'No. Because people who sell fortune cookies want to go on selling them. Come on, Constable Dorfl. We're going for a walk.'
'There's a lot of paperwork, sir,' said Sergeant Colon.
'Tell Captain Carrot I said he should look at it,' said Vimes, from the doorway.
'He hasn't been in yet, sir.'
'It'll keep.'
'Right, sir.'
Colon went and sat behind his desk. It was a good place to be, he'd decided. There was absolutely no chance of finding any Nature there. He'd had a rare conversation with Mrs Colon this morning and made it clear that he was no longer interested in getting close to the soil because he'd been as close to the soil as it was possible to get and the soil, it turned out, was just dirt. A good thick layer of cobblestones was, he decided, about as close as he wanted to get to Nature. Also, Nature tended to be squishy.
'I've got to go on duty,' said Nobby. 'Captain Carrot wants me to do crime prevention in Peach Pie Street.'
'How d'you do that, then?' said Colon.
'Keep away, he said.'
Ere, Nobby, woss this about you not being a lord after all?' said Colon cautiously.
'I think I got the sack,' said Nobby. 'Bit of a relief, really. That nobby grub isn't much, and the drink is frankly piss.'
'Lucky escape for you, then,' said Colon. 'I mean, you won't have to go giving your clothes away to gardeners and so on.'
'Yeah. Wish I'd never told them about the damn ring, really.'
'Would've saved you a lot of trouble, certainly,' said Colon.
Nobby spat on his badge and buffed it industriously with his sleeve. 'S a good job I never told them about the tiara, the coronet and the three gold lockets, he said to himself.
'Where Are We Going?' said Dorfl, as Vimes strolled across the Brass Bridge.
'I thought I might break you in gently with some guard duty at the palace,' said Vimes.
'Ah. This Is Where My New Friend Constable Visit Is Also On Guard,' said Dorfl.
'Splendid!'
'I Wish To Ask You A Question,' said the golem.
'Yes?'
'I Smashed The Treadmill But The Golems Repaired It. Why? And I Let The Animals Go But They Just Milled Around Stupidly. Some of Them Even Went Back To The Slaughter Pens. Why?'
'Welcome to the world, Constable Dorfl.'
'Is It Frightening To Be Free?'
'You said it.'
'You Say To People Throw Off Your Chains And They Make New Chains For Themselves?'
'Seems to be a major human activity, yes.'
Dorfl rumbled as he thought about this. 'Yes,' he said eventually. 'I Can See Why. Freedom Is Like Having The Top Of Your Head Opened Up.'
'I'll have to take your word for that, Constable.'