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'She's a She'll take theure like that and a mind like' He hesitated 'Is she? I mean, are you two

'No,' said Teppic

'She's very attractive'

'Yes,' said Teppic

'A sort of cross between a telasses and went up on deck, where a few lights froainst the brilliance of the stars The water was flat cal to spin slowly The desert, the sun, two gloss coats of Ephebian retsina on his stoether to beat up his synapses

'Iall right for yourself'

'It's okay,' said Chidder 'Co up markets, you know The cut and thrust of coht to come in with us, boy It's where the future lies, s, but with enterprising people who can afford to hire them No offence intended, you understand'

'We're all that's left,' said Teppic to his wine glass 'Out of the whole kingdom Me, her, and a cadom, lost'

'Good job it wasn't a new one,' said Chidder 'At least people got some wear out of it'

'You don't knohat it's like,' said Teppic 'It's like a whole great pyramid But upside down, you understand? All that history, all those ancestors, all the people, all funnelling down to ht at the bottom'

He slumped on to a coil of rope as Chidder passed the bottle back and said, 'It makes you think, doesn't it? There's all these lost cities and kingdoone Just out there soeometry, what do you say?'

Teppic snored

After some moments Chidder swayed forward, dropped the empty bottle over the side, it went plunk - and for a few seconds a streaered off to bed

Teppic dreah place, but unsteadily, because he was balancing on the shoulders of his father and randparents, and below theht, a vast pyramid of humanity whose base was lost in clouds

He could hear theup to hi, we shall never have been

'This is just a dream,' he said, and stepped out of it into a palace where a s on a stone bench, eating figs

'Of course it's a dream,' he said 'The world is the dream of the Creator It's all dreams, different kinds of dreas Like: don't eat lobster last thing at night Stuff like that Have you had the one about the seven cows?'

'Yes,' said Teppic, looking around He'd drea a troar in my day Well-known ancestral dream, that dream'

'What does it mean?'

The little man picked a seed froive ht arm to find out I don't think we've do you, too?'

'Daht hundred words, do you think I'd really be talking like this? If you're expecting a bit of helpful ancestral advice, forget it This is a drea you don't know yourself'

'You're the founder?'

'That's ht you'd be different,' said Teppic

'How d'you mean?'

'Wellon the statue

Khuft waved a hand impatiently

'That's just public relations,' he said 'I ave him a critical appraisal 'Not in that loincloth,' he adot years of wear left in it,' said Khuft

'Still, I expect it's all you could grab when you were fleeing fro nature

Khuft took another fig and give hiain?'

'You were being persecuted,' said Teppic 'That's why you fled into the desert'

'Oh, yes You're right Da persecuted for my beliefs'

'That's terrible,' said Teppic

Khuft spat 'Daht I believed people wouldn't notice I'd sold them camels with plaster teeth until I ell out of town'

It took a little while for this to sink in, but it ed it with all the aplomb of a concrete block in a quicksand

'You're a criminal?' said Teppic

'Well, criminal's a dirty word, knohat I mean?' said the little ancestor 'I'd prefer entrepreneur I was ahead ofaway?' said Teppic weakly