Benefactor Goodman

It takes about twenty minutes to get to Demeter: The streets are full of people and vehicles. The Conquistador overtakes a herd of goats, a LAW patrol and a tanker truck while Mal steers the vehicle along at walking speed. When they reach the quarter, most of the peons are already on the fields, and although the streets are far from deserted, the group sees only some playing children, old folks and a few housewives. They park the Conquistador in a shady side street and visit the Great River church. The resident brother can’t – or won’t – tell them, where to find this new healer, Rod and Dan also feel that the Christians in Demeter seem to follow a strange and different creed, with the cross wreathed in corn sheaves and the walls painted with the blue waves of the river. They seem to worship a kind of fertility god here, a god of the fields, and not Christ the redeemer, even if the young priest seems to be friendly enough. But the priest is not the only one who knows what is going on in Demeter. Zed has a contact named Great Samson, a vegetable vendor on the nearby farmers’ market. Here, many of the stands are still closed, but Great Samson is open for business. He seems to know Zed quite well, and he also seems to be quite nervous that Zed visits him. After some questioning, Samson tells the group of a house quite nearby, where a healer has been plying his trade for about a month now. He has attracted customers from all over the city, as will take only a pittance for payment and is said to be very good. And even now, you don’t have to wait for hours to see him, unlike in the hospital in the Union Quarter. Samson pleads with Zed to keep this information from the judges – the stranger has done a lot of good in the quarter, and nobody wants to see him exiled. Zed promises to do so. A short huddle is called: One month in Memphis – this could be Uziel, so extreme caution is necessary. The men move up to the house depicted by Samson. There, they meet a crowd of people, most of them probably from Demeter, but some soot covered men seem to be from the Gears, and Zed also recognizes two LAW soldiers, who have left their Kevlar and weapons at home. Many seem to be suffering from minor illnesses and injuries, others probably have come along for support or out of curiosity. Now and then, the visitors enter the cellar of the building, singly or in pairs, and return after some time. Rod and Zed get into the queue and Zed strikes up a conversation with one of the soldiers: The man is here to get treatment for something he does not want to become part of his record in LAW’s hospital in Uptown. The doctor seems to be quite good, astoundingly cheap and very discrete. Meanwhile, Mal and Dan have taken positions: If this is the false benefactor and he tries to get away, one of them will have a shot at taking him down. They see Rod and Zed step down into the darkness.

At the foot of the stairs, the pair sees a rather well-lit basement. Someone has collected enough furniture for a small living area and a sick-bay. Across from the entrance, someone has put up a small wooden crucifix. A small, orderly stack of books rests beside a mattress. The air smells faintly of disinfectant and incense. In the middle of the room is an examination table, covered with clean white cloth. An old man with clear gray eyes, wearing the robes of a benefactor, stands behind it, extending his hands in welcome and asking “So, who of you is the sick one?” Rod recognizes the face: This is benefactor Goodman, a widely traveled and very experienced member of the order. Rod, who was left his benefactor’s robes in the car, introduces himself as a fellow healer. Goodman asks him a few pointed questions before he is satisfied, but then, the two benefactors settle down to talk. Goodman is sickened when he learns of the tragedy that has struck the Institute and of the existence of false benefactors. He is bent on traveling back to Levamen as soon as possible, as the benefactors will need his experience in this time of crisis – he confesses that LAW would probably have thrown him out of the city in two weeks at le latest, anyway – too many patients, too many people talking. He gives Zed a look. He will wrap up his business as fast as possible and catch a railer clan going east in two days time. He also tells the group that there was a second benefactor in Levamen, about a month ago. A patient told Goodman of this healer, but when he went to have a look, the man was gone. While it is not unusual for benefactors to depart without notice, with view on current events this encounter takes on a sinister tone. Rod promises to visit Goodman before he leaves Memphis for good. Then, the group reunites and looks for the patient of the other benefactor – again, on the farmers’ market. They find the woman quickly enough, and although recalcitrant and distrustful, they learn of the place where this other benefactor stayed, if only for a few days.

By now, the group has asked many questions of many people, and someone seems to have taken a dislike to that. As the group leaves the market, they are followed by a handful of youths – teenagers, leisurely playing around with stones and farming tools. A trio of these young toughs approaches the group directly while others hang back, to see how things develop. One of the boys walks up to Zed and accosts him directly “You there, stranger. We don’t like you running around here and nosing around and asking folks questions. Why don’t you get back in your quarter where you belong, before you get hurt?” While the rest of the group gets ready for conflict, Zed just says “Three seconds, then you’re gone.” He doesn’t give the boy quite three seconds. The tough is like a puppet in his hands - a puppet shouting with surprise. With blinding speed, Zed grips one arm, gets the elbow into a painful lock, and handcuffs the tough. It is one fluid motion, like someone tying his boots. Before the tough knows what happened to him, Zed grinds his face in the dust, while even trying to wriggle out of Zed’s grip sends stabs of pain through the locked elbow. By now, Dan has readied his rifle and covers the other boys, who just stand there in abject fear. The teens hanging in the background have long since vanished. Zed starts a very quick question-and-answer session: Yes, Great Samson sent the boys to scare off the strangers. Demeter seems to be determined to keep benefactor Goodman here, even if LAW disapproves. Zed unlocks the handcuffs and sends the boys scurrying away.

At the address, they find a reedy old man who rented a room to the benefactor. The  renter has left these lodgings three weeks since, and he didn’t even tell the landlord of the hole he dug into one wall, as if to create an extra exit. And the old man has a further tale to tell: The renter, this benefactor, is still in the city. He saw him, not three days ago, on the road the divides the Remnants from Drifting Susan. He had shaved his hair, and was dirty like any worker from the Gears, but the old man is quite sure that it was him.