God Emperor of Didcot Read Online Free Page A

an excuse to divert a few billion miles from his course and drop round to say hello. He found himself smiling at the prospect of being able to look her up. Unfortunately, he had no idea of where in the system she was stationed.
    W frowned. ‘The Didcot system has two settled planets: Didcot 6, which is used by Morlock settlers and, more importantly, Didcot 4. On Didcot 4, sixty percent of the Empire’s tea is grown.’
    ‘Can’t say I know the place,’ Smith said, surprised.
    ‘You may know it by its other name. People call it Urn.’
    ‘Urn,’ Smith repeated. ‘Yes, I’ve heard of Urn alright. Is that a force field around it?’
    ‘No, that’s where I was using the map as a coaster. Urn is a self-governing British Protected Dependency. It has a permanent contract to supply the Empire with tea. In return, we have supplied it with a missile grid to deal with orbital threats and have promised to protect its integrity.’
    ‘Good.’
    ‘It was indeed good,’ W said. ‘Perhaps too good to last. Recently, a rabble-rouser calling himself the Grand Hyrax seems to have appeared from nowhere. He’s already gained considerable support on Urn. He’s a cultist, probably a lunatic, and he claims to represent the Brotherhood of the New Eden.’
    ‘Wait a moment,’ Smith said, ‘isn’t that the same funny church they have on – oh, New Eden?’
    ‘Quite. The same thing.’
    ‘Gilead,’ said Carveth.
    New Eden was a league of human worlds allied to the Ghast Empire. They worshipped a god of their own design called the Grand Annihilator, a delinquent amalgam of the worst features of several of Earth’s old gods. Smith had run up against the Edenites before, when the brutal, stupid Captain Gilead had tried to capture Rhianna, believing her to be an angel who could be forced to fight on his side. There weren’t many people who could make the Ghasts look sane, but the Edenites were making a good job of it.
    ‘The Grand Hyrax is a maniac,’ W explained. ‘His version of Edenism is even more extreme than the sort practised by Edenite High Command. He has amassed a horde of fanatical followers known as the Crusadist Cult, who have pledged to overthrow the democratic governor and make the Hyrax their divine emperor. We believe that, if this happens, the Crusadists will ally openly with New Eden and halt the export of tea. And you realise now what would happen to the armies of the Empire were they to be deprived of tea.’
    ‘By God!’ cried Smith. ‘What an evil plan! We can’t just sit here and let a man like that plot against the Empire! We should fly to Didcot this minute, settle his goose and cook his hash!’
    ‘Sort of,’ said Carveth.
    Suruk had been sitting quietly, listening to the humans discuss a lot of stuff that did not greatly interest him. Now, however, the talk was taking a more appealing turn. He made a rattling noise at the back of his throat. ‘Then, tea-makers, I will be glad to assist. My humans here will transport me to the world of Urn, and I shall confront this fool and chop off his head.’
    ‘No,’ said W. ‘If the Grand Hyrax is to be stopped, it must be done with subtlety. The potential for civil unrest is too great.’
    ‘I could creep up on him first,’ Suruk suggested. ‘Then chop his head off. How about that?’
    ‘You’re to fly straight to Urn,’ W said. ‘There you will meet up with our chief – and only – secret agent there. He’s been instructed to make contacts with the Teasmen, the local settlers. From the amount of money he’s been asking for, he should have built up some strong contacts by now. I will reach Urn a few days later, undercover as a journalist. I’ll claim to be researching a story for the Daily Monolith . Together we’ll work out what to do, and together we’ll put a stop to this conspiracy against the common people of the Empire. For a plot against tea is a plot against the liberty of the human race.’
    ‘Well said,’ Hebblethwaite