Robber Baron

by Wil C. Fry

  To throw them off track, we headed up the street toward the center of town, the opposite direction from our homes. Later, we doubled back behind the building, me carrying two bags in each hand, and Destiny carrying the last two.

  After winding our way through back streets, and sprinting across empty thoroughfares, we finally made it to the open fields of the farmland. Only two cars came near as we made our way to my house and both times, we dove into the nearest ditch, hiding until the cars had passed.

  It was four in the morning when we finally plopped down on my sofa. That's when I started shaking. Suddenly I was wrapped up in the womanly warmness that Destiny was developing quickly, and she was kissing me all over. We held each other for a long time.

  *

  I woke up with the morning sun hitting me in the face. The first thing I realized was that I had slept on the couch. Then I realized that The Only Girl For Me was laying with me, our arms around each other. It was after that when I saw the six bulging bags of money piled across my living room floor. So that's why my shoulders and arms are so sore, I thought. I must have moved, because She woke up then. Then her lips were on mine, and my pants were coming off. I wasn't ready for her blooming libido in those years, but it sure didn't bother me a whole lot.

  After I cooked her breakfast, she said she had to get home, since she'd told her dad she'd be home first thing in the morning. "But don't count it without me, Phil. Please?"

  "I'll wait." We kissed, and she skipped out the door, heading home.

  *

  It was Monday afternoon before we had a chance to count it, since we both had a lot of chores and homework to do on Saturday, and on Sunday she had to go to church. I went to church with her, and sat on the other side of her dad. I didn't move for a full hour and a half, except when we were asked to stand up or sit down. The preacher hollered a lot about how mankind was perverting the plan of god, and how every man, woman, and child would be destroyed in a nuclear fire unless we "repented" and paid a lot of money to the church, and were nice to every one.

  I didn't know what "repent" meant, but I figured I was nice to most everybody, even Schiller and Sanders. A lot of people get shot during bank robberies, so I guessed that I had let them off pretty easy. And I figured I could afford to give some money to the Church, now that I had so much, and if it would keep me from such a horrible end.

  *

  "What? I can't believe you, Phil. You mean you actually believe all that garbage?" Destiny's gorgeous eyes widened in disbelief.

  "Well, don't you?" I was unsure of myself, then. Sitting on my couch again, with a wad of money in my hand, I had been trying to impress her with my newfound knowledge of "god."

  "Of course not." She laid a stack of ccl00 notes down beside her. "Well, I mean, I don't believe that God would send us all to Hell, or anything. But I believe in God. I mean, someone had to build all of these planets..." She waved her arm around, as if indicating the whole universe. "I know that in school they keep saying that it all just happened. But how could all these beautiful things just come into being? And how could we humans be self-aware, and intelligent, and able to appreciate all the beauty? And the Trayaks, the Grangers, the Strangers, the Kelvods, and any other intelligent races that may be out there; did they just happen?"

  I shrugged. "I guess not. But if God made all of everything, then why couldn't He choose to send us anywhere He wants, if we don't do just like He says?"

  She laughed knowledgeably, then answered. "Philipp, I can't imagine a being that's powerful enough to make all of these planets. But logic tells me He's real. And if He is that powerful, but still made everything beautiful, and made all the races able to communicate and get along, and if he created sex-" she winked at me and giggled "-then why would He also be so mean as to want to destroy us after it's all over?"

  "I think maybe there's some people who deserve to burn in Hell," I said, not meeting her eyes. "Like maybe men who get drunk and beat their wives and their children, or murderers, or rapists..."

  She got serious then. "You know, Phil, my church teaches that sex outside of marriage can send you to hell too. And drinking. And robbing banks. And hitting people on the head with metal pipes. So do you think we're going to hell, too?"

  That's when I smiled. "Maybe you're right, girl. But I'll still need to look into it, just in case. How much money do we have here?"

  It took us a total of three hours to count the money; it would have been three times that long, but most of it had been bundled and marked, in stacks. We took a break, to eat supper, then continued counting. Our first take, in broad daylight, had netted cc2,000. This time, in the dead of night, we had come up with - I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! - over two million Colonial Credits!

  We celebrating by doing what she later told her father was "homework." Then she asked me if I had seen the paper.

  She pulled an article out of her purse:

  (excerpt from Tarkin News-Leader)

  SUSPECTS STILL AT LARGE AFTER

  TARKIN'S FIRST BANK ROBBERY

  Early Saturday morning, an

  unidentified couple forced

  their way into Tarkin's General

  Planetary Bank, binding a

  security guard, and tricking

  the manager, James Sanders

  into coming to the Bank in

  the middle of the night,

  according to Tarkin Police

  Chief Donovan.

  Using a metal pipe which they

  later left at the scene, and

  the guard's own gun, they held

  the two men captive, while

  taking an undisclosed amount

  from the vault, Donovan said.

  The two also reportedly left

  the gun at the scene after

  unloading it and wiping it

  clean.

  Sanders said they also made

  sure that every surface they

  had touched had been wiped

  clear of prints, before leaving.

  The male suspect is described

  as a white human, with dark

  hair, dark eyes, and tanned

  skin. He is between the ages

  of 18 and 22, about 5'8", and

  weighing around 160 pounds.

  His accomplice called him

  "Karl," said Sanders.

  The female, called "Sandy" by

  her partner, is a white human,

  with blond hair and blue eyes,

  also with tanned skin.

  She is around 20 years of age,

  about 5'5", and weighing

  approximately 115 to 125 pounds.

  Chief Donovan told reporters,

  "If anyone sees someone matching

  either of these descriptions,

  please report it to my office.

  I want these two behind bars,

  and deported off-planet.

  "Just because we are a colony

  world, doesn't mean that we're

  sitting ducks for anyone who

  wants to take advantage of

  us."

  Sanders, the security guard,

  and Tarkin police detectives

  believe the two suspects to be

  new arrivals to Persiphone,

  since the methods used were

  those of professionals, not of

  long-time colonists or first-

  time bank robbers.

  "The only mistakes they made,"

  said Donovan, "were these two:

  they used each other's names,

  and they left living witnesses.

  "That in itself shows that

  they've done this before, and

  now they're getting cocky..."

  I handed the slip of paper back to Destiny. She was smiling. "You see, Phil! They got our ages wrong, they got my eye color wrong, you're not near that much taller than me, and not quite that heavy. They actually believed that nonsense about our names. And they think we're
professionals from the old worlds. They'll never get us."

  She hugged me excitedly, and I returned it; then suddenly I had a dark thought. I pulled away. "Destiny," I said soberly, "you know we can't spend this much money on Persiphone; people would talk..."

  "I know," she replied, her face darkening along with mine. Then she brightened, "But all the colony worlds use Colonial credits! And at the ports on most of the Old Planets, they have banks that will cash in the credits for newdollars, at a slight loss of value. Besides, we're not going to be a colony world much longer, from the looks of it; and we'll start using newdollars here too, unless Persiphone starts printing her own money..."

  "So we just hang onto it until we're old enough to leave?"

  "I guess so, Phil, but it was fun, wasn't it?" Her face was close to mine.

  Three.

  That summer, I worked for the Desters again, but it was different, for several reasons. First, Destiny had graduated high school, one of a very small number to complete nine years in Persiphone's public schools. Out of that small number, she had the highest scores, and received a partial academic scholarship to Tarkin University, a small college that was still getting on its feet. She spent a large part of the summer studying to get a jump on her first semester.

  Second, Destiny's two oldest brothers had moved several miles further out from Tarkin, to prove their own farm. Mr. Dester himself spent a lot of time in town, attending the town meetings that led up to our first elections.

  So it was mainly Norman and I who worked the farm, with a lot of help from Norman's mom. On the seventh day of each week, I attended church with the Dester family, listening closely, and keeping mainly to myself. In the evenings, I fed my own animals, until I sold my animals and their grazing pasture with the barn.

  Somehow, I still had time to read books I borrowed from the Desters. I read parts of the New Testament - The Revised Colonial Edition, and a few other books the Desters had bought through their church.

  I learned a lot of things, but what it amounted to was this (according to the Desters' brand of religion): God was an all-powerful being who knew everything, and had existed forever, and had no end. He had created the entire Universe, and all the beings in it. First, He had made angels, but a lot of them had rebelled, electing to follow Lucifer instead, so God had made the other races: Humans, Trayaks, Grangers, Strangers, Kelvods, and others, that we haven't found yet. Most of these had also rebelled, electing to follow their own selfish desires, which was why Old Home Terra had been destroyed by fire, and those humans selected by God had been given another chance. God had used His servant Millal Ba to bring us out of that fire, and had used His servant Kthorpa of the Trayaks to bring peace between the "sheep of different folds."

  Now, God requires us to be decent to our fellowmen, and to spread the message of hope across the galaxy, while tithing to the church to help them pay their ministers.

  On one of the rare weekends when Harry was able to come over for dinner, I asked him what he thought about religion.

  "Philipp, my boy," he had answered, "the only religion I have is that which makes the galaxy an easier place to live in. I don't pray, I don't give money to churches, and I don't believe that if I sneak off and drink a beer I'm going to Hell. But I try to do right by people. When your unfortunate situation came along, I tried to take care of you, but you obviously didn't need it, except legally. And now, Persiphone is struggling to set up her own government, and I'm trying to help them out. When I leave this dirtball for the next colony world, I hope to leave it a decent place for people to raise kids. There's some people trying to get me to run for whatever head office we're going to have, and I may just do it, to help some more... That's my religion. Why do you ask?"

  I was clearing dishes off the table then, but I answered from the kitchen. "I've been going to church with the Dester family, and their preacher says that if I'm not giving ten percent of everything I make to the church, then God won't look highly on me. And they say that drinking is wrong, and smoking is wrong, and having sex is wrong, and a lot of other things are wrong. Like stealing." I was starting to feel just a little guilty for what Destiny and I had done, and I was looking for a way to justify it.

  He looked up as I came back in to wipe the table off. "Well, I would have to say stealing is wrong, because it's taking away from someone else's livelihood. Say, for instance, if I went next door, and stole all your neighbor's chickens, they'd be put back a couple of months, trying to save up to buy more."

  "What about those people that robbed that bank a while back?" I was in the kitchen then, but I could hear him go silent for a moment before he answered.

  "Well, Philipp, that's a little different, because no one actually lost any money, but it is against the law, and if they're caught they'll be punished accordingly."

  "What do mean, no one actually lost any money?" That was a new idea for me, but I was already starting to feel less guilty.

  "You see, all the banks are insured. Some go through their planetary governments, some go through normal insurance companies, and some - like those here on our planet - go through the Colonial Commission. They pay so much every month, so if someone robs them, or if they go bankrupt, the insurance company makes sure that the customers still get their money. But I'd still have to say it was wrong. If no one robbed banks, then the banks wouldn't have to pay such high insurance premiums, and maybe interest rates would go down on loans, and up for accounts."

  I came back in, and sat down with him. "So you're saying if not one bank was robbed in the next five years, then the insurance companies would lower the premiums? Or do away with them altogether?"

  "Not likely, Philipp. See, the banks don't have to pay the insurance; they want to. Because there's no other way to replace their customers' money in case they are robbed."

  "But what if no one robbed any - I mean any - banks for five or ten years?"

  "I don't see that happening either. What I really don't see is why people rob them at all. Usually, they're caught while trying to escape, or while they're spending more money than they should. I've always said the safest way to make money is to earn it. Then no one will dispute that it's yours."

  *

  That fall, Persiphone's adults voted to make the planet a Representative Democratic Republic, with a Governor for the head. A month later, Harry was voted in as the first Governor of Persiphone. He almost didn't accept the position, he told me, since he liked working for the Colonial Commission. But he thought about it for a long time, and realized that he was starting to age a bit, and would find it difficult to take up another colony world. Besides, he had made a lot of friends on Persiphone. I told him I thought he would make a great governor.

  Also that fall, Destiny entered Tarkin University, and Norman and I entered the 10th grade. Mr. Dester sold his farm, except for two acres where the house and garden sat. Leaving Mrs. Dester, Norman and Destiny there, he left the planet to head up the Dester Mining Corporation in the mineral-laden asteroid belt of our star system. I found out he had been an executive for a large mineral company before he had emigrated. Now he was determined to run things his own way.

  Tarkin suddenly doubled in size, as government offices sprang up all around the city, and new colonists continued to pour in. Two new cities (Helmston and Babcock) sprang up, Helmston being a lumber mill town 90 miles upstream from Tarkin, and Babcock being basically a trading post for colonial farmers too far from Tarkin. Both new cities grew quickly, since many of the new immigrants didn't want to live in a city as large as Tarkin. As always, I saw that they were defeating their purpose - those cities would soon be just as large. A tax and revenue office opened in the center of Tarkin, along with a licensing office. The licensing office handled all licenses, building, driving, liquor, etc. Our old landing field for passenger shuttles and cargo transports began to be transformed into a real spaceport, with plans already drawn for two passenger terminals, a customs office, a baggage sorting area, and several cargo docks.
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  When Mr. Dester sold his 98 acres of developed land, he used most of the money to start his mining company, but he also bought a used ground car for his family's use while he was - gone. It was a twenty-five year old lorry, seating four, with room in the back for hauling produce in to market. Soon after, Destiny passed her test for her driver's license. Then she got a job as an evening receptionist for one of the construction company's building terminals at the spaceport.

  It seemed to me all of this work was making our planet into the same kind of world that we had gone there to escape.

  Harry ("guv'nah") tried to explain it to me one day. "It's not like we could do anything else, Philipp. All of these people think they're coming out here to run away from the crowds, the taxes, their old problems, high prices, and all that. What they're really doing is making new crowds, paying taxes to a new government, creating their own new personal problems, and the big crowds will surely drive up prices. You see, humans bring their problems with them. My dad used to tell me 'Wherever you go, there you are.' It means that what you're running from is really inside you."

  "My dad used to say that too."

  "Your dad was a wise man. Speaking of all of this, what are your plans?" When I looked dumbfounded, he explained. "Well, Philipp, you're not the one who chose to come out here; your parents made that decision for you, but you're here now. And technically, you're not under my guardianship anymore, since the Colonial Commission has no more hold over this planet. Legally, you're back where you started, early last year. And I don't know that we've made a law to cover you yet. You can't be a voting citizen until you're eighteen, but I guess for now, we could call you a 'non-voting' citizen, or something. He looked at me.