Soothsayer by Mike Resnick

Author:Mike Resnick [Resnick, Mike]
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Science fiction, Adventure, General, Fiction, Fiction - Science Fiction, Science Fiction - Adventure, Life on other planets, American Science Fiction And Fantasy, Girls, Women prophets
ISBN: 9781932100518
Publisher: BenBella Books
Published: 2010-01-21T15:47:56+00:00

“Actually, I dislike the word ‘pirate’ and its connotations,” said the Yankee Clipper, leaning back in his chair and sipping an Altairian brandy. “I consider myself to be a simple, hard-working businessman.”

The Mouse and Penelope were sitting in a luxurious lounge aboard the pirate ship. There were tables, chairs, couches, picture frames, all of shining, polished chrome. The carpeting—the first the Mouse had ever seen on a ship—was formal and muted in color. The bulkheads were covered with paintings and holographs—both naturalistic and abstract—from a hundred worlds, and all about the lounge were objets d'art, each plundered from a different planet.

“Simple businessmen don't own spacecraft like this,” answered the Mouse. “This room alone is larger than most ships I've been on.”

“I've been very fortunate,” replied the Yankee Clipper. “And of course, I've been quite aggressive in my pursuit of financial security.” He uttered a brief command to his computer, and suddenly the room was filled with the sound of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

“Well, I'll give you this much,” said the Mouse; “you're not at all like any other pirate I've known.”

He smiled. “I take that as a compliment.” The Yankee Clipper withdrew a large cigar from a pocket, held it lovingly in his hand for a moment, and finally lit it. “Excellent!” he said. “Anyone who doubts the wisdom of subjugating alien races need only smoke a single Antarrean cigar and he'll become an instant convert to the somewhat hazy principles upon which our beloved Democracy was founded.”

“A Democracy that you loot and plunder,” noted the Mouse.

“Well, I do have my disagreements with them,” he replied easily, “but I'm glad to say that we do see eye-to-eye on the subject of fine tobaccos.” He paused. “Would you believe that I used to work for them?”

“Them?” repeated the Mouse. “You mean the Antarrean tobacco farms?”

He chuckled. “No—the Democracy. I spent more than a decade as a part of its bureaucracy.”

“In the Navy?”

“Why should you think so?”

“Well, you do command a ship,” answered the Mouse.

“Anyone can command this ship,” he replied. “You just activate the Captain's computer and say, ‘Go here’ or ‘Go there’ or ‘Destroy such-and-such a vessel.’ One hardly needs any training to be a ship's captain.” He paused and smiled again. “I prefer to own the entire fleet, and let my subordinates worry about how to get it from one point to another.”

“What kind of job prepared you for that?” asked the Mouse.

“None,” answered the Yankee Clipper, noticing that his cigar had gone out and relighting it. “Actually, I was a tax collector. I worked my way up through the ranks until I was in charge of the entire Taxation Bureau on Nilander IV. Then I decided that I'd much rather be an entrepreneur than a wage slave, so I appropriated a few million credits and began contemplating various new enterprises.” He took a sip of his brandy, then turned to Penelope, who had been sitting perfectly still. “I'm sure we must be boring you. You're at liberty to inspect the entire ship, as long as you ask permission before touching anything.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.