Battlefield Earth

“It’s a devil's cauldron they've got me in,” said Ker. "I’m half-crazy these days. I dropped from His Planetship down to gooey dirt, Jo

“I don't know how or why you got yourself here, but-'

“It’s this.” Ker dove a dirty paw inside his torn shirt, oblivious of the fact that a more nervous Jo

Held before Jo

He took it with some curiosity. He had only seen these at a distance in the hands of Psychlos paying off wagers and he had never held one before. He knew they were a basic symbol of exchange and greatly valued.

It was about six inches wide and a foot long. The paper felt a bit rough but it seemed to glow. One side of it was printed in blue and the other side in orange. It had a nebula pattern and bright starburst on it. But the remarkable thing was that it was worded in what must be thirty languages: thirty numeral systems, thirty different types of lettering-ah, one of them was Psychlo. Jo

He read: “The Galactic Bank” and “One Hundred Galactic Credits” and “Guaranteed Legal Tender for All Transactions” and “Counterfeiters Will Be Vaporized” and “Certified Exchangeable at the Galactic Bank on

Presentation.”

It had a picture of somebody or something on the blue side. It looked like a humanoid, or maybe a Tolnep somebody had mistaken Du

All very interesting, but Jo

Ker looked a bit let down. “That's a hundred credits!” said Ker. “It isn't a Psychlo bank. The Psychlos and everybody else use those. It 's not counterfeit. I can tell. See how it glows? And these little fine lines here around the signature-”

“You trying to bribe me or something?” said Jo

“Why no!” said Ker, “Look, this money is no good to me now, Jo

Jo

Ker, with a glance at the door to make sure he had his back to it and that only Jo

There was a brand on his chest.

“The three bars of denial,” said Ker. “The criminal scorch. I don't think it's any news to you I was a criminal. That's one of the holds Terl had on me. That's why he felt he could trust me to run around and teach you. If I was returned to Psychlo, having been found to hold false papers and employment, I’d be vaporized. If Psychlo recaptured this place they'd be sure those of us alive were renegades, and they'd examine us and find this. My papers are false. I won't burden you with my real name: not knowing it you can't be hit as an accessory. Got it?”

Jo

“And if in addition they found two billion Galactic credits on me, they'd do a slow vaporization!” said Ker.

“Two billion?”

Yes, well it seemed old Numph had been screwing the company for the whole thirty years of his duty tour here. Things not even Terl had dug up; things like commissions from the female administrators who charged; things like double prices on kerbango; maybe even selling ore to aliens who picked it up in space shifts...who knew? But Numph slept on four mattresses, and Ker thought it was fu

“Where?” said Jo

The midget Psychlo closed his coat and Jo

Ker was very strong. Before anybody stopped him and despite the flapping chains, Ker shortly had the room bulging with old kerbango boxes, and every one of them was overflowing with Galactic credits!

“There's more in his numbered accounts on Psychlo," said Ker, “but we can't get that.” He stood there panting a big smile, very proud of himself. “Now you can pay the renegades like the Chamcos in cash!”

Captain MacDuffhad been trying to tell Jo

“And you want-?” said Jo

“I want out of that prison!” wailed Ker. “They hate me because I was over them. They hated me anyway, Jo

He stood there so pathetically, so pleadingly, he was so convinced he had done the right thing, that Jo

“I think it's a great idea, Ker," said Jo

Ker started bobbing his head emphatically. He had held a few hundred thousand against a rainy day. He held out a paw to bash paws with Jo

“I got one more thing for you, Jo

When the midget Psychlo had left, Robert the Fox looked at these bales and bales of money.

“Job bribery,” said Jo

“This is Galactic money, isn't it?” said Robert the Fox. "I’m going to contact a Scot named MacAdam at the university in the Highlands. He knows about money.”

But he was wondering at seeing Jo

“I may not be able to hold the sky up,” said Jo

He had to talk to the Chamco brothers. He had heard they were making absolutely no progress on repairing the transshipment stage and without that they never would find out about Psychlo.