Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez

Author:A. Lee Martinez [Martinez, A. Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780316191784
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2012-03-05T08:00:00+00:00

13

The next stop on our Lunan tour was the address I’d deciphered. It belonged to a suite on the fourteenth story of an office building in the business district. There weren’t many tourists here. Just Lunans and Terrans going about their daily lives. The streets were busy, but the advantage of being former Warlord was I never had to worry about parking.

The security team was already waiting for us. Three Terrans, four Lunans, and a Saturnite decked out in combat gear. They saluted. Everyone except the Saturnite.

“This is the finest team on Luna, sir,” said Blug.

The Saturnite and I locked stares. “What’s your name, Officer?”

“Gorvud,” he replied curtly.

“An exemplary record,” said Blug.

He saluted her. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Per your orders, the building has been evacuated and the block secured.”

“Very good. I will be going in first. If there’s a problem, I’ll signal you.”

“As you wish,” said Blug.

Zala, Kreegah, Snarg, and I entered the lobby of the building.

“A Saturnite on your own security team,” said Zala. “I sometimes wonder if you don’t have a death wish, Emperor.”

“He has to work, doesn’t he?”

We rode the elevator to the fourteenth floor. The office we were interested in had been rented last week, but records indicated it hadn’t been used. The door didn’t even have a stenciled name on it.

It was unfurnished except for a small table with a four-by-four cube, wrapped in a featureless chassis, sitting on it.

“What is that?” she asked.

“The next clue,” I replied. “No doubt left for me to find.”

A cursory examination of the cube revealed no obvious way to open it.

“Could you use that prized Venusian steel of yours?” I asked.

She balked. “It would be undignified to use the sacred steel as a glorified can opener.”

“I can open it.” Kreegah took it in his hands.

“Wait,” said Zala. “How can you be certain it’s not some kind of explosive?”

“I can’t, but it would be a needlessly complicated method of assassination.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

“An intriguing hypothesis.”

She grabbed the box, but Kreegah held on to it. They both clutched it.

“Emperor, if you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn’t be despised by every civilization but one in the system.”

“You make a valid point, Zala. And it’s possible that this box is a trap. In fact, I assume it is. But I’d be surprised if it turned out to be something as uninspired as a bomb.”

“Why touch it at all?”

I squinted. “I’m afraid I don’t understand the question.”

“You don’t have to poke and prod it,” she said. “You can just leave it alone.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because a bomb in a box would be the perfect weapon to use against you.”

“But it’s so dull,” I said.

“Yes. It’s dull and pedestrian and simplistic. But it works. Most beings in the system would simply elect to shoot and stab their enemies. It’s not technically impressive, but it gets the job done. And it would exploit your biggest weakness: your curiosity. Anything complicated you would figure out almost immediately. But something simple like this is a trap you can’t resist.

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