Free The Quest of the DNA Cowboys by Mick Farren Page B

hat looked at them inquiringly.
    ‘Thought you were going to Hollow City?’
    Billy scowled.
    ‘We were, but we found we only had enough money to make it as far as Galilee.’
    The man shook his head.
    ‘That’s too bad, boys. Rather you than me.’
    Reave looked at him.
    ‘What’s wrong with Galilee?’
    ‘They don’t like strangers.’
    Billy was about to ask him to go into more detail when the coach gave a lurch and then slowly began to rattle down the main street of Dogbreath. Once out of the town, the driver whipped up the lizards and soon they were bouncing over the plain at a merry pace. Reave grinned at Billy.
    ‘Sure beats walking.’
    Billy sighed.
    ‘I guess it does.’
    The man took off his hat, and laid it on the seat beside him. He fished a flask out of his coat, took a hit from it and offered it to Billy. Billy accepted the flask and took a healthy swig. It felt as though his mouth and throat were on fire. His eyes watered, and he coughed.
    ‘What in hell is this?’
    The man winked.
    ‘You know what they say. Don’t ask no questions.’
    Billy passed the flask to Reave, who, despite a little more caution, went through the same performance. He handed the flask back to the man, who took another swallow, put the cap back on the flask and pocketed it.
    ‘If we’re going to be travelling together, I’d best introduce myself. People call me the Rainman.’
    He stuck out a hand. Billy and Reave both shook it.
    ‘I’m Billy, and he’s Reave.’
    ‘Pleased to know you.’
    The stage rattled on, and Billy wondered if he ought to ask the Rainman what exactly was wrong with Galilee. Before he could say anything, Reave started a conversation with him.
    ‘If you don’t mind me asking, why do people call you the Rainman?’
    The Rainman laughed.
    ‘Because I bring on the rain.’
    ‘Huh?’
    ‘These stasis towns, you know, they get bored and they hire me on. Ain’t you never heard my slogan?’
    Reave shook his head.
    ‘Can’t say I have.’
    The Rainman recited.
    ‘Change your weather, change your luck. Teach you how to … find yourself.’
    ‘Neat slogan.’
    ‘I think so.’
    ‘What I can’t figure Is why these people want the weather changed. Nobody grows nothing since Stuff Central set up in business,’
    The Rainman grinned knowingly.
    ‘They don’t. Not until I get to town.’
    ‘So what happens?’
    ‘Well, I just ramble into town, hang around for a couple of days, tell a few people about how the weather used to be in the ancient days. I tell them about rain, clouds, sunshine, showers, thunder and hurricanes, and pretty soon they get to thinking about how dull it gets with the old white sky and even temperature, and that’s the time I make them an offer.’
    ‘An offer for what?’
    ‘An offer to lay on some weather.’
    Reave looked impressed.
    ‘You can really do that?’
    ‘Sure can.’
    He glanced up at his bag on the rack.
    ‘Got me this little old limited-field disrupter, trapped it myself out in the nothings a few years back, and I ain’t been short of a meal or a drink or a woman since.’
    ‘So what exactly do you do?’
    ‘It’s simple, son. I just set up that disrupter in the middle of those bored old stasis towns and give him a couple of kicks to get him going, and bingo. They got weather. Rain, snow, heatwave, lightning, fog, as much weather as they could want. Of course, it ain’t exactly like it was in the old days. They don’t have the same weather for more than ten minutes at a time, and now and then things get a bit out of hand, and they maybe get a hurricane or an earthquake or something like that that they didn’t exactly bargain for. When that happens, I find myself leaving town in a hurry, but it works out okay in the end.’
    Reave scratched his head.
    ‘What happens when these people get all this weather? We never had anything like that in Pleasant Gap.’
    The Rainman laughed again.
    ‘Son, you should see them go. They just about go crazy.