A Game of Universe by Eric Nylund Read Free Book Online

and blind luck.
    Your mind was blank when you came to kill me, the psychologist said. Can you not repeat this?
    The device I used burned out, I replied, and the man who made it is probably dead. Besides, I was after you that time, not Necatane. I doubt any psychic shield will screen me from him.
    With my skills, I can hide your intentions, and make your thoughts transparent.
    This was a tricky point. When I absorbed my extra personas, I had to choose which fragments to preserve, and which to discard. There was no room in my mind for all of them intact. This made their thoughts polarized, and their recollections partial. It made the psychologist interested only in analysis, and forgetful of his past loyalties. Still, I had no guarantee how he would react in the presence of his guru.
    I’ll have to think about it, I told him. I didn’t want to say it, but it was a better idea than just sitting here and reading the database.
    Why are you wasting your time with that egghead? the gambler asked. There are places to go. Lost civilizations to sift through. Let the game begin.
    I commanded the Grail database: “Reset to novice mode. Show me the legend of Parzival, verbosity level two, then the biography of Wolfram von Eschenbach.” The disposable computer complied, and as I read the first sentence, the door chimed.
    With a flick of my eyes, I shifted the display to the hall. Standing there was the handsome dealer who saw me switch cards. A black metallic dress clung to the curves of her body, and revealed a figure that no dealer needed. She could have been a model, tall, lean, and muscular, but her face was a bit too angular, too serious. Her hair was different than when I last saw her, now curled in luxurious spirals and the color of honey. I knew her from somewhere, somewhere other than the Universe tables, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
    Take a close look, Fifty-five whispered, just above her hip.
    A slim chain and plastic souvenir four-leafed clover dangled there.
    Not that, he hissed. Underneath.
    A slight cylindrical bulge. A weapon?
    You better believe it, junior. Watch yourself.
    I couldn’t ignore her. She had seen me exchange cards—and could make trouble if she wanted to. I got up and opened the door. At least it would be entertaining to see how she intended to blackmail me.
    “Good evening,” I said and managed a warm smile.
    “Technically it is morning,” she told me. “May I come in?” She wobbled slightly in her heels.
    Walking in heels takes practice, Celeste said. She’s unskilled, but still attractive in an earthy sort of way. Why don’t we make love to her? Dally a while and enjoy yourself. Let me enjoy myself also.
    Under normal circumstances, I’d agree. We could both use the diversion, but not now. I couldn’t afford to become distracted. Not with a dozen competitors close.
    It’s unfair, Celeste said, pouting.
    I stepped aside, wary of that concealed weapon, and let her in.
    She pointed a finger at me. “Let me be straight with you, Mister Germain. I know you performed an illegal action in that last hand of Universe—with the final card. I don’t know exactly what, but you can bet the management will freeze your account while they investigate the matter.”
    She wasn’t bluffing. It was an approach I hadn’t encountered in years: honesty.
    I sealed the door behind her and said, “I never caught your name.”
    “Virginia, pilot second-class.”
    “A pilot? Why would a pilot be working the tables?”
    She crossed her arms. “Mister Germain, have you lost money at the Golden City? I mean lost more money than you had?” Her eyes darted around my opulent suite, landing on the thick hand-knotted rugs, the hammered gold trim of the furniture, and the dark Dutch landscapes adorning the walls. “No,” she said, “you probably haven’t. Well, they give you three options. They turn you over to their police so you can rot in jail, they let you work off your debt, or they make you