The Hunt Read Online Free PDF

alcove, where they could speak privately. Through the wooden screen she could still hear the music and feel the breeze, but they were alone.
    â€œThe Gauntlet,” he said, “is a series of tests used to rate species on four categories of intelligence. It is run by the Stock Algorithm, which serves as an impartial third party. Because it is a computer program, it cannot be influenced by any outside factors.”
    â€œAnd what does it have to do with me?”
    The expression on his face softened. “Everything. It is humanity’s chance to prove its value, and thus gain freedom.” He paused. “However, it is true that the Gauntlet’s puzzles are challenging, even dangerous. If the test were easy, it would serve nopurpose. It was originally established a million and a half rotations ago, when there were only two intelligent species: the Gatherers and the Axion. The Gatherers had taken my people under their guidance long before, and taught us to improve our minds and bodies over generations, until we had mastered the essential abilities. They wanted to admit us into intelligent society, but the Axion questioned our qualifications. They are an ancient species, but secretive and suspicious. And so the Gauntlet was created to prove our worth. That is how the Kindred became the third intelligent species.”
    â€œI’m guessing that means the Mosca were the fourth. Did they beat the Gauntlet too?”
    Cassian recoiled slightly at mention of the Mosca, like he had smelled something rotten. “Eventually, yes. For all their faults, the Mosca have incredible perceptive abilities. But they struggled with the morality puzzles. It took them nine tries until one of them could manage to curb his innate inclination to steal long enough to pass the test. Other species have not been as successful. The Conmarines. The Scoates. A half dozen others, in sectors very far from here. Even a chimpanzee tried to run it once—the Axion had experimented on it to give it higher intelligence. But they all failed the perceptive puzzles.”
    He removed a device from his pocket and twisted the end. “This is how it works.” Lines of light spilled out from the device, stacking on top of each other with startling speed on the table surface to form intricate shapes. “The Gauntlet is a governance module. It is its own ship, just as our markets and research centers and private chambers are independent, interlocking ships. It travels from station to station, planet to planet, to ensure that all the lesser species through the known galaxies have a fair chanceto run it. That is why it only docks at this particular station every six hundredth rotation—there are many other galaxies very far away that it must also visit. It is composed of four categories of puzzles with three rounds each. Twelve puzzles in all.” The lines of light kept connecting, building, until they took shape as rooms and chambers. Cora realized she was looking at three-dimensional blueprints. She reached out to touch the image, expecting to feel only the warmth of holographic projections, but her fingers grazed a rigid surface. She pulled back her hand in surprise.
    â€œThis is a rendering of the Gauntlet itself. Note the twelve chambers. A candidate must traverse each chamber in order. Once one puzzle is complete, the chamber will allow access to the next puzzle. Naturally, they get increasingly difficult.”
    She leaned closer. She couldn’t help but be intrigued, both by the structure of pulsing light and by what it signified—a chance, a purpose . As she watched, a small holographic figure no bigger than her thumbnail appeared in the first chamber, which started glowing a soft red. The figure moved to the next chamber, which glowed green.
    â€œThe colors represent the type of puzzle in each chamber,” he continued. “The first represents a perceptive puzzle, red. Then intellectual, green. Then physical,