JOHN SCALZI

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Copyright John Scalzi 2012
All rights reserved
The right of John Scalzi to be identied as the author of
this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain in 2012
by Gollancz
An imprint of the Orion Publishing Group
Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin's Lane, London WC2H 9EA
An Hachette UK Company
This edition published in Great Britain in 2013 by Gollancz
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 575 13430 0
Printed in Great Britain by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
The Orion Publishing Groups policy is to use papers that are
natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from
wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental
regulations of the country of origin.
www.orionbooks.co.uk
www.gollancz.co.uk
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PROLOGUE
F
rom the top of the large boulder he sat on, Ensign Tom
Davis looked across the expanse of the cave toward Cap-
tain Lucius Abernathy, Science Ofcer Qeeng and Chief En-
gineer Paul West perched on a second, larger boulder, and
thought, Well, this sucks.
Borgovian Land Worms! Captain Abernathy said, and
smacked his boulder with an open palm. I should have
known.
You should have known? How the hell could you not have
known? thought Ensign Davis, and looked at the vast dirt
oor of the cave, its powdery surface moving here and there
with the shadowy humps that marked the movement of the
massive, carnivorous worms.
I dont think we should just be waltzing in there, Davis
had said to Chen, the other crew member on the away team,
upon encountering the cave. Abernathy, Qeeng and West
had already entered, despite the fact that Davis and Chen
were technically their security detail.
Chen, who was new, snorted. Oh, come on, he said. Its
just a cave. What could possibly be in there?
Bears? Davis had suggested. Wolves? Any number of
large predators who see a cave as shelter from the elements?
Have you never been camping?
There are no bears on this planet, Chen had said, will-
fully missing Davis point. And anyway we have pulse guns.
Now come on. This is my rst away mission. I dont want the
captain wondering where I am. He ran in after the ofcers.
From his boulder, Davis looked down at the dusty smear
on the cave oor that was all that remained of Chen. The
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land worms, called by the sound of the humans walking
in the cave, had tunneled up under him and dragged him
down, leaving nothing but echoing screams and the smear.
Well, thats not quite true, Davis thought, peering farther
into the cave and seeing the hand that lay there, still clutch-
ing the pulse gun Chen had carried, and which as it turned
out had done him absolutely no good whatsoever.
The ground stirred and the hand suddenly disappeared.
Okay, now its true, Davis thought.
Davis! Captain Abernathy called. Stay where you are!
Any movement across that ground will call to the worms!
Youll be eaten instantly!
Thanks for the useless and obvious update, you jackass, Davis
thought, but did not say, because he was an ensign, and Aber-
nathy was the captain. Instead, what he said was, Aye, Cap-
tain.
Good, Abernathy said. I dont want you trying to make
a break for it and getting caught by those worms. Your father
would never forgive me.
What? Davis thought, and suddenly he remembered that
Captain Abernathy had served under his father on the Benja-
min Franklin. The ill- fated Benjamin Franklin. And in fact, Da-
vis father had saved the then- Ensign Abernathy by tossing
his unconscious body into the escape pod before diving in
himself and launching the pod just as the Franklin blew up
spectacularly around them. They had drifted in space for three
days and had almost run out of breathable air in that pod
before they were rescued.
Davis shook his head. It was very odd that all that detail
about Abernathy popped into his head, especially consider-
ing the circumstances.
As if on cue, Abernathy said, Your father once saved my
life, you know.
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I know Davis began, and then nearly toppled off the
top of his boulder as the land worms suddenly launched
themselves into it, making it wobble.
Davis! Abernathy said.
Davis hunched down, attening himself toward the boul-
der to keep his center of gravity low. He glanced over to Ab-
ernathy, who was now conferring with Qeeng and West.
Without being able to hear them, Davis knew that they were
reviewing what they knew about Borgovian Land Worms
and trying to devise a plan to neutralize the creatures, so
they could cross the cave in safety and reach the chamber
that housed the ancient Central Computer of the Borgov-
ians, which could give them a clue about the disappearance
of that wise and mysterious race.
You really need to start focusing on your current situation, some
part of Davis brain said to him, and he shook his head again.
Davis couldnt disagree with this assessment; his brain had
picked a funny time to start spouting a whole bunch of extra-
neous information that served him no purpose at this time.
The worms rocked his boulder again. Davis gripped it as
hard as he could and saw Abernathy, Qeeng and West be-
come more animated in their attempted problem solving.
A thought suddenly came to Davis. Youre part of the secu-
rity detail, it said. You have a pulse gun. You could just vaporize
these things.
Davis would have smacked his head if the worms werent
already doing that by driving it into the boulder. Of course!
The pulse gun! He reached down to his belt to unclasp the
gun from its holster. As he did so another part of his brain
wondered why, if in fact the solution was as simple as just
vaporizing the worms, Captain Abernathy or one of the other
ofcers hadnt just ordered him to do it already.
I seem to have a lot of voices in my brain today, said a third
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part of Davis brain. He ignored that par tic u lar voice in his
brain and aimed at a moving hump of dirt coming toward
his boulder.
Abernathys cry of Davis! No! arrived at the exact in-
stant Davis red, sending a pulsed beam of coherent, disrup-
tive particles into the dirt mound. A screech emanated from
the mound, followed by violent thrashing, followed by a sin-
ister rumbling, followed by the ground of the cave erupting
as dozens of worms suddenly burst from the dirt.
The pulse gun is in effec tive against Borgovian Land
Worms! Davis heard Science Ofcer Qeeng say over the
unspeakable noise of the thrashing worms. The frequency
of the pulse sends them into a frenzy. Ensign Davis has just
called every worm in the area!
You couldnt have told me this before I red? Davis wanted to
scream. You couldnt have said, Oh, by the way, dont re a pulse
gun at a Borgovian Land Worm at our mission brieng? On the
ship? At which we discussed landing on Borgovia? Which has
fucking land worms?
Davis didnt scream this at Qeeng because he knew there
was no way Qeeng would hear him, and besides it was al-
ready too late. Hed red. The worms were in a frenzy. Some-
body now was likely to die.
It was likely to be Ensign Davis.
Through the rumble and dust, Davis looked over at Aber-
nathy, who was gazing back at him, concern furrowed into
his brow. And then Davis was wondering when, if ever, Aber-
nathy had ever spoken to him before this mission.
Oh, Abernathy must have he and Davis father had been
tight ever since the destruction of the Franklin. They were
friends. Good friends. It was even likely that Abernathy had
known Davis himself as a boy, and may have even pulled a
few strings to get his friends son a choice berth on the In-
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trepid, the agship of the Universal Union. The captain
wouldnt have been able to spend any real time with Davis it
wouldnt have done for the captain to show favoritism in the
ranks but surely they would have spoken. A few words here
and there. Abernathy asking after Davis father, perhaps. Or
on other away missions.
Davis was coming up with a blank.
Suddenly, the rumbling stopped. The worms, as quickly as
they had gone into a frenzy, appeared to sidle back under the
dirt. The dust settled.
Theyre gone! Davis heard himself say.
No, Abernathy said. Theyre smarter than that.
I can make it to the mouth of the cave! Davis heard
himself say.
Stay where you are, Ensign! Abernathy said. Thats an
order!
But Davis was already off his boulder and running toward
the mouth of the cave. Some part of Davis brain howled at
the irrationality of the action, but the rest of Davis didnt
care. He knew he had to move. It was almost a compulsion.
As if he had no choice.
Abernathy screamed No! very nearly in slow motion,
and Davis covered half of the distance he needed to go. Then
the ground erupted as land worms, arrayed in a semicircle,
launched themselves up and toward Davis.
And it was then, as he skidded backward, and while his face
showed surprise, in fact, that Ensign Davis had an epiphany.
This was the dening moment of his life. The reason he
existed. Everything hed ever done before, everything hed
ever been, said or wanted, had led him to this exact mo-
ment, to be skidding backward while Borgovian Land Worms
bored through dirt and air to get him. This was his fate. His
destiny.
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In a ash, and as he gazed upon the needle-sharp teeth
spasming in the rather evolutionarily suspect rotating jaw of
the land worm, Ensign Tom Davis saw the future. None of
this was really about the mysterious disappearance of the
Borgovians. After this moment, no one would ever speak of
the Borgovians again.
It was about him or rather, what his impending death
would do to his father, now an admiral. Or even more to the
point, what his death would do to the relationship between
Admiral Davis and Captain Abernathy. Davis saw the scene
in which Abernathy told Admiral Davis of his sons death.
Saw the shock turn to anger, saw the friendship between the
two men dissolve. He saw the scene where the Universal Union
MPs placed the captain under arrest for trumped- up charges
of murder by negligence, planted by the admiral.
He saw the court- martial and Science Ofcer Qeeng, acting
as Abernathys counsel, dramatically breaking down the ad-
miral on the witness stand, getting him to admit this was all
about him losing his son. Davis saw his father dramatically
reach out and ask forgiveness from the man he had falsely ac-
cused and had arrested, and saw Captain Abernathy give it
ina heartrending reconciliation right there in the courtroom.
It was a great story. It was great drama.
And it all rested upon him. And this moment. And this
fate. This destiny of Ensign Davis.
Ensign Davis thought, Screw this, I want to live, and swerved
to avoid the land worms.
But then he tripped and one of the land worms ate his face
and he died anyway.
From his vantage point next to Qeeng and West, Captain
Lucius Abernathy watched helplessly as Tom Davis fell prey
to the land worms. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was
Chief Engineer West.
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Im sorry, Lucius, he said. I know he was a friend of
yours.
More than a friend, Abernathy said, choking back grief.
The son of a friend as well. I saw him grow up, Paul. Pulled
strings to get him on the Intrepid. I promised his father that I
would look after him. And I did. Checked in on him from
time to time. Never showed favoritism, of course. But kept an
eye out.
The admiral will be heartbroken, Science Ofcer Qeeng
said. Ensign Davis was the only child of the admiral and his
late wife.
Yes, Abernathy said. It will be hard.
Its not your fault, Lucius, West said. You didnt tell him
to re his pulse gun. You didnt tell him to run.
Not my fault, Abernathy agreed. But my responsibility.
He moved to the most distant point on the boulder to be alone.
Jesus Christ, West muttered to Qeeng, after the captain
had removed himself and they were alone and nally free to
speak. What sort of moron shoots a pulse gun into a cave
oor crawling with land worms? And then tries to run across
it? He may have been an admirals son, but he wasnt very
smart.
Its unfortunate indeed, Qeeng said. The dangers of the
Borgovian Land Worms are well- known. Chen and Davis both
should have known better.
Standards are slipping, West said.
That may be, Qeeng said. Be that as it may, this and
other recent missions have seen a sad and remarkable loss of
life. Whether they are up to our standards or not, the fact
remains: We need more crew.
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CHAPTER ONE
E
nsign Andrew Dahl looked out the window of Earth Dock,
the Universal Unions space station above the planet Earth,
and gazed at his next ship.
He gazed at the Intrepid.
Beautiful, isnt she? said a voice.
Dahl turned to see a young woman, dressed in a starship
ensigns uniform, also looking out toward the ship.
She is, Dahl agreed.
The Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, the young
woman said. Built in 2453 at the Mars Dock. Flagship of the
Universal Union since 2456. First captain, Genevieve Shan.
Lucius Abernathy, captain since 2462.
Are you the Intrepids tour guide? Dahl asked, smiling.
Are you a tourist? the young woman asked, smiling back.
No, Dahl said, and held out his hand. Andrew Dahl. Ive
been assigned to the Intrepid. Im just waiting on the 1500
shuttle.
The young woman took his hand. Maia Duvall, she
said. Also assigned to the Intrepid. Also waiting on the 1500
shuttle.
What a coincidence, Dahl said.
If you want to call two Dub U Space Fleet members waiting
in a Dub U space station for a shuttle to the Dub U spaceship
parked right outside the shuttle berth window a coincidence,
sure, Duvall said.
Well, when you put it that way, Dahl said.
Why are you here so early? Duvall asked. Its only now
noon. I thought I would be the rst one waiting for the
shuttle.
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Im excited, Dahl said. This will be my rst posting.
Duvall looked him over, a question in her eyes. I went to
the Academy a few years late, he said.
Why was that? Duvall asked.
Its a long story, Dahl said.
We have time, Duvall said. How about we get some
lunch and you tell me.
Uh, Dahl said. Im kind of waiting for someone. A friend
of mine. Whos also been assigned to the Intrepid.
The food court is right over there, Duvall said, motion-
ing to the bank of stalls across the walkway. Just send him
or her a text. And if he misses it, we can see him from there.
Come on. Ill spring for the drinks.
Oh, well, in that case, Dahl said. If I turned down a free
drink, theyd kick me out of Space Fleet.

I was promised a long story, Duvall said, after they had got-
ten their food and drinks.
I made no such promise, Dahl said.
The promise was implied, Duvall protested. And besides,
I bought you a drink. I own you. Entertain me, Ensign Dahl.
All right, ne, Dahl said. I entered the Academy late be-
cause for three years I was a seminary student.
Okay, thats moderately interesting, Duvall said.
On Forshan, Dahl said
Okay, thats intensely interesting, Duvall said. So youre
a priest of the Forshan religion? Which schism?
The leftward schism, and no, not a priest.
Couldnt handle the celibacy?
Leftward priests arent required to be celibate, Dahl said,
but considering I was the only human at the seminary, I had
celibacy thrust upon me, if you will.
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Some people wouldnt have let that stop them, Duvall
said.
You havent seen a Forshan seminary student up close,
Dahl said. Also, I dont swing xeno.
Maybe you just havent found the right xeno, Duvall said.
I prefer humans, Dahl said. Call me boring.
Boring, Duvall said, teasingly.
And youve just pried into my personal preferences in land
speed record time, Dahl said. If youre this forward with
someone you just met, I can only imagine what youre like
with people youve known for a long time.
Oh, Im not like this with everyone, Duvall said. But I
can tell I like you already. Anyway. Not a priest.
No. My technical status is Foreign Penitent, Dahl said.
I was allowed to do the full course of study and perform
some rites, but there were some physical requirements I would
not have been able to perform for full ordination.
Like what? Duvall asked.
Self- impregnation, for one, Dahl said.
A small but highly relevant detail, Duvall said.
And here you were all concerned about celibacy, Dahl
said, and swigged from his drink.
If you were never going to become a priest, why did you
go to the seminary? Duvall asked.
I found the Forshan religion very restful, Dahl said.
When I was younger that appealed to me. My parents died
when I was young and I had a small inheritance, so I took it,
paid tutors to learn the language and then traveled to For-
shan and found a seminary that would take me. I planned to
stay forever.
But you didnt, Duvall said. I mean, obviously.
Dahl smiled. Well. I found the Forshan religion restful. I
found the Forshan religious war less so.
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Ah, Duvall said. But how does one get from Forshan
seminary student to Academy graduate?
When the Dub U came to mediate between the religious
factions on Forshan, they needed an interpreter, and I was on
planet, Dahl said. There arent a lot of humans who speak
more than one dialect of Forshan. I know all four of the major
ones.
Impressive, Duvall said.
Im good with my tongue, Dahl said.
Now whos being forward? Duvall asked.
After the Dub U mission failed, it advised that all non-
natives leave the planet, Dahl said. The head Dub U nego-
tiator said that the Space Fleet had need of linguists and
scientists and recommended me for a slot at the Academy. By
that time my seminary had been burned to the ground and I
had nowhere to go, or any money to get there even if I had.
The Academy seemed like the best exit strategy. Spent four
years there studying xenobiology and linguistics. And here I
am.
Thats a good story, Duvall said, and tipped her bottle
toward Dahl.
He clinked it with his own. Thanks, he said. What about
yours?
Far less interesting, Duvall said.
I doubt that, Dahl said.
No Academy for me, Duvall said. I enlisted as a grunt for
the Dub U peacekeepers. Did that for a couple of years and
then transferred over to Space Fleet three years ago. Was on the
Nantes up until this transfer.
Promotion? Dahl said.
Duvall smirked. Not exactly, she said. Its best to call it
a transfer due to personnel conicts.
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Before Dahl could dig further his phone buzzed. He took
it out and read the text on it. Goof, he said, smiling.
What is it? Duvall asked.
Hold on a second, Dahl said, and turned in his seat to
wave at a young man standing in the middle of the station
walkway. Were over here, Jimmy, Dahl said. The young man
grinned, waved back and headed over.
The friend youre waiting on, I presume, Duvall said.
That would be him, Dahl said. Jimmy Hanson.
Jimmy Hanson? Duvall said. Not related to James Han-
son, CEO and chairman of Hanson Industries, surely.
James Albert Hanson the Fourth, Dahl said. His son.
Must be nice, Duvall said.
He could buy this space station with his allowance, Dahl
said. But hes not like that.
What do you mean? Duvall said.
Hey, guys, Hanson said, nally making his way to the
table. He looked at Duvall, and held out his hand. Hi, Im
Jimmy.
Maia, Duvall said, extending her hand. They shook.
So, youre a friend of Andys, right? Hanson said.
I am, Duvall said. He and I go way back. All of a half
hour.
Great, Hanson said, and smiled. He and I go back slightly
farther.
I would hope so, Duvall said.
Im going to get myself something to drink, Hanson
said. You guys want anything? Want me to get you another
round?
Im ne, Dahl said.
I could go for another, Duvall said, waggling her nearly
empty bottle.
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One of the same? Hanson asked.
Sure, Duvall said.
Great, Hanson said, and clapped his hands together. So,
Ill be right back. Keep this chair for me?
You got it, Dahl said. Hanson wandered off in search of
food and drink.
He seems nice, Duvall said.
He is, Dahl said.
Not hugely full of personality, Duvall said.
He has other qualities, Dahl said.
Like paying for drinks, Duvall said.
Well, yes, but thats not what I was thinking of, Dahl
said.
You mind if I ask you a personal question? Duvall said.
Seeing as weve already covered my sexual preferences in
this conversation, no, Dahl said.
Were you friends with Jimmy before you knew his dad
could buy an entire planet or two? Duvall asked.
Dahl paused a moment before answering. Do you know
how the rich are different than you or me? he asked Duvall.
You mean, besides having more money, Duvall said.
Yeah, Dahl said.
No, Duvall said.
What makes them different the smart ones, anyway is
that they have a very good sense of why people want to be near
them. Whether its because they want to be friends, which is
not about proximity to money and access and power, or if they
want to be part of an entourage, which is. Make sense?
Sure, Duvall said.
Okay, Dahl said. So, heres the thing. When Jimmy was
young, he gured out that his father was one of the richest
men in the Dub U. Then he gured out that one day, he would
be too. Then he gured out that there were a lot of other
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people who would try to use the rst two things to their own
advantage. Then he gured out how to avoid those people.
Got it, Duvall said. Jimmy would know if you were just
being nice to him because of who his daddy was.
It was really interesting watching him our rst few weeks
at the Academy, Dahl said. Some of the cadets and some
of our instructors tried to make themselves his friend. I
think they were surprised how quickly this rich kid had their
number. Hes had enough time to be extraordinarily good at
reading people. He has to be.
So how did you approach him? Duvall said.
I didnt, Dahl said. He came over and started talking to
me. I think he realized I didnt care who his dad was.
Everybody loves you, Duvall said.
Well, that, and I was getting an A in the biology course
he was having trouble with, Dahl said. Just because Jimmys
picky about his companions doesnt mean hes not self-
interested.
He seemed to be willing to consider me a friend, Duvall
said.
Thats because he thinks were friends, and he trusts my
judgment, Dahl said.
And are we? Duvall said. Friends, I mean.
Youre a little more hyper than I normally like, Dahl said.
Yeah, I get that I like things restful vibe from you, Du-
vall said.
I take it you dont do restful, Dahl said.
I sleep from time to time, Duvall said. Otherwise, no.
I suppose Ill have to adjust, Dahl said.
I suppose you will, Duvall said.
I have drinks, Hanson said, coming up behind Duvall.
Why, Jimmy, Duvall said. That makes you my new fa-
vorite person.
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Excellent, Hanson said, offered Duvall her drink, and sat
down at the table. So, what are we talking about?

Just before the shuttle arrived, two more people arrived at the
waiting area. More accurately, ve people arrived: two crew-
men, accompanied by three members of the military police.
Duvall nudged Dahl and Hanson, who looked over. One of the
crewmen noticed and cocked an eyebrow. Yes, I have an en-
tourage, he said.
Duvall ignored him and addressed one of the MPs. Whats
his story?
The MP motioned to the one with a cocked eyebrow. Vari-
ous charges for this one, including smuggling, selling contra-
band and assaulting a superior ofcer. She then motioned to
the other crewman, who was standing there sullenly, avoiding
eye contact with everyone else. That poor bastard is this ones
friend. Hes tainted by association.
The assault charge is trumped up, said the rst ensign.
The XO was high as a kite.
On drugs you gave him, said the second crewman, still
not looking at anyone else.
No one can prove I gave them to him, and anyway they
werent drugs, said the rst. They were an offworld fungus.
And it couldnt have been that. The fungus relaxes people,
not makes them attack anyone in the room, requiring them
to defend themselves.
You gave him Xeno- pseudoagaricus, didnt you, Dahl
said.
The rst crewman looked at Dahl. As I already said, no one
can prove I gave the XO anything, he said. And maybe.
Xeno- pseudoagaricus naturally produces a chemical that
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in most humans provides a relaxing effect, Dahl said. But in
about one- tenth of one percent of people, it does the opposite.
The receptors in their brains are slightly different from every-
one elses. And of those people, about one- tenth of one per-
cent will go berserk under its inuence. Sounds like your XO is
one of those people.
Who are you, who is so wise in the way of alien fungus?
said the crewman.
Someone who knows that no matter what, you dont deal
upward on the chain of command, Dahl said. The crewman
grinned.
So why arent you in the brig? Duvall asked.
The crewman motioned to Dahl. Ask your friend, hes so
smart, he said. Duvall looked to Dahl, who shrugged.
Xeno- pseudoagaricus isnt illegal, Dahl said. Its just not
very smart to use it. Youd have to either study xenobiology or
have an interest in off- brand not- technically- illegal alien mood
enhancers, possibly for entrepreneurial purposes.
Ah, Duvall said.
If I had to guess, Dahl said, Im guessing our friend
here
Finn, said the crewman, and nodded to the other one.
And thats Hester.
our friend Finn had a reputation at his last posting for
being the guy to go to for substances that would let you pass
a urine test.
Hester snorted at this.
Im also guessing that his XO probably doesnt want it
known that he was taking drugs
Fungus, said Finn.
of any sort, and that in any event when the Xeno-
pseudoagaricus made him go nuts, he attacked and Finn here
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was technically defending himself when he fought back. So
rather than put Finn in the brig and open up an ugly can of
worms, better to transfer him quietly.
I can neither conrm nor deny this interpretation of
events, Finn said.
Then whats with the MPs? Hanson asked.
Theyre here to make sure we get on the Intrepid without
any detours, said Hester. They dont want him renewing
his stash. Finn rolled his eyes at this.
Duvall looked at Hester. Im sensing bitterness here.
Hester nally made eye contact. The bastard hid his stash
in my foot locker, he said, to Duvall.
And you didnt know? Duvall asked.
He told me they were candies, and that if the other crew
knew he had them, theyd sneak into his foot locker to take
them.
They would have, Finn said. And in my defense, every-
thing was candied.
You also said they were for your mother, Hester said.
Yes, well, Finn said. I did lie about that part.
I tried to tell that to the captain and the XO, but they
didnt care, Hester said. As far as they were concerned I was
an accomplice. I dont even like him.
Then why did you agree to hold his . . . candies? Duvall
said. Hester mumbled something inaudible and broke eye
contact.
He did it because I was being nice to him, and he doesnt
have friends, Finn said.
So you took advantage of him, Hanson said.
I dont dislike him, Finn said. And its not like I meant
for him to get in trouble. He shouldnt have gotten in trouble.
Nothing in the stash was illegal. But then our XO went nuts
and tried to rearrange my bone structure.
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You probably should have known your product line bet-
ter, Dahl said.
The next time I get something, Ill run it by you rst, Finn
said sarcastically, and then motioned toward the window,
where the shuttle could be seen approaching the berth. But
its going to have to wait. Looks like our ride is here.
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