Then
he lifted off the small asteroid and headed toward Ceres. A few minutes
after liftoff, he fired the projectile. When it sent its message, Steve
Cliff would be far away and no one could trace the message back to his
ship. On top of that, the message was encrypted and designed to travel
on the microwaves similar to those in the background of space. It was
highly unlikely that this message would make anyone curious. After the
message had been sent, the projectile would break down into its
component parts and scatter them into the infinity of space.
The ships had stopped accelerating and the prisoners could talk easily.
"You don't seem too upset, George," suggested Mark.
"Naw," said George. "'Course I'm sorry to lose my stuff back there, and
I'm sorry for the men, but most of our stuff is somewhere else. This
was a temporary base and the mine wasn't producing too well anyway.
Hardly worth our time. Besides, I've learned to be content just about
wherever I am. I've been around the asteroids a lot and I've learned to
depend on a Resource outside myself whatever the circumstances. I know
what it is to be brought low, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I've been thoroughly initiated into the human lot with all its ups and
downs-fullness and hunger, plenty and want.
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