“You don’t look like Ursula,” Bear said.
“Reclamation leadership sponsored a physical identity redesign for me. Facial reconstruction and vocal cord alterations to change my voice. I’m like a whole new person. No facial recognition or voice analysis system will trigger on me now.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ll have to excuse me for being skeptical.”
“Then ask me something that only I’ll know.”
“Tell me about when we met,” Elle said.
“You came in with Court. He looked sick.”
“What did you give him?”
“Water, in a chipped glass. And then you let Maud swindle you out of sixty qynars.”
“It really is you.”
“I told you.”
“Do you know how Ainsley and Wilm are?” Bear asked.
“I do. I wish it was all good news. Both have new clean identities with no debt records, same as you. Ainsley has full use of her leg now. Unfortunately, Wilm got himself into some trouble trying to restart Britt’s antiviral smuggling operation. We’re doing what we can but chances are he’ll be spending some time in a forced work program.”
“That kid is more heart than head.”
“So it would seem.”
“What about Court?” Elle asked.
“Still nothing. No word from the Willow Wisp, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t successful. They might have reasons for keeping quiet.”
“You didn’t come here to see us in person because there was no news,” Bear said. “What’s going on?”
“The reason the leadership had me change my appearance is because I was raided. One of the agents you tangled with, a man named Wilkes, was out for revenge. They took everything, including the original data vault and all the copies I’d made of the data. I’d only gotten a fraction of the information distributed to other parts of the Reclamation. They’re funding some research projects based on the bits we’ve been able to piece together, but it will be a long road. I wanted to let you know so you’d be cautious… We don’t believe the ruling will go in your favor today. We think they’re going to sentence you to an off planet forced work program.”
“A red ship?” Bear said and wrapped his big hands around the back of his neck.
They sat in extended silence until the advocate came back into the room. “The committee is ready for us.”
“Good luck,” Ursula said.
She didn’t follow them into the hearing room where three women and two men sat on a platform several inches higher than the rest of the room. A handful of onlookers were in flimsy chairs at the back. Elle didn’t recognize any of them.
“Eleanor Blake and Quinton Basque, the two of you were caught attempting to remove wards of the state from an officially sanctioned Aldebaran research facility. You misrepresented your identity to Aldebaran staff. You bribed or attempted to bribe numerous employees. You were in possession of stolen Aldebaran property, including uniforms and ID bands. The research facility in question is a high security installation. The seriousness of your actions cannot be overstated. After hearing from the affected parties, calculating restitution, evaluating your lifetime earning potential, and factoring in the specific circumstances, the conclusion of this committee is to assign you to involuntary labor aboard high orbit service ships. Because of the collaborative nature of your actions, you will be assigned to different ships to remove the opportunity for future collusion. The next launch is in nine days. You will remain in custody until that time. Thank you to the committee members for their thoughtful deliberation on this matter. This hearing is concluded and you are dismissed.”
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About the Author
Rook Winters is a tea-fueled writer with a weakness for dad jokes. He lives in New Brunswick, Canada with his family and is definitely a dog person. Weight of Ashes is his second novel.
Learn more at rookwinters.com, follow @rookwinters on Twitter, or search for Rook Winters Author on Facebook.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The seed of the idea for this book came from a satirical sci-fi short story I wrote in 2017 about alien bureaucrats expropriating Earth to use as a nursery for the larval development stage of their offspring. Since the larvae are non-sentient omnivores with voracious appetites, the aliens are evicting humans for their own safety. The story is structured as a series of letters and memos over a 200 year period.
At some point, I will edit that story and release it. You can sign up for my newsletter at rookwinters.com to make sure you get a copy when I do.
When it came time to write this novel, I didn’t want to do a comedic story, but I was intrigued by the notion of a gradual, non-military invasion. On the recommendation of sci-fi author Cary Caffrey, I read The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man while conceiving the plot of this book. It was a good reminder not to underestimate the terrifying potential of economic influence combined with targeted violence. Big military actions aren’t the only way to devastate a people group.
In Weight of Ashes, we don’t see the first contact event or the early decades when the aliens are peacefully building up their economic and political clout because a lot of that time period would have seemed like utopia. Instead, we start in the dystopian aftermath in which humans are second-class citizens and the colonizers are taking away even more rights. Writing it made me wrestle with some tough realities. I hope reading it does the same for you.
Thank you to everyone who read the various versions of this story. Your feedback and encouragement were critical. Special thanks to Ally, Ann, Craig, Gavin, Jacqueline, Kim, Mark, Mel, and Steve.
Most importantly, thank you to Beth, my great love. I never take your support and trust for granted.
GIVING BACK
I have pledged a minimum of ten percent of my proceeds from this book to global relief and development aid. Please join me in supporting the work of organizations that tackle poverty and injustice. If you aren’t sure where to give, I recommend World Vision Canada for its financial accountability and the integrity of its leadership team.
Copyright
WEIGHT OF ASHES
Copyright © 2018 by Rook Winters
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author except for brief quotations for review purposes or as otherwise allowed for by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
For inquiries regarding this book, please email rook@rookwinters.com