She leaned forward and her soft voice, amplified hundreds of times, filled the Pyramid. "Hel — hello. They say I'm free to go. Are my Lost Boys here?"
And then she smiled, and behind her Lum smiled, and I knew it was her. Couldn't explain how this could be, but it was really her. Suddenly found myself weeping like a dregging baby. Me, Sigmundo Dreyer, who never cries.
And around me: Bedlam, pandemonium, delirium, ecstatic chaos. Never seen anything like it before or since. Normally staid, reserved people were laughing, crying, screaming with delight, leaping and waving their arms like maniacs. They cheered, they jumped up and down, they hugged and kissed each other and danced in circles. Could swear I heard church bells ringing.
For a while, at that time, in that place, we were all Wendy's Lost Boys.
— 16-
Took a long time, but things finally quieted. Guess the human voicebox can take only so much abuse and then it starts to shut down.
During the commotion I'd noticed Brode and Lum with their heads together more than once. Now Brode stepped up beside Jean and raised his hands. His deep rich voice boomed through the hollow insides of the Pyramid.
"My fellow citizens. Due to confusion as to the exact status of her citizenship, and to avoid giving offense to the sovereign world of Neeka, I have used the emergency powers granted to me by the Central Authority in the Megalops Charter to extend Realpeople status to Jean Harlow-c, the woman you know as 'Wendy.' "
Cheers and roars of approval rose on all sides of me as I wondered what Brode was up to.
"That status is only temporary, however. Within a month's time she will have to return to the Outworlds."
As a murmur of disapproval ran through the crowd, Brode hurried to explain.
"But I don't want to see her return there alone. Like you, I want to see Wendy's dream come true."
Never would have believed such a huge crowd could grow so silent. Not even a foot-shuffle could be heard. We were all holding our breath, wondering if he was going to say what we never dreamed we'd hear.
"We can't use public credit, of course, so I am empowering the First Bosyorkington Bank to open a trust fund: the Lost Boys' Trust. The funds will be used to provide transportation to the Outworlds for the unfortunate children we call urchins."
A noise, more like a seismic rumble than a cheer, began to rise from the crowd. Brode raised his voice to be heard.
"To open the trust, I am personally donating the first ten thousand credits. If we work together, we can make Wendy's dream a reality!"
That was it. Forget any more speechmaking. He tried to say something else but the Pyramid's speakers were overwhelmed by the celebratory roar of approval, amorphous at first, but soon taking form.
"BRODE! BRODE! BRODE! BRODE!.."
Watched Lum's grinning face and realized that Brode's bold move was not of his own devising. Lum had found a way to impart vision to an ambitious, high-ranking politico, turning him into a statesman, a man who could grab the reins of history and alter its course.
Didn't join in the chant myself. Let B.B. sit on my shoulders and shout for both of us. Just stood there and watched Jean's stunned, tearstreaked face as she beamed down at all her Lost Boys.
Clone-lady, I thought, do you have any idea what you've done?
Epilogue
"So Brode was lying about the memwipe," I said to Lum as we sat at Doc's table in Elmero's.
"Of course. He was putting heavy pressure on you and didn't want her to be any part of the bargain. So he took her out of the picture by telling you, in effect, that she was dead. But he was protecting her, holding her back as a last resort."
A lot had happened in the two days since the showdown at the Pyramid. The Lost Boys' Trust was ballooning with donations. And after Brode played and replayed the vid of his performance on the datastream, the citizenry of Chi-Kacy, Tex-Mex, and the Western Megalops were demanding trusts for their own urchins. Same in Europe and elsewhere.
"Can the outworlds handle all those urchins?" Doc said.
Lum nodded vigorously. "As many as we can send them. The farm worlds will set them up on big tracts and supervise the kids until they're old enough to homestead the land on their own. They'll all be landowners sooner or later. Me, too."
"You?" I said. "Thought you were Brode's new top aide."
"Right. But only for a while. There's a lot of change in the wind and Brode's the man who's going to spearhead most of it."
"Sure. Because he's been such a true-believing oozer all along, right?"
Lum shrugged. "Brode believes in taking Brode to the top. Before the Wendy affair, he was just another Megalops chief administrator, a regional big shot. Now he's sui generis-the only politico standing up for clones and urchins. He doesn't have universal support, of course, but there's enough pent-up emotion behind those issues to carry him a long, long way. He's now a world-class contender for Central Authority. If clone rights and urchin emigration are going to get him where he wants to go, then he'll champion them with all his heart."
"And if the opposite stands would get him there?" Doc said.
"Then he would damn clones and urchins with equal passion and sincerity." Lum shook his head. "An amazing man — the very soul of pragmatism. I'm going to hang around for a while to see how long I can keep him on the right track."
"Nothing ever really changes," I said.
"When change is imposed from the top down, I agree," Lum said. "But this…this is coming from the bottom up. It's hearts and minds making themselves felt in the upper levels. This kind of change can last."
Didn't believe that for a minute but wasn't going to argue.
I said, "We'll see."
"Maybe you will, but I'll be out of here in a few years. After I put in my time with Brode, I'm heading for Neeka."
"Why Neeka?"
"Because Jean will be there. She fascinates me. I want to get to know her better. And maybe, if things work out…"
He let the sentence trail off.
"She's sterile, you know," I said, for no good reason I could think of.
"Of course. But there'll be more than enough of kids around, don't you think? What're your plans, Sig?"
Shrugged. "More of the same."
"No plans for heading Out Where All the Good Folks Go?"
"Not a chance. Born an Earthie, gonna stay an Earthie."
"Want to work for Brode?"
"Not interested," I said. "Don't like politicos, no matter what the wrapper."
"Good for you." He stood and held up his thumb. "Got to run. Where do I pay?"
Waved him off. "It's on me."
We all shook hands and he left. Doc turned to me.
"You mean to tell me you're not even tempted to try a new life on Neeka?"
"Not the least."
"Even though Jean and B.B. practically begged you to come along?"
"Me? A farmer?"
"There's got to be something there for you. They've got cities-"
"They've got towns, Doc. Little towns scattered all over the map."
The thought of all those far horizons and wide-open spaces made me shudder.
"It'll be a shame to let her go," Doc said, eyeing me over his vial of vapor.
Took instant offense at that.
"She's nothing to me."
He laughed. "What kind of a jog do you take me for? You should have seen your face when Lum talked about heading out to Neeka and maybe marrying her."
"You've been whiffing too much, Doc. You've got permanent brain damage."
He wandered off to the bar and left me sitting there thinking about emigrating to Neeka. Crazy idea. And yet, maybe there'd be something out there for a roguey guy like me. Something other than farming. Anything but farming.