Free The Tau Ceti Transmutation (Amazon) by Alex P. Berg Page A

specifics.”
    “And, believe it or not, I was trying to avoid them,” I said.
    “Huh? Why? Are you involved in something lurid?” The professor leaned forward. “Don’t tell me there’s a sex scandal going on in the department. Not that I’d be that surprised. I’ve seen the way Professor Doyle looks at some of his grad students.”
    I shook my head. “Nothing like that. I was avoiding specifics because I have so few of them.”
    Fran leaned back. “Explain.”
    “Well, our case is a little… unorthodox,” I said.
    “Which is putting it mildly,” said Carl. “Our client hired us to investigate a trespassing that occurred at her apartment, but nothing was taken. Instead, the intruder left behind a clue, ostensibly to help us find him or her.”
    “It was a token for an antique gaming cabinet,” I said. “One that led us to an arcade in the spaceport owned by a Tak named Keelok. Once there, we found another clue leading to a Veesnu church operated by a couple of pair-bonded Diraxi, except the church also served waffles, if you can believe it. And the waffles were good. Darn good. But that’s not what we were after. We were looking for a sock, and we found it in their lost and found. That led us here.”
    “A sock led you here?” Fran asked, her brows furrowed.
    “Well, not precisely. One of your promo slips was inside.” I pointed to a desktop slip holder, full of slim, plastic rectangles with the Cetie U logo emblazoned upon them, which faced me from the corner of the professor’s workspace. Other than a holoprojector base which looked as if it could be used for displaying anything from vacation stills to brain cross-sections, it was the only thing on her desk.
    “One of my slips was in a sock?” Fran glanced at the holder. “You’re not just making this up are you?”
    “I told you it was complicated,” I said.
    Fran rubbed her thumb and forefinger across the edges of her thin, pink lips. “You know, I’d be happy to help you, detectives, but I’m struggling to see how I fit in here.”
    “You’re not the only one,” I said. “Trust me, I know how this sounds, but unfortunately I’ve told you pretty much everything we have to go on. You’re telling me there’s nothing about my story that sounds familiar to you?”
    “Gaming tokens? Waffles? Socks containing clues? No, none of that is at all familiar,” said Fran. “However, I suppose it is rather interesting you found my slip at a Veesnu church. I’m a professor of exoneurobiology, and my area of expertise is in Diraxi brain function.”
    “So?” I asked. “Veesnu is a Diraxi religion, but what does that have to do with your research?”
    “More than you’d think,” said Fran. “Through we call Veesnu a religion, it’s more of a cross between a theology and a science. There’s a lot of principles in it that have their basis in the fundamentals of Diraxi brain function.”
    “I sense an explanation is heading my way,” I said. “I should warn you, I never went to college, so I’m not particularly adept at sciencey stuff.”
    “It’s worse than that,” said Carl. “He also spent a number of years taking kicks to the head for a living.”
    I glanced at my fair-haired partner. “Maybe that firmware update of yours really is messing with your circuits. That felt particularly snarky.”
    “It’s a statement of fact,” said Carl. “The intent was to inform Professor Castaneva of your learning handicap.”
    I raised an eyebrow.
    “You’ve been medically diagnosed,” Carl reminded me.
    “I wasn’t going to lecture you,” said Fran, holding up her hands in appeal. “Honestly, I’m not an expert on Veesnu, though I do find it interesting.”
    “How so?” I asked, leaning forward.
    If you were that curious about the religion, I could’ve briefed you on your way here, said Paige.
    Yes, but you’re not cute and fleshy, I thought as I gazed at the Professor’s pretty little nose.
    “Well, think about it,”