City of Darkness
Contents (2)
CITY OF
DARKNESS
The Best in Today’s Fiction . . .
for Today’s Readers
Finder
by Emma Bull
Briar Rose
by Jane Yolen
Wildside
by Steven Gould
Sister Light, Sister Dark
by Jane Yolen
City of Darkness
by Ben Bova
The One-Armed Queen
by Jane Yolen
Dogland
by Will Shetterly
White Jenna
by Jane Yolen
War for the Oaks
by Emma Bull
CITY OF
DARKNESS
BEN BOVA
The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices.
Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
CITY OF DARKNESS
Copyright © 2003 by Ben Bova
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
Previously published by Berkley Books
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 0-765-34361-4
EAN 978-0765-3436-1
First Tor Teen edition: March 2004
Printed in the United States of America
0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
To Susan, Amy, Tony, Stu
and all the NESFAs
Oh beautifulfor patriot’s dream
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears . . .
“America the Beautiful”
Katherine Lee Bates (1911)
Save the people!
Save the children!
Save the country!
NOW!
“Save the Country”
Recorded by the Fifth Dimension (1970)
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
“And the girls . . . wow!” said Ron Morgan.
“What about them?”
“How’d they look?”
Ron was sitting on the edge of the swimming pool, his feet swishing in the heated water. It was a cool, clear, late summer night. Eight of his buddies were clustered around him on the astroturf of the back yard. The only lights were the pool’s underwater lamps, which threw strange shimmering shadows on the boys’ faces.
“New York City girls are something else,” Ron told them. “It’s hard to describe. They’re not prettier than the girls here at home, but . . .”
“But what?” Jimmy Glenn squeaked in his cracking voice. “Don’t hang us up!”
“Well . . .” Ron searched for the best words. “They sort of—well, for one thing, they dress differently. Sharp. Like they want to be seen. I guess that’s it. They know what it’s all about, and they like it!”