The three girls could not hide their emoting as they shared, so we already know things did not go as smoothly for them as we’d hoped.
Robbie jumped in time to the day we arrived, brought back the teddies and tried to communicate with them. Robbie did not try to minimise the damage to him out of modesty and allowed them to watch as if they stood next to his bleeding body. They were awed by the disappearance of Allan and the girls and their return to heal Robbie. Around about here the synopsis ends.
They silently watched as the previous Robbie stood for hour after hour forcing a distance between us and the Gnolats. When (previous Robbie) jumped, Michael put his hand on Robbie’s arm.
“Can we watch the Gnolats? I want to see how they will react.”
They watched for a couple of days before the Gnolats swerved in towards each other. Closer and closer until they were a tight mass. Still shooting forward, they seemed to merge into one and then they died.
“This is not right! They cannot be dead!” Robbie could not believe their protector instincts would allow them to kill themselves. However, he felt he had proof that they were dead, Allan, Meli, all the girls had told us they died, only a few from earlier on returning to their planet.
The platform moved in as close as Robbie/Vincent could manage and they saw the shapes of Gnolats, but they had hardened into a shell that resembled something like fossilised wood.
“Dad, I want to leave the platform so as to stand on them and sense if they are really dead.”
This was the moment Robbie had dreaded. Not with regard to the Gnolats in particular, in general. He has always known the day will come that his son will have to face danger and that he’ll have to allow him. He ached at the thought that Michael is having to start so young and his hearts were hammering with fear as he told Vincent to remove the outer stasis.
“Whatever you do, do not remove the stasis sheathing you.”
“Don’t worry dad, I’m not that stupid.”
As Michael’s feet came to rest on the Gnolat mass, he crouched and placed his hands against it. He moved his hands, not certain of what he sensed. He dragged himself closer to the center and tried again. He looked back at his father with a frown.
*It is difficult to say for certain. I sense something, but I’m not certain whether it is life I hear as a murmur or not. Dad, I must unsheathe myself, just my hands at least.*
*Wait. I’m coming.*
*No. If there is any danger I can return before they become mobile again. Just a moment.*
As he was speaking he was unsheathing his hands. His request made Robbie hesitate, in spite of his instincts clamouring for him to get to Michael immediately. Michael shouted with surprise, *One of them is still alive! They must be hibernating and one has remained aware to guide them!*
Cracks in the mass appeared as Michael kicked, thrusting himself away from them. Robbie jumped, caught Michael and tried to jump. Both of them plus a part of the mass of Gnolats came with. A clawed hand had caught his foot and the other hand was reaching up. Sick with fear, Robbie had the presence of mind to realise that the claws had not managed to penetrate the sheath. *Close the sheath Michael!*
*I have! Get away dad, I can’t protect myself with you holding me. Follow us in the platform.*
Fighting his need to get Michael out of there, he pulled away and jumped to the platform. He was shocked to see that Michael was not trying to free himself. He had leant over and was pummelling at the softening bodies below him, screaming at them in his mind, *Wake up you bastards, wake up.*
Robbie realised his son had a plan and he urgently sent to him, *What do you want me to do?*
*We must make them follow us back to their planet so that they can be neutralised.*
Robbie calculated the time it had taken them to get here and worked out that they would arrive too late. *Free yourself and get back in here, we’ll make them follow us after we force them to come back with us in time.*
*They’ll learn how to!* Michael was shocked.
*It is our only chance. Get free damn it - that’s an order!*
Michael spun around and as their claws slid he willed himself to shoot away from them. As soon as they were not touching him, he jumped into the platform. Robbie screamed, “Vincent, place the sheath.”
Michael felt his father had betrayed him, allowing the Gnolats to exist so as to save him. He jerked in surprise as the platform dived into the center of the awakening Gnolats. As soon as Vincent saw he could, he enclosed all of them within an energy shield and jumped and then jumped back in time and space. He instantly dissolved the shield as they hit the atmosphere, just as the spaceships descended, the medusa following not far behind. Vincent instantly blocked them so that neither the Gnolat nor Freddie could sense them.
In his excitement, Michael threw his arms around Robbie. Robbie kissed him and then, with a wolfish grin suggested they watch. Only once they were certain that all the Gnolats had descended to attack the previous Robbie did they relax. That was when Robbie flew into a rage.
“That fucking Allan told me they were all neutralised!”
Michael stared at him for a moment and then he burst out laughing. “They are dad, they are. He told you the truth.” His eyes still fierce he stared at Michael and Simito and then he understood and also burst into laughter. The three of them hugged each other, the two of them mostly doing so to stop the trembling of Robbie’s body.
It may have seemed an anticlimax for Michael and Simito, but Robbie insisted on staying to watch the arguments and final solution for the teddies to continue existing. Only then did Robbie ask Vincent to jump them five years ahead and they sank down to the planet, visible now.
Urafel reminded Michael of dancing bears he’d seen in an old movie about gypsies. He could hardly contain his excitement at finding out how far in the future they came from and hugged Michael. “It is good, very good! At last a son for Robert. It is very good.”
“How have things been here?”
“The scientists and Sparklers are confident there are none with mutated genes left. They have agreed to spend another ten years here to be certain, but I think they only do so to study our world.”
“And your people? Sfiletin?”
“We are well Robert.”
“None.” Robbie lost his smile. “There are three hundred and seventy four to be born soon. You will stay to greet them?”
“With pleasure.” He laughed. “Vincent, why don’t you join us?”
The telling ended with the four of them tenderly holding infant Elabet in their arms. Most Terrans and some aliens murmured with love at the sight of the cuddly infants. They were not like bears because they had very little hair (or fur) growing yet. That comes after birth.
Isn’t it strange how often we forget that if Robbie does something that does not make sense to us, there is a good reason for it. Before ‘somebody’ gets his hopes up, I must add that it does not mean I will not fight him if I do not agree. I’d rather be sorry that I did than because I did not. Michael? He has returned changed. His personality feels more mature - though he has been lambasted with so much love than it struggles to survive. J
Noon the next day. Michael came to me. “Have you typed the telling in the diary?”
“Yes.”
“May I read it?”
He sat back thoughtfully. “You mention nothing of my terror Sam.” He grinned. “Poor Simito, you hardly mention him and yet he was part of the team.” He tried to convince me to re-write, giving Simito a fairer presentation. Finally he gave up with a laugh. “I guess the girls win our bet. They warned me you would not.”
I grinned. “Would that justify my making an exception just this once?” He burst into laughter and hugged me to him.
“Did you notice that I never answered Arthur, so he took it for granted that I had agreed?”
“He plays those games with me too. If you don’t want to have him presume you agreed, you have to refuse.”
“I’m a goner then? I have to?”
“That’s right.”
“Damn!” Don’t worry, I felt the joy in him.
Freddie seems to be stuck here. Nobody else has the courage to choose a new destination for us and Robbie seems to be content to stay here. We (his loves) can sense what he is hiding, though we do not understand it. He is waiting for something to happen.
For the first two nights there was too much loving and joy, but on the third night and the others that have followed, Robbie had nightmares. He kept on dreaming that there are more Gnolats he has not found. Last night his nightmare became funny and I think it has cured him. Instead of Gnolats, as they are, he saw them looking like Orgg, big teeth grinning as they chased after him.
Freddie reported some changes in the ground, so Robbie had to go check. He asked me to go with. Cherine grinned as we walked off so I became suspicious. He made a point of examining the ground and asking me to wait he returned as the void and checked underneath. When he sat up he looked annoyed. “Damn, I thought I’d fixed this area. There’s water underneath.”
He laughed. “You’re mixing different movie titles. I think it was the Swamp Thing. Freddie was a horrible horror movie that just never seemed to end.”
“Hey Freddie, that sounds like your cue.”
After the teasing he sat down and nibbling on a blade of grass (I tried it and the white end tasted minty) he said, “As problem solver, how would you make Candy’s dream come true?”
“The non-existent alternate? I have no idea.”
“Okay… I’m glad to see how close you and Michael have grown. He’s turning out to be everything I’d hoped for in a son.”
“Try some macaroni with cheese.”
“What?”
“That is just as relevant to the reason you brought me here.” We both laughed.
“I was just planting a suggestion love. It seemed relevant since I’m here inspecting the ground.” Almost out of habit, without deliberately thinking, I equated his ‘inspecting of the ground’ to ‘farmer who plants’ and chuckled. Even problems can’t stop him.
“I’ll think on it, but, if I were you I’d admit to Candy I made an impossible promise. Dad, she is smart enough to know it. I bet she’s enjoying having you dangle on her hook.”
“Maybe that is why I have to do it?” I grinned and nodded.
I asked Iziko to print out for me a list of his ancestors going back over three hundred years. I then asked him if he knows who he was in his previous life. He stared at the sky for a moment.
“You are determined to help make Candy’s wish come true so as to prove nothing is impossible for Robert?”
“Heck no, for me.” I waited while he examined the sky again.
“I do not know Samantha. How do we find out?”
“Hypnosis would be too slow and it is not that dependable. Why not check in the void?”
“As a soul! I am curious, shall we try?”
Iziko, as Iziko, was shocked to find out he’d not always been a Sprakil. At least all eight of his previous incarnations had been within the Unation. He was able to give me exact dates and places. I sighed with relief on the one hand and worried on the other. We could go to the other reality and finding his last incarnation, thanks to the invaders killing the next species he was meant to be, and we wait for him to die and explain to his alternate soul, I suspect it would be willing to play along with our plans for it. My worry? That if he skips the incarnations in between, he will be different. That was the one fact I could not see any answer to.
I told Robbie what I had done and he was pleased, not at all fazed by the problems we still face. “I wonder how you’ll solve it.”
“Hey, this has to be a joint effort. You solve the next piece of the puzzle.”
“You would do that to your dad?”
“When your eyes dance with merriment like that I can’t resist you.”
“You sound like a character out of an old book.” Cherine giggled, so I looked at her. “Save me.”
“And have you hate me if I do?”
Not only they didn’t try to save me, they joined in as he had his way with me. (Not only Robbie can speak ‘old book’ style)
One of the biggest disadvantages of being Samantha, is being Samantha. Once I get going on a problem, my mind refuses to let go. Robbie was very careful to avoid giving any knowing smiles as he saw me lost in thought over the next days.
On the third day I forgot all about Iziko. An ecstatic Allan jumped directly on to the taverna verandah, among the chairs and tables as we ate our breakfast. “We’re having a baby! God, I’m going to have a baby!”
If Cherinians could have a heart attack, we’d have had one - it is extremely dangerous jumping into an area where people are moving around (we believe it is, though nothing bad has ever happened). We instantly forgot everything in our excitement, exclaiming and screaming like little kids. We just had to go to Eleni right away and, just like the Pied Piper he led us to his home. At the door he remembered his manners, making way for us. As Goldi came past him he picked her up and kissed her. “She is going to be special like you.” Dazed she just stared up at him. He laughed. “Go to Eleni, and Jessie, they’ll tell you.”
He had jumped the gun. Once we had sent our healers to verify the baby was real (actually, just for the pleasure of sensing it) we all talked at the same time, revelling in the joy we felt in Eleni and Jessie. Finally Eleni was able to explain.
“We talked about our baby girl and what we want her to be like. For a while Allan did not want her to have the soul of an Allan, but us girls changed his mind for him.” We all laughed. “He did make a suggestion though that both of us fell in love with, if Goldi agrees. We want to merge a sliver of your soul so that she is partly you. That way she will have the body of Allan, Jessie and me with the soul of an Allan and Goldi. It will make her very special. Will you do it Goldi? Please say yes.”
Goldi lightly touched her cheeks with her fingertips. “She will be special because she will have you as her mother. If you really want it, I’ll be happy to do it. Imagine,” she gave a sort of giddy laugh, “a part of me will be my son’s and brother’s wife!”
It hit me like a flash and with a cry I jumped to my apartment. They all felt my urgent need to be alone so they did not follow. I sobbed as if my heart were breaking because I could not contain my joy. As soon as I could control myself I washed my face and jumped home to my family who were anxiously waiting for me.
“I’m sorry. Could Allan, Eleni and Jessie and Alki with his family join us?” I waited until they arrived and gave Jessie and Eleni a small smile in apology.
“We are each a microcosm.” They glanced at each other to check if any of them had understood and then stared at me again. “What was your greatest fear Robbie, yours Cherine? When Goldi agreed to give a sliver of her soul I thought to myself, with amusement, that they will get more than they bargained for. With her sliver will be tiny copies of…” I faltered as most of them understood and then finished, “all of us, everyone we have shared slivers with. Just like Arthur wrote about my lost sliver. Even should we nearly all die a final death, as long as one exists who holds our slivers, we can live again.” I saw it meant little to Cherine, so I added, “Cherine, if the worst happened, there will still be a Robert to love his Cherine.” She cried out and Robbie quickly hugged her.
R: We did not keep it a secret. We shared the news with everyone and suddenly everyone wanted to share a sliver. Somebody made the mistake of saying, in front of Samantha, that she is a genius and she flushed as she replied, “I’m not! All I did was see the obvious first. I was lucky.” As you must be tired of writing, we all laughed while the poor man tried to explain that someone who always sees the obvious first is a genius. Samantha is still angry - or should I say ‘furious’?
I’d like to know, when he tries to embarrass me by recording such nonsense, is he doing it as my father or my husband? I’m not a genius. Most of the other girls are much smarter than me.
It turned out Robbie was waiting for his daughter-to-be-in-law to be conceived here, wanting that the Meéjeiran feel she is somehow special to them for that reason. I don’t know if people far in the future have changed, but this kind of species-region pride is true for all people of this time.
We found someone from the Unation ship who’d been to the alternate reality and he guided Freddie with his direct thoughts. Since he had taken us close to the center of their Unation, it was immediately obvious that there is far less traffic, of ships and communications. Out of courtesy we moved to the closest governing planet, that of the Tirsoon. There are not a lot of Tirsoon to be found away from their planets, because planets as large as theirs are rare and they do not feel comfortable in slighter gravities. Those who are in the Unation ship within Freddie are friendly, enjoy chess and will discuss endlessly anything to do with machines or very advanced mathematics. They are working with the Muyzith and others to try and develop a new chaos theory.
The Tirsoon use robotics to explore their own and other systems and it was no surprise to see they have developed the same way here. The major difference is the number of obviously warlike spaceships. Those, we found out, are crewed. As soon as we appeared, all communications seemed to stop. The first broadcast called us by name and welcomed us. They asked whether we wish to land or should they send a delegation to meet us in Freddie. Courteously, Freddie replied that if they could send a team with knowledge of the destruction caused by the nomad spacefarers, we will provide suitable gravity for them and refreshments.
“I am Fwiyehe, historian and tactician.” He nodded with a pleased expression. “It was not required that more of us arrive, as I am the most knowledgeable about the time period you are interested in. I think our leaders are disappointed they were not required.”
“I’ve committed another faux pas, haven’t I? Is it too late to invite them now?”
“What for, they are surely not needed?”
Robbie asked Yarousa to contact the planet below and invite the leaders if they wish to visit.
As many of us as could fit in the hall came to listen. He projected a star chart showing their galaxy with a line coming into it from one side and leaving on the other. At the area of the Unation systems, he had coloured the systems attacked.
“We have had to project where they came from as we did not notice them until they were well within our galaxy. From the time we became aware of them until their route intersected the first Unation system, over a hundred and thirty years passed. We’ve calculated it means they were travelling at one fifth of the speed of light. From seventy years before their arrival they slowed down to twelve percent of their previous speed.
Vessels left their fleet at high acceleration, slowed abruptly as they arrived and attacked. They did not kill all the people, but they razed the cities and all facilities, including their farms. By the time we arrived there, eighty years later, not one person remained.”
“At each system, including others not inhabited, they mined minerals they required and took water. This is obviously not their first journey within our systems, for it has long puzzled our scientists why those systems are so poor in minerals. Some of the planets also showed signs of loss of water. If we are to believe the evidence, they last passed this way six hundred thousand years ago.”
“That is strange,” iv-Karsus said, “evolution of the various sapient species must have been well advanced within those systems during their prior journey. Why didn’t they kill them all then?”
“It is suggested that there were no signs of a civilisation that was advanced enough to become a threat.”
“Still, they must be very short-sighted in their planning.”
“All we can state with certainty is that they are set in their ways. It is our one hope for the future.”
Robbie smiled, his voice gentle. “That was before our decision to repopulate those systems?”
“It is true? It was reported you made such a promise.”
“How badly did they damage the ecologies of the planets?”
“The damage they caused was mostly of a temporary nature. We think it must be necessary for the planets to maintain some basic forms of life to maintain their atmosphere and water for their next visit.”
Robbie sighed with relief as he glanced at the Inguel. “At least we will not need tens of thousands of years before we can repopulate the planets. Even if we have to do so in a limited way at the start.”
Fwiyehe roused himself from his thoughts. “You shall have assistance from all three realities.”
“Three? The one of them is not in a position to help and the other two of you are already straining yourself in helping them.”
“Not within fifty thousand years. By then all three will be able to return to assist. It has been debated at the tri-council and agreed, if you returned to help.”
“Tri-council?”
“A council made up of representatives of all three realities.”
Our Unation leaders knew exactly how to reward Fwiyehe and he left with them to be shown the museums and meet with our scientists. We were sort of stunned by all we’d learnt and the magnitude of the job ahead.
We received a message from the planet asking that we visit them. Metaphorically speaking that raised many eyebrows. It was a very unusual invitation since the Tirsoon know that most species cannot withstand their gravity. It provided Robbie with his moment of fun.
“I’m so sorry my loves, I’d love to suffer along with you, but somebody has to stand tall, in a manner of speaking and put up a good front. I’ll go as the void, but I doubt your healers can strengthen you enough to be comfortable. I’ll ask them to carry you in chairs.”
He loved all the dark looks he received, but we did not need to communicate to work out a solution. Cassie asked him to go ahead and we will meet him there, since he will not need their spaceship to go and we will.
They build with ceilings claustrophobically low to reduce the structural stress and because of their smaller size. Since they admire height among their kind, we were all a few centimetres taller than average so we nearly ducked as we passed through doors. The hall we were escorted to was beautifully decorated with lights a little too bright for Terran eyes. As we were announced, the crowd went silent as they saw us enter. They then gave their equivalent of applause. Robbie stood forgotten and looking bemused as everyone surged towards us.
The media were there and not only their entire population saw us, but our Unation ship showed us copies being broadcast to other Unation planets. They told us we have scored big time with all the species.
After that evening we had the wholehearted support of the entire planet. They had heard a lot about us, but they admire strength so their invitation was a test. They wanted to see if our Cherinian gifts would enable us to withstand their gravity.
We argued how we should bring forward in time the populations of three hundred years ago. The easiest was to collect cells and create new bodies for them. We insisted that since there is no evidence that the nomad fleet landed, we should collect them just before their planets are attacked. The only way there will be enough of us to collect planetary populations within minutes is for the Sparklers to take on bodies for jumping them to us. That posed another problem. How do billions plus our billions fit into Freddie?
The only way it can be done is for them to be taken directly to the Sparkler World.
Robbie created a niche (without plants and so on) for the leaders of the Tirsoon (those who are members of the tri-council) and gravity machines approximated what they are used to. If they want to roam around Freddie, they will have to put up with the nausea that affects them in low gravity.
The way Robbie decided to do it is going to take years for each planet. We are going to arrive about two years before the attack, warn them of what is about to happen and begin dismantling their industry for rebuilding within their future. The Tirsoon have large cargo ships, but even they were aghast at the idea of trying to carry the factories, machines, libraries and so on of an entire planetary system (some occupy up to seven planets and moons).
Everybody easily worked out we will be devoting over twenty six years, but few realised all the planets on this side of time will be re-occupied almost simultaneously. We attached whatever spaceships the Tirsoon had available to the outer hull of Freddie and jumped to the first planet. It took days to convince them and then it took a few months before they started dismantling. They, quite wisely, decided they first had to produce all they could to carry them through the next two years or else they would starve and their civilisation would collapse. When the first ships from their alternates arrived with food, clothes and so on, they began to appreciate the gravity of their situation and went full ahead.
It is not only food, medicines and so on they needed. Neither am I including other direct material needs. What would happen with everybody out of work? Why should those who have mortgages continue paying since their homes will soon be blasted into rubble? Multiply those kind of problems beyond belief and you’ll have an idea of what they went through. We saw to it that they would not need medicines or hospitals, healing all those who needed healing, so they will be arriving in the future with the healthiest population they’ve ever had.
There were no riots, but there were many debates and a small group insisted on staying. They did not want to abandon their home planet. Robbie did not become upset and told them to create shelters to survive the attacks and he promised to visit them afterwards.
With minor variations, such as riots on some worlds, even an attempt to take over the government of one system so as to refuse us, the same happened over all thirteen systems as I’ve already outlined. We are now all about twenty seven years older than we were. I’m sorry I did not write, but I knew it would not affect you as no time would pass for you. Arthur, we are all exhausted and need some time on an island, pampered as we lie in the sun. I’ll continue when we return.
I’m now going to copy and paste excerpts from my real diary, so please don’t interrupt. Just about…damn, I can’t, it would be too impersonal for you. Here goes:
When it was close to the time the foetus would need a soul, Lynda began her search for a reality where Allan has died. It was not that difficult since she only had to search slightly in our past. She complicated her search by rejecting most of them until she felt she has an Allan who had been a very nice man.
We timed it so that we arrived as he was dying. Bleakly we sensed his suffering. He had cancer of the lungs and was suffocating. Dommi reached into his mind while her healer eased his pain. She talked to him with the voice he loved, promising his next life will be filled with love and telling him not to fear death.
At four in the morning he died.
We did not have time to grieve for him and his family, he had to be met in the void. We all pulled back, allowing Dommi to enfold him, her voice calming his fears. For a short time he settled within her like a child sucking his thumb. As the shock wore away he became alert and asked questions. Dommi told him where he is and he spoke angrily.
*I read about OBE’s, met people by the dozens who could and I tried for years. Nothing! And now that it doesn’t matter, I end up here! Life can be a shit.* Are we ever going to meet an Allan who does not confound us? *What now? Are you going to send me off to start all over again? Send me to a rich family, I need to have some fun for a change.*
*Who do you think I am Allan?*
*Some kind of spirit guide? Why did you choose her voice? Did you think it would make me happy to hear her? Where is she, is she still here?*
*I’m sorry, if she died before you, then she is gone.*
*Don’t you keep records? Send me to a different continent. I want to be loved this time. Why isn’t everything white? They always are in the movies.*
Dommi laughed. *You think you are in heaven?*
He hesitated. *No, I was just fooling around because I’m scared. Sorry, it is a bad habit.*
Dommi wanted to tease him back. *You teased me? Aren’t you supposed to be respectful?*
He forgot all about his dilemma or else he was being cunning, hoping to earn his place in heaven or else he was just being rude. Take your pick *You want to know who I respect? The poor who are starving. The weak who get kicked down every time they try to look at the sun and hope. The child who is born crippled because some fucking karma decided it would be good for them. Not angels who have it easy, flying around like lords of creation without ever suffering.*
*I’m not an angel Allan, I’m just a g…woman. Would you like to share my memories so that you know where I come from and why I met you?*
*No thanks, then you’ll expect to read mine. Just tell me.*
Dommi laughed. *Cherine love, you better take over.*
I quickly said, *Robert, can we go to Meli’s world? It will help him and us if he has a face to talk to.*
The moment he saw us, his jaw dropped and his eyes glazed. He turned away from us. “I guess the other place was Hell and this is Paradise? You’ll have to show me God for me to believe. Why are you all so beautiful? Only Moslems are supposed to find houris in the land of milk and honey.” Definition of ‘houri’: (in Muslim belief) one of the dark-eyed virgins of perfect beauty believed to live with the blessed in Paradise - just in case you missed the point he was making.
We had banned Robbie, Michael and our Allan, thinking it would be easier to convince him to become a girl without them there to make him go macho on us. We were no longer so certain of ourselves.
“Allan, I’m Cherine.”
“Are you from Lebanon? I met a girl from there years ago with that name, I nearly had a crush on her.”
“How do you ‘nearly’ have a crush?”
“I was in my twenties then and she was about eleven. A dark-eyed little beauty who was being treated like shit by her family. I started off wanting to make her feel that someone cares about her, but she chose to spend her nights at the hotel disco flirting with older men.”
“Have you had a good life Allan?”
“Is this where you count the points and decide whether I stay here or go back? I was very, very good, take my word for it.”
Cherine giggled so we all felt free to join in. He scowled at us. “Wherever this is, is it fair of you to make me fall in love?”
“Which one of us?”
“All.” His shoulders slumped, his bravado abandoning him. “I can breathe again and the pain is gone, but I’m scared shitless. Please tell me what is going on.”
“We are humans like you. We come from another reality. As to why we came, we’ll get to that slowly, slowly. Okay?”
We led him to a blanket with food and ale. He did not want to eat, but once he had his first taste he gobbled it up as if he was ravenous. He sat back with a smile. “Do you have a cigarette?”
“Is that why you had cancer?”
