Leo Frankowski

death en route. Also, there is more work to be done in the
western hemisphere alone than the LDUs assigned there can handle. The eastern seaboard
of the U.S. is in far worse shape than we had anticipated. Therefore, Lord
Copernick has delayed our entry into Asia for two months, when the food trees will be
producing sufficiently to support us on the trip.”
    “Well, if we got
to, we got to.”
    “We now cover
the North American continent, except for Nova Scotia, and the first units have
reached Columbia.
We have suffered six hundred fifty-seven disabling casualities today, including
seventy-two deaths…”
    “Dirk, don’t
treat your brothers like numbers,” Gui bedo said, finishing up his work and turning
to the LDU. “Someday when we have time, you can tell me each of their stories, so I
can remember them.”
    “Sorry, my lord.
I didn’t mean to degrade their actions.”
    “You didn’t,
Dirk. It’s just that numbers are so cold. So how did the trip go? Everybody come back
okay?”
    “The original
party came back in the same physical shape that they left in, my lord. We
delivered nine tons of supplies to those who needed them and returned with forty-two sick and
injured refugees. Winnie is loading up for another trip in the morning.”
    “And the
girls?”
    “They’ll be along in an hour or so.
I’ve been working for you now for three
years, my lord. Besides being my boss,
you’ve been my teacher and my mentor. And if I may be permitted the honor, you have also been my friend.”
    “Well, I like
you, too, Dirk. I think next to Heiny and the girls, you’re the only friend I’ve got.
But what are you trying to
say?”
    “My lord—we have
made another error.”
    “So that’s troubling you? Look, Dirk.
When you send out a lot of soldiers, you
know that some things are going to go wrong. But the good your brothers
have done is so much greater than the bad, that you have nothing to be ashamed
of.”
    “But it’s—”
    “Look, Dirk. You
got to understand that you’re really a bunch of kids. All of you. Your brothers,
the telephone, the fauns,
the TRACs. None of you are over four years old! Nobody expects perfection out
of children. Making mistakes is part of
growing up. If you’re still doing big things wrong when you’re twenty,
you should worry about it then. But for
now, be lenient with yourself a
little bit, or you’re going to rot your guts out.”
    “I don’t have any guts, my lord.
Merely an absorption cavity. But the point is—”
    “Dirk, your brothers are doing a fine
job. Now I don’t want to hear any more about
this.”
    “It isn’t that, my lord. This
concerns your own family, Patricia and
Liebchen.”
    “What!” Guibedo lumbered to his
feet.
    “They are unharmed, my lord. But a
situation has oc curred which requires your
advice and consent to resolve. I
felt that, as your friend, I should be the one to explain it to you. Perhaps, if you would sit down,
I should tell it all from the
beginning.”
    “Just so you
get it all out.” Guibedo sat down heavily.
    “Four months ago, my lord, you recall
there was an unpleasant incident on Lady
Patricia’s first night here.”
    “I try to forget
it.”
    “Then you recall
that you desired my Lady Patricia for purposes of friendship and
mating…”
    “That’s maybe a
crude way to say it.”
    “Sorry, my lord.
The choice of words is difficult.”
    “Just get on
with it.”
    “Yes, my lord.
But she at first rejected you.”
    “Well, I was
pretty drunk and smelly. Anyway, a girl needs time to make up her mind.”
    “There was more to it than that, my
lord. It seems that with some human females,
certain physical characteristics
are required of a male to elicit a proper sexual response. Common among
these characteristics are height,
slenderness, and youth.”
    “So you’re
saying that I’m too old and fat and ugly to get a girl?”
    “And short, my
lord.” Dirk was trying to be precise.
    “And short, damn
it! Look. A lot of people don’t care what somebody looks like on the outside. And
the fact that I’ve got one hell of a pretty girl proves it!”
    “You’re right,
of course, in many instances, my lord. But in this particular case, well, what
my Lady Patricia thinks you look like is at considerable variance with your actual physical
appearance.”
    “What the hell
are you talking about?”
    “The morning
after that night, my lord, Liebchen saw that Lady Patricia’s programming was
causing both herself and