The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

she?”
    “You won’t,” the Cat said; she gave Tandra a brisk smile. “He’s the good
guy; he’s not going to shoot children. That’s what I do. And I’m very good at
it.”
    “Well, I wouldn’t shoot ours,” Oscar said with a cheerful tone. He rather
enjoyed the venomous expression on the Cat’s face. “What happened before I got
here?”
    “Nothing!” Martyn bellowed. “In Ozzie’s name, stop this, please. Please!
They’re just children.”
    Oscar looked straight at the Cat, unflinching. His target laser switched
off. “We’re going to share the knowledge, and then we’re both going to leave.”
    “How very weak of you,” the Cat said.
    “How very tactical,” Oscar said. “If you resist, the three of us will
turn on you. Some of us may suffer bodyloss, but ANA will have us re-lifed in
half a day. You, on the other hand, will certainly die. The information will
die with you, unused. The Accelerators will not recover Araminta, and you … Oh,
yes, what was it now? Message from Paula. She paid a visit to the ice moon
Accelerator station. There were several of you in suspension there. There
aren’t anymore.”
    The Cat gave the crying twins a pointed glance.
    “Possible end of the galaxy against two lives,” Oscar said. “No contest.
Remember, I was a serving navy officer. I’m used to this situation. Necessity
always outweighs sentiment. I blew up Hanko’s sun, which killed an entire
planet.”
    “Actually, darling, I killed Hanko, but let’s not go into that right
now.”
    “You don’t get to go into anything. You have one choice—walk away or die.
And think about this: If Living Dream or the Accelerators win, your real body
will never come out of suspension. The Earth will have been converted to pure
energy by the Void’s boundary to fuel some idiot’s daydream long before that
scheduled day comes.”
    Oscar turned his back on the Cat. And how many have
done that and lived? As she didn’t immediately open fire on him, he said
to Tandra: “Tell me about Araminta.”
    “She was here,” Martyn blurted. “That bitch. She’s the reason all this
has happened, and she came here! Here in our home.”
    “When?”
    “The night before the fight in Bodant Park,” Tandra said wearily. “She
said she was frightened of the crowd in Bodant Park and hadn’t got anywhere
else to go. We let her sleep here. On the couch.”
    “Did she tell you she was the Second Dreamer?”
    “No. I still can’t believe it. She’s just a messed-up girl.”
    “She’s a lot more than that. How did she get here?”
    “She said she walked.”
    “I never believed that,” Martyn grumbled.
    “Did you see a trike or a taxi?” Oscar asked him.
    “No, but it’s a long way to walk from Bodant Park. And she lied about
everything else.”
    “Okay, and when she left?”
    “She walked,” Tandra said. “I saw her go. There was no trike or anything.
She was all alone.”
    “Where was she going?”
    “She didn’t say.” Tandra hesitated. “I thought it might be a man. She
used my makeup, took a long time. She looked great when she left.”
    “Ah,” Beckia said. “Did she look like herself?”
    “Not really; she changed a lot. Her hair was real dark. Her own color is
better for her.”
    “Clever.”
    “Okay, then.” Oscar looked back at the Cat. “You got anything else to
ask?”
    “Who’s she screwing?” the Cat asked.
    “I don’t know,” Tandra said. “I hadn’t seen her for ages. It was a
surprise when she came here.”
    “So you’re her best friend? The one she turns to in a crisis?”
    Tandra shrugged. “I guess.”
    “I’ve heard enough.” The Cat released the twins and stood in one swift
motion. Oscar blinked. She really had moved fast .
    Must be running accelerants , he thought.
    Tandra and Martyn rushed for their children.
    The Cat gave Oscar a wicked grin. “Be seeing you.”
    “I’ll tell the grandkids you’re coming. There’s lots of them. It’s been a
thousand years,