“I don’t know,” Dutton replied noncommittally.
She looked down at him. “You don’t like me though, do you?”
Dutton sighed. This wasn’t exactly party banter. “The short answer is no, I don’t, but I hope you’ll listen to the rest of what I have to say.”
“Like what?”
“We’ve all done things we regret. Certainly I have. I don’t pretend to know everything that’s happened to you, but I know enough.” He eyed another hors d’oeuvre, but decided this wasn’t the moment. “There are more important things in life than being liked. This…” He spread his arms wide. “… would not exist without what you’ve done for us.”
She shrugged. “There’re lots of aces. Somebody probably could have done what I did.”
Dutton pointed a bony finger at Mollie. “Perhaps, but they didn’t. You did. A hundred years from now, when the young history of our world is written, you’ll be remembered for only one thing. Bringing us, and much of the means of our survival, here to the Moon. Not a bad legacy.”
Mollie tilted her head slightly. A moment of peace, perhaps even pride, flickered across her face. Then it was gone. “You need to get up to the observatory, Mr. Dutton,” she said. She created a portal and he stepped through. Mollie remained behind. Dutton doubted she would linger long at the party.
For now, the observatory was the only colony structure rising above the Moon’s surface. The dome was at least fifty yards across, large enough to accommodate a number of visitors. Theodorus towered silently in the dim light near the telescope, flanked by Anubis and his security chief, Throttle.
Sister Helena nodded to Dutton. She was the new spiritual leader of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker. Helena was over seven feet tall with azure skin. Instead of hair, her head was covered with thick purple cilia. The same substance was on the bottoms of her shoeless feet, allowing her to glide across the floor when she so desired. She smiled at him, but said nothing.
Looking at her reminded Dutton painfully of Father Squid. He reflected on the many friends, acquaintances, and enemies who hadn’t lived to see this moment: Gimli, Chrysalis, Troll, the Oddity, Xavier Desmond, Dr. Pretorius, so many others. Dutton had shared a time and place with them, some for decades. Together, they had built a community out of nothing but desperation, shared humiliation, and a desire to survive in something that resembled dignity. Charles Dutton wasn’t a religious or spiritual man, but he felt their presence with him at that moment. Perhaps this was why he’d lived so long. To see this for them as much as for himself.
“About three minutes,” the technician at the console said without looking up at the visitors.
Dutton moved slowly to the telescope and lowered his face to the eyepiece. The ice comet was plainly visible. It appeared to be suspended in space, rather than moving. The telescope had been programmed to track the comet on its final approach. This was the first of the comets in Theodorus’s master plan. More would come soon enough. The first order of business in making the surface habitable. The comets were the first step.
“Are we broadcasting colony-wide?” Theodorus asked the control tech.
“Absolutely.” A large-screen TV on the wall displayed a close view of the incoming comet. “We’re on the air to everyone.”
Dutton found a chair and relaxed into it. He felt something odd, unfamiliar, and realized it was adrenaline. In spite of his age, and his general boredom with existence, he was excited.
“Thirty seconds.”
Dutton looked up at Theodorus and realized that everyone else was staring at him, too. This was Theodorus’s moment, his triumph. His vision had brought them here.
Theodorus raised his arms and closed his hands into fists. “Now I am become Life, maker of worlds.” His voice was deep and filled with jubilant conviction.
The view of the impact site filled the screen now. Dutton held his breath. There was a brief glimpse of something flashing into the surface and a massive cloud of dust. Dutton felt, or thought he felt, the slightest tremor.
A sound filtered into the closed room from below, faint but sustained. It was cheering.
Dutton smiled. If he had died at this instant, it would probably be the perfect time for it. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, content to still be alive. Tears trickled down his misshapen face, but he wasn’t ashamed. He would never be ashamed again. A new world was being born, their world. He couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
THE BEGINNING
The Wild Cards Universe
The Original Triad
Wild Cards
Aces High
Jokers Wild
The Puppetman Quartet
Aces Abroad
Down and Dirty
Ace in the Hole
Dead Man’s Hand
The Rox Triad
One-Eyed Jacks
Jokertown Shuffle
Dealer’s Choice
Solo Novels
Double Solitaire
Turn of the Cards
Death Draws Five
Deuces Down
The Card Shark Triad
Card Sharks
Marked Cards
Black Trump
The Committee Triad
Inside Straight
Busted Flush
Suicide Kings
The Mean Streets Triad
Fort Freak
Lowball
High Stakes
The American Triad
Mississippi Roll
Low Chicago
Texas Hold’em
The British Arc
Knaves Over Queens
About the Editor
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN is the author of the international bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire series, which is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin has won the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Awards for his numerous novels and short stories.
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Twitter: @GRRMspeaking
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
The Moon Maid
Star Ghost
Within That House Secure
Luna Incognita
The Moon Maid
Within That House Secure
Within That House Secure
Within That House Secure
The Moon Maid
Within That House Secure
The Sands of Mourning
The Moon Maid
Within That House Secure
Diggers
Within That House Secure
Dreamers of the Day
Fatal Error
Within That House Secure
The Sands of Mourning
Within That House Secure
Diggers
The Moon Maid
The Moon Maid
Within That House Secure
The Moon Maid
Journey’s End
Flat Man
Within That House Secure
Ghost of a Chance
Have Spaceship, Will Travel
The Moon Maid
Within That House Secure
The Wild Cards Universe
About the Editor
Copyright
Copyright Acknowledgments
“The Moon Maid” copyright © 2021 by Mary Anne Mohanraj
“Flat Man/Ghost of a Chance/Star Ghost” copyright © 2021 by Steve Perrin
“Within That House Secure” copyright © 2021 by Christopher Rowe
“Have Spaceship, Will Travel” copyright © 2021 by St. Croix Productions
“Luna Incognita” copyright © 2021 by St. Croix Productions
“The Sands of Mourning” copyright © 2021 by Caroline Spector
“Diggers” copyright © 2021 by David D. Levine
“Dreamers of the Day” copyright © 2021 by Stealing Fire LLC
“Fatal Error” copyright © 2021 by Victor Milán & John Jos. Miller
“Journey’s End” copyright © 2021 by Walton Simons
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
JOKER MOON
Copyright © 2021 by George R. R. Martin and the Wild Cards Trust
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Martin, George R. R., editor. | Snodgrass, Melinda M., 1951- contributor. | Rowe, Christopher, author.
Title: Joker moon / edited by George R.R. Martin; assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass; and written by Christopher Rowe [and 10 others].
Description: First Tor edition. | New York: Tor, 2021. | “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2021009116 (print) | LCCN 2021009117 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250168016 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250168009 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PS648.S3 J634 2021 (print) | LCC PS648.S3 (ebook) | DDC 813/.0872080382—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009116
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009117
eISBN 9781250168009
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