{"id":2504,"date":"2013-08-13T08:30:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-13T08:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?p=2504"},"modified":"2013-08-13T07:22:18","modified_gmt":"2013-08-13T12:22:18","slug":"rayguns-over-texas-preview-nicky-drayden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2013\/08\/13\/rayguns-over-texas-preview-nicky-drayden\/","title":{"rendered":"Rayguns Over Texas preview: Nicky Drayden"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cover<\/a>

Cover by Rocky Kelley<\/p><\/div>\n

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0<\/em><\/a>at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3<\/a>\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day.<\/p>\n

Today’s selection comes from Nicky Drayden<\/a>‘s “The Atmosphere Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On an alien world, illegal packaged\u00a0atmospheres come at a price. How far\u00a0will someone go to please the one you\u00a0love? Nicky Draden questions the cost of\u00a0nostalgia, honor, and romance.<\/p>\n

The Atmosphere Man feigned shock. \u201cThat\u2019d be illegal, Jedd!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd very profitable.\u201d I handed him a flimsy duffle bag with\u00a0\u201cWhennyho City Resorts\u201d screen-printed on both sides. The zipper\u00a0was cheaply made as well, and barely functional, but nevertheless,\u00a0The Atmosphere Man forced it open and peeked inside at the stacks\u00a0of kalax. It wasn\u2019t a fortune, maybe half as much as he\u2019d gotten to\u00a0air up this place, but I was betting that the paper I clutched in my\u00a0hand would be much more valuable to him. I laid it out on the bar\u00a0and dropped my charade. \u201cBefore you make any decisions, I want\u00a0you to know that this is a personal matter, not a professional one.\u00a0Still, if you\u2019re agreeable to this trade, I can make these VACI files\u00a0disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atmosphere Man swiped his finger across the sheet, looking at\u00a0twenty years worth of dirt VACI had accumulated on him. Admittedly\u00a0it wasn\u2019t much. Not even a real name to go with the blurred surveillance\u00a0photos. He was quite the illusive criminal, always managing to stay\u00a0just to the right of VACI\u2019s radar, but I\u2019d invested more than a healthy\u00a0amount of man hours strategically digging through the details of\u00a0his exploits \u2014 pole-skimming on environmentally sensitive planets,\u00a0bribing and blackmailing members of the Open-Air Alliance, and of\u00a0course, dealing in contraband atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you doing this?\u201d The Atmosphere Man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my wife. She\u2019s Earthborne.\u201d Despite myself, I flinched at the\u00a0word. It was a mild slur used for those who\u2019d stayed behind after\u00a0the Major Exodus, and the next dozen or so of the minor ones. The\u00a0stubborn people who refused to admit that the Earth was dying.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t say. Not many of them made it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was lucky.\u201d I was lucky. I couldn\u2019t imagine not having her in\u00a0my life. And there I was in the presence of a known criminal, begging\u00a0him to help me keep her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no shame in thinking you can change the inevitable,\u201d The\u00a0Atmosphere Man said, sucking the boifruit off the pointed tip of his\u00a0toothpick umbrella. \u201cThey fought a good fight. Repopulated a couple\u00a0seas, found a vaccination to combat the dais blight, decontaminated \u00a0the runoff from dozens of thermonuclear bombsites. Who knows, if\u00a0they\u2019d started a few years earlier, maybe they would have succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atmosphere Man leaned back, his elbow propped casually\u00a0against the bar. \u201cWhat you\u2019re asking could get you into a fair amount\u00a0of trouble if you\u2019re caught.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t get caught.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sure of yourself, are you? This wife of yours … \u201c The Atmosphere\u00a0Man shifted forward on his stool, fingers steepled at his lips. Flecks\u00a0of gold rimmed his irises, and in the span of milliseconds, the thin\u00a0membrane of secondary lids blinked across his eyes. I wondered if\u00a0any other VACI agents had ever gotten so close to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about her?\u201d I said, gravel in my voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure she\u2019s worth it? I mean, one slip of my tongue and your\u00a0whole world could come crashing down, faster than one of these\u00a0porta-planets.\u201d<\/p>\n

A threat. But I too could play that game. \u201cOh, she\u2019s worth it, Yoris.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atmosphere Man\u2019s eyes bulged at hearing his name. His spots\u00a0darkened, then faded again. He nodded, then shoved the VACI sheet\u00a0inside his duffle bag, struggling with the zipper before finally giving\u00a0up. \u201cAh, well. Send Anise my best, then, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n

I tensed. He\u2019d known my identity before I\u2019d walked into this humid\u00a0pit-stain of a bar. The Atmosphere Man swatted another bloatfly to\u00a0the ground, stomped its juicy carcass, then left without another word.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excerpt from \u201cThe Atmosphere Man\u201d \u00a9 2013 by Nicky Drayden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day. Today’s selection comes from Nicky Drayden‘s “The Atmosphere Man.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-rayguns-over-texas"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n