The Nameless One jr hopped on the street car with about fifty green fuzzy men. The car started along the Martian Canal.
"Where to, kid?" the driver telepathed.
"Uh, the place where... where my father is..."
"And where might that be?"
"Don't you know?"
"Maybe. Does he have a name?"
"No."
"Right, kid. What's your name?"
"I don't have one... cos, I'm the Nameless One jr."
"I see. Dad would be the Nameless One then?"
"Right."
"Well, I don't happen to know where he might be, or even who he might be."
"He once told me that no matter where you are... You're always here."
"On Mars?"
"No... Where you are?"
"On Mars."
"No. It's hard to explain."
"It's not easy to listen to, either."
"Yeah... well, will you help me find my Dad?"
"Look, kid, I got a job to do. I can take you to the station."
"Okay."
"Fine. The fare's a fuzzy bottle cap."
The Nameless One jr reached into his pocket. "What colour fuzz?"
"I like red, myself."
"Here."
"Thanks." The driver ate the bottle cap and left for the station.
Nameless One jr. moved to the back of the street car. He sat down between two rather large Martians. One looked at him with 12 of his 74 eyes and felt the need to stare. The other had a huge hole in the top of his head and no mouth below the nose. He didn't seem well liked since other riders threw scrap paper and garbage into this hole. He never moved though.
"Excuse me... have any of you... seen my father?"
The Martians wiggled their fingers. A mini TV popped out of the ceiling and said, "I can help you, but I need to be cleaned first."
"Oh.... how much ya pay me?"
"I won't flood your body with cancerous rays."
"Oh. Okay." The Nameless One jr began cleaning the TV.
"The Nameless One is currently under the surface of the planet, investigating some strange machinery. It is impossible to reach him because some Syrius mercenaries are holding the elevators hostage."
"But, why?"
"They want all vertical tunnels to be freed of obstructions."
"But why?"
"Because they are stupid."
"But Why?"
"Genetic deficiencies and a bureaucratic education system. Thank you for the cleaning. This unit is now going off line." The TV disappeared into the ceiling.
Nameless One jr. got off the transport at the station in Kornoch on the west side. There he purchased an environment suit, and started toward the tunnels that would take him below the surface.
Nameless One jr. climbed over the rocks and dunes. One of the shafts came into sight and he picked up his pace. He approached a group of mercenaries of which he knew nothing. This should surprise no one, since the Nameless One jr didn't actually know much of anything.
They came from one of the northern regions that was designated for the original settlers of the area, and really only knew how to fight. They were not very educated, and most of them suffered from nervous distention. This didn't start until a blender was accidentally left within their camp. Many of them spent endless hours trying to teach it how to flatulate with the confidence of an Ooorg and blame it on somebody else in the room. They were truly barbarians.
The Nameless One jr. walked up and said, "Do you know where my father is?"
The mercenaries looked at each other, shrugged, and pulled out their clubs. The Nameless One jr. shrugged and picked up the ground, rolled it up over them, and turned it into a beach ball and bounced them down the tunnel.
After a while, the Nameless One jr. got tired of dribbling them, and he left the ball on a boulder. The boulder got hungry and ate the ball, but got indigestion and exploded in twenty years. The boy didn't know about this, and he kept looking for his father.
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