I'm looking for an ex-FinnTech employee. And I want you to find him."
"What's so special about him?"
"He worked in Finn's alien affairs division. About a year ago, he died—but I think he pulled a Webber. Faked it. LOTR's conjured up a hint of him in Absolution. Find him, and he might be able to clue us in to the full depths of FinnTech's dealings with the Swimmers."
Toman wasn't kidding about the flight. He had a private jet waiting for them at the airport. Like the car, it steered itself, but it was staffed with two assistants who pledged to provide them with any and all comforts.
MacAdams strapped in and opened his device. "Anyone else find it funny that he's sending three non-Earthers on this little venture? Doesn't a guy like that have a crack team of well-trained, Earth-born spies?"
"I've been right where this ex-employee is," Webber said. "Toman probably thinks I'll be able to sniff him out." He peered across the tarmac. "Besides, an Earther has no advantage in Absolution."
"Uh oh, Rada. I got the feeling we're about to have some knowledge dropped on us."
As the plane rolled forward, Webber removed his attention from the runway to give MacAdams the eye. "In Absolution, either you live there, or you never see the inside of it. There are no tourists. They don't even have the net. I wouldn't be surprised if Toman has nobody with any contacts there. In that case, might as well bring in people familiar with the wider situation—and capable of getting things done."
Increasingly tired of being kept in the dark, Rada tuned them out and plunged into the files Toman had sent to her device. Absolution, as it turned out, was something like a religious community—or, as Toman had called it, a game preserve. Situated at the southern end of Las Reinas, Absolution sat on the Gulf Coast surrounded by a few hundred square miles of steaming jungle. The religious element of the city was that technology and means of living were restricted to how things had been a thousand years earlier.
Apparently, this was due to the residents' belief that the Panhandler virus had been some kind of divine/cosmic punishment for human advancement, hubris, etc. There had been countless such cults over the years and Rada had patience for none of them. Aliens conquering Earth was proof of godly wrath? You might as well write a bible about the fight between one ant colony and another.
She knew she ought to be cramming for the mission, but as they soared over the sprawling territories of Las Reinas, she found herself staring out the window at the ruins of the old world. Some of the cities had been reclaimed and rebuilt, but after the plague, the survivors often found it easier to start somewhere new than to try to farm the rubble and pavement. Though a millennium of weather and scavenging had sanded many of the old cities down to mere hints in the landscape, when viewed from above, Rada understood, at last, how much had been lost.
The terrain shifted from desert to highlands to an uninterrupted carpet of jungle. They touched down at a small but modern airfield. Rada was used to existing in artificial environments. These required massive amounts of energy and money to make nonlethal, and thus tended to be cool and dry. There in the jungle, the air was so humid and stifling she wanted to crawl under a porch and leave the System to its fate.
A car awaited them. This time, there was no security, but all Rada cared about was the air conditioning. The vehicle headed east down a quiet road shaded by the thronging canopy. The pavement was plastic, outdated, but in reasonably good repair. With little else to see, Rada read up on their destination. After an hour, the car moved to the shoulder and came to a stop in what looked suspiciously like the middle of nowhere. The engine shut down. Taking the AC with it.
Rada looked up in alarm. "What's going on?"
Webber popped his door. "No cars on the reservation."
"I thought they were fine with anything the old
"What's so special about him?"
"He worked in Finn's alien affairs division. About a year ago, he died—but I think he pulled a Webber. Faked it. LOTR's conjured up a hint of him in Absolution. Find him, and he might be able to clue us in to the full depths of FinnTech's dealings with the Swimmers."
Toman wasn't kidding about the flight. He had a private jet waiting for them at the airport. Like the car, it steered itself, but it was staffed with two assistants who pledged to provide them with any and all comforts.
MacAdams strapped in and opened his device. "Anyone else find it funny that he's sending three non-Earthers on this little venture? Doesn't a guy like that have a crack team of well-trained, Earth-born spies?"
"I've been right where this ex-employee is," Webber said. "Toman probably thinks I'll be able to sniff him out." He peered across the tarmac. "Besides, an Earther has no advantage in Absolution."
"Uh oh, Rada. I got the feeling we're about to have some knowledge dropped on us."
As the plane rolled forward, Webber removed his attention from the runway to give MacAdams the eye. "In Absolution, either you live there, or you never see the inside of it. There are no tourists. They don't even have the net. I wouldn't be surprised if Toman has nobody with any contacts there. In that case, might as well bring in people familiar with the wider situation—and capable of getting things done."
Increasingly tired of being kept in the dark, Rada tuned them out and plunged into the files Toman had sent to her device. Absolution, as it turned out, was something like a religious community—or, as Toman had called it, a game preserve. Situated at the southern end of Las Reinas, Absolution sat on the Gulf Coast surrounded by a few hundred square miles of steaming jungle. The religious element of the city was that technology and means of living were restricted to how things had been a thousand years earlier.
Apparently, this was due to the residents' belief that the Panhandler virus had been some kind of divine/cosmic punishment for human advancement, hubris, etc. There had been countless such cults over the years and Rada had patience for none of them. Aliens conquering Earth was proof of godly wrath? You might as well write a bible about the fight between one ant colony and another.
She knew she ought to be cramming for the mission, but as they soared over the sprawling territories of Las Reinas, she found herself staring out the window at the ruins of the old world. Some of the cities had been reclaimed and rebuilt, but after the plague, the survivors often found it easier to start somewhere new than to try to farm the rubble and pavement. Though a millennium of weather and scavenging had sanded many of the old cities down to mere hints in the landscape, when viewed from above, Rada understood, at last, how much had been lost.
The terrain shifted from desert to highlands to an uninterrupted carpet of jungle. They touched down at a small but modern airfield. Rada was used to existing in artificial environments. These required massive amounts of energy and money to make nonlethal, and thus tended to be cool and dry. There in the jungle, the air was so humid and stifling she wanted to crawl under a porch and leave the System to its fate.
A car awaited them. This time, there was no security, but all Rada cared about was the air conditioning. The vehicle headed east down a quiet road shaded by the thronging canopy. The pavement was plastic, outdated, but in reasonably good repair. With little else to see, Rada read up on their destination. After an hour, the car moved to the shoulder and came to a stop in what looked suspiciously like the middle of nowhere. The engine shut down. Taking the AC with it.
Rada looked up in alarm. "What's going on?"
Webber popped his door. "No cars on the reservation."
"I thought they were fine with anything the old
Similar Books
The Lazarus Plot
Franklin W. Dixon
A Promise Of Home (A Lake Howling Novel Book 1)
Wendy Vella
Never Forget: A Novella in the Echo Platoon Series
Marliss Melton
The Only One
authors_sort
Soft Target
Mia Kay
Super Trouble
Vivi Andrews
The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook
Matt Dunn
Sweet Temptation
Leigh Greenwood
Vengeance Bound
Justina Ireland