{"id":2565,"date":"2013-08-21T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-08-21T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?p=2565"},"modified":"2013-08-15T16:19:05","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T21:19:05","slug":"rayguns-over-texas-preview-marshall-ryan-maresca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2013\/08\/21\/rayguns-over-texas-preview-marshall-ryan-maresca\/","title":{"rendered":"Rayguns Over Texas preview: Marshall Ryan Maresca"},"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\u2019s selection comes from\u00a0Marshall Ryan Maresca<\/a>‘s\u00a0\u201cJump the Black.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Marshall Ryan Maresca reveals that even on alien planets,\u00a0the downtrodden must take life-altering\u00a0risks to find gainful employment.\u00a0Miller\u2019s desperation carries him\u00a0dangerously close to\u00a0both hope and loss.<\/p>\n

Nothing was packed. Nothing could be packed. They were riding the\u00a0twenty-fare, at a discount at that, so that meant only five kilos in\u00a0a small satchel. Emile told Miller not to bring anything more than\u00a0extra clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd sell your reader,\u201d Emile had said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d It was Miller\u2019s only possession of even the slightest value.\u00a0He was the only on his floorblock with one.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get at least twenty for it,\u201d Emile said. \u201cWe need that for\u00a0our fares.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there it was. Miller didn\u2019t argue the point further.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot like you want to carry a lot for the jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sleep had been impossible, at least for Miller. He paced and fretted.\u00a0Emile had dozed on the block floor, the rest of the blockmates pointedly\u00a0pretending not to know their plans. Several said \u201cgood night\u201d with a\u00a0sense of finality, but beyond that, no acknowledgement. Around two\u00a0in the morning, they went to the street to wait. The message came, just\u00a0when it was supposed to. A junkyard a few blocks from them.<\/p>\n

There were several dozen humans milling about in the yard when\u00a0they arrived. Miller thought the whole thing smelled ripe for a raid.\u00a0A bunch of people hanging around in the middle of the night? Easy\u00a0pickings. Though maybe Emigration Patrol didn\u2019t bother with anyone\u00a0who hadn\u2019t gotten out of the gravity well.<\/p>\n

A large vehicle quietly landed, no running lights. Two aliens \u2014\u00a0Miller didn\u2019t recognize the species \u2014 came out and opened the back\u00a0doors. A few waves of their graspers, and all the humans climbed in.\u00a0Doors shut again, and they were in the dark.<\/p>\n

Minutes of bumpy ride passed. No one talked to each other. Miller\u00a0didn\u2019t even talk to Emile. The vehicle came to rest, and the doors open.<\/p>\n

Hj\u2019x and the two other aliens stood there. \u201cAll right fleshlings,\u00a0come out. Quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Humans pressed their way out, into a dim warehouse. The place\u00a0was filled with shipping containers, most prominent were the six in\u00a0the middle of the floor: large clamshell cases, hard plasticate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere is the run of things,\u201d Hj\u2019x announced. \u201cMy associates will go\u00a0around the lot of you. You will give them the money. They will give\u00a0you an injection. You will strip off your garments \u2014 all of them \u2014 and\u00a0give them to my associates. Then pick a container and get in. Eight to\u00a0a container, so do not be shy. And do not waste time. Your muscles\u00a0will stop working shortly after the injection. No one will put you in a\u00a0container if you do not get in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMuscles will what?\u201d Miller whispered to Emile.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrip, quickly,\u201d Emile said. \u201cThe injection works very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller took off his clothing. \u201cBut what \u2014 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Para. For beating the scans,\u201d Emile said, already naked.\u00a0\u201cLifesigns would trigger a search. Scan blockers would trigger a search.\u00a0But for a produce shipper like Hj\u2019x, non-living biomatter gets waved\u00a0by. Usually.\u201d<\/p>\n

An alien came up to them. \u201cMoney?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for both of us,\u201d Miller said, giving the coins to the creature.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHj\u2019x and us made a deal,\u201d Emile said.<\/p>\n

The alien turned to Hj\u2019x and barked something out. Hj\u2019x hissed\u00a0something back that wasn\u2019t translated. The alien shrugged and\u00a0pushed his hypo into Miller\u2019s arm, and then into Emile\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cGear?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller shoved his clothes into his satchel and handed it to the alien.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet in now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s legs were already jelly, so he scrambled over to the nearest\u00a0clamshell, Emile right behind. It already had six people in it, shivering\u00a0and shuddering. Eight people in this thing was a very tight fit, Miller\u00a0quite aware his flesh was pressed against several strangers. He tried\u00a0to shift his arm, be a little more comfortable, but his body was limp.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like stasis, they say,\u201d someone muttered. \u201cSleep the\u00a0whole way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller couldn\u2019t even make his lips move.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t,\u201d Emile said.<\/p>\n

Then the clamshell shut.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excerpt from\u00a0\u201cJump the Black\u201d \u00a9 2013 by Marshall Ryan Maresca.<\/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\u2019s selection comes from\u00a0Marshall Ryan Maresca‘s\u00a0\u201cJump the Black.\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-2565","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