Liberty's Daughter by Naomi Kritzer

Author:Naomi Kritzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Sea Stories
Publisher: Fairwood Press
Published: 2023-11-21T05:00:00+00:00

Miguel’s funeral was held the next day.

I knew what Debbie was thinking: getting Stead Life to cover the funeral would be good for the movement and would build sympathy for the people doing the slowdown, but it would also provide them with human shields. Uncle Paul or my father or whoever it was that was behind the man I heard hiring the Scoundrels—they might have been able to get away with sinking a sea platform full of bond-workers, but killing journalists guarantees that their friends will make you look as bad as possible in the stories that run afterward.

I liked that idea, but I thought they could do with a few more human shields. I had Thor pass the word to Shara and the rest of our classmates; I told Geneva about the funeral when I met her to withdraw more money; I told Jamie at Miscellenry. Father Tim had been sympathetic, so I stopped in at the Baptist Mission Outreach Center, the Mormon Mission, and the Russian Orthodox church over on Pete. The Mormons were not initially sympathetic—I think they were annoyed about the slowdown—but when I told them about overhearing threats of violence they said they’d come.

I went to the funeral an hour early and saved Thor a seat. No one stopped me entering. Once I was in the church, I borrowed a phone and called my father.

“Hello, Beck,” he said when he picked up.

I looked over my shoulder. “How did you know it was me?”

He sighed heavily. “You’re the only person who has my private number. Besides, you’re coming in from the Methodist church’s data node. I’m not surprised you decided to go to the funeral.”

“Well, I was calling to let you know I’m here,” I said. “I know the ADs were going to do something horrible to the funeral the first time around, and the Cut-Rate Bastards were supposed to keep any minors from getting in. I’m here, Thor’s coming, and so are most of the other teenagers. All the religious leaders are coming, including the Baptists and the Russians. Stead Life is coming. If anything goes down, it’s not just bond-workers who will die.”

There was a pause. Then he said, “You know, I was expecting you to bring up a more personal issue first.”

My cheeks warmed. “Mom,” I said. “I saw her on TV.”

“Yes. ‘Mom.’ I suppose it won’t do much good to give you my side of the story at this point, but she was trying to keep you from me, she was telling you lies about me, and it was clear that it was her or me—we could never both be your parents.”

I didn’t really want to argue about this. Not here, not on the phone. So I sat there silently, waiting to see if he had anything else to say.

“Come home, Beck,” he said. “Please? You don’t . . . I don’t want you to feel like you have to go to her. To give up the sea, the stead, your life here.

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