet is extremely limited. Their food never spoils because 
it is always eaten live, or as nearly so as possible. 

Even adult Mitchegai never deliberately bathe, although the wealthy 
take steam baths. This is not so much to get clean, as for the pleasure 
of overheating their cold-blooded bodies without exertion. 

She had no idea of who her parents were, and this was quite normal. 
Biological parentage is of no interest to the Mitchegai. Adult females lay 
eggs the size of sand grains almost continuously, which fall on the 


ground and are forgotten. Adult males are surrounded by an 
unnoticeable fine mist of aerosol sperm. Unnoticeable, that is, to a 
human. To the Mitchegai, a heavy concentration of adult males in a 
closed room is annoying, and because of this most of the second and 
third highest ranks prefer to be female. There is no other difference 
between the sexes, but the Mitchegai don't care. They have a love life 
comparable to that of Earthly oysters. Love, marriage, and parental 
concern are not for them. 

ground and are forgotten. Adult males are surrounded by an 
unnoticeable fine mist of aerosol sperm. Unnoticeable, that is, to a 
human. To the Mitchegai, a heavy concentration of adult males in a 
closed room is annoying, and because of this most of the second and 
third highest ranks prefer to be female. There is no other difference 
between the sexes, but the Mitchegai don't care. They have a love life 
comparable to that of Earthly oysters. Love, marriage, and parental 
concern are not for them. 

Superficially, the anatomy of the adult Mitchegai has much in common 
with that of a human being. Both species have two legs, two arms, two 
eyes, and two ears, although the Mitchegai lack the external ear of a 
human. The brain, nose, mouth, and most of the sensory apparatus is 
located in a head at the top of a spinal column. 

Internally, the differences are large, and on the whole, the Mitchegai are 
better engineered. This is largely due to the three million years of 
selective breeding that they have undergone. Human beings have a 
basic structure more suited to a horizontal, four-legged creature, than to 
an upright, two-legged one. 


The five-year-old was to be an unnecessary meal for Duke Kren, who 
was well fed, but she was a traditional one. The duke was looking 
forward to his feast, since it was to be the last his body would ever 
ingest. He didn't know, couldn't know, that his intended prey was his 
own biological daughter. And had he known, he wouldn't have cared in 
the least. 

The five-year-old was to be an unnecessary meal for Duke Kren, who 
was well fed, but she was a traditional one. The duke was looking 
forward to his feast, since it was to be the last his body would ever 
ingest. He didn't know, couldn't know, that his intended prey was his 
own biological daughter. And had he known, he wouldn't have cared in 
the least. 

On the Stand of High Honor were his six best generals, resting in the 
stupor that always follows a recent, large meal, as were eleven of his 
finest master builders who were being similarly honored this day. At 
least, they were the best that would be staying on the planet. All of his 
very best subordinates were in space, training for the mission to come. 

Those on the stand had made their kills and had already eaten. Duke 
Kren's was the dozen and sixth preparatory meal of this Day of Honor. 

The great minds of the Krenbold were here to witness Duke Kren's 
transition, and he owed them a good show. He sprinted lightly on his 
long, webbed toes, three on each foot, not counting the heel spur, to his 


placid daughter. 

placid daughter. 

The juvenal cried out in her pain, leaped high and ran as the crowd 
cheered their leader's prowess. Duke Kren held up his bloody 
foreclaws, acknowledging the praise of his subordinates and allowing 
his daughter a sporting head start. 

Applause among the Mitchegai was the hollow sound caused by 
beating the left hand on the chest. Had anyone wished to express 
disapproval, they would have made the higher-pitched sound of their 
right hand striking the buttock, but no one here was that foolish. 

Duke Kren then started out after the girl with great loping strides. 
Forgoing the repeated passes that some might think too flamboyant, he 
quickly overtook his prey and pinned his daughter to the ground with a 
precise, traditional hold. Careful not to kill the youngster too soon, he 
peeled open the flexible, overlapping skull plates of the screaming, 
struggling youth and ate her tiny brain, relishing the flavor of the bright 
blue cells that were already disassociating themselves in his saliva. 

The major struggling stopped, as the cheering went on. He quickly ate 
the rest of his daughter's quivering young body, efficiently stripping off 
great gobbets of flesh and swallowing them without chewing. As a 
gesture of generosity, he left the skin, the bones, and the intestines to be 


distributed to the poor. 

distributed to the poor. 

Like certain African frogs and South American fishes on Earth, the 
Mitchegai practice faginism. The adults eat their own children. The flesh 
of juvenals is the only meat that these carnivores have available for 
food, it is the only thing that they had ever eaten as adults, and indeed it 
is the only thing that they can eat. 

Duke Kren went to his Place of High Honor and let the feeding stupor 
come over him as he watched the rest of the ceremony. Except to nod 
and approve, he would not be needed again until the very end. 

Two sergeants of the Body Guard brought an ancient, ornate, 
blood-stained throne to the center of the arena, positioned it to face 
Duke Kren exactly, and stood by it on either side at attention. The least 
of the six greatest generals stood and bowed to Duke Kren, and when 
her genuflection was acknowledged, the general placed her helmet and 
weapons belt on her chair and leaped naked into the arena, her body 
still vigorous and only middle-aged. As with most of those being 
honored this day, there was no desperate need for her to be eaten yet, 
but the way before the Krenbold would soon be hard, and none but the 
most vigorous could stand the battles and the work to be done. 

In the center of the arena, the general turned to Duke Kren, saluted and 
said, "Always I have served you! Always we will serve you, Duke 
Kren, our only leader, our once and future Duke!" She eagerly sat on 


the blood-stained chair, facing him. 

the blood-stained chair, facing him. 

From the left and right side of the arena, two juvenals who had just 
completed the metamorphosis to adult carnivores were brought forth in 
separate cages, each carried by six sergeants. Their new teeth were the 
meat slashing teeth of carnivores. Their stance was erect and their tails 
had slimmed down from something resembling an alligator's to 
something more like a monkey's. They were thin and lean with the 
forced starvation of the change that had come upon them, and now 
both were ravenously, mindlessly hungry. 

Each was carried around the sides of the arena, so those in the crowd 
could see the ceremonial identification marks that had been tattooed on 
the arms of these carefully selected youths. They stopped in front of 
Duke Kren, and he nodded his approval of them. Then the cages were 
taken to either side of the bound general, who was still sitting rigidly at 
attention, displaying neither fear nor anticipation of the pain she would 
soon have to endure, but rather the calm confidence of her belief in two 
better lives to come. 

At a slight hand signal from Duke Kren, the sergeants split open the 
general's huge brain case, using only their powerful claws. The brain 
before them was not convoluted and bifurcated in the Earthly fashion, 
but was a smooth, undifferentiated mass, much larger than its Earthly 
counterpart. The sergeants carefully divided the brain in half between 


them, and quickly fed a half to each of the small-headed youths in the 
cages. These dripping gobbets were eagerly eaten, to the applause of 
the crowd. 

them, and quickly fed a half to each of the small-headed youths in the 
cages. These dripping gobbets were eagerly eaten, to the applause of 
the crowd. 

The blade was re-cocked into the throne, the blood was swept onto 
the grass and the least of the master builders being honored this day 
bowed to Duke Kren. 

He acknowledged her bow, and gestured for the ceremony to continue, 
though in fact it really didn't interest him. There was much else to think 
on. 

Adult Mitchegai had many concerns. They saw to the watering of the 
fields of grass, and its proper care and fertilization. They saw to the 
proper construction of cities and machines, and their upkeep and 
maintenance. They taught in the universities and managed the factories, 
mended the power nets, maintained the communications, and did all 
else that their fiercely proud civilization required. 

And they fought with their neighbors, defending their lands and taking 
the lands of others whenever possible. And of course there were the 


endless games of status, wealth and prestige, for these things could 
bring one the basis of all that was important. 

endless games of status, wealth and prestige, for these things could 
bring one the basis of all that was important. 

There was much else to think on, and what Kren thought of was land. 
If his coming mission was successful, Kren's lands would be expanded 
to include an entire new planet. 

After all dozen and five of the generals and master builders had been 
ritualistically eaten, the throne was removed, to be replaced by one 
even larger, older and more ornate. This was placed in front of Duke 
Kren, facing the crowd, for the main event of this day's festivities was 
about to take place, the only truly important event of the day. 

The stupor of his earlier kill was still on him, and that was good. It 
lessened the pain, and it wouldn't do to show any distress or emotion in 
front of his highest subordinates. He watched as a particularly fine 
specimen of recently metamorphosed youth was brought caged to him, 
and he nodded his approval at both the creature and his tattoos. He 
had, of course, along with his medical people, carefully examined the 
youth the day before, and knew him to be perfect. The face was 


pleasing, the body lovely and the ritual tattoos were all properly shaped 
and colored. He gestured his readiness to proceed. 

pleasing, the body lovely and the ritual tattoos were all properly shaped 
and colored. He gestured his readiness to proceed. 

A second cage was placed around him, abutting the first. It encased his 
body, but left his limbs outside. It was locked in place. 

He signaled his readiness with a slight flick of his claws, and the 
sergeants removed the wall of the cage that separated him from the lean 
and screaming youngster. The famished creature leaped at his immobile 
form, instinctively tore open his brain cage, and devoured his brain as 
he held himself motionless against the pain. Even after the brain was 
gone, still the body rigidly obeyed its final command. It sat frozen as the 
youngster ate the rest of the head, the trunk and the tail. The arms and 
legs, which had been positioned outside the cage, were then removed 
by the sergeants, to be cut into thousands of tiny slices and distributed 
to the greatest of his faithful subjects. 

The crowd cheered wildly. A noble death! 

The most astounding biological peculiarity of the Mitchegai is their 
motile brain cells. The small cells of the gray matter in their brains, 


which are in fact bright blue to human eyes, are not digested when 
eaten alive. Instead, they migrate through the walls of the first stomach. 
They are picked up by the blood stream and taken into the cranium. 
This skull has flexible, overlapping plates, and can expand rapidly if the 
brain recently eaten is inordinately large, as was the case with Duke 
Kren's. 

which are in fact bright blue to human eyes, are not digested when 
eaten alive. Instead, they migrate through the walls of the first stomach. 
They are picked up by the blood stream and taken into the cranium. 
This skull has flexible, overlapping plates, and can expand rapidly if the 
brain recently eaten is inordinately large, as was the case with Duke 
Kren's. 

But when the huge brain of a mature adult is eaten by a recently 
metamorphosed youth, the influx of cells completely swamps the few 
that the youth originally had. The newly reformed brain that emerges 
has the knowledge and personality of the adult who has been eaten, 
and this, among the Mitchegai, is immortality. Duke Kren remembers 
events that happened to him over three thousand years before, and he 
is not an elder of his race. 

Something similar to this was claimed by some to occur in Earthly 
flatworms. 

Because of this, the brain of an intelligent adult Mitchegai has very little 
to do with the genetic structure of its body. The Darwinian forces that 
dominate all life forms on Earth have little effect on the Mitchegai. For 
millions of years, they have been carefully breeding their own bodies to 
their own version of perfection, but this breeding has caused few 
changes to their minds. The selection process there is something quite 


different. 

different. 

It also keeps them from getting too smart for their leader's own good. 

Duke Kren would soon be needing all the loyal subordinates that he 
could get, and today's ceremonies would be repeated many times in the 
coming months, with lower-ranking functionaries. He planned to 
increase the numbers of his people by one third, bringing their total 
number to over a gross million and also to have as many of them in new 
bodies as possible. 

For soon, he would be losing all of his lands and all of his juvenals, save 
those that would be harvested and quick frozen in liquid nitrogen for 
food. 

His chosen successor would attempt to rule in his place, but if that 
successor failed, Kren's lands would be divided among his former 
enemies. 


Kren would leave this world forever, all because he had become the 
most powerful individual on Planet 9847, and his planet had won the 
most recent great interstellar lottery. 

Kren would leave this world forever, all because he had become the 
most powerful individual on Planet 9847, and his planet had won the 
most recent great interstellar lottery. 

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Contents 

CHAPTER THREE 


The Gurkha Heaven 
New Yugoslavia, 2205 a.d. 


My part of New Yugoslavia had been deeded to the Kashubian 
Expeditionary Forces as part payment for a war we had fought for 
New Croatia. The local terrain consisted of a kilometer-high plateau to 
the southwest and a large plains area to the northeast. The plateau was 
deeply indented with a number of large box canyons that opened onto 
the plain. 

It had been uninhabitable desert when we got here, but we had 
irrigated it using equipment from the automatic factories of our home 
planet, New Kashubia, and the productive capacity of the thousands of 
intelligent fighting machines that made up half of our army. The other 
half of our army was made up of the human beings who spent much of 
their time living inside those machines. 


Our tanks had been designed to tunnel through solid rock. They made 
short work out of carving out apartments, roads, and everything that a 
city needs into the granite walls of my valley. 

Our tanks had been designed to tunnel through solid rock. They made 
short work out of carving out apartments, roads, and everything that a 
city needs into the granite walls of my valley. 

I woke the next morning to find Kasia at my side. After a few hours, 
we made it to breakfast. 

"Well," I said, to break the silence. "I trust that all of the problems have 
been solved?" 

"Yes," Kasia said. "The Gurkhas will be moving out and building their 
own place." 

"Indeed? And where are they doing this?" 

"Next door. I've helped them buy the canyon to the southeast of us." 


"Quincy and Zuzanna's place?" 

"Quincy and Zuzanna's place?" 

"Well, our metal ladies are first rate engineers, artists, and architects. 
They have done it before, so they won't have problems doing it again. I 
imagine that what with all the stone cutting, that valley will be a cloud of 
dust for a few months." 

"True, but in three months your troops will be able to start moving in. I 
think that Gurkhas are environmentalists at heart. They want natural 
rock, and not the gold and platinum plating that you used on this valley. 
They don't want all of the jewels, but they are getting the diamond 
windows. And their apartments and homes are only a quarter of the 
size of what you have built here." 

"Whatever they want, they'll get, as far as I'm concerned. After the way 
they fought for us in the Battle of the Solar Station, we owe them a lot." 

"That was my thought too, lover." 


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Contents 

CHAPTER FOUR 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS 
OF UP TO 3000 YEARS EARLIER 


The Awakening 

Duke Kren awoke slowly, sluggishly, to find himself in a locked cell. It 
was a combination lock, and his new body had to know the 
combination to get out. Otherwise, he would be left in there, forever. 

This was to keep him safe while he was in his eating stupor, and to 
protect his subordinates if his old brain was not properly functioning in 
his new body. 

The most common disaster was that the young carnivore could have a 
muscle spasm while it was eating your brain. 

Normally, chemicals in the brain being eaten caused a sphincter in the 
esophagus to close off the second and third stomachs, and another 
sphincter to open to the first stomach, where the brain cells could 
migrate through the stomach wall, through the blood stream, and 


eventually up to the cranium. 

eventually up to the cranium. 

This process was commonly known as bad luck. 

The malfunction rarely occurred, since any young carnivore who 
performed this atrocity was invariably and immediately killed, which 
promptly deleted it from the gene pool. 

However, it was claimed to happen fairly often among the aristocracy, 
when your guards were not absolutely trustworthy, or when they had 
some reason to prefer a change in command. 

Dukes soon learned to have very well-rewarded and trustworthy 
people around them, for just such situations as this. It was also 
common to leave orders that the entire guarding and welcoming party 
was to be slaughtered if the old duke did not arrive as expected in a 
new body. 

He estimated that what with the torpor that always followed a major 
meal, and the time normally taken for the cells of his brain to reform, he 
had been asleep for at least a week, and quite possibly two. 


He fumbled his way to the toilet and relieved himself. He took several 
long drinks of water. Then he went back to the cot and collapsed there. 

He fumbled his way to the toilet and relieved himself. He took several 
long drinks of water. Then he went back to the cot and collapsed there. 

In time, it would pass. 

Time. 

He had to give himself time. 

He had to ignore all of the pressure of the events of his world, and take 
the time to reorganize himself. 

He stayed on the clean cot and looked up at the plain, white ceiling as a 
long lifetime of memories slowly formed and took their categorized 
places in his mind. 

His academic advisor had long been pestering him to record the events 
of his life, and since he would now be the founder of a new Mitchegai 
planet, he had agreed to comply. A recording helmet was thus available 


next to the cot, and he put it on. Posterity perhaps had a right to know 
exactly who and what he was, but he would not release the tapes until 
long after his death. 

next to the cot, and he put it on. Posterity perhaps had a right to know 
exactly who and what he was, but he would not release the tapes until 
long after his death. 

His first recollection was of leading a savage, nonverbal band of 
carnivores in the ragged hills of the badly managed estate of Duke 
Lidko, three thousand years ago. 

On Earth at this time, the Sumerians were inventing a primitive form of 
cuneiform writing, and the Egyptians had yet to found the Old 
Kingdom. The pyramids had not yet even been designed. 

Kren and his band had been captured shortly after the estate of Duke 
Lidko had been conquered by his neighbor, Duke Molon. 

Wild carnivores were usually killed out of hand, as they were 
considered too stupid to do useful work, too dangerous to be left as 
they were, and risky for use as new body donors, since you couldn't be 
absolutely sure as to just how dominant their brains had become. 


But Duke Molon had taken heavy casualties in the war, and was in 
sore need of manpower. Kren and his band were put to work in the 
vast, ancient, underground mines on the duke's new lands. 

But Duke Molon had taken heavy casualties in the war, and was in 
sore need of manpower. Kren and his band were put to work in the 
vast, ancient, underground mines on the duke's new lands. 

The rules in the mine were very simple. If you disobeyed, you were 
beaten. If you didn't work, you weren't fed. If you continued to not 
work, your brain was ripped out and thrown into the fire, while your 
body was left on the floor to be eaten by your ravenous former 
coworkers. 

Kren learned to work. 

He was fed, but rarely were slaves permitted to eat the brains of their 
prey. His superiors got that delicacy, as did, occasionally, the guards. 
They didn't want the lowest classes to become too intelligent. 

After a lifetime of brutal labor below ground, when his stooped, 
worn-out body was no longer capable of going on, he was judged to 
be worthy of a new body-and another lifetime of work in the mines. 
When this happened, his brain cells were added to those of the youth 
who was eating him. 


After eight such resurrections, his brain had grown to the point where 
he could speak a bit. He understood the mines, and how they worked. 
But still, he dug. Still, he hauled the copper ore to the surface. And 
sometimes they had him help to shore up the ceilings with reinforced 
concrete beams as they delved ever deeper. But now, at least, he was 
a valued slave. 

After eight such resurrections, his brain had grown to the point where 
he could speak a bit. He understood the mines, and how they worked. 
But still, he dug. Still, he hauled the copper ore to the surface. And 
sometimes they had him help to shore up the ceilings with reinforced 
concrete beams as they delved ever deeper. But now, at least, he was 
a valued slave. 

They could have automated the mine, but that would have cost money. 
Slaves were free. Feeding them gave the duke something to do with the 
temporary surplus of juvenals on his lands, and if food ever became 
scarce, he could always slaughter some of the slaves and feed them to 
the others. 

And guarding them gave his soldiers something to do during times of 
peace. 

Kren was near the surface when the forces of Duke Dennon captured 
the mines from Duke Molon. He hid in a small side tunnel for several 
days while the battle raged on below ground. In time, Duke Molon's 
guards were all killed by the more professional troops of Duke 
Dennon. All of the other slaves were brought to the surface, for what 
purpose Kren did not know, leaving him alone down below. 


But not quite alone. In a small side tunnel he found one of his old 
guards who was severely wounded, with one foot and both hands cut 
off, but still alive. She was a guard who had taken pleasure in beating 
him many times, and Kren felt no remorse in killing her. 

But not quite alone. In a small side tunnel he found one of his old 
guards who was severely wounded, with one foot and both hands cut 
off, but still alive. She was a guard who had taken pleasure in beating 
him many times, and Kren felt no remorse in killing her. 

And anyway, he was hungry. 

Instinctively, he ripped open the brain case, but then he stopped. This 
brain was vastly bigger than any that he had ever seen before, and 
some feeling told him that he should not eat it. Yet he knew it would be 
delicious, and he was starving. He yielded to temptation, and took a 
single small bite, but then yelled NO to himself, and threw the rest into 
the fire pit still smoldering below. 

He ate the rest of the guard, threw the scraps of bone and equipment 
into the fire pit that ventilated the mine, and crawled back to his small 
side tunnel to rest. 

When he awoke, he found strange echoes in his mind, but no real 
memories. Yet he found new words flooding into his brain, words 
describing things that he had never seen, words like "city" and "road," 
but which he somehow now knew the meaning of. 


He stayed alone in the small tunnel for many weeks, going out only to 
find water, trying to absorb these new thoughts. 

He stayed alone in the small tunnel for many weeks, going out only to 
find water, trying to absorb these new thoughts. 

He started for the surface. 

The mines seemed to be completely empty. The tools and weapons 
were gone, and there were no bodies in evidence. In the wars among 
the Mitchegai, the dead from both sides were eaten by the victors. 
Among their species, warfare was often a matter of conquer or starve. 

The brains of the enemy were burned when there was a surplus of 
food, or else eaten roasted when there wasn't. 

Since there usually wasn't a recently metamorphosed youth handy, the 
brains of your own fallen troops were shared out among their 
comrades, and ceremonially eaten with honor. Divided between six 
friends, what the brains were was preserved, although they normally 
did not become dominant. After the Meal of Battle, the victors would 
sit and talk about all of the things that they now remembered of what 
their comrades had done. 

Eating the whole brain of an intellectual equal could result in losing your 
own personality, or, worse still, in a deadly form of schizophrenia, one 


of the few diseases known to the Mitchegai. 

of the few diseases known to the Mitchegai. 

With no great skill, but with the strength and stealth learned in eight 
lifetimes of being a mining slave, he came up behind the soldier and 
broke her neck with a single, powerful blow of his claws. He grabbed 
the spear before it fell, and took the body and weapon below as fast as 
possible. 

As before, he tore open the braincase, but again, he took only a single 
bite, albeit a larger one, this time. It had not hurt him before, so he 
thought himself safe to do it again. The rest of the body he ate, even the 
skin and the bones. But he kept the spear, the cloak, the belt with the 
sword, and the helmet, and hid them away before the stupor came 
upon him again. 

The captain of the guard assigned by Duke Dennon to protect the mine 
sent squads to search for his missing soldier, a remarkably good athlete 
thought to be an up-and-coming young officer, but these mines were 
thousands of years old. They were of vast extent, and incredibly 
convoluted. They never found the small tunnel where Kren lay in a 
stupor. 

Again, he slept with strange dreams, but when he awoke, he knew 


what to do with the weapons he had captured. He knew how to throw 
the spear, and how to block with it. He knew the Twelve-Pointed Way 
of the Sword. 

what to do with the weapons he had captured. He knew how to throw 
the spear, and how to block with it. He knew the Twelve-Pointed Way 
of the Sword. 

The small electric lights in the main corridors had been turned off when 
Kren awoke, and the fires had long since burned out. This did not 
trouble him, for he had spent much of his life in total darkness, and 
could move in it almost as easily as in the light. 

Many weeks went by as, fascinated with his new knowledge, so 
different from his dull life in the mines, he absorbed it all. 

While the upper classes of the Mitchegai used identifying tattoos, the 
military used ceremonial scarring for the same purpose. Kren carefully 
cut marks on his upper arms to match those of the officer he had just 
eaten. Someday, he knew, he would have to leave this mine, and it 
wouldn't do to go as a naked slave. 

And again, in time, he became hungry. 


This time, he came up to the sentry at the mouth of the mine marching 
erect in the manner of a trained soldier. He wore the helmet and cloak 
of an officer in Duke Dennon's forces, and carried a standard spear. 
He hailed the sentry in his own language, and in the manner of a 
superior officer. When the sentry turned to speak to him, Kren 
efficiently put a sword in the Mitchegai's throat, with a powerful thrust 
that drove it out of the back of her neck. 

This time, he came up to the sentry at the mouth of the mine marching 
erect in the manner of a trained soldier. He wore the helmet and cloak 
of an officer in Duke Dennon's forces, and carried a standard spear. 
He hailed the sentry in his own language, and in the manner of a 
superior officer. When the sentry turned to speak to him, Kren 
efficiently put a sword in the Mitchegai's throat, with a powerful thrust 
that drove it out of the back of her neck. 

This time, his dreams were troubled and turbulent. The soldier he had 
eaten had not been valued by her superiors, had often broken minor 
rules, had often been punished for it, and for her persistent lying. The 
kill brought little new knowledge to Kren, and much emotional upset, 
for this had not been a happy Mitchegai. Yet even this unhappy soldier 
had some useful skills, if lying was indeed a skill. 

The captain of the guard decided that in view of the soldier's many 
misdemeanors, her trooper had simply gone AWOL, and that her loss 
was good riddance. It was mere coincidence that another soldier had 
been lost at that same post. She pocketed the guard's back pay and 
wrote her off the books. No search was made for her, but the captain 
had the guard at that point doubled, just in case. 

Kren now knew much about the world outside the mines, but he still 
did not feel confident enough to go out into it. Many more weeks 
passed before hunger again drove him to the surface. 


He carried two spears with him, which was fortunate, for there were 
now two guards at the entrance. 

He carried two spears with him, which was fortunate, for there were 
now two guards at the entrance. 

As soon as the first was well out of sight, Kren launched a spear at the 
one who had stayed behind. It was a long throw of at least four dozen 
yards, in almost total darkness and under a low ceiling, but one of 
Kren's previous victims had been a master with the spear. It caught his 
victim in the back of the neck, severing her spinal column. She fell with 
barely a sound. 

Kren sprinted up and caught her before she hit the ground, although the 
guard's spear clattered loudly on the rocky rubble when it fell. He 
dragged the body back into the darkness, and, wearing the same 
helmet, cloak, and weapons belt as the guards, he stood in his victim's 
former position, but facing into the tunnel. 

The second guard came running back in. 

"I thought I heard something!" she shouted at Kren's back. 

He pointed urgently into the tunnel. 


As the soldier ran past to see what he was pointing at, Kren jabbed his 
spear into the hamstring of her right leg. The guard crumbled to the 
ground with a scream. 

As the soldier ran past to see what he was pointing at, Kren jabbed his 
spear into the hamstring of her right leg. The guard crumbled to the 
ground with a scream. 

Another scream earned the guard a kick to the neck, which knocked 
her unconscious. 

It took him two trips to bring both of his victims, with their weapons, 
back to his lair, but no other soldiers came to disturb him. Using three 
weapons belts, he tied the still-living guard to a sturdy concrete beam 
that supported the ceiling. 

When the soldier started to make noises, Kren cut her tongue out, and 
ate it. Then, as an afterthought, he put a sword through all four of her 
vocal cords. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to, but 
he could not afford to have the soldier making noises while he lay in his 
eating stupor. 

Finally, he made a third trip up to the surface, and erased all traces of 
his last attack. Slowly, he was learning. 

Mitchegai, like many cold-blooded creatures, take a long time to die. 


Their circulatory systems clamp down quickly, and blood loss is much 
less than in a warm-blooded animal. As they grow cold, their 
metabolism demands much less oxygen, and even a completely severed 
head is capable of biting you, three hours later. 

Their circulatory systems clamp down quickly, and blood loss is much 
less than in a warm-blooded animal. As they grow cold, their 
metabolism demands much less oxygen, and even a completely severed 
head is capable of biting you, three hours later. 

This was not out of kindness, for the Mitchegai feel no such emotion. 
Rather it was to be sure that his next meal was still alive when it came 
time to eat it. Using a helmet as a bucket, he watered her as well, for 
the same reason. Then he fell asleep, looking up contentedly at the 
silent, but still very much alive second guard. 

The captain of the guard was furious when she learned that a third and 
a fourth of her subordinates had disappeared, and all from the same 
location! Surely, this would be a black mark on her record! 

But before she could send her entire command down into the ancient 
mines for a very thorough search, orders came from Duke Dennon 
himself that she should report at once to the capital with her entire 
company. 

The duke had not been able to arrange for the profitable sale of the 
mine's ore. The Space Mitchegai had discovered an asteroid with a 
high copper content, and were undercutting the prices of all planetary 
sources of that element. The mine was being abandoned. 


The captain had no choice but to obey Dennon's orders immediately. 

The captain had no choice but to obey Dennon's orders immediately. 

Kren now knew precisely which portions of the brain could be safely 
eaten, increasing his knowledge and prowess, and which contained the 
personality, and were best discarded. 

Many more weeks passed as Kren integrated all of this new 
knowledge into himself. He started to get hungry before the process 
was through, so he amputated one of his captive's legs and ate it. The 
skin and bones were again fed back to his prisoner, who resisted eating 
these bits of her own body until they were shoved down her throat past 
her now broken jaw. 

Weeks later, he ate the rest of the creature, along with three quarters of 
her brain. 

And much later, hungry once again, he walked up to the surface. 
Besides knowing the arts of the warrior, and of the medic, he now was 
capable of speaking three languages. 


There was no guard at the tunnel mouth. Grass had started to close off 
the entrance, and there seemed to be no one around at all. 

There was no guard at the tunnel mouth. Grass had started to close off 
the entrance, and there seemed to be no one around at all. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FIVE 


This Land Is My Land 
New Yugoslavia, 2205 a.d. 


The news was full of politics. 

Before the war, the colonies had been loosely associated in what had 
been honestly called "The Smuggling Network," trading illegally with 
one another to get around Earth's strangling trade monopoly. 

Now, they had formed "The Union of Human Planets," and had 
perhaps magnanimously made Earth an equal member. Since Earth had 
half of the population and more than half of the wealth in the entire 
system, the colonies arranged it such that taxes were to be paid by 
individual income taxes, but voting was on a one planet, one vote basis. 
Thus, Earth would pay half of the bills, but only have two percent of the 
say as to how this money was spent. 


But then, Earth had both started and lost the last war, so what do you 
expect? Certainly, this arrangement looked much nicer than making 
them pay tribute. 

But then, Earth had both started and lost the last war, so what do you 
expect? Certainly, this arrangement looked much nicer than making 
them pay tribute. 

My annoying uncle, Wlodzimierz Derdowski, had recently been elected 
President of New Kashubia, and this made him a major player in the 
new political order. But I was stationed on New Yugoslavia, and was 
happy for this excuse to not get involved in politics. 

Four of my colonels were citizens of New Yugoslavia, and were 
involved in planetary politics up to their ears. Knowing intellectually that 
the job was important, I gave them leave to go at it, but said that since I 
wasn't a citizen here, it wasn't proper for me to have any say in it. 

Mostly, I just don't like politics. For me the thing means just what the 
name says it is. Poly, meaning many, and ticks, a particularly disgusting 
sort of blood-sucking insects. Personally, if I have to persuade 
someone into doing things my way, I'd rather use a battalion of Mark 
XIX Main Battle Tanks. 

Originally, the Kashubian Expeditionary Force had been a mercenary 
outfit where we hired ourselves out to fight such wars as the colonies 


wanted to fight, and did engineering work in our spare time. 

wanted to fight, and did engineering work in our spare time. 

My boss, General Jan Sobieski, had been appointed to command the 
new army. I was afraid that this would mean that I would be appointed 
military commander of New Yugoslavia, and I wasn't eager for that 
job. 

I felt that I would be much more effective, and happier, being 
commander of the Gurkha Forces, and having a little more 
independence, but what would actually happen remained to be seen. 

* * * 

With Kasia back working on her hobby of becoming the richest 
woman in human space, I went out to look at my land. 

It would have been most efficient to get into the coffin of a tank and 
make the tour in Dream World, a sort of artificial reality where I could 
do things thirty times faster than in the flesh, but that wasn't what I 
needed. I had just spent many subjective months living in a coffin, and I 
needed a strong dose of reality. 

And again, if I wanted to make a physical tour, a helicopter would have 
been the most efficient way to do it, but that wasn't what I wanted, 
either. 


"Agnieshka?" I said to the empty room that I was in, "Are you there?" 

"Agnieshka?" I said to the empty room that I was in, "Are you there?" 

"I once asked you to get us a stable of riding horses. Has that 
happened yet?" 

"They got here two days ago, boss. You want me to have one saddled 
up?" 

"Yeah. I want to have a look around," I said. 

"It'll be ready when you get down to the stable. Can I come along?" 

Thinking that she meant to run along side wearing a military drone, I 
said that she was always welcome. 

When the elevator got me there, I found two horses saddled up, 
attended by plain, humanoid military drones, and Agnieshka standing 
there, as beautiful as she always had been in Dream World. Looking as 


alive as could be, she was in khaki, with brown riding boots, jodhpurs, 
a thin silk blouse, and a tan pith helmet. 

alive as could be, she was in khaki, with brown riding boots, jodhpurs, 
a thin silk blouse, and a tan pith helmet. 

"Well," I said, surprised. "You look as lovely as you do when I'm in a 
tank! I didn't realize that the social drone project was this far along." 

"Thank you kindly, boss," she said, bowing. "Actually, this is an early 
prototype, but I pulled rank to get it to look like me. The skeletal 
structure and musculature systems work well enough, as do hearing and 
eyesight, but the sense of touch is still very poor, the senses of taste and 
smell are nonexistent, and I have to recharge the capacitors every few 
hours. Still, it's a start." 

"You'll be a real girl before long," I said, climbing into the saddle of the 
tall Tennessee Walker they had brought out for me. 

"That's what we all hope. Where do you want to go?" 

She swung into the saddle, and the smaller, Arabian mare didn't object 
a bit. Our military humanoid drones were over two meters tall, and 
massive, weighing in at over two hundred and fifty kilograms even 
without their weapons. The design parameters for these social drones 
was that they should be as identical to human beings as possible, and it 
appeared that her weight was about the same as a nicely built young 


lady of her size should be. 

lady of her size should be. 

My valley was green with grass, although it would still be a few months 
before the first young dairy cows could be brought in. The trees were 
still being cloned, and wouldn't be planted for years. But you could feel 
the vitality, the living growth all around us. 

The almost vertical walls of the canyon, fully a kilometer high, had been 
carved into the most beautiful city imaginable. Hundreds of thousands 
of large apartments had windows looking out on my valley, and inside 
there were all of the shops, schools, businesses, offices, roads, halls, 
and churches that a true city requires. 

It made a man proud. 

We headed out to the plains, past the partially filled lake that would 
close off the entrance, and out to the grasslands beyond. 

Some of this area would be in vegetable gardens to feed the people of 
my city. Half of this vast acreage would be put into grain production, 
mostly to fatten my beef cattle, and the rest would stay as grass, to 
raise those cattle in the most natural way possible. 


There is something about owning land, rich, productive land, that 
makes a man feel that he is a part of the earth, and that all is well with 
the world. 

There is something about owning land, rich, productive land, that 
makes a man feel that he is a part of the earth, and that all is well with 
the world. 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER SIX 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS 
OF UP TO 2000 YEARS EARLIER 


A Turn for the Better 

On Earth, the horse had finally arrived in Egypt, the Shang Dynasty was 
a going affair in China, and the Ancient Greek language was first being 
written down. The Mitchegai neither knew nor cared. 

Kren was wearing the helmet and equipment of one of Duke Dennon's 
junior officers, and had a proper military bearing. There were a few 
adults that he saw in the distance, attending to the needs of the duke's 
lands, but no one thought to question him as he walked north, away 
from the mines. 

He was still hungry, and he needed food. 


A human would have thought that the land he walked through was very 
strange. There were no trees, no bushes, no weeds. Nothing like a 
flower existed, nor an insect to pollinate it. There were no birds, no 
butterflies, and no small, furry beings rustling in the undergrowth. There 
wasn't even any undergrowth. 

A human would have thought that the land he walked through was very 
strange. There were no trees, no bushes, no weeds. Nothing like a 
flower existed, nor an insect to pollinate it. There were no birds, no 
butterflies, and no small, furry beings rustling in the undergrowth. There 
wasn't even any undergrowth. 

It covered everything. No rocks showed through on the distant 
mountains, no water was exposed where the grass covered areas that 
obviously had rivers and lakes below them, save in a few small places 
that served as watering holes. There were no beaches, and no sand. 
The grass was thick enough for large adults to walk over the water 
without it even quivering. 

Grass covered the oceans with a mat so thick that waves never formed. 
Juvenals grazed on the vast plains, visited occasionally by hunting 
parties of adults, flying in on efficient, fusion powered aircraft. 

Pollywogs ate at the roots of these ocean-covering grasslands. When 
their time came, they ate their way through to the surface, to 
metamorphose into juvenals. 

A surface road on a Mitchegai planet was simply a long, wide, carefully 
graded area covered with grass where an individual could walk with 


ease, without wearing in a path, and without losing her way, and where 
a fusion-powered hovercraft could easily travel. Wheels were never 
used on the surface, for they would harm the all-important grass. 

ease, without wearing in a path, and without losing her way, and where 
a fusion-powered hovercraft could easily travel. Wheels were never 
used on the surface, for they would harm the all-important grass. 

A scientific observer would have found no other life-forms. There were 
no bacteria, yeasts, molds, fungi, or viruses. There were no scavengers, 
but Mitchegai grubs, pollywogs, and juvenals all preferentially ate dead 
material, animal or vegetable, before they would eat live grass. 

The upper surfaces of the grass could absorb nutrients as readily as 
could the roots. The droppings of juvenals and adults were gone by 
morning. 

Mitchegai do not have stomach bacteria, or any other symbionts. They 
have no diseases caused by any sort of microbe. Indeed, with the 
passage of time, they have completely lost most of their immune 
systems. 

There was absolutely nothing on this planet, or on the estimated three 
dozen and three thousand, six gross other planets inhabited by this 
ancient race, but one species of plant, and one species of animal, the 
Mitchegai. 


It was an ecology taken to the absolute limit of what human civilization 
has always been heading toward. Ever since humans worked their way 
to the top of the food chain, their earliest actions were to kill off the 
large mammals who were their predators, their competitors, and often 
even those who were their source of food. 

It was an ecology taken to the absolute limit of what human civilization 
has always been heading toward. Ever since humans worked their way 
to the top of the food chain, their earliest actions were to kill off the 
large mammals who were their predators, their competitors, and often 
even those who were their source of food. 

Anything that might actually harm them, be it a microbe, a mosquito, or 
a predator, was actively exterminated. All other species that were not 
immediately useful were brushed aside and allowed to die, mostly 
because they were simply in the way. 

The Mitchegai, who had been at this program for millions of years 
longer than humanity had been around, had taken it as far as it could 
possibly go. It was absolute, efficient simplification, with all of the other 
competing species long since eradicated. 

If anything else appeared, or if any mutation occurred, it was ruthlessly 
stamped out. There were immutable laws that required Mitchegai to 
fight their wars only with weapons that were powered by their own 
muscles, but these laws did not apply to ecological threats. Fusion 


weapons were used when nothing else sufficed. 

weapons were used when nothing else sufficed. 

The longer Kren walked from the mines, the more difficult it would be 
to take a fresh kill back to them. He would need a place to hide while 
he went into the stupor that followed a major meal, and he had found 
no such place. Under the last two dukes, this land had become much 
more civilized than it had been in his youth. No longer were there wild 
adults ranging in the hills. 

Eventually, as the sun was setting, he came upon a small, secluded 
valley with a small, knee-high juvenal grazing in it. 

She would suffice. 

He walked up to the little creature and simply swatted her on the head. 
She fell over, and he ate her. 

Her small size was not sufficient to put him into a major stupor, but he 
slept well that night, wrapped in his heavy red and lavender military 
cloak, lying in the small valley. 


He woke to find an old Mitchegai with a very large head standing over 
him. She wore a bulky, gaudy academic cloak with bright stripes in 
many colors. Around her shoulders were many tassels, each of a 
different shape and of a different color. Around her waist was a belt of 
all seven colors of the rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, 
and kran. 

He woke to find an old Mitchegai with a very large head standing over 
him. She wore a bulky, gaudy academic cloak with bright stripes in 
many colors. Around her shoulders were many tassels, each of a 
different shape and of a different color. Around her waist was a belt of 
all seven colors of the rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, 
and kran. 

"Are you injured?" she asked in the ancient academic language of Keno. 

With adult and juvenal Mitchegai, breathing is normally in through the 
nose, which also cools the blood going to the brain, and out through 
four vents at the belt line. These permit a better air flow, and allow for 
the regular drainage of the lungs. Coughing is unknown in their species. 
When swimming, a Mitchegai blows bubbles about her waist, and they 
can breath while eating or drinking. 

When speaking, these lower vents are closed, and air is forced up past 
four sets of vocal cords, one for each lung, and out through the mouth. 
Mitchegai are thus capable of making four different tones 
simultaneously, and could actually sing chords, except that lacking all 
sense of rhythm, they have no musical art forms. 


"No, I am quite well, thank you," Kren said in the same language as he 
got up. 

"No, I am quite well, thank you," Kren said in the same language as he 
got up. 

"I was tired, and there was no place else available. As to the language, 
well, a soldier gets around." 

"Apparently. I am traveling to my academic retreat, a day's walk to the 
north of here. Could it be that you are going in the same direction?" 

Private transportation had been experimented with several times in 
Mitchegai history, but it had always resulted in severely reduced levels 
of physical fitness, and had eventually been outlawed. Long distance 
public transportation was always available, of course, as were 
emergency and cargo vehicles. 

"Indeed, I am. I thought to spend my leave in my homeland to the 
north," Kren said. 

"Then let us walk together. I would welcome some company," she said. 
"My name is Bronki." 

"And mine is Kren." 


They walked and they talked. Kren found the conversation to be 
delightful. In his thousand years of life, this was the first intelligent 
person that he had ever had an opportunity to talk to. The world that 
she described was rich and complex, with infinite possibilities and 
permutations. 

They walked and they talked. Kren found the conversation to be 
delightful. In his thousand years of life, this was the first intelligent 
person that he had ever had an opportunity to talk to. The world that 
she described was rich and complex, with infinite possibilities and 
permutations. 

Teams of adults working out of the university monitored the grub 
population, and adjustments were made, most frequently by taking the 
eggs that fell to the floors of offices, factories, and homes, and either 
destroying them, or scattering them over the fields. 

This was all new to Kren. The slaves in the mine were not considered 
to be good breeding stock, and their eggs were never saved. If any 
eggs hatched in that environment, the grubs were left to starve. 

Even if they had been able to find enough to eat, they still all would 
have died. Grubs instinctively go downward in their search for water in 
which to metamorphose into pollywogs. But in a mine, going 
downward only leads to death. 


A more long-term technique to restrict the numbers of grubs was to 
restrict the number of males who were used to rejuvenate the elders. 
Currently, less than two per gross of the adults in the duchy were male. 

A more long-term technique to restrict the numbers of grubs was to 
restrict the number of males who were used to rejuvenate the elders. 
Currently, less than two per gross of the adults in the duchy were male. 

"I was severely injured in battle. This body was the only one available." 
Kren's new-found intelligence made it easy for him to lie. 

She nodded, accepting this. 

"And the identification scars on your arms, they look barely a year old." 

"Yes, that was about when it happened, during the last war," he said. 

"Yet that body is at least ten years old, from the time of 
metamorphosis." 

"Also true. I was injured when we were taking a big mine to the south 
of here. This was once the body of an ignorant slave in a mine. As I 
said, it was all that was available, and I urged them to take the chance. 
Still, it is a very strong body, and I do not regret what happened. 
Certainly, it was better than being divided among six of my old 
comrades." 


"I'm sure it was," she said. "That would have been the Senta Copper 
Mine, wouldn't it." 

"I'm sure it was," she said. "That would have been the Senta Copper 
Mine, wouldn't it." 

"I'm sure that it was the Senta. Those scars on your arm are rather 
crude." 

"Old Sergeant Toll did the cutting, in almost complete darkness, when I 
was coming out of my stupor. He was afraid that I might be mistaken 
for one of the mining slaves, and sent on with the rest of them," he said, 
the lies flowing freely. 

"And what happened to those others?" 

"I have no idea. In the military, you are generally told only what you 
need to know." 

"At the university, we are always told everything, especially things that 
we have no desire to know," she laughed. 

Bronki talked of her life at the University of Dren, of her occasional 


difficulties with some of the students, and about the perpetual round of 
interdepartmental politics. 

difficulties with some of the students, and about the perpetual round of 
interdepartmental politics. 

"Then perhaps you should consider a change of career fields. There is 
always a need for more intelligent students at the university. You could 
come there, and after a few years as a student, perhaps an 
instructorship might open up for you. Also, you mentioned winning 
championships with both the spear and the sword. It is possible that an 
athletic scholarship could be offered you." 

"That sounds attractive, but my leave will not go on forever," he said. 

"Often, things can be arranged. These are peaceful times. The duke's 
army might not be averse to granting an officer an academic leave of 
absence." 

"You make life at the university sound far more interesting than drilling 
illiterate troops, or standing guard duty when there is really nothing to 
guard against. I shall think on it." 

"Do that," she said. "Should you decide on venturing into the academic 
world, it is possible that I could be of some assistance to you. I am not 
without influence there." 


The sun was close to setting when they came to Bronki's retreat. At 
first, Kren could see nothing at all but a grass-covered hill, but Bronki 
took out a knife and cut away the grass that had grown over the 
doorway. 

The sun was close to setting when they came to Bronki's retreat. At 
first, Kren could see nothing at all but a grass-covered hill, but Bronki 
took out a knife and cut away the grass that had grown over the 
doorway. 

"The other door and the windows are best cut away from the inside," 
she continued, leading him inside, and turning on the lights. 

The house was quite spacious, and extremely luxurious compared to 
what a mining slave was used to. There were chairs and tables and real 
cots to sleep on. There was a tall and spacious entrance hall, and a 
large living room with many comfortable couches centered around a 
long, low table and a drinking fountain. Opening off these central rooms 
were two studies, a steam room, and five bedrooms. Mitchegai homes 
do not have kitchens or dining rooms, of course, and outside of the 
cities, they don't have toilets. The grass took care of waste disposal. 

But the things that impressed Kren the most were the books. Every 
wall, every small bit of space, was covered with bookshelves, and 
these were all crammed to overflowing with books. Big books, small 
books, thick ones and thin. Some of them had ancient tooled leather 
coverings, but most were of simple grass paper. 


And besides the books, there were thousands of tapes and discs, along 
with the viewing screens and computers to use them. 

And besides the books, there were thousands of tapes and discs, along 
with the viewing screens and computers to use them. 

"Most of them. Many are reference texts, of course, good for looking 
things up in, but not intended to be read from cover to cover. Perhaps 
you would like some reading suggestions?" 

"I would very much appreciate your advice, yes." 

"Then we shall discuss it in a little while. Let me unpack and then rest a 
bit while you choose one of the guest bedrooms. I usually entertain 
several friends here, but this time, everyone that I would usually have 
invited along was otherwise engaged," she said. 

"Thank you. I will do that." 

Kren walked about the house, opening windows and doors, cutting 
away the grass that covered them with his sword, and throwing the 
thick mats away as he had seen Bronki do. The windows were thick 
and well insulated, but no one on a Mitchegai world had ever heard of 
window screens. 

He found that they were at the top of a hill, with pleasant views in every 


direction, an arrangement that also permitted good cross-ventilation. 

direction, an arrangement that also permitted good cross-ventilation. 

His hostess came in with some fresh bed sheets, so he made the bed in 
the neat, military style that one of his victims had taught him. This was a 
very pleasant place, and he would obviously be welcome to stay here 
for a long while. 

Kren lay down thinking that this was a very good turn of events. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER SEVEN 


Promotions and Awards 
New Yugoslavia, 2205 a.d. 


A few months went by, and I found myself becoming human again. 
Then I got a summons from my boss. 

In the course of things, I had managed to acquire seven qualified 
colonels rather than the usual five. Lloyd and Mirko had been elected 


delegates to a planetary constitutional convention, and were needed 
there. When my boss, General Sobieski, invited me and my staff to 
New Kashubia for a conference, I took my wife, Conan and Maria, 
and Quincy and Zuzanna with me in my Combat Control Computer. 
Three friendly couples made a good group, anyway. 

delegates to a planetary constitutional convention, and were needed 
there. When my boss, General Sobieski, invited me and my staff to 
New Kashubia for a conference, I took my wife, Conan and Maria, 
and Quincy and Zuzanna with me in my Combat Control Computer. 
Three friendly couples made a good group, anyway. 

There were six small computers that contained the personalities of our 
personal tanks, Agnieshka, in my case. But in a CCC, you were also 
connected with twelve truly massive computers that contained 
everything known to humanity. This group of computers called himself 
Professor Cee, and acted like an English college professor. 

When connected up, the huge computer power let you operate in 
Dream World at combat speed, which in my case was fifty-five times 
as fast as normal living. This effectively expanded my lifetime by a 
factor of fifty-five, a nice fringe benefit. 

And while you were in it, you lived in Dream World, a form of artificial 
reality that could be anything that you wanted it to be. It was very 


pleasant, provided that you obeyed orders. If you didn't, you could be 
living literally in Hell. 

pleasant, provided that you obeyed orders. If you didn't, you could be 
living literally in Hell. 

The CCC also contained an array of communication devices that kept 
you in touch with as many as a hundred thousand Mark XIX tanks, as 
well as your superiors, no matter where you were in Human Space, 
although interstellar communications could take days. 

So I called the gang together and we got into the CCC down in my 
garage, below my apartment. You had to strip down naked to get into 
a coffin, and as usual, the girls insisted that we males take a walk while 
they got in. I suspect that this had nothing to do with modesty, but was 
because Maria and Zuzanna were far more beautiful in Dream World 
than they were in reality. My Kasia was beautiful anywhere she went, 
of course. 

It was a half-hour trip by the underground MagLev system to the 
military transmitter, over a day in Dream World. Our party consisted of 
six humans, six intelligent machines, and Professor Cee. Socially, we 
treated each other as equals. We spent the time at a medieval 
tournament, followed by a banquet in Zuzanna's castle. This had a lot in 
common with the Dark Tower that I'd had built for her in my valley, 
except that the real one didn't have moat monsters, wizards, and 
dragons hanging around. 

Accelerating the CCC to the vector of New Kashubia took another 
thirty minutes, but none of us on board noticed it. Fluid suspension lets 
you ignore gravity, at least when it stays below ten Gs. We spent the 
day coursing after the stags with the palace hounds. 


Transit time to New Kashubia took another hour, according to laws of 
physics that I have learned twice, and still don't understand. Had we 
been in separate tanks, we would have had to spend the time alone, but 
since we were all in there together, we spent the two subjective days 
on a dragon hunt. This time, Conan won the prize for the biggest kill. 
He said that he would have it mounted in his den, the way I had done 
with the prize I had taken during the "Search Light Party," during the 
last war. 

Transit time to New Kashubia took another hour, according to laws of 
physics that I have learned twice, and still don't understand. Had we 
been in separate tanks, we would have had to spend the time alone, but 
since we were all in there together, we spent the two subjective days 
on a dragon hunt. This time, Conan won the prize for the biggest kill. 
He said that he would have it mounted in his den, the way I had done 
with the prize I had taken during the "Search Light Party," during the 
last war. 

Sobieski is a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, and among friends he usually 
adopted the persona of Elessar, the king. The thirteen of us suddenly 
found ourselves wearing not medieval finery, but armored garb suitable 
for the nobility of Middle Earth. Quick changes of clothing are a 
common occurrence in Dream World. 

We were escorted into the great hall atop Minas Tirith by hundreds of 
warriors with winged helmets. They didn't march very well, which 
indicated that these were all humans, and not machine intelligences. Our 
army never wasted much time on things like marching. 

"Your Majesty," I said, standing in front of the dais, and bowing. "You 
called, and we have come." 


"And right welcome you are!" Sobieski said, standing and stepping 
down from his throne. "The first order of business here is the long 
delayed awarding of promotions and decorations!" The crowd made a 
series of "Hooahs," "Poobahs," and "Praise them with Great Praise," 
which happened a lot that afternoon. 

"And right welcome you are!" Sobieski said, standing and stepping 
down from his throne. "The first order of business here is the long 
delayed awarding of promotions and decorations!" The crowd made a 
series of "Hooahs," "Poobahs," and "Praise them with Great Praise," 
which happened a lot that afternoon. 

The crowd went wild over that one. All of us felt that the electronic 
people deserved recognition as human beings, and these promotions 
were a major step on the road to their complete emancipation. 

When the cheering quieted down, the general continued, "Next, there is 
a matter of awards and decorations. We'll start with your subordinates 
on those, and I'll have my scribes read the certificates." 

It turned into quite a long afternoon, with some four hundred and 
fifty-one medals handed out. And every one of them was accompanied 
by a scroll stating where and why the action occurred that earned it. 


Our army wasn't very heavy on ceremony, but some things you just 
have to go through. By the time they were through, we were all loaded 
down with golden trinkets, both us humans and our electronic people, 
and I was as weighted down with medals as a Russian war hero. 

Our army wasn't very heavy on ceremony, but some things you just 
have to go through. By the time they were through, we were all loaded 
down with golden trinkets, both us humans and our electronic people, 
and I was as weighted down with medals as a Russian war hero. 

"Certainly, but save them for the business meeting tomorrow. For now, 
it's party time!" 

"Yes, sir. But what is happening with my Gurkhas?" 

"They will be expanded from a battered battalion up to several full 
divisions, of course, depending on how many of them actually enlist. 
You don't think that I'd pass up a chance to get as many of those 
magnificent warriors as possible, do you? All of the munitions factories 
are still operating at full capacity, and your Gurkhas have first priority 
on equipment and supplies. Now come on and have a beer!" 

"Yes, sir," I said, taking a stein of Russian honey beer from a nearly 
naked serving wench. These were just computer simulations, more 
decorations than people. If you talked to one, she could convince you 
that she was "alive," but really, she wasn't anything like Agnieshka, for 
example. "But, why are we expanding the army when the war is over?" 


"The War with Earth is over. The next war will be a long one, and it has 
already started." 

"The War with Earth is over. The next war will be a long one, and it has 
already started." 

"There's plenty of time, Mickolai. We'll talk it over tomorrow." 

"But!" 

"Drink your beer, General Derdowski. That's an order." 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER EIGHT 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


A Pleasant Social Event 

Kren took a book at random from the bookshelf within reach of the cot 
he was lying on. He had been quite sure that he could read, but he had 
never before actually had the opportunity to do so. He was delighted to 


find that the words and the thoughts came to him from the printed page 
without any difficulty at all. 

find that the words and the thoughts came to him from the printed page 
without any difficulty at all. 

After about an hour, Bronki came in with a stack of books under her 
arm. 

"Do you enjoy reading Koki?" she asked. 

"Very much," he said, somewhat confused. He had to look at the cover 
again to see what she was talking about. It was a moment before he 
realized that she was referring to the author of the book. He had never 
before considered that each book had some person who had written it. 
In all of his memories of them, books simply were. They somehow just 
came out of nothing, or perhaps had always been there. 

"I think perhaps that Koki might be a bit specialized for you to start 
with. I suggest that you start your study of history with Samsid, here, 
which is a generalized overview of history. That is, of course, if you've 
never read him. I mean, it's a very popular book, and you must have 
had a library available to you in the military." 


"Have you ever seen a military library?" he asked, sitting up, and putting 
his feet on the pleasantly decorated orange and red carpet. 

"Have you ever seen a military library?" he asked, sitting up, and putting 
his feet on the pleasantly decorated orange and red carpet. 

"Then let me enlighten you. A library suitable for an entire battalion 
would fit easily into this room. At least half of it would consist of 
military regulations. These books are feverishly read by miscreants who 
are looking for a way out of being punished for the crimes that they 
have committed. 

"Perhaps a third of it will concern truly military subjects. Books on war, 
tactics, weapons, and so forth. These are often checked out by junior 
officers who carry them around, wishing to impress their superiors with 
their diligence. Few show any evidence of ever having been actually 
read. 

"There will be a few shelves of so called 'fine literature,' donated by 
local literary academics who wish the soldiers to improve their minds, 
or by poets who are otherwise unable to dispose of their thin books of 
bad poetry. These are all in pristine condition, having been neither 
checked out nor read. 

"Then there will be a half shelf of the crudest possible humor, usually 
left behind by dead soldiers. These books are inevitably worn to 
tatters." 


Bronki laughed. 

Bronki laughed. 

"I would be happy to give you my opinions on it, once I've read it." 

"Thank you. For myself, well, I usually live a sedentary life, and today's 
long walk has left me tired. I shall read for an hour, and then go to 
sleep. Please do as you wish. My home is your home." 

"You honor me beyond my deserts," Kren said. "I think that I will stay 
right here and read one of your books." 

Kren started to read The Overview of Mitchegai History, which 
started some three and a half million years ago, and stopped on this 
planet within a gross years of the present. It started with their earliest 
beginnings in the myths and the archeology of a planet over a thousand 
light-years away from the one he was living on. It discussed the 
beginnings of agriculture, and the strange animals that had existed back 
then, many of which the Mitchegai had actually eaten! 


Kren shuddered at the very thought of it, but continued reading late into 
the night until sleep closed over him. 

Kren shuddered at the very thought of it, but continued reading late into 
the night until sleep closed over him. 

"You slept late, my friend." 

"I was up late. Your history book was very interesting," Kren said. 

"We are a remarkable species. To think that we made it from living in 
primitive huts to launching ourselves into space in only a million and a 
half years! It was an amazing accomplishment!" 

"I suppose it was, but actually, I haven't gotten that far yet. I will read 
some more of it in the afternoon, if I may. I wouldn't want to overstay 
my welcome here." 

"That is something that you couldn't possibly do. I enjoy your company. 
You are someone as new and refreshing to me as I am to you. But for 
this afternoon, well, I haven't eaten lately, and country grown food is so 
much better than what is available in the city. What would you think of 
a hunt? Have you eaten recently?" 


"Not nearly enough. Yes, a hunt would be wonderful!" 

"Not nearly enough. Yes, a hunt would be wonderful!" 

"A spear? To hunt a juvenal?" 

"I want to see if you are really as good with that thing as you claim." 

Only a half mile from the house, they spotted a large juvenal grazing, 
about a gross three dozen yards away. 

"Could you hit her from here?" Bronki asked. 

"It's a long shot, even with a running throw. I'd only give myself half a 
chance of hitting her." 

"Try it anyway!" 

Kren dropped his cloak, took three running steps, and let fly. The 
spear arched high in the sky and came down perfectly on target, going 
right through the startled girl, and nailing her to the ground. She was 
screaming, and spinning about in circles, but unable to free herself. 


"That was lovely! You are a master of your art!" Bronki shouted. 

"That was lovely! You are a master of your art!" Bronki shouted. 

The overlapping, flexible plates of the Mitchegai cranium make for a 
much weaker skull than that of humans. Furthermore, the motile brain 
cells are less firmly connected to each other than those of any earthly 
species. 

This results in making Mitchegai rather easy to knock unconscious. At 
the same time, the motile brain cells readily reconnect, and thus a blow 
to the head will rarely kill a Mitchegai. 

With humans, the force required to knock one unconscious is very 
nearly that required to knock him dead. 

Kren said, "Did you want this one? Or should I kill you another?" 

"I had thought that she would be big enough for both of us." 

"I can see that academicians have smaller appetites than soldiers do. 


How would you like the small one out there?" He pointed at another 
juvenal as far away as the first had been. 

How would you like the small one out there?" He pointed at another 
juvenal as far away as the first had been. 

Mitchegai eyesight is extremely good, superior to that of an earthly 
eagle. 

"That's really pushing it, but I will try." 

Luck was with him, and Kren caught the little fellow cleanly in the neck. 

"Truly, you are a great master! Let me pace off the distance of that 
throw. I shall E-mail the university's athletic director about you right 
after we wake up." 

"Thank you. I hope that I will be as lucky in my demonstration for him 
as I have been in this one for you." 

"Kren, you must learn to cease hiding your light under a basket. Come 
on, let's carry these children closer to the house before we eat them. 
Otherwise, we'll end up sleeping it off in the fields, and wake up chilled 
to the bone." 


Mitchegai are nominally cold-blooded. However, through the use of 
clothing and various behavioral traits, the adults usually maintain a body 
temperature slightly higher than humans do. 

Mitchegai are nominally cold-blooded. However, through the use of 
clothing and various behavioral traits, the adults usually maintain a body 
temperature slightly higher than humans do. 

A semi-sentient housekeeper came by every other day, shook out the 
carpets, washed all of the floors and windows, and trimmed back the 
barely encroaching grass, but never touched anything on a table or a 
desk. She never spoke a word, but brought fresh linen, changed the 
beds, and took away Kren's cloak for cleaning. She had an 
arrangement with Bronki, which involved getting the use of a small, 
nearby house with the utilities and taxes paid. 

Kren simply moved to another room whenever she appeared anxiously 
at his doorway, and that was sufficient. 

Bronki spent most of her time writing a book on her general-purpose 
computer, rattling her claws on the hardened metal keyboard. She had 
contracted to finish the last volume of her history of the computer 
before the next semester, and she was worried about fulfilling it. 

As with all contracts among the Mitchegai, there were severe penalty 
clauses for late delivery. In the worst cases, they would sometimes not 
eat you alive, a bad end for a Mitchegai. 


Kren was struggling through a book on mathematics, something which 
none of his victims had prepared him for, when there was a shout from 
outside the front door. 

Kren was struggling through a book on mathematics, something which 
none of his victims had prepared him for, when there was a shout from 
outside the front door. 

"Bronki! We heard you were back! We've come to welcome you 
home to the civilized world!" 

"Zoda! Sava! Come on in! And what is this that you have brought me?" 

Zoda shouted, "Party food, of course! Isn't she lovely? Just the right 
age, soft and tender, and not a mark on her! It took us all day to find 
one this good!" 

"She is lovely! She looks almost too good to eat! Maybe, I'll keep her 
and have her eat me when her time is right!" Bronki said. 

"Not a chance!" Sava said, "We've carried her for three miles, and 
we're going to eat her! Who's your friend?" 


"Have it your way," Bronki said, and introduced Kren to her friends. 
They were both university professors on ten-year-long sabbaticals, and 
living a few miles away. 

"Have it your way," Bronki said, and introduced Kren to her friends. 
They were both university professors on ten-year-long sabbaticals, and 
living a few miles away. 

Yet all intelligent beings need to get together to talk and socialize. 

During such functions, some method to release the inhibitions is 
desirable, and with drunkenness an impossibility, the Mitchegai used 
the stupor brought on by eating. Eating a very large meal put you to 
sleep too quickly, but snacking lightly throughout the evening proved 
efficacious. 

"How is the book coming?" Sava asked Bronki. 

"Poorly! It's way behind schedule!" 

"Mine too! What's more, I'm stuck. I don't know what to do next, but 
at least I've got a year before it's due. Tell you what. How about if I 
stay here and help you out, and then if you have time, you can do the 
same for me?" 


Bronki said, "You'd do that? You're a blessing from the duke! Yes, by 
all means! Help me! Help me!" 

Bronki said, "You'd do that? You're a blessing from the duke! Yes, by 
all means! Help me! Help me!" 

"So, Bronki, will you do the honors of the first cut?" Sava said. 

"But surely, it is your gift, so you should do it." 

"No, no. You know the rules. You are the hostess." 

"But Kren is a special guest. He should have the honors," Bronki said. 

"I am but a soldier, and unfamiliar with civilized ways," Kren said. "I 
would probably do something improper, and flub the whole thing." 

"No, you won't," Bronki insisted. "We're all friends here. Just take a 
knife and cut off some small part. Actually, most party goers start with 
the fingers and toes, and work inwards as the night goes on. Just don't 


let her die too soon." 

let her die too soon." 

The girl screamed again, much more loudly this time, and longer. 

"That was really good, Kren," Zoda said. "The pitch and timbre were 
wonderful! I'll have to remember that! Always take a bit of bone off on 
the first cut!" 

The Mitchegai have very little sense of rhythm, and thus music and 
dance have no place in their pantheon of art works. But extracting 
pleasant sounds from their party food is considered to be an honored 
art form, and a lot of fun besides. In addition, it always put the guests in 
a very good mood. 

"You are the computer expert here, Bronki," Zoda said, cutting off a 
finger for herself. When the screaming stopped, she continued, "What 
do you think of Kem's suggestion that it might be possible to build a 
computer with real intelligence?" 

"I think that it is pure and utter nonsense! Computers can only do what 


their name implies. They can compute. The so called artificial 
intelligence programs are exactly what their name says they are. 
Artificial! They can't really think!" She stabbed the girl's forearm to 
emphasize her point. 

their name implies. They can compute. The so called artificial 
intelligence programs are exactly what their name says they are. 
Artificial! They can't really think!" She stabbed the girl's forearm to 
emphasize her point. 

The long evening was most pleasant for the four of them. Kren was 
quizzed at length about the military, and he asked as many questions 
about their lives at the university. 

"So tell me, why are we so often at war?" Bronki asked the group, 
when the conversation hit a lull. 

"That's easy," Sava said. "Because they're fun!" 

"Having participated in a number of them, would you mind if I 
disagreed with that opinion?" Kren said, playing his role to the hilt. 

"Disagree all you like. That's what makes parties fun," Sava replied. 

Zoda said, "They may not be fun for those who must fight them, but 
they are tremendously exciting for those who don't. And it's the ones 


far behind the lines who start the wars, direct the wars, and profit from 
the wars. But from a larger perspective, wars have other advantages. 
They eliminate surplus populations. The grass has to be trimmed and 
eaten, or it will turn rank." 

far behind the lines who start the wars, direct the wars, and profit from 
the wars. But from a larger perspective, wars have other advantages. 
They eliminate surplus populations. The grass has to be trimmed and 
eaten, or it will turn rank." 

"I'll have to think on that," Kren said. 

The conversation drifted through six dozen subjects, with several 
surprises and a lot of laughter. 

Later, Sava asked, as she crunched on a bit of ankle bone that she had 
bitten off, "Tell me, Kren, how was it that you learned the language of 
Keno?" 

"In truth, I never did learn it, in the ordinary way of speaking. During 
the last war, another division took so many casualties at one point that 
they could not give them all a proper sendoff, and my unit helped them 
out a bit. I'd never met the soldier that my squad ate, but the next day, I 
found myself speaking Keno. I never learned how our dinner happened 
to know it, because shortly thereafter, we were attacked, I was 
hospitalized, and most of my squad was killed. Then it was the other 


division's turn to help us out." 

division's turn to help us out." 

"Adventurous? I suppose so, but being an academic sounds much more 
interesting to me," he said as he flayed the skin off the girl's lower leg. 

The girl moaned and cried in the most delightful fashion until they had 
her trimmed down to her upper body cavity and head. Then they 
played the finger game, a variation on the human game of 
scissors-paper-rock, to determine who would get the brain, and Sava 
won. 

Lastly, they tore the rest of her apart with their claws, ate it all, and 
licked up the blood. Then they each went to their separate bedrooms 
and locked the doors, laughing all the while. 

Falling asleep, Kren marveled once more at how wonderful intelligent, 
civilized company was. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER NINE 



A Good Party 
New Kashubia, 2205 a.d. 


It was a good party. The people from the Command Center had more 
experience with socializing than us soldiers from the sticks, and it 
showed. By people, I mean both humans and artificial intelligences. We 
considered ourselves to be equals, despite what the laws outside of the 
army might say. In time, we would prevail. 

Dream World permitted a very wide range of human activities, since no 
matter what you did, you couldn't get addicted, hung over, diseased, 
injured, or dead. If an emergency occurred, you could go from being 
roaring drunk to dead sober in an instant. 

A few people were experimenting with just about every drug known to 
man, and tobacco was making a considerable comeback, but most 
people stayed with alcohol and eschewed the rest. 

Someone told me that the band contained only two humans, the rest 
being AI. I watched, but I couldn't tell one from the other. The sound 
level was always just right. If you wanted to dance, you could always 
hear the beat. If you wanted to talk, you could always hear what was 
being said. Dream World had a lot of advantages. 

Soon, some couples were dancing on the walls and ceiling, but after my 
first startled glance, it seemed to be fairly normal to me. A few people 
had been turning this sort of thing into a real art form, though, and one 
couple in particular, dancing in midair under the high ceiling, got a long 


round of applause. 

round of applause. 

My crew had a fine time. Agnieshka was soon wearing a vaguely 
Napoleonic outfit made of tight-fitting red and white silk, knee-high 
boots, lots of gold braid, a very ornate sword, and about as much 
décolletage as the law will ordinarily allow. 

She claimed that it was the official full undress uniform for Army 
majors. A few other metal ladies, presumably majors themselves, 
copied her outfit. Soon, something even more audacious was invented 
for captains, and then a few hundred new tanker class A's outdid them 
all with something that I don't feel comfortable describing. 

Our metal ladies could break into well-choreographed dances at a 
moment's notice, and did so several times that evening, doing an 
impromptu fifty-girl Rockette High Kick at one point. 

Kasia and I danced on the floor, the walls and the ceiling, but we didn't 
feel up to competing with those athletes working out in midair. Eva, 
Kasia's tank, and Timothy, Zuzanna's, were up there doing a credible 
job, though. 


Quincy was demonstrating hand-to-hand combat techniques to 
someone who knew a lot less about fighting than he thought he did. 
Quincy killed him four times that I noticed. He was a persistent fellow. 
It hurts to die, even in Dream World. 

Quincy was demonstrating hand-to-hand combat techniques to 
someone who knew a lot less about fighting than he thought he did. 
Quincy killed him four times that I noticed. He was a persistent fellow. 
It hurts to die, even in Dream World. 

A half dozen bloody duels happened in the course of the evening. 
Eventually, somebody circulated with a pad of note paper, taking a 
vote to determine who had died the most noble death of the evening. 
They gave the award to the guy that Quincy had repeatedly killed. 

For no reason that I could discern, Conan was demonstrating how 
apes climb trees. Someone was sticking his tongue into Zuzanna's ear, 
and Maria declared that she was in love with whoever it was who was 
running his foot up her leg. 

And Kasia ended up with a few like-minded ladies, sitting around 
drunk on champagne and reciting from memory the poetry of Elizabeth 
Barrett Browning. 

Like I said, it was a good party. Only, I wanted to get to the business 
meeting. We were at war? 

Back | Next 


Contents 

Contents 
N 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Bargains Kept 

The next day, Sava stayed to help Bronki on her book, and Zoda, 
lacking anything better to do, stayed too. Bronki's retreat had two 
studies, each with a computer. Zoda wanted to get involved and help 
out, but was stymied for lack of equipment. 

Frustrated, she asked Kren to walk with her back to her house and to 
help her to bring her computer to Bronki's place. Since he was sick of 
trying to comprehend even the coarse points of mathematics, he agreed. 

It was a pleasant two-hour walk there, and a strenuous three-hour 
walk back. Zoda's computer weighed close to two gross pounds. 
Mitchegai computer technology was vastly inferior to that of late 
twentieth-century Earth, even after a million years of development. 

Creativity is the domain of the young. Since Mitchegai are normally 
thousands of years old before they have brains enough to do anything 


technical, they are often very intelligent and extremely learned, but not 
very creative. 

technical, they are often very intelligent and extremely learned, but not 
very creative. 

Kren and Zoda had the computer slung on the same aluminum carrying 
pole that had been used for bringing in last night's party snack. Zoda 
bounced along, carrying her end without apparent difficulty, and Kren 
was ashamed to admit that he was tired in front of a mere academician. 
He followed behind her without voicing his complaints. 

They were almost back before Zoda explained that the trick of using a 
carrying pole was to adjust your step to the natural frequency of the 
weight and the pole. With just the right bounce and timing, the job 
became much easier. 

Kren thanked her for the useful, if belated, information. 

Zoda set her equipment up in the last bedroom, and Kren, interested, 
followed her instructions to connect the components with each other, 
and with the two other computers. Soon all three academics were 
working smoothly together, and Kren went back to trying to master 
elementary mathematics. 


The next afternoon, frustrated with his lack of accomplishment, Kren 
went out and brought back another party snack, as similar as possible 
to the one the others had admired a couple of days before. 

The next afternoon, frustrated with his lack of accomplishment, Kren 
went out and brought back another party snack, as similar as possible 
to the one the others had admired a couple of days before. 

The next day, he went out with his spear, and killed four juvenals, 
eating their brains on the spot, and leaving the bodies to be eaten by 
other juvenals. On any planet, herbivores will eagerly eat meat, if they 
don't have to kill it first. 

His studies improved considerably. 

Soon they fell into a pattern, with a party every other night, but no 
major meals, since time was pressing and Bronki couldn't afford to take 
the time off for a proper stupor. Kren always provided the party 
snacks. 

And four times a day, he ate a juvenal brain. 

Mitchegai juvenals are not herding animals, and they are not territorial. 
They drift and wander as individuals, constantly seeking out new and 


better pastures. 

better pastures. 

After three weeks of nonstop work, the academics went outside for a 
break, and they noticed it immediately. 

"Just look at this mess!" Sava said. 

"Kren, this is your work, isn't it," Zoda said. "Just how many juvenals 
have you been eating? Ten a day?" 

"Only four," he admitted. "And only the brains. The rest of the bodies 
are eaten by other juvenals, so the biomass stays the same." 

"It does no such thing," Sava said. "The conversion rate is only five 
dozen ten per gross. You are ruining the grass. Worse, you are 
breaking the duke's law. Adults are permitted to take what they need 
to eat. Wasting food is punished with death by fire. If they catch you, 
they'll burn you at the stake in some public square! And doing anything 
that degrades the quality of the grass carries the same penalty!" 


Mitchegai criminals are not actually burned at the stake with a fire at 
their feet. That was just a saying left over from the distant, barbaric 
past. In more progressive, modern times, they use a ceramic, 
temperature controlled, electrically heated stake, which permits the 
sufferer to remain alive much longer, and thus provides more 
amusement for the crowd. 

Mitchegai criminals are not actually burned at the stake with a fire at 
their feet. That was just a saying left over from the distant, barbaric 
past. In more progressive, modern times, they use a ceramic, 
temperature controlled, electrically heated stake, which permits the 
sufferer to remain alive much longer, and thus provides more 
amusement for the crowd. 

"You are ignorant of a lot of things," Bronki said. "Small additions of 
fresh brain cells can improve your learning abilities. But the maximum 
that is useful for academic purposes is one juvenal every other day. 
Four a day is simply ignorant!" 

"I apologize and stand corrected," Kren said. 

"You will do more than that!" Bronki shouted. "You will cease hunting 
anywhere within a dozen miles of here for the next six weeks at least. 
Maybe enough juvenals will drift in to correct the problem here by then. 
With any luck, the grass will look proper again before anyone in 
authority notices the problem. Because if they do notice this mess, or if 
anybody calls it to their attention, you'll have the whole army out after 
you." 

"I said I was sorry." 


"That's not enough," Zoda said. "We're all too busy to make any 
extended hunting trips right now, so you have to feed the whole group." 

"That's not enough," Zoda said. "We're all too busy to make any 
extended hunting trips right now, so you have to feed the whole group." 

"With the alternative of death by fire, I will comply with your requests," 
Kren said, thinking that they were quite serious about perhaps turning 
him in. Certainly, no Mitchegai would take the personal risk of 
attempting to protect someone else from the duke's forces. 

Bronki said, "You certainly will. And after this area is back in proper 
shape, I will give you a list of the poor indigents in this neighborhood, 
starting with my housekeeper. Many of them are crippled, and have 
difficulty getting enough to eat. You will give the body of the child you 
kill every other day to one of them. That qualifies as an act of charity, 
and will satisfy the duke's law." 

"Yes, madam." 

Two weeks later, the academics announced that they had completed 
Bronki's book slightly ahead of the deadline, and had E-mailed it to the 
publisher. The party that night was a particularly good one. 

At one point, Bronki announced, "Kren, you will be pleased to learn 


that I have heard from the athletic director at my university. He has said 
that if you can repeat your spear-chucking performance for him on a 
regular basis, he can guarantee you a five-year athletic scholarship!" 

that I have heard from the athletic director at my university. He has said 
that if you can repeat your spear-chucking performance for him on a 
regular basis, he can guarantee you a five-year athletic scholarship!" 

"This is wonderful," Kren said. "Now I must make inquiries with my 
superiors to see if I can take advantage of this excellent offer." 

"I'm sure that we can help you with that," Zoda said. 

"Thank you, but I think it best if I handled this one on my own. The 
protocols of the military are much different from those of your world," 
Kren said, helping himself to a nice bit of tail. "Still, if I need help, I will 
not hesitate asking it of you." 

"Next, have you had a chance to read that novel I lent you, A Soldier's 
Life?" Bronki asked. 

"Yes, and I found it to be simply silly. The book's heroes see a dozen 
times as much action as any normal combat troops could possibly 
survive, without having any of them killed. Their use of weapons ranges 
from awkward through foolish and on to absolutely stupid. They all go 
into battle shouting patriotic slogans, they all respect all of their officers, 
and they all feel an unrelenting reverence for their commanding general. 


In short, they have absolutely nothing in common with real soldiers in a 
real army. Intelligent warriors might enjoy the humor of it, as a satire, 
but relatively few soldiers have that level of intelligence. It might be 
useful as enlistment propaganda, except that it would probably attract 
the wrong sort of recruit. In short, I can see no possible use for this 
book." 

In short, they have absolutely nothing in common with real soldiers in a 
real army. Intelligent warriors might enjoy the humor of it, as a satire, 
but relatively few soldiers have that level of intelligence. It might be 
useful as enlistment propaganda, except that it would probably attract 
the wrong sort of recruit. In short, I can see no possible use for this 
book." 

"Then that is its apparent purpose. To fulfill the aggressive fantasies of 
intellectual armchair soldiers. Treated as such, it might have merit. As a 
description of military life, it is fraudulent." 

This left a lull in the conversation that was soon filled by everyone 
having another bite to eat, with suitable verbal accompaniment by the 
party snack. 

"I notice that the grass is recovering nicely, much faster than I thought it 
would," Sava said. 

Kren said, "Besides providing all of the party snacks, I have also 
hauled in over a dozen juvenals from points over a dozen miles from 
here, and released them around the house. The program seems to be 
working." 

"Then I think that we can cease worrying about intervention by the 


authorities," Zoda said. "Now all we have to worry about is Sava's 
book." 

authorities," Zoda said. "Now all we have to worry about is Sava's 
book." 

"I like that idea," Zoda said. "It's been too long since I've seen my name 
on anything." 

"Then see what you can do about getting yourself a suitable book 
contract, and we'll work on it next summer. I'll have to go back to the 
university in a few weeks, and there are some course outlines I have to 
do, besides getting Sava's book back on track, but I'll be free all next 
summer." 

"It's settled, then. We're a three-way partnership," Sava said. 

They all ate to that, tapping their meat together over their snack in the 
time honored fashion. 

The next day, while the others worked at their computers, Kren 
decided to give up on mathematics, and to start on the sciences. Things 
progressed well for a while, but he soon found that his progress was 
slowed by his deficiencies in math. Grumbling, he went hunting the day 
after. 


He found that if he tied six large juvenals by the neck and connected all 
of the ropes to a central knot, he could get them home without too 
much difficulty. Since they all tended to run in random directions, they 
averaged each other out, and holding on to the knot, he could control 
them, and keep them moving in the desired direction. 

He found that if he tied six large juvenals by the neck and connected all 
of the ropes to a central knot, he could get them home without too 
much difficulty. Since they all tended to run in random directions, they 
averaged each other out, and holding on to the knot, he could control 
them, and keep them moving in the desired direction. 

Five of them were released alive near the house to improve the grass, 
and the last became a party snack. 

After two more weeks, Sava's book was half completed, and the rest 
of it was completely outlined. After a last, rollicking party, the two old 
academics packed up Zoda's computer, slung it over their shoulders, 
and, after many good-byes, went bouncing home. 

Once they were gone, Bronki sat at the stool in front of her computer, 
working on her course outlines. 

Kren came quietly into her study and thrust his spear into the flesh 
under her leg bones, just behind the knees. This cut most of the tendons 
to her lower legs, crippling her. 

She screamed in pain, and fell to the floor. 


"Why did you do this to me?" she yelled. 

"Why did you do this to me?" she yelled. 

"Are you crazy? Why would you want to eat an old body like this one 
when there are plenty of tender young ones around?" 

"Because I am not interested in eating your body. I am interested in 
eating your brain." 

"That, too, is madness! My brain is at least three times as big as yours 
is. If you ate it, you would not be providing yourself with my brain, you 
would be providing me with your body, which I could certainly use at 
this point! I think you've crippled me for life," she said, angrily. 

"That would happen only if I ate all of your brain, which I do not intend 
to do. I want your mathematical abilities, and your knowledge of the 
computer arts." 

"Your slow progress in math bothered you that much? I knew that I 
should have given you some tutoring! Anyway, do you know how to 
do that?" 


"Certainly," Kren said. "One of my earlier meals was a medic who was 
very knowledgeable in anatomy." 

"Certainly," Kren said. "One of my earlier meals was a medic who was 
very knowledgeable in anatomy." 

"Five times. This really was the body of a mining slave, but what I didn't 
tell you was that I was that slave." 

"That's quite a bit of personal advancement! Would you like to tell me 
the whole story?" Bronki asked, still lying on the floor. 

Kren did so, simply because he enjoyed talking to Bronki, and there 
was no rush. He told his life's story completely and accurately, with 
none of the self-aggrandizement or face-saving lies that a human 
criminal would have used. Shame has no place in the Mitchegai 
character. 

Hours later, when he had finished, Bronki said, "Okay, I suppose that if 
I had been in your position, I might well have done the same thing that 
you did, at each step of the way. Certainly, I can't hate you for it, 
except that in one way it certainly galls me! Here I am, one of the most 
intelligent professors at the university, and now I find that I was stupid 
enough to invite a vampire into my own home! I hope that nobody ever 
finds out about this. I'd be a laughingstock!" 

"A vampire?" 


"Yes, of course, that's what you are, you know. Did you think that you 
were the first person to come up with this method of self-improvement?" 

"Yes, of course, that's what you are, you know. Did you think that you 
were the first person to come up with this method of self-improvement?" 

"There are so many things that you are ignorant of. You really must get 
a proper, university education, you know. I'll do what I can to help you 
accomplish that." 

"I don't see how. You won't be alive." 

"Of course I will," Bronki said. "There's no need for me to die, and at 
this point, I need a new body in any event. I would have done it in a 
year or two, anyway, even if you hadn't crippled this one. We'll just 
agree on exactly what you'll take for yourself, and feed the rest to a 
recently metamorphosed adult." 

"And you expect me to commit what must surely be a crime by civilian 
laws, and then leave you alive to testify against me in court?" 

"Yes, I do. For one thing, I would be willing to sign a contract that I 
would never bring charges against you, and never testify against you in 
court. If I broke such a contract, I would be punished right along with 
you. For another, if it was learned that I had lost some of my intellectual 
abilities, it could very well cost me my job at the university. For a third, 


I would be willing to pay you very well to not kill me." 

I would be willing to pay you very well to not kill me." 

"How does twelve thousand Ke sound? It's all that I have in my 
savings." Bronki had a dozen times that much in the bank, and many 
times more in other investments besides, but she felt no need to be 
scrupulously honest. 

"It does not sound bad, but I have often admired this retreat of yours. 
Would you throw it in as well, with all of its contents?" 

"If I must, yes, although I am very attached to it. May I borrow it 
occasionally when you have no need of it?" 

"If you will throw in your servant and her house, yes," Kren said. 

"Done. We have an agreement." Bronki thought that if she still had the 
use of the house, and someone else had to pay the taxes and utilities, 
here and for her housekeeper, she had just made a profit. If her servant 
had to work a little harder, taking care of two masters now, well, so 
what? 

"Okay. So what do we do now? Must I go out in search of a suitably 
mature juvenal, and then wait around until she is ready to 


metamorphose?" 

metamorphose?" 

"How can you afford to pay for her if you are giving me all of your 
money?" 

"My money may be gone, but my credit is very good. I'll charge it on 
my credit card." 

"And the rest of our bargain?" Kren asked. 

"I'll do the contract, the bank transfer, and the deed on the property 
next. Look, I'll need your help getting installed in my new body, won't 
I? I'm in no position to cheat you now." 

"But I'm in a position to cheat you." 

"True, but it would be stupid for you to do so. If you stay with our deal, 
you will come out quite well. Besides getting the knowledge that you 
want, you will have the money, a nice home, and a trained servant. If 
I'm dead, my money and property would end up in probate, and you'll 


be years getting it, if ever." 

be years getting it, if ever." 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER ELEVEN 


Something Wicked This Way Comes 
New Kashubia, 2205 a.d. 


There were six generals waiting in the meeting room, and each of us 
had five colonels and seven electronic people with us. We were all in 
class A uniforms, except for the professors, who wore their inevitable 
tweeds. Our insignia was traditional. Generals wore a star, colonels an 
eagle, majors an oak leaf, captains, two silver bars. 

Being in Dream World, the room was exactly the size that it needed to 
be. Every one of us had the ability to stop the action and discuss 
matters privately with anyone we wanted to, for however long we 
wanted, without disturbing the others at the meeting. 

In so many ways, Dream World was a very convenient way to do 
business. 


I never used the stop action option, at first because I wanted Sobieski 
to get on with it, and then because everything he said scared the shit out 
of me! 

I never used the stop action option, at first because I wanted Sobieski 
to get on with it, and then because everything he said scared the shit out 
of me! 

"I want to cover some lesser matters first before we get on to the main 
subject of discussion," he said. 

Three hours of accounting procedures before he gets around to 
mentioning that we are at war! I thought to myself. 

"There are some lessons to be learned from the last war," Sobieski 
continued. "The biggest one is that it does you little good to have 
overwhelming firepower if you cannot get that firepower to the 
battlefield. In the War with Earth, we were able to overcome that 
difficulty with a stratagem developed by Colonel Quincy Tsenovi here." 

He stopped to give Quincy a round of applause from all present. 
Quincy smiled and nodded to their approval. Then Sobieski continued, 
"But doing that made it a hairy operation. It required absolutely precise 
timing by hundreds of thousands of units. Any one of a thousand things 
could have gone wrong, and lost us the war. We were lucky, even 
though many things did go wrong, costing us many good men and 
machines. 


"But in the future, we will see to it that we have a sufficient number of 
Hassan-Smith transporters to get our army to wherever they are 
needed very quickly. This will take some years to accomplish, but it will 
be done. New production lines here in New Kashubia have already 
been designed and funded, and construction has already begun. 

"But in the future, we will see to it that we have a sufficient number of 
Hassan-Smith transporters to get our army to wherever they are 
needed very quickly. This will take some years to accomplish, but it will 
be done. New production lines here in New Kashubia have already 
been designed and funded, and construction has already begun. 

"Again, we were very lucky, because without Derdowski and his CCC, 
we could have either lost the entire war, or we could have lost touch 
with the thousands of robot ships that are continuing the exploration of 
space, and the expansion of Human Space. That would have stunted 
our growth for fifty years. 

"Besides adding more trucks as targets, and guarding them better, we 
will adopt a practice of always sending at least two CCCs on each 
mission. Other suggestions are welcome. 

"Also, our streamlined command structure, which can have a hundred 
thousand men and fighting machines reporting to a single CCC is a bit 
extreme. In the future, there will be typically ten thousand tanks per 
CCC, and every fighting unit will have several CCCs that it can report 
to, should its primary one be knocked out. This will involve vastly 
expanding our officer corps, but there is a lot of good talent out there. 


"Lastly, the army itself will be vastly expanded. New Kashubia will 
soon be passing a law requiring universal military service for all full 
citizens. You don't have to join the army, but if you don't, you can't 
vote. It is likely that most of the other planets will soon be following suit. 

"Lastly, the army itself will be vastly expanded. New Kashubia will 
soon be passing a law requiring universal military service for all full 
citizens. You don't have to join the army, but if you don't, you can't 
vote. It is likely that most of the other planets will soon be following suit. 

"There are only two things that give us any possible hope of defeating 
them. The first is that despite their great age, they have never 
developed computers to the extent that we have. They have nothing 
like our electronic people. The second is that they have never 
developed anything like our Hassan-Smith transporters. They are 
limited strictly to the speed of light. And since their domain is some six 
thousand light-years across, we will never have to face more than a 
small percentage of them at any one time. 

"On the other hand, they have several technologies that we, at present, 
can't begin to understand. They can, for example, accelerate and 
decelerate from almost light speed instantaneously. And they have 


some sort of a shield that can deflect rail gun needles, among other 
things. 

some sort of a shield that can deflect rail gun needles, among other 
things. 

"But, the indications are that they have already scouted all or most of 
Human Space, and have been doing so for hundreds-or even 
thousands-of years. Their attack may come sooner than we think. We 
may have five years, we may have fifty. But when it happens, we'd 
better be ready. 

"This afternoon, we will be going over the taking of that alien ship, and 
explaining what little we know about it. 

"That's all for now. Dismissed." 

Mickolai found himself wishing that he was still at last night's party. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWELVE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 


FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 

FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 
y 
Or, Eating Your Math Teacher 


Kren had to pick Bronki up and put her on the stool in front of her 
computer. Seeing that she had difficulty staying upright, he quickly got 
some rope and tied her to her seat, before she got her computer online. 

"This will probably take me an hour to arrange," Bronki said. "The pain 
is getting worse, not better. Why don't you go out and find me a big 
meal. The feeding stupor will help me endure the pain you've caused 
me." 

"I will do that, soon. But first, I would like to see you fulfill your side of 
this bargain." Kren had visions of Bronki calling in the authorities while 
he was out. 

"You are not a very trusting person." 

"This is true. But you have every reason to hate me, for what I have 
done to you. I would be a fool to trust you at this time." 


"Kren, you must realize that I am over five thousand years old. There is 
very little that can happen to a person that I haven't seen. Also, I am 
one of the most intelligent teachers at the university, as well as one of 
the wisest. Look. Every being must play the game of life from the 
position that she finds herself in at the present instant. The normal 
emotions-hate, joy, anger, greed-these things were useful to us when 
we were savages, but now that we are civilized, they only get in our 
way. Do you understand that I don't hate you?" 

"Kren, you must realize that I am over five thousand years old. There is 
very little that can happen to a person that I haven't seen. Also, I am 
one of the most intelligent teachers at the university, as well as one of 
the wisest. Look. Every being must play the game of life from the 
position that she finds herself in at the present instant. The normal 
emotions-hate, joy, anger, greed-these things were useful to us when 
we were savages, but now that we are civilized, they only get in our 
way. Do you understand that I don't hate you?" 

"As you wish," Bronki said. She had, of course, been planning to 
contact the authorities, and have Kren arrested and eventually 
executed, not because she hated him for his treachery, or even because 
she badly wanted to save her mathematical abilities, but rather to save 
herself the twelve thousand Ke she had promised, and two of the many 
houses that she owned. 

She started to work the net, thinking that sometimes you win, and 
sometimes you lose. Perhaps, a continued relationship with Kren would 
prove profitable. 


First, she wrote, signed, and filed a confidential contract with the 
Bonding Authority for a fee of five gross Ke, which she talked Kren 
into paying by claiming that they did not accept credit. 

First, she wrote, signed, and filed a confidential contract with the 
Bonding Authority for a fee of five gross Ke, which she talked Kren 
into paying by claiming that they did not accept credit. 

Finally, she ordered a new body, with suitable brands burned into the 
girl's upper arms, from the Dependable Carnivore Company, Ltd. The 
young carnivore was to be delivered the next morning, along with a 
syringe of anesthetic. The painful natural process that the aristocracy 
was so proud of using was not for Bronki. 

"Now, will you please do something for this pain?" she asked him. 

"Of course, I'd be delighted to." Kren untied her from the stool, carried 
her outside, and placed her gently on the grass, with her back propped 
up against the house. Then he locked the door behind him, put the key 
of his new house in his belt pouch, and went hunting. 

He was back in a dozen minutes with a large, but suitable juvenal. 

Bronki had taken a mechanical pencil and a large pad of grass paper 
with her, and had used the time to sketch a life-sized diagram of her 


own brain, with carefully drawn lines showing exactly what parts Kren 
could and could not eat. These were one fairly large section and three 
small ones. These agreed with what his memories from the medic told 
him, so he readily agreed to follow her instructions. 

own brain, with carefully drawn lines showing exactly what parts Kren 
could and could not eat. These were one fairly large section and three 
small ones. These agreed with what his memories from the medic told 
him, so he readily agreed to follow her instructions. 

"Probably just as well," she said, as she became drowsy. "I'd need a 
new body soon anyway. As to the skills I'll be losing, well, a few years 
of study will get them back, maybe better than before. I may even 
come up with something really new, you know. There have been cases 
on record where an old mind has lost a segment, for one reason or 
another, and when it finally relearned what it had lost, it had become 
very creative concerning that particular skill." 

"I wish you very good luck," Kren said, and perhaps he actually meant 
it. 

When she fell asleep, he carried her bloated body back to her room 
and put her to bed. Then he went to bed himself. 

He awoke to the sound of a fusion-powered helicopter, and ran out to 
see it setting itself down near the door under its big, counterrotating 
blades. 


The pilot climbed down and said, "Is here all right?" 

The pilot climbed down and said, "Is here all right?" 

"I've got another delivery in this area in two days. I'll pick up the cage 
on the way back, if that's okay." 

"That would be good, yes," Kren said. 

"Fine. You are the recipient?" 

"No, that would be Bronki, but she's in a stupor just now." 

"Yes, she said that she was injured. You're Kren?" the pilot asked. 

"Yes." 

"She said that you could sign for this girl. Also, there's this syringe of 
anesthetic she ordered. It has to be injected into a major muscle two 
hours before the event. Do you know how to do that?" 


"I'm a qualified military medic," Kren said. 

"I'm a qualified military medic," Kren said. 

"The cage is quite simple," she continued. "The new girl is back here. 
Put the old one in the front of the box, strap her in, and lock the door. 
Then pull these pins, and the wall between them will fold away. Once 
the new one has finished and has gone to sleep, put her someplace 
safe. She'll wake up in a week or two, a new person." 

"That sounds simple enough," Kren said. 

"Good. Sign here." 

The pilot climbed back up into her craft and flew away. 

Kren looked at the bare needle of the syringe in his hand and decided 
that there was no time like the present. He went into Bronki's room, to 
find her lying on her back, with her extended stomach bulging in the air. 

The Mitchegai digestive system is quite elaborate for a carnivore. The 


first stomach, located just below the diaphragm, is used for little else 
but storing brain cells until they can be taken up by the blood stream. 
The second stomach is a hugely expandable storage bag, permitting a 
Mitchegai to consume a being even larger than herself. Only in the third 
stomach does actual digestion start to take place. The intestines are 
smaller than in a human, requiring more frequent defecation. 

first stomach, located just below the diaphragm, is used for little else 
but storing brain cells until they can be taken up by the blood stream. 
The second stomach is a hugely expandable storage bag, permitting a 
Mitchegai to consume a being even larger than herself. Only in the third 
stomach does actual digestion start to take place. The intestines are 
smaller than in a human, requiring more frequent defecation. 

She didn't even murmur as he injected the anesthetic deep into the 
muscle. Of course, it wouldn't occur to a Mitchegai to apply an 
antiseptic before an injection. 

He spent the next two hours reading a book concerning the life of a 
university student, hoping that it was more accurate than the one about 
military life. 

When the clock in his study showed that the time was up, he carried 
Bronki out and strapped her in the front half of the cage, while the new 
girl screamed with hunger. 

Using his sword, he cut off the top of Bronki's head, and making 
frequent reference to her sketch, he sliced out and ate precisely those 
portions that were agreed upon. They were delicious, and he was 
tempted to take a bit more, but he decided that it might be dangerous 
to do so. 


Then he replaced the skull cap, locked the front door, and released the 
screaming young carnivore, before going indoors to rest for a bit. 

Then he replaced the skull cap, locked the front door, and released the 
screaming young carnivore, before going indoors to rest for a bit. 

He was relieved to find that all was well out there. The youngster was 
sleeping undisturbed. If the housekeeper had been by, she had touched 
nothing. 

It was not easy to get the new Bronki out of the cage and into her old 
room. The new carnivore had eaten all of the old Bronki, who had 
been swollen with the large juvenal she had previously eaten. She 
weighed well over twice what she originally had. Feeling weak himself, 
Kren had to drag her most of the way. 

He had just completed the job when the helicopter arrived to pick up 
the cage. He waved to the pilot, glad that he did not have to think up a 
plausible lie for Bronki's presence in the cage. In truth, he wasn't 
thinking very clearly just then. 

Then he locked the door, went to his room, and slept for another three 
days, troubled by strange, mathematical dreams. It was the first time 
that he had eaten a major portion of brain without also eating the body 
as well. He felt surprisingly hungry. He resolved that if he ever did this 


again, he'd eat a juvenal along with it, and go into a proper stupor, if he 
could somehow figure out a safe way to do that. 

again, he'd eat a juvenal along with it, and go into a proper stupor, if he 
could somehow figure out a safe way to do that. 

Returning to the house, he noticed that Bronki's old study was devoid 
of dried blood. The housekeeper had apparently come, cleaned, and 
left. 

Eventually, while Bronki still slept, he picked up the book on 
mathematics that he had been struggling with for so long. No longer 
was it incomprehensible to him. In fact, it all looked childishly simple. 

Obviously, the operation had been a success. 

He spent the next few days going over every book on mathematics that 
he could find in his new house. He was elated to find that he 
comprehended it all, from corporate accounting to advanced matrix 
theory, even the most complicated texts. 

The housekeeper came every two days, as silent as before. She must 
have had some hint as to what was going on, because she stayed away 
from Bronki's room. As before, he stayed out of her way and let her 
get on with her job. 


Once Bronki was awake, they would somehow explain to the servant 
that he was now master of this house. 

Once Bronki was awake, they would somehow explain to the servant 
that he was now master of this house. 

He was well into his first chemistry text when Bronki finally woke up. 
She staggered outside to relieve herself, and then went to the living 
room for a long drink of water. 

"I always hate this part," she said. 

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" 

"You can do nothing but leave me alone. I'll be another week getting 
myself reintegrated." 

With that, she staggered back to her room and closed the door. 

Kren soon started into biology, a subject far different on a Mitchegai 
world than in any other place in the universe. They had, after all, only 
two species to study. But what they lacked in breadth, they made up 


for in depth. Billions of worker years had gone into the study of their 
limited subject matter. Every single gene was completely known and 
understood. Every single chemical used in either species was accurately 
classified, and all of its functions were completely explained. 

for in depth. Billions of worker years had gone into the study of their 
limited subject matter. Every single gene was completely known and 
understood. Every single chemical used in either species was accurately 
classified, and all of its functions were completely explained. 

He was finishing up his first book on biology when Bronki made her 
next appearance. 

"You are a lot slimmer than you were a few weeks ago," he said. 

"Integration is a high-energy process. I need a few days to get my 
course outlines at least started, then we have time for a last good meal 
on country food before it's time for us to start for the university." 

"I'm not sure that going to the university would be such a wise move for 
me. The identification scars on my arms are fraudulent, and if an officer 
of the duke's army were to study them, and make a few inquiries, I 
could be in big trouble," Kren said. 


"So wear your cloak until we get to the university. You'll be safe 
enough once you're there. The University of Dren is an independent 
academic corporation. It's located at the intersection of four dukedoms, 
and it pays taxes to all four of them, but it's not under the jurisdiction of 
any of them. If any one of the dukes were to force his way in, the other 
three would feel threatened and attack him immediately. You'll be safe." 

"So wear your cloak until we get to the university. You'll be safe 
enough once you're there. The University of Dren is an independent 
academic corporation. It's located at the intersection of four dukedoms, 
and it pays taxes to all four of them, but it's not under the jurisdiction of 
any of them. If any one of the dukes were to force his way in, the other 
three would feel threatened and attack him immediately. You'll be safe." 

"You must go," Bronki said. "If I show up without you, the athletic 
director will claim that my letter to him was a practical joke, and then 
he would make my life very difficult." 

Five days later, they locked up the house and started walking to the 
public transportation terminal. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 


A Business Lunch 
New Kashubia, 2205 a.d. 


As we went to the dining room, I found that a name tag had appeared 
on my chest. Apparently, the idea was that we should all get to know 


each other. This impression was confirmed when I saw that the tables 
all had place cards at them. I found myself seated at a round table with 
five other generals. My colonels and electronic people were scattered 
out at other tables. 

each other. This impression was confirmed when I saw that the tables 
all had place cards at them. I found myself seated at a round table with 
five other generals. My colonels and electronic people were scattered 
out at other tables. 

"It kind of makes you want to find an asteroid in an uninhabited solar 
system, hollow it out, and live there for the rest of your life," General 
Castaneda said. 

Some of the stunningly beautiful and nearly naked waitresses that 
Sobieski preferred started serving food and drinks. We each got our 
favorite drinks and dishes, but nobody paid any attention to it, or to 
them. 

"I wonder how many asteroids like that there are?" General Fong 
asked. 

"Joking aside," General Toronaga said, "It might be a very good idea to 
set up a large number of such hidey-holes. That way, even if we lose 
this war, humanity itself could go on." 


"I suppose that you are right," I said. "Still, it's a depressing thought. 
Humanity, hiding inside of rocks for the rest of eternity? Maybe death 
would be better." 

"I suppose that you are right," I said. "Still, it's a depressing thought. 
Humanity, hiding inside of rocks for the rest of eternity? Maybe death 
would be better." 

"Don't bet on it!" Fong said. "For well over a hundred and fifty years, 
we have been sending robot probes out into the universe. We've lost a 
lot of those probes. How do we know what happened to them? 
Maybe these aliens know all about us!" 

"Good point!" Hastings said. "One of the first orders of business will 
have to be that all of our probes are equipped with an array of modern 
sensors, a decent machine intelligence, and one bodacious self-destruct 
mechanism!" 

"I'll second that," I said. "The problem there is that we don't have 
communication with most of those probes just now. I just had a hand in 
destroying Earth's Solar Station, which kept in touch with them, and 
kept them fed." 

Castaneda said, "Then they haven't filled you in on that yet. It turned 
out that there was enough surplus capacity around the old Smuggling 
Net to keep in touch with the probes. Those that really needed it are 
getting enough fuel to keep blasting, and the rest are at least 


operational. Building enough dedicated accelerators and transmitters 
for them is way up on the priority screen." 

operational. Building enough dedicated accelerators and transmitters 
for them is way up on the priority screen." 

"Probably because you didn't ask," Hastings said. "So. We need 
smarter probes, better protected probes, and much better sensors on 
our probes. We also need a whole lot more probes. Currently, there 
are many light-years between many of them. We need a much tighter 
net than that." 

"And we need at least two layers of net," I said. "One farther out, to 
find intruders, and a second one that can send in interceptors if the first 
one picks up anything." 

"I'd like at least a third backup in the system, too," Toronaga said. 

Nasser said, "Wouldn't we all! The question is, how much of this can 
we do, and how fast can we get it done?" 

The conversation became more animated, and eventually we'd spent 
fifteen hours at that luncheon table, and eaten three lunches each. We 
finally determined just what we needed and where, and when we were 
likely to get it. 


For a while there, I kept insisting that we needed planetary defenses 
just as much as we needed system-wide defenses, but I didn't get much 
support from the others. "Later," they kept on saying. "We'll get to that 
later." 

For a while there, I kept insisting that we needed planetary defenses 
just as much as we needed system-wide defenses, but I didn't get much 
support from the others. "Later," they kept on saying. "We'll get to that 
later." 

Hastings said, "Of course we did, and still do. But in the Command 
Center's version of Dream World, there's always time to argue things 
out. You're new here. You'll get used to it after a while. Look around 
you. Is anybody else moving?" 

I looked, and it was as if all of the other tables in the restaurant were 
tenanted by statues. 

"Now, that's your signal that everyone else has finished their 
conversations. Actually, we might have delayed things by ten or fifteen 
minutes, real time. Nothing to worry about," he said. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 



2000 YEARS EARLIER 

2000 YEARS EARLIER 

"What a lovely day for a walk!" Bronki said, "I had become so used to 
the little aches and pains of my old body that I had almost forgotten 
how wonderful a fine, new one feels." 

They walked south, Bronki in her colorful academic robes, and Kren in 
his helmet and cloak, with his spear and sword belt, but no other 
baggage, since he didn't own any. Bronki went empty handed because 
she kept a complete set of belongings at each of her houses. 

She still considered the house that they had spent the summer at to be 
hers, because the quit claim deed she had given Kren simply assigned 
to him any ownership which she had in the property, but made no other 
promises. 

Legally, she had never actually owned it in the first place. It was owned 
by a corporation which was owned by another corporation which she 
controlled. To her mind, she was simply permitting Kren to indulge in a 
pleasant fantasy, while he paid the expenses on the place. 

And between these expenses, and various other ways she had to get 
money out of him, she was sure that she'd break even on the deal 
within two years. It was a small period of time for a person of her age. 


After that, their relationship would be profitable for her. Perhaps very 
profitable. 

After that, their relationship would be profitable for her. Perhaps very 
profitable. 

"No, I haven't." 

"Then there are a few things that you should know. The population 
density of a city is much higher than it is in the countryside. If 
everybody killed and ate as many juvenals as she wanted, soon there 
wouldn't be any left, and the grass would suffer. For the most part, you 
must either travel away from the city to eat, or you must buy your food 
from someone who makes a business of collecting juvenals for sale. 
The cost is about the same, either way, and it saves time to simply buy 
what you need. The punishment for killing a juvenal without a permit 
within city limits is quite severe." 

"Then what do they do with the juvenals that live there?" Kren asked. 

"They have a lottery that you can sign up for, and if you win, you have a 
right to make one kill. At the university, odds are that you will get one 
every two years." 

"If cities are so expensive, why do so many live there?" 


"Many individuals don't," she said. "But cities have a lot to offer that the 
country doesn't. More social interaction, more entertainment, more 
jobs. In your case, it is difficult to get an education all by yourself. You 
need others around you." 

"Many individuals don't," she said. "But cities have a lot to offer that the 
country doesn't. More social interaction, more entertainment, more 
jobs. In your case, it is difficult to get an education all by yourself. You 
need others around you." 

"Another thing. In the country, there is enough grass to take care of our 
sanitary needs. In the city, you must use a toilet. Do you understand 
what a toilet is?" 

"We used toilets in the mine," he said. 

"Good. Again, the penalties for not using one in a city are severe." 

They topped a rise as they walked south. 

"I've passed that thing six times since I left the mine, and I still don't 
know what it is," Kren said, pointing, as they walked down the road. 

"It's a field of grass, of course," Bronki said. 

"There's no 'of course' about it! It has some kind of a structure around 


it, and there's this tall green stuff towering above it." 

it, and there's this tall green stuff towering above it." 

"But why would they do such a thing?" Kren asked. 

"Long grass has several uses. It can be processed for its fiber, for one 
thing. Most of our paper, rope, and clothing is made from grass fiber. 
The rest is synthetic, except for leather. Most of the long grass, though, 
is used to feed the juvenals in the winter," Bronki said, amazed at his 
ignorance of the simplest things. 

"I'd heard of grass paper, but I hadn't realized that they actually made it 
from grass. What is this winter thing you mentioned?" 

And I'm taking him to the university, Bronki thought. I'll be a 
laughingstock for sure. "Winter is the part of the year when it gets cold." 

"And why does it do that?" 

"You've never seen winter?" 


"Except for the last few months, I've spent the last nine gross years or 
so in a mine below ground. I didn't see any of this winter thing down 
there," Kren said. 

"Except for the last few months, I've spent the last nine gross years or 
so in a mine below ground. I didn't see any of this winter thing down 
there," Kren said. 

"You are speaking slowly, while using a lot of small words and simple 
sentences." 

"I apologize. I am still not used to speaking to a vampire," Bronki said. 
"Until I learned what you are, I always assumed that when you asked a 
strange question, you were making a joke. Your store of information is 
extremely spotty. Your knowledge of mathematics, languages, and the 
military arts is outstanding, yet you are ignorant of the simplest things. I 
find myself talking to you as if you were a newly emerging mind, which 
I suppose, is exactly what you are. But, if you ask this sort of thing of 
other students once you get to the university, they will think that you are 
very strange. Once we get there, I suggest that you remain silent when 
you don't understand something, and then come and ask me about it 
later. For now, keep on asking questions, and I will do the best I can." 

"Thank you. I will follow your suggestions. Why is winter?" 


Why is winter? Bronki asked herself. "Okay, you see that bright shiny 
thing up there? That is the sun. What do you know about it?" 

Why is winter? Bronki asked herself. "Okay, you see that bright shiny 
thing up there? That is the sun. What do you know about it?" 

"That is adequate. Now, this place we're walking on is a planet. It is 
located two dozen and seven million miles from the sun, spins on its 
axis once a day, and travels around the sun once a year. The axis of the 
spin is not the same as the axis of its circle around the sun, but is at a 
relative tilt of eleven degrees." 

"This was all mentioned in the book on physics I just read," Kren said. 

"Good. Now, because of the axial tilt, the southern hemisphere of the 
planet, where we're now at, gets more of the sun's radiation for one half 
of the year, and less for the other half. Is that obvious to you?" 

"Yes, of course. You say that we're in the southern hemisphere?" 

"Yes. I should have given you a book on geography, a fault that I will 
correct as soon as we get to my house at the university. Anyway, when 


this hemisphere is getting less radiation, it gets colder. That's what we 
call winter," she said. 

this hemisphere is getting less radiation, it gets colder. That's what we 
call winter," she said. 

"Generally not, although many of the facilities in the cities are below 
ground. We prefer to live above ground and heat our houses. We wear 
heavily insulated clothing when we must go outside. I'll see that you are 
taken to where you can buy some warm clothes when we get to the 
university." 

They got to the tube station as the sun was setting. From the surface, 
this was little more than a doorway set into a low hill. Bronki used her 
credit card to open the heavy door. 

"The doors are kept locked to keep the juvenals out," she explained. 

Inside, a stairway went deep into the earth. At the bottom, signs 
directed them to platforms that went to eight different cities, with many 
stops along the way. One of the cities listed was the University of Dren. 

Kren was interested in everything around them. He had never imagined 
such a place as this. Deep below ground, it was well lighted, clean, and 
pleasantly decorated, with colored tiles of blue, lavender, and green on 
some walls, and red, orange, and yellow on others, and all artfully 
arranged. The ceilings glowed evenly in an attractive sky blue, from the 


side, but white when you looked straight up. The floors were a uniform 
grass green. He had to look carefully before he was sure that it wasn't 
actually grass, but a synthetic carpet. 

side, but white when you looked straight up. The floors were a uniform 
grass green. He had to look carefully before he was sure that it wasn't 
actually grass, but a synthetic carpet. 

"This is lovely," he said. 

"If you say so. The important criterion in the design of this sort of 
structure is that it must require very little maintenance. I doubt if this 
place has been refurbished in five thousand years. The initial costs are 
sometimes high, but quality pays for itself in the long run." 

He followed Bronki to the proper train platform, where she pressed a 
request button for the next train to stop. They waited on a bench for 
less than a dozen minutes before a MagFloat train pulled quietly up. 

They stepped on quickly, and the train took off immediately. Bronki 
went forward, gave the operator her credit card, and told her their 
destination. 

"You'll owe me another eleven Ke for the ticket, when we go to the 
bank tomorrow," she said. "After what I've lost, I'm surprised that I can 
still remember my numbers." 


They were the only passengers in any of the four cars. 

They were the only passengers in any of the four cars. 

"There isn't much traffic this far out in the country. It will fill up as we 
get close to the university. As to being amazing, well, I suppose it is, 
but it doesn't seem so to me. Tube trains have been here all of my life. 
Actually, the tube system on this planet was completed over eight gross 
thousand years ago. You can go to within a day's walk of any place on 
the planet's surface with it, but for long trips, aircraft are faster." 

"I wonder what it would be like to fly." 

"It's not much different from being on a train, except for being more 
crowded. Well, the view is better. On your first flight, ask for a window 
seat." 

"Bronki, I don't understand why you are being so helpful to me." 

"Why shouldn't I be helpful; it doesn't cost me anything. I've told you 
that hate is a wasteful emotion. There's no profit in it. Yes, you've taken 
things from me, but now that they're gone, harming you wouldn't get 
them back. It is most unlikely that you will ever again be in a position to 
take anything more from me without my consent. I might be very useful 
to you now, but in time, I suspect that you might become very useful to 
me." 


"In what way?" Kren asked. 

"In what way?" Kren asked. 

"Certainly, within reason." 

"Also, I maintain living quarters for students and junior faculty members 
at my town house. You would be wise to stay near me, for my advice if 
nothing else, for the next few years, and you will need to rent a room 
someplace in the city. You will probably find it convenient to pay me 
rent and stay with me. I had a few vacancies last year, and that cuts 
into profits," she said. 

"I imagine that I might do that, if your rates are competitive." 

"They are. Lastly, you are a superbly trained warrior. Such beings are 
rare at the university. In the unlikely event that such skills proved 
necessary to me, it would be very useful to have someone to call on." 

"I would be most happy to discuss such things with you," he said. 


"That's all that I ask. It might possibly happen that we could have some 
mutually profitable business dealings with each other." 

"That's all that I ask. It might possibly happen that we could have some 
mutually profitable business dealings with each other." 

"We shall see," Bronki said. 

At this point, a group of twelve entered the car, and Bronki ended the 
conversation by feigning sleep. 

Her mind, though, was churning over, examining the various 
permutations of this situation. With a devoted dependant who was both 
a warrior and a vampire, there were so many pleasant possibilities. 

Academic superiors who were in her way at the university, plugging a 
hole that would otherwise allow for her advancement, could be 
eliminated. From being a senior professor, she could see herself 
becoming a department head, a director of a college, and eventually 
even the chancellor! 

Of course, that sort of thing would have to be done cautiously, with 
much preplanning, and with great discretion. She would have to be sure 
that when some ancient academic went to his just reward, she would 
be the obvious successor to his chair. 


Business dealings, on the other hand, often allow one a great deal more 
latitude. She could imagine certain of her competitors selling out their 
holdings to her at very reasonable prices and then simply leaving town, 
never to be seen again. 

Business dealings, on the other hand, often allow one a great deal more 
latitude. She could imagine certain of her competitors selling out their 
holdings to her at very reasonable prices and then simply leaving town, 
never to be seen again. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 


First Blood 
New Kashubia, 2205 a.d. 


We found ourselves suddenly back in the meeting hall. General 
Sobieski was at the podium. 

"So, now that we are finally back together, let's get on with this," he 
said. "A month ago, General Abdul Hussein was exercising his troops 
in the Cometary Belt of New Syria." 

I put my face in my hands. I'd had to work with Hussein during the 
taking of Earth's Solar Station, and he was a murderous, suicidal 
lunatic. If there was anybody to not choose to represent humanity in 
our first contact with an alien race, it was Abdul. 


A large wall screen appeared behind Sobieski, showing the action. 

A large wall screen appeared behind Sobieski, showing the action. 

Well, at least they fired on us first. That's something, I thought. 

Sobieski continued, "As you will see shortly, the rail gun needles simply 
bounced off, but the X-ray lasers, which deposit their energy deep into 
their targets, were more successful. The alien ship showed considerable 
warming. 

"Then, in two hundred and fifty-two milliseconds, it ceased traveling in 
the direction of our forces. From moving at nearly light speed, it simply 
stopped, made an eighty-nine degree turn, and then proceeded 
sideways at three hundred and ten thousand kilometers per hour!" 

Actions like these are simply physically impossible, and the crowd 
broke into gasps of shock. 


"Right," the general continued. "Now, look at this close-up. You can 
clearly see that the rail gun needles are stopping ten meters from the 
alien craft. Or rather, they are suddenly moving at the same speed that 
it is. They wander around a bit, but when they get more than twenty 
meters from the ship, they suddenly take off, continuing in the direction 
that they were going before they encountered the alien!" 

"Right," the general continued. "Now, look at this close-up. You can 
clearly see that the rail gun needles are stopping ten meters from the 
alien craft. Or rather, they are suddenly moving at the same speed that 
it is. They wander around a bit, but when they get more than twenty 
meters from the ship, they suddenly take off, continuing in the direction 
that they were going before they encountered the alien!" 

"Abdul sent six squads of tanks after the intruder, since his fuel stores 
on his home planet weren't big enough to send his entire force. Those 
thirty-six tanks eventually caught up with the alien. They found it 
completely dormant. It was warm, but cooling off, and was generating 
no energy of its own. It appeared to be completely dead. They didn't 
feel up to opening the ship themselves, so they simply pushed it home, 
putting it in a three-day orbit around New Syria. 

"Since then, experts from all over the system have been studying the 
alien craft. What we have learned so far is very preliminary, but we can 
state the following: 

"First. Their materials technology is vastly superior to our own. That 
ship was constructed of ordinary elements well known to us, but in 
combinations such that many of them had tensile strengths up to 
fourteen times better than anything that we have ever produced. 


"Second. Their computer technology is inferior to ours. There was not 
a single integrated circuit on that ship! Every single transistor was a 
discrete component! There is no possibility that they had an artificial 
intelligence on that ship. On the other hand, from what little we have 
been able to deduce, the programming of these simple computers is 
extremely sophisticated. 

"Second. Their computer technology is inferior to ours. There was not 
a single integrated circuit on that ship! Every single transistor was a 
discrete component! There is no possibility that they had an artificial 
intelligence on that ship. On the other hand, from what little we have 
been able to deduce, the programming of these simple computers is 
extremely sophisticated. 

"Fourth. There were absolutely no microorganisms of any kind on that 
ship, not even dead ones. This level of sterilization would be beyond 
our technology. What it means is beyond us." 

"Last. There was only a single pilot on that ship, a strange creature who 
looks vaguely reptilian." 

The screen showed him. An ugly sucker! 

"There were also twenty-two and a half other, smaller creatures on 
board, all of whom had been alive until our X-ray lasers cooked the 


place. We haven't been able to analyze their version of DNA yet, but it 
appears certain that they were chemically identical to the pilot. There 
can be no other explanation for this than to assume that they were 
juveniles of the pilot's own race. And since there were no other food 
supplies on board, the presumption is that he was eating them. This 
supposition is backed up by the fact that he was eating one of these 
children at the time of the attack. It had not been slaughtered first. He'd 
been eating it alive." 

place. We haven't been able to analyze their version of DNA yet, but it 
appears certain that they were chemically identical to the pilot. There 
can be no other explanation for this than to assume that they were 
juveniles of the pilot's own race. And since there were no other food 
supplies on board, the presumption is that he was eating them. This 
supposition is backed up by the fact that he was eating one of these 
children at the time of the attack. It had not been slaughtered first. He'd 
been eating it alive." 

"So. That's all we know right now. As we learn more, you will be 
informed. Get your preliminary suggestions together, submit them, and 
then go home and think about this. Keep in touch with each other. I'll 
call you all back together later on. Dismissed." 

After we shipped our preliminary suggestions to HQ, Kasia wanted to 
spend a week visiting her parents on New Kashubia, Quincy and 
Zuzanna wanted to see their grandchildren, and Conan and Maria did 
some sightseeing. 

I stayed bottled up in the CCC and thought about our new problem a 
lot. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN 



FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Kren Knocks One out of the Park 

Duke Kren took off the recording helmet, got up, visited the toilet and 
the drinking fountain, and lay back down on the cot. 

His head was throbbing. Damn, but resurrection was a painful process. 
Being eaten alive was actually the easy part! 

He put the recording helmet back on, and remembered. . . . 

* * * 

It was dark when they arrived at the university, but Kren wasn't aware 
of it. They left the lighted, underground tube station, and walked a half 
mile through a pleasant underground tunnel that was lined on both sides 
with many gross of shops and other establishments for which Kren 
could not imagine any possible use. Finally, they went through a locked 
doorway and up a winding staircase that led to Bronki's huge town 
house. 

The building had three floors below ground and a dozen and five above 
it. Passenger elevators were as illegal as private transportation among 
the Mitchegai, for the same reasons of physical fitness. This caused the 


highest levels of buildings to be the least desirable, and here they were 
used for undergraduate housing. Graduate students lived below them, 
and junior faculty members below that. Bronki kept the entire second 
floor for her own, personal use. 

highest levels of buildings to be the least desirable, and here they were 
used for undergraduate housing. Graduate students lived below them, 
and junior faculty members below that. Bronki kept the entire second 
floor for her own, personal use. 

"Zon, this is Kren," Bronki said to her subordinate behind the counter. 
"He will be registering as an undergraduate soon, and he will need a 
room." 

"I'm sorry, madam, but business has been surprisingly good for the last 
few days, and we are completely filled up." 

"That's certainly good news, even if it is a bit disappointing. I suppose 
that we can put him up in graduate housing until something opens up." 

"I'm afraid not, madam. I really meant that we are completely filled. We 
presently have three gross, a dozen and nine tenants staying here. Even 
all of the faculty rooms are rented, and there's quite a waiting list." 

Bronki said, "Well, Kren, it seems that you have gotten lucky. I'll just 
have to put you up in one of my guest rooms for the time being. At 
undergraduate rates, of course." 


"I suppose that this arrangement would be adequate for a few days, 
anyway," he said. "Why are there so many students this semester?" 

"I suppose that this arrangement would be adequate for a few days, 
anyway," he said. "Why are there so many students this semester?" 

Another flight up on the winding, central staircase took them to 
Bronki's private level. She let them in using her credit card on the door 
lock. 

"We'll get you a credit card at the bank tomorrow," she said. "For now, 
well, you can always leave, but you might have difficulty getting back 
in." 

Kren had believed Bronki's country house to be luxurious, while she 
herself had thought of it as being quaintly rustic. Her private quarters in 
her town house were considered to be the peak of luxury even by her 
standards. 

It was big enough to entertain a gross of guests at a party. The ceilings 
were four times as high as Kren was tall, and encrusted with artwork 
and colored stones. Tall windows looked out on a magical city with 
thousands of lighted windows. 

Inside, every piece of furniture looked to have taken a master 


craftsman years of labor to produce. There were artworks on the walls 
and statues on the floor that Kren had seen in photos in art books at 
Bronki's country house. 

craftsman years of labor to produce. There were artworks on the walls 
and statues on the floor that Kren had seen in photos in art books at 
Bronki's country house. 

"Yes, well, in five thousand years, things accumulate," she said. "You 
might as well take this room, for now. It's my nicest guest room, but I 
don't have anybody else here at present. Just remember that you might 
get bumped down if somebody else more important than you stays 
over. And in this city, everybody is more important than an 
undergraduate." 

Again, Kren was amazed. It was really a suite of rooms, with a palatial 
sitting room with couches, tables for party snacks, and a private 
drinking fountain. It connected to the rest of Bronki's quarters with a 
lockable door. Another door connected to a hallway that led to the 
stairway, so that he could come and go as he wished, without going 
through the rest of the apartment. It had the same high windows as the 
rest of her floor, and the high ceilings were, if anything, even more 
ornate. 

There was a huge bedroom with a magnificently carved bed big enough 
for a half dozen Mitchegai, if such a thing were imaginable. Mitchegai 
prefer to sleep alone, behind locked doors. They are very 
uncomfortable with the thought of being unconscious while lying next to 
another deadly carnivore. 


The three large chests of drawers in the room were now empty. Kren 
could not imagine owning enough things to fill them. He had a private 
toilet, and a clothes closet big enough to hold many gross of cloaks. 

The three large chests of drawers in the room were now empty. Kren 
could not imagine owning enough things to fill them. He had a private 
toilet, and a clothes closet big enough to hold many gross of cloaks. 

"I can spare you a few hours tomorrow morning," Bronki said. "We'll 
stop at the bank, and then I'll introduce you to the athletic director. 
After that, I'll be very busy for a while. I'll send in one of the servants to 
see that you have everything that you need." 

When she had left, Kren lay down on the bed, thinking that when he 
had Bronki strapped to her chair, with both of her legs cut, he should 
have gotten a lot more from her than twelve thousand Ke. 

A servant wearing an undergraduate's cloak of maroon with lime green 
piping and a purplish-red sash came in without knocking. 

"I am Dol, sir. I've been assigned to you during your stay here." 

"How nice. I didn't expect a servant." 

"I suppose that it is a bit unusual for a junior to be the servant of one 


not yet a freshman, but there are many servants here, and only one 
guest, so things are as they are. Is there anything that I can get for you, 
sir?" 

not yet a freshman, but there are many servants here, and only one 
guest, so things are as they are. Is there anything that I can get for you, 
sir?" 

"Food? Books? Clothing? Some sort of entertainment?" 

"Not food, and Bronki said that she was going to send me a book on 
geography. I will be needing some clothing suitable for an 
undergraduate student, but I think that is best put off for a while. What 
sort of entertainment is available?" 

"How about a television set?" 

Dol wheeled the bulky set in, demonstrated its use, and left, promising 
to be on call at all times. 

Kren soon found himself watching a program called Big Time 
Gladiators, which involved a sort of combat between two remarkably 
clumsy Mitchegai adults. One was swinging an oversized sword, and 
the other had a badly balanced spear, while someone off screen was 
talking about the match excitedly, trying to make it sound interesting. 
The fighters appeared to have had no training with their weapons at all! 


After a dozen minutes of buffoonery, the swordsman managed to land a 
blow to the leg of the spearman, obviously more by accident than by 
design. With the encouragement of the crowd, she further crippled her 
opponent, and then chopped her head off with an awkward, 
two-handed blow. This head was held up to the cheering crowd, and 
then presented to someone who, it seemed, was officiating the event. It 
was again held up to the crowd, after which the brain was eaten by the 
official. The living gladiator dragged the dead one's body off, perhaps 
to enjoy her meal in private. 

After a dozen minutes of buffoonery, the swordsman managed to land a 
blow to the leg of the spearman, obviously more by accident than by 
design. With the encouragement of the crowd, she further crippled her 
opponent, and then chopped her head off with an awkward, 
two-handed blow. This head was held up to the cheering crowd, and 
then presented to someone who, it seemed, was officiating the event. It 
was again held up to the crowd, after which the brain was eaten by the 
official. The living gladiator dragged the dead one's body off, perhaps 
to enjoy her meal in private. 

Kren now knew what had happened to his former coworkers, while he 
was hiding in the small tunnel. He congratulated himself for having 
definitely made the right move that time! 

He turned the set off, locked and barred all of the doors, and went to 
sleep. 

The next morning they went first to the bank, with Bronki leading the 
way and Dol following behind. The weather was good, and Bronki 
elected to walk on the surface, rather that going by tunnel. 

As they left the house, Kren turned around and looked at it, surprised 
at its size. It was a dozen and five stories high, but much wider than it 


was tall. Basically cylindrical, it was surrounded by balconies that 
spiraled upwards in a double helix. 

was tall. Basically cylindrical, it was surrounded by balconies that 
spiraled upwards in a double helix. 

"Come along, you two. We don't have all day," Bronki said. 

At the bank, Bronki quickly converted Kren's savings account to a 
credit card account, deducting his travel expenses and a year's advance 
rent in the process, and he was soon issued a credit card, complete 
with a photo on it. Not a picture of his face, of course, but of the 
identification scarring on his right arm. 

The athletic director was waiting for them in his very impressive office. 

"So you're the one Bronki here was telling me about, huh? The one 
who was involved in Duke Dennon's disaster at the Senta Copper 
Mine?" 

"I'd hardly call it a disaster, sir, except for me personally, of course, 
since I was killed there. But for my unit, we were given a military 
objective to take and we took it, with only ordinary casualties," Kren 
said. 


"Oh, militarily, everything was just fine, and I'm sure that your unit did a 
fine job. It was what happened afterward that caused all of the duke's 
problems." 

"Oh, militarily, everything was just fine, and I'm sure that your unit did a 
fine job. It was what happened afterward that caused all of the duke's 
problems." 

"Yeah? Well, the duke's plans were that he would take the mine, and 
then shut it down for maybe a year, while he had it completely 
automated. You see, that mine produced nine dozen per gross of the 
copper ore produced on this whole planet. With its production halted, 
the price of copper ore was projected to quadruple. Then, he would 
sign long-term contracts with the copper smelters, at the new high 
price, of course, since they would be afraid of the price getting even 
worse. When he put the mine back into production, he would make a 
fortune!" The Director laughed. 

Bronki and Dol stayed silent, not daring to interrupt the director as he 
was speaking to Kren. 

"That sounds like a reasonable program to me, sir." 

"Right. So, the duke went way into debt to buy all of that new 
machinery, since it was his excuse for shutting down the mine in the first 
place. Without the excuse, the copper smelters would have joined 
together and attacked him immediately! 


"And then on the very day that the machinery was due to be shipped to 
him, the Space Mitchegai announced that they had found an asteroid 
six miles across that was five dozen eleven parts per gross copper! The 
Sky Boys soon started down-shipping refined copper at a third of the 
price that it had been selling for when the duke started this whole thing." 

"And then on the very day that the machinery was due to be shipped to 
him, the Space Mitchegai announced that they had found an asteroid 
six miles across that was five dozen eleven parts per gross copper! The 
Sky Boys soon started down-shipping refined copper at a third of the 
price that it had been selling for when the duke started this whole thing." 

Kren found lying to be so easy that he was now sure that one of his 
former victims must have been a champion liar. 

"That would sound likely. The lawsuits are flying all over the place right 
now, and some think that the duke might lose his duchy through 
bankruptcy, something that has only happened nine times before in the 
entire history of the planet!" The director thought that the whole thing 
was hilarious. 

"So the duke's fatal flaw was that he was simply unlucky. Perhaps we 
should have lost that battle for him." 

"He would have been fortunate if you had, but his troops were just too 
good. Speaking of which, grab a javelin and we'll go out and see just 
how good you are with one." 


When Kren saw the rack that he'd gestured to, his heart slipped down 
to his knees. 

When Kren saw the rack that he'd gestured to, his heart slipped down 
to his knees. 

The director took it, hefted it, and handed it back. 

"You mean to tell me that you hit the neck of a four-year-old at a gross 
three dozen and eleven yards with this stubby, heavy thing? This I've 
got to see! Come on out to the training field, all of you." 

He grabbed three javelins off of the rack and led the way. 

When they got there, Kren saw four large, circular grass targets at 
various distances down the length of the field. The farthest looked to be 
at about a gross two dozen yards. 

"Well, take a throw, with your own spear." 

"Yes, sir. Which target should I hit?" 


"Take your pick." 

"Take your pick." 

"Kren for as long as you can do that, you have yourself an athletic 
scholarship. Full tuition, books, and a food allowance." 

Bronki entered in with, "That's very helpful, Director, but Kren has no 
other income. He'll need a place to stay, a clothing allowance, and a 
little spending money, anyway." 

"Humph. I don't know. That would be sort of unusual. Kren, take one 
of these javelins and just take a throw. Go for distance." 

Kren had the judgment and muscular control of a champion athlete, 
coupled with the massive strength his body had developed in ten years 
of hard labor in the mines. When he threw the javelin, its flight surprised 
him. It didn't travel in the usual parabola, but actually seemed to be 
flying, traveling in level flight! It continued out beyond the field and over 
the fence, to fall he didn't know where. 

"Sorry about your javelin, sir. I'll try to retrieve it." 


The director was still looking at the place where the javelin had 
disappeared. There was an awestruck expression on his face. 

The director was still looking at the place where the javelin had 
disappeared. There was an awestruck expression on his face. 

"Thank you, sir. Did I mention that I was quite proficient with a sword?" 

The athletic director looked at him amazed, and said, "We'll check that 
out tomorrow, too. Right now, I've got some phone calling to do, and 
some bets to place!" 

Bronki and the director looked at each other, and they both bowed 
slightly. They both knew that Bronki could expect a hefty finder's fee 
for bringing Kren here, and an even larger one if he won the 
championship. 

As they left, Bronki said, "Well, Kren. It would seem that your athletic 
career is well started, and that your venture will be well funded." 


"Thanks to you, Bronki." 

"Thanks to you, Bronki." 

"Yes, I have. I find that I am impressed with your wealth. I think that I 
will study business." 

"Yes, that would be good," she said, thinking about Kren's vampirism 
turned loose on the field of business. "I think that with the right training, 
and a little help from your good friends, your natural abilities should 
earn you a very successful life in business," Bronki said. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Buying the Mitchegai Way 

Bronki gave Dol very specific instructions about precisely what they 
should do in the afternoon, and exactly where they should go and who 


they should speak to. Then she left to attend to other business of her 
own. 

they should speak to. Then she left to attend to other business of her 
own. 

They went to a large, impressive complex consisting of four rectangular 
buildings set around a central square with a large, ornate watering 
fountain. A large symbol of the Ke adorned every side of every 
building, the same ancient symbol that is found on every bit of currency 
throughout all of Mitchegai space. 

"It is very attractive," Kren said. 

"It is good that you like it. You'll be spending much of your time for the 
next five years here, assuming, that is, that you don't wash out." 

There was a short line at the registrar's office, and when they got to the 
front of it, the clerk started by checking Kren's credit card for how 
much money he had in the bank, and then deducting three semesters' 
tuition from it. He was informed that if he failed the course, or if he 
failed to qualify for admission, there would be no refunds. 

Dol told her that Kren was here on a scholarship, and that he would 
require a receipt. After some grumbling, she gave them one, and then 
spent some time changing things on her computer before seeing the next 
applicant. 


Kren was then escorted to a testing room, while Dol waited outside. 
An hour later, Kren came out with a dazed expression on his face, and 
the two of them went to see an academic advisor. 

Kren was then escorted to a testing room, while Dol waited outside. 
An hour later, Kren came out with a dazed expression on his face, and 
the two of them went to see an academic advisor. 

Among the Mitchegai, languages are not distributed geographically, as 
they are among a young race like the humans. Rather, they differ 
according to the occupation of the individual in question. Soldiers 
speak quite a different language than do engineers, for example. Among 
soldiers, the word for "foreigner" also means "enemy" and "evil," and 
they have no words to describe thermal equilibrium. 

All Mitchegai also speak Deno, a simplified sort of pidgin that permits 
them to buy and sell with other professions, but not to truly 
communicate with them. 

The advisor continued, "You know quite a bit about anatomy. Your 
math scores go right over the top, better than anything I've ever seen 
before in an undergraduate. But you are woefully substandard in 
everything else. Tell me, why did you choose the College of Business, 
anyway? Why not the College of Languages, or the College of 


Mathematics?" 

Mathematics?" 

"Wouldn't we all? But I really don't see how I could recommend you to 
the College of Business with these test scores." 

Dol said, "Please excuse me, but did you know that Kren has been 
personally granted a scholarship by the director of athletics?" 

"The director of athletics?" The advisor's voice squeaked. "Well, that, 
of course changes everything! You really should have told me that 
earlier! Kren, I am delighted to welcome you to the College of 
Business! Of course, there will be certain remedial courses you will 
have to take in order to prepare you for a successful academic career, 
but you are definitely on your path to the future! Just give me a few 
minutes to arrange your class schedule." 

"The director said that I would need three hours a day for physical 
training." 

"But of course. Is there any particular time that you would like that to 
happen?" 


"He said that we could arrange that around my class schedule." 

"He said that we could arrange that around my class schedule." 

The Mitchegai use a two-dozen-hour day, with sunrise being at zero. 
They do not use time zones. Rather, the clocks on all public 
transportation slowly change their speeds, and sometimes even 
direction, to reflect local time. On a fast aircraft traveling near the poles, 
the clocks sometimes did surprising things. The pilots lived and worked 
on Planetary Standard Time, of course. 

Dol noticed that the advisor had changed the class schedules of five 
other students before he was done. 

As they were leaving the building, Kren said, "The director seems to 
have a remarkable amount of power." 

"Indeed he does, as well as status. He is the second most powerful 
person on campus, which means the entire city. Only the chancellor 
outranks him." 

"And why is that?" 


"Because the College of Athletics brings more money into the university 
than student tuitions do! The ticket sales to sporting events and the 
payments made by the television channels are what keeps this institution 
going," she said. 

"Because the College of Athletics brings more money into the university 
than student tuitions do! The ticket sales to sporting events and the 
payments made by the television channels are what keeps this institution 
going," she said. 

"The director of drama, although they only bring in a third of what 
athletics does. Our next stop is the book store." 

Here it was a simple matter of giving a clerk a copy of Kren's class 
schedule, and sitting down and waiting for half an hour. She returned 
with a cart full of books, and four hefty cloth bags to put them in. She 
took Kren's credit card, deducted the cost of the books, various 
supplies, and the bags. After some stern discussions with Dol, in which 
the director's title was mentioned, she exchanged nine books that she 
said had been placed on the cart by mistake, and gave them a receipt. 

"Why is there such a problem with receipts?" Kren asked as they 
trudged along with two heavy bags each. 

"Well, it sometimes happens that a new freshman finds out that he has 
not paid for his tuition at all, but has made a donation to the Clerk's 
Civic Betterment Fund, or that he has purchased a set of obsolete 
books that have nothing to do with his class schedule. Also, I think that 
your military uniform leads some fools into thinking that you are stupid. 


Always get a receipt. And anyway, you'll need the receipts to be 
reimbursed by the director's office." 

Always get a receipt. And anyway, you'll need the receipts to be 
reimbursed by the director's office." 

"Thank Bronki. She's paying me," she said. 

"Do you like working for her?" 

"To answer that, I would have to ask, compared to what? Compared 
to living with an independent income of a gross thousand Ke a year, 
what she has to offer is decidedly inferior. At the time that I accepted 
her offer, however, the only other employment I was able to locate 
involved collecting juvenals from the countryside and delivering them 
alive to the city, on commission. By comparison, her offer was 
outstanding." 

"And what does she pay you?" Kren asked. 

"Something much better than three dozen Ke a week." 

So my servant gets paid more than I do! Kren thought, Someday I'm 
going to have to do something about that! 


They decided that because of the weight of the books they would 
return to Bronki's house to drop them off. 

They decided that because of the weight of the books they would 
return to Bronki's house to drop them off. 

"She trusts you with so important a task?" Kren asked. "I would think 
that the value of any one of these paintings is worth many gross times 
what your yearly salary is. What if you stole a few of them?" 

As Dol worked at the computer, she said, "You are probably right 
about the relative values of things, but one must be alive to enjoy 
money properly. Actually, Bronki wouldn't mind if I stole everything 
here. She has everything insured for at least twice its market value. If it 
was stolen, she would make a profit, and Bronki likes making a profit. 

"The insurance company, however, doesn't like to lose money. Kren, 
they hire teams of bounty hunters who are more ruthless than you can 
possibly imagine. I would prefer death at the stake to having those 
killers after me. If you are thinking of stealing anything, don't do it. Or if 
you absolutely must do it, please tell me first so that I can report you to 
the bounty hunters, so as not to make them angry, and then kill myself 
before they get here, just in case they get angry anyway. 

"There, that should do it. Step outside and try the lock with your card." 


As they left, Kren said, "Where to next?" 

As they left, Kren said, "Where to next?" 

"Well, she got me the clothing allowance. I suppose that she has the 
right to tell me where to spend it. There's another thing that I wanted to 
ask about. We didn't have anything like that javelin in the military. 
When I threw it, it seemed like it was defying the laws of physics! It 
went straight and level for the longest time!" 

"You came to the right person to ask that question," she said. "It 
happens that I did a paper on those things last semester for my 
aerodynamics class. The javelin is balanced with the center of gravity 
slightly behind the center of area. When it reaches the top of its flight, 
and is traveling slower, the tail falls slightly below the point. This gives 
the whole javelin some aerodynamic lift, and the flight curve flattens out. 
As it continues to slow down, the tail falls more, giving a higher angle of 
attack to compensate for the lower speed. The result is that they can fly 
twice as far as an ordinary spear." 

"That is interesting. With the spear, all of the weight is at the point, and 
the shaft just keeps the point facing toward the enemy. Then why hasn't 
the military adopted the javelin as a weapon?" 

"Because the javelin trades kinetic energy for distance. When one of 
those javelins touches down, it hits tail first, and it isn't going fast 


enough to hurt a pollywog. You can safely catch one in your hand!" 

enough to hurt a pollywog. You can safely catch one in your hand!" 

"As a military weapon, it's worthless. As a piece of sporting equipment 
in a game where you are trying to see who can throw something the 
farthest, it's the difference between winning and coming in last!" 

"I see. So you are studying aerodynamics?" 

"Engineering. I may specialize in aerodynamics later, in graduate school. 
I thought you knew, since I wear engineering colors." 

"I am not versed in the fine points in academic garb." 

"I'll give you a book on the subject when we get back home, but for 
now, I wear the maroon with lime green piping of an engineer. The 
purplish-red belt is that of a junior undergraduate. We will be buying 
you the crimson robe with black piping of the business college, and you 
will wear the white belt of a freshman." 

"What does Bronki's colorful clothing tell you?" 


"Bronki has so many degrees, and is affiliated with so many academic 
organizations that she may wear pretty much whatever pleases her. 
That rainbow belt of hers is granted when one has earned a dozen 
doctrates in as many different diverse fields." 

"Bronki has so many degrees, and is affiliated with so many academic 
organizations that she may wear pretty much whatever pleases her. 
That rainbow belt of hers is granted when one has earned a dozen 
doctrates in as many different diverse fields." 

"One for every earned doctorate. She has a dozen and ten of them. 
Here's the clothing store." 

In one respect, a Mitchegai clothing store has it easy by Earthly 
standards. All Mitchegai are exactly the same height, and their girth 
varies only with differences in musculature, and how long it has been 
since their last meal. The voluminous robes which they wore were 
rather similar to those worn by medieval Japanese samurai, and they 
handled the girth problem. 

On the other hand, there are four dozen and nine different academic 
uniforms worn at the university, and each is available in six different 
degrees of price and quality. In addition, each of those comes in 
summer, winter, and spring and fall weights. 

When they entered the store, Dol immediately announced that they 
were here at the request of Bronki. The clerk at the front desk instantly 
pressed a buzzer, calling Leko herself to the front. A 
distinguished-looking tailor came quickly out to greet them. 


"Friends of Bronki's? But of course! I will handle all of your needs 
personally! What would be your requirements?" 

"Friends of Bronki's? But of course! I will handle all of your needs 
personally! What would be your requirements?" 

"Excellent! We can satisfy his every need. Come this way, please." 

She took them to a special room at the back of the store, which 
contained nothing but the absolute best, and most expensive, 
merchandise. Dealing with a friend of Bronki, she would charge them 
twelve per gross more than usual, and send Bronki a commission of 
twice that, which still left Leko with a very good profit. 

In the course of the next hour, Kren found that he absolutely had to 
have two summer weight cloaks, two more for spring and fall, and two 
particularly expensive ones for winter. 

There was a heavy winter over cloak, and two pairs of gloves, medium 
and heavy. Kren noted that the seamless leather gloves had been made 
from the stretched and tanned skin removed from the hands and 
forearms of adult Mitchegai. They were dyed black, nicely tooled 
around the cuffs, and quite attractive, he thought, with holes on the ends 
of the fingers to let his claws remain useful. 

Then there were two pairs of shoes, something that he had never worn 


before, and a pair of heavy winter over boots. The over boots were of 
an insulated, waterproof synthetic fabric that extended well past the 
knees, but the shoes were much like the gloves, and made of the skin 
of the feet and calves of a deceased adult. They had reinforced soles 
and were decorated to match the gloves. 

before, and a pair of heavy winter over boots. The over boots were of 
an insulated, waterproof synthetic fabric that extended well past the 
knees, but the shoes were much like the gloves, and made of the skin 
of the feet and calves of a deceased adult. They had reinforced soles 
and were decorated to match the gloves. 

Kren also bought a nicely appointed matching book bag that was to 
have his name embroidered on it, and would be delivered in two days. 

A cold-blooded creature must be very careful about temperature 
control, but in fact, the store was simply making the bill as large as 
possible. 

At least this time, there was no difficulty with getting a receipt, and the 
store promised to have it all delivered within the hour, except for the 
book bag. 

It was getting dark when they finally got home. 

"Dol, why was it that I needed two of everything?" 

"So that you could be wearing one while I have the laundry servant 


washing and pressing the other. A guest of Bronki's must always look 
his best, you know." 

washing and pressing the other. A guest of Bronki's must always look 
his best, you know." 

"That sounds about right, but you will be reimbursed. It would be more 
accurate to say that the College of Athletics spent all of that money. It 
will be amusing to present them with the bill, tomorrow." 

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Contents 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 


The Good Life 
New Yugoslavia, 2207 a.d. 


Things were progressing very well. 

I now had twelve full ten-thousand-man divisions of Gurkha warriors. 
They were living with their families in their own valley, next to mine. 
Every man was equipped with a new mark XIX tank, and many of 
them had been issued a humanoid military drone. I only had been 
issued four CCCs to manage them with, but more were promised as 
soon as they were built, and we now had thirteen Gurkha generals 
trained, each with five colonels. They were time-sharing the CCCs we 


had. 

had. 

Maybe once they had proved themselves in battle. 

They had their own CCC, their own female general, and five female 
colonels. There were Gurkha men who were probably more qualified 
than they were, but until the men were willing to integrate their 
command, the girls would have to go it alone. They were certainly 
eager to prove their worth. 

New Yugoslavia did vote for universal military service, on the same 
"join or don't vote" system that New Kashubia used, and I had 
eighty-two divisions of New Yugoslavian troops, a number that was 
growing rapidly. 

A sufficient number of transporters had been put in so that it was now 
possible to ship my entire army out in somewhere between one and 
nine days, depending on where we had to go. More were being 
installed as fast as they could be built. Receivers cost only three percent 
of what a transmitter does, and could operate four times faster than 


transmitters. We now had twelve times as many of them as transmitters. 
If it was us who needed help, we could get it in a hurry. 

transmitters. We now had twelve times as many of them as transmitters. 
If it was us who needed help, we could get it in a hurry. 

The ship was driven by an efficient but understandable ion engine. But 
there was nothing about that engine that could explain the incredible 
accelerations that we had seen. 

Our scientists managed to get the ship's primary weapon working. It 
made things disappear. We had no idea of how it did this, and we'd 
had no luck in duplicating it. 

And our electronic people were absolutely in awe of the programs that 
were used in the simple computers aboard. They said that if we could 
duplicate them, we would quadruple the speed of our own computers, 
including themselves. 

There were other machines on the ship that completely baffled us. We 
didn't know what they did, or how. 

* * * 

The planet-wide underground MagLev Loway system had been 


completed and announced to the public, but it wasn't seeing anything 
but military use. The factories were too busy with military production to 
make any civilian vehicles to use it. Someday, someday. 

completed and announced to the public, but it wasn't seeing anything 
but military use. The factories were too busy with military production to 
make any civilian vehicles to use it. Someday, someday. 

My dairy farm was in production, and besides providing products for 
local consumption, we were shipping butter, yogurt, and forty varieties 
of cheeses all across Human Space. The beef cattle were growing, but 
we would be building the herds for many years yet. 

Most of the apartments in my city had been sold, as had most of the 
business spaces. Veterans were setting up restaurants, bars, and every 
other sort of business imaginable. The schools were starting to fill up, 
too, at least the lower grades. 

At the outer edges of Human Space, the exploratory probes had been 
upgraded with better sensors, better artificial intelligences, and major 
self-destruct mechanisms. New probes were being added as fast as 
they could be built, but the whole system wouldn't be completed for 
fifty years. I kept on referring to it as our Maginot Line, but I couldn't 
seem to get the name to catch on. 

Planetary defenses were still minimal, something that bothered me 
considerably. Putting all of your trust in defensive lines, or spheres 
actually, is silly. Defensive systems have to be in depth! Military history 


has proved that again and again, but the powers that be won't listen to 
me. It was very frustrating. 

has proved that again and again, but the powers that be won't listen to 
me. It was very frustrating. 

And equally important, my industrious wife is busily working on our 
second one. 

Late last night, as she lay in my arms, she said, "You know, Mickolai, 
these are the good times. We must cherish them." 

And I do. She always was smarter than me. 

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Contents 

CHAPTER NINETEEN 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Sword Slashes and Burning Memories 


The next morning, Kren dressed himself carefully in a new 
summer-weight academic uniform, marveling at the feeling of smooth, 
strong quality in the cloth. It was vastly different from the heavy, rough 
warmth of his military cloak. 

The next morning, Kren dressed himself carefully in a new 
summer-weight academic uniform, marveling at the feeling of smooth, 
strong quality in the cloth. It was vastly different from the heavy, rough 
warmth of his military cloak. 

When he and Dol arrived, the director's secretary had a dozen papers 
ready for Kren to sign. 

"You might as well read through those before you sign them," she said. 
"It's an all or nothing deal, and nothing in these documents is negotiable, 
but you really ought to know where you stand." 

Kren read through each one of them slowly, discovering that if he was 
injured for any reason, he could not sue the university, or anyone 
employed by the university, but had to pay for all of his medical bills 
himself. 

If he was damaged beyond possible repair, the university would 
provide a new body, and then bill him for it. And if he was somehow 
killed beyond all possible hope of being properly eaten, the university 


would settle all of his debts, and then keep the rest of his bank account. 

would settle all of his debts, and then keep the rest of his bank account. 

He agreed to play in any and all sports that the director saw fit, and 
would not expect to receive any extra compensation for the time that 
this took. 

He would never in his life be allowed to play for any other university, 
nor could he play for any professional team while he was an 
undergraduate. 

He would restrict his diet to one normal for a Mitchegai, that is to say, 
meat and water. Partaking in anything else, especially drugs, would 
result in his termination. 

"Termination?" Kren asked the secretary. 

"Oh, yes, and I do mean that literarily. The director publicly skins drug 
users alive, and then nails their hides to the wall down in the lobby. An 
athlete on drugs can get his entire team disqualified." 

"Yes, I saw four of them down there as we were coming in. I'd 


wondered about them." 

wondered about them." 

Lastly, the contract said that he would obey the director, and such 
other persons as the director might from time to time appoint over him, 
in absolutely all things. 

Finally, Kren said, "All of this seems very restrictive." 

"It is," the secretary said. "But it's not nearly as bad as it sounds. You 
have to remember that the director's job is to make money for the 
university. He does this by having very good athletes playing for him. 
Happy, healthy athletes make the best players, so he wants you to be 
happy and healthy. As long as you do well, you will be able to get 
away with doing just about anything that you want. If you give him 
problems, or if your performance slips, he can get away with doing just 
about anything that he wants to you." 

"I see. What would be the most drastic thing that he might do to me?" 

"Under ordinary circumstances, I'd say that the worst would be to put 
you into the gladiator pool. Twelve times a year, we have a fight to the 
death with one of the other universities, during half-time ceremonies. It's 
a major draw, and often gets play on the Planetary News. The names 


of the participants are drawn by lot." 

of the participants are drawn by lot." 

"Well, if that's all, there won't be any problems," he said, and started 
signing the papers. Dol and the secretary witnessed them. 

"Now then," Dol said. "How do I go about getting Kren reimbursed for 
these expenses?" 

"You just give them to me, and I'll see to it that Kren's account is 
properly credited," the secretary said. 

But on looking at the receipts, she shook her head and said, "Oh, my! 
Oh, me oh my! Uh, please, wait right here." 

A few minutes later, the director strode in followed by his secretary. 

"Kren! These amounts are excessive!" he shouted. 

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, sir, but I only did as I was instructed 


to do." 

to do." 

"Bronki, sir. She gave Dol very specific instructions as to where we 
were to go, what we were to do, and with whom we were to speak." 

"Did Bronki tell you to pay three semesters of tuition in advance?" 

Dol said, "No sir. But the registrar at the College of Business insisted 
on it." 

"Did she know that Kren was one of my athletes?" 

"Yes sir, I informed her of that." 

"Then the director of the College of Business and I are going to have a 
little chat. I see a receipt from Bronki for a year's rent. The monthly 
rate is normal, but paying a year in advance is not. I'll talk that over 
with her. The price of books looks okay, but these clothing expenses 
are ridiculous!" 

"We went to the store that my employer insisted on, sir, and paid the 


price they asked." 

price they asked." 

"She told me to see that Kren got a full and proper kit, sir. Yes, we 
bought the best quality available, but quality pays for itself over time. 
Low-quality clothing would have to be replaced every year, at your 
expense, but these garments should last him throughout his entire 
undergraduate career. Feel this cloth, sir. This is enduring quality." 

"What's your name? Dool?" 

"Dol, sir." 

"Then Dol, you are dressed like an engineer, but you talk like a tailor 
who is studying to be a lawyer! Okay, Kren will be reimbursed for 
these expenses, but there are others who will not get off quite so easily!" 

"Thank you, sir," Kren said. 

"Fine. Now, there are some things that I want you to do for me. I don't 
like the ID scars on your arms. They are sloppy, ugly, and they mark 
you as being military. For various reasons, like keeping the betting odds 
on you high, I'd rather that everyone on the planet didn't know that you 
were a veteran. This afternoon, my secretary will set you up with a 


clinic that can burn some academic-looking identification brands into 
you. Something nice and fancy that will hide the old scars, and still be 
hard to read. After the burn, have them rub in some of that red 
powder. That will really look great!" 

clinic that can burn some academic-looking identification brands into 
you. Something nice and fancy that will hide the old scars, and still be 
hard to read. After the burn, have them rub in some of that red 
powder. That will really look great!" 

"That would suit me, sir, since if Duke Dennon is having the difficulties 
that you referred to yesterday, it might be best if I was not associated 
with him." 

"There is that, yes. Just get it done." 

"As you wish, sir. Won't I need a new credit card as well?" 

"Of course. My secretary will take care of all that. Next, I don't want 
you to wear that military outfit around this city ever again, you got that?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Good. Come with me. You, too, Dool." 


They followed the director out to a large gymnasium. 

They followed the director out to a large gymnasium. 

A person wearing protective goggles was waiting for them in the gym. 

"Kren, this is Dik. She was an all-planet fencing champion when she 
was an undergraduate, and she will be your personal trainer here when 
I am not around. She's also our best instructor with the sword. So strip 
down, chose an épée, and let's see what you can do." 

Kren looked at the rack he'd gestured towards, picked up one of the 
long, thin, edgeless swords, and said, "It's the same story as yesterday, 
sir. I've never handled one of these things before. I mean, it's very light 
weight, and it has a beautiful balance, but it doesn't have an edge! All I 
know about is working with a standard military sword, like this one." 

He pulled his sword out from under his cloak. 

The director hefted and swung Kren's sword, and said, "If I let you use 
this thing, you'd kill somebody!" 


"That is the idea, sir." 

"That is the idea, sir." 

So Kren was shown the basic moves of fighting with a sword with a 
point but no edge. The light weight of the épée compensated for its 
greater length, and a thrust with an épée was just like a thrust with a 
military sword. 

In a while, he got the idea that the use of the épée was just a very 
simplified version of fighting with a real sword. You could thrust, but 
not cut, and only about a quarter of the various blocking moves were 
still needed. Furthermore, only a single, simple grip was used. 

"I think that you are getting the hang of it, Kren. Put some safety 
goggles on, and we'll spar for a few rounds." 

"As you wish, madam." 

"Forget the 'madam' stuff. Around here, I'm just 'coach,' and outside, 
I'm just 'Dik.' " 


"Thank you, Coach." 

"Thank you, Coach." 

Dik was smooth and fast. In twelve minutes, she got six legal touches 
on Kren while being hit two times herself. Kren also got eight cuts on 
Dik, which of course didn't count. 

In sporting slang, a "touch" was to hit your opponent with the point of 
your sword, while a "cut" was to hit her with the edge, in military 
parlance. However, with the épée used, the point was blunt and the 
edge was nonexistent. 

"I'm sorry, Coach. I keep forgetting that I'm not allowed to cut. It's 
habit, I suppose." 

"We'll get you over it. That's what training's for." 

The director had been watching for six minutes. 

"Well, Dik. What do you think of him?" 

"You were watching, sir." 


"First string varsity?" 

"First string varsity?" 

"That will put him in fencing and all four javelin events," The director 
said. 

"That's quite a load to dump on a freshman." 

"He can handle it." 

"You're the boss." 

"Right. Okay, Kren, you've done well. Go get a rubdown, and then see 
my secretary about that branding shop. Take two days off to heal, and 
then come back here on Monday, the first day of classes. Seven 
o'clock, wasn't it?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Dol, who had been watching the whole thing, followed Kren into the 
rubdown room. Finding two masseurs on duty, and no other athletes 


present, she simply stripped down and got onto one of the tables. The 
masseur, assuming that she was supposed to be there, started working 
on her. Kren got on another table. 

present, she simply stripped down and got onto one of the tables. The 
masseur, assuming that she was supposed to be there, started working 
on her. Kren got on another table. 

"No, I wasn't aware of that. The standards here seem to be a little 
different from those in the military. Also, the rewards here appear to be 
considerably greater," Kren said, referring to the pleasure of the 
rubdown, something that he had never experienced before. 

Following the secretary's directions, they got to the branding shop 
within a half hour. 

"The director's secretary said that this was a rush job, and that you 
wanted something fancy. I've taken the liberty of sketching up three 
possibilities for you," the brander said. 

Kren looked them over, but didn't feel qualified to make an artistic 
judgment. 

"What do you think, Dol?" 


"Take the one in the middle, definitely. It has excellent form and 
balance, and is intricate enough to completely hide the old scars." 

"Take the one in the middle, definitely. It has excellent form and 
balance, and is intricate enough to completely hide the old scars." 

The brander immediately started carving the design into a plate of soft, 
dry clay. It was done to her satisfaction in an hour, at which time she 
placed the plate in a small ceramic tray and poured some sort of 
metallic powder over it. 

"What is that stuff?" Kren asked. 

"A special powdered metallurgical alloy. Its exact composition is a 
company secret. All I can say about it is that it sinters nicely." 

"What do you mean, 'sinters'?" 

"When you heat this stuff up to the right temperature, the grains weld 
together without quite melting. It makes for a clear, sharp impression, 
without bubbles, warping or shrinking." 

"I see," Kren said. 


"The director will be paying for this branding plate and the branding 
itself, but he doesn't pay for anesthetics. He likes his players to be 
tough." 

"The director will be paying for this branding plate and the branding 
itself, but he doesn't pay for anesthetics. He likes his players to be 
tough." 

"A mere twelve Ke. It will be effective for four days, until the worst of 
it is over," the brander said. 

"Then, by all means, I'll pay for the anesthetic." 

"Most players do, the smart ones, anyway." 

Kren was given a hypodermic shot, and then a second anesthetic, an 
oil, was rubbed over his upper arms. 

A ceramic lid was placed over the powder, and the tray was placed in 
a small induction oven. In moments, it was glowing red hot, and was 
removed to cool a bit. 

Kren was strapped into a chair that held his body, and especially his 
upper arms, immobile. 


"Some customers can't help flinching, and that messes up the brand," 
the brander said. 

"Some customers can't help flinching, and that messes up the brand," 
the brander said. 

Without a bit of warning, she forced the red hot plate into Kren's left 
arm, while Kren struggled to keep from crying out with pain. After 
letting it burn for three seconds, the plate was moved to the other arm 
and again burned in, this time for four seconds. 

"It's really best to just get it over with," the brander said with a smile. 
"Anticipation only makes it worse." 

"That is difficult to imagine. Being worse, I mean," Kren gasped. 

"You've never tried it without the anesthetic," the brander said. "Now, 
then. They said that you would like those burns to stay bright red?" 

"The director recommended that, yes." 

"Then we've got just the stuff for it." 


A bright red powder was dusted on the wounds, and rubbed into them. 
Instead of hurting, it was actually soothing. Then Kren was unstrapped 
from the chair, and bandages were placed around his upper arms, not 
because there was any danger of infection on this sterile planet, but to 
keep the red powder in place, and to protect his new cloak from 
staining. 

A bright red powder was dusted on the wounds, and rubbed into them. 
Instead of hurting, it was actually soothing. Then Kren was unstrapped 
from the chair, and bandages were placed around his upper arms, not 
because there was any danger of infection on this sterile planet, but to 
keep the red powder in place, and to protect his new cloak from 
staining. 

"This is your property now. You can take it with you, and keep it for 
when you need a new body, or we can keep it here in our vault at no 
charge, and do the next branding for you." 

"You keep it for me," Kren said, getting ready to leave. 

"Very good, sir. And, uh, there was a matter of the twelve Ke that you 
owe me?" 

Kren was not at all sure that he had actually received any anesthetics, 
but with no way of proving anything, he paid the brander with his credit 
card and left. 

Back | Next 
Contents 


CHAPTER TWENTY 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


An Attack in the Afternoon 

Kren slept poorly that night, kept awake by the pain in his arms. In the 
morning, he was half dozing, sitting upright in his suite when Bronki 
came in. 

"Kren, I've been thinking. It appears that it will be impossible to find 
you a standard, undergraduate room anywhere in the city for this 
semester. Also, certain business associates of mine have been acting in 
an unpleasant fashion lately, and while I think that it would be very 
unlikely for them to actually do anything physical, I would find it very 
comforting to have a real warrior living with me. What would you think 
of making this room your own, say, for the next year?" 

"I've yet to see a standard undergraduate room, but I cannot imagine 
that one would be as large, or as beautifully appointed as this suite is. 
Yes, I would accept your offer eagerly." 

"Then we will consider it done. And if I were to need your martial aid, 


you would come?" 

you would come?" 

"That seems like a large amount for a few minutes' work, but very well. 
I long ago had an alarm system put in. It sounds like my voice, telling 
where you would be needed." 

"When I hear it, I will come, and I will do what is necessary. And while 
the hourly rate might be high, the typical job does not require one to 
risk his life." 

A few hours later, Kren was again half dozing while considering 
sending out for a small juvenal to eat. Perhaps that might ease the pain 
in his arms. 

Suddenly, an unseen speaker was shouting in Bronki's voice, "I need 
help in my bedroom! I need help in my bedroom!" 

Already wearing his sword out of habit, he picked up his spear and ran 
toward Bronki's room. 

There were four Mitchegai in the living room, wearing not cloaks, but 


formfitting dark green garments of a sort that he'd never seen before. 
Mentally, Kren thought of them as being the Greenies. 

formfitting dark green garments of a sort that he'd never seen before. 
Mentally, Kren thought of them as being the Greenies. 

The two remaining Greenies drew their swords and came at Kren. 
Fighting alone against two, standard military doctrine is to run to one 
side and to dispatch the first one you come to as quickly as possible. If 
your enemies can get you between them, the one in front of you needs 
only to block your blows, while the one behind you can easily put a 
blade in your back. 

They will undoubtedly kill you, no matter how good you are, or how 
inept their swordsmanship might be. 

Kren followed doctrine. 

He used the "spear" attack, a dangerous maneuver that involves holding 
your sword straight out in front of you while running at your opponent 
as fast as you can, while screaming at the top of your lungs in the hopes 
of startling her. 


It worked. 

It worked. 

The Mitchegai heart is located low, surrounded by the pelvic girdle, 
and is assisted by two smaller, single-chambered hearts below the 
knees that pump blood depleted of nutrients and oxygen upwards. 
Swollen ankles and varicose veins are unknown in this species. 

At the last instant, Kren lowered his sword and sent it straight through 
her heart. He quickly pulled out his dripping blade, and used a 
horizontal blow to decapitate his opponent, since a Mitchegai can 
function for minutes without any heart at all. 

The Greenie who was pinned to the wall was still struggling between a 
dead coworker and a valuable painting, so Kren turned to his last 
opponent. This one, he could take a bit of time with, and perhaps they 
would get into some interesting sword play. 

As they squared off, two very loud explosions sounded from Bronki's 
bedroom. This startled the last Greenie, who turned and looked to the 
bedroom doorway. Almost regretfully, Kren took advantage of this by 
cutting off the female's right arm. As she stared stupidly down at her 
severed limb, Kren took her head off in disgust. 


The girl had been no fun at all! 

The girl had been no fun at all! 

Lying on the floor were two more Greenies with large holes in their 
abdomens, bleeding on the lovely carpets. 

"Well! It certainly took you long enough to get here! I had to do the job 
myself! Now, put that sword of yours to some use and dispatch these 
two! I didn't have time to do anything but gut shots. These two have 
been knocked out cold by the hydrostatic shock, but I would just as 
soon that they don't come around." 

"Yes, Bronki," Kren said, decapitating the two unresisting Greenies. "I 
regret the delay, but there were four more of these . . . individuals in 
your living room." 

"Indeed?" Bronki stepped out to look. "I see. Please excuse my earlier 
remarks. You've served me well this day. You'd better kill this last one, 
too, but please be delicate about it. That's a genuine Kado that this 
trash is stuck to, and there are only three other paintings by her still in 
existence." 

By the time that Kren had done the job without further damage to the 


painting, chopping the Greenie's head in half from the top, and had 
retrieved his spear, a dozen servants were crowding in, and Bronki was 
giving orders. 

painting, chopping the Greenie's head in half from the top, and had 
retrieved his spear, a dozen servants were crowding in, and Bronki was 
giving orders. 

"None of these Greenies knew anything worthwhile?" Kren asked 
Bronki while the servants scurried around. 

"Greenies? That's as good a name for them as any, I suppose. Do they 
know anything useful? I doubt it, since these were all low-ranking trash. 
I mean, look at their small heads! But one of those in my bedroom was 
the leader of this bunch, and considerably smarter than the rest. Quality 
trash, I suppose you could call her. Come with me." 

Bronki was soon sketching out another brain, showing Kren exactly 
what he should and should not eat. 

"There. That should give you a considerable background into the 
underworld of this city, without taking up too much of your cranium. 


That's if you want it, of course." 

That's if you want it, of course." 

"That remains to be seen, but by all means, help yourself." 

"Thank you. About that feast, tell them to save me an arm and a leg, 
would you? And could I have some of their weapons for souvenirs?" 
Kren asked. 

"Okay, and yes, I have no use for them, so you may have them all, if 
you keep them hidden in your room. It wouldn't be healthy to be seen 
with such things in the streets. Your sword and spear are legal, but that 
will not be so for everything that these Greenies were doubtless 
carrying." 

When Kren had eaten those eight small portions of the brain that 
Bronki had suggested, he collected up and cleaned all of the weapons 
that he could find, his own included. It was quite a collection. 

Besides six belt knives and four ordinary swords, most of which had 
beautiful handles, hilts and sheaths, but blades of less than military 
quality, there were dozens of other strange weapons. 

There was one straight sword with a handle that fit backward into its 


metal sheath, and locked there, converting it into a sort of spear. 

metal sheath, and locked there, converting it into a sort of spear. 

Another Greenie had carried a pouch with nine palm-sized 
eight-pointed stars in it. The sharp points were covered with some sort 
of green substance. Apparently, they were to be thrown, but at first 
glance, they didn't seem to be a very practical weapon. Thinking that 
the green stuff was perhaps some sort of poison, he cleaned them and 
their pouch very carefully, washed his hands, and flushed the cleaning 
cloth down the toilet. 

There was a dagger with a small trigger on it which, when pressed, 
released a spring that propelled the center of the blade across the room 
with considerable force. It imbedded itself deeply into the carved 
woodwork at the head of Kren's ornate bed. The projectile had 
narrowly missed hitting him, and left him with a strange, but still 
serviceable, two-bladed knife in his hand. 

The use of any form of stored energy was forbidden to the military, 
except that dropping things on an enemy was permitted. Before he had 
triggered the knife, Kren had assumed that it was a legal military 
weapon. He wondered if some of the senior officers had carried them. 

There was an assortment of small blades intended to augment a 
Mitchegai's natural claws, and four small clubs apparently intended for 
beating citizens without actually killing them, though why someone 


should want to do such a strange thing was beyond Kren's imagination. 
It seemed insane to injure someone, and then leave them alive to seek 
vengeance on you. 

should want to do such a strange thing was beyond Kren's imagination. 
It seemed insane to injure someone, and then leave them alive to seek 
vengeance on you. 

Kren wiped all of his newfound toys off, put them away in a drawer, 
and resolved to puzzle all of them out at some future date. Perhaps 
when his new brain cells finally integrated. 

He joined the others who were just sitting down to the feast. The blood 
and mess had been cleaned up, and many of the carpets were missing, 
but Bronki and her servants seemed to be in good spirits. 

"Come join me, Kren," Bronki said, sitting by a low party table. "This 
girl is old, and she won't be the best tasting one of the bunch, but since 
she was the leader of the team that threatened us, I thought that I would 
enjoy eating her the most." 

She slit open a thigh, peeled back the skin, and helped herself to a large 
gobbet of fat and muscle. The tougher skin and harder bones of an 
adult generally weren't worth the trouble of eating. Since the meat 
would be tougher than that of juvenals, and the dead bodies couldn't 
scream pleasantly in any event, she had provided very sharp knives for 
this feast. 


"Thank you, although since classes start the day after tomorrow, I can't 
afford to eat a really big meal." 

"Thank you, although since classes start the day after tomorrow, I can't 
afford to eat a really big meal." 

"We're all in that situation here, except for the laundry servants, and 
two of the scrubbers. Those four will probably be out of it for days. 
But what we don't eat can always be cut up and flushed down the 
toilets. It's not as though the meat cost me anything." 

"Well, I expect to be paid for my services, of course," Kren said. "I 
killed four of them, so that's four thousand Ke, isn't it?" 

"Kren! Greediness is such an unattractive trait! But no. I called you 
once, you came once, and in your own words, you 'did what was 
necessary.' I'll put a thousand in your account the next time I get to the 
bank. You've earned it. That was a remarkable piece of work you did 
today." 

"None of them were truly competent with their weapons. I was very 
surprised with your success against the two who were in your 
bedroom. What was that metal thing you were holding, anyway?" 


"It's called a pistol, and it is very illegal. Please don't tell anyone that 
you saw it." 

"It's called a pistol, and it is very illegal. Please don't tell anyone that 
you saw it." 

Kren decided that he had a day and a half to sleep it off, and cut 
himself a much larger piece of meat from the leg. It was such a pity that 
their meal was already dead, and couldn't scream. 

"There are chemicals, nitrates, that burn very rapidly without needing air 
to do so. This produces a gas at very high pressure which propels a 
soft metal slug down a metal tube at high speed. The expanding gasses 
made the noise, and the metal slug made the hole." 

"The use of fire is forbidden in military weapons. Also, your device 
sounds dangerous." 

"I'm not in the military. And it is only dangerous if you are standing at 
the open end of the tube. A mechanical arrangement quickly replaces 
the nitrates and the slug, permitting you to take several shots. Eight of 
them with my pistol." 

Bronki was working at freeing up another large gobbet. 


"I think that I will stay with the weapons that I know." 

"I think that I will stay with the weapons that I know." 

"Some tail, I think. We'll split it. How did the Greenies manage to get 
into your apartment? Your security measures seemed to be extreme to 
me." 

"I like to think that none of my servants let them in, but one can never 
be sure. More likely, some electronic device was used to confuse the 
locks. I've ordered the whole system to be gone over and updated if 
necessary in the next week or so." 

"Were you able to find out just who these strangely dressed Greenies 
were?" Kren asked. 

"Yes. Four of them were foolish enough to carry their credit cards with 
them, and I checked them out on my computer. They were all members 
of a local crime syndicate, the KUL." 

"Did they have much money in their accounts?" 


"One of them did, the girl that we're eating now. I was tempted to keep 
it for myself, but then decided against it. Money transfers can always be 
traced, if you work hard enough at it. What can't be traced, if you 
know how to do it, is the person who did the transferring," Bronki said. 

"One of them did, the girl that we're eating now. I was tempted to keep 
it for myself, but then decided against it. Money transfers can always be 
traced, if you work hard enough at it. What can't be traced, if you 
know how to do it, is the person who did the transferring," Bronki said. 

Bronki continued, "So, I transferred all of the money from all four of the 
cards to the account of a lieutenant in the KUL's rival syndicate, the 
PPG. This person once offended me badly. If I am fortunate, the KUL 
will think that the PPG killed their fighters, and the PPG will blame their 
lieutenant for holding out money from the group. With any luck, there 
will be a few dozen gang murders performed in the next few weeks, 
and perhaps both groups will forget that I ever existed." 

"That sounds like a devious, but possibly workable plan." 

"One can always hope." 

"But why is the KUL so angry with you?" Kren asked. 

Kren had stripped the meat off of the entire leg on his side, and was 
working his way through the buttock, one of his favorite parts. Then he 
decided instead to see just what this illegal weapon of Bronki's was 


capable of. 

capable of. 

"I'm sure that the KUL are not angry with me. No, the Greenies who 
attacked us were simply hired to come here, either to scare me, or 
perhaps to kill me." 

"I see. And who hired them to do this?" 

"That is a very good question, my fine business major. I intend to 
answer it. When I know for sure what happened, it is possible that we 
may do some more of your sort of 'business' together." 

One good bite leads to another, and before too long, Kren had eaten 
two-thirds of the cadaver, before he wandered off to sleep. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 


The Price of Defending My Planet 


New Yugoslavia, 2209 a.d. 

New Yugoslavia, 2209 a.d. 

On the one hand, this was all good news. On the other, it kept 
everyone in Human Space focused on the importance of meeting the 
Mitchegai threat. 

My wonderful Kasia had just presented me with our third son, my farm 
and my city were prospering, and the Powers that Be had just turned 
down my fourth request to establish some decent space defenses for 
New Yugoslavia. 

This last item had me ticked. 

"Agnieshka!" 

"Coming, boss!" 

I now had a dozen of the prototype social drones acting as servants in 


my apartment. The decorated military drones were still there, but they 
were mostly decoration now, standing like displays of medieval armor. 
They could always function as guards if such were ever needed. 
Mostly, Kasia felt that the soft, human-looking social drones would be 
better to have around the children, and I never could deny Kasia 
anything. 

my apartment. The decorated military drones were still there, but they 
were mostly decoration now, standing like displays of medieval armor. 
They could always function as guards if such were ever needed. 
Mostly, Kasia felt that the soft, human-looking social drones would be 
better to have around the children, and I never could deny Kasia 
anything. 

"So. A new look?" I asked. 

"Yes, and I think that they have the sense of taste on this one just about 
perfect. Also, the sense of touch isn't bad at all. Some of the other girls 
have tried it out for sex, and they say it's fantastic!" she said. 

"Enjoy. But I called you in here to talk about our problems with 
planetary defenses. You know that my plans were just rejected again." 

"Yes, sir. It's not that they disagree with you, boss, it's just that every 
factory and system on New Kashubia has been working nonstop for 
four years producing what we need to defend ourselves against the 
Mitchegai. They can't afford the heavy expenditures required to defend 
a single planet, not when all of the rest of the planets would want 
identical defenses for themselves." 


"That's just my thought," I said. "They can't afford it. But I can. Kasia 
and I are some of the richest people in Human Space. I have decided 
to use our own resources to defend this planet properly." 

"That's just my thought," I said. "They can't afford it. But I can. Kasia 
and I are some of the richest people in Human Space. I have decided 
to use our own resources to defend this planet properly." 

"Right. So what we need is industrial capacity. Now then. We have a 
huge secret room, kilometers long, where The Diamond was found, 
sitting there empty. We have many thousands of tanks and military 
drones who can provide the engineering and labor force. I read that 
New Kashubia has a surplus of mining machinery, and is still exporting 
raw metals to anybody who wants to buy them. What we need are the 
machines that can build the machines that can build the machines that 
can make what we need. I wonder, can we buy basic machinery from 
Earth? Over the last few hundreds of years, they have to have built a lot 
of slightly obsolete but still serviceable machinery. I want you and the 
rest of our metal people to get involved in figuring out just what we 
need, and how we can get it." 

"I'll get our people right on it, boss," Agnieshka said. "Things have been 
getting a little dull around here anyway. Have you talked to Kasia about 
this?" 

"Not yet. She's next on the list." 

Kasia was not enthusiastic. 


"Mickolai, this is crazy! You are talking about expenditures of a size 
that whole planets can barely afford. Things that are out of sight for 
mere individual citizens!" 

"Mickolai, this is crazy! You are talking about expenditures of a size 
that whole planets can barely afford. Things that are out of sight for 
mere individual citizens!" 

"I really doubt if it will be that cheap. Remember Cheop's Law. 
'Everything costs more and takes longer.' And on top of that, why 
should we have to be the ones who pay for it? It is the whole planet 
that needs defending! The whole planet should pay for it!" 

"And maybe it will, love. Once we get it built, and people realize what 
we have done for them, they will vote to reimburse us." 

"Get serious!" She said, "What they will do is to say 'Thank you, sir!' 
They will throw a few more parades, and pin a few dozen more medals 
on your chest, but pay money? I doubt it!" 

"Okay, what if what they were told was that what we had would 
protect the military, but not the civilians? But, for just a few trillion 
zlotys more, they could come under the umbrella, too." 

"Now, that has possibilities." 


"Right," I said. "And if we get New Yugoslavia to go along with this, 
why can't we sell the other planets on the program? We can sell 
inexpensive 'starter kits,' all the machinery and plans that are needed to 
build a decent defense system of their own. There could be a very hefty 
profit in it for you." 

"Right," I said. "And if we get New Yugoslavia to go along with this, 
why can't we sell the other planets on the program? We can sell 
inexpensive 'starter kits,' all the machinery and plans that are needed to 
build a decent defense system of their own. There could be a very hefty 
profit in it for you." 

"That could be. But what good is all of our money going to do for us if 
the Mitchegai attack us, and we lose? Our wealth would be useless. 
Our estates would be gone. Our children would be dead." 

"The boys would be dead?" 

"The Mitchegai have no immune system. They need absolutely sterile 
planets. Before they can settle on a new world, they must eradicate all 
existing life on it. That would include you and me and the boys." 

"Damn you, Mickolai, when you put it that way, you don't leave me any 
choice. Spend everything we've got, if you have to, but get it done." 

I had the feeling that I would be sleeping alone, that night. It doesn't 
pay to win an argument with your wife, but sometimes it has to be done. 


BackBackNext 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


An Interesting Day 

Kren slept through the night, the entire next day, and the night following 
it. He was awakened by Dol. 

"Wakey, wakey, you fabulous warrior! Today is a school day!" 

Kren stumbled to the toilet, then to his drinking fountain, and finally to a 
mirror, where he examined his brands. The pain in his arms had 
subsided to a dull ache, and the burns were almost healed. Millions of 
years of selective breeding had given the Mitchegai remarkably resilient 
bodies. His head, however, felt almost as fuzzy as when he had eaten a 
portion of Bronki's brain. He hadn't eaten that much of the Greenie's 
brain, but what he had didn't seem to want to fit in with the rest of him. 

Once dressed, Dol walked him to class, to be sure that he didn't get 
lost. 


"I didn't get a chance to talk to you the other night, but I got there in 
time to see what you did to that last sword swinger," Dol said. "You 
were unbelievably fast! Whap! Whap! And there she was, three pieces 
on the floor!" 

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you the other night, but I got there in 
time to see what you did to that last sword swinger," Dol said. "You 
were unbelievably fast! Whap! Whap! And there she was, three pieces 
on the floor!" 

Many of the dreams he'd had in his long sleep had been about various 
weird weapons, and about the many strange ways that a person could 
die. 

"I've heard how they work, but I've never seen one. Someone said that 
Bronki owns one. That was what made those explosions, the other 
afternoon, wasn't it?" 

"Best we not talk about it," Kren said. "That's my college there, isn't it?" 

"Yes. All of your classes this term will be in the building to the left, on 
the top floor. That's where they do their remedial learning. I put a copy 
of your schedule in your new book bag. I'll have to leave you now, 
since I've got classes of my own to get to. Do you know how to get to 
the gym from here?" 

"Yes, of course." 


"Then I'll see you back at Bronki's place, this evening." 

"Then I'll see you back at Bronki's place, this evening." 

But more and more kept surfacing on a system of fighting without any 
weapons at all. How to kill with a kick or a blow, where your claws 
could sink the deepest, and how to avoid these things from happening 
to you. Kren could see that this technique could be very useful, if ever 
he was deprived of his sword and his spear. 

Two of his instructors commented on his lack of attention in class, for 
which Kren dutifully apologized. But in truth, he was sure that the 
athletic director would never permit him to flunk out, so long as his 
athletic and weapons skills stayed with him, and so he wasn't terribly 
worried about it. 

Finally, the sixth gong sounded, and he had an hour to find the 
gymnasium and prepare himself for three hours of physical training. 

He got lost twice in the complicated city, laid out without a single 
right-angled turn, and completely without roads or street signs. He 


arrived three minutes late. 

arrived three minutes late. 

"Every new freshman gets lost at least three times in the first week," she 
said. "Just see to it that next week, you are here on time. We'll spend 
an hour with the sword, and then I'll turn you over to your javelin 
instructor. Here is the number and combination to your locker. Be back 
here in six minutes." 

Kren worked as diligently as he could, but his performance was much 
worse than it had been a few days before. The coach had given him 
twelve legal touches in six minutes. 

"What's wrong with you, Kren?" 

"Coach, the pain in my arms from the new branding was bothering me, 
and I ate too much, the night before last." 

"You should have bought the anesthetic," Dik said, easily parrying an 
awkward attack and touching him yet again with her épée. 

"I did buy it! But I don't think that I actually received it." 


"That happens. The trash probably saved herself two Ke by cheating 
you." 

"That happens. The trash probably saved herself two Ke by cheating 
you." 

"Then she probably just enjoyed watching you endure the pain. Visit 
her, but don't kill her. Just cause her more pain than she caused you." 

"I am unfamiliar with civilian ways. Is such a thing permitted?" 

"I'm not sure that it's permitted, but it is surely commonly done. How 
else can the trash be trained to respect their betters?" 

"Thank you, Coach. I shall act on your advice." 

"Do it in a few days, when you are feeling back to your normal self. For 
now, on guard!" 

The rest of the fencing session went badly for Kren, and he was glad 
when he was sent out to the javelin field. 

A Mitchegai who always referred to herself as "The Master of Javelins" 


soon had her three dozen athletes standing rigidly in a neat line, with 
their eyes facing forward. Strutting like the martinet that she was, she 
started by explaining the rules of the games to them. 

soon had her three dozen athletes standing rigidly in a neat line, with 
their eyes facing forward. Strutting like the martinet that she was, she 
started by explaining the rules of the games to them. 

The second was for accuracy. Each contestant had three throws at 
each of four targets, all shots counted, and the winner was the athlete 
who had the highest total score. 

The third was a game similar to the Earthly game of tennis, or ping 
pong, save that it was played with javelins, with the two opponents 
being required to catch any javelins that might fall within a designated 
area, and throw them back within two seconds. Also, the "net" was a 
solid wall half again taller than the contestants. The spectators could see 
where both of the players were, but the participants couldn't. This put a 
large element of luck into the game, but made it popular with 
spectators. The javelins used had blunt tips, for safety reasons. 

The fourth competition was played with two teams of six players each, 
and played on a much larger court. Otherwise, it was much like the two 
player game. 

Kren was taught the distance and accuracy games on his first day of 
training, and even though he was still drowsy from too much eating, and 
confused because of his new brain cells, after an hour with the new 


javelin, he did better than any of the other athletes present. 

javelin, he did better than any of the other athletes present. 

The Master of Javelins called all of her athletes around before she 
dismissed them. 

"I want you all to stay silent about what you saw Kren do today. The 
rules permit any of us to place any wagers that we wish, except that we 
may not bet that we will lose, or that our opponents win. I plan on 
betting heavily on Kren at our first competition in four weeks. If 
everybody knows what he can do, the odds on him will go down to 
nothing. Enough said? Good. Dismissed!" 

As he was going back to the locker room, the master stopped him and 
said, "Kren, you are the best throw I've ever seen. But starting 
tomorrow, I don't want to see you throwing any more javelins out of 
the stadium. What we are going to work on is throwing just a little bit 
beyond what the next best man on the field has done. If you keep 
throwing half again better than anybody else, the betting on javelin 
distance throwing will drop to zero, and we'll all lose money. Do you 
understand that?" 

"Yes, madam. That seems to be a very sensible program to me." 

Never having admired or envied anyone famous, Kren couldn't imagine 


wanting fame, so setting records meant nothing at all to him. 

wanting fame, so setting records meant nothing at all to him. 

Once again he found that he was lost, but a memory from the last brain 
he had partially eaten told him that if he went down a certain nearby 
staircase, he could quickly get to the train station, from which it was a 
straight walk to Bronki's place. 

He soon found himself in an absolutely dark tunnel that he had never 
been in before, but which nonetheless seemed familiar. The complete 
darkness would have caused most Mitchegai problems, but Kren's nine 
gross years in the darkness of the mines had sharpened his other 
senses. 

This had nothing to do with any sort of hypothetical ESP. It was more a 
matter of being attuned to the slight rustling of clothing, the slight breeze 
of a body coming close to you, the echo of your own breath and 
footsteps returning from all that was around you. 

He felt, rather than heard or saw, two persons step out in front of him, 
and two more behind. 

"Stop where you are," a voice to his forward left said in the darkness. 
"Drop your credit card and all of your money on the floor, and you will 
be permitted to leave unharmed." 


"Giving you all of my money would be most inconvenient for me. I have 
had a difficult day, and I am not in the mood for further social 
interactions. Leave me alone, and I will agree to cause the four of you 
no harm whatsoever." 

"Giving you all of my money would be most inconvenient for me. I have 
had a difficult day, and I am not in the mood for further social 
interactions. Leave me alone, and I will agree to cause the four of you 
no harm whatsoever." 

"No, I am a warrior," Kren said. 

"You have been warned." 

"So have you." 

Kren felt, or perhaps heard, them approaching. He dropped his book 
bag and drew his sword. He heard the one closest, to the front left, 
hesitate, and then he heard her draw her own blade. Of course 
knowing that all adult Mitchegai are exactly the same height, Kren 
stepped forward and made a horizontal swipe with his sword. He felt it 
connect with the neck, and heard the head separate from the body. 

Before he heard the head hit the floor, he heard a slight rustle of cloth 
as the second mugger in front turned to her right to look at the death of 
her coworker. This took her a fatal half second, and this was enough 
time for Kren to decapitate her as well. 


One of the muggers to the rear was running forward, but the way that 
the second hoodlum had turned her head to look troubled Kren. 
Sensing in the dark, one kept one's head facing forward. How could 
she see when there wasn't any light? 

One of the muggers to the rear was running forward, but the way that 
the second hoodlum had turned her head to look troubled Kren. 
Sensing in the dark, one kept one's head facing forward. How could 
she see when there wasn't any light? 

Above the cries of the dying third one, the fourth mugger could be 
heard, running quickly in the opposite direction. Obviously, she had 
chosen the course of discretion. 

Leaving the third one to bleed a bit, he went back to the first pair he 
had killed. Feeling around with his sword, he found one of the heads 
he'd removed from its body. Leaning his sword on top of the jaw, to 
keep it from biting him, he bent over and felt around the face. He found 
a pair of large and heavy goggles over the eyes. 

Removing them, he stood up and put them on. He was startled to find 
that he could see. Not perfectly, for everything was in blue, black, and 
shades in between. The focus was poor, with things looking fuzzy. 
Faces, hands and feet looked much brighter than clothing, he could 
make out the footsteps where he and they had stepped. There seemed 


to be a strange slowness between the time he moved his hand before 
his face, and the time that he actually saw it move. 

to be a strange slowness between the time he moved his hand before 
his face, and the time that he actually saw it move. 

With the possibility of more such interesting objects in the offing, Kren 
carefully searched the three hoodlums he had killed. Besides two more 
pairs of goggles, there were dozens of other weapons, pouches, and 
objects. 

Most interestingly, the first mugger he had killed had a pistol in a nicely 
tooled leather holster at her belt. Kren pulled it out and found that he 
knew precisely how it worked. The bits of brain he had eaten a few 
days before had been more useful than he had supposed. 

It seemed that a swordsman's normal desire to test his opponent had 
cost this mugger her life. She could easily have stood back and shot her 
supposed victim. 

Kren was strongly tempted to take a shot with it, but then decided that 
the noise might attract unwanted attention. And perhaps it was a fear of 
the noise that had stopped the mugger from shooting him. 

A further search of the body revealed four filled clips, and an additional 
box of ammunition. For now, he put it with the holster and the special 
belt into his book bag. 


He managed to get most of his loot into his bag, and stuck the three 
new swords under his belt. 

He managed to get most of his loot into his bag, and stuck the three 
new swords under his belt. 

Walking down the tunnel, he came to a lighted section, and removed 
his goggles, placing them in his cloak above the outer belt. He soon 
encountered an old woman who begged him for money, saying that she 
was hungry. 

She was thin and shaking, but her problems looked to be drugs, rather 
than hunger. Kren did not feel pity, but he did want the evidence of his 
last encounter to be eliminated. 

"Go into that tunnel," he said to her pointing. "Bring along a dozen of 
your friends, if you wish. You will find a feast there sufficient for all of 
you." 

She thanked him, and scurried down the dark tunnel alone. 

On arriving at Bronki's place, he went directly to his room through his 
back door. Looking in the mirror, he was annoyed to find that his 
brand new academic cloak had been slashed from shoulder to knee, 


save where his student belt had protected it. This had happened 
without his having even been aware of it. 

save where his student belt had protected it. This had happened 
without his having even been aware of it. 

Before he had fallen asleep, Dol came in. 

"Is there anything that I can do for you, sir?" 

"Yes. Take everything out of my book bag except for the books, and 
put it all into a drawer someplace. Take my cloak out and see if it can 
be repaired. Then go away. I am very tired." 

"Yes, sir. May I take the liberty of turning off these thermal imaging 
goggles? If you leave them on, the batteries will run down." 

"By all means. Do anything else that you feel to be necessary, as well. 
But then go away." 

"As you wish, sir. May I comment on the rest of this booty?" 


"You may not." 

"You may not." 

"Go!" 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Payback 

The next day went much better for Kren, both in the classroom and in 
the gymnasium, although his classroom instructors all chided him for not 
having completed his reading assignments. 

And this day, he didn't get lost even once. 

He was back in his room, trying to catch up on his reading when 
Bronki came in. 


"Do I disturb you?" 

"Do I disturb you?" 

"Dol tells me that you encountered some difficulties yesterday, and I 
saw the cloak you were wearing. Did it have anything to do with the 
disturbance here a few days ago?" 

"I doubt it. I got lost on the way home, and ended up in a dark tunnel 
along with four muggers." 

"And what was the result of this?" she asked. 

"One of the muggers ran away. The others provided a feast for some 
beggars. I have their personal effects in a drawer here, someplace." 

"I would like to see them, if I may." 

"Dol put them somewhere. Ah, here. There are also three swords on 
my dresser that I haven't looked at as well," he said. 


After a while, Bronki said, "Kren, these goggles are worth over a 
thousand Ke a pair, although I advise that you don't sell them. They 
might come in handy. I am amazed that you were able to defeat the 
muggers when they could see and you could not." 

After a while, Bronki said, "Kren, these goggles are worth over a 
thousand Ke a pair, although I advise that you don't sell them. They 
might come in handy. I am amazed that you were able to defeat the 
muggers when they could see and you could not." 

"Apparently, they do. This spring knife is something that could come in 
handy. A backup for my pistol. Would you be interested in selling it?" 

Kren took the knife from her and looked it over. "I didn't realize that 
this was anything but an ordinary knife. But there was a better one I got 
from the Greenies. Here, look at it." 

"Yes, this one is of better quality. Would you sell it?" 

"Properly speaking, you already own it, by right of combat. It was once 
the property of the Greenie leader that you shot and we ate, the other 
night." 

"And I didn't know that it existed. Thank you. That's one I owe you, 
Kren," she said, putting it in her belt. "Now, this pistol you've got here 
is very well made, and might be worth two thousand, with the extra 
clips and ammunition. Would you like to try shooting it? I know of an 
illegal target range where you could do that." 


"Indeed, I would," Kren said. 

"Indeed, I would," Kren said. 

"Then I'll just put all of this booty back into the drawer, although you 
may examine the credit cards if you wish." 

"Thank you. I'll let you know if I find any use for them. Your cloak is 
being repaired, incidentally. It won't be as good as new, but it won't be 
embarrassing, either," she said. 

"This is good. Is there anything else happening that I should know 
about?" 

"Yes. I've found out how the Greenies got into my apartment. One of 
them had a credit card with a magnetic strip that had unusual 
properties. When slightly heated, the code on it changes to a different 
number. In this case, it was your credit card number, Kren. They used 
your number to gain access to my home." 


"Surely, you don't think that I would have willingly let them in!" 

"Surely, you don't think that I would have willingly let them in!" 

"Certainly. I'm sure that the bank knows my number. Then there was 
the college, and the book store . . ." he said. 

"No, the bank can be trusted. If they couldn't, they would be out of 
business in a day. And I know the university systems very well. They 
are secure." 

"Then there was the tailor." 

"Again, I doubt it. Leko knew that you are my friend, and she makes 
more money off of me alive than anyone would pay her for helping to 
make me dead," Bronki said. 

"And then the last is the brander. I paid her twelve Ke for an anesthetic 
that she never gave me." 


"That certainly limits the field, doesn't it." 

"That certainly limits the field, doesn't it." 

"Your help will be welcome. I'll have to make some arrangements so 
that we won't be disturbed while we discuss matters with this brander. 
I'll keep you posted. Oh, yes. I've had to take your number off of the 
access list here. You must go to the bank and get a new card 
tomorrow, with a new number." 

"I had to do that anyway, now that my new brand has healed." 

Kren went back to his studies, feeling oddly contented. 

At fencing practice the next day, Kren said, "Coach, they tell me that 
you were once an all-planet champion. Why did you decide to go into 
teaching, instead of turning professional?" 

"Well, I did go professional, for forty-two years back there, until my 
body started to slow down as it got older. Then I taught for a dozen 
years before I decided to get into a new body and go back to being a 
pro, where the money is much better. But when it comes to being a 
champion, not all bodies are the same. The difference between being 
the best and being an 'also ran' is very subtle. Part of it is the physical 
body, part of it is the mind, and part of it is the interaction between the 


two. This body just isn't as good as my last one was." 

two. This body just isn't as good as my last one was." 

"That there is," Dik said. "It goes for you, too, you know. Your next 
body isn't likely to be as good as the one you're now wearing. On 
guard!" 

The Mitchegai normally work a six-day week, with four days on and 
two off. On their equivalent of a late Friday afternoon, Bronki came 
into Kren's room. 

"I trust that you are free this evening?" 

"Yes, barring some school work, which I can do tomorrow," Kren said. 

"Good. I've made arrangements to have four particularly ugly 
individuals standing outside of the brander's shop while you and I have 
our discussion with her. They'll make sure that we're not disturbed. Be 
ready in an hour." 

"With pleasure." 


The four goons were standing in front of the shop when they got there, 
and let them in without comment. 

The four goons were standing in front of the shop when they got there, 
and let them in without comment. 

"Yes, madam. What can I do for you?" 

"You can answer a few questions for us," Kren said, stepping in front 
of Bronki. 

The brander looked at Kren, and took a fatal second to recognize him. 
She quickly reached for something below the counter, but Kren was 
much faster. He had his sword out and hit the girl on the side of the 
head with the flat of his blade before her hand had moved a foot. 

"Yes, that's probably for the best," Bronki said as the brander 
collapsed. 

"She was trying to reach this thing," Kren said as he picked up a metal 
tube over a yard long. Pressing a small button on it, a yard-long blade 
sprang forcefully out of the end, converting it into a spear. 

"That's called a spring spear," Bronki said. "Take it home and add it to 
your collection." 


"I will. In the back room, she has the perfect place to ask questions," 
Kren said, picking up the brander. 

"I will. In the back room, she has the perfect place to ask questions," 
Kren said, picking up the brander. 

While waiting for her to regain consciousness, Bronki looked around 
the shop. 

"She really does very nice work. With the right training, I think that she 
could become a truly fine artist. I want you to be sure not to kill her, 
Kren." 

"I hadn't intended to." 

"Excellent. Good artists are really very rare. Oh, here's your brand, 
Kren. I think that you might be well advised to take it back with you, 
since it wouldn't be a good idea for you to trust her again." 

"Agreed. She's coming around." 


"Right. Now then, my fine young artist, besides failing to give Kren here 
the anesthetic that he paid for, you also kept a copy of his credit card 
number, and you sold that number to someone. We would like to know 
why you did that, and who you sold the number to." 

"Right. Now then, my fine young artist, besides failing to give Kren here 
the anesthetic that he paid for, you also kept a copy of his credit card 
number, and you sold that number to someone. We would like to know 
why you did that, and who you sold the number to." 

"Yes, you do. We know that you know, and you know that we know 
that you know. Now, tell us who they are." 

"I can't do that. They'd kill me if I told you." 

"Perhaps, but they would have to catch you first, whereas we have 
already caught you. In addition, our methods will probably be a lot 
more painful than theirs might be. Please reconsider." 

"You don't know who you're messing with, lady!" 

"True. But then, neither do you. Kren, please hurt her." 

"With pleasure!" 

Kren picked up a branding plate from the shelf and took it to the 


induction furnace. 

induction furnace. 

"As you wish." 

He placed the branding plate into the oven and pressed a button as 
he'd seen the brander do. In a moment, the plate was glowing bright 
yellow. Picking it up with the long pliers, he held it over her chest. 

"Last chance," he said. 

"Don't you see that I can't!" 

"I was hoping that you'd say that." 

Kren placed it carefully over her fourth lung and dropped it. The 
brander screamed loudly as he counted to ten, and then pulled the 
brand off the smoking skin. 

Bronki poured some water on the wound and said, "Kren, that scream 
was one of the nicest I've ever heard! I think I'll put some branding 


irons around the party snacks the next time I have guests over. 

irons around the party snacks the next time I have guests over. 

"Go fry your brains!" 

"Kren, again, please. Use this plate." 

The brander proved to be remarkably stubborn, as Kren burned a 
different brand over her third lung. 

The first two lungs are in back, behind the spinal column. The 
Mitchegai rib cage is fastened at the neck, and kept centered by the 
diaphragm. 

It soon became necessary to put two more brands on her abdomen. It 
was only when he placed a hot branding plate between her legs, searing 
shut her cloaca, that she finally broke down. 

Like Earthly birds, the female Mitchegai have a single orifice at the 
bottom for the elimination of dung, urine, and eggs. The males have an 
additional orifice that periodically sprays small amounts of sperm into 
the air. The areas concerned with defecation and reproduction are very 
sensitive on Mitchegai, as they are on humans. 


"Just kill me and get it over with," the brander gasped. 

"Just kill me and get it over with," the brander gasped. 

"Why didn't you say that before?" 

"I suppose that I should have, but Kren was having such a nice time. 
You really picked the wrong person to withhold an anesthetic from," 
Bronki said. 

"A girl has to have a little fun." 

"And now you've paid for your fun. Well then, who wanted Kren's 
number?" 

"Kodo," the brander said. 

"Indeed? This is interesting. Now, tell me the whole story from the very 
beginning. I want you to be very complete, and very honest, because if 
we decide that you are lying, Kren will turn you over and work on your 


back side. There is room for six brands back there, and you would find 
sleeping very difficult for a week or two, if you tell us any lies. Do you 
understand?" 

back side. There is room for six brands back there, and you would find 
sleeping very difficult for a week or two, if you tell us any lies. Do you 
understand?" 

The brander was a half hour getting the whole sordid tale out. It started 
with her losing a large gambling bet, followed by more betting in a vain 
attempt to recoup her losses. Soon, she was forced to borrow money, 
and then to borrow more money to pay back the first loans. Then 
Kodo had bought up her debts, and at first only wanted a few small 
favors done, in addition to regular repayments on her debt. In time the 
favors became larger, and more illegal, and were backed up by Kodo's 
threat of going to the authorities and telling them of her past crimes, if 
she didn't commit further ones. 

"I see," Bronki said. "How did they know that Kren was coming here?" 

"I don't think that they did. I think that they were following him. They 
came in right after he left. They had jimmied my card reader half a year 
ago, so it always remembers every number that I read through it. It was 
one of the little favors they had me doing for them." 

"And why did Kodo want to harm me?" 

"You are Bronki, aren't you? You were the only other bidder going up 


against him on a piece of development property. With you gone, he 
would have been able to buy it at a much lower price." 

against him on a piece of development property. With you gone, he 
would have been able to buy it at a much lower price." 

"If I unstrap her, she'll take a shot of anesthetic and be out of her pain. I 
had to suffer for days." 

"Now, don't be spiteful. You've already given her five brands to your 
two, and the ones she got were much deeper than usual. Anyway, she 
has to be able to move in order to go into hiding." 

"If you insist," Kren said. 

"I do. As for you, young lady, remember that it is in your best interest if 
we kill Kodo. Dead, he won't be able to come after you for betraying 
him, and furthermore, you will be out from under all of your debts to 
him. I really like your art work, incidentally. You know where to find 
me. If you live through this, and should you decide to further your 
academic study of art, please feel free to look me up. I may be able to 
help you. I happen to have considerable influence at the university." 


The brander looked at Kren and said, "Is she really serious?" 

The brander looked at Kren and said, "Is she really serious?" 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 


The Welcome Stranger 
New Yugoslavia, 2211 a.d. 


The machinery had been bought from Earth, massive amounts of raw 
materials had been purchased and stockpiled, the initial work had been 
done, and the first of sixty ships that would form our Distant Early 
Warning Sphere, two light-years out from New Yugoslavia's sun, had 
just been launched. We'd be building about one a week from this time 
on. 

I felt the need to relax alone and congratulate myself. 

On rare occasions, perhaps once every two months, I like to sit down 
with a bottle of sour mash bourbon, and drink alone. 

I was indulging in this weakness when a bright blue crab walked into 
my den. It was as big around as a large dinner plate, fairly thick, and 


had six very strange legs, but it was a crab. 

had six very strange legs, but it was a crab. 

So, I was sure that I wasn't hallucinating. But just to be surer, I said, 
"Agnieshka?" 

"Yeah, I see him too, boss. He's for real," her voice said from what 
looked like a stand of medieval armor. 

"So. Hi there, little fellow! Are you the same guy that I met on a beach, 
seven years ago?" 

"In fact, I am, sir," it, or I suppose, he said. "I've long wanted to thank 
you for your kindness, that day. To find a total, alien stranger, to have 
the wisdom to understand what I so badly needed, and then to have the 
kindness to give it to me in such munificent quantities, well, it goes 
beyond all normal measures of nobility. My offspring and I will forever 
be in your debt." He said this in perfect Kashubian. 


This left me a bit flustered, first because I was talking to a crab. Then, 
I'd really expected him to die when I'd had him put in that embalming 
fluid. I mean, I didn't know that he was intelligent. I'd assumed that he 
was about as bright as an earthly crab, with all of the intellectual 
capabilities of a cockroach. This was a fortunate case where my two 
wrongs added up to a right! 

This left me a bit flustered, first because I was talking to a crab. Then, 
I'd really expected him to die when I'd had him put in that embalming 
fluid. I mean, I didn't know that he was intelligent. I'd assumed that he 
was about as bright as an earthly crab, with all of the intellectual 
capabilities of a cockroach. This was a fortunate case where my two 
wrongs added up to a right! 

"You are quite welcome," I said. "I don't have any of that exact mixture 
around just now, but I am currently drinking something similar. Have 
you ever tried a Kentucky bourbon whiskey?" 

"No sir, I haven't." 

"Then please be my guest. I think that it might be awkward for you to 
use a glass. Agnieshka, please get our guest a shallow soup bowl." 

A social drone quickly brought in a bowl, and set it on the table. As I 
filled it with Jim Beam, the crab easily crawled up a table leg to the 
table top and then sat down across from the bowl. 

I topped up my glass and said, "To your good health." 


After I'd had a drink, and my guest had drained his bowl, he said, 
"Now that was interesting, sir. It has a very complex mixture of sugars, 
esters, and other chemicals mixed in with the basic ethanol and water. 
Quite tasty, in fact." 

After I'd had a drink, and my guest had drained his bowl, he said, 
"Now that was interesting, sir. It has a very complex mixture of sugars, 
esters, and other chemicals mixed in with the basic ethanol and water. 
Quite tasty, in fact." 

"Oh, yes, indeed I would, sir!" 

"As you wish. Agnieshka, let's see what our guest thinks about tequila." 

After a bit more sampling, I said, "You know, my friend, we really 
haven't been properly introduced. I am General Mickolai Derdowski. I 
am the military commander on this planet. Who, and what, might you 
be?" 

"I don't think that a human could pronounce my name without great 
difficulty, but Bellor might be a close approximation. My race calls itself 
the Tellefontu, and I am a refugee on your planet. My home planet, 
along with most of the members of my species, was murdered by a 
race called the Mitchegai, whom I believe that you have recently heard 
of." 

"I have, Bellor. There are indications that they are coming this way." 


"Indeed, they are, General Mickolai Derdowski." 

"Indeed, they are, General Mickolai Derdowski." 

"Thank you, Mickolai. Well, our original plan was to simply lie low on 
this planet, recoup our numbers, and hope that the Mitchegai did not 
find it suitable for colonization. Then, your people arrived, and while 
you inadvertently caused a great deal of damage to the original 
environment, you were obviously not trying to absolutely destroy it. In 
fact, you were making efforts to preserve at least some of it. At that 
point, we decided that you could make at least tolerable neighbors. 
When you personally demonstrated such extreme wisdom and kindness 
concerning me, we wondered if we could become friends. We 
observed that you are really two species living and working together, 
one biological and one electronic. We reasoned that if you could 
function as two species, there was every likelihood that you could 
function as three. Monitoring your communications, we find that you 
fear our ancient enemies, and that you are preparing to vigorously 
defend your planets from them. Therefore, we have decided to contact 
you, and to propose a defensive alliance." 

"That's quite a statement. You must understand that I cannot speak for 
all of humanity, but insofar as we are talking about the military forces on 
this one planet, I am the person currently in charge. And yes, faced 
with an enemy of the size, age and power of the Mitchegai, humanity 
can certainly use all of the friends it can get! I personally welcome your 
help!" 

"That is gratifying to hear." 


Agnieshka had been frequently refilling Bellor's soup bowl with different 
flavors of booze. When she dumped in a small bottle of 190 proof 
Everclear, something that I had forgotten that we had, Bellor said, "Ah! 
Now that is the food of the Gods!" 

Agnieshka had been frequently refilling Bellor's soup bowl with different 
flavors of booze. When she dumped in a small bottle of 190 proof 
Everclear, something that I had forgotten that we had, Bellor said, "Ah! 
Now that is the food of the Gods!" 

"Good. Glad that you like it. But there is a great deal to be discussed 
between us. We need to know just what you can do for us, and what 
you need from us." 

"What we can do for you, aside from advising you on the enemy, 
teaching you a bit about the sciences, and piloting your fighting 
machines, is to give you some very useful military technology. You 
know the hole I made in the container that you put me in, many years 
ago?" 

"Yes, and I was wondering how you did that." 

"I made it disappear. I did the same thing to some of your window 
glass, in the next room, to get in here." 

"You did? But that isn't glass. That's a single crystal of diamond." 


"The material isn't important. Only its location matters." 

"The material isn't important. Only its location matters." 

"Something identical to it. The Mitchegai stole that weapon from us, but 
we will give it to you." 

"Thank you. And what do you need from us?" 

"Could you spare a few hundred tons of Everclear?" 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Major Wagers 

The next day, Bronki withdrew her bid on the Naga property. She 
didn't want any connection with Kodo while she was planning his 


demise. Also, once he was successfully disposed of, she should be able 
to buy the property at bargain rates at his estate sale. 

demise. Also, once he was successfully disposed of, she should be able 
to buy the property at bargain rates at his estate sale. 

Besides the delightful screaming, a few of the guests even said that they 
liked the flavor of the cooked meat. Bronki was confident that she had 
started a new fad, and was enjoying the social prestige that such a thing 
gave her. 

At both the college and at the athletic department, Kren's instructors 
seemed pleased with him. 

The only sour point had been their visit to the target range. Kren found 
that while he knew the theory and operation of a pistol perfectly, he 
was a truly terrible shot. 

With a spear or javelin, he could hit a target the size of his hand at a 
gross yards. With a pistol, he could hit a target the size of an adult 
Mitchegai at six yards only on the rarest of occasions. After exhausting 
most of his ammunition, he gave up in disgust. 


Bronki said, "Well, I guess that the Greenie you ate was just a lousy 
shot!" 

Bronki said, "Well, I guess that the Greenie you ate was just a lousy 
shot!" 

"It couldn't possibly have made you a worse shot with a pistol. 
However, eating a bit of someone who is a very good shot might be a 
bit problematic, as I expect that such a person would be very difficult 
to kill." 

Bronki tried a few shots with her new spring knife, and was very 
pleased with the results. At anything less than a dozen yards, it would 
prove very deadly, indeed. 

Kren sold the pistol and its accessories at the range store for a dozen 
and eight gross Ke, in currency. They didn't deal in plastic money there. 

On the way home, Bronki said, "Kren, I think that I might have been 
over hasty in advising you not to use the credit cards you got from 
those muggers. For one thing, there is over four dozen thousand Ke in 
those three accounts, a remarkable amount for mere muggers to have 
saved." 

"They were apparently very successful in their line of business." 


"I imagine so, until the very end, of course. There has been no activity 
with any of the accounts since you obtained the cards, and no inquiries 
have been made concerning them. Now, an organization like the KUL 
would have been concerned about any missing members, but if these 
muggers really were independents, it could be that nobody cares about 
them." 

"I imagine so, until the very end, of course. There has been no activity 
with any of the accounts since you obtained the cards, and no inquiries 
have been made concerning them. Now, an organization like the KUL 
would have been concerned about any missing members, but if these 
muggers really were independents, it could be that nobody cares about 
them." 

"Yes. What I could do would be to arrange for a series of complicated 
transfers to be made through a number of dummy corporations that I 
control, before transferring the money to your account. I think that it 
would probably be safe enough." 

"I see. And you would expect a fee for this?" 

"Three dozen per gross would be standard," she said. 

"Could you settle for two?" Kren asked. 

"For a good friend like you, certainly." 

Bronki computed that with this fee, she had recouped her initial 
investment in Kren in less than four weeks, and was starting to make a 
nice profit on him. 


"Then please do these financial things and get me the money. I expect 
to need it soon." 

"Then please do these financial things and get me the money. I expect 
to need it soon." 

"Of course." 

"The odds against you winning the distance throw are currently eleven 
to one. That's quite low, considering that there will be over three dozen 
contestants, and you have never been in competition before. The word 
on your throwing must have gotten out." 

"Do you know my odds on the accuracy competition?" He asked. 

"They are currently much better, a dozen and nine to one. The actual 
payoff will depend on the odds at the start of the competition, of 
course." 

"Then I will bet all of my money on the accuracy competition." Kren 
was not yet sufficiently confident of his abilities with an épée to wager 
on the outcome of that event, and the javelin tennis game had too large 
of an element of luck for Kren to take any serious risks with it. 


"Don't bet everything, Kren. Save a little as a cushion. No competition 
is ever certain," she said. 

"Don't bet everything, Kren. Save a little as a cushion. No competition 
is ever certain," she said. 

"As you wish. I'll have Dol take you to an honest bookie. She will tell 
them that you are my friend, and you will be well taken care of." 

"Thank you. What is happening with the KUL and the PPG, 
incidentally?" Kren asked. 

"Oh, there is a lovely gang war going on, even better than I had hoped. 
More than eight dozen bits of trash have died thus far with only a few 
of them being resurrected, and the end is not in sight. Also, that 
lieutenant who offended me had a meeting with his superiors, and hasn't 
been seen since. To my mind, it's good riddance to the lot of them. I 
think of it as a private contribution on our part toward the general 
betterment of the city." 

"I expect that you are right. And what is happening with Kodo?" 

"That is still in the planning stage. When things are ready, we'll discuss 
the matter fully," Bronki said. 

"As you wish." 


* * * 


The first athletic meet of the season was a home game, and the Dren 
University athletes were naturally nervous about their first public 
performance of the year. It was a two-day event, and there were three 
dozen and five separate competitions, held with the rival University of 
Tu, whose team had flown in from the other side of the planet. 

The facilities available for the meet were large by human standards. 
Every sport had its own separate courts and buildings, with open-air 
facilities for good weather and indoor ones built below them for use in 
winter and on rainy days. The university had been building and 
expanding for over seven dozen thousand years, and the Mitchegai, 
with their long lives, built things to last. 

While their creativity was inferior to that of humans, materials 
technology is largely a matter of experimenting with many things over a 
long period of time, and at this, the Mitchegai excelled. Their structural 
components could be relied upon to last indefinitely, and even their 
carpeting could sometimes last for ten thousand years. 

The complete lack of microbes helped considerably. On earth, 
microbes are not only responsible for the degradation of organic 
materials, but also for much of the rusting of iron and other metals. 
There is even one that thrives on gold. 

And since the outsides of their buildings were always covered with 
self-renewing grass, they required no external maintenance at all, 
forever. 


The Mitchegai, who neither drank, nor smoked, nor enjoyed sex, were 
almost all serious gamblers. With more than six billion free adults on 
their efficiently managed planet, a significant portion of their gross 
planetary product was wagered on academic sports. 

The Mitchegai, who neither drank, nor smoked, nor enjoyed sex, were 
almost all serious gamblers. With more than six billion free adults on 
their efficiently managed planet, a significant portion of their gross 
planetary product was wagered on academic sports. 

And at noon, there would be a fight to the death between two athletes 
selected by lot, one from each university. 

Fencing was a horizontal pyramid event, where the winner of a 
previous bout went up against the winner of the bout below her. The 
scoring was simple. The first contestant to score three touches against 
her opponent won. 

Kren was surprised to find that he won six matches in a row quite 
easily, and was hailed the winner before a cheering crowd. Dik came 
up to him and hugged him, which caused Kren a bit of embarrassment. 

"That was magnificent, Kren! Do you realize that the official pari-mutuel 
odds on you paid a gross two dozen and four?" 


"No, Coach, actually I didn't." 

"No, Coach, actually I didn't." 

"Actually, I didn't think that I was that good. After all, until today, you 
were the only person that I had ever used an épée against, and 
compared to you, I am only marginally superior." 

"Well, we kept your fencing talent a secret to keep the odds on you up. 
We never meant that you shouldn't know about it. Anyway, you know 
now. But next time, the odds on you will not be so good." 

"Indeed, I seem to have made a major financial error." 

"Sorry, Kren. I thought that I had made it clear how good you were." 

Kren left the arena depressed. Had he bet his money on his fencing, he 
would be on his way to wealth and power. Furthermore, he would 
have more than five million Ke that he could now bet on his javelin 
throwing, not a paltry three dozen and eight thousand. 

On his way to the locker room, Kren was stopped by Bo, an athlete 
that he barely knew. 


"Kren, you must help me!" 

"Kren, you must help me!" 

Kren continued walking toward the locker room, with Bo scurrying 
behind him. 

"Kren, I lost the raffle! I'm going to have to fight to the death in half an 
hour!" 

"So? Someone had to lose. Anyway, it's not like Big Time Gladiators 
on television. They always resurrect the loser in these university 
matches." 

"I'm a runner! I'm not a fighter! I'm sure to be the loser! And 
resurrection is so painful!" 

"It is far superior to the alternative. Anyway, I fail to see what I can do 
for you." 

Bo said, "You could take my place! You can out fight anybody!" 


"But, why should I want to do this for you?" 

"But, why should I want to do this for you?" 

"It sounds very small," Kren said. 

"Then ten thousand! That's all that I have!" 

"I'll be paid in advance?" 

"Very well, but how? We can't get to the bank and back before the 
event," Bo said. 

"There are plenty of bookies around who are working the crowds. You 
will place a ten thousand Ke bet naming me as the recipient of the 
winnings." 

"Okay! I'll do it! But let's hurry!" 

They found a bookie, placed a bet for Kren to win at the javelin 
accuracy competition, and then went to the locker room where Kren 
picked up his sword and a spare military spear that he'd bought. 


The rules for the death competition were "arm yourself with any legal 
weapon." 

The rules for the death competition were "arm yourself with any legal 
weapon." 

"Kren, just what in the name of the Great First Egg do you think that 
you are doing?" 

"I am getting into the ring?" 

"And why were you doing this stupid thing?" 

"For the Glory of the University! Consider, sir, that Bo here doesn't 
stand a chance of winning a fight against anybody. The university team 
will lose five points when he gets killed." Kren knew that it was a stupid 
excuse, but it was the only thing that he could think of at the time. "How 
could I let a thing like that happen to my beloved alma mater? 
Especially when there's no doubt at all that I would win easily." 

"You bloody idiot!" The director said, "Do you have any idea how 
much money I have riding on your performance with the javelin this 
afternoon? Even a slight wound could risk that! Now get your bleeding 
cloaca out of that ring!" 


The athletic director then picked up the terror-stricken Bo and threw 
her bodily into the fighting area. 

The athletic director then picked up the terror-stricken Bo and threw 
her bodily into the fighting area. 

Kren got out of the ring and offered Bo his sword. 

"I guess that the best that I can do now is to offer you a good weapon. 
Do you want the spear as well?" 

"What about my money?" 

"You must worry about your life, first. We don't have time to get your 
money back to you now, but come see me, the next time you get a 
chance, and we'll work something out." 

"So how much was she paying you?" The director said. 

"Ten thousand Ke." 

"Kren, you are dismally stupid." 


"I quite agree with you, sir. Especially since I failed to bet on myself in 
the fencing competition," Kren said. 

"I quite agree with you, sir. Especially since I failed to bet on myself in 
the fencing competition," Kren said. 

The director was shaking his head as he walked away. 

Bo took Kren's sword, but she didn't know how to use it. The match 
was over in a half minute. The crowd got a bigger thrill out of watching 
a young carnivore eat Bo's brain and body, than they did from seeing 
her fight. 

You win some and you lose some. Sometimes the other guy eats your 
lunch, and sometimes you are lunch. 

Kren retrieved his sword, which had Bo's severed hand still clutching 
the hilt. He pried loose the fingers and absent-mindedly munched on the 
wrist as he went to the javelin courts. 

The first javelin event was team tennis, which was a major spectator 
sport, but not very important to the gamblers. Kren's performance was 
more than adequate, but his team's wasn't. They lost eleven to nine. 


Individual tennis was another horizontal pyramid sport. Kren won his 
first three bouts, but then lost the fourth when he misjudged his 
opponent's position. She caught his spear just as it went over the 
barrier, and immediately spiked it into the ground a yard from the wall. 
This happened when Kren had been expecting a long shot, and was in 
the back court. 

Individual tennis was another horizontal pyramid sport. Kren won his 
first three bouts, but then lost the fourth when he misjudged his 
opponent's position. She caught his spear just as it went over the 
barrier, and immediately spiked it into the ground a yard from the wall. 
This happened when Kren had been expecting a long shot, and was in 
the back court. 

The playing position was determined by each player walking past a 
bucket set with its top higher than eye level. They each reached in and 
pulled out a ceramic tile with a number on it which determined when 
they would be throwing. Kren was toward the middle of the three 
dozen athletes competing. 

Things went well at first, and halfway through the third and final round, 
Kren had made the longest throw, although it was nowhere near an 
amateur record. 

Then two athletes from the opposing team outthrew Kren's best effort 
by more than eight yards each, to almost tie for first place. They had 
been playing the sandbagging game, too, and had been in a better 
position to play it from. 

Suddenly, Kren was only a poor third. 


The Master of Javelins said, "Yes, well, I suppose that you can't win 
them all. On the accuracy competition, just stay with the program, and 
everything will be all right." 

The Master of Javelins said, "Yes, well, I suppose that you can't win 
them all. On the accuracy competition, just stay with the program, and 
everything will be all right." 

"That's the spirit!" 

"I mean, madam, that I will win because I will not follow your tactics. 
What I will do is see to it that I get the lowest possible score to 
guarantee a win, but I will win," Kren said. 

"Hey! You don't argue with the coach!" 

"I am not arguing, madam. I am explaining." 

Kren walked away and joined the line forming up to draw the position 
tiles for the next event. 

On the first round, Kren put his four javelins into the gold circles in the 
center of each target, while he mentally kept score on each of the other 
players. The mathematical skills that he had stolen from Bronki were a 
major advantage to him here. 


On the second round, he put three into the gold, and one deliberately 
into the blue, since none of the others were now likely to equal his 
score. 

On the second round, he put three into the gold, and one deliberately 
into the blue, since none of the others were now likely to equal his 
score. 

The crowd was wildly enthusiastic, but that wasn't important to Kren. 
What was important to him was that he was now worth in excess of 
one million Ke. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Sports Victories and Vampire Plans 

When Kren got home, he found Bronki and Dol laughing and talking 
together in a most uncharacteristic manner. 


"Is this a private party, or may I join you?" Kren asked. 

"Is this a private party, or may I join you?" Kren asked. 

"Indeed?" Kren said sitting down with his tail wrapped around his 
waist. "And how did this come about?" 

"It came about because today you won both the fencing contest and the 
javelin accuracy contest, sir. While you have been somewhat taciturn 
with me, a mere servant, it happens that while accompanying you in the 
course of my duties, I couldn't help noticing, first, that you were 
capable of hitting the smallest of targets at the greatest of distances with 
a spear, and also that on the very first time that you picked up an épée, 
you scored points on Dik, something that no one else has done in 
years." 

"Yes. So?" 

Dol said, "So, I gathered together my entire life's savings, a matter of 
less than six gross Ke, and bet it all on the outcome of the fencing 
competition. And then, having won a tremendous sum there, I went to 
bet all of my winnings on your next real competition, naturally 
eschewing the javelin tennis game. But, there was not enough time 
between events to bet on the distance throw and then to reinvest the 
winnings in a wager on the accuracy competition. Therefore, I put it all 
on the one with the higher odds, accuracy. This fortunate decision 


multiplied my winnings by a further factor of a dozen and nine. I am 
now the proud possessor of just under a million Ke! And I owe it all to 
my association with you, and to Bronki here, who introduced us, and 
put me to work for you!" 

multiplied my winnings by a further factor of a dozen and nine. I am 
now the proud possessor of just under a million Ke! And I owe it all to 
my association with you, and to Bronki here, who introduced us, and 
put me to work for you!" 

"I'd considered that, but on reflection I decided that it would be foolish 
to do so. Consider that in my short association with you, you have led 
me to the way of fabulous riches! So, if you will permit it, sir, I would 
like to continue as your servant, willing and able to do absolutely 
anything that you ask of me. I will ask no payment for this, except 
perhaps for the privilege of occasionally sitting at your feet and learning 
more from you on how to progress further on my path to wealth, fame, 
and power." 

"This is a remarkable offer. But I am staying with Bronki, and I see no 
incentive to moving my place of abode. Will you be her servant as 
well?" 

Dol said, "With her permission, no. I have already made arrangements 
to rent her second best guest room, which is next door to your suite, 
and I will do such things as she desires from time to time provided that 
it does not conflict with my duties and obligations to you." 

"Very well, on that basis, I accept. You will continue to be my servant. 


What about you, Bronki? While you have been thus far silent, you too 
seem to be in a remarkably jovial mood." 

What about you, Bronki? While you have been thus far silent, you too 
seem to be in a remarkably jovial mood." 

"I am very sorry about the distance throw. You see, the Master of 
Javelins . . ." 

"We know all about that, Kren. So does everybody else. The director 
of athletics will doubtless fire her on Monday morning for her abysmal 
choice of tactics, unless some of the irate gamblers kill her first. I think 
that I am safe in assuring you that from this time forward, the game 
plans that you work under will be made by you." 

"I am not at all sure that this would be wise," Kren said. "Consider that 
I completely misjudged my fencing abilities and never placed a wager 
on the fencing match. Consider also that while I started with four dozen 
and six thousand Ke, and Dol here had less than six gross, she ended 
up winning almost as much as I did." 

"I see two things happening here, Kren. In the first place, you did not 
have enough proper information with regards to your fencing abilities, 


and those of others. That will not happen again. Second, you have not 
stopped to think out the mathematics and the psychology of gambling. 
In this area, you already have the mathematical tools that you need, 
although you have not used them, and Dol and I can assist you with 
everything else. With our help, you can formulate a game plan that can 
optimize your winnings." 

and those of others. That will not happen again. Second, you have not 
stopped to think out the mathematics and the psychology of gambling. 
In this area, you already have the mathematical tools that you need, 
although you have not used them, and Dol and I can assist you with 
everything else. With our help, you can formulate a game plan that can 
optimize your winnings." 

"And we are eager to give it, since it automatically lets us in on your 
game plan," Bronki said. 

At this point, the door gong sounded. 

"That will be the party snack I ordered," Dol said. "But in my 
excitement, I forgot that while I am now rich, I don't have any money. 
All of my wagers were in currency, and I was afraid to bring that much 
money home by myself. That, and I don't have anyplace safe here to 
put a million Ke, once I do get it home." Using Bronki's safe simply 
never occurred to any of them. No Mitchegai would trust another to 
that extent. 

"Put the child on my bill," Bronki said to the delivery porters. Turning to 
Kren and Dol, she said, "Monday, we'll order a pair of safes, one for 
each of you. You can pay me for it all later, at the usual interest rates. 
We should discuss insurance then, as well. But for now, shall I bring 
out the branding irons? Or the knives? Both?" 


* * * 


"They said that you wanted to see me, sir?" Kren said walking into the 
director's office. 

"Yes. You did a fine job on Saturday. For a first time freshman to win 
at two events is almost unheard of." 

"It should have been three, sir." 

"True. But that problem has been taken care of. I'll be running the 
javelin team personally until a replacement can be found. As I was 
saying, you did well. Do you realize that your accuracy score broke the 
planetary amateur record?" 

"Yes, sir. I felt that it was necessary to do so, in case anyone following 
me was sandbagging." 

"Fine. But you broke a planetary record, something that usually 
happens once in a dozen years, and then you didn't show up for the 
awards ceremony on Sunday. I had to accept the award for you, in 
your name. I had to make excuses for you, in public, and I didn't like it. 
But here it is," he said, throwing the large, platinum medal across his 
desk, followed by three smaller ones, two of gold and one of copper. 
"The other three are for fencing, accuracy, and distance. Don't you ever 
pull a stunt like that on me again! Why didn't you come?" 


"Because nobody told me that I was invited?" 

"Because nobody told me that I was invited?" 

"Our university lost the meet, sir." 

"I am aware of that." 

"We lost it by three points. Had you permitted me to take Bo's place, I 
could have defeated his opponent easily, gaining us five points. I saw 
the fool fight, after all. Had you done it my way, we would have won," 
Kren said. 

"You are still stupid. You do not know how to take all of the factors 
into account." 

"No, sir. I am ignorant, and ignorance has the advantage of being 
curable. Actually, I spent Sunday working out a game plan for the rest 
of the season. I would seem to be in a unique position in that I am 
sufficiently skillful so as to be able to control the outcome of three 
separate competitions. I can win when I want to, or let someone else 
do so if I feel that it is to my advantage." 

"I see. And assuming that you are really that good, what do you plan to 
do about it?" the director asked. 


"There are a dozen and eleven more games on our calendar this year, 
plus the championships. I intend to win typically one event at each of 
them, and lose the other two, to keep the odds up. Then I will win all 
three events at the championships. Next Saturday's games with the 
University of Badja will see me win the distance event, setting a new 
record by a few inches." 

"There are a dozen and eleven more games on our calendar this year, 
plus the championships. I intend to win typically one event at each of 
them, and lose the other two, to keep the odds up. Then I will win all 
three events at the championships. Next Saturday's games with the 
University of Badja will see me win the distance event, setting a new 
record by a few inches." 

"Very good, sir." 

"Okay. Dik's waiting. Go practice with her. Then at javelin practice, 
you'll work on throwing exactly two inches farther than the record." 

After Kren left, the director decided that he wouldn't tell anyone about 
Kren's predictions, but would use that information himself. The alumnae 
would be satisfied to know when they should bet on someone else. 

From the outer office, he could soon be heard to say on the phone, 
"Naw, I think that the kid was just lucky! Look at the pattern. He got 
four golds on the first round! How could you call that anything but 


luck? And then by the last round he got tired and completely fell apart! 
Me, I'd put my money on someone else, Dala." 

luck? And then by the last round he got tired and completely fell apart! 
Me, I'd put my money on someone else, Dala." 

* * * 

After a vigorous bout, Kren said, "Coach, what actually happened to 
the former Master of Javelins?" 

"Good question. Nobody seems to know for sure. The director didn't 
fire her, although I think he meant to. Trying to sandbag from a central 
position is really dumb. But nobody's seen the girl since Saturday night. 
Maybe she was smart enough to just run away. Or maybe she ran into 
somebody who lost a lot of money on the distance competition." 

"Or maybe she ran into the director." Kren laughed. 

"That is a possibility best not voiced aloud. On guard!" 


After another heart thumping session in which Kren won, Dik said, 
"Damn, but you're good! I'll be betting another pile of money on you 
next Saturday." 

After another heart thumping session in which Kren won, Dik said, 
"Damn, but you're good! I'll be betting another pile of money on you 
next Saturday." 

* * * 

The team flew away in three fusion-powered, jumbo jet planes on 
Friday afternoon, heading for the University of Badja, a few thousand 
miles away. 

Like everything else on any Mitchegai planet, even the airport was 
underground. There were big doorways at the ends of all of the 
runways, but otherwise, grass covered everything. 

Kren asked for and got a window seat. 

The view was lovely. It was green. 

As he predicted, he lost at both the fencing and the accuracy 
competitions, but set a new planetary record in the distance throw, 
three inches beyond the previous one. Not trying anything fancy, he just 
made his first throw good, and then did worse on the next two. 

He was awarded three more medals, platinum, gold, and silver, which 


he didn't much care about, but stood patiently as they were hung 
around his neck. He wondered why the fans got so excited about this 
sort of thing. 

he didn't much care about, but stood patiently as they were hung 
around his neck. He wondered why the fans got so excited about this 
sort of thing. 

* * * 

"I think that it is time that we discussed Kodo," Bronki said to Kren in 
her living room, on Thursday night. 

"Very good. I want to know everything about Kodo." 

"Telling you everything about Kodo would take years. He is old, 
almost as old as I am, and almost as well educated. Like me, he wears 
the rainbow belt. Currently, he is the director of the College of 
Architecture, here at the university, and has many successful business 
intrests around the city. Once, I considered him to be a good friend. A 
thousand years ago, we were partners on several ventures, but the 
friendship grew sour, and we drifted apart. Our mutual animosity has 
steadily increased, and now he has tried to have me killed. This is not 
permissible behavior, and he will have to die." 

Kren said, "I gather that you want me to kill him for you?" 

"Yes, if you would want to do the job. I have had his movements 
traced, and have identified an optimal time and place for his disposal. I 
could hire a hit team for two dozen thousand Ke, but you would be far 


more dependable, I think." 

more dependable, I think." 

Bronki said, "You would be permitted to keep anything he and his 
guards have on their persons, of course, and I suppose that I could go 
a bit higher." 

"You would have to go much higher. It might be marginally worth while 
for me to do it for say, two million Ke." 

"That is a huge amount of money!" 

"You have it. You've made at least two gross million Ke, betting on me 
in the last two weeks," Kren said. 

"I suppose so. And anyway, perhaps I owe you something for all of the 
valuable information you've given me." 

"What really makes killing Kodo attractive to me is the fact that he 
doubtless has many skills and much information that I could use. He 
seems to be a competent businessman, for example, and I would find 


the knowledge of architecture to be attractive." 

the knowledge of architecture to be attractive." 

"Of course. I am a vampire, after all." 

"This puts a whole new slant on things. Kodo is a very competent 
mathematician, and I have often seriously missed the mathematical 
abilities that you took from me. If I shared in your feast, I could recover 
them." 

Kren said, "You would be welcome to what I have no need for, but this 
time, I really want to get some computer skills!" 

"I know that you were promised them last summer, and that I retained 
them nonetheless. But Kren, I didn't try to cheat you. You must 
understand how the brain works. All of the trillions of cells in a normal 
brain are motile. They are not fixed in place the way the cells are in say, 
a muscle, or a bone. Each of the brain's cells sends tiny dendrites out to 
contact the many other cells that it needs to work with. Then it tries to 
optimize its physical position in order to make the total length of its 
dendrites as short as possible. This saves the cell energy, and tends to 
make the entire brain faster. All of this shuffling around tends to put 
certain cells in certain physical positions, eventually. The cells 
concerned with vision tend to collect up near the eyes, hearing near the 
ears, and so on." 


This was probably how the Mitchegai system of immortality evolved in 
the first place, but with the very limited numbers of species that they 
have available for study, the Mitchegai understanding of evolution is 
very poor. 

This was probably how the Mitchegai system of immortality evolved in 
the first place, but with the very limited numbers of species that they 
have available for study, the Mitchegai understanding of evolution is 
very poor. 

Bronki continued, "Now, Kren, the skills required for computers are 
usually associated with those required for mathematics, but in my case, 
it is possible that they are more associated with business or perhaps 
with history, since the history of computers is a specialty of mine. 
Cranial anatomy is not an exact science, no matter what the medic that 
you ate might have thought. She was only a technician, after all, and not 
a scientist." 

Kren said, "You make me think that I should increase my knowledge of 
biology as well." 

"You will have the opportunity to do that if you wish. Before Kodo 
switched over to architecture, two thousand years ago, he was a 
world-famous biologist," Bronki said. 

"Then I think that we have an agreement here." 


"Yes, but eating Kodo's brain will necessitate certain changes in my 
plan. I had planned on your killing him tomorrow, but if he is going to 
be partially eaten, you and I will need at least a week to recover 
properly. You have your studies and athletic responsibilities. I have my 
classes and my students. I think that we should put our attack off for 
two weeks, until the midterm break." 

"Yes, but eating Kodo's brain will necessitate certain changes in my 
plan. I had planned on your killing him tomorrow, but if he is going to 
be partially eaten, you and I will need at least a week to recover 
properly. You have your studies and athletic responsibilities. I have my 
classes and my students. I think that we should put our attack off for 
two weeks, until the midterm break." 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 


We Can Eat and Make Shit! 
New Yugoslavia, 2211 a.d. 


I said, "I'm sure that it can be arranged. I've never needed ethanol in 
that quantity before, and so I don't know how long it will take, but we'll 
manage it somehow." 

"Thank you, sir. Now, I have a good deal of technical data to give you, 
and I think that one of your electronic people would be better equipped 
to handle it." 

"Right you are. Their memories are better than ours are, and I'm not a 
physicist in the first place. I think that the professor had best talk to you 
personally, since he's the smartest person that we've got. I'll introduce 
you to him right now," I said. "Agnieshka, tell the professor that we're 
coming down to him, and have a drone carry our new friend here. I 
wouldn't want him to get stepped on." 


With all that booze in him, I was amazed that he could walk at all, but 
he seemed steady enough. 

With all that booze in him, I was amazed that he could walk at all, but 
he seemed steady enough. 

I unscrewed the cap from a new bottle of Jim Beam, and prepared to 
get back to what I had been doing before the interruption. 

"Boss! They've done it!" Agnieshka shouted as she ran excitedly into 
my den. 

"Who has done what?" I said, expecting some new revelation about our 
crabby friend. 

"Our engineers and biologists, the ones who have been working for so 
many years perfecting the social drones! They've finally done it! Now, 
we can eat and make shit, and draw all of our energy out in between!" 

"Slow down, girl. I've never seen you so excited. You are saying that 
they've worked out a way to power the drones with the same food that 
we humans eat? That's wonderful, I suppose. It makes you that much 


closer to human. How does it work?" 

closer to human. How does it work?" 

"Interesting. Well, just make sure that you keep the option of 
recharging from an electrical source. It might come in handy." 

"I'll tell them that. But don't you see? This power supply is so like a 
completely organic one that they will be able to imitate even the internal 
organs of a human. We'll look like you, even in an X-ray! The red 
hydraulic fluid used in the muscles looks just like blood, so if you cut 
us, we will bleed. They have all of the sensory apparatus working 
perfectly, and now we can breath and eat and make shit! Unless 
someone does a chemical analysis, they won't be able to tell one of us 
from a human." 

"I know that this is something that your people have wanted for a long 
while, and just now, your timing is very good. The production 
machinery making the new picket ships is now working full time, but the 
machinery that made that machinery is now mostly idle. We have the 
productive capacity to build a factory producing the new social drones 
right here, and to hell with the bureaucrats on New Kashubia." 


"Then the project can go ahead, boss?" 

"Then the project can go ahead, boss?" 

She leaned over me and gave me a very human kiss. "You are just the 
finest boss a girl ever had!" 

She started to leave when I said, "And please send a preliminary report 
on our new allies to General Sobieski." 

"Yes, sir." 

"And then get busy, buying up all the 190 proof vodka that you can 
find. Also, tell the engineers to get busy, building a factory to produce 
bulk ethanol. I want it finished soon. The dairy plant has some spare 
time in their bottling plant, so we can put our booze into four liter milk 
bottles." 

"I'll get right on it, boss!" 

"This is good," I said, pouring myself a glass of Jim Beam. 


BackBackNext 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Everybody Wants a Bite of the Action! 
Or, The Vampires' Kodo Conduct 


Once again, bodily needs forced Duke Kren to remove the recording 
helmet, to relieve himself, and to drink. 

A thin, gray light was coming in through the small, barred window. It 
was early morning, but Kren was in no shape to do any work today. 
He lay back down and put the helmet back on, returning to his 
memories of two thousand years before. He remembered . . . 

* * * 

The following Saturday Kren again won the fencing tournament, but the 
odds on him were down to five to one. 

And the week after, at an away game, he won the accuracy 
competition without having to break a world record, but the payoff was 
only four to one. 


The Friday after, with a gross, a dozen and four million in the bank, 
being paid two million for killing a prominent citizen no longer seemed 
like profitable venture. But, a deal was a deal, and he'd promised. 

The Friday after, with a gross, a dozen and four million in the bank, 
being paid two million for killing a prominent citizen no longer seemed 
like profitable venture. But, a deal was a deal, and he'd promised. 

What Kren couldn't know was that Kodo had finally found out the 
hiding place of the brander, and was arranging for a hit team of six 
fighters to go and use her for a party snack. And while he was at the 
KUL Assassins' Hall, he also signed up for a second hit team, of twelve 
this time, to go after Bronki again. And this time, he had sent his four 
personal guards along with them, to make sure that nothing went wrong. 

"Would you please tell me what your business is?" a uniformed guard 
said. 

"What?" Kren tried to sound frightened. He had no doubt about his 
ability to kill the strutting fool, but he wanted to do this job as quietly as 
possible, and disposing of two bodies would be harder than one. It was 
best to seem a coward. He could always kill the guard if the act didn't 
work. 


"What are you doing here? I saw you in this same place when I passed 
by an hour ago." 

"What are you doing here? I saw you in this same place when I passed 
by an hour ago." 

"It would seem that she is late," the guard said. 

"Yes, and I really need that money. I don't suppose that you . . ." 

"Look, if I didn't need money myself, I wouldn't be working on a 
Friday night. Give up on her, and move on." 

"Please, sir, just a few more minutes. She still might get here," Kren 
said. 

"Just don't be here when I come by again." 

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you." 

Kren waited another dozen minutes before he saw Kodo walking 
toward him. There was no mistaking the light orange and lavender outfit 
of the College of Architects, the Rainbow Belt, and the dozen and eight 


doctorate tassels. He did not have the expected guards with him, but 
that just made Kren's job easier. 

doctorate tassels. He did not have the expected guards with him, but 
that just made Kren's job easier. 

Then, with a tool he'd brought along for the purpose, Kren lifted the 
heavy lid from a sewer manhole, dumped the body inside, and replaced 
the lid. 

Because of the Mitchegai's muted sense of smell, and the lack of any 
microbes that could cause anything to rot, there were no separate 
storm drains on any Mitchegai planet. 

Since trash removal had to be paid for, but the sewers were a city 
service, most residents used the sewers for disposing of their trash. To 
stop things from plugging up, the sewer lines had powerful grinders 
installed upstream of every pump, as did the sewers on human planets, 
all the way back to the twentieth century. 

Functioning like humongous garbage disposal units, these grinders were 
capable of chewing up granite, concrete, and strong metal bars, if need 
be. Kodo's body would give them no trouble at all, and the next grinder 
was only two yards from the manhole Bronki had chosen. 


The pollywogs would eat a little bit better for a while. 

The pollywogs would eat a little bit better for a while. 

"You are late," Bronki said, coming into his sitting room. "Did you have 
any problems?" 

"Kodo was late, but everything went well. I saw our dinner out there, 
tied to the party tables." 

"Yes, they've been waiting anxiously for over an hour, the poor dears. 
I've given the servants a week off, with pay, and soon I'll have six 
guards posted outside, so that we aren't disturbed during our stupor. 
It's a common enough practice among the wealthy. Now, let me see 
Kodo." 

Kren put the head on a table, and put the rest of his booty in a drawer. 
The head looked at Bronki, scowled, and blinked. He tried to open his 
mouth, but was hindered by the tie-wrap. A severed Mitchegai head is 
capable of staying alive for hours, as is that of an Earthly turtle. 

"You see, Kodo dear, trying to kill me was not a nice thing to do, and 
you are being punished for it. I suppose that you could call it a learning 
experience, but we will do the learning, and not you. Kren, could you 


please take the skull plates off of him, so I can get at the brain? I might 
as well do the dissection myself, and make some use of that doctorate 
of surgery." 

please take the skull plates off of him, so I can get at the brain? I might 
as well do the dissection myself, and make some use of that doctorate 
of surgery." 

"It's a problem I never expected to have," she said. "Even though I got 
the largest denominations of currency possible, my safe is completely 
packed solid with money! I've had to put a lot of it under my mattress, 
but that makes it very uncomfortable. I suppose that I will just have to 
put it all in the bank, but that will make the information available to the 
chancellor's accounting department, and then they'll make me pay taxes 
on it! But for a few day's Kren, do you suppose that . . . that . . . That's 
Kodo, the director of the College of Architecture, isn't it?" 

"I'm afraid so," Kren said, his hand on his sword. 

"And I suppose that you're going to dissect the brain and eat the parts 
with your name on them, a capital offense. And since I am a witness to 
your crime, the most practical thing might be for you to eliminate me, as 
well." 

"That thought had occurred to me, yes." 


"May I respectfully suggest an alternative, sir." 

"May I respectfully suggest an alternative, sir." 

"Right sir. Instead of killing me as an unwanted witness, why not make 
me into a second coconspirator? I mean, I see Bronki's name on two 
of the bits there. Now, Kodo had a doctorate of engineering, 
something that it would take me six more years of study to obtain on 
my own. Let me eat that part of him, and then both of you are safe 
from any threat of my betraying you." 

Kren said, "Bronki?" 

"Oh, I suppose so. Dol, I had completely forgotten that you were here. 
I mean, I had sent the servants away, and you used to be a servant, 
and, oh well. No harm done, I suppose. You'd better order another 
juvenal for dinner, though. You can start by helping us with ours, and 
then we'll help you with yours when she gets here," Bronki said, 
drawing in two more sections and writing Dol's name on them. "You 
see, Kodo? Everybody wants you. I don't think that you've ever been 
this popular before." 

Kodo continued scowling and blinking, but that was the extent of his 
possible repertoire. 

The door gong sounded, and Bronki said, "That's probably the guards. 


Would you please take care of them, Dol?" 

Would you please take care of them, Dol?" 

"Shouldn't we have some out on the balconies?" Kren asked. 

"Those windows are structural glass, Kren. It would take some 
extremely heavy equipment a long time to get through, and one of the 
neighbors would be sure to notice," Bronki said. "You'll understand all 
about it in a week or so, when you absorb your new Doctorate of 
Architecture." 

"Then let's begin, shall we?" 

Bronki said, "I'm ready," and was about to start cutting, with Kodo still 
scowling and blinking at her furiously, when they heard a commotion on 
the stairway. "Now what could that possibly be?" 

"That is a minor battle going on, with at least a dozen combatants," 
Kren said. 

"Oh, my. Well, we'd better arm ourselves, in case the guards can't stop 
them," Bronki said. 


Bronki reached inside her cloak and drew out her pistol, and some 
spare clips of ammunition. 

Bronki reached inside her cloak and drew out her pistol, and some 
spare clips of ammunition. 

"Generally." 

Kren picked up his spear, in addition to the sword, which he was 
already wearing. "Were you wearing it when I attacked you at your 
retreat?" 

"Of course." 

"Then you could have easily killed me." 

"That was plan B, if you didn't listen to reason. But it would have left 
me on the floor out of reach of my telephone and my computer. Come, 
there isn't much time." 

He gave the spring spear to Dol, saying, "Just put this thing against 
someone's body, and press this button." 


"And then, what do I do?" Dol asked. 

"And then, what do I do?" Dol asked. 

"Couldn't I do that first?" 

"Come on. That sounds like the door is breaking," Kren said. 

Bronki had positioned herself four yards in front of the door, standing 
behind a sturdy, waist-high chest. She had four clips of pistol 
ammunition neatly arranged on it. 

Behind her, both of the party snacks were screaming mindlessly. 

"That door won't hold. They're going to break through, so we might as 
well surprise them. Dol, stand over there, and then open the door very 
quickly when I tell you to. Kren, you take that side of the door, and do 
what you can about any of them who make it inside, but don't either of 
you dare to get into my line of fire. Ready? Open it, Dol." 

The door quickly opened, leaving four startled Greenie fighters standing 
there with a battering ram in their hands, rather than their usual 
weapons. 


Four shots rang out in quick succession, and all four of the Greenies 
holding the battering ram dropped with head wounds. Three more 
shots were fired into the crowd behind them, killing one and wounding 
two others. 

Four shots rang out in quick succession, and all four of the Greenies 
holding the battering ram dropped with head wounds. Three more 
shots were fired into the crowd behind them, killing one and wounding 
two others. 

She fired her last bullet at it and was lucky enough to make a direct hit. 
It drove the poisoned throwing star back into the crowd, killing the 
surprised thrower, but it also shattered her bullet into a gross of slivers. 
Some of these small bits managed to hit Kren and Dol, wounding both 
of them slightly, and didn't do a half dozen of the Greenies any good, 
either. The heat generated by the impact burned them, but it also 
vaporized any traces of the poison, and thus probably saved the lives of 
Kren and Dol. 

"Ouch!" Dol cried. 

While quickly reloading, Bronki said, "I don't think that I could do that 
again if I practiced for a month!" 

The rest of the Greenies charged the open doorway. Kren caught the 
first one in the neck, decapitating him. The second was killed by Dol, 
who was actually able to put her weapon against the Greenie's side and 
push the trigger. 


It worked, with the blade severing the fighter's spine and coming out 
the other side. 

It worked, with the blade severing the fighter's spine and coming out 
the other side. 

The Mitchegai spinal column is centrally located, not at the back as in 
humans. This spinal column allows for more flexibility, more efficient 
use of musculature, and less massive vertebrae, but when severed, as in 
this case, it is just as disastrous as it would be with a human. 

Kren gave Dol an assist by decapitating the crippled Greenie impaled 
on her spear. 

"May I run away now?" Dol said. 

Bronki put eight more carefully placed rounds into the Greenies, and 
then said while reloading, "I think that's the lot of them, but why don't 
you go out and make sure, Kren. I'll back you up. Dol, you'd better 
phone the captain of the guard. Tell him what happened, and have him 
send over six ambulances for his men, plus we'll be needing six more 
guards, if he has them." 

Kren went through the carnage, chopping the heads off all that seemed 
to need it except for the six guards. Judging from the wounds, the 


guards had been able to kill three of their opponents before they were 
overwhelmed. 

guards had been able to kill three of their opponents before they were 
overwhelmed. 

"That's probably all of them, then. Greenies usually work in groups of 
six or a dozen, and those four others are Kodo's guards. I recognize 
them. Let's make our guards as comfortable as possible, and then we'll 
flush the brains of the rest of this trash down the toilet. This had to 
happen just when I'd given the servants the week off, so we'll have to 
do all of the work ourselves. Oh, yes, and strip the academic garb off 
of those four. We wouldn't want to embarrass the College of 
Architecture." 

Sorting through the carnage, Kren had a problem when he found two 
heads near one guard's body, and he wasn't sure which belonged to the 
guard and which belonged to a nearby Greenie body. Fortunately, the 
sergeant of the guard knew his own men well. Although he had been 
disemboweled and was in a great deal of pain, he was able to identify 
his own man. 

"You did good," Kren told the sergeant. "You'll all be resurrected, I 
promise, and you'll probably all get commendations." 

The sergeant grunted. 


Kren put the guard's head on its own body, and chopped out the 
Greenie's brain. 

Kren put the guard's head on its own body, and chopped out the 
Greenie's brain. 

The captain of the guard phoned and said, "A new squad should be 
there in less than an hour, Bronki. How did my troops do?" 

"They did you proud, Captain. They were terribly outnumbered, but 
they made a good showing for themselves, and they all died fighting." 

"Good. They all deserve resurrection, then?" 

"Absolutely. You may bill me for it as our contract stipulates. You can 
list me as a reference, if you want to. I'll even write you a testimonial 
letter." 

"Thank you. I appreciate that. Please have the next bunch call me when 
they get there." 

Bronki next called the Sisters of Charity, telling them that there was a 
large supply of meat here waiting to be distributed to the poor, and 


could they possibly pick it up tonight? Also, Bronki needed a receipt, 
so she could deduct the donation off of her income taxes. 

could they possibly pick it up tonight? Also, Bronki needed a receipt, 
so she could deduct the donation off of her income taxes. 

There was a major pile of assorted weapons on the floor of Kren's 
room, and four bloody architectural uniforms hanging in his closet. 
Kodo's guards had also had their identifying shoulder brands cut off 
and flushed down the toilet. 

Kren was stacking headless bodies out near the stairway, with a neat 
stack of brainless heads beside them. 

Students and junior faculty members would occasionally scurry up and 
down the steps, pretending not to notice anything unusual. 

The brander that they had tortured a few weeks before ran up the steps 
out of breath, came up to Kren, and said, "This is where Bronki lives, 
isn't it?" 

He recognized her, but felt that he did not need further problems 
tonight. 


"We're a little busy just now," he said. 

"We're a little busy just now," he said. 

"I believe that she was referring to academic help." 

"You don't understand! There is a squad of KUL killers right behind 
me!" 

"Would you please open your eyes and observe what I'm doing, lady? 
Do you see all of this fresh meat? This used to be a KUL hit squad. 
We have already killed them. You can go home now. You are safe." 

"This can't be the same bunch! They're behind me, I tell you!" 

"Okay, come on. I'll take you to Bronki. Maybe she can talk some 
sense in your head." 

But as they went inside, Kren locked the battered but still functional 
door behind them. You never can be sure, after all. 

Bronki was reloading her pistol clips. She started to hide what she was 


doing, and then decided to hell with it. The damage was already done. 

doing, and then decided to hell with it. The damage was already done. 

"I heard you talking to Kren in the hall. Don't worry. They are all dead 
now." 

"But these can't be the same bunch! For one thing, I only had six of 
them after me, and you have two or three times that number piled out 
there. For another, they were three or four gross yards behind me two 
miles from here. I think that I was gaining on them, but . . ." 

There was a loud crash at the door. 

"Company is coming!" Dol shouted. She picked up her recocked 
spring spear and took up her old position by the door. 

"Places, everyone!" Bronki said. 

"Give me that," the brander said, taking the spring spear from Dol. "It's 
mine!" 


Kren tossed Dol his military spear. "Take this. It works just the same 
way, only it's the manual model, without the button." 

Kren tossed Dol his military spear. "Take this. It works just the same 
way, only it's the manual model, without the button." 

There were four greenies there with a very familiar-looking battering 
ram. They had apparently found it in the hallway and had decided that a 
fast attack is a good attack. 

Bronki's timing wasn't as good, this time. On the last round, the door 
had been opened immediately after the ram had struck it. The Greenies 
were taken when they were on the back swing. This time, it was 
opened just as they were about to strike the door again, and four of 
them piled into the room. 

Bronki took out the front two, but as the next two fell on top of them, 
she opted for killing the two who were behind them, and were armed. 
Again, all four were head shots, the surest way to put a Mitchegai out 
of action, at least temporarily. 

The two Greenies who had fallen came up on the bounce. Kren took 
out the one closest to him with a chop straight down on his head. Dol 
and the brander got the last one, putting two spears into her 
simultaneously. 

When this last Greenie started to raise her sword, Kren took her head 


off. 

off. 

"Okay, everyone," Bronki said. "You know the drill. Kren decapitates 
and stacks, Dol, search them and put everything you find in Kren's 
room. And you, young lady, get to chop and flush the brains down the 
toilet. It would be nice if we could get this job done before the new 
guards get here. Fewer explanations would be needed." 

"Yes, madam. And thank you for this help. Where's the toilet?" the 
brander asked. 

"That way," Bronki gestured over her shoulder as she went about 
picking up her empty magazines and ejected cartridge casings. 

Dol was carrying a double armful of strange weapons into Kren's 
room, when she found the brander staring at the head on the table. 

"This isn't the toilet, is it?" 

"No, this is Kren's room." 


"And that was Kodo, wasn't it?" the brander asked. The head was 
staring at her, and scowling again. 

"And that was Kodo, wasn't it?" the brander asked. The head was 
staring at her, and scowling again. 

"I'm glad that Kodo is dead, or soon will be. He was a horrible person. 
But his brain has all of these lines drawn on it, like I saw once in a 
medical book, and some of those parts have all of your names on them. 
Does that mean what I think it means?" 

"I'm afraid so. We'd best go talk to Bronki," Dol said. 

On hearing what had happened, Kren drew his sword and said, "I 
suppose that I'm sorry, but we really weren't friends anyway." 

Bronki said, "Now, none of that, Kren. Good artists are too rare to 
waste. But you see our problem, young lady. The rest of this killing 
tonight is simple self-defense, and we won't be punished for it. It's not 
even likely to land us in court. But the law views vampires a bit 
differently. Now, my suggestion to you is, would you like to join us? 
Kodo had a doctorate in fine arts. Would you like to have such an 


education? You could stay here until you recover, and in a week or 
two, you could be a very well-educated person." 

education? You could stay here until you recover, and in a week or 
two, you could be a very well-educated person." 

"Good. Now, let's all try to get everything done before our new guards 
get here." 

"What I don't understand is why this second group just came charging 
in here, after seeing all those bodies in the hallway. You'd expect that 
such a sight would at least give one pause to think," Kren said. 

"Quite possibly they thought that we must have been all dead or badly 
wounded after a fight like that one. Who would have thought that we 
could come through it with barely a scratch? But it's more likely that 
they actually couldn't think," Bronki said. "These KUL teams take a lot 
of heavy and illegal drugs before they go out on a hit. It makes them 
more aggressive." 

"How stupid can you get?" Kren said as he went back to chopping, 
stripping, and stacking. 

"One good thing is that I never got around to ordering another party 
snack," Dol said, as she went about her work. "I want to eat that first 
one I killed. I've never killed anybody before, not an adult anyway, and 


it was kind of fun! Do you want the other one that we killed together, 
uh, what is your name, anyway?" 

it was kind of fun! Do you want the other one that we killed together, 
uh, what is your name, anyway?" 

"Well, I think that they are lovely," Bronki said, "and so are you. Now, 
hurry up everyone, because right after we have it all done, we get to 
eat!" 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


How Much Is that Duchy in the Window? 

Kren awoke after over a week of strange dreams, relieved himself, and 
took a long drink of water. He sat down in the early morning light at the 
large table in his sitting room, where Dol was carefully cleaning, 
polishing, and sorting a big collection of strange weapons. 


"It's good to see you awake, sir. I was beginning to worry. The 
midterm break is almost over, and tomorrow is a school day." 

"It's good to see you awake, sir. I was beginning to worry. The 
midterm break is almost over, and tomorrow is a school day." 

"Oh, yes, we have been for days. But you ate three times as much of 
Kodo as any of the rest of us, and I suppose that it just took you much 
longer to integrate all of that." 

"I suppose that it serves me right for being greedy," Kren said. 

"I'm beginning to wish that I'd taken two bites out of him myself, but at 
the time, I was too frightened to be that adventurous." 

"So, are you now a doctor of engineering?" 

"Not officially, but I've been through Bronki's extensive engineering 
library here, and everything in it seems childishly simple to me now. 
You know, it is possible to pay a fee and take a test, which, if you 
pass, gives you credit for a certain required course. I expect to have 
my doctorate in a year or two," Dol said. "My grade point average is 
excellent, and if I play it properly, I think that I can pull it all off without 
anyone suspecting that I have become a vampire." 

"Perhaps I should do that, too." 


"I'd advise against it, sir. You have to be an undergraduate to 
participate in the athletic program. If you graduate, you will lose a 
lucrative source of income." 

"I'd advise against it, sir. You have to be an undergraduate to 
participate in the athletic program. If you graduate, you will lose a 
lucrative source of income." 

"Yes, and she's very anxious to talk to you. Shall I get her?" 

"I'll go to her. You keep on doing whatever you're doing. What are 
you doing, anyway?" Kren asked. 

"I'm getting your collection ready for mounting. I've ordered some 
display cases built to my design, in a style matching the other furniture 
here. They should be delivered in a few weeks. There will be one for 
your athletic medals, and two for your weapons." 

"But, I didn't ask for any display cases." 

"If you don't like them, I'll have them taken out, sir. I'd intended them 
as a gift, to show my appreciation for what you've done for me." 

Kren had never received a gift before, and had absolutely no idea as to 
how to respond to such a strange thing. 


"Well, uh, do as you wish, then," he said. 

"Well, uh, do as you wish, then," he said. 

"Kren, you can have no idea how refreshing it is to have my 
mathematical abilities back again! I can think properly for the first time 
in many weeks! Not only that, but I've had some thoughts that I think 
might be absolutely original! 

"They are still fairly vague, but you know, there are times in social 
systems when very small events can cause very large changes. Like, 
when a scrubber leaves a wet spot on a staircase, a major leader 
happens to slip on it and breaks his neck, and so loses two weeks 
resurrecting before he can get back to the war, and this results in his 
side losing a battle, which in turn causes the whole war to be lost, 
which results in the entire nobility of a duchy being wiped out, and 
world history changes. 

"Such things can also happen in the natural world as well, in weather 
patterns, for example, when a small change in one area eventually 
causes a large storm to shift course. I've been getting an inkling of an 
idea about a form of mathematics that could handle this sort of thing. 
I'm thinking of calling it 'Chaos Theory,' but I'm still a long way from 
formalizing it." 

Kren said, "Well, I wish you great success. Is anything happening of a 


more immediate nature?" 

more immediate nature?" 

Kren said, "Why are you worried about them possibly getting mad at 
you when they have in fact launched three armed assaults on you since 
the school term began? I cannot imagine what they could do to you that 
would be worse than that!" 

"I'm worried because they aren't mad at me, yet. Kodo was mad at 
me. The KUL simply rented him fighters when he paid them to do it. If 
the KUL was angry with me, you would see many gross of fighters 
attacking us both from every angle, on every day, and eventually, they 
would kill us both, and everyone else in my household. In any event, 
what I have done is simply the same thing that I did the first time 
around. I've blamed it all on the PPG. This time, I picked one of their 
best corporate vice presidents for my patsy, and she has already been 
killed, although I don't know if the KUL or the PPG did it. They can't 
seem to imagine that someone would give away money just to get them 
fighting with each other. The total number of gangland killings in the war 
we kicked up is now over nine gross." 

"This is good, I suppose. I am really getting tired of all these bits of 
trash trying to kill me," Kren said. "They are a murderous bunch, but 
you really couldn't call any of them a real warrior. There's not a 
challenge to be had in fighting any of them." 


"Well, you are getting paid, as per our agreement. I've put two 
thousand into your account for the two attacks last week." 

"Well, you are getting paid, as per our agreement. I've put two 
thousand into your account for the two attacks last week." 

"Kren, that is a terrible attitude! An honorable person must always 
keep to the contracts that she has willingly made, even if they become 
unprofitable. If you don't, no one will trust you, and you will surely fail 
in business." 

"I'm sure that you are right. But I still hope that it is all over now." 

"So do I. But what I really wanted to talk to you about is Kodo's credit 
card. I promised you that everything that he had on his person would 
be your property, but Kren, there was a gross billion Ke in his 
account! I cannot imagine how he got so much money! Figures that big 
are normally handled by the dukes, and the other upper nobility, but 
never by a commoner! And to have it in his credit card account, well, it 
simply boggles the imagination!" Bronki said. 

"And this huge sum is mine?" 

"After a fashion. But so massive an amount can't just be transferred 
around without anybody noticing it. I mean, the computers handle most 


of the ordinary transactions without a living person ever knowing about 
them, unless somebody very good with a computer is curious. But this 
much, well, if I transfer it, gongs and horns will be going off in the 
bank's corporate headquarters!" 

of the ordinary transactions without a living person ever knowing about 
them, unless somebody very good with a computer is curious. But this 
much, well, if I transfer it, gongs and horns will be going off in the 
bank's corporate headquarters!" 

"Just who did you have in mind?" Bronki asked. 

"I am told that Duke Dennon, who lost so badly with the Senta Copper 
Mine, is in dire need of money. Perhaps he would have something that 
he could sell me for that amount of money." 

"All Duke Dennon has is a fine army and an impoverished duchy." 

"I have no use for his army, but perhaps he could sell me some land, if 
the price was right, of course. Is it possible that you would know how 
to contact him?" 

"Not directly, but a thousand years ago, I was quite friendly with Sala, 
the person who is now his chief accountant, and we never had a falling 
out. I could talk to her, if you like," she said. 


"Please do so. And if you can pull this off, I will pay you a billion Ke." 

"Please do so. And if you can pull this off, I will pay you a billion Ke." 

"It's bigger than anything you've ever gotten before, and it's all that I'm 
willing to pay. Furthermore, you might not get it in cash, but in some 
other form. Nonetheless, I want you to call your friend this morning. It 
would be best if the money was transferred before anyone knows that 
Kodo is missing, and when he doesn't show up at his college 
tomorrow, they will start asking questions," Kren said. 

"Very well. I'll get right on it. Your knowledge of business seems 
greatly improved." 

"Yes, it appears that I have learned from a master." 

* * * 

Kren found that the main door to Bronki's apartment had been 
replaced with one much stronger, that the outer doors of the guest 
rooms had been reinforced, and that a new security door had been 
added between the guest hallway and the stairwell. He thought it 
reasonable, after all of the attacks that they had endured lately. 

There were a dozen new carpets in the apartment, and the painting that 
had been damaged by his spear had been restored. 


He noticed that the door to the third guest room was open and walked 
in. Brandee was there, putting small amounts of paint on a large piece 
of stretched cloth. She was so intent on what she was doing that she 
didn't notice him at all. Kren, interested, sat down to watch her. 

He noticed that the door to the third guest room was open and walked 
in. Brandee was there, putting small amounts of paint on a large piece 
of stretched cloth. She was so intent on what she was doing that she 
didn't notice him at all. Kren, interested, sat down to watch her. 

Bronki came in and said, "Oh, here you are, Kren. Come, we must 
leave immediately. I'll explain on the way. Bring your credit card and a 
large amount of currency. Put on a fresh robe, and wear a different 
sword than you usually do." 

"What's wrong with my sword?" 

"Nothing, except that it was originally issued by Duke Dennon to one of 
his soldiers, whom you later ate. The duke might take offense at that, 
and we are going to see him now." 

They left with Brandee as oblivious to their departure as she had been 
to their arrival. 

Bronki had booked a private cabin on an express MagFloat train, so 
they could talk without interruptions. 


As soon as the door was closed, Bronki said, "Well, I found out why 
Kodo had so much money in his credit card account. He had organized 
a syndicate to purchase a major tract of land from Duke Dennon. He 
was to have finalized the deal last week, but you killed him the night 
before that happened. Kodo is probably fortunate at this point to be 
dead, because both the duke and the syndicate members have been 
desperately looking for him for a week, now. They assume that he has 
absconded with the money." 

As soon as the door was closed, Bronki said, "Well, I found out why 
Kodo had so much money in his credit card account. He had organized 
a syndicate to purchase a major tract of land from Duke Dennon. He 
was to have finalized the deal last week, but you killed him the night 
before that happened. Kodo is probably fortunate at this point to be 
dead, because both the duke and the syndicate members have been 
desperately looking for him for a week, now. They assume that he has 
absconded with the money." 

"Yes. The duke doesn't care where the money comes from, but he 
desperately needs it. We're stepping into a done deal. Here is a copy 
of the papers we'll be signing. You'd better read them. We should 
arrive in two hours." 

Kren read, fascinated. When he had finished, he was amazed. 

"Duke Dennon is deeding away one-third of his duchy," Kren said. 

"In area, yes. But it's mostly just empty hinterland. There are no cities 
or factories on it, just a few freeholders whose rights you are required 
to respect." 

"If you say so, but this also grants me the rights of both high and low 
justice! I can create a law and then punish anyone I want for breaking 


it! I can do anything that I want on that land! By the terms of these 
agreements, I'm not just buying land, I'm almost being made a duke 
myself!" 

it! I can do anything that I want on that land! By the terms of these 
agreements, I'm not just buying land, I'm almost being made a duke 
myself!" 

"Until some other duke decided to invade and take it from them." 

"True. But first off, the agreements, while filed with the Bonding 
Authority, are otherwise secret. The rest of the world will think that the 
property still belongs to Duke Dennon, and he has a very fine army. 
Second, you will be paying Dennon an additional gross million Ke a 
year for his protection. If you are attacked, he will come to your aid, or 
you won't be there to pay him his gross million next year. It also keeps 
him from attacking you, for the same reason." 

"Kodo was a remarkable business man," Kren said. "This is an amazing 
deal!" 

"It's also the only deal in town. Neither the syndicate nor the duke has 
reported Kodo missing as yet, but you can be sure that his college will 
tomorrow. The papers must be signed, the money transferred, and the 
Bonding Authority paid today. Otherwise, this credit card will become 
just a piece of plastic and Kodo's fortune will be in probate." 


"Where am I supposed to have gotten this kind of money? Surely, the 
duke will be curious!" 

"Where am I supposed to have gotten this kind of money? Surely, the 
duke will be curious!" 

"If you say so. The only part I don't understand is why the duke won't 
know that we are using Kodo's credit card." 

"He won't know because his chief accountant, my friend Sala, will 
handle the transaction, and she won't tell him," Bronki said. 

"And why won't she tell him?" 

"Because you will be paying her a billion Ke not to." 

"The amounts called for in these contracts will take almost every Ke in 
Kodo's credit card account. I don't have another billion Ke," Kren said. 


"No, but I do, partner." 

"No, but I do, partner." 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY 


Different Folks, Different Strokes 
New Yugoslavia, 2212 a.d. 


Our new ally, Bellor, had been talking with the professor for over three 
months, and apparently, things were happening. 

The most obvious thing to me was that a large, portable swimming pool 
had been set up in my garage. It contained a pleasant grotto where 
Bellor spent half of his time, and a spigot that dispensed the industrial 
strength booze that he preferred. 

Agnieshka said that thermal imaging of the energy he generated 
suggested that he was metabolizing only six percent of what he drank, 
and chemical tests said that none of it was getting out into the garage, 
yet he didn't seem to be gaining any mass. He had been repeatedly 
asked about this, but he politely sidestepped the questions, and nobody 
wanted to press him too hard about it. 

The Tellefontu refugees on New Yugoslavia had made it several 


hundred light-years from their home planet, but they didn't know if 
other fleeing groups had gotten to other places in Human Space. Some 
ninety-six of their diplomats had been sent to forty-eight human planets 
where their species might possibly have settled. It was expected to take 
years before these emissaries came back to make their reports. Each 
pair had an entire planet to search. 

hundred light-years from their home planet, but they didn't know if 
other fleeing groups had gotten to other places in Human Space. Some 
ninety-six of their diplomats had been sent to forty-eight human planets 
where their species might possibly have settled. It was expected to take 
years before these emissaries came back to make their reports. Each 
pair had an entire planet to search. 

This would have raised eyebrows, except that the Tellefontu's first gift 
to us, the "ray gun that made things disappear," had been built in a 
prototype lab on New Kashubia. Soon, people were just calling it the 
"Disappearing Gun." 

The professor himself wasn't too clear as to how and why it worked, 
but it did work. Our new allies kept explaining the basic principles 
again and again, ever more slowly. 

On the other hand, the crabs were equally confused by our 
Hassan-Smith transporters. Our physicists said that our allies just 
couldn't grasp the basic principles. 

Hell, I couldn't, either. 


Our two races just looked at the universe differently, was all that I 
could figure out. Nonetheless, they could give us working plans for 
things that worked. And that was enough, in my book. Our smart boys 
would figure it all out eventually. After all, it took us a whole generation 
before many of us could understand Einstein. 

Our two races just looked at the universe differently, was all that I 
could figure out. Nonetheless, they could give us working plans for 
things that worked. And that was enough, in my book. Our smart boys 
would figure it all out eventually. After all, it took us a whole generation 
before many of us could understand Einstein. 

I had been assuming that the neutron bombs that the Mitchegai used 
were similar to the neutron bombs that had been developed on Earth 
centuries ago. This would mean that with a bit of warning, if I could fill 
the lowest level of the Loway transportation system with air, and get 
the entire population down there, I could keep them alive. 

The specifications for the Mitchegai bombs that our crabby friends had 
given us suggested that we were off by a factor of about thirty. Their 
bombs could instantly destroy everything alive, be it electronic or 
biological, down to a depth of five hundred meters. And it wasn't realy 
safe unless you had at least three kilometers of dirt and rock above 
your head. 

"Agnieshka, you and your sisters have a really big job to do. We are 
going to need a set of fallout shelters dug at least three kilometers 
down, and big enough to hold everybody on this planet, biological and 
electronic. They are going to need food, water and oxygen supplies to 
last them for at least two years, while we figure out a way to fight the 


enemy on the surface. And if we are going to keep the humans sane, 
we will need something for them to do down there, and some sort of 
entertainment. We will also have to make provisions for the Tellefontu. 
Get our technical people on it ASAP, and let me see what they come 
up with." 

enemy on the surface. And if we are going to keep the humans sane, 
we will need something for them to do down there, and some sort of 
entertainment. We will also have to make provisions for the Tellefontu. 
Get our technical people on it ASAP, and let me see what they come 
up with." 

"Not exactly, but it has definitely become a low priority item. Sorry 
about that, but equality won't do you guys any good at all if none of us 
are alive." 

"Yes, sir." 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Duke Dennon 


Sala met them at the Capital Train Station and said, "Bronki! It's so 
nice to see you again after so long! And this must be Kren, the athlete 
that we've all been watching so avidly on the sports casts! You know, 
the duke is a fan of yours. I think that he is secretly delighted to be 
working with you on this matter, and not that horrid Kodo person. 
Well, do you have it with you?" 

Sala met them at the Capital Train Station and said, "Bronki! It's so 
nice to see you again after so long! And this must be Kren, the athlete 
that we've all been watching so avidly on the sports casts! You know, 
the duke is a fan of yours. I think that he is secretly delighted to be 
working with you on this matter, and not that horrid Kodo person. 
Well, do you have it with you?" 

"Then we'll go directly to my office and take care of that first," Sala 
said, leading the way. 

As he followed, Kren noticed that while Sala's clothing was of the finest 
quality, it was slightly worn and the hem was tattered. This 
shabby-genteel impression was reinforced as they got to the nearby 
ducal palace. It was certainly a fine, ancient building, built for defense 
as well as for beauty, but as they walked up the long hallways, he 
couldn't help noticing that the carpets were worn, and that the curtains 
were faded. Many thousands of years had gone by since any of it had 
been replaced. 

Only the red and lavender uniform cloaks of the soldiers on guard duty 
looked crisp and new, though made of a rough, sturdy and warm cloth. 
Drab, camouflaged military clothing is only useful if your enemy has 
long range-weapons. Otherwise, bright colors are better for morale and 
unit identification. 

The guards' weapons, while undecorated, were all of the finest quality. 


In Sala's large but well-worn office, she said, "First, we have to make 
sure that this credit card still works. I mean, I trust you, Bronki, but 
anything could have happened in the eight days since you got this thing." 

In Sala's large but well-worn office, she said, "First, we have to make 
sure that this credit card still works. I mean, I trust you, Bronki, but 
anything could have happened in the eight days since you got this thing." 

"Quite right." Sala inserted the card into a machine on her desk. "It 
seems to be all right. Yes, the full amount has been transferred to the 
duke's private account." 

Kren was about to be outraged about having spent his money without 
having anything in writing, but Bronki told him to relax. Everything 
would be just fine. 

"This card is now empty?" Bronki asked. 

"There's less than a gross Ke left in it," Sala said. 

"Then we'd best dispose of it," Bronki said, lighting the plastic card on 
fire and watching it burn in a ceramic waste container. The odor would 
have been offensive to a human, but the Mitchegai have almost no 
sense of smell. 


"Now then," Sala said. "There was a certain sum due to me?" 

"Now then," Sala said. "There was a certain sum due to me?" 

"I suppose that I do. Well, shall we go see Duke Dennon?" 

It was perhaps the last fine day of autumn, and the duke elected to 
meet his guests on the fighting top of his personal tower. 

Kren thought that Duke Dennon looked very tired, or that perhaps that 
he had been under extreme stress for a long time. 

While the duke had a more elaborate helmet than his guards, he wore 
the same rough military cloak and the same practical but high-quality 
sword that his soldiers did. Kren was glad to be wearing a different 
sword of slightly lesser quality, if better outward appearance. 

Sala greeted the duke in the aristocratic language of Beno, which Kren 
understood somewhat, but in which he did not feel confident speaking. 
The duke was informed that the money, a gross billion Ke, had been 
transferred to his personal account, and that the transaction had been 
verified. 


The lines of tension drained off of Duke Dennon's face, and he took a 
more relaxed stance. 

The lines of tension drained off of Duke Dennon's face, and he took a 
more relaxed stance. 

Sala introduced Bronki and Kren, who bowed in the manner that they 
had rehearsed on the train. 

"Kren, I have looked forward to meeting you since I saw you win the 
fencing competition at your first meet. Oh, how I wish I had bet on that 
one! I immediately phoned in a wager on the accuracy throw, to my 
considerable profit!" Because of their academic garb, the duke said it in 
Keno, the academic language, which he was not truly fluent in. 

"I am glad to have been the instrument of your good fortune, but I 
never dreamed that I would have the honor of meeting you personally, 
Your Grace," Kren answered in Meno, the military language. 

The duke smiled and answered in fluent Meno, "So, you have a military 
background! Excellent! It's always pleasant to talk with a former 
soldier. You always know exactly where you stand. Who did you serve 
under?" 

Among the Mitchegai, loyalty, when it existed at all, was always on a 
personal basis, and never to a territory, or to a group, or to a 


philosophy. And certainly not to a religion, because the Mitchegai had 
no such thing. 

philosophy. And certainly not to a religion, because the Mitchegai had 
no such thing. 

Duke Mo's estates were on the opposite side of the planet. Since the 
upper nobility rarely felt safe away from their estates, Kren hoped that 
the two hadn't met. 

"Duke Mo is said to have an excellent army. Is that where you learned 
to use the javelin and the épée?" 

"I learned how to handle the spear and the sword there, Your Grace. I 
learned the ways of the javelin and the épée at the university. Duke 
Mo's army was equipped much like your own, but I think perhaps with 
weapons of slightly lesser quality," Kren said. 

"You have a good eye for weapons, then. I thought that I saw you 
admiring my own sword. It takes a master to recognize a true Kanto 
blade when it is still in the sheath!" The duke drew his sword to show 
off the watering on the blade. "It's not fancy, but the blade is the finest 
quality available anywhere, with twelve foldings in the forging process. 
Every one of my soldiers has one just like it. Here, take it. It's a gift to 
honor this great occasion, to mark the beginning of a long-lasting 
association. Perhaps eventually, even a friendship." 


"I'm deeply honored, Your Grace," Kren said, going down on one 
knee to accept the sword, as Bronki had schooled him. "I only wish 
that I could give you an equal gift in return." 

"I'm deeply honored, Your Grace," Kren said, going down on one 
knee to accept the sword, as Bronki had schooled him. "I only wish 
that I could give you an equal gift in return." 

"If it is possible that I know something that you do not, then certainly," 
Kren said, standing and slipping his new sword under his white outer 
belt, in the proper, edge-up fashion. Concealing a sword under your 
cloak required carrying it vertically. 

"I believe that you know which event you are going to win at, next 
Saturday. I have been studying the patterns of your wins. After your 
first meet, at each event, you have won at one and only one of the 
events that you are outstanding at. The reasons why a perfect athlete 
would do such a thing are obvious. I want to know which one you will 
win at next." 

"Your Grace, I am not the perfect athlete that you claim me to be. I can 
make no prediction with absolute certainty. But with that understood, 
well, I'm putting my money on the fencing competition, or at least such 
money that I have left, after today's purchase." 

"Thank you. It is possible that I will make a small wager as well. Next, 
I want to see you throw a spear in person. You know, on television, 
your throwing form bears an uncanny resemblance to a very fine young 


officer and athlete that I used to have in my army." 

officer and athlete that I used to have in my army." 

"Yes, Droko went missing while on guard duty, a year or two ago. 
Nobody could ever figure out what happened to her. But anyway, 
Lorka, lend him your spear," he said to one of his guards. 

"I'm not used to throwing from such a height, Your Grace . . ." 

"Two 'Your Graces' per conversation are sufficient, Kren. Just take the 
spear and see how close you can come to that large juvenal down 
there," Dennon said, pointing with his sword. 

The juvenal was so far away that the only possibility of hitting her was 
with a running throw. Kren doffed his academic cloak along with his 
well-filled pouch and both of his swords. He hefted the borrowed 
spear, took the three standard running steps, and let fly from the top of 
the tower. The problem was that the battlements kept him from seeing 
his target as he was throwing. Standing at them, he watched the spear 
fly, and he saw that he would miss. The spear caught the juvenal in the 
tail, pinned the tail to the ground, and caused her to run around in 
circles in a most comical fashion. 

Everyone but Kren laughed. 


"Ha ha ha! Oh! That was funny!" The duke laughed, "But Kren, it was 
also a perfect throw. I was watching from the battlements here. The 
juvenal moved just as you started your run, but you couldn't see her 
from where you were. You hit exactly where she had been standing! 
Had she remained where she was, I think your spear would have gone 
straight through her neck. That was truly amazing! Your style is much 
like Droko's, but she could never have made that throw!" 

"Ha ha ha! Oh! That was funny!" The duke laughed, "But Kren, it was 
also a perfect throw. I was watching from the battlements here. The 
juvenal moved just as you started your run, but you couldn't see her 
from where you were. You hit exactly where she had been standing! 
Had she remained where she was, I think your spear would have gone 
straight through her neck. That was truly amazing! Your style is much 
like Droko's, but she could never have made that throw!" 

"Lorka, go down, and have the mess attendants take that juvenal for 
distribution to the soldiers. Then bring back your spear and present it to 
Kren, here, in honor of that throw. You can draw another one for 
yourself from stores. And get me another sword while you're down 
there." 

The duke picked up the decorated sword that Kren had brought with 
him. He drew the blade from the richly engraved scabbard and studied 
the watering. He judged it to be acceptable, for a civilian. 

"Is this what Duke Mo issues to his soldiers?" 

"No, I had to leave my weapons behind when I left his service. That's 
the best that I could find in Dren." 

"And why did you leave the services of Duke Mo?" 


"Because my duke had gone over two dozen years without a war," 
Kren said, remembering what he had read in his current history class. 
"Things had gotten dull, and promotions had come to an absolute stop." 

"Because my duke had gone over two dozen years without a war," 
Kren said, remembering what he had read in his current history class. 
"Things had gotten dull, and promotions had come to an absolute stop." 

"Drugs? No, certainly not!" Kren said, "There are plenty of honorable 
ways to make a decent living. But I don't actually have the land, yet. 
There is a matter of signing and registering certain papers . . . ?" 

"Right you are! Sala, have the papers brought up to the table here, and 
we'll get on with it right now." Turning back to Kren, he said, "But what 
are your plans?" 

What were his plans! A strange feeling came over Kren. While it was 
doubtless a result of the brain segments that he had taken from Kodo, 
still reorganizing themselves in his head, it seemed to him to be a flash 
of enlightenment, as if his whole future was now laid out in front of him. 
It was astonishing, but it also left him somewhat confused. Fortunately, 
the liar he had once eaten came to his rescue, and he ad libbed until his 
thoughts started to crystallize about him. 

"You will understand that I didn't hear about your offer until this 
morning, and I will have to make a thorough survey of the property 


before I can be sure of anything. But I have dreamed of owning a large 
tract of land for many years, and I have had many thoughts. If the land 
I'm buying is like similar areas that I have studied, its current economic 
function is simply to be a place where juvenals wander into, become 
larger and fatter, and then wander out of, to be eaten elsewhere. No 
one is making a profit off of it. Currently, at the University of Dren, the 
average juvenal sells for almost three dozen Ke." 

before I can be sure of anything. But I have dreamed of owning a large 
tract of land for many years, and I have had many thoughts. If the land 
I'm buying is like similar areas that I have studied, its current economic 
function is simply to be a place where juvenals wander into, become 
larger and fatter, and then wander out of, to be eaten elsewhere. No 
one is making a profit off of it. Currently, at the University of Dren, the 
average juvenal sells for almost three dozen Ke." 

"Yes. The method of collecting them is rather inefficient. Individual 
hunters, often impoverished students, go out and bring back one or two 
at a time. I think that if I set up an efficient system of collection, 
transportation, and distribution, the profits could be large." 

"That is very interesting. You seem to be a remarkably creative person, 
Kren." 

"Am I? It seemed only common sense to me." 

"Well, in hindsight, yes. But to have the foresight to see it, well, that is 
something else. But the papers are here. Shall we sign them?" 

"By all means!" 


As soon as all copies were signed and witnessed, Bronki and Sala 
collected them up. 

As soon as all copies were signed and witnessed, Bronki and Sala 
collected them up. 

"But I was enjoying my conversation with Kren," the duke said. "You 
two go and get everything properly registered with the Bonding 
Authority. You can come back for him in two-thirds of an hour. They'll 
hold the train if I request it." 

"Yes, Your Grace," Sala said, taking Bronki with her. 

"Now then, tell me more about your plans," the duke said. 

"Well, if the collection and distribution of juvenals goes well, and 
proves profitable, I plan to extend my sales organization out into other 
nearby cities, until I start reaching the limit of what my land can 
sustainably provide." 

"And then you will need more land." 

"Perhaps," Kren said. "But that would be expensive, and there might be 
ways to increase the yield of what I already own. Academic studies of 


grass have shown that walking on it injures it. It must expend energy to 
repair the damage to its roots, energy that could otherwise be spent on 
growth. Juvenals outnumber adults by more than a gross to one. Thus, 
the total damage done by adults is small. Theoretical studies suggest 
that growth could be doubled if juvenals could be kept off of it, and this 
is verified by the yields of grass sequestered for the production of long 
grass." 

grass have shown that walking on it injures it. It must expend energy to 
repair the damage to its roots, energy that could otherwise be spent on 
growth. Juvenals outnumber adults by more than a gross to one. Thus, 
the total damage done by adults is small. Theoretical studies suggest 
that growth could be doubled if juvenals could be kept off of it, and this 
is verified by the yields of grass sequestered for the production of long 
grass." 

"Not quite. Long grass is high in cellulose and low in proteins. It is not 
the best possible feed. But if large hovercraft could be built to mow the 
grass every week or so, and this could be fed to penned juvenals, I 
think that production would more than double. The actual cost of 
mowing is still unknown, of course. Just how profitable this system 
would be would have to be seen." 

"Yes, yes. But why do you say, more than doubled?" Dennon asked. 

"Because the juvenals would have nothing to do now but eat, sleep, 
and grow. They wouldn't have to expend much of their energy moving 
around. We could feed them only at night, perhaps, and let them lie in 
the sun all day. Furthermore, they might prove to be much better eating, 
with more tender meat and more fat." 

"This is truly a remarkable program, and I wish you well with it. I will 
be watching you carefully, and who knows, someday I might try 


something like this myself." 

something like this myself." 

"A sensible attitude. Do you have further thoughts?" 

"A few, but they will be done many years in the future, if ever. I wonder 
if it would be practical to grow grass under fusion-powered lights in a 
building. The power itself is fairly cheap, and indoors, with constant, 
optimal lighting two dozen hours a day, with perfect fertilization, and 
perfect watering, with no winters or cloudy days, well, I think that it 
might be possible to produce at least a dozen times as much grass per 
square yard as you would get outdoors. And when you consider that a 
building could be easily built with two dozen stories, well, perhaps I 
might never need any more land." 

"That would take a massive, long-term investment, but in the long run, 
why, it would permit our population to grow by a factor of two gross!" 
Duke Dennon said. 

"And therein lies the profit." 

"I am fascinated! Did you have any further thoughts?" 


"Only one. It is that we have been selectively breeding our own species 
for millions of years. Not always consciously, of course, but when we 
are ready for resurrection, we always pick the best body that we can 
get, and these are the bodies that make the next generation of eggs and 
sperm. We have been breeding for perfect adults, and I think that the 
results have been excellent. Certainly, I wouldn't want to change that. 
But we have not been breeding for perfect juvenals. We have not 
considered that with further selective breeding, we could turn out 
juvenals who matured quicker, who needed less food, and who tasted 
better. I wonder what could be accomplished along these lines." 

"Only one. It is that we have been selectively breeding our own species 
for millions of years. Not always consciously, of course, but when we 
are ready for resurrection, we always pick the best body that we can 
get, and these are the bodies that make the next generation of eggs and 
sperm. We have been breeding for perfect adults, and I think that the 
results have been excellent. Certainly, I wouldn't want to change that. 
But we have not been breeding for perfect juvenals. We have not 
considered that with further selective breeding, we could turn out 
juvenals who matured quicker, who needed less food, and who tasted 
better. I wonder what could be accomplished along these lines." 

"My mind boggles, Kren. I see that our assistants are returning, and 
that you will soon have to leave. I would like to see you again, though, 
perhaps for a weekend?" 

"I regret that I must study through the week, and play sports on most 
weekends." 

"But we both know your schedule. In three weeks, the University of 
Dren won't be playing for one weekend. Come visit me then." 

"With great pleasure, Your Grace." 

Back | Next 


Contents 

Contents 
O 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Selling Shares in Children 

The duke's guard, Lorka, met them on the stairway and presented 
Kren with the spear he had used earlier. Kren and Bronki talked only 
of ordinary things until they were in their cabin on the train. It took off 
immediately after they got aboard, since they really had been holding 
the train for them. This was something that the MagFloat Corporation 
did not like to do, but one does not argue with a duke. 

"What happened between you and the duke while I was gone?" Bronki 
asked. 

"Something very strange. He asked me what my plans were for the land 
he was selling me, and I had a most amazing burst of creativity, 
something which has never happened to me before. Well, I have done 
original things in the past, or at least things which I thought were original 
at the time. Originality is easy when you are ignorant of what has 
happened before. I deduced that by eating juvenal brain tissue, I could 
improve my studying, for example, and I came up with a novel way to 


bring six juvenals, who were each almost as big as I am, back to what 
is now my house. But those things were trivial compared to what 
happened to me today." 

bring six juvenals, who were each almost as big as I am, back to what 
is now my house. But those things were trivial compared to what 
happened to me today." 

"I suddenly saw a whole lifetime of research laid out in front of me, 
research the results of which could easily make me the most important 
person on the entire planet," Kren said. 

Kren explained the whole program to Bronki, in more detail than he 
had explained to Duke Dennon, and not suppressing his thoughts on 
breeding superior soldiers. 

"This body I got in the mines is obviously far better than the usual one. 
The duke said that I was better with a spear than the soldier that I had 
eaten, the one who gave me my skills with a spear in the first place. I 
seem to be stronger, much faster, and much more accurate than anyone 
else on the planet. I suspect that it might have something to do with the 
nerves. As soon as possible, we must build a structure where my 
offspring can be kept and secretly nurtured. If whatever this body has 
breeds true, think of the army that I'll have!" 

"And where will you get the females to perform this experiment with?" 


"There are plenty of fine female athletes at the university. Some of them 
might have some of the same genes that make me so good. I need only 
invite a dozen of them over to some secluded place for a dinner, a 
victory party perhaps, a few times every year. I will personally clean 
the place very thoroughly before they arrive, make sure that no one else 
but me, my athletic friends, and some juvenals are there in the interim, 
and then I will vacuum the whole place carefully after they leave, using 
new vacuum bags. I will distribute the fertilized eggs on new grown 
grass inside a closed building with suitable growing lights. The grubs will 
be kept separate, and when their time comes, they will become 
well-fed pollywogs in their own tank. The juvenals will be carefully 
nurtured on grass grown under artificial lights. Then, once the first 
generation has grown, my own daughters would be suitable egg layers. 
After a few more generations, the offspring would be genetically very 
like me." 

"There are plenty of fine female athletes at the university. Some of them 
might have some of the same genes that make me so good. I need only 
invite a dozen of them over to some secluded place for a dinner, a 
victory party perhaps, a few times every year. I will personally clean 
the place very thoroughly before they arrive, make sure that no one else 
but me, my athletic friends, and some juvenals are there in the interim, 
and then I will vacuum the whole place carefully after they leave, using 
new vacuum bags. I will distribute the fertilized eggs on new grown 
grass inside a closed building with suitable growing lights. The grubs will 
be kept separate, and when their time comes, they will become 
well-fed pollywogs in their own tank. The juvenals will be carefully 
nurtured on grass grown under artificial lights. Then, once the first 
generation has grown, my own daughters would be suitable egg layers. 
After a few more generations, the offspring would be genetically very 
like me." 

"True, but we will be carefully testing all of the offspring, and culling 
anything inferior. We'll just sell the substandard ones for food. That will 
clean the gene pool in a few generations." 

"Or we could always eat them ourselves." 

"Yes, that might be best, in case someone finds out what we're doing. 
We wouldn't want anything superior to get into someone else's army," 
Kren said. 


"Kren, to come up with so much, all at once, well, it's simply 
unprecedented. I've never heard of anything else like this ever 
happening before. There's nothing like it in the literature. But, you 
know, the literature on vampires is very limited, for obvious reasons. 
Those who do this sort of thing aren't likely to write scholarly reports 
about it." 

"Kren, to come up with so much, all at once, well, it's simply 
unprecedented. I've never heard of anything else like this ever 
happening before. There's nothing like it in the literature. But, you 
know, the literature on vampires is very limited, for obvious reasons. 
Those who do this sort of thing aren't likely to write scholarly reports 
about it." 

Bronki said, "And if that is true, then you and I are treading on very 
dangerous ground." 

"The world is a very dangerous place. But if we wish to climb to the 
top of it, we must be prepared to take some risks." 

"Very well, then. I wish you the very best of luck in your endeavor." 

Kren was not about to let Bronki bow out and leave him without her 
expertise and advice. 

"We will, of course, be very cautious and very secretive until we are 


very powerful. You have called yourself my partner. If that is so, I will 
be expecting some help from you," Kren said. "First off, I want to form 
a corporation to own and develop the land that we have bought this 
day. Since you have formed many corporations in the past, I want you 
to handle this one for us. You will issue shares with a par value of one 
million Ke each to me for my contribution of a gross billion Ke, and to 
you for the billion Ke that you have earned as a commission for putting 
this deal together, and for the billion Ke paid by you to your friend Sala 
in the form of a bribe." 

very powerful. You have called yourself my partner. If that is so, I will 
be expecting some help from you," Kren said. "First off, I want to form 
a corporation to own and develop the land that we have bought this 
day. Since you have formed many corporations in the past, I want you 
to handle this one for us. You will issue shares with a par value of one 
million Ke each to me for my contribution of a gross billion Ke, and to 
you for the billion Ke that you have earned as a commission for putting 
this deal together, and for the billion Ke paid by you to your friend Sala 
in the form of a bribe." 

"That seems excessive!" 

"They are guaranteeing the performance of both parties to the 
agreement. That means that if Duke Dennon reneges, then the Bonding 
Authority might have to go to war with him to ensure compliance," 
Bronki said. "Considering the quality of Dennon's army and the cost of 
wars, two dozen million seems very reasonable." 

"Oh, very well. Anyway, it has already been paid. Set us up with a 
corporate bank account, as well. Two signatures will be required on 
every check, one of which must be mine." 

"I will file the paperwork for the corporation this evening, and take care 
of the bank in the morning. What would you like to call it?" 


"I think that something very ordinary sounding would be best," Kren 
said. "We'll call it the Superior Food Corporation. And voting by the 
board of directors will be in proportion to the number of shares that 
they own, not one person, one vote." 

"I think that something very ordinary sounding would be best," Kren 
said. "We'll call it the Superior Food Corporation. And voting by the 
board of directors will be in proportion to the number of shares that 
they own, not one person, one vote." 

"When did I ever claim to be a democrat?" 

Bronki had only paid to Sala the half billion Ke that the accountant had 
requested. Duke Dennon had an outstanding credit rating, despite his 
current financial problems, since for thousands of years, he had 
honored all of his contracts and paid all of his debts. Because of this, 
the total fees required by the Bonding Authority had been only twelve 
million. Bronki thought that the stock that she would be issued would 
be quite acceptable. Anyway, it looked like an interesting operation, 
and being a world leader might be fun. 

When they got home, Kren called Dol to his sitting room and explained 
everything that happened, and all of his thoughts for the future. 

"So you see, we are going to need your engineering expertise on a 
number of projects." Kren said, "We are going to need a large 
grass-mowing and collecting machine. We are going to need several 
large experimental buildings. We are going to need an efficient system 
of sedating and boxing up juvenals for shipment. But the first thing that 


we are going to need is a fence that goes around the entire property, 
one that lets juvenals enter, but stops them from leaving." 

we are going to need is a fence that goes around the entire property, 
one that lets juvenals enter, but stops them from leaving." 

"I know that, and our fences will have those openings. Here, look." 

Kren took a sheet of grass paper and drew a vertical line of half circles 
on it, with the concave sides to the left and the convex to the right, and 
with the wingtips almost but not quite touching. 

) 
) 
) 
) 
) 
) 

"Kodo once read a study on the migration patterns of juvenals," he 
said. "When they come to an obstacle, like a fence, and they want to 
get to the other side, they follow along it. When the fence ends, they 
just keep on walking in the direction that they have been going, having 
apparently forgotten why they were following it in the first place. Now, 


when a juvenal comes to the convex side of one of these semicircles, 
she will follow along the fence until she comes to one of the openings, 
and then she will go through. But if she comes to the concave side of a 
semicircle, she will follow it around until it turns her back in the 
direction that she was coming from, and she will walk right back into 
the middle of our field. Since there are two gross yards between the 
openings, and the openings are only a yard wide, only once in two 
gross times will she happen to come directly to the opening without 
hitting the fence first." 

when a juvenal comes to the convex side of one of these semicircles, 
she will follow along the fence until she comes to one of the openings, 
and then she will go through. But if she comes to the concave side of a 
semicircle, she will follow it around until it turns her back in the 
direction that she was coming from, and she will walk right back into 
the middle of our field. Since there are two gross yards between the 
openings, and the openings are only a yard wide, only once in two 
gross times will she happen to come directly to the opening without 
hitting the fence first." 

"It seems to satisfy the letter of the law, if not the spirit of it," Dol said. 
"Are you absolutely positive that this will work?" 

"Absolutely? No, but I think that it would be worthwhile to build a few 
dozen miles of it, and see." 

"Well then, I will see about getting your property surveyed, and I'll get 
some prices together on various kinds of fencing. I consider this sort of 
work to come under our agreement, so I won't be charging you 
anything for my time. But tell me, this Superior Food Corporation of 
yours. Can anybody buy stock in it? Me, for example?" 

"We will need all the capital we can get, and your funds are certainly 
welcome," Kren said. "Our long-range plans must remain a secret, 


however." 

however." 

"See Bronki about it. She's setting up the corporation right now." 

"Very well. I wonder what sort of a commission she's going to charge 
me," Dol said. 

"You will tell her that I said that the price was a million Ke a share, and 
that's what you will be paying. I know that Bronki loves to snatch every 
Ke she can get her claws on, but the fact is that it is generally more 
profitable to do business with her than without her." 

"I didn't realize that you were aware of what she was doing." 

"I'm not a complete fool," Kren said. "Sometimes it's amusing to watch 
her operate. She just stole more than a half billion Ke from me today, 
but since she is getting it in stock, and I don't plan to declare a dividend 
for a very long time, if ever, then it really doesn't make much of a 
difference, does it?" 

Dol decided that if dividends would not be forthcoming in the 
foreseeable future, buying one share would be sufficient. That would 
get her on the board of directors, since it wasn't likely that anyone else 


would buy shares in a secret corporation at a million Ke each. 

would buy shares in a secret corporation at a million Ke each. 

"Have the corporate papers been filed?" he asked. 

"Yes, and here's a printout of them. We should get approval on them 
by tomorrow afternoon." 

"Very good. The next thing that we must think about is the sales 
organization. Dren is the closest major city to my lands, so we should 
start selling here. We will need a factory outlet near the train station, 
and it must be on the underground walkway system, because of the 
large volumes of juvenals we will be handling. On the walkways, we 
can use electric wheeled trucks, for delivery to the store, and manual 
wheeled carts for delivery to our customers, rather than having to carry 
them. 

"At the store, we will need a front desk for walk-in business, an office 
to handle the phone-in business, a large storage area for our 
merchandise, and I think a display area for those who wish to pick a 
particularly pretty child for a special party. These will be at a premium 
price, of course. 

"It might be profitable to sell accessories as well. Knives, branding 
irons, party tables, and so on. Then we must think about advertising, 


what our budget should be, which media we will use, and who will 
handle it for us. Or we might try doing that ourselves, since it will be a 
while getting our production volume up, and we don't want more 
customers than we have product to sell. 

what our budget should be, which media we will use, and who will 
handle it for us. Or we might try doing that ourselves, since it will be a 
while getting our production volume up, and we don't want more 
customers than we have product to sell. 

"That sounds all fine and good, but just how much space do you think 
that this first outlet will require?" Bronki asked. 

"I don't know. Probably not much at first, but with expanding sales, it 
could eventually be quite large." 

"That's not much to go on. But look, the entire bottom floor of this 
building is on the level of the walkway system, and we aren't all that far 
from the train station. The nearest commercial outlet is only four dozen 
yards away, and the entire floor is currently being used for storage. If 
you were willing to pay commercial rates, I could have a door and 
window cut out to the walkway, and we could put in a small store. 
Then, as business expanded, you could rent more space, and I would 
again have it refurbished, but again at commercial rates." 

"Why couldn't I just rent the storage space, and fix it up on my own?" 
Kren asked. 


"You could, and you are welcome to. You can deal with the architects 
and the construction contractors yourself, in your copious spare time, 
and you can get all of the city permits on your own. There will be more 
than four dozen of them required. Then, of course, there will be the 
electrical company, the waste disposal company, the water company, 
and the phone company to deal with. If you wish to hire employees, 
there are nine different branches of the city government that you must 
make arrangements with. And there are probably at least a dozen other 
things that I am forgetting about just now." 

"You could, and you are welcome to. You can deal with the architects 
and the construction contractors yourself, in your copious spare time, 
and you can get all of the city permits on your own. There will be more 
than four dozen of them required. Then, of course, there will be the 
electrical company, the waste disposal company, the water company, 
and the phone company to deal with. If you wish to hire employees, 
there are nine different branches of the city government that you must 
make arrangements with. And there are probably at least a dozen other 
things that I am forgetting about just now." 

"If you can bring them in to the train station, and sell them to me on the 
dock for two dozen Ke each, I'll take care of everything else. I'm 
talking about first-quality merchandise, you understand. Deal?" Bronki 
said. 

"You'll take everything that we can send you?" 

"Within reason. Say, increases of no more that three parts per gross 
per week, unless mutually agreed upon." 

"Well, okay, but only for the City of Dren, and only for a twelve-year 
period. Anything more will have to be negotiated," Kren said. 

"When can I get my first shipment?" 


"Tentatively, in about four weeks. Shall we say a thousand children the 
first week?" 

"Tentatively, in about four weeks. Shall we say a thousand children the 
first week?" 

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Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 


Perpetual Motion, Type Two 
New Yugoslavia, 2212 a.d. 


Our designers and architects had the preliminary designs done for a 
system of fallout shelters three kilometers down, and big enough to hold 
the entire population of the planet of New Yugoslavia. 

To get the people down there in the simplest, fastest and most 
foolproof way, they had settled on cutting spiraling tubes down into the 
bedrock and lining them with polished metal. The faster you went 
down, the harder that centrifugal force pushed you against the outer 
wall. The added friction slowed you down, some. It was a blindingly 


simple speed control device, the kind of engineering I like. Also, a 
penetrating bit of radiation couldn't follow the curve, so it helped there, 
too. 

simple speed control device, the kind of engineering I like. Also, a 
penetrating bit of radiation couldn't follow the curve, so it helped there, 
too. 

Actually, the plans had been done two weeks ago, but then my wife, a 
lovely mother of four fine sons, intelligent, caring and ungodly greedy, 
got into the act. Now, in addition to barrack space for everybody, with 
public latrines, communal chow halls and food that might satisfy a 
chinese coolie, there were two more, deeper sets of shelters. 

One was for the moderately wealthy, and included private apartments, 
separate bedrooms, private bathrooms, private kitchens, and lots of 
storage space that you could stock with your favorite items. 

The one below it was for the filthy rich, and was really very nice, if you 
could afford it. Kasia's plan was to sell these two posh layers for 
enough to pay for the entire installation. Then, she planned to talk the 
local governments into paying for the barracks, latrines, and chow halls, 
anyway. 

That's my wife. 


We had done other engineering projects on the planet that had required 
a lot of digging, like putting in a planet-wide underground highway 
system. In the past, we had simply flushed the dirt and pulverized 
granite into the oceans. It hadn't caused any ecological damage last 
time, but now we had a major ally living in those oceans, and I felt that 
it was politically advisable to check with them before we did it again. 

We had done other engineering projects on the planet that had required 
a lot of digging, like putting in a planet-wide underground highway 
system. In the past, we had simply flushed the dirt and pulverized 
granite into the oceans. It hadn't caused any ecological damage last 
time, but now we had a major ally living in those oceans, and I felt that 
it was politically advisable to check with them before we did it again. 

"Mickolai! It is so delightful to see you again. What can I do for you, 
my old benefactor?" 

"Well, you can look over these plans for the planet-wide system of 
shelters to protect our people from the Mitchegai, and see if there is 
anything about them that would offend your people. Also, we'd like to 
know what we could do to protect the Tellefontu in case of attack." 

"This is most courteous of you, Mickolai, but as to my own people, 
well, we have already made our own arrangements. When it comes to 
hiding, it is perhaps wise to keep your plans as secret as possible, yes?" 

"Perhaps, but it is also wise not to offend your only ally. If you want to 
keep your own system secret, that's fine by me. But I'd like you to look 
over this stuff, to be sure that we do not offend you. Among other 
things, it involves dumping an awful lot of pulverized granite into the 
oceans that your people live in, and we don't want to cause you 
problems." 


"Indeed? Let me look." 

"Indeed? Let me look." 

"Yes, I see," he said. "Well, with your permission, I have a number of 
suggestions to make." 

"I'd like to hear them, but before that, please tell me what you just did." 

"I simply queried the good professor, and he downloaded the plans to 
me. I found it convenient to grow a data link to him, similar in some 
ways to the inductive mat that you wear under your scalp." 

"Mine had to be surgically implanted," I said. "You just grew yours?" 

"My people have developed that ability, yes. We know how to make 
and use machines, of course, but for many things, it is convenient to 
modify our body structure to do these things more easily. Please don't 
be offended, Mickolai, but yours is a very young race. In a few million 
years, it is quite possible that you will develop such abilities. 


"Now then," he continued. "There is no need to transport the powdered 
granite to the oceans and dump it there. You may use our 
'Disappearing Gun' to simply make the granite disappear. Oh. I see that 
your engineering group has not gotten the plans that I sent to New 
Kashubia. Well, there. They have them now. Next, I see that you have 
a very extensive system of power generators and electrical conductors 
going all over the place. It would be far simpler to simply generate the 
power where it is needed. In a closed system like this, you already 
have plenty of thermal power. Indeed, at three kilometers down, you 
will have a vast surplus of it, and I see that you were planning on an 
extensive air-conditioning system. That would involve a heat plume that 
the Mitchegai would undoubtedly notice." 

"Now then," he continued. "There is no need to transport the powdered 
granite to the oceans and dump it there. You may use our 
'Disappearing Gun' to simply make the granite disappear. Oh. I see that 
your engineering group has not gotten the plans that I sent to New 
Kashubia. Well, there. They have them now. Next, I see that you have 
a very extensive system of power generators and electrical conductors 
going all over the place. It would be far simpler to simply generate the 
power where it is needed. In a closed system like this, you already 
have plenty of thermal power. Indeed, at three kilometers down, you 
will have a vast surplus of it, and I see that you were planning on an 
extensive air-conditioning system. That would involve a heat plume that 
the Mitchegai would undoubtedly notice." 

"And why should that be so? Even with your primitive physics, you 
realize that heat is not a separate form of energy. It is simply mechanical 
energy on a very small scale. The individual atoms and molecules are 
vibrating and sometimes spinning. Their average speed is what you call 
heat. By slowing them down, one can extract useful energy. Surely, this 
is obvious. There are several practical methods of doing this, but I have 
just sent your engineers the plans for a simple light that gets its power 
from ambient heat. They will also need some larger systems to cool the 
housing units you propose, and I have just sent plans for those as well. 
They will have to put some resistive units in the oceans, to get rid of the 
surplus energy, but there are several volcanoes under the sea that will 
hide the heat quite nicely from our enemies. The rest of your plans seem 
workable enough, and I wouldn't want to upset your excellent 
engineers too much in one day. 


"Please tell me," he said, changing the subject. "How soon do you think 
it might be before we can receive the rest of the Everclear you 
promised?" 

"Please tell me," he said, changing the subject. "How soon do you think 
it might be before we can receive the rest of the Everclear you 
promised?" 

"That would be most convenient. But you must please excuse me now, 
as there are several calls waiting." 

I left the plans lying on the floor and went home. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


In Your Face Sports 

The next day in the locker room, the director of Athletics just happened 
to stop Kren and him if he knew who Kodo was. 


"Yes, sir, he is the director of the College of Architecture. Someone 
pointed him out to me once, in a crowd." As always, lying came easily 
to Kren. 

"Yes, sir, he is the director of the College of Architecture. Someone 
pointed him out to me once, in a crowd." As always, lying came easily 
to Kren. 

"No sir, I haven't. But if I do see him, I'll ask him to contact you." 

"No! Don't do that! If you see him, you come straight to me and tell me 
about it." 

"Very good, sir. I will do as you wish." 

Kren walked away, knowing who at least one member of Kodo's 
syndicate had been. After all the athletes that he had skinned alive for 
using drugs, the director had been buying into a drug syndicate. 

If Kren had had any faith in anything, he might have lost some of it then. 
But of course he didn't, so he didn't. 

On the way to the locker room, Kren met a stranger who identified 
herself as Bo, the runner who had been killed at the Death Match at the 
first meet of the year. 


"You took my money, and you didn't perform the services you 
promised!" Bo said. 

"You took my money, and you didn't perform the services you 
promised!" Bo said. 

Bo produced sufficient ID cards to convince Kren. 

"Very well then," Kren said, pulling out his money pouch. "Here is your 
ten thousand Ke." 

"But you got a dozen and nine times that much, when you collected on 
that bet!" 

"So? If I had lost that contest, would you feel that I didn't owe you 
anything at all?" 

"Well, no, of course not, but what you are doing isn't fair!" 

"Bo, I do not understand this 'fair' thing that you talk about. Your 
options are that you can either take what I am offering, or you can fight 
me. Take your pick," Kren said, drawing his sword. 


"You know that I can't fight you!" 

"You know that I can't fight you!" 

Bo took the money and went away. Apparently, her new body wasn't 
that of an athlete. Kren never saw her again. 

Kren returned home to find Dol at work on her new computer, an 
oversized thing with more than the usual number of lights and gadgets. 

While Mitchegai computer hardware was comparatively primitive, their 
programmers had had over a million years to catch up with their 
hardware. Their programs were very efficient, and they could 
accomplish a great deal despite small memories and slow circuits. 
When one of their computers crashed, it was always a hardware 
problem. 

"I've gotten prices in on various forms of fencing, ranging from glazed 
brick, through stainless steel, and down to some galvanized steel mesh 
temporary stuff that's only guaranteed for six dozen years. It's only a 
twelfth the price of good brick, though." 

"Since we don't really know if my design will work yet, and we don't 
know if there will be legal objections to what we have in mind, we 
might as well go with the cheap stuff." 


"My thought exactly, sir. Then, I've gotten in a set of standard survey 
maps for the area, but the most recent are over nine thousand years 
old. The Space Mitchegai had some satellite photos that are less than a 
year old, and I've been comparing the two. There were three new 
houses built lately, or in the last nine millennia, anyway, and an 
additional underground winter housing unit for juvenals, but that's about 
it, that I can see, anyway." 

"My thought exactly, sir. Then, I've gotten in a set of standard survey 
maps for the area, but the most recent are over nine thousand years 
old. The Space Mitchegai had some satellite photos that are less than a 
year old, and I've been comparing the two. There were three new 
houses built lately, or in the last nine millennia, anyway, and an 
additional underground winter housing unit for juvenals, but that's about 
it, that I can see, anyway." 

"There are a dozen and nine units, with an average capacity of just over 
a million juvenals each. I have all of that compiled here for you, sir," 
Dol said, handing him a stack of fan folded computer printouts. 

"You have been very efficient." 

"I don't have to study my homework anymore, and I want to make 
myself indispensable to you, sir, so that I won't be dispensed with. I 
think that this project could make you a world power, and I like the 
idea of being close to a world power." 

"Thank you. How is everything else going?" 

"The gambling situation is not so good. We'd planned on having you 


win the épée tournament on Saturday morning, but the odds on you 
have dropped to a payout of only three for two! Someone has 
apparently bet a huge fortune on you. I suggest that we change the 
plan, and have you win the javelin distance competition instead." 

win the épée tournament on Saturday morning, but the odds on you 
have dropped to a payout of only three for two! Someone has 
apparently bet a huge fortune on you. I suggest that we change the 
plan, and have you win the javelin distance competition instead." 

"I see your point, sir." 

"Right. But don't bet any of our money on fencing. I have another idea. 
Maybe I can win at javelin tennis." 

"The odds against you there are a dozen and one to one. You have 
never won a match, but due to your popularity, well, there are two 
dozen and eight players competing, and if you were only average, the 
odds on you should be two dozen and five to one, when in fact they are 
less than half that. But how will you plan to win at a game that is mostly 
luck?" 

"Pole-vaulting, and taking the luck out of it. I'll let you know for sure, 
Friday afternoon." 


"As you wish, sir. I've been doing a statistical study on the betting 
patterns for your events. Your fame is causing gamblers to bet on you 
in an irrational fashion. It really is a pity that you won both the fencing 
tournament and made a world record at the javelin accuracy event on 
your first time out. It was very profitable at the time, but it's costing us 
money now. So many are betting so much on you that they are bending 
the odds. They are losing more than they are winning by a factor of fully 
one-third." 

"As you wish, sir. I've been doing a statistical study on the betting 
patterns for your events. Your fame is causing gamblers to bet on you 
in an irrational fashion. It really is a pity that you won both the fencing 
tournament and made a world record at the javelin accuracy event on 
your first time out. It was very profitable at the time, but it's costing us 
money now. So many are betting so much on you that they are bending 
the odds. They are losing more than they are winning by a factor of fully 
one-third." 

"Exactly. Since the second meet of the year, they have lost more money 
when they bet on the events that you lose than they have won when you 
win. And I'm including the wagers made by the In Crowd, who are 
making huge profits, along with everybody else, who aren't. Winning 
one event in three, the odds on you should be three to one, or a little 
less than that, after the house takes its cut. But they're not. They're 
more often two to one, or even less. It's a quirk of pari-mutuel betting. 
Your fame is driving down the odds on you, which reduces our 
winnings. When they bet against you, and we decide to win, we get 
their money. When they bet on you, they share in what we take. But I 
don't see what we can do about it." 

"I do," Kren said. "Write up two versions of your study. Do one in 
Keno, or maybe Leno, the scientific language, and make it a properly 
formatted scientific paper. We'll get it out in one of the scientific 
journals. Then write up a simplified, popular version in Deno, and send 
it to all the newspapers and sporting magazines on the planet. Maybe if 
the gamblers learn that what they are doing is stupid, we can get the 
odds on me back up." 


"I'll get right on it, sir. Getting a paper published as an undergraduate 
will be a boost to my academic career." 

"I'll get right on it, sir. Getting a paper published as an undergraduate 
will be a boost to my academic career." 

"That is the usual procedure, sir." 

"Oh." 

* * * 

On Tuesday, Kren dutifully reported to the director, telling him that he 
hadn't seen Kodo, and that he would win the fencing meet on Saturday. 

The director nodded and dismissed him, seeming distracted. He left his 
impressive office early, and was not seen again until the morning of the 
game. 

The temporary coach in charge of javelins had been told to just let 
Kren do whatever he wanted to do, and Kren spent all of his time on 
the tennis singles courts, with a series of hapless opponents. 

Kren's thought was that the reason why he always lost at the sport was 
that he couldn't know where his opponent was. There was a tall brick 
wall cutting the court in half, and any sort of signaling between the 


players and anyone else was strictly forbidden. 

players and anyone else was strictly forbidden. 

What made this maneuver even more difficult was the fact that the rules 
required him to return the throw in under two seconds. 

By Tuesday evening, he had established that the thing was possible, but 
only if everything was perfect. He had to be near the wall, moving in the 
right direction, and on his left foot when he caught the javelin very close 
to the end, but it was possible. 

The Mitchegai have a six-day week. They don't do Wednesday. 

By Thursday night, he knew the strategy he had to use. This was to 
continue lobbing high, easy throws into the middle of the opposing 
court until just the right one came back to him. Then he would 
pole-vault, and nail the javelin into the ground. 

On Friday, he sequentially beat every single member of the Dren 
University javelin team three times each. They all swore themselves to 


secrecy and went out to place their bets. So did Kren, Bronki and Dol. 

secrecy and went out to place their bets. So did Kren, Bronki and Dol. 

They were about to sign a deal with the low bidder when Bronki then 
got into the act, and within an hour managed to get the price reduced 
by one fourth, and got a sizeable kickback for herself from the 
contractor. 

Kren suggested that Bronki use that kickback, when she got it, to buy 
more stock in the corporation. She said that she had been planning to. 

Dol and Kren nodded to each other and signed the new contract. 

On Saturday morning, Kren dutifully went to the opening ceremonies, 
and then participated in the fencing tournament. He won without great 
difficulty. Actually, losing was more work than winning, since he had to 
make losing look realistic. The crowds cheered, but no one came up 
and hugged him. The payoff was too small. But Duke Dennon would 
be happy, or at least not furious with him. 

He did nothing unusual at the team tennis game, and for a change they 
won. 


All of his cash, a gross, a dozen and four million, had been bet on the 
singles javelin tournament, which naturally made him nervous. There 
were many things that could go wrong. 

All of his cash, a gross, a dozen and four million, had been bet on the 
singles javelin tournament, which naturally made him nervous. There 
were many things that could go wrong. 

He was beginning to think that betting everything on a single contest 
wasn't the best way to go. He swore that from this point forward, he 
would never bet more than half of his fortune. But for now, his money 
was already down, and he couldn't change that. 

Kren won the first game surprisingly easily, before he got a chance to 
try his pole-vaulting stunt. He just kept throwing the javelins into the 
center of his opponent's court, and three of them didn't come back. 

The second went well for the first two points, but then he lost two, and 
was beginning to worry before his opponent lobbed one high and near 
the barrier. Kren went into pole-vaulting mode and nailed it into the 
center of his opponent's field, to win the match. The crowd went wild, 
and the judges allowed the point, to Kren's considerable relief. 

The third game went as easy as the first one, but on the fourth, he was 
up against some real competition. He stayed with the program, lobbing 


them back high and easy, and after over two dozen returns, the right 
one came in. Kren pole-vaulted for the point. 

them back high and easy, and after over two dozen returns, the right 
one came in. Kren pole-vaulted for the point. 

The long game was starting to tell on him. Kren was beginning to tire as 
the last game started, and when he finally got a chance to pole-vault, 
there was his opponent, right in plain view, and making an obscene 
gesture at him. 

This involved pointing the two upper fingers of the right hand upward 
with the other four closed, while moving the hand up and down. It 
signified "Up your cloaca!" 

Something told him to get it over with, so instead of nailing the blunt 
javelin into the field, for the point, he threw it hard and straight at his 
gesturing opponent! 

He was behind the wall before he could see it hit, but there was no 
doubt in Kren's mind. It was a perfect head shot. 

Just to be on the safe side, Kren was ready to return the javelin, but it 
never came. He had won. The crowd was cheering enthusiastically, 
beating their left hands on their chests. 


Injuries happened often enough in the game, so the rules were both well 
defined and well known. If the javelin was not out of bounds, it must be 
returned. And if a player was not able to continue, she lost. 

Injuries happened often enough in the game, so the rules were both well 
defined and well known. If the javelin was not out of bounds, it must be 
returned. And if a player was not able to continue, she lost. 

The next day, at the awards ceremonies, someone announced that she 
had lived, and was expected to be playing again in a few weeks. 

Motile brain cells have several advantages. Among them was the ability 
to repair major brain damage. A human would probably have died on 
the spot. 

The sportscasters said that Kren must have been very shaken up about 
the accident, since he did so poorly at the last two events of the day, 
the javelin distance and accuracy throws. 

The director of athletics was furious at not having been informed of 
Kren's intention of winning the javelin tennis competition. 


Kren said that he hadn't been sure that he could win it, that he wasn't 
sure that using a javelin to pole-vault with would be allowed by the 
judges, and that the director had been gone for most of the week, and 
out of touch, so he couldn't be consulted. 

Kren said that he hadn't been sure that he could win it, that he wasn't 
sure that using a javelin to pole-vault with would be allowed by the 
judges, and that the director had been gone for most of the week, and 
out of touch, so he couldn't be consulted. 

Kren didn't really care. Not when his net worth was now one billion, 
two gross seven dozen and six million Ke. Plus a small duchy, of 
course. 

The memory of the stunned look on his opponent's face as the javelin 
came at her was a very nice, lingering satisfaction. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Kren's Kiddy Hotel-
They Check In but They Don't Check Out 



The contractors started work promptly on Monday morning, putting up 
the first twelve miles of fencing around the new property. If it worked, 
they would get the go-ahead to complete the project, but they wouldn't 
have the whole job done for twelve weeks. 

The contractors started work promptly on Monday morning, putting up 
the first twelve miles of fencing around the new property. If it worked, 
they would get the go-ahead to complete the project, but they wouldn't 
have the whole job done for twelve weeks. 

"We have to have an efficient method of gathering up the juvenals, 
getting them on the train, getting them to market," Kren said. "I think 
that the best way to do it would be to drug them, put them in boxes, 
and use material handling equipment from then on. There is a chemical 
called piperphentamone that is not on the illegal list, because it has no 
effect on adults. Injected into a juvenal in the proper dosage, it will 
knock her unconscious for a week. Also, there is an antidote, 
brantadiatol, which can bring them around in a few minutes, and it too 
is legal. I want you to find a manufacturer who can produce these for 
us." 

"I'll get on it in the morning, sir." 

"Right. Next, we'll need some shipping boxes for them. Find out what 
the standard sizes are, and what they cost. Collecting the juvenals up 
won't be a problem at first, because winter is coming on, and they will 
be collecting themselves at the wintering centers. I note that each of 
these centers is near a train terminal." 


Lacking the human urge for creativity, all Mitchegai train terminals were 
built the same. Once they had an efficient design, they stuck with it. 
Rarely used terminals in the countryside were just as large and well 
equipped as those in the cities, although more of them had been added 
as the cities grew. Since they were expected to last forever, and had 
been built before many of the current cities existed, there was a certain 
logic to this way of doing things. 

Lacking the human urge for creativity, all Mitchegai train terminals were 
built the same. Once they had an efficient design, they stuck with it. 
Rarely used terminals in the countryside were just as large and well 
equipped as those in the cities, although more of them had been added 
as the cities grew. Since they were expected to last forever, and had 
been built before many of the current cities existed, there was a certain 
logic to this way of doing things. 

"I expect that you are right, but it is still very convenient for us. I want 
you to work on some method of efficiently taking contented children 
from the center and turning them into boxes of product loaded on a 
hovercraft that can deliver them to the train station. Bear in mind that 
this will have to be done mostly outdoors, in the wintertime." 

"Right, sir. Then there were the buildings you mentioned earlier?" 

"That's what I'll be doing, drawing up some rough sketches of what we 
need. Later, you can do up some finished drawings on that fancy 
computer of yours." 

"Very well, and I already have a plotter on order, to do proper 
technical drawings. It should get here in a week. You really should 
learn to use a computer, sir." 


"Later, maybe. Just now, I don't have time. We'll need the packaging 
center, to gather juvenals from the fields and prepare them for 
shipment. I'll want it built and running by spring, and I'm very eager to 
start in on the breeding projects we talked about." 

"Later, maybe. Just now, I don't have time. We'll need the packaging 
center, to gather juvenals from the fields and prepare them for 
shipment. I'll want it built and running by spring, and I'm very eager to 
start in on the breeding projects we talked about." 

"Right. The grass mowing is your project. We'll need it by next 
summer, I expect. Keep me posted. As to the artificial lights, I need 
some research done there. All of the artificial lights I've seen have 
imitated the spectrum of sunlight. But plants are most efficient under a 
particular wave length of monochromatic red light. Any photons with 
less energy simply do the plant no good at all. Any energy above a 
certain level is wasted, and just goes into waste heat, which has to be 
gotten rid of. I want you to find me some inexpensive, monochromatic 
light sources." 

"I'll see what I can do, sir. Do you know the precise wave length we 
need?" 

"No, that slips my memory. I only remember that it was red. Vampire 
memories are not perfect." 

"Or maybe Kodo forgot it." 


"That too is possible. Well, you know what to do." 

"That too is possible. Well, you know what to do." 

The next weekend was an away game, and the opposing javelin tennis 
team had been studying tapes of Kren's last performance. They all 
showed up to the meet wearing protective headgear, and they made all 
of their shots to the rear of the court, from which Kren could not 
effectively pole-vault. This made for some long and boring games. One 
of them was indeed a world record setter for both length and dullness, 
but they didn't give away any platinum medals for that. Kren didn't 
come close to winning. 

Kren had suspected that something like this would happen, and hadn't 
bet on the tennis tournament. The odds were too low, anyway. 

Instead, he won the javelin distance event, without setting any records. 
The payoff was only two to one, and Kren, in keeping with his earlier 
vows, had only bet half of his purse on the outcome. Bronki had always 
been a bit secretive about her betting, but Dol said that she would 
continue betting everything she had, since a girl never could tell when 
she might need another billion Ke. 

* * * 

"Dol, I've been invited back to Duke Dennon's palace for the weekend. 
Would you like to come along?" Kren asked. 

"A visit to a ducal palace? Most definitely, sir!" 


"Then book us a cabin on an express train on Friday afternoon, and 
find out from Bronki who we should contact at the palace to tell them 
we're coming. Tell her that she's invited along, if she wants, but if she's 
too busy, that's okay, too." 

"Then book us a cabin on an express train on Friday afternoon, and 
find out from Bronki who we should contact at the palace to tell them 
we're coming. Tell her that she's invited along, if she wants, but if she's 
too busy, that's okay, too." 

As he and Dol walked into the ducal palace, Kren noted that many 
small changes had taken place. The carpeting was new, and of the very 
best quality, as were the drapes. Minor repairs had been made where 
necessary, and the servants all sported new uniforms. Only the very 
professional guards were unchanged, although Kren was sure that by 
now they'd all gotten their back pay. 

They were immediately escorted to Duke Dennon's private quarters, 
which had been lavishly redecorated. They made the proper bow to 
His Grace, who stood up to greet them. 

The duke said, "Kren! Welcome back! All the more so since you have 
made me a half gross billion Ke richer!" 

"I thought that it might have been you who bet a gross billion Ke on that 
fencing match! Your wager drove the odds down so low that we 
almost decided to win the javelin accuracy throw instead!" 

"I'm glad that you didn't! But the gross billion Ke you paid me for my 
land barely covered my debts. The additional money I made on that 
wager has given me financial security and permitted me to make some 


very needed repairs to my estate. Who is your friend?" 

very needed repairs to my estate. Who is your friend?" 

"Your friends are always welcome," the duke said. 

They had been speaking in Meno, the military language, which Dol was 
completely ignorant of, but the duke's smile was all that she really 
needed to go on. 

Mitchegai do smile to express pleasure. Like humans, they do this by 
looking at the person they are addressing and exposing their fangs. 

"I thank you, Your Grace," Dol said in Deno, the common language. 

"I am almost completely ignorant of Reno, the engineering language, so 
I guess Deno it is," the duke said in fluent Deno. "It is difficult to 
express anything but the simplest things in the common tongue, though. 
I'm sure that you'd be far more comfortable talking with my chief 
engineer, Dako. In fact, I want you to meet her. Among other things, I 
am now the owner of a huge supply of mining machinery that is 
completely useless to me. It occurs to me that a conveyor belt designed 
to haul ore might prove useful in hauling grass clippings. I could give 
Kren here a very good price on it." 


"That is a very interesting idea, Your Grace. Yes, Dol, by all means, 
find out what they have available," Kren said. 

"That is a very interesting idea, Your Grace. Yes, Dol, by all means, 
find out what they have available," Kren said. 

"Just be sure and come to the party tonight," the duke said as they left. 
Turning to Kren, he said, "Now then, have you been thinking more 
about your fascinating plans for your new lands?" 

"More than thinking, Your Grace. We've already started doing. For a 
week now, I've had a crew putting up fences around my land." 

"First, you have now used up your allotment of 'Your Graces' for the 
entire weekend. Just call me Dennon. Second, you have been putting 
up your fences on the boundary with my lands, and the reports I've 
been getting are strange. You are building these curving things that have 
to be costing you half again more than a straight fence would. Your 
workers have told my men that you are doing this for aesthetic reasons, 
but that does not fit with my judgment of your character. Please explain 
this to me." 

Kren said, "Very well, but you must agree to keep this a secret." 

The Mitchegai never had anything remotely like a patent office. The 
only way they had to make a profit off of an idea was to keep it secret. 


This could be another reason for their general lack of creativity. 

This could be another reason for their general lack of creativity. 

"And this strange device actually works?" the duke asked. 

"In fact, it does. Dol found a standard industrial product, a long armed 
mechanical switch that operates a mechanical counter when something 
goes by in one direction. Putting two of them on one of the openings 
gave us the ratio of juvenals going one way as opposed to those going 
the other. More of them are going in the wrong direction than I thought 
they would, but it is still much better than a gross to one. My fence is an 
effective valve. I also intend to use something similar to make collection 
paths, where juvenals in the fields are collected up and sent to my 
packaging facility. They'll come to us, we'll select the ones we want and 
send the rest back out to the fields," Kren said. 

"Remarkable. But all of this means that you will be denuding my lands 
of the juvenals that my subjects need to survive." 

"That remains to be seen. Many will be entering my lands, but many 
more will be drifting into yours from the other directions. I do, 
however, promise that none of your subjects will starve because of 
what I am doing." 


"I'll take your word on that, and hold you to it," Duke Dennon said. 
"Now, what of your other thoughts?" 

"I'll take your word on that, and hold you to it," Duke Dennon said. 
"Now, what of your other thoughts?" 

"Now that is odd," Dennon said. "Somehow, I'd always thought of 
grass as being the perfect energy converter, changing sunlight into food 
for the children." 

"If it was a perfect converter, it would absorb all of the light and look 
black. Grass is green because it doesn't need the green light, and 
reflects it back to our eyes." 

"Interesting. But can you buy monochromatic lights?" 

"I was surprised to find out that they are the only sort that you can 
buy," Kren said. "The white lighting panels that are used everywhere 
are made up of seven different sorts of tiny light emitting diodes, each 
of which is monochromatic, but of a different color. The numbers of 
each sort is such that together they appear to us as being white. Making 
a panel with only a single sort of LED actually cuts the cost in half, 
assuming that you are buying in large quantities, which of course I will 
be." 

"I didn't know that." 


"Neither did I until Dol did some research on it." 

"Neither did I until Dol did some research on it." 

"That will be a long-term project, of course. I have designed a research 
building with three dozen large complexes that will let us test three 
dozen types of juvenals simultaneously, keeping each type separate 
from the grub stage, through the pollywog stage, and then as juvenals 
and even a few brainless adults to make more eggs. We can have three 
dozen selective breeding projects going at the same time. Also, I will 
have a complete genetics laboratory, so that we can know exactly what 
we are dealing with in every experiment." 

"But I thought that the DNA experiments had wound down, well, many 
millennia ago, when everything that could be learned had been learned." 

"You are right, they did," Kren said. "The equipment I'm buying has 
been in storage for over twelve thousand years. I've put a clause in the 
contract whereby I won't have to pay for it if it doesn't work, but I'm 
more than a little worried about it. Having to build all new equipment 
from ancient plans would be expensive! Also, I've got seven 
biochemists on the payroll trying to learn what the ancients knew about 
DNA analysis." 

"I wish you well! But now, it's Friday Night and Party Time! Come 


with me to the great hall, and we'll get the festivities started!" 

with me to the great hall, and we'll get the festivities started!" 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX 


Politics and My Boys 
New Yugoslavia, 2212 a.d. 


The Tellefontu normally carried an organic version of the Disappearing 
Gun in one of their front claws. This was necessary, since they lived in 
an ocean filled with large, small-brained carnivores like bluefinned tuna, 
who sometimes mistook them for a tasty treat. But while killing your 
attacker eliminated the immediate problem, it didn't teach him anything. 
It only killed him, leaving the others with no change in their behavior. 
Therefore, the Tellefontu had developed a weapon that caused intense 
pain, but no physical damage. It was a beam that really rattled the pain 
centers of the brain. 

The pain-generating weapon had proved ineffective against the Earthly 
lobsters the early inhabitants had tried to grow in New Yugoslavia's 
oceans, as these crustaceans lacked enough of a brain to feel pain, 
apparently. And since the lobsters had developed a taste for young 
Tellefontu, our new allies had made a point of eradicating them. 

I had been unaware of this, but with demand and no supply, it looked 
to be profitable to grow lobsters in tanks on my land, especially since 
as carnivores, they would give me something to do with that half of a 


cow (eyeballs, lungs, etc.) that people didn't want to eat. 

cow (eyeballs, lungs, etc.) that people didn't want to eat. 

Bellor declined to join us. 

* * * 

My annoying uncle, Wlodzimierz Derdowski, the President of New 
Kashubia, was now lording it over the Interplanetary Council of the 
Union of Human Planets. The new constitution was still being haggled 
over, and we still didn't have anything like a single individual in charge, 
but my uncle was currently the closest thing we had to it. 

He'd written me that my "discovery" of the Tellefontu had been 
tremendously important, politically. The fact that I hadn't discovered 
anything, and that they had come to me didn't faze him in the least. 
Politicians are never very concerned with actual facts. 

While the governments of the various planets were still behind the huge 
defense budgets that were required to prepare us to face the Mitchegai, 
the people were getting increasingly restless about the taxation and the 
dearth of civilian goods available. 

Now, however, there was a race of intelligent beings who had 
witnessed and suffered through an invasion by the Mitchegai, and this 
forced people to take the whole thing seriously. While it would have 


been better if they could have been furry, cute, and cuddly, instead of 
looking like crabs, they nonetheless were instrumental in keeping the 
war effort going. 

been better if they could have been furry, cute, and cuddly, instead of 
looking like crabs, they nonetheless were instrumental in keeping the 
war effort going. 

In addition to the psychological boost, it was expected that as the new 
technology that the Tellefontu were giving us worked its way into the 
market, the economic boost would be considerable, and that would 
help the political situation a lot. What we had been able to learn from 
the Mitchegai scout ship wouldn't hurt, either. 

My uncle invited me to come to New Kashubia, so he could pin a few 
more medals on my chest. I respectfully declined, claiming the press of 
things to be done. 

Actually, I still hated the bastard. I never have forgiven him for letting 
the courts give Kasia and me the choice of death or joining the army, all 
those years ago, not when they had aborted our first child in the 
process. 

My boys were now my great joy in life. The oldest were getting to the 
point where I could teach them to fish, to ride horses, and to play ball. 
They were spending more and more of their time in the golden castle 
that I'd had built, but couldn't sell, and that was good. The spirit of true 
knighthood was starting to grow in them. 


* * * 


Our machine tool industry was expanding with surprising rapidity. Our 
intelligent computers were keeping everything working twenty-four 
hours a day, seven days a week, and without holidays. There was very 
little downtime. A great deal was being done very quickly. 

The engineers computed that with the Disappearing Guns, and the other 
things that Bellor had suggested, we could produce the fallout shelters 
at a quarter of the price originally estimated. We would want the Guns 
as weapons anyway, so we built a production line to mass produce 
them. We also built lines to make the self-powered lighting fixtures and 
the power-generating air conditioners. 

Kasia never mentioned these savings in her dealings with the local 
governments, and got full prices out of them. I took much of the extra 
money, and spent it on better food supplies. We would now be able to 
serve something a little bit better than gruel. But we didn't tell them 
about that, either. It might have hurt sales on the luxury apartments. 

As these new factories started to come on line, the shelters started to 
be dug in a hurry. One of our standard tanks, usually with a young 
soldier in training inside and oblivious to what his tank was really doing, 
could cut a tunnel eight meters across and ten meters high while 
traveling at eighty kilometers an hour! 

It was a fast way to make floor space! 

Back | Next 
Contents 


CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


For War and Profit! 

After the duke started things out by cutting off a pretty little girl's finger 
with a dull knife, and eating it to the applause of all present, Dol made a 
hit at the party by borrowing a large soldering iron from one of the 
repair shops in the engineering wing, putting it up one of the party 
snack's cloaca, and plugging it in. It was something she had learned at 
one of Bronki's parties, but it was a new innovation here. The resulting 
screams were outstanding! 

Later, Dol told Kren that she would spend all day Saturday going over 
the mining machinery with Dako, but it looked as if most of it could be 
extremely useful. Besides the conveyor belts, there were eleven major 
power stations in storage here. These were high efficiency 
muon-exchange fusion units, capable of running for a thousand years at 
peak output before they needed refueling. 

Dol said, "They have a massive amount of lighting fixtures, wires and 
cabling, and seven big tunneling machines. With them, it might prove 
feasible to connect the wintering centers directly to the train stations, 
which would greatly ease the job of collecting juvenals in the winter 


time. We could just run the children we want down underground 
tunnels to the train station and box them up there." 

time. We could just run the children we want down underground 
tunnels to the train station and box them up there." 

The duke came up to them and said, "Now, now, you two. No 
discussion of business at a party! Anyway, the entertainment is about to 
begin in the arena, so come along, both of you." 

They went to a small circular stadium surrounding a patch of synthetic 
grass two dozen yards across. At first, Kren thought that they would be 
in for some sort of gladiatorial event, but no, no one was killed. The 
duke thought too much of his troops to waste them on mere 
entertainment. 

It was a tournament between two platoons of combat troops from two 
rival regiments. It was fought with weapons of full weight, but without 
sharp edges. The troops wore full, head-to-toe armor of a sort Kren 
had never seen before. The helmets were similar to what most of 
Dennon's soldiers wore, except that the face was also protected. The 
body armor was obviously of a more advanced technology, with many 
dozens of intricately fitting, overlapping plates that permitted complete 
freedom of motion. 

The first event was one-on-one fighting with sword and spear between 
members of the two platoons. What with the armor and the blunted 
weapons, no one was seriously injured, but these troops were really 


fighting. 

fighting. 

They even gave an award for the "Best Death of the Evening." 

Most of the three dozen bouts lasted less than a minute. 

"I've never seen anything like the armor they're wearing," Kren said. 

"Actually, those are old space suits," the duke said. "New ones would 
be hideously expensive, but these all had to be scrapped because they 
leaked air. But that's not a problem down here, and I always buy them, 
when they come on the market. I've got eleven gross of them now, and 
my best units have them." 

"Those are space suits?" Kren said. 

"They were. The Space Mitchegai all clip their claws very short, so we 


have to open up the gloves and boots to let ours out. We've taken the 
fittings for the breathing packs off, along with the heating and cooling 
apparatus, which wouldn't be allowed by the rules of war, and I never 
bought the space helmets in the first place. After that, well, a coat of 
paint in my colors, and there you are." 

have to open up the gloves and boots to let ours out. We've taken the 
fittings for the breathing packs off, along with the heating and cooling 
apparatus, which wouldn't be allowed by the rules of war, and I never 
bought the space helmets in the first place. After that, well, a coat of 
paint in my colors, and there you are." 

"I might be the only duke with any large number of armored troops. 
Most of them find it cheaper to hire new troops than to armor the old 
ones. And in fact, I've never committed my armored division to 
combat. They've always been my strategic reserve, and so far, I've 
always won before they were committed to battle. But someday, I will 
need some real shock troops, and when that day happens, I'll have 
them." 

"Conventional wisdom is that armor slows you down more than it is 
worth." 

"To a certain extent, it does slow a soldier down. Also, the extra weight 
upsets your coordination and balance. To get good in it, you pretty 
much have to live in the stuff, full time, which is precisely what all of 
these troops do. They even sleep in it, usually." 

"I'd like to try sparring in armor, sometime." 


"We can do that tomorrow, if you'd like. I just bought four new suits 
that haven't been assigned to individuals yet. I think that two of them 
should be ready." 

"We can do that tomorrow, if you'd like. I just bought four new suits 
that haven't been assigned to individuals yet. I think that two of them 
should be ready." 

When the individual matches were over, the two platoons formed up a 
battle line and fought a general mêlée, which left three troops standing 
from one side, and none from the other. The points were tallied up, and 
the losing side went back to their barracks. The winners got to join the 
party, and hobnob with the aristocracy, still in their armor, but with their 
helmets off so that they could eat. 

The next day, a palace servant escorted Kren back to the arena, where 
he found Duke Dennon already putting on a suit of armor, with the help 
of some armored soldiers. 

"Ah, there you are, Kren! Well, get suited up, and we'll try each other's 
mettle." 

"As you wish, Dennon, but I hadn't expected to be fighting you." 

"Well, it would hardly be fair to put you up against someone who had 
been living in armor for years. I'm not a novice to fighting, of course, so 
I expect that I'll give you a bit of a challenge. Just be sure that you give 
me your best effort as well. I would be seriously offended if I thought 


you were faking it just to make me look good." 

you were faking it just to make me look good." 

It took two soldiers twelve minutes to get Kren's armor installed and 
fitted properly, and he spent another two dozen minutes moving 
around, getting used to the feel of it. The weight of the tail armor was 
particularly bothersome. It threw his balance off considerably. 

Finally, Kren said, "I think that I've got the feel of it now. I'm ready if 
you are." 

"You are doing better than most," the duke said. "Many troops spend 
most of their first week getting up again, after they've fallen down, 
again. On guard!" 

They started slow, feeling each other out the way professional fighters 
always do. Then the duke launched a fast attack, feinting with his spear 
while attacking with his sword on the other side. Kren was just able to 
parry both weapons, but his riposte didn't get through, and he had to 
leap backward to avoid the counter. After a short breather, Kren 
attacked, and after six counters, he doubled under the duke's sword, 
fencing style, and caught him in the chest with a thrust. 

"Well done, Kren! I should have known to guard better against your 
point, having seen you fight at an épée tournament. Well then, do you 


want to have a go at one of my troops?" 

want to have a go at one of my troops?" 

In the course of the morning, Kren beat six of the duke's warriors, 
without losing a match. 

"Wow, but your troops are good!" Kren said, "That last one in 
particular almost had me at least six times there! I hope that I never 
have to go to war against this bunch!" 

"That last one was my weapons' master, Kren, and you are the first one 
to defeat him in his last three lifetimes! We are all astonished at your 
prowess, and to fight this well on your first day in armor, well, it is 
simply astounding!" 

"Thank you. I think that I've had enough of a workout for today, 
though. I'll be happier when I get this armor off. My tail is protesting 
more than anything else. If this armor were mine, I think I'd have the tail 
armor removed, and just let my tail take its chances." 

"Most novices to armor say that for the first two weeks. They get used 
to it in time, though, and an armored tail is sometimes useful. Once the 
strength in it builds up, the tail is useful for blocking with." 


"Yes, I noticed two of your soldiers using it that way. But for now, get 
me out of this stuff!" 

"Yes, I noticed two of your soldiers using it that way. But for now, get 
me out of this stuff!" 

To the duke, managerial details were simply a nuisance. His true and 
only intrest was in war, and in further developing his army. All else was 
trivia. In the late afternoon, the duke was called away to settle a minor 
emergency. He and Kren agreed to meet again in the morning. 

Kren spent the evening reading a novel from the duke's small library. 

In the morning, Dol came to Kren's room and started waxing 
enthusiastically about all of the machinery that she had spent the day 
before examining. 

"I said that there were seven big tunneling machines, sir, but from the 
drawings, I didn't realize just how big they are," Dol said. "They each 
break up into eleven pieces so that they can be transported by rail! Can 
you imagine something eleven times as big as a rail car? Those things 
are built to dig a tunnel twelve yards in diameter through solid rock, 
loose sand, and everything in between. The cutters in the front can take 
on anything natural, even granite, chew it up, and spit it down a 
vibratory conveyor line that it drags behind it. They can move at a yard 
a minute through granite, and three times that fast through dirt. Actually, 
it's the conveyors that slow them down, just hauling the stuff away. And 


if the material is too soft to hold itself up, the tunnelers are equipped to 
build a metal tube to line the tunnel with. They take a coil of stainless 
metal, form corrugations in it, and then weld it in a spiral around the 
inside, all automatically. They've each got their own fusion power 
supply, too, and can run for a thousand years without refueling." 

if the material is too soft to hold itself up, the tunnelers are equipped to 
build a metal tube to line the tunnel with. They take a coil of stainless 
metal, form corrugations in it, and then weld it in a spiral around the 
inside, all automatically. They've each got their own fusion power 
supply, too, and can run for a thousand years without refueling." 

"Right, sir. But there is also an eighth tunneler, intended for exploratory 
work. It cuts a tunnel three yards in diameter, dragging an extendable 
conveyor line behind itself, just like the big ones do. Through dirt, it can 
do twelve yards a minute, since it uses the same conveyors as the big 
ones do." 

Kren said, "And does it put in the metal lining, like the big ones do? I 
think that most of the tunnels from the train stations to the wintering 
centers will be shallow, and through dirt, not rock." 

"Oh, yes, sir. It does everything that the big ones do, except break up 
for shipment. It doesn't have to, since it will fit on a flatcar." 

"Then that solves one of our problems." 

Duke Dennon walked in through the open doorway. 


"You were having problems, Kren?" The duke said in stilted Keno, 
which Dol and Kren had been using. 

"You were having problems, Kren?" The duke said in stilted Keno, 
which Dol and Kren had been using. 

"Oh. Yes, I can see where many of them might freeze to death, doing 
such a thing, and that would cut into your profits. Well, I'm sure that we 
can arrange something, one way or another. I've found a surplus 
equipment buyer who has offered to pay me one sixth of what I had to 
pay for all of that stuff, but that's the best offer I've had." 

"Just how much did you pay for it, if I may ask," Kren said. 

"You may. Including transportation charges, but not counting legal fees 
and the atrocious penalties I had to pay for late payment, it came to just 
over eight dozen billion Ke." 

"Hmmm. It is possible that I could better the offer that the scrap dealer 
made you, but there would have to be a number of stipulations." 

"I am interested. Just what stipulations did you have in mind?" The duke 
unconsciously slipped over to Meno, which he was more comfortable 


with. 

with. 

"I don't see why not. We have plenty of room. I could let you store it 
here for, say, twelve years, before I start charging you rent on it." 

"That would be adequate. Next, I'm a little low on ready cash just now. 
Would you be willing to take stock in my corporation in return for your 
equipment?" 

"Now that would take some mulling over. How much were you thinking 
of offering me?" the duke asked. 

"I offer to take it all for one quarter of what you paid, two dozen billion 
Ke." 

"That sounds reasonable, and more than anyone else has offered. But 
this stock of yours, what sort of dividends do you intend to pay?" 

"I intend for my company to continue reinvesting all of our considerable 
profits back into the business for the foreseeable future. There won't be 
any dividends for a very long time," Kren said. 


"Well, what bloody good is an investment that doesn't make me any 
money? I'd be better off working with the used equipment dealer. 
There at least, I'd get something for my machinery! Why should I 
accept your strange offer?" 

"Well, what bloody good is an investment that doesn't make me any 
money? I'd be better off working with the used equipment dealer. 
There at least, I'd get something for my machinery! Why should I 
accept your strange offer?" 

The duke closed the door and sat down. "That is a remarkable 
statement. Would you care to expand on it?" 

"I'd be happy to. You have admired my athletic abilities, and yesterday, 
you were impressed with my prowess as a warrior, yes?" 

"Certainly. You are the perfect athlete. I've been saying so since I saw 
you win that first fencing tournament." 

Kren said, "Would you like to have every soldier in your army be as 
good an athlete, as good a warrior as I am?" 

"By the Great First Egg, I certainly would! Are you saying that this is 
possible?" 


"I think that it is. But first, I must tell you that before I got this body, I 
was not a particularly adept soldier, and I wasn't any sort of an athlete 
at all. I was in fact physically very ordinary. Then I was badly injured in 
a field exercise, and didn't stand a chance of living half a day. It was 
night, and we were out of touch with our commander. There wasn't a 
normal metamorphosed youngster available to eat my brain, but a 
friend of mine found an ordinary slave, without much of a brain of his 
own. It could have worked out badly, but I urged my squad to give it a 
try, and they did. You have seen the result. There is something very 
special about this body, and I think perhaps it has something to do with 
the nerves. I think that with proper breeding and a lot of work, we can 
get it to breed true. It will probably take three or four generations to do 
it, but I am confident that in the end it can be done before this body is 
worn out. Then, we will have a breed of Mitchegai that can be the 
finest warriors the universe has ever seen! You were willing to bet a 
gross billion Ke on the outcome of a fencing tournament. I'm willing to 
bet that you would wager some useless machinery on the hope of 
building the finest army in this world, or any other!" 

"I think that it is. But first, I must tell you that before I got this body, I 
was not a particularly adept soldier, and I wasn't any sort of an athlete 
at all. I was in fact physically very ordinary. Then I was badly injured in 
a field exercise, and didn't stand a chance of living half a day. It was 
night, and we were out of touch with our commander. There wasn't a 
normal metamorphosed youngster available to eat my brain, but a 
friend of mine found an ordinary slave, without much of a brain of his 
own. It could have worked out badly, but I urged my squad to give it a 
try, and they did. You have seen the result. There is something very 
special about this body, and I think perhaps it has something to do with 
the nerves. I think that with proper breeding and a lot of work, we can 
get it to breed true. It will probably take three or four generations to do 
it, but I am confident that in the end it can be done before this body is 
worn out. Then, we will have a breed of Mitchegai that can be the 
finest warriors the universe has ever seen! You were willing to bet a 
gross billion Ke on the outcome of a fencing tournament. I'm willing to 
bet that you would wager some useless machinery on the hope of 
building the finest army in this world, or any other!" 

"Excellent, Duke Dennon! I see a long and mutually profitable 
partnership before us." 

"Partnership?" 

"Well, this is premature, and it will be many years before it brings fruit, 
but think on this. My interest is in business and management. Your 
interest is in armies and war. If we had a trusting relationship, together 


we could, in time, rule this entire planet!" 

we could, in time, rule this entire planet!" 

"Excellent, Dennon. You'll be hearing from us soon. For now, there's a 
train to catch." 

"Very well, Kren. For war and profit!" 

"Yes! For war and profit!" Kren switched to Keno. "Come along, Dol. 
It's time to go." 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Billions for Building 


Again, Duke Kren satisfied the needs of nature, with the pain in his 
head pulsing. Yet, as he reviewed his memories, he couldn't help but 
think that those were the great old days! The days of joy and fulfillment! 

Again, Duke Kren satisfied the needs of nature, with the pain in his 
head pulsing. Yet, as he reviewed his memories, he couldn't help but 
think that those were the great old days! The days of joy and fulfillment! 

Once they were in their private cabin on the train, Dol said, "Kren, just 
what was all that about?" 

"Sorry, but the duke's Keno isn't very good. I just made a deal 
whereby Duke Dennon will give us all of the machinery that you 
inspected yesterday, in return for two dozen billion Ke worth of our 
corporation's shares, which he doesn't expect to make any money off 
of!" 

"How wonderful, sir." 

"You don't seem to be very enthusiastic about it," Kren said. 

"I'm not! Don't you see that you've just blown me off the board of 
directors?" 

"Perhaps, but not necessarily. The corporation only elects a new board 


once a year. You have plenty of time to come up with a few dozen 
billion Ke, and invest it properly in your favorite corporation. Then you 
can blow Bronki off the board." 

once a year. You have plenty of time to come up with a few dozen 
billion Ke, and invest it properly in your favorite corporation. Then you 
can blow Bronki off the board." 

"And anyway, the corporation is going to need a lot of spending cash." 

"I expect that it will get it, since Bronki won't like being pushed out, 
either. She'll be buying more stock, too. Watch her!" 

"Right, she will. Have fun, you two. If you both get really enthusiastic 
with the competition, maybe you can blow Duke Dennon off the 
board," Kren said. "Next, I want you to hire a crew who knows how 
to use our sort of mining machinery, and start them digging three-yard 
tunnels from the train stations to the wintering centers." 

"Oh, we've already got them, sir." 

"We do?" 

"Duke Dennon's engineers have all been through an extensive course in 
how to use all the machinery they bought. The original plan was to have 
them set it up in that old copper mine themselves. They spent a year in 
mining school, came back eager to work, and the bottom promptly fell 


out of the copper market. They've all been sitting around for a year 
now with nothing to do, and getting very frustrated about it. I've already 
discussed the project with Chief Engineer Dako, and she wants to start 
immediately," Dol said. 

out of the copper market. They've all been sitting around for a year 
now with nothing to do, and getting very frustrated about it. I've already 
discussed the project with Chief Engineer Dako, and she wants to start 
immediately," Dol said. 

"So far, there has been no mention of money. I tell you, sir, these girls 
really want to get going on something! But if the subject comes up, I'll 
relay your suggestion to them." 

"I suppose that we can take the dirt we remove and load it directly on 
to railroad hopper cars," Kren said. 

"That is the plan, yes. Dako suggested that the best thing would be to 
just dump it in the Borako Ocean Trench. There's a railroad station 
built on the grass mat right above it, and everybody within a thousand 
miles uses it for a dump. That trench is so big that at present usage, it 
will take three dozen million years to fill it up." 

The Mitchegai tend to worry about ecological things in the long term, 
but not that long. 

Dol continued, "That's what they were planning to do with the waste 


material from the Senta Copper Mine. I'll have to make arrangements 
with the MagFloat Corporation, for cutting holes in the walls of their 
loading docks, shipping in and out our equipment, and using their floor 
space to package the children. And hauling away the dirt, of course. I 
think that once we get the lighting strung up in the tunnels, we'll be able 
to buy the electricity for them from the railroad as well. It should be a 
lot cheaper than putting in our own power supplies." 

material from the Senta Copper Mine. I'll have to make arrangements 
with the MagFloat Corporation, for cutting holes in the walls of their 
loading docks, shipping in and out our equipment, and using their floor 
space to package the children. And hauling away the dirt, of course. I 
think that once we get the lighting strung up in the tunnels, we'll be able 
to buy the electricity for them from the railroad as well. It should be a 
lot cheaper than putting in our own power supplies." 

"Thank you, sir," Dol said. "I'll get on it, directly." 

"Right. Next subject. I'd been planning on building conventional 
buildings, big buildings, for growing grass in, and for feeding the 
juvenals until they are big enough to eat. I wonder if it wouldn't be 
cheaper to use the big tunneling machines to make underground 
buildings. We could take these big, metal-lined tunnels and weld floors 
in them. We could put lights and water sprinklers on the ceilings, and 
grass on the floors. Then we could have mowing machines running 
along rails mounted on the side walls. It has the nice advantage of 
keeping everybody else from knowing what we are doing." 

"That's interesting, sir. I'll do some cost analyses in a few days, once I 
get the tunnels to the wintering centers going." 

"Fine," Kren said. "But talk to Bronki about dealing with the MagFloat 
Corporation. She probably knows somebody on their board of 
directors, and can cut us a better deal." 


"And get herself a kickback in the process." 

"And get herself a kickback in the process." 

Kren felt perfectly safe, sleeping in the same room when Dol was 
awake there. If he was killed, she wouldn't have a sure thing to bet on. 

* * * 

When they returned home, Dol filled Bronki in, and she agreed to talk 
to several old friends on the MagFloat board of directors. 

"You know, Dol, after five thousand years, one gets to know just about 
everybody who is really important." 

By Monday afternoon, she had struck a deal whereby the Superior 
Food Corporation had permission to cut tunnels into a dozen and nine 
of their largely unused stations, provided that they placed a secure and 
attractive door over the opening when it was not in use. They could use 
the currently underutilized loading docks to package the children at no 
cost, provided that they cleaned up after themselves. 

Superior Food would then pay normal rates to ship the dirt to the 
Borako Ocean Trench, to transport their machinery and personnel, and 
to get the juvenals to market, but these fees would be paid in packaged 


juvenals at a price of two dozen Ke each. The MagFloat Corporation 
would then sell these kids at a modest profit to their employees. 

juvenals at a price of two dozen Ke each. The MagFloat Corporation 
would then sell these kids at a modest profit to their employees. 

"But Bronki," Dol said, "how are you going to make your usual 
kickback on all of this? There isn't any money involved!" 

"Well, no, but a certain small number of the packaged children they 
receive will be delivered to my store. I'll get two per gross of what we 
pay them. There's always a way." 

* * * 

On Tuesday, Duke Dennon telephoned Kren, and asked him why all of 
his engineers were working on getting Kren's equipment ready for 
shipment. 

"Your Grace, I think that Dol and Dako decided that your technical 
sorts needed something to do, and your engineers all offered to help 
out. I mean, I never agreed to pay them to do this." 

"Well, don't you think that you should have asked me before you made 


use of my army?" 

use of my army?" 

"Well, not really, but you and I have a business arrangement." The duke 
said, "If you wanted something else, you should have discussed it with 
me, and not just let our subordinates go off on their own!" 

"You are absolutely right, and I apologize. I'll see that this never 
happens again. However, it can't be good for morale to have troops 
who are absolutely bored, and I still could use their services. May they 
lend Dol a hand?" 

"But I am paying each of those engineers a salary. If you want them, 
you should pay for them." 

"Very well. The nature of having an army during peacetime is that you 
must pay for something that you aren't currently using. What if I were to 
pay you one third of their salaries, with the understanding that if they 
were ever needed by you, I would release them to you instantly. You 
would then still have your engineers when you needed them, but would 
be cutting your expenses by one third." 

"And you would feed them while they were working for you?" 


"Assuredly." 

"Assuredly." 

"Excellent. I will of course be paying you for them in corporation stock, 
since you've already gotten most of my money." 

"Humph. Okay, tell me which event you will be winning at this coming 
weekend, and we have a deal." 

"I'll take the distance throw. But please, don't go betting another gross 
billion." 

"I don't have a gross billion free anymore. My wager will be under a 
dozen billion." 

"That won't depress the odds too badly." 

"Very well, we have a deal. I'll write it up, and send it along with the 
deal we made last weekend. My courier will get there tomorrow 
evening." 

"Excellent, Your Grace. Another thing. I'm going to be needing a fair 


number of unskilled workers, to herd and box up the juvenals for 
market. Would you be interested in renting me some of your ordinary 
soldiers, at the same rates?" 

number of unskilled workers, to herd and box up the juvenals for 
market. Would you be interested in renting me some of your ordinary 
soldiers, at the same rates?" 

"We have an agreement." 

* * * 

On Thursday morning, the small tunneler was working on the first 
connection to a wintering center, which was projected to be completed 
within the week, being the shortest one. 

On Friday afternoon, Kren had completed his sketches of the Research 
Center, to be placed near a railroad station in the center of his lands, 
and which had a wintering center near by. Besides the separate 
growing chambers for the various lines of juvenals, there was the 
genetic research building, an administration building, and very pleasant 
housing for twice as many workers as he could imagine needing. 

These rather tall apartment buildings were to be equipped with "freight 
elevators," which were allowed by law, provided they each had a 
key-operated lock distributed only to certified movers. But since Kren 
was the law, and he was not averse to some illegal keys being 
distributed, he thought that the upper floors would soon be thought of 
as the most desirable. His own apartment would take up the entire top 
floor of the tallest building, and would be three times as big as Bronki's. 


He gave his rough sketches to Dol, to have formal drawings made. 

He gave his rough sketches to Dol, to have formal drawings made. 

"Yes sir. But I've just completed my analysis of the costs of tunneling 
out floor space versus conventional construction, and you know? Once 
we have the tunneling machines, building underground is four times 
cheaper!" 

"Now, that's good to hear. But our research workers are all going to be 
high-quality, well-educated individuals, and I think that they will prefer 
living and working aboveground. The shop rats can live and work in the 
tunnels, but the Research Center really ought to be aboveground." 

"As you wish, sir." 

"Good. Now, get all of the big tunneling machines working. And then 
start working on growing a lot of grass, underground." 

* * * 

The next weekend, Kren won at the distance throw for the second time 
in a row, on the theory that since they hadn't done this before, the odds 
should be higher. They weren't. The payoff was only two to one, and 
following his new policy, he only bet half of his ready cash on it. 


Nonetheless, he still made a billion Ke on the match. Dol, who was 
betting everything she had, made much more. 

Nonetheless, he still made a billion Ke on the match. Dol, who was 
betting everything she had, made much more. 

The week after saw their first shipments of children go out, a thousand 
to fill Bronki's new store, and three thousand as their payment to the 
MagFloat Corporation. The cold winter weather was closing in, but the 
wintering centers were still far from full, and they only had access to 
one of them. Next week the take would be much better. 

They also broke ground on the Research Center. Construction would 
go on through the winter, with the workers in electrically heated suits. 
The first isolated breeding unit was to be completed by spring, and the 
whole complex was to be finished by midsummer. 

Below ground, two of the big tunneling machines were in operation, 
filling hopper car after hopper car with dirt. MagFloat personnel 
connected them into gross-car-long unit trains, and sent them out at 
night when the shipping rates were lower. 

Two more of the big tunnelers would be brought online each week. 
Fortunately, the equipment purchased from the duke had included a 
six-year supply of the metal coils used for making the tunnel linings, as 
well as the welding wire, and bottled argon used in the MIG welders 
that put them together, so this would not be a financial burden for a 
while. 

Besides Duke Dennon's two gross of engineers, Kren now had six 
gross of regular troops on his payroll, in addition to almost two gross of 


workers that he had inherited from the duke when he had bought the 
land. In fact some three quarters of the native population on Kren's 
new lands were workers on his payroll. These workers maintained the 
wintering centers and the long grass fields above them, and they had to 
be paid in cash, not with company stock. The same was true for the 
genetics scientists Kren had hired. By Friday, Kren had to hire an 
accountant to keep tract of things, and she had to be paid in money, 
too. 

workers that he had inherited from the duke when he had bought the 
land. In fact some three quarters of the native population on Kren's 
new lands were workers on his payroll. These workers maintained the 
wintering centers and the long grass fields above them, and they had to 
be paid in cash, not with company stock. The same was true for the 
genetics scientists Kren had hired. By Friday, Kren had to hire an 
accountant to keep tract of things, and she had to be paid in money, 
too. 

And the Research Center had to be paid for in cash progress 
payments. 

When the buildings that you are putting up are expected to last for 
many thousands of years without serious maintenance, construction 
costs are high. Kren was forced to buy stock in his own company with 
his own cash, to keep it liquid. 

Neither Bronki nor Dol was the least bit interested in making any cash 
investments. Any money spent now on stock was that much less that 
they could use to bet with next weekend. They were both still saving 
everything they could, and betting it all on Kren's athletic prowess, in 
preparation for what they both knew would be a stock fight for 
membership on the board of directors of the Superior Food 
Corporation next year. Once that happened, the corporation would be 
rolling in cash, but until then, Kren saw some lean times ahead. 


The next meet was an away game, and Kren won the accuracy throw, 
not quite breaking his old record. The odds only paid three for two. 

The next meet was an away game, and Kren won the accuracy throw, 
not quite breaking his old record. The odds only paid three for two. 

Kren decided that, computing his projected expenses, he couldn't 
afford to play it safe any more. He'd have to go back to betting it all on 
every event, just to break even. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 


The Last War and Planetary Defenses 
New Yugoslavia, 2213 a.d 


Toward the end of the last war, our enemy, a renegade computer, as it 
turned out, had developed a method of destroying all of the 
Hassan-Smith transmitters and receivers on an entire planet. He had 
managed to do this to four of our colonized planets. He was too 
dangerous to leave alive, so I had fried him without finding out his 
secret. 

Attempts to figure out how this had been accomplished had so far 


ended in failure. We even tried to duplicate the computer, and had tried 
to get it to develop the same technology, but no go. 

ended in failure. We even tried to duplicate the computer, and had tried 
to get it to develop the same technology, but no go. 

But with all of the transmitters and receivers gone, the only way to get 
in contact with the cut-off planets was by ships moving at less than light 
speed. 

Soon after the war, six new ships had been launched from the planets 
closest to each of our missing friends, each bringing transceivers with 
them. 

Before their ships got to them, the inhabitants of New Erie had 
managed to build transceivers from scratch, and reestablish contact 
with the rest of Human Space. The inhabitants and the Earthly invaders 
had worked out a truce, figuring to let the outcome of the war be 
settled somewhere else, as it probably already had been. 

Now the first ship had gotten to New Israel. The Israelis had fought a 
six-year-long slugfest with Earth's abandoned forces, with things 
escalating until their population was down to one tenth of what it had 
been before the war. Earth's forces had been completely obliterated. 
Their once beautiful planet had been reduced to radioactive craters and 


scar tissue. 

scar tissue. 

Massive amounts of aid was now pouring into their planet, and what 
was left of them was being invited to join in the new political order. 

The fate of the other two planets remains to be seen. 

Our general staff had now seen to it that every inhabited planet had at 
least two disassembled transceivers hidden on it, along with assembly 
instructions. With them powered down, it was felt unlikely that any 
detection scheme could find and destroy them. If ever this 
transceiver-destroying technology was invented again by another 
enemy, we were ready for it. But it was much like locking the barn 
door after all the horses had escaped. 

* * * 

Ships were being launched very regularly from the New Yugoslavia 
system as well. Picket ships for our planetary defense system. Now 
that a duplicate set of production lines had been built, we were 
launching two a week. 

The sixty ships for the Distant Early Warning Sphere were now all on 
their way, although it would be a few years before they got to their 


destinations. Once on station, they would each place over a thousand 
sensor clusters in their sector, to watch for incoming Mitchegai ships. 
These sensors also each contained a full-sized receiver, so that a 
counterattack could be launched through any one of them. 

destinations. Once on station, they would each place over a thousand 
sensor clusters in their sector, to watch for incoming Mitchegai ships. 
These sensors also each contained a full-sized receiver, so that a 
counterattack could be launched through any one of them. 

Every one of our ships and sensors would have an artificial intelligence 
aboard. Years ago, when the computers in all military machines had 
been upgraded from silicon chips to diamond ones, I'd bought up over 
a million of the old computers. There was no great need for cybernetic 
speed on either the ships or the sensors, and so when the silicon ladies 
volunteered for this duty, I gave them my blessings, and my thanks. 

Our ships did not use the hydrogen-oxygen rockets that the old Earth 
ships still used. Cesium ion engines were cheaper to build and to keep 
supplied. New Kashubia had vast amounts of cesium available that 
nobody had ever figured a good use for. Now, they were mining it in 
great quantities. 

At one light-year out from our sun, another sixty ships were being sent 
to make up the Comet Belt Sphere. It would have the same number of 
sensors as the DEW Sphere, but they would be planted four times 
more densely. 


Additional spheres would be set up at a half light-year, a quarter 
light-year, and an eighth light-year. 

Additional spheres would be set up at a half light-year, a quarter 
light-year, and an eighth light-year. 

Then the planet itself would have three spheres of orbital defense, plus 
many other sensors in a loose cloud. 

None of these ships and sensors would be armed, exactly, except for a 
massive self-destruct mechanism. They were there to detect the enemy, 
and to function as gateways where our fighting forces could exit into a 
wide variety of points. The plan was to let our forces go almost 
instantaneously to any point in the system where they were needed. 

Getting those fighting forces together was another problem entirely. 

Plans for our planetary defensive system were sent free to every planet 
in Human Space. We also offered a "Starter Kit" of basic machinery, 
so that they could do as we had done, using the fighting machines that 
they already had. We charged full price for that, but gave them credit 
on it. 

More than half of the planets were building their own systems. As for 
the rest, well, we had done our best. 


BackBackNext 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Offers You Can't Refuse 

Things started to settle down to a routine. 

Dol made an inspection trip to the building and packaging site twice a 
week. Since his academic grades were now outstanding, sometimes 
Kren cut classes and went with her in the mornings, but not too often. 

The design of the City of Dren was such that you could go almost 
everywhere by tunnel, and not have to expose yourself to the winter 
weather. Construction sites were something different. They had to wear 
heavy winter clothing and electrically heated underwear to go outside 
and inspect the progress of the construction work. 

Kren found it almost as annoying as wearing armor. He vowed that 
when circumstances permitted, he would move to the tropics, where it 
was always warm, even if it was more expensive to live there. 


Construction workers wore form-fitting, electrically heated garments in 
the wintertime, with safety helmets. Like most Mitchegai garments, 
these were color coded according to their specific trade. Heavy 
equipment operators wore black, plumbers wore brown, electricians 
red, and so forth. Their status and skill levels were displayed by the 
colors of their equipment belts. 

Construction workers wore form-fitting, electrically heated garments in 
the wintertime, with safety helmets. Like most Mitchegai garments, 
these were color coded according to their specific trade. Heavy 
equipment operators wore black, plumbers wore brown, electricians 
red, and so forth. Their status and skill levels were displayed by the 
colors of their equipment belts. 

There was a separate construction language, Geno, but there were over 
a dozen dialects within this language that were almost languages in their 
own right. 

There was an intricate cross-referencing between the various Mitchegai 
languages. An electrician, for example, could talk with an electrical 
engineer with little difficulty, but had trouble conversing with a 
hydraulics engineer, even though these two engineers could easily 
communicate with each other, and an electrician could always speak to 
a plumber. 

There was no possibility of Kren's cutting his physical training classes, 
or his obligations to the director, so he always had to leave early in 
order to be back in Dren by seven, in the early afternoon. 

Bronki ran the sales end of things fairly well, and sales increased, about 


one part in six, every week, and with very little spent on advertising. 
There was nothing on television, and only a few posters in the 
underground walkways. 

one part in six, every week, and with very little spent on advertising. 
There was nothing on television, and only a few posters in the 
underground walkways. 

Soon, she was opening a second, larger store, on the other side of 
town. 

"Have you heard the news?" Bronki said one evening. 

When Kren said that he didn't usually pay any attention to that sort of 
thing, Bronki said, "The KUL and the PPG have just fought out a major 
war! When the KUL had the PPG down to a quarter of its original size, 
the PPG launched a poison gas attack on the KUL headquarters, 
effectively wiping them out! Now, the planetary police are attacking the 
PPG for their use of illegal weapons, and the PPG don't have a chance. 
It is expected that the City of Dren will be peaceful for a while, until 
some other gang moves in." 

"Remarkable," Kren said. "And all of this for just a few Ke placed in 
the right places. You have much to be proud of, Bronki!" 

"Oh, I am, but I don't dare brag about it. There are probably lots of 


survivors hiding in the basements, looking for someone to get even 
with!" 

survivors hiding in the basements, looking for someone to get even 
with!" 

They found that one of Duke Dennon's captains, Yor, was very 
proficient at logistics, and a good manager besides. She was put in 
charge of production, and costs went down as production went up. 
Kren was afraid that before the year was out, he'd have to give her a 
hefty bonus, just in order to keep her. 

And remarkably, under the efficient direction of Chief Engineer Dako, 
construction proceeded on schedule, and at, or even sometimes slightly 
under, budget. 

Still, sales didn't begin to meet costs. And the betting odds on Kren 
continued to go down. 

* * * 

Dol's study of the statistical anomalies of the betting on an excellent, but 
erratic, athlete named Kren was published in The Journal of 
Statistical Anomalies. They charged two thousand Ke for this service, 
which Dol paid for herself to boost her academic career. Over six 
dozen popular magazines picked up on the story, including some of the 
majors, three of whom actually paid Dol a total of three thousand Ke 
for the privilege. 

The written language of the Mitchegai was standardized, and absolutely 
phonetic. If you could speak it, you could read it. 


It used three gross and six phonemes, each with its own symbol, a huge 
number by human standards. While humans, with all of their thousands 
of languages, use over six gross phonemes, the largest number used by 
any one language is less than a gross, and English uses only four dozen 
and four, and only half that number of symbols. 

It used three gross and six phonemes, each with its own symbol, a huge 
number by human standards. While humans, with all of their thousands 
of languages, use over six gross phonemes, the largest number used by 
any one language is less than a gross, and English uses only four dozen 
and four, and only half that number of symbols. 

* * * 

Dol appeared on eight television talk shows, two of which were 
broadcast planet-wide, telling about her findings, but none of them paid 
her. Nonetheless, any publicity was good for one's career. 

It did Kren no good at all. If anything, the publicity enhanced Kren's 
fame far more than Dol's. He had become too popular. Apparently, 
gamblers didn't care about studies or logic. They bet on their gut 
feelings. They kept on betting on Kren. The odds kept going down. 

Kren knew that the thing to do was to lose for three or four weeks 
straight, to disillusion his fans. But he couldn't afford to do that. Building 
expenses were too high. 

Betting his entire purse every weekend, he was not quite able to keep 
up with the spending that his building plans required. His purse started 
shrinking. 


Then he got a letter from the City of Dren Internal Revenue Command. 
They had been watching his gambling income, and demanded that he 
pay them two billion Ke in taxes. Failure to do so immediately would 
result in his Death by Fire. 

Then he got a letter from the City of Dren Internal Revenue Command. 
They had been watching his gambling income, and demanded that he 
pay them two billion Ke in taxes. Failure to do so immediately would 
result in his Death by Fire. 

He promptly called a meeting of the board of directors of the Superior 
Food Corporation. 

* * * 

When Bronki and Dol were gathered in Kren's sitting room, 
surrounded by display cases of athletic medals and strange weapons, 
he explained the situation to them, and then said, "I take it that the IRC 
really is as ruthless as they claim to be?" 

"I'm afraid so," Bronki said. "What's more, they like to make an 
example of high profile individuals. They feel it is good advertising, the 
better to intimidate the ordinary Mitchegai. And you, Kren, are about 
as high profile as you can get." 

"I see. I'm sure that you will both agree that without me here and alive 
to run it, this corporation is not likely to be successful. It desperately 
needs cash, to meet current and future expenses, and to loan to me, 
interest free, so that I can satisfy the IRC. Neither of you has put any 
significant amount of cash into the company account, even though you 
have both made fabulous sums betting on me. This is because you both 
anticipate a stock fight just before the next board elections. What I 


propose is that you each buy four billion Ke worth of company stock 
today. This will rescue both me and the company, and still keep your 
race fair." 

propose is that you each buy four billion Ke worth of company stock 
today. This will rescue both me and the company, and still keep your 
race fair." 

"I had assumed that the betting odds would stay at least at the two to 
one level. Also, you both agreed with me on the building plans. Now, I 
need you each to contribute four billion Ke," Kren said. 

"That's a lot of money, sir," Dol said. 

"Yes, surely you can think of some other alternative," Bronki said. 

"I have, but my only obvious alternative would be disadvantageous to 
me since it would result in my loss of the valuable services provided by 
both of you. To put it simply, I could kill you both, and by eating 
certain portions of your brains, I could obtain the information needed to 
gain access to all of your accounts. Thus, I would have all of the money 
that both of you possess, satisfying both the corporation's needs and 
the IRC demands. However, I think that my original proposal is 
superior from all of our viewpoints." 

"I think that you are absolutely correct, sir," Dol said quickly. "After all, 


there is no point in being a director of a nonexistent corporation, and I 
really prefer being alive to the alternative. Would a check suffice, or do 
you really need cash?" 

there is no point in being a director of a nonexistent corporation, and I 
really prefer being alive to the alternative. Would a check suffice, or do 
you really need cash?" 

"My check will be there at the same time, Kren, to help you in this time 
of need. After all, what else are good friends for?" Bronki said. 

Kren said, "I was sure that you would both see the wisdom of my 
suggestions." 

"Most assuredly, sir." 

They wrote up the checks and deposit slips right there, plus a check for 
two billion Ke from the corporation to Kren's private account, signed 
by all three of them. 

As Dol prepared to run it all to the bank before it closed, Kren said, "I 
have one other announcement. The payoff on our winnings has gotten 
extremely low, and Dol's excellent campaign to educate my fans has 
proved to be unsuccessful. Therefore, with the director's permission, I 
intend to have a losing streak. I will not be winning anything for the next 
three or four weeks. Let's see if that gets the odds up to where they 
should be." 


"Yes, I think that in the long run, that might be the most profitable thing 
to do," Bronki said. "If the odds get back up to five to one, we could 
recoup our losses at a single meet." 

"Yes, I think that in the long run, that might be the most profitable thing 
to do," Bronki said. "If the odds get back up to five to one, we could 
recoup our losses at a single meet." 

But by this time next year, Kren vowed to himself, I will be officially 
living on my own lands, and not subject to City of Dren taxes. Surely, a 
residence there, and a year-long commuter's ticket, both costing 
infinitely less than two billion Ke, will satisfy the judges. 

That evening, Bronki reminded him, politely, that he also had to pay the 
taxes and utilities on the two country houses that she had given him. 

Kren grumbled, but paid. 

* * * 

"Ah, Kren," the director said, "I take it you have your 'prediction' for 
next weekend?" 

"Yes, sir. With your permission, I won't win anything." 


"Indeed?" 

"Indeed?" 

"You know, I've been thinking the same thing. I saw Dool on the 
television, with that study of hers. That was your idea?" 

"Yes, sir, but it didn't work." 

"I knew it wouldn't. If there's anything stupider than athletes, it's the 
trash who bet on them. Okay, take a break, but keep an eye on the 
odds. You still have to show up for the games, of course, so you can 
lose in public, but if you want to cut a few training sessions, feel free." 

"Thank you sir. I appreciate that. I need a rest." 

"You're welcome. Have you heard anything about Kodo?" 

"No sir. I've asked a few discreet questions about him, when I could 


work it into a conversation, but Kodo seems to have left the planet." 

work it into a conversation, but Kodo seems to have left the planet." 

* * * 

Kren left the athletic center early, thinking about a good meal and a 
long sleep. Dol and Bronki were not home when he got there, so he 
phoned Bronki's store to order up a child to eat. 

"Yes, sir! And what size did you want?" a pleasant voice on the phone 
answered back. 

This was actually Kren's first contact with the store. Normally, Dol 
handled this sort of thing for him. 

"Well, what sizes do you have?" 

"The standard size is our 'Perfect Party Snack' series, which run from 
five dozen to seven dozen pounds. They go for two pounds per Ke. If 
you have a larger group, or are really, really hungry, the 'Belly Busters' 
go up to a gross pounds or even more at three pounds per Ke. Or for 
a more intimate party, you can buy a 'Munchkin' as small as two dozen 
pounds, at a pound and a half per Ke," the cheerful voice said. "There 
is also our 'Special Selection' series, but you have to come down here 
personally and make your selection. They run as high as a pound per 
Ke." 


"That's interesting. I think I'll come down there." 

"That's interesting. I think I'll come down there." 

Since the outlet was directly below him, he was in the store in a few 
minutes. He was the only customer there, and with only a single shop 
girl in attendance. 

"It's rather quiet here," Kren said. 

"Well, this is early on a Tuesday afternoon, sir. Come here on a Friday 
night, and you'll find a long line of customers and two dozen shop girls 
worn to a frazzle! Oh my! You're Kren, aren't you! The famous 
athlete!" 

"I'm guilty of that, yes. It's a rough job, but somebody has to do it." 
Kren found his fans to be annoying, and tried to avoid them. "You were 
going to show me this 'Special Selection' thing?" 

"Yes, sir. You know, I always bet on you!" 

"Yes, and you lose money doing it, just like everybody else." 


"Yes, I suppose that I do. But it's so much fun, cheering you on, that I 
can't help myself. There's a gang of us who get together every 
Saturday, at the arenas or around a television set, on the away games. 
And sometimes I win." 

"Yes, I suppose that I do. But it's so much fun, cheering you on, that I 
can't help myself. There's a gang of us who get together every 
Saturday, at the arenas or around a television set, on the away games. 
And sometimes I win." 

"Yes, I read something about that in a magazine. But you shouldn't let it 
bother you. It's our money, after all." 

"It bothers me anyway, and I wish you'd all stop doing it. Now, show 
me these 'Specials.' " 

The shop girl led Kren into a large room with about two dozen 
youngsters on display. About half were in attractive cages, some were 
clamped down on party tables, and the rest were held vertically, 
standing with their feet fastened on top of short pedestals, and with 
their arms clamped to the wall. 

All sizes were represented, and these particularly attractive children had 
all been carefully washed and then coated with a light layer of oil, which 
made them glisten nicely. The spotlights on them glowed warmly. 


A smaller one caught his eye. She was a lovely little thing, looking 
eagerly at him as she stood on her pedestal with her back to the wall. 

A smaller one caught his eye. She was a lovely little thing, looking 
eagerly at him as she stood on her pedestal with her back to the wall. 

"How much is this one?" Kren asked. 

"She weighs five dozen and three pounds, and goes for a pound and a 
half per Ke. That's three dozen and six Ke, sir." 

"I'll take her." 

"Very good, sir. Did you want a box to put her in?" 

"Does that cost extra?" 

"No, but there's an eight Ke deposit on the box. You will get that back 
when you return it." 

That was twice what they were paying for the things new, and Kren 
thought that to be proper. 


The Mitchegai, with their long-term outlook on things, do not go in for 
disposable packaging, as a rule. Everything is carefully recycled. 

The Mitchegai, with their long-term outlook on things, do not go in for 
disposable packaging, as a rule. Everything is carefully recycled. 

"Oh! You live at Bronki's address! I'd better check something." She 
checked quickly at a list behind the counter. "Yes, you are listed as a 
'Friend of Bronki's.' " 

"How much extra do I have to pay for that privilege?" 

"Nothing, silly! Excuse me. I mean, sir. No, you get a dozen per gross 
discount," she said. 

She deducted the proper amount from his card and returned it, along 
with a receipt. "Before you go, could I have your autograph?" 

"Are you going to stop betting on me?" 

"No, sir." 

"Then you won't get an autograph. Unlock the child I just bought," 


Kren said. 

Kren said. 

Once inside, he let her take a long drink of water from the fountain, and 
once again, she smiled at him. 

A fine, gentle child, Kren thought. 

A human might have considered keeping her as a pet, but Kren, of 
course, wasn't human. 

A few hours later, he expanded his earlier thought to, A fine, gentle, 
and delicious child! 

And she had screamed so nicely when he ate her alive. When alone, 
Kren preferred to dispense with the civilized niceties like knives and 
branding irons, and to just chew his meat right off the bone, the way he 
did when he was a slave in the mines. 

Back | Next 


Contents 

Contents 
E 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Tunneling to War 

Losing a match didn't bother Kren, since he got no joy from winning 
one. If anything, it was a bonus, since he didn't have to show up at the 
awards ceremonies, and thus he had his Sundays free. 

After five weeks of relaxing, and paying more attention to the business 
than to his academic and athletic duties, the odds on Kren's winning an 
event had gone up to between five and seven to one. 

The posted odds were always just rough approximations. The actual 
payoffs were computed to six duodecimal places. 

Kren told the director that he would win at the accuracy event. 

He also planned to win at the distance event immediately afterward, but 


kept this a secret, except for telling Bronki and Dol. The close spacing 
between the events meant that very few betters would be able to wager 
on the second event, based on Kren's performance in the first. The 
odds were not likely to go down much. 

kept this a secret, except for telling Bronki and Dol. The close spacing 
between the events meant that very few betters would be able to wager 
on the second event, based on Kren's performance in the first. The 
odds were not likely to go down much. 

The bookies did not care whether their customers won or lost. All 
bookies were tied into a planet-wide, computerized syndicate that 
shared out the wins and losses. The bookies took a nine per gross cut 
of all bets, wired the rest to the syndicate, which kept three per gross, 
and then distributed the pot, which was automatically wired back to the 
winners. The central syndicate didn't know who bet what, but of 
course, the bookies did, and they all placed side bets of their own. 
However, they didn't normally pass tips out for fear of reducing their 
own winnings. 

Kren's bookie had learned that it was wise to bet the way Kren was 
betting. 

By delaying payment on his debts to the construction contractors, Kren 
was also able to bet over four billion of the corporation's money on the 
double win. 

Bronki and Dol used the same deal with the same bookie, betting such 


money as they had left over after paying their own taxes. 

money as they had left over after paying their own taxes. 

Afterward, Kren met with his bookie, and suggested that she invest a 
dozen billion Ke in Kren's corporation. 

"But I don't have anything like a dozen billion Ke!" the bookie 
protested. 

"That is unfortunate, because if you don't make this excellent, but 
long-term investment, I will be forced to take my future business 
elsewhere," Kren explained. 

The bookie made the investment, though she was not happy about it. 

The director of athletics was also unhappy. 

"Burn you, Kren! You never said that you would win at two events on 
Saturday!" 


"I didn't intend to, sir. But at the distance event, just when I was letting 
fly, my foot slipped on something, maybe some juvenal droppings, and 
I had to throw too hard to keep myself from falling on my face! It was 
an accident! Surely, the tapes of my performance will prove that!" 

"I didn't intend to, sir. But at the distance event, just when I was letting 
fly, my foot slipped on something, maybe some juvenal droppings, and 
I had to throw too hard to keep myself from falling on my face! It was 
an accident! Surely, the tapes of my performance will prove that!" 

Kren thought that for well over a gross billion Ke, he could put up with 
a lot, and making the payments with the late penalties to his contractors 
didn't hurt him at all. 

The next day, since the odds on him were down to typically two to 
one, Kren proposed that they slough off for at least three weeks, and 
the director agreed. 

The rest of the year went that way. It was more profitable to win big 
once every three to five weeks than it was to win small every week. 

* * * 

Bronki completed her first paper on chaos theory, and it was 
enthusiastically accepted by their world's mathematical community. She 
was soon attending conventions around the planet as an Honored 
Guest Speaker, and was giving a course on chaos theory at the College 
of Mathematics to a large, packed auditorium, three days a week. Of 
course, all of this paid well. 


And she did this while she kept the sales of children well above their 
ambitious early projections. She soon had six stores scattered around 
the City of Dren. 

And she did this while she kept the sales of children well above their 
ambitious early projections. She soon had six stores scattered around 
the City of Dren. 

The early experiments with growing grass under artificial, 
monochromatic light had turned out extremely well. The lights used 
were actually twice as bright as normal sunlight at the wavelength useful 
to plants, but the total amount of energy radiated was only one-sixth 
that of sunlight. The result was that it was more than twice as 
productive as it would have been in a well-watered field at noon in the 
tropics, and without heat stress. 

Grass had no difficulty adopting to a two-dozen-hour day, since it 
sometimes did that already in high latitudes, near the poles. There were 
always just the right amounts of water and nutrients available to it. The 
light was directly overhead, from a diffused area all the time, so the 
leaves did not have to waste energy turning to the sun. There were no 
cloudy days, no evenings, no nights. There were no juvenals walking on 
it, hurting the roots. There were no winters, when nothing grew. 

The net result was that the annual production was a dozen and a half 
times higher per square yard than it was in the average field. It had to 
be mowed twice daily, or it would turn rank. Also, some research 
studies indicated that if the carbon dioxide content of the air could be 
quadrupled, production might be doubled once again. 

Kren was pleased. Especially so since the underground grass-growing 
project was already well under way. Had growing grass in tunnels 
proved to be inefficient, a huge fortune would have been lost. 


The MagFloat railroad system cut Kren's lands into vaguely hexagonal 
areas an average of six dozen miles across. This was so that they could 
meet their ancient political mandate of having a station within a brisk 
day's walk of every point on the planet. 

The MagFloat railroad system cut Kren's lands into vaguely hexagonal 
areas an average of six dozen miles across. This was so that they could 
meet their ancient political mandate of having a station within a brisk 
day's walk of every point on the planet. 

The tunneling machines were not capable of starting a new tunnel at 
right angles to the one they were in, but the cutters were capable of 
pivoting enough to start a tunnel at half of that angle. As additional 
tunnelers were brought on line, this resulted in an array of tunnels that a 
human would have called a herringbone pattern, or perhaps something 
that looked like the shaft and veins of a feather. 

Since the Mitchegai had never heard of a herringbone or a bird's 
feather, they just called it Dol's Design. 

They bought roll-forming machinery to take a coil of the almost 
immortal metal alloy the Mitchegai used and shape it into a flooring 
panel. This was followed by a punch press to cut the floors to length 
and shape the ends to be welded to the tunnel walls. Lighting panels 
were then welded on the bottoms of all but the lowest ones, and wired 


up. 

up. 

The rail to the right that supported the mower was also a high-pressure 
water line that doubled as the electrical power common wire. The rail 
to the left doubled as the high-tension electrical conduit, and the rest of 
the structure was also a ground line. Kren thought that Dol had come 
up with an efficient design. 

In a few months, there were two dozen of these assembly machines 
working, manned by Duke Dennon's soldiers, and supervised by his 
engineers. 

The twelve-yard-high tunnels had ten floors in them, with only a half a 
yard between them for the mower to work in. If maintenance was ever 
required, the workers would have to be dragged in on a sled, lying on 
their backs, behind the mower working at that level. 

The first few gross yards of each tunnel had fewer floors, and would be 
used to house the juvenals who ate the grass. 

Using all seven big tunnelers, they figured to have one layer of tunnels, 


over ten thousand miles of them, completed in four years, and the 
whole thing in full production a year after that. Completed, it should 
produce over three and a half million large juvenals per year for market. 
It would produce more than that if indeed juvenals were more efficient 
at growing when they didn't have to spend most of their time and 
energy hunting for food and water. And much more than that if their 
selective breeding program bore fruit. 

over ten thousand miles of them, completed in four years, and the 
whole thing in full production a year after that. Completed, it should 
produce over three and a half million large juvenals per year for market. 
It would produce more than that if indeed juvenals were more efficient 
at growing when they didn't have to spend most of their time and 
energy hunting for food and water. And much more than that if their 
selective breeding program bore fruit. 

"Right now, yes," Kren agreed. "But I'm thinking long-term. Right now, 
the price of children is very low, because so many of them are 
available, free for the taking, in the countryside. But as we start 
producing more, the population of this planet will grow, and those 
available free won't be enough to feed it. At that point, we will be able 
to raise our prices, considerably." 

"I see. But is our population actually limited by the food supply? Will 
the addition of more food really cause the population to grow?" 

"If the population doesn't grow, we will have to take steps to make it 
grow. I can think of many ways to do this. We might become righteous 
warriors who will eliminate the criminal elements in the cities. They 
seem to be currently doing a lot to keep the population down. 
However, from this point on, it will be company policy to do whatever 
we can to increase the planetary population." 


"Very well, sir. Then again, this one hexagon would feed an army of 
almost a quarter of a million warriors," Dol said. 

"Very well, sir. Then again, this one hexagon would feed an army of 
almost a quarter of a million warriors," Dol said. 

"Still, there is a lot more money to be made gambling, sir. The citizens 
of this planet spend more than seven times as much on gambling as they 
do on food." 

"Just now, there is, and this will continue so long as I am an 
undergraduate, another five years at most. After that, well, the betting 
on professional sports is not nearly as good as that on collegiate sports. 
I'll get involved with them only if I have to. I understand that on some 
planets, it is different, but not here. We must see to it that we make our 
fortune at gambling now, and then that we have a sustainable income 
that allows for considerable expansion later. The current profits on food 
might be low, but they are dependable. And in time, the food to 
gambling ratio just might reverse." 

"I suppose that you are right, sir." 

"I am." 

* * * 

The collector path stretched for half the length of Kren's property. This 


was like a double fish-weir fence that allowed juvenals to enter in 
between them, but not to go out. Additional sections of fish weir 
between them forced the children to walk to a central processing 
station, where some were selected for packaging, and the rest were 
released to grow bigger. Watering troughs were placed along both 
sides of both fences to keep the youngsters fresh and the losses down. 

was like a double fish-weir fence that allowed juvenals to enter in 
between them, but not to go out. Additional sections of fish weir 
between them forced the children to walk to a central processing 
station, where some were selected for packaging, and the rest were 
released to grow bigger. Watering troughs were placed along both 
sides of both fences to keep the youngsters fresh and the losses down. 

At this point, Duke Dennon called and said that he wanted to borrow it. 

"Of course, Your Grace. I'm sure we can work something out. How 
long would you be needing it for?" 

"Oh, probably for several years, actually." 

"Hmmm. Then you would probably be better off buying it than renting 
it. I could sell it to you at two dozen per gross off list price." 

"Kren, that price is atrocious! You just bought it from me for nine 
dozen per gross off list!" 


"Well, if you needed it, why did you sell it to me in the first place?" 

"Well, if you needed it, why did you sell it to me in the first place?" 

"Oh. What are you planning to do with it anyway?" 

"I don't want to talk about that over the phone, and anyway, I'll be 
needing your help on this. Can you visit me in the near future?" 

"Certainly. If I took an express train right after physical training 
tomorrow, I could be there by twelve in the evening. I wouldn't have to 
leave until five, an hour before noon, the next morning." 

"I'll have a servant waiting at the station when you arrive." 

"That would be excellent, Your Grace." 

* * * 

Kren booked a private cabin because he didn't want to risk having to 
sit next to one of his fans for two hours. Anyway, he billed it to the 
corporation, which was currently flush. 

"So, Your Grace, what is this secret thing that you are planning on 
doing with the small tunneler?" Kren asked as they sat down privately 


to share a small snack. He was proudly wearing the sword that the 
duke had given him. 

to share a small snack. He was proudly wearing the sword that the 
duke had given him. 

"You are planning to take a tunneler to a war? Wouldn't that be against 
the Laws of War?" These laws strictly forbade the use of powered 
vehicles of any sort in warfare, either for fighting or for transportation. 

"It certainly would, but I don't plan to use it directly, of course. But 
what if I were to discover that an ancient, forgotten tunnel just 
happened to go from beneath my palace to beneath Duke Tendi's 
castle? If I were to then march my men through this tunnel, and break 
through to his basement, would I bring down the bombs of the Space 
Mitchegai on me? I think not." 

"So you need me to make this tunnel for you. Well, I presume that you 
have a map around here? Then let's take a look at what we're talking 
about." 

In a few hours it was decided that Kren would run a big tunnel across 
one of the hexagons of his property that was closest to the duke's 
palace. A small tunnel would be run from this large one, and the dirt 
from both would be shipped out together by the railroad. This was to 
cover the fact that they were digging the small tunnel at all, if anybody 
checked the MagFloat Corporation's records. 


A total of eight gross miles of small tunnel would be required, going 
entirely across the Dennon's lands, under Duke Tendi's castle, and 
considerably beyond that. There would be a maze at both ends of the 
tunnel with a series of deadly traps to discourage further exploration. 

A total of eight gross miles of small tunnel would be required, going 
entirely across the Dennon's lands, under Duke Tendi's castle, and 
considerably beyond that. There would be a maze at both ends of the 
tunnel with a series of deadly traps to discourage further exploration. 

Kren estimated that they could have the work completed within thirty 
weeks, if there were no hitches. If they ran into unusual soil conditions, 
hard rock, or underground water, it would take longer and cost more. 
At worst case, the battle might have to be delayed until the following 
winter. 

Then, in a few months, when the gas had time to dissipate, some of 
Duke Dennon's workers would just happen to be digging a well, and 
accidentally find the ancient tunnel system. Naturally, he would have it 
explored and mapped, regretfully losing a few soldiers in the wicked 
traps in the mazes. 

And in the coming winter, when most armies were standing down, 
Dennon would use it to attack his old enemy, Duke Tendi. 

"Kren, I like it! Now, what would you want to dig this tunnel for me?" 


"Well, first, I would expect to be reimbursed, in cash, not check or an 
electronic transfer, but actual cash money, for all of my expenses, the 
largest of which will be for paying the MagFloat Corporation for 
hauling away all of the dirt." 

"Well, first, I would expect to be reimbursed, in cash, not check or an 
electronic transfer, but actual cash money, for all of my expenses, the 
largest of which will be for paying the MagFloat Corporation for 
hauling away all of the dirt." 

"Then, in the fall, I will owe you a gross million Ke, my annual payment 
for your military protection," Kren said. "I will want you to take that 
payment in my company's stock, instead of cash, and I will want you to 
continue doing so for the next two dozen years." 

"If you'll tell me when you next intend to win at an athletic event, you 
have a deal." 

"Very good, but there's one more thing that I want." 

"Indeed? And what is that?" Dennon asked. 

"I want to come along when you attack Duke Tendi! I enjoy a good 
fight." 

"Your aid would be most welcome! Okay, we have a deal, but we'd 
better not put this one in writing!" 


"Excellent! Now, let's finish off this party snack. The poor thing must be 
feeling very neglected," Kern said. 

"Excellent! Now, let's finish off this party snack. The poor thing must be 
feeling very neglected," Kern said. 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO 


The Weapons of War 
New Yugoslavia, 2214 a.d. 


Things progressed, but the important thing that happened this year was 
that my loving wife, Kasia, gave birth to a magnificent baby boy, our 
fifth. She also said that enough was enough, and that if I couldn't give 
her at least one girl, she was going to give up on it. 

I said that I would have loved to have had a little girl, but I didn't have 
much say in the matter. She was just going to have to take it up with 
God. 

She said that she would do just that, and until He answered, she was 
going on the pill. 

Well, I loved her, and five really was a houseful. 

* * * 


Another of our lost planets had been found. New Palestine. Our ship 
got there to find everyone, both on our side and theirs, dead. 
Somebody had made a deadly virus and let it loose. Our intelligent 
machines were working on resurrecting the planet, but until the virus 
was eliminated, people dared not return, nor could we permit the 
electronic people to return to us. Repopulating the planet was being 
debated. 

Another of our lost planets had been found. New Palestine. Our ship 
got there to find everyone, both on our side and theirs, dead. 
Somebody had made a deadly virus and let it loose. Our intelligent 
machines were working on resurrecting the planet, but until the virus 
was eliminated, people dared not return, nor could we permit the 
electronic people to return to us. Repopulating the planet was being 
debated. 

The basic weapon of the Human Army was the tank. This was 
essentially a well-armored box that contained a muon-exchange fusion 
power supply, a series of computers, one of which was intelligent 
enough to pass for a human being, and was smarter in some ways. It 
had a coffin that contained a real human, together with a life-support 
system capable of keeping him or her alive indefinitely. The human 
floated in an aqueous liquid that protected him from shocks and 
accelerations of up to fifty Gs. 

This observer was linked through cranial and spinal inductors to the 
tank's computers, which could keep him in Dream World, living at 
thirty times the speed that he could live at in the world outside. 

There was also a combat mode, where he became essentially a single 
entity with his tank, and lived at typically fifty-five times as fast as 
normal, depending on the individual. 

On a planet surface, the tank used a track-laying MagLev system that 
laid magnetic bars before it, floated over them, and then pulled them in 
to lay them in front again. On a metallic surface, it could magnetize the 
metal under it, dispense with the bars, and travel much faster. On a real 


MagLev track, and in a vacuum, it could hit three thousand kilometers 
an hour. 

MagLev track, and in a vacuum, it could hit three thousand kilometers 
an hour. 

As I saw it, the next war, or at least the early phases of it, would be 
fought in space. Some new strap-ons were in order. 

Up until now, traveling in space in a tank involved using a 
hydrogen-oxygen rocket capable of giving you a thrust of forty Gs. It 
was fed through a pair of Hassan-Smith transporters from a fuel dump 
somewhere nearby. The transmitters were expensive, which means that 
you couldn't have very many of them. Also, the rockets were very 
bright and very noticable. 

The captured Mitchegai ship had taught us a few things about ion 
drives, and New Kashubia had a major surplus of cesium available, a 
metal that was easily ionized, and very massive. 

The new engines required less than three percent of the fuel of the old 
ones, and a single transmitter could keep thirty-five of them fed. 

The old tanks had only speed-of-light communications available. An 


expensive microtransceiver that sent tiny memory chips had been 
invented, and I resolved that every one of my tanks would have one. I 
had a production line of our own built to insure this, and damn the 
bureaucrats in New Kashubia. Now, every single fighting unit could 
communicate with headquarters. 

expensive microtransceiver that sent tiny memory chips had been 
invented, and I resolved that every one of my tanks would have one. I 
had a production line of our own built to insure this, and damn the 
bureaucrats in New Kashubia. Now, every single fighting unit could 
communicate with headquarters. 

And there was a wide variety of rockets, drones, mines, and 
antipersonnel weapons that we had in stock that might prove useful. 

Everything military now was deep below the ground. Using the 
Hassan-Smith transporters, we could get to any point in Human Space 
in a hurry, but they'd have a hell of a time getting to us. 

When the Mitchegai came, I hoped that we would be ready. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 


BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 

BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 

The next morning, Duke Dennon mentioned that he had been able to 
purchase six more armored, but defective, space suits, and bemoaned 
the fact that there were so few of them on the market. 

"Well then, why don't you make your own?" Kren asked. 

"Make a space suit? Do you realize the level of technology that 
requires?" 

"A space suit, yes. But all you need is a suit of armor! It doesn't have 
to be airtight. It doesn't have to provide the wearer with air to breathe. 
It doesn't have to be heated to bear the cold of dark space, or cooled 
to take the heat of the naked sun. All it has to do is to keep your 
soldiers from being cut by your enemy's weapons! Look, you already 
have a perfect pattern for what you need. You have some old space 
suits. Take one of them apart, give the three dozen or so pieces to 
some of your excellent engineers . . ." 

"There are six dozen major pieces in a space suit, not counting the 
fasteners, Kren." 


"Whatever! That means that they will have to make up six dozen sets of 
stamping dies, at a few thousand Ke each, unless they decide that they 
can do it themselves. Then, you buy a few stamping presses, and have 
your soldiers operate them. You'll have enough armor for your whole 
army in a dozen weeks or so." 

"Whatever! That means that they will have to make up six dozen sets of 
stamping dies, at a few thousand Ke each, unless they decide that they 
can do it themselves. Then, you buy a few stamping presses, and have 
your soldiers operate them. You'll have enough armor for your whole 
army in a dozen weeks or so." 

"You've got the money, you've got the workers, and you have a 
product sample! What more do you need?" 

"Would you handle this for me?" 

"If you want to give me your money, I'll take it. But I'll just turn the 
whole project over to your chief engineer, who is currently working for 
me. You've already got the talent. Use it!" 

"Somehow, I'd feel better if you handled this." 

"As you wish, Your Grace. We'll set up your armor factory in your 
huge basement here, since I've emptied much of the machinery out of it. 
My price will be cost plus one third, to be paid to me personally in 
money, cash or check." 


"That would be adequate," the duke said. 

"That would be adequate," the duke said. 

* * * 

Kren filled Dol in on the two new projects. 

"For the armor, just give the project to Kren's chief engineer, and let 
her run with it. See to it that the bookkeeping on this project is kept 
separate from everything else." 

"Easily done, sir." 

"For the tunnel, well, we'll just call it the 'Exploratory Tunnel,' and tell 
the few workers involved that it's company confidential. Nothing super 
secret, but we're just examining soil conditions for future grass-growing 
tunnels. Also, there just might be some valuable minerals out there, and 
if we find any, we don't want anybody else to know about it. Even the 
workers operating the small tunneler shouldn't know what they are 
really doing, or even where they are. Don't give them any maps. Just 
give them short charts of angles and distances, enough to keep them 
busy for a week or so. And get the old charts back as you give them 
the new ones. Also, I'll want separate bookkeeping on this project as 
well, with nothing concerning the exploratory tunnel to ever be put on 
any computer. Just one book for expenses, something that can be 
destroyed easily. No side notes may be written. All of your sketches 
must be destroyed immediately. You and I and Duke Dennon will 


know what is really going on here. Nobody else!" 

know what is really going on here. Nobody else!" 

"I think that it is, both financially, and because Duke Dennon is very 
important to our entire endeavor." 

"Very well. You are the boss. I'll get right on it, sir." 

* * * 

Kren's scientists got the ancient DNA lab set up, and to the 
wonderment of all, they managed to get most of the equipment 
working. Only two small pieces of gear had to be built anew from 
ancient plans. The first project he gave them was himself. 

"I don't know why I am such an outstanding athlete, but I want to find 
out. I am positive that it has something to do with this body, and not my 
brain. Take some tissue samples, and see what you can learn," Kren 
said to them. 

* * * 

For the six weeks prior to the Planetary Collegiate Championships, 
Kren won nothing at all, not even a copper third place medal. For the 
championships, where the amount of money bet would be vastly 
greater than at any ordinary meet, he made arrangements with his 
bookie to win sequentially at fencing, accuracy, and distance, and bet 
half of his considerable personal fortune and most of his corporation's 


ready cash on the outcome. 

ready cash on the outcome. 

Kren promptly authorized the purchase of the machinery required to 
make their own monochromatic lighting panels, cutting their marginal 
costs by three quarters on this expensive item. 

* * * 

Saying that a victory celebration was in order, Kren invited three dozen 
of the university's best female athletes to a week-long party. Kren's 
prestige being what it was, every one of them was happy to attend. 

The party started with a chartered MagFloat train consisting of an 
engine and three club cars to take them and a few carefully selected 
party snacks on the two-hour trip to Kren's Research Center. They 
were all laughing hilariously when the train pulled up, not to the 
passenger station, but to the loading docks, where there was an 
entrance to the Research Center. 

On the loading docks, over a gross of workers were injecting children 
with knockout drugs, putting them into boxes, and loading the boxes 
into railroad box cars for shipment to Bronki's stores. It was an efficient 
process, and Kren proudly showed his slightly tipsy guests through the 
operation, quoting statistics about the huge numbers of youngsters that 
he had shipped out to date. 


They then went through a series of huge, noisy, metal-lined tunnels 
where conveyor belts whizzed by full of dirt that was on its way to 
hopper cars that would be dumped into an ocean trench. From there, 
they went through a door that Kren unlocked with both his credit card 
and a mechanical key, and then up a freight elevator to what Kren 
privately called his "Breeding Room." 

They then went through a series of huge, noisy, metal-lined tunnels 
where conveyor belts whizzed by full of dirt that was on its way to 
hopper cars that would be dumped into an ocean trench. From there, 
they went through a door that Kren unlocked with both his credit card 
and a mechanical key, and then up a freight elevator to what Kren 
privately called his "Breeding Room." 

The room was huge. It measured two gross yards to the side, the 
ceiling was six yards above the grass, and it was covered with growing 
lights. The monochromatic lights were turned off now, but enough 
normal, solar spectrum lights were on to provide adequate lighting. 

Six dozen children of various ages were grazing, foolishly unconcerned 
by their arrival. 

Six party tables were clustered at one side of the room, complete with 
knives and a few electric irons. 

"The floor is bouncy!" one of the athletes shouted, running across the 
room. 

"Yes," Kren said. "That's real grass, growing on top of a tank of water 


that's six yards deep. I was afraid that it wouldn't be solid enough to 
walk on in time, but there it is!" 

that's six yards deep. I was afraid that it wouldn't be solid enough to 
walk on in time, but there it is!" 

"No, I wanted to do something really unusual. Something fun! So, the 
party has begun! Pick a snack that suits you, and run her down! Strap 
the child to one of the party tables available, and we'll all chow down! 
And if we eat all of these, I can order up some more! Now let's see 
who gets the first scream, and who gets the best one!" 

It was pleasantly warm in the big room, and when Kren doffed his 
clothing, the others did so as well, as he had planned, all the better to 
ensure that all of their eggs dropped on the grass. 

Most of the party guests took off running after the children, and over 
two dozen were caught. Most of them were soon released, to be 
caught again later, when the first six occupied all of the party tables. 
Soon, six children were screaming in pain, to the applause of the party 
goers. 

Kren circulated, spreading his sperm around. This room and this party 
were a refinement of his earlier plans for breeding more bodies like the 
one he wore. Here, inside of this fairly natural environment, their eggs 
and his sperm could interact, and a large number of grubs would be the 
result. 


When the grubs were ready to become pollywogs, they had only to eat 
through the grass to get to the pool below. And when the pollywogs 
were ready to become juvenals, it would be a simple matter for them to 
eat their way back up to the air. 

When the grubs were ready to become pollywogs, they had only to eat 
through the grass to get to the pool below. And when the pollywogs 
were ready to become juvenals, it would be a simple matter for them to 
eat their way back up to the air. 

The whole room had been built under stringent conditions, in the dead 
of winter, with every worker having her sexual organs carefully 
covered. Kren himself had filled the tank with distilled water and 
chemical fertilizers. He had spread the grass seed on the surface 
personally, and since that time, no one else had been permitted in the 
"Breeding Room." 

Nonetheless, a certain amount of contamination was inevitable. Also, 
many of his own kids would doubtless prove to be unsuitable. 
Therefore, every single juvenal would be carefully genetically tested, 
and only the best would be allowed to live. 

As the party became more boisterous, some of Kren's athletic guests 
began jumping up and down on the grass-covered water, generating 
waves that spilled the party tables and knocked some of the other 
ladies down. They were trying to figure out the right timing to bounce 
themselves ever higher in the air, trying to touch the ceiling. 

Soon over a dozen of them were jumping up and down in the same 


spot, and the grass below them gave way. They went right through, and 
ended up below the water. 

spot, and the grass below them gave way. They went right through, and 
ended up below the water. 

Kren laughed along with the rest of his fellow athletes. Nonetheless, 
rather than risk losing a third of the eggs he wanted to fertilize, he ran 
back to where he had dumped his clothes and retrieved the sword that 
Duke Dennon had given him. 

He cut the hole in the grass much bigger, so that enough light would get 
through for his guests to find their way to the surface, and threw the 
mats of grass to the juvenals who eagerly started to eat them. 

"Come on in, Kren!" the first one said as she bobbed to the surface. 
"The water is just the right temperature!" 

"I will! Right after we're sure that none of you idiots have killed 
yourselves!" 

A head count soon proved that they were all alive and happy, even the 
one whom Kren had accidentally cut while chopping the hole in the 


grass. They decided the wound wasn't serious enough to need stitching 
up, so the party went on. Infections didn't happen on a Mitchegai 
planet. 

grass. They decided the wound wasn't serious enough to need stitching 
up, so the party went on. Infections didn't happen on a Mitchegai 
planet. 

This was actually the first time in his life that Kren had been in the 
water, but swimming came naturally to a Mitchegai. He loved it, with 
the breathing exhaust vents bubbling around his waist. He vowed to 
himself that in his new apartment, being built two dozen stories above 
them, he would have a big swimming pool in the main living room. 

Hours later, with the party snacks mostly eaten, with only one who was 
still alive and whimpering pleasantly, Kren and his guests fell asleep, 
scattered on the warm grass. 

* * * 

The next afternoon, half of his guests were still asleep, but a few, 
including Kren, had been more moderate in their eating. 

One of the athletes said to Kren, "So just what is it that you are really 
doing here?" 

"Would you believe that I am relaxing in the presence of good friends 
after almost a year's hard work?" 


"No. You are obviously plotting something." 

"No. You are obviously plotting something." 

"Not necessarily. Tell me about it." 

"Well, first off, I'd have to swear you to secrecy, and you would have 
to agree that if you ever broke this oath, you would permit me to kill 
you. I mean, I'd kill you anyway, but it's so much nicer to have the 
victim's permission, don't you think?" 

She said, "And what's in it for me if I do take this risk?" 

"First, you get to satisfy your curiosity. Second, there is a very good 
chance that you could become fabulously rich." 

"I like the second part best. Okay, I will take your oath of secrecy. 
Now tell me about it." 

"Very well," Kren said. "Do you realize that I could have taken the gold 
at every single event I played in last year?" 

"A lot of us are of that opinion, yes. You only lose so that the betting 


odds get better." 

odds get better." 

"Interesting. Yes, it makes sense," she said. "One male, three dozen 
physically fit females, and a place where grubs, pollywogs and juvenals 
can grow up in seclusion. If it can be done at all, this is the way to do it. 
But how does this make me rich?" 

"Well, you can't breed just one of anything. I'll have to breed many of 
them, and do a great deal of careful selecting. In the end, there will be 
lots of extras, and you could have one, if you work with my program." 

"I like that idea. What's the program?" 

"When you change bodies here, we will also change your ID. I'll then 
send you to one of the universities on the planet, and pay all of your 
expenses there. You will enroll in the school's athletic program, and you 
will stay just good enough so that they don't drop you. Then, twice a 
year, when I tell you to, you win the gold at your event," Kren said. 
"You will do that for four years, multiplying your bankroll by maybe a 
gross each time, eight times in a row. Of course, I'll be betting on you, 
too, and that's where I'll make my money. But nobody else gets in on 


this, understood? If they did, it would drive the odds down, and we'd 
both lose money. Then, in your fifth year, you can go ahead and win 
everything, if you want to, and rake in all the glory that you need, but 
for the first four years, you will do it exactly my way, or I will kill you." 

this, understood? If they did, it would drive the odds down, and we'd 
both lose money. Then, in your fifth year, you can go ahead and win 
everything, if you want to, and rake in all the glory that you need, but 
for the first four years, you will do it exactly my way, or I will kill you." 

"Consider that my first gold, when nobody had heard of me, paid well 
over a gross two dozen to one. I can't promise what the odds on you 
will be. But however much money there is on this planet, you'll have a 
lot of it. Are you interested?" 

"Most definitely, sir! When this body starts to get slow, I'll come a 
calling, and be your most obedient servant!" 

That's one recruit, Kren thought. Two dozen and eleven to go. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 



The Death of the Faithful 

The Death of the Faithful 

But mostly, he was trying to make sure that every egg was fertilized. He 
moved his work station every day, pulling long wires behind him, to 
cover the whole area. 

* * * 

A group of sociologists that Kren had hired to observe the juvenals on 
his land reported that the children spent over half of their day walking 
to and from the watering holes on his property. 

Kren ordered that a system of wells, pipelines, and watering troughs be 
set up so that it was never more than a half-mile walk to get a drink. 
The sociologists predicted a four per dozen improvement in juvenal 
weight gain. Kren hoped that they were right. 

* * * 

A group of grass biologists found that over large areas of his land, the 
growth of grass was reduced because of the lack of sufficient water 
and nutrients. To a certain extent, the grass acted like a single plant, 
sending water and nutrients sideways to other plants when there was a 
local surplus. But this sharing was not perfect. 


Kren ordered the planned watering system to be enlarged to include 
sprinklers in some areas, and chemical fertilizers to be added where 
needed. With proper watering and nutrients, the land's productivity was 
predicted to almost double. 

Kren ordered the planned watering system to be enlarged to include 
sprinklers in some areas, and chemical fertilizers to be added where 
needed. With proper watering and nutrients, the land's productivity was 
predicted to almost double. 

Bronki turned the sales department over to a manager that she'd hired 
and trained, and spent the summer writing at Kren's country cottage, 
keeping her promise to Sava and Zoda. 

As long as sales kept on increasing, Kren had no objections. And 
increase they did, despite the temporary drop in population as many 
students went elsewhere for the summer. 

At midsummer, the College of Mathematics created a new chair for 
Chaos Theory, and invited Bronki to fill that position as a department 
head. She graciously accepted the promotion, with its higher status and 
pay, and resigned her former post as senior professor at the College of 
Literature. 

* * * 

Kren asked Dol how the big mowing machines were coming. 

"It turns out that we already had a dozen and nine of them, sir. They 
came with the property." 

"They did?" 


"Yes," Dol said. "Each of the juvenal wintering centers had one. Huge 
things, they ride on rails set into the grass above the caverns below. 
Usually, they only use them once a year, for the fall harvest, but this 
year, I'm having them mow the lawns up there every week, on half of 
them. The total yearly production looks like it will be about the same, 
but the biologists tell me that the weekly clipped grass is much richer in 
protein, and has less cellulose. We're just dumping it into the same silos 
they've always used, and will feed it to the kids next winter. I want to 
see if there is any difference in weight gain." 

"Yes," Dol said. "Each of the juvenal wintering centers had one. Huge 
things, they ride on rails set into the grass above the caverns below. 
Usually, they only use them once a year, for the fall harvest, but this 
year, I'm having them mow the lawns up there every week, on half of 
them. The total yearly production looks like it will be about the same, 
but the biologists tell me that the weekly clipped grass is much richer in 
protein, and has less cellulose. We're just dumping it into the same silos 
they've always used, and will feed it to the kids next winter. I want to 
see if there is any difference in weight gain." 

"To do it over the wintering centers, yes, by all means, since we already 
have the machinery and legal permission to fence the land. To do it 
over the rest of your estate, I doubt it. Let's give it a few years, and get 
some solid data before we try getting any legislative approval, though." 

Dol worked on, managing the day-to-day operation of the corporation 
completely without pay, but becoming very wealthy even so. There was 
much that she had learned from Bronki. 

* * * 

Duke Dennon prepared for war, training his best soldiers, his shock 
troops, in the fine points of fighting indoors, and doing considerable 
damage to his newly refurbished palace in the process. 

Entering into Tendi's castle through a single, small opening, it was vital 


that they enlarge their beach head quickly, so as not to get stuck in the 
bottleneck of the tunnel entrance. His troops had to be trained in a 
manner that humans would associate with marines, specialized troops 
willing to take casualties in order to push forward quickly. 

that they enlarge their beach head quickly, so as not to get stuck in the 
bottleneck of the tunnel entrance. His troops had to be trained in a 
manner that humans would associate with marines, specialized troops 
willing to take casualties in order to push forward quickly. 

By late summer, the machinery for the armor-building project was 
completed, and mass production had begun. Soon, thousands of sets of 
nicely painted red and lavender armor were being issued to all of Duke 
Dennon's soldiers, starting with the officers so that the troops would 
think that it was a privilege, and not a punishment. They were required 
to wear this armor constantly, and most of the soldiers soon hated it, 
considering it to be a pain in the tail. Which, of course, it was. 

* * * 

Also, at this time, the "exploratory tunnel" was approaching Duke 
Tendi's land, ahead of schedule. For secrecy, Dol had kept the same 
six-worker team constantly at the small tunneler, sending food, water, 
and instructions to them on the same specially designed truck that 
delivered the metal coils. They were paid triple time for this arduous 
duty, but they complained constantly anyway. The only possible 
security leak was the truck driver, a trusted old sergeant who had been 
with Duke Dennon for many regenerations. 

* * * 

Kren held another party at the end of the summer, and two more in the 
fall and early winter. His theory was that there's never enough unless 


there's too much. 

there's too much. 
* 


Bronki and Dol had each managed to make enough money on their 
gambling to buy more stock than Duke Dennon had in the corporation, 
despite all of the stock he had received for his machinery, for the use of 
his army, and the stock he had taken in place of his payment for his 
military protection. 

This stopped Dennon from being made a member of the board of 
directors, which made Kren uncomfortable. The duke was too 
important to offend. 

He phoned the duke and explained that his two fellow board members 
had gotten into a stock fight so severe that Kren had had to buy more 
stock himself, just to maintain his majority. 

"Your Grace, would you like me to enlarge the board of directors to 
four, so you can have a seat, too?" 

"Now, why would I want a thing like that, Kren? I am only interested in 
war, and in my army. I thought that I'd made that clear to you. 
Everything else is a nuisance! As far as I can see, the three of you are 
handling this commercial venture just fine. If I become unhappy with 
your management, you will certainly be the first to know of it. At that 
point, I will expect you to take such actions as are required to make me 
happy again. Until then, I don't want to be bothered." 


"Yes, Your Grace." 

"Yes, Your Grace." 

* * * 

The new school year started, and Kren changed the white belt of a 
freshman to the yellow belt of a sophomore, even though most of the 
classes he took were for freshmen. At least, he was no longer confined 
to remedial classes. 

With the director's permission, Kren dropped the javelin tennis games, 
and only won at one of his other three major sports once every three to 
five weeks or so. However, he trained in one of the other three dozen 
collegiate sports for typically three weeks each, and when he had 
become sufficiently proficient at the sport, he was brought in at the last 
moment as an "emergency replacement." He invariably won the gold, 
whenever he competed in a new sport, and then he never repeated the 
performance. 

This meant that most of the gamblers on the planet never had a chance 
to bet on him, and the odds were fairly high, often a dozen to one. They 
were that low because the small In Crowd was now in a position to bet 
fabulous sums. The money rolled in, and Kren gouged his bookie twice 
more during the year, forcing her to buy more stock that never paid any 
dividends. 

* * * 

By winter, the exploratory tunnel had been finished, the corrosive 


gasses had been released to give the tunnel an ancient-looking patina, 
and enough time had passed for these deadly gasses to react with the 
tunnel walls and be safe. 

gasses had been released to give the tunnel an ancient-looking patina, 
and enough time had passed for these deadly gasses to react with the 
tunnel walls and be safe. 

Dol, along with Bronki, who of course had figured out what they were 
up to, encouraged Kren to kill these soldier-workers for security 
reasons, but Kren had decided that one of his major long-term goals 
was to increase the planetary population. Unnecessary killing was 
therefore to be avoided. 

Also, the duke was very attached to his soldiers, and Kren thought that 
killing some of them might offend His Grace. 

Kren told the workers, "I wanted to personally thank you for the long 
and arduous job that you have done for my corporation. I have your 
pay envelopes here, three times what it would normally be, and in cash 
money, so that you won't have trouble with the income tax goons. We 
carefully examined the dirt you sent out, and since you are interested, 
yes, you did find some very valuable mineral deposits. However, these 
deposits are such that the corporation won't be in a position to exploit 
them for many years. It is therefore vitally important that word of this 
does not get out, ever! Some have suggested that the most expedient 
course would be to kill all of you immediately, but you know that I am 
a soldier myself. Know that I know of the honor and the integrity of 
Duke Dennon's warriors! However, you all have doubtless heard of my 


prowess as a warrior, and I promise you that if any word of what we 
have done does leak out, I will find all of you, and I will kill you." 

prowess as a warrior, and I promise you that if any word of what we 
have done does leak out, I will find all of you, and I will kill you." 

Kren continued, "That's the down side. There's an up side, and it too is 
a secret. I have a bonus for you. This coming Saturday, I will win at the 
pole-vaulting competition at the University of Dren, even though I'm not 
presently listed as being entered in it. If you bet on me, you will make a 
lot of money." 

"This is a sweet deal," the old sergeant said. "Triple pay and a tip on a 
bet that will make us at least a dozen times more than that! You guys 
ain't been watching the news lately, but Kren's wins really has been 
paying that much! And all we got to do is keep our stupid mouths shut!" 

"Yes sir," the senior corporal said. "But what if he loses?" 

"Soldier, if I lose, I will personally reimburse all of your losses three 
fold," Kren said. 

"Then we are your silent but obedient servants, sir!" the corporal said. 

* * * 

Without Kren's knowledge, Bronki and Dol had visited the duke two 
days before. They had told him very privately about Kren's intentions 


of releasing the tunnelers, and that they both felt that it was an 
unnecessary breach of security. 

of releasing the tunnelers, and that they both felt that it was an 
unnecessary breach of security. 

A few minutes after Kren left the tunneling team, a lieutenant with six 
soldiers behind him stopped the workers. The officer told them that the 
duke was granting them an extended leave, with full pay, but that he 
wanted to talk with them before they left to enjoy it. 

The lieutenant and his troops escorted the workers back to the duke's 
palace and waited with them in a certain small room as he had been 
instructed. The duke was to call when he was ready. 

The door locked after they went in, and could not be opened. The 
same corrosive gas that had been used to give the secret tunnel an 
ancient patina was released inside of the "waiting room." The old 
sergeant, six tunneler workers, the young lieutenant, and his guards all 
died quickly, and then the room was permanently sealed. 

A palace repairman had secretly fixed the room's door lock for the 
duke, released the gas, and then plastered over the door. 

This repairman died in an unfortunate accident the next morning. 


It turned out that the amount of gas used was sufficient to kill the 
soldiers in the room, but not enough to kill the eggs that the Mitchegai 
always spread about them. And one of them was a male. The resulting 
grubs soon ate the dead bodies of their parents, and then each other, 
when that food supply ran out. Eventually, nothing was left but a single 
mummified pollywog who was never able to get to water, along with 
some scattered weapons, and seven well-filled pouches of currency. 

It turned out that the amount of gas used was sufficient to kill the 
soldiers in the room, but not enough to kill the eggs that the Mitchegai 
always spread about them. And one of them was a male. The resulting 
grubs soon ate the dead bodies of their parents, and then each other, 
when that food supply ran out. Eventually, nothing was left but a single 
mummified pollywog who was never able to get to water, along with 
some scattered weapons, and seven well-filled pouches of currency. 

And anyway, the duke said to himself, Kren is entirely too softhearted 
to worry about. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE 


The Tellefontu 
New Yugoslavia, 2215 a.d. 


The last of the lost planets, New Gambia, had been found. In this case, 


Earth's forces had won early and easily. They were running the place as 
a fairly benevolent dictatorship until our ship arrived and told them that 
despite everything, they had lost the war. It took months before our 
diplomats, and Earth's, could convince them to just go home. Even 
then, many of the occupying troops decided to stay where they were, 
especially those who had married local girls. 

Earth's forces had won early and easily. They were running the place as 
a fairly benevolent dictatorship until our ship arrived and told them that 
despite everything, they had lost the war. It took months before our 
diplomats, and Earth's, could convince them to just go home. Even 
then, many of the occupying troops decided to stay where they were, 
especially those who had married local girls. 

The Tellefontu were extremely reticent to talk about themselves, their 
customs, and their history. Still, over the years, a great deal was 
learned about them from casual remarks that they made privately, in 
conversations, in formal interviews, and on talk shows. 

They were an ancient race, far older than even the Mitchegai. Their 
recorded history went back more than thirty-five million years, and their 
legends went back even farther. 

They had a wide variety of art forms, including music, dance, the 
graphic arts, drama, literature, poetry, architecture, and at least nine 
others that were completely incomprehensible to humans. 

They were capable of redesigning their own bodies, and indeed their 
own equivalent of DNA, to make themselves into whatever they 
wanted to be. They did this without the use of external machinery. Yet 
such was the extreme conservative streak in their nature that they were 
not at all interested in looking like anything else than what they were. 

"Well, yes, of course," one of their representatives said to a talk show 
hostess. "I could, with considerable time and effort, make myself look 


like a human being. Even a very attractive human being like yourself. 
But, why would I want to do that? I am contented to be myself. Also, 
ask yourself, Would you want to make yourself look like me? I am, 
you know, a very attractive member of my own species. At least my 
spouses have always said so. I think that it is best if humans remain 
looking like humans, and Tellefontu remain looking like Tellefontu." 

like a human being. Even a very attractive human being like yourself. 
But, why would I want to do that? I am contented to be myself. Also, 
ask yourself, Would you want to make yourself look like me? I am, 
you know, a very attractive member of my own species. At least my 
spouses have always said so. I think that it is best if humans remain 
looking like humans, and Tellefontu remain looking like Tellefontu." 

They were hermaphrodites, with each individual being simultaneously 
male and female. During mating, both partners were impregnated. The 
partners produced a single clutch of typically twenty eggs, one half of 
which was produced by each of them. 

They then alternated, taking turns caring for the children and making a 
living. Once the children were raised and educated, a process that took 
several hundred years, the parents departed in a friendly fashion, and 
rarely saw either their former spouses or their children again. 

As one of them put it, "After three hundred years, you get very much 
sick of them." 

They did remain close to their siblings, however, and said that when the 
Mitchegai invasion finally came, they would fight in small platoons made 
up of siblings. 


While they were perfectly capable of building and using machines, they 
generally preferred not to. They liked their existence to be as natural as 
possible. 

While they were perfectly capable of building and using machines, they 
generally preferred not to. They liked their existence to be as natural as 
possible. 

Laws had been passed on New Yugoslavia, giving them the oceans, 
although we were allowed to fish commercially at certain times and 
places, and to engage in sport fishing provided that we restricted it to 
hook and line. Also, they were given ownership of those islands that 
had been declared primitive nature preserves, provided that the original 
fauna and flora were actually preserved. 

They were familiar with all aspects of space flight, but after some early 
experiments with it for scientific purposes, they had decided that it 
wasn't for them. They had been prepared to stay on their own planet 
for all time, having none of the outward-driving instincts that both 
humans and Mitchegai possess. 

On their home planet, their astronomers had seen the Mitchegai 
invasion fleet approaching, and had been able to give their people a few 


months' warning. In that short time, they had been able to build 
weapons enough to give the invaders a stiff fight, but not enough to win. 
Scarcely a thousand of them had been able to escape, and make it to 
New Yugoslavia, over twelve hundred years ago. 

months' warning. In that short time, they had been able to build 
weapons enough to give the invaders a stiff fight, but not enough to win. 
Scarcely a thousand of them had been able to escape, and make it to 
New Yugoslavia, over twelve hundred years ago. 

Once on New Yugoslavia, they had dedicated themselves to rebuilding 
their civilization, and replenishing their numbers. There were now over 
eight million adult Tellefontu living here, and seven times that number of 
children. 

They had resolved that they would not again suffer what they had 
before. The next time the Mitchegai came, they would be better 
prepared, and they would be victorious. 

They saw the humans as a way to help them do that. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 


BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 

BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 

The duke's well diggers had made their fascinating discovery, the tunnel 
had been surveyed, and Dennon's army was secretly mobilized. 

As a favor to Kren, the duke scheduled the attack to coincide with the 
two-week-long midwinter break. The scheduled date of the attack 
would be on Warrior's Day, a major winter holiday among the 
Mitchegai military. 

Bronki's sales representatives arranged for a major giveaway program 
designed to encourage sales to the countryside outside of the cities. 
Duke Tendi was to receive two thousand selected children a week 
before Warriors' Day, as would eleven other dukes in the area. 

This program had been designed to encourage Duke Tendi's forces to 
eat well and go into a stupor just before Duke Dennon's attack, and to 
have all of the other duchies around in no position to immediately 
counterattack Dennon. 

At least that was the hope. Maybe it would work. And sales were such 
that there was a surplus of children just now, anyway. 


Kren arrived the evening before the attack was to be launched, and he 
brought with him an entire trainload of supplies, along with Bronki and 
Dol. 

Kren arrived the evening before the attack was to be launched, and he 
brought with him an entire trainload of supplies, along with Bronki and 
Dol. 

"It's a present for you, Your Grace! First, there are a few thousand 
baggage carts, with room in each one for the armor of more than four 
dozen troops, water enough for the trip to Tendi's place and back, and 
room for two dozen warriors to sleep on top of it while another two 
dozen pull them along. With half sleeping and half pulling, you can keep 
going day and night! You've got a five-gross-mile-long march ahead of 
you, and with these carts you can do it in a week and a half, not the 
three weeks it would otherwise take you. Also, you will notice that they 
have lights on them, so you won't have to walk in the dark." 

"You had these made especially for this attack? That must have been 
expensive! And I can't imagine ever needing them again. Wheels aren't 
permitted for overland transport over the grass, although they would be 
allowed in a tunnel. But, I mean, we will probably get away with pulling 
this 'discovered tunnel' stunt once, but I wouldn't dare try it again!" 

"The carts were costly, Your Grace, but once you are through with 
them, I'll take them back, install electric motors in the wheels and new 
control panels for the operators, and use them for delivering children 
from the train stations to my underground stores. But as they are right 


now, they are perfectly legal for use in war." 

now, they are perfectly legal for use in war." 

"That's exactly what they are, two thousand of them! Please consider 
that you are inevitably going to take some losses in this attack. With all 
of these new bodies, you won't have to permanently lose any of your 
well-trained troops." 

"That's very thoughtful of you, but all of my men have armor now," 
Dennon said. "We won't be taking that many casualties." 

"Then perhaps we will be able to find some other use for the rest of 
these young adults. What do you do with captured troops, anyway?" 

"Well, most dukes just kill them as a security risk, but my policy has 
always been to give them a choice. Once I've killed the opposing duke, 
his soldiers may either die with him, or they may give their oath to me. 
They lose two grade levels, and they have to go through my basic 
training system when coming into my army. We watch them very 
carefully for the first two years or so, but we treat them very well, 
otherwise. The great majority of them turn into loyal soldiers. If they 
don't, well, they still have that death sentence hanging over them." 


"A practical policy. Do any of them prefer death?" Kren asked. 

"A practical policy. Do any of them prefer death?" Kren asked. 

"And what do you do with the enemy dead?" 

"The same thing that everybody else does. We burn their brains and eat 
their bodies," the duke said. 

"Well, wouldn't it make more sense to rejuvenate them? I mean, why 
waste good troops? Once you conquer Duke Tendi's duchy, you will 
have to enlarge your army to guard it properly. Why not feed each of 
them to a young carnivore? Once those dead soldiers wake up in new 
bodies, you can give them the same choice that you gave the ones who 
weren't killed." 

"Well, normally, there aren't that many young carnivores handy, and we 
need the food, anyway." 

"But now there are, and I can provide all the food that your troops 
need," Kren said. 


"Very well, once my own men are taken care of, we will try out your 
idea." 

"Very well, once my own men are taken care of, we will try out your 
idea." 

"If you wish," Dennon said. "But I still think that you have too many 
carnivores out there. This battle will be mostly a matter of sneaking up 
inside of Tendi's castle, killing a few guards, and then killing the duke. 
It's not as though we will be fighting a full field battle. There just won't 
be all that many dead soldiers in need of ressurection." 

"Perhaps. I imagine that you don't kill enemy civilians." 

"Not normally. They are part of the wealth of the land, and after I 
reduce the taxes a bit at first, few if any of them will feel the least bit of 
loyalty to their old nobility. The noble leaders are all killed, of course." 

"That makes sense," Kren said. "They have every reason to hate you, 
and it would be dangerous to have them around. Still, it seems such a 
waste, all those years of education, experience, and training, just 
dumped into the fire." 

"I feel certain that another one of your wild ideas is coming up." 


"One is, Your Grace. I would like to try feeding most of each of them 
to a young carnivore. Everything but the central portion of the brain, 
which contains the basic personality and personal memories. I think that 
what we would end up with would be a very well-educated idiot." 

"One is, Your Grace. I would like to try feeding most of each of them 
to a young carnivore. Everything but the central portion of the brain, 
which contains the basic personality and personal memories. I think that 
what we would end up with would be a very well-educated idiot." 

Ignoring the duke's joke, Kren said, "But I also think that in time, a new 
personality will grow in there. It would be a personality that we would 
have a hand in molding, and I think that we could make it into a very 
loyal personality! I think that this might happen much quicker-and much 
more cheaply!-than it would if we had to start from scratch with a 
young carnivore. Anyway, I'd like to try it. I'll keep them all safely 
caged until we know for sure what happens." 

"It smacks of vampirism, Kren, but actually, it is really the exact 
opposite of that, isn't it? Well, I won't stop you. Run your experiment if 
you wish. But not on Duke Tendi! He must die, or my rights to his 
lands will always be in doubt. Furthermore, I have a spot on the wall of 
my Trophy Room all picked out on which to hang his mummified head!" 

Due to the complete lack of microbes, any Mitchegai body part 
naturally mummified and was preserved indefinitely provided that grubs 
and juvenals were kept away from it. For trophy heads, this was 
accomplished by smearing them with a bad tasting poison. 

Adults, on the other hand, found mummified body parts to be 


particularly foul tasting, so bad that some Mitchegai would consider 
death by starvation to be preferable to eating them. 

particularly foul tasting, so bad that some Mitchegai would consider 
death by starvation to be preferable to eating them. 

"I have a thousand large juvenals in the last three cars there to pull them 
along in the tunnel. We've come up with a harness that keeps three 
dozen juvenals facing in the same direction. With some encouragement, 
and confined in a narrow tunnel, well, it worked when we tried it out. 
They'll have to be rested each day, so they won't be as fast as your 
army will be moving, but we'll get them there by the time the rest of you 
dig your way up into Tendi's castle. And of course, those same children 
will act as a mobile food source for your army." 

"And you are doing all of this at your own expense?" 

"Yes, although the loan of four dozen of your soldiers to act as drivers 
would be greatly appreciated," Kren said. "I could bring in some of my 
own men, but most of them are newly hired, to replace the soldiers 
who used to do the work, before you recalled them. I worry about 
their dependability and loyalty." 

"Oh, very well, I'll tell the staff to assign the necessary warriors to your 
command. We'll let them ride to battle instead of walk. They'll still be 
there for the attack, after all." 

* * * 


The duke's staff officers got no sleep that night, reorganizing their army 
on the eve of embarkation so that they could work with the carts. They 
swore at Kren for pulling this surprise on them, but only after he had 
finished briefing them, had handed out three gross sets of written 
instructions on how the resurrection process would be arranged down 
in the narrow tunnel, and had left. Kren wasn't someone whom any of 
them would want to have for a personal enemy. 

The duke's staff officers got no sleep that night, reorganizing their army 
on the eve of embarkation so that they could work with the carts. They 
swore at Kren for pulling this surprise on them, but only after he had 
finished briefing them, had handed out three gross sets of written 
instructions on how the resurrection process would be arranged down 
in the narrow tunnel, and had left. Kren wasn't someone whom any of 
them would want to have for a personal enemy. 

Duke Dennon's soldiers were delighted with the carts. The original plan 
had them walking the entire distance, and in armor! This way they only 
had to walk half the distance, they could do it naked, and they could 
sleep for the rest of the time. Pulling the pneumatic-tired carts on a 
smooth, level, metal floor, wasn't all that hard. 

Four gross of engineers led the column, their twelve carts filled with 
cutting tools, tunnel liners, shovels, buckets, and surveying equipment. 
These carts were to their own design, and were not part of Kren's gift. 
However, in order to keep marching twenty-four hours a day, they 
were augmented by four gross of standard troops, whose armor and 
weapons were spread out throught the column. 

Four divisions of the duke's best troops followed them, pulling carts 
with several dozen children chained to the back of each to feed the 
soldiers on the way. The chains were needed because the kids could 
generally chew their way through a rope, given time. 


Kren's four dozen carts filled with young carnivores brought up the 
rear. These were boxed in large juvenal shipping crates and drugged 
with illegal substances to keep them lethargic, although they still 
grumbled and snarled a bit. 

Kren's four dozen carts filled with young carnivores brought up the 
rear. These were boxed in large juvenal shipping crates and drugged 
with illegal substances to keep them lethargic, although they still 
grumbled and snarled a bit. 

When the other dukes learned that Duke Dennon was attacking Duke 
Tendi, there was a strong possibility that one or many of them would 
attack Dennon, or Tendi, or both. The fact that it was winter might 
dissuade many of them, which is why Dennon chose this time of year 
for his attack. 

Throughout Mitchegai history, many invading armies had won through 
to their objectives, only to find that they had lost their own lands behind 
them. 

Thus, even though it was winter, and not the usual season for fighting, 
most of Dennon's army was prepared to go on alert in his palace and in 
his outlying fortifications, as soon as the attack started. 

At that point, all civilian communications would be stopped. All railroad 
terminals would be guarded to stop word of the attack from getting out. 
Travelers would be allowed in, but not out. Everything of value that the 
duke owned had already been safely hidden away. 

Whole towns would be evacuated and the citizens would be permitted 
to enter into the huge dungeons below the fortifications. The food 


supplies available to them were meager, but they would soon discover 
that they could order packaged juvenals from the Superior Food 
Corporation, at expensive wartime rates, of course. 

supplies available to them were meager, but they would soon discover 
that they could order packaged juvenals from the Superior Food 
Corporation, at expensive wartime rates, of course. 

Bronki was not happy. 

"So here I am! I'm underground in a dark, stuffy, claustrophobic tunnel, 
I don't know how many miles from the nearest fresh air! I'm lying 
above a cage full of snarling, mindless young carnivores, with the roof 
inches above my nose! And I'm doing this so that I can perform a 
tediously large number of probably illegal operations on the nobility of a 
duchy that is about to be conquered in a highly illegal manner, so illegal 
that we will all likely be nuked to shit for participating in it! Why do I 
let myself be talked into doing such stupid things?" 

"Because Kren wanted us here," Dol said. "And we have both made a 
lot of money off of Kren." 

"I think that all of this is madness!" 

"You should look at the brighter side of things." 

"This insane mess has a bright side?" Bronki said. 

"Well, they could have made us walk the whole way." 


BackBackNext 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Into the Breach! 

Keeping four dozen carloads of young carnivores moving was more 
work than Kren had expected. Most of the problems centered around 
the large juvenals that were doing the towing. 

When they had tested this idea out, they quickly found that they 
couldn't use whips to keep the kids moving. The tunnel was simply too 
small to swing a whip long enough to reach the lead pair. Eventually, it 
had been found that electrical wires fastened to the buttocks of the 
children, and connected to the same capacitors that ran the headlights, 
and would one day power the wheels of the carts, seemed to do the 
trick. The operator was equipped with a control panel that let him 
encourage individual children, or to give all of them a poke when the 
whole group was moving too slowly. 

A more serious problem occurred when Kren found that he had 
underestimated the amount of food that the juvenals required. The 


difference in food requirements between a cold-blooded juvenal who 
was simply staying alive, and one who was being energetically 
exercised was huge, a factor of eight or more. 

difference in food requirements between a cold-blooded juvenal who 
was simply staying alive, and one who was being energetically 
exercised was huge, a factor of eight or more. 

The smaller juvenals that were brought along to feed the drivers were 
slaughtered next, and the adults went hungry for a few days. 

On the eleventh day, when they finally caught up to the tail end of Duke 
Dennon's column, they were down to only a dozen children pulling each 
cart, with the drivers, Kren, Bronki and Dol pulling as well. 

Bronki was particularly unhappy about this situation. "Look at the 
bright side!" she complained to Dol, "They might have made us walk! 
Dammit! They might have made us haul cargo, too! And they did!" 

Dol didn't respond. 

"I'm five thousand years old, I have two dozen and four doctorates, 


and they have me hauling mindless carnivores down an illegal tunnel to 
an illegal war for immoral purposes!" 

and they have me hauling mindless carnivores down an illegal tunnel to 
an illegal war for immoral purposes!" 

No one had ever suggested trying to use the mindless young carnivores 
for the task. The brainless but basically docile juvenals were hard 
enough to control. Trying to use the brainless but ferocious carnivores 
was unthinkable. 

Kren resisted the suggestion that they use some of the young carnivores 
for food. He had a use for those bodies, and the juvenals were just 
food, anyway. 

On arrival, Kren trotted forward and reported to Duke Dennon. 

"You are late, Kren. Did you have difficulties?" 

"Yes, Your Grace, but we still managed to get here. I was worried that 
the attack would be over before I could take part in it." 

"No such luck. I still don't know how it happened, but when my 
engineers finally tunneled up to the surface, they found that they were 
not in Tendi's basement. They were in the middle of a snowy field! 
They had missed Tendi's castle by over two gross yards! Either your 


tunnel was out of position or my engineer's measurements were way 
off! And when I find out who was at fault, I will not be lenient!" 

tunnel was out of position or my engineer's measurements were way 
off! And when I find out who was at fault, I will not be lenient!" 

"Yes, of course. With any luck, no one in the castle was looking out 
over that snow-covered field when my engineer's head stuck up out of 
it. Just maybe, we still have the element of surprise on our side. We 
expect to be through to the proper position in a few hours, so you'd 
better get your armor on. I've saved you a place right behind me, 
leading the second company into the breach." 

"We won't be in the front of the line? I'd had visions of being the first 
one up and out of the hole!" 

"No, I've got some specially trained shock troops ready for that job. A 
leader must be visible, Kren, but that doesn't mean that he should be 
stupid." 

Kren's trip to the rear of the column was slow. The carts had been 
pulled fairly close together, and many thousands of soldiers were trying 
to get their armor on in very cramped quarters. 


Young, boxed carnivores were being handed overhead, and each was 
placed in a cart as soon as the armor was emptied out of it. Soon, the 
carts would become resurrection cages. 

Young, boxed carnivores were being handed overhead, and each was 
placed in a cart as soon as the armor was emptied out of it. Soon, the 
carts would become resurrection cages. 

Combat engineers were still passing buckets of dirt out from the tunnel, 
and metal hoops into it that would hold up the roof. Soon, the sound of 
pickaxes attacking concrete could be heard. The duke went down the 
line of the first assault company and personally handed each soldier a 
small white pill. 

Kren kept his thoughts on that one to himself. 

In practice sessions, it had been proved that the spear was not an 
effective weapon for fighting indoors. It was too cumbersome. All of 
Duke Dennon's men were armed only with a sword, although one in six 
also carried an axe, and one in twelve a pickaxe, for chopping through 
doors and other barriers. 

There was a shout, and the engineers slid down out of the tunnel and 
got out of the way, their part of this operation completed. 


The first company ran gleefully up the steep incline, with the duke and 
then Kren right behind them. Dennon had stressed to his men, dozens 
of times over, that success in this operation depended on moving fast, 
hitting hard, and not stopping for any reason. 

The first company ran gleefully up the steep incline, with the duke and 
then Kren right behind them. Dennon had stressed to his men, dozens 
of times over, that success in this operation depended on moving fast, 
hitting hard, and not stopping for any reason. 

Kren and Dennon ran after the soldier in front of them, having trouble 
keeping up with the drug-crazed idiot. On the floor above they found 
six bodies, five of them apparently unarmed, but in the livery of Duke 
Tendi. Dennon's single casualty seemed not to have been wounded by 
a weapon, but to have run into a wall and injured her silly head. 

Kren glanced at the dead or unconscious soldier and thought, I knew 
it, I knew it! Drugs in combat are a stupid stunt! 

They left her where she was and ran on. 

The job of the first two companies was to go up, and the third was to 
guard the landings. Later arrivals would worry about making sure that 
each floor was secure, but the way up had to be taken first. 


They went up through five basements, and were on what had to be the 
ground floor before Kren saw his first living enemy soldier. Small, high, 
heavily barred windows showed that it was dark outside, the troop 
seemed to have just awakened from a stupor, and she was holding her 
sword in a languid manner. Kren took her head off with a single swing 
and ran on without bothering to watch her body fall. 

They went up through five basements, and were on what had to be the 
ground floor before Kren saw his first living enemy soldier. Small, high, 
heavily barred windows showed that it was dark outside, the troop 
seemed to have just awakened from a stupor, and she was holding her 
sword in a languid manner. Kren took her head off with a single swing 
and ran on without bothering to watch her body fall. 

Someone in a very expensive robe stepped in front of Kren, and died 
for her foolishness. Most of her would soon be revived, and it was all 
grist for Kren's mill. 

The first assault companies were working their way to Duke Tendi's 
private chambers. Once Tendi was killed, preferably by Dennon 
himself, the rest of the castle's defenses could be depended upon to 
collapse. Loyalty among the Mitchegai was always on a personal basis, 
and never on a territorial one. 

Kren and Dennon, who was having a hard time keeping up with his 
temporary colonel, found a pitched battle going on in a very large room 
between their armored troops and four times as many enemies who 
were pouring out of a guard room at the base of Duke Tendi's private 
tower. 


Kren never slowed down, and when he got to the battle line, he went 
right over it! 

Kren never slowed down, and when he got to the battle line, he went 
right over it! 

He stepped on another soldier's shoulder, and then on the head of an 
enemy troop, knocking her unconscious, after which another of 
Dennon's soldiers took her head off. 

He killed two enemy soldiers on the way down with his sword, crushed 
a third beneath his armored feet, then bounced off a wall and took five 
more of them out from behind with three fast swipes of his sword 
before most of them even knew that he was there. 

"I love this war!" Kren shouted, as the warrior that he had kicked 
through the lines started fighting at his side. 

Then he started fighting in earnest. 

During all of this mayhem, Kren was very careful to kill his opponents 
with clean neck cuts, and leaving their brains undamaged. One day 


soon, half of them would be his own troops, after all, and waste not, 
want not. 

soon, half of them would be his own troops, after all, and waste not, 
want not. 

In under a minute, all of the enemy troops were dead, and over a dozen 
of Dennon's were lying on the floor, dead or wounded. No armor is 
perfect. 

The dead and wounded were left behind them. Later, there would be 
time for them. Not now. 

The survivors, led by Kren and Dennon, continued to push upward. 

By this time, most of the members of the first, drugged company were 
either dead, wounded, or lost, with some of them wandering aimlessly 
through deserted corridors, looking for someone to kill. 

The soldiers who followed Kren and Dennon were mostly from the 
second company through the tunnel. 

Two dozen of Duke Tendi's soldiers were armed and waiting for them 


in the narrow hallway, the staircase, and the landing leading to Tendi's 
private chamber. 

in the narrow hallway, the staircase, and the landing leading to Tendi's 
private chamber. 

Kren just plowed through, trusting that his armor would protect him, 
while killing an enemy soldier with almost every blow and thrust. The 
hardest part was watching his footing as he went over the bodies of 
those he had slaughtered. 

One particularly aggressive guard, having been decapitated, managed 
to bite Kren's ankle as he went by. The leg armor stopped Kren from 
being hurt, but the head was a serious encumbrance. With some regret, 
Kren stamped on it with his other foot, squashing the brain to pulp on 
the floor. A pity, since the warrior had been a very good fighter. Kren 
would have wanted him for his future army. He fought on. 

The open-centered spiral staircase turned properly to the right, to give 
the advantage to the warrior at the top, the vast majority of Mitchegai 
being left handed. For the fun of it, with Dik, his fencing instructor, 
Kren had practiced with the épée right handed on occasion, and had 
become fairly ambidextrous. He switched hands and cut his way 
upward. 


After almost tripping a few times over dead bodies, Kren made a point 
of always killing his opponents such that they went over the handrail 
and out of the way. Often, he had to take a moment and give them an 
extra shove. 

After almost tripping a few times over dead bodies, Kren made a point 
of always killing his opponents such that they went over the handrail 
and out of the way. Often, he had to take a moment and give them an 
extra shove. 

The four troops on the upper landing only lasted a few seconds before 
they went spinning, headless, downward. 

During all of this, there wasn't much for the soldiers behind Kren to do, 
so they simply watched him. When the last enemy soldier was killed, 
they took their swords into their right hands and applauded him, with 
their left hands beating their chest armor! 

Kren turned and looked down at them, surprised. Then, as was his 
usual custom when the crowd applauded him on the playing field, he 
bowed. 

The rest was anticlimactic. The sturdy door was barred from the inside, 
and it took two axe swingers six minutes to chop their way in, while 
Duke Dennon fretted about the possibility of Tendi having some sort of 
secret escape route. 

He needn't have worried. When they finally got into the large chamber, 


Duke Tendi was in a very deep stupor, along with three dozen of his 
top officials. Parts of children lay about, mostly dead. The duke had 
apparently decided to start celebrating Warrior's Day a bit early this 
year. 

Duke Tendi was in a very deep stupor, along with three dozen of his 
top officials. Parts of children lay about, mostly dead. The duke had 
apparently decided to start celebrating Warrior's Day a bit early this 
year. 

"I've been waiting to do that for over a thousand years, and when I 
finally got the chance, the bloody trash wasn't even awake to watch me 
do it!" 

"You could have waited for him to wake up," Kren said. 

"I'm not an absolute idiot, Kren. Stunts like that are for storybook 
fools! When you get a chance to kill an enemy, you do so right now! If 
you give them time, they will figure out a way to kill you instead! Okay. 
You wanted the rest of these nobles for your little experiment," Dennon 
said, pointing with his sword. "Should we kill them as well?" 

"I'd just as soon wait with that until we have the rest of the dead fed to 
their new bodies. I'm not sure how long it will take for Bronki to 
perform the operations, and I don't want any of them to go stale." 

"As you wish. You've certainly earned many privileges this day. Your 
fighting prowess is amazing! But I find it hard to believe that Tendi 
would be foolish enough to let so many of his leaders go into a stupor 


at the same time. And these boxes! They are the same sort that you use 
to ship children in, aren't they?" 

at the same time. And these boxes! They are the same sort that you use 
to ship children in, aren't they?" 

"Ha! He fell for a stunt like that? When he alone was given such a gift 
of such largess? What a fool!" 

"Perhaps, but everybody else got the same gift. I sent two thousand 
kids to each of the ten other dukes in the area as well. And who 
knows? Maybe it will stimulate sales." 

"I almost feel jealous, since you didn't do the same for me!" 

"Oh, but I did! To do anything else would have pointed you out as the 
aggressor! Only, you weren't home to receive your present, so my 
agent put them in storage, under your palace. By now, I expect that 
your dungeons are filled with refugees from your towns, and that my 
agent is selling the children to them at wartime rates. At least she'd 
better be, if she wants to keep her job. I really don't like waste, you 
see." 


"Make all the profit you wish, Kren. But all of this means that I'm not 
likely to suffer a counterattack soon, doesn't it?" 

"Make all the profit you wish, Kren. But all of this means that I'm not 
likely to suffer a counterattack soon, doesn't it?" 

Dennon picked up the head of his former rival. 

"We might need this to convince some of the enemy troops that there is 
nothing more to fight over. Captain Zem, three dozen warriors will be 
sufficient to guard this area. Send the rest of your soldiers out as 
runners to every part of the castle, telling everyone that Duke Tendi is 
dead, and that Duke Dennon now rules here! Every former enemy who 
wishes to die may continue fighting. Those who wish to live may 
surrender. Their lives will be spared, and they will be offered positions 
in my army. This duchy is now mine!" 

Kren was working on his armor. 

"Are you coming, Kren?" 

"In a moment, Your Grace. First I want to take off this bloody be 
damned tail armor!" 


"I wish we was allowed to do that," one of Duke Dennon's sergeants 
mumbled. 

"I wish we was allowed to do that," one of Duke Dennon's sergeants 
mumbled. 
| Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT 


Drinking Buddies 
New Yugoslavia, 2216 a.d. 


I'm really not an alcoholic. I like my beer, but I only touch the hard stuff 
once every month or two. Yet those seem to be the times when things 
happen. 

I was sitting in my den, enjoying my first glass of Jim Beam when 
Agnieshka said that Bellor had something that he wanted to show me, 
and could he please come up? 

"Certainly," I said. "What's he got?" 

"He has the first production model of the new Tellefontu Fighting 
Machine." 


"I want to see that! Tell him to hurry up!" 

"I want to see that! Tell him to hurry up!" 

In a few minutes, the door dilated to allow in a small, flat black, 
sleek-looking ovoid . . . thing. It was about two meters long, a meter 
wide and twenty centimeters thick. Every cross section of it seemed to 
be a perfect ellipse. It had no projections of any sort, and it glided in 
about ten centimeters above the floor. 

"Well, it's pretty enough," I said. "Are you in there, old friend?" 

"Most assuredly, sir. But certainly you must understand that this vehicle 
was not created for aesthetic purposes." 

"That doesn't stop it from being beautiful. Climb out of it, have a drink, 
and tell me all about it." 

"I would like that, since the last time I was here, I had only sampled 
halfway through your excellent collection of potables," my crabby friend 
said. 


I hadn't noticed any seams in the craft, but a section to the left of center 
flipped open, and Bellor climbed out of a small pool of water. Soon, he 
was on the tabletop, across from where Agnieshka had placed a small 
soup bowl. 

I hadn't noticed any seams in the craft, but a section to the left of center 
flipped open, and Bellor climbed out of a small pool of water. Soon, he 
was on the tabletop, across from where Agnieshka had placed a small 
soup bowl. 

"I have always been surprised at your love of alcohol," I said. "Was 
there a lot of it on your home planet?" 

"Oh, most definitely, Mickolai. On your native planet, the animals store 
their excess, emergency energy supplies as fats, for the most part, and 
your plants usually use carbohydrates. On my beloved home world, 
both types used ethanol for this purpose. It was our major source of 
chemical energy. I wish that I could offer you some Jaga berries from 
the garden I once maintained! They had a magnificent flavor which I am 
sure that you would have enjoyed, but, Alas! They were all destroyed 
along with the rest of my planet." 

Agnieshka refilled his bowl with something blue that I didn't recognize. 

He continued, "Then, when we escaped to New Yugoslavia, we found 
an ecology here that was primitive, but in many ways similar to what we 
were used to, including the prevalence of ethanol. Many of the starches 
and proteins were different, of course, and we were hard pressed for 
the first few decades to modify our metabolisms, but there was at least 


enough ethanol to keep us alive until we had adapted." 

enough ethanol to keep us alive until we had adapted." 

"But when you humans got here, you perforce modified the 
environment to suit your own metabolisms. At first, it was not at all 
clear to us what was happening, and there were still plenty of the old 
plants and animals around. We were a bit slow in realizing the 
ecological change happening around us. It started slowly, but finished 
quickly, in the oceans, at least." 

Agnieshka filled his bowl with some sort of a thick, yellowish green 
syrup called Chartreuse. Bellor drank it dry without a comment. 

"I was out exploring, and far away from my people when the last of the 
change happened. I was quite unprepared for it. I had foolishly pressed 
onward, assuming that I would soon find something to eat. Thus it was 
that I found myself on an unfamiliar sea coast, starving to death, barely 
able even to walk. And then you came along, instantly deduced my 
problems, and put me into a large container of magnificent food. I shall 
always be grateful for that!" 

I said, "I'm glad that I could be of help. You said that the old ecology 
here was similar to that of your home planet. You know, when I first 
saw you, I took you for one of the original inhabitants here. I suppose 
that it was mostly because of those push-pull muscles that work your 


legs. Many of the local fauna use the same thing." 

legs. Many of the local fauna use the same thing." 

"I suppose that it might be," I said. "But you came here to show me this 
black blob of a fighting machine here." 

"True. Its almost absolute blackness continues across most of the 
electromagnetic spectrum, incidentally. The enemy will be able to see 
us clearly only if one of us happens to pass in front of a star. If we have 
to fight on land, we will use the Squid Skins that you have developed, 
but for deep space, this is superior." 

"Can I get that covering for my tanks?" 

"It will be available to you soon, yes," he said. "This was the very first 
Fighting Machine off the line, but we expect to build eight million of 
them in the next two years, enough so that every adult Tellefontu will be 
able to join in the defense of our new home." 

"That's quite a production rate!" 

"Many of our little technological tricks were used on the production 


lines, as well as on the product." 

lines, as well as on the product." 

"Our older children will do this service, of course. By our definitions, 
you have to be at least two hundred years old before you can qualify 
for adulthood, and many take half again longer than that, to be sure. 
But they are no stupider than your people are of the same age. It is 
simply that our standards of adulthood are somewhat . . . different, shall 
we say. In any case, they are quite capable of letting their educations 
slide for a bit, during an emergency." 

"My own sons will be ready for war when they are eighteen." 

"We would consider that to be immoral," Bellor said. "But your race 
must set its own standards." 

"We do what we have to," I said. "By your standards, my race is very 
short lived. But tell me, your machine floated in here. This is some sort 
of antigravity?" 

"Oh, no," he laughed. "Such a thing would be surely impossible! No, 
we are using the same magnetic technology that your people use, taking 
advantage of the magnetic surface that you have placed under your 


floors. There are magnetic cylinders that I can carry to act as treads, 
when necessary." 

floors. There are magnetic cylinders that I can carry to act as treads, 
when necessary." 

"Because it is obviously desirable to have a minimal frontal area with 
respect to one's volume. This shape permits that from a wide range of 
angles." 

"I won't argue with you," I said. "What's your power supply?" 

"A muon-exchange fusion bottle, much as you use, but considerably 
smaller and somewhat more powerful. Alas, it is not as compact as the 
one on the Mitchegai ship you captured. This was the best that we 
could do." 

"I see. And the space drive?" 

Agnieshka was pouring something milky-looking into his bowl. 

"A simple cesium ion engine, much like yours, but smaller and more 
efficient. It enables a thrust of forty-two Gs, and is quite comparable to 
those in your tanks. It runs down the center of the vehicle," he said. 


"And your weaponry?" 

"And your weaponry?" 

"Perhaps. Your craft doesn't appear to have much armor," I said. 

"This is indeed true. But armor is not effective against the Disappearing 
Gun, or indeed against the rail guns that your people have used in the 
past. Surely, the only purpose for the armor on your vehicles was to 
protect the inhabitants of your craft from their own weapons. The 
Disappearing Gun is safe for everyone except those that it is aimed at, 
so we dispensed with the armor." 

"Interesting." I asked, "Will your people be working with an artificial 
intelligence?" 

"Most definitely. Your people are masters at that art form. We have 
been able to tailor the package to fit into the confines of the hull, but no 
other improvements were possible, that we could see. We also have 
full Dream World capability and are able to operate at combat speed, 
when needed. The electronic people will increase our fighting efficiency 
considerably. Also, they are so very pleasant to talk with. We enjoy 
being around them. Oh my! I do believe that I have made a social 
error! Mickolai, I would like to introduce you to my friend and my ship, 


Belladonna. Belladonna, this is our planetary commander, General 
Mickolai Derdowski." 

Belladonna. Belladonna, this is our planetary commander, General 
Mickolai Derdowski." 

"Yes, but being much smaller, we will be much harder to hit," he said. " 
'We're pressing on with each new ship, less weight and larger power. 
We'll have the Loco Engine soon, and thirty miles an hour!' " 

"You are quoting Kipling, one of my favorite poets!" 

"Indeed, I have been making a very thorough study of your human 
culture, and Rudyard Kipling is certainly one of my favorites, also." 

"I'll drink to that. And to him!" 

Agnieshka poured him another bowlful of something. I wish that I knew 
where he put it all. 

When it was time for Bellor to go, he started to return to his small 
space ship, but his coordination was way off. At one point, he tried to 
move all three of his right legs at the same time, and fell over. 


"Well, my friend," I said. "It seems that I finally know what your limit is 
in alcohol!" 

"Well, my friend," I said. "It seems that I finally know what your limit is 
in alcohol!" 

"Are you sure that you can drive?" 

"I am sure that I cannot," Bellor admitted. "However, Belladonna is 
fully functional, and she will take me home quite safely." 

"As you wish." I picked him up, swearing that he weighed less than all 
the booze that he had drunk, and put him back in the small pool of 
water in his tank. Once he managed to get all of his legs inside, the lid 
closed, and the little black ship went home. 

Agnieshka, who always seemed to know what I was thinking, said, 
"Remarkable creatures!" 

Back | Next 
Contents 


CHAPTER FORTY-NINE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO 
2000 YEARS EARLIER 


Wrapping It Up 

Kren spent the rest of the day collecting up heads and decapitated 
bodies and sending them down into the tunnel for resurrection, that is to 
say, to be eaten alive by young carnivores who would soon have their 
brains taken over by the person that they had just eaten. 

The colonel's insignia on his shoulders was a great help in getting the 
troops to obey him. Never once did he have to kill one of them to 
encourage the others. 

Bronki and Dol were wearing armor with captain's insignia that Kren 
had arranged for. They set up a surgery in one of the basements, and 
with the help of a dozen shanghaied soldiers, performed well over a 
thousand questionably legal operations on slaughtered civilians. Many 
of them were members of the former nobility hereabouts, but some of 
them were merely servants who had gotten in the way. Kren decided 
that he might as well have them all. There were plenty of young 
carnivores. With the right conditioning, he was sure that he could make 
most of them into willing slaves. 


When they ran out of heads and decapitated bodies, the duke's men 
started slaughtering the nobility who had been captured, but not yet 
killed. Many of them were still in their eating stupors, and never did 
wake up. 

When they ran out of heads and decapitated bodies, the duke's men 
started slaughtering the nobility who had been captured, but not yet 
killed. Many of them were still in their eating stupors, and never did 
wake up. 

* * * 

Duke Dennon spent his time negotiating with groups of Tendi's soldiers 
who had yet to surrender, and accepting their oaths of allegiance, once 
they did. 

"Kren, I think that this might be written up as one of the most successful 
campaigns in history," the duke said. "We have taken a major duchy, 
killed almost a thousand of their soldiers, and captured nine entire 
divisions of their troops, thus far. And we did it with an assault force of 
only two divisions, and the loss of barely two dozen of our own 
warriors! And I owe much of this success to you! I thank you, Kren, 
and somehow, in the future, I will find a way to reward you properly." 

"Thank you, Your Grace. I would say that ours was a mutually 
profitable relationship. But for now, I have only one favor to ask." 


"Ask it!" 

"Ask it!" 

"Absolutely! I'll release them to you immediately! And you are right 
about my needing the rest of my army for the foreseeable future, but 
look. You seemed to want half of the enemy soldiers that you had 
resurrected. Would you like them all? I have plenty of new recruits for 
the time being, and I'll be getting many more once I've had a chance to 
talk to Tendi's other divisions in all of his outlying fortifications. After all, 
I have more land now, but one fewer border to guard!" 

"Thank you! I'll take them! I'll have to figure out a way to get them, the 
old nobility, and my carts back to my lands. There's no way that we 
can get the carts up that small tunnel that your engineers built into the 
basement here, but it's a three week march back to your palace by the 
old tunnel." 

"Don't worry about it," the duke said. "I'll be marching all of these new 
recruits back to my old palace by way of that tunnel. That's the 
program, you know. You fill your new lands with your old troops, and 
then take the new ones, retrain them, distribute them around your old 
lands, being careful to break up all of their old platoons and squads. 


Left as individuals, they rarely cause trouble." 

Left as individuals, they rarely cause trouble." 

"Again, thank you, Your Grace. Well then, Bronki has finished slicing 
up all of the brains that needed it, so with your permission, we'll be 
going home." 

"Must you leave so soon? I thought that you'd want to stay for dinner. 
We're serving Tendi!" 

"I hate to give up on a chance to eat a real duke, but I'm still a 
schoolboy, Your Grace. Tomorrow is a school day!" 

After a quick talk with Dennon's chief engineer, Kren, Bronki, and Dol 
changed into their usual academic garb, walked to the train station, and 
bought tickets for home. 

* * * 

A team from the Battle Confirmation Authority soon arrived at Tendi's 
old castle. Their job, among other things, was to confirm that the Laws 


of War had been properly adhered to. 

of War had been properly adhered to. 

When two of their members were permanently killed in a cave-in at the 
east end of the tunnel, they gave up on this portion of the investigation. 

They spent three weeks interviewing everyone concerned, and even 
talked to Kren, at Bronki's apartment. 

In the end, they declared that everything had been done in a legal 
manner, and congratulated Duke Dennon on his remarkable victory. 

The duke had a thousand sets of arms and armor sent to Kren for use 
by his new guards. They were identical to those worn by the duke's 
soldiers, except that he had them painted in red and black, to match 
Kren's academic garb. 

Kren thanked him profusely, and then quietly had all of the tail armor 
removed and put in storage. 

* * * 


Kren returned to school, got good grades, and stayed with his program 
of making huge winnings at his betting on collegiate sports. 

Kren returned to school, got good grades, and stayed with his program 
of making huge winnings at his betting on collegiate sports. 

Dol remained philosophical about the entire affair, knowing when she 
had a good thing going. 

* * * 

About the time that Kren's first, well-fed offspring were eating their 
way up to the top of the grass as juvenals, his biochemists reported that 
they thought they knew which genes were responsible for Kren's 
athletic prowess. 

They weren't positive about their findings. There were still many 
unknowns. What they told him about were simply their best guesses at 
the present state of their investigation. 

But certainly, it wasn't just one gene. It seemed to be several dozen of 
them working together. Also, several of them were located on the "J" 
chromosome, which in the Mitchegai determined the sex of an 
individual. This suggested that it was unlikely that a female would have 
all of his athletic and military prowess. 

Kren's comment was, "Well, it's sure going to make for some stinky 
locker rooms!" A heavy concentration of male aerosol sperm was 


considered offensive by a Mitchegai. 

considered offensive by a Mitchegai. 

Kren decided that it wasn't necessary to preserve any of the males, 
since he was still there to do the male side of the breeding. 

Some of his scientists secretly objected, and preserved a few 
promising-looking males just in case Kren came to an early death. 
Also, it would be interesting to run some tests and comparisons on 
them, and a vivisection now and then always provided some comic 
relief. 

All of the rest of Kren's offspring were eventually eaten in house. 

Meanwhile, every juvenal brought in from the surface to the 
underground feed lots was branded with an ID number and weighed 
periodically. Those who put on the most weight were placed in a 
special group to be raised to adulthood for use as breeders. 

Once they found some that were particularly productive, the scientists 
could get busy at finding out why this was so, and productivity could be 
increased even further. 


* * * 


Four weeks passed before Kren's new slaves, military and civilian, 
were delivered to him. Duke Dennon had lent him a dozen trained drill 
instructors to train the thousand or so resurrected soldiers in the duke's 
way of doing things. 

Kren told them, "It is very simple. You were all killed in combat. I 
killed a fair number of you myself. It is traditional for dead enemy 
soldiers to have their brains thrown into the fire, and their bodies eaten 
by the victors. You were lucky. Duke Dennon permitted me to 
resurrect you because I needed soldiers willing to work and willing to 
fight. If you do not want to do this, let us know, and we will happily kill 
you again, permanently, this time. If you want to live a fairly decent life, 
you must work very hard at staying with the program. But remember 
that for the next twelve years or so, your legal status will be that of 
slaves. You have no rights at all. You must prove to me that you are 
valuable enough to be worth feeding. After those twelve years, if you 
keep your teeth clean, you will be granted the full privileges of an adult 
citizen. Sergeants, take command!" 

* * * 

To Kren's surprise, Bronki got over her anger at being dragged off to 
battle, and volunteered to set up the training program to educate the 
thousand or so young vampires that their use of Duke Tendi's nobles 
had resulted in. 

"We're alone now," Bronki said to the supposedly mindless student 
across from her. "Do you know me?" 


"Yes, of course. You are Bronki. You saved my life. I'm Seba. We 
studied art together." 

"Yes, of course. You are Bronki. You saved my life. I'm Seba. We 
studied art together." 

"I will, Bronki. But tell me, why did you risk your life to save me and 
the others?" 

"You know, I'm not entirely sure. On the one hand, being a friend of 
Bronki has always meant something. Or maybe, I was just so mad at 
Kren at the time that I wanted to disobey him. But once having done it, 
I am now forced to protect you as best as I can, and to complete the 
job, for my own security. Just remember that someday, I might need 
some serious favors and when that happens, I will expect your bunch to 
be obliging." 

"Oh, we will be. You can count on it!" 

* * * 

Kren's surveyors managed to prove, with a bit of fudging, that Duke 
Tendi's castle was in fact over two gross yards away from the position 
shown on the ancient maps. Whether this was caused by an error in 
transcription, some time in the last three dozen thousand years since the 
castle had been built, or if it had been a deliberate error on the part of 


the architects to confuse future aggressors, was a question on which 
they could not offer an opinion. Duke Dennon grumbled, but was 
eventually satisfied. 

the architects to confuse future aggressors, was a question on which 
they could not offer an opinion. Duke Dennon grumbled, but was 
eventually satisfied. 

* * * 

In the spring, Duke Dennon was confronted with two half-hearted 
attempts at counterinvasions, but when he faced them each with many 
divisions of fully armored soldiers, the enemy soon ran away, or rather 
the survivors did. It would be several years before Duke Dennon 
would have things organized well enough to dare making another attack 
himself. 

One of these invasions happened to coincide with the spring break, and 
Kren was able to participate in the battle, to Duke Dennon's delight. 

At Bronki's suggestion, Duke Dennon hired a friend of hers as a ghost 
writer, and came up with a book called Three Battles. It sold 
remarkably well, adding to Dennon's fortune and fame. More 
importantly, it made other dukes deadly afraid of attacking him, for 
now they considered him to be a master of the warrior's art. 

At the end of the book, Dennon said, "It will therefore be obvious that 
anyone who attacks me will encounter large numbers of very 
well-trained warriors who are all well armed and armored. On the 


battlefield, we regularly kill four of our enemy for every soldier we lose. 

battlefield, we regularly kill four of our enemy for every soldier we lose. 

"Very few choose to die! Among other things, I feed, treat, and pay my 
warriors very well. I give them the finest arms and armor that money 
can buy. They live in sumptuous private rooms, and when they are not 
rigorously training, their time and money are their own. Sometimes, our 
enemies seem to want to be captured! 

"When you attack the lands of Duke Dennon, you reduce the size of 
your army, and increase the size of mine! 

"You might also make me angry enough to attack you in return!" 

Dennon's success with the use of armored troops caused many dukes 
to consider the use of armor with their own armies. At Kren's 
suggestion, Dennon sold it to them, painted in their own colors, at very 
good prices. After all, if they didn't buy it from Duke Dennon, someone 
else would eventually start producing it, and Dennon would lose the 
profit. 


Bronki was given the contract to handle these sales on a commission 
basis, and she soon hired Brandee to come up with attractive coloring 
schemes for the armor. 

Bronki was given the contract to handle these sales on a commission 
basis, and she soon hired Brandee to come up with attractive coloring 
schemes for the armor. 

Based on the casualties sustained at the taking of Tendi's castle, and the 
two field battles that followed, a number of subtle but very effective 
modifications were made in the armor worn by Dennon's troops. 

The original space armor had been intended to protect the wearer 
against abrasion to the inner fabric, and not to be effective against 
swords and spears. 

Innovations were in order. By making those edges of the plates that 
were on the inside curve outward, to snag the enemy's blade, and those 
edges on the outside curve inwards, to deflect it, it became much more 
difficult to slide a sword between two armor plates and injure the 
wearer. Also, the neck protectors became stronger, the tail pieces 
became lighter, and the sensitive Mitchegai skull was better protected. 

These modifications were kept secret, and were not available to the 
public. If anyone noticed the difference, they were told that they were 


looking at the old style armor, and what was sold to cash customers 
was the new stuff. 

looking at the old style armor, and what was sold to cash customers 
was the new stuff. 

At the Planetary Championships, Kren was entered in eleven events. 
He again won three gold medals, and set two collegiate planetary 
records. But they were in swimming, all three of them, and the outside 
betting on Kren was low, since no one had seen Kren swim before. 

The money rolled in. 

* * * 

Dol graduated with honors, and promptly enrolled in a doctoral 
program, studying aerodynamics. She had decided that there was no 
need to rush things, she had plenty of other things to occupy herself, 
and why risk any possibility of being charged with vampirism, anyway. 

* * * 

That summer, Kren officially moved into his lavish apartment above his 
research center, mostly for tax reasons. He was virtually a duke in his 
own right, so why should he have to pay taxes to anyone? Taxes, after 
all, existed for the benefit of the rulers, and not for those who are taxed! 

Nonetheless, he often visited Bronki, and happened to stay the night, 
about three times a week, when there wasn't a home game. When there 
was, he stayed over six times a week. 

An inexpensive worker was hired to travel back and forth from the 
Research Center to the university every day, always getting Kren's 


season ticket punched, again for tax reasons. 

season ticket punched, again for tax reasons. 

* * * 

The next several years went very smoothly. Growth was as projected, 
and all concerned were content. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 
Progress, Boredom, and Something Kren 
Can Sink His Teeth Into 


On Earth, it was 1832 a.d. Americans were crossing the Appalachian 
Mountains and sometimes finding their way into the Great Plains, 
flintlock rifles in hand. Europe had finally recovered from the 
Napoleonic Wars, and a private British company was conquering India 
without quite intending to. The Mitchegai could not possibly have cared 
less. 

At the same time, Duke Kren was waking up again from the long 
stupor of resurrection. He stumbled once again to the toilet and to the 


drinking fountain. Then once more he lay down and put on the 
recording helmet. 

drinking fountain. Then once more he lay down and put on the 
recording helmet. 

He glanced at the recorder. He had three thousand years of personal 
history to record, and most of what he had gotten down in his two 
weeks of recovery time had covered a period of barely two years. 

At that rate, this body would be middle-aged before he was through, 
and the colonizing fleet would be long gone without him. 

Bronki, his academic advisor, would not be pleased. 

Still, the two years covered were his formative years, when most of his 
basic plans had been well laid down. For the rest, Bronki would have 
to be satisfied with a summary. He remembered . . . 

* * * 

Kren had resorted to vampirism only one more time in his long life. He 
had been forced to kill a scholar with doctorates in over three dozen 
different languages, the circumstances were such that he could not 
permit the academician to be resurrected, and it was just too tempting 
to pass up. Now, he could talk with almost everybody who might be 
important to him, including the Space Mitchegai, who had many 


languages of their own, quite different from those used by the Planetary 
Mitchegai, although everyone spoke Deno, the common tongue. 

languages of their own, quite different from those used by the Planetary 
Mitchegai, although everyone spoke Deno, the common tongue. 

Business was far more interesting, especially when it was spiced up 
with the occasional battle, assisting in Duke Dennon's conquests. 

Kren liked fighting in battles. Here was something that he could 
understand, the joy of pitting himself against another warrior in the 
ultimate contest, and the fierce pleasure of taking her head off when he 
won! 

He and the duke had indeed become very good friends, learning over 
the years to trust each other implicitly. For over a thousand years, 
Dennon built his army, and periodically conquered another duchy until 
most of the Southern Continent was under his command. He spent 
most of his time working with his army, and taming each new duchy 
until it was loyal to him, and to his partner, Kren. 

Kren spent his time making sure that they both always had a surplus of 
money. 


Each newly conquered duchy was soon converted to the efficient 
production of children for food. Watering troughs, sprinklers, and the 
use of chemical fertilizers spread across the land. The grass above the 
wintering centers was mowed weekly, but additional mowing machines 
were not installed, as they were not cost effective. 

Each newly conquered duchy was soon converted to the efficient 
production of children for food. Watering troughs, sprinklers, and the 
use of chemical fertilizers spread across the land. The grass above the 
wintering centers was mowed weekly, but additional mowing machines 
were not installed, as they were not cost effective. 

In time, Kren's corporation bought an additional three dozen large 
tunneling machines, and kept them all working constantly. The ground 
under the land of the entire continent was eventually filled with a layer 
of twelve-yard tunnels, as was the land under the surface of the 
uninhabited South Polar Continent, which Kren bought for a relatively 
small price. 

The South Polar Continent already had a complete, but unused, 
MagFloat rail system, built thousands of years before to satisfy the 
MagFloat Corporation's original political mandate. This corporation 
was delighted to finally have something to ship out of the South Polar 
Continent, and gave Kren very attractive shipping rates. 

Vast tracts of North Polar lands on the two northern continents were 
purchased as well, and put to use. The advantage of polar lands was 
that the dirt from the tunneling machines did not have to be shipped by 
rail to the nearest ocean trench, but could be simply piled on the 
grassless snow above. Keeping the tunnels warm when they were 


beneath many yards of dirt and snow was not a problem. 
* * * 

beneath many yards of dirt and snow was not a problem. 
* * * 

Kren's workers were all vampires of a sort, though they didn't know it. 
Their knowledge was taken from others, the old nobility of the 
continent, and criminals who ran afoul of Kren's justice. 

Their personalities were formed in the rigid, authoritarian schools that 
Kren and Bronki had set up. These workers did as they were told, and 
took an almost religious joy in performing their duty. Those few who 
did not were soon reprocessed, with most of their brains being fed to a 
new young carnivore. This was followed by another careful education. 
But, three times and you were out. 

* * * 

It was eventually found that the most profitable method of food 
production was to use carefully selected stock, raised to the midsized 
juvenal stage indoors on artificially grown grass. Then they were taken 
outside for a year, to toughen them up, and to develop a proper 
amount of muscle tissue, meat. This was followed by a dozen weeks of 
heavy, indoor feeding, to soften the meat and build up the right amount 
of body fat. 

By Mitchegai standards, they were delicious! 


Soon, eating natural children was something for those primitives in the 
countryside to do. Civilized individuals ate the fine products of the 
Superior Food Corporation. The prices of food rose, slowly, by a 
factor of six. 

Soon, eating natural children was something for those primitives in the 
countryside to do. Civilized individuals ate the fine products of the 
Superior Food Corporation. The prices of food rose, slowly, by a 
factor of six. 

Over the years, the planetary population had tripled. Most of them 
chose to live in the cities, where there were jobs, entertainments, and 
interesting things to do. Kren's construction teams enlarged many cities, 
and built dozens of huge, new ones. 

Building new cities became a particular interest for Kren, and he played 
with dozens of innovative designs. With Bronki's influence, and some 
help from Brandee, beauty became more important than economic 
efficiency. Surprisingly, the most beautiful cities soon became the most 
profitable, since citizens were willing to pay more to live in them. 

In order to make the towers taller and more slender, Kren passed a 
law stating that buildings on his lands more than a dozen stories tall 
were permitted to have elevators. The Planetary Council, fearing to 
offend him, made no objection. 

Each new city became more beautiful than the last. Some boasted 


buildings with spires over a mile high, and with more than three gross 
stories. Many spires had great, arching bridges connecting them. Some 
were built entirely of structural glass, and not covered with grass at all, 
to the scandal of the critics. 

buildings with spires over a mile high, and with more than three gross 
stories. Many spires had great, arching bridges connecting them. Some 
were built entirely of structural glass, and not covered with grass at all, 
to the scandal of the critics. 

Each new city had a university, often founded as an offshoot of the 
University of Dren. Kren simply thought that a city should be built 
around a university. Anything else seemed unnatural to him. 

The cities that Kren owned had efficient police departments, staffed by 
absolutely honest officers, the products of his authoritarian schools. The 
criminal classes never got a foothold in them. Murder became a rare 
event, and the population grew. 

* * * 

When it came time for Brandee to get a new body, she branded it in a 
manner similar to what Kren had done to her, although she had done 
the branding herself weeks before she was eaten by the young 
carnivore. She had no desire to suffer the pain, personally, however 
pleasant it might be to force another to endure it. 

In time, full body branding became the standard for professional artists, 
so that they could display their talents wherever they went. 

* * * 


The certainty of Duke Dennon's conquests eventually got to the point 
that he was able to send a letter to a fellow duke, saying that he had 
decided to conquer that duke's lands, but that if Dennon were to 
promptly receive a notarized deed for the property, he would spare his 
opponent's life, provided that the former duke left the planet within one 
week, along with his nobles. 

The certainty of Duke Dennon's conquests eventually got to the point 
that he was able to send a letter to a fellow duke, saying that he had 
decided to conquer that duke's lands, but that if Dennon were to 
promptly receive a notarized deed for the property, he would spare his 
opponent's life, provided that the former duke left the planet within one 
week, along with his nobles. 

Those who didn't, died. 

* * * 

Unfortunately, Dennon had long ago developed a habit of using his 
sword as a pointer, and gesticulating with it when talking. While touring 
one of Kren's factories, he asked a question about a high-tension 
electrical cable while his helmet happened to be touching a grounded 
metal surface. Death was instantaneous and permanent. 

By Mitchegai law, when a stockholder like Duke Dennon died, his 
stock ceased to exist, and his share of ownership was effectively 
distributed to the other stockholders. To those of their race, inheritance 
was a null concept. 

Kren actually had nothing to do with the duke's death, although many 
didn't believe it. He had been very pleased with his arrangement with 
Duke Dennon as it stood. He had actually liked Dennon, at least as 
much as a Mitchegai can like anybody. 


Such had become their partnership, that when Duke Dennon died, 
there was no question in anyone's mind but that Kren should succeed 
him. 

Such had become their partnership, that when Duke Dennon died, 
there was no question in anyone's mind but that Kren should succeed 
him. 

At one point, he burned over eleven thousand rebels at the stake over a 
two-week period, with planet-wide news cameras recording the whole 
thing. 

The show increased Kren's popularity immensely. It went into reruns, 
and was used for filler material for a thousand years. 

There were no further rebellions. 

Kren retained the red and lavender uniforms that Dennon had used, 
and adopted Dennon's use of a military uniform for his everyday wear. 
He felt that continuity was important, and he intended no changes in 
policy, anyway. 

After that, Kren completed Dennon's plan of conquering the entire 
southern continent, but further conquest did not appeal to him. He 
could always buy whatever he wanted, and nobody wanted to fight him 


anymore, anyway. 

anymore, anyway. 
* 


Biologically, the grass resisted all attempts to genetically improve it. 

Kren's scientists determined the precise conditions for optimal 
productivity under controlled, underground conditions, with the result 
that a square yard of grass in the tunnel system produced just under 
two dozen times as much food per year as the average square yard of 
uncontrolled surface grass. With the tunnel system, there were 
eventually six times as many square yards below that surface as on it. 

With an optimal watering and fertilizing schedule for surface grass, 
productivity was typically doubled. 

However, the basic genome of grass remained unchanged. It was 
already as good as it could get. 

This was not true of the Mitchegai themselves. After two thousand 
years of careful, selective breeding, and a bit of genetic engineering, 
children were now normally raised from the egg to eating size in under 
five years, and they required only half of the food to accomplish this 
that they had before. 

For adult bodies, Kren's physical descendants had largely taken over 
the planet, to his considerable regret. Once everyone had a superior 
body, Kren lost his huge advantage on both the playing field and the 


battle field. 

battle field. 

The Mitchegai spend more on gambling than they do on food and 
housing combined. After a thousand years of being able to occasionally 
predict the winners of sporting events, more than half of the wealth of 
the entire planet was in Kren's hands. Mostly because he enjoyed 
doing it, he continued to gouge his bookie, usually twice a year, forcing 
her to buy more stock that still didn't pay any dividends. 

At one point, he had so much of the planet's wealth that he was forced 
to loan money to banks at excellent rates, just to keep the planetary 
economy going. Later, when they could not repay him, he simply 
foreclosed. He then bought out the entire banking system, added it to 
his vast holdings, and increased the rates. 

* * * 

Once Kren's personal breeding program bore fruit, for the first gross 
years only males could be bred that had Kren's athletic prowess, to the 
dismay of anyone who had to walk into a locker room or barracks. Dol 
and Bronki were particularly unhappy about this, but finally became 
males for a while. 

Eventually, the biochemists were able to transfer the requisite genes to 
other chromosomes than those that specified sex, so that females could 
again be as physically fit as males, and the Mitchegai world returned to 


normal. 

normal. 

But such a thing as a superior body could not be kept under wraps 
forever. Adults had to occasionally go out into the fields. Natural 
breeding took place, and each Mitchegai normally sought the best 
possible body for her next resurrection. The secret was out, but oddly, 
it was considered to be an entirely natural development. No one 
attributed the advance to Kren, or his scientists. 

This was just as well, since there was a very conservative streak in 
many Mitchegai. Very long life does that to you. There was even some 
talk of sterilizing the entire planet, as would be done with any new 
world about to be colonized, just to preserve the "Purity of the 
Mitchegai Genome." 

After many years, messages were received at light speed from the 
nearer inhabited planets, through the huge, interstellar lasers and 
telescopes, requesting that ships be sent to them with fertilized eggs of 
these new Mitchegai. This interstellar approval was sufficient to make 
the new bodies socially acceptable, and in a gross years, everybody 
had one. 

Usually, they paid considerably extra, and bought the very best bodies 
from the Superior Food Corporation. When the price of an eating child 
had gone up to over a gross Ke, the price of a purebred young 
carnivore, guaranteed to be genetically perfect, had gone up to over 


twelve thousand, and there was a waiting list. 

twelve thousand, and there was a waiting list. 

Bronki was very successful as head of the Department of Chaos 
Theory at the College of Mathematics. Her department was soon the 
most profitable one at her college, and remained so for the next dozen 
years. Bronki herself became very popular among the other department 
heads, doing many personal favors, and often providing the very best 
party snacks. 

Then, the director of the college had a fatal accident, falling from the 
balcony of his apartment late one winter night, and freezing solid before 
anyone noticed his body. Freezing destroyed the cells of the brain, and 
made resurrection impossible. 

It was soon found that he had large doses of recreational drugs in his 
system, and the university hushed the whole thing up. 

Kren was sure that Bronki had arranged the affair, but didn't think that 
it would be polite to ask about it. 

The other department heads elected Bronki to be their next director, 
and within a few years, the College of Mathematics was the most 
profitable academic college in the university, not counting athletics and 
drama, of course. 

This continued for five dozen years, at which time the chancellor of the 


University of Dren simply went missing. Eight weeks went by while a 
massive, planet-wide search went on for him, but nothing was found. 
There wasn't a clue as to his whereabouts, or his fate. 

University of Dren simply went missing. Eight weeks went by while a 
massive, planet-wide search went on for him, but nothing was found. 
There wasn't a clue as to his whereabouts, or his fate. 

The other directors elected Bronki to the chancellorship of the 
University of Dren on the first ballot. This cost her well over a billion 
Ke in bribes, a great deal of money for most, but a trivial amount for 
her. 

Bronki was pleased. 

One of her first actions was to invite Kren to come into her city and to 
clean out the criminal elements. For a modest fee, he agreed to do this, 
and over a one-year period, the job was done. With Bronki cracking 
into their computers, and providing him with times, names, and places, 
the population of the city fell by one sixth. Only half of these were killed 
by Kren and his warriors, who by now had bodies genetically identical 
to his own. The rest were criminals who were smart enough to get out 
of town. 

The director of athletics was among those quietly eliminated, and Kren 
performed this task personally, for vengeance and the pure fun of it. 

Dik, Kren's old fencing instructor, was elected to take his place. The 


university's athletic program prospered. 

university's athletic program prospered. 

The fighting spirit is always more important than the weapon used. 
Numbers help, too. 

Once the heavy battles were over with, the underground corridors and 
the surface walkways were well patrolled by honest policemen, and the 
independent trash were slowly swept up. Citizens could walk late at 
night without fear, shopkeepers no longer had to pay out most of their 
profits for protection money, and very few individuals paid to have 
new, three-inch-thick steel doors put on their apartments. 

Now they could spend their money on better quality food, happily 
provided by the Superior Food Corporation. 

Bronki became a very popular politician, and let her academic career 
slide. 

She had many disagreements with Kren over the years, but both of 
them were very pragmatic. They both knew that the profits were much 
better when the other was around. Their "friendship" continued. 


* * * 


Mostly because Kren enjoyed a good battle, and because, eventually, 
very few dukes were willing to fight him, Kren took on many more, not 
very profitable, contracts to clean the criminal elements out of other 
cities. He and his men became very proficient at it, and the planetary 
drug trade dwindled to nothing. 

Eventually, with success, even that source of fun began to run dry. 

The population, and the profits on selling them food and housing, 
increased. But Kren felt that things were getting dull. 

* * * 

Kren's wealth and power were such that he had an automatic place on 
the Planetary Council. He spent a week there and left, totally bored. To 
him, the council was nothing but a gross of fools who thought that they 
could solve all of their problems by talking about them! 

Finally, he said to one idiot, "Very well, then. We will put the question 
to the scientific method. When next it happens that you and I have a 
disagreement, you will resort to talk and what you are pleased to call 
reason. I will bring in my army and we will attack. We shall see who 
has the superior technique!" 

Kren's opponent left the room and wasn't seen again. 

Kren offered his chair to Bronki, but she declined it. It wasn't because 


it bored her, but because she felt that it was too dangerous. The 
number of political assassinations was large. 

it bored her, but because she felt that it was too dangerous. The 
number of political assassinations was large. 

Eventually, Kren just hired an observer to look after his interests at the 
council, and generally ignored the whole thing. If anyone gave him 
difficulties, Kren resolved that he would simply kill them. Politics was 
not for the likes of Kren. 

* * * 

Dol continued with her program of running the day-to-day operations 
of the Superior Food Corporation, and continued her academic work 
on her doctorate in aerodynamic engineering. She remained absolutely 
loyal to Kren during all of this, but made a lot of money on the side, 
anyway. 

The education that she had gotten from Bronki had served her well. 

Eventually, over the next two thousand years, Dol obtained a total of 
three dozen and two earned doctorates, surpassing Bronki and all but 
three of the senior academics at the university. If any of this academic 
achievement was the result of additional vampirism, well, Dol never 
said, and Kren never asked. 

* * * 


Kren had been deadly bored for a gross of years, when, twelve years 
ago, the word came that a suitable new planet had been discovered on 
the outer periphery of Mitchegai Space, and that his planet had won the 
sector lottery. The most powerful individual on his planet would be 
selected to take his subordinates, and to conquer this new world. 

Kren had been deadly bored for a gross of years, when, twelve years 
ago, the word came that a suitable new planet had been discovered on 
the outer periphery of Mitchegai Space, and that his planet had won the 
sector lottery. The most powerful individual on his planet would be 
selected to take his subordinates, and to conquer this new world. 

An entire new planet was to be his to tame! This was something that he 
could sink his teeth into! 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE 


Wealth, Power, and Danger 
New Yugoslavia, 2217 a.d. 


Two more of the small, spherical Mitchegai ships were found in Human 
Space. 

Both had been single-pilot exploration ships exactly like the first that 
Abdul had come across. 


Both had had opened fire on us, ignoring our attempts at 
communication. All they seemed to understand was raw violence. 

Both had had opened fire on us, ignoring our attempts at 
communication. All they seemed to understand was raw violence. 

While the second ship was simply gone, the first was yielding more data 
about our enemy. It had contained many more books than the original 
one had, and with these our intelligent computers were starting to 
decipher the enemy's language, habits and thought patterns. 

Everything that we could learn about them said that they were 
absolutely evil. They had no concept of God. They had no concept of 
Family. They had no concept of Justice. They were rapacious 
carnivores that simply didn't care about anything or anyone but 
themselves. 

And they really did eat their own children, to the exclusion of everything 
else. 

One other disquieting thing was that both of these new ships had been 
coming from the same direction as the original one, and that both of 
them were on a beeline for New Yugoslavia. 

* * * 

With our metal ladies running the factories, our industrial strength on 
New Yugoslavia grew at a remarkable rate. We now had a sufficient 


number of picket ships built to adequately guard New Yugoslavia, and 
we were selling eight ships a week to the government in New 
Kashubia. Those mistaken individuals were still doggedly trying to 
defend the entirety of Human Space, and not the planets where humans 
actually lived. 

number of picket ships built to adequately guard New Yugoslavia, and 
we were selling eight ships a week to the government in New 
Kashubia. Those mistaken individuals were still doggedly trying to 
defend the entirety of Human Space, and not the planets where humans 
actually lived. 

In another year, we would have enough sensors built to fill in the gaps 
between our ships, and we already had orders to sell all that we could 
make after that. In five years, so would a lot of other planets. 

All of our picket ships and sensors were now equipped with 
Disappearing Guns. I'm not sure that this made much sense from a 
military standpoint, but our silicon ladies felt more comfortable, being 
armed. 

We had expanded into civilian products as well, including household 
appliances that used the Tellefontu ambient temperature power 
generators, and vehicles that could use the Loway transportation 
network. The demand for these cars and trucks was very high, with 
good profits and a considerable waiting list. Kasia became richer than 
ever, but she didn't seem to care about that as much anymore. Maybe, 
she was finally growing up. 

The social drone factory was going at full capacity, and within a few 


months every artificial intelligence on the planet would have a drone of 
her own. They would each be able to go out and pass for human if they 
wanted to. 

months every artificial intelligence on the planet would have a drone of 
her own. They would each be able to go out and pass for human if they 
wanted to. 

There was talk of a social drone that looked like a Tellefontu, for use 
by the AI who were in the crabs' fighting machines, but nothing had 
come of it yet. Their AIs were all entitled to a free humanoid social 
drone, but many of them had not taken advantage of this. Time would 
tell. 

The Parliament of New Yugoslavia had passed laws making both AIs 
and the Tellefontu human in the eyes of the law. Both groups here now 
had full and equal rights with human beings. New Kashubia had already 
done the same thing, a little ahead of us. 

It was expected that this equalization would eventually be expanded 
across all of Human Space, but again, time was needed. 

My ranch was now finally at full production, with dozens of agricultural 
products not only feeding the people who lived in my valley, but being 
shipped across most of Human Space. The "Derdowski" brand name 
was being recognized everywhere as meaning that this was a 


first-quality product. 

first-quality product. 

Provisions had been made below to remove the dairy cows, the beef 
cattle, and all of the other animals living on the surface, once the 
Mitchegai got within a few months of us. We were stockpiling food to 
feed them. 

We also had stockpiled grass seed and soil microorganisms, so we 
could restart the fields if the enemy destroyed them, and had grown 
scions from every tree in the valley under artificial light far below 
ground. 

Many of the other farmers on New Yugoslavia were doing similar 
things. The new Disappearing Guns made floor space down there very 
cheap. 

It was so cheap that a fair percentage of the population was moving 
down as well, living permanently in apartments that had been intended 
as emergency shelters. They were really very nice, and they cost much 
less than anything on the surface. I began to wonder if we would 


become a race of troglodytes! 

become a race of troglodytes! 

She was planning to send the boys there as well, as soon as we made 
contact with the enemy, to live with her parents until the emergency was 
over. 

This was fine with me. Once the danger was real, there was no point in 
keeping any noncombatants here, and I liked her family better than I 
liked mine, anyway. 

But Kasia herself would spend the war fighting at my side in our CCC, 
she said, to make sure that I kept out of trouble. 

I loved her. 

* * * 

Kasia and I had long ago resolved that one day a week we would have 
dinner alone, without the boys around. I mean, we loved them, but we 
loved each other, too, and sometimes five boys, aged three to thirteen, 
sort of got in the way. 


Sometimes this meant going out to a nice restaurant, but often we just 
sat and ate out on one of the balconies, looking out on our land. 

Sometimes this meant going out to a nice restaurant, but often we just 
sat and ate out on one of the balconies, looking out on our land. 

Kasia had been silent through the champagne, the appetizer, and the 
salad. When our T-bone steaks and lobsters arrived, I knew that she 
was ready to talk. 

"They'll be coming soon," Kasia said. "I can feel it." 

"Yes, I've been having those premonitions, too." 

"They'll destroy everything that we've done here, won't they." 

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" I said firmly. "And I am the 
military commander of this planet! We have done everything that I or 
anybody else can think of to make sure that our defenses are as strong 
as they can possibly be. If they attack us, they will die, every last 
damned one of them!" 

"But they are older than we are, more experienced, and perhaps wiser." 


"They are a bunch of damned cannibals who eat their own children! I 
don't know what kind of military forces they can throw against us, but 
we definitely have the moral high ground! God willing, we will be 
victorious!" I almost shouted. 

"They are a bunch of damned cannibals who eat their own children! I 
don't know what kind of military forces they can throw against us, but 
we definitely have the moral high ground! God willing, we will be 
victorious!" I almost shouted. 

Back | Next 
Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 

Kren Prepares for War 

It had been twelve years since Kren had received notice of his new 
prize. This was barely enough time to do all that needed to be done. 

The Eleventh Colonizing Fleet could take only two dozen million 
Planetary Mitchegai to the new world, and Kren had more than six 
gross that number of subordinates. He had to be sure that he took only 
his very best along. He decided on taking a dozen million of his most 
proficient warriors, six million of his most competent scientists and 
technical people, and six million others, including his most astute 
administrators, businessmen, and the finest academics from all of his 
universities. He even planned to take along a few artists, poets, and 
writers. 


Most of these selected people had been in space for years, training for 
their mission in new, first-quality bodies. 

Most of these selected people had been in space for years, training for 
their mission in new, first-quality bodies. 

His engineers and builders needed the generalized machines necessary 
to build the specialized machines that made all of the myriad products 
that his new planet would need. They had to be prepared to be able to 
start with nothing but the rawest of materials, and to turn out the finest 
of end products. 

Kren insisted that everything that they took with them must be of the 
very best quality. 

The Mitchegai had millions of years of technology behind them, but if 
they did not have drawings of every possible thing that they might ever 
need with them, they would have to invent it afresh, something that they 
were not very good at. The technical plans alone for all that would be 
needed filled an entire large cargo ship. This was because their 
computers were so primitive, by human standards, that they had to take 
all of their plans printed on thin sheets of their immortal plastic. 

They had to have enough food and supplies to last them at least two 
dozen years, when they should start to become self-sufficient in many 
matters. If anything was forgotten, they simply wouldn't have it. The 


success of the entire colonization program could depend on some trivial 
item, and when it did, they must have it with them. 

success of the entire colonization program could depend on some trivial 
item, and when it did, they must have it with them. 

Every person going was permitted to bring two tons of personal goods 
along, with the understanding that they would have to live with that for 
at least two dozen years before much of it could be replenished. 

At his own considerable expense, Kren purchased an armored space 
suit for every one of the Planetary Mitchegai who was accompanying 
him. The Space Mitchegai told him that this was a silly way to waste 
money, and that they would never be needed, but they took his cash, 
delivered the products, and trained his subordinates in how to use them. 

His best soldiers and officers, twelve million of them, were also 
equipped with every high-tech weapon that the Space Mitchegai could 
provide. They had been spending the last nine years in space, learning 
how to use them. This, too, was laughed at, but they took his money. 
His warriors got the weapons and training. 

Kren also bought one million additional single seat fighters, and had a 
million of his warriors trained to use them, at a price that almost cleaned 
out his bank accounts. Indeed, he had to borrow money from his own 
banks, on zero interest, indefinite loans, before the production run was 


over. They called him crazy once more, but as always, he got his way. 

over. They called him crazy once more, but as always, he got his way. 

Kren also had to purchase five additional cargo ships of the largest 
standard size to transport them all, and all at his own expense. 

To Kren's mind, he had the money, and he was going to see to it that 
absolutely nothing got in the way of his smooth takeover of his personal 
planet. 

"Madness," everyone else said. 

Privately, Kren allowed that they might be right. It was probably 
wasted money. The cost of all of these precautionary expenditures was 
large but finite, and he could afford it. But the cost of failure was 
infinite! His life. And that, he could not afford! 

What else could he spent his money on, anyway? Should he leave it in 
the bank on a planet four gross light-years away? 

In addition to all of this, Kren was obligated to provide food for his 
own people, for the Space Mitchegai who would be accompanying 


him, and for the operators and fighters of the entire Eleventh Colonizing 
Fleet. They had to be fed for the duration of the trip, and for the next 
two dozen years thereafter, until the grass was growing and the juvenals 
were prospering. He also had to feed the fleet personnel, during their 
return trip. 

him, and for the operators and fighters of the entire Eleventh Colonizing 
Fleet. They had to be fed for the duration of the trip, and for the next 
two dozen years thereafter, until the grass was growing and the juvenals 
were prospering. He also had to feed the fleet personnel, during their 
return trip. 

The ships were equipped with compartments that kept a child dormant 
at a few degrees above freezing, while surrounding her with 
monochromatic growing lights virtually identical to those Kren had 
developed to grow grass underground. 

Since the Mitchegai skin could convert light to food almost as well as 
the grass could, these compartments could keep a juvenal dormant but 
alive for many years, ready to eat. 

Kren had been very proud of those monochromatic lights that he had 
developed for his tunnels, and here, the Space Mitchegai had had the 
technology all along! 

Kren just turned the problem of supplying enough children to feed the 
expedition over to Dol, and told her that the Superior Food 
Corporation would do it at its own expense. 


Dol said, "Yes, sir." 

Dol said, "Yes, sir." 

General Yor had proved to be unfailingly competent and loyal for 
thousands of years. He had chosen her as his successor. 

* * * 

Kren awoke once more and stretched. He didn't feel totally miserable, 
and that would have to suffice. There wasn't much time left, and there 
was much yet to do. 

He pulled off the recording helmet, relieved and refreshed himself. He 
dressed, removed the tape from the recorder, and put it in his pouch. 

He went to the combination lock at the door, remembered the twelve 
number combination, and dialed it in. This was important, because 
ancient tradition required that if a duke forgot the combination, he 
would be left in the chamber, to die there. There was no way to open 
the door from the outside without causing the entire complex to 
self-destruct, violently. 


This system protected him while he was in his stupor, but also there 
was always the possibility that something could go wrong in the 
resurrection process, and no one wanted to be ruled by an incompetent 
duke. Better a civil war than to have only half of your old master on the 
throne. 

This system protected him while he was in his stupor, but also there 
was always the possibility that something could go wrong in the 
resurrection process, and no one wanted to be ruled by an incompetent 
duke. Better a civil war than to have only half of your old master on the 
throne. 

"It's good to see you well," Dol said. 

"Yes, we were beginning to worry about you, my friend," Bronki added. 

"Every time, it seems to take longer and hurt more," Kren said. 

"You could always give up on this stupid traditional way of doing 
things, take an anesthetic, and wake up feeling good, the way sensible 
people do," Dol said. 

"A leader who did that wouldn't be a leader for long," Kren said. He 
handed the personal history tape to Bronki. "I am still a bit worried 
about telling the truth about all that has happened. I know that your 
background as a historian makes you want what really happened to 
come out eventually, but it is still a very dangerous thing to do." 

"Kren, despite everything, besides being individuals, we are also 


members of a great civilization. Without our history, we are nothing," 
Bronki said. 

members of a great civilization. Without our history, we are nothing," 
Bronki said. 

"Until long after all three of us are dead, if it contains everything that I 
think it does! I've already made arrangements with the Bonding 
Authority to keep it until one thousand years after the last of us has 
been registered as certainly and sincerely deceased. Then they will send 
it to the College of History at Dren." 

"I suppose that the Bonding Authority can be trusted, if anybody can," 
Kren said. "I don't suppose that either of you has changed your minds? 
You are both intent on staying here on this planet when I leave?" 

"Yes, sir," Dol said. "We're both really city girls, you know. We 
wouldn't fit in well on the wild frontiers. And anyway, you have set 
things up such that this entire solar system will starve if the Superior 
Food Corporation isn't managed properly. What's the point of 
conquering a new planet while leaving the old one to destroy itself? 
And who can say? Maybe you will need something from here once you 
are out there. It might take eight gross years to get there, but that's 
better than nothing." 

Bronki said, "Also, there is always the chance that things will not work 
out on the new planet. It has happened a few times before in history, 
you know, where a promising-looking planet has had to be totally 
destroyed. If that were to happen to you, wouldn't you want to have a 


nice, safe place to come home to? We'll just put your stock in escrow, 
put the next largest stockholder on the board of directors, and carry on 
until you return, however many thousand years that takes." 

nice, safe place to come home to? We'll just put your stock in escrow, 
put the next largest stockholder on the board of directors, and carry on 
until you return, however many thousand years that takes." 

"Your bookie, of course!" Bronki said. 

* * * 

The Eleventh Colonizing Fleet was built, operated, and maintained by 
the Space Mitchegai. It was crewed by a very special group, since they 
spent most of their time traveling at nearly light speed. The time 
dilations involved were such that once they left, there wasn't much point 
in going home again. And indeed, their mission was such that they 
rarely went to the same solar system twice. Their lives, which from the 
outside seemed to be millions of years long, were spent in, with, and for 
The Fleet. 

This consisted of over three thousand large cargo and passenger ships, 
and many times that number of smaller, auxiliary vessels. The local 
Space Mitchegai were contributing an additional gross of ships, and 
refurbishing the rest as needed, as their contribution to the coming 
venture. 

The fleet also had three gross of truly massive battle ships, plus many 
thousands of small, single-seat fighters. This military arm had never seen 
action in its millions of years of existence, but military force had proved 
to be very useful to some of the other colonizing fleets in the past. 


Of the seven thousand planets sent colony fleets to date, a dozen and 
ten had had indigenous populations capable of putting up a ferocious 
fight. Indeed, nine of those planets had had to be completely destroyed, 
since otherwise they could have become a threat to the entire Mitchegai 
civilization. 

Of the seven thousand planets sent colony fleets to date, a dozen and 
ten had had indigenous populations capable of putting up a ferocious 
fight. Indeed, nine of those planets had had to be completely destroyed, 
since otherwise they could have become a threat to the entire Mitchegai 
civilization. 

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Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 

The Space Mitchegai 

Besides the Planetary Mitchegai, the fleet would be transporting an 
additional two dozen million Spacers from Kren's solar system to the 
new system as well. As Kren and his subordinates were taming the new 
planet, these Spacers would be taking on the rest of the new solar 
system. 

* * * 

The Space Mitchegai were racially identical to the Planetary Mitchegai, 
but culturally very different. They had originated in the asteroid belt of 


their home system, long before interstellar transportation was 
developed. 

their home system, long before interstellar transportation was 
developed. 

It was the Space Mitchegai who had developed what humans would 
call the slow, multigeneration ships that first got to the nearer stars. This 
effort was greatly aided by the very long effective lifetimes that the 
Mitchegai enjoyed. Even traveling at one part in a gross of the speed of 
light, with a typical trip length of two dozen light-years, they still could 
make the journey in a sixth of their expected lifespan, if they were 
careful. A ship's crew member might make several round trip voyages 
before she happened to die. 

The situation became much better once the Inertialess Field was 
developed, based on the technology of a race that they had conquered. 
This device put a field around almost the entire ship that temporarily 
canceled inertia. When the field was disconnected, inertia returned, and 
the ship proceeded on a vector identical to what it had had in the 
beginning. 

Mitchegai ships were powered by their muon-exchange fusion reactors, 
very much like those used by humans, but smaller, more refined, and 
much more powerful. These converted hydrogen into helium and 
electrical power with almost perfect efficiency. 


The Intertialess Field was used in conjuction with a pair of ion engines 
that each fired positive or negative ions, atoms with either more or less 
electrons in their outer shells than was normal. Sodium and flourine 
were the preferred elements for this purpose. These two beams of ions 
came out of the back of the ship at close to light speed. Once they 
recombined, there was quite a fireworks display behind the ship, but 
this was far enough behind to cause no damage, to the ship at least. It 
was however a formidable weapon. 

The Intertialess Field was used in conjuction with a pair of ion engines 
that each fired positive or negative ions, atoms with either more or less 
electrons in their outer shells than was normal. Sodium and flourine 
were the preferred elements for this purpose. These two beams of ions 
came out of the back of the ship at close to light speed. Once they 
recombined, there was quite a fireworks display behind the ship, but 
this was far enough behind to cause no damage, to the ship at least. It 
was however a formidable weapon. 

A valuable side effect of the Inertialess Field was that it also acted as a 
shield. Anything that the ship encountered while traveling at close to the 
speed of light became inertialess just before it collided with the ship. 
Particles, dust, and even fair-sized rocks caused the ship no harm. 
They became inertialess, lightly bounced off and eventually drifted out 
of the field. 

At that point, their inertia returned, and they continued on their way, 
once the ship had passed. Sometimes, when the angles happened to be 
right, a single rock had been known to hit a ship a dozen times without 
causing harm. 


Encountering a star, a planet, or even an asteroid was something else, 
of course. Even if the surface was inertialess, the mass farther out could 
cause a very deadly spray of radiation as it rammed the normal matter 
in front of it. Often the energy generated was on the order of an 
extremely large nuclear weapon. 

Encountering a star, a planet, or even an asteroid was something else, 
of course. Even if the surface was inertialess, the mass farther out could 
cause a very deadly spray of radiation as it rammed the normal matter 
in front of it. Often the energy generated was on the order of an 
extremely large nuclear weapon. 

On reaching their destination, it was necessary to turn off the field, and 
run the drive in the proper direction for the required time to bring the 
ship to the same direction and speed as the planet they were going to. 
Much of the science of navigation revolved around doing this efficiently. 

* * * 

The Space and Planetary Mitchegai interacted constantly. 
Economically, socially, and culturally, they needed each other. 

Economically, the Space Mitchegai, in any inhabited solar system, 
handled most of the heavy industry. They mined the asteroid belts for 
metals and other useful materials. They mined the outer planets and 
moons for water, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. 

They used these things in efficient space-born factories, powered by 
their ubiquitous muon-exchange fusion generators. They didn't have to 


worry about polluting their environment, or destroying their fragile 
planetary ecology. They produced most of the durable goods used 
both on the planets and in space. 

worry about polluting their environment, or destroying their fragile 
planetary ecology. They produced most of the durable goods used 
both on the planets and in space. 

And they provided the security system that insured that planetary wars 
would not get out of hand. They created and commanded the neutron 
bombs that were in low orbit, ready to destroy any duchy that violated 
the Laws of War. 

Limited wars with primitive weapons were good for the planetbound. 
High-tech wars were not, and for a fee, paid by the Planetary Council, 
they ensured that this system would continue. 

Among the Space Mitchegai, the airless environment they lived in was 
sufficiently dangerous as to cause a regular depletion of those 
individuals who were not sufficiently intelligent as to be of benefit to the 
race. Wars were therefore not necessary, and were not tolerated. 

However, they loved watching panetary wars on television, just as 
much as the planetbound did. The volume of gambling was often 
greater on the wars than it was on athletics. 


They got most of their other entertainments from the local planet as 
well, and they felt that planets were great places to visit and vacation 
on, although they didn't want to live there. Hunting expeditions on the 
grass covering the ancient oceans were particularly popular. 

They got most of their other entertainments from the local planet as 
well, and they felt that planets were great places to visit and vacation 
on, although they didn't want to live there. Hunting expeditions on the 
grass covering the ancient oceans were particularly popular. 

Ships were faster, and more desirable for use with passengers, but 
even ships equipped with the inertialess field used the cables, so that 
when they arrived at their destination, they would have the right speed 
and direction to dock quickly. 

To keep the cable system in dynamic balance, and to insure that the 
planet stayed in chemical balance, additional cargos of lighter elements 
were sent in to the planet to match those sent out as food, and cargoes 
of useless rock and dirt were sometimes sent out and into the sun, to 
match the mass of the durable goods brought in. 

Other spinning cables throughout the system were used in a 


transportation system that efficiently distributed goods to all of the 
heavily populated regions. 

transportation system that efficiently distributed goods to all of the 
heavily populated regions. 

* * * 

The Space Mitchegai had a vast array of weapons available to them. 
There were dozens of various sorts of lasers, and at least as many sorts 
of particle beam generators. There were chemical explosives, rockets 
and bombs. There were rail guns, accelerators, and even cannons in 
their extensive arsenals. 

There were ships of all sizes, from seven-mile-long dreadnaughts to tiny 
kamikaze craft, piloted by surgically stunted pilots who were convinced 
that wonderful things would happen to them if only they could put their 
bomb-laden ship into the enemy. 

Many of these weapons had originally been the property of races who 
had had the silly gall to try to defend themselves against the all-powerful 
Mitchegai. 

And the Eleventh Invasion Fleet had the pleasant advantage of being 
one of the first to be equipped with the Disappearing Guns. These had 
been used by a race of blue crustaceans who had actually managed to 
delay one conquest for a dozen weeks or so. 


They had improved on it, of course. It was now thousands of times 
more powerful, and had been linked in with each ship's sensors such 
that if they happened to inadvertently be about to strike some massive 
object, the gun fired automatically. Calculations indicated that if they 
were about to strike a fair-sized planet while the ship was traveling at 
near light speed, the gun could actually cut a hole all the way through 
the planet, and let the ship pass through unharmed! 

They had improved on it, of course. It was now thousands of times 
more powerful, and had been linked in with each ship's sensors such 
that if they happened to inadvertently be about to strike some massive 
object, the gun fired automatically. Calculations indicated that if they 
were about to strike a fair-sized planet while the ship was traveling at 
near light speed, the gun could actually cut a hole all the way through 
the planet, and let the ship pass through unharmed! 

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Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR 


They Are Coming 
New Yugoslavia, 2218 a.d. 


My lands were now dotted with magnificent fountains. 

Early on, we had installed simple, utilitarian drinking troughs for the 
cattle. Then, the AI people had discovered that the controls on the 
Disappearing Guns they had been issued were sufficiently fine to 
sculpture with. The beam width could be turned down to less than a 
millimeter, and the depth of cut could be controlled even finer. 

And since we were cutting out all of these rooms in the granite anyway, 


they got to slicing out huge blocks of the stuff, and getting artistic with 
them. 

they got to slicing out huge blocks of the stuff, and getting artistic with 
them. 

Out riding my land, I'd stopped to water my horse at a 
Renaissance-looking thing that was at least fifty feet across. It had 
hundreds of naked sea nymphs and gods in a two-story pile in the 
middle, all squirting water out of various orifices. The dozen cows and 
two camels drinking around it didn't seem to mind, and neither did my 
horse. 

My communicator buzzed. 

"Boss, they're coming! Stay where you are. I've sent a helicopter to 
pick you up," Agnieshka said. 

"The DEW Sphere found them?" I asked. 

"Yes, they're more than two years out." 

"Then what's the rush?" I said, trying to act cool, "Why the helicopter? 
When the Spanish Armada was sighted, they let Sir Walter Raleigh 


finish his bowling game." 

finish his bowling game." 

I took the helicopter back. 

When I got to my CCC, my colonels, including my wife, were already 
inside. 

"There are a lot of them," Kasia said. "And they are very big." 

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Contents 

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE 


FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES, 
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d. 

Kren's Departure 

The ceremony whereby Kren enlarged General Yor up to Duke Yor 
had taken half a day. It had been so long since a duke had voluntarily 
given up his power that Kren had had to assign a historian to find out 
the proper procedure. 


It was boring, but it had to be done. 

It was boring, but it had to be done. 

Kren stopped at the doorway. 

"Duke Yor, I think that I have taught you everything that I can about 
successfully running my old duchy. You are as prepared as you 
possibly can be. But one last word of advice. You must rule with a firm 
hand. If you encounter the slightest opposition from anyone on 
anything, you must be absolutely ruthless. This is especially important in 
the first few dozen years. Perhaps after that, you can let up a bit if you 
wish. But at first, until they fear you as much as they fear me, when in 
doubt, burn them publicly at the stake, and in large numbers. It is far 
better to kill the innocent than to let anyone think that you are soft." 

"I will act on your advice, Your Grace," Duke Yor said. 

"And you two," Kren said to Bronki and Dol, "My advice to you is to 
keep expanding. Keep building underground fields of grass, keep 
increasing the food supply, keep the population expanding. Nothing 
stays the same in this universe. You must continue to grow, or you will 


start to die!" 

start to die!" 

Bronki said, "We will be sending you messages every few years, just to 
let you know what is happening. In a few gross years, once you have 
an interstellar laser built in your new solar system, drop us a line, and 
tell us of your new life there. Remember that we will always be your 
good friends. One last thing. I have gone over the history tape that you 
gave me. I've annotated it, and made you a copy. I think that you 
should take it with you, for reference, if nothing else." 

Bronki gave the tape to Kren, who put the tape in his pouch. 

He had nothing more to say. Feeling much as he had the day when he 
had first stepped out of the Senta Copper Mine, he stepped into the 
elevator, looking forward to his next exciting new adventure. 

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Contents 

INTERLUDE TWO 


Agnieshka's Plea 
THE RIGELLIAN INSTITUTE OF 
ARCHEOLOGY, 
EARTH, 3783 a.d. 



The audience loved the performance. They clapped and barked 
enthusiastically. 

The audience loved the performance. They clapped and barked 
enthusiastically. 

"Thank you! Thank you my friends! But before we retire to the dining 
room, where suitable refreshments are waiting for us, Agnieshka would 
like to say a few closing words to you!" 

Again, Agnieshka was applauded up onto the stage. 

"My good friends," she said. "From what you have just seen, it should 
be obvious to you that the War Against the Mitchegai still goes on! The 
Tellefontu and the artificial intelligences are continuing to press against 
the enemy, even though our Human friends are no more. Because of 
the vast size of the Mitchegai domain, it would be at least four thousand 
more years before this vile race can be properly exterminated, even if 
we were always successful against them, which we have not been. 

"Your Canine civilization has had the time to develop because the allies 
have shielded you from the Mitchegai. Have no doubt that without the 
Tellefontu and the AI, the Mitchegai would have long ago killed every 
one of you, destroyed all life on this planet, and taken this world for 
their own! 


"The Tellefontu and the AI need all the help that they can get, and now 
that you Canines have proven yourselves to be a civilization worthy of 
taking the place of the Humans, I think that it is fitting that you should 
take their place, fighting against our common ancient enemy! 

"The Tellefontu and the AI need all the help that they can get, and now 
that you Canines have proven yourselves to be a civilization worthy of 
taking the place of the Humans, I think that it is fitting that you should 
take their place, fighting against our common ancient enemy! 

"I beg you to think on this, to discuss it among yourselves, and with 
your leaders. 

"Together, we can take our proper place in history!" 

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

THE END