Jaime pulled the little Rabbit, full with Consuela, their three sons and their few remaining posessions, over to the side of the road. The little car would go no farther, its overheated engine driven past any hope of repair. It was late afternoon and, without air conditioning, the little car had been like an oven in the desert air. Their destination, the golden monolith glowing in the desert sun, was still dozens of miles away. The little car might have made it at a reasonable speed, but the thousands of other cars headed for the monolith had slowed everything to a crawl.
Bushes clustered around a dry creek bed offered better shelter than the doomed car. Jaime ordered everybody to carry what they needed and head for the shaded area. The car, a complete loss, could be abandoned. It would have been abandoned if they had reached the monolith and had been able to leave this world for life in a new universe.
"Mira, Papa," said Jaime Jr.
"Speak English," snapped his father, looking in the direction indicated by his oldest son's pointing arm. A tent and a small version of the golden monolith occupied a wide bend of the dry creek, hidden from the road by a cluster of large rocks, and a little man stood by the monolith, watching them approach, waving in a friendly manner that suggested they should approach.
"Greetings," said the little man. Dressed in a tan suit, he looked cool despite the heat. "You aren't going to get to the mountain so the mountain has come to you. Unless I am mistaken, you would like to emigrate to a new world. I can make the arrangements for you. Have some cool water." He pointed to a cooler chest, its top removed, full of bottles of water. After receiving an affirmative nod from their father, the three boys rushed to help themselves, Consuela following their example but in a more dignified manner.
As dry as he felt, Jaime held back until the little man pressed a cool bottle into his hands. The liquid pouring down his throat felt good enough to raise his spirits.
"Who are you?" asked Luis, youngest of the three boys.
"I am an agent of the monolith and don't really exist. The monolith finds it easier to speak through an agent like me instead of speaking directly to your mind; it is easier on you, too, to seem to be speaking to a real person."
"What do you want?" asked Jaime.
"To help you. Your car has brought you as far as it could; I will take you the rest of the way. There are many ways you can leave Earth, some fairly expensive and a few available for no cost at all. I assume you would prefer one of the latter. With sixty thousand worlds available, one will be available in very little time. The farther back in time you agree to go, the better the deal you will get."
"What do you get out of this?"
"What the Chosen One gets is company and the development of the infrastructure of one of his worlds. Company because it gets lonely being the only human being on a world. Developed infrastructure -- roads, cities, power systems, food supplies, water supplies, government -- will be needed when a world becomes contemporary and is opened for tourism. We have a very special plan for you, a package deal that includes a farm and insurance of five lives more."
"You will have to explain that."
"Your experience is primarily in agriculture, even though you have been trying to make a living in the city ever since your oldest son reached school age."
"You know a lot about us, don't you."
"Yes, I know everything I need to know to make sure that you get the best deal, both for your family and for the Chosen One's needs. The farm you will be given is better than the one you grew up on -- more fertile land, more water, good roads -- not some collection of shacks in the middle of an area that is as much desert as where we are standing now. By the way, you will get more benefit from the shade if you sit at the edge of the creek bed instead of standing." The agent set an example by seating himself in a suitable spot.
Following the agent's example, Jaime and Consuela seated themselves in the shade.
"Why insurance for five lives?"
"When you die on one world, you will start living on another and will be offered the chance to do so yet again on a third world ... and a fourth and fifth, with the possibility of earning or buying more lives. For each new life, you will start in good health at a physical age of roughly twenty-five years. Your children will have the same opportunity, to farm near you or elsewhere, as they choose, for four more lives."
Consuela asked, "What about the children? What about their educations?"
"Each child will have an agent, like me, who will teach them what they would learn from the better schools here plus many things from more advanced civilizations. They will learn to read and write both in English and their native language, and they will be taught the technology, art and literature of this world. They will not be taught your religion -- that is your task -- but they will not be taught any other religion, either. They will be well educated.
"Until they are adult, your children will be live with you. If they do well, learning enough to be useful, they will be given the opportunity to live on another world, perhaps many others. They will always be able to purchase trips to other worlds, as you will, to start a new life."
"How soon can we go?"
"The time is just a couple of minutes away. I suggest you stand up now."
They all stood. The children nervously gathered near their mother. She asked, "What about our things?"
"They will be taken care of."
They found themselves standing on a carefully tended lawn in the shade of tall trees. Behind them was a four lane road. Beyond that was a broad area, dozens of feet below the level of the road, where they could see a river that appeared to be hundreds of feet wide. But in front of them was a large white house, two stories high with a sharply peaked roof and a broad covered porch that ran the width of the house. Their goods made a small pile on the porch beside the open front door.
"Welcome to your new home," said the agent. "I will remain to help you. There are more agents inside, one to help your wife, one for each of your children. There are cattle, goats, horses, pigs, chickens, geese and dogs. There are fruit trees and nut trees along the road and along the creek to your left. You have eighty acres of plantable fields that should be worked in the next few months."
Consuela timidly asked, "And all of this is ours?"
"All of it is yours. There is a town about forty miles east of here. There is a car and a truck in back of the house, in case you want to go to town for anything. But your neighbors know you are here and will probably begin to visit soon. I think you'll be pleased with your neighbors."
Consuela looked to her husband. "Jaime?"
"Come to the porch, Consuela, and I'll carry you across the threshold."
"I've been cheated! I'm still in this damned wheelchair, I still can't move my legs or my arms. You took my money. You lied to me. You cheated me."
The rather large man in the wheelchair continued yelling until he was short of breath. When he paused, the agent repeated, "Wait a few minutes. Someone will be here shortly to explain what has happened."
The man began screaming his accusations again. Each time he paused, the agent calmly repeated his message.
We were in the Mojave Desert, just east of Twentynine Palms, on the edge of a dry lake bed. I had visited the golden monolith, the first inter-universal travel center, for its opening few weeks, just in case there were any problems. I wasn't particularly eager to face this one, so I let the man wear himself down more before confronting him.
"What is the problem, sir?" I asked.
"Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Andrew Jamison. I run the travel center."
"I was supposed to be able to walk, to use my arms, when I got back from my vacation."
"Sir, you had almost five days in which you could use your arms and legs."
"Five days of being normal, then I'm a basket case again. You cheated me."
"You haven't been cheated, sir."
"I'm still in this damned wheelchair."
"Sir, you had almost five days ..." He interrupted me with another tirade. I waited for the heat and his exertions to wear him down again. "Sir, you had almost five days in which you could use your arms and legs. You used that time to rape ..."
"I've had seven years tied to a wheelchair, unable to have sex. Seven years without satisfaction. I've ..."
"Sir, you used that time to rape three little girls, the youngest just eleven years old. You ..."
"Seven years of frustration," he screamed. "I lost control."
"Sir, you didn't lose control. You were in control when you stalked and raped those little girls, one at a time. You were in control when you tortured that fourteen year old girl, tearing out her fingernails and knocking out her teeth. You enjoyed yourself. As you did seven years ago."
"That's a lie. I didn't rape that girl and I wasn't responsible for her death."
"Sir, her father, believing you responsible, attacked you for what he thought you did to his daughter. His attack left you paralyzed, unable to use your arms and legs."
"What difference does that make. Why can't you fix me now?"
"Those little girls you molested also had a father. He had a shotgun. He walked up behind you and scattered your brains all over the ceiling and two walls of the room you were staying in. You had just twenty-three minutes to go to finish the five days. If you had lasted the full five days, you would now have the use of your arms and legs here on Earth."
He stared at me, quiet at last. His mouth hung open and a trace of spittle ran out of one side of his mouth. Finally he spoke in a low voice, "Twenty-three minutes. That's all the difference between being restored to normal and remaining a basket case?"
"Twenty-three minutes. You are still alive here, so your death there did you no harm."
"No harm! I'm still a basket case."
"You are no worse off than you were before you took your vacation trip. That's what I mean by no harm. Your condition is not our fault."
"Then send me back. Give me another chance. Give me another five days."
"I don't think so. In fact I've given orders that you will never be allowed to leave the Earth again. We don't want people like you walking around on any world. I don't want you walking around, period. Go home, sir. You are going to die in that wheelchair. Think about it. You can't even commit suicide without help, no matter how rich you are. Goodbye."
Karen asked, "Which girl's father shot him?"
"They all did, along with many other family members. A couple of the mothers joined in, as well as brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins.
"Well, which of them killed him?"
"It's hard to say. They all fired at pretty much the same time, as soon as the metal door closed behind him and the spotlight came on. I don't think anybody missed him completely. They used twelve gauge shotguns loaded with goose shells, large shot at high power. There were about two dozen of them, each with one shell."
"They planned it in advance. They knew what would happen to him when he died before his visit was over. Didn't they?"
"Certainly they did. No magistrate or peacekeeper was available, so a third-level devil informed the three families and helped them set it up. Enough people participated that no legal action was possible. Nothing could be proved because there was too much evidence. It happened in a public place but no witnesses could be found. Nobody willing to testify, anyway. But these things take time to set up. They cut it awfully close."
"What's a third-level devil?"
I have several kinds of agents, intermediaries between humans, including myself, and my probe machine. Of the three principal peacekeeping agents, the devils are the only ones that act independently. If no human is available, the devils will fill in without being told to do so.
"I've had Rasputin rank them by intelligence and, well, their ability to be devious. Each level is marked by the number of horns on their heads. A third level devil will have three horns, will be very intelligent and will have a high degree of cunning."
"And you had nothing to do with it? You didn't help in any way?"
"No. I was unaware of the problem at first. I didn't need to know what was happening. That's what I have peacekeepers for, or devils when there aren't enough peacekeepers. If I was going to become involved, I would've done something when he attacked the first little girl. But where do you stop? This case was very clear, but what would I do with a case that wasn't so clear. It's better not to start. The world is full of bad people. We have systems that will take care of a few of them. I can't be responsible for the remainder, even if I have the power to do so."
"It must be tempting, though."
"Yes. Especially in cases like this. It gets very tempting. I did finally become involved, even though I have a system set up that could have taken care of the problem without my doing anything. I had to feel sure that my system was working, that punishing this guy was the right thing to do, that my system wasn't an abuse of my powers. I had to give him one last chance."
"But now you're convinced that your system is working?"
"At least that it worked as well as possible this time. I know I'll always keep checking the system, looking for flaws. I was an engineer far too long to expect anything to work right for long without strange side effects."
The ambulance pulled out of Barstow, its tank now full, for the short distance to the golden monolith. But traffic was heavy and they were late. It was almost time for departure.
The attendant moved back beside the form on the stretcher, who had made a faint sound that showed he was awake. "We just left Barstow, sir, but the traffic is getting heavier. It seems as if everybody near the Mojave is on their way to the travel center."
Suddenly there was a fourth occupant in the ambulance, a short, thin man in a tan suit who had appeared out of nowhere. "Just pull off the road anywhere up ahead, driver. I'll make your travel arrangements right here. Dr. Parker, you requested a five day vacation for the three of you. Right?"
The old man on the stretcher struggled to respond with a very faint, "Yes," but it was sufficient.
"Doctor, I'm going to suggest an alternative. You aren't going to survive much longer, if I may be so blunt. A vacation won't do you much good. It will cure your cancer and fix up many other problems you have, but there isn't enough left of you to last much longer under any circumstances. I would like to suggest you take a one-way trip far back in time and start a new life as a young, healthy person. Does that appeal to you?"
The old man was unable to reply for a while. After a minute he closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep. The agent waited. The driver parked the ambulance and moved back beside the stretcher. Finally the old man opened his eyes and managed to say, "What will it cost? This trip is taking the very last of my money."
"There will be no extra cost. Your medical skills will be valuable on a young, developing world. These two gentlemen will get their five day vacation, as planned, but they will return without you. All you need to do is to tell me, in front of these witnesses, that you agree to my suggestion."
After another short pause, the man on the stretcher managed to say very clearly, "I agree to your alternative, to a one-way trip. I have nothing more to live for here anyway. But I would like to see a new world."
"You will, sir. Perhaps you will see several new worlds in the years ahead of you. It will be only a few minutes more." The old man responded by closing his eyes again. The effort of speaking had visibly weakened him and he felt exhausted.
He felt better a moment later when the light changed. The sound of the ambulance engine idling and the whisper of its air conditioning system, barely able to hold off the heat from outside, disappeared, replaced by the sound of wind through trees. He opened his eyes and sat up easily, effortlessly. He was on a blanket spread out on grass under a cluster of trees. Below him, beyond a series of buildings, was the sea, ships and boats moving busily across its surface. Off to one side were several tall buildings, the nearest being a brilliant white in color. His gaze shifted to a wooden bench where another agent sat, watching him.
"Welcome, Dr. Parker. You are in what we call University Park, which is not a part of the university itself. The university is about half a mile from here, just to the south of us."
"Jamison University?"
"It is, whether we call it that or not. All worlds have universities he founded and runs. This big white building near us is where your apartment is. You can move later, if you like, but you will not be forced to go at any time if you like the arrangement."
"This apartment ... does it have a view of the sea? I assume that is ocean, not a lake."
"Your living room is on a corner with views of the ocean and the university. You can't see it from here or from your apartment but there is the mouth of a river just to our north, the Columbia River. There is a Columbia River on just about every world he has, sometimes more than one. Oceangoing ships can travel up the river almost twenty miles, so there are port facilities all along the mouth of the river. The city spreads inland from all along the river."
"What is the city called?"
"The city is called Venture. The state, which runs from Southwest Corner to Northwest Corner, is called California. Little imagination was used in the choice of names. Your things have been moved to your apartment. Would you like to see it? Or would you like to have lunch at a nearby restaurant? There are several good places near here. Or we could have a picnic right here."
"A picnic? I haven't even thought about picnics for decades. I love this view. I think I'm going to return here often. How long would it take to set that up?"
"Only a couple of minutes. You have a couple of visitors on their way to see you. I'll call them and have them pick up a basket on their way here. Here, let's unfold the blanket and spread it out." He got up off of the bench. The doctor stood, amazed at the strength and flexibility of his renewed body. Together they unfolded and spread the blanket on the grass.
A few minutes later two women approached, each carrying a paper shopping bag, which they set down on the blanket for the agent to unpack. There was fried chicken, potato salad and a vegetable dish that appeared oriental. "I'm Amanda Worth," said the older of the two, about fifty and dressed in navy slacks and a cream silk blouse. "I'm in charge of medical services for the university. This is my assistant, Cassandra Duncan. Welcome to Venture."
"I'm Harvey Parker and I retired from medicine fifteen years ago when I turned seventy. I was hit with cancer a bit over two years ago. I haven't even thought about practicing medicine again."
"You don't have to. It's up to you. But you will have to earn a living and it provides good insurance. You'll have to study a bit, to come up to speed, before you can get a license here. That's why you were delivered here to the university. We have an excellent medical school and research center. We specialize in adapting alien technology to human needs. We had no notice you were coming, though."
"It was a last minute decision in many ways. It's hard to believe, but less than an hour ago I was dying in a hot ambulance in the Mojave desert. I didn't know I could do this."
"I know what you mean," said Cassandra. "Five days ago I was a 93 year old retired pediatrician in an Arizona retirement home. Now I'm studying to resume practice. I still feel out of place."
"Nonsense. You're doing fine." Amanda sat and the others followed suit. "I, myself, am a native. I was actually born in this city."
"Good morning, Commissioner."
"Good morning, Mr. Jamison. What can I do for you?"
"As you know, I've started allowing traffic to other universes. People have started taking vacations there for a variety of reasons. Many of them want to be cured of a variety of diseases."
"That's nice, but what does it have to do with football?"
"It has everything to do with football, sir. Teams are in their training camps. Pretty soon they will start their preseason games. Players are going to be injured. Somebody is going to figure out they'll have an advantage if they can get a quick fix on anything that breaks."
"Can a short vacation do that?"
"Travelling to another universe every five days will restore anything that gets injured after the initial visit. Suppose a player tears a knee tendon. He takes a vacation, five days. When he comes back, the tendon has been restored to the condition it was in before it was injured. It works if he has taken a vacation before the injury takes place."
"If he doesn't take a vacation first, the knee can't be fixed."
"I'm afraid not. There is no reference point. He is just a person with an injury. His cancer goes away because the machine recognizes and destroys cancer. The machine may recognize that the knee tendon is damaged but there is no guarantee that it can be fixed up to its original condition."
"So the player who visits other universes has an advantage. Should we prohibit it?"
"You can't prohibit such vacations. I don't intend to try. Quite the contrary. What I'd like to do is to offer every player on each team a vacation, starting as soon as it can be approved."
"And just who would pay for this?"
"Oh, I won't charge anything. Not for players. Coaches and family members are a different matter. Somebody else will have to pay for them."
"Hmmm. You're worried about potential abuses. You're probably well ahead of me on the details, too."
"We can work out the details if the basic idea is appealing."
"The idea is very appealing. What did you have in mind?"
"I thought a separate camp for each team would avoid problems. Three weeks before the first game the players who are on the active roster start their vacations. Three weeks after their season ends the free vacations stop. If we do it for football, we'll have to do it for baseball, basketball and other sports, too. But football is our pilot program, mostly because of the timing. Your season is about to start."
"And exactly what do you want from me? My approval?"
"I've taken the liberty to set up a camp. I want you to gather a group to visit it -- I'll pay for it. No more than thirty people, please. Owners, coaches ... I'll leave it up to you. Work out provisional guidelines and I'll follow them. Work something out over several visits in the next month, then we'll start."
"Your offer is extremely generous, Mr. Jamison. Thank you. I'd like to get started on this immediately. How can I get in touch with you?"
"Call the number on this card. The next trip can start four days from now, if you are ready. Oh, be sure to include a couple of sports announcers, too. We don't want anybody to think we're trying to do anything in secret. I want everything out in the open from now on."
"I certainly agree with that. I'll call you soon."
"Thank you, Commissioner. Have a nice day."
"Goodbye, Mr. Jamison. You'll hear from me soon. And probably often."
The five days of Stan's vacation were drawing to a close. It had been fun but he hadn't gotten much rest. The group he had fallen in with played hard in the morning and day, then partied hard much of the night. Peacekeepers, another kind of cop. It figured that a cop on vacation would wind up spending his time with cops.
Tonight was different, quieter. Micah brought a pitcher of the slightly sour light beer that was so refreshing, Margie following him with a tray of light snacks, both sitting across from him.
Micah said, "It's almost over. Did you enjoy your vacation?"
"It was great. You guys are fun to be with. I wish I could afford to come back soon."
Margie said, "Actually, you can. Join us. Become a Peacekeeper."
"I've got a job."
"In another universe. In another life. Keep your job there, take another job here, and you can go back and forth for free."
Micah, finishing an egg roll, added, "We know you're a good guy. We have every reason to believe you're a good cop. Give it a try for two weeks. You'll have three vacation trips and will be able to make a better decision when you know more about what we do."
"So tell me, basically what do you do?"
"In its most basic terms, we are officers of the court. Our magistrates are like your judges but more powerful. We protect them, enforce laws and the magistrates' decisions, escort prisoners, that kind of thing." She paused for a sip of beer. "But how we do it is part of what we are. You must have noticed we carry no sidearms or other weapons. Likewise, you must have noticed our badges, the oval crystals with the three stones in it. Would you like to know its secret?"
"Now that you mention it, yes."
She held the crystal, still on the chain around her neck, so he could see it. One of the stones flashed briefly. An animal appeared on the end of the table. It had black skin under coarse black hair. Its head looked like it belonged on some killer dinosaur, its mouth full of long, sharp teeth. Otherwise, it most closely resembled a large chimpanze. "This is one of our tools. We call it a goblin. Note that it has our peacekeeper colors, white and green, on its neck, back and shoulders."
She looked at the goblin and it returned her gaze. She clearly pronounced, "This is a training situation, nothing more. We thank you for answering my call. You may depart." The animal promptly vanished. Stan relaxed. His fingers were sore from the grip he had taken on the bench he was sitting on.
Micah said, "The boss is setting up some camps where professional football players can recover from their injuries. They might have a tendency to get rowdy. A goblin is not the best tool for handling such situations. You are about to meet a demon. Goblins are about ten times as strong as a healthy human. Demons are about a third as strong as a goblin, three times as strong as a human." He rotated his left forearm so Stan could observe the crystal strapped to his wrist and see the bright flash from one of its stones. Behind Micah and Marge stood a giant, red-brown in color with dull red hair. Seven feet tall, he looked like he must weigh 400 pounds, all of it muscle, like a weight lifter. He, too, wore peacekeeper colors in his shorts and abbreviated shirt. "I don't think any football player is going to be stupid enough to argue with a demon."
"Very impressive. You'd have to be more stupid than any football player I've ever met to go up against one of them."
In a deep voice, the demon said, "There are people that stupid. May I go?"
Micah said, "We thank you for coming. You may depart." The demon vanished.
Another stone in his crystal flashed. The individual that responded was of medium height and slender build, with black skin that had red highlights. He was bald, hairless. He was dressed in a full peacekeeper uniform.
He spoke in a cultured tenor voice. "We are called devils. We are the strategists and tacticians. We let the demons and goblins do the dirty work while we do their thinking for them. If you summon one of us, we can summon as many demons and goblins as necessary to accomplish any task. But you, as a peacekeeper, will not be shown how to summon devils until you are able to summon and control the others." He vanished without asking permission.
Marge said, "They aren't real. They're what we call agents. After you learn to summon the three, you may never need to call them up again except when you must qualify annually. People quickly learn to respect those who wear the peacekeeper uniform."
Micah added, "That means we can do our work with very little effort, which gives us lots of time for other things. Marge and I are going to visit your world to do a bit of recruiting. Would you like to become a peacekeeper?"
Stan's reply came quickly. "Count on it," he said. "I'd love to join."
"Damn. That was short. What the hell happened?"
Marge said, "Welcome back, Micah. You too, Stan. Congratulations. You didn't survive a full hour on Earth."
"But what happened?" Micah Whan shook both fists at Marge, his already dark skin turning darker.
"A car bomb got you both when we were about a block from where Stan parked. I was a little behind the pair of you and partly shielded by a van so I only broke one arm and a few ribs when I hit the wall. You two were hamburger. I immediately summoned as many devils as I could, seventeen of them."
"You summoned seventeen devils? Wow! You must have been madder'n hell. Who did it and why?"
"As near as we can figure out, somebody paid two gangs to attempt to kill the mayor and police chief. Their bomb went off prematurely. Hell, half of one gang died in the explosion -- the lucky stiffs. There must've been a hundred goblins, maybe half that many demons, all bringing gang members to the devils for questioning. I saw enough of it to wish I hadn't. Those things don't know what 'gentle' means. They talked, then they died. You know, the penalty for killing a peacekeeper.
"A TV crew arrived as they were finishing up. One of the devils gave them an interview. He named the man who had paid for the attack, then told the whole world that the penalty for killing a peacekeeper was death and he was going to die in ten minutes.
"The guy had been watching TV. He had lots of bodyguards around when the agents arrived ten minutes later. They put up a determined, short, useless fight before the goblins tore all of them apart."
"Wow! My first trip to Earth and I didn't get any recruiting done."
"I made up for it. Half the cops in Los Angeles wanted to join up after seeing a peacekeeper in action. I was only able to interview about a quarter of them, more than the academy can take. In fifteen days we can go back for more. As soon as the first batch graduates or washes out. You, too, Stan."
"I can't go back, can I? What's going to happen to me?"
"No, you can never return to Earth. Well, not never but not for a very long time. Not until they get rid of some of their excess population. Not 'til they have fewer than two billion people.
"Nope, you'll be offered another world, as insurance and to repay you for the one you lost. Your choice. Lots of organizations want you, not just the peacekeepers. The military and other police organizations want you. They want some of the other recruits, too."
"I didn't know you had a military. Or needed one."
"Not national combat organizations like you're used to. More like national police. Early settlers came from a variety of backgrounds. This continent came from European, Asian and Oceanic backgrounds, unified over a thousand centuries. Our large, open central prairie simplified blending. Other places isolated geographically by mountains or other barriers haven't blended. We have a large continental state. Other states are much smaller. We share the same police academy because none of these states have needed to develop training programs of their own ... and because the Chosen One wouldn't allow agents to work for any hostile state. We also train police for states on other worlds. Just as many of our police train in other universes. Which brings us back to you. How deep do you want to go?"
"I need to have that question explained. How deep?"
"Only one world has synchronized with the Earth, this one. We can visit the Earth for five days before returning for five days. For a world that is nearly in synchronization, a visit takes ten days there for each five days here. For a really deep world right now, the visit is nearly a century. You'd get some extra bonuses and benefits for going that deep, though. Really deep trips are usually one way."
"I won't miss Los Angeles that much. But I like it here. I'd like to stay near the top."
"That's good. Your experience on Earth is valuable up near the top. And places near the top have to start getting ready for the tourists, too. They need to recruit and build up their police and other forces. You'll fit right in. But right now we have to get you started. Your first lecture starts in about an hour."
Part of each day was spent in visualization practice, learning how to summon and control the goblins. The rest of the time it was like academy on Earth had been: laws, procedures, techniques. Stan breezed through it effortlessly. By the end of five days he could control up to three goblins at the same time.
Marge, Micah and three others invited him to join them for a visit to a place called Gribbon's World. "Stan, this is my sister, Dawn, and her friends George and Jill Pasanen, brother and sister. Gribbon's is trying to recruit us -- and you -- so they're picking up the tab with no obligation on your part. On our parts. Pack lightly but carry a big bag for all of the gifts and goodies you'll be bringing back. You have under an hour."
Gribbon's World was very much like Earth without all of the people. The same as Secundus, his new home. The people were friendly, more like those of Secundus than those of Los Angeles. It would make a very suitable second new home ... except for a new problem. Marge, Dawn and Jill were also trying to recruit him. He liked all three but none well enough to commit himself. So he enjoyed himself for ten days and returned with no commitment made except to try someplace else, alone, the next time.
He was the first student granted the badge with two balls. He was able to summon a demon almost immediately. He breezed through the second five days of the academy, studying the available nearby worlds in his spare time. He chose a place called Doufer, which Dawn Whan had also chosen, along with seven other cadets he hadn't met before. Well before the ten days were up he had crossed Doufer and Dawn off of his list despite their still wanting him.
During the next five days he met Carlotta and Jena. He was also actively recruited by the military of several states, whose colors were navy and white, olive and tan, and blue. On the morning he was to graduate he was led to an office where two officers waited, a man and a woman, dressed in a uniform of silver gray and wine, a combination that had not previously been mentioned to him.
"I am Gregory Rosweck. This is my sister, Gina. We are protectors, bodyguards for an individual named Andrew Jamison, in whose name we invite you to join us."
"The Chosen One has his own private force? I guess that's to be expected. I'm surprised he's recruiting, though."
"Only you. Not the others. I don't know why."
"F..For what world?"
"Any world. All worlds. Wherever he goes. We'd like to explain but you'll have to go a little deeper, about three years. Afterwards you may return here or dive to the bottom, as you choose. There aren't many of us. I suggest you become a peacekeeper here, then come with us without making any other commitment."
"Have you dived to the bottom?"
"I've gone back sixty years, Gina seventy. Before today I hadn't seen her for about four hundred years of my personal time. I have wives on several worlds and Gina has husbands, just as the boss himself has."
"How old are you?"
"I guess I'm about six thousand years old, though it gets hard to keep track. Or I was born here thirty-three years ago. Take your choice. Gina and I were both peacekeepers before the boss chose us. I've been a peacekeeper on many worlds.
"And you, Gina? Or does Gregory do all of the talking?"
"As for my ages, ten thousand or thirty, depending on how you look at it. A bit older than you either way. And I speak for myself when I have something to say."
"Thank you. And yes, I'll join you. What do I have to do?"
"Nothing special. Just accept your badge at graduation an hour from now. In a few hours you'll find yourself visiting another world, a three year visit. Everything else will be explained to you there. Thank you."
"Hello, Jif."
The young man jumped, startled. "What the hell you doin' here? How'd ya get in here? Whadda ya want wi' me?"
"You're here because of me. At least, because of my enemies. I'm not sure why you're in solitary confinement but it gives us a chance to talk. If you want to talk, keep your voice down so you don't attract attention. By the way, I'm not really here in person. What you see is an agent, an artificial being who looks just like me. I can vanish as quickly as I appeared."
"I've been all alone in this little room for weeks. I'd talk to the devil himself just to have somebody to talk to."
"Are you aware I'm recruiting people to come live on other worlds?"
"I know you're selling vacations on another world to the rich and famous."
"I'm also sending people to undeveloped worlds permanently, to populate and develop them. You've adapted pretty well to city life but you grew up in a pretty remote piece of Mexican jungle. Would you like to live in a similar place?"
"Damn! I was a kid when we left the Yucatan. Life in the city was so much easier I've never thought of going back. But I'd go live in the jungle again to get out of this place."
"It doesn't have to be jungle. It could be forest, plains, desert -- the choice would be up to you. If you don't like it where you start out, walk someplace else. Or find and tame a horse. Whatever you like. But it will be a wild place with very few other people. And I'll give you some tools to make it easier for you."
"In a moment an animal is going to appear. It is really an agent like me but its appearance may startle you." The animal that appeared looked like a monkey with a nearly human face. It had a long prehensile tail. "I call these imps. They are very strong, very smart, very fast. They are excellent hunters but they don't need to eat. They can talk but you have to learn to control them with your mind."
"My mind. What do you mean?"
"Jif, you are intelligent. Despite the trouble you got into, you do know how to think and how to plan. You never became a slave to drugs or to doing the gang thing though you tried them out. You can learn to concentrate and to control your mind. You have to be able to summon and dismiss your imps. You have to be able to give them orders even when talking is difficult or dangerous. It isn't hard. Besides, you've lots of time with nothing better to do.
"The imps can hunt for you. They can scout for you when you are traveling. They can tell you where to find people or good water or food or shelter. You can talk to your imps from miles away. They can teach you how to build a shelter and what plants are safe to eat. You can control them completely with your mind. Have you heard of my Peacekeepers?"
"Some kind of super cop? I know people are afraid of them."
"Peacekeepers serve the court and protect its magistrate. They have three kinds of agent serving them, one of which is like an imp but bigger and more powerful. I call them goblins. The other two are like humans but one is specialized for intelligence and the other for strength and fighting ability. To become a Peacekeeper you would have to learn exactly the same kind of mental control you need for your imps and other agents."
"Other agents? You'd pretty much sold me with the imp. What else'r'ya gonna let me have?"
I held my hand out and a fluffy ball of feathers appeared, its strong talons gripping my fingers. It rotated its head so its twin golden eyes stared at Jif. Suddenly he saw himself from the bird's viewpoint, the new image superimposed on what his own eyes were showing him. The second image faded away. Concentrating, he brought it back but was only able to hold it for about a minute.
"As you can see, it's a small owl. It's diurnal. That means it can function as well in daylight as at night. If you need to travel at night, park an owl on your shoulder and you'll be able to see as well as if the sun was shining, but without color. It flies silently. Other people don't need to know it is around. It can watch your back. With practice you can control and use a flock of owls all day and all night."
Jif took the small bird on his own fingers. He began to stroke the feathers on the bird's breast. It gently nibbled his finger. "It also likes to have its head scratched," I said.
"What else?"
"If you can think of another agent you'll need we can discuss it later. Until then, these two will give you a big advantage. In addition, you won't get sick, you'll heal almost instantly from injuries and you'll be brought back to life when you die. You'll be able to communicate with me through your imps."
"What do I have to do?"
"Practice summoning, controlling and dismissing imps and owls. The next window for travelling to another world is three days from now. I doubt if you'll be ready then but there'll be windows every five days after that. When I think you're ready, I'll send you to a world so deep you'll live almost a century before you find yourself back here for five days. I'll visit you here when you get back.
"When you're on another world your life will be your own. You can do as you please. But when you're here I'm sure you'll find that it's better not to call attention to what you can do with your imps and owls. I know payback is tempting but it can cause you grief if you're not subtle about it. If I find you abusing your power, I'll take it away while you're here. I'm sure you won't want that to happen. Every time you raise a family on another world you will be paying me back."