First Channel

Twelve was still young; there was a good chance the boy would not establish for a year or more, so in early summer, when Rimon and Del took some horses to High Canyon, Rimon made a detour to check out the Villiers Genfarm. Only one of the Villiers pre-Gens was a boy of somewhere around twelve, Rimon managed to speak a few words with him in English, found that he was not Henry Steers, Jr., but learned that there had been a boy called Hank—and maybe it was Steers, but he didn't remember—in the same shipment he had been in at one point.

Except for the possible clue that Steers' son had survived to be sold, it was a dead end. Rimon found it grueling to have to leave the boy. However, he was lean and spare-framed, a typical pre-Sime build. If he changed over, he'd have to work off whatever price Villiers paid for him, but he'd be all right if he could face becoming Sime. The only way Rimon could walk away was to convince himself of that.

His own homestead was growing enough without adding more children, even if he could afford to buy the boy. Both the young Gens who had been living with their families in Fort Freedom decided to stay on this side of the border, even after Jon's death. Rimon feared it was Abel's speech at the funeral that had persuaded them. They were starry-eyed kids, caught up in Abel's dream and determined that they wouldn't "fail the test."

So they came to Rimon and Kadi, their families helping to build on to Rimon's house, providing supplies and labor, and also giving him the tax money for their children. The boys' skills were welcome. Sordal Kent was already a good farmer and Len Deevan had been apprenticed to the herbalist. He took one stroll through their tu

"Mushrooms?" answered Rimon. They were a favorite food he'd missed lately. "I don't really know enough about cultivating mushrooms to attempt it. Neither does Kadi."

"Will you let me? I can get Mr. Lansing to help. Next year, you can take some to market when you go with Mr. Erick!"

Rimon authorized the plan, to be strictly supervised by Fort Freedom's master herbalist, and their first real industry was enthusiastically founded.

During all this, Rimon sensed a renewed unity among the folk of Fort Freedom. The month of lord's penance had worked wonders. Jord labored hard, alone, Willa never far away. Zli

The ceremony for the unveiling of the monument held a real surprise. Jord had added a fourth name that hadn't been there the previous evening. As the first rays of the rising sun struck the smooth granite surface, the name of Billy Kell leaped out at Rimon. Billy Kell. Drust Fenell. Vee Lassiter. Jon Forester.

Billy. Rimon forced himself to breathe evenly, not to give Kadi the slightest hint of his pain, as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. Billy trusted me—they.all trusted me. Who'll be next? Abel? Kadi?

Beside him, Del was crying, Carlana observing serenely. And not a trace of surprise from Kadi. When the two women exchanged glances, Rimon knew that one of them had put Jord up to this. He didn't want to know which.

Yet, after the ceremony, Rimon noticed that Del seemed less tense than he had in months, and Rimon, despite refusing himself the luxury of tears, felt that some indefinable burden had been lifted. There was something to be said for Abel's methods after all.

Summer brought Gen Raiders. Slina seethed, for she had predicted the retaliations as she struggled to keep enough Gens in supply to provide for both the town and Fort Freedom. Although she hadn't run completely out before a shipment had come through, it was unclear whether she would have been able to provide for the whole town if some of the town Simes had not gone raiding across the border. She claimed she could have, though, loudly, to anyone who'd listen. But as the town had no mayor, council, or even any form of law officer, there was no one to whom she could make an official complaint.

The effects of the illness in Slina's Pens were widespread. Although Rimon's carefully shielded homestead survived, they lost half a field of wheat to the fire the Raiders set. One group of Gens defied the barrier of the mountains when what was usually a raging river slowed to a stream. They rampaged across Del's property, cutting his fences, carrying away some of the precious wire, and making off with twenty of his finest horses. Wryly, Del told everyone that he was glad their greed had sent them back across the border with their loot without attacking deeper in-Territory. But everyone knew he couldn't afford such a loss.

Rimon and Kadi were doing better financially—but they had to. This summer the two years would be up, and their homestead would no longer be a homestead, but their own land, free and clear—except for the property tax Rimon would have to start paying on it. Now Rimon took every job he could get.

Kadi would have been glad to work in the fields of Fort Freedom with Rimon, but while the women of Fort Freedom worked hard in their own fields, none of them would ever hire out for pay. She and Rimon decided it might be best not even to mention it to Abel. Del, however, was constantly shorthanded.

So Kadi, who could handle horses just as well as Rimon, went to work for Del, leaving Zeth in Carlana's care most of the day. Rimon soon saw that Kadi had a knack for the work that he hadn't. The men from Fort Freedom who hired out to Del would escort Kadi and Zeth back and forth, and after a few raised eyebrows, it was accepted that Kadi was—as usual—different from the women they were used to, but not therefore bad.

Despite all his problems, Rimon felt a certain satisfaction when his homestead became his own property. He'd have to travel to the Territory Capital to obtain his deed: five days each way. It would be Summer Fair at the Capital —a time when all the largest merchants would display their wares. He promised Abel to look again for Steers' son, and if he wasn't there, to go on across the Territory to the Varnst Genfarm, their last hope of locating the boy. Abel, then, entrusted him with all the money that had been gathered to buy Steers—a fund Fort Freedom had kept intact in the constant hope that they'd somehow be able to locate Henry Steers, Jr.

Originally Del had pla

Rimon had hoped the trip would be a chance to get away from his responsibilities—but here he was with horses and a large sum of money, and the burden of his thoughts and worries, which refused to be left behind. He wanted it to be a pleasure for Kadi, though; a treat after she had gone through so much and worked so hard. Neither of them could guess what to expect in the city from people who weren't used to seeing a Gen treated as a person, but Rimon was determined to fight his way through any obstacle to show Kadi a good time.

Kadi reverted to the Krazy Kid he'd known before she'd established, as excited as any child on the way to a fair. Her cheerfulness was contagious. By the end of the first day, Rimon was feeling much more fancy-free than in years. The time passed swiftly, as Kadi marveled at each new scene—and Rimon recalled that until she'd established, she'd never been more than a day's ride from home.

They traveled across a plateau, into a land of small canyons with fantastic rock formations—but none of the roaring waterfalls Rimon had expected. They camped that night beside a drying waterhole, somber reminder of the advancing drought.