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Back Truth of the Divine Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Also By Lindsay Ellis and Available From Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Part 1: It’s A Fool Who Plays It Cool
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. Part 2: Love Has A Nasty Habit Of Disappearing Overnight
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. Part 3: A Crowd Of People Stood And Stared
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. Part 4: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. A Fiction Agreed Upon
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author

“We’ve been down this road before, we Americans,” he said. “Do you see what I’m getting at? Starts with ‘slave’ . . . ends with ‘ery.’”

“That’s absurd. In the incredibly unlikely event it ever got that bad, they’d just leave.”

“I feel like you’re not listening to me. It’s not about them. I have no doubt Ampersand could protect himself, or hell, leave the country, settle in a less fashy one. Leave the planet, whatever. This isn’t about them.”

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about us. It’s about how we treat our aliens, our lower classes. If they create a whole new class of person with fewer rights than a natural person, one created specifically for a nonhuman alien, how long do you think it will be before they start applying that to human aliens as well?”

She shook her head. What he was saying felt like such a huge stretch, but at the same time, it was becoming hard to completely discount.

“There are already people eager for the Third Option to become law because it could apply to all aliens. Not just the extraterrestrial kind. Miranda doesn’t preach anti-immigrant rhetoric— of course he doesn’t, he’s the son of Cuban refugees, for Chrissake— but a huge chunk of his followers sure do.”

“Why?”

“If it’s a reactionary movement rooted in fear, the first thing that happens is the revocation of hard-won human rights. That’s what happened in Germany when the Nazis came to power. That’s what happened during Reconstruction after the Civil War. And that’s what’s happening here now. If the Third Option passes, Ampersand and his ilk are not going to be the ones who suffer for it.”

He placed his hand on hers, looking at her intensely. She shivered. “And if our best bet to keep the Third Option from passing is to convince the rest of the world of full alien personhood, then we have to do everything in our power to make sure that happens.”

18

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18

Operation: Probably a Huge Mistake but Fuck It began as most huge mistakes do: with a trip to Wal-Mart. Kaveh could get all the supplies he needed up the mountain fairly easily, but doing so inconspicuously was another matter. Bringing a shitload of equipment to a cave out in the wilderness would be troublesome enough, but leaving a giant Land Rover nearby for any length of time could draw attention from aircraft or satellites. Trickier still was the issue of cell phone data, even with burners, so Operation: Probably a Huge Mistake but Fuck It needed to be done completely off the grid, and this time, he wouldn’t be able to use Paris as his insurance policy.