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eBook Category: Science Fiction Nebula Award(R) Finalist, Hugo Award Nominee, HOMer Award Winner, Analog Reader's Choice Award Winner, Nebula Award(R) Preliminary Ballot Nominee
eBook Description: Harvard anthropology student Jeremiah Coltman has been doing field work for his thesis project on the planet Coba for three years. Coltman's immersion into the colony world's female-dominated culture has progressed far beyond his expectations, guided principally by his exceptional skill at Quis, a dice game played by a privileged but socially reclusive group of men known as the Calanyi. When word of Coltman's Quis prowess spreads to the high levels of the government, he is kidnapped and forced to marry against his will into the Calanyi ... a luxurious captivity for which there is no escape.

eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: Analog, 2000
Fictionwise Release Date: January 2002

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Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: eReader (PDB) [82 KB] , ePub (EPUB) [64 KB] , Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [66 KB] , Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [239 KB] , Palm Doc (PDB) [74 KB] , Microsoft Reader (LIT) [86 KB] , Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [133 KB] , hiebook (KML) [197 KB] , Sony Reader (LRF) [97 KB] , iSilo (PDB) [60 KB] , Mobipocket (PRC) [76 KB] , Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [104 KB] , OEBFF Format (IMP) [102 KB]
Words: 21922
Reading time: 62-87 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

Jeremiah's kidnappers let him watch the delegation that came to negotiate on his behalf. The wall in front of him was one-way glassplex; he could see the people in the room beyond, but to them the wall appeared opaque.

He didn't recognize the man speaking, but the fellow wore the uniform of the Foreign Affairs Corps for the Allied Worlds of Earth. Jeremiah knew the other two people in the delegation: Deborah Svenson, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, and Professor Jack Brenn, Jeremiah's thesis advisor in the anthropology department.

One of Jeremiah's kidnappers also stood in the room: Chankah Dahl. As Manager of Dahl, she governed one of the largest city-states in the human settlement on the planet Coba. A tall woman with gray hair, she ranked high in the power hierarchy of the Twelve Estates.

The voice of the Foreign Affairs officer came over an audiocom set high in the wall. "You must understand, Manager Dahl," he continued. "Jeremiah Coltman is a citizen of the Allied Worlds. Your decision to send him to another Estate against his will is considered abduction by our people."

Manager Dahl remained unperturbed. "You are well aware that before Jeremiah came here, he signed an agreement to abide by our laws." She looked around at them. "Your government has no jurisdiction here. He is ours now."

Jack Brenn stiffened. A large man with broad shoulders and a shock of black hair, his intensity almost crackled in the room. "You have no right to hijack him this way! He signed that agreement with the understanding that it meant you could deport him if you didn't like him."

"But we do like him," Chankah said mildly. "We have bestowed our highest honor on him."

Dean Svenson spoke. "Now that Jeremiah's fieldwork is complete, he wishes to return home. Manager Dahl, he has his school, work, relatives." Quietly she said, "His life."

The Manager said, simply, "He is Calani. Calani do not leave Coba."

Jeremiah touched the engraved band that circled his biceps. He had one on each arm. Made from solid gold, they symbolized his position. Calani. Dice player.

He really, really didn't want the honor.

"I will relay your regards to him," Chankah finished.

Jeremiah recognized her tone. She was dismissing the delegation. He hit his fist on the glassplex. "I'm here!" he shouted. He knew it wouldn't carry through the soundproofed wall, but he had to try. "Don't go!"

Only his silent reflection answered. He regarded it, seeing a man more of Coba than of Earth. Three years ago, when he arrived in Dahl, he had been soft, out of shape, plump. Now lean muscles replaced the flab, built by his job on the construction crew where he had worked until ten days ago. He would never be tall or husky, but he enjoyed a fitness now he had never known before. He loved working in the crisp air of the spectacular Teotec Mountains. During the day he labored with his muscles and at night he labored with his mind, writing his dissertation. His only "hardships" were the lack of computers and the relatively low level of technology here, where the culture had backslid. He had otherwise thoroughly enjoyed his life.

Until now.

Instead of comfortable work clothes, today he wore garb appropriate for a Calani: rich suede trousers, a suede vest, and a white shirt embroidered at the cuffs with threads made from gold. His armbands went over the shirt sleeves and heavy gold guards circled his wrists. His hair spilled over his ears and down his neck in tousled brown curls.

Behind him, the lock mechanism on the door clicked. He turned to see a woman enter with an octet of guards. She riveted attention. At six-foot-two, she stood six inches taller than him. Her face showed the classic beauty of Coba's highborn. She was almost twenty years his senior, just past forty, but she had the build and vibrant health of an athlete half her age. Her suede trousers clung to her long, muscular legs. A trace of silver dusted the tendrils of hair that curled at her temples, and a heavy auburn braid fell down her back to her waist. Her eyes, large and gray, had a luminous quality. Her simple clothes had no adornment and needed none: her aura of authority drew notice far more than any jewelry or bright colors.

Jeremiah knew little more about her than her name. Khal Viasa. As Manager of Viasa, she governed a small but wealthy city-state high in the mountains. During his years here, he had seen her only at a distance when she visited Dahl. He hadn't thought much about it, though he had always noticed her striking appearance. No one would ever describe Khal Viasa as "pretty." Elegant perhaps, mesmerizing, stunning, regal. It had never occurred to him that so powerful a ruler would notice a simple laborer. Nor had he expected his reputation as a good Quis player to carry beyond Dahl.

Ten days ago Manager Dahl told him the news; Manager Viasa had bought his Calani contract--a contract he hadn't even known he owned. They seemed to find this a perfectly reasonable transaction, despite his incredulous protests.

Be careful what you wish for. If ever a situation had earned that warning, this was it. He had wanted a chance to observe the Calanya, the elite group of dice players that lived on a Manager's Estate. He considered his inability to study that cloistered institution a weak point in his dissertation. Calani played the strategy game of Quis. They studied for years and had to pass rigorous exams before they could apply for positions within the Calanya of the Twelve Estates. Well, he hadn't applied for anything. If he had known his talent would lead him into this situation, he would never have let anyone find out how well he took to the game.

Manager Viasa came over to him, moving with a natural grace. She spoke in the Teotecan language. "My greetings."

"They're leaving." Jeremiah motioned to the room beyond the glass. "Without me."

She put her hands on his shoulders, making him acutely aware of both her greater height and her sensuality. "Surely you know better than to speak in front of your escort. Manager Dahl told me that you spent the last tenday learning the ways of the Calanya."

Learning? Is that what they called it? He had spent the last ten days in a guarded suite, albeit one far more luxurious than the apartment where he had lived before. Yes, Manager Dahl had given him the Oath: never again read, write, or speak to anyone outside the Calanya. He couldn't live that way. Scholarship was his life. When he broke the Oath, however, they put him in solitary, which he hated. So for now he remained silent.

His thoughts must have shown on his face. Khal's voice gentled. "Jeremiah, I realize you are unhappy with this. I am sorry it is hard for you. I hope you will feel better when we reach Viasa. We leave tonight."

That only made it worse. In Viasa, his chances of escape went to nil.