“And where are they now? The builders. What’s happened to them?”
He was trying to see whether he could break Bael’s composure again, but this time he failed. “I don’t know. They probably went on to bigger and better things. In a way it’s a shame, because I’d really like to thank them.”
“Thank them for what?” Ryan asked cynically. “For turning you into a vegetable? You just sit around and let the city do everything for you, right? Forget about being a man and start becoming a moocher—”
“Are you any more of a man, Jeff?” Bael replied, and whatever strain he was under was coming closer to the surface. “Just who is the puppet around here? Who is it that jumps whenever Java-10 pulls the string? Who can’t bear to be away from his com unit for more than a couple of seconds? Which of us is in t
