Free Seeds of Earth by Michael Cobley Page A

temperament and thus this assignment at risk?'
    Harry assumed a look of mock surprise.
    'What a hurtful interpretation of my genuine concern. I merely suggest that leaving the damned thing here would help your peace of mind.' He paused, face becoming more serious. 'Robert, I think that you're hurting yourself by taking it with you.'
    Robert sighed. 'I appreciate the concern, Harry, truly. But you worry too much. Unlike Giselle, I have come to terms with Rosa's death and I know that this simulation is not her but a made thing. Not a living, breathing person that I can touch.'
    Harry gave him a considering look for a moment. 'Tell me - is that how you see me, as a made thing?'
    'Well, yes. Made by experience and thought and accident, and by friendship!' Robert smiled. 'Whereas Giselle's device is a frozen vision, an exhibit that cannot learn or change. Satisfied?'
    'Yes - my crippled self-esteem has been suitably band ■ aged.' Harry gestured towards the two fastened valises 'Are you finished, because the people of Darien and their representatives await you, not to mention all those watching back home, in the Glow and elsewhere.'
    Robert gave a groan. The Glow was the Solar System's virtual reality, where celebrity and excess reigned supreme. 'So the Office of Defence finally gave in to the media combines, did they?'
    'Which means that we shall shortly be going live on Starstream,' Harry said with a wild grin. 'Since they were the only ones who would meet the OOD's asking price.'
    'Starstream,' Robert said, activating the suspensors on his luggage. 'I can scarcely express my joy. Let's go.'
     

COLONISTS
     
    West of Hammergard, across the two-mile width of Loch Morwen, a cluster of low buildings and two narrow towers sat on a headland overlooking the waters. Fenced off and patrolled, this was the main operational base for the Ranger division of the Darien Volunteer Corps. At that moment, almost six hours after the president's address to the colony, 185 of the division's 200 combat personnel were crammed into the base's small rec room, craning necks for a look at the sole v-screen.
    'C'mon, get yer head down in front there!'
    'Gonna no dae that?'
    'Whit?'
    'Shoutin' in my ear, ye howler!'
    Donny Barbour grinned, listening to this and many other exchanges from the bench he had snagged at the front early on. At the moment, though, there was not much to see, just a pair of aycasters from Vizione, the main Darien channel, discussing background info that had already been well chewed over by the tabs and various radio pundits all day. Behind the sharp-dressed duo - Maggie and Lev - was a view of Port Gagarin's longest landing strip, seen from the main terminal. But when the shuttlecraft landed, Vizione would hand over to an Earthsphere media channel called Starstream, who had sent a coverage team on board the Heracles.
    Now Maggie and Lev were offering their own tepid speculation on what the future would hold for Darien, based on the near-content-free summary documents released by the president's office that morning. Donny almost laughed out loud, recalling what he'd heard from Sundstrom's own lips the night before.
    If only you knew the truth.
    The two aycasters halted their feeble guesswork, announcing the approach of the shuttle before makim the verbal handover to Starstream and their solo com mentator, Lee Shan.
    LEE SHAN: This is Lee Shan welcoming all our viewers and immersers across Earthsphere and beyond on this momentous day in the history of Humankind. I am speaking to you from the shuttlecraft Achilles as it descends through banks of cloud towards Darien Colony's largest landing zone, Port Gagarin, named, of course, after the Soviet-era astro-pioneer.
     
    Video (low functionality) The shuttlecraft Achilles appears in the western sky, a distant speck that grows into a slender dart as it swoops down over the northern coast. Its flightpath then curves our over the sea before making the approach to Port Gagarin. The vessel's