by Mike Resnick
A laser beam began cutting through the outer wall of the cave.
"If we give them enough time, they can cut through anything we use for cover," observed Nighthawk.
"I'm searching my memory—and yours," said Newman, picking off another Younger Brother. "I can't remember any situation that was remotely like this."
"I'd be willing to be there's never been one," said Nighthawk grimly. He finally spotted the alien that was carving through the cave wall and put a bullet between his eyes.
And then, suddenly, all the shooting stopped. Nighthawk and Newman exchanged puzzled looks.
"What now?" murmured Nighthawk.
"It's the kid," said Newman, pointing.
Jeff walked into their line of sight, his hands raised above his head. Every alien weapon was trained upon him.
"I've got a proposition for you," said Jeff when he had halved the distance between himself and the Younger Brothers.
"A partnership?" asked one of the aliens.
"A contest," said Jeff.
"Explain," said another.
"Why continue the killing?" said Jeff. "It serves no purpose. Instead, I propose a battle of champions—yours against ours." He tapped his chest with his thumb. "I'm ours." He looked across the row of aliens facing him. "Here's the deal: if you win, my companions will agree to join you and follow your orders."
"And if you win?"
"You lay down your arms, leave the Inner Frontier, and promise never to return."
"He's crazy!" muttered Newman. "As quick as he kills whoever he's facing, it'll just split in two and start shooting again."
"No!" whispered Nighthawk excitedly. "He knows something! He's spotted something we've missed!"
"What?"
"I don't know—but he knows!"
Out in the field, Jeff took a few more steps forward. "Do you mind if I lower my hands now?" he asked. "It's a hot day, and it's awkward to keep them over my head."
"If you touch your weapons we'll kill you," said four of the Younger Brothers in unison.
"I won't touch them until you've chosen your champion and we face each other."
All fifty aliens chuckled at that. "We are identical, as are you."
"Me?" said Jeff. "I'm just a beginner. Those two guys"—he gestured toward Nighthawk's cave—"are the real Widowmakers. Killing your champion is just my training exercise."
One of the aliens stepped forward. "I will be our champion," he announced.
"Whatever makes you happy," said Jeff.
"This will be a battle to the death," continued the alien, "not to first blood. Do you understand and agree?"
"I do," said Jeff.
"That means if he kills one and it becomes two new ones, the fight's not over," said Newman.
"I trained him," replied Nighthawk. "I've got to trust him."
Jeff and the alien stood about fifteen feet apart, facing one another. The alien's hand was poised above its weapon. It showed no fear or nervousness, nor could Nighthawk see any reason why it should. Death seemed to be something entirely different to the Younger Brothers than to anything else he'd ever encountered.
"Are you ready?" said Jeff.
"I am ready."
Jeff drew his burner and had it in his hand before the alien had even touched his own weapon—but instead of shooting the alien he was facing, he pivoted and fired at one of the aliens who was standing near the middle of the band of Younger Brothers. The alien screamed once and fell to the ground, dead, a smoking black hole between his eyes.
And suddenly the other aliens simply popped out of existence. One moment they were there, solid and three-dimensional, armed with functioning weapons, and the next they were gone.
Nighthawk and Newman raced out of their cave and ran up to Jeff. Kinoshita joined them a moment later.
"What the hell did you do?" asked Nighthawk.
"They all sprang from the original, the one who first approached us," explained Jeff. "I don't know how he gave them form and substance, but I knew it had to come from him."
"Why?" asked Nighthawk.
"Like I said before, if they didn't have a weak spot, they wouldn't have bothered trying to kill us. He had to be the weak spot."
"They all looked alike," said Kinoshita. "How did you know which one to kill?"
"He was the only one who wasn't shooting at us," answered Jeff. "I figured he had to be too busy controlling all the others. The problem was that I couldn't get a clear shot at him from my cave, so I had to come up with that cock-and-bull challenge. It was the only way get close enough to be sure I wouldn't miss. I knew I'd only get one chance, because if the first shot didn't kill him, he'd realize he'd given himself away and I'd never be able to spot him again."
"I never saw that," admitted Nighthawk.
"Neither did I," added Newman.
"I can't think of a better time for you to have started using that brain of yours," said Nighthawk.
"Thanks," said Jeff. "That means a lot." He turned to Newman. "I hope this helps make up for what happened on Giancola II."
"It's forgotten," said Newman.
"Well, I guess we can get back to the spaceport," said Kinoshita.
"You three go ahead," said Newman. "I've got work to do."
"Here?" asked Jeff.
"I've got to bury Pallas Athene." He jerked his head toward the alien. "I think I'll leave him to the insects and the worms, or whatever passes for them on Bollander."
"Do you need any help?" asked Nighthawk.
"She was my friend. I'd rather do it alone."
"Good-bye, Widowmaker," said Jeff.
"I'm out of the Widowmaker business. My name's Jason Newman." He turned to Nighthawk. "I always wondered what you'd be like. Now I know. If you're ever on Murchison III, maybe we'll have a drink together."
Then he was in a cave, heading for the tunnel that would lead him to Pallas Athene.
"Not the warmest person in the galaxy, is he?" remarked Jeff as they headed back toward the aircar.
"Hardly surprising," said Nighthawk with a self-deprecating smile. "He's just another version of me."
"I don't know if I agree," said Jeff. "After all, I'm just another version of you too."
"No," said Nighthawk, throwing an arm around the young man's shoulders. "I have a feeling that you may be an improvement."
Epilogue
The two boys peeked cautiously around the corner of the building.
"It's him!" said the first boy excitedly.
"It couldn't be," said the second. "Why would he be here? We're just an unimportant little world."
"Not any more," said the first boy with conviction. "Not if he's here."
"Who's the little guy with him?"
"I don't remember his name, but I know that they always travel together."
"Well, I don't think it's him," said the second boy.
"I'm telling you it is!"
"He's too young."
"It's the same face I've seen in the holos," said the first boy.
"I don't care. He's too young to have done all the things they say, and besides, he'd never come to our world."
"I'll ask him."
"I dare you!" said the second boy.
The first boy swallowed hard. He pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the street just in front of the two men who were riding the slidewalk from the spaceport.
"Hi," said the young man, amused at the boy's discomfiture.
"Are you him?" asked the boy. "Are you the Widowmaker?"
"I'm working at it," answered the young man.
-The End —
CHRONOLOGY
Chronology of the universe created in BIRTHRIGHT: THE BOOK OF MAN (through May 1, 2010), showing the year, the era, and the title:
1885 A.D. "The Hunter" (IVORY)
1898 A.D. "Himself" (IVORY)
1982 A.D. SIDESHOW
1983 A.D. THE THREE-LEGGED HOOTCH DANCER
1985 A.D. THE WILD ALIEN TAMER
&n
bsp; 1987 A.D. THE BEST ROOTIN' TOOTIN' SHOOTIN'
GUNSLINGER IN THE WHOLE DAMNED GALAXY
2057 A.D. "The Politician" (IVORY)
2908 A.D. 1 G.E.
16 G.E. Republic "The Curator" (IVORY)
264 G.E. Republic "The Pioneers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
332 G.E. Republic "The Cartographers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
346 G.E. Republic WALPURGIS III
367 G.E. Republic EROS ASCENDING
396 G.E. Republic "The Miners" (BIRTHRIGHT)
401 G.E. Republic EROS AT ZENITH
442 G.E. Republic EROS DESCENDING
465 G.E. Republic EROS AT NADIR
522 G.E. Republic "All the Things You Are"
588 G.E. Republic "The Psychologists" (BIRTHRIGHT)
616 G.E. Republic A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN
882 G.E. Republic "The Potentate" (IVORY)
962 G.E. Republic "The Merchants" (BIRTHRIGHT)
1150 G.E. Republic "Cobbling Together a Solution"
1151 G.E. Republic "Nowhere in Particular"
1152 G.E. Republic "The God Biz"
1394 G.E. Republic "Keepsakes"
1701 G.E. Republic "The Artist" (IVORY)
1813 G.E. Republic "Dawn" (PARADISE)
1826 G.E. Republic PURGATORY
1859 G.E. Republic "Noon" (PARADISE)
1888 G.E. Republic "Midafternoon" (PARADISE)
1902 G.E. Republic "Dusk" (PARADISE)
1921 G.E. Republic INFERNO
1966 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: MUTINY
1967 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: PIRATE
1968 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: MERCENARY
1969 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: REBEL
1970 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: FLAGSHIP
2122 G.E. Democracy "The 43 Antarean Dynasties"
2154 G.E. Democracy "The Diplomats" (BIRTHRIGHT)
2239 G.E. Democracy "Monuments of Flesh and Stone"
2275 G.E. Democracy "The Olympians" (BIRTHRIGHT)
2469 G.E. Democracy "The Barristers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
2885 G.E. Democracy "Robots Don't Cry"
2911 G.E. Democracy "The Medics" (BIRTHRIGHT)
3004 G.E. Democracy "The Policitians" (BIRTHRIGHT)
3042 G.E. Democracy "The Gambler" (IVORY)
3286 G.E. Democracy SANTIAGO
3322 G.E. Democracy A HUNGER IN THE SOUL
3324 G.E. Democracy THE SOUL EATER
3324 G.E. Democracy "Nicobar Lane: The Soul Eater's Story"
3407 G.E. Democracy THE RETURN OF SANTIAGO
3427 G.E. Democracy SOOTHSAYER
3441 G.E. Democracy ORACLE
3447 G.E. Democracy PROPHET
3502 G.E. Democracy "Guardian Angel"
3504 G.E. Democracy "A Locked-Planet Mystery"
3504 G.E. Democracy "Honorable Enemies"
3505 G.E. Democracy "If the Frame Fits…"
3719 G.E. Democracy "Hunting the Snark"
4375 G.E. Democracy "The Graverobber" (IVORY)
4822 G.E. Oligarchy "The Administrators" (BIRTHRIGHT)
4839 G.E. Oligarchy THE DARK LADY
5101 G.E. Oligarchy THE WIDOWMAKER
5103 G.E. Oligarchy THE WIDOWMAKER REBORN
5106 G.E. Oligarchy THE WIDOWMAKER UNLEASHED
5108 G.E. Oligarchy A GATHERING OF WIDOWMAKERS
5461 G.E. Oligarchy "The Media" (BIRTHRIGHT)
5492 G.E. Oligarchy "The Artists" (BIRTHRIGHT)
5521 G.E. Oligarchy "The Warlord" (IVORY)
5655 G.E. Oligarchy "The Biochemists" (BIRTHRIGHT)
5912 G.E. Oligarchy "The Warlords" (BIRTHRIGHT)
5993 G.E. Oligarchy "The Conspirators" (BIRTHRIGHT)
6304 G.E. Monarchy IVORY
6321 G.E. Monarchy "The Rulers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
6400 G.E. Monarchy "The Symbiotics" (BIRTHRIGHT)
6521 G.E. Monarchy "Catastrophe Baker and the Cold Equations
6523 G.E. Monarchy THE OUTPOST
6524 G.E. Monarchy "Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for
Leibowitz
6599 G.E. Monarchy "The Philosophers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
6746 G.E. Monarchy "The Architects" (BIRTHRIGHT)
6962 G.E. Monarchy "The Collectors" (BIRTHRIGHT)
7019 G.E. Monarchy "The Rebels" (BIRTHRIGHT)
16201 G.E. Anarchy "The Archaeologists" (BIRTHRIGHT)
16673 G.E. Anarchy "The Priests" (BIRTHRIGHT)
16888 G.E. Anarchy "The Pacifists" (BIRTHRIGHT)
17001 G.E. Anarchy "The Destroyers" (BIRTHRIGHT)
21703 G.E. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge"
Novels not set in this future:
ADVENTURES (1922-1926 A.D.)
EXPLOITS (1926-1931 A.D.)
ENCOUNTERS (1931-1934 A.D.)
HAZARDS (1934-1939 A.D.)
STALKING THE UNICORN ("Tonight")
STALKING THE VAMPIRE ("Tonight")
STALKING THE DRAGON ("Tonight")
THE BRANCH (2047-2051 A.D.)
SECOND CONTACT (2065 A.D.)
BULLY! (1910-1912 A.D.)
KIRINYAGA (2123-2137 A.D.)
KILIMANJARO (2234-2241 A.D.)
LADY WITH AN ALIEN (1490 A.D.)
A CLUB IN MONTMARTRE (1890-1901 A.D.)
DRAGON AMERICA: REVOLUTION (1779-1780 A.D.)
THE WORLD BEHIND THE DOOR (1928 A.D.)
THE OTHER TEDDY ROOSEVELTS (1888-1919 A.D.)
THE BUNTLINE SPECIAL (1881 A.D.)