Moving Mars Read Online Free PDF Page A

better give me your student ID numbers now.
    Fap off, Gretyl said.
    The picket raised his rifle, a long-barreled, slender automatic flechette. My anger and fear were almost indistinguishable. Dauble and Connor must have lost their minds. No student on Mars had ever been shot by police, not in fifty-three years of settlement. Hadnt they ever heard of Tienanmen or Kent State?
    Use it, Gretyl said. Youll be all over the Triple for shooting areology students on a field trip. Great for your career. Really spin you in with our families, too. What kind of work you looking for, rabbit?
    Our receivers jabbered with the pickets own coded outgoing message. More jabber returned.
    The man lowered his rifle and followed us. Are you armed? he asked.
    Where would students get guns? Gretyl asked. Who in hell is giving you orders to scare us?
    Listen, this is serious. I need your IDs now.
    Weve got his code, Sean said. Hes been told to block you however he can.
    Great, Gretyl said.
    Who are you talking to? Stop using code, the picket demanded.
    Maybe theyre not clueing you, rabbit, Gretyl taunted.
    Gretyls bravado, her talent for delay and confusion, astonished me. Perhaps she and Sean and a few of the others had been training for this. I wished I knew more about revolution.
    The word came to me like a small blow on my back. This was a kind of revolution. Jesus, I said with my transmitter off.
    Whats he doing? Sean asked.
    Hes following us, Gretyl said. He doesnt seem to want to shoot.
    Not with flechettes, sure enough, Sean said. What a banner that would be! I filled in the details involuntarily:
    STUDENTS RIPPED BY BURROWING DARTS.
    More code whined in our ears like angry insects.
    We marched over another rise, the guard following close behind, and saw the low poke-ups of UMS. The UMS warrens extended to the northeast for perhaps a kilometer, half levels above, ten levels deep. The administration chambers---were closest to the surface entrance and the nearby pot. Train guides hovered on slender poles, arcing gently over another rise to link with the station.
    Seans teams were probably there now.
    More guards emerged from the UMS buildings, armed and in full pressure suits.
    All right, came a gruff female voice. State your business. Then get the hell out of here or youll be arrested.
    Gretyl stepped forward, a scrawny little red devil with a black masked head. We want an audience with Chancellor Connor. We are students who have been illegally voided and whose contracts have been flagrantly broken. We demand
    Who in hell do you think you are? A bunch of fapping rodents? The womans voice scared me. She sounded outraged, on the edge of something drastic. I couldnt tell which of the suited figures she was, or if she was outside at all. Youve crossed regional property. Goddamned Gobacks should know what that means.
    Im not going to argue, Gretyl said. We demand to speak with
    Youre talking to her, you ignorant shithead! Im right here. The foremost figure raised an arm and shook a gloved fist. And Im in no mood to negotiate with Trespassers and Gobacks.
    Were here to deliver a petition. Gretyl removed a metal cylinder from her belt and extended it. One of the guards started forward, but Connor grabbed his elbow and shook it once, firmly. He backed away and folded his arms.
    Politics of confrontation, Connor said, voice harsh as old razors. Agitprop and civil disobedience. Youd think you were on Earth. Politics doesnt work that way here. I have a mandate to protect this university and keep order.
    You refuse to meet with us and discuss our demands?
    Im meeting with you now. Nobody demands anything of lawful authority except through legal channels. Whos behind you?
    I looked over my shoulder, misunderstanding.
    Theres no conspiracy, Gretyl said.
    Lies, my dear. Genuine lies.
    Under Martian contract law, we have the right to meet with you and discuss why we have been voided and our contracts broken.
    State law superseded BM law last month.
    Actually,