243 The Ace

"The Ace?" said Jake.

"The Ace?" said Li Yang.

"Why do they call you the Ace?" asked Jake.

"Because I'm the king of colonization, man. The fucking king."

"You just said you don't have the funds for a license," Jake said.

"Oh, that. I'm not talking about the New World. I'm talking about Colonization. The online game. My nick there is Ace, and I've won the Colonization championship three years running before this whole catastrophic shit came down."

"I get it. Actually, I think I heard about you," Jake said.

"I wouldn't be surprised," A.A. said modestly. "I've been on TV a few times, been interviewed by people from all over the world."

"I didn't mean that. I heard you applied to join an existing colony, and that you were turned down."

"Who told you that?"

"The guy you applied to. Mr. Morello. Or maybe it was John Hardin. Whatever. Mr. Morello told me you were turned down."