Ark-13: An Odyssey Read Online Free PDF Page B

accordance to a new code.
    The very thing that made us human was the blind willingness to love and the unquenchable appetite to be loved in return. If I don’t fight for that than what does that mean for the survival of humanity?
    Jake formed a fist on which he leaned. Anger flooded his emotions as his despair had run out and rebellion took its place.
    GENESIS took Meredith and I’m going to take her back!

Chapter 9
Day 19
    The next morning Jake walked the Stalls, surveying the bustling masses. The large hall resembled an Indian bazaar as different vendors offered their trinkets or crops to the colonists milling about. A middle-aged man approached Jake through the crowd.
    “Councilman Hansen!” It was his fellow councilman – the Director of Resources, Andrew Langford.
    “How’s it going?” Andrew put his nose up and inhaled a lungful of air.
    “Good… good… commerce is running smoothly. I wasn’t sure how it would all run with that second currency infusion from the Bridge last week. But it appears that splitting it up evenly was the right course of action. A few complaints from some vendors saying, that they needed more funds to operate but nothing big.”
    “Great. Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell ya that you’re doing a great job with the commerce sector.” Jake complimented, having always liked Andrew.
    “Oh… well thank you. And I’m sorry about what happened to Meredith, I know how close you two were… and about the vote yesterday—” Jake interrupted him with a waving hand.
    “Don’t worry about it. What good is a Council if we don’t stand up for what we truly believe?” Despite his sincerity, Jake could not keep his eyes from surveying the crowd for any sign of Danny Ryder.
    “I think we could pull this off. Well, we have to…” Andrew reflected with an optimistic smile. Jake tuned him out as he found a figure through the crowd of a similar height and build of Danny. All he could see was a mop of black, shaggy hair, walking across the Stalls fifty feet away.
    “… we have to always maintain the integrity of our society here…” Andrew continued his soap box, despite noticing Jake’s preoccupation. Jake patted Andrew on the shoulder trying to conclude the conversation.
    “We will… we will… hey I gotta go check on something, real quick, so I’ll see ya later.” Jake rushed off, leaving Andrew perplexed and concerned by his erratic behavior.
    Jake was off, walking at a distance, but tailing Danny.
    Danny’s mop of black hair turned down the third row of vendor stalls. Jake squeezed through a crowd as he continued his pursuit. He passed by Junior Posey and pretended that he didn’t hear his beckoning call. Danny led him out of the Stalls and started traveling up the Loop.
    Because gravity grounded them to the floor, they were able to travel up and around the Loop until they reached the Stacks. They had a horizontal orientation when walking the Loop, while the Stacks turned to being a vertical orientation, all was the same as the gravity shifted from chamber to chamber. The bridge to the Stacks corrected this phenomenon. As the colonists walked the bridge, the pathway twisted like a corkscrew until they turned ninety degrees. Then they walked out onto the Stacks with the floor beneath them and the pods towering to either side.
    Then Danny ducked into a nearby sitting area before the main Chamber. Jake planted himself behind a corner and watched him from afar. There was another teenager waiting for him. His behavior toward Danny was awkward and shady, as if he was uncomfortable in his presence. Danny scanned their surroundings and continued the meet.
    Danny reached out a hand with a currency note and the other teenager took it quickly and shoved it in his pocket.
    What kind of Black Market is going on here?
    Then what Jake saw next shocked him. The teenager scrunched his sleeve up revealing his armport. Danny brought out an insertable drive, one that was different from the