The Warlock Wandering by Christopher Stasheff Page A
Authors: Christopher Stasheff
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction - General, Fiction - Science Fiction
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just not in the same army, that's all."
"Any way you want it. Major."
"Thanks." Rod hunched forward, frowning. "Now, about time-travel. Why does it only work one way?"
"I said not to ask me that!" Yorick winced. "What do I 48 Christopher Stasheff
know? I'm just a dumb caveman. But I think it's sorta like—
well, you can throw a spear, but you can't make it fly back to you. Understand?"
"You can tie a rope to it." Rod remembered reading every other chapter of Moby Dick.
"A rope five hundred years long? Gets a little weak in the middle. Major. And five hundred is a short haul, where I come from."
Rod felt an attack of stubbornness coming on. "It should be possible, though."
"Okay, so maybe it is, but Doc Angus just hasn't figured out how to do it yet. And I get the impression that no one ever will."
"Watch out for the absolutes." Rod raised a cautioning finger. "The boys up the time-line might just not have told you yet."
"Possible," Yorick admitted, "but not probable. We're both fighting the same enemies—and if SPITE saw a chance to get the jump on VETO, you can bet they'd leap at it—
especially a jump like that! And if the VETO boys thought they could get an edge on SPITE, they'd grab it, too."
"And they would both rejoice to gain advantage over thy GRIPE," Gwen added.
"Oh, you betcha, lady!"
"Well, I guess we all have to take McAran's word for it." Rod pushed back his chair and stood up. "Might as well get moving on it, eh? It's going to be kind of hard, trying to find a place in this colony where we can be alone for a couple of hours."
"Well, more like sixteen, really." Yorick stood up, too.
"It takes a little time, getting the components through. Not to mention putting them together." He turned to Gwen. "If you'll excuse us, milady..."
"Nay, I will not." Gwen was already coming around the table. "Whither mine husband goeth, I go."
"Oh, Don't think I can take care of myself yet, eh?" Rod grinned. "Or don't you trust me out of your sight?"
THE WARLOCK WANDERING 49
"Somewhat of both, mayhap." Gwen tucked her arm through his. "Yet whate'er the cause, thou shalt not leave me. Lead on. Master Yorick."
"Any way you want it, milady." The ape-man laid some IDE bills on the table and turned to the door.
Rod eyed the money with appreciation. "You do come prepared, don't you?"
"Huh?" Yorick turned back and saw where Rod was looking. "Oh! Just the basic survival kit. Major. We have one ready for every time and clime."
Rod turned away to the door with him. "Y' know, it's kind of funny that this outlying planet would still use IDE
paper money, even after the government that printed it has died."
"Why? It's not really paper, y' know, it's a very tough plastic. It'll last forever—or a couple of centuries, at least."
"Well, yeah, but it doesn't have any value in itself. It's only as good as the government that printed it."
"Yeah, but it still works just fine. if everybody believes in it—and they do. Helps that it's based on energy—their basic monetary unit was the BTU. So many BTUs equal a kwaher—a kilowatt-hour—and so many kwahers equal a therm. So the money supply only gets increased when there's more energy available within the interplanetary system as a whole."
"Yeah, if the government doesn't rev up the printers!"
"Ah, but the government doesn't exist anymore." Yorick held up a finger. "It can't inflate the currency now."
"Nice bit of irony." Rod smiled. "The IDE's currency is more sound now that the government that made it has disappeared, than it was while that government was alive and kicking."
"Mostly kicking, at least toward the end. I mean, they were even doing everything they could to bump"off Cholly, over there, just because he came up with some wild theories."
"Cholly?" Rod turned to stare at the barkeeper. "Mr. Nice 50 Christopher Stasheff
Guy himself? Why would the IDE want to kill him off?"
"Well, not the IDE, really—just the LORDS, the majority party that engineered the
"Any way you want it. Major."
"Thanks." Rod hunched forward, frowning. "Now, about time-travel. Why does it only work one way?"
"I said not to ask me that!" Yorick winced. "What do I 48 Christopher Stasheff
know? I'm just a dumb caveman. But I think it's sorta like—
well, you can throw a spear, but you can't make it fly back to you. Understand?"
"You can tie a rope to it." Rod remembered reading every other chapter of Moby Dick.
"A rope five hundred years long? Gets a little weak in the middle. Major. And five hundred is a short haul, where I come from."
Rod felt an attack of stubbornness coming on. "It should be possible, though."
"Okay, so maybe it is, but Doc Angus just hasn't figured out how to do it yet. And I get the impression that no one ever will."
"Watch out for the absolutes." Rod raised a cautioning finger. "The boys up the time-line might just not have told you yet."
"Possible," Yorick admitted, "but not probable. We're both fighting the same enemies—and if SPITE saw a chance to get the jump on VETO, you can bet they'd leap at it—
especially a jump like that! And if the VETO boys thought they could get an edge on SPITE, they'd grab it, too."
"And they would both rejoice to gain advantage over thy GRIPE," Gwen added.
"Oh, you betcha, lady!"
"Well, I guess we all have to take McAran's word for it." Rod pushed back his chair and stood up. "Might as well get moving on it, eh? It's going to be kind of hard, trying to find a place in this colony where we can be alone for a couple of hours."
"Well, more like sixteen, really." Yorick stood up, too.
"It takes a little time, getting the components through. Not to mention putting them together." He turned to Gwen. "If you'll excuse us, milady..."
"Nay, I will not." Gwen was already coming around the table. "Whither mine husband goeth, I go."
"Oh, Don't think I can take care of myself yet, eh?" Rod grinned. "Or don't you trust me out of your sight?"
THE WARLOCK WANDERING 49
"Somewhat of both, mayhap." Gwen tucked her arm through his. "Yet whate'er the cause, thou shalt not leave me. Lead on. Master Yorick."
"Any way you want it, milady." The ape-man laid some IDE bills on the table and turned to the door.
Rod eyed the money with appreciation. "You do come prepared, don't you?"
"Huh?" Yorick turned back and saw where Rod was looking. "Oh! Just the basic survival kit. Major. We have one ready for every time and clime."
Rod turned away to the door with him. "Y' know, it's kind of funny that this outlying planet would still use IDE
paper money, even after the government that printed it has died."
"Why? It's not really paper, y' know, it's a very tough plastic. It'll last forever—or a couple of centuries, at least."
"Well, yeah, but it doesn't have any value in itself. It's only as good as the government that printed it."
"Yeah, but it still works just fine. if everybody believes in it—and they do. Helps that it's based on energy—their basic monetary unit was the BTU. So many BTUs equal a kwaher—a kilowatt-hour—and so many kwahers equal a therm. So the money supply only gets increased when there's more energy available within the interplanetary system as a whole."
"Yeah, if the government doesn't rev up the printers!"
"Ah, but the government doesn't exist anymore." Yorick held up a finger. "It can't inflate the currency now."
"Nice bit of irony." Rod smiled. "The IDE's currency is more sound now that the government that made it has disappeared, than it was while that government was alive and kicking."
"Mostly kicking, at least toward the end. I mean, they were even doing everything they could to bump"off Cholly, over there, just because he came up with some wild theories."
"Cholly?" Rod turned to stare at the barkeeper. "Mr. Nice 50 Christopher Stasheff
Guy himself? Why would the IDE want to kill him off?"
"Well, not the IDE, really—just the LORDS, the majority party that engineered the
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