Free To Hold Infinity by John Meaney
Authors: John Meaney
Federico.
He pictured Federico's ideogram, and accessed its code.
Â
{{Luculentus Federico Gisanthro, ident 5γ33G3 ⢠{sept Î2Σ}}}
Â
A please-wait icon displayed momentarily, then faded.
Â
<<>>
Â
A grassy slope dropped away beneath him. Below, hurdlers raced around a red oval track. Nearby, combat-suited men and women, hair soaked with sweat, were performing slow stretches or lying on their backs, chests heaving.
Through the SkeinLink, the smell of grass was sharp. Rafael sniffed.
The sun was already high in a lime-green sky. Federico must be a good ninety degrees east of Rafael's home.
âJust having a little workout,â said the familiar voice.
Federico had thrown back the hood of his suit, which was currently tuned to forest green. His cropped blond hair was wet and spiky. Perspiration collected at the insertions of his Luculentus headgear, and trickled down his gaunt face.
âSuch a pity I'm not here to join you,â said Rafael.
He was peripherally aware of his physical body, still reclining at home.
âMy thoughts precisely, old chap.â A light glinted in Federico's pale mismatched eyesâone blue, the other greenâand Rafael shivered, though only in reality, not in Skein.
âSo how far have they run?â Rafael indicated the TacCorps squad members down by the track.
âThirty klicks, after CQB.â
Rafael had seen their close quarter battle training before, and the memory made him wince.
âYou trained with them, of course.â
âIt's rather expected of me, don't you think?â
Not really , Rafael was tempted to say. Instead, he laughed. âThey look exhausted.â
âSoft bastards. Must be in their genes.â
Rafael gestured, forming a magnifying-glass icon, and zoomed in on a face wracked with exhaustion.
As he had thought, every man and woman had Federico's eye colouration. Clones from his Alpha Squad, their differences from Federico due to variations in womb chemistry and later environment, not in DNA.
None of them bore Luculentus headgear.
Rafael waved the icon away.
âAnyway, here's the investment analysis I promised you. A little country on Salkran Six shows a lot of promise. And the whole Renyarn system's poised for expansion.â
âSo I'd heard. I'd like the details, however.â
âOf course.â
A golden tesseract formed between them, as the info flowed from Rafael to Federico. For a moment, Federico's form wavered slightly, and Rafael could see the outlines of his own courtyard's angular sculptures. Then the Skein image regained full strength.
It was a weakness Rafael would have to remember. A lapse of Federico's concentration at a vital moment might be important some day.
âThis is splendid, Rafael. Thank you.â
On the other hand, Federico was subtle enough to have weakened the image on purpose. This was a dangerous man to play games with.
Dangerous games, though, were always the best.
âI'm glad your people are around to protect us,â said Rafael. âOne never knows. Just look at those violent deaths in Lucis.â
Federico looked at him steadily.
âThere was another one yesterday. A woman in Inez Banlieues.â
âA Luculenta? Good Lord.â
âQuite. This seems to be a suicide.â
âA Luculenta suicideââ
âYes. As you said, one never knows.â
A delicious frisson of fear passed down Rafael's spine.
âI should let you get back to work.â
âOf course. Whose Aphelion Ball are you attending?â
âI don't know yet,â said Rafael.
âIt's only seven days away.â
Federico had spent the New Year at a thirty-hour partyâduring the course of which his deputy commander had got marriedâwhich had flown around the globe. He took celebrations seriously, a moralâand moraleâobligation.
âWhere are you
He pictured Federico's ideogram, and accessed its code.
Â
{{Luculentus Federico Gisanthro, ident 5γ33G3 ⢠{sept Î2Σ}}}
Â
A please-wait icon displayed momentarily, then faded.
Â
<<
Â
A grassy slope dropped away beneath him. Below, hurdlers raced around a red oval track. Nearby, combat-suited men and women, hair soaked with sweat, were performing slow stretches or lying on their backs, chests heaving.
Through the SkeinLink, the smell of grass was sharp. Rafael sniffed.
The sun was already high in a lime-green sky. Federico must be a good ninety degrees east of Rafael's home.
âJust having a little workout,â said the familiar voice.
Federico had thrown back the hood of his suit, which was currently tuned to forest green. His cropped blond hair was wet and spiky. Perspiration collected at the insertions of his Luculentus headgear, and trickled down his gaunt face.
âSuch a pity I'm not here to join you,â said Rafael.
He was peripherally aware of his physical body, still reclining at home.
âMy thoughts precisely, old chap.â A light glinted in Federico's pale mismatched eyesâone blue, the other greenâand Rafael shivered, though only in reality, not in Skein.
âSo how far have they run?â Rafael indicated the TacCorps squad members down by the track.
âThirty klicks, after CQB.â
Rafael had seen their close quarter battle training before, and the memory made him wince.
âYou trained with them, of course.â
âIt's rather expected of me, don't you think?â
Not really , Rafael was tempted to say. Instead, he laughed. âThey look exhausted.â
âSoft bastards. Must be in their genes.â
Rafael gestured, forming a magnifying-glass icon, and zoomed in on a face wracked with exhaustion.
As he had thought, every man and woman had Federico's eye colouration. Clones from his Alpha Squad, their differences from Federico due to variations in womb chemistry and later environment, not in DNA.
None of them bore Luculentus headgear.
Rafael waved the icon away.
âAnyway, here's the investment analysis I promised you. A little country on Salkran Six shows a lot of promise. And the whole Renyarn system's poised for expansion.â
âSo I'd heard. I'd like the details, however.â
âOf course.â
A golden tesseract formed between them, as the info flowed from Rafael to Federico. For a moment, Federico's form wavered slightly, and Rafael could see the outlines of his own courtyard's angular sculptures. Then the Skein image regained full strength.
It was a weakness Rafael would have to remember. A lapse of Federico's concentration at a vital moment might be important some day.
âThis is splendid, Rafael. Thank you.â
On the other hand, Federico was subtle enough to have weakened the image on purpose. This was a dangerous man to play games with.
Dangerous games, though, were always the best.
âI'm glad your people are around to protect us,â said Rafael. âOne never knows. Just look at those violent deaths in Lucis.â
Federico looked at him steadily.
âThere was another one yesterday. A woman in Inez Banlieues.â
âA Luculenta? Good Lord.â
âQuite. This seems to be a suicide.â
âA Luculenta suicideââ
âYes. As you said, one never knows.â
A delicious frisson of fear passed down Rafael's spine.
âI should let you get back to work.â
âOf course. Whose Aphelion Ball are you attending?â
âI don't know yet,â said Rafael.
âIt's only seven days away.â
Federico had spent the New Year at a thirty-hour partyâduring the course of which his deputy commander had got marriedâwhich had flown around the globe. He took celebrations seriously, a moralâand moraleâobligation.
âWhere are you
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