A Wilderness of Mirrors by R. J. Johnson

Author:R. J. Johnson [Johnson, R. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RJ Johnson Publishing
Published: 2019-02-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Hotel California

Meade didn’t tell Emeline his suspicions about their real mission while flying to their hotel in the translucent vehicle that zipped through the Venusian city for two good reasons.

For one, he was too busy trying not to throw up.

The “bubble-car” (as residents on Venus referred to the vehicles), were small, but roomy vessels that floated through San Angeles taking residents to their destinations. Hundreds of the translucent vessels were on the flyway as the bubble-car they had hired brought them to the expensive hotel where the professor had reserved two rooms for them.

The second reason he hadn’t told Emeline about his suspicions was that he didn’t really have anything other than a gut feeling at this point. And those had been known to be wrong on occasion.

Meade stuffed himself in the rear of the vehicle, putting as much distance between him and Emeline as physically possible. He knew he would feel a lot better once they were separated by a wall and there was no chance of him accidentally unleashing the powerful nanites designed to kill her.

“You all right back there?” she called back to him from the front. Emeline was busy admiring the view they were afforded by the clear hull of the vehicle that separated them from the elements. Clouds, thousands of meters high, swirled all around them in different shades of green, yellow, and blue as the sky painted a brilliant scene.

“Feelin’ a little airsick,” he said weakly. Truth was, as much as he hated space travel, he never thought it was possible there might be anything worse. The clear laminate that surrounded them was meant to give riders a thrilling view as they traveled across the city, but his stomach seemed to miss the point.

Emeline on the other hand, was peering out the windows, admiring the view with her usual lust for life. “You’re missing the show.”

“I’m fine back here,” he replied. He swallowed, trying to remain focused on the horizon. That helped him feel marginally better, but not by much.

“You’re such a wuss,” she said, throwing him a look of disapproval. He didn’t care. He was long past that.

“Yeah, well…” he trailed off. He was finding it difficult to come up with a decent retort. “Next time we have some time to ourselves, I’ll take you to the Martian zoo and we’ll check out the snake experience. How’s that sound?”

She frowned. “That’s not funny Meade.”

Emeline was deathly afraid of snakes, spiders, and all sorts of other creepy crawlies from the Homeworld. That didn’t keep him from threatening the occasional date at the Martian Zoo when he needed a trump card.

“Will you let me die in peace back here? I promise I won’t drag you within a klick of a snake,” he said, holding his stomach. “Please tell me we’re almost to the hotel.”

Emeline checked her armbar which displayed their route. “Two minutes.”

“Thank God,” he said, closing his eyes. Two minutes sounded like a manageable amount of time to keep himself from vomiting.

By the

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