Bronki and Dol stayed silent, not daring to interrupt the director as he was speaking to Kren.
“That sounds like a reasonable program to me, sir.”
“Right. So, the duke went way into debt to buy all of that new machinery, since it was his excuse for shutting down the mine in the first place. Without the excuse, the copper smelters would have joined together and attacked him immediately!
“And then on the very day that the machinery was due to be shipped to him, the Space Mitchegai announced that they had found an asteroid six miles across that was five dozen eleven parts per gross copper! The Sky Boys soon started down-shipping refined copper at a third of the price that it had been selling for when the duke started this whole thing.”
“Hmmm. You know, sir, that might explain why my pay is considerably in arrears, and why they were very eager to grant me an educational leave of absence, without pay, of course.”
Kren found lying to be so easy that he was now sure that one of his former victims must have been a champion liar.
“That would sound likely. The lawsuits are flying all over the place right now, and some think that the duke might lose his duchy through bankruptcy, something that has only happened nine times before in the entire history of the planet!” The director thought that the whole thing was hilarious.
“So the duke’s fatal flaw was that he was simply unlucky. Perhaps we should have lost that battle for him.”
“He would have been fortunate if you had, but his troops were just too good. Speaking of which, grab a javelin and we’ll go out and see just how good you are with one.”
When Kren saw the rack that he’d gestured to, his heart slipped down to his knees.
“Sir, I’ve never trained with anything like one of those. All I know how to handle is a standard military spear like this one.”
The director took it, hefted it, and handed it back.
“You mean to tell me that you hit the neck of a four-year-old at a gross three dozen and eleven yards with this stubby, heavy thing? This I’ve got to see! Come on out to the training field, all of you.”
He grabbed three javelins off of the rack and led the way.
When they got there, Kren saw four large, circular grass targets at various distances down the length of the field. The farthest looked to be at about a gross two dozen yards.
“Well, take a throw, with your own spear.”
“Yes, sir. Which target should I hit?”
“Take your pick.”
Kren took the standard three running steps and let fly at the farthest target. His throw was good, and it struck deep into the very center of the smallest circle.
“Kren for as long as you can do that, you have yourself an athletic scholarship. Full tuition, books, and a food allowance.”
Bronki entered in with, “That’s very helpful, Director, but Kren has no other income. He’ll need a place to stay, a clothing allowance, and a little spending money, anyway.”
“Humph. I don’t know. That would be sort of unusual. Kren, take one of these javelins and just take a throw. Go for distance.”
Kren had the judgment and muscular control of a champion athlete, coupled with the massive strength his body had developed in ten years of hard labor in the mines. When he threw the javelin, its flight surprised him. It didn’t travel in the usual parabola, but actually seemed to be flying, traveling in level flight! It continued out beyond the field and over the fence, to fall he didn’t know where.
“Sorry about your javelin, sir. I’ll try to retrieve it.”
The director was still looking at the place where the javelin had disappeared. There was an awestruck expression on his face.
“Burn the javelin! Okay. Housing allowance, clothing allowance, and three dozen Ke a week spending money. I’ll get a special donation from one of the alumnae to cover the cost! Once we teach you how to use a javelin properly, you’ll be a planetary champion, and I’ll be rich! You’ll train for three hours a day, directly under me, the exact times to be worked around your class schedule. Report back at three, tomorrow, and my secretary will have all of the paperwork ready for you to sign.”
“Thank you, sir. Did I mention that I was quite proficient with a sword?”
The athletic director looked at him amazed, and said, “We’ll check that out tomorrow, too. Right now, I’ve got some phone calling to do, and some bets to place!”
Bronki and the director looked at each other, and they both bowed slightly. They both knew that Bronki could expect a hefty finder’s fee for bringing Kren here, and an even larger one if he won the championship.
As they left, Bronki said, “Well, Kren. It would seem that your athletic career is well started, and that your venture will be well funded.”
“Thanks to you, Bronki.”
“Remember that I am always on your side. Have you done any thinking as to just what your course of study here at the university will be?”
“Yes, I have. I find that I am impressed with your wealth. I think that I will study business.”
“Yes, that would be good,” she said, thinking about Kren’s vampirism turned loose on the field of business. “I think that with the right training, and a little help from your good friends, your natural abilities should earn you a very successful life in business,” Bronki said.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES,
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d.
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO
2000 YEARS EARLIER
Buying the Mitchegai Way
Bronki gave Dol very specific instructions about precisely what they should do in the afternoon, and exactly where they should go and who they should speak to. Then she left to attend to other business of her own.
“Our first stop is the College of Business,” Dol said.
They went to a large, impressive complex consisting of four rectangular buildings set around a central square with a large, ornate watering fountain. A large symbol of the Ke adorned every side of every building, the same ancient symbol that is found on every bit of currency throughout all of Mitchegai space.
“It is very attractive,” Kren said.
“It is good that you like it. You’ll be spending much of your time for the next five years here, assuming, that is, that you don’t wash out.”
There was a short line at the registrar’s office, and when they got to the front of it, the clerk started by checking Kren’s credit card for how much money he had in the bank, and then deducting three semesters’ tuition from it. He was informed that if he failed the course, or if he failed to qualify for admission, there would be no refunds.
Dol told her that Kren was here on a scholarship, and that he would require a receipt. After some grumbling, she gave them one, and then spent some time changing things on her computer before seeing the next applicant.
Kren was then escorted to a testing room, while Dol waited outside. An hour later, Kren came out with a dazed expression on his face, and the two of them went to see an academic advisor.
“Kren, you have a most unusual profile. You are very proficient in three languages, including the academic language of Keno, and the business language of Neno, which are both extremely helpful. Also, you know the military language of Meno, which isn’t used much around here. In addition, you have a smattering of four others, besides Deno, of course.”
Among the Mitchegai, languages are not distributed geographically, as they are among a young race like the humans. Rather, they differ according to the occupation of the individual in question. Soldiers speak quite a different language than do engineers, for example. Among soldiers, the word for “foreigner” also means “enemy” and “evil,” and they have no words to describe thermal equilibrium.
All Mitchegai also speak Deno, a simplified sort of pidgin that permits them to buy and sell with other professions, but not to truly communicate with them.
The advisor continued, “You know quite a bit about anatomy. Your math scores go right over the top, better than anything I’ve ever seen before in an undergraduate. But you are woefully substandard in everything else. Tell me, why did you choose the College of Business, anyway? Why not the College of Languages, or the College of Mathematics?”
“Why should I study subjects in which I am already proficient?” Kren said, “I chose to study business because I would like to become rich.”
“Wouldn’t we all? But I really don’t see how I could recommend you to the College of Business with these test scores.”
Dol said, “Please excuse me, but did you know that Kren has been personally granted a scholarship by the director of athletics?”