Lucas was aware of a faint lavender aroma in the air, but couldn’t smell anything unpleasant from the waste chute at all. The repetitive throbbing sound of the express belt was a barely perceptible hum. The loud banging noise that I’d heard was a quietly dripping tap at the sink.
Beckett was sitting on the floor in a corner, with his back against the wall. Lucas couldn’t see Beckett’s face because he had his head bowed, but I guessed that his eyes were still closed. Something with orange and brown fur was draped around his neck, and he was rhythmically stroking it with his right hand.
Lucas sat down on the floor opposite him and spoke softly. “Hello, Beckett. It’s Lucas.”
It must have been at least a full minute before Beckett answered. “Hello, Lucas.”
“Gaius called me and told me what Keith had done, so I’ve come to help,” said Lucas. “There’s a quiet room in the shopping area four corridors away. Do you want me to take you there?”
Beckett still hadn’t lifted his head to look at Lucas. “This place is quiet.”
“Can we talk now, or do you need to rest for longer?”
“I want to talk,” said Beckett. “I need to know what will happen to me now. Keith shouted at me and ordered me to leave his unit at once. Gaius said I should go to Amber’s unit because you and Megan would be there, but the signs kept flashing and I fell off the belt.”
“You did everything perfectly,” said Lucas. “You got far enough away from Keith’s unit that he couldn’t object to us searching for you. What happens to you now is your decision. If you want a place on my Tactical team, then Amber says you are very welcome to join our unit. If you want to go somewhere else, then you can stay with us while we arrange that for you.”
“What will things be like if I join your unit?” asked Beckett.
“It’s a similar physical layout to Keith’s unit,” said Lucas, “but you’ll notice the corridors aren’t quite in the same positions, and there are some colourful wall murals. Would you like to call Megan so she can explain the arrangements for your quiet room and apartment?”
“I can’t call Megan,” said Beckett. “I’ve lost my dataview.”
I felt Lucas’s surge of alarm, and his myriad thought levels flared brighter. Beckett’s dataview was lost. If we couldn’t find it, then all the Blue Upway timeline pattern analysis work would have to be redone, and that would take several days.
Lucas needed to make an impossible decision, and he needed to make it before our undercover men reached their rooms in Blue Zone.
… all my instincts have been telling me there’s something horribly wrong about Blue Upway. I told Gold Commander Melisande that when I insisted I needed a full timeline pattern analysis. I explained that I needed to understand exactly what had been happening inside that game, when it happened, and most importantly why it happened before taking action. Why didn’t I listen to my own words rather than rushing into …?
… so aware of the urgency of shutting down Blue Upway, and so sure that Beckett would finish the timeline pattern analysis precisely when promised, that I chose to send men undercover this evening. I gambled on it taking them at least a day to join Blue Upway and find a game group to …
… was counting on getting the timeline pattern analysis of Blue Upway tomorrow morning, spending the day studying it, and if necessary recalling the undercover men before any of them attempted their first Blue Upway challenges tomorrow night. Couldn’t have foreseen Keith destroying …
… have to stop making excuses for myself and make decisions instead. Do I let our men go undercover or recall them?
I shared Lucas’s moment of indecision. Letting our four men go undercover would put their lives in a completely unknown amount of danger for the days it would take to recreate the timeline pattern analysis. The problem was that recalling them would put lives in danger too.
Lucas had used the tactic of deliberately attracting attention to our undercover men. They were travelling to Blue Zone with a large escort of the Beta team members dressed as hasties. Their group must have already been noticed by a lot of Blue Upway players, and once the men arrived at their undercover locations they’d be the focus of attention for every teen in nearby corridors.
If we recalled our men now, enough teens would find the events odd that we couldn’t use the attention-seeking tactic again in the near future. We’d have to send men undercover the slow way, and every extra day meant more Blue Upway player injuries or even deaths.
For an instant, Lucas contemplated a choice between killing friends and killing strangers, and then went for the third option. Buy time to let him make the right decision. His thought levels all converged on the pre-vocalization level of his mind.
Amber, you must be reading my mind. Tell everyone that Beckett has lost his dataview. Emili needs to delay the Beta team arrival in Blue Zone while we try to find it. We planned for Forge to cause trouble when the Beta team arrived in Blue Zone, as a reason for the undercover men to be put in restraints. Forge has to cause trouble in Turquoise Zone instead. He fakes a fall during the incident, and the Beta team detour to a medical facility to get the troublesome teen checked for injuries. They stay there until I clear them to carry on to Blue Zone.
As I repeated the words on the crystal comms, Lucas spoke to Beckett in a perfectly calm voice. “How did you lose your dataview?”
“It happened when I fell off the belt,” said Beckett. “I dropped my dataview, and I couldn’t stay and search for it because I needed to get away from the flashing signs. I know I could get a new dataview, but I’d prefer to have my old one back.”
“We’d prefer you to have your old one back as well,” said Lucas. “Keith’s erased the timeline pattern analysis information on Blue Upway. I was hoping that you’d have taken a copy on your dataview to work on the final integration.”
“I did,” said Beckett.
“Some of our Strike team members will go to search for your dataview,” said Lucas.
Again, Lucas thought of instructions on the pre-vocalization level of his mind, and I repeated them on the crystal comms.
“Lucas says Beckett’s dataview has been lost near the express belt red signs with flashing countdown numbers. All Alpha Strike team members who aren’t on bodyguard duty should go and search for it immediately. We don’t have to worry about teens stealing it, because they all believe that nosies are checking their minds for crimes, but they’re quite likely to tread on it by accident.”
“Contacting all hasty teams in the area to ask them if anyone has handed in a lost dataview,” said Nicole.
Lucas continued his conversation with Beckett. “I’ll call Megan myself so you can talk to her.”
Lucas took out his own dataview, tapped at it, and held it out. Beckett lifted his head and took the dataview with his left hand, while his right hand kept stroking Cee Cee. I winced as I saw blood running from a nasty cut on the left side of Beckett’s forehead, and dripping onto his plain pale-grey top. I guessed the injury had happened when he fell off the belt.
“Hello, Beckett,” said Megan’s voice.
“Hello, Megan.”
Megan continued speaking, surprising me by not mentioning Beckett’s injury at all, but focusing on physical details in the same way that Lucas had done.
“The Tactical office is in a different place in our unit than in Keith’s unit, but I’m setting up the same arrangement with a quiet room next door. Your apartment will be in virtually the same position as in Keith’s unit, and as identical to your old one as I can manage, though there’ll be some new paint smells. You’ll have the major advantage that Amber won’t shout at you the way Keith does when he meets you walking down a corridor. Amber doesn’t like arguments or shouting.”
She hesitated. “I’m afraid we can’t get your old furniture, but I’ve found some similar pieces. The good news is that Gaius has managed to get all your personal belongings packed and smuggled out of the unit, so couriers are bringing those to us right
now. I’m going to meet the couriers and bring your headset and glasses to you myself.”
“If I have my headset and glasses back, then I can cope with the other changes,” said Beckett.
I felt Lucas’s lips curve into a smile. “You’d like to join our unit then?”
“Yes,” said Beckett. “I don’t want to work for Keith ever again. He kept shouting at me. Megan says that Amber is like me, and doesn’t like arguments or shouting.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Lucas. “Just tell us any problems you have, and we’ll see if we can find a way to help.”
“Beckett, do you want to stay where you are until you can have a quiet ride to our unit, or keep travelling on the standard belt system?” asked Megan.
“I’d like a quiet ride,” said Beckett.
“I’ll contact Assisted Transportation now,” said Megan. “Lucas, quiet rides have to be booked at least an hour in advance to allow time for scheduling. Do you want Amber and the rest of the team to head back while you, Rothan, and Kaden wait to travel with Beckett, or shall I book a quiet ride for everyone?”
Beckett has been through a lot today. The symbolic significance of welcoming him into the unit by heading back with him would be …
“Let’s all wait and have a quiet ride home together,” said Lucas. “It will give everyone a chance to see an unusual view of the Hive.”
“Could you explain something to me, Lucas?” asked Beckett.
“Yes?”
“Keith came to my apartment and asked why I was helping your unit. I explained that Gold Commander Melisande had ordered me to coordinate the Blue Upway pattern analysis. I told him that I’d already sent you the geographical pattern analysis and was working on integrating the timeline pattern analysis.”
Beckett paused. “Keith got really angry when I told him that. He dragged me to the lift and fired me. Why did Keith get so angry? Working on the pattern analysis was a good thing for the Hive, wasn’t it?”
“It was a very good thing for the Hive,” said Lucas. “Keith got angry about it because he’s jealous of Amber. He doesn’t like her being a more skilled telepath than him and solving so many problems for the Hive. Keith knows he can’t do better himself, so he wants her to do worse.”
“That’s a destructive attitude,” said Beckett disapprovingly.
“Keith is a destructive person,” said Lucas. “You can forget about him now. He won’t be able to upset you any longer. Let’s talk about Blue Upway instead. You said that you were working on the integration of the timeline pattern analysis. Am I right that the Game Commander changed at the last Carnival?”
Beckett was speaking far more confidently now. “You understand that I can’t be totally sure until the final integration is complete.”
“Of course,” said Lucas.
“My provisional assessment is that there was an organization disruption last Carnival, but no corresponding fracture line in the timeline pattern. I think the Blue Upway Game Commander did change, but not at the last Carnival. The Game Commander changed at Halloween.”
That information didn’t mean anything to me, but I felt Lucas’s shocked reaction and his many-layered gleaming thoughts started racing.
… wouldn’t believe that claim from anyone else, but Beckett is always right about patterns, so …
… explains some things that were puzzling me, but …
… thought the Game Commander changing at Carnival made Blue Upway unusual. The Game Commander changing at Halloween makes it unique. How could …?
What the waste has been happening in that game?
Chapter Twenty-seven
Assisted Transportation said we had to wait one hour and nineteen minutes for our quiet ride. Adika and my new bodyguards waited with me in the storage complex. Lucas and Beckett stayed in the cleaning supply room, with Rothan and Kaden on guard in the corridor outside. All the rest of the Alpha Strike team went to search for the lost dataview.
Adika decided to pass the time usefully by getting me and the new bodyguards to act out a couple of defence scenarios, while he played the part of the wild bee. After what had happened with Tobias, I found it unnerving to have Adika pretending to attack me. I tried to blank out that problem though, and focus on my reactions as the four new men took turns at being the one to use their body as a shield to protect me.
Lucas had been right about me not reacting to the physical appearance of my bodyguards, but their feelings towards me. With the four new bodyguards, it was glaringly obvious what was happening, because of the stark contrast between Vance and the three Hiveists. I reminded Vance of his daughter, so my reaction to him was to someone fatherly. The three Hiveists were like Adika, primarily aware of me as a precious telepath and the focus of their duty to the Hive.
Once we’d finished acting out the defence scenarios, I ran a last rapid circuit on the four new minds, so I could check exactly what they thought of me now. I found that Vance was intrigued by how much I’d reflected Beckett’s emotions when I was reading his mind. The Hiveists had definitely abandoned any idea of me being Claire reborn. Oddly enough, it was Lucas’s reference to me being untidy that had convinced them. Claire had been a neat and orderly person. I caught a final thought as I was leaving Osric’s mind.
… but it has to be right for us to serve Amber. The wisdom of Gaia wouldn’t name a unit Light Angel unless its telepath…
“Wisdom of Gaia,” I repeated the words in bewilderment.
“What?” asked Adika.
“I noticed a phrase in Osric’s mind that I’ve never come across before,” I explained hastily. “Wisdom of Gaia. I was puzzled and wondered what Gaia meant.”
“I’ve never heard the word before either,” said Adika.
“It isn’t in common usage,” said Osric. “Hiveists worship the Hive as a collective gestalt of over a hundred million minds. Some areas of Hiveist doctrine use the term Gaia to refer to that gestalt.”
Adika frowned at Osric. “Why is a Strike team member such an expert on Hiveist doctrine?”
Osric shrugged. “As a young boy, I was deeply interested in Hiveist doctrine, and hoped that Lottery would assign me to be a Hiveist Ministrant like my parents.”
Adika’s frown deepened. “Were you disappointed when Lottery imprinted you as a Strike team member instead?”
“Not in the slightest,” said Osric. “My ambitions of being a Hiveist Ministrant ended when I went to live on Teen Level and had a shocking fall from grace.”
“I’ve always felt sorry for Osric’s parents,” said Vance. “It must have been a dreadful blow when their impeccably behaved, devout Hiveist son moved to Teen Level, abandoned his beliefs, and went wild.”
Adika’s frown vanished, and he laughed.
“But you became a practising Hiveist again, Osric,” I said. “Was that because of Claire?”
“It was because of Lottery,” said Osric. “When I went into Lottery, I expected to be punished for my bad behaviour on Teen Level by being sent to the depths of the Hive. Instead, I was made Level 1 and given the great honour of guarding a telepath. I was overwhelmed by the Hive’s faith in me, and resolved to be a perfect Hive citizen for the rest of my life.”
He waved both hands. “The reality is that I’m only a perfect Hive citizen for the hour or so a week when I’m attending my parents’ Hiveist services, but Claire said that an hour a week was enough for the Hive to keep you safe from harm.”
Lucas’s voice spoke unexpectedly from behind me. “I believe three of the four of you are Hiveists, which is why I need to ask a specific question before you join our unit.”
I turned to face Lucas, and saw he didn’t just have Beckett, Rothan, and Kaden with him, but Megan had joined them too.
When I’d seen Beckett through Lucas’s eyes, he’d been sitting huddled defensively on the floor of the cleaning supply room. Now he’d undergone a startling transformation. His blood-stained grey top had been replaced by an identical clean one, he had a skin-ton
ed plaster covering the cut on his forehead, and he was wearing the glasses and headset that Lucas had mentioned. The glasses were dark-framed, with an odd hint of colour to the lenses. The headset was just a narrow strand linking two disks over Beckett’s ears.
The most striking difference of all was the way Beckett was standing confidently at Lucas’s side. Once again, I had to recognize Megan’s good qualities. She’d played her part in this by rushing to bring Beckett everything he needed. I noticed that Lucas wasn’t introducing Beckett to people, and guessed he wanted to let Beckett adjust to the situation before drawing attention to him.
Lucas was still speaking. “Most people in the Hive are terrified of going Outside, but Amber and her Strike team had to acclimatize to the conditions there to complete vital missions for the Hive. Will Hiveists have a problem taking part in training sessions Outside?”
Osric exchanged glances with his friends before answering. “We’d heard that your unit had gone Outside in the service of the Hive, so we discussed this issue before coming here. According to doctrine, Hiveists have nothing to fear going Outside because they will be protected by their loyalty to the Hive, while a seeker after truth like Vance would get grabbed by the hunter of souls within seconds.”
“The reality is that all four of us are both terrified and fascinated by the idea of going Outside,” added Vance. “We’ll be horribly disappointed if you don’t let us give it a try.”
Lucas laughed. “Excellent. Have our search parties found any sign of Beckett’s dataview yet?”
“I think I’ve found it,” said Eli’s voice on the comms.
“Don’t you know whether you’ve found the dataview or not?” asked Adika impatiently.
“I haven’t actually seen the dataview yet,” said Eli, “but I can hear it chiming whenever the Liaison team try calling Beckett. There’s just a slight difficulty retrieving it.”
“What’s the problem, Eli?” asked Lucas.
“When Beckett fell off the belt, his dataview must have landed on the slow belt and kept travelling along until it reached the gap between the end of the Red Zone belt and the start of the Orange Zone belt. There’s a safety bar to prevent people falling down there, but the dataview was thin enough to slip through.”
Borderline (Hive Mind Book 4) Page 27