Samir didn't tell Rani the whole truth about his trip. In addition to registering his mint, he wanted to talk to the municipal clerk he'd been dealing with during his earlier inquiries. He was sure he had more than enough money to pay all the outstanding taxes on the abandoned house.
He intended to give whatever was left over after paying the taxes to the clerk, along with the two choice mangoes he was carrying in his pockets. This, and the promise of more food to come should ensure the clerk's cooperation.
Once Samir's tax payment was entered into the municipal books, he would have an official claim on the house, and could become its owner in two easy steps. The clerk had to officially list the property as abandoned, put it up for sale, and then register Samir as the new owner following his payment of all outstanding taxes. It was basically a matter of writing up three documents, and filing them where appropriate.
Samir's neighborhood had been incorporated into Mumbai just a few years earlier: the local municipal office was housed in a former school. Most of the classrooms had been converted into waiting rooms. When Samir arrived, soaked despite having an umbrella and a supposedly rainproof jacket, he was greatly surprised to find all of them empty.
The mystery was quickly resolved: soldiers were distributing free rice to people at a square nearby. Samir's contact was surprised Samir didn't rush to get some the moment he heard the news.
"I don't have to worry about food," Samir told the clerk. "And if you help me out with something, neither will you."
Things went very smoothly and very quickly from there. The collapse of the electronic banking system meant that the clerk and all of his fellow workers hadn't received any pay at all for two months. Bribes were very, very welcome, and the chances of getting caught - nonexistent. All the computers were dead: no one had access to any electronic data, if any still survived. The whole system had broken down, and inserting a couple of back-dated documents into the paper files was a piece of cake.
An hour later, Samir was officially the owner of the house and over an acre of land. The clerk kept all the papers, though. It was his guarantee that Samir would bring him thirty kilos of food every month, including no less than fifteen kilos of fish. The arrangement was to run for six months.
Feeling very pleased with himself, Samir went to register his mint. This time, he was able to do it without any trouble. It really seemed he was on a lucky streak. Eager to capitalize on it as much as possible, Samir paid a visit to the Colonial Office, which was located in a different part of the same building.
His lucky streak continued: there finally was some information available. He was pointed to a table stacked high with mimeographed sheets of paper. He took one, and found it listed the rules and regulations that applied to starting a colony in a New World. It contained two unpleasant surprises.
The first surprise was that he and Rani would lose the right to a guaranteed income if they acquired licenses to colonize the New World. However, Samir didn't think it would matter much. A colonizator's license included a license to trade New World goods, and Rani was already bringing in thousands of rupees every day from the market.
The second surprise was that he could pay for the licenses with the old money, the money that was to be replaced with the new coin currency in just a few days' time. However, the price was steep: a full lakh, or one hundred thousand rupees per license. Samir had heard earlier the price would be set at ten thousand rupees, but a female clerk explained that was for a colonist's license, which provided the buyer with one implant kit and did not include a permit to trade New World goods.
"They are meant for colonizers who need more implant kits," she told Samir. "You get just two kits with a colonizator's license. So it's very likely everyone will want more."
"Two? Last time I asked, they said there would be ten! Ten implant kits with each colonizator's license."
"No, no. You can purchase up to ten, but only get two to start with. If you want ten implant kits, you have to buy an extra eight colonist licenses."
"For ten thousand rupees each?"
"Yes. They're very cheap."
Samir laughed a hollow laugh, thanked her, and took an extra information sheet for Rani. Then he walked back home, biting his lip and frowning although it had stopped raining, and the sun began to peek through the clouds.
He needed a lot of money fast. It was something he hadn't foreseen. He had spent everything he had on the house and the bribe for the clerk. Two colonizator licenses, plus sixteen colonist licenses - it came to 360,000 rupees! They would have to sell a lot of food to raise that.
On top of that, there were the monthly thirty kilos he had to deliver to the clerk. And the sad truth was, there was no way this was possible. Not with a colony consisting of four adults, a teenager, and two needy infants.
"We need to start recruiting people right away," he told Rani, after he'd gotten home and described what he'd learned. She was ecstatic when he told her about the house, and one thing sort of led to another, so it was late in the afternoon by the time they got off the bed and began talking about their colonial plans.
"More people will mean more mouths to feed," she said. "And where will they stay?"
Samir shrugged.
"Here," he said. "The house is ours now, all of it. Once I build a staircase to the second floor, we can easily accomodate up to twenty people. Rani, if we assign just four of these people to full time fishing, we'll have so many fish you'll need a cart to get to the market. That's another thing I have to arrange, a cart. And collect our bicycles from that thief, too. There is so much to do! We need more people, plenty of new people."
"We don't have many implant kits left," said Rani.
"We still have close to thirty. And we'll get more when we buy the licenses. You said you saw plenty of other children of Amrita's age at the market. Take in as many as you can. They have to be past puberty, or at least very close to it. They have to be capable of physical labor, but nothing very strenous: fishing, foraging for food, looking after the rice paddy and the goats. You know."
Rani nodded.
"I shouldn't have any difficulty finding a few," she said. "But aren't you afraid the authorities will find out about our colony? It won't be legal until you get the licenses."
Samir laughed.
"You should have seen the people in that office," he told her. "They'd sell their own children for a cup of rice. If we get in trouble..." He broke off, and rubbed the fingers of his right hand in the universal gesture indicating the payment of a bribe. Grinning, he said:
"I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"
"Fish curry."
Samir grimaced. He said:
"I wish we had a little more variety. Don't look at me like that, you're the best cook in the world, but it's getting monotonous - fish this, fish that. Maybe we should slaughter a goat in Kulaba, and send in some meat? What do you think?"
"I think it's a stupid idea," said Rani, putting the pot with the rice onto the stove. "We need to grow that herd as fast as we can."
"There are a couple that don't give any milk."
"That might change."
"You really think so? They aren't too old?"
"No."
"Should we wake Amrita to eat with us?"
"No, it's better to wait until we're ready to go. She can stay awake then, and watch over things."
They continued to talk while they ate: there were very many things waiting to get done in both of their worlds. Samir became increasingly aware even twenty people wouldn't be enough to do what needed to get done. Their colony needed thirty, forty, fifty people! The moment he finished eating, he stood up and said:
"I'll go and see Sunil now, and take him at least a few pieces of firewood. Maybe he knows someone who could help us with building a staircase."
"Come back soon," said Rani. "There is a lot to do in Kulaba. And I need to talk to you about something too. Before we lie down."
Samir thought she had a funny look on her face when she said that, and he instantly became apprehensive.
"Is it something bad?" he asked.
"No. It's neither good or bad. It's just something I've noticed about myself. Something new."
"All right," said Samir, frowning. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
He left the house and began walking across the field to Sunil's house. The weather had definitely changed for the better, and the sunset was spectacular. The muddy field with its struggling seedlings, the dilapidated, ramshackle houses on its perimeter all seemed beautiful in the golden light.
Samir felt slightly guilty: he hadn't told Rani that he was also going to ask Sunil to join their colony in the New World. Sunil was quite good with his hands - he'd showed Samir a few things he had done around the house, and Samir had been impressed. Sunil's wife was an accomplished seamstress, and they would need lots of clothes for the new colonists. Best of all, Sunil had two teenage sons, and a daughter that was approaching puberty.
Very importantly, Sunil lived very close by. He and his family could continue living in their house while colonizing the New World. It was a win-win situation.
It was very unfortunate that Rani hadn't taken to Sunil.
"There is something oily about this man," she'd said after meeting him for the first time. It was true: there was a certain insincere slickness in Sunil's manner, Samir had noticed it too. But he didn't think it important.
"Some people simply don't have the social skills you have, Rani," he'd said, and she'd smiled and never broached the subject again.
But now, as he approached Sunil's house, he remembered her words and worried. He worried that Sunil would try to pull some sort of number - denounce Samir to the authorities? Demand payment for his colonial duties? Deceive Samir in any number of ways? And what would happen if Sunil managed to buy a colonizer's license too, and started bringing in his own people? That could end with his taking over the colony.
The kids were a much safer option. They were practically guaranteed to be obedient. And they could be trained to remain obedient even once they grew up.
He needed 360,000 rupees, fast! He had no choice. He had to try and recruit Sunil. And Rani had to find at least a couple of well-grown boys at the market. Whatever Sunil's future plans might be, he wasn't the type of man to attempt any funny business when the numbers were against him. Samir reminded himself that he was on a lucky streak. Everything would work out.
He kept repeating that to himself all the way to Sunil's house.
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