bankruptcy suit of his own. He faded into waterfront
atmosphere and Tensquare changed hands four more times,
with less spectacular but equally expensive results.
Finally, the big raft, built only for one purpose, was
purchased at auction by ANR for "marine research." Lloyd's
still won't insure it, and the only marine research it has ever
seen is an occasional rental at fifty bills a dayto people anxious
to tell Leviathan fish stories. I've been baitman on three of the
voyages, and I've been close enough to count lkky's fangs on
two occasions. I want one of them to show my grandchildren,
for personal reasons.
I faced the direction of the landing area and resolved a
resolve.
"You want me for local coloring, gal. It'll look nice on the
feature page and all that. But clear thisIf anyone gets you an
lkky, it'll be me. I promise."
I stood in the empty Square. The foggy towers of Lifeline
shared their mists.
Shoreline a couple eras ago, the western slope above Lifeline
stretches as far as forty miles inland in some places. Its angle of
rising is not a great one, but it achieves an elevation of several
thousand feet before it meets the mountain range which
separates us from the Highlands. About four miles inland and
five hundred feet higher than Lifeline are set most of the
surface airstrips and privately owned hangars. Hangar Sixteen
houses Cal's Contract Cab, hop service, shore to ship. I do not
like Cal, but he wasn't around when I climbed from the bus and
waved to a mechanic.
Two of the hoppers tugged at the concrete, impatient
beneath flywing haloes. The one on which Steve was working
belched deep within its barrel carburetor and shuddered
spasmodically.
"Bellyache?" I inquired.
"Yeah, gas pains and heartburn."
He twisted setscrews until it settled into an even keening,
and turned to me.
"You're for out?"
I nodded.
"Tensquare. Cosmetics. Monsters. Stuff like that."
He biinked into the beacons and wiped his freckles. The
temperature was about twenty, but the big overhead spots
served a double purpose.
"Luharich," he muttered. "Then you are the one. There's
some people want to see you."
"What about?"
"Cameras. Microphones. Stuff like that."
"I'd better stow my gear. Which one am I riding?"
He poked the screwdriver at the other hopper.
"That one. You're on video tape now, by the way. They
wanted to get you arriving."
