The Tabit Genesis Read Online Free

my business, even if I used to be one of them myself.
    There are twelve million lawful firstborn human beings in Orionis, and they would all love to shove me out of an airlock. Mostly, that was because I was guilty of doing to countless others what the Minotaur was about to do to me. It’s the nature of the drug trade; the old Ceti saying is ‘Success scales not with the customers you serve, but with the enemies you make.’ After whatever evil I committed last night, I was sure I deserved a promotion.
    But the more I tried to remember, the more my head hurt. Whether from injury or product or both, there was a black hole in my memory. I’ve seen some crazy augmentations in my time, but this Minotaur …
damn
. Mutants aren’t hard to find in the Zeus colonies, but this guy was a
fucking
aberration
, easily the most disfigured one I’d ever seen. I mean, there were
heat waves
radiating off the man. Just being in the same room as him was giving me cancer.
    Considering the circumstances, I thought it best to remain civil.
    ‘Here’s the best deal you’re going to get,’ the Minotaur said. ‘Bring me to Jake, and I won’t kill you slowly. How about that?’
    ‘I told you, I’m here for Jake,’ the Minotaur said, nodding towards the more prominent chunks of vomit nearby. ‘Wish you had drowned in that. It would make things simpler.’
    Everywhere I looked, the rest of my surroundings took a few moments to catch up. As reality blurred across my vision, I heard this wailing sound, like screaming children over the groan of old, bending metal. The fog was palpable; I was only
peripherally
aware of my own existence, just watching myself from the edge of consciousness.
    That meant I was
dangerously
intoxicated, even for a hard bastard. The crash was coming, and I needed something to soften the landing.
    ‘I can help with that,’ the Minotaur sneered.
    I don’t know if I asked for a fix out loud, but the mutant obliged with another kick to the gut. By the time I finished wheezing, the floor was coated in blood.
    I know how it looks: my consumption habit is killing me. That’s fair, because I’ve tried every drug there is. It’s expected of me in this profession, which is running a distribution network for Ceti. From Tabit Prime to the House Worlds, I vend chemical pleasures to people of all statures. What kind of sales rep would I be if I didn’t sample the product? That’s the kind of enthusiasm clients want to see. It’s made me very rich and, consequently, very sociopathic. Like any successful businessman, I defend my interests fiercely, with no regard for the laws of governments.
    The downside: I do very bad things when I’m high. Because of the drugs.
    Which I do because the profession demands it.
    I guess the infinite loop of denial means I’ve reached rock bottom.
    What a view.
    ‘It gets worse,’ the Minotaur said. The room was spinning
around
him now, like he was the centre of the universe. ‘You have no idea.’
    The mutant had bright yellow eyes criss-crossed with purple capillaries. Every time he blinked, one of the irises changed colour.
    ‘Jake was mindful of these things,’ the Minotaur said. ‘Where is he?’
    ‘Look, man…or whatever you are: I don’t know who you’re talking about,’ I repeated, turning myself over.
    The Minotaur reared up an iron hoof for another kick, and I cringed. But he held back at the last moment.
    ‘Is your name Jack Tatum?’ he asked.
    ‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘Who are you?’
    The Minotaur snorted a puff of hot smoke.
    ‘What do you do for a living, “Jack”?’ he asked.
    ‘I work for Ceti,’ I answered, hoping the mere mention of the most notorious cartel in Orionis would make him recoil in horror. But no such luck.
    ‘Tell me something,
Jack
,’ the Minotaur asked, kneeling so his hairy face was very close to mine. ‘What happened to your hands?’
    I hadn’t realised that my knuckles were shredded and bruised. They reminded me of the