“That's fine with me,” the Skyler said. “As long as I don't have to deal with them personally."

“I've been doing some of that already,” Leila said.

“I'd also like to say,” Geste went on, “if you don't care about altruism, that we haven't been doing ourselves any good staying here this long. It's too isolated, we have too much time to ourselves. Look at us! We've all gotten into ruts, become stereotypes. Listen to the music the Skyland is playing for us-popcult songs a thousand years old! Isn't it time we got ourselves out of this backwater and back into the mainstream?"

No one answered, and after a pause the Trickster concluded, “All right, then, that's my speech. Now the vote; who says we take Mother and load Thaddeus aboard and go home, immediately?” He raised his hand.

Imp's hand shot up, and Aulden's followed.

The Skyler raised her hand.

Lady Sunlight hesitated, then raised hers.

Sheila raised hers calmly and gracefully.

Madame O's hand rose, then Khalid's, then Arn's, Isabelle's, Lady Haze's, Leila's, and Nymph's.

“Oh, what the hell,” Starflower said, “I was getting tired of it anyway.” She thrust her hand up.

Rawl raised his hand, followed by Tagomi of the Seas, but by then it no longer mattered; the majority had spoken.

“Good!” Geste said, speaking loudly to cover the unhappy muttering of a few of the dissenters. “We leave twenty-eight hours from now-two planetary rotations. If you aren't aboard Mother by then, you're staying, whether you want to or not-and if you stay, remember that you'll be held accountable for your actions from now on.” He stepped down from the table and turned away.

Bredon slipped out of his corner and made his way toward the Trickster. Lady Sunlight noticed him and followed.

He caught Geste at the door.

“Hello, Bredon,” Geste said politely upon noticing him.

“Hello, Lord Geste,” he answered.

“'Geste’ is fine,” the Trickster said. “You don't need to give me any titles. And I was never a lord."

“All right, Geste, then."

“That's better. Now, you look like you're after something. What can I do for you?"

“When will you be taking me home?"

Geste looked at him, startled. “Home?"

“Back to my village."

“Oh! You know, Bredon, I hadn't realized that you wanted to go home; I had thought, somehow, that you'd be coming to Terra with us."

Bredon was speechless; his mouth opened, then closed, but nothing came out.

Behind him, Lady Sunlight said, “Oh, do come, Bredon; I think you'll be amazed. And back there we can get you a proper symbiote, adjust your body a little, extend your lifespan-we don't have the right equipment here yet."

“I can come?” Bredon managed at last. “Really?"

“Of course-if you're sure you want to."

“Want to?” The question seemed absurd. To travel above the sky, faster than light, to the homeworld of humanity-to live in the light of another sun-of course he wanted to go!

Then other images welled up, images of his parents, his siblings, Kittisha and Mardon and his other friends.

That all seemed unreal. He had learned so much since he had left his village. Could he ever really go back? Could he live the life of a hunter, using a grass rope and a spear, after what he had seen and done?

No, he knew he could not. He brushed the images of family and friends aside.

“Of course I want to come!” he said. “I'd like to go back to my village for a light or so, to tell them all what happened, though.” That, he thought, would be quite a tale; he wondered what it would sound like by the time old Atheron had interpreted it into something the village could accept.

“But even if you can't spare the time, that's all right,” he said. “Of course I want to come!"

“Good!” Lady Sunlight said, as she spun him around and kissed him.

Name of applicant: the-Hunter, Bredon

Honorific, patronymic, epithet, or other additional nomenclature: “son of Aredon the Hunter"

Citizenship number: None

Planet of origin: Denner's Wreck, catalog 2356-CS-6, 246-Aurigae III.

Place of origin: village, no recorded name, 28E16'30” N. 15E24'00” W.

Unaltered height: 1.71 meters

Education: None

State of health: Fair. No significant risk of contagion. No symbiotes.

Genetic pattern recorded: Yes, by sponsor

Neural pattern recorded: Yes, by sponsor

Sponsor: Sunlight, C.H., Lady, CN 0456-4530-5072

Clearance granted, 3-8-7154.

– from the records of Terran Immigration

– END-

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