Read Vyyda Book 1: The Haver Problem for Free Online

valuable.”
                  “Which is?”
                  “A journal.”
                  “Congratulations,” Dorsey said, lifting his glass.
                  “And I can tell you this:  While it’s not a full picture of just what went on during mass migration, the story confirms things that I have always suspected.”
                  “If it’s real.”
                  “Which is why I need your help.”
                  “My help?  I’m not the history man here.”
                  “You’re the word expert.  Scour it for usage, proper idiomatic phrases.  Do your language forensics on it.”
                  “My grasp of Earth phrasing from so far back…it’s not…” Dorsey shook his head.
                  “Nonsense.”
                  Dorsey rubbed his neck, irritated.  “It’s in English?”
                  “Yes.”
                  He was cornered.
                  “Tomas, I won’t read it.  I don’t believe in it.”
                  "I need your help," the older man said with a voice uncharacteristically devoid of whimsy.  Dorsey knew the tone. 
                  “You’re…” Dorsey began, irritated.  He softened slightly before continuing.  “…insisting so…much.  I can’t see how I’ll be able to…”
                  "Are you trying to say you'll be happy to read the manuscript?" Witt asked. 
                  "All except the happy part."
                  Dorsey knew he’d read it.  What point was there in putting up a fight when Tomas Witt would never let it go?
                  “Good.  You can start right now.”
                  “I have the Vardon hearing today, Tomas.”
                  “Oh, are they still going ahead with that?” Witt asked, clearly irritated.
                  “He broke a multitude of rules.  Some people think it’s serious.”
                  “What time does it begin?”
                  “Sixteen hundred.”
                  “Right.  Then you’ve got two hours to get going on the reading.”  Witt didn’t get an immediate reply.  “Objections?”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    3.
    Caroline Dahl
     
    5 March 2310.  HSPB-Luna
     
    Caroline Dahl stood quietly in the main room of her living quarters, staring at the body of her pet Silver Crested Cockatoo, a narrow tresanium spike driven through its head.
    It had been the only Cockatoo on the moon.
    As an agent of the Home Sector Protection Bureau, Caroline received special permission to have the bird.  The rule against any non-human organic material leaving Earth was beginning to loosen slightly under certain circumstances.
    Yet even a more liberal approach to personal privileges led to an absurd approval process that Caroline was forced to undergo.  Months passed as she cleared three separate stages of permission for the bird, culminating with a formal interview conducted by HSPB-Luna Director Cyril Redd (who'd already known her several years):
     
    Q:  Why do you want a Silver Crested Cockatoo?
     
    A:  I've seen pictures.  It's a beautiful bird.
     
    Q:  Yes, but why do you want a bird or any animal at all?
     
    A:  It would be a unique opportunity to experience a piece of Earth.
     
    Q:  Because you've never been there?
     
    A:  I suppose.
     
    Unlike Dorsey Jefferson (and most U-Spacers), Caroline Dahl didn't have the luxury of hiding behind secrets and half-truths.  As a citizen of C-Space and an HSPB agent, anything so subversive would have been in violation of Earth’s expectations.  One’s life had to always be capable of standing up to extreme scrutiny.
    Raised on Mars, the bird had been Caroline's very first experience with a pet.  Unlike many of the