Jeff Buser's Dumarest Spoilers

Toyman 1969

Plot Dumarest is on Toy, a corporate world once created as a “plaything” for a wealthy man’s child. Toy contains a computer system reputed to be the finest in the galaxy, and he hopes to search the database for clues about Earth. He gets into trouble, is sold into slavery to offset his fine and ends up fighting in gladiatorial contests for the amusement of the planet’s wealthy stockholders. He catches the eye of the woman Quara and her co-conspirators, all stockholders intent on toppling the monopoly of the woman’s brother, the largest stockholder known as the Toymaster. The Toymaster is simultaneously attempting to consolidate his holdings and become a de facto dictator by virtue of an insurmountable block of voting stock. He is advised by a Cyber, who ostensibly is just there to prove that the Cyclan is a more reliable financial adviser than Toy’s computer (because the computer only has access to data known to the administration of Toy while the Cyclan collects information from across the entire galaxy). The Cyber’s true purpose is naturally more sinister.

When the conflict between the Toymaster and Quara comes to a head, she chooses Dumarest as her champion in a contest to the death, with his freedom as the reward. The stake wagered between the Toymaster and his sister is enough stock to ruin the loser and make the winner a majority stockholder with near total authority. The Toymaster, whose right it is to choose every detail of the contest, arrogantly decides to represent himself (being a trained fighter in excellent condition) and selects as the place his new “toy”: a bizarre trans-dimensional maze near the computer center, of which only he knows the internal characteristics and to which only he knows the layout. It is an advantage against which Dumarest stands almost no chance, except for one detail unknown to both Dumarest and the Toymaster…

The maze and its peculiar topology were the result of suggestions and manipulations of the Cyclan, who plan to use its unusual characteristics and convenient location to sabotage the computer of Toy. This will render Toy totally dependent on Cyclan advice immediately and give them enormous economic leverage over all the worlds with which Toy trades in the long run. The Cyber kills the Toymaster when he is discovered, and Dumarest kills the Cyber. Dumarest’s intervention prevents the total destruction of the computer, but results in catastrophic localized damage. He is rescued, restored to health and rewarded by the grateful new majority stockholder of Toy, but if the computer had once held any details of Earth, they would naturally have been located in the area of memory banks that were destroyed in the explosion. Back to the drawing board…

Clues of Earth Although the memory banks containing most important details are destroyed, one fragment is salvaged – Earth is also sometimes called “Terra”.

The Cyclan Dumarest foils the Cyclan’s attempt to rub out their computational competition and ensures that they won’t get another chance, or be trusted on Toy for a very long time. If they were capable of emotion, they’d be starting to hate him as much as he hates them.

The Journey Book 3, Toyman, begins and ends on Toy, with no mention of previous stops or intended future destinations.

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