60 Supreme Lord of California (2/2)

”Well, explain to them they'll thrive under a governor such as yourself.”

”But they'll be under the direct rule of their district governor, won't they?”

”You get to pick the district governor. You can pick one of your sons, for all I care. It's your baby.”

'I see,” Kirk had said happily. ”I'll call you back within an hour. Is that all right?”

”That's fine.”

Kirk didn't need the extra hour to make up his mind. He had already decided to accept Brock's offer. It was much more attractive than the previous one. And one extra factor made it impossible to turn down.

This factor was the fact that California in the New World was ten times bigger than on Earth. Differences of scale, Brock had said. Kirk understood quickly. The whole Lander clan had been making a concerted effort to include all of Napa County in their domain, and had noticed the difference in distances between familiar landmarks. They'd put it down to New World geography, but what Brock had revealed explained it all very neatly.

A California ten times the size of California! It would be the richest place in the whole New World. He, Kirk Lander, would make it so. Especially since he would also be quick to move on those new archipelagos in the Pacific. His sixth sense told him they held riches beyond wildest dreams, much more than the mythical city of gold, the El Dorado Spanish conquistadores had looked for, and never found. The mysterious new archipelagos had ten, fifty, a hundred gold cities! Kirk could feel it, and the argument that they were uninhabited, and thus couldn't contain even a single village of tin and pig iron, did very little to change that conviction.

The other reason Kirk was so quick to abdicate the throne was that he was disappointed with his kingdom. No one seemed to take it seriously! He'd heard the others use the titles he had bestowed upon them in voices dripping with sarcasm. And no one had addressed him as His Royal Highness, not even once! The best he got was a 'my king' or 'my lord', accompanied by an ironical smile.

The royal reality in the New World was even worse. His palace was a stone hovel, cold and dark. He wore rough leather clothes and didn't even have a crown! Supposedly there were other, more pressing priorities for the metal smiths. His royal duties had devolved to acting as a foreman for a gang of workers who seemed to delight in proving him wrong at every step. He had taken to spending as little time as possible in the New World. It just wasn't civilized enough for him.

Well, they all had a surprise coming. A big surprise! And so did Libby Placek. He had to give her an area governor's post; she was a senator, after all. But the area she would get would be located in the Mojave Desert. And if she didn't make it profitable, he would fire her lesbian ass.

Kirk Lander had been pacing around his study while he thought all those thoughts, but now he stopped in front of the full-length mirror beside the door and examined himself critically. He stroked a strand of hair into place and lifted his chin and examined his reflection. So he would be Governor instead of King. But he had been a King in name only. He hadn't been shown the respect that was his due. Well, once he became governor over that bunch of ingrates they would all crawl to kiss his feet and beg for favors.

General McAdam had made it plain he would have a hundred soldiers at his disposal from Day One. If anyone stepped out of line... He checked his watch and saw that the midday hiber bed switch was coming up. He was supposed to spend the next seven hours - nearly three New World days - in the colony. And the three New World days would feel like six, given all the discomfort he would suffer.

But he wouldn't. He was going to announce his abdication, simultaneously stripping them of the titles they had failed to respect properly. Then he would tell them about his new post, and watch their jaws hit the floor.

Kirk Lander smiled at himself in the mirror.

”They had it coming,” he said.

NOTICE

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