(Continued from Part 2)

"Now I won't be offended if you don't want to answer, but where do you get them?"

Haley grinned at Rick and dipped her roti in the small bowl of thick, creamy raita.

"You won't believe it, but I scavenge them. You know, from houses, when people are Priced Out. They leave most of their stuff, it's not like they can take it with them, whether they go Informal or GoodJob. I wait a few days, let whoever comes first get the other stuff, then I move in and get the books. I guess you could say I'm a bottom feeder."

"So, these books people pay you hundreds of dollars for, those same people could just get them free if they went to an abandoned house?"

"YES!" Haley dissolved in giggles. "Is that a hoot, or what? And I only get those big sales once in a while, as you know all too well," she gestured at her complimentary dinner.

"And sometimes you practically give them away."

"Less often than sometimes. Like practically never. I can't afford to. Haley helped herself to more roti. "I did today, though. It was, I dunno, this little kid, there was this book about different religions, written for children, and he was all, ohh, the blue people! I mean, what can you do?"

"You can eat this biryani," said Rick. "Otherwise it'll go to waste."

Secretary Falwell did not like taking questions from the press. In fact, he abhorred it. So much so that lately he had begun to question the need for a press at all. He prayed about it often, asking God to lay a Word of Wisdom on his heart, that he could in turn lay on the desk of Vice President Emeritus Rove, at whose behest he was here today. Even if an argument could be made that the American public needed any more information than was disseminated by the White House press secretary, Falwell could find no justification at all for continuing to permit the existence of foreign media. As he had told Boykin the other day, allowing these hotbeds of anti-Americanism to have television stations and newspapers was technically speaking, giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

"I know we've had our differences, Jerry," Boykin had said. "But I hope you know, I'm with you on this one. It's a slow process, but we'll get there."