Conquistador by S. M. Stirling

Author:S. M. Stirling
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781435290143
Publisher: Paw Prints
Published: 2008-05-28T23:00:00+00:00

“I’m definitely going to be less conspicuous without Tom along,” Roy Tully said to himself as he finished washing the breakfast dishes. “I love the big guy like a brother, but . . .”

What had Anna Russell said about Siegfried, the hero of the Ring Cycle? He murmured it, trying to match Russell’s upper-class British drawl: “He’s very young, and he’s very tall, and he’s very strong, and he’s very handsome, and he’s very stupid.”

That was unjust; he knew his partner had plenty upstairs. He was just very . . .

Straightforward, that’s it, Tully thought. Straightforward. And he certainly stands out in a crowd.

Before he left he spent some time with Adrienne’s computer; she had it set up in the living room, which gave him a lovely view of the morning fog and then the town as he sat sipping coffee and tapping his way through some public files, sampling a few chat rooms and getting a feel for how to shift data around. He had to admit Nostradamus was organized with systematic clarity: research, TV, e-mail, auctions, catalog buying, music and everything else in one neat package. It still felt odd, compared to surfing the Net: as if you’d moved from Castle Gormenghast to a utility apartment—no matter how tidy and well laid out it was, you were still going to be disappointed at the lack of crannies and dungeons and attics full of junk and sheer size. After half an hour or so he printed up some maps, stuck them into the pocket of his jeans, fastened the holster of the Glock to the small of his back under a light jacket—it was yellow, with green suede elbow patches; he was very fond of it and glad Adrienne’s cleanup squad had brought it along—then went outside. The East Bay wasn’t as chilly in summertime as San Francisco, but a jacket wouldn’t be completely out of place.

“Time to soak up some atmosphere,” he said to himself, and patted the gun for reassurance.

Not that he anticipated any firefights; but the weapon itself was a sign he had the trust of some powerful people here in this miniature pirate kingdom. Everything in miniature except the planet, he thought. Well, that ought to make things easier. There couldn’t be more than a few dozen decision-making individuals involved in whatever machinations were going on. Have to watch my step, though, he reminded himself. Remember that these people aren’t mine, even though they speak the same language and wear the same clothes.

He left the Segway in its rack; a town of thirty thousand couldn’t be too hard to see on foot, and you got a better grip on a place that way. It was a little eerie though, looking out and seeing nothing of the ten-million-strong megalopolis he remembered. He had to keep reminding himself that he was living this, not watching it on a screen.

Adrienne’s flat was on a low foothill rise; the ground grew steeper and trackless directly behind it. He turned northward, along a broad avenue that ran along the inner edge of the flatlands.

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