'Don't worry, tense hasn't caught up with us multiples yet. And yes, I'll be the one in the carry capsule and helping the bots when they get stuck on the stairs. Not necessarily this body given its age, but me.

'I'll look forward to seeing the rest of you.

'There's a couple of mes who are young and handsome. Call it vanity if you like, I'm not immune to all the usual human flaws. I'll try and schedule thems for the delivery.

'As handsome as you?

'Hey, there's no more discount. You've squeezed me dry already.

She laughed. 'I'd better get back to work then.

Araminta smiled the whole flight back to the flat. Mr Bovey really had been charming. All his versions. She suspected it was more than good client relations. And was he joking about the young and handsome bodies? Actually, even the last one she'd seen, the older one, was quite distinguished. And what if he did ask her out for a date? Would it be just her and twenty of him sitting at a table?

If he asks.

And if he did, what am I going to answer?

The whole idea was unusual, which made it very interesting.

And what if the evening went well? Do I ask twenty of him hack to my place?

Oh stop it!

She was still smiling when she walked back up the stairs and opened the front door. Then her mood came down at the sight of the flat. The bots had made some progress cleaning up; but one with a vacuum attachment was all clogged up. None of the bots had self maintenance capacity, so she'd have to clear that out manually. And she'd still not put the balcony door actuator back together. It could well be quite a while before Mr Bovey delivered her new kitchen and bathroom and she got round to finding out how well she'd read their encounter.

Late in the afternoon when the place was finally getting straightened out she'd started spreading the sealant sheets over the lounge's floorboards. That was when her u-shadow told her there was a call from Laril. 'Are you sure? she asked it.

'Yes.

She debated with herself if she should call Cressida, maybe the Revenue Service would pay a reward. 'Where's he calling from?

'The routing identity originates on Oaktier. A summary slid into her peripheral vision.

'A Central Commonwealth world, she read. 'What's he doing there?

'I do not know.

'Right, she sat on the cube that was her portable bed and took her gloves off. Wiped her forehead. Took a breath. 'Okay, accept the call. His image appeared in her exovision's primary perspective, making it seem as if he was standing right in front of her. If he was providing a real representation he hadn't changed much. Thin brown hair cut short, round face with a chubby jaw and a wide neck, as always thick dark stubble longer than she liked. It was scratchy, she remembered. He never gelled it down smooth no matter how many times she asked.

'Thanks for taking the call, he said. 'I wasn't sure you would.

'Neither was I.

'I hear you're doing okay; you got the money.

'I was awarded the money by the court. Laril, what are you doing? Why are you on Oaktier?

'Isn't it obvious?

That took a few seconds to register, and even longer to accept. It must be some stunt, some scam. 'You're migrating inwards? she asked, incredulous.

He smiled the same carefree smile he'd used when they first met. It was very appealing, warm and confident. She hadn't seen it much after they married.

'Happens to all of us in the end, he said.

'No! I don't believe it. You are going Higher? You?

'My first batch of biononics have been in a week. They're starting to integrate some basic fields. It's quite an experience.

'But… she spluttered. 'For Ozzie's sake. Higher culture would never take you. What did you do, erase half your memories?

'That's a pretty common myth. Higher culture isn't the old Catholic Church, you know; you don't have to confess and recant your past sins. It's current attitude which counts.

'I know they don't take criminals. There was that case centuries ago — Jollian thought that he could escape what he'd done with a memory wipe and a migration to the Inner Worlds. Paula Myo caught up with him and had his biononics removed so he could face trial on the External Worlds as the type of human he was when he committed his crime. I think he got a couple of hundred years' suspension.

'That's what you think of me, that I qualify for the Jollian precedent? Well thanks a whole lot, Araminta. A couple of things you might want to consider. One, Paula Myo isn't after me. And she isn't after me because I haven't committed any crime.

'Have you told the Viotia Revenue Service that?

'My business economics were a mess, sure. I'm not hiding from that. I even told my Higher initiator about my finances. You know what she said?

'Go on.

'Higher culture is about rejecting the evil of money.

'How very convenient for you.

'Look I just wanted to call and apologize. I'm not asking for anything. And I wanted to make sure you're all right.

'A bit late for that, isn't it? she bridled. 'I'm not part of some therapy session you have to complete before they'll take you.

'You're misunderstanding this, perhaps with anger leading you away from what I'm actually saying.

'Ozzie! This is your therapy session.

'We don't need therapy to become Higher, it is inevitable. Even you will migrate eventually.

'Never.

His image produced a fond lopsided smile. 'I remember thinking that once. Probably when I was in my twenties. I know it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to someone your age when every day is fresh, but after a few centuries living on the External Worlds you begin to get bored and frustrated. Every day becomes this constant battle; politicians are corrupt and crap, projects never get finished on time or in budget, bureaucrats delight in thwarting you, and then there's the eternal fight for money.

'Which you lost.

'I fed myself and my families for over three centuries thank you very much. Even you came out ahead with the residue of that work. But face it, I didn't achieve much now did I? A few tens of thousands of dollars to show for three and a half centuries. That's not exactly leaving your mark on the universe, is it? And it's not just me, there are billions of humans that are the same. The External Worlds are fun and exciting with their market economy and clashing ideologies and outward urge. Youth thrives on that kind of environment. Then there comes a day when you have to look back and take stock. You did that for me.

'Oh come on! You're blaming me for the dog's dinner you made of your affairs?

'No. I'm not blaming you. Don't you get it? I'm thanking you. I was old, it took you to reveal that to me. The contrast between us was so great even I couldn't close my eyes to it for ever. There really is no fool like an old fool, and part of that foolishness came from deluding myself. I was tired of that life and didn't want to admit it. Turning Punk Skunk and taking a young wife was just another way of trying to ignore what I'd become. Even that didn't work, did it? I was making both of us miserable.

'That's putting it mildly, she muttered. In a way though, it was gratifying hearing him admit it was all his fault. 'I left my whole family behind because of you.

He showed her a sly smile. 'And that was a bad thing?

'Yeah, all right, she grinned puckishly. 'You did me a favour there. I'm not really cut out for two centuries of selling agricultural cybernetics.

'I knew that the minute I set eyes on you. So how's the world of property development coming on?

'Harder than I thought, she admitted. 'There are so many stupid little things that bug me.

'I know. Well imagine today's frustration multiplied by three hundred years, that's how I wound up feeling.

'And now you don't?