A judgment Dumarest didn't share. Those waiting were students with little love for the hovering vultures and, while they might sponge on the girl's generosity, they would be fair in their fashion. She would pay but she would learn and, later, she too could be meeting the new arrivals.
As could Bard Holman who had been the last down the ramp after arguing with the captain. A dispute he was reluctant to abandon.
'We have a case,' he complained. 'Passage booked to Ascelius and nothing said about diversions and pickups and delays on the way. I've lost classes and time and both will cost money. An extra semester will ruin my budget. The way I see it we're all entitled to a compensatory payment.'
A fledgling lawyer, city-bred, inexperienced in the ways of space, he had no case. The captain had provided what he had contracted to supply and had probably lost money on the deal.
Sheen Agostino smiled as he stamped away. She was small and round and dark and had come to gain a post-graduate degree in computer programming, a woman with an innocent openness gifted with the ability to recognize the humor of every situation.
'So young,' she said. 'And so impatient. So eager to learn and to conquer his world. Even to listen to him makes me feel old.'
Papandrious was gallant. 'You don't look it, Sheen. In fact you look really lovely. You agree, Earl?'
'Of course.'
'What else could a gentleman say?' Her tone held laughter but her eyes were grateful. 'Well, friends, I guess it's time for us to part.'
'But we'll meet again?' The merchant was eager to establish a comfortable relationship. 'I'll contact you,' he promised. 'In a couple of days after we've settled down. We can have a meal, and talk, and share mutual entertainment.' Courtesy made him turn to Dumarest. 'And you, Earl? You will join us?'
'Thank you, but no.' Dumarest saw the relief in the man's eyes. 'I'll be too busy. I've a lot of catching up to do.'
'You will, Earl.' Sheen was positive. 'And you'll make the best geologist this world has ever produced. Just keep thinking that.'
This was basic advice to bolster a determination which could falter when faced with harsh reality, but even as she gave it she recognized how little he needed it. A recognition which made her feel a little stupid.
Dumarest came to her rescue, building on the lie he had told, the story he had given his fellow passengers to assuage their curiosity.
'I'll remember that, Sheen, and when I feel like quitting it'll help. It's just that I could have waited too long. Maybe, with the best instructors, well, we'll see.'
A seed sown for future reaping if the need should arise. Her studies would give her access to the computers with their stored data, but to ask too much too soon would be to invite rejection or, worse, a sharpened curiosity. Later, if necessary, he would contact her and she would remember his present indecision.
Now she said, 'Just don't rush into anything, Earl. Take your time and study the prospects. You'll find a complete listing of all available courses together with fees, times and such at any of the information booths. The ones operated by the combined universities can be trusted to deliver what they promise. The free-lance establishments may promise a shortcut and cheap tutorials but you need to be a genius to gain from their offers.' She held out a hand, slender fingers touching his own, before falling back to her side. 'Good luck, Earl.'
Luck had saved him often in the past and he needed it now more than ever. Standing alone before the bulk of the vessel he looked over the field. To one side the wind caught a scatter of debris and lifted it to send it swirling in a drifting cloud of fragments which dissolved to fall in a powdery rain. Biodegradable material falling into their basic constituent elements beneath the action of sunlight and temperature change.
A good sign-Ascelius promised to be a clean world.
The shadows were lengthening when Dumarest left the field. The group of loungers had mostly dispersed, those remaining despite the growing cold ignoring him as he passed, sensing their attentions would be unwanted, their interest unwelcome. He ignored them in turn; the answers he needed would come from those less fortuitously placed. Ascelius might be clean but it was still a jungle and a dun-colored robe could mask a predator more dangerous than any beast.
He walked on, deeper into the city, heading for the busy streets and areas, watching for those who followed for too long and too close, those who stared too hard, those who looked away too soon. Small signs which could betray those with a special interest. He saw none and entered a tavern when lights began to glow from lamps fixed high on the walls. It was as he'd expected, a room set with tables and benches, a bar at one end, a counter bearing dishes of various foods presided over by a stout man with a shock of gray hair and a face seamed with time.
'Fill your plate for a veil, stranger.' His voice was a boom. 'Bread an extra five mins.' He watched as Dumarest made his selection. 'Just arrived?'
'It shows?'
'To an experienced eye.' The man nodded at the plate which could have held more. 'The longer you stay the hungrier you get. Not many students come in here who don't pile their plate as high as it will go. You want wine?' He beamed at Dumarest's nod. 'Take a seat and the girl will serve you.' His voice rose to a roar. 'Trisha!'
She was tall, thin, her face bearing a waxen pallor, the eyes sunk in circles of darkness. Her hair, blonde, hung in a lank tangle. Beneath the rough gown she wore her figure was shapeless. The hands which tilted the flagon over Dumarest's goblet were little more than flesh stretched over bone.
A student, he guessed, working to pay for her tuition, starving herself to pay her fees. She watched as he paid for the wine, added five mins as a tip. As she reached for the coins he dropped a two-veil piece before her hand.
'For you, Trisha.' He noted the hesitation, the inner struggle, and added, quickly, 'For nothing but your time. Sit and share wine with me. It's allowed?'
'If there's profit in it then it's allowed.' She poured a second goblet, watched as Dumarest paid for it, took a cautious sip. 'Do I have to drink it?'
'No. I just want to talk.'
She said softly, 'You could be wasting your time. If you hope to buy me forget it. I'm not that desperate.'
'I need a little help,' said Dumarest. 'I want to save time and fees-there is a charge made for information?'
'You name it and there's a charge.' She sipped more wine, relaxing. 'What do you want to know?' She listened then looked across the chamber. 'Lahee's your man. I'll send him over.'
Like the girl he was tall, thin, bearing the same marks of emaciation. He sat and picked up the wine she had left, throwing back his head as he drank without invitation. An accepted member of the fraternity, his robe stained, the capacious pockets bulging, the array of flags and pennants stitched to his breast frayed and faded. A friend, he had been given the chance to win what he could.
'Trisha tells me you want to learn things. Save money at the booths. Maybe I can help.'
'If you can't then send me someone who can,' said Dumarest. 'And pay for that wine before you go.'
'It was Trisha's!'
'You want to argue about it?' Dumarest held the other's eyes, spoke more gently as they dropped from his own. 'I can guess the system-pass me along for as long as the traffic will bear, right? Well, the chain ends here. You know what I want, can you supply it?'
'Geology,' said Lahee. 'You want to know all about rocks.' He dug into his pockets and produced papers, books, a pen with which he made rapid notations in a neat and precise script. 'If you've the money to pay for it the Puden University is the best. Try and get with Etienne Emil Fabull. If he's booked solid you could bribe someone to yield his place. I'll handle it for you if you like.' He paused, hopefully, sighed as Dumarest made no answer. 'Well, let's run over the other prospects.'
He droned on, listing various colleges and instructors, balancing their relative values, touching on the scale of fees and other expenses. Dumarest listened to the list with apparent interest while he studied the speaker. Lahee was older than he had seemed at first; much of the emaciated appearance stemmed from the passage of time as well as from the lack of food. A perpetual student, he had found a niche in this academic jungle and made it his way of life. An accredited student still, but now more a parasite than an eager seeker after knowledge.
But safer to use than a computer.
