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His father played with him several
times a day. He grew up with his
"Who, Father?"
father's loving hands caressing him,
cuffing him playfully; he grew up
"My son, my little Master, Han
with his father's smile. His father
Tzu."
praised him whenever he learned
something; it became Tzu's endeav-
"Where did China's glory go, so I
or every day to learn something so
can bring it back?"
he could tell Father.
It was all he could do to keep from You're not proud of me, thought
"Where are all the people and bici-
crying. But even though his eyes Tzu as his father hugged him. You
cyles?" asked Tzu.
burned and he felt a sob gathering didn't believe I'd pass the test on
behind his nose and in his throat, my own. You didn't think I was
"Behind the house is a back road,"
he kept his face calm. He would not best child. Even now, you're not
said Father. "Where poor people
let the people know that his father proud of me, you're proud of your- go
about their business. This is the
had given him the answers. But he self for getting all the answers.
main road. It connects to the high-
would also not pretend to be best
way. These cars could be going
child when he really wasn't. There was a special dinner that
anywhere. Xiangfan. Zhengzhou.
night. All the tutors ate with Father
Kaifeng. Even Wunan or Beijing
or Shanghai. Great cities, where through the gate and walked up the of
the buildings. Starting and stop-
powerful people live. Millions of street.
ping, buying and selling, calling
them. In the richest and greatest of out
and keeping still, laughing and
all nations." Then Father picked Tzu wasn't interested in this road.
serious-faced, talking on phones
Tzu up and held him on his hip so There were no people here, except and
gesturing, or listening to music
their faces were close. "But you are in cars, and they went by too fast and
dancing as they walked.
the best child in all those cities." for Tzu to hear them. There were
no children. So when they came to "Is
this China, Father?" asked Tzu.
"No I'm not," said Tzu. a side street, Tzu began to pull his
father that direction. "This way," he "A
very small part of it. There
"Of course you are," said Father. said. "Here's all the people!" are
hundreds of cities, and lots of
open
country, too. Farmland and
"You know that I'm not," said Tzu. "That's why it isn't safe," said
mountains, forest and beaches.
Father. But then he laughed and let
Seaports and manufacturing centers
"What makes you say that?" Tzu lead him on into the crowds. and
highways and deserts and rice
After a while it was so jammed
paddies and wheatfields and mil-
"If you thought I was best child, with people and bicycles that Fa-
lions and millions and millions of
you wouldn't have given Guo-rong ther picked him up. That was much
people."
all the answers." better. Tzu could see the people's
faces. He could hear their conversa-
"Thank you," said Tzu.
Father just looked at him for a mo- tions. Some of them looked at Tzu,
ment. "I was just making sure. You being held up by his father, and "For
what?"
didn't need them." smiled at them both. Tzu smiled
and waved back. "For
letting me see China before I
"Then why did you have him teach go
off into space."
them to me?" said Tzu. Father walked slowly alongside a
high fence, which Tzu realized was
"What are you talking about?"
"To be sure." the back fence around their garden.
Eventually came to a gate, which "The
man and woman with the test,
"So you weren't sure." Tzu knew was the gate to their gar- they
were from the International
den. "Don't go in yet," said Tzu.
Fleet."
"Of course I was," said Father.
"What?" "Who
told you that?"
But Tzu had been studying logic.
"If you were sure I would know "This is our gate, but don't go in."
"They wore the uniforms," said
the answers on my own, then you Tzu
impatiently. But then he real-
wouldn't have to make it sure by "How did you know it was our
ized: He hadn't passed the test. He
getting the answers. But you got the gate? You've never been on this
answered the questions wrong. He
answers. So you weren't sure." side of it before."
wouldn't be going to space after all.
"I am sure that you're the best So they walked past the gate, Tzu
wondered if he should tell
child," said Father. "Don't you and on into one of the streets that him
that he answered the questions
ever doubt it." He set Tzu down seemed to go on forever, more and
wrong, but he decided against it.
and took his hand again. They went more people, flowing into and out
Father was so happy. Tzu didn't
want to make him angry tonight. Tzu slapped his hand and said to
doesn't matter whether you used
him fiercely, "Don't touch me!"
them or not. What matters is that he
The next morning, Tzu was eat- Then he jogged on down the hall-
obtained them."
ing breakfast in the kitchen with way to Father's room, the soldier
Mu-ren when someone came to the right behind him.
"I'm sorry," said Father. "But if my
door. The visitor did not wait for
son did not answer the questions
old Iron-head, as Mu-Ren and Tzu The door opened just before Tzu
correctly, how can you prove that
secretly called him, to fetch Father. got to it, and there was the man
any cheating took place?"
Instead, many feet began walking from the test yesterday. "Appar-
briskly through the house. ently someone already decided,"
"For one thing, we've been record-
said the man. He ushered Tzu into
ing this entire interview," said the
The kitchen door was flung open. the room.
man from the fleet. "The fact that
A soldier with a weapon in his he
knew he had been given the right
hand stepped in and looked around. Father's hands were bound together
answers and chose to answer incor-
"Is Han Pei-mu here?" he asked behind his back, but now one of
rectly does not change the fact that
sternly. the soldiers loosed them and he
you trained him to take the test."
reached out to Tzu. Tzu ran to him
Mu-ren shook her head. and hugged him. "Are you under
"Maybe what you need is a little
arrest?" asked Tzu. He had seen ar-
better security with the answers,"
"What about Shen Guo-rong?" rests on the vids.
said Father angrily.