Alien in the Family

what, his seventies or eighties?”
    “Older,” Alexander admitted.
    “Wow. An old man in his nineties is attacked by the Amazonian Assassin Squad, and he’s still managing to hang on to life. Amazing will.”
    Martini cursed. “You are kidding me!”
    “I wish, Jeff. Just think what you’d all be like if you were still on the home world.”
    “We’d suck.” Christopher’s voice was shaking with rage. “That’s why he wants my father dead.”
    “Yes, because the one person who could actually come back with the authority to lead thousands isn’t really Jeff or you . . . it’s the religious leader who’s been doing it in exile for decades. Richard is the one who leads the hearts and minds of the entire A-C population, including the hearts and minds of the people in charge of all operations.”
    “So the king isn’t hurt all that badly?” Kevin sounded suspicious.
    “No, and it’s obvious now.” Chuckie’s tone was one I was very familiar with. He was in full-on Conspiracy Mode. “But, the question is, who does the king want as a successor?”
    “No one.”
    Everyone looked at me. The spaceship floodlights made it really clear that everyone, even Chuckie, thought I was nuts.
    I sighed. “Guys, I’d like everyone to meet Paul Gower. Paul, come next to me, please.” He did, while giving me the crazy girl look. “Folks, what’s the most unusual thing about Paul?”
    “Oh, God, tell me you’re wrong.” Reader looked freaked. Finally, someone else got it.
    “I’m not wrong.”
    “Kitty, James. Answers, now.” Martini was growling and in full Commander Mode.
    “Jeff, I birthed ACE into Paul six months ago. Paul’s suffered no ill effects. Neither has ACE. But I’ll bet that if we bothered to check, Paul’s longevity has been increased. Also, ACE is part of our world and so thinks more like we do. More to the point, he’s joined with a group who are, truthfully, pacifistic at their core. But the other PPB net was around the most warlike, angry world out there. We assumed it became sentient and aware and took on the anger of the world it surrounded.”
    “But it didn’t, did it?” Reader asked. “Because the plan is to get rid of all the potential heirs to the throne here and now.”
    “Well, the net is angry, but it’s more than that. I’m fairly sure it’s being controlled, not doing the controlling, at least, not all of it.”
    “Who could control the net?” Alexander asked. “They’re created to stand alone and do what they’re programmed to do.”
    “But they’re sentient, and a sentient being can always change its mind. Plus, the person who created the net could always find a way to control it, or create a fail-safe. Or merely program the net to obey at the right time.” Paul and I could control ACE, to a degree, anyway, but I didn’t share that out loud.
    Instead I looked around at all the emissaries. “The plan is to get rid of all the other planetary leaders. And to do that, there needed to be an assassination squad. There were plenty of the best warriors around, in captivity on Beta Twelve. That’s why I know it’s the rest of Kyrellis’ crew who’re coming on that ship—it’s what they were created for, why their net talked to them specifically and told them what to do and who to listen to. The king of Alpha Four will join with the PPB consciousness from Queen Renata’s world and rule everyone, in both the A-C and Earth solar systems . . . potentially forever.”
    Everyone looked horrified and a little ill. No one from the A-C solar system, however, looked all that surprised. From all we’d heard, this was business as usual for Alpha Four.
    I looked at Chuckie. “So Earth has the most to lose, and the king of Alpha Four has the most to gain. Everything else, as always, was an elaborate ruse to keep us distracted from the real goal and what’s really coming.”
    “I’m so proud,” Chuckie said with a small smile. “All those years, you really were paying attention.”
    “To everything you ever said, yeah.” I looked back to Alexander. “I forgot to ask and you’ve never said—what’s Jeff’s good ol’ granddad’s name?”
    “In your language, my great-uncle’s name would translate to Adolphus.”
    I was quiet for a moment. “Wow. That’s so fitting it’s scary.”
    “So, why was Reynolds’ room bugged?” Christopher asked me.
    “Hitler’s royal A-C counterpart and the PPB net haven’t joined yet. I think Kitler wants to be