“All right . . . fine,” said the subminister. Abruptly, he looked confused. Then he smiled. “Many planers are called Earth by their inhabitants or discoverers. Which particular Earth is this?”
“The Earth. Birthplace of mankind and malkind. Old Earth. Also known variously as Terra and Sol III.”
The subminister shook his head. “Never heard of it.”
“It is available, though?”
“We’ll know in a second.” Alround studied the screen in his desk.
Actually it took several minutes before the gargantuan complex of metal and plastic and liquid buried deep in the soil beneath them could come up with a reply.
130
Dream Done Green
“Here it is, finally,” said Alround. “Yes, it’s available … by default, it seems. The price will be . . .” He named a figure which seemed astronomical to Casperdan and insanely low to the horse.
“Excellent!” husked Pericles. “Let us conclude the formalities now.”
“Per,” Casperdan began, looking at him uncertainly. “I don’t know if we have enough …”
“Some liquidation* will surely be necessary, Casperdan, but we will manage.”
The subminister interrupted: “Excuse me … there’s something you should know before we go any further. I can sell you Old Earth, but there is an attendant difficulty.”
“Problems can be solved, difficulties overcome, obstructions removed,” said the horse irritably. “Please get on with it.”
Alround sighed. “As you wish.” He drummed the required buttons. “But you’ll need more than your determination to get around this one.
“You see, it seems no one knows how to get to Old Earth anymore … or even where it is.”