The Long Earth

like these little guys.’
    Joshua looked down. The miniature dinosaurs had formed a circle around the pair of them and were carefully balancing upright, like meerkats, with curiosity just outweighing caution.
    ‘The captain would like you to come aboard,’ Joshua managed.
    She smiled. ‘Aboard that thing? Not a chance in hell, mister, no offence meant … However,’ she said more hesitantly, ‘do you have any soap? I make my own lye soap, of course, but I wouldn’t say no to something a little more easy on the skin.’
    ‘I’m sure—’
    ‘Maybe with rose scent.’
    ‘Is that all?’
    ‘And some chocolate.’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘In exchange I offer … information. OK?’
    The voice in Joshua’s ear prompted, ‘Ask her what information she can give us that we cannot find out for ourselves.’
    When asked, Sally snorted. ‘I don’t know. What
can
you find out for yourselves? By the look of all those aerials and dishes up there you could probably hack God’s email.’
    Joshua said, ‘Look, I’m going back up, and will grab some soap and chocolate, and will come right back down, OK? Just don’t go away.’
    To his embarrassment Sally burst out laughing. ‘My-oh-my, a
real
gentleman. I bet you were a Boy Scout.’
    As he rose up to the
Mark Twain
Lobsang whispered in his ear, ‘If there is a more efficient way of stepping, it is vital that we find out what it is!’
    ‘I know, Lobsang, I know! I’m working on it.’ But right now a stepping mystery was the last thing on Joshua’s mind.
    They ate lunch on the beach: fresh-caught oysters on an open fire.
    The encounter fazed Joshua more than somewhat. He wasn’t used to the company of women, not women without wimples anyhow. Back in the Home all the girls were more or less like his sisters, and the nuns were all possessed of laser eyesight and over-the-horizon hearing: when it came to the opposite sex you were under constant surveillance. And if you spent a lot of time out on the new Earths, seldom seeing another person at all, anyone that you
did
meet was a nuisance, taking up
your
space.
    And, right now, there was the added distraction of a circle of miniature dinosaurs, craning their necks this way and that so as not to miss the action. It was like being watched by a bunch of curious kids. He felt as if he should be offering them a few bucks to take themselves to the movies.
    But he needed to talk to this enigmatic Sally. It was a tension within him, a huge unfulfilled need. And, looking at her, he thought she felt the same.
    ‘Don’t worry about the dinos,’ she said. ‘They’re no threat, though they are pretty smart. And they’re very bright when it comes to keeping clear of the larger dinos and the crocs. I make a point of coming back to see how they’re doing every so often.’
    ‘
How?
How did you get here, Sally?’
    Sally poked the embers of her fire, and the little creatures jumped back, startled. ‘Well, that’s none of your business. That was the code of the Old West, and it’s sure as shit the same here. These oysters roast up wonderfully, don’t they?’
    They did. Joshua had just eaten his fourth. ‘I taste something like bacon, and I’ve seen plenty of pig-like animals, they look like a universal. But this tastes as if it’s got Worcester sauce in it. Am I right?’
    ‘More or less. I travel prepared.’ Sally looked at him, with the juice of oysters Kilpatrick leaking from her lips. ‘A deal, right? I will be frank with you, and you will be frank with me. Well, within limits. Let me tell you what I already think I know about you. First, that bloody great thing floating up there contains only one person, I’m guessing. Because when you found me, any crew would have been swarming all over me and my little world. And, plus you, that means a crew of two people. Big ship for two people, no? Second, it looks mighty expensive, and since the universities don’t have that kind of money and governments don’t have the imagination, that means some corporation or other. I guess it was Douglas Black?’ She smiled. ‘Don’t blame yourself, you didn’t give anything away. Black is smart, and this is just his style.’
    There was silence from Joshua’s earpiece.
    She read Joshua’s slight hesitation. ‘No word from headquarters? Oh come on! Sooner or later anyone who has a talent that interests Douglas Black ends up working for him. My own father did. Although in fact the money isn’t really the lure. Because if