The Fifth Quadrant by C.J. Ryan

Author:C.J. Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780553902969
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2006-09-26T04:00:00+00:00

GLORIA’S FEET HURT. SHE DIDN’T LIKE HIGH-GRAVITY worlds; humans weren’t designed for them. But humans were nothing if not adaptable, and they lived on Empire planets with gravitational forces ranging from .1 G to 1.7 G. In time, evolution would sort things out, but that thought was no comfort to her as she roamed the corridors of the Convention Center on her high heels and aching feet. She had sat in, briefly, on a few of the many committee meetings, but most of the day had been spent schmoozing in the corridors, selling the delegates on the benefits and potential of the OSI.

A gaggle of media reps had trailed her, off and on, but she mainly ignored them and concentrated on buttonholing Dexta people and chatting them up. She wore a sheer-to-the-point-of-invisibility white blouse with a wide, deep neckline, a matching skirt slit to the hipbone, and a businesslike dark blue blazer. Everyone could see everything she had, but she still managed to look brisk and efficient. It was a combination she knew worked well for her and somehow symbolized the image she was trying to promote for OSI. We’re open and friendly, we have nothing to hide, and we get the job done.

Last night, she knew, had been a triumph. Jill, Althea, Elaine, Petra, and the guys had put a personal, smiling face on OSI for hundreds of Dexta delegates who would otherwise have known it only from rumor and reputation. Oh, Althea may have overdone it a bit, as usual, and Petra had been too drunk to function by the end of the evening, but overall, they had accomplished everything she had hoped for. And she hadn’t done badly herself.

And afterward…Eli Opatnu and Forty-eight! The new drug was everything it was said to be, and more. Gloria closed her eyes for a second and shivered at the memory of the fantastic sensations that had coursed through her for what seemed like hours. Spirit, that was powerful stuff! And Eli was pretty powerful stuff, too; he had more than satisfied Gloria, Elaine, and Althea in the null-room. It was a shame that Jill had declined the opportunity and Petra was too far gone to participate. They might have learned something from the experience.

Eli, Gloria realized, was her opposite number, her mirror image. He was concentrated sexual energy in a package of stunning beauty. Perhaps her reaction to him was the female equivalent of what men felt with her. She felt no desire to form a lasting relationship with him; that, she was certain, would destroy them both. Like Forty-eight, Eli Opatnu was a transcendental treat, but not something you’d want to take with breakfast every morning. But there was no reason they couldn’t continue to see each other from time to time and delight in each other’s gifts.

“Ms. VanDeen?” Gloria was roused from her reveries by a trim-looking, dark-haired woman standing in front of her.

“Yes?” she said, smiling pleasantly.

“I’m Harriet Graves, Level Eleven, Sector 24 Social Services Coordinator.”

“Pleased to meet you, Harriet.

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