888,234,031
He scanned the rest of the list quickly. The total came to slightly better than eighteen billion Credits.
“Wait a minute!” Collins shouted. “I can’t be held to this! The Utilizer just dropped into my room by accident!”
“That’s the very fact I’m going to bring to their attention,” Flign said. “Who knows? Perhaps they will be reasonable. It does no harm to try.”
Collins felt the room sway. Flign’s face began to melt before him.
“Time’s up,” Flign said. “Good luck.”
Collins closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was standing on a bleak plain, facing a range of stubby mountains. A cold wind lashed his face and the sky was the colour of steel.
A raggedly dressed man was standing beside him. “Here,” the man said and handed Collins a pick.
“What’s this?”