“Arthur NAST!?!?” Ern said.
Molly grinned. “I’ve heard about you. At least, I think it’s the same...”
“It is.” Doc nodded.
Ern shook his head. He must be hearing things. “Nast?!”
Doc shook his head. “Not that one. Named after him.”
“Wait, so how do you...” he looked from one to the other of them.
“This man is a legend, Ern. Back before the Transition...” she trailed off.
“What?”
“Oh, a few things.” She chuckled, looked back at Doc. “Well, he started in public service as the Sanitation director of Nast Central.”
“In charge of toilets?”
“Sewers and trash.”
“Some neurologist.”
“Son, I said it was another life. I didn’t say which one.”
“I’d like to hear about the others sometime,” Molly raised an eyebrow. “That’s not why he’s famous.”
“Famous? I never heard of him.”
“I think,” Molly said, “This is going to take a while. Maybe we should get some...”
“Mom?” Holly said. “When’s Hoyle coming?”
“Hoyle said he didn’t want to come, remember? He’s going to Exile with...”
Ern cleared his throat.
“Ern?” Molly spotted the look on his face, and her eyes widened in dread. “Ern what is it?”
Ern closed his eyes. He shook his head.
“Oh my god. What happened? Tell me.”
“You’d better sit down.”
She did, and Ern told her everything he could remember about what happened in Central after she left.
“Get out,” she muttered.