LEGACY RISING Read Online Free PDF Page B

usefulness of it,” Number Thirty-Six objected. “And the feel. It’s so . . . soft, yet hard, I . . . I must know where it comes from. What is a sp—”
                  “Yes,” the duke answered, though there had been no question. Only a demand which seemed to go ignored. “Thank you for your interest. A citizen with active curiosity in our capabilities is, then, a civil servant as well.”
                  The smattering of applause which followed his comment signaled that the conversation had come to a close.
                  Legacy frowned. He hadn’t even touched the question; he hadn’t helped anything! He’d just made some vague reassurances meant to reinforce patriotism! And that was going to happen to her, too! As she considered this, her blood frothed, her heart tumbling end over end in her chest. No! It’s not going to happen to me, too!
                  “Number Thirty-Seven,” the hawk-nosed assistant called.
                  Legacy shot to her feet, the crowd of onlookers falling away, becoming inconsequential pinpricks. She may have been nervous in some other scenario, but with this question pounding in her head, the only people here were herself and the duke, separated, but not by worth. Only by space, and the invisible infrastructure of their social paradigm. Maybe Hawk Nose and Taliko got to share their little nod of approval, but she didn’t notice. She had tunnel vision, hazy with fury, and maybe, maybe Dax Ghrenadel was the one making her heart tumble end over end.
                  “Duke Taliko,” she addressed sternly. “I want to know the rationale behind the enduring support this duchy provides the Compatible Companion Selection Services lab.”
                  “Thank you for such a great question,” the duke responded. But his tone was blithe by comparison with her own. “The CCSS was established in 2261 in order to ensure the viability of the city’s pop—”
                  “But it’s been two generations since then,” Legacy seethed. “The people of this city are strong! They must be, in order to live in such conditions!”
                  A murmur rippled through the crowd.
                  “Can more cities not be built? If a challenge surprises nature, will it not deliver you strength in its diversity? Because no one just lays down! We all want to live!”
                  Sudden, isolated bursts of clapping startled Legacy out of her fever, and the tunnel vision widened to encompass the audience she had forgotten. They were all staring at her in mixtures of criticism and shock and hope.
                  “Your dreamy philosophy, Miss Legacy, is not suited to a world of restricted resources such as this,” Duke Taliko replied. The languid quality to his manner had evaporated, and now the same fire of her eyes leapt in his own. “On the Old Earth, they espoused similar tenets of choice and chance ,” he hissed.
                  “Because we are not traits to be tallied by your difference engines!” Legacy spat.
    “Yeah!” someone behind her belted.
    “I am not my bone density! I am not my allergies!”
    “Nor I!” cried another citizen, hurling a chunk of bread at the podium.
    “I am not my percentage of risk!” she continued, now blind to the audience again, out of her mind with zeal. “And neither is the ineligible man I love!”
    Fingers closed around Legacy’s arm, which she shook without looking.
    “Hey!” she heard Dax’s voice shout from behind her. “Get your hands off her!”
    Legacy struggled against the barrier of security which had seemed to spring from nowhere. Perfect. Stern men in black turtlenecks, their arms strapped in blue ribbon bearing the Taliko insignia, clamped down from all sides, one in the row behind her, two on her other side, and another pulling chairs out of the way to clear