“Yeah, well, as much as we looked alike, what was inside our heads was as different as could be.”

“That’s what you think,” said Dr. Lecker. “He did great things, as a businessman. And you’ve accomplished remarkable things in your profession, even if your choice of clients reflects the misguided politics of your adolescence. And as we all learned, he and you weren’t as far apart in those matters as we once thought.”

“Let’s not go there, Doc. Okay? I came to talk with you about a different father and child.”

“Right,” said Dr. Lecker, smiling the smile of the lay pastor who plans to get his way with you. “Let’s go down here.”

He led Donny down a long hallway, passing private offices occupied by busy-looking people, presumably the investment professionals who helped support what had become Lecker’s core business. They ended in a surprisingly large conference room that took up a corner of the building, with windows on two sides running from the floor to the double-height ceiling. Lecker opened the door in one of the windows, stepped out onto the balcony, and looked back at Donny.

“Not afraid of heights, are you?”

Donny shook his head.

The balcony was ample, with a long view to the north and west. Along the railing a half dozen orange trees were arrayed in big planters.

“Let’s share one, shall we?” said Lecker, reaching for a big ripe fruit. “These are the last of the winter season. And very sweet, thanks to the freezes we had.”

“Is that from one of the family recipes?”

“Dr. Sava’s Great Plains Valencia, actually. So yes. One of the hardiest varietals the citrus division has developed. I’m what you might call a beta tester. Perk of being an early investor, and a board member.”

Donny put his hand on one of the oranges. The fruit was smaller than the oranges of his youth, with a more washed-out color. But it was still the first real orange he had held in a long time.

“Of course, it’s a very finicky plant, like most of the Tripto Labs hybrids. But those leaves suck forty percent more carbon from the air. And gardening help is even less expensive than it used to be. Come.”

He showed Donny to a wrought-iron chair at a glass café table, and took the opposite seat. Donny stood at the railing before sitting, taking in the view.

“It’s weird seeing the airport so dead,” said Donny, focusing in on the empty runways off in the distance.

“It’s ridiculous, if you ask me,” said Lecker. “We need to be upgrading the power plants to the new low-emissions models, not grounding flights. That just slows down development. And further delays the day when we can get those people new homes.”