Free Random Chance and the Paradise that is Earth by Shawn Michel de Montaigne

said. “Maybe it’s because I’m afraid I’ve freaked you
out and you’re going to show me the airlock now. Maybe it’s because
interplanetary space can be a pretty lonesome place, even with your
best friend— friends —aboard. Or maybe … maybe it’s because it’s real that I said
it. But there you go. I’m being as honest as I can with
you.”
    Mia stared into his eyes for a long time.
His declaration warred with her mistrust, which was evident on her
face.
    The taxi’s computer said, “Destination in
two minutes. Please gather your belongings. The item stored in the
trunk will be made available through the mail slot once the airlock
seal is confirmed. Thank you for using Vesta’s Besta’s Taxis.”

Chapter
Eight Four Decent Human Beings
~~*~~
    AT THE airlock she turned to face him. “I
need time to think.”
    Random held the case with the console. He
glanced down at it, then into her eyes. He nodded.
    She raised her hand to touch
his chest, but stopped it before it got there. She turned and
walked into The Glowing
Girl . The door slid closed behind
her.
    Random sighed and went to the
airlock of The Pompatus .
    “I’m sorry, Rand,” said Hewey. “She seems
pretty miffed.”
    “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Let me in.”
    The door slid open. Random, shaking his
head, went in. He dropped the console on the captain’s chair and
walked to his room.
    ~~*~~
    “She’s the only one I’ve trusted enough to
show her what I can do. And now I think I’ve really screwed the
pooch by doing so.”
    He stood with his father at the Danwor
Lookout on Mons Olympus’ northeast slope. From here the checkered
pink-green farms of Koowing dotted the Cyani Sulce Plains, visible
even from here hundreds of kilometers away. They were protected by
biodomes and atmospheric shielding, but technology had advanced to
the point that one really had to look to see them.
    His father chuckled mirthlessly and leaned
against the railing. “I hate to say this, son, but I’m probably not
the one you should be talking to about this.”
    “Why not?”
    His father chuckled again. “Two words: your
mother.”
    “Why did you marry her?”
    His dad shook his head. “The short answer is
I was young and stupid and blinded by hatred—what I once called
love.”
    “The Oligarchy?”
    “Ideology,” said Jameson Chance. “We
believed in the same things. She was a staffer for a senator from
Europa. I was fresh out of the Academy. We were both intent on
saving the solar system. We were going to put humanity back on the
track to greatness, or some such crap. I’m ashamed to say it to
you, son.”
    “Then let’s forget about all that,” said
Random. “You aren’t the same person you were then. I’ve grown to
value your opinions. Jameson Samson Chance, hero: what are your
thoughts about Mia knowing my abilities, and what should I do about
it?”
    His father motioned towards the distant
farmland. “Do you know how difficult it was to get anything to grow
on this world?”
    Random shook his head.
    “It was hell,” said Jameson. “Turned out
there was a tiny percentage of a toxic compound in Martian sand—it
wasn’t soil back then, but sand—that kept seeds from germinating.
Nanotech was just in its infancy. We’re talking a thousand or more
years ago. They tried everything, even leeching the sand to remove
the compound. Nothing worked. Crops grew stunted and weak, if at
all. People thought Mars would never get to the point where it
could sustain itself.
    “But then something amazing happened. The
compound was suddenly gone—poof! And the crops … they went crazy.
You wouldn’t think that happened, would you? Mars produces most of
humanity’s food!”
    “What happened?” asked Random.
    “Those tiny bots they dumped in the sand
evolved,” said Jameson. “They took the compound out of the sand to
a far greater degree than leeching could. It knocked the scientific
community on their butts. Nothing like that had ever