Sons of the Crystal Mind (Diamond Roads Book 1) Read Online Free
Author: Andrew Wallace
happened to Connor and Julie. I’m very, very angry about it. I want you to know that we will… deal with those responsible.”
I gaze up at the warships hanging in the sky outside our family home. Keris and I look back at each other at the same time.
“Good,” I say.
She smiles.
“Walk with me,” she says.
So I walk down the path I played on as a little girl with the ruler of the world.
“How are arrangements for the wedding?” Keris asks.
“Good,” I say again, “very good.”
“I hear you’re doing well,” Keris says.
Feeling dizzy I go to say something about arrangements but what comes out is:
“What was the mission Mum and Dad were on?”
Keris turns to me as if the question was entirely reasonable rather than an outrageous demand to breach security.
“They found the New Form Enterprise,” she says.
I stare at her.
“Connor was tracking them through the Outer Spheres,” Keris says. “One man with his skills was less conspicuous than a whole squad. It would seem the NFE found out and attacked Connor and Julie. I’m afraid that’s all I know.”
“What do I do?”
“What you’re doing; the merger with VIA Holdings will make Centria even stronger. In the meantime, we are using all our resources to save Connor and Julie.”
“Thank you Keris.”
“Thank me when they’re back with you.”
Keris smiles almost shyly and then leans over to kiss my cheek. She turns and walks back to her cruiser while my face tingles where her smiling lips touched it. A moment later she’s gone and the space over Mum and Dad’s is as empty as it was when I was young.
3
I look at Ursula’s naked body, aware that most people would pay a lot of kilos to see what I’m seeing now. It would be worth it. Somehow, she is perfect without following any of the rules. Her skin is the colour of cream and there is no mottling anywhere. Her breasts and her bottom seem disproportionately large, to the extent that she should have a body like Ellery’s to handle them but she hasn’t. Instead, she’s got these long legs that taper to slender ankles and tiny feet that successfully defy balance, gravity and other minor considerations. Her stomach is flat without being very muscular and her waist is narrow although not grotesquely so. Dark hair forms a soft, inviting shadow between the sweet curves of her hips.
Holographic Ursulas wearing a range of dresses walk across my room past us. The colour and design of each denotes the length of time it will last; the greater the length, the higher the associated status. Some dresses even depict their lifespans, either woven in or stamped on the front. Each dress winks into nothing as Ursula dismisses it. She gets the selection down to three, none of which suit her so I quietly find a better alternative that costs 132 kilos.
“This grey one,” I say.
Ursula scrunches her face slightly.
“Grey,” she says. “Really?”
If I’m going to get that outfit on her I will have to buy it myself. My ifarm account contains 21,300 kilos. I pass my hand through the grey dress hologram and all the others vanish. As my account goes down to 21,168 kilos, the dress grows out of the floor straight onto Ursula. She looks down at it, unconvinced.
“Don’t worry,” I say.
My salon seat grows behind Ursula; she sits and her head sinks into the bulb so it looks like she’s wearing an old-fashioned space helmet. I decide on her makeup; the seed picks up my instructions and sends them to the ifarm, which relays them to the salon. Soon the bulb melts away to reveal its dizzying enhancement of my sister’s beauty: her hair its trademark gleaming dark curtain with an asymmetric fringe and her makeup a series of subtle shades that complement the dress. Ursula gets up and then sways.
Two days have passed since the mysterious attack on Mum and Dad. There has been no change in the situation and no answers have been forthcoming. Ursula and I rely on routines and engagements
I gaze up at the warships hanging in the sky outside our family home. Keris and I look back at each other at the same time.
“Good,” I say.
She smiles.
“Walk with me,” she says.
So I walk down the path I played on as a little girl with the ruler of the world.
“How are arrangements for the wedding?” Keris asks.
“Good,” I say again, “very good.”
“I hear you’re doing well,” Keris says.
Feeling dizzy I go to say something about arrangements but what comes out is:
“What was the mission Mum and Dad were on?”
Keris turns to me as if the question was entirely reasonable rather than an outrageous demand to breach security.
“They found the New Form Enterprise,” she says.
I stare at her.
“Connor was tracking them through the Outer Spheres,” Keris says. “One man with his skills was less conspicuous than a whole squad. It would seem the NFE found out and attacked Connor and Julie. I’m afraid that’s all I know.”
“What do I do?”
“What you’re doing; the merger with VIA Holdings will make Centria even stronger. In the meantime, we are using all our resources to save Connor and Julie.”
“Thank you Keris.”
“Thank me when they’re back with you.”
Keris smiles almost shyly and then leans over to kiss my cheek. She turns and walks back to her cruiser while my face tingles where her smiling lips touched it. A moment later she’s gone and the space over Mum and Dad’s is as empty as it was when I was young.
3
I look at Ursula’s naked body, aware that most people would pay a lot of kilos to see what I’m seeing now. It would be worth it. Somehow, she is perfect without following any of the rules. Her skin is the colour of cream and there is no mottling anywhere. Her breasts and her bottom seem disproportionately large, to the extent that she should have a body like Ellery’s to handle them but she hasn’t. Instead, she’s got these long legs that taper to slender ankles and tiny feet that successfully defy balance, gravity and other minor considerations. Her stomach is flat without being very muscular and her waist is narrow although not grotesquely so. Dark hair forms a soft, inviting shadow between the sweet curves of her hips.
Holographic Ursulas wearing a range of dresses walk across my room past us. The colour and design of each denotes the length of time it will last; the greater the length, the higher the associated status. Some dresses even depict their lifespans, either woven in or stamped on the front. Each dress winks into nothing as Ursula dismisses it. She gets the selection down to three, none of which suit her so I quietly find a better alternative that costs 132 kilos.
“This grey one,” I say.
Ursula scrunches her face slightly.
“Grey,” she says. “Really?”
If I’m going to get that outfit on her I will have to buy it myself. My ifarm account contains 21,300 kilos. I pass my hand through the grey dress hologram and all the others vanish. As my account goes down to 21,168 kilos, the dress grows out of the floor straight onto Ursula. She looks down at it, unconvinced.
“Don’t worry,” I say.
My salon seat grows behind Ursula; she sits and her head sinks into the bulb so it looks like she’s wearing an old-fashioned space helmet. I decide on her makeup; the seed picks up my instructions and sends them to the ifarm, which relays them to the salon. Soon the bulb melts away to reveal its dizzying enhancement of my sister’s beauty: her hair its trademark gleaming dark curtain with an asymmetric fringe and her makeup a series of subtle shades that complement the dress. Ursula gets up and then sways.
Two days have passed since the mysterious attack on Mum and Dad. There has been no change in the situation and no answers have been forthcoming. Ursula and I rely on routines and engagements
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