onnell had discovered that Alan had gone into
the Earther city, in which case he wouldn't be missed at all. Alan
remembered sharply the way the Captain had calmly blotted the name of
his son Steve from the _Valhalla's_ roster as if Steve had never
existed.

"Are we going to go over to the Atlas now?"

Hawkes shook his head. "Not unless you want to go in there alone?"

"Huh?"

"I can't go in there with you. I've got an A card, and that's a Class C
joint."

"You mean even gambling places are classified and regulated and
everything?"

Hawkes nodded. "It has to be that way. This is a very complicated
society you've stumbled into, Alan. Look: I'm a first-rate gamesman.
That's not boasting; it's empirical truth proven over and over again
during the course of a fifteen-year career. I could make a fortune
competing against beginners and dubs and has-beens, so they legislate
against me. You make a certain annual income from gambling and you go
into Class A, and then you can't enter any of the lower-class joints
like the Atlas. You slip under the Class A minimum three years in a row
and you lose your card. I stay over the minimum."

"So I'll have to go after Steve myself. Well, in that case, thanks for
all the help, and if you'll show me which Shoot I take to get to the
Atlas----"

"Not so fast, son." Hawkes grasped Alan's wrist. "Even in a Class C dump
you can lose plenty. And you can't just stand around hunting for your
brother. Unless you're there as a learner you'll have to play."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I'll take you to a Class A place tonight. You can come in as a learner;
they all know me. I'll try to show you enough about the game so you
don't get rooked. Then you can stay over at my place and tomorrow we'll
go up to the Atlas and look around for your brother. I'll have to wait
outside, of course."

Alan shrugged. He was beginning to realize he was a little nervous about
the coming meeting with Steve--and perhaps, he thought, a little extra
delay would be useful. And he still had plenty of time to get back to
the _Valhalla_ after he saw Steve, even if he stayed in the city
overnight.

"Well?" Hawkes said.

"Okay. I'll go with you."

This time they took the Undertube, which they reached by following a
glowing sign and then an underground passageway. Alan rode down behind
Hawkes on the moving ramp and found himself in a warm, brightly-lit
underground world with stores, restaurants, newsboys haw