Choice of the Gallant_Paradox Equation I

by Sharon L Reddy

  They showed him their ships, introduced him to Melissa and talked long hours before the fire. Lane told him they'd learned to choose the changes they would make. Gallant laughed when Clete walked out of the kitchen, handed him a towel and noted his surge of relief had been a surprise to him too and he was cleaning up cocoa while he made more.

  He spent several days with them. One evening his gentle smile told them it would be their last. He wouldn't say goodbye. He'd said it too many times to people he loved. In the morning he was gone. They set course for the doorway. They would see him again. Someday.

  Chapter Four

  They explored their universe through time. They became wanderers. They'd begun with an orderly exploration, but soon tossed away the plan. Lane told them their future was getting acquainted with their ship and the universe, for awhile. They enjoyed Earth in a great many periods of its history. They avoided wars. They knew how Earth's wars turned out and what they eventually led to. It was a rocky road, but she was exactly how they wanted her. They were having breakfast when Dutch sighed.

  "I'm bored. Let's find something to do."

  "Just what did you have in mind, Dutch?"

  "You're grinning at me. You were waiting for me to say it. All right, Lane, what's up?"

  "Time to make some changes. We're going to do some real traveling. I want to stock up on Earth. There are things that just can't be synthesized or replicated properly. Melissa is going to be very cooperative and take us in just like Lissa would. Put together lists of everything you want. Not too long. If it can be replicated successfully, don't include it."

  "Champagne and caviar. Blue jeans. The real thing. Real cotton and silk kimonos. Leather boots."

  "Dutch, most of that is very easy to replicate."

  "I know, Clete, but we don't have a lot of the patterns I want. I know where to get them though. Old Meister will have almost everything, including the best roses ever grown. I wonder if he's still mad at me."

  "Probably, fathers tend to get angry when their daughters are unhappy. If I remember, you made two of them unhappy."

  "I never said I'd marry them, either of them. Why does every set of twins think I should choose between them?"

  They landed Melissa at the spaceport and started their shopping trip. Jan Meister wasn't angry. In fact, he spent a great deal of time telling Dutch how happy his daughters were. Dutch didn't mind, though he did get a little tired of looking at grandchildren at about the two hundredth holoframe.

  Meister was a collector. He shared his collection by allowing replicator patterns to be made. Dutch shared his enthusiasm for real materials and sighed with him that no replicator would ever duplicate the feel of raw silk or the smell of real leather. Clete and Lane left the two sybarites and went to an antique book shop.

  Lane found several items he wanted. Clete discovered the collection of ancient films and asked for copies of several. He made an instant friend when he asked for Fantasia and Snow White. He walked out of the shop with a complete collection of full-length Disney animated classics. He also carried a carefully preserved cel. The old man in the shop had decided he should have it. He thought Clete would give it the care and love it deserved. Dutch was carrying a case of champagne into Melissa when they arrived.

  "Just in time. I told interested parties I didn't want any of this to go through a transporter. They thought I was a little eccentric. I stored the replicator patterns on Lissa. Give me a hand."

  "As soon as we store our own treasures. Wait'll you see what Clete got."

  Lane placed his books in his library and watched Clete very carefully hang the cel. It was from Snow White and in amazing condition. Clete ordered a slight change in the lighting. Dutch walked in with a case of champagne in his hands and just stood and looked at the cel. He'd loved early Disney animation since he was a small child.

  "You know, she's probably the reason I've never really fallen in love. I've been looking for her since I was three."

  They moved all the items Dutch had stacked on grav carts into the ship, put them away, then opened a bottle of champagne. Melissa did her Lissa imitation and they left Earth. As soon as they'd cleared the watchful eyes of Earth control, Lane set coordinates for some real traveling. He remembered they were needed a third of the way across the universe and several thousand years in the past. They explored on the way, but inside the ship.

  One of their explorations was of the ancient books Lane had found, especially the cookbooks. Clete liked to cook too, but he liked 'homey hearty fare.' Dutch was the perfect person for whom to cook. He made coffee, and anticipated "YUM!" the entire time they worked. He truly appreciated it, and the synthesizer began to make more 'raw' than cooked foods.

  Lane was becoming an artist in the kitchen. Their father and Clete could do 'spectacular,' but Lane was the one who enjoyed it most. They were approaching the world when Dutch and Clete agreed he'd found a better recipe for wild mushroom and black walnut wine sauce, and he had a recipe his father would want. He and Clete were both 'after' their father's pizza sauce. Dutch chose a lovely brandy for after dinner.

  "I'm awed, Lane."

  "Thank you, Dutch. This one I will trade to Dad, then the sauce for your sausage, Clete."

  "Nope, you'll share. You aren't going to make pizza as often as we like to eat it."

  "I don't think you can change that one, Lane. I'll help talk him into making the sausage whenever you want to cook with it."

  "I had no doubt of it, Dutch."

  "Talk to us about the faint undercurrent of dread, Lane."

  "It's an Earth-type planet with a similar development pattern. The culture is the closest we'll ever find to the Western culture of Earth, at least in this era. Humanoid in the extreme, though gravity is a bit lower."

  "One of the worlds seeded with life a bit later than others?"

  "Dutch, Dad told me to leave the question of the seeded worlds alone when I was four. I don't think he knows why he's sure he, and we, should, but he is."

  "OK. But it's still a valid question."

  "He's right, Lane. Is there enough difference in gravity to need to retrain for it?"

  "No, not even enough for the people to show it much. They've got themselves in a real mess. They're about to destroy their world."

  "Lane, you said it was in a stage about equal to the Earth's nineteenth century. How can they destroy themselves?"

  "I wish I had an answer to that, Dutch. We've got a real mystery. Technology makes a big leap, then in about twenty years, they blow themselves up in a nuclear war. We may have found another time traveler."

  "That's not good. If you're right, we've got a real problem too. When are we?"

  "I'm following my memory, Clete. We find a blasted world, then journey into its past. At that point, we have to change things. There she is. A radioactive cinder. I remember us doing a thirty-year jump."

  "Do fifty. See what happens."

  "Well, that's it. Clete, take over. I'm down."

  Dutch grabbed him and got him to a couch. They'd made the first change. It was a fairly small one, so Lane should steady in a few moments. Melissa landed in a small clearing. There was a frontier city about a kilometer away. Lane moved them forward two years and a partial-season.

  "All right, Lane, now what?"

  "Side arms practice, Dutch. Projectile weapons. Outside. Attracts the attention of a boy about twelve. He's our guide. Clete, put a corder and medunit in your pocket. This is going to be a rough go. I've got multiples. Nothing clear. Dutch, be careful. Snow White lives here, but you're the wrong prince."

  "Figures. I'm going to meet the girl of my dreams and I'm not the boy of hers. You steady enough to hit the buttons on the replicator?"

  "Yes, but every choice we make will cause a few seconds of confusion. There are just too many images to find a clear path. I'm going to be semi-useless. We'll just have to play it out."

  "Why am I carrying a corder and medunit?"

  "That happens right away. The corder
locates us a small gold deposit. The medunit saves our young guide's life. His mom is going to be very grateful, Clete. Be gentle. She's very lonely. She thinks her husband is dead."

  "And he's not."

  "No. Good. That takes care of a half-dozen of the multiples. You made up your mind the right way, of course. These are about right. There you are, Dutch. Choose clothing and sidearms along those lines. Clete, you're going to look real big to these people."

  "Yeah, I figured that out when you said we didn't need to retrain. Big man to knock down. I'm going to spend half my time trying not to break anyone."

  "We're all going to have problems. I think I see a way to shortcut them, but we'll have to watch our... Yes, keep that medunit handy. We make some unscrupulous unfriends."

  "What you mean is our backs sprout holes."

  "Would you rather fight every man in town, Dutch? And every one that hits town? All one at a time? If we clean them up all at once, you'll have more time for ladies."

  "Oh, well, what's a few holes?"

  They'd spent a lot of time practicing with weapons used by various cultures, first with their father, then while they were in the academy. Though those were only from the cultures humans had met, there weren't great differences in them. They'd practiced more with 'variations' since. Clete really couldn't resist making them work as a team and Dutch couldn't resist turning anything into a show. It was going to prove very useful.

  Their guide arrived not long after they began practicing with replicas of Colt 45's outside Melissa. They were near enough like the guns common to the culture to be custom-made for show people. Their young guide arrived while they practiced.

  "Gee, I've never seen anybody shoot like that!"

  "Hi. We practice a lot. Goes with the show."

  "Trick shots, huh? Interestin' guns. Can see bigger wouldn' bother you guys none. You're kind of in the middle of nowhere for a medicine show. Who are you fellas?"

  "I'm Dutch. He's Clete and that's Lane. We're retired. The booth came down through the family. We're real sentimental about it. Usually leave it in a safe place. The clearing looked good."

  "How'd you get it here? Where's your mounts? Are you stayin' in town? Want to have supper at our place?"

  "Whoa! Let's see. Lane, do you remember all those questions?"

  "In order: a friend dropped us off; don't have any; haven't decided yet; we'd love to, if we can pay back with a few chores. What's your name?"

  "Oh, sorry. Shoulda' said. I'm Billy Kendirk. Come on. We need to get goin' so Ma knows to make for more 'fore she starts dinner. We definitely got chores you can help with. Pa's been gone awhile and me and Ma ain't been keepin' up too good."

  Lane knew when it was coming. Billy was talking animatedly about his mom's berry pie.

  "Look, I'll get some berries right over there. We'll have pie tonight."

  He ran right into a... Might as well call it a bear. Filled the same niche. Grew just as big. Was just as hairy and dangerous. Clete charged after him. He got swiped, but not bad. He decked the bear and went to work on Billy. Dutch and Lane picked berries. Billy had taken a beating for berry pie. He deserved to have it.

  "I healed everything major. Left the superficial stuff. Just hit him with a dose of antibiotic. Lane, that could have been prevented."

  "I know, Clete. This memory has a way for us to really help them."

  "Good work, Clete. He'll be real proud of his scars. How about you?"

  "Dutch, scars don't last on me. You know that."

  "That's not what I meant."

  "Oh. No, I could heal me, but the shirt would still have holes. Wouldn't make sense."

  Dutch laughed and thumped Lane on the back. It completely surprised him and Clete laughed and picked up Billy. He'd regain consciousness soon. Lane was giggling and complaining he was dizzy, so Dutch steered him. It didn't happen often, but sometimes Dutch just surprised him with an "I love you." Dutch was a blaze of love in his soul and the love between his two brothers the most wonderful feeling in existence.

  Lane located the gold. He handed the corder back to Clete and he and Dutch rolled over a rock in the stream and picked up a few nuggets of placer. They rolled the rock back. The deposit itself was a few hundred meters upstream. They'd help Billy file a claim. It would get him and his mom through the rough times until his father returned. They could see how rough they'd been as they walked into the yard. Billy's mother ran for them when she saw Clete was carrying her son.

  "BILLY!!"

  "Easy, Ma'am! He's roughed up a bit, but he'll be all right. Had an argument over a berry patch. My name's Clete Gallant. My brothers Lane and Dutch. Let's get him inside."

  "Yes. Thank you. I'm Sare Kendirk."

  "Billy said you'd trade us a home-cooked meal for a few chores. My brothers are carrying a load of berries in their shirts. Figured Billy ought to get his pie."

  He laid Billy on the bed and smiled.

  "Nice kid. You can be proud of him. He'll grow up to be a fine man."

  "Thank you. Hurts a bit he's havin' to do it so fast. You're bleeding. Take your shirt off. Do you whilst I'm patchin' Billy. Where'd your brothers go?"

  "To find things that need fixing. I'd better go help."

  "You sit right there til I get those claw marks cleaned out. Then I'll see if we got a shirt big enough to fit you. My husband wasn't near your size, but he liked things loose."

  "You said was."

  "I figure somethin' happened to him and he ain't comin' back. Been gone more'n a year. Went south to buy us a good startin' herd."

  "Lot of things other than dying can delay a man. Give it time. A good man is worth waiting for."

  "I don't know how long we can wait. Place is goin' downhill. Me'n Billy are just scratchin' by. I'm tryin' to hold the land, but I'm wonderin' if… "

  Clete realized what he'd done. She'd been alone for a long time. He'd slipped out of his shirt and she'd stopped talking. Lane had warned him. Her need washed over him. He had to get out of the house, or distract her, or something. He wouldn't be able to resist that need long. Billy woke up. Clete thought, "Whew, kid's got good timing," and grinned as her emotions became maternal.

  Billy chattered at her as she bandaged Clete. He kept her distracted until he could get into a shirt and make excuses about helping his brothers. It was a good thing Lane had told him her husband was alive. He wondered how he'd known.

  "Hi, Clete. You look warm."

  "Dutch, you're pushing it. This corral's in bad shape."

  "Everything is. You can see they've been trying, but they need logs split and carried. Probably don't have money for nails either. Lane's in the shed putting an edge on the ax. Help me see how many of these nails we can pound back to usefulness. Pull that rail loose. We'll redo it. It's been over-nailed. I'd say Billy's work."

  "He's getting better. There are only a couple bent nails on the most recent."

  In three hours, they'd accomplished more than Billy and his mom could have in a month. They were finishing repairs on the roof of the house when Sare called them to dinner. She stared at the rebuilt corrals, the rehung barn door, the repaired shed wall, the rebuilt buggy and the stack of rails laying next to the shed. They dropped off the roof and went to wash up. Billy yelled and she dashed in to get her pies out. She wondered what she'd done to deserve being blessed. She was glad she'd decided to fix a bit extra because of the size of the men. They definitely deserved it. They appreciated it.

  "Billy, you were right. The best berry pie I ever had. Do you feel up to a little walk? I've got something to show you. Ma'am, I'm going to have to walk off that last piece of pie. I hope you don't mind if Billy goes with me."

  "My name's Sare, Lane. And after what you boys did around here today, I wish you coulda' held three pieces of pie. Go on, Billy. I'll wash up."

  "No, Sare, you won't. Dutch and I already drew straws on that chore. I wash. He dries. You get to sit on the porch and watch the evening settle in."

  "Clete, you don
't have to do that. You done enough already."

  "You did the work of cooking for three extra and spent time on those pies. We'll take care of the extra cleanup. Now, outside. Go on. Don't you feel guilty. We don't have to do dishes often. It's a novelty."

  They joined her on the porch within minutes. They were watching the sunset when Lane and Billy walked into the yard. He looked very serious, but Clete could feel his mother saw the excitement beneath.

  "Ma, I'm goin' into town with them in the mornin'. I've got somethin' to do. I'm goin' in and see if I can sleep. Night."

  "Now, what was that all about?"

  "It's his story, Sare. He's decided how he wants to tell it. He really does have things to do in town. We'll be back tomorrow evening."

  "Lane, I don' know what you're up to, but you're all in on it. All right. He can go. Just make sure he's home before dark. I hate waitin' supper."

  She smiled at them. They were real nice men. And Clete...

  "Well, we've made ourselves a spot in the barn. Might as well get a good night's sleep. See you in the morning."

  "We're right behind you, Clete. Come on, Dutch, turn-in time. Billy's going to want to make an early start. Goodnight, Sare. I really enjoyed dinner."

  "They're rushing me off again. You have a pleasant night. You sleep in. We'll buy Billy breakfast in town. That way you'll both get a treat. Goodnight."

  "Goodnight, Dutch. You boys sleep well."

  Dutch strolled into the barn and grinned at Clete.

  "Warm evening."

  "Give him a break, Dutch. Even I could feel how lonely she is."

  "Me too, Lane. How do you know her husband's coming home?"

  "We pick up a telegram from him tomorrow. He was robbed and he spent the last year out on the range, working to earn a very good small herd, and enough to get them home, from a rancher. He didn't have money for a telegram before. Clete would have answered her need and she'd have hated herself. Her husband won't be home until spring, but she won't be so lonely once she knows he's coming. Now, she and Billy will have enough to see them through. All we have to do is get him to town and back. After tomorrow, he'll be safe."