Free Aliomenti Saga 6: Stark Cataclysm by Alex Albrinck

nodded. “You’ve not been to the Cavern for a while, then. The Mechanic taught the little nanobots how to recognize a person on contact. The bots have a list of who is allowed in, who isn’t. Anyone from the Alliance can walk through the walls of a stable machine.”
    Fil cocked his head. “Wouldn’t we fall out?”
    “There’s a remote.” She held up her hand. “Like the ones on old-fashioned automobiles. Lock the sphere, nothing gets in or out. Unlock the sphere, and the top and sides are permeable to anyone allowed access. I think he said that the bots basically disconnect so that you can pass through without losing the structure of the sphere, sort of like jumping into a pool of water. They just reform behind you.” She grinned. “Pretty cool, huh?”
    “Very.” He glanced at her. “So… do we exit your way or mine?”
    She glanced slyly at him. “It’s been a while since I teleported.” She closed her eyes and projected an image of the room where they needed to go. He grasped her hand and teleported both of them to the room.
    A large crowd was inside, engaged in private conversation, enjoying snacks from a table off to the side. Fil moved through the crowd, uncertain who he might be looking for.
    He ran into Millard Howe, now looking a rejuvenated thirty-five years of age. Howe, who’d served as his parents’ estate lawyer years ago, joined the Alliance not long after the fire. When Adam transferred the family’s assets outside the Trust accounts under Howe’s management, the lawyer had been the prime suspect in the crime. Adam had formulated an alternative scenario involving others at the highest levels of government that exonerated Howe and the estate Trustee. When the two men disappeared, few bothered questioning Adam’s conspiracy.
    “We’re setting up our own network of banks,” Howe explained when Fil asked about current activity. “The Aliomenti own that industry. It’s too easy for them to track our financial trail. I’m heading to a meeting a few hours away, but heard that Will and Hope’s son might be coming by. It’s good to see you… Fil. I saw your sister in the Cavern a few weeks ago. She sends her love. Delightful young woman.”
    Fil smiled, shook Howe’s hand, and the two separated.
    He ran into other neighbors. Michael and Katherine Baker had detoured through Pleasanton to see if reports of the city’s demise were true. They told Fil that two years after the Starks died, the infighting led to a collapse of the Dome, killing dozens trapped inside and causing millions of dollars in damage. “They changed the code without testing, and the nanomachines didn’t know to let go of each other. They should have detached, and it would have felt like a mild rain shower.” Katherine shook her head. “The lawsuits bankrupted the corporation, and the state annexed Pleasanton again not long after.”
    Michael told Fil that the couple worked as part of the Defense Squad, aiding Alliance members exposed to the Hunters and prone to attack.
    William Baker, their son, said he was helping to scout sites nearer the Arctic Circle for new port cities and potentially a new northern Cavern. “A lot of our members work in the northern hemisphere. It makes sense to build bases of operation closer to where they work. The Cavern and ports are getting crowded due to our growth. It will be a challenge to develop the sites because human and Aliomenti technology are far stronger today than they were centuries ago when we built the original ports. But we’ll figure out how to overcome those obstacles.”
    After hearing again that Angel was doing well back in the Cavern, Fil exchanged handshakes with the Bakers. He resolved to make a trip to the Antarctic soon. He’d not seen his sister in years.
    Sarah joined him as they left. “This place holds a lot of memories for you, doesn’t it?”
    He nodded. “I grew up barely a mile away, and yet all of this seems strange and foreign now. Most of the