The Lucifer Deck by Lisa Smedman

Author:Lisa Smedman [Smedman, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, General
ISBN: 9780451453778
Google: eL0IAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0451453778
Publisher: RoC
Published: 1996-12-02T07:00:00+00:00

17

Pita picked her way through the crowd of chanting, clapping people. Hundreds of orks—perhaps even thousands—were seated in the street in front of the Metroplex Hall, refusing to move. They had come out to join the Ork Rights Committee demonstration. The thirty-story office block they sat in front of, at the corner of Fourth and Seneca, housed the city’s council chambers, as well as the offices of the governor. It was closed for the evening; the elected officials and staff had gone home an hour ago. But that didn’t stop the protesters from shouting up at its blank, tinted-glass walls.

For several weeks, the Ork Rights Committee had been trying to organize a meeting with Governor Shultz, to voice its concern over the lack of Lone Star response to the wave of recent ork-bashings by the Humanis Policlub. Earlier in the day, twelve ORC members had forced their way into the Governor’s office and staged a sit-in. They’d been dragged out by Metroplex security guards and unceremoniously dumped on the sidewalk. Now ORC had mobilized their people in protest.

Pita had learned of the protest when she’d powered up an old trideo set she found in the basement of the building where she’d holed up last night. She had to keep the sound down low, and the screen had an annoying flicker. But she’d seen enough in the news stories about the protest to send a shiver of anger through her. No wonder the governor wasn’t willing to do anything, she thought grimly, recalling the recent deaths of her chummers. The Lone Star cops themselves were doing the killing.

Although the story on the sit-in had been brief, it aired on a number of the trideo stations’ six o’clock newscasts. The most strident reports had come from the Orks First! pirates, who had interrupted he newscasts, urging Seattle’s ork population to "rise up out of the Underground and show Governor Schultz what you think about the way this city treats orks."

Pita felt compelled to join in the protest. To say something. She owed it to Chen, Shaz and Mohan—her dead chummers. She had to be there. She’d be safe enough—just another ork face in the crowd. If the goons were still looking for her, it was doubtful they’d be able to spot her. And, being human, they’d stand out like sore thumbs.

Orks of every description—and a smattering of trolls, as well—were firmly in place in front of Metroplex Hall. Even the slight drizzle of rain that had started to fall wasn’t budging them. They completely filled the street in front of the building; at the edges, car horns honked angrily. Traffic had come to a standstill. A pair of cops tried urgently to sort out the snarl of vehicles, waving their arms and blowing whistles in futile gestures.

A woman holding a megaphone stood at the front entrance to Metroplex Hall. Pita recognized her as a member of the Ork Rights Committee. The woman was dwarfed by the statues of the Indian chief Seattle and Charles C.

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