The Clone Sedition Read online

  PRAISE FOR

  Steven L. Kent

  THE CLONE REDEMPTION

  “An exciting intergalactic adventure.”

  —Sporadic Reviews

  “Fast-paced…Fans of Ian Douglas, Jack Campbell, David Sherman, and Graham Sharp Paul should find plenty here to enjoy.”

  —SFRevu

  “An awesome sci-fi story…[Kent writes] his characters and story so well, as if readers are in the trenches fighting the bad guys right alongside the other soldiers. This is a story I enjoyed and would be willing to read again just to relive an alternate world of space wars, clone life, and the quest to save humans from an alien invasion.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  THE CLONE EMPIRE

  “[Kent’s] dialogue is realistic, and his universe is well thought out and developed. The future he creates is both scary and fascinating. There is still a great deal of potential for development and exploration in future novels.”

  —SFRevu

  THE CLONE ELITE

  “Kent does a very capable job of rendering the difficulties, horrors, stress, and camaraderie of war through Harris’s eyes. He also plausibly captured the internal conflicts, jealousies, and strong emotions within a military unit between superiors and officers…effective and entertaining.”

  —sffworld.com

  “If you enjoy military science fiction, then this is the book for you…fast-paced and hard-hitting. Punches, bullets, and nuclear bombs are not held back. The characters face hard choices and don’t regret them after they are made.”

  —SFRevu

  THE CLONE ALLIANCE

  “Offers up stunning battle sequences, intriguing moral quandaries, and plenty of unexpected revelations…[a] fast-paced military-SF book with plenty of well-scripted action and adventure [and] a sympathetic narrator.”

  —SF Site

  ROGUE CLONE

  “Exciting space battles [and] haunting, quiet moments after war has taken its toll…Military-SF fans looking for stories that combine mystery, action, espionage, politics, and some thoughtful doses of humanism in exploring their not entirely human characters would do well to add Steven L. Kent to their reading lists.”

  —SF Reviews.net

  THE CLONE REPUBLIC

  “A solid debut. Harris is an honest, engaging protagonist and thoughtful narrator, and Kent’s clean, transparent prose fits well with both the main character and the story’s themes…Kent is a skillful storyteller, and the book entertains throughout.”

  —Sci Fi Weekly

  “The first sentence gets you immediately…From there, the action begins fast and furious, with dark musings, lavish battle scenes, and complex characterizations…The Clone Republic feature[s] taut writing and a truly imaginative plot full of introspection and philosophizing.”

  —The Village Voice

  “A character-driven epic that understands that the best war stories are really antiwar stories…a smartly conceived adventure.”

  —SF Reviews.net

  Ace Books by Steven L. Kent

  THE CLONE REPUBLIC

  ROGUE CLONE

  THE CLONE ALLIANCE

  THE CLONE ELITE

  THE CLONE BETRAYAL

  THE CLONE EMPIRE

  THE CLONE REDEMPTION

  THE CLONE SEDITION

  THE CLONE

  SEDITION

  STEVEN L. KENT

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  THE CLONE SEDITION

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / November 2012

  Copyright © 2012 by Steven L. Kent.

  Cover art by Christian McGrath.

  Cover design by Judith Lagerman.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-61216-3

  ACE

  Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is

  stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the

  author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  ALWAYS LEARNING PEARSON

  Having grown up during the era of Muhammad Ali, I’ve always wanted to write a novel about boxing. Last August, I finally put on the gloves, so to speak, and started writing.

  Pleased with the results of that particular experiment—a satirical novel that merged real boxing lore with four heavyweight champions of my own invention—I rushed the first fifty pages to Richard, my agent. He phoned back a few days later to tell me that while he admired my sports-writing abilities, the book was unsellable because no one buys novels about boxing. (For those of you willing to prove Richard wrong, the first third of the book has been released as an e-book called Long Live the Champion.)

  Richard feared that I had lost touch with my readers. As his advice should always be taken to heart, I decided to spend the holidays working at my local Barnes & Noble…Call it a paid internship. I met customers, stocked shelves, and received a first-rate education about the other half of the book business from people who genuinely know what they are doing.

  One thing that I learned is that most people in the book-selling business are smart and well-read. With an increase in online sales and a growing apathy toward the art of reading, however, the business of selling books has become unreasonably difficult.

  Steven L. Kent

  January 5, 2012

  This book is dedicated to the brilliant, hardworking, and talented crew at Barnes & Noble #2617—Joe, Niki, Todd, Andrew, Sean, Adrian, AnnaLee, Angela, Carly, Cassie, Debra, Dick, Hilary, Jamie, Jason, Jay, Jose, Ka
tie, Lisa, Maria, Mary, Mo, Nina, Renee, Rianna, Roxie, Susan, and Tuesday. Thank you for the many lessons and the endless hospitality.

  NINE EVENTS THAT SHAPED HISTORY:

  A Unified Authority Time Line

  2010 TO 2018

  DECLINE OF THE U.S. ECONOMY

  Following the examples of Chevrolet, Oracle, IBM, and ConAgra Foods, Microsoft moves its headquarters from the United States to Shanghai. Referring to their company as a “global corporation,” Microsoft executives claim they are still committed to U.S. prosperity, but with its burgeoning economy, China has become the company’s most important market.

  Even with Toyota and Hyundai increasing their manufacturing activities in the United States—spurred on by the favorable cheap labor conditions—the U.S. economy becomes dependent on the shipping of raw materials and farm goods.

  Bottoming out as the world’s thirteenth largest economy behind China, United Korea, India, Cuba, the European Economic Community, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Israel, and Unincorporated France, the United States government focuses on maintaining its position as the world’s last military superpower.

  JANUARY 3, 2026

  INTRODUCTION OF BROADCAST PHYSICS

  Armadillo Aerospace announces the discovery of broadcast physics, a new technology capable of translating matter into data waves that can be transmitted to any location instantaneously. This opens the way for pangalactic exploration without time dilation or the dangers of light-speed travel.

  The United States creates the first-ever fleet of self-broadcasting ships, a scientific fleet designed to locate suitable planets for future colonization. When initial scouting reports suggest that the rest of the galaxy is uninhabited, politicians fire up public sentiment with talk about a new “manifest destiny” and spreading humanity across space.

  The discovery of broadcast physics leads to the creation of the Broadcast Network—a galactic superhighway consisting of satellites that send and receive ships across the galaxy. The Broadcast Network ushers in the age of galactic expansion.

  JULY 4, 2110

  RUSSIA AND KOREA SIGN A PACT

  WITH THE UNITED STATES

  With the growth of its space-based economy, the United States reclaims its spot as the wealthiest nation on Earth. Russia and Korea become the first nations to sign the IGTA (Intergalactic Trade Accord), a treaty opening the way for other nations to become self-governing American territories and enjoy full partnership in the space-based economy.

  In an effort to create a competing alliance, France unveils its Cousteau Oceanic Exploration program and announces plans to create undersea colonies. Only Tahiti signs on.

  After the other nations of the European Economic Union, Japan, and all of Africa become members of the IGTA, France discontinues its undersea colonization and joins the IGTA. Several nations, most notably China and Afghanistan, refuse to sign, leading to a minor world war in which the final holdouts are coerced into signing the treaty.

  More than 80 percent of the world’s population is eventually sent to establish colonies throughout the galaxy.

  JULY 4, 2250

  TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF THE UNITED STATES

  With most of its citizens living off Earth, the IGTA is renamed “The Unified Authority” and restructured to serve as a government rather than an economic union.

  The government of the Unified Authority merges principles from the U.S. Constitution with concepts from Plato’s Republic. In accordance with Plato’s ideals, society is broken into three strata—citizenry, defense, and governance.

  With forty self-sustaining colonies across the galaxy, Earth becomes the political center of a new republic. The eastern seaboard of the former United States becomes an ever-growing capital city populated by the political class—families appointed to run the government in perpetuity.

  Earth also becomes the home to the military class. After some experimentation, the Unified Authority adopts an all-clone conscription model to fulfill its growing need for soldiers. Clone farms euphemistically known as “orphanages” are established around Earth. These orphanages produce more than a million cloned recruits per year.

  The military does not commission clone officers. The officer corps is drafted from the ruling class. When the children of politicians are drummed out of school or deemed unsuitable for politics, they are sent to officer-candidate school in Australia.

  2452 TO 2512

  UPRISING IN THE GALACTIC EYE

  On October 29, 2452, a date later known as the new “Black Tuesday,” a fleet of scientific exploration ships vanishes in the “galactic eye” region of the Norma Arm.

  Fearing an alien attack, the U.A. Senate calls for the creation of the Galactic Central Fleet, a self-broadcasting armada. Work on the Galactic Central Fleet is completed in 2455. The newly christened fleet travels to the Inner Curve, where it vanishes as well.

  Having authorized the development of a top secret line of cloned soldiers called “Liberators,” the Linear Committee—the executive branch of the U.A. government—approves sending an invasion force into the Galactic Eye to attack all hostile threats. The Liberators discover a human colony led by Morgan Atkins, a powerful senator who disappeared with the Galactic Central Fleet. The Liberators overthrow the colony, but Atkins and many of his followers escape in G.C. Fleet ships.

  Over the next fifty years, a religious cult known as the Morgan Atkins Fanatics—“Mogats”—spreads across the 180 colonized planets, preaching independence from the Unified Authority government.

  Spurred on by the growing Morgan Atkins movement, four of the six galactic arms declare independence from Unified Authority governance in 2510. Two years later, the combined forces of the Confederate Arms Treaty Organization and the Morgan Atkins Fanatics defeat the Earth Fleet and destroy the Broadcast Network, effectively cutting the Earth government off from its loyal colonies and Navy.

  Having crippled the Unified Authority, the Mogats turn on their Confederate Arms allies. The Confederates escape with fifty self-broadcasting ships and join forces with the Unified Authority, leaving the Mogats with a fleet of over four hundred self-broadcasting ships, the most powerful attack force in the galaxy.

  In 2512, the Unified Authority and the Confederate Arms end the war by attacking the Mogat home world, leaving no survivors.

  2514 TO 2515

  AVATARI INVASION

  In 2514, an alien force enters the outer region of the Scutum-Crux Arm, conquering U.A. colonies. As they attack planets, the aliens wrap an energy barrier around the atmosphere. Called an “ion curtain,” the barrier cuts off escape and communications.

  In a matter of two years, the aliens spread throughout the galaxy, occupying only planets deemed habitable by U.A. scientists. The Unified Authority loses 178 of its 180 populated planets before making a final stand on New Copenhagen.

  During this battle, U.A. scientists unravel the secrets of the aliens’ tachyon-based technology, enabling U.A. Marines to win the war. In the aftermath of the invasion, the Unified Authority sends the four self-broadcasting ships of the Japanese Fleet along with twelve thousand Navy SEAL clones to locate and destroy the Avatari home world.

  2517

  RISE OF THE ENLISTED MAN’S EMPIRE

  The Unified Authority Congress holds hearings investigating the military’s performance during the Avatari invasion. When two generals blame their losses on lack of discipline among their cloned enlisted men, synthetic conscription is abolished and all remaining clones are transferred to frontier fleets—fleets stranded in deep space since the destruction of the Broadcast Network. The Navy plans to use these fleets in live-ordnance military exercises designed to test its new, more powerful Nike-class ships; but the clones thwart this plan by declaring independence.

  After creating their own broadcast network, the clones establish the Enlisted Man’s Empire, a nation consisting of twenty-three planets and thirteen naval fleets. As hostilities continue between the Enlisted Man’s Empire and the
Unified Authority, the Avatari return, attacking planets using a devastating weapon that raises atmospheric temperatures to nine thousand degrees for eighty-three seconds.

  The Avatari attack three planets in December, 2517—New Copenhagen, a Unified Authority colony, Olympus Kri, an Enlisted Man’s colony, and Terraneau, a neutral nation. Working together, the Enlisted Man’s Navy and the Earth Fleet successfully evacuate Olympus Kri prior to the attack. Following the attack on Olympus Kri, the Avatari accelerate their attacks, incinerating a new populated planet every three days as they work their way toward Earth.

  Despite the mutual threat, the Unified Authority renews its assault on the Enlisted Man’s Empire.

  2517

  DESTRUCTION OF THE AVATARI HOME WORLD

  The Japanese Fleet locates the Avatari home world in Bode’s Galaxy. While the inhabitants of the planet have become extinct, its automated mining and military systems continue their destructive expansion.

  After depositing all nonessential personnel on New Copenhagen to establish a new colony, the Sakura, the last ship in the fleet, launches a successful suicide attack on the Avatari planet.

  2517

  FALL OF THE UNIFIED AUTHORITY

  Unaware of the Japanese attack on the Avatari home world, the Enlisted Man’s Empire divides its military into two groups. One group establishes a colony on the burned-out remains of Terraneau, while the other launches a preemptive assault against Earth, defeating the Unified Authority and establishing a clone-controlled government.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen