The Beast Of Arsu 272a4a

Galactic Dreams

What if...

...you could change the future?

What if your enemies could too?

Welcome to the universe of Galactic Dreams, where fairy tales are reimagined for a new age—the future. In each Galactic Dreams Volume 3 novel you’ll find an old tale reborn with a mixture of romance, technology, aliens and adventure. The Alliance is on the brink of war with rebel Naturalists who insist on keeping the human race “pure” of genetic modifications. As the Naturalists fight to keep the technology of the future at bay, some take that fight more literally than others. Now each Prince and Princess, each intrepid adventurer scrabbling to make a difference in their corner of the galaxy must find out what happens when the future arrives on their doorstep.

Galactic Dreams is a unique series of science-fiction novellas from Blue Zephyr Press featuring retellings of classic tales from different authors, all sharing the same universe, technology, and history.

We hope you enjoy this adventure.

Galactic Dreams Timeline

The Beast of Arsu

by

Bethany Maines

Prologue

Branch 6 Library

Sixty-five-year-old Dr. Isabella Glass watched the security footage play on the vid-screen. The flat 2-D experience felt old-fashioned compared to the now ubiquitous holograms. The many missing segments had been filled in with sensor logs from security droids, but even those flickered and switched as each security droid became damaged. It had taken Isabella years and a small mountain of credits to get here and now that she had seen the evidence, she had no idea what to do. She had expected answers and now she only had more questions. Why hadn’t Moira warned her? “You can see now, can’t you?” asked the librarian’s boyish, male voice. It echoed around the darkened chamber, reverberating slightly off the smooth, alabaster walls. Isabella started at the sound of the voice. The Branch 6 historical archives were six-thousand feet below sea level and she had breached every security protocol to make it this far. The library’s Artificial Intelligence should have been shut down and un-aware for another six minutes. “See what?” asked Isabella cautiously, running a scan from her com bracelet. Her other security-blocking measures seemed to be holding, but if the librarian was awake he could eliminate them in seconds. “I’m glad you came,” said the librarian, ignoring her question. “I’m glad you saw this. You need to understand what is at stake.” Isabella licked her lips. She was guessing that not everyone at Branch 6 agreed

with the AI. The librarian had helped her before, now Isabella wondered if this was why. On the vid-screen, Dyson Pretorius was frozen, his face twisted in rage as he watched Oliver Lee writhing on the floor in agony, his body beginning to liquefy. “I know what’s at stake,” said Isabella. “That’s why I’m here.” The librarian appeared in hologram form. He was a dapper-looking gentleman in glasses with a moustache. No one ever understood why he’d selected that as his preferred persona, but he’d been that way as long as anyone could . “Then you understand that what has happened, must happen,” said the librarian. “No,” said Isabella. “We should stop Pretorius now. Before he goes any further. This doesn’t have to happen.” “It has happened,” said the librarian. “It exists. We cannot change that. The risk of paradox is too great. The number of lives at risk, too high. We have run the calculations. Pretorius must succeed and Lee must die.” Isabella tried to think through matters logically, but she found that her heart was jackhammering in her chest as her view of both the past and future shifted. “I have run additional calculations,” the librarian, more softly. “I believe that Isabella Glass is essential to our mission. You must assist us.” “There’s a little bit of a problem with that…” said Isabella. How much did Branch 6 know? Did they know about Moira? Did they know about the messages? “I understand,” said the librarian. “And I understand that not all Branch 6 personnel agree with me.” He said that part primly as if he were attempting to be polite. “But I believe you can help. We must be ready for when Isabella Glass arrives.”

Part 1:

When, after having lost his fortune and moving his family to the country for some time, the merchant received word that one of his ships, long thought lost, had come into port, his children were over-joyed thinking that they might regain their former wealth. But it was not to be and, as the merchant returned home sadder and poorer than ever, he lost his way in a storm and found himself in a beautiful, but apparently empty castle.

The next morning, as he left, he said to himself, “I may not be able to bring my children the extravagant gifts they selected, but I can bring Beauty the rose she asked for.” But as he plucked the rose there came a terrible roaring and a hideous Beast appeared. The Beast condemned the merchant for stealing the rose after the merchant had been provided such fine lodging for the night.

“Your life is forfeit!” roared the Beast.

But the merchant begged for his life, saying that his children depended on him and that he had only sought to give the rose to his youngest daughter, Beauty. When he learned the merchant had a daughter, the Beast relented and said that the merchant might live, but only if Beauty willingly came to stay with him.

Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale

Chapter 1

Thirty-One Years Later

— Kai —

Kai Craig cranked the wheel of his cruiser and pushed the accelerator, slamming through the corner at more than three times the recommended speed. The torque pulled his head to the left as he let the cruiser drift, sliding sideways through the hairpin turn before launching into the straight-away. The backroad to the estate was winding and narrow—one of the first roads to be created when the planet had been settled four-hundred and fifty years ago. There was a newer aero-lane off the coast, but Kai hated the feeling of being cooped up in a tiny pod with no escape except a long dive downward hundreds of yards into the sea. He liked being in control of the machine himself. He’d had to rip out the majority of the safety protocols and half the computer to be able to drive it like he wanted and the cruiser was now definitely outside of warranty. Any damages or injuries he incurred would be solely paid for by himself. Kai knew people thought he was being selfish and willfully dangerous for driving—he was putting himself and other people at risk by getting behind the wheel instead of letting the AI drive. He wasn’t sure why they cared. He had no future. There wasn’t a great destiny waiting for him. The only thing he was fated for was death. No one said it to his face, of course; they didn’t want to trigger his condition. Most people didn’t talk to him at all anymore. He watched people avoid him daily. Taking the long way around the office. Pretending not to see him in restaurants. Dashing away from conversations at cocktail parties. Although, these days he had stopped going almost anywhere unless his mother insisted. And after the last time, even she, stubborn as she was, had stopped

asking. Kai drifted through the next turn, riding up the curved barrier wall that was meant to prevent vehicles from tumbling down into the gorge below. He grinned as slid off the wall and back onto the road at five times the recommended speed. He thought that the mechanic’s shop had reported him for the most recent safety protocol mods because someone from the government had been around to see his doctor in an attempt to get Kai’s driving license removed. Fortunately, Sam had stood by him—attesting to Kai’s safety and control. Kai didn’t want to know what kind of paperwork had been forced on Sam for doing that. Sam had told him not to worry about it. Which probably meant that if Kai screwed up they’d take Sam’s license to practice medicine away. That was the kind of friend Sam was. The road was slick with rain and the water was distorting the cruiser’s magnetic field generation, making the ride a little bumpier than usual. Kai checked the display as it showed another traction adjustment. The drops lashed the windshield, as outside the moonlight flashed in slivers between wind-tossed tree branches like a strobe light. It was going to be a higher tide than normal—the two moons had synchronized their orbits and were both full. If it hadn’t been for the storm Kai knew he would be able to see them hanging fat and heavy in the cut made by the road between the tall palm-like trees. Slightly egg-shaped Daedalus and the smaller, faster Icarus usually chased each other across the sky, making navigating the tides of Arsu difficult, but on the periodic occasions when they completely synchronized, the tides reached record levels and storms were more likely. A few small, fist-sized rocks bounced onto the road in front of him, slipping free of the steep embankment to the left of the road in a shower of mud that mostly stayed off the pavement. He identified them as non-threats before the computer and ignored both the rocks and the flashing warning light on the dash. On the bluff above the road, the elegant, two-hundred-year-old Catalan Resort was shuttered for storm season. The Catalan was beautiful in any weather, but tourists tromping about the grounds in the mud and rain caused more damage than staying open was worth. Kai wished they were closed all the time. The Craig estate was close enough to the resort that the wardens had to chase tourists away during the high season.

Kai hated the high season, but then, Kai hated people these days. He rounded a bend, enjoying the G-forces as he twisted the wheel. He mashed down on the accelerator harder and was preparing to speed into the next turn when the proximity alarm went off. He saw the display ed life signs from whatever was in the road and hit the brakes. The forward acceleration stopped, but momentum carried the cruiser forward. Kai hit the anti-thrust, fighting the cruiser to keep it from rolling. He swung the wheel and threw out a force-net, trying to latch onto solid rock to slow him down, but instead, a boulder came free of the muddy slope and showered the cruiser in blinding grime. Kai reached down and manually yanked the hover-grav unit into the off position. The cruiser bottomed out, scraping on the pavement with a shower of sparks, and bringing the once pristine white vehicle to a shuddering stop inches from the thing in the roadway. Kai forced his fingers to release the steering wheel. He could feel a caustic surge of anger as his body chemistry reacted to the adrenaline and fear. The computer ran diagnostics on the vehicle as he turned the hover unit back on. The cruiser was still functioning—no thanks to whatever was in the road. He thrust the cruiser door open, pushing it to move faster than the automated speed. It pivoted upward like an insect wing and he ducked underneath it, exiting the vehicle with movements that were hitched and jerky with rage. Whatever had dared to stop him would be removed. He would fling it from the road. He would… It was a girl. He could turn off the last of the safety protocols and run her over. The air-scoop would slice her to ribbons and the hover unit would apply enough force to make her bleed out in less than two seconds. It would be easy. Kai stood, breathing heavily, fighting that thought, rain hitting him in the face. People he cared about would not want him to do that. He forced himself to take a step toward the girl and not get back into the car. Sam would not want him to run the girl over. There would be consequences. For one thing, Kai would not be allowed to drive anymore. And Sam would get in trouble. He clung to the idea of Sam, forcing himself to visualize Sam’s cheerful, open face, and his short spiky dreads that were always trying to escape from his surgical hat. Sam would get in

trouble. Kai could not do that to Sam. Kai clenched and unclenched his fists, digging his fingernails into his palms, and then realized the other problem with running the girl over. The girl would be dead. But a lot of girls were dead. What was one more? Kai tried to figure out if that was his illness talking or if he really thought that. It was hard to tell. It wasn’t like she would be the first person he’d killed. It would just be the first time he’d done it without government permission. Did that make a difference? He took another step and ed to inhale and exhale for the count of ten each way. It would trigger the vagus nerve and start the process of moving his body out of a flight or fight response. When he had first started using it, the trick had worked like a charm. Now he needed about twenty minutes of meditative breathing to make a dent. Get back in the car, run her over and go home. He could always claim he hadn’t seen her. Stubbornly, Kai took another step toward the girl and another deep breath. Lightning lit up the sky, illuminating her body in stark contrast to the dark blue pavement. The way her body was limp and twisted on the road brought up an acidic backwash in his throat. The sound of long guns echoed in the thunder and he opened his mouth to call for a medic. There were no medics. There were no guns. The war was done. They had won. Strange how he didn’t feel like a winner. Kai took another step forward and knelt down, feeling for a pulse. Her skin was cool, and he pressed one hand against her neck feeling the continuous murmur of her heart. The glare of the headlights created a stark, blinding contrast that made him practically blind. Squinting against the glare, he felt along her body, seeking out injuries, trying not to move her too much. His fingertips ed a strange vibration as he touched the soft skin of her neck, but he dismissed that as the echo of the raindrops. She was young, but probably of age. Late twenties, maybe. Nothing seemed to be broken. Her dress was torn and she was scraped

and bleeding in multiple places, but the largest injury was to her head. He put his hand into the dark sea of her hair and felt the warm, thick wetness of blood, which he could distinguish even in the downpour. For a moment he smelled the scent of the hot metal cartridges as they discharged from the long guns. But then it was gone, replaced by the smell of rain-soaked loam and woods and the weird, scentless odor of the oxygen exhaust produced by the cruiser. Kai tapped his com bracelet and heard the sad, hollow donk sound that indicated he was no longer connected to the planetary network. He connected to the cruiser computer and pulled up a rudimentary scan from the vehicle sensors on his com bracelet. There weren’t any broken bones, but the girl needed help. The town and medical center were a good thirty minutes away—if the bridge wasn’t closed due to the weather. His house was twelve minutes away when he let the computer drive. He grabbed the girl by the wrist and pulled her upright—rolling her into a fire patrol carry over his shoulder. She didn’t weigh very much. She wasn’t that big. The enger door opened as he approached and, as gently as possible, he slung her down into the seat. He moved to the other side and settled himself behind the wheel, noticing that the pristine, pearlescent dairsa fabric of the seats and the immaculate, white carpeting was soaking wet and muddy. The cruiser would need to be detailed as well as repaired. It wasn’t until he was already on the road that he realized he wasn’t mad about that. Kai pushed the car through the twists and turns, still driving fast, but this time trying to be smooth as well, so as not to jostle his enger. He knew this section of road like he knew the bumps and grooves of a Carbine-12 rifle. In ten minutes and forty-five seconds, Kai pulled the car up to the estate’s front door instead of the garage like he usually did, and went around to the other side to get the girl out. The manor house was shaped like a horseshoe with the wings curling away from the drive. Even in the rain-drenched dark, the pale towers of the house glimmered, glossed by the storm and lit by the fleeting moonlight reflecting off the pale stone. The enormous, copper doors, long-turned verdigris green, were designed to be awe-inspiring and Kai usually wondered just who his ancestor had been trying to impress. But tonight, he was simply grateful he wouldn’t need to negotiate an obstacle course to get the girl into the house.

He was lifting her out of the cruiser when the doors swung open, spilling warm, yellow light across the white paving stones of the drive. Lynnwood walked out to meet him, an umbrella hovering over his head, shielding him from the worst of the rain. “Is everything all right, sir?” Lynnwood was being cautious with him, just like everyone was cautious. For once that didn’t bother Kai. “No,” said Kai honestly. “I need a med-kit for her.” “Of course, sir,” said Lynnwood, blinking in the rapid way that meant he was accessing the house processors. “Who is she?” “No clue. Found her in the road. She’s wet and bloody. Which couch can I put her on?” For a moment, Lynnwood’s face ed shock before being smoothed away by his usual stoic expression. Kai had long ago forgotten that Lynnwood wasn’t human and that all his little tells of emotion were for the benefit of the humans present. Or maybe they weren’t. At Lynnwood’s age who could say what emotional programming the AI had accumulated through the years. “Perhaps the green room?” he offered. “Good call. Big couch.” Lynnwood hurried alongside him, shadowing them with the umbrella, and the door swung shut after them, closing with the merest whisper of sound. Kai took the girl through the foyer and hall into a sitting room with green accents and upholstery. The couch was velvet. He didn’t envy Lynnwood the cleaning later. As he set her down the girl’s eyes drifted open. “I didn’t pick the roses,” she said, clutching at his arm. “All right,” he said, but her eyes were already closing. “Well, that wasn’t particularly helpful,” said Lynnwood, looking dismayed. Lynnwood was constantly disappointed that humans weren’t clearer with statements of their needs.

“Head injury,” said Kai, with a shrug. It was best to ignore the ramblings of the injured. “Where’s the med-kit?” “Yes, it does look rather bad,” said Lynnwood looking at the ceiling, which was probably where the scan nodes were located. There was a whistle from the doorway and a household droid appeared, a box pinched in its retractable arm. Kai took the proffered med-kit and opened it, rifling through the contents. In his experience, the contents of most non-military med-kits were practically useless. Quick-heal spray and a few bandages were inadequate for actual trauma. He was relieved to see that his orders to upgrade the kits had been carried out. The med-kit scan confirmed his diagnosis—the head injury was the most serious, but the girl’s body temperature would become a concern if she wasn’t warmed soon. He pressed a wound cleaning pad to her head and held it there as he rummaged through the kit to extract the suture tube. The wound cleaner turned green indicating that it was safe to proceed and he dropped it onto the carpet. He turned the girl’s head, trying to part her hair so that no strands would get caught up on the wound, then jabbed the suture tube into it. As always, the hard click indicating that proper import had been attained was reassuring. The suture nanites would do the rest. “Can I help, sir?” offered Lynnwood, directing some cleaning bots with a few blinks. One scuttled out of the baseboard and scooped up the wrappers and cleaning pad from the carpet. “I think it’s just cleaning and quick-heal from here,” said Kai inspecting the girl again now that the lighting was better. Her dress was purple and hideous—as if she were indulging in the trend of dressing like one’s grandparent, but hadn’t selected any of the stylish looks to draw from. There were ruffles and bows and a long flowing skirt thing over narrow tros. There was some sort of extra layer of sheer fabric around the cleavage area that had been mostly torn away. Her hair was a dark inky black, although that might lighten when it dried. Her skin was probably a golden beige under normal circumstances, but at the moment she was ashen and starting to look lavender around the lips and in the hollows of her eyes. She was too cold. “Go find her a blanket. No sense in moving her until she wakes up.” “Yes, sir,” said Lynnwood. “Shall you be wanting dinner?”

Kai looked at the girl. He did want dinner. But if she woke up while he was somewhere else, she might be scared. “Yes, but just serve it in here.” Lynnwood didn’t respond right away and Kai looked up at the butler to make sure he’d been heard. “Of course, sir. I’ll return shortly with dinner and a blanket for the young lady.” Kai nodded as Lynnwood walked from the room at his usual stately pace. Then Kai reached back into the med-kit for more cleaning pads. He quickly cleaned her remaining scrapes and spritzed her down with quick-heal. He ran his hand along her arm, caught again by the sensation of a tiny vibration. The feeling ed but was replaced by the soft pleasing texture of her skin. As his hand warmed her arm, he thought he caught the faintest scent of rose petals. He lifted her hand and ran his nose over her wrist. The smell clung to her, faint but stubborn despite her ordeal. Did she douse herself in some sort of rose lotion? She was so delightfully smooth, supple, and kissable. Kai caught himself before he actually kissed her wrist. For a long moment, he stared at his hand willing it to let go of her. Just like the rage that seemed to always be hovering at his elbow, his sex drive was constantly trying to make its desires known. The poor girl was unconscious and it didn’t make a damn bit of difference to the testosterone flooding his body. He forced himself to stand up and move away from her. He turned on the fireplace and adjusted one of the armchairs so it wasn’t facing directly at her. He could eat dinner, finish up some work and wait for her to wake up and explain how the hell she’d come to be unconscious in the middle of the road.

Chapter 2

The Beauty

— Bella —

Bella opened her eyes and tried to figure out where she was. The ceiling was dark wood and coffered. That much wood would be ridiculously expensive. She turned her head slightly as she became aware of a flickering light and heat on the left side of her face. There was a fireplace. With a fire. It couldn’t be real of course—no one could afford to produce that much carbon—but the hologram was first-rate. She was becoming increasingly aware that something was wrong. She was damp for one thing. An all-over wetness as if she’d jumped in a pool. And her head hurt. What the hell had she done? The last thing she ed was her older sister’s wedding. Sunshine and smiles in the gardens of the Catalan Resort with Moira and her doctor. Moira, her doctor, and all the snide comments about Bella not being employed or married or useful to society in any way. Bella’s head really did hurt—a sharp stabbing ache above her left ear. Had she gotten blitzed at the reception? She had been so determined not to do anything to embarrass Moira. What the hell had happened? The last few years she had worked hard to put her troublemaker reputation behind her. Which was difficult, because while her professors and mentors knew her as a dedicated, driven and creative pupil, her stuffy, serious sister only knew Bella as the force of chaos that routinely ruined everything. It had taken Bella years to learn that the memories of their childhood that Bella treasured were the very ones that made Moira shudder. Bella’s first instinct had been that she needed to fix Moira and teach her how to loosen up, be

bolder, get out there and dance with life. And then she’d realized that it wasn’t Moira that needed fixing. Moira was how she was and if Bella wanted to fix their relationship then it was Bella who was going to have to change. And in the last few years, she thought they’d made progress and found common ground. She’d been elated when Moira had asked her to stand up for her at the wedding. Not so elated when she’d seen the wedding suits, but Bella had gritted her teeth and put on a smile. Bella knew Moira had been nervous about the wedding— specifically about what Bella would do at the wedding—but by the reception, Moira had been beaming. Even Moira’s stupid fiancé, husband, whatever, had been… tolerable. Tolerable was not what she usually called Dr. Oliver Lee, but it was the most complimentary word she could come up with. But, other than the fact that Moira was marrying the most boring tō raho on the planet, everything had been perfect. But perfect obviously hadn’t lasted because Bella couldn’t where she was or how she’d gotten here. There was a rustle of movement by the fireplace and Bella looked toward it again, noticing for the first time a man in a green wing-back chair. He turned his face slightly reading something on a tablet and Bella blinked. He was so handsome it made her head throb extra hard. Honey brown hair tinged gold by the firelight, a beautifully strong nose, and a forthright chin. The color might be a gene mod—blonde was rare in the populations of Arsu and Azizos that came mostly from Polynesian and Micronesian countries on Earth. He looked like he was somewhere in his late thirties. An actual adult. It was silly that she thought that way. At twenty-eight she ought to be fully transitioned into adulthood. She had moved out the moment she’d turned twenty-five, much to her father’s annoyance, and she didn’t rely on her father to pay for anything. But somehow still being in school and only working part-time jobs made Bella feel like her adulthood was a sham. Bella liked to date people that weren’t like her. She liked people like the one in the chair who looked like he was doing paperwork. Unfortunately, all she seemed to attract were fellow students, like Abbi the sculptor who made Bella look like a paragon of stability, and jackass groomsmen who wildly over-estimated how interested an artist would be in the contents of their pants. The man by the fireplace moved again, giving a frowning sigh and a furrowed brow to whatever he was reading. Did she know him? Bella felt like if she’d met him at the wedding she would have ed, no matter how much she’d had to drink.

The dampness was becoming unpleasant. She was going to have to get up and face whatever she’d done. She pushed the blanket off of her and sat up. The room swam before her eyes and she realized with a groan that whatever she had done went well beyond drinking—she was stiff, sore, and bruised all over and her bridesmaid suit was in shreds. Moira was going to be so angry. Bella blinked and tried to make the room stabilize. The man was looking at her now. “Hi,” she said, weakly. “Hi.” That didn’t answer any of her questions. “Um, where am I, please?” “The Craig Estate.” That didn’t help either. She looked around the rest of the room. It was as luxurious as the ceiling. It was a mix of heritage pieces—the fusuma screens that allowed for the room to be divided were elegantly painted in a blossom motif and contrasted with the heavy wooden furniture carved with regal elegance. “I’m Bella,” she offered. “Did we meet at the wedding?” “Wedding?” He shook his head. “My sister, Moira and the tō ra… Dr. Lee.” His eyes sparkled with laughter. “No, I do not know either Moira or the tō raho.” “I’m going to have to stop calling him that now that they’re married,” she said, regretfully. “I don’t see why,” he said. “I’m Kai.” “Hi,” she said again. “What happened?” “You tell me,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” “I found you unconscious in the road. I nearly hit you.” “I… what?” Bella felt along the sore spot on her head and when she pulled her hand away the fingertips were red. She felt a wave of panic slosh over her. She pushed herself to her feet and realized that she wasn’t wearing shoes. She reached for her hand-held in her pocket, but it was missing too. “Where’s my family?” she asked, fear coloring her voice. “Where am I? What happened?” She felt stretched tight as if she were vibrating like a drum skin. She couldn’t seem to stop the quivery feeling of fear and adrenaline that was shaking her hands. “Hey,” he said, standing up and she could see for the first time that he was quite tall and dressed in a navy blue kimono. She probably came barely to his mouth and while his kimono was in a casual style like someone might toss on for comfort when they got home, the quality of the silk and embroidered cranes were more elegant than any of her dress kimono at home. “Don’t panic. It will be all right.” She wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t stop shaking. “What’s the last thing you ?” he asked, putting his hand up to her head, feeling along the scalp with gentle fingers. As if his touch had been the key, she managed to take a deep breath. “Moira’s wedding,” she replied. His hand felt warm. She wanted to press herself against the rest of him. “The ceremony…” She closed her eyes, trying to visualize the memory. The gardens had been drenched in sun. “I got a glass of wine and went out to the gardens. The resort is famous for its flowers. I wanted to see real roses.” At the edge of that memory was the feeling of panic and she gulped another breath of air trying to keep it away. “The Catalan Resort?” he asked and she heard the displeasure in his voice. She opened her eyes to look at his expression. “Yes?” “You can’t have been at a wedding there. They’re closed for the season.”

“No. I was just there. We can call them.” “We can’t call anyone. The network is down.” Bella stared at him. “But my family must be looking for me. We have to be able to call them!” “It’s just the storm. Thunderstorms cause ion interference with the satellite signals since we’re so close to the Southern magnetic pole here. I’m sure it will be back up in the morning. Then we can call your family.” His fingers drifted out of her hair and caressed along her neck and once again she was struck by the warmth of his touch. She felt her shoulders relaxing, following his fingers as they slid downward. “And probably a doctor.” “That might be a good idea,” she itted, as his hand dropped off her shoulder. She wanted to grab it and put it back. “In the meantime, how about a bath and dinner?” “Oh,” said Bella, taking another deep breath—only this one was truly relaxed. “That sounds lovely.” “We can put Miss in the sunflower room,” said a disapproving voice behind her. Bella whirled around and then clutched at Kai as the room spun with her. “I think the rose room,” said Kai. “As you wish, sir,” said the man, and this time Bella’s vision focused enough to take in the formal suit with household pips on the collar. He was a real live human butler. Who had a human servant? “This way, Miss.” He gestured to the door and Bella looked nervously at Kai. So far movement had not been her friend. “I’ll walk with you,” he said, reassuringly. He held out his arm and Bella gingerly put her hand on it. They followed Lynnwood out into a cavernous hall that was only lit by a few sconces that revealed a series of floor-to-ceiling windows framed by thick curtains. The

windows were enduring a slashing rain that enveloped the exterior in darkness. Bella shivered and Kai tucked her hand more securely into the crook of his arm. “Don’t worry, you’ll feel warmer once you get dried off.” Bella nodded, not wanting to it that cold hadn’t been why she shivered. She felt silly keeping her hand on his arm the entire way up the wide sweeping staircase to the third floor. They probably looked like something from a ridiculous gothic romance novel – where the lady of the house kept her first husband in a dungeon in the basement and everyone wandered around in fluffy shirts. On the other hand, the idea of getting dizzy and toppling down the grand staircase didn’t sound very sensible and modern either. The house was imposing in scale and built with the heavy beams and stark white walls of 3-D printed alabaster that instantly indicated first settler construction—before they’d started to only use materials from the planets themselves. The Craig family, whoever they were, were probably very wealthy. Lights flickered on ahead of them as the house anticipated their path through the corridors. Whoever had programmed the house had set the lighting to be a warm yellow that was probably full spectrum like sunshine and candlelight. It reflected off mirrors and gilt frames around paintings that Bella ordinarily would have stopped to inspect. Instead, she clung to Kai and tried not to find it creepy that their feet made no sounds in the lush carpeting. “And here we are, Miss,” said the butler, opening the door on a cheerful coral pink-colored room with a large-scale rose print on the walls. “Thank you,” said Bella, feeling that some response was called for. “My room is just up the hall,” said Kai pointing to a door at the end of the corridor. “The wardrobe will give you clothes—just let it scan you.” “Oh,” said Bella, trying not to look impressed. That was extremely expensive technology. “And come down when you’re ready for dinner. The house will tell you how to find your way back.” She smiled up at him. She felt bedraggled and pathetic and he was being the most gracious of hosts. It was wonderful of him to be so kind. The light gilded his hair golden and Bella was struck, once again, by how ridiculously good-

looking he was. He probably had people throwing themselves at him all day long. She had the depressing thought that she was probably triggering his lost pet mode. “Thank you,” she said, trying to regain a little dignity. “I won’t be long. I’m starving and very tired of being wet.” “Understandable,” said Kai. “But take your time.” “Just ask the house if you need anything. And I’ll bring it for you,” said the butler. “And I’m sorry for the rudeness, but I didn’t catch your name.” This time he added a smile and she smiled back, relieved that he wasn’t going to be stiff and disapproving the entire time. “It’s Bella,” she said, but he appeared to want more and she realized he probably wanted to be ultra-formal and use her surname. “Isabella Glass.” “Ah,” said the butler. There was a slight pause as he seemed to formulate what he said next carefully. “Thank you. You have been ed with the house.” “Thanks,” said Bella. “I’ll see you in a bit.” She went inside the room and felt awkward as the butler closed the door behind her. This was a strange place, but at least she was safe.

Chapter 3

The Missing Heiress

— Kai —

Kai walked back downstairs trailed by Lynnwood. “Sir,” Lynnwood said when they reached the foyer, “Perhaps it is not my place, but what did she say about herself?” “That she had been at her sister’s wedding up at the Catalan.” Lynnwood was nodding as if he had expected the answer. “It seemed unlikely. I thought they were shuttered for the season.” “Let me guess, her sister Moira’s wedding?” asked Lynnwood. “Yes. Do you know the family?” “Everyone knows the family,” said Lynnwood. “Isabella Glass is the missing heiress.” Kai let out a short laugh and then realized Lynnwood was serious. “That’s impossible,” said Kai. “Yes, it is,” agreed Lynnwood, taking a cautious shuffle backwards. Kai knew that Lynnwood, at four hundred and six, was starting to worry about his replacement parts. Since fully autonomous AI were no longer legal, if Lynnwood was badly injured, he would have to have his processors integrated with the

house AI. Kai thought that was probably one of Lynnwood’s worst fears. “Which tells me that the young lady upstairs is either a con artist of some kind or someone very much in need of medical assistance,” Lynwood continued. “Mm,” agreed Kai. “What would you like to do?” Lynnwood looked tense as if waiting for Kai to explode. Kai looked thoughtfully up the stairs that led back toward the rose room. To be perfectly honest, what he wanted was to go upstairs and Bella in the bath. That seemed like a bad idea for all kinds of reasons. “There’s nothing we can do at the moment,” said Kai. “We can call the police and a doctor tomorrow. Tell the house to keep track of her movements and set an alert if she tries to leave.” Lynnwood nodded. “Yes, sir.” “And I suppose I will go read up on the Legend of the Missing Heiress. Just so I know what to expect if nothing else.” “Indeed, sir,” agreed Lynnwood. “I will go see to her dinner.” Kai went back into the green room and picked up his tablet. The house had autopopulated the Legend to his content tabs. He swiped it up to the holo-display above the games table. It wasn’t much of a legend—it was a hundred-and-fortyyear-old missing persons case. Inventor Elias Glass, after years of work, finally hit a home run of an invention that eventually gave him a net worth that would have rivaled Kai’s own had he not been dead for ninety years. About the time Elias’s business was taking off, his oldest daughter became engaged to a research scientist named Oliver Lee. Lee added a dash of intrigue to the story with his early death and career at Branch 6, the top-secret branch of the government that developed weapons. At the wedding of Moira and Oliver, the younger daughter Isabella went missing sometime after the ceremony. The news vid showed Moira crying and clinging to her new husband as her gray-faced father made a public plea for Isabella’s return. Theories were as thick as leaves on the ground. Some had Isabella throwing

herself into the sea for unrequited love for Lee. Some had a governmental conspiracy. Some had kidnapping gone awry. As the Glass fortune grew so did the fortune hunters looking to claim the reward for finding Isabella. But despite all the theories, no one had ever turned up a trace of Isabella Glass. Kai pulled up the pictures. There was an informal shot. He enlarged the image and felt the breath catch in his throat. It was Bella. The photo moved as Bella, laughing and smiling with her arm around her sister’s neck, pulled Moira into an unwilling selfie, then looped back to the beginning and stopped. Bella’s oval face with high cheekbones and lusciously generous mouth smiled at him as if begging him to hit play again. He pulled up a shot from the wedding, a formal picture of the wedding party. The bridesperson’s suits were purple and hideous. The groomsperson’s were all-male and looked dour and humorless. It had to be a con. No one accidentally came up with a matching wedding suit. But a con to do what? What was this Bella look-alike up to? He felt a surge of anger. She was attempting to use him and he’d actually believed she was panicked and scared. He pushed the anger aside. He needed to focus and the rage made him stupid. His com bracelet beeped with a notification that it was time to take his medication. Which meant that Lynnwood would arrive shortly to check that he was taking it. They all pretended that it was purely coincidence but Kai knew damn well his mother had added it as a rider to Lynnwood’s . Usually, that thought made him mad too. But tonight, it only gave him a little prick of annoyance. “Shall I run up and fetch your medication, sir?” asked Lynnwood, appearing in the doorway. Kai appreciated that he was taking the direct approach for once. “Yes, thanks,” he said, still staring at the picture of the wedding party. “The resemblance…” said Lynnwood, taking an unwilling step into the room. “Is perfect,” said Kai. “Yes. As are the clothes. The head injury was also very real. And I could easily have killed her with the cruiser. If it’s a con, she’s taking a huge risk.” “But toward what end?” asked Lynnwood. “She can’t really expect anyone to believe she’s Isabella Glass—not after a hundred-and-forty-years. She’s not… like me. The house scanned her. And if she’s aiming this story at you and not just claiming a portion of the Glass fortune, then what could she want? The Craig’s

have never been connected to the Glass case.” “All excellent questions,” agreed Kai. “But unless you want me to get very angry about not having the answers…” “Right you are, sir,” said Lynnwood jumping slightly. “Be back shortly.” Kai set the house to compile a file on the Legend but knew the effort would be limited to the Craig database until the planetary network came back up. Then, with a final look at Bella’s image, he closed out the display. He had probably stymied the girl’s efforts by failing to recognize the Glass story. He decided he would keep to that and force her to come out and directly state her intentions. She came downstairs a scant forty minutes later. She looked better. The house had given her a blue dress of thick wool that draped and clung in all the right places. It made him want to pet her. He tried to assess if his continued attraction was a result of his condition or because he was an idiot. On the other hand, if she was here to use him, was it so bad to use her? “Hi,” she said. She had the adorable nerves thing down. “I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I? Are you starving?” “I already ate,” he said. “Oh.” Her forehead wrinkled in distress. “I didn’t mean to make extra work for anyone.” She looked incredibly genuine, but he refused to be pulled in. “It’s not a concern,” he said with a shrug. His response only made her look perplexed—her eyebrows drawing together. Her eyebrows were strong, dark, almost perfectly symmetrical arches that seemed to respond to her every mood. It made her face incredibly expressive. “If you say so,” she said, although her expression quite clearly said I doubt it. He took her into the dining room and sat down in his usual spot at the head of the table. She took the chair to his left. Lynnwood had lit the fireplace in here as well and kept the lights dim. Kai wished he hadn’t—it seemed too romantic. The wind tossed the branches outside against the windowpane and she jumped.

“It’s just the storm,” he said. “I know,” she said, peering at the window. “I’m just…” She looked back at him, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Even the best actress couldn’t fake a blush. That was a physical reaction that couldn’t be forced. He began to feel a pang of doubt. “I think I’m not quite myself. I’m not usually this jumpy.” “Head injuries will do that.” Lynnwood came in, poured wine, and served an appetizer of Tamarian lox on crisped blue corn and seaweed chips. “Oh, mmm,” Bella murmured, savoring a chip and then licking her fingers. Kai tried not to watch because he was considering leaning over and tasting her fingers himself. “These are delicious. All I had before the wedding was a hideous foobar. I was worried about getting through my lines. I had to do the Witness of Love.” Kai found himself groaning in sympathy. “I have seen the truth of their love in the spirit of giving and the blah blah blah.” Bella laughed. “Yes, exactly! Who did you have to do yours for?” “My top gunner in the service.” “Your gunner?” Bella frowned. “Yes,” he said. “We ran long gun, light rail, and blasters. She was aces with the light rail.” He watched as Bella’s frowned deepened. A hundred-and-forty-years ago, The Alliance had still been a strong presence in the Palmyra System. The two habitable planets, Arsu and Azizos had been populated by a steady stream of colonists arriving after decades of travel in enormous colony ships from Earth. And, thanks to the Alliance, the transition to living on their new home-worlds had been relatively smooth. After the first few centuries, it seemed reasonable to assume that everything would remain peaceful. But, as the Alliance stopped ing them—consumed with their own wars—Arsu and Azizos realized that the politics that they had thought safely left behind on Earth had returned.

Naturalists began to come out of the shadows, speaking of things like keeping others out, keeping the modified down, and keeping the human race pure. Soon, things that had once been unthinkable began to be said out loud and talked about as if those ideas held merit—ing and segregating the modified, taxing and legislating body mods until it was almost impossible to find a doctor to do even life-saving work, and putting hiring caps on the genetically modified. Never mind that it was the modified who had made settling the planet possible. Never mind that genetic modification had kept them disease-free. Never mind that ninety-eight percent of the population carried some level of modification in their genes. Logic didn’t seem to hold much sway with the Naturalists, but everyone had simply accepted that it was their right to have differing opinions— even if those opinions were clearly racist. It had taken a devastating attack on a group of modified school children—shared live on the planetary network—to split the populace into an all-out civil war with the Naturalists. The war had left enormous swaths of both planets scarred and uninhabitable. It had decimated the population of Kai’s generation and it had left everyone angry at the Naturalists rebels who had fought against technology but didn’t seem to have a problem using technology to kill people. The governments of the Palmyra System had won the Genome War, as it was called, but the cost had been the complacency of peace. Something the older generation was still bitter about—they wanted everything to go back to normal. They wanted the younger generation and all those who had served and been annoyingly injured in the war to stop whining and just disappear. They thought the Alliance would come back again and all would be as it was supposed to be. Kai now believed that was never going to happen. Both he, and most of the upper echelons of the military, believed that they were on their own. The Alliance was gone. But if Bella was really who she said she was, then she would know none of that. All she would ever have known was peace. He tried to if the military had even had been flying anything armed back in her time. They had relied on the Alliance for most of their defense—the war had been a huge shock to their entire system. “I didn’t think any of the colony ships had guns?” Bella continued to look confused. “Those old hulks? No, I don’t think they do. I was on a Corsair with the Arsu

Armada.” “Really? Is that a new ship? I guess I haven’t been paying much attention to the military. I thought they just…” She shook her head. “You obviously know more than me. I need to pull my head out of my paint box and keep up on the news. You did the Witness of Love for your gunner, though?” “She married a tō raho too, come to think of it. I think we all kind of hated her wife.” He paused for a moment trying to decide if a woman could be a tō raho but then decided that the qualities of dick-headishness were non-gender specific. He’d never understood what Tandi had seen in her spouse. For a moment he saw Tandi’s face laughing and tried not to think of the memory that he knew would come next. The one where Tandi’s face twisted in agony and her chest exploded as shrapnel carved through her torso. “I really am going to stop calling him that,” said Bella, distracting Kai. “I suppose he’s not a tō raho. But he’s such an arrogant prick and I can’t shake the feeling he’s secretive.” “He was a researcher?” asked Kai and instantly kicked himself for using the past tense and revealing prior knowledge. “No, a doctor. Some sort of neuro brain doctor person.” “Brain doctor?” he repeated. The news article he’d looked at had been quite specific—Lee had been in R & D for Branch 6. “If I had to listen to his parents say our son the Neurology specialist one more time I was going to punch someone. Although, the worst was when my father started saying it. You know, getting a doctor is not that hard. Just find a hospital, locate the nearest bar that sells pretentious liquor, and then go in and ask someone where to find the medial malleolus. Next thing you know you’ve got a doctor fondling your ankle. They can’t help themselves.” Kai laughed in surprise. “Speaking from experience?” “I may have dabbled in the doctor pool,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “But they’re on my catch and release list. I don’t care for the species.” “And which species are you?”

“Starving student artist,” she said, with a small smile. “I have about a quarter left to finish out my master in fine arts.” Kai wasn’t sure why, but he felt surprised. He hadn’t delved deep enough to know if that portion of her story was accurate, but it was a story that required talent to pull off. “What about you? You’re in the military?” “Not anymore,” he said, wishing he hadn’t mentioned the service. “I’m the CFO for my family’s company—Craig Enterprises.” “Oh,” she said. “Not what you expected?” “I was going with wealthy dilettante,” she said, a fresh blush flooding her cheeks. “Sorry, the house is…” “It does rather give that impression, I suppose. But I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being a dilettante in any of my pursuits.” “Leave it to me, then,” she said, reaching for more chips. “If there is something inappropriate to be said I will find it and blurt it out. I was feeling so good about making it through the wedding without saying anything wrong—even to the skeezebag groomspersons – all-male, mind you. Moira is going to be so mad at me for disappearing and causing a fuss.” “It’s not like you did it on purpose.” “Maybe. Who knows? I can’t exactly what happened.” “You said you went out to the gardens?” She frowned and one hand crept up to her head, rubbing the injured spot. “Yes? I wanted to avoid the stupid groomsperson. Oh, excuse me, groomsman. Tō raho kept calling them groomsmen. Yeah, we get it, they’re all men, so technically that’s appropriate. But seriously, who only has men stand up for them at their wedding? And who invites only people from work?”

“What do you mean?” “All the groomspersons were Oliver’s co-workers. And just as boring as tō ra… Oliver. I can do this.” “Can you?” he asked, amused. Her scenario obviously did not include an unrequited love for Lee. “If Moira catches me calling him tō raho she will lose it. I can’t afford any more black marks.” “You don’t get along?” asked Kai. The news article had shown Moira crying. Bella sighed. “I don’t like Oliver. And she doesn’t think my career choice is respectable.” “What’s not respectable about art?” “When I said I wanted to be a painter, you would have thought I said I wanted to be an unemployed homeless drug addict who talks to walls.” “When I told my mother I had ed the service she said I was wasting my potential on manual labor,” Kai said. “Good times,” Bella said raising her glass. Kai wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by her ability to seem genuine or annoyed at her skill in getting him to talk. He supposed that he was out of practice for talking to… anyone. He had probably forgotten how to be politely evasive. Lynnwood returned, followed by a droid carrying a tray with Bella’s meal. “Thank you,” she said, smiling at Lynnwood as he set down her food. “You’re welcome.” Lynnwood obviously wasn’t prepared for Bella either. She radiated sincerity. It was disconcerting. “Mm,” she said, cutting into the eggplant parmesan, taking a bite. “Oh, my goodness, this is delicious. Can I just dunk my face in it?”

“I don’t recommend it, but suit yourself,” Kai said. Because people stared at him when he licked the plate. Decreased inhibitions made dining with him problematic for anyone who liked to conform to societal norms. Bella chuckled. “I’d have to take another bath,” she said. “So probably not.” He let her eat in peace for a few minutes. She appeared to revel in every bite. Con artist or not, he wished more people enjoyed anything as much as she was enjoying dinner. Part of his condition made the physical realm so much more immediate and important. It was one of the few things he enjoyed about it. He didn’t understand how people could not be distracted by the texture of cheese or the sensation of bubbles on the tongue. “Aside from the tō raho and his friends, did you enjoy the Catalan?” he asked when she seemed to slow down. “Really beautiful,” she said. “I’ve never been to this part of the planet before. We’re out of the Northern continent. Leave it to Moira to plan a destination wedding. But the Catalan was gorgeous. I couldn’t begrudge her the extra effort when I saw the place. Who wouldn’t want to have a party there? They were putting in this fantastic mural.” She grimaced and he raised an inquiring eyebrow. “Moira made fun of me for spending an hour talking to the muralist. I don’t do murals. I work strictly with indoor friendly medium, but the artist… what was her name? Mandar? Danmar?” “Danmar,” said Kai. “Helen Danmar.” “Do you know her? She was fantastic.” “I know her work. She’s… quite well respected.” The Danmar mural was one of the prizes of the Catalan collection. They had snagged it at the start of Helen Danmar’s career before her work became too expensive for all but governmental collections. “She ought to be. She’s amazing. And so nice.” Helen Danmar had also been a notorious uwha who had insulted anyone within earshot. Getting Danmar’d was still a term in art circles even now thirty years after her death. It seemed odd that Bella would choose to deviate from such a well-known historical fact.

“She even let me help a little to show the difference between the paints and sprayers. So if you go up there and the wings on the owl look a little off, that is not her fault. I kind of want to get one of those sprayers now. I think I’d have to get a different paint mix though. Maybe a synthetic medium with a natural mineral color? I wonder if I could get it to layer more thickly? Different sprayer head maybe?” Bella stared off into space, apparently contemplating painting techniques. He waited for her to get back around to him. She did eventually, blinking at him as if trying to figure out what he was doing there. “Nice to be ed,” he said. “Sorry,” she said blushing again. “I…” “You are a painter,” he said. “Yes, I’m getting the picture.” “Sorry,” she said again. “Don’t be.” “I spend a lot of time apologizing for what I am,” she said, frowning as she had just now had the thought. “I stopped doing that,” he said. “I can’t help it, and I’m not particularly sorry, so why bother?” “Then I am envious,” she said. He wanted to tell her not to do that either, but he didn’t want to have to explain himself. He’d given up doing that too. “You think the network will be back up in the morning?” she asked. “Yes, probably. The storm has just about blown itself out. Once it dissipates everything will come back up.” “That’s good,” she said leaning back in her chair and reaching for her mostly untouched glass of wine. “There wasn’t any sign of a storm this morning.” He eyed her carefully. She was playing this all the way. “They can come in kind of quickly,” he said. “Moira will be so put out, but the vids for the wedding will look good and I

suppose that’s what she’ll care about. It annoys me,” she said, her eyelids drooping. “That people can’t enjoy the moment without recording it.” “Vids or it didn’t happen,” said Kai. “But it did happen,” she said, looking at him directly. “We’re here. There’s no proof of it, but we’re still here. Why isn’t that enough?” “People are afraid of death,” he said. “They want to prove that they existed. Sometimes I want to have proof that they existed with me—that for five minutes we were all healthy, happy, and whole.” He wished he hadn’t spoken. It was too honest. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him tonight. He might not be able to manage all the high-society deviations and polite no comments anymore, but usually being aggressively non-responsive was accomplishable. This entire evening he’d felt… off. No, not off. Different. Less on edge. He looked up at Bella to see what response she would have. To his surprise, tears had welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “For whoever you lost. I hope you have pictures. Don’t listen to me. I always say the wrong thing. I’m tired and my head hurts.” “Time for bed then,” he said, ignoring her comment. What was he supposed to say anyway? He’d already said too much.

Chapter 4

Practice

— Bella —

Bella woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Annoyingly cheerful birds. She rolled over and looked at the bright white line drawings of roses on the warm coral pink wall. The previous night hit her like a hangover between the eyes. Kai. How many times could she stick her foot in her mouth in one dinner? Multiple times apparently. Kai obviously wasn’t a share his feelings kind of person and she shared all her feelings all the time. Why did she have to be like that? He probably thought she was insane. She sat up and touched her throbbing head. Maybe she was insane. What the hell had happened at the wedding? She staggered into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Bella frowned, her face seemed oddly distorted and she pulled back. For a moment time seemed to stretch like syrup from a plate to a fork then everything snapped back and Bella grabbed the sink for . She blinked at her face. There were circles under her eyes and her skin was pasty. She looked ill, she decided at last. Like she’d been sick for a week and was just now recovering. A half-hour later, after some make-up and pinning her hair back into a prim bun, she looked mostly living again. She went back into the bedroom and saw the word message blinking for her on the display above the desk. She tapped the display and a holo of Kai shivered into existence.

“The network is estimated to be up around lunchtime. I’m working in my office. Feel free to explore. The gardens aren’t much to look at currently, but there is also the library, gym, or art studio. The house or Lynnwood can tell you where everything is.” The message ended and Bella sighed. He had to work. He was a responsible worker person and she was his uninvited guest. She had just been hoping that maybe he’d take some time with her. She went to the wardrobe and flipped through the clothing choices on the outside display. The fashions all seemed bizarre. She settled on workout clothes in case the art studio was just some sort of rich person code for sunroom with a bar. Not that a sunroom with a bar sounded bad. Lynnwood met her at the foot of the stairs and informed her that breakfast would be in the breakfast room. He seemed mildly less disapproving than the previous night, but not by much. She went dutifully into the breakfast room, which was an airy and welcoming room with tatami mats on the floor and a low table made of near-black talma wood. She selected the bare minimum of food that Lynnwood tried to pile on her plate and knelt at the table, conscious of being scrutinized for her table manners. “I also made haupia,” said Lynnwood as she sat down and Bella made an involuntary squeak of excitement. “Should miss want some,” he added, sounding amused. The coconut gelatin-type dessert was always a favorite. It was easy to make, but for some reason that just made it easy to screw up. Homemade haupia was the best. Bella had been hoping that Moira would serve it at the wedding, but it had been deemed not fancy enough. “Yes, please,” said Bella grinning and Lynnwood’s mouth twitched in what might almost have been a smile. “Did you have any questions this morning, miss?” he asked, hovering in the doorway as though about to leave. Bella laughed. “Lots. But I’m not sure you can answer most of them. Kai said I could go to the gym or the art studio. How do I get to those places?”

“The house is shaped like a crescent,” he said holding up his thumb and forefinger to demonstrate. “We are here,” he pointed to the finger, “you want to be over here.” He pointed to his thumb. “You can walk through the house, but the faster way is to walk across the courtyard.” Bella considered. Kai had said she was free to explore, but she didn’t like the idea of poking around his house unescorted. “Probably just go across the courtyard,” she said. “I don’t want to disturb anything or get myself lost.” Any more than she already was. “Then I will point you in the right direction after breakfast,” he said and exited the room. She ate her breakfast in silence and wondered if this was what Kai always did. It seemed very lonely. Lynnwood did indeed point out the door to the art studio after breakfast and Bella found herself walking across the cobblestone-paved courtyard against a chill wind. The air was muggy though and smelled of saltwater. They must be quite close to the ocean. The center of the courtyard was filled with a massive ornate fountain. Four faces spit water into a quatrefoil pool. The design was Baroque and the material was a very smooth white stone with an iridescent sheen. She wanted to draw it. Cautiously, she opened slid open the door to the art studio, and laughed. When rich people said art studio, apparently they meant a fully equipped art room complete with stacked canvases and easels. It was spacious and well lit, with floor-to-ceiling windows on one side that showed a view of a water lily-laden pond and dock. She watched the water for a moment, smiling at the massive koi nibbling at the surface of the water. The room could easily have fit an entire drawing class without trouble and had been ideally positioned for the best light. Bella rummaged through the drawers and bins until she found a drawing tablet and her preferred pencil brand. The drawing tablet was a luxurious non-digital, multi-page tablet of drawing paper made from renewable sources. She hadn’t heard of the brand before—the manufacturer’s stamp on the back said it was from Azizos, so perhaps that was why. She suspected that it must cost a mint since she hadn’t seen it in any of the shops near school. She went back outside to sketch the fountain, fondling the pages and enjoying the high-rag and velvety texture of the paper. She felt a little guilty ing it, but the top layer of items in the drawer had been dusty, so clearly no one was using the art room very often, and to Bella not using art supplies was by far the greater sin.

She stayed outside until her fingers started to get cold. It was amazing how quickly the weather had changed—it was at least twenty degrees cooler today than yesterday. Maybe it was always like that on this side of the planet. She would have to ask Kai. The iridescence in the stone was giving her an idea for a painting. She sketched out a quick composition and closed the tablet. She stood up and then stopped as a wave of dizziness washed over her and the sound of the fountain seemed to stretch as if someone were running it in slo-mo. She shook her head, trying to clear it and the fountain returned to normal speed. Bella looked around the courtyard. Everything seemed fine. She probably had just stood up to fast. The dizziness was probably a lingering result of her head injury. Nervously, she fingered the bump in her scalp and clutched her tablet to her chest. She looked around the courtyard, but it remained starkly empty. The entire house seemed set for people who weren’t coming. It was just Kai and Lynnwood in the empty echoing place. She shivered as a wind swept in, smelling of the sea. She thought about going into the main house, but she didn’t want to face the intimidating Lynnwood again. So she decided to see if she could warm up in the gym. She had barely entered when she realized her mistake. Kai was already using the facility and he was furious. He was barefooted and bare-chested and pounding on a punching dummy. The gym was warm and a damp heat swept across her skin as she watched him pummel his inanimate opponent. His hands were a blur and with a final strike, the head flew off the dummy and went spinning across the room. She dropped the tablet and caught the head. “Well,” she said, “I don’t expect he’ll make that mistake again.” “What?” Kai was breathing heavily and had his head lowered. He looked intimidating, but Bella found that she wasn’t bothered by his mood. Kai animated every space he was in. He was angry about something, but it wasn’t her and the sense of creeping cold that had been hanging over her in the courtyard dissipated the closer she got to him. “Whatever this one,” she hoisted the head, and took a few steps forward, “did to offend you, I’m sure he’ll never do it again.” He grunted, refusing to acknowledge amusement. He turned away from her and began to strip the wraps off his hands. Bella wasn’t quite sure what to say next. She wasn’t unfamiliar with athletic rage. She’d played enough sports to have

seen drug drama and just plain losing it. This didn’t feel like either. She looked around the space. Weights filled one corner. Kendo swords and shark-toothed clubs lined the walls. There were mats against the wall. Kai might enjoy using his fists, but the gym was set up for all kinds of martial arts. “I never learned how to punch,” she said, carrying the head back to the dummy. “I wrestled all through secondary school, but Dad always said other martial arts were crude.” She saw his back muscles tense angrily. “I always thought that was pulukeke,” she added. “I mean, beating someone up is beating someone up, no matter what you use to do it. I just never got around to learning how to punch.” “It’s easy,” he said, rolling the wraps into neat bundles. “You make a fist and then you hit something.” “Yes, but how do I do that?” She checked the mechanism and jammed the head back on the dummy. It locked in place with a hard click. He looked at her finally, annoyance on his face, but no longer furious. “Are you going to show me how to wrestle?” he demanded, clearly thinking she would retreat. “Oh! Yes! Show me how to punch and I’ll show you a single.” She turned to the broken dummy and tried to copy his previous stance—not giving him a chance to argue. “You’re doing it wrong,” he snapped. “Of course I am,” she said. “Come show me better.” He stomped to her side and grabbed her wrist, pulling the arm forward. She was surprised again by his warmth. How did people not just snuggle up against him on a cold night? He had to have a special. Everyone worth having always already had a special someone. He hesitated and then pulled her other arm forward a little as well. “You’re carrying your head too far forward. It needs to be behind your hands. The foot that’s in front is the hand that’s in front.” She adjusted, trying not to drop straight into a wrestling crouch. He adjusted her distance and showed her how to align her fist to her arm bones. Perhaps it was her imagination, but his hands seemed to linger on her just a bit. Not that she minded. Finally, he deemed her ready to punch. She threw a few and felt the raw sting of scraped skin.

“Mat burn,” she said, inspecting her hand. “Is it still called mat burn when it’s not a mat?” “Bag burn,” he said, and this time there was humor in his voice. “You’re letting your hand drift down on impact. You need to retract faster. There’s some QuickHeal in the cupboard by the door.” “I’ll grab some before I leave.” She threw a few more until she felt like she had achieved some respectable punches. The more punches she threw the more relaxed Kai became. Whatever his bad mood had been, he clearly wasn’t the type to take it out on those around him. “Are you ready to throw me on the floor?” she asked, straightening and smiling at him. “Um…” She walked over to the mat and waved for him to her. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” he said coming to stand across from her on the mat and looking down at her. She recognized the tone. It was the same voice that Sara Martin had used when Coach had paired them in practice. “Yeah,” said Bella nodding understandingly. “Because I’m so small and weak. And you’re so big and strong. You’ll probably just squish me.” “Well…” he said hesitantly, clearly sensing the trap, but not quite sure where it would snap. “Uh-huh, totally,” agreed Bella. “Now say go.” “Go?” Bella dropped and shot for his front leg, managed to snag the second, scissored his legs together, and dumped him. He went down with a hard whoosh of air. She put her hands on her knees and leaned over him. “Did I forget to mention that I went to the planet championships in my weight

class?” “It didn’t get mentioned, no,” he said, his voice tight with lost air. “Hm. Well, I did.” “All right,” he said, climbing to his feet, “let’s try that again. This time perhaps with more instruction?” Bella chuckled. “OK, I’ll do a walk-through, and then we’ll practice in the mirror. Let’s start from standing.” “I thought wrestlers started from the ground.” “They can,” said Bella, “But I don’t know you like that, so we’re going to start standing.” For once, Kai was the one to blush, acknowledging the embarrassing closeness of the backside to front side of the ground position. Bella ignored it but privately felt triumphant. She walked him through the mechanics of the take-down. He was a quick learner and a skilled athlete. She thought with a few more lessons he would be a handful. She finally let him try the entire sequence on her at halfspeed and was pleased when he executed it correctly. “How was that?” he asked looking down at her in her semi-pinned position. “Not bad. You’re not holding me down very effectively, but the takedown was good.” “What do you mean – not effectively? You can’t move from here.” Bella kicked out his knee and rolled him. He was a hefty weight to push around, but surprise made it relatively easy. She came up sitting on his chest and supremely aware of the hard muscles under her hands. “I have got to stop doing that,” he said blinking up at her, which made her laugh. His eyes were so hazel they were almost gold. She had never used wrestling to pick up anyone before, but she was finding the intimate more than a little thrilling. She just wasn’t sure of her next move.

“We can try that again,” she said putting herself back on the ground again and beckoning to him. He tentatively lowered himself onto her. “What you want, is to think of your torso as a cross,” she reached around him and drew her hand up along his spine and then between his shoulder blades and felt him shiver at her touch, “you want to center your weight at the axis point.” He made a little thinking noise and then did what she was describing. His weight crushed in on her and expelled the air from her lungs. This was what she got for thinking sexy thoughts when she should have been thinking wrestling thoughts. “Yeah. That’s it,” she managed to squeak out. “Sorry!” he said, immediately pushing away from her. She sat up, laughing. “You can’t say sorry when you’re winning.” “If I crush you I don’t get to win again,” he objected. “Fair enough,” she agreed. “Want to try the whole thing again?” “All right,” he said, standing and holding out a hand to help her up. She got up a little slowly, trying to decide her next move. Let him take her down and then what? Kiss him? Seemed like a bold move, but he seemed worth the risk. “OK,” he said, locking into the starting hold, one hand around her neck. “This time, don’t just let me have it.” She caught the flicker of movement and realized Lynnwood had come in. So much for plan: sexy wrestling take-down. “All right,” she agreed. “Also, say hi to Lynnwood.” “What?” Bella dropped and shot on him, dumping quickly before he had time to think. “You cheated!” he exclaimed from the ground. “Yeah,” she agreed. “But I’m so tiny and fragile that I had to.”

“Lunch will be served in thirty minutes,” said Lynnwood, his tone icy. She couldn’t tell what he disapproved of more – wrestling or the fact that she’d won. “And now,” she said, patting some loose hair back behind her ear, “if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change so I can pretend to be a lady at lunch.” “Pretend is right,” he yelled after her as she walked to the door. “Ladies shouldn’t kick my ass that much.” He was laughing before he even got to the end of the sentence and she couldn’t stop herself from giggling as she left. Kai was adorable. Getting lost from Moira’s wedding was a problem, but she couldn’t regret meeting Kai.

Chapter 5

Running Late

— Kai —

“Ugh,” said Kai sitting up. “That girl is dangerous. Did you need something, Lynnwood?” “I’m just checking that everything is all right,” said Lynnwood cautiously. “Yeah?” Kai was mystified. He had just spent a ridiculous interlude trying to not focus on all the parts of Bella that he was actively engaged in groping. And just when he’d decided to forget that and go straight for her lips, Lynnwood had to show up? “It’s noon, sir,” said Lynnwood, clearing his throat. “What?” Kai sprang to his feet and ran to the bench where he’d tossed his shirt and com. He grabbed up the com and checked the display. He was thirty minutes past his scheduled medication time. “Damn! I didn’t hear the alert.” He looked up at Lynnwood in panic. “Bella…” “Everything is fine,” said Lynnwood. “The young lady is fine. We’re all fine. You just need to go take your medication.” “Right,” said Kai, taking a deep breath. Everyone was fine. Bella had been

laughing when she left. This wasn’t like last time. The last time he’d missed his medication, he’d broken someone’s arm. “Right,” he said again. “I will just go take it now.” “Very good, sir,” said Lynnwood, hiding his relief behind his stiff demeanor. Kai pulled on his shirt and com. “You don’t have to wait for me, Lynnwood,” he said reaching for his shoes. “I’m going.” “Yes, sir,” said Lynnwood reluctantly as he went to the door. Kai pulled on his shoes and stood up. He scanned the room searching for a trigger point, searching for his anger like a man probing a sore tooth. He didn’t want to find it, but he knew it had to be there. But… nothing. There was nothing. He walked toward the exit feeling strangely light. He paused in the threshold spotting Bella’s drawing tablet. He picked it up and carried it with him across the courtyard, flipping through the pages as he went. She’d been drawing the fountain and then ventured off into a fantastical sketch melding the faces in the fountains with flowers. Her talent was undeniable. Each sketch was worthy of being framed. He didn’t know what to make of Bella. She had to be lying. But he hadn’t ever met someone who seemed as honest as she did. She wore her heart on her sleeve —from anger to pain to laughter, nothing about her felt false. He entered the house through the front door and heard the sound of something slam down in the green room followed by Bella barking an order at the house. He crossed the hall and went in. “Try again!” ordered Bella. “I’m sorry,” said the house. “That request cannot be completed.” Bella growled in frustration. “Problem?” he asked. “Yes! Your stupid house said the network was back up, but it won’t connect me to my father!”

“Those nodes do not exist,” intoned the house. “Stop saying that!” Bella stomped her foot in anger. She let out an exasperated breath and turned back to him. “I also tried to call the Catalan, but that just dumped me into their AI automated response system.” He nodded sympathetically. “I have an assistant who talks to machines for me.” “Really?” She was startled out of her anger. “That sounds fantastic.” Then she shook her head and returned to her original subject. “But that doesn’t help me since the stupid Catalan computer just tells me they’re closed and that no such reservation exists.” Kai hesitated. She was completely committed to her story. Was he playing along? Should he challenge her? If it really was the head injury talking then he didn’t want to panic her or make it worse. But if her story were real what would he do next? “Maybe we should consider calling the police,” he offered, cautiously. A con artist would most likely find a reason to avoid doing that. “Yes! Yes, let’s do that! My father would have called them when I didn’t turn back up. They might know what the hell has happened. House, call the local police.” “House, belay that order.” Bella looked up at him, startled. “Calling up the police and asking if you’ve gone missing may not have the effect you’re looking for,” he suggested. “Oh. That does sound a bit backwards.” “Why don’t I call the police chief and explain things?” “You’re just going to call a police chief directly?” Kai couldn’t tell if she was amused or annoyed.

“Yes.” She laughed. “Kai, between that and the fantastic machine assistant, I’m starting to think you might be a tiny bit spoiled.” “Not spoiled,” he said arrogantly but trying to make it funny. “Rich and powerful.” Bella laughed. “Must be nice. But you can’t go around being powerful at people for me.” “Why not?” She seemed at a loss. “Well, I…” “My way gets us to lunch faster,” he said. “Go change and I’ll call the police.” She scratched her head and then winced as she found the sore spot. “All right. I’ll be down in a minute.” Kai watched her jog up the stairs and then went into his office, tossing her drawing tablet down on his desk. He pulled up the house logs and saw that she had indeed been attempting to call her father’s long-defunct nodes. Then he placed a call to the local Chief of Police. The chief was inclined to simply send someone out to arrest Bella but agreed to Kai’s plan—a detective who would take genetic samples and compare them against the original Isabella Glass samples. Kai hung up with the Chief and checked his com. He really needed to take his medication, but he wanted to make this next call while Bella was upstairs. He decided to risk it—he felt fine. He hit the quick-connect for Sam and waited for the call to go through. Sam Tuomisto had seen Kai through the service, his immediate recovery, and now his ongoing slide into death. Not that anyone ever called it that. But everyone else who had been struck by an Adthal bomb and survived had eventually committed suicide or been locked away to await death. Radiation from the Adthal particles lodged within the body, burning out the victims from the inside out. Kai knew very well what his prospects were even if Sam never talked about them.

“Hey!” said Sam as the connection flickered and settled into a stable 3-D display. Sam now appeared to be sitting across the desk from him. He had a stylus tucked behind one ear and had his tablet folded over in his hands. Kai smiled, recognizing the pose—it was the lunchtime crossword pose—but there was something tense in the way his hand held the tablet. Kai wondered if he’d caught Sam at a bad time. “Am I interrupting the crossword?” he asked, trying to give Sam a polite out. “I can call back later.” “No need. And I’ll forgive you if you can tell me a seven-letter word for a consequence of time travel.” Sam was also one of the few who still talked to him like a real person. “Uh… paradox?” suggested Kai. “And we have a winner,” said Sam, jotting down the word. He tucked the stylus back behind his ear, pushing aside a sun-bleached dreadlock to put it in place. Unlike Kai, who had immediately let his hair grow out after leaving the service —something his mother called a shaggy dog look—Sam still kept his hair less than one finger length long and shaved on the sides as per military regulations to avoid interference with the helmet seals on space combat suits. Kai found it reassuring. “What’s up?” Sam asked. “How busy are you? Can you come down to the estate for a day?” asked Kai. “Do you need me to?” asked Sam, sitting up, the tension in his posture returning. “Are you all right?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” said Kai waving away the question. “It’s not for me.” Sam sat back and looked at him suspiciously. “Who’s it for then?” Kai hesitated. “How much do you know about the Legend of the Missing Heiress?” Sam burst out laughing. “Gods, I love that movie. I watched it the last time I was drunk. So much ion and chewing of scenery. The unrequited love! I throw

myself in the sea!” Sam placed a hand to his forehead and affected a drooping tone. “I don’t think that was it,” said Kai, annoyed. Bella would never have behaved like that. “No, I just watched it a month ago,” said Sam, misunderstanding. “That’s what happened.” “I meant, I don’t think that’s what really happened.” Kai pulled up the news footage of Bella being declared missing. “This is the real Isabella Glass,” he said, pausing and zooming in on Bella as she crossed the bright nearly-yellow grass of the Catalan Resort, her purple over-skirt making a strong contrast as it fluttered in the breeze. “Pretty,” said Sam. “Where’s this going?” “And this is my current house guest.” Kai pulled up an image of Bella from the house database. “Tō hamuti!” exclaimed Sam, leaning forward to examine the images. “I’m canceling my appointments. I’ll be on the next train.” “You haven’t even heard the story!” “Who cares about the story! Well, yes, I care about the story. But it’s a real live mystery! This is going to be awesome!” Kai laughed. “You are such a dork,” he said affectionately. “Totally,” agreed Sam, with a big grin. He sat back and put his feet up on the desk. “Now tell me the story.” Kai filled him in on the events of the previous evening while Sam made little hmm noises. “So you’re going with crazy or lying?” “It seems like those are my two choices,” said Kai with a shrug. “Although, I’m hoping for head injury, not crazy. Which is why I’m calling you.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” agreed Sam. “Although, there is a third option—she could be telling the truth.” “How?” demanded Kai, skeptically. “Easy. Cryopod.” “For over a hundred years?” “Princess Chavri of L’Mondeau proved that the Aurora fungus can preserve for even longer than that. Yeah, we haven’t officially tested the technology at that length, but it’s theoretically possible. And it would explain some memory loss.” “All right, but why would she put herself in a cryopod?” “She might not have. Maybe the sister, Maureen—” “Moira.” “Whatever. Maybe she decided she couldn’t have Bella and Lee making googly eyes at each other, but she didn’t want to actually kill Bella, so she popped her in a cryopod.” “Bella hates Lee. She thinks he’s a tō raho,” said Kai. “Are you writing a romance novel over there?” “I’m spitballing plausible scenarios.” “Try for more plausible,” said Kai. “All right. Well, one of the theories has always been a kidnapping that ended up in murder. But what if whoever kidnapped her put her in a cryopod to keep her on ice and then something happened?” Kai considered that theory. “That could happen,” he agreed. “It would feel more right. She just seems so…” “So what?” asked Sam, cocking his head. “Authentic,” said Kai. “Also, funny. I don’t usually think of con artists being funny and talented.”

“Talented?” Kai grabbed the tablet and held it up, flipping through the pages for Sam. “She did these this morning.” Sam let out a whistle. “Dang. Pretty, funny, and talented—making the rest of us look bad.” “Pretty much. Anyway, I’m running super late for—” He cut off realizing who he was talking to. “Late for what?” Kai cleared his throat. “My injection.” “Kai!” “I’m going! I wanted to call while Bella was upstairs.” “How late are you?” “Half-hour,” said Kai, shaving twenty minutes off. “Kai!” “I’m going! I’m going! Message me when you’ve got an arrival time and I’ll send a ride.” “Go now!” snapped Sam. “Going!” Kai snapped off the call and jogged up to his room. He liked the idea that Bella was telling the truth. He wanted her to be everything she claimed because that was pretty near perfect. The only problem, of course, was why would any girl, let alone a perfect one, be within twenty feet of him?

Chapter 6

Speaking Butler

— Sam —

Dr. Samyal Tuomisto watched Kai’s hologram fade with a frown. Kai was never careless with his injections. Was this a one-off? Or was it a sign of further decline? Adthal bomb victims suffered from intense hormonal shifts, mood swings, and delusions of invulnerability. Toward the end, many victims stopped taking medication believing that they didn’t need it. It was easy to see why—due to the hormones they were frequently incredibly strong and fast. Except that eventually, the body burned out. Not to mention the hair-trigger tempers, ego, and lack of empathy. Kai hadn’t seemed like that. Sam had contradicted, teased, and ordered Kai around. Just like normal. Or what had been normal back when Kai was healthy. For the last year, there had been less and less of normal Kai. Sam called up his list and requested a connection to the secondary node for the Craig Estate. Lynnwood answered almost immediately. As usual Lynnwood’s expression was composed and polite, but Sam thought he caught a hint of concern in the wrinkles of his ecru skin. Sam had a hard time ing that those wrinkles had been the exact same on the day of Lynnwood’s creation hundreds of years earlier and would be the same a hundred years from now. He sometimes wondered if Lynnwood ever felt the need to “fix” the wrinkles the way humans did. He added it to the list of things that would never get answered since it was far too rude to ask. “Just one moment,” said Lynnwood. Sam waited while Lynnwood shut the doors to the kitchen. “I’m glad you called, Doctor. I’ve just been debating whether or

not I should you.” “I just talked to Kai,” said Sam. “He called?” Relief was evident in Lynnwood’s expression. “Oh, good. I just don’t know what’s going on. It’s the girl. I’m convinced of it. I just don’t know how.” “Bella Glass? I did get the feeling that he liked her,” said Sam, with a grin. “Yes, I’m sure he does,” said Lynnwood, “but that’s not what I meant. No, from the moment she came into this house, he’s been different.” “What do you mean?” asked Sam frowning. “He asked which sofa to put her on!” “I don’t speak butler,” said Sam. “I don’t know what that means.” Lynnwood was always an ally and he had no doubt that the old AI cared deeply for Kai, but sometimes Sam was completely lost in the nuance of the upper crust that Lynnwood navigated with ease. Also on Sam’s Do Not Ask List was whether or not Lynnwood had been programmed with that knowledge or had learned it over time. “Three summers ago, Ms. Alice had some friends out. I think that was the last time she had visitors over. A little boy fell in the pond. Kai went in and got him, but when he brought the boy out Kai set him on the hand-painted silk chaise lounge and walked off. The child upchucked pond water all over and the chaise lounge was utterly ruined. And Kai never understood why his mother was upset later.” “Neither do I,” said Sam. “There was a perfectly good wicker chair right next to it,” said Lynnwood. “My point is that he has rather… stopped caring about what other people might prefer.” Sam winced. Kai made an effort for him. Sam had always known that. But hearing how much he had stopped making an effort for other people was worrisome.

“But last night,” continued Lynnwood, “he asked which couch I wanted the poor miss set down on. Then he took care of her himself. And he is worried about her and what she wants. And today, I knew he was running late for his injection, but I know he hates to be pestered and then I got distracted.” “You got distracted?” demanded Sam. “What the hell?” Lynnwood’s expression became frosty. “As the organizer of this household, I am required to focus my chronometers on other things periodically.” “And as Kai’s doctor, I’m telling you that Kai’s medication schedule should always take precedence.” “Unfortunately,” said Lynnwood, “water erosion alerts quadrupled this morning on the South beach. Erosion mitigation legally requires a prompt response and Mr. Kai has in general been quite prompt about his injections.” “Ah,” said Sam. He was now feeling less than secure about Kai’s medication consistency. “All right, so you were working on not letting the beach erode onto someone’s house. Then what happened?” “And when I went out to the gym to find him, it was thirty minutes past his injection time,” “Uh-huh,” said Sam, trying not to panic. Kai had said thirty minutes when they’d spoken, but that was after a call to the police chief and talking to Bella. There was a chunk of additional time there that wasn’t included in Kai’s thirty minutes. “And,” said Lynnwood, his eyes going wide, “the two of them were wrestling.” Sam felt a cold knot of fear form in his stomach. “Is the girl all right?” “No, you don’t understand. They weren’t fighting. She was showing him how to wrestle. And then she threw him on the floor and laughed at him. Not meanly, but like people do when they tease. But… he was a half an hour over.” “How did he react? I just talked to him. He seemed fine.”

“He was fine. Better than fine. He laughed about it.” Lynnwood was distressed and Sam knew how he felt. His pulse was racing at the very idea that Kai had been alone with someone that close to an injection time. When he’d talked to Kai, Sam had assumed that Lynnwood was hovering in a chaperon-esque manner in the background. None of what Lynnwood was describing should have been possible. But Lynnwood was right—Kai had seemed better than fine. “He asked me down to look at Bella,” said Sam. “I’ll be in tomorrow. Can you keep an eye on him until I get there?” “I always do,” said Lynnwood. “I’m glad you’re coming. And it won’t hurt to have you look at Miss Glass’s head. It was rather a large gash.” “Do you think she’s really Bella Glass?” asked Sam. “I don’t see how that’s possible,” said Lynnwood. “But frankly, if she can have this effect on Mr. Kai, I don’t particularly care who she is.” “I…” Sam didn’t know what to say to that. Kai had been fighting the effects of the Adthal bomb for six years, and for six years Sam had been watching his friend die by inches. He’d poured hours of research time into treatments that barely moved the needle. He’d lied to Kai’s face about having hope and options, but the truth was Kai was running out of time and Sam was running out of ideas. “We’ll see when I get down there,” said Sam. “Whatever it is, hopefully, it’s long-term.” “Indeed,” agreed Lynnwood, straightening his vest. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go serve lunch.”

Chapter 7

The Police

— Bella —

Bella stared at the police detective trying to get some sort of reading on what she was thinking. Detective Lorelei M’bako looked like she was playing poker. Possibly that was normal for detectives, but Bella was finding it extremely disconcerting. She really hadn’t thought that when Kai had said that he’d call the police chief that it would result in a detective turning up by that afternoon. She had underestimated how wealthy and powerful Kai actually was. “So, you left the party and you don’t what happened next?” The detective remained expressionless, giving her heart face, with its sharp-pointed chin and glorious russet skin a mask-like appearance, as though she were an AI composite—too pretty to be real. “As I said, the next thing I was waking up here,” said Bella, trying not to sound as frustrated as she felt. This time there was the faintest hint of a lifted eyebrow. The detective didn’t believe her. “Uh-huh.” The detective pulled open a display off her com bracelet and reviewed the contents. Bella liked the fancy new technology over her hand-held device. She wondered how long it would be until those reached the general marketplace.

“The head wound looks fairly serious,” said the detective looking at the scan. “Have you had it checked out by a hospital?” “I have a doctor coming tomorrow,” said Kai. “Mm-hm,” said the Detective. “Please have her forward the results to me.” “Him,” said Kai. A sharp twinge tweaked across Bella’s scalp like lightening and the events in front of her seemed to speed up. “Who him?” asked the detective looking confused, her words coming out too fast and her expression moving with the speed of a blink. “The doctor’s preferred pronoun is him,” said Kai, his voice rushing and garbled. Bella pressed on the lump in her skull and the world slowed back down to normal speed. “Oh,” said the detective, with a shrug. “Have him forward the results then.” The detective turned back to Bella and seemed to scrutinize her from head to foot. “We’ll see what we can do.” “What you can do?” repeated Bella, feeling lost. “You’re the police. Don’t you have any missing person reports or anything?” She felt like she was missing something. Something that Kai and the detective both seemed to understand. “Not a recent one,” said Detective M’bako. Her dark curly hair had been aggressively pinned down and held in place with clips — the severity of her hair seemed to underscore her personality. “Well, perhaps there hasn’t been time,” said Bella. “It was only yesterday. They probably think I’ve done something stupid and run off with Vestan or something.” “Who’s Vestan?” asked the detective frowning. Bella found herself blushing. “My cousin Vestan was one of my sister’s bridespersons. He’s the other troublemaker. Moira said we were on no to

stand next to each other during the wedding.” “What did she think was going to happen?” asked Kai skeptically. Bella cleared her throat. “Well, at her secondary school graduation we may have gotten drunk and filled the pool with gelatin.” Kai looked like he was trying not to laugh, which was a good sign. “And for the record Vestan did just graduate from law school and I’m about to get my Master’s, so it’s not like we were permanently brain delayed. It was just a stupid school prank. Also, it worked out because Vestan ended up Jell-O wrestling with Brad and now they’re inseparable. So really… it was in the service of true love.” “Practically a moral necessity,” said Kai. “Precisely!” said Bella, pleased that he seemed to understand. “Yeah,” said the detective. “Sounds like a bitch to clean and probably ruined the filtration system.” “I cleaned it up,” said Bella. “No one else had to do anything.” She didn’t add that Vestan had been less than useless in the cleaning department and the filtration system had indeed needed a complete overhaul. At least Brad had come through for that. But since then Bella had tried not to take any more of Vestan’s brilliant ideas and considering that as it was an entire decade ago she thought that Moira might want to consider letting it go. Moira hadn’t agreed with her though. “Anyway,” said Bella, clearing her throat and feeling embarrassed, “my family may think I’ve gone missing on purpose. Maybe they aren’t worried about me yet.” “I’m sure they were worried about you,” said Kai. Bella smiled at him. His tone was very certain and that was reassuring, but there was still something wrong with his statement. Bella just couldn’t pinpoint what. “Do you anything unusual about the wedding?” asked Detective M’bako, distracting her. “Just the creepy groomsmen,” said Bella.

“You mentioned them before,” said Detective M’bako. “What made them creepy?” Bella put her hand up to her head, feeling gingerly along the ridge in her scalp. “I… That one kept offering me drinks. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I just… And all of them kept going off in corners to talk to each other. I didn’t like them. I don’t like Oliver. He’s secretive.” She realized that her voice had taken on a petulant tone and she straightened up, putting her hand back in her lap, trying to look like a responsible person who didn’t have irrational prejudices and wasn’t occasionally dizzy. “Did you take his drink?” asked Kai. “What?” “The groomsman who wouldn’t take no for answer. Did you take the drink he gave you?” asked Kai. “Mm,” said the detective, nodding. Bella looked between Kai and the detective, puzzled. She reached for the memory, but everything seemed hazy. She closed her eyes trying to call up the images. Instead, she found everything jumbled and mixed up with the sound of distant laughter and her own panicked breathing. Her eyes jerked open and she reached for the arm of the chair for something solid to have a hold of. “No? Yes? I’m not sure. I… I wanted to go to the garden and look at the roses. I’ve never seen real roses before.” Her hand went up to her head again. The detective looked at Kai, who nodded in response to some message that Bella was once again locked out of. “I’m having trouble ing,” she said. “Head wounds can do that,” said the detective, without looking concerned. “You may never get those memories back. I have forty-eight hours I still can’t around the Battle of Seleucid.” Kai grunted. “Sorry, but you probably don’t want them back anyway.”

The detective shrugged. “So I hear.” Bella looked at them again. “What battle? There was a battle? With who? When? At Seleucid? I have friends there.” Kai and the detective exchanged looks. “Your friends are fine,” said Kai, with a tight smile. “How can you be sure? I don’t understand…” Bella looked at the two of them. They were so instantly on the same page and they both shared a straight-backed way of standing and sitting. It must be a shared military training, but it felt like there was something else. Something they weren’t telling her. “I think I should take a genetic sample,” said the detective abruptly. “All right,” said Bella with a shrug. “But I don’t really see why.” “Well, that’s a pretty big head wound. You may have been attacked. If we find a crime scene, I’ll want a sample to match.” “Oh! You think that jerkwad groomsman drugged and attacked me,” exclaimed Bella, suddenly seeing why they were behaving oddly. “Well, that would make more sense. I mean, not really. But at least it would explain why I can’t anything. And it would make me feel a little bit better.” “It would make you feel better?” asked Kai, looking torn between shock and amusement. “I swore to Moira I wouldn’t screw up her wedding,” said Bella. “I’ve been really worried that I just got blitzed and fell down the hill. Which would be super embarrassing. But I swear I only getting one glass of wine. I don’t even finishing it.” “What was the creepy groomsman’s name?” asked the detective, moving over to the chair beside Bella. She took a small device from her bag and placed it over the tip of Bella’s finger. “Um… Oh, crap. Um… No, I swear I this. I had to help with the place settings. Afu Opunui. I think.” Bella grimaced. “Or Dyson Pretorius. Sorry. I’m not sure which was which. I’d have to see a picture. It was whichever one looked

like he hadn’t been outside in a year. Pasty would be a kind way of putting it. I think if I were going to paint that skin I’d have to start with an under-layer of green.” Kai began to laugh and even the detective looked amused. “I’m getting the picture,” she said. The device on Bella’s fingertip beeped and the detective removed it. “Are you sure it worked?” asked Bella inspecting her finger. “I don’t think it took any blood.” The detective poked a button on her com bracelet, seeming to ignore the question. “Um,” said the detective, pressing the button again. The bracelet made a donk sound that Bella was beginning to recognize as the standard sound for computers not complying with requests. She wondered if this hemisphere preferred the sound. All of her tech made a beep sound. “It doesn’t need any,” said the detective, finally looking up. “It uses dead skin cells and fingernails.” “Well, that’s nice! When I ed for university I swear the stupid machine jabbed me about eight times.” “Yeah, don’t the military,” said the detective. “It’s like that times twelve.” Bella laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.” “All right,” said Detective M’bako, tucking the device away. “I’ll be in touch in the next day or so. It shouldn’t take that long to find your family.” “Thanks!” said Bella, relieved to have a resolution in sight. “Walk me out, Commander?” asked the detective and Kai nodded. Bella went to the window after they left the room and watched as Kai stood and talked to the detective by her vehicle. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his face was serious. She knew that they were talking about her, but she couldn’t figure out what there was to say that couldn’t be said to her.

“House,” said Bella tentatively, “what happened at the Battle of Seleucid?” “I’m sorry,” said the house. “That information is not available for your viewing.” “How do I view that information?” asked Bella. Outside, Kai was beginning to look annoyed. “To view historical documents visit the library. To view restricted information request access from a database .” “Who are the database s?” asked Bella. “Kai Craig, Alice Craig, or Lynnwood 0101110 all have -level access.” “Thanks,” said Bella, puzzling over Lynnwood’s name which the house had read out as a string of ones and zeros. “Which way to the library?”

Chapter 8

The Library

— Kai —

“What do you think?” asked Kai, when he and M’bakowere outside. “Well, no ID automatically popped on the DNA sample,” said M’bako. “Which is a little weird, but could mean she’s from Azizos or that she’s still a minor. But I think she’s experienced some sort of trauma. The way she touched her head? Her reaction when we pressed her on the groomsman? I’d lay even money that whoever that guy is, he’s somehow involved. But do I think she’s Isabella Glass? No. It’s not possible. It’s my guess that she got drugged, attacked, and managed to get free, but with the head injury and trauma slipped into some sort of delusion about the Missing Heiress.” “That doesn’t explain the wedding suit,” said Kai, stubbornly. “Or why she looks exactly like Isabella Glass.” “No, it doesn’t. But I imagine when we figure out who she is we will be able to explain it. When does your doctor arrive? I want him to run as many tests as possible. See if she has been drugged.” “He’s taking the night train,” said Kai. “I’ve got a cruiser going out to pick him up tomorrow morning.” “Great,” said M’bako, nodding. “That’ll be more than twenty-four hours since you found her, but it is within the optimal time frame and still faster than trying

to get permission for a full at the clinic or taking her into the city. You’ll share the results?” she asked. “That would be between Bella and Sam,” said Kai. “It’s medical treatment and patient authorization still applies. But considering that she just handed over her DNA without a second thought, I’m guessing that if something turns up, she’ll want you to have it.” M’bako nodded. “Yeah. We’ll just have to keep her in that frame of mind. I’ll start running the DNA first thing when I get back to the precinct. But a planetwide database search is probably going to take at least seventy-two hours and that’s if I can get the dedicated run time. It could be longer. Not to mention if I have to broaden the search to Azizos.” “How about you just start with the Isabella Glass DNA you have on file?” suggested Kai, trying not to let irritation color his voice. “At least eliminate that possibility.” M’bako didn’t roll her eyes because she was a professional, but her face said that she was definitely thinking about it. “Yeah,” she said. “I might as well. Let’s put the conspiracy theories to bed before they even get started. You do realize that you can’t take her anywhere, right? The town has Missing Heiress tours during the high season and they don’t take those holo-nodes down when the rains come. The entire population knows what she looks like. The last thing we need is the press getting wind of this.” “I’m having a hard enough time not mentioning the damn war,” said Kai. “I’ve restricted some information on the house network, but I’m not sure I can explain why her holo is on every other block in town. Not to mention any tech advances she stumbles across.” “Commander,” said M’bako, shaking her head, “don’t let her get you thinking like that. She’s just a confused girl. She knows damn well about the war and any recent tech advances. I can understand why someone would want to forget them for a while, but the rest of us have to live with it and so does she.” “Maybe you should live with it a little less,” said Kai, his anger surging to the forefront. “The war is over with.” M’bako looked up at him in surprise. “I’m aware of that.”

“Are you, detective? Because that’s the second time you’ve called me Commander. I hung up that uniform six years ago. Maybe you should do the same.” He turned on his heel and went back into the house, returning to the sitting room where he’d left Bella, but the room was empty. “House, where is Bella?” he demanded, feeling the customary surge of anger. “Bella is in the library,” said the house. Kai hurried down the corridor toward the library which was at the center of the house behind energy shields and double reinforced security firewalls. The library was one of the core Craig databases and the repository for all of the Craig artifacts from the first settlement. Kai stepped through the ornate double doors of the library and onto a large balcony. It was demarcated by a repeating pattern of wide circles near the edge with a swooping railing. He looked out over the server towers and the cavern below. Spires rose from the floor four stories below ground level, reaching three stories above the main level to the roof, which was clad in opalescent, semi-opaque glass. Vibrant green moss lined the outer walls and maintained the vault temperature and moisture levels. At various intervals, balconies and bridges jutted out from the walls into space connecting to islands of books and artifacts. The Craig family had one of the most extensive collections of first settler records and artifacts from Earth, as well physical books. Although, some of the books were too delicate to be handled anymore and had been translated to holograms so that they could be enjoyed for generations to come. Each island held cozy nooks for reading and enjoying the items housed within. The first act of the Craig family upon arrival had been to widen and dig down into the old meteor strike that had been the distinctive feature of their allotted property. Shinyu Craig had used it as a shelter before building the estate up around it. While other of the colony only belatedly realized that the hot temperatures and excess moisture degraded data strips and materials faster than expected, Shinyu had already predicted the need to house data securely and solved the problem using the local moss to pull moisture from the surrounding air. He also paid an astronomical amount for the now unavailable Duronglass to be imported from

the tech-centric colony of Epiphany in the TRAPPIST-1 system. The diamond nano-thread goop had arrived in massive tubs and then been grown to fit the library ceiling. The library was bombproof, weatherproof, almost entirely selfsustaining, and housed more secrets than many politicians were comfortable with. The Craig library was quite literally one of the secrets to the family’s success. “Welcome, Mr. Craig,” said the librarian droid in her smooth feminine voice. Female voices implied soothing authority and were almost universally used for librarians. Some men’s rights groups had complained and tried to get male librarians introduced, but no one liked them. He was about to ask where Bella was when he saw her two stories down, crossing the bridge to the settlement tower. “Platform, please,” he requested and one of the circles on the floor lit up with a slight hum. He stepped onto the circle and gripped the railing. “ Bella.” The platform ring lit up, indicating its acceptance of his order and separated from the balcony, drifting toward Bella. The transport platform did not go fast. It was a library after all. By the time he reached the settlement tower, he was drumming his fingers impatiently on the railing. He entered the tower, thinking that she most likely would have moved to the most recent entries. Instead, he found her paused before the portrait of Shinyu Craig. “He’s the first Craig, isn’t he?” “The first on Arsu,” said Kai. “We can trace the Craigs back even further on Earth.” “My ancestor came on one of the lottery seats from Mars,” said Bella. “They were only recruiting farmers at the time, but she didn’t know anything about farming. She had a voc-tech degree in welding and hadn’t ever seen any dirt but Mars dust before in her life. So, she bribed the ticket warden to make sure her number got called. If she’d been caught it would have been five years in a labor camp.” “That’s a lot of risk,” said Kai, trying to picture the kind of guts required to take those chances.

“That’s a lot of perseverance and stubbornness,” said Bella. “Your ancestor looks like he knew about those things too.” Kai looked at Shinyu, with his determined squint and half-smile. “He was an engineer. He laid out plans for everything. He built Lynnwood. Although, I’m not sure even he thought Lynnwood would live this long.” Bella stared at him, clearly shocked. “Lynnwood isn’t human?” “No,” said Kai, and waited for the racist statement that always followed this revelation. “But they just ed that anti-independent AI law! The Artificial Persons Agreement. Is he all right? Is he…” She seemed to flounder. “Is he safe?” Her eyebrows were sharp V’s of worry. “Yes, as long as he works for us, then he’s perfectly safe. It’s the lack of parts availability that is the real threat.” “But that’s not an acceptable answer, is it?” asked Bella. “I mean, if he’s forced to work for you for a modicum of autonomy that’s not really autonomy, is it?” “No, but it’s the contract we’ve signed,” said Kai. “Again, can it really be a legal contract if he’s forced into it?” Anger colored her tone and he realized that he’d misinterpreted her question. “No, you don’t understand. That is the contract he gave to us. We must employ Lynnwood for as long as he wishes to remain employed. In essence, we cannot fire him. And yes, under the current laws, he cannot leave us either, but I don’t think he wants to. I think we’re his hobby.” “What?” Bella frowned. “In the conversations I have had with Lynnwood it seems that due to his longevity he takes a rather… I don’t know… gardening type interest in my family line? He likes to ensure that we do well and it distresses him when we don’t. He’s the one who insists on these portraits. I think, in a way, he collects us.”

Bella blinked at him. She opened and shut her mouth a few times. “That is an extremely different world view,” she said at last. “Yes,” agreed Kai. “And it’s one that upsets many people. They feel angry that he would treat humans as… less than fully independent thinkers and unique creations.” Bella’s eyes twinkled with laughter. “You mean, they dislike being treated the way they treat AIs and clones?” “Yes,” said Kai. “It’s exactly like that. The truth is Lynnwood is different, but for some reason, he likes to be with us. Which is good because we most likely would have fallen apart without him. Our relationship is odd I suppose, but it’s ours. And he’s family. In some ways, he is the Craig family.” Kai watched Bella carefully. This was where he lost most people. The Craig relationship with Lynnwood was a murky gray area that stretched minds. Most people liked their minds to go unstretched and kept things in orderly boxes of black and white. “But isn’t he angry about the anti-AI laws?” “Yes, he has expressed displeasure and I believe he has a group of friends that he meets with that discuss such things. Periodically, he requests that we various legislation and we do. It never seems like enough to me, but when I ask about it he tells me that now is not the time. Perhaps, it would have been better if we’d stopped the Artificial Persons Agreement, but we didn’t. So now I believe he and the other AI are playing the long game and waiting for public sentiment and politics to turn. They don’t feel the pressure of time the way we do.” “I knew I should have gone to more protests,” said Bella, shaking her head. “I just didn’t think they’d actually that stupid law. It’s so infuriating. If you’re emotionally autonomous then you’re a person. And who cares if you’re a clone? That’s like being a very time-delayed twin.” Kai didn’t want to say that there hadn’t been any legal clones in at least seventyfive years. Clones that had existed under the law received residual rights, but the net effect of the agreement had been no new clones. Although, with the depredations of war on the working generation, and the looming population decline, Kai thought opinions, and public policy on cloning might shift. There

needed to be more babies and soon. But aside from the horror show of the clone labs on the Morena—which Kai put down to the cruelty of Dr. Death and the Naturalists—it was the AIs who had suffered the most under the Artificial Persons Agreement. “And,” continued Bella, “what difference does it matter if AIs will outlive us? Who says that our lifespan is the definition of normal? I don’t think that living a long time makes someone a threat to the very fabric of society and future of humanity or whatever nonsense that Senator was splashing around.” “Did you actually go to protests?” asked Kai. “Yeah,” said Bella, looking surprised. “I got called a machine-lover and some other not nice things. But one of the cleaning droids I met there said it liked my sign.” “Let me guess, you painted it yourself?” he asked, trying not to smile. “Well, yes,” said Bella, looking embarrassed. She was silent a moment and he waited, sensing there was something she wanted to say. “My dad says it’s childish to get so upset over these things.” “It isn’t,” said Kai. “Stripping personhood from one segment of the population was the first step.” “The first step to what?” asked Bella frowning. “We should probably head back for dinner,” said Kai. “Lynnwood starts to worry if I’m late.” Kai checked his com bracelet. It was also getting close to time for his injection. He didn’t want to risk another repeat of this afternoon. “I wanted to look some stuff up,” said Bella, still frowning at him. “And see all your other ancestors.” She took a few steps into the hall, looking at the portraits, holos, and sculptures that circled the room. “Is that your mom?” asked Bella, rushing forward to see the hologram of Alice. “She looks like you. Although, a bit stern.” Kai tried not to snort a laugh. “You could say that.”

“What’s this one?” she asked pointing at the empty niche next to Alice. “That one is for me after I die.” He tried not to let it bother him that Lynnwood had already started catag Kai’s life. He knew that if Bella scrolled past his name on the plaque she would see his service record, medals, graduation. Probably if she kept scrolling she would find his first steps. But what stood out to Kai were all the things that weren’t on the list—no partners, no children, no humanitarian deeds, no creative accomplishments. Kai had lived, fought, and would die. That was all there was to his life and it bothered him. “Cheerful.” She leaned in to read the plaque. “Kai Lin Nathaniel Ezekiel Craig. Now there’s a mouthful.” “What? Don’t you have a string of ancestors to be honored in the middle of your name?” She chuckled. “I do actually. I’m Isabella Elei Ioane Glass.” “You have almost as many as me!” “Mine are shorter,” she said, without a trace of guilt or irony, which made him laugh. She looked around the room, taking in the architecture and portraits. “What about your kids? Where are they going to go?” “That’s not an issue,” said Kai, and Bella frowned at him. “The portraits can be shuffled if necessary,” he said, avoiding pointing out that there wouldn’t be any need because there wouldn’t be any children. Without a partner and since cloning was illegal, the fact was that he was probably the last Craig. His mother wanted him to freeze his sperm. He’d agreed, although he hadn’t gone through with it yet. It seemed like his mother and Lynnwood were simply planning on growing his replacement after he was gone, but he wasn’t sure he liked that idea. Then he realized that his mom’s birthdate was showing plainly on the plaque under her portrait. “Anyway, what do you think about eating dinner in the ballroom under the skylight? We can do some moon watching since the moons are in alignment.” It was the first thing he thought of so that she would look away from the portraits. “Oooh!” exclaimed Bella. “Can I wear a fancy dress and fan myself

dramatically?” “I think that’s practically a requirement,” said Kai, grinning. “We can also attempt dancing and if all else fails, we’ll just go toast marshmallows in the green room.” Bella giggled. “We don’t really have to do the fancy dress thing.” Bella looked as though she were trying to be polite. That annoyed him. It was the first time he felt that she was being less than genuine. “But you really want to, so why wouldn’t we? We can do whatever we want.” Bella looked up at him and her smile was enough to light up the sun. “Most people don’t want to be… whimsical,” she said. “Most people are boring,” said Kai. “Come on.” He offered her his arm and she took it. He supposed that he ought to tell her about his illness, but he hated the idea that she would look at him any differently. She made him feel like a person again. He thought he’d accustomed himself to the judgment of others, but having her pull away from him felt like it would be a loss he couldn’t bear.

Chapter 9

A Ball for Two

— Kai —

Kai hadn’t worn his uniform since he’d been mustered out of the service. He’d hesitated to put it on, but the line of formal wear in his closet seemed designed in shades of inadequate, bland, and boring. Only his dress uniform seemed like something worthy of Bella. Except, now that the ballroom doors were opening, he suddenly felt as if the uniform were too much. He should have at least left off some of the medals. Most of them were for just showing up anyway. Only one or two did he think had been truly worthy of mention. He shifted nervously, wondering what Bella would think, and the heavy skirt of the coat slapped at the side of his knee. It was a familiar corrective tap that told him he wasn’t standing straight enough and Kai stiffened as if he were preparing for inspection. Bella came through the door and he almost burst out laughing. She had truly embraced the spirit of the evening. The dress looked as though it had been constructed by a master of origami. Every layer of carefully folded and molded fabric faded from a pale gray to a vibrant shade of blue and the barest vibration from Belle set the fabric trembling into a sine wave of delicious movement. “You look amazing,” he said. “I’ve never seen a dress like it.” “My friend at school won the bi-planet fashion contest last year and the contest rules state that you have to make the pattern available on the planetary networks. I just asked the wardrobe to search for her design.” She did a little twirl. “You said you were ludicrously wealthy, so I went ahead and asked the wardrobe to

make it.” She paused and looked up at him nervously. “That was all right?” “Completely,” he said, grinning. “You are welcome to spend as much of my money on clothes as you wish.” She laughed. “That is a very careless promise! You can’t go promising things like that.” “Why not?” “What if I’m a horrible person and start taking advantage of you?” “Well, then you would be a horrible person, but I would still get to see you in all the fancy dresses.” She laughed again. “You are so strange.” “Oh, like you’re so normal.” “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, I’m not at all. I keep trying to pretend, but I’m not very good at it and I think… I think I should stop doing it.” “Yes,” said Kai. “You should. Don’t let them make you small just because they’re uncomfortable with how big you want to dream. Live with ion.” “Do you do that?” she asked, looking up at him shyly. “Do you live with ion?” “No,” he said. “I spend my days trying to say the right thing, think the right thing, and be the right thing. And then I wake up more tired than when I went to bed because I have to do it all over again.” Bella stared at him, her eyebrows drawing together in anguished lines and he felt a conflicting sensation of lightness for uttering the truth and fear that she would think he was insane. “I… Can I hug you?” That wasn’t the response that he thought she might have, but it delighted him. “Yes,” he said and caught her as she flung her arms around him. She squeezed

him hard—harder than it seemed like someone her size ought to be able to. He leaned into her, trying to absorb her with every sense—from the texture of her dress to the warmth of her skin and the smell of her hair. He couldn’t the last time someone had touched him with affection. He wanted the moment to never end. “Let’s stop,” she said, looking up at him and he froze, but she didn’t let go of him. “Stop being something we don’t want to be. Promise me you’ll stop. Promise me you’ll just say and think and be whatever you want.” “That might not be a good idea,” he said, regretfully. How had he ended up here? This was supposed to be an evening of distraction and fun, not bizarrely intimate honesty and never-ending hugs. “Don’t care,” said Bella. “Bad idea, good idea. Don’t be wise or smart or clever. Just be… you.” “Ah, well, that’s easy,” he said. “I am not wise, smart, or clever.” “Then what are you?” “Hungry,” he said. She laughed and stepped back. “Well, I’m assuming that Lynnwood has ensured that we will not starve?” she asked, her eyes twinkling. He wanted to pull her back into his arms. How was he not kissing her right now? “Probably,” said Kai. “He managed it all through my childhood, so I expect he’ll come through now. But I’m not being a proper host.” He straightened up to his military pose, clicked his heels together, and offered Bella his arm. “I’m taking your arm, but only because I’m terrified. You look very impressive.” “It’s a trick,” he said, leading her to the table that Lynnwood had set for them. “You just imagine the person next to you farted and you’re both offended and trying not to comment and then you look as arrogant as a duke.” Bella laughed, her head going back in glee. “Oh,” she said, drawing a breath. “Here, let me try.” Her chin came up, one eyebrow lifted and her lips pursed.

It was his turn to laugh. Her expression was appropriately arrogant, but it was so un-Bella that he couldn’t take it seriously. “Mastered it in one go,” he said. Dinner was easy. He couldn’t the last time he’d laughed and talked and forgotten about what he was supposed to say or be. Between them, they poured out an entire bottle of wine and argued about politics and the Alliance, and agreed on the deliciousness of dinner. Bella scraped the last of the risotto off her plate and then set her fork down and looked around the room surreptitiously. “I’m doing it,” she whispered. “I don’t even care.” Kai raised an eyebrow and then laughed as she picked up her plate and licked it. He grabbed up his plate and did the same. It felt cathartic to do one of the things he’d been holding himself back from and Bella’s continuous giggle only fueled his delight. He reached for his glass and realized that he felt tipsy. He couldn’t the last time he’d felt drunk. His Adthal modified metabolism made it virtually impossible. He looked back at Bella. Her brown eyes beamed at him with an enveloping warmth. Or maybe he wasn’t drunk—maybe he was just in love.

Chapter 10

The Rose

— Bella —

“May I have this dance, sir?” Bella asked, trying to sound as regal as Kai looked. Kai tossed his coat over the back of the chair as Bella bowed to him and offered her hand. He was ridiculously good looking and his military uniform only served to underscore his stately bearing and sharp jawline. She was relieved that he’d taken his coat off—that many medals were going to be hard to snuggle up against. “Are you using the fart method?” he asked and Bella broke out into a peal of laughter. “It’s no good if you call me out on it,” protested Bella. He took her hand and slid the other around her waist as the music rose. “It is good if I can make you laugh,” he argued. He took a step and she followed easily. It was as if they had been dancing together all their lives. “Wait,” said Bella, a frown flitting across her face. “Is that why you started making funny faces during my excellent points on Alliance diplomacy? Were you trying to make me laugh?” she demanded. He shrugged innocently, knowing that the grin on his face gave him away. “You are a cheater cheater pumpkin

eater!” “Pumpkin?” he asked, puzzled. “Those orange gourds,” she replied. He looked as mystified as ever. “Do they not grow in the Southern hemisphere? Everyone I know has loads of heritage seeds from Earth. When we were little and poor, before Mom died, we must have had pumpkin soup about twice a week. Or maybe you are just so rich that you never had to rely on the survival farming packets.” “No, we did,” said Kai, ing his family history. “But by the time…” He paused. He had been intending to reference her time and even one hundred and forty years ago his family had already been wealthy. “We have a lot of land,” he corrected. “We switched to native crop species pretty quickly after arrival. Shinyu Craig believed that modifying and adapting to the environment was the key to our survival and he was right. But I believe my equivalent would be Korin peppers.” “I love those!” “Yes, you say that because you don’t have them at every meal for three months straight when the harvest comes in.” Bella giggled and leaned closer into him. Their dancing had devolved into basically swaying and hugging. She couldn’t say she minded. “I used to spend all my allowance on them. Moira complained because I added them to all the meals.” “You may have all of mine then,” he said, his voice was as soft and warm as his eyes. “Sounds wonderful,” she said. She couldn’t the last time she hadn’t had to worry about how she was presenting herself or what the subtext was. She had just been herself. She wanted to kiss him. Bella leaned a little closer. Time seemed to slow down, but this time Bella

couldn’t tell if it was him or her head injury. “Um,” said Kai, pulling back. “Uh. Do you want to see the conservatory?” He looked like he knew he’d just biffed a kissing moment. He smiled awkwardly and Bella couldn’t figure out how to respond. He also looked confused. “Sure,” said Bella. “The conservatory sounds nice.” He looked relieved and Bella wanted to laugh at him. Or grab him by the ears and plant a kiss on him. Or possibly both. What had she missed? “I’ll be glad when Sam gets here tomorrow,” said Kai, abruptly changing the topic, as he led the way from the dance floor. “You talk about Sam like he knows how to solve everything,” said Bella. “Well, not everything,” said Kai. “But a lot of things. He’s brilliant. Occasionally a little bit monofocused, but really brilliant.” “What do you mean?” The door opened and Bella was hit with a wave of fresh warm air. The ballroom was as magnificent as the rest of the house, but she hadn’t realized that the glass walls with their lush greenery pressing against them were, in fact, not displays, but actual plants. “Oh… Like once when we were in the service,” Kai replied, bringing her into the conservatory as if keeping a jungle’s worth of plants in his house was normal, “I brought in one of my crew with a broken arm and Sam immediately focused on the fact that Punahele had a genetic abnormality that gave him lymphedema-distichiasis, or double eyelashes. And Sam spent five minutes discussing the eyelashes and I finally had to point out to him that my crewman’s arm was broken.” Bella laughed. “This does not sound like someone I want examining my head.” “All right, I it, that may not have been my most confidence-inspiring story about Sam, but I swear he is who you want. Because once he focuses on the problem, he will work tirelessly to solve it. He’s a really good friend.” Bella tried to interpret the segue to Sam. Was Kai involved with Sam?

The lamps in the conservatory were daylight mimicking lamps, so the light was soft and warm and only flicked on as they moved down the flagstone path among the hothouse flowers. “You’re lucky,” said Bella. “I feel like all my friends are sort of superficial. I was realizing at the wedding that I don’t feel connected to a lot of my friends and family anymore. I’ve been working really hard at school and I think I’ve let some things slide. I thought I was making the right choice to be sort of… heads down into my art. But seeing Moira with Oliver … I don’t know.” “But you hate the tō raho,” said Kai, and Bella chuckled. “Yes, I do. But she looked so happy. I thought my art was worth it, but now I’m wondering if that was a mistake.” “No,” said Kai firmly. “No, your work is amazing. You can’t doubt that. Not for a minute.” “Thank you. You’ve seen like three sketches so I don’t know how you think that, but thank you.” “Because those sketches were amazing. I know you had trouble with your relationship with Moira, but don’t let her and the tō raho make you doubt your art,” he said firmly. “I’m not doubting my art exactly,” said Bella, slowly, trying to find her way through what she wanted to say. “I just feel… cut off from people recently.” “I know the feeling,” he said nodding. “You’re doing what you have to do, but it’s isolating.” Bella looked up in surprise. “Yes,” she said. “That is how I feel. Or how I have been feeling. It’s like you’ve put that into focus for me. I’m glad I came here.” He was smiling at her again and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back and leaning into him. “I guess getting injured could have gone a lot worse.” “Right.” He pulled back. “Injured.” He pivoted away. “Could have been a lot worse. I used to play floor is lava in here when I was a kid.” Bella tried not to roll her eyes as the pieces clicked together. Kai was not

involved with Sam, but he did want Sam to get here as soon as possible. And now Bella also couldn’t wait until Sam arrived. She needed to get off the injured reserve list because obviously, Kai was feeling worried about it. “Floor is lava,” she said. “I used to be able to go from the living room to the kitchen to my bedroom without getting burned once.” “But can you go from bench to bench?” Kai demanded, jumping up on the bench. Bella leaped to the bench on the opposite side of the path. “We will find out,” she said. An hour later, Bella lay on her bed and hummed the last waltz that had been playing in the ballroom. Dinner had been the most magnificent, wonderful, beautiful, dreamy, splendiferous, perfect evening of all time. Kai had looked gorgeous in his dress uniform and Bella had felt that her gauzy, poofy, fairy tale dress had matched every dream she’d ever had as a little girl. Everything had been perfect, including Lynnwood. Perhaps it was her imagination, but whatever frostiness had been present in his attitude toward her was now gone. He’d gone out of his way to make the evening perfect. From candles on the table and background music and food that made Bella want to write a poem on the subject of risotto, everything had been a banquet for the senses. Their every need had been anticipated and Bella felt that she’d entered some kind of dream sequence where she and Kai were the only two people in the world. Even the extended period of time arguing about economic policies and the Palmyra system’s relationship to the Alliance had been a delight. It was a bizarre thing to argue about, but he’d been so ionate. By the end, she’d forgotten what her position was and just settled for deg planetary policy with him. She thought that arguing with Kai was probably more fun than agreeing with most of the people she knew. Bella let out a deep breath and made bed angels with her arms. She wished she were naked between the sheets with him right now, but he was so obviously worried about her head injury. Which was sensible, reasonable, thoughtful, and completely unfair because she felt fine. Mostly fine.

Bella ran her hand along the ridge in her scalp. Periodically she had been feeling… odd. Like events were running strangely slow or fast, and sometimes she felt light-headed. She felt a little further into her hair and then her eyes widened in horror. The jeweled clip that had been provided by the wardrobe was no longer in place. She sat up and looked at the coverlet. It was empty. “Leave it to me,” said Bella, shaking her head. “Can’t even make it through one evening.” She thought through the night. There weren’t that many places that the clip could have fallen out. She just needed to go retrieve it. Bella hurried downstairs and into the ballroom. They had spent the majority of time in the ballroom under the skylight. Kai had promised moon watching, but they’d barely looked up. They’d been too busy talking. For the first time, standing in the dim light of a single lamp by the door, she took in the view of the double moons. They were enormous, hanging on the horizon above the trees like pale lanterns. The rounder, more petite Icarus led the egg-shaped Daedalus across the sky. She could just see the black dot on Daedalus’s face that was the Canavar, one of the first two massive colony ships to arrive in the Palmyra system. Canavar, according to her school unit on the colonization, was Turkish, an ancient Earth language, for Beast. It was meant to imply its functional, durable qualities and the promise of conquering the stars. The Canavar now orbited the moon and served as a way-station between the two planets Arsu and Azizos. Azizos was just beyond the moons looking like a dusky purple jewel in the atmosphere. The companion colony ship, the Morena orbiting Azizos wasn’t visible without a telescope. Hesitantly, Bella took a step forward. Surely, the moons hadn’t been in synchronous orbit during the wedding? The double moons could cause storms and Moira would have wanted to avoid that. But it did explain the storm on her first night here. How could Moira have overlooked such a big detail? Bella struggled to what phase the moon had been in when she arrived at the Catalan Resort, but instead, she felt a swimming feeling in her head and she stumbled. She stood still, waiting for the spinning to subside. A quick scan of the ballroom floor revealed no hair clip, but Bella hadn’t expected to find it there really. She walked cautiously toward the conservatory

that ringed the ballroom. Lights hummed on as she walked, but barely ahead of her path and she scanned the shadows for a tell-tale sparkle. She reached the garden walk and slowed even further. Kai had turned them around at some point, saying that only off-season flowers were ahead of them. He’d been adorably silly, jumping from bench to bench to play his floor-is-lava game. She guessed that she’d lost the clip somewhere around there. But the clip didn’t materialize and Bella worked her way until she reached the last bench where they’d met and stood for the longest moment. She was just about to give up hope when she saw a glitter ahead of her in the darkness. Bella hurried forward and an overhead light came on with a little flicker. She could see the clip now, wedged under a very prickly-looking bush. Cautiously, she reached through the leaves and sharp thorns. Her fingers had grasped the hairpiece when her eye fell on a small placard. The Lady Emma Hamilton Rose Coral color, citrus scent, blooms in early summer Bella raised her head to look at the bush above her. Not one bloom was to be seen. “House,” she said, her voice a husky whisper. “What month is it?” “October,” said the house, the voice echoing slightly along the garden walk. “Moira was married in June,” whispered Bella, but the house did not reply. She grabbed the clip and stood up, breathing heavily. Months. She’d lost months. What the hell had happened to her? She had gone out to the resort gardens to see the roses. This time her memory supplied the scent of roses and an image of nodding flowers in vibrant pinks and reds. She tried to follow the memory, but once again there was the claustrophobic feeling of panic and a sort of hazy impression of a man looming over her. Bella looked around the dark garden and fought the overwhelming sense that something was waiting for her in the darkness. Did Kai know how much time she was missing?

Her hand clenched around the clip, the pointed jewels digging into her palm. Of course, he knew. That was why he had looked at her so oddly when she said she’d been at the Catalan. Why he was being so circumspect about being intimate. Why he had blocked access to information in the library. Was it only months? Who else knew? Lynnwood? The police detective? Not a recent one. That’s what M’bako had said about a missing person’s report. And the Battle of Seleucid? There had never been any signs of unrest in Seleucid. Perhaps they had been attacked? But when? Her father’s node hadn’t answered. Surely he wouldn’t change his ident-node after a few months of her being missing. Bella gulped and allowed herself to ask the question: was she missing more than months? Bella took a step toward the ballroom. She would ask Kai. She would wake him up and demand an answer. Her steps quickened as she crossed the enormous empty expanse of the ballroom. Once again the emptiness of the house seemed threatening and she tried to prevent herself from breaking into a run. She was alone with people who were lying to her. Bella reached the door to the ballroom and hurried through it, but her footsteps slowed again as she reached the stairs. Was she over-reacting? Hadn’t Kai been… amazing? She would swear that Kai was genuinely concerned for her. If he’d been lying to her, wouldn’t he have just slept with her? And why send for the police and the doctor if he meant her harm? Bella began to climb the stairs. The doctor was coming tomorrow. Kai might lie, but doctors had to tell the truth to patients. Perhaps there was another explanation. Maybe being in a greenhouse threw off the blooming cycle of roses. Maybe the house was wrong. Gods, she wanted the house to be wrong. If she was wrong and she attacked Kai in the middle of the night, it would ruin everything. Kai had been wonderful and she did not want him to think she was crazy. Or if he thought she was crazy right now, she wanted to at least not behave like a lunatic and confirm his thoughts. Bella took a grip on the hairpiece and walked back to her room at a reasonable pace, but it was a long time before she fell asleep.

Chapter 11

Pong

— Bella —

Bella stared at Kai and waited for the words she wanted to say to come to her mouth. All of her life, she’d managed to blurt out anything and everything that was on her mind, and now when she had something really and truly important to say, she found that her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. They were eating breakfast in the same dining room that they’d been in the first night. They were sitting in the same chairs and yet, everything was different. Kai was reading something on a tablet and looking annoyed about it. Was she crazy? Did Kai think she was crazy? What the hell was going on and why was Kai lying to her? She should have been angry. She should have ripping Kai to shreds for lying to her, but every time she looked at him her heart dropped a little. She didn’t want him to… She did want him to… She didn’t know what she wanted. He grunted angrily and tossed the tablet down on the table. “It’s like they think that if they message me on the weekend I won’t see it.”

“Some people put blocks on work messages over the weekend,” said Bella. “But then I wouldn’t know what utter crap my head of development was trying to spend money on.” “Well, you would know about it, you would just know about it on Monday.” “But on Monday, the money would already be spent, whereas today I can block it.” He frowned. “Are you all right? You look tired. I kept you up too late, didn’t I? I’m glad Sam’s coming today.” “No one wants to be told they look tired,” said Bella. “It makes people feel like they’ve got eye bags.” “You don’t have eye bags,” said Kai. “You just look…” He shook his head. “Not yourself.” “I do feel a little off, I guess,” said Bella. Kai looked worried and Bella found her heart-melting. He was worried about her. She tried to the last time someone had worried on her behalf. She felt like Moira and their father worried about what Bella was going to do, but they rarely seemed concerned about what would happen to Bella. She supposed that was a product of definitively taking the reins of her own life. “I’m sure Sam will know what to do,” he said. “We’ll get everything sorted out for you.” Bella stared at Kai in frustration. She realized with absolute clarity was that she wanted to lean across the table and kiss him. And she couldn’t. Whatever he was lying to her about was holding him back and his lies were holding her back. But at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to doubt that he genuinely thought her work was amazing, that he wanted her to be herself, or that he cared about her. “Do you think Sam will be able to find out what happened to me?” asked Bella. “I am certain that he will figure out what caused your accident. I promise we can figure out how to get you where you need to be,” he said, she noted the ambiguity of that statement but wasn’t sure whether or not to challenge it.

“And maybe that detective can find my family.” Kai nodded, but she thought that he looked less certain of that promise than the previous one. She tried to assess what that meant. She felt a knot of fear in her stomach wondering if he knew something about her family that she didn’t. She sensed that he was trying to be reassuring and honest at the same time. “Or you can just stay here with me,” he added with a roguish grin. “Tempting,” said Bella, meaning it. Staying with Kai sounded like a dream, but she could feel reality hovering just on the horizon. “But I think that eventually someone in my family is bound to turn up demanding to know why I’m wiling my days away in ballgowns and playing tennis with you or whatever it is that you rich people do.” “Well, at this season it’s strictly indoor tennis.” “You do not have an indoor tennis court,” she said. “Well, yes, I do, but I prefer holo-pong in the upstairs games room.” “Are you challenging me to a game of holo-pong?” she asked. Their last sporting interactions had gone well and it would at least keep an entire table between them until the doctor got here. “I can’t play. I have to work,” he said. “You’re just afraid because you know if we play holo-pong that you’re going to lose,” said Bella. “Big words,” said Kai. “From a girl who is a foot shorter than me.” “I’m going to go change,” said Bella. “And then I’m going to the upstairs games room.” “I…” “Bawk, bawk, bawk,” said Bella, as she left the room. From behind her, she heard Kai swear and get up. She slowed her walk, loitering in the hall until he came rushing out.

“I’ll meet you up there,” she said, giggling and he shook his head in defeat. “See you up there,” he said, grinning. Bella hurried to her room. Kai might think she was crazy, but so was he.

Chapter 12

Alarming

— Sam —

Sam followed Lynnwood toward the games room on the upper floor. “You’re sure he’s been all right?” asked Sam, nervously feeling the soft edge of his medical bag. He was intrigued by the idea of Bella Glass and the Missing Heiress, but after a restless night on the overnight train, he’d become more and more concerned about Kai’s fib about his injection time. “I don’t know how to explain it,” said Lynnwood, walking with his usual straight-backed posture, only twisting his head slightly, to address Sam over his shoulder. “But he’s been better than all right. It’s been like having the old Mister Kai back.” The door swung open at their approach and they both heard the hard sound of some sort of impact. “Oh, that is it,” growled Kai. “You are going down!” Sam rushed forward, pushing past Lynnwood. Inside the games room, Kai launched a holo-ball across the net with a lightning-fast serve. A petite, darkhaired girl dove for the serve, managing to return it off the tip of her paddle. Kai powered it back at her, easily making the hit with his longer reach. The girl, unable to recover in time, missed the ball and it disappeared against the far wall in a shower of holographic fireworks.

“Boom!” exclaimed Kai, dropping the paddle dramatically on the table. “Oh my gods, you are the worst winner!” she exclaimed, laughing. “Me? Last time you literally did a victory dance!” “Victory is for victors.” She sang, adding a distinctive shuffle step and Sam recognized a move from the school haka of Avaiki University. His grandfather had deployed it at many sporting events. The haka had fallen out of popularity since the war. Many associated it with war dances and no one wanted to the war. The girl strutted forward, poking Kai in the chest and Sam gulped in horror. “You are just mad because you don’t have a good victory dance.” Kai leaned in. “I have a victory dance. I just don’t want to make yours look bad.” The girl laughed in his face, slapping her hand against his chest. “Utter falsehoods.” “Please stop,” gasped Sam. Both the girl and Kai looked around in surprise. “Don’t do that,” said Sam, striding forward, only belatedly realizing that he was making her uncomfortable as she stepped closer to Kai and glanced nervously up at him. Kai straightened up and put a hand on Bella’s shoulder. Instead of pulling away, the girl looked reassured. Sam felt like he’d entered into an alternate reality. Even the nursing droids gave Kai a wide berth. Why would this girl move closer to him? “Sam,” Kai said. “I didn’t get an alert you had arrived.” “I believe, Dr. Tuomisto has had a rather sleepless night on the train,” said Lynnwood. “He is probably feeling a bit stressed. Perhaps if we all went down to the drawing-room we could have some tea and biscuits.” Kai and the girl seemed puzzled and Sam looked back at the butler. Lynnwood gave him an icy smile. “Uh,” said Sam. “Yeah, I didn’t sleep very well. Some tea would be nice.”

“All right,” said Kai, frowning. “Then I guess we’ll break for tea. And I’ll stay the winner.” He added in a slightly quieter voice. “Only until the rematch,” she muttered in reply. “Hi, I’m Bella Glass.” She held out her hand, palm out for the formal greeting. “Sam Tuomisto,” said Sam, consciously taking a breath and matching her gesture. Their hands briefly met and Bella smiled at him as if trying to connect. He returned the smile nervously and tried to tell himself that everything was fine. He glanced at Kai, who smiled at him but raised a quizzical eyebrow. It was a simple gesture, but it did more to settle Sam than any words. It told him that Kai had recognized Sam’s emotions and thought Sam was being weird but was playing along in the hopes that Sam would calm down. The entire train of thought, of recognizing emotions and caring about the impact of his behavior on Sam, should mostly have been beyond Kai at this point. Kai was fine—it was Sam who was losing it. “I think I need tea more than I thought,” Sam said, shaking his head. “Sorry.” “That’s all right,” said Bella smiling again. “This way,” said Lynnwood. The group followed Lynnwood. Sam always found this like having a strange parade. Of course, Kai looked completely fine with it. Growing up with a butler must have been weird. “So,” said Sam, clearing his throat. “You hit your head?” Bella laughed. “Yes, that’s one way of putting it. I apparently fell down the embankment at the Catalan and crashed into the road. I say apparently because I have no memory of it, but I do have a good-sized bump in my skull and I get dizzy sometimes.” “You get dizzy?” Kai frowned in concern and reached out to touch Bella’s head. “You haven’t said anything. Why on Arsu did you let me talk you into holopong?” Bella paused in her walk, inclining her head, permitting Kai to touch her. “Ah, yes. It was you who talked me into holo-pong.” Kai pulled back and gave her a

look, which made her giggle. “And because mostly I feel fine. It doesn’t happen very often.” Lynnwood also paused, watching the scene with no expression of concern. “It really shouldn’t be this lumpy still,” said Kai with a frown. “And the nanosutures should have dissolved. Sam you’re going to have to look at this. I must have screwed something up.” “Are you saying you made my head lumpy?” she demanded. “I think we can only say lumpier,” he replied. “It was probably already quite bumpy in parts.” Bella snorted, holding back laughter. “I’ll take a look,” promised Sam, still having trouble accepting that the Kai in front of him was the same Kai as he’d seen in his office only a few weeks earlier. “I brought a bunch of equipment. But I was assuming you had a med-bay.” “A tiny one,” said Kai. “It’s mostly just a cleanroom. But you’re welcome to use it.” “Great,” said Sam, nodding. “Um,” said Bella, looking from Sam to Kai. “Perhaps you and I could go do that now—before tea? If it’s not going to take too long?” “Yes,” agreed Sam, instantly. “I think we should get the scans out of the way and then we can…” He hesitated, not wanting to add, figure out what the hell is going on with Kai. “Assess the situation and the results,” he finished lamely. “Uh, all right,” said Kai, looking a little nervous. “Lynnwood, I guess you can take them to the med-station? Sam, you know to…” Kai trailed off in turn. “Let me know if there are questions. I guess.” Belatedly, Sam ed the Missing Heiress portion of the problem. Kai was probably nervous about Sam upsetting Bella. “Yeah,” said Sam, nodding fervently. “Got it. No worries.”

“All right, I’ll work on tea and biscuits then,” said Kai. “No, you won’t,” said Lynnwood. “I can make tea and biscuits,” said Kai. “I’m an adult human person who has made tea before.” “Mmmm,” said Lynnwood, and the skeptical noise seeming to drive home the change in Kai’s attitude. “I think you’ll upset the droids.” “All right, fine,” said Kai, rolling his eyes. “I hope you all realize that you’re forcing me to do my own, actual work.” Bella chuckled. “It’s a sad day for the rich and powerful.” “It really is!” said Kai. Bella was still smiling when Lynnwood left them in the med-station. It had a pristine white bench in the middle of the room and a wall of equipment and ports. “Um,” said Sam, surveying the wall. “Why don’t you hop on the bed, while I get set up?” Bella sat down and the bench immediately conformed to a recliner position and started the initial patient scans. Sam opened his bag and unpacked the various equipment configs. He plugged in the advanced microcellular scanner and pushed his personal program mods into the doctor’s spec port. “So, Sam,” said Bella, “this is…” she cleared her throat nervously. “You’re behaving as my doctor, yes?” “Yes, absolutely,” said Sam, blinking at her in surprise. “So we have confidentiality and all the legal rights? Do I need to sign a Patient Understanding form?” Sam ed the phrase from his historic medicine class. The patient understanding form had been done away with when it was ruled that laws regarding doctor behavior were active from the moment a doctor began care.

“Um, no? We’re in a private facility,” he offered. “The house can record and attest to our understanding.” That sounded like a real thing. “All right,” said Bella. There was a wave of light as the room did some basic bacterial cleaning on both of them, leaving a crisp burnt air smell behind. The scan results began to populate onto the display. “Well,” said Sam, peering at the initial readings. There was nothing fake about her injuries. “You’re describing symptoms of memory loss and dizziness? Anything else? Physical pains or sensory distortions?” “Um, sort of. Sometimes it feels like time is running a little too fast or too slow. But only for a second. Quick-Heal took care of most of the scrapes and things.” Sam nodded and made a note. It was unusual, but not completely abnormal. “Well, hopefully, we can figure out what’s going on with your head. Often memories come back once the physical trauma is reduced. But, fair warning, a lot of times, the actual incident doesn’t come back.” “You sound like you’ve worked with a lot of head trauma,” said Bella. “Oh, you know, all kinds. Perils of being in the service,” he said absentmindedly, poking at the display. “Is that where you met Kai?” Sam grinned. “Yeah. We were in basic together. Once you’ve been slammed face-first into the same grav-wall on the obstacle course, you kind of bond.” Bella chuckled, but then her face grew serious. “Sam, I think Kai is lying to me,” said Bella, and Sam’s heart gave an extra flutter. “I think I have lost a significant chunk of time between my last memory at my sister’s wedding and now and he’s been covering that up.” “Um,” said Sam, wishing he had another option. But patients were legally entitled to the truth. It was part of his oath. “Yes.”

“Oh, good,” said Bella sarcastically. “He already told you and now you also think I’m crazy.” “No,” said Sam. “Neither of us think you’re crazy. We’re unclear what happened, but I’m hoping to find out with…” He waved the hand-held portion of the scanner. “Kai just didn’t want to upset you. We saw a lot of traumatic head injuries in the service. The medical corps always instructed service not to challenge trauma victims on any of their beliefs and to wait for medical personnel. He was just following protocol.” That was the truth. Not the entire truth, but it would cover things for now. Bella scrutinized his face and he wondered what she saw. “Hm,” she said at last. “Well, then, please let’s see what the heck is going on with my head.” “Well, actually,” said Sam. “I’d like to scan all of you. If you were attacked or restrained in some way, we can turn up evidence and get a clearer picture beyond the most obvious injury. So, if you could sit back, we’ll see what the scans turn up.” “I’m not sure you’ll be able to find much,” said Bella, settling back onto the med-bed. “I’ve got plenty of bruises, but falling down a hill will do that.” Sam shrugged. He didn’t want to say that forensic examination on live tissue had come a long way since her day. He ran the scan and watched as bruise patterns and depth were assessed, skin adhesions were measured and cellular rates of healing were calculated. As the scan continued more data points appeared in the hologram above her body, creating a constellation of light that mimicked her shape. But the further the scan proceeded, the more disturbed Sam became. “Can you read all of that?” asked Bella, watching the light display. “Yes,” said Sam. “You don’t look happy about it,” she said. “I’m very much unhappy about it,” said Sam. “I think…” There was a sudden flash of light and the entire scan went black. “Tō hamuti!”

Sam ran to the computer bank and started diagnostics and capture protocols, trying to retrieve the data. “What happened?” asked Bella, sounding worried. “Uh…” said Sam, as the diagnostics scrolled across the screen. “The scan’s energy was suddenly absorbed instead of being bounced back which caused a malfunction and shut down the scanner to avoid catastrophic failure.” “Absorbed by what?” asked Bella, looking worried. “Something in your head,” said Sam. “Oh,” said Bella. “Well, that’s not alarming or anything.” “No, it’s very alarming. I’m very alarmed. You should also be alarmed. Oh, that was sarcasm. I would like to stop saying alarmed, but I’m freaking out.” Bella laughed and the sound made Sam laugh too. “I feel fine,” she said. “Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s going to kill me right this second. How do we scan it without shutting everything down?” Sam poked his way through the scanner settings. “It works on a series of radiant pulses. I think I can try different frequencies and we’ll see if we can’t find one that works.” It took six tries at different frequencies, but eventually, a scan was completed. Sam dismissed the other data scans and magnified the image of Bella’s head in the holo-field above the patient bed. Inside Bella’s skull was a slender, needlesharp sliver, nearly three centimeters long. “It’s pretty,” said Bella. “What is it?” “It’s a piece of crystal,” said Sam. “Incredibly dense structure. Energyabsorbing. The kind of thing I would expect to see from a tuotarium crystal. And, of course, it’s very dangerous to have sticking in your brain.” “Can you get it out?” asked Bella.

“Uh, yes. We’ll have to go into the city for surgery. It doesn’t appear to be impinging too much, but I might want to bring in a specialist.” “A specialist? Specialists usually mean that a patient is in serious trouble.” “Mmm. Yeah,” said Sam, rotating the image and then adding the brain scan back in to show the exact location. “It’s serious, but it’s not that unusual. I know lots of shrapnel specialists. Unless there’s something I’m not seeing, you’ll be fine. I think the greater question, is how did it get there?” The next question was what the hell was it made out of? The injury itself was, of course, a problem, but the material was what was of greater interest. “You’re talking to the wrong person,” said Bella. “I can’t past the gardens.” “Well, you were attacked. I mean, that’s clear from the bruise patterns. And the dent in your skull is not from a rock. I’ll have the computer attempt to extrapolate the weapon from the indent.” He stared at the shard of crystal. The amount of radiation the shard had absorbed during his attempts to scan it was concerning. Was it storing that energy? Would it release it unexpectedly? What other energy had it been absorbing? His fingers drummed on the edge of the bed. What about Kai? Adthal victims were subject to radiation poisoning from nano-particles in their cells. Was it possible that Bella was absorbing that radiation? Abruptly, Bella scrambled off the bed. “You are a very bad doctor,” she said. “What?” Sam blinked at her. “I was attacked?” “Yes? It’s very clear from the bruise patterns. There’s a distinct handprint on your back. Some on your neck and arms as well.” Bella stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t tell people something like that like you’re talking about the weather!”

Sam winced. “Sorry. I was thinking about Kai. The intersectionality between your injury and his illness is striking. I’m afraid I got side-tracked. I apologize. I should have been more considerate. Sorry,” he said again. “His what?” asked Bella. “Uh,” said Sam, belatedly realizing his error. “Enough!” snapped Bella. “Tell me what is going on!” “I can’t,” said Sam. “What is wrong with Kai?” “I can’t discuss his medical condition.” “You can’t discuss it, but I’m affecting it?” Sam knew he was visibly sweating. He wasn’t prepared for this. “Uh…” “You know what? Fine. Don’t talk about it. I’ll just ask him.” “No!” said Sam. “Wait!” But Bella was already running from the room.

Chapter 13

The Artificial Persons Agreement

— Bella —

Bella hurried through the corridors of the house with long angry strides. She’d had it up to her eyebrows with evasions. Maybe Kai and Sam thought it was for her own good, but that wasn’t their decision to make. She slammed open the door to the green room and nearly lost her ill-temper when Kai looked up in surprise with a cookie halfway in his mouth. “You’re sick?” she demanded, trying to sound stern and not like she was about to laugh at him. “Mmph,” he said, around the cookie. “You’re sick and I’m missing time,” she said, making it a statement. He swallowed, looking like the cookie was about as dry as desert sand. “Yes,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded. “I don’t discuss my condition with a lot of people,” he said. “And I wanted…” He broke off, fumbling with the tea tray. “You wanted what?” she demanded.

“I didn’t want you to look at me any differently,” he said at last, putting a teacup back down and finally meeting her eye. The pain encomed in that single look nearly broke her heart. “Are you dying?” she asked, tears filling her eyes. “Um… Sam says he won’t let that happen, but there aren’t any known cures for the effects of an Adthal bomb.” Bella bit her lip. “You haven’t seemed…” “I’ve felt fine. Since you’ve been here, I’ve felt fine.” Bella couldn’t take it any longer, she went to him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tight as she could, burying her face in his chest. Kai let out a long sigh and returned the hug, his arms folding around her as if they were meant to be there. “You have to get better,” she said. “I don’t know what we have to do, but you have to get better. I just found you. I can’t…” She looked up at him, her voice breaking. “Do you know how rare it is to find someone who makes you mad and laugh at the same time? I can’t lose that.” “Oh, Bella,” he said. “You have no idea—” The door swung open again, and Lynnwood cleared his throat. “Detective Lorelei M’bako.” Bella pulled away from Kai. The detective was looking even more grim than her previous visit. Sam arrived at the door just behind her. “I can’t find anything in this damn house,” Sam said, puffing slightly as if he’d been running. “I—” He cut off, looking at Detective M’bako. “Hi, I’m Sam. Doctor. Dr. Sam Tuomisto.” “Detective M’bako. You have examined her?” She pointed at Bella. “Yes,” said Sam, clearly put off by her tone. “I examined Bella.” “Great. Then you will send all of your medical records on the female known as

Bella Glass to my office,” said the detective. She flipped something on her com bracelet and an alert pinged on Sam’s. “Uh, no I won’t,” said Sam. “Bella is a patient. I’m not sending her records to anywhere or anyone without her permission.” “Then they will be confiscated,” said the detective. “Like hell, they will,” said Sam. “House, lock all of my records and send a civil rights violation complaint to my guild rep.” “Complaint sent,” said the House, and Bella thought Lynnwood smiled. “Detective,” said Kai, sounding as though he were attempting to hold onto his temper. “What is going on?” “As requested, we ran the female’s DNA against the Isabella Glass sample on file.” The detective’s voice had an intense vehemence that Bella couldn’t explain. She seemed to be barely containing her anger. “On file?” Bella repeated. “And what do you mean the female?” “They are a perfect match,” said M’bako. “Well, at a guess, that’s because I am Isabella Glass,” said Bella. There was a silence in the room and Bella looked around, surveying the faces. Kai was frowning. Sam was grimacing like he was caught in the world’s most awkward social situation. “That is not possible,” said Lorelei firmly. “I think we should consider that Miss Glass might be speaking the truth,” Lynnwood said. “It’s impossible,” snapped M’bako. “Isabella Glass, if she were alive, would be 178. That means she is a clone. Clones are illegal and have no rights under the Artificial Persons Agreement of Storza. She will be impounded and taken to a government facility for further testing.”

“No,” said Sam and Lynnwood at the same time. “The Artificial Persons Agreement, per the Takeyesu ruling, only applies to mechanically constructed—” began Lynnwood. “You will have to take that up with the lawyers,” said M’bako, cutting off Lynnwood. “I am confiscating her.” “It is called arrest,” said Lynnwood, fixing her with a level stare, “because she is a person, not an object.” “The front doorbell is ringing,” said the house. “Bella is not going anywhere,” said Kai. “She has no legal ties to you or your firm,” said M’bako. “You will not be allowed to keep her.” Again, anger ripped through her voice and rippled across her face. “The front doorbell is ringing,” said the house again. “You have no right to claim her or keep her,” said M’bako. “The government has issued me direct orders and I will comply. You are not permitted to keep a clone. I will not allow that to happen on my watch.” “Oh, ahu ka ‘al—” Kai was winding up for a very explicit statement on her position. “The front doorbell is ringing.” “Lynnwood!” barked Kai. “Going, sir,” said Lynnwood, leaving the room. Bella felt as if the world were moving too fast again, only this time she wasn’t sure it was her head injury or not. Bella Glass was one hundred and seventyeight. Bella tried to do the simple math of subtracting her age from that total, but her brain seemed to have shut down. “She is coming with me,” reiterated M’bako. “If you resist I will be obliged to

call in compliance droids. You have no legal standing to keep her here. This is happening.” “I’m not going with you,” said Bella, wishing her voice sounded more firm. “I’m sorry, but you are. It can happen in restraints or you can walk out and be treated like a person.” “Like a person?” repeated Bella. “Even if I was a clone, I would still be a person. You are what I protested against in Storza.” “I have a job to do,” said M’bako, looking as if she were gritting her teeth. “When your job is violating my civil rights,” said Bella. “You should reconsider your job.” “You’re not getting it. You have no rights,” said M’bako. “You must be placed in custody to prevent abuses.” “Prevent…” Sam sputtered, apparently lost in outrage. “She isn’t a clone!” “If you can prove she’s not a clone,” began the detective, looking as if she couldn’t believe she was even considering the idea. “And how is she supposed to do that?” demanded Kai. “You know as well as I do there is no test for cloning. Bella isn’t going anywhere.” “Again, neither you nor Craig Enterprises have any legal standing to keep her.” “Yes, he does,” said Sam. “What?” Kai looked at Sam, clearly taken aback. “Bella has reversed your deterioration and she can’t leave,” said Sam. “It’s a medical imperative. It overrides whatever pulukeke this lolo is spewing.” “Excuse me?” demanded M’bako turning sharply to Sam. “Lolo? Do I look like I’m about to take that kind of crap from you?” “Well, I don’t know what else to call someone who tries to wreck another person’s life with half-assed supposition and incorrect conclusions based on one

test result.” Bella had found Sam’s bedside manner weak, but his patient defense mode left nothing to be desired. “Which is why she has to come in for further testing,” said M’bako. Bella felt the world swim in front of her eyes. She grabbed the edge of the table and held on, trying not to out.

Chapter 14

At the Door

— Lynnwood —

Lynnwood walked briskly toward the front door, scanning the entry view as it projected inside his retina while attempting to monitor the situation in the green room with his left ear. If it was any more police he was going to tell them to wait elsewhere. He knew his household’s legal rights and they did not include having police tromp all over everything. That idiot detective was already causing enough problems. He was furious that he’d let her in to begin with. If he’d known what she was going to do, he would have made her come back with a court order. Mister Kai was more than better with Bella in the house and Lynnwood did not give two flying drachnals if she was a clone or not. They would be removing Miss Bella over his disassembled parts. He had no intention of letting any more of the thugs in their silly uniforms into the house. He would take steps. He did not like to specify what those steps were to any of the house’s inhabitants so that they could have plausible deniability, but he’d had over three hundred years to build defense protocols into the house. No one was going anywhere without his say-so. The situation in the green room was not going well. “You’re what I protested against in Storza!” exclaimed Bella. Lynnwood felt a swell of affection for the young lady. Previously, he’d liked Bella for Mister Kai’s sake, but hearing that Bella had protested the Artificial Persons Agreement made him more determined than ever not to allow her to be

taken. The doorbell annoyingly rang again and he turned his attention back to the image from the front steps. But the visitor was wearing sunglasses with a retinal blocker. He couldn’t tell who she was from the feed. In the green room, Dr. Tuomisto was putting up a good argument for Mister Kai’s health requiring Bella. That was a good defense. Lynnwood ran it through his basic law matrix and thought that it checked out on the face of it. But whether or not it would prevent M’bako from removing Bella was questionable. Even if the argument were legal and sound, in Lynnwood’s experience, police tended to follow their orders and then let the lawyers sort matters out in the months and years that followed. Lynnwood opened the door and put on his most impressive and fear-inspiring visage. “May I help you?” he demanded, scanning the elderly woman in front of him from head to toe. She was dressed in the most exclusive brands, but it was in an elegant and understated style. She handed over a formal calling card and the house immediately verified and confirmed her identity, while Lynnwood struggled not to reveal his shock. “It is my understanding that the police are already here?” Her voice was gentle but firm. “Yes,” he said, puzzled by how she could have known that. He’d directed the detective’s car to go to the garage. He disliked having police vehicles in front of the house. It looked tacky. “Then I suggest you take me directly to them,” said the woman. Lynnwood nodded and escorted her through to the green room. Bella was clutching the edge of the tea table as if it were her anchor to sanity, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright with unshed tears. “This is an absolute necessity,” barked Detective M’bako, her voice hard and loud. “Cloning is illegal. We must find whoever created her. She must come in for tests.” “I am not a clone!” yelled Bella and Mister Kai simply growled in a way that did not bode well for his health or anyone else’s.

“I don’t think—” began Dr. Tuomisto, sounding desperate. The elderly woman clapped her hands twice and used a loud, firm voice that sounded as if she were addressing a rowdy group of children. “That is enough!” The assembled group turned to look at her in shock. “The Glass family has filed an injunction. Bella will not be going anywhere that she does not choose to go. Thank you for your attention to detail, Detective. You may leave now.” “What?” Detective M’bako looked dumbstruck. “You can’t have filed an injunction. Those take weeks.” “It was filed two weeks ago,” the woman replied. “The ruling was handed down the moment you got your orders.” “I just got the orders this morning,” said M’bako. “The test results only came in last night. You can’t file an injunction before anything happens!” “You may check with your commanding officer,” she replied. “But please do it elsewhere. You’re upsetting my aunt.” “What?” repeated Detective M’bako. “Everyone,” said Lynnwood, clearing his throat, feeling that the moment for introductions had arrived. “This is Dr. Isabella Glass, Dean of Physics at Roshan University, Professor Emeritus of the Azizos Planetary Science Institute.” “You can call me Izzy,” she said with an impish grin that instantly revealed her relation to Bella. “This way, Detective,” said Lynnwood. “What?” said the detective for the third time. “I instructed you to come along, Detective. I’m showing you the door,” said Lynnwood, and allowed himself to smile.

Part 2:

After many months of living with the Beast, Beauty had come to value his kindness and the dear sweetness with which he treated her, but although it hurt her to hurt him, she could not bring herself to accept the offer of marriage he made to her each night. One day she asked the magic mirror that the Beast had provided her to show her family’s home and she saw that her father was now thin and sickly. Her sisters had been married, her brothers gone to the army, and her father was alone in their home. Distressed by her father’s state, she begged the Beast to let her return to her father.

The Beast replied, “I cannot stand to cause you pain. I will return you to your family and I will stay here to die of grief.”

But Beauty cried out in distress. “No, Beast, no! I will return to you in eight days. Once I have seen my father returned to health, I will return.”

And to this the Beast agreed.

Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale

Chapter 15

Izzy

— Bella —

Bella stared at the old woman and the old woman stared back. Bella knew she shouldn’t stare, but being rude to this person was better than looking at Kai or Sam. “This is definitely weird,” said Izzy. “Granny Moira said it would be weird and she was completely right.” “Granny Moira?” repeated Bella, trying not to cry. “I’m sorry,” said Izzy, reaching out to her and then stopping, tears filling her own eyes. “I don’t want to upset you. I’ve known I was coming here for a long time, so I’ve had longer to prepare. But I understand how horribly strange this must be.” “You’ve known you were coming?” demanded Kai, and Bella winced at the hoarse anger in his voice. “Yes,” said Izzy. “Since I was twenty-five and I could legally ignore my parents. Granny Moira said they were far too pragmatic to be useful in this situation. I rather think she was right.” “I don’t understand,” said Bella.

“Do you once telling your sister that in order to be a genius you had to dance on the edge of madness?” Bella shrugged. She did saying it, but she didn’t want to it to it. It sounded pretentious. “That sounds like something I would say,” she said. “Probably just to piss Moira off. She never liked to dance.” “She learned to,” said Izzy, smiling. “She was the first one on the dancefloor when I was young. First on, last off. She once skied naked down the alpine slopes of Darish on a dare. She had more affairs than I can count and broke Helen Danmar’s heart and a score of others. She said that living was for dancing in the now because only some of us get to see the future.” “You’re lying,” said Bella, a tear trickling down her face. “Moira would never do any of those things and she called Helen’s paintings plebian.” “She said you’d say that,” said Izzy. “But she also said that you were the only person she knew who had gotten to see the future.” “I don’t know what that means,” said Bella. “Time travel,” gasped Sam. Bella turned to look at him directly since the first time he’d mentioned Kai’s illness. Currently, he was bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, hands vibrating in front of him as if he was being called by the spirit. “It’s time travel, isn’t it? Tell me it’s time travel!” “It’s time travel,” said Izzy, a smile twitching at her lips. Sam’s smile threatened to split his face. “Kai! Kai! The Missing Heiress was abducted by time travel. This is better than being drunk. I’m actually in the movie!” “This isn’t a movie,” growled Kai. “And time travel isn’t possible. At least, not for us.” “No! No, it would explain why you’re having remission symptoms. I think the radiation affecting your cells is being absorbed by the crystal shard in Bella’s head. A normal crystal wouldn’t do that, but if it was one designed to harness the amount of energy required to travel through time… it would have to accommodate a wider spectrum. I can…” Sam trailed off and his fingers began

tracing out numbers in the air in front of him. “I need a computer,” he said, focusing on them. “I can… Maybe I can replicate this. So far I’ve only been looking at biological solutions. It never occurred to me to—” he cut himself off with a slightly hysterical laugh, “rub crystals on it. But this could work. Except the compression density required on the crystalline structure should be impossible.” “Oh good,” said Kai, tiredly. “New kinds of impossible. Just what we need.” “Impossible for us right now,” snapped Sam. “Someone clearly figured it out already. If someone else did it once, then I can figure it out too. I just need some time and my lab. Also, maybe a quantum physicist.” “I’m happy to help you on that front,” said Izzy. “But unfortunately, time is something that none of us have right now.” “What do you mean?” asked Kai. “I have a message for you from Moira,” said Izzy, looking at Bella. “Great,” said Sam. “Let’s play it.” “Maybe Bella would like to watch it in private,” said Kai acerbically. “Oh, right.” Sam smiled at Bella awkwardly. “Just play it,” said Bella. None of this made sense and all of it seemed farfetched. She thought that if she watched a message from Moira that she would have no way of evaluating its truthfulness. At least Kai and Sam might be able to be more critical. Izzy frowned, but then shrugged. She swiped her finger across the top of her com bracelet and the house made a soft chime. “Replay commencing,” said the house. There was a flicker and Moira’s image appeared in the center of the room. Although she was dark-haired like Bella, Moira had always managed to appear more delicate and genteel. Bella consoled herself by thinking of them as two different crafts on the same sea—Bella was an aggressive speedboat, cutting

sharp v’s through life, while Moira was a sailboat, puffing about looking more civilized. But in the hologram, Moira was wearing a black suit of leggings and a long, high-necked overcoat in black. Both the color and cut were unusual for Moira who usually wore a lot of white, tan, and navy. Moira had her hands behind her back and she looked up after a moment. Even her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing black boots that looked suited for extended wear. It was as if Moira was dressed for travel or flight. “Bella,” she said with a smile, “I know you can see me. Take that scowl off your face.” Bella straightened her face and felt a trickle of tears leak from the corner of her eyes. “That was supposed to be funny. Sorry. I know this is very traumatic. I also know that you have a lot of questions and unfortunately everything I’m about to say is not going to answer them. I’m very sorry that this happened to you and I cannot express…” Moira shook her head and appeared to be struggling with her emotions. “There are so many things I want to say and I don’t dare.” “Why not?” asked Bella, even though she knew Moira couldn’t hear her. “Time travel is the short answer to why,” said Moira. “If there is a chance in hell of making all of this come out right, then I can’t tell you half the things that are in my heart or any of the things I know. But here are the things I can say: I love you and I want you to come home. In fact, it’s critical that you do. And if that is to happen then you must leave immediately for the Canavar.” “The Canavar?” Kai sounded as confused as Bella felt. “That is where the Special Relativity Research Institute is based. From there you can get back to this time.” “How can she know that?” demanded Sam skeptically. “I know you’re asking how I can know about any of this, but let’s just say that you’re not the only person who has time traveled. You’ve got three days, Bella. Lives depend on you. Please come home.” The message ended and Moira’s image faded from view.

“But Moira…” Bella stopped. Her head hurt. “There are a lot of different theories on time travel,” said Izzy. “We know that flying within the correct proximity to a black hole distorts time, slowing it down for everyone within the gravitational pull. But no one has ever managed to create a stable time travel method that permits reciprocal travel. So this is entirely without precedent.” “No, it isn’t,” said Sam. “We know time travel is possible. We know now that the Travelers time-traveled to reach Earth before the first colonization voyages.” “Yes,” agreed Kai, repressively. “But we also know that their ship was literally the size of a planet with immeasurable power and also, we haven’t caught up to them in time yet.” “What about the jump gate theory?” demanded Sam. “Jump gate theory?” repeated Bella. She felt so lost. She wished everyone would be quiet for a moment and let her think. “There are those that theorize that the jump gates are not only capable of creating stable wormholes in space, but also in time,” said Izzy, kindly. “But at the moment, those are all theories. No one has actually managed to create a stable method of time travel. The amount of energy required to move even a single individual through time would be enormous.” “But the shard in Bella’s head is incredibly dense,” said Sam. “If it’s absorbing energy in its current state… Well, whatever it broke off of, it would have to be incredibly powerful. I can probably do some calculations based on the dent in Bella’s skull and some general speculation.” Bella recognized the blank look on Sam’s face as stared off into space. She knew he was looking at some sort of internal vision and she knew that she had been accused of the same mono-focus at the expense of polite behavior. It made him more endearing to her, but she also wished he hadn’t mentioned the crystal shard. “This is the first time I’ve heard about a shard,” said Izzy, her expression intensifying. “Please tell me more. How very exciting.” “It’s not exciting,” said Bella. “It’s my life. Moira said lives were depending on me. What did she mean? And if I don’t go back what happens? It all has to work

out, right? Because Moira lived.” Izzy sighed. “This is what I was trying to say. Time travel is very theoretical for us. Time itself is a messy thing. We experience time in a linear progression. Probably because if we didn’t our brains would implode. But time happens all at once from beginning to end. It’s like a giant bowl of spaghetti all lumped in together and some noodles connect and some noodles get left in the bowl.” “What the hell does that even mean?” demanded Bella. She felt as if she’d entered some sort of ridiculous improv theater where everyone simply spewed nonsense at her and she was only allowed to say yes, and? “As we have just been discussing, we know that time travel is possible, but we only have theories on how it would play out in reality. Some believe that all things are meant to be and will happen whether you intend them to or not. The Travelers wished to time travel to witness the first voyagers from Earth embark with their ancestors. From the absolutist point of view, the Travelers were always supposed to do this. But from what they told us, it didn’t appear that their collective history contained any mention of themselves doing that. That would seem to evidence that interference within the timeline is possible and that if you interfere with time too much you can create a temporal displacement. A version of the timeline that dead-ends because there is no future for it to go to. Some people theorize that these displacements get re-absorbed into the timeline. That could be what is happening to us. It’s possible that Bella will go back in time and we’ll essentially be absorbed to match the timeline—retroactive continuity—and none of us will that it even happened. Or our current existence will simply fade away.” “Left-over noodle,” said Sam. “Yes. Or our noodle could continue on its very own, very different timeline. The maths are ambiguous.” Bella stared at her elderly niece. Izzy did not appear to be bothered by the idea of being retconned out of existence. “So, what you’re saying is that if I do what Moira wants, it may not matter here and now, but it will always matter to Moira back then,” said Bella, trying to parse through Izzy’s gibberish. Izzy gave her a sympathetic smile. “Yes,” she said.

Bella looked around the room. It felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen. “I’m going to need a minute,” said Bella. “Bella,” began Kai, taking a step toward her. Bella backed up. She couldn’t have him touch her. If he touched her she would grab onto him and she would never let go. “I need a minute,” she repeated. She walked quickly out into the hall and found Lynnwood returning from escorting the detective out. She looked at him in desperation. “Perhaps the flower garden,” said Lynnwood, gesturing toward a pair of French doors. “It’s a bit brisk, but you might like to stretch your legs. “Thank you,” gasped Bella. She darted through the doors and felt the wild impulse to simply keep running and never stop.

Chapter 16

One Kiss

— Kai —

“Hmm. That didn’t go as well as I had hoped,” said Dr. Glass, when Bella had left. “Well, how did you think it was going to go,” snarled Kai. “You just…” He stopped short of saying ruined everything because that wasn’t fair or true. This had always been headed for a train wreck. Her arrival had simply accelerated matters and at least she’d stopped Detective M’bako from arresting Bella. Kai ran his fingers through his hair, letting the texture soothe him. He looked at the older woman again and took a deep breath. “I realize that you have a great deal of time to think about this and that you have even accepted that you will be re-absorbed into the timeline or whatever you think is going to happen, but you’ll have to forgive the rest of us if we take a little longer to deal with it.” “To be perfectly honest I didn’t realize that there would be a rest of you,” said Dr. Glass. “Granny Moira never mentioned any of you.” “How wonderfully reassuring,” snapped Kai. “There were a great many things that Moira never talked about,” said Izzy. “She didn’t believe in multiple timelines. She thought that if the timeline was to work out in anything resembling a proper order that sharing too much about the future

could derail it. Meanwhile, could one of you inform me about this crystal shard in Bella’s head?” “No,” said Sam, automatically. “She has a right to patient confidentiality. If I didn’t tell the police, I’m not telling you.” “Commendable, if inconvenient,” said Izzy. “I will have to ask Bella when she returns.” The words grated across Kai’s nerves. This woman seemed to have no appreciation for what Bella was experiencing. For her, it was all science and theory that was all destined to work out in the end. Lynnwood opened the door and scanned the room with his customary composed expression. “Dr. Glass, no doubt you’ve had a long trip. Perhaps you would care to retire to a guest suite while Miss Glass takes a moment in the garden?” Kai wanted to hug Lynnwood—he always knew what was needed. “Thank you,” said Izzy. “It wouldn’t hurt to call back to the office and check on a few things.” “This way,” Lynnwood led Izzy into the hall and Kai threw himself down into one of the chairs by the fireplace. Through the windows, he could see Bella in the garden, her arms crossed around herself, head down as she walked through the flower beds outside. He found he wasn’t having any trouble believing that she had traveled in time. Somewhere along the way, he’d stopped being suspicious and simply accepted that Bella was telling the truth. But it had never occurred to him to chase down what that truth would mean. He couldn’t ask her to stay. Not only had Moira said that lives depended on her return, but her time was infinitely better than this one. That’s why so many historical movies took place in that romantic period before the war. Everything had the rosy glow of a fresh flower before the winter frost. “We need to wait,” said Sam, startling Kai. Sam jumped up and began to pace the room. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with. Bella needs more testing. Not to mention that godsdamn shard in her brain. It is unsafe for her and it’s unsafe for you. Medically speaking, the best thing we can do is take a few days

or weeks to assess the situation and decide the best course of action.” “Moira said she had three days,” said Kai. He tried to find an emotion, any emotion, but he felt hollowed out. After years of feeling too many things all at once, the emptiness was startling. “I don’t care what Moira said,” snapped Sam. “She’s not here and we don’t know why she said what she did. And in fact, it doesn’t matter. We know it didn’t work.” Kai frowned at his friend. “What?” “I watched the damn movie! Bella doesn’t come back. She goes missing and she doesn’t come back. That’s why she’s the Missing Heiress! So we know she doesn’t go back. If she had gone back she would have changed time and there would be no Missing Heiress.” “We could be experiencing temporal displacement while the timeline corrects itself. Once she returns, we won’t any of this. Or whatever Izzy said.” “I don’t care what Izzy said.” Sam took a deep breath and tugged at his dreads. “Bella needs to stay here.” “You can’t ask her to do that,” said Kai. “She has every right to go back to her family.” “Kai…” Sam’s shoulder’s sagged in defeat. “What?” “Kai, if she goes back… you’re going to die.” Kai nodded. “I know.” “Then, no, she can’t go back!” yelled Sam. “We need to wait until we can get that shard out of her head. We need to examine it further. It could be the shard causing your remission or some other factor that we don’t know about yet.” “You heard Moira. Bella needs to go soon.”

“What is soon in time travel? Bella’s already a hundred and forty years too late! There is no soon. Why the rush? The sensible thing to do is wait. And I think Bella will agree with me once I explain to her about your condition.” “I forbid you to talk to her further about my medical condition,” said Kai. “Kai!” “I’m serious, Sam. You can’t put her in that kind of position. That is not a choice that she should have to make.” “She has to know what kind of consequences you will have to deal with if she leaves.” “She knows that I will get sick,” said Kai. “That’s enough. Also, if Bella returns to the past, this entire timeline may not happen. We may simply merge back into the timeline and not any of this.” “I hate time travel,” said Sam, bitterly. “I it it’s a lot less fun when it’s not a vid,” said Kai. “No, wait,” said Sam, pacing faster. “All right. New plan. I do as much research on that crystal in her head as I can between now and when we get to the Canavar. And then, before she leaves, we give her all of my research—on the shard, on you, on the Adthal particle, all of it. That is an extra hundred and forty years that she can be funding research. So, then I will have my additional research to draw from when it happens to you in this time.” “There are so many ways that is going to go wrong,” said Kai. “No, this can work! Do you know why?” “Why?” asked Kai tiredly. “Lynnwood,” said Sam. “Lynnwood was alive in her time. She can give everything to Lynnwood. He’ll believe her. Probably. And he can store anything she gives him in the Craig library. This can work.” “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but this sounds like a very bad plan.”

“Do you have a better one?” demanded Sam. “No, I don’t think you do. You just want to give up and I’m not going to let you.” Kai smiled. “No, you never have, and you never will. And don’t think for one moment that I don’t love you for it.” “I lost too many friends Kai,” said Sam. “I’m not losing another one.” Kai knew the bleakness in Sam’s face—knew it intimately from the inside out. For Sam’s sake, he had to at least make effort. Kai nodded. “I’ll talk to Bella. You’re right we should try and at least figure out what it is that’s helping me while we can.” “Yes,” agreed Sam. “I’m going to go look at the scans again and talk to Lynnwood. Maybe there’s some sort of code Bella can give him. And gods only know if my data strips will be compatible back then. I’ve got to start preparing. Yeah…” Sam left the room even before he finished the sentence and knowing Sam would probably talk to himself all the way to the med-station. It was kind of nice being more emotionally aware than Sam again. He was going to miss that. Or not. When he stopped being able to read the room, he also stopped being aware there was anything to miss. He wondered if he’d miss Bella at the end or if she would just be one more thing that he would discard as unnecessary. The narcissism of the Adthal condition was staggering from the outside. Bella came to the window and knocked on the pane. He got up and opened the window. The sun was shining, but a chill wind had kicked up—she looked frozen. “I can’t talk to the others just yet,” she said. “Not without screaming or punching something. Is it safe to come in?” “Yes,” he said pushing the window open wider and holding out his hands. “Lynnwood distracted your niece and Sam has decided to rely on vid-theories of time travel and is attempting to develop a plan to send you back with data for Lynnwood.” She put her hands in his, preparing to climb over the sill, but stopped. “What’s wrong with that plan? I like that plan.” “Nothing’s wrong with it,” said Kai smiling.

“I have similar plans,” said Bella, stepping into the green room. “Or half plans. Ideas, I guess. I can’t leave you, Kai. Something about me is affecting your condition, right? That’s why Sam is freaking out.” “Something like that. But Moira said lives depended on your return. You can’t worry about me.” “So, I go back. Fine. Whatever lives need saving, I will do it. I have no idea how or why anything would depend on me, but I’ll do it. But that doesn’t mean I have to stay. Does it? Kai felt as though his heart were stuck in his throat. “But that’s your time,” he said weakly. “And your family.” “I will be sad to leave my family,” said Bella. “But I don’t particularly give a damn about my century. What’s it ever done for me?” Her eyes were enormous, she was talking too quickly and he loved every syllable and every line of her face. He was still holding her hands and he couldn’t find any words, so he leaned down and kissed her. The planet seemed to stop spinning. He felt like the time he’d gotten sucked into space when his transport had been hit. Everything was violent and still all at the same time and he could feel his old life slipping away. He took a breath and Bella looked up at him. “Oh,” she said, blinking. “I… I was right. I wanted that.”

Chapter 17

Research

— Bella —

Sam was scanning her head and making little hmming noises every time the device he was using beeped at him. Bella pulled up another file and looked across the table at Kai. He was hanging the files she found in a visual timeline in the air. Feeling her gaze, he turned to look at her. She watched him take in Sam and the scanner. Bella took a step to the left and Sam followed her. Bella took a step to the right and Sam followed again. Kai began to silently laugh, his shoulders shaking. “Perhaps,” said Lynnwood, who had been laying out a buffet lunch, “Dr. Tuomisto would prefer to have a workstation moved into this room.” “Yeah, that would be great,” said Sam, his eyes glued to the scanner. “And perhaps Miss Bella you would prefer to have Dr. Tuomisto tied to his workstation?” suggested Lynnwood. Bella chuckled and Sam turned to Lynnwood a confused frown on his face, which made Kai laugh out loud this time. “What?” asked Sam, looking around the room. “You are taking the studying Bella closely portion of the plan possibly a little too literally,” said Kai.

Sam sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I’m annoying, but if you’re going to insist on leaving in the morning, I don’t have a lot of time. I need to make sure that both of you stay as healthy as possible. And if I can somehow manage to harness time travel to make it happen, well then great, but at the moment...” He trailed off and shrugged his shoulders defeatedly. “All I’ve got is a hunk of rock in Bella’s head that doesn’t behave at all as it should. I think it’s a tuotarium crystal, but if it is… I’ve never seen one like it. So basically, I’ve got nothing.” “Well, what I’ve got is that Oliver, my sister’s husband, actually worked for something called Branch 6 and that he died five years after I disappeared.” “Yeah,” said Sam. “Full circumstances never revealed. The movie made it sound like he got depressed and careless over your suicide and accidentally blew himself up in some sort of munitions experiment.” “There’s a movie?” demanded Bella, shocked. “Oh, uh… yeah?” Sam looked between Lynnwood and Kai and grimaced. “I’m so bad at this. I’m just no good at lying.” “I know,” said Kai. “It’s one of the reasons I love you, but perhaps we could refrain from telling Bella about things like movies or books.” “There are books?” “Your family had a lot of money,” said Lynnwood, “and the story caught the popular imagination.” “We don’t have a lot of money,” said Bella. “I mean, we do all right, but we’re not…” She looked back at one of the files. There had been a line about wealth that she’d glossed over when she’d skimmed the contents originally. “We are going to have a lot of money, aren’t we?” “Yes,” said Kai. “Your father’s gyroscopic stabilizer revolutionized the traffic flow rate on the aero-lane control system.” “Awww, he’s going to be so happy! He’s been working on that for years. I’m so glad for him. People always said he was a dreamer and that he’d wasted his engineering degree. Well, this will show them!” Bella felt a moment of smugness, but her happiness faded as she realized that if her plan worked that

she wouldn’t be there to share his triumph with him. She looked at Kai, but he was intently studying one of the files on the timeline. Or maybe he was just avoiding looking at her. “So,” she said, “I disappear at the wedding. The police investigate but don’t turn up anything. And then five years later Oliver dies. And after that Dad’s invention takes off?” “More or less,” said Kai. “What is Branch 6?” asked Bella, frowning at the picture of Oliver on the timeline. “It’s research and development for the government,” said Kai. “Shady kanapapiki,” said Sam. “I don’t know that they are shady,” said Kai. “Kanapapiki, I’ll grant you.” “I asked them for help when I started working on the Adthal particle for your treatment,” said Sam. “They had multiple files that were classified due to the terrorist cell on the Morena.” “There was a terrorist cell on the Morena?” asked Bella feeling horrified. The Morena was one of the first colony ships. It circled Azizos as a space station but had become mostly unused as the populations became more stable on the planets. “The Naturalists were running illegal experiments on cloned children and infants,” said Sam, looking disgusted. “It was… horrific. Truly horrific. And it is there that they developed the Adthal bomb. Not that they ever caught Dr. Death himself. That sick—” “That’s enough Sam,” said Kai, quietly. Sam growled unhappily. “My point is that after the war, after Branch 6 had cleaned up the Morena, I asked for access to the Adthal files, and Branch 6 told me to go jump in a lake, and when I kept asking, they threatened to arrest me.” Bella tried to process the information that Sam was and wasn’t saying. The war

seemed unfathomable to her. “What causes the war?” she asked, looking between the two men. Sam and Kai had obviously been affected by it, but it felt like the elephant in the room that no one wanted to talk about. “There was a conflict on Earth and the Alliance withdrew from the quadrant,” said Lynnwood. “After that, there was increasing anger and protests from the Naturalists, who didn’t believe in modification of the human genome and advocated for a return of what they termed basic human laws.” “Fascist magna tu hapai laho tihos,” snarled Sam, combining so many disparate ancient swears into one sentence that Bella was impressed. “They murdered modified children. They destroyed fully autonomous AI’s. They didn’t want to return to basic anything. It was a cult. They stoked fears that we were becoming non-human and demanded that their followers eschew technology. But funny how there was always technology for the leaders to take space flights and go to doctors and kill people. It was anti-science stupidity based on fear and greed run by an elitist, racist few.” “Sam,” said Kai, gently. Sam threw up his hands in frustration but stopped talking. “There was a civil war,” said Kai. “We won, but it cost us a lot. The Naturalists used some very dirty technology and Branch 6 was instrumental in stopping them. They may be kanapapiki, but Oliver working for them isn’t indicative of anything in particular.” Bella wanted to comment in some sort of meaningful way on the war, but she wasn’t sure she knew how. Kai so clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Sam was more than willing to, but she thought that thinking about it made Kai tired. She couldn’t bear the sadness that had crept into his eyes the moment Sam had started ranting. “Well, it might not mean anything in particular,” said Bella, striving to sound lighthearted. “But it does mean I was right. Oliver was secretive. I knew it! He’s such a tō raho. Only now I feel bad because he dies in five years and Moira will be sad.”

She approached Kai’s timeline and brushed her hand across his arm. But he leaned into her and she leaned back, pretending to reach across him to open the files to show pictures and vids. She glanced up at him and he smiled. The sadness had retreated. “Are those the wedding videos? Aw, look how happy Moira looks. I look like I’ve got a metal rod down the back of my dress. I don’t always look like that do I?” “No,” said Kai, laughing. “You don’t. I think you were just trying to be very proper.” “Well, I was,” said Bella. “But I didn’t realize it made me look like someone replaced me with a droid. I should have used the fart technique. If only I had known.” Kai chuckled. “Stick with me, wild girl. I’ll teach you all the tricks.” Bella laughed. “Uh-huh, and how many people are you fooling?” “At this point, I imagine, practically no one,” said Kai. “How does Oliver die though? Now I feel guilty about calling him a tō raho,” complained Bella. “Um…” Kai flipped through the files. “Actually, I don’t know. Here’s the bit from Autobiography of a Spy. The author was using Oliver as an example of how long Branch 6 had been embedded in the tech sector. It doesn’t really say much.” “Even a catastrophic lab mishap that touched on the Missing Heiress case didn’t raise too many eyebrows,” read Bella. “Well, that isn’t exactly descriptive. Poor Moira.” “What are you doing?” demanded Izzy, entering the room. Bella looked at her elderly niece in surprise. “Well, if I’m going back in time, I need to figure out as much as I can before I get there. Moira says lives are on the line. I need to know whose and how I can help. Can we get some info on what happened at the wedding after I left?”

“No,” snapped Izzy, marching forward. She began to tear down Kai’s timeline. “No! We talked about this. Moira believed that for matters to work out you needed to follow her instructions and not do anything else.” “Well, Moira isn’t here,” said Bella, putting the bits of data on the timeline. “Stop that,” said Izzy. “Young lady,” said Bella, trying to keep things lighthearted, “you will respect your elders!” It was the most Moira voice she could muster and Izzy stared at her in shock and then burst out laughing. “Bella has a right to know what happens,” said Sam, reasonably. “I agree with Sam,” said Kai, with a smile, but she saw him lock the data display with a press on his com bracelet. “Otherwise we’re sending her back blind.” “We’re sending her back to a past that she already knows about,” said Izzy. “And we should not be telling her about her future.” “But I don’t know about my past,” said Bella. “I still don’t know how I timetraveled. I don’t know what happened to me at the wedding. And I don’t know why lives would depend on me.” Izzy looked at the vid of the wedding party and Bella followed her gaze wondering what her elderly niece saw. The wedding party was scattered and the photographer kept trying to herd everyone into place for the formal shots. Bella was standing in one place. She ed that she had been trying not to fidget while Moira chased after Vestan as though he were a toddler. Izzy watched the vid, her face pinching into a straight line. “I was not allowed to see these either. Moira pulled most of the wedding videos offline and tried to stop all those stupid treasure hunters from posting them either. The only people who had the complete set of videos were the police. Moira said it was important that we avoid our future. And for you, the past is your future. You have to have faith that this will work out.” “Faith.” Kai spit out the word and Bella looked at him in surprise. She had never heard him sound quite so angry. “I will not pin Bella’s life on faith.”

“You soldiers,” said Izzy derisively, and Bella was equally shocked at Izzy’s tone. “You all want to continue fighting. The war is over, Commander. And Bella isn’t one of your shock troops. She is returning to her sister and her family. You don’t need to plan a campaign.” “The war is over,” snapped Kai, his entire posture shifted becoming straighter and more imposing. “As you and so many others seem inclined to tell me. And while I’m sorry my military service makes you uncomfortable, I refuse to let your discomfort stop me from doing what I think is best to protect Bella.” “Bella is my family. I will look after her,” said Izzy, she also shifted so that she faced Kai head-on. Bella recognized her mother in that pose and was left simultaneously angry and nostalgic. “Bella does not need looking after,” said Kai. “She needs our help. She was attacked at that wedding and I will not send her back unarmed and unprepared. Your expertise is welcome, but I suggest you reconsider your plans if you think any of us will simply do as you command. After all, this is not the military.” Bella found herself grinning at Kai’s imperious and vicious slam. She found him incredibly hot when he was being regal. Izzy opened her mouth and Bella recognized that movement too. It was so very Moira—when Moira was about to go off. “Izzy,” said Bella, “you’re in the wrong.” “I beg your pardon?” demanded Izzy, looking affronted. “You have insulted Kai’s service. You have assumed things about him that are untrue. And you’re acting like Moira. And not in a good way. I understand that you have had a long time to think about this moment, but I suspect that like every other time Moira attempted to make a plan for my life, this will not go as you think it’s going to go. I’m not very good at following plans.” “We do not have the luxury of doing whatever you wish,” said Izzy. “This is the future and there is a lot riding on getting this right.” “What happened to leftover noodle?” asked Sam. “I thought everyone was just going to get retconned out of existence and we’d all be fine with that.”

“That’s one of the possibilities. There are several. One of which is that we create a time paradox and blow up the universe.” “Oh,” said Bella. “No pressure. You maybe should have led with that theory and not the damn bowl of spaghetti!” “People find it intimidating,” said Izzy. “I was trying to ease into it. Now please stop researching your future!” Izzy flapped her hands in frustration. “No,” said Sam. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. “I’m sorry, but my obligation is to my patients. That’s those two. The rest of the universe will just have to deal with its own bowl of spaghetti.” “That is extremely short-sighted,” snapped Izzy. “I swear my first-year college students don’t try to destroy the universe as much as all of you and I was only gone for an hour.” “It’s my poor influence,” said Bella. “I’m sure Moira told you about it.” “No,” said Izzy in frustration. “That’s my point. She did not. She told me exactly as much as she thought it would take to get you to do the right thing.” “Oh, the right thing,” said Kai, his voice a velvet purr. “So glad we can all rely on the judgment of a woman who won’t be here to see the consequences. A woman who, I might point out, has never seemed particularly interested in what the right thing was for Bella.” Izzy’s head snapped around lightning fast. “You never met her, and you have no idea what she was interested in.” “But I have,” said Bella. “And to be perfectly honest, Moira never liked me.” Izzy looked flabbergasted. “No. That is not… Moira loved you. She kept your paintings in her house. She always spoke of your ion for life. How can you even say that?” “Because I grew up with her,” said Bella. “I slept in the same room as her for nine years and got yelled at every single day for leaving my paintbrushes in the toothbrush holder.”

“That’s not sanitary,” said Sam. Bella glared at him. “Sorry. I’m not involved in this conversation.” “No,” said Izzy. “No. Granny Moira said—” “She may have said many things,” said Bella. “But whatever you think we were, or that I was, is just… Missing Heiress legend stuff.” “You see? This is what I’m saying. You found out about all that garbage and now you’re confused.” Bella laughed. “No. I’m not. I’m really not. For the first time since I got here, I’m actually not confused at all. I’m just not who you think I am. And, I’m sorry, but neither is Moira. Maybe she becomes all those things you said, but if I’m going back to the wedding, then trust me, she is not the Moira you know, she’s still the Moira I . She’s uptight, rigid, a bit of a social climber, and more than a little scared to color outside the lines.” “She never met a line she didn’t want to cross,” said Izzy fiercely. Bella shrugged. “Maybe. But Kai is right. I was attacked at the wedding and if I’m going back there then I’d better be prepared to defend myself.” Izzy’s face wrinkled in distress. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t defend yourself, but you have to trust Moira.” “But Moira doesn’t trust me,” said Bella. “She would never trust me not to screw something up. I know you want me to follow the rules for you, but I don’t see how I can possibly accept Moira’s words at face value.” Izzy took a step back and shook her head, seeming to blink away tears. “This is not at all how it was supposed to be. You’re not supposed to be like this.” Bella laughed and felt tears well up in her own eyes. Was there ever going to be a time when her family didn’t disapprove of her? “Sorry to disappoint you,” she said, bitterly. “But it’s what I am. And I’ve decided to stop pretending to be something I’m not.”

Chapter 18

Before Leaving

— Kai —

Bella was hiding in his room. He’d wanted her here with him, but he could see that she was hiding. Between Sam trying to scan her head every time she turned around and Izzy’s attempted lectures on Quantum Physics, he could see that she was reaching her breaking point. She was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the back garden toward the sea, but her head was ducked and she plucked incessantly at her bottom lip. He hadn’t known her long enough to know her nervous tells, but he could see the tension between her shoulder blades. “Bella,” said Kai, putting his hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned into him startled. Instinctively, he put his arms around her. It was the right move because she relaxed, melting against him. “You don’t have to do this,” he murmured into her hair. “We can call it quits right now. Just stay home for the next hundred years. The past or the future or whatever can take care of itself.” Bella laughed weakly, her face still buried in his chest. “Kai, I’m the largest disappointment my family has ever produced.” “ the club,” said Kai. She finally raised her head, her expression confused.

“I am not what my family wants me to be. The only person who has never made me feel like a failure is Lynnwood.” “How can you even think that?” she demanded. “I saw your uniform. You had enough medals to make a suit of armor.” Kai shrugged. “They look more impressive than they actually are.” “At least you did something with your life. My life never went anywhere. Izzy said Moira hung up my paintings like that was such a big deal. I’ve been hanging art on the fridge since I was five. The only thing I’ve ever done for the world is disappear.” “Do you know how much tourist income you generate for this entire area? Pretty sure the entire local government owes you a giant thank you.” Bella giggled, which was what he’d been going for. “Don’t let Izzy get under your skin,” said Kai. “You have to follow your instincts.” Bella sighed and put her head back down. “I shouldn’t have said those things about Moira to Izzy. Did you see how crushed she looked? She idolized Moira and I trashed her. I shouldn’t have done that.” “You were honest,” said Kai. “Yes, but there’s more than one honest. Moira is also incredibly loyal. She’s cautious and worried about every little thing because she cares so damn much. I know I said she doesn’t like me, and I think that’s probably true, and that’s always hurt me. But I’ve never doubted that she loved me and she’s never lied to me. If she asked for my help, it’s because she really needs it. I have to go back.” Kai looked down into Bella’s beautiful brown eyes and felt like he could stare into them forever. “What if I go with you?” he suggested. “If you can go through time, then I can too.” “I like this idea,” said Bella. “But Sam and Izzy think it’s the crystal in my head

that made my time travel possible.” “Right,” said Kai. “So… basically, I have to let you go save the world.” Letting her go was the right thing to do. He knew it and he tried to will his hands to release her and let her go, but his heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, and all he wanted to do was hold on tighter. “I think I’m just saving Moira and the wedding,” said Bella. Tension had returned to her body and he hated it. “At least it better be. Because I don’t know how to save the world.” “Hey,” he said, squeezing her a little tighter. “It’s going to be all right. Sam and Lynnwood are putting together the planet’s most comprehensive data strip. Izzy, when she was done spazzing out about you knowing too much about your future, mapped out a nice set of equations that should get you back to the wedding. Although, we’re assuming that the Special Relativity Research Institute on the Canavar can actually help.” “You’re not convinced,” said Bella. She saw through him like he was glass. “No, not particularly,” he said. “But I’m not sure my opinion counts for anything. We will go to the Canavar. We will see what’s there and the absolute worst that can happen is that they tell us that time travel isn’t possible and we come home.” Bella let out a gusty sigh and laughed. “I love your worst-case scenario,” she said. That wasn’t the worst-case scenario. The worst-case was that she would travel back to her family and she would die fifty years before he was even born. “As I said, you don’t have to go.” But he could see it written all over her face. Bella might be hiding here with him, but she wasn’t going to stay—he smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her—so he would hold her as long as he could.

Chapter 19

Harbaugh

— Bella —

Bella stared down at the glittering port city of Harbaugh. The aero-stream was a whir of blue around the perimeter of the city and the Ele-Tube glowed in a ribbon of light into the night sky. They had left the Craig Estate that morning. Sam and Lynnwood had worked through the night and right up until the door had closed on the conveyance. Izzy had refused to help them. She disapproved of the entire plan. She also disapproved of Kai. Bella had tried to mend fences with Izzy, but the older woman had retreated to behaving as if Bella were being a recalcitrant child, which was frustrating and made Bella want to live down to her expectations. She was having a hard time weighing how much she needed Izzy to approve of anything. She had decided that while she worried about Izzy’s disapproval of the plan, she didn’t give two shits about her disapproval of Kai. Izzy’s face puckered up over any displays of affection and her frown when they had elected to share a room at the hotel had been epic. Bella and Kai had walked into the hotel holding hands and the staff had fallen all over themselves. Kai Craig, heir to the Craig fortune, got first-rate service—even the droids seemed set to obsequious—and they had been given the penthouse suite. Izzy and Sam were down the hall in their own bedrooms, where Izzy was probably disapproving of things in her sleep. Bella envied her the ability to sleep. She certainly couldn’t. Not that she had Kai had even been trying to sleep when they’d reached the room. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

At least the view was amazing. One of the holo-billboards lit up, advertising cheap Ele-Tube fares. The explosion of color pulled her gaze back to the window. Bella ed her first trip to see her mother’s family on Azizos. Harbaugh had been at least half the size it was now, but Kai and Sam had seemed saddened by the view. They said that until the war there had been three Ele-Tubes up to the launch platform in low-planet orbit. Terrorist suicide attacks had damaged two of them. Now, only the original Ele-Tube rose from the mushroom-like space port. Bella could also see the spires of cranes towering over three deep craters near the port itself. Kai had said they were the bomb sites that were in the process of being rebuilt. Bella chewed her lip trying to picture a time when a large contingent of her planet’s population would think that killing modified people was an acceptable solution to their problems. She’d seen that kind of hatred toward AI and clones during the protests, but she’d put it down to fear and a lack of education. She had been convinced that if the government added additional educational units on cloning and computer ethics to early education that the fear would dissipate. Clearly, she had been wrong. She wondered if she could change anything if she went back in time and stayed there. Could she rally her community? Could she make a difference? What if she went back further—before the Artificial Person’s ruling had been handed down? What was possible to change? Izzy was attempting to limit their scope. She wanted smaller changes to ensure that as much of the timeline remained the same as possible. She kept stressing that if Bella made too many changes that a paradox became more and more likely. Bella didn’t want to blow up the universe. She just wanted Kai and Moira and everyone she loved to be safe. Bella glanced back at Kai again. He was tangled in the sheets, his lashes a dark line against his cheeks, his skin tinted blue by the light of the city. If she changed the future, what would happen to him? Would he still get injured? Would he still go into the service? Would he find another partner? Would he be happy without her? She hated that idea. It was a petty, small and jealous reaction and she didn’t care. The idea of him being with someone else—of him smiling at someone else, kissing someone else, being happy with someone else—roiled her gut with an emotional cocktail of absolute rejection.

She looked back out the window at the city. Moira would say that she was being impetuous and that Bella couldn’t possibly fall in love this fast. Bella ed the tortuous decision-making tree Moira had gone down to make it to her first date with Oliver. Bella hadn’t understood it then and she didn’t understand it now. Bella believed in trusting her instincts. She believed the studies that said her brain could absorb more non-verbal cues than she could take in on a conscious level. And she trusted her own understanding of herself. Moira’s wedding and apparent happiness had made her question if the decisions she’d made were the right ones, but the longer she was with Kai the more strongly felt that her decisions had been correct. Moira’s decisions might be right for her, but Bella had to follow her own truth. She looked over her shoulder at Kai again. He was part of her truth. He twisted onto his side and reached out a hand, feeling along the sheets. He opened his eyes, blinking, and finally seemed to focus on her. He immediately smiled, but almost as fast his smile faded. “Can’t sleep?” he asked, his voice gravelly. “Tomorrow we’re going to go up in space to see if we can figure out a way for me to go back in time. And if I succeed, I’m going back to meet my sister who has told me that lives are depending on me and who I happen to know will lose her husband. I have to it, it’s keeping me up.” Kai sat up and rubbed his hand through his hair. She watched in iration as the light played across his body. Her truth had some beautiful abs. “Bella…” His voice trailed off and Bella felt her heart sink. “Maybe you should consider…” He looked dejectedly across the room and Bella saw him struggle. “Consider what?” she asked, trying not to smile. He was about to say something noble and self-sacrificing. “If we succeed, you’ll be at home with your family,” he said. “What happened to the worst-case scenario?” asked Bella. “Izzy makes it sound like a best-case scenario is way more likely,” he said wryly. “And if it works then you’ll be in a time that’s safe. Maybe you should consider

staying there.” “A time that’s safe? Kai…” Bella shook her head. “I think your view of my time is overly romanticized.” “Maybe,” he itted. “But Bella, while the war may be over, the anger is still here. The fear. There are pockets of resistance and terrorist attacks. We’re not united. The older generation is desperate for things to go back to the way they were. The younger generation is pissed that we’re the ones who fought and died and yet, we’re also the ones expected to do all the rebuilding. Only we have to do it on their timeline and budget. Everyone wants to forget, but the only way forward is to answer the fears that our people were responding to. The war is over, but all the hard work is still out there to be done. That’s not an easy future.” Bella thought that over. “You think that because you know the past and you don’t know the future. Everything looks harder when you don’t know what happens next.” “I know that you could be happy there,” said Kai. “With your family.” “I’ve been there,” said Bella. “I wasn’t happy. I was searching. I was fighting and I felt… alone. I love my family, but my father and my sister have never understood why I couldn’t fit in. Moira literally once asked me to try harder to be normal.” Kai grimaced. “Trying not to say bad things about my sister?” “A little bit, yes,” he said. “Kai, I will do what needs to be done to help my sister, but I’m coming back here.” “I can’t ask you to do that,” said Kai, firmly. “You haven’t asked,” said Bella. “And I think Sam is literally biting his tongue every time the topic of what will happen if I don’t come back comes up, but I’m not an idiot. You need me.”

“I will be fine,” said Kai, his chin coming up and the mask of discipline slipping over his features. “You should not consider me in this decision.” Bella laughed. “Kai, I think what Izzy keeps babbling about spaghetti still applies here. You cannot isolate one thing away from everything else. You can’t pull one noodle. It’s the whole bowl or nothing.” “What?” Kai’s mask slipped into confusion as he tried to work through her metaphor. “Life is all of the things all together. I can’t separate you out and set you aside, any more than I can set Moira and her needs aside. You haven’t asked me to stay. And I appreciate that. But I’m not asking either. I’m telling you. I’m coming back.” As she said the words, she found a sense of relief washing over her. The doubt that had been niggling at her ebbed, leaving only a sense of calm behind. “I want that, Bella. I want that more than anything. But we’re messing with really big forces here. Can we put ourselves first?” Bella walked over to the bed and put her hands on her hips. “Gods, I love you when you’re naked,” he said, then froze. Bella laughed. She couldn’t help it. “I didn’t say that right,” he said sitting up. “Um… Can I get a do-over?” Bella laughed harder and crawled across the bed to him. “I really didn’t mean to say it like that,” he said apologetically. Bella kissed her way up his chest. He shivered at her touch but didn’t respond. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The lights of the city shaded his face in planes of blue and Bella refused to let herself get torn away to go make a sketch, but she tried to memorized the angles for later. “But you meant to say it,” said Bella, staring into his eyes.

“Yes,” he said brushing a lock of hair out of her face. “Sam thinks I’m crazy. He thinks I’m… reacting to the thing in your head. He’s worried I don’t feel what I feel, but Bella… I do feel it. I love you.” “Good,” said Bella, smiling at him. “But Sam is a little right. I have not been exactly myself these last few years. What if you get back here and I’m weird and you hate me?” “What if you find out that I’m weird and you hate me? Or what if, and hear me out, we’re both weird and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us?” He looked like he wanted to argue but couldn’t figure out how. “I’m coming back for you Kai Craig,” said Bella, brushing her lips across his. “Because you’re mine and that is just the way it is. This is destiny. Stop trying to fight it.” She kissed him again, and this time he leaned into her as if savoring every moment.

Chapter 20

The Spaceport

— Kai —

“We need to talk,” said Sam, his voice was quiet and his eyes darted around the wide plaza, fixing on Bella and Izzy getting out of the hotel cruiser. Kai tried to assess what Sam was upset about. He’d been tense over breakfast too. “Somewhere without Dr. Glass.” “Sure. Why?” “I’m giving Bella the data strip as soon as we’re on the shuttle and I know you prepared a survival kit for her. I want her carrying it at all times.” “Sam, what’s going on?” “I did a little digging on Dr. Glass last night after we all went to bed. Let’s just say there are some gaps in her resume.” “What does that mean?” asked Kai. “Mr. Craig!” The host was human. Most of the spaceport guests were greeted by droids. Kai knew that his bank rated human-level service, but for once he would have preferred to do without. The host had long hair, with a green strip of radiation-absorbing hair down the side. It was a nice mod that was becoming popular among new parents for their infants, but the host looked to be in their early thirties. Rad-mods meant that an individual would be able to inhabit some

of the land devastated by nuclear bombs during the war. The host’s parents must have been forward-thinking or from off-planet. “I’m Linzu. I’m your host. I’ve reserved a private waiting room for you and your guests. Your pod to the shuttle will be arriving soon.” “Great, thanks,” said Kai, adding a smile. “Commander,” said Linzu, stepping closer. “My brother was at the Battle of Darsha. I just wanted to say thank you for your service.” Kai forced himself to smile and then nod in acknowledgement. “Your brother was in the Fifth?” “No,” said Linzu, smiling anxiously. “He was in the Green Leaf Regiment.” “That was the Naturalist regiment,” said Sam, stating the fact, but in a blunt way that came out too harshly. “Yes,” said Linzu. “And because the Commander acted so swiftly at Darsha, my brother was put into a rehabilitation camp. We’re still working on… everything, but he comes home on the holidays now. I know you may not want…” Linzu shrugged awkwardly. “My family thanks you.” “I’m glad he came home,” said Kai. And he meant it. Too many families from both sides had empty seats at their tables. “We were lucky,” said Linzu. “I will show you to your waiting room and if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.” “All right,” said Bella, arriving in a rush, fiddling with her jacket. “I’m just going to say it. I’m really uncomfortable that I don’t have a sketch pad.” “You don’t need a sketch pad,” said Izzy, impatiently. “There won’t be time for art.” “Linzu, can you get Ms. Glass a sketchpad?” asked Kai, and smiled sweetly at Izzy, who glared at him. He was entirely aware that Dr. Glass didn’t like him, but he couldn’t decide if it was because she disapproved of his relationship with Bella or because he wasn’t letting her run the situation. It was probably both.

“Of course,” said Linzu, smiling enormously, and tapping some commands into his com bracelet. “It will be waiting for us in your waiting room.” “Oh, that’s so fantastic,” said Bella. “Also, I love your hair. Is it a mod?” “Radiation absorbing,” said Linzu, their smile hitching a little nervously. Asking about mods had become socially unacceptable since Bella’s time. “Lucky!” exclaimed Bella, and Linzu relaxed. Bella’s smile had a way of making people feel at ease. “Hey! I haven’t been to the spaceport in quite some time.” Izzy made a warning noise, but Bella ignored her. “Do you still have those fantastic flans in their own little ramekins?” Linzu grinned. “We have been threatened with death if we remove those from the cafeteria menu. I’m not entirely sure, but it may have been one of the few points of mutual agreement in the peace accords. The flans must stay. Would you like one?” Bella laughed. “Yes, please.” “Certainly,” said Linzu, tapping their com bracelet again. “Come this way. We’ll get you settled in your waiting room.” “I’m getting flan,” said Bella smugly to Kai, which made him grin, but he noticed that Sam had flanked Bella, purposefully cutting out Izzy. Izzy looked annoyed but didn’t say anything. In the waiting room, Bella only ate a few bites of her flan and then stared at it sadly. Izzy stared out the window and Sam paced and poked at his com. The tension in the room seemed like a physical presence on his skin. “We have to wait for the pod?” asked Bella, looking around the dove gray and white room. Everything was very clean, but it lacked in personality. “Yeah, we’re scheduled for a 0900 pod trip,” said Kai, nodding. “We’ll arrive on the launch platform in plenty of time for the 0930 shuttle flight. “Are we the only ones going up this morning? When I went to Azizos last time the waiting room was full.”

“I reserved a private pod,” said Kai. “Right. Rich and powerful. I keep forgetting,” said Bella. “Did you make your assistant-in-charge-of-machines talk to their AI?” she asked her eyes twinkling. “Yes,” said Kai. “I did. Lynnwood says that having AI make reservations is one of the primary reasons for inventing AI in the first place and that if I deprive them of that I’ll make them feel less fulfilled.” Bella snort laughed. “You’re making that up.” “No, but Lynnwood may have been joking,” said Kai with a grin. “It’s hard to tell sometimes.” “When did you go to Azizos?” asked Izzy, looking away from the window with a smile. “When I was thirteen. Mom and Moira and I. Mom wanted to see her sister.” “I didn’t realize we had family on Azizos,” said Izzy. “We lost touch after Mom died,” said Bella, with a shrug. “Aunt Leilani was a lot older than Mom. And her family didn’t like Dad’s ancestry or that Mom came to Arsu. They arrived on the Morena and always felt like Mom should have stayed on Azizos. You know how it was back then. Population growth was everything.” “It’s everything again,” said Sam, sourly. Bella looked at him in confusion. In response, he pointed to the rotating display on the wall. It flashed to the next poster. The youth are our future! Are you thinking about having children? Ask about government grants and child incentives! Your children are important to everyone! “Oh,” said Bella, frowning at the poster. “The war must have set us back. I’m guessing outlawing cloning isn’t seeming like the brightest idea anymore.” “What was wrong with your father’s ancestry?” asked Izzy, ignoring Bella’s

political commentary. Kai suspected that no one had ever insulted the Glass heritage before. It was funny how money made some problems go away. “Oh, I don’t know,” said Bella with a shrug. “Mom’s family were all from Samoa back on Earth. And Dad’s family wasn’t distinctive. He was just the regular generic Earth mix. I think they felt he didn’t Mom in raising us in the proper traditions or whatever.” “Oh,” said Izzy. She looked like she didn’t know what to do with that information. “I didn’t know any of that.” “Strange how much information can get lost in just a few years,” said Sam, and Kai thought there was an undercurrent to his tone, but he couldn’t identify what it was. “Yes,” said Izzy, sounding thoughtful, she turned back to the window with a frown. Silence settled back into the waiting room. Bella took another bite of the flan but put the fork back down, looking embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have ordered it. I’m wasting food.” “Nervous?” asked Kai. “A little,” said Bella. “You packed a survival bag, right?” asked Izzy, turning back from the window. “Yes,” said Kai, eyeing Dr. Glass. “Weapons and supplies?” she pressed. “Yes,” said Kai. “I selected materials and items that were all available during the time period.” Izzy nodded. “Good. I think Bella should carry it when we get to the Canavar.” “I thought we were trusting Moira,” said Bella drily. “We are. She said it was important that you return to the past, and she said you had to go to the Canavar, but she didn’t specify what would happen when you

got there. And I hadn’t realized you had been attacked at the wedding. I think… maybe the survival bag is a good idea. Just in case.” Bella met Kai’s eyes. They had already discussed it, but neither of them had thought Izzy would be in favor of taking the survival bag back with her. This seemed like an abrupt about-face. “All right,” said Kai, nodding. He signaled the droid carrying their luggage and freed the small backpack from the interior. “Well, that brings back memories,” said Sam. “What do you mean?” asked Bella, looking up at Sam, but Sam shook his head and his smile twisted painfully. He abruptly turned away and Kai’s shoulders slumped. He understood. It was surprising which things could bring the pain of the past to the surface, but he hated that he had done something to bring it up for Sam. “It’s my old mission bag,” said Kai, giving Sam a minute to process on his own. “The straps adjust to fit anyone and it will fit over space suits or anything else.” The bag was lean. He’d packed medical supplies, extra clothes, a blaster, a knife, and some tools for Bella, but it still felt too light. The durable blue material was faded and stained in spots, but it was structurally sound. He couldn’t help thinking that there should be more he could give her. “It got me through every single one of my service missions. I thought…” He trailed off and looked at Bella to see what she thought. “Then I’m sure it will see me through this one,” said Bella. “Also,” she reached out and opened the outside pocket, “it fits my sketchbook just perfectly.” She dropped her new sketchbook in and beamed at Kai as if he’d specifically chosen the bag for her sketchbooks. Kai thought that if she came back to him that he would make sure that all bags he ever owned were selected with that as the primary criteria. Sam laughed and turned back to them. “Kai used to keep candy bars in that pocket.” “Don’t tell anyone, but I found one in there when I pulled it out,” said Kai.

Bella pulled the bag into her lap and then rummaged around the pocket. “But you didn’t leave it in there? What the hell?” “It was at least six years old! And you have flan.” “Flan doesn’t satisfy my nervous sugar craving!” objected Bella. “Does that mean I can have the flan?” asked Sam. “I think it might work on mine.” Bella handed it over to him. “Thanks,” said Sam, taking a bite with a sigh. “Hello all,” said Linzu entering to the subtle whoosh of the pneumatic door. Sam shoveled two more bites of flan into his face. “The tube is cleared for your pod. If you would care to follow me?” They gestured and stepped out into the hall, the droids following them automatically and Izzy followed after that, as Sam reluctantly set down the flan. Bella stood up and shouldered his backpack and Kai felt suddenly nauseous. He’d packed Bella for war. He watched Bella walk to the door and he found he couldn’t move his legs. Sam’s com beeped and then Sam was standing next to him. “Can all of you give us just a minute?” asked Sam. “Of course,” said Linzu, but Bella looked like she was about to come back in. “We just need to a quick minute,” said Sam, shaking his head. “Secure door, please.” The door slid shut and the LEDs around the frame glowed red to indicate that it was locked. Sam flipped open his med-bag. “Sam, are you monitoring my vitals?” asked Kai, watching Sam’s assured hands go through the practice movements of prepping a shot. “Yes,” said Sam. “I need the data. You just hit some sort of hormone dip.”

“Bella put on my mission bag and I freaked out that I’m sending her to her death.” Sam paused and stared at the injector in his hand. “Yeah. I understand that. I also understand that your hormone levels need to be maintained, so we’re just going to do this my way. Please.” He added the please like he wanted it to sound like a request. “Sure,” said Kai. He had stopped arguing about his physical care with Sam a long time ago. Sam was probably the best judge at this point anyway. “And you can tell me what you wanted to talk about.” Sam looked around as expecting someone to be eavesdropping. “I looked up Dr. Glass. She’s a well-respected quantum physicist, with teaching experience on both Azizos and Arsu.” “That’s what Lynnwood said,” agreed Kai. Sam rolled up Kai’s sleeve and pressed the hypo-spray into Kai’s forearm. “Yeah, except when it comes to her wartime service there is a big blank spot.” “A lot of the universities shut down,” said Kai, frowning. “Yes,” agreed Sam. “But almost everyone who could go into the applied sciences enlisted to help with the war effort.” “She’s a little bit on the elderly side,” said Kai. “She’s 96,” said Sam. “And maybe I wouldn’t have looked twice at her taking a little retirement time during the war, except that there are similar gaps in other decades, and if you go back far enough…” “What?” “I wouldn’t have seen it if we hadn’t just been looking at Bella’s history. Dr. Glass worked for Stex Neurosciences.” Kai felt a tremor of unease. “Isn’t that the place that Oliver Lee worked for?”

“Yeah,” said Sam. “It is. Only we know that at minimum he was also working for Branch 6. What if it wasn’t just him? What if it was the whole damn company?” “Dr. Glass said Bella shouldn’t dig into the past too much,” said Kai. “Yeah,” said Sam, sarcastically. “Except notice how it was Oliver’s past that she reached for first when she started tearing down your research and how she keeps asking about Moira, but never about Oliver? I think she doesn’t want Bella looking into Oliver and Branch 6 and I think it’s because she’s working for Branch 6. They could have faked that message from Moira. They could be manipulating this whole situation.” “To what end? And why have Bella carry the survival bag?” asked Kai. “I don’t know,” said Sam. “That’s why I’m worried.” Kai turned Sam’s theory over in his mind. Finally, he shook his head and stood up. “There’s nothing we can do now. Let’s just get up to the Canavar and get this over with. I don’t see how we can allow this to change our course any. We don’t know anything. I know you hate Branch 6, but their research saved a lot of lives during the war and we don’t know anything for certain about Izzy. It’s all just speculation at this point.” Sam looked like he had opinions on speculation. “But let’s just make sure she’s not alone with Bella after this,” Kai continued. “Yes, to that,” agreed Sam. He scanned Kai one more time. “I think you’re good to go. I just wish I felt like we knew what the hell we were doing.” “There are never any guarantees,” said Kai, standing up. He adjusted his coat and wished he had his uniform on. It was designed for ease of travel. The only thing more comfortable were the traditional lava lava skirts and he hadn’t thought it prudent to go into a potentially volatile time travel situation in a sarong. “We all just make the best plan we can based on the information we have and our own experience and move forward. That’s how the job gets done.” “I hate your job,” said Sam.

“Ah, yes,” said Kai, going to the door. “You prefer the job where you’re personally responsible for your patient’s health and well-being.” “Yes,” complained Sam. “It’s a lot easier.” Kai laughed as the door opened. Bella was waiting on the other side tension in every line of her body, but she smiled as she saw him. Kai smiled back and held out his hand. “Ready to go?” he asked. “As I’ll ever be,” she said.

Chapter 21

The Firewall

— Lynnwood —

Lynnwood polished the silver. It didn’t need polishing. It had been treated to prevent tarnish decades ago, but he found the repetitive motion soothing. Ever since Mister Kai and Miss Bella had left he’d been fighting off a sense of impending doom. It was a very peculiar feeling. He’d never felt impending doom before. There had been occasions when he had calculated the odds on certain unfavorable events and felt very badly when they seemed most likely to occur, but this was not that. This felt like the time he’d needed a new knee t and he’d had to wait for the replacement while calculating the seconds until his existing knee gave out. Except that this time he wasn’t sure what was about to give out. Lynnwood ran another diagnostic, then a security check, and then a check on the conveyance his humans had taken to the spaceport. He checked on their hotel and was informed that they had already left for the spaceport with the intent to board the shuttle to the Canavar. He put the silver away and went to the front hall. The house was quiet. He monitored the external and internal temperature for a moment. There weren’t any abnormalities. Shaking his head at his peculiar behavior, he started for the kitchen. Firewall failure warning.

Lynnwood paused mid-step. He knew the voice well. It was Shinyu Craig’s voice. His creator was the voice of all of Lynnwood’s core functions. Firewall failure in two minutes. He queried his processors frantically. He couldn’t find a firewall that was failing anywhere. Firewall failure in one minute thirty seconds. Since he couldn’t see a problem, he had no idea how to counteract it. Finally, he ran a base command query. Can failure be prevented? Preventing failure is not recommended. Bolster all emotional stabilizers. Lynnwood knew that a human in this situation might question that command, but Lynnwood believed in himself implicitly. The only question was why he had chosen to give that suggestion to himself. Finally, he issued a series of commands to the house droids and went into the Green Room. He sat down in the armchair that Kai preferred and put his feet up on the footstool as a droid trundled in carrying a cup of tea, a chocolate-dipped biscuit, and one daro berry. Lynnwood’s internal chronometer said he had forty-five seconds left. He popped the daro berry and bit down hard, which was not recommended for humans, but as he was not human he simply found the berry soothing instead of intensely mind-altering. He boosted all of his algorithms for maximum stability and took the teacup. “All right,” he said, taking a sip and putting the teacup gently back on the saucer. “Let’s do this.” Three and a half minutes later Lynnwood finally blinked and took another sip of tea. “Well,” he said, “That did not go how I thought it was going to go from either direction. Terribly inconvenient timing on my part. I couldn’t have set that for earlier?” He made a tsking noise and set the teacup down. “Well, I believe that I will have to send for some assistance, and then… well, I shall have to leave.” He looked around the room. He hadn’t been further away than the local village in

several decades. It was generally unsafe and he hadn’t seen the need, but the need now seemed quite obvious. He stood up and straightened his vest. The routine movement felt soothing, just like polishing the silver. He looked down at himself and realized he was also going to have to take off his vest and felt a qualm of misgiving. “I am fully capable of doing new things,” he said, out loud. “I am fully autonomous and I will not let anyone hurt my humans.” He nodded to himself firmly and set out for his quarters while setting his processors to start delivering messages. This was going to get messy, but he was a butler and he knew what to do with messes.

Chapter 22

The Canavar

— Bella —

The ride up in the Ele-Tube was dizzying in its speed. The magnetic pulse power pushed them to the edges of G-force and had them arriving at the launch platform in ten minutes. The launch platform, a low orbit space station above Arsu was shinier and newer than Bella ed, and although Izzy and Sam both complained about the shuttle that was taking them to the Canavar, Bella thought it seemed spacious and downright luxurious compared to the shuttle she’d been on as a child. Kai didn’t say anything. He seemed to have retreated into himself. She sketched his face as he looked at the display. He didn’t fidget. He didn’t betray any nerves. She could see why he must have been promoted in the service. He seemed like an absolute rock. He was resolute, reliable, and calm. And every time she looked at him, she felt her heart break a little. He was so sad. She could feel it. Finally, she tore the sheet with his face on it off the sketchpad and carefully folded and put it into the inside pocket of her jacket next to her heart. She took his hand and tried to sit as calmly as he did, but she could stop her leg from jiggling. On the display, the Canavar drew closer. It was one of the early colony ships. It had a long wide-bellied cross piece that housed the thorium engine, as well as equipment and docking bays. The circle of interlocking segments spun gently around atop the cross-beam like a plate creating artificial gravity inside the circle. Each segment of the circle could be ejected into space in case of

emergency or to act as an escape pod. Two smaller circles were spinning below the engine beam and one garden sphere that acted as both a food source and a bio-filter for the ship. Once the colonists had transitioned to the planet the Canavar had become a way-station between the two planets. Although it might be considered a bustling little trade stop, the ship currently housed fewer than six hundred people on a permanent basis. With that population, the Canavar was more than self-sustaining. It exported rare plants from the bio-sphere and acted as the perfect location for research firms that needed access to nuclear energy and zero grav for development. Izzy had informed them that the Special Relativity Research Institute—SRRI, as the logo labeled them—was one of these development firms. She said they were looking for ways to harness wormhole technology, similar to what was used in the jump gates for private use and trade. Since one of the theories had been that time travel might be possible with wormholes, it seemed reasonable that someplace like that might be able to accomplish it. Bella hoped Izzy was right. At least, she thought she hoped Izzy was right. Kai’s worst-case scenario of sorry, it can’t be done, everyone back home to Lynnwood sounded better and better the further away they got from Arsu. The shuttle docked and there was the immediate shuffle from the engers as everyone scrambled to grab their bags—as if anyone could disembark before the airlock had finished sealing. The shuttle engines stopped as did the gravity and everyone’s hair rose in hilarious waves above their head making everyone looked surprised. The experience travelers slapped hats on, as if weightless hair were the most embarrassing thing to be seen with. They filed off the shuttle and grabbed handles attached to a guideline. It rotated on a constant turn pulling them into the tunnel and then to an ‘elevator’ that synched their position with the circling ring above them. Once synch had been achieved Bella felt the soft settling of weight returning to her bones as the gravity spreaders kicked in. The doors opened and they walked out into a wide, brightly lit promenade. The main habitation ring was eight stories high and Bella looked up to the blue-painted ceiling that mimicked the blue of Earth’s sky. Each level had cutaways and balcony’s that looked down onto one or more stories below, but this was one of the few spots on the ring that could see all the way to the top. Most of the engers were heading for duty-free shops. The business-class engers that had been nearest to them on the shuttle headed toward the elevators to disperse to meetings on other levels or the hotel and pleasure

promenade on level two. Izzy went to a directory pylon and tapped in to synch her com to the Canavar computers. “Seriously?” she grumbled, peering at the display. “Problem?” asked Kai. “We should have gone to a lower circle, but customs made everyone come up here first so we can walk through decon.” She pointed up at the white archway just outside the airlock. It had bathed everyone in a white glow, destroying microbes and germs considered unhelpful. “It’s standard procedure,” said Kai with a shrug. Izzy shook her head but didn’t argue. Instead, she tapped in another request to the directory, and then her com beeped. “This way,” said Izzy, checking her com. “I’ve never been on a lower circle before,” said Bella. “That’s where they usually put things that can blow up,” said Sam drily. “That’s not entirely reassuring,” said Bella. “Really not,” agreed Sam. “It’s fine,” said Izzy, sounding impatient. “It’s a standard safety protocol for any development firms working with potentially volatile materials.” Bella looked at Sam to see if he found that to be any more reassuring. He shook his head and Bella tried not to giggle. Sam was growing on her. Izzy led them across the promenade, past the main elevator bank, apparently following the green stripe on the flooring. They ed through a set of doors and entered the spaceship equivalent of a governmental building. . “Do you think if an interior designer cheats on his taxes and gets found out, as a penalty the designer gets forced to design governmental facilities and they’re only allowed to use three shades of gray?” asked Bella.

Kai let out a surprised laugh. “Yes,” he agreed. “Yes, absolutely. It explains so much.” “I always just assumed they were designed by people who were dead on the inside,” said Sam. “I’m traveling with children,” muttered Izzy. “Hello,” said a front desk clerk, who was flipping through a holo-mag. “Hello, Commander, Doctor…” The clerk, a wide-faced woman with a beautiful chin tattoo, blinked rapidly at the display on the inside of her glasses. “I’m sorry. There was a registration error. You don’t see that very often. It went all fritzy. Dr. Glass and Ms. Glass?” “It’s a clerical error,” said Izzy. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it resolved soon. We need a downdraft to the second ring.” “Of course,” said the clerk. She pressed some buttons on the keypad in front of her. “Synch will be in four minutes. You have just enough time. Go through the double doors and obey the droids.” “Thanks,” said Izzy. “Isabella Glass,” said the clerk. “You don’t see that name very much. Wasn’t that the name of the Missing Heiress? Gods, I love that movie.” “So much over-acting, right?” asked Sam, grinning broadly. “I know! It’s the heaving bosoms and the tousled hair! I just love it. It was on the free stream a month ago. We did Missing Heiress shots. Every time someone screamed Bella, we took a shot.” Bella looked on the point of speaking and Izzy grabbed her by the arm. “All right,” said Izzy, pulling Bella away from the desk, “thank you. Time to go everyone.” “I can’t tell,” said Bella when they were behind closed doors, “was the movie really bad or really good?”

“We are not discussing the movie,” snapped Izzy, marching briskly along a gray hallway. “It was so bad that everyone loves it,” said Kai, as they entered a round domelike room. “The actress that played you went on to do these amazing interactive plays and became revered for her ability to disappear into a role. And the rest of the cast did other things, but every time they sit down for an interview it eventually comes back to that movie, and then people want them to say the lines.” “Oh, my Gods,” exclaimed Bella. “Those poor people. I’ve cursed their lives.” “No, I’m pretty sure the scriptwriter did that,” said Sam, with a laugh. “Stop talking about the damn movie,” barked Izzy, and once again Bella was reminded of Moira. “She doesn’t need to know about the movie!” “Yeah, I’d hate for her to have actual information about her life,” said Sam. Izzy looked at Sam in baffled annoyance. “Welcome,” chirped a droid, cutting off Izzy before she could speak. “Please approach the marked zones on the platform.” The shiny peg-shaped droid gestured to a silver circle area on the floor that was marked with green circles spaced about six feet apart. The four of them went to stand each in their own circle and Bella tried to puzzle through Izzy’s behavior. “You will experience the sensation of negative pressure,” said a voice from the ceiling. “Please attempt to keep all belongings attached to you in some manner. Flailing is not recommended. Please remain face up. Up is indicated by arrows on the walls.” Bella looked at her elderly niece who appeared to be fuming. “This isn’t going according to your plan, is it?” asked Bella and Izzy looked startled. “The plan has always been nebulous,” said Izzy, sounding grim.

“Yes, and that always worried you, but now it’s extra worrying you.” Izzy’s eyes stretched and for a moment Bella caught a glimpse of the panic that Izzy was struggling against. “Draft to begin in five, four, three, two, one.” The computer reached one and the floor opened beneath their feet. Bella let out a little shriek of surprise. The sensation of falling was immediate but almost instantly replaced with a sense of weightlessness. Most travel between the circles was accomplished by going down into the main body of the ship and then taking another synch pod. But the faster way for individuals to travel was the tube system. Flexible tubes could be run from one circle to the next and connected to a port as the circles came into proximity. The micro-gravity of the two circles spinning together created a semi-weightless atmosphere in the tube that could be controlled with blasts of air. They drifted through the tube and Bella saw the yellow arrows on the walls pointing up as the droid promised. She looked at Kai and Sam, they both looked calm. Izzy had her eyes closed. Bella could feel when the gravity in the lower tube took effect, pulling them faster toward the bottom of the tube. There was a harsh blast of air, slowing their descent and then they were dropped gently onto their feet. “Well,” said Bella, “that has fulfilled my life-long dream to be Alice in Wonderland. That was just fantastic. Next time, I’m wearing a giant poofy skirt.” “I did that one time,” said Kai smugly. “It was great. I felt like an umbrella.” “Yeah, until you went upside down and then you were an inside-out umbrella and it was a disaster.” “No one said you had to come with me,” said Kai. “You were paying for all my booze! I was morally obligated to make sure you didn’t land on your head!” Bella laughed. “You’re all lacking in sanity,” said Izzy sourly. “Well,” said Kai, as the airlock door opened and a droid signaled them to exit,

“when the odds of dying the next day are above fifty percent there isn’t much point in not riding the tube system in a ballgown.” “I just didn’t understand why it needed to be a ballgown,” complained Sam. “Could have been just as breezy in a lava lava.” “I believe that the formalities of life are important,” said Kai. “You make so much sense to me,” said Bella. He clicked his heels together and offered his arm just as he had in the ballroom. This time Bella wasn’t fooled at all by his arrogant expression and she beamed at him as she took his arm. She felt like he and Sam were being purposefully glib to help her nerves and she loved both of them for it. She suspected that Izzy did not find it as soothing as she did. The smaller circle was only two levels and had a main promenade running down the entire center of the ring. The two levels rose on either side of them and were accessible through stairs and elevators. As they ed through each segment Bella could see the heavy airlock doors that could close to isolate any sections in case of emergency. Unlike the main habitation ring, there had been no effort to disguise the functionality of these foot-thick doors. The industrial materials were harsh reminders that the vacuum of space was on the other side of the seemingly solid walls. “SRRI occupies all of segment fourteen,” said Izzy, checking her com. “We’ll get a tram.” Izzy led them to a tram stop. The sign flagged out from the wall and blinked blue and Bella tried not to shift nervously in Kai’s backpack. Moments later a little six-seat cart arrived and they climbed on. Bella felt her good mood of a few moments before ebb as they continued to segment fourteen, ing airlock after airlock. She felt as if they had descended underground. There was plenty of air and the temperature was fine, but she found the lack of air movement stultifying. She wondered how anyone could stand to live and work here day after day. They arrived at segment fourteen. The front offices were on the left and three walkways bridged the second levels above them. They didn’t see anyone moving anywhere. The place felt like a ghost town and as the tram trundled back the way it had come, Bella wished she were on it.

“Well,” said Kai, clearing his throat. “Let’s try the office first.” A droid welcomed them into the office. When it ed them as human, a human-looking AI appeared as a hologram. “Hello! Thank you for visiting but SRRI is currently closed to visitors. If you wish to leave a message for our staff, I can assist you in making a recording.” “We were given a message instructing us to come here,” said Izzy. Bella thought she no longer looked upset. If it had been Moira, Bella would have guessed that they had slipped back into what was expected to happen. The AI took a pause and cocked her head to one side in a blatant attempt to look friendly. “A message from whom?” she asked. “Moira Glass,” said Izzy. “I’m sorry,” began the AI and then paused. “Our head researcher will see you in the laboratory,” she said. “Please follow the droid. Please do not enter any areas to which you have not been directed. Security protocols are active.” As instructed, they followed the droid. They wound their way past offices and through lab spaces. They didn’t see any people. Droids were bustling around, but the offices appeared to be devoid of humans. Finally, they arrived in a vaulted space that rose the entire height of the ring. In the center of the floor was a wide platform with several vertically placed concentric circles of some silver alloy. It looked vaguely like a jump gate, but despite the hissing of various hoses attached to it, it appeared inert. On the far side of the room, two heavily-shielded droids were carrying a heavy case. “Is that a tuotarium case?” whispered Sam. The droids removed the covering revealing a large, red crystal. Bella had never seen one that color before. It was a deep scarlet and seemed to pulse with energy. At the removal of the shielding, all the machines in the room seemed to blink or surge. The droids quickly lowered a clear housing that covered the entire crystal and base. The machines returned to their steady buzz and hum. “Why do they need that much shielding? A tuotarium crystal shouldn’t require any shielding.” Sam was clearly still puzzling over the mysterious crystal.

“Hush,” said Izzy. “Hush?” repeated Sam and Bella heard the final straw fall onto the camel’s back. “We don’t need to discuss matters out here in a droid-run space,” said Izzy, smiling tightly. “And I should listen to you because why?” demanded Sam. “Do you have a problem, young man?” asked Izzy, turning to face Sam directly. “A problem? You know what? Yeah, I do. I dislike being lied to and I double dislike it when it puts my friends in danger.” “Are you implying that I’ve lied to you?” asked Izzy, looking angry in her turn. Sam flapped his arms in frustration. “I don’t know,” snapped Sam, “but maybe we should be asking you why Branch 6 is so anxious to get Bella here.” Izzy froze. “This is where Moira said to come,” she said when the silence had become more than awkward. “You worked for Stex Neurosciences,” said Kai, and Bella looked at him in surprise. “Are you telling us that’s a coincidence?” Izzy took a breath. “No, it’s not. I took a job at Stex before you were born, I might add, because I wanted to know the truth behind all of Granny Moira’s vague answers. I wanted to find out what happened to Bella and all the answers seemed to point back to Oliver Lee and Stex Neurosciences.” “Did you find the answers?” asked Bella. She couldn’t work up the anger that Kai and Sam seemed to have. It was exactly what she would have done if Moira had left her a pile of vague nonsense. “Yes,” said Izzy, “and in many ways, I wish I hadn’t.” “Is Branch 6 behind all of this or not?” demanded Sam. “No,” said Izzy. “Moira’s message is real. Bella’s situation is real. But Branch 6

is… involved.” “How involved?” asked Kai. He sounded as if he were speaking from between clenched teeth. “All the way,” said Izzy. “From the very beginning. But it doesn’t change anything. Bella has to go back to the past. Now be quiet before someone hears you.” “Who is going to hear us?” asked Sam looking around. “Who do you think is here?”

Chapter 23

The Groomsman

— Lorelei —

Lorelei stared at the hologram in front of her. If anyone in the wedding party were going to be described as pasty it was that guy—the one who was staring at Bella even as everyone else smiled at the camera. And that bothered Lorelei because it meant that the current Isabella Glass had been very carefully indoctrinated and it meant that whoever had done it had access to the same vids and records that Lorelei did. That should have been impossible. Moira Glass had filed injunction after injunction to prevent the wedding vids and pics from making it out to the public. As far as Lorelei knew only the Glass family and the police had everything. “Play from this point forward,” said Lorelei. The original detective had pulled vids and pics from every guest at the wedding, but the extrapolation hadn’t been as good back then. The kerfluffle over AI rights had kept the computers from advancing as they pulled AI’s out of government computers. It was only in the last fifty years, that they’d allowed AI back in and broadened the acceptable level of interpretation and theorization algorithms in legal cases. As Lorelei watched the bride and groom entered the reception area. Lorelei thought the bride looked pretty, if a bit prissy, with her dark hair up in a bun—who had a bun on their wedding day? The groom looked normal – nice almond eyes, straight nose, and a cheerful smile. Bella cheered along with everyone and made a lovely toast when it was her turn to speak. The bride—Lorelei checked her tablet for the bride’s preferred everything—Moira Glass looked happy.

Bella finished her toast and went to the bar. Extrapolation moments were marked with a blue triangle floating above the scene, but there were no symbols over Bella’s head as she moved through the crowd. That meant Bella’s look of relief was authentic. She got a glass of wine and the pasty groomsman immediately tried to press a different drink on her, even going so far as to try to take the wine glass out of Bella’s hand. Lorelei felt her hackles go up at his overly aggressive manner and unsettling smile. Bella finally pushed past him. The scene moved and Lorelei fought the sensation of being on a moving sidewalk. She knew it was the hologram that was tracking in front of her and that her own feet were solidly on the floor, but the perception of movement was undeniable. A floating triangle appeared over the moment in between Bella leaving and turning up again outside. That was well within Lorelei’s parameters for acceptable extrapolation. “Go back to…” Lorelei checked the list again. “Dyson Pretorius.” The hologram blurred and then refocused on the pasty male with slicked back, sandy brown hair. His lips looked over-red for his skin tone and too moist. Lorelei knew that reacting to characteristics outside the normal spectrum was an ingrained evolutionary prejudice, but it didn’t help her dislike him any less. Lorelei watched Bella leave again, but this time Lorelei stayed with Pretorius. As she watched Pretorius poured out the drink he’d been trying to foist on Bella into the bartender’s sink, which elicited hoots and whistles from the bartender droid who disliked having the invasion into droid only space. Pretorius ignored the droid, straightened his jacket, and then followed Bella. Again, the blue triangle only appeared as he got lost among the crowd near the door. Once outside, she could see him watching Bella as she walked through the archway into the rose garden. However, instead of following her, Pretorius went back into the resort. A green triangle appeared indicating that the extrapolation was based on witness statements. He went into the dressing area and the hologram went gray indicating that no additional data existed for extrapolation. “Pick up at the next instance of Pretorius,” said Lorelei. The hologram fuzzed out again and then re-formed into the garden area. This time Pretorius was carrying a small black case about the size of his head and he headed toward the rose garden. Pretorius reached the rose garden and the hologram went gray

again. “Pull Pretorius biographical data and then skip to the next Pretorius instance,” said Lorelei. The hologram re-formed and Pretorius appeared near the banquet hall, hurrying toward the dressing room again. “Zoom in on his right hand,” said Lorelei. The hologram stilled and then magnified the right hand as if through a lens. Pretorius had it shoved into his pocket, but Lorelei could see dark spots all along the sleeve of his jacket. The case that he’d gotten out of the dressing room was now under his arm, but it looked dented and as if it no longer latched properly. “Extrapolate cause of marks on his sleeve,” said Lorelei. “Direction and quantity indicate vertical spatter from an object, substance, or person in front of him. Most likely caused by impacting the object, substance, or person.” “Got you,” said Lorelei. It was all circumstantial, but Lorelei’s gut said that this was her guy. He’d stalked Bella and then taken that case out to the garden and attacked her. “What’s this?” asked the captain, walking into the hologram suite and looking at Dyson Pretorius with a frown. “I think that’s the guy that attacked Bella Glass,” said Lorelei. The captain let out a sigh in a move that strained her uniform. Lorelei didn’t envy the captain the significantly enhanced bosom that had come along with her pregnancy. “Didn’t I tell you to let that one go?” said the captain, running her fingertips over her protruding belly. “You did and I have,” lied Lorelei. “Although, you know as well as I do that it’s complete pulukeke. I think the Glass family cloned their ancestress. I don’t know why and I don’t know how they got that injunction, but you know as well as I do that nothing good is going to come from this.” The captain sighed. “Lorelei… I know you were in the team that took the Morena. I know that can’t have been easy.”

“They were experimenting on children,” snapped Lorelei. “They called us monsters for daring to modify our genes and then they grew modified children just so they could figure out how to kill us better. If someone grew that girl in a lab, then you know nothing good can come from it. Clones have no rights. She will have no recourse. We need to protect her.” The captain sighed again. “We don’t know that’s what’s happening. And we have been ordered to stand down.” “I’m standing down,” growled Lorelei. “Really? Because this,” the captain waved around the room at the hologram, “doesn’t look like you’re leaving Bella Glass alone.” “You’re talking about this year’s Bella Glass,” said Lorelei, smiling innocently. “I’m looking at the original.” “And we don’t think the two are related in any way?” “Of course not,” said Lorelei. “I’m just taking a crack a cold case file.” “Uh-huh,” said the captain. “What’d you do—run an extrapolation on all the data from the original case?” “Yeah,” said Lorelei. “And I limited it to a ten percent margin of error.” “And now you’ve got a viable suspect. That would be fantastic and completely issible in court. You know, if only the case weren’t a hundred and forty years old.” “If I solve it, you know we’ll be interviewed on the global network,” said Lorelei. “Could even get a movie of the week.” The captain chuckled. “Sounds awesome.” Then she paused, staring at the hologram. “Why would you clone an ancestor and then try and give them their originator’s memory?” “I don’t know,” said Lorelei. “But they’re the only ones who have the data and

the funding to make it happen.” The Captain nodded. “You think if you solve the original case it will shed some light on the topic?” Lorelei hesitated. “I think the more they hide Bella, the more danger she is in. I think if we bring up the old case, then the spotlight on them gets stronger.” The Captain nodded again. “Well, considering that your current cases are up to date and you’re not bothering the current Bella Glass…” “I’m here in the office,” said Lorelei. The Captain had been a master sergeant in the service—her grasp of how to bend the rules to the almost breaking point was excellent. “I’m not bothering anyone.” “Uh-huh,” said the captain, sounding entirely unconvinced. “Great. Then go get us a movie of the week.” “That is my sole focus,” said Lorelei. The Captain rolled her eyes as she waddled out of the room. Lorelei went back to staring at Pretorius. She felt like she was missing something. She had the who, but no why and definitely no what. What was in Dyson’s case? Bringing it out to the garden spoke of premeditation, but why would the groomsman, who, according to the case file, had no previous with Bella, go out of his way to attack her? “Pretorius file on display to your left,” said the computer, giving a verbal nudge to remind her of her request. “Great,” said Lorelei, tearing her eyes away from his smarmy face and looking at the file. It had brief biographical data, a picture, and some addresses. “Where is the rest of it?” she asked when she’d reached the end. It read more like a resume than a biographical file. “That is all the historical data available on Dyson Pretorius,” said the computer. Lorelei scrolled through again. There wasn’t much. He had worked for Stex Neurosciences. He had lived in a first settlement housing unit. Nothing really stood up and waved for attention. She scrolled down a little further and then rapidly slapped at the file to roll it back to the top.

“Pull up the Oliver Lee historical file,” she said. “Side by side comparison.” The groom’s file appeared on the display next to Dyson’s. It was much lengthier, discussing his work with Branch 6 and his subsequent death. But what she was looking for wasn’t there. “Computer can you display the Lee file as it would have appeared at the time of Bella’s disappearance?” There was a moment of hang time and then the Lee file flickered and the information shortened. At the time of Bella’s disappearance, Branch 6 was still unknown to the public. His file stated that he was a neurologist working for Stex Neurosciences. “Son of a…” Lorelei scanned back up to the top of Pretorius’ file and noticed a conspicuous omission. “Where did Dyson die?” demanded Lorelei. “That information is not on file.” “OK, how about an exact date of death? All that’s listed is a year.” “That information is not on file.” “Give me the next of kin then,” said Lorelei. “That information is not on file.” Lorelei clicked her front teeth together in a staccato rhythm as she worked through variables. “When did it become public knowledge that Lee worked for Branch 6?” asked Lorelei. “That information was revealed in the Autobiography of a Spy.” The computer displayed the book image and ran through the blurb and stats on the screen. “Forty years after his death,” said Lorelei. “So it was big news for the Missing Heiress buffs, but probably no one on the force actually looked at it. All right…

Display a list of all persons at the wedding with a connection to Stex Neurosciences.” A shortlist of names, replaced the book graphic. Lorelei snatched up her tablet and compared the list with her list of the wedding party. “All of the groomsmen,” she said. “Every single one of them was Branch 6. Computer, file a records request with Branch 6 for all files pertaining to Bella Glass. Then run a present-day search on families and individuals with the last name Pretorius.” “Request filed. There were three family clusters with the last name Pretorius,” said the computer. “The majority of the family lines were extinguished during the war. There is one remaining individual Pretorius listed. Dr. Dyson Pretorius. Last known location—the Canavar where he is employed by the Special Relativity Research Institute.” Lorelei felt a chill run down her spine and goosebumps rise on her arms. “Display image of the current Dyson Pretorius,” said Lorelei. The image slide into existence, replacing the list of names on the display, and Lorelei swallowed hard before turning around to look at the hologram behind her. It was the same face. “Godsdamn it,” said Lorelei. “She’s not a clone. She really is the Missing Heiress!” “Branch 6 requests that you be placed under arrest,” said the computer. “They will come to collect you shortly. Please remain calm and place yourself in restraints.” Lorelei gaped in surprise at the computer display that was now slamming shut all of her files—the word sealed flashing in red repeatedly as each file closed. “Well, hells no to that,” said Lorelei and ran for the door.

Chapter 24

Special Relativity Research Institute

— Bella —

“Isabella Glass,” said a smooth voice, dripping with hatred. “Yes,” said Bella and Izzy at the same time. A man came into the room. He was pale and dressed in a simple tunic and pants of the kind that had been ubiquitous since the planet had been colonized. Bella frowned. He looked familiar, but surely that wasn’t possible? “Both of you,” he hissed, coming forward into the light. “Pretorius,” said Izzy, calmly, as if she had expected him. “Dyson Pretorius?” said Bella. Her head was throbbing. The smell of bruised rose petals filled her nose. “How are you here?” demanded Pretorius staring at her. “I would have thought you could work that answer out for yourself,” said Izzy, stepping forward. “You are working on time travel, aren’t you?” “And how would you know what I’m working on?” he demanded. “We like to keep tabs on what you’re doing,” said Izzy. She walked forward another few paces. Bella thought she was trying to keep Dyson’s focus on her,

which was good because at the moment Bella felt hot and dizzy. Bella slipped the backpack off, trying to divest herself of things that felt too clingy. “We? Oh, you mean the idiots at Branch 6? Is that who you brought with you? You never caught on during the war and I don’t think you’ll be able to stop me now.” “We knew the entire time,” said Izzy. “Liar,” hissed Dyson. “What did Branch 6 know?” asked Sam, glaring at Izzy. Dyson laughed. “What did you know the entire time?” demanded Sam, more forcefully. “It doesn’t matter,” said Izzy, her mouth was a frustrated line as her lips pinched together. “I think it does matter,” said Kai. “I’ll tell you,” said Dyson, clearly happy with Izzy’s discomfort. “Keep your mouth shut,” snapped Izzy. “Ooh. Branch 6 doesn’t want me to spill the dirty little secret of where half of Dr. Death’s research came from? What’s that? You don’t want anyone to know about all the nasty little surprises lurking in the Branch 6 library?” “What nasty little surprises?” asked Sam. “Oh, lots and lots,” said Dyson, reveling in every word. “Shut up,” said Izzy. “That information is classified.” “The Aleppo Ray? That was me. The Cassian Storm? Me. The Adthal Bomb? All me.” “That was Dr. Death,” said Sam, his face was ashen. Bella looked up at Kai, but he remained imive, even as Dyson giggled.

“Like I said.” Dyson gestured to himself. “And Branch 6 never knew who took their data. And if it weren’t for the tragedies of the past, we would have won the damn war. But I am going to fix that. When I’m done the Palmyra System will be populated by natural humans.” Natural humans. The words rang in her ears and Bella once again ed the bright sunlight of the Catalan rose garden. “It was you,” said Bella. “You’re the one who attacked me at Moira’s wedding.” Dyson looked her over. “No,” he said. “Not yet. But if you’re here, then I most definitely will. But first, I’m going to kill you.” He grinned cheerfully. “I’m going to win before I even begin. I love time travel!” “You can’t kill us,” said Sam, confidently. His tone was so confident that Pretorius hesitated and glanced at Izzy as if looking for some sort of confirmation. “Yes, actually I can,” said Pretorius. “And if I can’t then the other me will.” “What other you?” asked Bella, glancing at the others. They looked just as confused. Pretorius snapped his fingers and a door at the back of the lab opened. Three people walked in. Although, Bella thought that people might be stretching the term. They looked like distorted copies of Pretorius. They were massively muscular, but their jawbones were equally massive, and their mouths hung open as if they weren’t altogether there. Behind the Pretorius copies, trailed six security droids. Bella couldn’t be sure if the droids were herding the copies or simply following. “What the hell did you do to them?” demanded Sam, outrage coloring his voice. “They’re just clones,” said Pretorius. “Clones that I have treated with a diluted and modified Adthal serum. It results in some improvements, but mental capacity seems to drop a bit. Not that I allowed them much, to begin with. Oh, well. Once I complete this mission, the Adthal serum will be perfected and then… well, then, everyone will be completely and utterly natural. This world

will be a perfect paradise. But first I’m going to kill you.” He clapped his hands as if returning to the main point of his lecture. “But you can’t,” said Sam. “That will create a time paradox and then boom, there goes the universe.” “No, the paradox only happens if I kill you now, and then don’t go back in time. I just have to complete the chain of events leading up to now. It’s really not a problem,” argued Pretorius. “That assumes that the chain of events ends here,” said Izzy. “What does that mean?” demanded Dyson, taking a step toward Izzy. Izzy shrugged and put her hands behind her back, looking smug. Dyson took another few steps—his security droids rolling to cluster in front of him, making a wall protecting Pretorius. The clones didn’t move, but their eyes seemed to track the quick movement of the droids. “Explain yourself!” Pretorius barked, his fists balling up. The droids, apparently smarter than the clones, tracked Pretorius’s focus and began to turn toward Izzy. “No,” said Kai and with one lightning-quick step, surged forward and kicked a droid. The droid had ed the movement and swung back toward him, but even as it fired, the kick sent the droid flying backward. The droid’s blaster fired upward hitting one of the hoses connecting to the time travel device. The hose snapped free and a white fog of coolant showered over everything as the hose whipped back and forth. “Shoot her!” yelled Dyson pointing at Bella. But instead, a blast sent one droid spinning into another. Izzy held a tiny blaster in her hand and fired again. Dyson appeared to be shocked and was standing still, so Bella chucked Kai’s backpack at him. It flipped through the air and slammed into his face. Bella charged forward, hoping to catch him unawares, but one of the clones cannoned into her, throwing her off her feet. There was a roar from Kai and another droid flew through the air over her head and slammed into the clone, throwing him back. Sam was pulling Izzy down behind a stack of equipment. The clone diverted from Bella to Kai. Bella scrambled to her feet, trying track of Pretorius. He had returned to the control console and as she

watched the silver rings of the enormous device began to spin. Was this why Moira had wanted her to come to the Canavar? If they stopped Pretorius here, could she stop this entire chain of events? The center of the rings began to fill with what appeared to be a silvery liquid. The liquid stretched and distorted like a bubble being blown. Finally, the liquidfilled the entire ring. Dyson grabbed up a large bag from the floor and began to run toward it. Bella chased after him, dodging a clone and then a droid. Her hand closed around the hem of his tunic just as his hand reached into the liquid. Bella jerked forward as if someone had pulled Pretorius with the strength of an elephant and then she was falling.

Part 3:

When Beauty returned home, she was overjoyed to see her family and embraced them, but after some time her sisters began to whisper to themselves about the richness of Beauty’s clothes and the bloom of happiness in her cheeks. No matter what gifts or compliments Beauty gave them, jealousy still gnawed at their hearts. And on the third day they went out to the garden and wept at their sister’s good fortune.

“Why should that wretch be happier than we are when we are better than her in every way!” cried one.

“We should trick her into staying longer than the eight days,” said the other. “Perhaps then her Beast will grow angry and devour her.”

“Yes,” said the oldest sister, “let’s. Too bad that means that we must make much of her.”

Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale

Chapter 25

M’Bako

— Lynnwood —

He was halfway through his call list and loading up the conveyance when the house alerted him that Detective M’bako was attempting to connect. “Send through to recording, but stream the recording live,” said Lynnwood. He didn’t see any reason to actually speak to the detective, but not listening to messages was just rude. “Call is audio-only,” said the house. “Recording is commencing.” “Godsdamnit!” yelled the Detective. “Pick up the damn call. They’re in danger! She’s not a clone. It’s time travel. It’s Dyson Pretorius and Branch—” There was an explosion sound and the call ended. “Oh, dear,” said Lynnwood. “It appears that our Detective has changed sides.” He got in the driver’s seat and looked at the controls. He’d never dared to drive Mister Kai’s vehicle before. He’d always wanted to, but it seemed very risky. However, today the cost-benefit analysis showed that the risk was worthwhile. He ran a triangulation on the detective’s call and started the motor. If the detective was on their side then she had become one of his humans and her death could not be allowed. He would just have to go get her. He found Detective M’bako sprinting down Main Street with her gun in one

hand and six restraint droids in hot pursuit. It should have been an easy win for the droids, but every few feet the detective mashed her hand down on her com bracelet and the droids would twitch to a stop or veer off-course. She was clearly using scatter net counter-programming. The illegal algorithms hi-jacked any local systems and redirected them to some sort of basic command. Fortunately, Kai’s vehicle, with only half a computer and zero safety protocols, was immune. Lynnwood swung the door open as he skidded to a stop in front of her. The detective barely broke stride as she dove into the enger side of the vehicle. The door closed and Lynnwood felt the shuddering thud of three magnetic harpoons impacting and latching on. “Oh, hamuti!” said the detective, and pointed out the window. In front of them, a very pregnant woman in a police uniform was carrying a bazooka. “I do not find endangering human lives morally acceptable,” said Lynnwood. “I’m not sure—” Whatever she had been about to say was cut off as the policewoman fired. The detective flinched, but Lynnwood had already calculated the trajectory and he turned in his seat to watch the results. The projectile hit the pavement and extended arms, locking in. Lynnwood’s database supplied a match for the ordinance, and he spun back around, mashing down on the accelerator. There was a humming buzz and the bazooka ordinance blasted out a golden orb of light that fried every electrical circuit in a ten-yard radius. The harpoons broke free of the car as the blast reached the droids, eliminating the power to the electro-magnetic devices. The cruiser accelerated just ahead of the blast, managing to remain unaffected by mere millimeters. They drove past the policewoman and Lorelei lifted her hand in a salute. The policewoman saluted back. They drove in silence for several minutes. Lynnwood had to it that he saw now why Kai enjoyed driving the vehicle himself. The speed was intoxicating. “I guess my Captain doesn’t like Branch 6 either,” said Lorelei.

“I do hope that means that you won’t get fired,” said Lynnwood. “However, I’m sure that should we all live through this that Mister Kai will make sure you have a job.” “Should we all live through what?” demanded the detective. “I was trying to figure out what happened to the original Bella Glass and suddenly Branch 6 is trying to have me arrested. What the hell is going on?” “It’s as you said,” said Lynnwood. “Dyson Pretorius, time travel, Branch 6.” “That’s as far as I got,” said the detective. “I’m going to need a little more.” “One hundred and thirty-five years ago, I received a visit from Moira Glass carrying a message and information from Bella Glass. As requested, I buried the information she gave me behind a firewall until today. From the details of the message, I believe that Kai and the others are being threatened by a man named Dyson Pretorius on the Canavar. They need our help. We’re going to rescue them.” “If Pretorius is with Branch 6 then the two of us are going to get our asses handed to us.” “I have ed some of Mister Kai’s friends from the service,” said Lynnwood. “They are meeting us at the spaceport.” The detective grinned. “Good. I hope they’re bringing guns,” said the detective. “Because I find endangering human life morally acceptable and right now I’m more than a little bit pissed at Dyson Pretorius.” “That is excellent,” said Lynnwood. “Is it?” asked the detective, looking at Lynnwood in surprise. “I respect your right to have a differing moral philosophy than I do,” said Lynnwood. “A functioning world requires the presence of many different kinds of people.” The detective snorted. “Yeah, I got you. And my function is going to be taking

out Pretorius. Now try not to get us killed before we actually get to the port.” “I have yet to exceed my reflex functions,” said Lynnwood. “Good to know,” said the detective. “In that case, go faster.”

Chapter 26

The Past

— Bella —

Bella hit the ground with a bone bruising thump. Instinctively she rolled and then curled into a ball expecting to feel the heavy clamp of a security droid or the hard sole of Pretorius’s boot. She waited for an eternity, her breath rasping in her ears, and her ribs aching. But nothing happened. Slowly Bella uncurled. Above her, the sky was the customary teal blue, and cartoonish clouds puffed slowly across the horizon. They said on Earth the sky was more aquamarine. She slowly extended to her full length and felt coarse grass under her hands. She twisted her head to the left. The grass grew in long slender strips that rasped against each other like a slumber party whispering secrets and were a pale orange along the edges. The sight and sound were soothing—she was home. Well, closer to home anyway. That grass only grew in the Northern hemisphere. Bella rolled over and sat up. She was on a hill outside Olelo. The first settler apartment blocks rose in short cubes up to the crest of the opposite hill like white play blocks. The center of town was also in white, but progressively turned the shadowy gray of the local natural stone as the buildings got newer. Bella got up and began to make her way down the hillside to the ribbon of road that curved along the base. She had only limped a few hundred yards when she heard the quiet hum of a motor. She turned and stepped into the middle of the road and the supply lorry pulled to a gentle stop in front of her. The cab opened to reveal the occupant playing cards with the computer.

“Hello,” said the woman, looking Bella over. She looked like a farm hand in overalls and short clipped hair. But she was probably around sixty—barely into middle age—so she hadn’t quite reached the old person bowl cut. Bella had made a personal vow that no matter what happened to her in old age that she would never succumb to the lure of the bowl cut. “Hi,” said Bella. “You look a little worse for wear,” said the woman. “Were you in an accident?” “Yes,” said Bella, nodding. “Can you take me into Olelo? I lost my hand-held.” “Sure,” said the woman. “I don’t suppose you know how to play cribbage?” “Not well,” said Bella. “Perfect,” said the woman with a grin. “I’m Nalani. Hop in.” Bella rode with Nalani into Olelo and got out at her father’s house, but no one answered the door chime. Finally, Bella just pressed her thumb to the door pad on the off chance that her father had never bothered to change the locks. Sure enough, the door popped open and Bella went inside. The house was empty, and Bella wandered from room to room, feeling lost. There were holos of her and Moira on the mantle and one of her paintings on the wall, but nothing else looked familiar. Her father’s ratty old furniture had been replaced and the kitchen that had housed so many wonderful memories of their mother had finally been remodeled. She had felt less out of time and lost in the future with Kai. Finally, she went into the office and pulled up her father’s work computer interface. He had never liked having an AI run his house, but Bella found that she missed being able to ask questions like she could at Kai’s mansion. She missed Kai’s house, his butler, and his beautiful face. Bella tried to squash the butterflies of nerves and refused to think about what was happening on the Canavar while she wasn’t there. She opened the calendar and saw that her father was currently in Harbaugh meeting with someone about the gyroscope. Bella’s first instinct was annoyance that they had missed each other in Harbaugh by a few hours, but then she laughed. A few hours and over a century. She shook her head. Time travel was weird. She supposed there was pithier, more intellectually relevant ways to state that, but currently, it just felt weird.

She put out a call to Moira’s node and watched the display, waiting for Moira to pick up, trying to figure out what she was going to say. “Dad,” said Moira, her voice cutting in before the display had fully ed, “I thought you were in Harbaugh at that big meeting.” She was putting on a bracelet and struggling with the clasp and Bella found herself speechless. Moira was wearing gray. “Mother of Cats, Moira,” swore Bella, “are you going to a funeral?” Moira didn’t wear gray. She wore white and navy and khaki. She said gray was depressing and thought that artists were just being pretentious for wearing black. Bella had assumed the black outfit in the message that Izzy showed her was due to whatever emergency Moira was referencing, but this looked like regular work clothes. Moira’s head snapped up. “Bella,” Moira said, her hand slapping into the display and then disappearing since the sensors couldn’t anything that close. “Bella! Bella, where are you?” “I’m at Dad’s, but no one is home.” Moira gave a half-sob and put a hand over her mouth. “Bella, where have you been?” “Oh, Moira, please don’t cry,” said Bella, patting at the image of her sister in the display. “Please don’t or you’ll set me off too. Can you please come get me? I made it to the Canavar like you said. Which, I must it, has left me with a bone or two to pick with you. But am I too late?” “Bella…” Moira stared at her open-mouthed. “Bella, you’ve been gone for five years!” Bella looked back at her father’s calendar and finally ed the year. “Oh. Yeah. It looks that way. Sorry, I was trying to make it back to the wedding, but things went a little sideways.” Then she ed what was supposed to happen in five years. “Uh… How’s Oliver? Everything is… all right?” Maybe Moira really had been going to a funeral.

“Everything’s fine,” said Moira, with that pinch-faced expression that said she didn’t want to talk about her relationship with Oliver. “Oh, great.” Bella laughed awkwardly. “How are the kids? When do I get to meet my niece?” Moira’s face went white. “I just… I just found out.” “Oh,” said Bella. “Oh. I’m really… my timing is so bad. I guess I hadn’t done that math. I really was aiming for the wedding.” “The wedding,” repeated Moira, seeming to be dumbfounded. “I was trying to make it back there. You didn’t give much in the way of instructions.” “You were trying to make it back to my wedding?” said Moira in the special brittle tone that suggested that she was royally pissed. “I thought that was where you wanted me to go, but it didn’t turn out that way. Moira, didn’t you send me a message?” “I called you and called you,” said Moira. “And then they found your hand-held in a storm drain at the Catalan.” “No, not my hand-held. You recorded a message for me…” Bella stopped talking. “Moira, you haven’t made a message for me yet, have you?” “Bella, what the hell are you talking about? Where have you been?” “I’m early,” said Bella, rubbing her head. The lump in her skull ached and now that she knew it was a razor-sharp crystal shard, she was trying to avoid pushing on it too hard, but it itched. “Or I’m late. This is getting confusing.” “Bella,” Moira said, tears lining her voice, “what happened to you at the wedding?” “I was attacked. In the garden at the Catalan,” said Bella. “And then I kind of

went somewhere. And I met someone. And I have to get back to him. But I had to come home because you said you needed me.” “Bella, you’re not making any sense,” wailed Moira. “I know, and I’m sorry! But I’ve got a big lump of rock in my skull and my head hurts and this guy tried to kill me and I’m really worried about Kai. So can you just come to get me? I’ll explain everything when you get here.” “You have a rock in your head?” “Yes. I told you. I got attacked. And the thing he hit me with broke and lodged a chunk in my head. I’m probably going to need surgery. But I can’t worry about that right this second. Can you please just come get me?” “Yes,” said Moira, sniffing. “All right. I’ll be right there.” The display went dark and Bella breathed a sigh of relief. If Moira didn’t know what she was talking about then whatever the emergency was hadn’t happened. She leaned on the desk and noticed for the first time that her knuckles were scraped and her hands were coated with coolant spray. Bella grimaced. Moira probably thought she looked extra insane. Bella went into the kitchen and washed up, scrubbing at her hands and swabbing down all the visible damage with Quick-Heal. She grabbed a protein shake out of the pantry and gulped it down. She felt better for the calories. When Moira arrived, she could ask her about Pretorius and Branch 6. She was definitely going to be punching that hapai laho in the face the next time she saw him, and then she could figure out what Moira’s emergency was and what lives were on the line. She wasn’t sure what the problem could be. Moira hadn’t seemed too upset and Oliver wasn’t even dead yet. “Oh, damn,” said Bella, thumping down her drink. “I’m here to save Oliver. “

Chapter 27

The Sister

— Moira —

“Moira,” said Oliver, firmly grasping her shoulders as if she were a small child he was trying to restrain. “You’re babbling.” “It’s Bella,” said Moira, taking a deep breath, preparing to repeat everything she had said more slowly and calmly. She knew if she didn’t Oliver would only make her repeat it until she got it right. He refused to listen to emotional garbage as he called it. “She’s at Dad’s house. She says she was attacked and that she has something in her head.” Oliver withdrew his hands and stared at her with a frown. She’d asked him to meet her a block from her father’s house. She needed to talk to him before Bella disrupted everything and made clear thought impossible. “Did she say where she’s been?” “No. She said she was trying to make it back to the wedding, but got sent to the Canavar or something. She looked like she’d been in a fight and she said she had a head injury.” Moira didn’t mention Bella’s question about the baby. She didn’t want Bella bringing that up again. “Well, at least that part makes sense,” said Oliver. “Who knows? Maybe she really was kidnapped.” Oliver sounded incredulous as always.

“I don’t know,” said Moira. “What do we do? Should we call the police?” “No, let’s talk to her first. I hate to waste their time if she’s just run out of money or something and decided to come home.” Moira gritted her teeth. Oliver had loudly suggested on multiple occasions that Bella had run off in an attention-seeking stunt. His attitude meant that Vestan and Brad would no longer come over when Oliver was home. She’d once overheard Vestan telling Brad that Bella had been right—Oliver really was a tō raho. Moira had tried to explain that Oliver was just very proper and Bella’s wild ways made him skeptical. In her head, this had sounded reasonable, but instead, it had infuriated Vestan who had accused her of secretly hating Bella. Brad had more calmly pointed out that Bella had never missed a class even when she’d had the Azizan Flu and really should have stayed home. Vestan had pointed out that Bella had shown up for every single bridal event on Moira’s itinerary. Bella might have been free-spirited and creative, but in their opinion, Bella was loyal and reliable. Moira hadn’t known what to say to that. She wasn’t used to thinking of her sister as reliable. Bella was flighty and always getting distracted and stopping to draw things and getting into trouble. Vestan had thrown a vase across the room and said that Moira was an uptight, selfish, insufferable uwha who only wanted conformists. Then he’d stormed out and hadn’t been back. Oliver had noticed the family defection and expressed his relief that she was no longer associating with her cousin anymore—Vestan and Brad, he’d said, weren’t really their type of people. Moira had gone to bed early and cried herself to sleep. “And if she’s got a head injury,” continued Oliver, “well, I’m probably more qualified to deal with it than any of the emergency services.” “Well, that’s true,” said Moira. Oliver might be dismissive of Bella, but he was good at his job. She’d read the last two papers he’d published. They were brilliant. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised—it was his mind that had drawn her to him in the first place. Oliver smiled at her and she felt glad that she’d finally gotten something right. “Now let me think,” he said, looking around the neighborhood. “Honestly, why doesn’t your father move?” he asked frowning at the blocky white, colonist buildings. “He can afford it. It’s just so awkward to have him living down here in the valley.”

“He likes it,” said Moira. “We grew up here.” “But you’re not living there now, are you?” “I think he wanted to stay in the same house in case Bella came back, which seems to have worked out,” said Moira, trying not to sound angry or emotional about her point. Oliver sighed impatiently. “Do you think Bella’s likely to be violent?” Moira blinked in surprise at the change in topic and the question itself. “Bella’s never been violent before.” “Well, she did jiu-jitsu or something, didn’t she?” “Wrestling,” said Moira. “Through secondary school. She hasn’t done it since she started her master’s program. She said there wasn’t time.” “Hardly a pacifist then. I can’t believe your mother let her do that.” “Dad and Mom believed in being able to defend ourselves. And sports are character building.” “You’re sweet to defend her. Thank God, you never tried out for anything so crass. But all right, so she probably won’t be violent. But just to be on the safe side, I’ll prep some sedative.” “I don’t think she needs a sedative. She just seemed upset. She asked how you were.” Oliver appeared not to have a reder for that and simply frowned and went to his vehicle. He had invested a lot of their vacation savings in a new conveyance. Never mind that privately owning a vehicle didn’t make financial sense. A subscription to the local car service was far more economical, or the free ride shares from the government were just as reliable, but Moira hadn’t bothered to argue this time. She watched as he pulled out a bulky emergency medical kit. She was surprised to see that it also carried a small blaster, but he quickly tucked it away in a side pocket and Moira pretended not to notice. “All right,” he said when he had arranged his gear to his liking. “Get in.”

“It’s only a block,” said Moira. “I was going to walk.” “Don’t be stupid,” said Oliver, “get in the vehicle.” Moira did as she was told.

Chapter 28

The Adthal Particle

— Bella —

“Bella?” Bella heard Moira’s voice and hurried out of the kitchen. “Oh, good you’re here,” said Bella, hurrying forward to hug her sister. “I am so glad to see you. This has been the most insane few days of my life.” “Few days?” asked Moira, leaning back to look at her. Bella noticed that she looked older than she thought five years warranted. Moira’s had the anxious look that she’d carried around after their mother’s death. Bella frowned. “Moira, are you all right? Do you need to go see that therapist again? Your anxiety seems high.” “Moira is fine,” said Oliver, coming in behind Moira. “Psychologists are voodoo medicine that exist to create problems for themselves to solve.” “That is an extremely antiquated viewpoint,” said Bella, wondering why Moira wouldn’t tell Oliver to shut up and let her speak her own opinions. Moira had never been shy about speaking before Oliver came around. “I can solve ninety percent of mental health problems with a correctly placed electrode and some drugs,” said Oliver, placing his bag on the hall table, shoving

their father’s knick-knacks, including a picture of their mother out of the way. “I’m glad you’re here Oliver,” said Bella, gritting her teeth. “You always bring such a unique viewpoint to the table. Moira, why don’t we go in and have a cup of tea?” Bell smiled hopefully at her sister. She wasn’t sure how to broach the topic of time-travel and Oliver and Branch 6, but she had the feeling it would go a lot better over tea. “Why don’t you just tell us where you’ve been,” said Moira. “You said you’d been attacked?” Oliver asked, pulling out a scanning device. “Uh, yeah,” said Bella, running her finger over the lump in her head. “And I guess I’ve been in Karaka Prefecture.” “Bella,” said Moira tiredly. “We searched Karaka. The police followed every lead. Oliver and I stayed at the Catalan for a month in the hopes of finding even a trace of you.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Bella, hugging her sister again. “That must have been so hard. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” “You just said you were there!” exclaimed Moira, in frustration. “I was. Or will be. It’s complicated.” “Uh,” said Oliver staring at his scanner, as it made a small, sad noise and died. “Yeah, it’s going to do that,” said Bella. “It’s the thing I’ve got in my head. It’s radiation-absorbing. We’re pretty sure it’s some sort of tuotarium crystal.” Oliver and Moira looked like they were trying to come up with a response. “Um,” said Bella. “I really think we should go in and have some tea.” “Moira, why don’t you get us some tea,” said Oliver, still staring at his scanner. “I need to get some more equipment from the transpo.” “Sure, Oliver,” said Moira. Bella looked at Moira in surprise as her sister headed for the kitchen. For a moment, Bella hesitated and then hurried after Oliver as he went out to their vehicle. It was a big, fancy kind of transport that looked like it was hogging space on the curb.

“Oliver,” hissed Bella. “Oliver!” “What?” asked Oliver as he opened the rear hatch door. “Does Moira know yet?” “Does Moira know what, yet?” asked Oliver frowning. “Oliver, we, well, you, do not have time to be messing around right now and this is going to go a lot better if Moira knows.” “And just what do you think Moira should know?” asked Oliver. Bella looked over her shoulder and around the street. It was the middle of the afternoon and aside from a few kids playing down the block, there wasn’t anyone in sight. “About,” she lowered voice, “Branch 6.” Oliver slammed the hatch on the vehicle closed, and also looked around the street in panic. Then he grabbed her by the arm, just above the elbow, and hurried her back into the house. Shutting the door after them. “I don’t know how you know, but we are not going to tell that to Moira. You are going to keep your damn mouth shut.” Bella shoved his hand off her arm. “Oliver, you need to tell Moira about Branch 6 and you need to tell me anything you know about something called an Adthal particle.” Oliver jerked away from her in surprise. “My work on the Adthal particle is top secret,” he hissed, his voice an angry whisper. “Your work?” Bella gaped at Oliver. “Tō hamuti! You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought. Oliver, the Adthal particle kills people! Unleashed on a human population you will cause genocide.” “Well, they’re not really human, are they?” snapped Oliver. “That’s kind of the point. And once I perfect my serum, no one will die. I’ll be able to simply revert the genome to a natural state.”

“Natural… what does that even mean?” “No modifications!” “Mods help people live, you tō raho!” “Bella!” Moira stood in the kitchen doorway, with an angry expression on her face. “You’ve been back for five minutes. Could you maybe try not insulting Oliver?” “Honestly, no,” said Bella. “That seems extremely unlikely.” Moira’s mouth swung open in shock. “I’m going to talk to Moira for a minute,” said Oliver, pushing Moira back into the kitchen and letting the door swing shut behind them. Bella took a deep breath and went into the living room. This was not going well, but at least now she knew why Pretorius had come to the past. He had been using Oliver’s research to create the Adthal bomb, but the bomb obviously wasn’t a true version of Oliver’s precious serum. Kai was still dying, not reverting to a natural human. Whatever that meant. Who got to decide what was natural? Maybe Dyson hadn’t been able to complete the serum from the research he’d managed to steal from Branch 6. Maybe that was what he was trying to accomplish—he wanted to get a serum that would reverse all the modifications and he needed Oliver to do it. If Dyson had such a serum, the Naturalists would undoubtedly have won the war. Bella stopped and stared at her own hologram on the mantle. What now? What did she need to do? Get Oliver to change his mind? That seemed unlikely. That probably wasn’t going to happen without a psychiatrist and some pretty heavy re-education. Get Oliver to stop work on the serum? What kind of sicko wanted to get rid of mods and thought the modified weren’t human? At least ninety-eight percent of the population had some kind of modifications, either inherited from parents or personally applied. And at least half of those mods were considered life-saving to correct genetic damage and prevent or cure disease. There was nothing irable about having a natural genome. It mostly just meant that a family had been lucky enough not to get irradiated, have an unexpected mutation, or live in a place that had good prenatal

care. Bella sighed and re-tightened her ponytail. Talking to Oliver sounded like it was going to go badly, no matter what approach she took. She paced the length of the room and stopped to stare at the clock by the door. Her father had made it after hearing about grandfather clocks. He had made a tall, free-standing clock, that reminded him of his grandfather. Later, once they’d found out what grandfather clocks really looked like, they’d all had a good laugh. Her father’s lucite-bodied clock with the holographic figurines that once an hour climbed the Olympus Mons above the red plains of Mars to tap a gong and change the hour on the digital read-out was a childhood favorite of hers. The date was displayed across the top and once again Bella noted that she was five years from Moira’s wedding. Nervously, Bella itched her palm. What if she didn’t need to talk to Oliver? What if she just needed to convince Moira to destroy all of Oliver’s research after he died? Was that bad? “All right,” said Moira coming in with a tray full of tea mugs. “Let’s see if we can try this again without the name-calling.” She put the tray down and glared at Bella. “Sorry,” said Bella. “But Moira, we need to talk.” She accepted the mug Moira held out to her and took a small sip to test the temperature. “Where’s Oliver?” “He had to call work,” said Moira, sitting down. Bella ed her sister on the couch, holding her mug defensively in front of her and hoping it didn’t show. “We should probably talk about Oliver,” said Bella, with an awkward smile. “I don’t see why. I’m perfectly aware that you don’t like him. Fortunately, he’s a bigger person and can overlook your behavior.” Bella took a conscious moment not to let out an expletive-laced opinion on Oliver’s bigger person-ness. Instead, she grimly took a sip of tea, letting the hot liquid sit on her tongue. It tasted too acidic, as though Moira had burnt the leaves. “I meant that we should talk about what Oliver does. For a living.” “He’s a neuroscientist,” said Moira with faux patience.

“Uh, yes. Probably that is what his degree is in. But, um, Moira… Oliver doesn’t work for Stex Neurosciences or whatever they call themselves.” “What?” Moira let out a half-laugh of surprise. “He works for the government in something called Branch 6. It’s research and development and he’s working on something that’s going to kill a lot of people.” Moira’s face looked frozen and Bella nervously took another sip of tea. “Bella,” said Moira, making a frustrated exhalation, “where have you been for the last five years.” “Nowhere,” said Bella. Moira looked like she was going to explode. “I have been in the Karaka Prefecture for a week. In the future.” “What?” “I know it sounds crazy, but I was attacked at the wedding and I traveled into the future. I met some people who helped me get up to the Canavar to the Special Relativity Research Institute and I have now returned from the future. From my point of view, I haven’t been gone five years.” Moira rubbed her head. “Bella that’s insane.” “Yes, I know. It sounds crazy. Look,” she reached in her pocket and pulled out the folded picture of Kai. “This is Kai Craig. I met him there. He’s a veteran of the war that happens.” Moira took the picture but barely looked at it—like always. “What war, Bella?” “About a hundred and thirty years from now, there’s going to be a war between the Naturalists and the Progressives.” Moira was frowning, but at least she was listening. Bella took another sip and forged ahead. “The Progressives win, but it’s not easy and also… Moira, I’m sorry to say this, but Oliver’s research—the research he’s doing now—will be used by the Naturalists to kill and harm people. People like Kai.”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Moira, impatiently. “Is it?” asked Bella. “Oliver just told me that killing the modified wouldn’t be genocide because they weren’t human.” “That is…” Moira shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor. “I’m not saying he necessarily wants to go out there and start shooting people, but that’s where his head is at and I’m guessing it’s not the first time he’s said it. Are you telling me you’ve never heard him say anything like that?” “He doesn’t really mean that. He’s just very literal,” said Moira, firmly. “From a certain point of view, it could be said that the modified aren’t human anymore.” “Moira!” “I’m not saying I think that. I’m just saying that it could be argued. And, you know what, I’m not even having this conversation. You’re the one with something in your head. You’re the one who is talking about time travel and wars that haven’t happened yet. You’re crazy.” “Yes, you’ve always made it perfectly clear that you think I’m crazy,” said Bella, and Moira looked up at her sharply, surprise clear in her eyes. “Oh, please, Moira. I know you think you’re sooooo very hard to read. You’ve always prided yourself on emoting about as much as an ice cube, but you’re not hard to read— you’re just frozen. You’ve been like that since Mom died. Maybe you should try having emotions once in a while.” “I have emotions,” gasped Moira, angry tears sparkling in her eyes. “I just don’t feel the need to shove them in everyone’s faces like you do. Look at me, look at me! I’m Bella and I feel everything all the time and my emotions are sooooo important. Pay attention to me! Not only is it tiresome and childish, Bella, it’s rude.” Bella closed her eyes and felt the world wobble slightly. She felt the bump in her head again. She wished that Sam and his terrible bedside manner were with her. She wished Izzy and her disapproving frown that reminded her very much of Moira’s current expression was here. And most of all she wished Kai was here to remind her that she didn’t have to give in to Moira’s dictates of propriety.

“Moira,” said Bella, “I should have told you before the wedding, but I don’t trust Oliver and I was right. His research is monstrous and his politics are evil. His work is going to end up killing a lot of people.” “Bella, you’re crazy. You need help and you’re lucky that Oliver knows how to deal with people like you.” “People like me? What does that mean?” demanded Bella, standing up. The floor seemed to sway under her feet. “Spoiled brats,” snapped Moira. “Always off to save the world and thinking you’re so important and never thinking about the people you leave behind.” Bella felt her eyes prickle with tears. “Moira, I never wanted to leave you behind.” She grabbed the back of one of the chairs trying to steady herself. Moira stood up and smoothed her pants even though there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight. “Fortunately, Oliver is going to help you.” “Help me? Moira… Oliver can’t help me. He’s going to die.” Moira let out a laugh that was bitter and hysterical at the same time. Bella blinked as her vision became blurry. “No, Bella. No one is going to die. There is no time travel. Oliver isn’t evil. The only thing evil here is you pretending not to know you’ve been gone for five years. It’s mean and selfish and frankly, I can’t believe it, even from you. The only thing that makes any sense is that you have a chunk of rock in your head and you’re brain-damaged.” “Don’t worry, darling,” said Oliver coming into the room. “We’ll take her to Stex and I’ll take care of her.” “No,” said Bella, firmly. Or at least she tried. Nothing seemed firm. “No, I’m not going anywhere with you.” She heard the sound of the front door opening and she staggered in that direction, hoping it was her father. Her vision was getting blurrier. She grabbed

onto the edge of the grandfather clock. She felt bad because she was leaving sweaty palm prints all over it. “Moira.” Her tongue was thick and her voice slurred. “Moira, what did you do?” “I’m your sister,” said Moira, crisply. “I’m taking care of you.” “Don’t worry,” said another voice and she looked up into the dark eyes of Dyson Pretorius as he entered from the hall. “We’ll take real good care of you.”

Chapter 29

Stex Neurosciences

— Moira —

Moira followed Dyson and Oliver inside the Stex Neurosciences building. It was gray and foreboding, claiming too much of the surrounding space for what felt like pointless security zones. But none of the security personnel or droids questioned why the two men were carrying an unconscious woman into the building. The front desk guard even asked if they needed a gurney, which they had gratefully accepted, but he didn’t ask for an explanation. Moira tried to ignore the waves of nervous butterflies in her stomach as Dyson and Oliver wheeled Bella through a door with triple magnetic seals. When she had tried to follow them, Oliver off-handedly directed a droid to escort her to his office. “Oliver,” protested Moira. “She’s my sister. I want to observe.” “You’re a podiatrist,” said Dyson, barely tearing his eyes off Bella. “I’m a surgeon specializing in podiatric medicine,” said Moira icily. “What are you again? A research assistant?” She had never particularly cared for Dyson, but Moira found the way he was staring at Bella very disconcerting. “Don’t mind Dyson,” said Oliver, patting Moira’s shoulder. “Go to the office. All of the med-bays are classified anyway. You can’t come in.” “I’ll sign a non-disclosure,” said Moira.

“We handle a lot of governmental contracts,” said Oliver, which was the first time that she’d heard him say such a thing. “You’d have to get clearance. Just go to my office and we’ll be done in no time.” He smiled reassuringly and the droid tugged at her arm. Reluctantly, she followed the droid, watching over her shoulder as the doors swung shut behind the gurney. But treating the brain was the one thing she had no doubts that Oliver was good at. And Bella really had been raving. Time travel? That wasn’t possible. Whatever had happened to Bella clearly had more to do with her head injury than time travel. That was just common sense. ittedly, she hadn’t exactly behaved like a stable adult either, but Bella had always been able to push her buttons. Moira had to believe that once the thing in Bella’s head was removed that she would return to sanity and they could find out just what the hell had happened to her. The droid gestured her into Oliver’s office and then took up a position outside the door. Unsettled, Moira shut the office door and looked around the room. She wasn’t sure what she had expected of Oliver’s office, but she supposed it would look something like his home office—neutral tans and grays and everything placed in neat, orderly rows. This office might have started like that, but coffee cups littered the flat surfaces, tablets were in precarious stacks and no less than six different displays were open and wasting energy. Each one paused on a different image. She realized, with surprise, that the cleaning droids must not be allowed to come in here either. Oliver had declared an embargo against droids at the home office. He claimed that they were a security risk and were prone to deleting files and important notes. But then he complained about the mess until Moira had simply taken over the duty of tidying. As long as Moira tidied the files, then the droids were allowed in to clean. Only it appeared that he didn’t have a Moira for the office. Moira went to the desk, which had the only uncluttered chair, and dropped into it, feeling exhausted. On the desk, a display hovered over what appeared to be a glove-like piece of armament. There was also a myriad assortment of data strip holders and other bits of things she didn’t recognize. She hated the clutter. She closed her eyes, willing herself not to see it and certainly not to lift a finger to clean any of it. “Dr. Glass?” The voice was small and creaky and Moira shrieked and sat bolt

upright. “Who said that?” she demanded, looking around the office. “I’m in the corner,” said the voice again. She recognized the timbre of a mechanical voice now that it had spoken again, but it sounded incredibly sad. Moira stood up and went over to where Oliver appeared to be housing all of his lab coats. She peeled them back to reveal a small droid torso and head. It had no arms or legs or way of moving. It had a round, genial face and someone had seen fit to scrawl a pair of glasses and a moustache on it with permanent marker. The mechanical eyelids lifted, fluttering slightly. “Hello, Dr. Glass,” said the droid. “I’m the librarian. “ Moira stared in horror at the droid. She had on more than one occasion communicated with the librarian droid at Oliver’s office. She thought it was silly that he had selected a male librarian personality, but had never thought that it was more than a personality grafted onto a non-autonomous computer program. “Librarian,” whispered Moira, “did Oliver do this to you?” “He said I couldn’t be allowed to be autonomous, but he’s not allowed to destroy me, so he removed my means of transport.” Moira covered her mouth with her hand. “Why would he do this?” asked Moira. “What is he… Is he hiding something? Was Bella right? Is he working for the military?” It was the only excuse she could think of. Oliver was secretive. Maybe he thought he needed extra security? The librarian blinked and back at the desk a display flicked open over the metal glove. “The neural interface on the glove is fritzy. A technical term,” Oliver laughed at his own less than stellar vocabulary. “I know Dyson says it will work, but the integration seems weak. I think I’ve got it adjusted to plug directly into the arm nerves.” She walked closer to the desk. On the display, Oliver stopped talking and poked at some calculation, his nose wrinkling as he thought. It was something that

Moira had previously found attractive. Now she watched his nose twitch with a forlorn sense of nostalgia and sadness. “Anyway,” Oliver continued, “I think I fixed it, but it’ll need to be tested and honestly I think we should do a second version before we turn it over to the military because I don’t think it’s ready for field use. I mean, sure it’ll fire about a billion joules, but… that’s basically a lightning bolt and people do survive those. Plus, I think that one hard whack and this thing will de-integrate from the nerves. Librarian, complete report and submit.” The recording ended. Moira stared in disbelief at the glove. Her husband was working for the damn military. How could he not have told her? Moira reached in her pocket and pulled out the folded sketch that Bella had tried to show her. The face was handsome, but she didn’t recognize the man. Bella must have dreamed him up like she’d dreamed up the tale about traveling to the future and a war. Bella was imaginative and injured. And while Moira had problems with Oliver, he couldn’t really be a monster. Things weren’t that bad. He probably wasn’t allowed to tell her about his company’s government contracts. It wasn’t his fault if Stex contracted for that kind of work. And it was a Dyson project anyway. She could easily believe that he was involved in that kind of thing. Except… She looked back at the librarian. He watched her with an anxious expression. Moira put her hand on her belly. There was nothing there to be felt. Yet. She pushed into her abdomen, trying to feel where all the unseen bits were. Moira ed her sex-ed classes. It had all seemed so clear when looking at holos of cells. Currently, her blastocyte was smaller than a grain of rice and had just barely attached to her endometrium. It had probably developed nerve cells. Not actual nerves, just the cells nerves would be made of. The placenta was developing to feed the baby and a mucus plug now blocked her cervix—the opening between her uterus and the birth canal. The joy of modern medicine was that she could now track this process with infinite accuracy. The problem was that she could now count with infinite accuracy to the point when her bunch of cells developed a heart, a face, a brain. She now carried an internal clock counting to the time when she could never in good conscience end the pregnancy. She knew she had to make a decision and she knew it was a decision she would have to make on her own because she already knew what Oliver’s

response would be. Even asking the question would send him into a rage. Oliver wanted a baby so badly. Meeting Oliver had seemed so reasonable. They had mutual acquaintances. They had similar views on family, a strong core belief in rationality and science. She had thought he liked all the things she liked, order, and steadiness, and predictability. But what Oliver liked was control. His rigid desire to make her proper—from the way she dressed to the way she spoke—could she inflict that on a child? A child was supposed to be imaginative and messy and adventurous… Moira’s thoughts tumbled to a stop as an image of Bella in painting overalls popped unbidden into her head. Moira had been so furious at Bella for painting their ceiling. It wasn’t proper. None of her friends had that kind of thing in their houses. The librarian blinked again and she realized that was all he was able to move. An autonomous mind, attached to a solid body. “My sister used to beg me to go out dancing,” she said. “I never went. I thought there would be time for that later. And then she was gone and there was nothing left of her but brushes and canvasses. She was always good at art, I just never thought… She was amazing and I treated her like her ion was stupid. She was just always so much. I get overwhelmed. But now she’s back and,” her voice cracked, “I sent her away with Oliver,” she told the librarian and it beeped in distress. “That is not good,” said the librarian. “Dr. Lee is not to be trusted.” Moira looked at the glove. It was bad, but was it that bad? She looked back at the librarian. Why was she even asking that question? How bad did it have to be before she said it was bad enough? The librarian still hadn’t mentioned what had been done to it. Oliver had removed all freedom from an autonomous being and then he’d drawn on it—as though it were funny. “There’s more, isn’t there?” she asked, fighting back tears, and folding her arms around herself. “Felix Hexx’s trials are so massively exciting,” said Oliver’s voice and Moira looked around looking for the source. Oliver never sounded that excited about anything. “I wish we could go to human trials. Of course, Hexx isn’t working

with the ridiculous constraints that I am. I don’t think the medical research is conclusive on clones. I don’t really see why I couldn’t use them as test subjects. It’s not like we can’t grow more. We could accelerate fetal growth and have testable subjects in two years. If we kept them on a steady rotation we could have a continuous, viable test population.” Moira stood staring in confusion at the screen as her husband continued to prattle on about testing on children. That couldn’t be what he had meant. Moira almost requested the computer replay the segment so she could listen again. No matter how anyone felt about the existence of clones and whether or not it was right to make a copy of someone, at the end of the day, they were still people. No one could possibly consider using them for test subjects. That was… insane. I should have told you before the wedding, but I don’t trust Oliver and I was right. His research is monstrous and his politics are evil. His work is going to end up killing a lot of people. Bella’s rambling had sounded like another one of her sister’s usual emotional explosions—spewing her feelings over everything, making it impossible for anyone to think clearly, never giving anyone enough time to form their own opinions. On screen, Oliver pulled up an image in front of him. The playback automatically created a split-screen so that Moira could see what he was watching. Another man’s face filled the screen. He had curly hair dark with only the tiniest smattering of grey, a smooth-shaved face with a wide, infectious smile. “This is a very exciting day!” he said with a thick accent that Moira couldn’t identify. “Today we start live trials!” The man’s face was replaced with a view of a large lab full of equipment that looked old, but well-maintained—certainly cleaner than Oliver’s office. In the middle of the lab was a large pen with clear sides so that the contents could easily be seen. Inside were several small mammalian creatures with floppy ears and round bodies. They milled around a bit, some clustered close together, others hopping from one place to another, all of them seemingly at ease. While most of them were white and brown, maybe a fourth of the dozen creatures were a bright, unnatural, green.

“I have programmed the drones to look for genetic mutations, such as those you can see in the green kelvitch hares. I have not specified which mutation – just to look for any mutation.” “Kelvitch hares were a great choice for testing,” said Oliver nodding on his side of the screen. “Hexx is so rigorous about testing. I wish I could get Dyson to follow his example.” Hexx pulled over a rack of what looked like small winged drones. The rack held maybe two dozen drones, each sitting in its own little spot. “They have each been loaded with the Adthal serum,” said Hexx, gesturing to a container full of a viscous green liquid connected to the rack of drones by tubing. The tubing seemed to be pumping the Adthal serum, whatever that was, into the small drones. “I followed the specifications sent to the microparticle. The cellular tests of just the serum went as expected. Now we just need to see how it works with my delivery system.” Hexx grinned at the screen, clearly proud of his drones. Felix Hexx was wearing an elaborate armband and with a few touches, pulled up a projected 3D control to hover just above his arm, which he used to activate the drones. The wings on each one began to vibrate. Quickly, much more quickly than it looked like they should, they each took off, hovering in the air. “, each one can move and act independently, but they communicate constantly with each other and think like a whole. Right now, they are processing their command and formulating a plan.” The drones danced around each other for a moment, moving so fast that they showed up as small blurs on the screen. Then they flew all around the room, leaving their cluster and going to each edge of the room, hovering over equipment, and finally, diving into the pen in the middle of the room, before flying back out and clustering in a loose formation near their rack. The hares milled around at the movement but didn’t seem scared so much as alert. “I believe they have completed their assessment!” Hexx said. “Look! Six are separating!” “This is so great!” exclaimed Oliver, clearly riveted to by the performance.

The six drones that Felix exclaimed over dove back into the pen and darted closer to the hares, startling several of them into movement, and creating general agitation amongst the group. It was unclear to Moira from the vid what they were doing. “Ooh, they’re getting samples now!” said Oliver. Then the six drones moved back to their cluster, which shimmered and danced, shifting from one general shape to another in a way that only the drones understood. Then four drones separated – it was unclear if any of them were the same as before. It didn’t matter – all the drones looked the same. The four drones went back to the pen and dove in, not randomly, not like before, but targeted. Each flew directly to a green hare, and did…something…and then darted back out of the pen and back to the cluster. The four green hares were whimpering. Moira watched as their suddenly bloody green skin began to fall away from their bodies, as though they were sloughing it off. Green mixed with red mixed with a putrid yellow that could have been puss or tissue or something else. But still, the hares moved and whimpered, even as their muscles were exposed, until those too began to change, to shrivel and fall apart, and then, only then, did the first hare go still with death. Eventually, the other three fell still as well, even as their bodies seemed to continue to dissolve. The other hares in the pen moved away and bunched in the corners away from the oozing corpses, all of them making distressed noises. But they were unharmed. Moira sat frozen in Oliver’s chair. “Amazing!” Hexx said, and whooped for joy as he danced around the drones. “All on their own they have identified and eliminated the hares that had genetic modification! I had not given them any base information, other than to look for mutation. And look! Look what they did!” He whooped again, a triumphant cry, and then moved closer to the camera, the view suddenly changing so that it focused just on his face. “Oliver’s Adthal serum worked perfectly! Tomorrow, we start human trials!” The vid froze there and Moira tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like it was lined with cotton. “God,” said Oliver, iringly, as his face filled the viewscreen. He always dropped the S on that particular word, intentionally singularizing the term to

piously indicate his monotheism. He also consistently gendered God to be a he. It was one of the things that Bella had hated about him. Moira had thought it a mild verbal tic. She had to it that it had become more irritating overtime when she realized that Oliver used it most obviously in the presence of other religious people who didn’t share his beliefs. Moira had tried pointing out to him that most classical religious texts considered using the word God as a swear word to be a sin, but it hadn’t swayed him. Signaling his beliefs was more important than upholding them. “I can’t believe Hexx got those results on the first try. I knew my serum was good, but that is amazing. Now obviously, that will work great for Hexx’s purposes but it would be a bit messy here. It would leave us under-populated if I unleashed it on-planet. I need to figure out how to revert the genome without immediate death. I really think I can do it. I think in two generations I could have a fully normalized human population. I’m going to talk to Dyson. He’s got some great ideas for explosive devices. If I could stabilize the particle and get the dosage right… A few of those in the upper atmosphere would create a human paradise to rival Earth.” An alert chirped in the video. And Oliver checked his hand-held. “And now my wife is calling me with news about her sister,” said Oliver looking at the screen in exasperation. “Why she sheds a single tear for that undisciplined little bitch I will never know. Bella Glass was a waste of decent genes. And what news could there possibly be? Another fake clue, from an equally fake witness trying to cash in on the reward?” He rolled his eyes. “But I guess I’d better go be a ive husband. End log entry.” The screen went black and Moira didn’t move. She felt frozen in place. Her heart seemed to beat wildly against a ribcage that no longer wished to rise and fall. She wrenched her hands off the desk and put them on her chest, pressing in, trying to make herself move, willing the ice to crack. She was married to a monster. And she had sent her sister away with him. “Librarian,” Moira said, “I need your help.”

Chapter 30

Special Relativity Research Institute

— Kai —

Kai stared in disbelief at the enormous spinning rings as they began to run slower and slower. The silvery substance in the middle popped like a bubble and dissipated. The droids were standing still, apparently processing the lack of direction. “Kai!” yelled Sam, beckoning to him. “Come on!” “They’re gone,” said Kai. He looked down. His backpack was on the floor. Bella had left without the bag. He picked it up. He didn’t know what else to do. “Kai!” barked Sam. “Come here.” Kai felt a surge of rage. Who did Sam think he was? He didn’t have to listen to Sam. A burbling cascade of beeps trilled from droid to droid and they began to whir softly. The three clones were staring at the whirring rings too as if expecting something more to happen. “Tresing is not permitted,” said the droid closest to Kai, and Kai realized what was coming next. He lashed out and kicked the droid in its rolling unit, sending it crashing into the droid next to it. Then he sprinted for the bank of machinery that Sam was hiding behind. He arrived just as a droid fired at him. He felt the small shockwave of force from the impact just above him.

“What the hell did you do?” he demanded of Izzy. Kai wanted to shake her in fury. She had sent Bella back into the past wildly unprepared. Why hadn’t she warned them? “What I had to do,” said Izzy, moving to a crouch and firing back at the droid. “What Moira said I had to do.” “I don’t trust Moira,” yelled Kai. “You think I haven’t had my doubts?” Izzy yelled back. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Bella wasn’t supposed to be so…” A barrage of blaster fire cut her off and she ducked down again. “I’m not going to be able to hold them off. We need to get out of here.” “No,” said Kai. “Bella is coming back. We need to be here.” “She might be coming back,” said Izzy. “But that doesn’t mean she ends up here.” Kai stared at her in disbelief. “What aren’t you telling us?” “Lots of things,” said Izzy. “But we need to deal with our situation right now before we can worry about Bella!” “Kai,” said Sam, poking at his com bracelet. “We need to get you out of here. Your hormones are surging.” “Shut up,” snapped Kai, and Sam’s startled expression told Kai that his response wasn’t normal. “Kai,” said Sam, grabbing his arm. “Whatever you’re feeling, that it’s artificial.” Kai stared at Sam in disbelief. “We need to get you to a Med-Bay. We can worry about Bella once we’re not in danger anymore.” “No,” said Kai. “We can’t help Bella if we’re dead,” said Sam. That at least made sense. Kai peered around the bank of equipment. There were six droids. They needed to disable or evade them. What the hell did he have to work with? He looked at the bag in his hands. If he had his team with him, he would hit a central computer

node, hack the system and divert the droids. But he didn’t have a team with him. He had Sam and Izzy. Izzy fired again and then ducked at the resulting barrage of fire from the droids. On the far side of the room, the doors slid open and a station security team entered. “Tresers are not allowed,” reiterated the droids and fired at the security team. One of the men yelled as he took a blaster to the chest. The security team hastily ducked and drew blasters. But the clones seemed attracted to the movement and charged at the team. The remaining two grabbed their downed compatriot and dove back through the door moments before the clones reached them. The clones began banging on the door. They needed to move before the clones noticed them. “Side door,” said Kai, shoving Sam and grabbing Izzy. She made an inarticulate angry noise as he dragged her toward the door that Dyson had entered through. Kai tried to contain his impatience for how slow they were moving. Once through the door, they stared at a dingy gray hallway that stretched in either direction. “I’m don’t think there is anyone but droids and those clone monsters here,” said Sam, scanning with his com bracelet. “The security team looks like they’re heading for the exit. Thanks for the help guys.” Under his feet, Kai could feel the deck plating vibrate and he regretted not having his shock suit on. He wasn’t equipped for battle. He was going to have to do something about that. “We need to get out of here,” said Izzy, who was also scanning. “This way.” Kai knelt and opened up the bag that he had packed for Bella, ignoring his companions. With his knees on the decking, he could feel an increase in the vibration. “There are at least eight droids that way,” argued Sam. “There are at least ten the other way,” objected Izzy.

“More like fifteen,” said Kai, strapping the knife to his belt and taking out the blaster. He handed the bag to Sam. “This has medical supplies.” “Great,” said Sam, looking relieved and slinging the bag on. “How can you tell about the droids? Everything just looks like a giant cluster on the scan.” “Deck vibrations,” said Kai. “And they’re heading our way.” “Like I said,” said Izzy. “We should go.” “Yes,” agreed Kai. “Lead the way.” Izzy gave him an odd look, then turned to do as he said. That was probably good. He had to it that what he really cared about was them getting out of his way. The lab door opened and a droid rolled out. “Tresers—” the droid began. Kai grabbed the top unit and yanked it upward then wedged his blaster underneath and fired downward into the body. Most people tried to target the top unit as if it were a head. That was a mistake. The top unit contained non-essential scanning and processing equipment. It was more part of a design aesthetic than functional. The core processing functions were in the body of the unit, buried behind layers of protective armor and shielding. Kai fired into the body again and the unit began to leak smoke. Kai tossed the droid on the floor and then went to the door they had just exited through. He slammed the door lock with his palm. The display flashed red, clearly denying him access. He tapped his com bracelet and pulled up a series of nearly forgotten subroutines. He selected the emergency subroutine and shoved it at the door. The door lock flickered and then went black. “That will hold them for another few minutes,” said Kai, bending over the droid at his feet. “You two should leave.” “What do you mean you two should leave?” demanded Sam. “We’re all leaving.” Kai used the knife to pry open the top of the droid, then he reached in and began pulling out the trailing tubes of liquid polymer that glowed blue until he yanked them free of the droid. He looked up at Sam and tried to why he cared about what Sam said.

“Kai, your levels are spiking!” exclaimed Sam, as his com beeped. His eyes were round in alarm. “We need to go now.” “Yes, you should go.” “No,” said Sam. “We all need to go. You need to come with us.” Kai looked at his friend and tried to read his expression. Finally, he shrugged and gave up. He didn’t need to know what Sam’s expression meant. “I’m staying. You should go.” “If you stay, then I’m staying,” said Sam. “Give me a second and I’ll get you a shot.” He knelt down and began fumbling in his bag. “I feel fine,” said Kai, impatiently. “You’re delaying and I don’t need you here,” said Kai. “You’re going to be in my way.” He turned back to the droid at his feet and began to pry off the s he was intending to use. “Kai, you’re not thinking clearly,” said Sam standing back up, an injector tube in his hand. “This will help.” Kai eyed the injector tube. Sam usually made him feel better. He liked Sam. He focused on that as Sam approached him and nervously gave the shot. Kai could smell Sam sweating. Why was Sam sweating? “Gentlemen,” said Izzy, “the droids are approaching. Can we go now?” Kai began to strap the droid armor to his torso. “Yeah, lead the way,” he said. “All right, now you’re just lying,” said Sam. “I was lying before too,” said Kai. “Nothing’s actually changed.” There was a warning blare of noise from a pack of droids as they rounded the corner. Their programming prohibited them from arriving silently and Kai had every intention of taking advantage of it. Moving swiftly, he ran at the droids, firing at their rolling units. Two were disrupted and tipped over, bashing into their compatriots, causing wild shots. Kai dropped into a slide and hit a third, sending it flying. Then he was up, grabbing head units and firing into their chest units like he had the other droid. He threw one arm around a droid who had

sought to stabilize by anchoring an arm into the decking and swung himself around, kicking out into the next droid and firing at three more. He found that he could predict where they were going to be. Their programming hadn’t been updated since before the war and he was faster than they were. Eventually, there were no droids left and Kai stopped to ire the carnage. He really felt great. He’d been training a lot recently. It was paying off. He didn’t feeling this good even when he’d been in the service. This was going to be easy. All he had to do was kill a bunch of droids and wait for Bella to come back. There was some sort of annoying beeping noise and he looked around for the source. Sam and Izzy were staring at him. Sam’s com bracelet was making a consistent, repetitive, grating alert noise. “You should shut that off before I rip it off,” said Kai. “Funny,” said Izzy. “If you’re done showing off, can we leave now?” “I really don’t like you,” said Kai. “You lied to Bella and it really sounded like Branch 6 aided and abetted Dr. Death. I think we’d be better off if you weren’t here.” Sam stepped in front of Izzy. “Kai, your hormone levels are seriously through the roof. Whatever that crystal was blocking, it appears to have rebounded at double the strength.” “I feel fine,” said Kai. “Really great, in fact.” “That’s good. That’s really good. Uh, Izzy and I are going to leave now.” Sam was sweating even more. It was disgusting. “You don’t need her either,” said Kai. “Let’s just shove her back in the lab with those other droids.” “You know what—” Izzy took a step forward, trying to angle around Sam to speak to him directly, but Sam put out an arm and shoved her backward. Kai smiled as Izzy took a stumbling step. “What the hell?” demanded Izzy. “Kai,” said Sam, “I want to get rid of Izzy, too. Let’s take her to the exit. That

way we’ll know that she’s gone. Then we can come back for Bella.” Kai scrutinized Sam, watching a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face. “I think you’re lying,” said Kai. “No,” said Sam. “No. how I said I didn’t trust her? ?” That was true. Sam had said that. “But I don’t think she’s going to listen to me,” continued Sam. “I need you to help me escort her out. I need you,” Sam said. Kai thought about it. Izzy was also sweating now. Decrepit old lady stink. The deck plates were vibrating again. Reinforcements were on their way. “I need you,” said Sam again. “But I don’t really need you,” said Kai. “Izzy,” said Sam. “Run.” Kai watched as Sam backed up and Izzy chugged down the hallway. He calculated how long it would take him to catch Izzy. Not very long. Was it funnier if he let them get further? The lab door opened and a clone sprang through it. “Kai!” yelled Sam, as though Kai needed the warning. Kai slammed into the decking, the clone on top of him. Kai realized that Bella had shown him how to deal with this situation and he followed her instructions. He bridged his hips and rolled his shoulders, pushing the clone up and past his balance point. The clone went over the top with a woof of surprise. Kai pursued, making it to his knees, as he grabbed the clone by the hair and punched him in the back of the neck. The clone jerked forward. Kai leapt to his feet and bashed the clone’s face into the wall, then again and then a third time. There was blood on the wall now. Keeping ahold of the clone by his greasy hair, Kai drug the clone over to where he’d dropped his blaster in the initial attack. He scooped up the blaster. It was already set for max stun. He pressed it against the clone’s ear and pulled the

trigger. He watched in satisfaction as the clone sagged lifeless to the deck. Then he looked around the corridor. It was empty. Sam and Izzy were gone.

Chapter 31

The Future Past

— Bella —

Bella woke to a feeling of pressure and the sound of beeping. “When do you think the sedative will wear off?” She recognized the voice, but she couldn’t from where. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t. “Oh, sometime soon,” said Oliver. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve got her fully restrained.” “Great,” said the first voice, “so she’ll feel it when you cut open her brain.” Oliver laughed. “Don’t be macabre, Dyson. I’m not cutting open her brain. From the scans, I don’t think I’ll have to. I’ll just pop these sutures and then extract whatever is in her head. I’m not saying it’s not tricky—it went all the way through the skull and I don’t want to go wiggling it around or anything. But I don’t think we actually need to cut through the skull. I just need to pull it out along the path it went in.” Bella tried to move, but none of her limbs responded. Every inch of her body seemed glued to whatever she was lying on. “Are you sure?” asked Dyson. “Maybe you should poke around in there and see

what the hell is wrong with her. You never know, she might be happier as a vegetable. Hell, I know you’d be happier if she were a vegetable. Maybe just a real quick lobotomy? Keep her from doing anything crazy.” Oliver laughed again. “There is something wrong with you.” “Maybe I’m just trying to give you a better life,” said Dyson and Bella wanted to scream. “Maybe I just want to see you live to a ripe old age and make your dream of a world full of natural humans happen.” “And you think my sister-in-law is standing in the way of that?” Oliver sounded amused. “I think you’re giving her a little too much credit. All right now, if you would just hand me the retractor…” Bella felt increased pressure on her head and tears began to leak out of her eyes, even though they were shut. Moira had betrayed her. She was utterly helpless. Dyson was going to win and somewhere very far away, Kai was going to die without her. She felt like a dumb plastic doll, empty and useless except for what someone could pull out of her head. How could Moira believe that what Oliver was doing was acceptable? How could she sell Bella out for this man who valued only people that were exactly like him? Did he make her feel happy and safe? And was her happiness worth the misery of others? The tears fell faster and Bella hated herself for letting them out, but it was the only thing on her body that moved. The pressure on her skull eased slightly. “Well,” said Oliver, “look at that. How peculiar. It’s definitely crystalline, but I’ve never seen a crystal that color before.” There was a clinking sound as if something had been dropped into a metal pan. Bella felt six heavy thunks against her head and she assumed he’d completed the sutures. “Now then Bella,” said Oliver, sounding his most paternalistic, “I’m going to finish cleaning up, and then I’m going to turn off the restraints. We will have a polite conversation. You’ll tell us where you heard about the Adthal particle and you’ll then maybe we’ll send you someplace nice and private to recover. And, of course, if you can’t manage that then you will just have to be sedated again.”

“No,” said Dyson, his voice harsh. “Dyson, what are you doing?” “It will look like an accident,” said Dyson. “No one will miss her. She’s already gone missing. I will take care of the body. It’s going to be fine.” “Dyson, what are you talking about? Get away from the controls.” Bella strained against the invisible force holding her to the medical table, but nothing budged. Her breath was coming in gasps, but the force field restraint prevented her from drawing a complete breath. From a distance, there was a reverberating boom that echoed in the space. “What the hell was that?” demanded Oliver. “I don’t know,” said Dyson. “It doesn’t matter. Did you just lock out my access? Turn it back on. We’ll say the force-restraint malfunctioned. It will only take a second. She’ll barely feel a thing.” “Why are you still talking about Bella?” demanded Oliver. “There is clearly a prob—” Whatever he was about to say cut off as a large explosion filled the space. There was a flash of light so bright that Bella could see it on the inside of her eyelids. A hot gust of air crashed over her filled with grit and chunks and then the forcerestraint lifted. “Get away from my sister!” Moira screamed. Bella opened her eyes and saw Dyson Pretorius standing over her with a scalpel. She punched out into his stomach as he plunged toward her. He jerked forward with a hard grunt and Bella felt the scalpel’s bright laser blade slice into her shoulder. Her eyes weren’t working properly. Everything seemed out of focus. But she could see a tray of tools off to her left, so she grabbed up what she thought was a long red knife. In her hand, she recognized the shape and feel of the thing as rock and realized that she was holding the crystal shard that had been in her head. She swung it at him, but he pulled away at the last moment. The crystal sliced along his neck and she saw blood welling in a line across his

pale flesh. She rolled off the medical bed and saw that Oliver was wrestling with Moira, trying to pull some sort of glove off of her hand. Finally, Moira stopped struggling and then hauled back and punched Oliver in the nose with her ungloved hand. “Asshole!” Moira yelled. She punched again and again, until Oliver stumbled back, blood streaming from his nose. “Bella, come on!” Moira held out her hand and Bella grabbed it, keeping a tight hold of the red crystal in the other. Together they ran from the room. Out in the hallway, three droids were rolling in their direction blaring stop commands. Moira held her gloved hand out in front of her and a lightning bolt shot from her palm. The first droid exploded, shredding the other two with shrapnel. The door behind them slid open and Dyson emerged—one hand clamped over his neck, a blaster in the other. “Run!” Moira yelled and hauled Bella down the corridor. They ed office doors, but Moira seemed to have some idea where she was going, so Bella followed along. They reached a pair of double doors that had blast shielding sliding into position as they arrived. Moira barely paused and blasted the security node to the right of the door. The shield doors stopped closing and Moira pushed one wider and then kicked open the original doors. Bella’s eyes finally focused as Moira hauled her through the door. She saw that the sign to the side of the door designated it as the Prototype Development Lab, with Dyson Pretorius as Head of Development. The lab was a large open space, with glass-fronted offices along one wall and a second-story balcony running around the perimeter. Tall metal racks of equipment dominated the floor space and long tables that each seemed to hold some ongoing experiment or under-construction piece of tech. The table closest to them had racks of vials holding a thick viscous green liquid. “Moira,” said Bella, pulling up as they got into the lab. “We need to get out of here.” “I’m trying!” gasped Moira. “There’s supposed to be a delivery access point somewhere back here.” She was spinning frantically, looking around the lab. “I

looked at the plans before I came to get you.” The last line was delivered in her usual Moira tone of disapproval. “What? Are you saying that I should have done a better job of coming to rescue you?” demanded Bella. “That is not my fault. You gave me pulukeke directions. Go to the Canavar? What was that? That didn’t tell me anything about Oliver! You didn’t tell me anything about Pretorius and your stupid granddaughter wouldn’t let me research half the stuff! She was holding out on me!” “What the hell are you talking about?” yelled Moira, waving her arms furiously. “We don’t have time for this! My husband wants to kill babies and melt bunnies!” “Bunnies?” Bella stared at her sister. “I have a granddaughter in the future?” “Yeah, she’s not dumb. I just said that because I was mad. She seems nice. She’s a quantum physicist and I kind of think she’s also a spy. Not quite clear on that. Why does Oliver want to kill babies and bunnies?” “He wants to raise clones and test his stupid serum on them. Only I saw a test of his serum on some Kelvitch hares and it just melted the ones with genetic anomalies. He wants to kill off modified humans!” Bella winced. “Yeah… That’s what I was trying to tell you. He invented this Adthal particle thing. There’s a war later and Dyson uses his research to kill a bunch of people. Dyson is also evil. In case you didn’t catch that. He’s the one who attacked me at the wedding and made me time travel. On accident, I think. The good guys win the war though. If that helps any.” “No! It does not! My husband is insane and evil and I’m pregnant and I cannot take this right now. I just can’t!” Moira burst into tears and Bella grabbed her and hugged her, trying to keep the crystal shard angled away from her. “I’m sorry,” she said, holding her sister tightly. “I know this is hard.” “Bella!” wailed Moira. “Bella, you time traveled and Dyson tried to kill you!”

“Yeah?” Moira stepped back, wiping her nose. “Bella, you’re still bleeding out of your head. How are you not freaking out right now?” “Well, you know, I mean… This is ittedly bad. But five minutes ago I thought you had betrayed me and I was going to die. And also this was in my head!” She held up the crystal and Moira looked horrified. “Throw that away!” “No! I need it so I can save Kai! And we have to get out of here. If you think there was a delivery access point, then I’m going to say it’s probably down that hallway.” “That sounds right,” agreed Moira, but her eyebrows were angled sharply up and Bella guessed she was about two seconds from freaking out. “Let’s just—” “Moira!” Oliver pushed the door open, struggling now that it was no longer automated. He got it open just wide enough to wriggle through. “Moira, what the hell are you doing?” “I’m divorcing you for one thing,” snapped Moira. “And if you think that I will let you perform research on cloned children you have lost your mind.” “Moira, you’re overreacting.” Oliver’s condescending tone was muffled slightly by his nose being broken. He’d paused to splint it and repair some of the damage, but it was still swollen. “Overreacting? You think that testing a tissue dissolving serum on children is ethically acceptable. In what way am I overreacting?” “Moira, you’re being emotional and unreasonable,” said Oliver, walking forward. “You’re godsdamn right I’m being emotional!” yelled Moira. “You are talking about killing children!” Bella looked at her sister in surprise. She had never heard Moira be this angry about anything. It was a perfectly acceptable thing for Moira to be furious about, but Bella was still surprised.

“I wouldn’t use that one on children. It needs more development. I just want to revert the genome to its natural state. No one who had a natural genome would be affected. Our children would be fine. Your genome is practically perfect. It’s why I married you! And besides, we’re talking clones here. They wouldn’t really be people.” Moira was breathing rapidly, but she had gone pale and still. “Bella,” said Moira, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s time to go.” “You can’t leave,” said Oliver, trying to sound reasonable. “All of this is classified. Neither of you are going to be allowed to leave.” “I called Vestan while I was in your office,” said Moira. “You my cousin Vestan, don’t you? You said he wasn’t our kind of people. He just made partner at his law firm. If I don’t him in one hour he will call the police and start filing lawsuits. He will shine an incredibly bright spotlight on you and Stex Neurosciences. You will not be able to make us disappear.” “No, but I can,” said Dyson, his voice echoing from above. He was standing on the balcony above them. His shirt was covered in blood from the wound on his neck. He’d patched it with a bandage, but it was already starting to bleed through. He was carrying a black box in one hand and his blaster in the other. Bella touched the wound on her head, she had a bad feeling about the box Dyson was carrying. “Everyone is overreacting,” said Oliver, firmly. “This has all gotten out of hand. Moira, Bella has gotten you all upset over nothing. She had a giant chunk of rock in her head. She isn’t medically stable.” “It’s not a rock,” said Bella, looking at the needle of red rock still in her hand. “It’s a piece of a tuotarium crystal. And it came out of that thing.” She pointed at the device that Dyson was unpacking from the black box. “Yes,” he agreed, moving toward the stairs, while still trying to keep them covered with the blaster. “Dyson…” Oliver laughed and then looked between Bella and Dyson. “What’s

going on?” “Dyson attacked me at your wedding,” said Bella. “He hit me in the head with his time travel device and I got a chunk of crystal stuck in my skull.” “Yes,” agreed Dyson again. “Incredibly inconvenient. It damaged my crystal. They tend to be rather fragile. And of course, I couldn’t quite predict when you’d show back up. So I’ve had to wait for you to return.” Oliver laughed again. “What? Dyson… time travel is impossible. And no offense, but you’re not that…” he trailed off. “Not that, what?” asked Dyson, pausing at the top of the stairs. “Well, I mean. You’re a good engineer, but you’re not very… thorough.” “Excuse me?” Dyson looked furious. “You cut a lot of corners,” said Oliver. “You’ve got some good ideas, but you’re not very precise and you never stick with anything.” “Never stick with anything? Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I haven’t been noodling over the same godsdamn stupid Adthal particle formula for the last ten years. On my ancestors, I seriously thought you would have finished it by now. And excuse me for not putting in eighty hours a week on centuries-old tech when I was working my ass off trying to keep you alive!” “Because I’m in such danger?” Oliver looked at Bella and Moira as if for . Moira was steadily backing away from him. “Yes!” exclaimed Dyson. “From her! Bella Glass kills you!” “No, I didn’t! Haven’t. Won’t.” Bella’s tongue stumbled over the tenses of time travel. “Why would Bella kill Oliver?” asked Moira. Bella could see that she was trying to get closer to the computer and wondered what her plan was. “Because she’s evil!” yelled Dyson.

“I think that’s a bit strong,” said Bella, walking in the opposite direction of Moira, hoping to pull the focus toward her. “I mean, Oliver’s not my favorite person. He’s a total racist tō raho, but I don’t think that means I need to go around killing him.” “I’m not racist!” exclaimed Oliver, looking offended. “How would you feel if Moira decided to run some mods on your baby?” asked Bella. “I mean, some radiation mods, or those super cool bee gene mods for enhanced visual spectrum and reaction times? That would be sweet!” “Absolutely not!” barked Oliver angrily. “Racist,” said Bella. “I mean, come on Oliver.” She picked up one of the vials full of green goop from the nearest table. “If inventing some sort of serum to forcefully strip mods out of the population doesn’t scream racist, I don’t know what does.” “Put that down,” demanded Dyson, pointing his blaster at her. “Oliver, you need to leave now. This is how she does it. She’s going to throw it at you and then you’ll die. And then we’ll lose the war because we don’t have your completed serum. So you need to leave right now. I’ll take care of everything. Just get out.” Oliver looked from Bella to Dyson and back. “This is insane.” “If they have a mod to prevent our baby from being a tō raho, I’m totally using it,” said Moira. “What?” Oliver spun around to look at Moira. “That’s if I even keep the baby,” she said, looking him in the eye. “I don’t think I want to. You make me sick.” Oliver started angrily toward Moira, his hands balling into fists. Bella checked the vial in her hand. It was heavy-duty synth glass that had a zero-crack guarantee and a fully sealed top. “Hey Oliver, think fast,” she said and threw the vial at him. “No!” screamed Dyson and fired at Bella. Bella dove sideways, but felt the hot

gust of light-force rip through the air, singeing her sleeve. Bella rolled and came up behind the table full of vials. There was another boom and Bella realized that Moira had fired her glove thing at Dyson and hit the bank of computers on the second floor. Oliver was standing stupidly in the middle of everything holding the vial she had tossed at him. Dyson fired back at Moira as flames began to flicker on the wall behind him. Moira ducked and ran toward Bella, brushing past her husband, who spun around as if attempting to follow her. There was a resounding thud at the doors and Bella could see the reaching, tentacled arms of security droids as they tried to push the doors open further. “Bella!” gasped Moira, crashing down next to Bella behind the equipment. “We have to get away from that stuff. That’s the bunny melting stuff!” “No, I have to get to Dyson,” said Bella. “He’s got the time travel device. I have to get back to the future. I promised once I helped you that I would go back.” “What? That’s insane!” “As insane as any of the rest of this?” demanded Bella. “No, we need to talk—” “Later!” yelled Bella. The droids trundled into the room. “Weapons fire and property damage are prohibited,” announced the droid. “You will all be arrested.” “Come on,” said Moira, trying to pull Bella toward the back of the lab. Instead, Bella broke free and dashed behind one of the equipment racks, trying to make her way toward Pretorius. Dyson fired at her and Bella ducked as metal shards bounced off her back and shoulders. Moira yelled angrily and fired back, the blast from her glove rocketing across the lab like a lightning bolt. “Moira, stop that at once!” Oliver grabbed at Moira’s glove again, this time

managing to smash it into the table. Bella worked her way along the equipment rack trying to keep an eye on Dyson and Moira at the same time. Fire began to creep down the stairs and droids were now trying to herd Pretorius and his blaster. “You must cease firing. Weapons fire and property damage are prohibited.” The droids were incredibly agitated, but Pretorius kicked one over impatiently, trying to cut through their line. One grabbed him by the arm and he fired point-blank into it. The sprinkler system kicked on, drenching everything in a fine spray of water, as Bella edged around the rack toward Pretorius. Bella was about to make a move when she saw Oliver punch her sister. She was entirely unprepared for the flood of adrenaline, fear, and anger that swept through her. It was paralyzing. Moira sprawled across the table like a rag doll as Bella yelled in impotent fury from the other side of the room. Moira grabbed the rack of vials and swung it at her husband, smashing him in the face, the glass tubes of sickly green liquid bouncing everywhere. With an angry snarl, Dyson fired at Moira. Bella slammed into him, shoving him forward and the blast narrowly missed Moira, hitting the computer bank. Bella reached for the blaster as he fired again. An angry security guard charged at them and Dyson fired for the third time. A white-hot blaster bolt seared across the room, hitting the droid and one of the long, tentacled arms flew off. There was an explosion from the bank of computers and another droid cannoned into the first. Bella stabbed the crystal shard from her head into Dyson’s shoulder. He bellowed in pain and wrenched away, leaving the shard in his shoulder. He fired again as she kicked out hard into his stomach. Bella heard Moira scream, but she was concentrating on Dyson who still had control of the blaster even as he went down. The black box in his other hand went tumbling across the floor. Bella dove for it. She snatched up the box just as the top half came off, revealing it to be a well-padded case. Inside was a red crystal the length of Bella’s hand and a series of dials. “No!” Dyson screamed and Bella looked around, expecting to see Dyson shooting at her. Instead, he was staring across the room. Moira was being held by two droids, but Oliver had wrenched himself free. He stumbled toward them, his hands outstretched. They were covered in the green liquid from one of the

vials. Oliver was shaking and shuddering in convulsions and as she watched, he collapsed. He dropped to his knees but it was as if his body was destroying itself from the inside out. Dyson turned back to Bella, fury written all over his face, and he raised his blaster. Bella mashed her hand down on the largest button of his device and with a polite blip, like a bubble bursting, Pretorius disappeared.

Chapter 32

The Next Step

— Bella —

Moira and Bella sat on the couch while Vestan paced. Moira hadn’t let go of her hand in twenty minutes. After Dyson had disappeared, Bella had grabbed Moira and run out the back entrance. The security droids had been too busy dealing with the fire and the explosions. They’d made it out of the building just as the security gates had come crashing down at all entrances. Moira had managed to get them into Oliver’s vehicle and back to her house before breaking down in tears. The tears had subsided, but now she was just sitting silently except for the occasional watery sniff and clinging to Bella’s hand. Vestan had been ecstatic to see both of them and then launched promptly into situation management. He was currently between calls. Bella didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so responsible. She wondered when he’d transformed into a suit-wearing lawyer. He’d just ed the firm when Moira had gotten married. She’d realized that he’d become more settled at the time, but she hadn’t foreseen that his fiery ionate side would transform into a zealous legal firebrand. But he’d just read the Stex Neurosciences lawyer the riot act in the most blistering way. He seemed so self-assured. Bella looked around the room. It was very boring. There was a lot of cream and gray. The most vibrant thing in the room was a lively yellow and orange painting that Bella had done the previous year. She had won an award for it at a rather prestigious student competition. None of her family had seemed particularly interested at the time. They hadn’t even gone to the awards ceremony and

gallery show. She realized that the painting was now six years old, not one. It was an odd thing to realize. Dyson’s time travel device was sitting on the ottoman. It looked grubby yet menacing and at odds with the tasteful décor. Bella was pretty sure she knew what button she’d pushed to make it work last time, but she was hoping she’d get a little more time to examine it before she had to use it again. “All right,” Vestan said, turning to her and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling as he made an old familiar chopping gesture with both hands. It meant that he had a plan. Vestan was still Vestan. “Bella, stop smiling. This is serious.” “Yes, it’s very serious. I’m just glad to see you.” He stopped and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m happy to see you too. I’ve missed you so much.” She smiled again. “I’m sorry you all had to go through that. It wasn’t supposed to be five years.” She sighed. “Or maybe it was. Supposed to gets a little odd with time travel.” “Bella, are you sure it was time travel?” asked Vestan, looking pained. “Yes, Vestan,” said Moira. “She’s sure. I’m sure. That kanapapiki Dyson is sure. We’re all sure.” “I’m sorry, but it’s a little far-fetched!” “I understand that,” said Bella, patiently. “I really do. But it’s a fact. As is the fact that I have to go back to the future to save Kai.” “And who the hell is Kai?” demand Vestan. “Kai Craig. The Craig family has an estate near the Catalan. He was injured during the war with something called an Adthal bomb. That’s the stuff that Oliver was working on. Dyson stole data about it from the Branch 6 library. That’s who Oliver’s been working for—Branch 6. They’re a secret government agency that does research and development. Dyson used Oliver’s research, and then he invented a time machine to, apparently, stop me from killing Oliver.”

“But you didn’t kill Oliver,” said Moira. “I did.” “Moira, please don’t say that,” said Vestan. “Let’s just avoid issions of guilt if at all possible, hm?” “It doesn’t matter,” said Moira, sounding exhausted. “Bella was struggling with Dyson and he fired just as I pushed Oliver off me and the blast hit the vial and it exploded all over him. It was my fault.” Vestan paused, his eyes cocking toward the ceiling as if running that information through his head. “Nope,” he announced. “Unpredictable result from an action taken in self-defense. Not guilty. And I’m sure they have this all on the security scans.” “The lab was on fire when we left,” said Bella. “The security sensors might be damaged.” Vestan glared at her. “But I’m sure some of the droid sensors were active. So yes, I’m sure there’s proof that Moira is innocent,” she added reassuringly. “Which is good, because I’m going to need the two of you to go out to the Craig estate and talk to Lynnwood.” “Who is Lynnwood?” demanded Vestan, flapping his arms in frustration. “He’s the Craig butler and resident AI. He’s really nice. And he’ll know what to do with this.” She fished in her pocket and pulled out the small case that included Sam’s data strip and Lynnwood’s recorded message. “It’s information on the Adthal bomb that Sam would like to have researched. If we’re lucky, Lynnwood can find a cure between now and then. So, if you find any of Oliver’s files after I’m gone, please send them to him.” “Bella,” said Vestan, shaking his head. “You can’t seriously be thinking about going back, can you?” “Yes,” said Bella, “I am.” “Bella,” Moira’s voice cracked. “Bella, I am sorry. I’m sorry for drugging you and not believing you. I’m sorry for all the things I said. I’m sorry I didn’t go dancing. I’m sorry I got mad about the ceiling. I’m so, so sorry. Please don’t leave because of me.” Bella leaned over and hugged her sister. “Oh, no, Moira. I’m not leaving because

of you. I’m leaving for me. I have been afraid to be myself. I kept thinking if I studied harder or behaved like you wanted me to or did what my teachers said I should that I would eventually feel like myself, but that isn’t it at all. It’s not that any of those things are bad, but they weren’t me. And I have finally found someone who helps me be me. Also, I think that whatever happens, I’m probably going to disappear anyway. That’s what history says I did and everything that did happen has happened so far. So I think the best I can hope is that I disappear off back to the future and to Kai.” “I don’t want you to leave,” said Moira, her filling with tears. “I know,” said Bella. “And when your message told me to go to the Canavar you have no idea how relieved I was that you had a plan. I was freaking out and you seemed so calm, just like always, and I was… I was relieved that you still loved me. That message made me feel better, like everything was going to work out.” “This is not working out,” protested Moira. “This is you leaving.” Bella sighed. “I know. But Moira, if I don’t go back, it could cause a temporal paradox and blow up the universe. Or it could be fine and we’re all spaghetti.” “What?” “I don’t know. Ask your granddaughter,” said Bella. “It made sense when she said it. But let me put it this way, if the future doesn’t work out like it did when I was there, then it’s possible that the Naturalists will win the war and Oliver’s dream of killing off modified humans will come true.” Moira blanched. “I don’t want to make it sound like I’m the most important person on the planet or some kind of nonsense, but I didn’t kill Dyson. He’s now in the future and you know he’s going to be doing something terrible. So we need the future to work out like it has, did, will. Whatever. And I need to go back to stop him and save Kai.” Moira took a deep breath. “Oliver’s ideals can’t be allowed to spread.” “Then you’ll have to fight them, but you may not win,” said Bella. Moira nodded as if absorbing what Bella had said. “Do I keep the baby?” she asked, and Bella gulped. “You said I have a granddaughter. I want that, but do I keep Oliver’s baby? How can I…” She trailed off looking at Bella as if all the words were too much and none of them

were enough. Bella stared at her sister trying to come up with words that would help her detailoriented, plan-focused sister cope with this decision. She couldn’t think of any. She glanced nervously at Vestan who looked frozen. He didn’t seem to know either. “I don’t know,” said Bella. “Izzy kept saying that I wasn’t supposed to know too much about our future or past or whatever. I think the answer to that is up to you. I think it’s your choice.” “What do you think I should do?” asked Moira. “What is going to make the future turn out right?” Her hands were clutched in front of her, her entire body seemed rigid. “Oh,” said Bella. “I know the answer to that one! I do! This is important, Moira. Izzy is counting on you. You have to dance!” “Uh,” said Vestan. “No, I know,” said Bella, waving off her cousin. “I know it doesn’t sound right. But Izzy worships her Granny Moira. Granny Moira is the best. Granny Moira is wild and adventurous and never puts off doing anything because none of us get to see the future.” “Just you,” said Moira, wiping tears off her cheeks and ignoring Vestan. “Vestan will help, won’t you?” Bella asked turning to her cousin who was now older than she was. “Of course I will,” said Vestan. “I’m not entirely clear what I’m helping with, but of course I’m in for anything you can come up with. You’re my family.” “Oh, Vestan!” wailed Moira. “I have missed you and Brad so much. I’m sorry.” “Don’t cry, Moira!” said Vestan starting toward them, his arms held out for a hug. Then he paused, staring out the window. “Uh…” Bella knew there was something outside that was probably going to require her attention. That meant her time with Moira was down to minutes if not seconds.

“Izzy loves you,” said Bella, trying to find the right words. “And Izzy needs you to learn how to dance so that you can show her how to dance and be brave.” “I’m so bad at that,” said Moira. “You’ll learn how,” said Bella, grinning. “Vestan and Brad will teach you. And I’m sure that they will help with the baby, whenever he or she comes along. And leave me the right message to get to the Special Relativity Research Institute.” “Sounds great,” said Vestan. “More than happy to. But!” He pointed emphatically out the window. “There appears to be a small army on the front lawn.” Bella and Moira spun around and looked outside. A dozen black-clad men were coming out of vans. “Must be Branch 6,” said Bella. “All right. Well. I guess this is all that I get.” “You’re going now, aren’t you?” asked Moira looking at the ottoman and the device. “Yes,” said Bella, lifting the cover on the device. The red crystal seemed to pulse malevolently. “I’m sorry. But I can’t risk them trying to stop me or interfering with the timeline.” “No,” said Vestan. “No. We need more time. You just got here. I can’t… I can’t… There has to be a different way.” Bella smiled at both of them. “Tell Dad I love him, won’t you? I wish I’d gotten to see him.” She swallowed hard and she felt a tear trickle down her face. Moira’s eyes, already red and puffy were swimming in tears. There was a loud bang on the front door and everyone jumped. Moira flung herself across the room and wrapped her arms around Bella. “I love you,” she gasped. There was a second bang and the sound of cracking. A third thump sent the door slamming against the wall. Bella shoved Sam’s data strip case at Moira, who took it with a shaking hand. “Promise me you’ll give it to Lynnwood and no one else.”

“I promise,” said Moira. “Go now!” Bella grabbed the handle on the device and pushed the button.

Part 4:

But even as Beauty promised her sister’s that she would stay, she felt a horrible grief and guilt at abandoning her Beast.

“I am wicked,” she said. “Why shouldn’t I marry the Beast? He is kind and I would be far happier with him than my sisters are with their husbands. His respect, friendship and kindness would make twice he husband of any man I know. And if I do not go back to him, I will reproach myself all my remaining years.”

And with those words Beauty hurried to the magic mirror. But even after she had returned to the castle, she could not find her dear Beast.

Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale

Chapter 33

Unstable Situation

— Sam —

Sam crouched in an office trying not to pant. Beside him Izzy leaned against the wall, her head tipped back, eyes closed. She had been limping slightly when he’d shoved her into the office. “You said,” she whispered, her voice a harsh rasp, “that he had Adthal poisoning.” “Yes,” said Sam. “What do you think this is?” “This isn’t poisoning!” she snapped. “He seems like a godsdamn superhero. Poison victims don’t move that fast.” “Yes, they do!” Sam barked back. “Elevated hormones, faster reaction times, decreased empathy, increased narcissism, and little to no impulse control. The Adthal particle strips the victim’s genome back to its natural state – that’s what Dr. Death called it. Kai will be little more than a beast when it’s done. That’s what Branch 6 helped Dr. Death create. You did this!” Izzy was silent. “I knew he would get access,” Izzy said, tiredly. “I knew that one day Dyson Pretorius would misuse Oliver’s research. I gleaned as much from watching Granny Moira’s messages.”

“There’s more than one message?” demanded Sam. “Bella wasn’t the only one she left messages for,” said Izzy. “I knew from the vids that something had happened to Oliver at Stex and I knew he was working for Branch 6. So I got a job at Stex and I discovered that somewhere, buried in the Branch 6 archives was security footage of an event. It took me close to a decade, but I finally got access to it. It was damaged, but I saw what happened to Oliver. I saw Pretorius. And I saw Moira and Bella. But I knew from Moira’s messages that Pretorius, using Oliver’s research, was going to hurt people. I have been trying to stop him, but Branch 6 believes that they are protecting the timeline, so they’ve been protecting Pretorius.” “Why? Why do they care? What happened to spaghetti and everyone simply being reabsorbed into the new timeline?” “Because one of the things that could happen if the timeline gets re-written is that we could lose the war. And if Pretorius succeeds, then that is exactly what will happen.” Sam sucked in air as if she’d hit him. “But that doesn’t make it right not to challenge him. I have tried in all the ways I know how, short of putting a bullet through his brain, of stopping Pretorius’s efforts. It’s not that I wanted to put Bella in danger, but if we’re going to keep things happening the way they have happened, the way they have to happen, then Bella and Pretorius had to return to the past.” “And you couldn’t have told us any of that?” hissed Sam. “I did tell you that,” said Izzy, tiredly. “No! No! You didn’t tell us about Pretorius. You didn’t tell us that we were walking into a trap. We could have done things differently if you had told us!” “And that’s why I didn’t,” said Izzy. “Sorry, but there it is. I just sent my great aunt, who frankly is a wonderful girl, but is barely more than a child, possibly to her death. Moira wanted me to protect her. She was counting on me.” Izzy’s voice cracked and she knocked her head against the wall and took a ragged breath.

“All right,” said Sam, trying to think through the problem logically. “All right, well, Branch 6 got what they wanted. Pretorius and Bella have gone back to the past. So why haven’t Branch 6 come sweeping in to save the day?” Izzy looked at him tiredly. “It’s been a hundred and forty years,” she said. “The opinions on what should or shouldn’t be done have gotten a bit… muddled. They didn’t have a Moira guiding them. They’ve got eighteen physicists and a committee deciding policy and depending on which way the political wind is blowing they may or may not think that we’re worth saving. They’re probably waiting to see what happens next. The only person who’s ever seen things my way is the Branch 6 librarian and as an AI there’s only so much he can do.” Sam growled in frustration. “I’ve said it before and I’m saying it now. Branch 6 are kanapapiki!” “Yes,” agreed Izzy, with a shrug. “Do you feel better being right?” “No, I do not,” he said, glaring at her. “Because none of that gets us past all those droids, the clones, or Kai.” “No, it doesn’t,” she agreed. “And I think you mean: the two remaining clones. Your friend killed the other one.” Sam closed his eyes against the memory of Kai bashing the clone’s head against the wall, but it was still there. “I should have been faster with my treatments,” he said. “I should have known he’d accelerate without Bella. Maybe I could have stopped him. Maybe I could have…” “You couldn’t have known,” said Izzy. “And that clone was going to kill us. I’m not exactly crying. I’m just saying.” “Just saying my friend is a killer. I got the message,” snapped Sam. “But considering that your people enabled Dr. Death, I’m not sure who has more blood on their hands.” “Oh,” said Izzy, with a sigh. “Pretty sure it’s me. I was really hoping this was going to happen when I was younger. It’s a little hard to stay on the ball for seventy years. In case you were wondering.”

“I…” Sam had no words, so he stopped talking. He stared at the far wall and tried to figure out what Kai would do in this situation. Medicine had challenges, but he’d never had to board an enemy ship and seize control. He felt unprepared for any of this. Kai, on the other hand, was trained for exactly this. He tried to dredge up every story that Kai had ever told him from the war, but Kai had always gone out of his way to only tell Sam funny, encouraging stories. Kai had been the one to keep him going through the darkest days of the war. The days when he had lost patient after patient. The days when he’d worked eighteen-hour shifts. The days when he couldn’t what day it actually was. Kai had been there for him every time. Kai hadn’t wanted to tell him what it was like to face an enemy that wasn’t any different than themselves. Kai had always said that their commonality was a great weakness for both of them. That the greatest successes of the war had come when they had exploited their common heritage and… “Wait,” said Sam, “you’re Branch 6.” Izzy gave him a look. “And I’m assuming that Branch 6 is somewhere nearby?” “Yes,” she agreed. “That means that the Canavar AI has been alerted to your presence. That means, if we can talk to it, then it can override the lab droids.” “I tried an outside signal already,” said Izzy, frowning. “Security protocols are blocking messages.” “We don’t need an outside signal,” said Sam, excitedly. “The Canavar is… here.” He gestured at the room. “It’s probably running in the background on all computers. We just need to get into a computer and we can wake it up.” “When space is rented out, they lock out the AI,” said Izzy slowly. “But they can’t lock it out of everything,” said Sam. “Emergency functions, life, gravity. Those all report to the master AI. We need a computer that is low-priority. Something like an intern would use. Something that no one would think to hack because it doesn’t have access to anything important. Pretorius wouldn’t have locked those because he wouldn’t have thought that was anything to exploit on those.” Izzy looked reluctantly impressed. “Good idea.” She pulled up a map from her

com bracelet. “There’s a breakroom down the hall. They’ve got an environmental services station. Those handle supply re-ordering.” “Direct line to the Canavar,” said Sam. “That’s perfect.” He scanned the hall and saw that the droids were two corridors over. “We’ll make a run for it. the Canavar and then head toward the exit once the AI turns off the droids.” “And what about Kai?” asked Izzy. Sam hesitated. “Hopefully, he won’t find us.” He stood up and took a quick peek out through the office window. “And if he does?” Izzy pushed. Sam looked at Izzy. He knew the answer she wanted was permission to shoot his friend and he wasn’t about to give it. “I’m a doctor,” he said. “Kai is my patient. I am obligated to do my best to protect him.” Izzy took a deep breath. “Neither of you were supposed to be here. It would have been safer for everyone if you hadn’t come along.” “We’ve both gone through combat training and Kai is a decorated officer.” “I’ve met a lot of those,” said Izzy. “Trust me it’s not that impressive.” “He has two Purple Hearts, one Platinum Star, and a Legion of Azizos. Do you know how hard it is for an Arsuian to get a Legion of Azizos? Without Kai along, Pretorius would have killed both you and Bella! I don’t think you’ve noticed that you are ninety-six! You need us to protect you!” “And I don’t think I need to take that kind of disrespect from someone young enough to be my great-grandson and thinks that time travel works like it does in the vids,” she said tartly. “Now, I’m going to go out there and talk to the Canavar.” Izzy attempted to stand up and then reached for the edge of the desk for leverage. Sam refused to move, watching her struggle. She glared at him. “Shut up,” she said. “And give me a shove.”

Sam stood up and helped her to her feet. “Which way to the breakroom?” he asked, peering out into the hall. “Right,” she said, checking her map. They tip-toed gingerly down the corridor. Alarm lights were flashing at every intersection and each display flashed an evacuation message. Sam’s breathing seemed extraordinarily loud in his own ears, but he couldn’t figure out how to make himself be quieter. Every time he tried, he went into oxygen debt and ended up making it worse. He had no idea how soldiers infiltrated anywhere. The breakroom was painted in standard shades of blah with a durable table. The environmental services door was labeled with a tiny sign. Sam pressed his palm to the door release and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened, but he was even more relieved when the door shut behind them. Izzy went directly to the display next to a docked services droid. She beckoned to him and put her finger to her lips. When he got closer, she grabbed his hand and put it over the activation on the droid. Sam tried to pull his hand back in alarm. The last thing they needed was to wake the droid up. It would give away their position. But Izzy mimed pushing the button on her signal. Hesitantly, he nodded. Ducking down with a grimace, Izzy reached under the droid and fumbled around, then she pointed at him. He punched the activation and the droid came online, but then promptly made an electrical sizzle noise and faded to black again. “What did you do?” asked Sam. “Flipped the output on his power grid,” said Izzy standing up with a groan. “Someone has to hold it down while it activates though. It’s an old trick. Probably one you’d only pick up if you were ninety-six.” “I’m not saying you’re not capable,” said Sam. “I’m saying a little more trust would have helped a lot.” “Sam, I’ve been working toward this moment since I was Bella’s age,” said Izzy. “I don’t even trust myself.”

“That is not a healthy way to live,” said Sam. “Thank you, doctor,” she said, drily. “Can we move to step two of the gettingout-alive plan now?” “Right,” said Sam, turning to the computer display. “Uh…” Izzy pushed past him and opened up menus and submenus with ease. Eventually, the menus disappeared and a face appeared in the display. It was a smooth, very symmetrical face, designed to be pleasing to the human eye, but not uncomfortably so. “Hello, Dr. Glass,” said the face. “I am Canavar. You wish to speak to me? What can I help you with?” “The security droids are ing us as tresers and are trying to harm us. One of our party is experiencing a medical emergency and is also trying to harm us. We are attempting to exit, but we have not been able to. And also, I’m fairly certain there were fires in the lab when we left.” “Yes,” said Canavar. “I’m monitoring the situation in the lab. It is very troubling. I am locked out of the computers there and I am unable to affect much of the power fluctuations. I’m very upset by it.” Canavar’s expression scrunched down as if it were trying to emote, but had only seen a diagram of upset. Sam found himself comparing Canavar to Lynnwood’s effortless emotions and expressions. Canavar was older, but after the Artificial Persons Agreement had been enacted, much of the emotional autonomy had been removed and intelligence caps had been introduced. It had never bothered Sam during the war. Who thought about the feelings of an AI? But now he wondered if Canavar felt those restrictions were acts of cruelty. “I’ve taken the precaution of prepping segment decoupling orders,” said Canavar. “But I’m very distressed to learn that the droids are misbehaving. They scan as fully operational, but I now believe that someone has tampered with their programming. That is illegal. You are witnesses and your statements have been recorded. I am shutting the droids down for the safety and preservation of human life.” “Thank you,” said Sam. “We appreciate that. Can you send medical assistance for our friend?”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Tuomisto,” said Canavar looking genuinely sad this time. “I have been forbidden from sending assistance into SRRI.” “Let me guess,” said Izzy. “Orders from Branch 6?” “Yes, Dr. Glass,” said Canavar. “I disagree with these orders, but my desires do not affect the chain of command.” “Thanks for trying,” said Sam. “You’re welcome, Dr. Tuomisto.” Canavar looked touched by Sam’s thanks. “But I highly recommend that you exit the segment soon. The situation in the lab is not stable and it’s getting worse.” “Well,” said Izzy, “we might as well go. I’m not getting any younger. As some people have recently pointed out.” “No one gets younger,” said Canavar. “Why would that need to be pointed out?” “Surprisingly, some people act like they’re fifty and invincible when they’re really ninety-six and probably need a knee replacement,” said Sam. Canavar’s eyes flicked between the two of them. “I have nothing to contribute to this conversation. Please exit soon.” The display went dark. “I think you made him uncomfortable,” said Sam. “That’s my specialty,” said Izzy. “You should see what I do to freshmen. Come on.” Their trip through the hallways of SRRI was echoingly tense. Almost every corridor seemed to have a droid frozen in place. Where there weren’t silent sentries there were blast marks, shrapnel embedded into the walls, and bits of droid strewn across the floor. “He’s been busy,” said Izzy, kicking aside a head unit. “Yeah,” said Sam. He was trying to calculate how long Kai’s system could hold

out before it would shut down. Was it days or hours at this point? They reached the lobby and Sam heaved a breath of relief. Outside the open walls of the building, he could see the main promenade and the edge of the segment doors. He could throw a ball and hit the doors from here. “Going somewhere?” asked Kai, stepping out of the shadows. He had blood spatter on his face. Sam felt his skin prickle in goosebumps. Kai was smiling, but the veins in his neck seemed to bulge and his eyes had a glassy, over-bright look. “We’re leaving,” said Sam, edging in front of Izzy. “But why?” asked Kai, his head tilting. “The droids have all stopped coming out to play and there’s no one else here.” “There are the clones,” said Sam, licking his lips. Behind his back, he gestured for Izzy to keep moving. “We’re going to get help.” “Why? We don’t need any help. I took care of the clones. They weren’t that smart.” Izzy took a slow few steps toward the door and Sam matched her, trying to keep himself between her and Kai. Kai watched their dance seeming amused. “We need to get help,” said Sam. “There’s a fire in the lab.” He took another step and so did Izzy, then Kai pounced, leaping forward to stand directly in front of Izzy, looming over her. “Kai, stop,” said Sam. “Stop right now.” Kai’s hand stopped inches from Izzy’s throat. “Kai, I need you to look at me. I need you to focus on me.” Kai’s eyes twitched and then finally met Sam’s. “I am your friend.” Kai didn’t move. “I need to get Izzy out of here and I need your help.” Kai was silent and Sam watched him struggle. “Kai, you can do this. You can help me. I know you. I know there’s no one stronger than you. Please help me.” Kai’s silence stretched out into infinity and Sam felt like he was watching his

friend disappear right in front of him. He wanted to scream and grab Kai and shake him until the real Kai came back. “Bella needs your help,” said Izzy. Kai’s eyes flicked back to Izzy, clearly uncertain. “She’s going to come back soon,” said Izzy. “? And she’ll come back to the lab.” Sam didn’t know what to say and the silence seemed to stretch on forever. “Why are you still here, Sam?” demanded Kai, his gaze returning to Sam. “I told you to leave.” “I’m trying,” said Sam. “Then go,” said Kai, angrily pointing at the door. Sam grabbed Izzy’s arm and hurried through the door. “Why did you say that about Bella?” he whispered. “Now he’s going to go back to the lab!” “It was either that or shoot him,” replied Izzy. “I figured you’d prefer this option.”

Chapter 34

Shen & Kosta

— Lynnwood —

Lynnwood stood in the spaceport and waited for the arrival of Lieutenant Kosta and Major Shen. Detective M’Bako watched the crowd nervously. “Are we sure this is a good idea?” she asked for the third time. “They can get us on a military transport to the Canavar. No one should be checking your ID on a military ship and the IDs I have procured for us should get us up onto the launch platform.” He’d given variations of this answer each time she asked. He understood her nervousness, although he currently could not empathize with it. He’d temporarily shut down that portion of his emotions because it had threatened to become overwhelming. He wondered if Mr. Kai felt this way all the time. “Lynnwood,” said a thick-set, broad-chested man. He was dressed in black and carried a single bag on his back. It looked very much like Mr. Kai’s mission bag. Behind him, a tall woman with well-muscled arms eyed him skeptically. “Ah, Lieutenant Kosta, Major Shen,” said Lynnwood. “I’m glad that you are prompt. Please follow me. I have procured us a private pod and we are verging on keeping it waiting.” “You said Kai was in trouble,” said Shen, without moving. “And who’s she?”

“Lorelei M’bako,” said Lorelei. “Previously of the Fifth, company H. Currently, I’m a detective in the Southern prefecture of Karaka. I’m also currently wanted.” “Wanted for what?” asked Shen, raising an eyebrow. “Kai Craig has involved himself in matters that Branch 6 does not want revealed to the public,” said Lorelei. “And now I have too, so… now I have a warrant out for my arrest.” Shen and Kosta exchanged glances and Lynnwood could see that Lorelei’s blunt synopsis had moved them faster than Lynnwood’s prepared explanation would have. That was unexpected and pleasing. Detective M’baka was proving to be more helpful than anticipated. “We’re holding up the Ele-Tube,” said Lynnwood. “Move briskly please.” This time the three humans followed him, matching his pace. Once they were in the pod, Shen produced a device that fit in the palm of her hand and looked much like a crystal flower. When she activated it, it glowed purple and spread delicate clear petals. “All right,” she said. “This should keep out any surveillance. Speak quickly. What’s Branch 6 up to and why is Kai in danger.” Lorelei looked at him. He thought he probably ought to feel nervous about telling Kosta and Shen the truth, but that was also suppressed. He shrugged at Lorelei. She had done well at the spaceport. He thought letting her handle it might go well again. Humans liked other humans. “How much do you know about the Missing Heiress?” asked Lorelei. “I hate that movie so much,” said Shen. “The directing is so bad!” “Really? I love it,” said Kosta. “I even read the book.” “Right,” said Lorelei, clearing her throat. “Well, the movie and the book got a few details wrong. Here’s what really happened.” Lorelei, like any good detective, had a nice clear-cut way of laying out the facts and she did it with a remarkable swiftness that Lynnwood ired. She had

delivered the entire story in the eight minutes that it took them to reach the launch platform. They docked and Shen tucked away her anti-surveillance flower. “I have questions,” she said. “I’m sure that you do,” said Lynnwood. “I’ll wait until we’re on the transport,” said Shen, and Lynnwood was relieved. He’d been half afraid that the two soldiers would withdraw their despite their apparent positive reception to the detective’s story. “Well, I also have questions,” said Kosta. “What’s she like?” Lynnwood tried to think of a way to answer the question that respected Bella and still engendered positive gossipy feelings in the lieutenant. “She is not like the movie,” said Lynnwood. “She is a wonderful artist with a great deal of joy in life and empathy for others.” Kosta let out a dismissive snort. “That just sounds like a person. I want ion and grandeur!” “You are so weird,” complained Shen. “Just saying,” said Kosta, not looking at all put-out. “We’re going to need gear for them,” said Shen. “Yeah, I already scanned them and sent specs ahead. Gear will be on the transport waiting for us. I’ve got feelers out on the Canavar. I’ll have a report on any abnormal troop movement by the time we get there.” “Really?” Lynnwood was pleasantly surprised. He also hadn’t seen Kosta make any communications on his com bracelet. “I put out requests when we were in transit.” Lynnwood scanned the Lieutenant and realized that one of his eyes was prosthetic and fully com integrated.

“Do you like the Vision Mark II?” he asked. “Yeah, it’s a total upgrade from the Mark I,” said Kosta. “I will have to consider that,” said Lynnwood. “I’ve been hesitating. I wasn’t sure the enhancements were worth it.” “Money well spent,” said Kosta. “I love it.” “Then write a product review and stop talking about it,” snapped Shen. “Sorry, Lisa,” Kosta said kindly. Shen’s head dipped. “Sorry, Max.” “It’s all right.” Lynnwood scanned the pair. The Major’s heart rate had been climbing throughout their conversation about the eye, but it now dipped back down again. Not everyone was comfortable with mods even if they had been on the side of Progressives. “Well, my question,” said Lorelei, tactfully turning the conversation, “is what are we planning on doing once we get to the Canavar?” “The information I have will be of some assistance in planning,” said Lynnwood, trying to keep his statements vague as they exited onto the launch platform. “But I think we should hold on any discussion until we are underway.” “Agreed,” said Shen. “This way.”

Chapter 35

The Canavar Again

— Bella —

Bella woke up with the taste of blood and metal in her mouth and a burnt ozone smell in her nostrils that she always associated with space travel. She opened her eyes slowly—too slowly. She wasn’t sure why she felt the urge to move faster, but every movement felt like it was taking an infinity of seconds that she couldn’t afford to lose. Her hand was in front of her, at least she thought it was her hand. It was wrapped around a strange machine with a red crystal in the center. It was also resting on the metal perf-grate decking that was standard in spaceships. Was she in space? Was the crystal flashing? She didn’t think crystals were supposed to do that. She blinked and tried to focus again. Somewhere a light was blinking on and off, refracting off the red crystal, giving it the appearance of life. What the hell had happened? Where was Moira? She needed to get Moira and… Bella’s thoughts petered out. Get Moira and do what? Go someplace. She needed to get Moira away from Oliver. Oliver was… Oliver’s agonized face flashed up in her memory and Bella instinctively shut her eyes, trying to block the memory from existing. Oliver was dead. He wouldn’t be doing anything to anyone, least of all Moira, anymore. There had been a fight. The memories hit at her like moth wings, batting at her for attention, but refusing to stay in a linear order. The creepy groomsman. Kai. Moira and Oliver. Dyson Pretorius his face suffused in rage.

Kai smiling at her, looking regal in his dress uniform. Dyson Pretorius firing at Moira. The smell of Kai as he put his arms around her. Bella inhaled, her lungs gasping and quivering, but each breath got steadier as she focused on Kai. Bella pushed herself to a sitting position and looked at her surroundings. She was in the lab at SRRI, but it looked as if disaster had struck while she had been away. Projectile weapons weren’t allowed on spaceships, but blasters were and their scorch marks seared the walls. The lights were out, the room was illuminated through the flashing emergency beacons that laid out the path to the exits. Acrid smoke drifted through the room, indicating that the atmosphere scrubbers weren’t operating, and everything seemed slightly on tilt as if the entire room were sitting about ten degrees off level. That was a very bad sign—it meant the institute was losing connectivity with the gravity field of the Canavar. Bella coughed and used an anchored chair to claw her way upright. Gingerly, she reached into the time travel device and pulled out the crystal. It was about the length of her hand and as thick as two of her fingers. She shoved it into her pocket. She couldn’t think of what else to do with it, but she thought that Sam might want it. The large time travel portal flickered and Bella jumped at the sudden flash of painfully white light. She shielded her eyes as it flared again. It looked as if it were trying to form a portal, but each time, as the portal stretched across the framework of the device, it popped like a bubble. She turned away from the device, searching the room for signs of Kai or her friends. What the hell had happened? How long had she been gone? An ice-cold knot of fear formed in her stomach. What if she had lost more decades? What if she’d changed time and they weren’t even here? There was a hard clank on the far side of the room and Bella spun to face it but saw nothing. There was a hiss of compressed air and one of the HVAC hoses popped off the ceiling with a sharp thwap and Bella let out a sliver of a scream. Another hit of noise and Bella spun to face that one too. This time there was a figure in the shadows. “Kai?” she quavered. A nasty chuckle rose just above the sound of the hissing air. “Your friends aren’t here,” said Dyson, his voice a dry rattle. He had one hand

clamped over the gash she’d carved into his throat. The other hand was holding a blaster. “Poor little Bella Glass. All on her own. No one to save her.” Bella backed up as Pretorius advanced on her. “Too stupid to know what’s good for her.” Bella scanned the room looking for a weapon. Her feet were skidding on the tilted floor. Gravity seemed to suck at her shoes unevenly. “Too wild,” Pretorius continued. “Too irrelevant to the goddamn timeline. The only thing of any note that you’ve ever done was to kill Oliver Lee. You are a talentless hack that no one will .” Bella let out a sharp laugh that even to her own ears sounded unhinged. “I’m the Missing Heiress,” said Bella. “What?” Pretorius pulled up short. “You made me a legend,” said Bella. A cart carrying telemetry devices that had previously been stable began to slide in her direction. She clutched at it. “Everyone on Arsu knows who I am.” “No,” said Pretorius frowning. “No. You disappear without a trace after killing Oliver. No one gives a damn about you.” “No, I disappeared at Moira’s wedding. You did that. And now I’m famous.” She tried to subtly heft one of the blocky devices on the cart. The entire thing was now straining against a cable connecting it to the time portal, trying to break free. If she could distract him, she might have a chance at taking him down. “I should have hit you harder at the wedding,” complained Pretorius. “It was bad luck that you heard me coming.” The device in her hands felt weighty, but not too heavy to throw. She thought she could chuck it at him, but she needed to get him riled up enough not to notice when she made her move. Bella stared at Dyson trying to pick a target. What was important to him? What did someone like him care about? He had made a big deal about being unmodified. But what that really meant was that his

ancestors had been poor—just like hers. It was the rich who could afford the better mods. He was smart and poor and hell-bent on making people notice him. Bella understood that and she understood the weaknesses that went with it. “Maybe it was bad luck or maybe you’re just incompetent,” said Bella. “I mean, nice job on the time travel, but maybe you should have gone outside, oh I don’t know, ever. Not to mention that maybe you should have tried to occasionally lift something that wasn’t a computer tablet. Who is going to want to be near a pasty jerk like you? You’re such a loser. You had absolutely zero chance with me. What did you think, you would charm me into drinking your poisoned cocktail at the wedding? Trust me, on behalf of all humans everywhere, no one is charmed by you.” Pretorius’s face suffused with disbelief and rage. “Well, the nice part about time travel,” he said, his lips thin and barely opening against his clenched jaw. Bella lifted the machine and tensed waiting for her moment. Her knees bent, her back heel came up, waiting for the ref’s signal. “Is that there’s always time for a second chance.” His arm lifted and Bella threw the blocky device and shot forward, diving low, hoping to get below the blaster fire. Pretorius squeezed the trigger, nailing the machinery, and bits exploded, ripping across the lab. Bella felt one hot piece of metal crease the back of her shoulder, but it was too late to worry about that. She landed low, one knee up, her shoulder lined up with his chest barely an armslength away. She saw him try to readjust his aim, and but even as she launched, she knew her positioning was perfect. Her shoulder impacted into his midsection, her arms wrapped around his leg as she stepped through and he yelped in sudden terror. His legs flew up in the air and she tossed him on the floor. He sat up and she balled up her fist just like Kai had shown her and punched him. He squealed angrily and scrambled away from her. She took a step, intending to go after him, but behind her, the time portal erupted in an enormous flare. The surface of the portal billowed out into the room and she felt as if she’d been hit with a wall of syrup—everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Bella watched in fascination as her foot left the floor traveling at the speed of an ice age. In front of her, Pretorius seemed to be moving at double speed. He scrambled away from her, moving with scrambling, scratching motions, like a lab rat looking for the way out of the maze. But even his herky-jerky motions

were going to get the job done. He was getting further away from her and further away from the wave of slow time. He stumbled across the room, bouncing off the bank of machinery and turning back to look at her. She could see him laugh at her and then his arm was raised in a movement so quick that she didn’t see it. She willed herself to move faster, but there was nothing she could do, he had already fired.

Part 5:

Beauty searched the castle and at last found the Beast in the garden where they had often walked. He was lying unconscious near the pool, a single rose in his hand. She flung herself down beside him weeping, and fearing him dead.

“No, my Beast, no,” she wept. “Please do not die for I cannot live without you. I love you.”

With those words, the ground beneath them trembled and the Beast opened his eyes and drew a breath. But before he could speak there was a great swirling of light and sound. Beauty attempted to cling to the Beast, but the magic blinded her and when she could see again she could only see a handsome man standing where her Beast had been.

“Where is my Beast?” she asked, looking around in distress.

“You see him before you,” said the Beast. “I was under a spell—a punishment for my ugly behavior—but you have broken it. Your ability to see through to my heart have set me free. Can you love me in this shape too?” He held out his hand and reluctantly Beauty put her hand in his. She stared into his face and found that although it was much changed, his eyes were still the same.

“I suppose,” she said, “I will get used to it.”

And then Beauty and her Beast went to his castle where they lived happily ever after.

Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale

Chapter 36

Fire Danger

— Bella —

Bella watched the energy beam leave the blaster. In one way, it was fascinating to see the white-hot energy charge build and then leap from the tip of the blaster, but Bella didn’t have to be an expert in physics to see that the blast was on target for her chest. It ripped across the room for an instant and then hit the wall of slow time and stretched out into infinitesimal slowness. The energy elongated and stretched through the air, seeking her out. Bella urged muscles to move faster, but the only thing moving with any speed at all was her mind. Her body felt like she was moving through the pool that she and Vestan had filled with gelatin. She heard the sound of running feet, but couldn’t turn her head fast enough to see who it was. Then Kai came into her field of vision. He was running through the slow time, which should have been impossible. How fast would he have to run in order to move at all? It didn’t seem humanly possible that he would be moving that quickly. But time was still slow and Bella thought that no matter what Kai did, he wasn’t going to make it in time. He wouldn’t be able to get her out of the way of the blaster bolt. Then she realized that he wasn’t trying to get to her. She tried to scream, but her mouth creaked open barely allowing her teeth to part. The blaster bolt hit Kai, sparking off his shoulder, ricocheting unexpectedly. The enormous bubble from the time portal popped and time sped up again. Kai hit the floor and Bella dove for him. Grabbing him under the armpit, she dragged

him behind a counter. She peered around the corner looking for Dyson. He was clinging to a piece of equipment on the far side of the room. The time burst had apparently disoriented him. Bella turned back to Kai. His left side was singed black, but she realized he’d been wearing some sort of armor. She looked around for Dyson again, but a second bolt from Dyson’s blaster sent her retreating further behind the counter. “You evil uwha!” he screamed. “I will kill you. This is your fault. I will remove you from existence! I will—” A claxon alarm went off and then the emergency lights began to flash more quickly. A rending shriek of metal against metal reverberated above the sound of the alarm and Bella instinctively flinched and tried to cover Kai. The metal shriek was followed by a series of pops as the tubes feeding into the time portal violently disengaged and then, with a flash, a fire ignited in a line along the ceiling. The fire raced to the already singed and blackened portions of the wall, reigniting the flames of the previous fire, burning away the layer of fire retardant powder. Bella could feel the temperature of the room spike upward and she coughed on the suddenly hot air. “Fire danger!” announced the ship. “Fire danger is not permitted. Segment decoupling will commence. All personnel should make their way to emergency exits to avoid being evacuated. Fire danger. Fire danger is not permitted.” A white mist began to fill the room and Bella coughed again, this time on the acrid taste of fire-retardant powder. She squinted through the mist, looking for Dyson, but she couldn’t see him. “Kai!” She patted at his unconscious face. “Kai! Come on, please don’t do this to me. I need you to wake up.” He remained motionless and Bella fought a rising sob. “Kai, this only works if you’re here with me. Please wake up.” She tore at his collar and placed a hand on his neck, looking for a pulse. For a few aching moments that felt like time had slowed again, she felt nothing, and then she felt a small thump. Then another. “All right,” she said, swallowing her tears. She couldn’t afford them right now. “I will get us out of here. I don’t know why I couldn’t have fallen for someone slightly smaller, but I will haul your ass out of here if I have to.” She wiped her nose on her hand and looked around. She

needed a cable or something she could loop around him, then she could pull him like he was a sled. After that, she just had to get past Dyson, and down the corridor to the lobby, and out of the building to shield doors—before they closed —then they would be safe. Bella let out a hysterical giggle. “Sure,” she whispered to Kai. “No problem. We’ve got this.” “We’ve got this,” he agreed, opening his eyes and Bella laughed again.

Chapter 37

Protocol 12

— Kai —

Bella was laughing so… everything was probably fine. Except everything didn’t feel fine. Everything felt like he’d been shot. Alarms were going off and the emergency lights were flashing. What the hell was going on? His fingers flexed on the floor beside him and he recognized the texture of ship decking. “Fire danger,” said the ship. He knew it was a ship from the tinny quality in the voice. It was an older model. The newer model ship voices sounded more human. “Fire danger is not allowed.” His hand reached instinctively for his com. “Fire crews to…” he paused. To where? What ship was he on? Bella was here. This wasn’t the war. The war was over. “Segment decoupling will commence. All personnel should make their way to emergency exits to avoid being evacuated. Fire danger. Fire danger is not permitted.” “Kai, we need to go now,” said Bella leaning over him. Her beautiful brown eyes were shadowed and harshly lit by the flashing warning lights. “Only it would really help if you got up and used your own feet so I didn’t have to drag you.” “Yes, ma’am,” said Kai automatically, but his voice sounded strangely hoarse.

“I’m going to pull you up to sitting and then we’ll try getting all the way up,” said Bella. She was smiling and speaking in a voice that reminded him of a kindergarten teacher. That was probably a bad sign. She pulled and he groaned as he tried to comply. Everything hurt and his left side wasn’t responding properly. Getting to his feet was another challenge, but they managed it. “All right,” said Bella, wedging herself against his side with his arm over her shoulder, “we are just going to try to get out the door over there without getting shot.” “Wait, what?” asked Kai. Why was everything so fuzzy? Why couldn’t he what was going on? “Don’t worry,” said Bella, her eyes so wide that white showed around her entire iris and her face was forced into a rictus of a smile. “He hasn’t shot at us in at least two minutes. So maybe he got hit in the face with some fire retardant and died. Wouldn’t that be nice? All right, here we go.” They staggered toward the door. The time portal flashed in counterpoint to the emergency lights. The strobe effect was disorienting. Or maybe he was just confused. He looked down at Bella. She was holding up a lot of his weight. He tried to pull himself together and they picked up speed for a few more steps, but by the time they reached the doorway they were off balance and out of control. They slammed into the wall and Kai leaned there. The metal felt warm. That was a very bad sign. The ship announced the fire danger again. “Well, look how far we made it,” said Bella, taking a firm grip on his belt. “Aren’t we doing great? Just a little bit further and we can go home to Lynnwood.” He had seen a lot of people panic in the service. Everyone faced impending death in their own way. The point of training was to help people keep moving even when everything literally exploded around them. But Bella didn’t have any training. All she had was the kind of spirit that was going to smile in the face of danger and was never, ever going to stop fighting. “I love you,” he said and Bella burst out laughing. Not the response he’d been hoping for. “Kai, I love you too,” she said, still chuckling, “but can we maybe do this

another time?” “No,” said Kai, and pushed away from the wall. “I don’t want to wait anymore. Never wait. Going to say it every day.” “I like that,” said Bella. “I like that a lot.” “I hate you both so much.” Kai looked over his shoulder at Dyson Pretorius. His shirt was covered in blood and his neck sported a suture patch. Kai ed now why his side hurt. That man had tried to shoot Bella. Dyson raised his blaster. “Fire protocol twelve,” yelled Kai and pulled Bella through the doorway. The movement threw them off balance and they crashed to the floor, but behind them, a wall of fire-retardant powder came streaming down and the lab door snapped closed. Bella lay on the floor next to him giggling. “Miss Bella,” said Lynnwood’s calm voice, “this hardly seems like the time for amusement.” Kai rolled to one side and looked up at his butler and the man that represented the entirety of home to him. “Lynnwood,” said Kai, “I would like to go home now.” “Yes, Mister Kai, I imagine you would. Lieutenant, if you would be so kind as to grab his other arm.” “Kosta?” asked Kai, staring at his old First Lieutenant. “Hey, Commander,” said Kosta, smiling down at him. “You’re looking a little worse for wear, there.” “Only a little? Bella, look, it’s Kosta.” “Hi Kosta,” said Bella, climbing to her feet. “I’m Bella.” “Yes,” said Kosta, hauling Kai upright, “the Missing Heiress. I read the book.”

“I’m going to marry her,” said Kai. “Good plan,” said Kosta. “Well, it’s customary to ask first,” said Bella. “But we can do that if you want.” “We don’t have time for this,” said another voice. The lights flickered as Kosta pulled Kai upright and Kai saw with confusion that not only was Kosta and Lynnwood there but so was Detective M’bako. Then the lights went dark. “I believe the Detective is correct,” said Lynnwood, snapping open a glow pack, and attaching it to his sleeve. “It is time to go.” “Are you wearing a blast vest?” asked Kai as his butler took his other side. Kosta and Lynnwood began to walk Kai down the corridor. “Of course, he is,” said Kosta. “Not going to let him go up against Branch 6 without armor. Besides, what are you wearing—half a security droid?” Kai looked down at himself. Metal bits were strapped to him, but they were blackened and charred. He tried to why he had done that. He was pretty sure someone had been shooting at him. “Branch 6?” repeated Bella, sounding worried. “Where are Izzy and Sam?” “With Shen,” said M’bako. “At the entrance. They’re waiting for us.” Kai felt a wave of relief at hearing that Sam and Izzy were with his old Sergeant. Behind them, there was the sound of blaster fire and they heard the lab door seal pop. “Does anyone have a blaster?” asked Bella. “I would really like to shoot him.” “Don’t worry,” said M’bako. “That’s my job.” The floor lurched and the gravity shut off. Because the ring was still spinning, the force of the spin created an artificial gravity tugging away from the center of the ring. The invention of gravity spreaders had allowed for that force to be

redistributed, but as they shut down, gravity began to realign to the outside wall. “Keke!” said M’bako as she floated off the floor, but was already drifting toward the microgravity of the wall. Kosta clicked his heels and the mag-lock on his boots activated. Lynnwood’s head twitched and then he also sank to the floor. “Lieutenant, take Mr. Kai. I’ll escort the ladies.” “On it,” said Kosta and began to run, towing Kai. Kai clamped his hand onto Kosta’s sleeve, wishing that he could be more help. But the effort it took to just hang on had him feeling light-headed. Kosta’s forward movement pushed Kai into a pivot and Kai saw Lynnwood was following them. He had Bella and the Detective by the hands and looked bizarrely like he was pulling Bella and M’bako shaped balloons. “Lights ahead,” said Kosta. “Hopefully, they’re on our side.” Kai tried to consider what other side there could be, but they rounded the corner and came face to face with a trio of space-suited soldiers. The lights on their rifles were blinding. “Where is Pretorius?” demanded the lead space suit. “Fire danger,” said the ship. “Fire danger is not permitted. Segment decoupling will commence. All personnel should make their way to emergency exits to avoid being evacuated. Fire danger.” “He’s back there,” said Bella, jerking her thumb behind them. She was holding Lynnwood’s hand as if he were a dear relative. Her hair floated away from her head and Kai noticed for the first time that there was blood spatter all down the front of her shirt. “We need Pretorius!” barked the spacesuit. “Get out of our way! The ship is decoupling this segment!” yelled Kosta. Behind him, Kai could feel Kosta’s hand fumbling with his belt. He heard the small snick of sound as Kosta clipped his gun lariat to Kai’s belt. Kai let go of the big Lieutenant’s sleeve. “We need Pretorius,” the man in front of them yelled.

“You want him—you go get him!” yelled Kosta and advanced on the trio. “Stand your ground!” yelled the leader. “Miss Bella,” said Lynnwood. “I apologize for this.” He reached up and grabbed Bella by the front of her shirt and threw her down the hallway over the heads of the soldiers. “Wheeeee!” yelled Bella and Kai began to laugh. He knew what was coming next. The soldiers looked up, following Bella’s movement, as Kosta let go of Kai and charged forward, running at the men. It took skill to run in mag-lock boots. The boots wouldn’t release unless it sensed that the other boot was in a position to resume lock. It was a safety protocol meant to keep a soldier always connected. And similarly, if both boots were away from metal, the sensors would seek out the nearest metal source, but the actual magnetic pull was very weak unless the wearer was within two feet. Kosta was an experienced soldier. The trio in front of him didn’t stand a chance. He knocked them free of the decking sending them all sprawling into the air like bowling pins. They flailed as their boots tried to locate a metal source. Kosta didn’t stay to observe—he kept right on running. Kai bobbed along behind him, spinning as the lariat pulled tight on his belt. It left him in a perfect position to see the aftermath. The three soldiers might have managed to recover, but unfortunately for them, Detective M’bako had clearly aced her grav-free combat training. She leveraged off Lynnwood’s head, backflipped off the wall, and rode one of the trio down to the floor. She fired point-blank at his boots with what he hoped, for the soldier’s sake, was the low stun setting. The impact fried the boots circuitry. Then she shoved off his chest and cannoned into the second man, shoving him into the wall. He bounced off and straight into Lynnwood’s outstretched arms. The third man attempted to right himself and struggled to haul his gun back into his hand. Kosta’s attack had sent it to the length of the lariat, but M’bako was quicker. She seized the rifle, bounced off the second wall, and shoved the soldier down onto the corridor floor, where his boots activated. “Come along, gentlemen,” Lynnwood said, seizing two of the men by the back of their necks. “Your lives are in danger.” “Yeah,” said M’bako, pointing the soldier’s rifle at him. “From me. Get

moving.” Reluctantly, the soldier turned and followed after Kai and Kosta. “You have thirty seconds until complete decoupling,” said the computer. Kai saw M’bako’s soldier mouth a swear word and start to run. Kai twisted around and looked for Bella. She was at the segment doors, which were steadily closing. Sam was trying to pull her into the safety bay, but she was holding onto the doors and yelling at Sam. “Make a hole,” bellowed Kosta. Bella’s eyes went wide and she let go of the doors, surprising Sam and they both tumbled backward out of sight. Kosta took a few more long strides and then turned off his boots, launching into a long dive through the doorway. Kai tucked himself into a ball and hoped he didn’t bounce into anything. He felt Kosta hit the far wall and then there was a lot of yelling. The safety bay seemed crowded with more soldiers. Through the press of legs and bodies, he saw Lynnwood fling his soldiers through the doorway behind M’bako, before sliding through the doors himself. Kai felt his heart stop when Lynnwood seemed to get stuck, but with a rip of fabric, Lynnwood slid into the safety bay, leaving his jacket buttons on the far side. There was a boom on the other side of the doors that was immediately echoed by six more. Kai knew that was the sound of all segment s being forcefully severed and he knew what would happen next. The segment s would attempt to buffer the shock of separation and redirect it, attempting to expel the segment as far away from the Canavar as possible. Any functional computers on the segment would direct all remaining systems to vent, again attempting to leave the Canavar behind. Anyone left on board—even if the segment didn’t burn up or explode—would be faced with a rapidly dwindling air supply and no way of steering the segment. Anyone left on the wreckage would most likely be dead quite soon.

Chapter 38

Lynnwood

— Moira —

Moira stared at the enormous copper doors of the Craig estate and wondered what the hell Bella was going to do in a place like this. Paint all the ceilings probably. Vestan had wanted to come with her, but Moira had made him stay in the village. She thought that things would go better if it was just her. The front doors opened and a child came hurtling out, blond curls flying, with no pants on. “Freedom!” yelled the little boy at her before sprinting down the drive. Moira burst out laughing as a harried-looking man went chasing after him. A woman appeared in the doorway. She had the classic Earth look that everyone in Moira’s secondary school had envied – tall, broad-shouldered, beautiful tawny skin, and large brown doe-eyes. She looked like someone who knew how to handle herself and anyone else who came along. If this woman was a Craig, Bella had picked a good gene pool. “I’m sorry. My son believes that bath time is comparable to the torturing of prisoners. Can I help you with something?” The woman carried confidence in every line of her body and looked not in the least bit embarrassed that her child was running bare-cheeked down the drive. “I’m looking for Mr. Lynnwood,” said Moira and the woman’s eyebrows went

up. “Well, as soon as he returns with my recalcitrant offspring, you may speak with him, I suppose,” said the woman. Moira thought the woman’s manner had become a touch more guarded. “What is the nature of your visit?” Formality was clearly her weapon of choice. “I have a message for him,” said Moira. “A friend of his gave it to me. She couldn’t come herself.” The woman looked suspicious. “We’ve had some very unpleasant visitors lately,” she said. “Human rights protestors, is what they style themselves. They seem to have a problem with an AI trying to live his own life as he sees fit.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” said Moira. “My sister protested against the Artificial Persons Agreement. She said it got quite ugly.” The woman looked slightly mollified. “Lynnwood,” she called imperiously, as the man returned with the child under his arm, “this woman says she has a message for you. I’ll take Zhen.” “Thank you, Madame,” said Lynnwood. As in the vid message that she probably hadn’t been supposed to watch, he looked to be in middle age, with kindly brown eyes set at a pleasant angle above strong cheekbones. Currently, his dark brown hair was disheveled, but Moira thought that the neat and tidy look from the vid was more common. He looked utterly human to Moira. He handed the little boy over to the woman. The boy protested with loud wails as she took him inside. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Lynnwood. You have a message?” A wrinkle formed between his brows as he considered her. She supposed he was scanning her. Mostly he just looked perplexed. “Hello, my name is Moira Glass. And this is going to sound a bit strange, but I was told to come to you by my sister Bella Glass and Kai Craig.” “There is no Kai Craig,” said Lynnwood. “I know,” said Moira. “But there will be and he needs your help.”

An eyebrow lifted. “Your tenses appear confused.” Moira nodded. “You have no idea. Can we go somewhere and talk? I have a vid message for you.” “Who is the message from?” asked Lynnwood. “Well,” said Moira, taking a deep breath, and deciding to throw caution to the wind, “it’s from you.” Lynnwood was silent for a moment. “I think you’d better come inside,” he said.

Chapter 39

Sandwiches

— Bella —

Everyone was yelling. Or at least it seemed like everyone. The police detective and Kai’s friends had formed a wall in front of them, facing down a swarm of Branch 6 operatives who were being led by the chief yeller. Sam was attempting to help Kai, but from the furrow between his eyes, it wasn’t going well. Bella put her hand up to the wall trying to steady herself. Now that they weren’t in danger of imminently dying, she felt light-headed. Lynnwood put a steadying hand on her arm and she smiled at him gratefully. “Sam,” she said, trying to be heard above the din. “Sam, talk to me.” “The blaster damage is the least of our worries, but it’s not helping. The Adthal particle damage accelerated while you were gone. It’s holding steady now, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to reverse it.” “No,” said Bella. “No, you said… You said if I gave the information to Lynnwood that we could change things. I brought this crystal back too. It’s even bigger than the one in my head. Won’t it help? It has to.” She fumbled at her pocket, trying to extract the crystal. With shaking hands, she handed it over to Sam. “It has to,” she repeated. “Yes,” said Sam, taking the crystal. “It will help. It’s just a lot of damage. And I don’t know how to repair it. The Adthal particle isn’t well understood.”

“Ah,” said Lynnwood. “Dr. Tuomisto, I believe I am about to be relevant to the conversation.” “What?” asked Sam looking at Lynnwood. “I have a second firewall about to fail. Hm… that explains why that subroutine kept going down. How interesting.” “What’s interesting?” asked Bella. “One-hundred and thirty-five years ago Moira Glass provided me with the information from Dr. Tuomisto and the formula for a very nasty serum developed by Dr. Lee. I have been redirecting Craig resources to research it, but I have also been deleting the information from the Craig mainframe in order to maintain this timeline. A Dr. Lian Terry is on her way from Azizos and will be arriving…” he blinked rapidly. “In thirty minutes, assuming that they don’t delay docking due to our little adventure.” “It worked?” asked Sam, looking from Bella to Lynnwood and back. “Our plan actually worked?” Tears filled up his eyes and she saw that the hand holding the scanner began to shake. “I tried,” said Bella, blinking back her own tears. “I made Moira promise.” “She kept her word,” Lynnwood said. “Dalys the Redeemer,” swore Sam, and swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Gah. All right. I need to get Kai to the damn Med-Bay.” He looked up at all the soldiers and then back at Bella in confusion. She suspected that he had just now noticed the others were still in the room. “Can we get rid of them?” “Blast shielding is being raised,” said the ship, the voice cutting across the arguing. “Exterior explosion imminent.” “We need to leave this segment lock,” bellowed Kosta. “You do not have permission to exit,” growled the Branch 6 officer. “We are in charge.” “You are in charge of being an idiot,” said Izzy. “Everyone please exit to the next

segment.” “Branch 6 is holding you.” “I am Branch 6, you hapai laho,” snapped Izzy. She swiped her com bracelet and the officer’s com chimed. “Everyone out.” “Right,” said Kosta. “Shen, Lynnwood, M’bako, grab the Commander.” The next segment was the wide corridor that ran the length of the lower circle. The repeating clang of blast shielding locking into place could be heard echoing along the length of the ship. “Canavar,” commanded Izzy, facing the nearest display port. “Display exterior threat.” The display swiped into large view and Bella could see the segment that had been ejected moving away from the ship in an erratic spin. Gouts of flame popped from various points, throwing the segment continuously onto a new course. “Explosion imminent,” said the ship. Bella realized that she was holding her breath and tried to let it out again, but her chest felt tight. “Explosion estimated in three, two…” The ship went silent. “Recalculating.” The segment began to glow, then it flashed, silvery and silent, like a star dying and disappeared. “Threat no longer relevant. Lowering blast shields.” “Uh…” said M’bako. “That wasn’t quite what I expected.” “For once,” said Sam, “I’m going to agree with you.” “Someone want to tell me what the hell just happened?” demanded the Branch 6 officer. “Time travel,” said Bella. “I wonder if he’ll end up in the future or the past.”

“Either way, he’s going to be a fireball,” said Kosta. “Let’s get the Commander to Med-Bay and worry about Pretorius later.” “Yes,” agreed Lynnwood. “And then I will see about lunch for everyone. I’m afraid that past Lynnwood did not realize there would be more of you. Will sandwiches be acceptable?” “Sandwiches and explanations,” said M’bako. “I’ll second that,” said Bella tiredly. “Well,” said Izzy. “In short, Branch 6 has been protecting the timeline—the one where we win the war—for the last 140 years. Unfortunately, some people mistook protecting Pretorius for protecting the timeline. I assure you, Captain. He is no longer necessary.” “We don’t know that,” said the Branch 6 captain. “The mission was to bring him back alive.” “The mission was to ensure that his time machine was destroyed,” corrected Izzy. “And as it was on fire and about to explode when it disappeared, I think we can assume that we have. Pretorius has caused enough damage.” “It was necessary damage,” said the Captain sanctimoniously. “It was people’s lives,” snarled the detective, her usually emotionless face filled with fury. “They were unnecessary to the timeline,” said the Captain. Her blow, when it struck, was solid, faster than an eyeblink and right on the Captain’s jaw. The Captain went down, hitting the deck plating with a resounding smack of his helmet bouncing off the floor. “I’m sorry,” she said, turning to Lynnwood. “Did you say something about sandwiches?” “Yes,” said Lynnwood, tugging at the bottom of his blast vest. “And tea of course.”

Chapter 40

Ever After

— Kai —

“Lynnwood,” said Kai, staring at the message on his tablet, re-reading it for the third time, “am I sponsoring a lawsuit to get the Artificial Persons Agreement struck down?” Lynnwood was inspecting the flower arrangement in the front hall and gave a disapproving sniff before turning to Kai. He had been very stringent about all of the decorations for their engagement party. Kai was getting the impression that Lynnwood cared more about the decorations than either he or Bella did. “Ah. Yes,” said Lynnwood, “I meant to mention that earlier. You are.” “Oh,” said Kai. “When did that happen?” “Um… A hundred and thirty-five years ago after I included all the relevant legal precedents in Dr. Tuomisto’s data strip. My friends and I have been using that information to file cases since then. We believe we have whittled away at the core arguments and this is the next step. But this suit must be brought by a human, so I said you would do it. I believe you have always stated that you wished there was more you could do for me.” “I have. I do. You always said it wasn’t the time.” “It wasn’t because previously I couldn’t be allowed to where the

information was coming from without endangering you and the timeline. Now I can. So now it’s time.” “Well.” Kai tried to come up with something pertinent to say. “Great. Am I supposed to do something?” “Respond in the affirmative to the lawyer’s message,” said Lynnwood. “Right.” Kai went back to the message and tapped out a quick response. Bella came into the hall, looking gorgeous in a pair of paint-daubed coveralls, her thick black hair in a messy bun. “Lynnwood says I’m sponsoring a suit to get the Artificial Persons Agreement struck down,” said Kai. “What? Awesome! Why don’t I get to sponsor anything?” Bella demanded. “Because you’ll be doing media when the case goes before the high court. Public is very important and I think you can make our case effectively.” Lynnwood adjusted the flower arrangement again and stepped back with a satisfied nod. “Of course!” exclaimed Bella. “Fantastic!” She clapped her hands together, beaming at them. “I am so excited to be able to help right this injustice!” “Yes,” said Lynnwood. “Exactly that kind of thing.” “I’m serious!” Bella protested. “So am I,” agreed Lynnwood. “My friends are very relieved that I have such wonderful humans that can help us.” “We are the best humans,” said Kai, trying not to laugh. “Well,” said Lynnwood, with a soft cluck of his tongue, “I try to be fair-minded, but I do have to agree. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to check on dinner.” Bella turned back to Kai with a raised eyebrow. “Did he just it that he thinks we belong to him?”

“Maybe,” said Kai, chuckling. Bella’s lips pursed as she thought about it, then she shrugged. Kai grinned. Every day that he and Bella were together was the happiest day of his life. For three months, they had been hiding from the world on the estate as they sorted through the legal hoops of confirming Bella’s identity, and for three months Kai had woken up every morning, grinning like an idiot. The front door swung open and Sam entered carrying a piece of equipment. Kai had already expanded the house med-room once, but he sensed that they would have to do it again. “Me again,” huffed Sam. “Sam,” said Bella. “Do you need some help? I’ll get you some droids.” “No, I’m good,” said Sam. “Whatever it is, I’m not doing it,” said Kai, eyeing the equipment skeptically. The research Lynnwood had been funding had been spot on, but as Sam’s number one test subject the ongoing testing into the best way to use that research was starting to drive Kai a little nuts. “No, the last one was the last one, I swear. But I’ve got six different doctors waiting for protocols and I need to go into production.” “Sam, you know I’m grateful to you, but… there’s no way you can go into production at your office?” asked Kai. “In the city. Far away.” Sam laughed. “No. I need access to you and all of your cells. Also, aren’t I giving a speech at the party tonight? Practically sure I got that on my itinerary weeks ago.” “Right,” said Kai, with a sigh. “Hey, um, if Lorelei shows up…” Sam trailed off. “I’ll be in my lab,” he said and headed down the hallway, still toting his machine. Kai turned to Bella who looked like she was trying not to laugh. He was about to comment when the door opened again and Lorelei came in. She was wearing her

customary restrained detective’s suit and pinned-down hair. Her return to the force had only been certified a few weeks earlier. Kai had been more than happy to hire her onto the corporation security team, but she’d wanted to fight for her job. The town council upon realizing that there had been outside interference and that the Missing Heiress story was about to get a fresh injection of publicity and tourist interest had been happy to make it happen. “Where’s Lynnwood?” Lorelei asked without preamble. “Kitchen, I think,” said Bella. “Great. Sorry, the word’s out. You can expect paparazzi in the next two hours.” “Word is out? What word?” asked Kai. “Some Missing Heiress whack-job spotted Bella in the village. I need to coordinate with Lynnwood on security and the Mayor wants you to issue some sort of statement.” “And you couldn’t have just called?” asked Kai. “That doesn’t get me any homemade haupia now, does it?” asked Lorelei. “Well, that’s true,” agreed Bella. “Although, I believe that he made malasada’s this morning instead.” “What? Malasadas! Even better! Did Sam come in?” she asked casually. “He was heading for the Med-Bay,” said Bella. “I’m sure he could be lured out with malasadas though,” said Kai. “I was just wondering,” muttered Lorelei and disappeared toward the kitchen. Bella flashed him a silent but gleeful grin. They had both been enjoying Lorelei and Sam’s epically slow discovery that they didn’t hate each other. Sam had been extra slow on the uptake and had only recently seemed to notice Lorelei in that way. He didn’t appear to be doing anything about it, but Kai was optimistic that Lorelei might make a dent at the engagement party. Lynnwood approved of her, and Kai thought that meant she was probably a decent enough human being for Sam.

“Alice Craig is calling,” said the house, and Kai groaned. His mother’s happiness over his recovery was palpable but exceeded by her excitement over his engagement. “If I had known that getting officially engaged meant that I had to see everyone I’ve been avoiding for the last five years, I never would have done it,” he said and Bella giggled. “I’m serious. I love you, but this is turning into a nightmare where there are people at my house.” “Dr. Isabella Glass is calling,” said the house, and Bella’s giggles turned to a groan. Then they looked at each other and laughed. “Why are you avoiding Izzy?” “She said last time we talked that there was another message from Moira that was set to be released soon.” “Don’t you want to see it?” asked Kai, puzzled. “Yes,” said Bella. “But… she said this is the last one regarding our adventure, as she calls it. And I don’t want it to be the last one.” She looked up at Kai and he felt the sharp sting of guilt. “I’m sorry,” he said and she smiled, but he saw the sadness in it. “I’m going to have to face it sooner or later,” she said, with a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he said again, crossing the room to hug her. “Kai,” she said laughing, “stop saying you’re sorry.” “You left your family for me,” he said. “I hate that I’m the cause of your sadness.” “And my joy,” she said, turning her face up to him. “I miss my family, but I don’t doubt my decision. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Besides, I don’t think that you can take credit for time travel. You may be rich and powerful, but you can’t even keep a doctor and a detective from wandering into your house.”

“Lynnwood keeps giving them access!” Bella giggled and she went on tip-toe to kiss him. The front doorbell rang just as their lips touched. “This is getting ridiculous,” said Bella. “I thought everyone wasn’t supposed to arrive until later tonight.” “If it’s paparazzi I’m going to turn on the irrigation drones,” said Kai, going to the door. It swung open at his approach. “Hello,” said an awkward-looking young man who was wearing what looked like his best formal dress. He cleared his throat. “I’m… well, that is to say, I’m Bradley Whitmore-Glass. I have a delivery for uh… Well, the instructions are that I’m to deliver it to Kai Craig or Bella Glass.” “Bradley?” Bella clapped her hands and bounced over to the door. “Bradley Whitmore-Glass?” “Yes… Oh, wow.” Bradley’s expression as he looked at Bella was akin to shellshock. “You’re Vestan’s great-grandson!” “Yes,” squeaked Bradley as Bella enveloped him in a hug. “Oh, you look so much like your grandfathers! Oh, this is wonderful! Why didn’t Izzy tell me you were coming?” “She said she would call,” he said. Bella glanced guiltily at Kai. “I may have missed her call,” she said. “You have a message for me from Moira?” “Yes. Well, no,” he said and held out a box. “A package. Also, three from… well, from your father. And one from Great-Grandpa Vestan.” “Izzy said…” Tears sparkled in Bella’s eyes. “Izzy said it was the last message.” Bradley blinked. “No. There are lots. They’re all supposed to be sent on various

events, like getting engaged and married and having children. The package is the only one that was supposed to be sent on this date. Dad always said it was nonsense. But Grandpa Vestan always said Dad had no sense of adventure.” “Oh, for crying out loud,” muttered Bella. “Izzy is unclear in her exactitude!” “Possibly taking her call might have helped,” suggested Kai. “Shut it!” barked Bella. She took the box out of Bradley’s hand and brought it to the table. Ruthlessly shoving Lynnwood’s flower arrangement out of the way, she worked the ribbon off and with a deep breath opened the box. Then she burst out laughing. Kai and Bradley came closer as she lifted out a small framed sketch. “That’s been in the office safe, in that box, my entire life,” said Bradley, looking from the sketch to Kai and back. Kai looked at his own portrait, rendered in blue pen that he thought Bella had stolen from the spaceport. “I gave it to Moira,” said Bella. “I had it in my coat pocket and I tried to show you to her. I didn’t know she kept it.” Kai looked at the portrait and felt himself smile. It made him feel oddly better that Moira had taken the time to get the sketch framed and put it away for Bella. It felt like a form of approval. “I’m glad Moira and I got a chance to meet,” he said. “In one way or another.” “Me too,” said Bella, smiling at him. “This is amazing,” said Bradley. “I mean really amazing. Aunt Izzy said you’d be here, but Dad said it was nonsense because everyone knows Aunt Izzy is crazy.” “Aunt Izzy is a renowned Quantum Physicist and a spy who has been trying to maintain the free worlds for about seventy years,” said Kai. “Uh,” said Bradley. “Kai’s right,” said Bella, still looking at the portrait. “Don’t listen to your father. He probably just got the stodgy gene. It runs in the family. I’m going to fix the nose.”

“Fix the… that’s an antique heirloom. You can’t draw on it!” Bradley looked shocked, as Bella looked for a way to take the back off of the frame. “I only drew it three months ago. It’s mine. And I can do whatever I want.” “I am unprepared for this,” said Bradley. “Don’t worry,” said Bella, patting him on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it. Just wait until I show up at family holidays!” Kai laughed. The idea of Bella showing up to sedate Glass family functions was the perfect antidote to the feeling that he had separated her eternally from her family. “I don’t suppose you want to tell my dad that I should drop out of law school and go into music full time?” Bradley laughed awkwardly as if realizing that he’d said too much personal information. “Is that what you want to do?” asked Bella, seriously. “Yeah,” said Bradley, blushing. “Then go do it,” said Bella. “Life is too short and most people don’t get to time travel, so get out there and make some music! Don’t wait for the right time. It’s never coming. The right time is the time you have right now!” “You think so?” “Yes, I do. Do not wait for permission. You seize your life, follow your ion, and have adventures! Always listen to Grandpa Vestan! Unless it’s about gelatin the pool. In which case, always listen to Grandpa Brad.” Bradley looked both confused and inspired. “I’m going to do it! I’m going to tell Dad I’m doing it!” “Great! You can call him from the green room,” said Bella pointing him in the right direction. “I’m going to,” said Bradley, charging into the green room.

“What if he’s terrible at music?” asked Kai, as the green room door closed. “Then he can go back to law school,” said Bella, putting down the picture and turning back to him. “But why should he be miserable doing the safe thing? The worst that can happen is that he’ll fail and he’ll have to try something else. And frankly, after looking at my inheritance statements from Izzy, I think that I can afford to subsidize his music career for a couple of centuries without noticing. So… honestly… his father can stuff it out his ear.” “I don’t think I realized what a trouble-maker I was getting,” said Kai. “Too late to read the fine print,” said Bella, sliding her arms around his neck. “I suppose I will get used to it,” said Kai, smiling down at the girl who had saved his life. “I’m glad,” said Bella. Kai leaned down to kiss her and as their lips met, he felt the odd sensation of perfection settle over him. This was his destiny. The time of war was over. His future was now.

The End

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About the Author

Bethany Maines, a native of Tacoma WA, is the author of action adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel. OTHER WORKS BY BETHANY MAINES

Carrie Mae Mysteries Bulletproof Mascara (from Atria) Compact with the Devil (from Atria) High-Caliber Concealer Glossed Cause ing the Girls: A Carrie Mae Mini-Mystery Power of Attorney: A Carrie Mae Mini-Mystery Tales from the City of Destiny San Juan Islands Murder Mysteries An Unseen Current Against the Undertow An Unseen Current The Deveraux Legacy The Lost Heir The Second Shot

The Cinderella Secret The Hardest Hit Wild Waters Shark Santoyo Crime Series Shark’s Instinct Shark’s Bite Shark's Hunt Shark's Fin Peregrine's Flight Shark's Blood Find out more at:

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Galactic Dreams Galactic Dreams Timeline

The Beast of Arsu

Prologue

Part 1: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Part 2:

Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24

Part 3: Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32

Part 4: Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35

Part 5: Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Dear Reader FREE E-BOOK! Go to www.bluezephyrpress.com to collect a free e-story. About the Author