desperately not to lose sight of the boy. The appearance of the two western men caused considerable interest as they pulled themselves through the dorm. Finally, the boy stopped and turned to Ron, his hand out. Ron put some coins in it, and the boy fled.
A family group seemed to occupy this bunk section. Four women were trying to look busy while they surreptitiously stared at the strangers. Two children drifted in the corridor, spinning and pin wheeling amid screams of excitement and delight.
Near the front of the section, an older man sat comfortably in mid-air, sucking something from a tube and grimacing. He appeared to be Filipino or Malaysian. He looked up and his eyebrows rose as he looked at his visitors.
Ron managed to bow slightly without spinning and said, "Good day to you, sir. I wonder if we could have a few moments of your time."
A small smile crossed the wizened face as he nodded in recognition of Ron's bow. "It appears that I now have very little but time. So, why are two westerners wandering around down here accosting harmless old men?"
Ron shook his head. "Not true, sir. I am told you have much wisdom. As for why we are here, we hope to obtain your help."
The old man laughed aloud. "Ha! Wisdom! If I were wise, would I be here? But enough fencing. I am Cesar Montero, and I am scarcely in a position to help myself, much less others. What makes you think I'm such a wise man?"
Ron smiled and shrugged. "At each dorm I would ask a child to take me to the 'wise man'. No name, just 'the wise man'. At the first two, the children shook their heads or seemed confused. Here, there was no hesitation, no doubt. The boy led us straight to you."
Cesar laughed and clapped his hands. "Wonderful! It appears that you are not without a certain wisdom yourself. Please, sit and tell me how I can help you."
Ron and Vlad jumped slightly and assumed sitting positions in mid-air facing Montero.
"I'm Ron Creding, and my friend, here, is Doctor Vladimir Renko," he began. "We were shipped as Undies. For political reasons only, I assure you. Unfortunately, I have offended a man who was shipped for much more violent reasons. And he is only one of many in that dorm. We are trying to swap bunks with someone who, ah, 'fits in' better in that environment."
Montero frowned, but nodded. "So, essentially, you want to swap with two thugs from this dorm."
Ron nodded. "Exactly. I am a teacher, and Doctor Renko, here is a distinguished roboticist."
Cesar nodded and bowed slightly to Vlad. "Even I am familiar with the name of Doctor Renko, though I find myself surprised that EarthGov would ship someone of such prominence."
The large white smile flared in Vlad's dark face. "I admit to a certain surprise myself," he admitted, "But the judge was most emphatic that someone who designs machines to take jobs from men is an enemy of the state."
Cesar shook his head in disgust. "Good heavens, has it really come to that? Then civilization on Earth is indeed lost." He straightened abruptly, and had to grab a bunk to stop his rotation. "Well, unfortunately, there is no shortage of thugs even here, among the indigent. I am sure we can accommodate you, gentlemen."
Ron nodded and smiled. "Good. What we want is two bunks, one bottom and one center, in a bunk section without violent criminals. We have EarthGov credits, and can pay, if necessary. We're hoping the violent ones haven't had time to begin clustering together."
Cesar nodded again. "I understand, and I'm sure we can do this. I certainly will not complain about replacing two thugs with educated men." He looked closely at each of them. "Of course, you realize that a certain amount of acculturation will be necessary."
Ron nodded. "We do realize it, and we're also hoping to find someone who can help us with that."
Cesar's smile flared briefly. "I suspect we can also help with that. But let us deal with the first problem first. Come along, gentlemen."
"Rafael Hernandez is Filipino," Cesar
A family group seemed to occupy this bunk section. Four women were trying to look busy while they surreptitiously stared at the strangers. Two children drifted in the corridor, spinning and pin wheeling amid screams of excitement and delight.
Near the front of the section, an older man sat comfortably in mid-air, sucking something from a tube and grimacing. He appeared to be Filipino or Malaysian. He looked up and his eyebrows rose as he looked at his visitors.
Ron managed to bow slightly without spinning and said, "Good day to you, sir. I wonder if we could have a few moments of your time."
A small smile crossed the wizened face as he nodded in recognition of Ron's bow. "It appears that I now have very little but time. So, why are two westerners wandering around down here accosting harmless old men?"
Ron shook his head. "Not true, sir. I am told you have much wisdom. As for why we are here, we hope to obtain your help."
The old man laughed aloud. "Ha! Wisdom! If I were wise, would I be here? But enough fencing. I am Cesar Montero, and I am scarcely in a position to help myself, much less others. What makes you think I'm such a wise man?"
Ron smiled and shrugged. "At each dorm I would ask a child to take me to the 'wise man'. No name, just 'the wise man'. At the first two, the children shook their heads or seemed confused. Here, there was no hesitation, no doubt. The boy led us straight to you."
Cesar laughed and clapped his hands. "Wonderful! It appears that you are not without a certain wisdom yourself. Please, sit and tell me how I can help you."
Ron and Vlad jumped slightly and assumed sitting positions in mid-air facing Montero.
"I'm Ron Creding, and my friend, here, is Doctor Vladimir Renko," he began. "We were shipped as Undies. For political reasons only, I assure you. Unfortunately, I have offended a man who was shipped for much more violent reasons. And he is only one of many in that dorm. We are trying to swap bunks with someone who, ah, 'fits in' better in that environment."
Montero frowned, but nodded. "So, essentially, you want to swap with two thugs from this dorm."
Ron nodded. "Exactly. I am a teacher, and Doctor Renko, here is a distinguished roboticist."
Cesar nodded and bowed slightly to Vlad. "Even I am familiar with the name of Doctor Renko, though I find myself surprised that EarthGov would ship someone of such prominence."
The large white smile flared in Vlad's dark face. "I admit to a certain surprise myself," he admitted, "But the judge was most emphatic that someone who designs machines to take jobs from men is an enemy of the state."
Cesar shook his head in disgust. "Good heavens, has it really come to that? Then civilization on Earth is indeed lost." He straightened abruptly, and had to grab a bunk to stop his rotation. "Well, unfortunately, there is no shortage of thugs even here, among the indigent. I am sure we can accommodate you, gentlemen."
Ron nodded and smiled. "Good. What we want is two bunks, one bottom and one center, in a bunk section without violent criminals. We have EarthGov credits, and can pay, if necessary. We're hoping the violent ones haven't had time to begin clustering together."
Cesar nodded again. "I understand, and I'm sure we can do this. I certainly will not complain about replacing two thugs with educated men." He looked closely at each of them. "Of course, you realize that a certain amount of acculturation will be necessary."
Ron nodded. "We do realize it, and we're also hoping to find someone who can help us with that."
Cesar's smile flared briefly. "I suspect we can also help with that. But let us deal with the first problem first. Come along, gentlemen."
"Rafael Hernandez is Filipino," Cesar
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