The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Author:Samit Basu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Zohra looks at her children, and manages a crooked smile.

“Did you imagine that your first day of freedom would involve checking to see if you needed to save the world immediately?” Lina asks.

“I’ve imagined today often,” Zohra says. “I thought I would ask you to take me on a city tour, or we could just go eat somewhere nice, Chiraz by the river or something like that. Maybe go shopping? I don’t know. Maybe find some unlucky person and go on a date.”

Lina jumps to her feet and stretches. Bador’s eyes light up, and he darts to her side.

“Let’s do all of those things right now,” Lina says. “Or stay in, whatever you want. But something fun. We should do some rich-person nonsense.”

She holds out her hand, and pulls Zohra out of her chair.

“I don’t know if I could even pretend to have a normal life again,” Zohra says. “If we went out somewhere, I think I’d feel like an alien.”

“You know what, now I know who you should date. Bador, why don’t we introduce Ma to Space Adventurer Tanai?”

“Absolutely not,” Bador says. “Anyway, he’s married, and he could be thousands of years old.”

“But let’s meet him anyway. I need to thank him for saving my life, and tell him I spent a lot of my teen years writing absolutely filthy fanfic about him.”

“He can’t mess with our world, and I can see why,” Bador says. “He won’t help you take over Shantiport, if that’s what you’re planning.”

“Are you hoarding the space hero, Bador?”

“Yes, you keep your hands off him.”

Lina has more suggestions, but perhaps fortunately we never learn them, because the jinn reappears.

“Your wish has been executed,” he says.

“So quickly?” Zohra asks. “Are you sure?”

“I could tell you my findings after a period you deem suitable,” the jinn says. “They will not change.”

“So huffy,” Bador says.

“Tell us now,” Zohra says.

“There are no external plans in place at the moment to harm your planet,” the jinn says. “There are trade and travel restrictions in place, at the request of your planet’s oligarchs, to protect industries here and regulate communication and transport to the trade-clan cartels they deal with. The trade clans and nonhuman species operating in this sector have no particular intentions or interests regarding your world. A lot of smuggling and piracy have been reported, but no action has been taken, perhaps because they are not significant at a sectoral level. To summarize, there is no known plan for the end of your world. Your planet’s admin has been on leave for the last two of your centuries, and all requests pending to destroy or invade your planet would have been on hold in any case. But none have even been made.”

“Well, that’s good,” Lina says. “So then who started the rumor on this planet about its impending destruction?”

“I can find out, but doing so would require my current user’s third and final wish.”

“There’s no need for that,” Zohra says. “It doesn’t really matter who started the rumor.”

“It’s the oligarchs and the clans, isn’t it?” Lina asks.

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