Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga) by Terry Mixon Page A

fascinating. And that was before they’d put any books in it.
    Just the idea that a modern warship would have a two-level room of that size dedicated to the printed page was astounding to her.
    She’d lost no time sending a message home for books to fill it with. Word had spread to Coordinator West’s friend and mentor, Lord William Hawthorne. He’d found many tomes to add to the haul. Between the two of them, and the various finds in the graveyard, this library was now worthy of the name.
    In fact, Lord Hawthorne was the one she was coming here to meet. She found him standing beside a tall shelf with an old book in his hand. He wasn’t alone. Reginald Bell sat in a chair nearby, examining a portfolio of some kind.
    “Gentlemen,” she said as she came over. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”
    William Hawthorne slid the book back onto the shelf and bent low at the waist. “Elise. It’s a pleasure as always. May I say you look stunning?”
    “Flatterer. No need to rise on my account, Reg. Your knees aren’t as young as they used to be.”
    The older man gave up on standing and bowed his head. “Princess Elise. It’s good to see you again. The trip here was a trifle more tiring than I’d imagined. Though these new nanites are helping some.”
    Kelsey had Doctor Leonard remove some of her Marine Raider nanites and examine them. The little machines were markedly more advanced than the ones given to regular Fleet personnel, but the scientists could reprogram them to work in others.
    They’d need periodic replacement, but they might keep the old gentleman with them a few more decades. He had so much to tell them and so little time left to do it. They could harvest enough Raider nanites from her for that.
    Reginald Bell was the only person alive who’d seen the Empire before the Fall. Even his ancient appearance belied his true age. The Terran Empire had gone down fighting more than five centuries ago. That was far longer than even Fleet nanites could extend someone’s age.
    And that was a blessing. The poor people the AIs had enslaved during the Fall were all dead. God rest their souls.
    He’d spent more than two centuries in a stasis unit. Generations of men and women had watched over him as they were born, grew old, and finally passed on. They’d done so solely in the hope that, one day, his intimate knowledge of the Old Empire would once more prove valuable.
    Now that Jared and Kelsey had freed Erorsi from the thrall of the crazed AI, the people that had survived in the old planetary defense center could finally live their lives out in the open. And now they could save Reg’s knowledge of the Old Empire.
    That wasn’t to say that he hadn’t recorded a lot before he’d gone into stasis. Only, he hadn’t known what those outside would lose over the years. He’d stuck to large events, but current day anthropologists and historians wanted to know the minutia of his life. He spent hours every day telling stories and answering questions.
    He’d also decided to record him memories in the same way Ned had. It probably wouldn’t result in an AI of him after his death, but it would save the only direct memories of the Old Empire they had left. Other than Ned, of course.
    “We’ve just been amusing ourselves while we waited,” William said. “Please, join us.”
    She sat in the chair he held for her and waited for him to sit. Then she launched into her semi-prepared speech.
    “I appreciate you both taking the time to meet with me. Marcus is also in attendance, though the subroutine is not going to report our conversation to his main memory unless we decide that’s appropriate.”
    “What’s the old saying?” Marcus asked from a speaker under the table. “Four people can keep a secret if two of them are dead and one is an AI that isn’t talking to itself?”
    “I’m fairly sure that’s almost correct,” William said with a smile. “This is all suitably mysterious. What, if I might