Golden Son Read Online Free PDF Page B

revenge. These attacks are petty and gruesome—the bombing of barracks, fashion outlets, bazaars, highColor coffee shops, and restaurants. Ares would never condone them.
    Theydrawtoomanyeyesfortoolittleresult,daringtheGoldstoact,tocrushtheSons.
    I’vesentmessagestoDancerviatheholoBox.Nothing.Justsilence.Couldhebedead?OrhasAres abandonedmeforthisnewstrategyofbombing?
    Plinyyawns.“PerhapsAreshaschangedhistactics.He’sadeucedone.”
    “IfAresisaman,”Letosays.
    “Interesting.”Augustusswivelsabruptly.“WhatmakesyouthinkAresisn’taman?”
    “WhydoweassumeAresisaman?Hecouldbeawoman.Couldbeagroupofindividualsforall
    weknow,whichwouldgoalongwaytowardexplainingthediscordantnatureofthesenewattacks.”
    Letoturnstome,eyesinclusive.“Darrow,whatdoyouthink?”
    “Don’tbefuddleDarrowwithcomplexquestions!”Plinycrowsdefensively.“Makeitayesornoso he can understand.” Pliny flashes me the most pitying of smiles and squeezes my shoulder in sympathy.“Behindhislepidsmiles,he’sanhonest,simplebeast.Youshouldknowthat.”
    Istandthereandtakeit.
    He turns away. “In any manner, Leto, you’re forgetting we designed Red culture to be highly patriarchal. Their identity as a people centers around the collection of resources to propagate the embryonicterraformingofMars.Physicallystrenuous,gruelingtasksperformedby men . Tasks we don’t let their women perform, even if they are capable, pursuant to the Stratification Protocol. So, yousee,itcan’tbeawoman,becausenoroughneckRusterwouldfollowamanorawomanwhohas
    neverriddenaclawDrill.”
    Letosmilescleverly. “If AresisaRed.”
    Pliny and Augustus both laugh. “Maybe he’s a deranged Violet who’s taken his acting to a new stage,”Plinyoffers.
    “OraCoppercambistbeleagueredbyfilingprovincialtaxreturns,”Letoadds.
    “No!AnObsidianwho,dareIsay,hasfinallyforsakenhisterroroftechnologyanddevelopedthe skillstouseaholoCamera?”Plinyslapshisleg.“I’dgiveawayoneofmyRosesjusttosee—”
    “My goodmen. Enough.” Augustus cuts him off, tapping his finger on the desk. Pliny and Leto shareagrinandturnbacktoAugustus.“Yourrecommendation,Pliny?”
    “Of course.” Pliny clears his throat. “Unlike their propaganda and cyber attacks, the brutality is quitesimpletocounter.Aresornot,issueareply.Ourkillteamsarepreparedfortacticalstrikeson severalterroristtraininggroundsbeneathMars’ssurface.Weshouldstrikenow.Ifwewait,Ifearthe Sovereign’s Praetorians will take matters into their own hands. Luneborn don’t understand Mars.
    They’llslagitup.”
    “A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.” Augustus pauses.
    “SomethingLornauArcosoncesaidtomyfather.It’sengravedontheHallofBladesinNewThebes.
    Striking training grounds will do nothing except fill the holoNet with pretty explosions. I tire of politicalplays.Ourstrategymustchange.Witheverybombing,theSovereigngrowswearierofmy administration.”
    “You govern Mars ,” Leto says. “Not Venus or Earth. Ours is not a placid planet. What does she expect?”
    “Results.”
    “Whatdoyouhaveinmind,myliege?”Plinyasks.
    “I intend to poison the Sons of Ares’s roots. I want suicide bombers, not Grays. Find the ugliest, nastiestRedsonMars,holdtheirfamilieshostage,andthreatentokilltheirsonsanddaughtersifthe fathers do not do as we command. Focus the suicide bombers on surface areas with high youth density as well as two choice mines. No women bombers. I want social divide. Women against violence.”
    Howlittlelifecostshere.Justwordsintheair.
    “Urbanareastoo,”hecontinues.“NotjustBrownsandRedminersandagriculturalists.Iwantdead BlueandGreenchildreninschoolsorarcadesnexttoSonsofAresglyphs.Thenwe’llseeifother Colorsstillsingthatgirl’sgorydamnsong.”
    Myheartdipsabeat.Eo’ssongspreadfurtherthanshedreamed,reachingtheholoNetandripping across the Solar System, shared over a billion times thanks to anarchist hacker groups. Time and