Inferno: A Chronicle of a Distant World (The Galactic Comedy) by Mike Resnick Page B

slandered."
    "President Labu?" said Cartright.
    "President-For-Life Labu," the jason corrected him. "In honor of his new position, which was conferred upon him last night, he has ordered that one in every five political prisoners be granted their freedom. Your names were drawn." The jason glared at them. "Now get out of here. I do not wish to be in the company of either of you."
    Cartright felt an urge to race out the door before the jason could change his mind, and found that the only reason he walked slowly toward his freedom was that his incarceration had left him too weak to move any faster. He and Oglipsi made their way to the street, where they turned and faced each other.
    "Will you be remaining on Faligor?" asked Oglipsi.
    "It is my home," answered Cartright. "And I won't let Gama Labu or anyone else drive me away." He paused. "And you—what are your plans?"
    "I have my church and my flock," said Oglipsi. "I must return to them."
    "Be careful what you say," said Cartright. "I can't imagine that he's not having us watched."
    "I will do what I must do," said Oglipsi. He extended his golden hand. "God go with you, Arthur."
    "And with you," said Cartright.
    Oglipsi turned and started walking away, and Cartright found that he had to lean against the side of a building to steady himself. Well, he thought wryly, I'd been wanting to lose thirty pounds for some time now. I suppose instead of being bitter I should thank them.
    A wave of dizziness overcame him, and he waited until it passed, then walked away from the jail as rapidly as he could. He turned into a side street and approached a restaurant, then saw the proprietor lock the front door when he got within a few feet of it.
    I can't say that I blame you, thought Cartright. I've been three weeks without a shave or a bath or a change of clothes; I must look like Death warmed over. Belatedly it occurred to him that even had the restaurant allowed him inside, he had no money to pay for his food; he had been so anxious to leave the jail he hadn't asked for the return of his personal effects, nor had he any intention of going back to ask for them. Besides, the odds were that some jason had appropriated them within five minutes of his incarceration.
    He didn't even possess a coin for a newspaper, but he pulled a used one out of a garbage can and quickly skimmed it. The lead story, of course, was Labu's appointment—self-appointment, really—as President-For-Life. In honor of the event, the government had renamed the Jonathan Ramsey National Park as the Gama Labu National Park. The Bortai River was now the Labu River, and the Bularoki Reserve, one of the prime attractions for tourists, was now the Batisha Reserve, named in honor of Labu's youngest wife.
    He wondered if he possessed the strength to undertake the three-mile walk to his home, which was just beyond the city limits, when a vehicle pulled up and Dorothy Watts, a neighbor, offered him a ride.
    "Thank you," he said, getting into the vehicle.
    "We thought we'd lost you," she said he closed the door. "People have this habit of simply vanishing these days."
    "He won't kill any Men," said Cartright. "He may be crazy, but he's not stupid."
    "Well, truth to tell, there aren't that many of us left," said Watts. "I think half of us have left the planet in the past two weeks."
    "I'm glad to see you stayed."
    "Oh, I'm leaving, too. I have tickets on the flight to Pollux IV three days from now." She paused. "I assume you'll be leaving soon yourself?"
    Cartright shook his head. "Somebody's got to stay and put things right."
    "Arthur, it was a noble experiment, and maybe if Bobby had won the election, things would have turned out all right. But you can't deal with Labu and you can't reason with him. It's just a matter of time before he forces all the moles and Men to leave. At least if I go now, I can get some mole to buy my farm. If I wait until I'm kicked off the planet, Labu will wind up owning it, and I'll destroy the stock