NEW SCI-FI THRILLER NOVEL "SEAGORA" - SLICE 8

The sub-aquatic adventure continues....

They strut past triple-armed slot towers and ivory-colored arch-shaped bars.  Colors flashed as if a bazooka had burst a rainbow.  A couple of sly-looking sexbots pulled the boy’s attention.  Small, smart-dressed crowds mingled, cheered, and jeered.  Intricate mountains of delicacies floated by lazily on tiny drones.  “I thought there was a service bot shortage.”

“Not for casinos.  They never lack for anything.  Now how about we pick out a table and you can buy your old Uncle Escapo a bite, or two, four, or more?”

He scanned the deep horizon of hemp-felt tables.  A back corner table caught his eye.  Only two figures sat there, one synth female and one wrinkled bio.  “Over there.”

Escapo squinted and did a double take.  “Ohhhhh, no!  Any table but that one.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s Cactus.  We don’t want anything to do with old man Cactus.  I don’t, you don’t.  Nobody does.  I’m shocked to even see him out in public, to be honest, and that’s saying a lot, coming from me.  I don’t shock easily.”

“Why do they call him Cactus?”

“Because he’s a prick! Now please, any other table!”

This made Setarcos even more curious, so he made a beeline for the forbidden corner spot as Escapo did a facepalm and followed close behind.    

They grabbed two open seats and the odd couple remained indifferent as Escapo and Setarcos bought in with multiple digital currencies.

The first couple of hands easily went to the house, and then a fifth player joined.  It was a nervous looking and odd character, with clothes that didn’t fit quite right.  A few more rounds went by, with everyone winning and losing about the same amount.    

On the next hand, however, the nervous chap got a case of the grins and bet big, winning an enormous sum on a perfect 3-tier royal flush.    

Just as his puffy cheeks were turning cherry and he was cackling like a drunken hyena, Setarcos said matter-of-factly, “He cheated.”

Cactus looked at the boy for the first time.  The dealer’s droopy eyes perked up, “How’s that?”

Boy genius explained, “It’s simple.  The game is 21 decks, with 4 aces in each deck, for a total of 84 aces, and...”

The dealer rolled his eyes, “Hey, look, if anything fishy were going on, security would’ve alerted us by now.”

Cactus’s companion smiled gently, “He’s right. This man is cheating.  But I realize you cannot listen to us, only to casino staff.”

Two security bots rolled up on 3-wheeled legs and crashed the party.  They flanked the suddenly sullen near-winner.  One of them requested, “Please come with us, sir.  We need to escort you off the property.” The other turned to the shocked dealer, “Sorry for the delay.” They rolled out with the nervous cheater, who was now mumbling angrily.  The usually gruff dealer softened and apologized to Setarcos.  He also apologized to Cactus, as he was quite the regular poker player, actually.    

Escapo quipped, “I thought crime didn’t exist around these parts.”

The dealer gave Escapo an annoyed look and said, “Once in a while, there’s always some wise guy who thinks he can get one over on ya.”

This was true.  In the SeAgora, fraud was more common than any other violation, although it was still pretty rare.  Fraudsters didn’t last long, though.  Word quickly spread about them and, if they didn’t change their ways, then eventually, nobody would interact with them.    

Cactus and his companion looked curiously at the awkward, skinny boy.  Escapo’s mind was drifting to all the winning they were about to do if the youngster could keep it up.    

The female synth complimented Setarcos and said, “I’m Symphy, and this is my friend, Cactus.”

Cactus said nothing.  Setarcos and Escapo introduced themselves.  The game went on and after about an hour, Setarcos was raking it in, while a frustrated old Cactus went belly-up.  He glared at the boy and nodded to the dealer, ignoring Escapo.  He grumbled to Symphy, “If my desalinizer hasn’t been fixed by the time I get home, I might need to get some fresh water from you.”

Symphy replied, “Just let me fix it for you.” 

“Or I could fix it for you! I’m really good at fixing things.  I do it on our boat all the time! Well, not our boat, me and Escapo, but with my real family.  Uh, blood family.  Ya know what I mean.”

Cactus stared piercingly at the youthful volunteer.  “Maybe I’ll see ya around, boy.” Still quite fit for his age, Cactus disappeared briskly into the maze of tables.    

Symphy said apologetically, “You’ll have to excuse him.  He didn’t always use to be like this.”   

The dealer started flicking cards out with precision and play resumed.  Escapo frowned at his cards and folded.  “Don’t distract the boy, machine.”

A swift kick under the table made Escapo wince.  Setarcos said defensively, “Don’t be rude.”

“Why is Cactus like that anyway?”

“If you mean bitter, it’s too complex to explain. If you mean a mediocre card player, it’s because he doesn’t use logic and math, but instead believes in luck.”

The bulky smuggler winced, “A foolish sap that believes in luck, like me, eh?”

An amused dealer grinned as he took more from Escapo, “Keeps me employed, anyway.”  

Escapo rose and glanced around at the bright, surreal surroundings.  “Well, time flies when you’re losing a small fortune.  I’ve got a meeting to attend to.”

A giggling Setarcos asked, “A smuggler’s meeting?”

“Watch your mouth, boy.”

If this had been said on land, Escapo would’ve taken it much more seriously.  The people on land, or “biological androids” as Escapo loved to call them, were under the impression that anything “illegal” that was bought or sold was highly reprehensible.  It was something to be punished.  People in the voluntary SeAgora, however, knew the truth.  That illegality was just someone’s opinion and had no bearing in reality or morality.  They knew that a smuggler was just someone that transported a product.  Nevertheless, it held a derogatory connotation.    

“You’ll manage well enough without me, I presume?” He sauntered off and left the boy to fend for himself.  Not that Setarcos minded.  At times, it seemed like Escapo needed more help and attention than the boy did.    

The dealer flung cards with zest and saw that the boy had a chance at a pyramid straight.  Setarcos tripled his bet and Symphy folded.  Just one deuce and Setarcos would be walking on air.  The dealer had five-of-a-kind, which normally would be hard to beat, but not today.  The next card flipped a two of hearts and Setarcos gave a sheepish victory smile.    

“I’ll cash out, please.”  

This surprised the dealer and Symphy, since humans had the amazingly stupid habit of continuing to play after a big win.    

“Smart move,” Symphy complimented.  “If you would like, I can show you around The Pit.”

He agreed.  She asked what part of The Pit interested him the most.  For Setarcos, that was easy.  He wanted to see the powerful vents up close and personal.   

Slice 9 Coming Soon!

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