"Any gang of looters can do that-" interrupted Alan. Mr. Takahara looked at Alan Wise politely.
Alan Wise shut up.
Mr. Takahara smiled and turned back to me. "This is the way it works. You have to put a deposit in escrow equal to one percent of your claim. So the amount of money you bring in determines the amount you can take out."
My mother returned with the coffee. Alan and I waited while she poured it. The aroma was intoxicating. I'd forgotten how much I missed coffee.
"So-" said Alan, resuming-yanking me out of my reverie over coffee. "Do you see what a terrific opportunity this is for you? You can put your money into a protected escrow account-and our company can then claim a very large and important piece of property. That's why I was suggesting that you invest in dollar futures. The federal government will accept that as a continually expanding collateral. You put it in a rotating account."
"Uh huh-and what happens when I want to take my money out again?"
Alan nodded, "But you won't want to-"
I said, "It sounds like I take the risk and you take the profit."
Mr. Takahara spoke again. He said, "This is very good coffee. My compliments."
My mother smiled and nodded and looked uncertain. "Why-thank you."
Mr. Takahara looked to me then. "There is no risk to you. You will own a pro rata share of the operation. That is better than you can get from any other reclamation company."
Alan Wise added, "You stand to turn your nine million caseys into ninety million." He looked at me expectantly. "That's quite a deal, isn't it?"
I hesitated. "If you say so. Um-what do you get out of it?"
Alan Wise spread his hands modestly. "I'm what they call ... a participating agent. I put the package together and I take points."
"Points?"
"A piece of the package."
"Oh."
"Jim-" he added. "It's not just your money we want. It's your expertise as well. It's you we want. And-there's something else. I didn't want to bring it up, but it wouldn't be fair not to-" He glanced over at my mom and then back to me. "Your mother asked me if I could get you out of the army and into some place a little, well-safer. Your being in the hospital and all-well, you know how mothers are. She worries. I don't know what your present commitment is; but I know you've completed your basic obligation, so I know that something can be worked out. I know some people in Denver, and-well, you know; maybe it can be arranged. And certainly, if these worms, as you call them, are as dangerous as you say, then you ought to give serious thought to this. It's a safer, far more lucrative alternative. You've done your part for your country. Now it's time to do something far yourself, and for your mother too."
I glanced over at her. Too much makeup, too much jewelry, too much perfume-and too much hope in her eyes. There was too much desperation in this room. It made me very uncomfortable.
"This coffee is very good," I said. I put my cup down thoughtfully. All of them were watching me carefully. I picked up my napkin and patted my mouth. "I, uh-I'm going to have to think about this." My father had taught me that-the polite way to say no. "I have to think about it." Just keep repeating it until they get tired. It works on everyone except used-car and encyclopedia salesmen.
"Absolutely!" Alan Wise agreed, a little too enthusiastically. "You have to be sure that it works for you. I wouldn't want you to do anything that you're not absolutely sure of. But I just want to give you one more fact. Now, it's completely off the record, and you didn't hear it here-but it just might be the one piece of information you need to hear-" He looked at me, he looked at Mr. Takahara, he looked at my mother, he looked back to me. "Are you ready?" he asked dramatically.
"I think I can take it," I said.
"One word-" He whispered. "Manhattan."
"No way!" I protested. "Denver has been denying access to that real estate for three years. They say they won't even consider reclamation for another three. Even the Mothball Corps has to be bonded before they can go in. There's no way you're going to get a piece of that rock!"
Alan spread his hands wide in front of him. "Be that as it may. That's the word you need to keep in mind."
I realized my skepticism was showing. I picked up my coffee cup, but it was empty. I put it down again quickly. "Well-like I said, I need time to think it over."
Mr. Takahara patted his mouth with his napkin and said, "I understand your position perfectly."
Alan Wise I didn't trust-but Mr. Takahara was another story. "Is this true about Manhattan?" I asked him.
"I would be violating a confidence if I told you all that I knew," he replied.
"Yes, of course. But that doesn't answer my question."
He smiled-and he looked like Buddha. "What I can tell you is that there are extraordinary developments coming to fruition in the next eighteen months."
"Mm," I said. He'd told me nothing. "Thank you."
"I'm sure you understand what he really means," Alan said a little too quickly.
"Yes, but like I said, I have to think about it."
"Yes, of course. I don't want to push you." He wiped his nose with his napkin. "Here, let me give you my card. If you have any questions, call me-any time, day or night."
I slipped his card into my pocket without looking at it. I turned instead to my mother. "You said you were working on some project with maps-?"
She shook her head. "I've been working with the refugee relocation office. We're looking for places to establish colonies, that's all. We're using Family as the model-that's the one that takes care of the children, remember?"
"Uh huh. That's off the new peninsula, right? How is that doing?"
"Very nicely," she said. But she didn't really want to talk about it, I could tell. The light had gone out of her eyes. She excused herself abruptly and went into the kitchen and clattered the dishes around.
Alan and I and Mr. Takahara looked at each other embarrassedly. "So when will you let us know?" Alan asked.
"Oh, in a day or two. I just want to take a little time to think it over, that's all."
"Sure. Take all the time you need-but remember, this is one opportunity that isn't going to wait for too long."
"Yes, thank you. I'll keep that in mind." I smiled politely at them both. The subject was closed. In fact, it was dead.
We adjourned to the terrace then, Alan and I and the enigmatic Mr. Takahara. We talked about Derby for a while. The conversation was deliberately casual. Mr. Takahara advanced the theory that the missing robot was hiding on the assembly line. After all, who would look there? I admitted it was an interesting idea. I couldn't think of a better place.
When my mother finally came out to join us, I made my goodbyes and left quickly.
I realized I was humming all the way to the jeep. I felt oddly satisfied. I had a brand-new thought about the worms-and my mother and her boyfriend had solved my other problem too. Resign my commission?
Hell, no!
THIRTY-FOUR
THERE WERE voices in my sleep again.
They dropped out of a hovering pink sky, a wall of brightness-like God-and danced in circles around me. When I looked, they were bunnydogs. When I turned with them, they were men again. We took off our bunnydog suits and danced naked. We were happy there. When I looked at the singing sky, it was a worm.
There was something I wanted to know. I floated up toward the worm, but it sailed away and I couldn't catch it-and the dance was over now. I'd missed it. The herd was breaking up.