"Humans! All of you! Stop! Stop now!" At a signal from one of the humans at the front of the column, the parade halted and became silent. The colonists lining the edges of the street cheered.
"Silence! Be silent, else I shall turn the shocks on you!" The humans became quiet and Havu took a deep breath. He looked down at his guard net panel and saw warning lights from the camp towers in all of the villages in his sector. He looked out of the view bubble, saw that the smiling humans were not attacking the tower, then signaled net control. "This is guard post one at village seventeen."
The speaker crackled for an instant, then a voice shakily answered the call. "What is your report, seventeen?"
"I... I don't know. What's happening?"
"We don't quite understand it at this point. Celebrations of some kind seem to be taking place at all of the camps. None of the posts that have been checked so far have been threatened."
Havu looked over the humans on the street. They were happy, almost estatic. "What should I do?"
"Have they threatened you?"
"No. Not yet."
"Use your own judgment, then. Report anything unusual. I must get on with other calls."
Havu switched off. The human called Billy Pratt moved out from one of the barracks and came to a halt before the tower "Havu?"
Havu studied the human, then keyed his address system "Billy Pratt. What is this?"
The fixer rubbed his chin, looked back at the halted parade, then turned back to the tower. Pratt had a smile on his face. "Honor, you know about the note of gratitude sent to the Imperial Chamber?"
"Yes. I understand that the signed papers from this camp left here without my knowledge, which displeases me."
The human looked stricken. "We had no intention of displeasing you, Honor. We simply wished to express our gratitude as a single people."
Havu looked at the halted column. "What is this parade about, Billy Pratt?"
The human shrugged. "We are simply demonstrating our happiness at our situation, Honor."
Havu studied the humans along the street, and in the column. Then he returned his glance to Billy Pratt. He leaned back in his chair, thought a moment, then nodded. His laughter rang inside the tiny enclosure as he nodded again and again. When he had control of himself he looked upon Billy Pratt with new eyes. "Goatha. A double Goatha. Well done." He laughed again, then keyed the address system. After all, he had been ordered to use his own judgment. "Continue. Continue the parade, Billy Pratt. I apologize for my interruption." Havu leaned forward to watch the parade, the rough outline of his report to the guard center forming in his mind.
THIRTY-SIX
At the pit, John J. O'Hara stood next to Tom Warner as both of them swung their picks at the pit wall. "Humans O'Hara and Warner! Stand before the tower!"
O'Hara put down his pick, cursed his aching back, smiled, then faced the tower. "Yes, Honor, I would be happy to." Up on the rim of the pit he could see a human standing among a delegation of Nuumiians. He recognized Karl Arnheim, then dropped his pick, choosing a path that would pass by the stooping Billy Pratt. The fixer sang as he picked up chunks of rock and dropped them into his basket. "Billy, they're here."
Billy turned, glanced at the rim of the pit, then turned back to his basket. "Good."
"This better work."
Billy finished filling his basket, then hefted it to his shoulder and faced the Governor. "It will, Mr. John. The fix is in."
Warner shook his head and frowned. "This whole thing seems so stupid."
Billy nudged Warner with his free arm. "Smile when you say that, stranger."
All three smiled as they walked the steep path to the rim of the pit to the sounds of singing and laughing. While Warner and O'Hara joined the delegation at the base of the tower, Billy Pratt walked to one of the bins at the edge of the pit and dumped in his load. Holding the basket in one hand, he turned and began walking toward the path. "Your name, human?'
Billy looked up at the tower. "Honor, my name is Billy Pratt."
"You will come to the base of the tower."
"My pleasure, Honor." Billy joined Warner and O'Hara and the three of them stood grinning at the Nuumiian delegation.
One of the Nuumiians stepped forward. "My name is Adr Ventzu Fung." He turned toward Billy. "We asked the guard if we could speak to you, as a representative of the workers, rather than as a leader, such as Mr. O'Hara and Mr. Warner."
Billy grinned and bowed. "It is my honor. How may I help my benefactors?"
Karl Arnheim stepped forward. "That's their fixer. Get someone else."
Adr Ventzu Fung studied Arnheim, then shook his head. "Everyone has a function, Mr. Arnheim." He turned back to Billy. "Do you own or manage any part of O'Hara's Greater Shows?"
"No, Honor."
The Nuumiian delegation leader shrugged at Arnheim. "He is one of the workers. I think you have consumed enough of our time, Mr. Arnheim. We shall proceed." He turned to Warner. "Am I to understand that the colonists look upon their subjugation as beasts of a meaningless burden as a favor?"
Warner nodded and smiled. "Oh, yes, Honor! It has brought us happiness..." he looked at Billy, then turned back to the Nuumiian. "And it has relieved the suffering born into every human. We rejoice at our work."
The Nuumiian turned toward O'Hara. "And you?"
The Governor nodded, his face wreathed in smiles. "Yes, Honor. How can we ever repay our debt or express our gratitude?"
The Nuumiian glanced at Arnheim, then studied the happy, coughing workers in the pit. He turned back to Arnheim. "Well?"
Arnheim glowered. "They're putting you on! Don't you see?" He turned to O'Hara. "It's me, John. I'm the one who wrecked your show and got you stuck in this dust bin. Me! Do you understand that?"
O'Hara stepped forward and clasped Arnheim's hand. "Oh, thank you, Karl. We haven't known who to thank until now. How can I ever repay you?"
Arnheim pulled his hand away, and turned to Billy. "You're Billy Pratt. You used to work for the Abe Show, and I know about you. Tell these people what's going on here, and I'll make it worth your while."
Billy smiled and held his hand out toward the pit. "I don't see how you could do much more for us, Mr. Arnheim."
Adr Ventzu Fung turned to the rest of the Nuumiian delegation. "Brother deputies, I don't think there is anything left to investigate. Of the nine villages we have seen, none of them has taken the Royal Family's Hazb. This village has taken neither that Hazb nor Mr. Arnheim's." He turned back to Warner and O'Hara. "The only matter left is the amount and form of restitution the Chamber shall make to these victims."
Havu Da Miraac saw the people from the village marching back from the pit and could hear them singing something about working on a thing called a railroad. He opened the floor hatch to the capsule, stepped into the elevation field, and lowered himself to the village street. In moments the villagers stood in even ranks before him. Pratt, Warner, and O'Hara stepped out and came to a halt in front of him. He turned to Billy. "What happened?"
Billy Pratt danced a little step, then came to a halt smiling. "Perfect. A halt has been put to everything until the Chamber votes on the restitution."
"What is the restitution they will recommend?"
"For the colonists, the removal of Nuumiian government, the restoration of human control, and eight billion credits. For the circus, return of all equipment, the ship, replacement of anything lost on Mystienya, and the minimum guarantee for the season promised by the Nuumiians because of Karl Arnheim."
Havu turned to Warner. "I would like to stay on Mystienya."