Lucas pulled away from me to stare down into my face, and raised a startled eyebrow. “Not just telepath now. Analyst too!”
“I’m just repeating something that Gideon said to me.”
Lucas laughed and settled down next to me again. “Vulnerability hits unexpectedly. Particularly now. New Year factor.”
“What do you mean?”
His face twisted in pain. “Read me.”
I linked to his mind and saw the memory laid out for me. A six-year-old Lucas dodging his way through giant adult figures in festival clothes who were standing by an express belt. Reaching the man in the burgundy and gold outfit, and tugging at his arm. The man pushing him violently away.
“I didn’t realize your father left during the New Year celebrations.”
Father left a month before New Year. Discovered where he was living. Went to his area’s New Year celebrations, and found him just before the coming of the New Year. Tried to speak to him. Big mistake. Presence unwelcome.
When Lucas had one of these mental conversations with me, his pre-vocalized thought level was usually neatly ordered. Now the words were in short, staccato sentences, punctuated by waves of emotion.
“If we’re spending the New Year festival with my parents,” I said, “then perhaps you should warn them that you find this a difficult time.”
Lucas’s reaction was more emotion and images than words.
I frowned. “You seem to have been on Teen Level with an especially heartless group of teens. I assure you that my parents won’t react that way. They’ll be very sympathetic.”
I hesitated. “I’m not so sure that Gregas will be sympathetic, but you don’t need to worry about him. If he says anything unfeeling, then my parents will shut him up.”
Lucas managed a brief laugh.
“Can you explain something for me?”
Yes?
“The Hive encourages people to make a clean break from old teen friendships after Lottery to avoid the problems of jealousy,” I said. “I understand why the Hive doesn’t go as far as encouraging a clean break with families as well. I couldn’t cope with losing my parents, and Gregas … Well, he’s really irritating at times, but he’s my brother.”
I shrugged. “What I don’t understand is why the Hive has a New Year festival with such an emphasis on family ties? It seems unnecessarily painful for the people who’ve been left without a family.”
The pre-vocalization level of Lucas’s thoughts was perfectly ordered now, and the words had the distinctive flavour, sound, colour that meant he was quoting some of the information in his imprint.
The Hive has four equally spaced festivals during the year. Carnival, Valentine, Halloween, and New Year. All four festivals are designed to achieve the same vital purpose. Maintaining the Hive population. A drop in our Hive population would damage productivity and lead to social instability.
The twin festivals of Carnival and Halloween emphasize the danger of Outside and the safety of the Hive, to discourage people from using their right under Joint Hive Treaty to move to another Hive city. Valentine promotes the deepening of romantic relationships into long-term commitments. The New Year festival centres on the continuity of families, bringing together current generations to focus thoughts on symbols of new life and the generations yet to come.
I blinked. “You mean the New Year festival is designed to encourage couples to have children?”
Lucas returned to speaking aloud. “Yes.”
I pulled back into my own head to consider that. “I’ve never thought about the issue of maintaining the Hive population before, but it must mean that everyone in the Hive needs to have the standard two children. I’m not sure how that can work. Despite the Valentine and New Year festivals, there are still people who don’t want children.”
“There are others who have more than two children,” said Lucas.
“Yes, but not nearly enough of them. When I was at school, the only families with more than two children were ones where the second child had turned out to be twins.”
“You were at school on Level 27,” said Lucas. “The normal family size on most levels of the Hive is two children, but citizens on the elite top ten levels are considered to have more valuable genes. The Hive encourages these people to have larger families by offering them incentives like bigger apartments. That means it’s common for families living on the top ten levels of the Hive to have three children.”
He paused. “Megan hasn’t discussed the issue of family size with you yet?”
I was confused by the question. “No.”
“She should have had that conversation with you by now,” said Lucas. “It would be a bad idea for you to learn the details by stumbling across them in someone’s mind. You should discuss the subject with Megan as soon as possible.”
I shook my head. “I’m not discussing anything with Megan. Buzz is my counsellor now.”
“Yes, but Megan is still your personal doctor, and family size involves medical issues.”
“I suppose we both count as having valuable genes,” I said uneasily.
Lucas blushed. “A true telepath and a Tactical Commander? Yes, extremely valuable genes.” He swiftly changed the subject. “Are you still hungry, or too stuffed full of Megan’s pastries to eat anything else?”
“I’m not sure whether I’m hungry or not,” I said. “It’s been a strange day. I need to call my mother about the shopping trip before I eat anyway.”
Lucas nodded.
I headed off to the bookette room, and stood there for a moment thinking things through. I’d always expected to have two children, so it was hard to adjust to the idea that it might be three. Finally, I took a deep breath and called my parents.
It was only seconds before holo images of my mother and father appeared in front of me. Their peculiar expressions puzzled me at first, but then my father spoke in a breathless voice.
“We’ve just been watching Hive channel 1. Was the news report about your Security Unit?”
I tensed. I’d forgotten all about us being on Hive channel 1, so I hadn’t been prepared for this complication.
“It was definitely Amber’s Security Unit,” said my mother. “I recognized the Tactical Commander’s voice as Lucas.”
“I still think you were wrong about that,” said my father. “The Tactical Commander sounded far more formal and confident than Lucas.”
My mother made an exasperated noise. “Lucas would naturally be more formal when he’s working than when he’s visiting us.”
“The news report was about our Security Unit,” I admitted reluctantly, “and yes, Lucas talks far more formally when he’s working.”
“So why was Lucas giving the orders instead of you, Amber?” asked my father.
My mother gave a dismissive wave of her hands. “Amber would have been in charge of the whole pursuit of the enemy agent. Those irresponsible teens caused a lot of extra complications by getting in the way, so Amber wouldn’t have time to call them herself.”
I grimaced. “The teens did complicate things.”
“They were incredibly fortunate to be rescued,” said my father. “Who was the red group leader?”
“Rothan.”
“That nice quiet boy?” my mother seemed startled. “I assumed it would be Forge sliding down the rope.”
“Forge often gets called on to do complex climbing,” I said, “but anyone on the Strike team can handle sliding down ropes.”
My parents exchanged glances, and then my mother spoke in a hesitant voice. “You told us that you chased enemy agents, Amber, but something in that news report worried us.”
My stomach was trying to tie itself in a tight knot of panic. “What worried you?”
“Lucas talked about working with nosies,” said my father. “You’ve never mentioned working with nosies before.”
I rubbed my forehead. “We obviously have to use information from nosies to help us deal with threats to the Hive.”
“You don’t have any nosies living in your unit though, do you?” demanded my mother urgently. “I’ve never seen any nosies when we visit you, but we’re only allowed in the accommodation section and the park. There aren’t any of those inhuman creatures hidden away behind the security doors, are there?”
This was why my family mustn’t find out I was a telepath. This was why I never dared to read the minds of my parents and brother. I had to reassure my parents that we didn’t have any nosies living in our unit, or they’d never come and visit my apartment again.
“We get sent plenty of information by nosies,” I said hurriedly, “but it all comes through my Liaison team, and we couldn’t have any nosies living in our unit. Nosies have to live in their own separate units because of … Well, they have special requirements.”
My father’s expression was a mixture of horror and fascination. “I don’t think I want to know about the special requirements of nosies. I’m sure your brother will be asking you lots of questions about them though. Has he already called you about the news report?”
I pictured my brother, Gregas, avidly interrogating me about nosy lifestyles, and shuddered. “Gregas hasn’t called me for over a week.”
My mother had calmed down now that I’d told her there weren’t any nosies in my unit. “I haven’t heard from Gregas for several days either. I tried calling him yesterday, but he didn’t answer so he must have been out with his friends.”
“I’m just relieved that Gregas has some friends now,” said my father. “He found the move to living alone on Teen Level hard at first, but he seems much happier now.”
“It’s good that Gregas has finally adjusted to Teen Level,” I said. “Now, the real reason I called you was to talk about shopping trips. Would you be able to go shopping with me tomorrow morning, Mother?”
“Tomorrow morning,” my mother repeated. “Yes, I’m not working tomorrow morning, but aren’t you too busy with this enemy agent?”
“The enemy agent is the reason I’m able to go shopping. Now we’ve caught him and handed him over to the appropriate people, my unit gets a short break. It would make things easier if we didn’t go to the 500/5000 shopping area though, but the one at the centre point of Orange Zone. It’s much closer to my unit.”
“And it’s where you were chasing the enemy agent.” My mother looked thrilled. “I suppose you want to check on some arrangements there.”
I hesitated. “Well, if there do turn out to be any complications …”
“Then you can deal with them without interrupting our trip.” My mother nodded. “Where would you like me to meet you? There’s never a problem with us visiting your apartment, because we can take the dedicated lift straight up to your unit. If I march into a Level 1 shopping area by myself though, I’ll have hasties asking me questions.”
She was right. Hive citizens weren’t allowed to wander around a Hive level where they didn’t either live or work. When I lived on Teen Level, and went to visit my parents, there were always hasties checking what I was doing on Level 27, and making sure I didn’t wander off the direct route to my parents’ apartment. Hasties were especially strict about trespassers on the higher levels, so my mother’s lower level clothes would instantly attract attention in a Level 1 shopping area.
“It’s probably easiest if you go to the 500/2500 shopping area on Level 27,” I said. “If you wait by the moving stairs, I’ll call you when Lucas and I arrive, and you can ride the upway to meet us.”
“Lucas is coming shopping too then?” asked my mother.
“Yes,” I said. “He needs to get a festival outfit that complements mine.”
“He does?” My father raised an eyebrow. “Your mother and I have never worried about having matching New Year festival clothes.”
My mother elbowed him in the ribs. “Remember that Amber is Level 1 now. She and Lucas need to have the right clothes for their first New Year festival together.”
There was some more enthusiastic chatter from my mother about the trip, then we ended the call and their holo images vanished.
I rubbed my face with my hands. I hoped my mother wouldn’t ask more questions about nosies during our shopping trip. Everyone in my unit knew they had to be careful when they talked to my parents. I was sure that none of them would make a mistake that gave away any secrets. My worry was that I’d make a mistake myself.
I was startled by a chiming sound, realized it was an incoming call for me, and guessed my mother was calling me back to check something.
“Bookette room, accept call,” I said wearily.
A black wall appeared in front of me, with a one-word question written on it. “Alone?”
I blinked. I knew what that question meant. When I came out of Lottery, I’d been puzzled and frustrated to find our Hive didn’t allow telepaths to meet each other. I’d only just learned the reason behind that rule. Our Hive had once had a conflict between two telepaths that ended in a meeting where they had a horrific mental battle to the death.
After that, our Hive had brought in a system to prevent telepaths meeting. In fact, it tried to prevent us from having any contact with each other at all, but telepaths had the advantage of being able to read all the security information and codes in our people’s minds. We had a secret way of using the dedicated secure connection between the Telepath Units to call each other, so I’d exchanged calls with both Sapphire and Morton in the past.
My most recent call had been from Morton. He’d told me the reason telepaths couldn’t meet, then warned me that the secret was only known to him and Sapphire, and mustn’t be shared with anyone else. I guessed this new call was from him as well.
“Bookette room, reply to message. Text only. Yes.”
A moment later, a holo figure was standing in front of me. Not Morton, but a smiling, dark-haired woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a casually elegant dress.
“Hello, Amber,” she said. “My name is Mira.”
Yes, this obviously had to be Mira. When I lived on Teen Level, I’d had a friend on our corridor who’d been born with a genetic condition that affected his ability to learn. I knew that Mira had been born with the same condition, and there was something about her facial features that reminded me of Casper.
There were the flowers too. I remembered Gideon telling me that Mira’s unit was a gentle place full of flowers. Mira was wearing a dress patterned with daisies, and standing next to a table that held a vase of glorious blue cornflowers. The wall behind her was decorated with flower images too.
Apart from the facial features and the flowers though, Mira was nothing like I’d expected. I’d pictured her as being like Casper, happy among friends that he trusted, but nervous when faced with strange people and situations. If Casper had called a complete stranger, he’d have looked defensive and uncertain, but Mira was glowing with joyous self-confidence.
I stared at her in disbelief before realizing I hadn’t thought through Mira’s situation properly. We’d had bullying Reece on our Teen Level corridor. He’d pushed around lots of people, including me, and taken particular pleasure in tormenting Casper and telling him that Lottery would decide he was utterly worthless.
Mira had probably met bullies like Reece on Teen Level too, undermining her sense of self-worth with their nasty tricks, but then she entered Lottery. Once the testing process discovered her innate telepathic ability, it was natural that she’d grow in happiness and confidence.
It wasn’t just that our Hive had rated Mira Level 1, and showered her in luxuries. She’d have made the same discovery as me, that reading minds made it easier to learn things. Even more importantly, Mira had spent the last seventeen years surrounded by a unit full of people who would literally fight to the death to protect her. Their thoughts would be filled with the fact that she was a rare and precious telepath, doing work of immeasurable importance in defending the Hive. Of course Mira would glow with self-confidence.
Mira was waiting patiently for me to speak. I’d been ridiculou
sly incoherent when I was first contacted by Sapphire, acted the same way with Morton, and now I was doing it again with Mira.
“Hello,” I said. “I’m sorry to be so speechless. I wasn’t expecting you to call me, but I’m delighted to meet you.”
Mira nodded. “I was going to wait longer before calling you, but the rules of good manners say that I have to apologize.”
“Apologize?” I frowned. “About what?”
“I was on an emergency run yesterday,” said Mira, “and my Strike team arrested a Blue Upway game group. We’ve just found out one of them is your brother.”
Chapter Ten
I stared blankly at the holo image of Mira. “Your Strike team has arrested my brother!”
“It wasn’t my Strike team’s fault,” said Mira, in a calm and reasonable voice. “Your brother was trespassing at our incident scene.”
“I’m not blaming your Strike team for arresting my brother,” I said hastily. “I’m blaming Gregas for getting arrested. He’s only thirteen, and extremely silly, but even he should know better than to …”
I broke off and corrected myself. “No, actually it was Gregas’s birthday a while ago. He’s fourteen now, which means there’s even less excuse for him getting caught up in a Teen Game and going trespassing.”
Mira gave a sympathetic sigh. “My younger brother is thirty-one now, and he’s still very silly too.”
“Does your brother know you’re a telepath?” I asked cautiously. “I have to keep the truth secret from my family because they … Well, they wouldn’t react well.”
“My family think I’m a Level 71 Hydroponics Harvest Specialist,” said Mira.
I made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. I’d been confused when Megan told me about the hydroponics area in Mira’s unit. Now it made perfect sense.
Borderline (Hive Mind Book 4) Page 10