Forbidden the Stars by Valmore Daniels Read Free Book Online Page B

waiting for him in the booth, the replicator pre-programmed with the differing personal preferences of each of the three inhabitants. Alex liked chopped celery and onion with no extra mayonnaise, but his parents preferred lettuce as their only addition. He sat down and ate quickly, his mind not on the food, but on the problem of the log matrix.
    If he wrote a sub-program slaved to the file named “Alex’s Daily Activities and Progress Chart,” then whenever his mother or father tapped in an inquiry on him, the dummy file would come up on screen over top of the legitimate file. He could then doctor the dummy file in any manner he so chose.
    The problem with that was—
    The TAHU alert klaxon sounded, making Alex jump in the booth.
     Hucs reported.
    Without delay, Alex tapped the 2D min-monitor in the booth, signaling his parents.
    “Mom! Dad!” he yelled, but the monitor showed nothing but white static.
    “Look out! I think it’s an asteroid!”
    
    Leaping out of the booth, Alex raced for his cubicle. The emergency drills his parents had forced him to repeat to no end came to him like second nature.
    Jumping into the security receptacle, he closed his eyes as the restraints locked around him, securing him from hitting any walls when whatever it was outside hit him.
    He had the briefest of moments to speculate what was coming at him. His first though had been an asteroid, but that would not be traveling so fast. A solar flare? Unlikely, at this distance.
    Sweat leaped from his forehead as panic set in.
    
    His parents were outside, unprotected.
    <…second…>
    Unable to control himself, he screamed.
    <…until…>
     

__________
     
    St. Lawrence Charity Hall :
    Ottawa :
    Canada Corp.:
     
    As Michael Sanderson and Alliras Rainier began their first round of maneuvering tactics to corner Ian Pocatello into granting them an extra billion dollars in funding, a servochine interposed itself between the two.
    The Al had been designed in the shape of a humanoid, but instead of legs, it used six rubber wheels to glide across surfaces. The wheels were attached to a rectangular box that could be customized as a refrigeration unit, a file cabinet, a tool chest, or any other kind of container required by the servochine’s programmed capacity. As a waiter, the servochine’s compartment was used to carry bottles of alcohol and spirits.
    To Michael’s slight surprise, the servochine was holding a silver tray on top of which was a white plastic envelope addressed to him.
    “How quaint,” the Minister of Finance commented. “A couriered message. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the receiving end of one of those, little say sending one.”
    Running interference, Alliras replied, “Don’t know why we ever stopped. Couriers and fax machines were wonderful. Now, we send everything over the EarthMesh. Quite frankly, I’m not comfortable with all the techno hackers in the world having access to the digitally transmitted love letters I send to my wife from work.” Both Ian and Stall chuckled appreciatively.
    Glancing at the servochine’s CPU mount as if the AI would explain its presence, Michael took the envelope, opened it and, muttering a quick “Excuse me” to the three gentlemen looking on with interest, read the lased memo on the plastic slip he found within.
    *
Michael, I’m sorry to have to send this message to you considering your current circumstances, but an emergency has arisen that demands your immediate attention.
     
There has been a catastrophe that could undermine the entire program. The media is not yet aware of the incident, but it is only a matter of time. We