The military preparations were going well - perhaps too well, unless her uncle made some progress pretty soon. She, along with Kairo and Cummings, could hold the coalition together for a while, but they wouldn't wait forever.Something appeared up ahead. Sophie struggled to see what it was. A table? Someone sitting where the ocean met the beach? What in the world?Curious, the executive continued her stroll. As the distance closed, Sophie confirmed her initial impression and saw that a man sat with his back to her. He stood and turned. It was first time she had seen Marco in civilian clothes. He wore a short sleeved black shirt, white trousers, and no shoes. He smiled and offered a flourish. The table was covered with crisp linen, gleaming silver, and some of the hotel's best dinnerware. Coolers were stacked in the background. "Good evening, ma'am. Your table awaits. We have cold shrimps, a crisp garden salad, and a nice white wine. Madam approves?"Sophie laughed. "W

The Dodvalian knew that the question was a matter of form and shook his head. "No, but thank you for asking. May I be blunt?" "Please", Doug Douglas replied fervently. "You can't imagine how good that sounds. Tell me something - anything - so long at its true". No wonder it was this human who beat us, Xian Karrh thought to himself. He thinks as we do. "It shall be as you suggest", the Dodvalian said out loud. "A cabal consisting of certain humans, the Clone Hegemony, and the Midvalians are working to weaken the Confederacy, circumvent its powers, and confiscate worlds under its protection. Earth was first... others will follow. Some belong to the Dodvalian people".Doug Douglas sat bolt upright. "Can you prove that?" "Yes", the Dodvalian said grimly. "I certainly can". It took the better part of two hours to review the data that the Dodvalian had intercepted and decide what to do with it. When Xian Karrh left, Do

The chamber was packed to overflowing with politicians, all happy to vote on something popular, all primping, preening and posing for the various cameras, eager to show constituents how effective they were.He was originally slated to speak following eighteen of his more senior colleagues, but Stanley Ishimoto-Six suddenly found himself in slot number three, right after the representative from Byron. Vaano had influence, a lot of it, and knew how to use it.Though known for his long and often convoluted oratory, the first speaker seemed unusually brief, as was the senator from Byron. He participated via holo and extolled the virtues of low taxes, low unemployment, and low tariffs for manufactured goods. Especially his.That's when Six heard his name, managed the walk to the podium, and looked out onto an ocean of snouts, tentacles, and a considerable number of optical organs - two of which were black and belonged to Senator Vaano. Ishimoto-Seven, along with Sandral Usmos, s

A front moved in off the pacific, and rain fell on the city of Los Angeles. Not just a sprinkle or two, but a torrential downpour that flooded dry river beds, triggered mud slides, and boiled toward the sea.Water thundered along the top of the bus, streamed down the windows, and turned the streets to black glass. Brakes screeched as the autobus came to a halt.The other passengers didn't even look as Mary stood and headed for the door. It hissed open. She descended the steps, tucked the purse under her coat, and dashed for home. It was half a block to her apartment, a ground level unit with a door on the street. The palm plate felt cold. The eternally vigilant household computer unlocked the door, activated the lights, and waited for her to ask the question. "Message?""You have two messages", the computer intoned. "One from your mother, and one from an anonymous caller"."Caller ID?""Blocked"."Play number two", Mary said, as she draped her coat on a

Something, Huvy wasn't sure what, was definitely wrong. But before he could turn the car around, a heavily visored military police man waved the educator over and motioned him out of the car. That was when the nightmare began.The militiaman, a human in this case, examined Huvy's ID, checked his name off a list, and led him onto the school's grounds. A group of smooth faced robots stepped out of the way, and that's when the principal saw the fifty foot lengths of chain, the small ankle bracelets, and realized who they had been made for. The military policeman gestured to the shackles. The tone was casual, as if a matter of routine curiosity. "How many children can we actually expect? About five hundred or so?"Huvy started to answer, thought better of it, and closed his mouth.That's when the military policeman stepped in close, grabbed the front of the educator's shirt, and jerked the smaller man up onto his toes. "Listen, you little shit... which would you prefer? To answ