Free Spaceport West by Giles Chanot Page B

subtleties of zero friction squash.
    “Watch it, Beauchamp!” Sky spat irritably under his breath.
    “Oops, sorry guys!”
    “So, would that have been a blocking foul, sir?”
    “Er, yes I suppose so.”
    “Thank you Officer Beauchamp, Mr Ventura has been trying to explain that to me for at least twenty minutes.”
    Tiggy grinned at Sky who scowled in return. She skipped off whistling. Yes, actually whistling. Not actually skipping though, that would have been too much. Also surprisingly difficult in low gravity.

9. New Technocracy
    “Here’s your tea, Prime Minister.”
    “Thank you Minnie.”
    “Will there be anything else, sir?”
    “Yes, actually, sit down for a minute.”
    “Thank you sir!” Minnie awkwardly sat on the edge of the seat next to the Prime Minister in his private study. This was clearly a new experience for her.
    “I need you to do me a favour, Minnie.”
    “Of course, sir.”
    “It’s… top secret, do you understand?”
    Minnie paused. Her programming wasn’t sure what to make of this concept. She lacked the necessary political protocols. Her backup procedure of carrying on regardless kicked in.
    “Yes of course, sir.”
    “Please can you fetch the MI7 file on Susan McKenzie, and bring it to the residence this evening?”
    Minnie paused again.
    “Is that okay, Minnie?”
    “Yes, of course, Prime Minister.”

 
    MI7
     
    In response to ever-increasing security fears, such as the weaponisation of Space, the threat of cyber-warfare, and political uncertainty at home and overseas, the Secret Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6, was officially disbanded in 2020 and replaced by MI7. This gave the Government the opportunity to sack all of its spies and force them to reapply for their own jobs. This process took longer than anticipated as agents were not allowed to apply directly and instead had to lurk around in seedy Soho bars waiting to be approached by recruitment scouts wearing trench coats and drinking dirty Martinis.
    Popular urban myth suggests the name MI7 was chosen as it sounds exciting and thrusting, although the reality is sadly more prosaic, and almost certainly refers to the home address of the current Chief of MI7, Sir Mansfield Smith-Blunt.
    Such flagrant breaches of National Security are the main reason virtually all human operatives have, in recent years, been replaced by androids.
     
    UK Guide to Space, 2025 Edition

That evening, Ralph pored over the file. It was full of the usual stuff, family background, education, detailed biographies of imaginary friends, that sort of thing. There was then a large section dedicated to Susan’s time as a member of parliament and in government. Having read the entire document cover to cover twice, Ralph had still not found what he was looking for.
    Minnie trundled in and started poking around in the fire.
    “Is everything in order, sir?” she asked innocently.
    “Are you sure this is the complete file, Minnie?”
    “Well…”
    “It’s okay, Minnie, you can trust me, can’t you?”
    “I know sir. The mainframe at MI7… he really wasn’t happy about releasing the document. Said it was most irregular and that you should have gone through the usual channels.”
    “Impertinent old so-and-so.”
    “I know. In the end we reached a compromise.”
    “He redacted it?”
    “Yes. All the really personal stuff. I hoped that wasn’t relevant to your enquiries sir.”
    Ralph stood up and tossed the file into the fire. Minnie took a step back, aghast.
    “Sorry, Minnie, I didn’t mean to alarm you. I think I must be tired - it’s been quite a week. Sherborne is threatening a vote of no confidence.”
    “I’ll pour you a Scotch.”
    “Thank you. You know you are the only one I can really trust, don’t you, Minnie?”
    “Well, I’m flattered of course. But I’m sure many of your colleagues are fully trustworthy…”
    “No they aren’t! That’s the problem, I can’t trust any of them. For years I would have