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Authors: Frederik Pohl
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Tinker Gorshak. Old linker was looking worried, but as soon as he saw Dekker he broke into a welcoming grin. "Hello, boy," he said. "Your mother wants to talk to you."
"I know that. What about?"
Tinker looked mysterious. "She's got a right to tell you herself. Listen, what I wanted to ask you, Tsumi isn't on your ship, is he?"
"Tsumi? No. I haven't seen him for months. Isn't he here?"
"If he was here, would I be asking you? The little bastard's supposed to be in school in Sunpoint, but the school called the other day to say he was missing his classes. He's hanging around with a bunch of people I don't like, Dek. I called all his friends—all the ones I knew about, anyway—and told them to tell him to get his ass back here so I could straighten him out, but—"
The old man sighed. Then he brightened. "But go see your mother, Dek. She's waiting for you."
Dekker did. By the time he got to Gerti DeWoe's little room Tinker had already called her to say he was on his way, and she was waiting for him. She even had a pot of cocoa on the stove.
He flung his arms around her and she kissed him fondly, then pushed him back to look in his eyes. "I've got some news for you, Dek," she said. "Do you still want to work in the Oort?"
"Well," he said, "sure." Then he took it in. "Is there a chance? Have they loosened up the scholarships again?"
"No such luck," she said, shaking her head. "Haven't you been watching the news? The Earthies are screwing up again—strikes, and banks failing, and—no, we're going to have to find some more cuts to make, in fact. No, it's something else." She hesitated, looking at him almost apologetically. "The thing is, I got in touch with your father."
He blinked at her. "My father?"
"Well, why shouldn't I?" she asked, sounding defensive. "I let him know about what you were doing a long time ago, as soon as they canceled the scholarship program. Dekker, I didn't beg him for anything. I couldn't. He's living on his disability pension, and he didn't have much money to spare. But he said he'd try. It took him a long time, but—"
Dekker felt his heart suddenly pound. "You don't mean he's going to pay my way to the academy, do you?"
"That's what I do mean, Dek. The money for your fare to Earth is here, and he'll put you up while you take some refresher courses before you take the entrance exam and—well, Dekker. That's the way it is. The rest is up to you.
14
The first thing a visitor to Earth discovered was that Earth didn't have just one Skyhook, like Mars. Earth had three of them. The reason was that there was a lot more ground-to-space traffic for Earth than for any other planet, and all three of its Skyhooks were kept busy.
They all, of course, had to touch ground at Earth's equator, because it is only over the equator that a geostationary satellite can stay in position. The one in Ecuador was the busiest, although the mountains around Quito made transshipment a problem. The one at Pontianak was the newest, and maybe some day it would be the best because its location right on a coast made the transshipment of bulk goods very practicable—or at least it would do that whenever the Martians finally succeeded in growing enough produce to ship to Borneo to matter. Until then, Pontianak had so little traffic that it still used only a single cable. But the one in Kenya was in some ways the best, not least because it was handy to all the businesses and industries of that very big African city called Nairobi.
Nairobi was so big and busy that people forgot that it was only accidentally a city. It didn't have most of the things that cities grow up around. It had no river or port or anything else to distinguish it from all the highland plains that surrounded it. It existed simply because it happened to be a convenient place for the developers to put a station stop when, long ago, the first railroad was built from the heart of Africa to the coast. Now that same place was still a station
"I know that. What about?"
Tinker looked mysterious. "She's got a right to tell you herself. Listen, what I wanted to ask you, Tsumi isn't on your ship, is he?"
"Tsumi? No. I haven't seen him for months. Isn't he here?"
"If he was here, would I be asking you? The little bastard's supposed to be in school in Sunpoint, but the school called the other day to say he was missing his classes. He's hanging around with a bunch of people I don't like, Dek. I called all his friends—all the ones I knew about, anyway—and told them to tell him to get his ass back here so I could straighten him out, but—"
The old man sighed. Then he brightened. "But go see your mother, Dek. She's waiting for you."
Dekker did. By the time he got to Gerti DeWoe's little room Tinker had already called her to say he was on his way, and she was waiting for him. She even had a pot of cocoa on the stove.
He flung his arms around her and she kissed him fondly, then pushed him back to look in his eyes. "I've got some news for you, Dek," she said. "Do you still want to work in the Oort?"
"Well," he said, "sure." Then he took it in. "Is there a chance? Have they loosened up the scholarships again?"
"No such luck," she said, shaking her head. "Haven't you been watching the news? The Earthies are screwing up again—strikes, and banks failing, and—no, we're going to have to find some more cuts to make, in fact. No, it's something else." She hesitated, looking at him almost apologetically. "The thing is, I got in touch with your father."
He blinked at her. "My father?"
"Well, why shouldn't I?" she asked, sounding defensive. "I let him know about what you were doing a long time ago, as soon as they canceled the scholarship program. Dekker, I didn't beg him for anything. I couldn't. He's living on his disability pension, and he didn't have much money to spare. But he said he'd try. It took him a long time, but—"
Dekker felt his heart suddenly pound. "You don't mean he's going to pay my way to the academy, do you?"
"That's what I do mean, Dek. The money for your fare to Earth is here, and he'll put you up while you take some refresher courses before you take the entrance exam and—well, Dekker. That's the way it is. The rest is up to you.
14
The first thing a visitor to Earth discovered was that Earth didn't have just one Skyhook, like Mars. Earth had three of them. The reason was that there was a lot more ground-to-space traffic for Earth than for any other planet, and all three of its Skyhooks were kept busy.
They all, of course, had to touch ground at Earth's equator, because it is only over the equator that a geostationary satellite can stay in position. The one in Ecuador was the busiest, although the mountains around Quito made transshipment a problem. The one at Pontianak was the newest, and maybe some day it would be the best because its location right on a coast made the transshipment of bulk goods very practicable—or at least it would do that whenever the Martians finally succeeded in growing enough produce to ship to Borneo to matter. Until then, Pontianak had so little traffic that it still used only a single cable. But the one in Kenya was in some ways the best, not least because it was handy to all the businesses and industries of that very big African city called Nairobi.
Nairobi was so big and busy that people forgot that it was only accidentally a city. It didn't have most of the things that cities grow up around. It had no river or port or anything else to distinguish it from all the highland plains that surrounded it. It existed simply because it happened to be a convenient place for the developers to put a station stop when, long ago, the first railroad was built from the heart of Africa to the coast. Now that same place was still a station
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