Fate is a tease: I saw enough at that site to be sure I want to come back but not enough to convince anyone to pay me to do it.
On the way back, I tell Jay and Willie, “You two really should get your cybertour license. I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to want to see this valley in the future and you two should get your share when they do.”
“Why do you say that?”
“These big boulders lying about out here. Some of them could be low-density because they’re hollow, and they could be hollow because they’re chunks of lost civilization.”
Jay and Willie look at each other. It’s a “should we tell him?” sort of look. I’m patient.
“You’ve treated us right, youngster. That library thing wasn’t the first hollow rock we’ve found. It was the first one we’ve found that was radioactive. That’s why we called it in. We didn’t figure a plain old hollow rock would be worth much. But something radioactive…”
I go kind of bug-eyed. “You already know which ones are low density?”
“Sure. We aren’t complete idiots out here. We don’t know here in Rhapsody very well because of the rats. But we’s spotted some down below.”
“Well, if you don’t mind, take me to one, or two! Let’s see if we can make you kings of this valley!”
They like the way I put it and if I have any say in the matter it will be true. Like I said at the beginning, I know how to make people happy.
We bounce and jounce out of the valley, take another path that looks like no more than two parallel game trails, and stop by a large moss-covered boulder.
“This is still Rat Land,” Jay says before he opens the door.
“Got it,” I say.
Jay and Willie post. I get out and haul a remote imager out of the truck bed. It only takes about three minutes.
“Gentlemen, we’ve hit paydirt,” I say. “I don’t think I can get this open now but I can sure get funding to come back, and you two should be on that return team.”
Willie doesn’t stop looking around. “Yeah. … Let’s celebrate in the truck. I spotted some rat shit.”
I don’t bother to ask if it’s fresh. I just stow the remote imager fast and hop back in. Jay and Willie waste no time following me.
“Paydirt, you say?” asks Jay once we get back in. “What sort?”
“That boulder is hollow and the inside edges are squared off. I’m guessing it was a room in a building that the glacier sheared off. That could mean there was once a city in one of these valleys—”
I raise up my arm to point—“CHRIST!” No sooner does my arm get above the window line than a rat hiding in a bush outside makes a leap for it. The rat smashes harmlessly into the window, drawing blood from its own teeth, but his loss doesn’t stop my heart from skipping three beats.
Jay fires up the engine and we move out as fast as the trail lets us.
“I told you they were partial to arms,” says Willie.
I think I’m going to let someone else handle the return expedition.