Even after twenty years of experience with the Interplanetary Institute for Open Knowledge and Research, Curator Zava Kantabel finds her latest assignment an exceptionally hard pill to swallow. In the midst of training Jerrid, a junior Curator with no impulse control, she receives an urgent request to visit the Olostahn system – the very paragon of oppression, misinformation and censorship. Their Minister of Information is considering the radical act of establishing an Olostahni branch of the Institute. His suggested donation is too generous to ignore, but Zava plans to investigate his motives meticulously before making any decisions.
The assignment takes a sharp turn, however, once Minister Gorgil himself disappears after their first meeting. When the Ministry begins eyeing the foreign Curators as possible suspects, Zava and Jerrid’s safest course would be to leave the system before becoming any more entangled. Zava knows this…yet she can’t ignore the hunch that Gorgil suspected he might be in danger and slipped them a clue to follow his trail. Through the course of her career she’s tracked down artifacts, out-of-print books, and philanthropists. But this is her first investigation that could change the fate of an entire planet and the Institute itself. Assuming she doesn’t get herself or her trainee killed along the way.
cynthiaailshie 