Second Harvest E-Book

Matthew Hart

• Herausgeber: CapScovil Verlag
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: The Last Iteration
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 569

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

SECOND HARVEST is the second book in a series called "The Last Iteration" that takes the reader on an exciting adventure. The series explores the intersection of different technologies and how they evolve subject to one another, and the intersection of science and faith.There are implicit thematic elements of Smart Cities,Internet of Things and a Connected World of Everything as well as biotechnology that are integrated from a point of view on sustainability. --- Faced with the cold brutality of Ashion the Dark and his thugs, Dexter Maxwell did something no time shifter had ever done before: he traveled back in time permanently. Now he must live the same thirty days again. But with Ashion and the local warlord hunting him, will there be enough time to save his new-and old- friends? On Venus, Ashion can't stop the subterranean resistance led by the man they call Fuel. But to keep his tenuous position as Security Lead, he must keep Dexter Maxwell's true identity hidden. That puts his daring plot to escape the grip of the Ruling Families in jeopardy-and is making it even harder to protect the last two people on Venus he needs alive: the mysterious Prisoner Six and the young girl Kat. The clock is ticking: the Ruling Families of Venus have set the Second Harvest in motion. As their chilling plan unfolds, four hundred years of betrayals put Dexter and Ashion on a deadly collision course. and unlock an ancient threat to civilization. --- Continue the adventurous journey of Dexter Maxwell to find out all about the deadly secret of Second Harvest. --- ADVENTUROUS SCIENCE FICTION SEASONED WITH SUSTAINABILITY

Leseprobe

Matthew Hart

Second

Harvest

Book 2 of the series

The Last Iteration

A CAPSCOVIL BOOK | GLONN | GERMANY

Contents

GENERAL

About the Author

Expert Opinions

PROLOGUE

Earth Transloop Station, September 19, 3027. Day 5.

PART 1

Chapter 1

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Monsanto, Emergency Medical Facility, Day 4.

Chapter 2

Draggish Township, North End. Day 5.

Chapter 3

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters.

Chapter 4

Draggish Township, North End. Day 8.

Chapter 5

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Lewiston, Guest Receiving Room. Day 9.

Chapter 6

Lower-Central Morgish, Medical Facilities.

Chapter 7

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Monsanto, Emergency Medical Facility.

Chapter 8

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Gregor IV, Grand Matron’s Quarters, Day 10.

Chapter 9

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters.

Chapter 10

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa Ultra, Main Court. Day 11.

Chapter 11

Family High Altitude Flotilla SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters. Day 12.

Chapter 12

Middle Draggish Township, Day 13.

Chapter 13

Transish Township, Lower-South Region, Day 15.

Chapter 14

North Transish, Upper Rim. Day 16.

Chapter 15

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 17.

Chapter 16

High Altitude Family Flotilla SS Vanessa, Rear Loading Docks. Day 18.

Chapter 17

Draggish Township, North End. Day 21.

Chapter 18

Family High Altitude Flotilla, SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters. Day 24.

Chapter 19

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. Day 26.

Chapter 20

Family High Altitude Flotilla SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters. Day 27.

Chapter 21

Family High Altitude Flotilla, SS Contessa, Security Council Room.

Chapter 22

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Vanessa, Lower Living Quarters. Day 32.

Chapter 23

Lower-Lower Morgish.

Chapter 24

Draggish Township, North End.

PART 2

Chapter 25

Earth-side Station, September 19, 3027. Day 5.

Chapter 26

Cawlrian Highlands, West of Longstown. September 20, 3027. Day 6.

Chapter 27

Our Mother of Bleeding Redemption Church, South of Longstown. September 24, 3027. Day 10.

Chapter 28

Northern Coelinian Archives, October 25, 2667. Day 10.

Chapter 29

Mother of Bleeding Redemption Church, South of Longstown, September 25, 3027. Day 11.

Chapter 30

Northern Coelinian Archives, October 26, 2667. Day 11.

Chapter 31

Longstown, September 27, 3027. Day 13.

Chapter 32

Longstown, September 28, 3027. Day 14.

Chapter 33

Graviton, West of Longstown. September 29. Day 15.

Chapter 34

South Gate, Longstown. October 2. Day 18.

Chapter 35

Longs Castle, Longstown, October 4. Day 20.

Chapter 36

Longs Castle Prison, Longstown. October 6, 3027. Day 22.

Chapter 37

Southwest of Longstown, October 9, 3027. Day 25.

Chapter 38

Forest North of Off-lander Earth-side Station, October 11, 3027. Day 27.

PART 3

Chapter 39

Draggish Township, North End. Day 32.

Chapter 40

Morgish Township, Lower-Lower District.

Chapter 41

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District.

Chapter 42

Morgish Township, Central District.

Chapter 43

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. Day 33.

Chapter 44

Morgish Township, Central District. Day 35.

Chapter 45

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 36.

Chapter 46

Morgish Township, Central District.

Chapter 47

Morgish District, Lower-Central District. Day 39.

Chapter 48

Morgish Township, Lower-Lower District. Day 40.

Chapter 49

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Governor’s Private Quarters. Day 41.

Chapter 50

Morgish Township, Central District.

Chapter 51

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. Day 42.

Chapter 52

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 46.

Chapter 53

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. Day 48.

Chapter 54

Morgish Township. The Honeycomb.

Chapter 55

Morgish Township, Central District. Day 49.

Chapter 56

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 50.

Chapter 57

Transish Township, Lower-South Region, Day 51.

Chapter 58

Draggish Township, North End.

Chapter 59

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. Day 52.

Chapter 60

Morgish Township, Lower District.

PART 4

Chapter 61

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 52. 139 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 62

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. 138 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 63

Shuttle Transit to Middle Draggish.

Chapter 64

Middle Draggish Township. 137 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 65

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. 136 Hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 66

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Contessa, Security Council Briefing Room. Day 53. 124 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 67

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. 123 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 68

Draggish Township, North End. Day 54. 94 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 69

Upper Transish, Transloop Station. Day 55. 82 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 70

Draggish Township, Central District. 67 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 71

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. 66 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 72

Draggish Township, North End. Day 56. 54 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 73

Transish Township, Lower-South Region. 50 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 74

Transish Township, Transloop Station. Day 57. 22 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 75

Lower Transish Township, 21 Hours to Echo Event.

Chapter 76

Draggish Township, North End, 21 hours to Echo Effect.

Chapter 77

Lower Transish. Day 58. 10 hours to Echo Event.

Chapter 78

Morgish Township, Lower-Central District. 7 hours to Echo Event.

Chapter 79

Draggish Township, North End. 2 hours to Echo Event.

Chapter 80

Transish, Transloop Station. 1 Hour to Echo Event.

Chapter 81

Draggish Township, North End. 50 minutes to Echo Event.

Chapter 82

Transish, Upper Atmosphere. 45 minutes to Echo Event.

Chapter 83

Transloop Station, Venus. 20 minutes to Echo Event.

Chapter 84

Planet-side Station, Earth Orbit. 10 minutes to Echo Event.

Chapter 85

Venus Transloop Station. 5 minutes to Echo Event.

Chapter 86

Venus. Day 58. Echo Event.

EPILOGUE

Class C Transporter Freedom. En Route to Earth. Day 58.

ADDENDUM

THE GOVERNING FAMILIES OF THE UNITED TOWNSHIPS OF VENUS (“THE HIGH FAMILIES”) - Jan 3049, Venus Records

THE SECURITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED TOWNSHIPS OF VENUS

ASHION GOLDMAN AND HIS COMMAND

THE RESISTANCE

Reading Sample "The Last Iteration of Dexter Maxwell"

Reading Sample Black Hungarian

GENERAL

About the Author

Matthew is the author of six technology books, the management book Middlework, and one previous science fiction novel titled The Last Iteration of Dexter Maxwell .

He lives in Kansas City with his family. Second Harvest is his second novel and the sequel of Book 1 of the Sci-Fi series "The Last Iteration".

Connect with Matthew through http://about.me/hartmatthew and visit www.matthew-hart.comor http://lastiteration.com/

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Britta Muzyk, for keeping the light on; to Helen Veitch, for understanding and improving, Tom Jester for another superb cover; John Hart for technical art and a beautiful map of Venus; Beth Flemington for double-checking and producing a good book.

Thanks to early readers Carl Knerr, Angela Fleischmann, and Martin Ingram.

Thank you for reading Second Harvest. An author is nothing without readers.

Expert Opinions

on

THE LAST ITERATION OF DEXTER MAXWEL"

(Book 1 of the Series)

“This book makes you reflect on the big responsibility of delivering technology in service of citizens. A good material to debate, especially as we are at the gates of the first Smart Cities. Are these the cities we are modeling?”

Alicia Asín Pérez, CEO and Co-Founder Libelium, Member of the International Research Groups: Sensor Networks and Mesh Networks.

“A riveting science fiction novel that I found hard to put down once I started reading it. Matthew Hart has expertly interwoven believable technological advances into this spellbinding Sci-Fi adventure story of Dexter Maxwell set in the 22nd through 31st Centuries AD.”

Daniel L. Calloway, MSIT with specialization in network architecture & expert network consultant to the Internet of Things (IoT) Council in Brussels, Belgium

“From a technology vantage point, it was interesting to see advanced transportation, wireless and mobile device technology stitched seamlessly into a scintillating Sci-Fi tale. I recommend the book.”

Roger C. Lanctot, Associate Director, Global Automotive Practice, Strategy Analytics

“A mind-bending thrill-ride, Hart has given us a gritty and fascinating vision of the future.”

Brian David Johnson, Futurist & Principal Engineer, INTEL

“The pace of the story is enthralling. The difficulties of living on Venus, as well as the need for a resettlement from Earth, raise valid questions in this day and age. I found the prayloop and its effect as a community very inspiring.”

Stephan Tomek, Senior Researcher, iHomeLab Switzerland

“This is a fascinating and scaring Sci-Fi novel where the technology we are working on today becomes reality. Freedom, friendship, love and purpose mixed with future technology relates directly to us today – to taking over responsibility of the actions that will lead to THE Last Iteration”.

Dr. Stefan Ferber, Director Communities & Partner Networks, Bosch Software Innovations GmbH

“I‘m not sure the future is a place I want to visit after reading this interesting and thought provoking book. A world where the technology is inescapable raises many moral and societal issues that I hope mankind is able to navigate. Read it and make up your own mind“

Tristan Wilkinson, Founder, Digital Citizens

“Once you are in the story, you get a lively overview of a variety of future technologies, currently under investigation, and fictional topics. But while some aspects of a smart city environment seem compelling and convenient, the author also provides the dark side of the moon from ethics and society perspectives! An enjoyable but also alarming story!  

Joachim Schonowski - T-Labs (Research & Development), Deutsche Telekom AG

“The story evolves at an incredible pace and it becomes an effort to put the book down. It has everything a good Sci-Fi novel should feature: a thrilling story, compelling characters and a strong foundation in science and technology. Especially the latter makes this book extraordinary and a great read for all genre fans. Can’t wait for the „Second Harvest“.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lehnhoff, Research and Development Division Energy, OFFIS Institute for Information Technology

International English Edition

published by CAPSCOVIL, Glonn, Germany, December 2013

ISBN eBook 978-3-942358-38-5

Copyright © CAPSCOVIL, 2013

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This book is a work of fiction and, except in cases where inspired by technical facts, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or things is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information please contact Capscovil.

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Editor: Helen Veitch

Typesetting: Beth Flemington

Art work and design: Tom Jester

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CAPSCOVIL® is an imprint and registered trademark of Britta Muzyk

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For information on exclusive editions or special offers for sales promotions, premiums or fund-raising, please write to:

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.

PROLOGUE

Earth Transloop Station, September 19, 3027. Day 5.

Once again, Thelonius Hollywood found himself floating alone in space.

He watched the junk-collecting spacecraft depart, carrying his old friend Dexter Maxwell to whatever fate waited for him on the surface of Earth. Out above the world like this, Thelo could gaze for hours. Things always seemed to be in slow motion, even if they were actually moving at thousands of kilos per hour.

Thelo hoped it was all worth it—the resistance had sacrificed everything to free Dex from Venus. What Dex could do on Earth, only Logos knew. And Logos was dead.

Thelo thought of Trance and the work she’d done on Venus. He hoped she was alright. She’d be living a double life, for the threads of the interconnected sensors of Venus. But she’d carefully find the outages, the dark areas, the off-cam places so that she could meet with the rest of them. To follow Fuel and his fight against the Families. All of that, just to put Dex on Earth and in touch with some old monks?

The space junk collectors were older, relatively speaking, than the garbage collectors he had driven for old man Newbury back in Grenver a thousand years ago. And they were even easier to hack. You could pull the tugged chip in about five minutes flat if you knew what to look for. That was the problem across the board for the Families of Venus: they hadn’t updated their tech in centuries. You could manually override an expensive piece of space equipment, and they couldn’t stop it. They acted all wealthy and superior, but in reality they had been slowly going bankrupt for three generations.

The junk collector was barely visible now. Soon, Dex would drop down into the atmo and burn towards the mountains outside of Grenver. From there, he would get himself to Longstown, in the Western Cawlrian Empire. And look for a couple of monks that worshipped crazy ol’ Brody Jones.

Thelo closed his eyes against the bright white of Earth, the stark black of space, and swallowed back the taste in his throat. Part of it was his own blood. But mostly it was the bitter metallic sting of the Other. The one who calls himself Moses.

Millionaire’s Disease. Thelo could not explain how he’d gotten it, but without Logos’ chemical cocktail, it owned him. This was the only way to suppress the Other, a second personality trapped in his brain. And Moses hated Dexter Maxwell.

The rage of the Other beat against the quickly dissipating chemical blocker. Thelo began his cognitive exercises, just as Logos had taught him. He had a series of games he could play in his mind to keep himself in control—spatial exercises, mathematical proofs, even an old block game that he’d trained himself to complete without a threader.

When he’d gotten himself back under control, Thelo did a quick catalog of the situation. Sublimated neurological disease? Check. Massive headache stemming from potential concussion? Check. Right arm broken, probably in a bone-sticking-through-the-skin kind of a way? Got it.

Thelo opened his eyes and looked around.Taking stock wasn’t helping. He took a long, deep breath and tried to think what he should do next.

Thelo had straight up lied to get Dex out the door. There was no backup plan for Thelonius Hollywood. The plan was: drop Dex off Earth-side, fly the untugged shuttle back to Venus, and check back in with Leshan for his next smuggling assignment. But the shuttle had been destroyed. And Leshan was probably dead from the cut Dex had given him. There was nowhere for Thelo to go now.

But here he was. Time to improvise.

Thelo was only a few kilometers from the Earth Transloop Station, floating in geostationary orbit above Earth and hidden from view by the massive solar collector. The entire station resembled an umbrella: a vast, curved surface held together with strong steel fingers, with a long line of space station components jutting away from the canopy like a stem. The surface of the collector was lined with hundreds of thousands of photovoltaic cells, and its outer surface, which was facing toward Earth, was covered with matte-black insulating foam. The cells concentrated energy from the sun to power the space station, while the cooling water was recycled back through the station. Unlike the Transloop Station above Venus, this station had no ready access to the fuel from the asteroids. It had to run on whatever could be passed over the Transloop and generated by the sun. The Earth Transloop Station also had to be discreet. Thus the connection from the center of the solar collector went straight up and away from Earth: first to the command center, then the Transloop Ramp, and then to what was to be the new living quarters for the Family’s imminent invasion. All concealed behind the matte-black canopy of the solar collector.

Surely, Thelo reasoned, he could find an infantry trooper that he knew. Someone who could smuggle him back through the Transloop to Venus. He squinted into the darkness of space, trying to get the math right for a jetpack burn toward the barracks.

That’s when he noticed a few stars blink out, and then on again. He watched for a while before he saw the spacecraft approaching. It was a Family recon unit, matte black with no hard angles. They called them Slabs. He’d been briefed on their existence in his training, had even seen renderings, but had never been close to one in real life like this. At first all he could think about was its beauty. A real fighter shuttle, extremely maneuverable, with good zero-grav and full-grav flight capabilities. Functions just as well as a plane as a shuttle. Undetectable by all but the most advanced surveillance equipment. In fact, against the black of space, it was almost upon him before he even realized it was there.

As he gazed in admiration, the Slab made an uncomfortable change in direction. It was heading directly for him.

Thelo looked around. He was stranded. The barracks station was still a significant distance away—he could get there with his suit impulse jets, but there was no way he could outrun the Slab. Besides, the cannons mounted under the wings were pointed directly at him, taunting him, daring him to try and escape.

Remember your training, Thelo told himself. They will probe your mind, try to find out about the resistance. Thelo couldn’t help but smile. Wonder what else they will find in this broken old brain of mine?

The recon shuttle switched to a gentle drift, somewhat awkwardly, and eventually settled into position above him. Who’s driving the damn thing? Thelo wondered. I could give them a few pointers on piloting that beauty. Underneath the hull, a large cargo door opened. Thelo could see up inside the shuttle, it was so close. It was empty. No troopers came jetting out in formation. After a while, someone in Family-issue flight gear descended from what appeared to be the bridge into the cargo bay. The lone individual zero-grav jumped down to the cavernous cargo door, and began waving madly, indicating that Thelo should move toward the Slab.

Thelo squinted. Who is that? He wondered. And why would I want to get on that thing?

The waving became frantic, and then stopped. The Family soldier performed a gesture at neck-level, very deliberately. Thelo couldn’t make it out, but with nothing else to do, really, he used his jets to approach the ship. The trooper on board relaxed a little and kept moving his hand around. Thelo realized that this person was touching his right hand to his neck, touching it again, and then swiping it across his lower jaw. Over and over he did this: touch, touch, swipe. Touch, touch, swipe.

Thelo remembered that gesture—it was how he and his friends had engaged their communications back when they’d pulled that traffic-stopping stunt in Grenver. Everyone in the Urban Resistance League had a different set of gestures on the tab glued to their neck. Tap, tap, rub. That was one of the codes for a specific one-to-one conversation. Tap, tap, rub. But who was this?

Through the fog of his head, it came to him in a rush: that’s Dex.

Thelo stared dumbly for a few seconds. Then, as a test, Thelo took his good left hand and did the same movement: touch, touch, swipe. The masked man threw up both arms in a mixture of frustration and excitement and began gesturing wildly for Thelo to get on the shuttle.

If Thelo squinted, he could still see the junk collector in the distance, making its slow descent to Earth with Dex in it. How could Dex have gotten on the Slab? But who else could it be?

Thelo’s jets propelled him into the cargo bay, and the pilot pulled him on board. Through the transparent visor, Thelo saw that it really was Dex. Dex gave a tight smile, put a finger in the air as if to say hold on a minute, and then he was gone, up the ladder and into the bridge. Thelo held the grappling handles on the wall as the cargo door closed. He heard an overhead voice, Dex’s voice, say, “Get up here and strap in.” Thelo carefully pulled himself up the ladder one-handedly. There were three chairs in the bridge. One was occupied by Dexter Maxwell, pulling the recon shuttle away from the Earth-side Loopstation and the army barracks above it. Another chair was occupied by what appeared to be the shuttle’s original pilot, roughly trussed to the chair with insulation tape, his mouth bound shut, and a wild look of fear in his eyes at the sight of Thelo. The third chair was empty. Thelo slumped into it and awkwardly strapped himself in.

No sooner was he in, than the shuttle’s primary engines engaged. They were heading back down to Earth.

“Crackpipe, Dex, how did you get this shuttle?” Thelo said.

“I’ll explain later,” Dex said. “Do you think you could drive this thing?”

“It would truly be my pleasure,” Thelo said, taking the yoke in front of him. He looked over the controls, switching to the secondary interface. “Gonna be tough with one hand. I’ll need your help. Are you okay, eh?” Thelo asked.

“Been better,” Dex said. “Just tired. The system has our coordinates for landing.”

“I’m not meant for Earth, Dex,” Thelo said. “This isn’t part of the plan.”

“Scrap the plan,” Dex said, leaning back in the chair, and stretching his arms. “From now on, I’m the plan.”

PART 1

Chapter 1

Family High-Altitude Flotilla SS Monsanto, Emergency Medical Facility, Day 4.

One.

Ashion backed away from the med-bed, letting go of Tano’s limp hand. His mind raced through the timeline. He’d seen the iteration’s shuttle explode, and now, minutes later, Tano returns, cut up by a skilled swordsman long before the iter could have made the Transloop. And how had he even made the loop? Because the shuttle had been destroyed.

Scratch that. Ashion knew the loop field had been growing. The iter must have been close enough to eject directly into the hot jump field. The SIN automatically allows anything through—for safety reasons. It all added up to one thing.

Dexter Maxwell is using the monks’ shifting mech to attack my Earth-side troops.

Ashion turned to the closest White Scientist and pointed at Tano. “Stabilize that,” he said.

The Whi-Sci did not look at Ashion. His frontal lobe connection, sprouting from the interface on his forehead, prevented decent eye contact anyway. “Sir, we require Family-privilege overrides to reconstruct him properly. All we can do is stabilize him using standard planet-side technology.”

Ashion didn’t hesitate. “Consider him a primary asset of the Family Security Council. I will override the Family controls to ensure critical information can be retrieved.”

The Whi-Sci nodded. “I have recorded the override and will work to secure the asset.”

The attendants began to plug Tano into numerous surrounding feeds. Ashion stepped out of the ER unit, but turned back to watch the Family-only med-tech go into motion. Massive robotic arms whirred to life and descended on Tano with a merciless efficiency. Needles extracted blood samples from every open wound, and his mouth was forced open and swabbed. Cameras were inserted. All the while, the SIN was extracting more and more data, looping it through the network, building threads, analyzing them, comparing them, graphing probabilities.

“Initial data levels indicate Earth-born infection has taken hold,” the Whi-Sci said.

“Increasing bacteriophage levels to counteract,” replied his partner. “Expect bacterial infection at zero in thirty seconds.” The surgical arms immediately began to emit a bacteria-destroying virus. Ultraviolet lights flooded Tano’s body, showing where the robotic arms and blades were depositing the oozing virus.

“Faster, please,” the first Whi-Sci said calmly. “SIN analysis demands we get to the damaged tissue now.”

Ashion turned to leave, but found himself facing Exemplar Thadwick Lewiston, arms folded, a smug look on his doughy face.

“Trouble with your slave, slave?” Thadwick asked, glancing over Ashion’s shoulder. From behind him, Ashion heard the dull tone of Tano flat-lining, and the Whi-Scis calmly but rapidly changing their strategy. Ashion pretended to ignore it, and gave Thadwick a thin smile.

“No more trouble than usual,” Ashion said.

“Oh, it sounds like he’s gone and had himself killed,” Thadwick said with mock pity. But even as he spoke, the flat-lining was replaced by a rhythmical beat. Thadwick’s smile slipped.

“If you will excuse me, Thadwick, I’ve got business that needs attending to.” Ashion went to push past the large man.

When the clumsy hand grabbed at his arm, it took all of Ashion’s efforts not to snatch Lewiston’s hand and deftly break his wrist. Straight to the icer for that, Ashion thought. He remembered the last time he had been put down for attacking a Family authority. It’d been over a hundred years ago. Now wasn’t a good time to get iced. Instead, he slowly turned to face Thadwick. The fat man’s mood changed, his face cold and hard. It took Ashion by surprise; the likes of Thadwick Lewiston had not surprised him for decades. He had no idea what to say.

“The endgame is upon us, slave,” Thadwick whispered, so quietly that Ashion could barely hear it. And then his tone was back to normal again. “The Governor keeps you around for her own reasons. I don’t pretend to know them. But let me tell you what my reasons for you will be.”

Ashion shook himself loose. “If you don’t mind, Thadwick, I have far more important things to do than listen to the unhinged banterings of a grundled middler.” Ashion turned to leave again.

“I know who you seek in the plebeian caves of Venus,” Thadwick said, talking quietly. “I know because the Governor knows. She’s not told her Exemplar. She’s not even told my father. I wonder why that is?”

Ashion said nothing, still facing away from Thadwick.

“But she decides to tell me. Pulls me aside, off-thread, and tells me straight. Then walks away.”

Ashion turned around. He felt as if he was balanced on a thin blade, waiting for the wind to blow.

“So here I am, slave,” Thadwick said, his face still stone cold. “I am delivering her message to you. Off-thread. As she must have envisioned.” Ashion glanced up. The overhead was dead. Thadwick wagged his fat finger, and looked thoughtful. “But your reaction leaves me wondering who exactly is being played by the great and revered Governor Goldman. Is it you? Me? Or are we both mere pawns in a bigger game?”

Ashion still said nothing. Thadwick went on. “Nonetheless. I have a reason for you now. You should try not to confuse it with the Governor’s. And you should come to my boat soon to discuss it in greater detail.”

Without another word, Thadwick shuffled his oversized mass past Ashion. Ashion stood watching after him for a moment, unmoving. The overhead clicked on above him. Then he turned and stormed out of the med.

Chapter 2

Draggish Township, North End. Day 5.

Two.

The cell in Ashion’s private bunker was still hot with the sweat and energy of the prisoner. He was fresh off the ice, the mad look in his eyes betraying the chems flowing through his veins, burning his zombie flesh back to life. The prisoner’s old skin shivered, his horribly disfigured face pulled into a pained grimace.

It had been a long time since Ashion had last tasted the pain and madness of coming off ice. Early on, after the first experiments, they had put him on and off ice, to test his mental capacity in the moments after the blood returned to his veins, after his brain was pulled out of its metastasis state. It chilled Ashion to remember.

By comparison, the waking process for a brand new body, fresh from the grow-tubes—that just meant a bit of the chills and a day’s blindness. Hardly an inconvenience. But the icing mechanism was rough. Even these hundreds of years later, Ashion could look at Prisoner Six and remember vividly the burning pain in every pore, the searing agony of being heated back to life by the chems.