," Gorshak informed him. "They probably still would, except nobody dares anymore. Now they just try to take each other's money."
"Oh, yes, the money," Dekker said, remembering. "What's an 'underwriter,' Tinker?"
"An underwriter! An underwriter is somebody who sucks your blood, and wants you to thank him for it."
"Tinker," his mother said gently. "Dek, it's how they do things on Earth. We borrow money by selling bonds—you know what the Bonds are. But we don't sell the Bonds directly to the people who want to invest in them. That would take too long and, anyway, we don't really know how to do that sort of thing. So somebody 'underwrites' the bonds. He buys the whole lot from us, and then he sells them, a few at a time, to the people who really want them."
"Stealing part of the money along the way," said Tinker Gorshak.
"You know it isn't stealing, Tinker," Gerti DeWoe said crossly. "There's no Earthie law against it. Besides, we agreed to it. If the bond is supposed to sell for, say, a hundred of their cues, then the underwriter gives us, say, ninety. So every time he sells one he makes a ten-cue profit."
Dekker puzzled that over for only a moment before he saw the flaw. "But what if he can't find anyone to buy it?"
"Then," Tinker said, "he has our bonds at a bargain rate. But don't worry about that, Dek. They'll always find somebody to buy. Any way they can."
The boy nodded, thinking about the glamorized pictures on the Cauchys' wall, deciding not to mention them to Tinker. He thought of something else. "Ina said . . . was saying something to Annetta. It was really quite unpleasant, about 'unloading' their bonds if the comet impact was successful—"
" If it was successful!" Gorshak said indignantly. "What a way to talk! And if it's successful, then you know what will happen. We're going to be swamped by immigrants from Earth."
"We're all immigrants from Earth," Gerti DeWoe reminded him, "or our parents were."
"But our roots are here! It isn't just money with us. It's freedom ."
Dekker refused to be distracted into that familiar argument. "But what did they mean about unloading?"
"It's just another thing they do, Dek," his mother said. "They have a kind of saying, 'Buy on bad news, sell on good.' A successful strike tonight will be good news, so that means the price of the Bonds might go up a little."
"But everybody already knows the comet's going to land. Why would just seeing it happen make the Bonds worth more?"
"It wouldn't really, Dek. It might make people think they were worth more, though, and that's how Earthies act. They go by what they think things are worth. So if any of the people that owned the Bonds now wanted to get out—I don't know why; maybe because they want the money to invest in something else—I suppose this would be when they'd sell."
"That's foolish," Dekker pronounced.
"That's Earthies for you," Tinker Gorshak said. "Hey, look! It's going off!"
And indeed it was. On the screen they saw the sequenced charges inside the comet mass doing their job. A lump flaked off one side of the comet, then another. The main mass split in two, then the demolition charges in each section blew up, all at once, and the comet became a mass of rubble, all falling together toward Chryse Planitia. The scene shifted swiftly to a quick shot from the surface cameras atop Sunpoint City. The churning mass of the comet was now visible to the naked eye, moving perceptibly down and to the east. The comet didn't have a tail anymore. Rather, they were now inside the tail. All they could see was a general unnatural brightness of the sky.
"I hope it works," Gertrud DeWoe said prayerfully.
Tinker Gorshak grunted. "I hope we can pay for it," he grumbled. "Those bloodsuckers from Earth are charging us plenty for the capital. Do you know what it costs, Dekker? I'm not talking about the whole project. I'm just talking right now about that party you went to—who do you think is paying for it? And all they're doing is
"Oh, yes, the money," Dekker said, remembering. "What's an 'underwriter,' Tinker?"
"An underwriter! An underwriter is somebody who sucks your blood, and wants you to thank him for it."
"Tinker," his mother said gently. "Dek, it's how they do things on Earth. We borrow money by selling bonds—you know what the Bonds are. But we don't sell the Bonds directly to the people who want to invest in them. That would take too long and, anyway, we don't really know how to do that sort of thing. So somebody 'underwrites' the bonds. He buys the whole lot from us, and then he sells them, a few at a time, to the people who really want them."
"Stealing part of the money along the way," said Tinker Gorshak.
"You know it isn't stealing, Tinker," Gerti DeWoe said crossly. "There's no Earthie law against it. Besides, we agreed to it. If the bond is supposed to sell for, say, a hundred of their cues, then the underwriter gives us, say, ninety. So every time he sells one he makes a ten-cue profit."
Dekker puzzled that over for only a moment before he saw the flaw. "But what if he can't find anyone to buy it?"
"Then," Tinker said, "he has our bonds at a bargain rate. But don't worry about that, Dek. They'll always find somebody to buy. Any way they can."
The boy nodded, thinking about the glamorized pictures on the Cauchys' wall, deciding not to mention them to Tinker. He thought of something else. "Ina said . . . was saying something to Annetta. It was really quite unpleasant, about 'unloading' their bonds if the comet impact was successful—"
" If it was successful!" Gorshak said indignantly. "What a way to talk! And if it's successful, then you know what will happen. We're going to be swamped by immigrants from Earth."
"We're all immigrants from Earth," Gerti DeWoe reminded him, "or our parents were."
"But our roots are here! It isn't just money with us. It's freedom ."
Dekker refused to be distracted into that familiar argument. "But what did they mean about unloading?"
"It's just another thing they do, Dek," his mother said. "They have a kind of saying, 'Buy on bad news, sell on good.' A successful strike tonight will be good news, so that means the price of the Bonds might go up a little."
"But everybody already knows the comet's going to land. Why would just seeing it happen make the Bonds worth more?"
"It wouldn't really, Dek. It might make people think they were worth more, though, and that's how Earthies act. They go by what they think things are worth. So if any of the people that owned the Bonds now wanted to get out—I don't know why; maybe because they want the money to invest in something else—I suppose this would be when they'd sell."
"That's foolish," Dekker pronounced.
"That's Earthies for you," Tinker Gorshak said. "Hey, look! It's going off!"
And indeed it was. On the screen they saw the sequenced charges inside the comet mass doing their job. A lump flaked off one side of the comet, then another. The main mass split in two, then the demolition charges in each section blew up, all at once, and the comet became a mass of rubble, all falling together toward Chryse Planitia. The scene shifted swiftly to a quick shot from the surface cameras atop Sunpoint City. The churning mass of the comet was now visible to the naked eye, moving perceptibly down and to the east. The comet didn't have a tail anymore. Rather, they were now inside the tail. All they could see was a general unnatural brightness of the sky.
"I hope it works," Gertrud DeWoe said prayerfully.
Tinker Gorshak grunted. "I hope we can pay for it," he grumbled. "Those bloodsuckers from Earth are charging us plenty for the capital. Do you know what it costs, Dekker? I'm not talking about the whole project. I'm just talking right now about that party you went to—who do you think is paying for it? And all they're doing is
Similar Books
