Read The Trials (The Red Trilogy Book 2) Online
Authors: Linda Nagata
The Trials (The Red Trilogy Book 2) (51 page)
Sigil
is a spar platform: It floats on the ocean’s surface, its superstructure rising above a huge, hollow cylinder that extends seven hundred feet into the deep to keep the platform stabilized. Underwater cables, attached to the bottom of the cylinder, drop down another three thousand feet to an oceanic ridge, anchoring
Sigil
even against the pressure of the ice—so far, anyway.
Whether there’s oil in that ridge, no one really knows. Initial drilling on the first exploratory well stopped at the onset of winter. But a small crew of technicians and scientists remained aboard—until mid-October, when the staff of technicians was reduced by half, electronic communications went on lockdown, and a private security company was hired to protect the facility and the staff, ostensibly from potential piracy and sabotage.
If our intelligence is accurate, the drilling platform now hosts a force of ten experienced mercenaries. Maybe those mercs are the good guys in this coming conflict and maybe we’re the bad guys. Maybe the scientists aboard
Deep Winter Sigil
really are there to study the dynamics of the polar ice pack and the winter habits of passing polar bears.
But I fucking doubt it.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Trials
had help along the way from many of the same people who so generously provided assistance for its predecessor,
The Red
. They are: Nancy Jane Moore, Edward A. White, Dallas Nagata White, Vonda N. McIntyre, Jeffrey A. Carver, and Chaz Brenchley.
Judith Tarr again served as my initial editor, with additional insight from Joe Monti, my editor at Saga Press.
Thanks to all of you for your assistance, your patience, your wisdom, and your time. Thanks also to my husband, Ronald J. Nagata, Sr., whose continued support makes my writing possible.
A writer, of course, is nothing without readers. Thank you to all who’ve spent time in my story worlds. Your interest and encouragement are deeply appreciated.
If you enjoyed
The Trials
, please consider reviewing it at a blog or an online bookseller, or mention it on your favorite social media. Don’t forget to look for the final book in The Red Trilogy,
Going Dark
, also from Saga Press. To be notified of my latest books and stories, please visit my website at MythicIsland.com and sign up to receive my occasional newsletter.
Linda Nagata, January 2015
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L
INDA
N
AGATA
is the author of many novels and short stories, including
The Bohr Maker
, winner of the Locus Award for best first novel, and the novella “Goddesses,” the first online publication to receive a Nebula Award.
The Red: First Light
was a finalist for best novel for both the Nebula and John W. Campbell Awards. She lives with her husband in their longtime home on the island of Maui. Visit her at
MythicIsland.com
.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
authors.simonandschuster.com/Linda-Nagata
ALSO BY LINDA NAGATA
THE RED
GOING DARK
(FORTHCOMING)
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2015 by Linda Nagata
Cover photograph copyright © 2015 by Larry Rostant
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CIP data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-4658-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4095-0 (mass market pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4096-7 (eBook)