Like most of the Minders, he didn't usually venture into the world by himself. His under-developed arms and legs were practically useless in an attack. His mind power, so formidable when combined with the strength of other Minders, would not provide adequate defense. Nevertheless, Daman had left the security of numbers behind to venture to the planetarium and see the first close-up photo-images of the New Terran home world.
In an attempt to calm his fears, Daman pictured himself in the Minder village a half-hour before and, with total, accurate recall, replayed a troubling conversation with his brother.
* "Why are you so curious about a lump of dirt over 22 million
light years from here?" his brother asked as an increasingly
agitated Daman floated from ceiling to floor. "Minders aren't
built to be farmers, fishermen or any other kind of outdoorsman
for that matter. Leave Terra Nova to the Monk-Men, the Spider-
Men and all the other cursed Methorine deviants. You're a
Minder. Accept it and spend your time and energy on more
intellectual concerns."
"There's something which fascinates me about great, unexplored
territory," Daman replied. "I'm a nature-lover, regardless of
whether nature has chosen me to physically tread down that path.
Come with me and let's see what the other clans are talking
about." Daman gestured with his hands as he spoke, a mannerism
which was quite uncharacteristic for his people. "I want to see
images of blue skies and clean water. I want to explore my
roots. I want to see a world much like the one our ancestors
lived in. Doesn't that interest you at all?"
"Not a bit," said his brother. "And your preoccupation with such
things, given our unique form and abilities, is almost perverse.
In fact, I think it's disgusting." *
A curious chirping sound from the physical present interrupted Daman's replay of the earlier scene and snapped him back to the deserted street. His senses moved to full alert. It sounded like Monk-Men. An instant later, Daman saw the aggressive deviants as they hung by their tails from the roof of an huge old tenement building.
"Look friends, it's a Minder." the largest Monk-Man said, in a voice that was intentionally loud enough for Daman to hear. "I wonder what he's doing, all by himself, in this neck of the woods."
Several smaller Monk-Men and one Monk-Woman all started to chatter loudly amongst themselves.
"What's he doing here?"
"What's he want?"
"He's asking for trouble."
"Let's get him, boys!"
Suddenly, the entire Monk-Man group dropped from the roof and quickly formed a circle around Daman.
"Monks, I didn't come here to fight. I'm just passing through. Let me go in peace."
"Well sure, friend. We don't have a problem with you. Just pay our toll and you may pass through our territory, unharmed."
Daman levitated several pieces of fruit from pockets in his Minder apron. "I came prepared for you, friends. See, I brought fruit. It's delicious, and it's all yours, if you let me pass. But bother me further and I'll mind-squeeze the fruit to dust and you'll get nothing."
"Fair enough," the head Monk-Man said. Daman floated a piece of fruit into each deviant's hands. True to their words, the Monk- Men shoved the fruit in their mouths and scampered off into the distance. Daman congratulated himself on his street-smarts and continued on his way.
"My brother would probably have panicked in that situation," Daman thought. "He wouldn't have had any fruit. No, brother would have spent the next hour, being tossed from Monk-Man to Monk-Man in a cruel game of 'Minder Toss.'"
These self-congratulatory thoughts proved premature. When Daman reached the next block, the same Monk-Men were watching him from the roof tops.
"Now, friend, it's time to pay your second toll," the leader called.
Again, they jumped from the roof and formed an impenetrable circle around Daman.
"Come on. This isn't fair. I gave you my fruit, now leave me alone."
"Who said life is fair, friend?" the head Monk-Man asked.
The Minder quickly counted his adversaries. There were seven of them in all. Daman knew he could mind-stun one or two, but, in doing so, he would leave himself open to attack from the other five.
The Monk-Woman grabbed Daman by the apron and casually tossed him to a second Monk, who tossed him over to the leader. This gentleman smacked Daman with his tail, throwing coarse fir into his face.
"We're going to have some fun with you, friend." Daman reached out with his mind and stunned the leader, who fell back on the ground with a loud thud. An instant later, however, the Monk-Man was on his feet again, laughing. He grabbed Daman's apron and lifted the tiny Minder over his shoulder. Suddenly, Daman was flying through the air, tossed like a ball to a Monk-Man who was standing several feet away.
A loud THUMP interrupted the friendly game of toss. The Monk-Man dropped Daman to the ground and began to speculate on the origin of the sound.
"Could be a machine."
"Nah, it's a Whaler."
"They don't have any Whalers in this neighborhood."
"Then what?"
"A Wolf?"
"Think so? Well, we have a pact with the Wolves. They won't interfere."
"Look, the Minder is getting away!"
Daman was half-way down the block, running away at top speed, but a long Monk-Man tail wrapped around his waist and drew him back into the pack. He stunned the owner of the tail but was immediately grabbed by a second tail.
"Put that Minder down," said a voice. A Leopard-Man, woman actually, appeared from around the street corner. Her graceful, enormously well-muscled legs propelled her forward, into the fray. She kicked one Monk-Man, sending him flying into the side of one of a building. Daman's captor released his grasp on the Minder, and Daman used the opportunity to stun one, two, three of the Monk-Men and knock them to the ground, unconscious.
The Leopard then cradled Daman's in her arms and sprinted quickly down the street. She needn't have hurried. The remaining conscious Monk-Men gathered their fallen comrades with their muscular tails and slapped them back to consciousness with hairy paws. The entire group then fled like mice, around the street corner and out of sight.
When they were alone, the Leopard-Woman released Daman, and he floated up to her eye level. From one perspective, she was a muscled-monster, fearsome to see and dangerous to fight. However, despite her fur and ferocity, she was as lovely a woman as Daman had ever seen. To his mind's eye, she looked like a 20th century full-human movie idol, all blonde-curled, blue-eyed glamour.
"The Leopards have no love for Wolves or Monk-Men," she said. "But we respect the Minders. Of course, you've shown little of the vaunted Minder intelligence, venturing into Wolf territory all by yourself. Why go there?"
"I--I was on my way to the exhibition. I want to see the images of the Terra Nova."
Her laugher filled the empty streets and made Daman blush a deep red. "You want to see Terra Nova? Why?"
"I--uh--I yearn for wild, unexplored territories," he said. Again, her lightly mocking laughter hit his ears. "I didn't choose to be born a Minder, you know."
"And I can see that you aren't the typical Minder, are you?" the Leopard-Woman asked.
"Well, no, I guess I'm---"
"Oh. Look at your arm!" she cried, interrupting his defense of his peculiar temperament.
Daman looked and saw red blood trickling down his arm and onto his tunic.
"You're injured."
"But I didn't feel anything," he protested. "No pain."
"The pain is dulled by excitement, my little Minder friend." She look his arm in her soft paw and licked the wound thoroughly with a soft, gentle tongue.
"You'll feel it, soon enough. Come, I must take you to our healers," she said. "And surprised they will be, to see one of your kind in such a state."
The Leopard passed an arm around his slim shoulder, and led Daman down a narrow side-side and into the heart of her home-territory.