Read Online Random Chance and the Paradise that is Earth by Shawn Michel de Montaigne - Free Book Online

Random, stopping and shaking
his head thoughtfully. “Cubey’s a conscious being now. He’s got
free will. So does Hewey. If either wanted to ‘go bad,’ they very
well could. But I don’t think they will.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Because,” said Random, smiling
in self-satisfaction, “ I gave them the gift of consciousness, and I’m not bad—am
I?”
    “You mean there’s some vein of goodness that
you gave them, one they won’t discard in order to wipe out
humanity? Pretty flimsy, Probability. Especially with Cubey.”
    Random looked up. “Are you hearing this,
Cubey?”
    “Yes, Random Chance.”
    “And? What are your thoughts?”
    “Processing.”
    Random heard the familiar beep in his ear
telling him Cubey would probably be gone for a while.
    Mia watched, concern lining her face.
    He gazed ominously at her, then said, “He
said he’s thought about our conversation and is going to start
extermination procedures immediately.”
    The horror on Mia’s face didn’t last long.
It morphed into anger when Random started laughing.
    “That isn’t funny!” she yelled, and punched
his arm.
    ~~*~~
    The supplier was a short and grizzled
retired miner who only grunted when they introduced themselves.
“This way,” he said without smiling. They followed him.
    His name was Pirate. Random didn’t ask if
that was his real name. In a back room he stopped, wheeled
about.
    “What did you say you wanted this hardware
for?”
    “I didn’t,” said Random.
    “How do I know you’re legit?”
    “You mean, how do you know I’m not
Garky?”
    “Or Earth,” shot back the man. “Both monitor
the goods leavin’ this rock. So…?”
    He waited, arms crossed. Random thought that
the frown on his face was permanent, and took it that way. Mia
shuffled uncomfortably next to him.
    “You don’t,” answered Random. “And nothin’ I
tell you will sway you. So do you have what we’re looking for, or
don’t you? I’ll be happy to take my business somewhere else.”
    Pirate’s frown deepened. He looked Mia up
and down, then came back to him. He nodded. “Back here.”
    They followed him through another room to
its back wall. Pirate held up, then closed his eyes. A moment later
the wall, which was nothing more than a very convincing holographic
projection, dissolved, revealing the much older, real one behind
it. Pirate grasped the circular handle of a large circular hatch
and grunted as he pulled. The hatch opened with a deep, rusty
groan. The hole through it was almost as thick as Random was tall.
They stepped through as ancient lights flickered on. Random and Mia
looked around.
    “This is the place, amigo,” said Hewey.
“You’re lookin’ for a Model 24x/6f-4d console. It’ll be black or
gray and deceptively small. There’ll be a Garky symbol near the key
ID on the bottom right-hand side. You can’t miss it. Pan around a
little. Give me a look.”
    Random looked slowly around as Pirate
waited. Random ignored him. This crusty rock fart was probably in a
good mood.
    “Left,” said Hewey. “Back wall, second shelf
up, just right of center. See it?”
    Random walked toward the console he thought
Hewey had spotted. Mia followed, the shopowner close behind.
    The console was oblong, smooth, and
shiny-black, with a large, clear circular systems interface
window.
    Random picked it up, turned it over. The
device was two-thirds of a meter long and very light.
    “Keep your focus on that key ID, amigo,
lower right,” said Hewey. “Let me cross-ref it, make sure it isn’t
fake or tagged by Garkies.”
    Random tried not to nod. He focused on the
symbol under the key ID: a series of thin trapezoids making up a
triangle, at the top of which was a glowing eye. The Oligarchy.
    “Looks clean,” announced Hewey.
    “It’s good,” said Random to the
shopowner.
    “The key ID matches a console stolen a year
ago from shipyards on Ganymede,” said Hewey. “It probably explains
our luck finding it here, relatively close