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Book 2: Chapter 33: Trouble in Paradise
Book 2: Chapter 33: Trouble in Paradise
Book 2: Chapter 33: Trouble in Paradise
Bob
January 2180
Delta Eridani
Buster had taken a mate. Archimedes and he were working on a framework for a tent, while the women stitched together the covering. Tents now covered the ground in downtown Camelot, and I was starting to see some variations in design. Archimedes had started to rebuild his for the third time, a process that was making Diana cranky. I rarely saw eye to eye with her, but in this case, I could see her point.
It was a peaceful, bucolic scene, except for all the armed Deltans walking around. Deltans had always been armed, if course, but in the past the weapons had been for hunting or for protection against predators like the gorilloids. But in the last year or two, there had been incidents of violence between Deltans.
Marvin and I sat in the middle of the village VR, watching the activity. The VR was now a completely real-time representation of activity in Camelot, with only one or two blind spots where I hadn’t been able to sneak in a camera.
Marvin waved his glass of cognac in the general direction of a group of young Deltans. He’d picked up the habit from Howard over at Vulcan, and I still got a kick out of it. “So, Camelot has street gangs, now,” he said. “Are they going around hot-wiring teepees?”
I responded with an eyeroll and an exaggerated nod, then answered, “This is pretty recent behavior. I think it might have something to do with population density. They’re getting too crowded, and the tents take up more space, which just makes it worse.”
“Everything has side-effects,” Marvin said with a smile. “Have you noticed the gangs are co-ed?”
“Mm, yeah. I’m sure a sociologist would have something to say about that, but the libraries don’t have much in the way of that particular discipline.”Marvin snorted. “Doesn’t strike me as a field of study that theists would approve of, y’know?”
I nodded. “Too bad, though. The last mating season was significantly more violent. Two Deltans ended up dying from injuries. And now we’re getting face-offs between the hexghi. It worries me.”
“You could busterize someone…”
“Not funny, Marv.”
Marvin shrugged. He knew that I’d been staying strictly out of sight since my banishment. I couldn’t take the chance of fallout from a bawbe sighting affecting Archimedes.
After a moment, he added, “On the other hand, Bob, the problems we’re seeing are a result of the Deltan population going up. As problems go, it’s a helluva lot better than the problem you first found them with.”
I smiled, as much at Marvin’s transparent attempt to make me feel better as anything. But he was right. When I found the Deltans, attrition had been slowly killing them off. A rising population was infinitely better, for all the issues it was causing.
“So what do we do?”
“Nothing. At least for the moment. I’m banished, remember?” I shrugged. “I suppose this is that point where I step away and let the Deltans make their own destiny. I talked about it in the past, but I guess I always expected it to be my choice. Not forced on me.” I gave Marvin a lopsided grin, and he laughed. ?â???È?
“I’m sure most parents feel that way at some point.”