Pathfinder (Pathfinder 1)

“Rudodory,” said Umbo.

“Yes, that’s the house that took Cooper’s note without discounting it,” said Loaf. “And we might try there to find more information. But we’re not Rigg, and that doesn’t get us much closer to our real goal.”

“Which is what?” asked Umbo.

“The jewel,” said Loaf.

“They’re not going to hand it over,” said Umbo.

“But once we know where it is, if we can get you into the same place, you can go back in time and steal it right after they hid it there.”

“Wherever they put it, it’s bound to be a place where they won’t let me come.”

“Let’s find out where it is, first.”

“So you think that asking questions about the famous royal jewel that got Rigg arrested in the first place will cause us to attract less attention than if we asked about Rigg himself?”

“Yes,” said Loaf. “Because we won’t ask outright, we’ll be smart about it.”

“Oh, yes, because we’re both famous for being subtle and clever,” said Umbo. “That was Rigg, remember? He’s the one who knows how to talk their fancy talk—and even he got caught at it, didn’t he!”

“We’ll do what we can do,” said Loaf. “The whole city can’t be like this—there’s got to be places where people who favor the male royal line might know something useful.”

“And talking with those people won’t attract any attention from the Council,” said Umbo.

“So you think we should do nothing at all?” asked Loaf, clearly disgusted.

“Oh, I think we should get the jewel, if we can—I liked it when you called me your second-story boy. I just think we shouldn’t forget that anything we do is going to be dangerous.”

“I’m a soldier, son, I know what danger is a lot better than you do.”

Umbo stood up.

“Get back into the water and scrub again.”

“I’m as clean as my body knows how to get,” said Umbo. “And in case you didn’t notice, you’re not my father and I don’t want one.”

“Then get some less-filthy clothes on and go call for my bathwater, if that ugly smart-mouthed girl can be bothered to carry it up. And then while I’m washing, go find out about where to get our laundry done.”

“I’ll do it if you say please.”

“How about if I don’t smack you six ways from Tuesday?”

“Wow,” said Umbo. “That was almost as nice as a tip.”

CHAPTER 20

What Knosso Knew

All nineteen ships were now in a distant orbit around Garden. It was a beautiful world, with the blues, whites, and browns of Earth, but surrounded by a single dazzling ring. On its surface there was life in such profusion that the green of chlorophyll was not just visible but dominant in many places on the continents.

The original plan—much of which Ram had not been shown until now—called for the initial landing party to consist of a dozen scientists and a couple of sharpshooters, in case any of the local animals mistook humans for prey. Ram was supposed to have remained in the ship.

The expendables suggested that only they should visit the planet’s surface. They would spend several years doing extensive recording and sampling; they assumed Ram could enter stasis and not awaken again for nearly two centuries, until the extinction event was over and Earth biota had been fully established.

But Ram knew at once that this was wrong. “Human eyes have to see this world. A human needs to walk through Garden and then speak about it to other humans. My words will be a portion of what you record. Then I’ll return to the ship and go into stasis and wait until Garden has become something that it never meant itself to be.”

“I understand that your use of the intentional fallacy reflects sentiment rather than a loss of rationality,” said the expendable.