Nick followed the instructions to contact the CIA, and the call was answered nigh instantly. A middle-aged man in a suit, against a featureless gray backdrop.

"Mr. Tomsun, thank you for calling."

"Yeah, uh, thanks for reaching out. So, I was thinking of sending a drone down to drop stuff off for you. In particular," Nick held up one of the drives he had had Petra create, "these things can be sterilized safely. The drone too. So, I want to do that, and send the info down to you."

"Does this drone have stealth capability?"

"One sec." Nick asked Petra over his interface. "Yeah, we should be good."

"Excellent. We'd like to debrief you as soon as possible."

Nick winced. "Ah, that will be harder. I'm going to be wicked busy for a while, like, talk to the President and have the press conference stuff. But I want to send you the math and the mind control stuff first."

"Mind control?" the man stiffened.

"Yeah. Defense Against the Dark Arts kind of stuff. How to spot it, how to prevent it. I haven't run into it yet, thank God, but apparently it's out there in the galaxy in a bunch of flavors. Look, I tried reading some of it and it didn't make any sense to me. Seems like it would be up your alley, so I thought I would pass it on to you. I'm not going to tell anyone else I have it until I get an OK from you, but it said right up front that this was the kind of thing you want to share with your friends and your enemies."

"Does this information include instructions on how to perform mind control?"

"No. That's illegal. Like, galactic law illegal."

"Could you get that information?" the agent asked.

"Nobody brought that information along, and there's nothing on Earth valuable enough to bribe someone even if they had it." Nick told him bluntly.

"Mr. Tomsun, I'm very concerned that someone else might get that information."

"That's why I'm giving you the defense part!" Nick was getting exasperated. "Look, there's more stuff to go over and I have to get going, soon. Do you want to hear it now or later?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Now, please."

"Thank you." Nick sighed, and called up the list on his HUD. "Next, AI. Don't let anybody make a true AI. There's an AI civilization out there and we do not want to piss it off. Apparently, they check. They'll leave us alone if we don't make an AI. Apparently, it would be okay if we treated the AI right, but I don't think humans are going to do that, do you?"

"We could—"

Nick cut him off. "You're not that naive and neither am I. Just...keep an eye out, will ya? I've got a list here. Next up is the gray goo problem. This is important. Do not, I repeat not, let anyone make nanotech that reproduces itself. They will ban us from interstellar travel, forever. Forever, do you understand?"

"We'll discuss these in more detail later?"

"You can discuss them with the experts on board for all I care, I'm just the messenger. Come on, I'm trying to give you a heads up and first dibs here. Work with me." Nick glanced at the clock on his HUD. "Actually, I'm already running out of time. Yes, we can talk more later. But for now, give me a location where a drone can land and drop off the drives for you."

"How big is the drone?"

"Smaller than a car. You want it in a parking spot at Langley?"

The man gave him coordinates, and Nick recited them back. "Okay, thanks. I can send the drone in a few minutes, should be there in about...fifteen or twenty." Nick hesitated, closed his eyes a moment, and sighed. "Don't try to steal the drone, okay? I need it back if I'm going to drop off more goodies for you."

"We won't."

"I'm serious. It won't end well."

"I'm not going to kill the golden goose. Though I wouldn't mind blueprints for that drone if you can get them."

Nick grinned. "I'll see what I can do. Now, I gotta go send the drone. Talk to you soon."

He hurried down to the shuttle bay with the drives he had loaded with information for the CIA. He placed the drives into a drone, had Petra send the destination coordinates to the controller, and a minute later, the probe was diving towards Virginia. It pays to have powerful friends, he thought, amazed all over again at the capabilities of the New Hope.

He watched on his HUD as the drone landed and opened its cargo hatch. A couple of guys in suits and a couple of soldiers guarding them waited until it stopped, then quickly retrieved the drives and placed a brown paper bag in there instead. One of the men gave the drone camera a thumbs up and a grin. What the hell? That better not be a bomb or something.

Nick asked Petra to scan the contents for anything dangerous.

< No hazardous materials found. >

Nick was tempted to call them and ask. They wouldn't be that stupid, would they? He made sure that the contents were sterilized on the way back up. It didn't take long before the drone was back in the bay and Nick could retrieve the paper bag.

He peeked inside, and the smell hit his nose. He stared for a moment, then ran all the way back to his quarters, grabbed Petra, and fed her pieces of french fries and cheeseburger to absorb the patterns. Only then did he eat what felt like the best damned meal of his life.

In private, he wiped his eyes repeatedly, and nodded happily. Of course. Those guys are smart. Brilliant move, guys. I owe you for this. He lifted his soda in a salute. Here's to the CIA!

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