The Return of Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future by Mike Resnick Page B

gone. The Navy didn't believe them, so to punish them for withholding information they dropped an exceptionally dirty bomb in the atmosphere." He paused. "Nothing's going to live on New Tangier IV for about seven thousand years."
           Dante turned to Tyrannosaur. "Did you hear that? The time is ripe!"
           "The time is ripe to get our asses out of here, and to lose that fucking ship as soon as we can," said Virgil.
           "Shut up!" bellowed Dante, and Virgil, startled, fell silent. "It's time for him to come back."
           "The Democracy does things like that all the time."
           "Then it's time to stop them."
           "Maybe it is," agreed Bailey reluctantly. "But I'm not the one to do it."
           "You've got all the attributes."
           "You don't even know what his attributes were," said Bailey. "And neither do I. No one does."
           "Someone has to stand up to the Democracy!"
           "And have them do to Devonia what they did to New Tangier IV?" snapped Bailey irritably. "How do you stand up to a force like that?"
           " He found a way. You will, too."
           "Not me, Rhymer. I'm no revolutionary, and I'm no leader of men."
           "You could be."
           "I've done my time in the trenches. You'd better listen to the Injun and get the hell out of here, because if it comes to a choice between fighting the Navy or telling them where you've gone, I'll be the fastest talker you ever saw."
           Dante stared at him, as if seeing him for the first time. "You mean it, don't you?"
           "You bet your ass I mean it. You may have a death wish; I don't."
           Dante blinked his eyes rapidly for a moment, as if disoriented. Then he sat erect. "I'm sorry. I was mistaken. You're not the one."
           "I've been telling you that."
           "But I'll find him."
           "If he exists."
           "If the times call exceptional men forth, they're practically screaming his name. He exists, all right—or he will, once I find him and convince him of his destiny."
           "I wish you luck, Rhymer."
           "You do?" said Dante, surprised.
           "I live here. I know we need him." Bailey paused. "Are you going to keep my four verses?"
           "Yes."
           "Even that last one?"
           "Even the last one," replied Dante. "It's not your fault you're not Santiago."
           "Okay," said Bailey. "You played square with me. Maybe I can do you a favor."
           "We're even," said Dante. "You killed Bennett, I gave you four verses."
           Bailey shook his head. "A couple of hours from now the Navy is going to show up and ask me what I know about you, and I'm going to tell them. So I owe you another favor."
           "All right."
           "If you want to find a new Santiago, you'd better learn everything you can about the old one."
           "I know everything Orpheus knew."
           "Orpheus was a wandering poet who may never even have seen Santiago," said Bailey dismissively. "If you really want to know what there is to know about Santiago, there's a person you need to talk to."
           "What's his name and where can I find him?"
           "He's a she, and all I know is the name she's using these days—Waltzin' Matilda. She's used a lot of other names in the past."
           "Waltzin' Matilda," repeated Dante. "She sounds like a dancer."
           Bailey smiled. "She's a lot more than a dancer."
           "Where is she?"
           "Beats me. She moves around a lot."
           "That's all I have to go on—just a name?"
           "That's better than you had two minutes ago," said Bailey. Suddenly he looked amused. "Or did someone tell you that defeating the Democracy was going to be easy?"
           The giant's laughter was still ringing in Dante's ears as he and Virgil left the casino and hurried