Eva passed yet another display of “authentic handcrafted local wares” that looked as if they’d been spit out by an authentic local 3-D printer as she continued perusing the guide VI, its helpful overlays almost as distracting as the food smells drifting down the street from somewhere she couldn’t see. She came to a section that gave her pause, and she opened it up to examine it more closely.
“Hmm,” she said.
“That was a loaded hmm,” Pink said. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we need to adjust our plans,” Eva replied. “Get out of this tourist trap and into the kind of place a person might actually disappear into.”
Pink’s eye narrowed. “Rilia?”
“Sí.” Eva passed a clip of what she was reading over to Pink’s commlink.
“These tours don’t look like they’ll take us anywhere useful,” Pink said after a few moments.
“Check out the one with the fewest reviews.”
“Huh,” Pink said. “That’s different. ‘Explore the true City of Light with an esteemed local historian who is pleased to escort all honored guests along paths not frequented by visitors.’ Could work. Vakar, take a look at this.” She passed the info to him, and he examined it, waving his palps pensively.
“This listing appears to be relatively new,” Vakar said. “Its government licensing key is fraudulent, however. I suspect it will be removed by automated scanning processes in the near future.”
Eva grinned like she’d won a prize. “As Min would say, jackpot. I’m setting up a tour now.”
Vakar blinked his inner eyelids in confusion. “Why would we hire someone clearly operating illegally and under false pretenses?”
Pink patted his shoulder. “Because he’s going to try to hustle us, sweetie.”
Eva nodded. “And if he’s a hustler, he can get us to where we really need to be.”
Their esteemed local historian was named Krachi, and he arrived to pick them up in a cable car that smelled like it had been recently cleaned. His eyes were huge, his face expressionless, but his psychic emanations were overwhelmingly friendly in a way that tipped over the edge into uncomfortable, like he was straining to immediately ingratiate himself to all of them. Instead of hooking his tail onto a neck loop or other body harness strap, he held it in one hand as if it were a hat, occasionally stroking it nervously.
“Welcome, honored guests, welcome,” Krachi said, his voice tonally flat as his psychic emanations did the work of adding that layer of meaning. “Please be invited to step into my vehicle for the purpose of transport to the exciting and untraveled paths through the great home-trees of Rilia.” He shifted from one leg to the other in a way that, if he were human, would have made him look as if he needed to pee.
“Thanks,” Eva said, gesturing for everyone to climb in. “We’re super excited, too. Rilia sounds amazing. Can we get moving?”
A pair of Watchers had apparently noticed what was happening and were conferring silently with each other while staring at Eva. She smiled at them and winked, eliciting a weird horking sound from one of their Attuned, which looked like a huge spiky mouse.
“Are my most excellent and favorite passengers prepared for an experience unlike any other in the entirety of the known and unknown portions of the universe?” Krachi asked, taking up a partially reclined position in a gently swaying hammock-like seat.
“We were born ready,” Eva replied, glancing at the Watchers again. “Let’s go.”
One of the Watchers began to approach the vehicle, but stopped and returned to his companion, and the cable car drifted away as slowly and quietly as a dandelion seed on the wind.
Within a few minutes, the transport had attached itself to a massive cluster of cables that led toward Rilia. They were one of many cars sliding in that direction, though the density was nothing like the traffic Eva had experienced in some places with personal transports. Most of these vehicles held at least a dozen xana, standing or resting in hanging seats like the ones Krachi swung in, exuding cheerfulness as if it were a profusion of sweat. Eva wished he would ease up on the projection, but she wasn’t in a position to negotiate yet.
The seaside tourist area was at water level, its small cluster of buildings much lower to the ground than the rest of the city’s architecture, so the trip to the capital was by necessity a long, slow rise. Slow enough that Eva got antsy almost immediately.
“Thank you for choosing the services of my excellent and esteemed self,” Krachi said, shifting slightly in his seat. “Is this your first experience in exploring the untold and unique delights of the Rilian culture?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Eva replied. She smiled with her mouth closed, not bothering to argue about what the hell “Rilian culture” meant when she was pretty sure a half dozen cultural groups lived in the enormous city. That was tourism for you.
“And what has brought you to our glorious planet, may it forever be embraced by the Light?”
“Sightseeing,” Eva replied. “We really like seeing sights.”
Pink snorted, but Krachi didn’t so much as blink. He did launch into a longer lecture that, despite his lack of verbal tone, had the cadence of something that had been memorized.
The views gradually shifted, from thick building-adorned cables hanging from glassy central towers to a squat sprinkling of what looked like tents arranged haphazardly around vertical farms where xana climbed and glided among their Attuned.
“Much of the sustenance provided to Rilia and Spectrum City is grown in the fields of Verulia,” Krachi said as they glided past. “It is also common for Rilians to plant their own gardens in their home-trees for the benefit of the entire branch.”
They reached the first rows of saplings that would someday be new home-trees, as Krachi had called them. Despite being young compared to the mature plants, these were hundreds of years old, and already taller than virtually every tree on the planet where Eva had been born. The smells of fresh, slightly salty ocean yielded to the briny soil from which the trees grew, and then as they rose, to a blend of mossy and sappy and floral and even spicy scents from the various plants sprouting from the branches and trunks of the massive home-trees themselves.
As quiet as the vehicles were, the xana who glided along the increasingly ubiquitous ziplines were even more silent, reminding Eva of her former merc buddy comparing them to ghosts. Their Attuned made the most noise, chattering or whining or hooting amongst themselves, and the number of wild creatures grew the deeper into the forest they went. Some flew, others climbed, and still others exclusively clung to their xana the way Mala was latched onto Min’s shoulder. Not every critter was Attuned, or the kind that could become that, and the ones who weren’t seemed to instinctively avoid the ones who were . . . not special, but different, possessing that extra psychic anatomy that endowed them with the necessary abilities to connect with the xana.
Eventually, Krachi moved them onto a thinner cable, one with far fewer cars. “First, I will take you to a designated Communal Center,” he said, his psychic tone suggesting they should all be very excited. “There you will witness many Rilians and their Attuned engaging in typical activities such as socializing; trading or training their Attuned; collecting food rations; and receiving unparalleled medical care.”
“That’s a lot for one place,” Pink said. “What are your medical facilities like?”
Krachi stroked his tail nervously. “They are unparalleled.”
You already said that, Eva thought. Maybe they really were, but it certainly sounded more rehearsed than true.
Min took a break from staring slack-jawed out the window to ask, “How do you train your Attuned?”
“It is different for each of them,” Krachi replied. “You will have the unrivaled pleasure of observing our traditional practices when we arrive at our destination.” His psychic tone remained positive and cheerful, but a quick spike of fear escaped his control, and for a moment everyone in the cable car tensed.
No one s
eemed inclined to speak after that, and even Krachi’s chatter fell away as they entered a deeper, older part of Rilia. The trees were like Eva remembered—massive, the bark consisting of overlapping growths like stained glass, their trunks broad and their leaves big enough to serve as parachutes. Despite the translucence of the buildings clinging to the drooping branches, it was darker in this place, less sunlight making its way through the many layers above to reach a level that, while nauseatingly high off the ground, was toward the lower middle of the home-tree. As their guide had suggested, pieces of the plant had been carved out so that small gardens could be grafted on and cultivated inside them, sapping nutrients and fluids from the larger host. A few xana were actively tending these as they passed, but most of the people they saw were resting or preparing food or quietly engaging in other relatively mundane activities. Even the children played in near-silence, occasionally emitting excited trills as they chased each other around a building or from one branch to another.
At some point, Mala left Min’s hood and clambered onto Eva’s shoulders, settling there like a furry collar. Eva almost grabbed her by the scruff to toss her back at Min, but Mala started purring, so Eva turned the grab into a pet.
Fucking psychic cats, Eva thought, sighing. Knowing Mala, this meant Eva was wound as tight as a spring and needed help.
Their cable car detached from its line and drifted over to a large building: the Communal Center, spread out between multiple branches and at least five stories tall given standard xana heights. Its walls and floors were all varying shades of green, and each level seemed devoted to a different purpose, as Krachi had described earlier.
At the top, a gym-like area took up the entire floor, and Attuned engaged in not only different forms of exercise, but what looked like mock battles with each other. “That is where the Attuned are taught new skills and tested,” Krachi explained, his psychic tone one of unfeigned pride. “It is a great honor to prove one’s abilities against other xana, for only the strongest trainers may advance to the Tournament in Spectrum City.”
“Tournament?” Min asked. “What’s that?”
“A great competition among the Attuned, who use their skills and talents to subdue each other until only one remains.”
Mala gave a low growl in Eva’s ear, so Eva poked her gently to stop her.
“That sounds violent,” Min said.
“No Attuned are harmed during our trials,” Krachi insisted, his psychic tone soothing. “They are provided with special medications made by our expert physicians, to ensure they are not pained by their injuries, and they are immediately treated to ensure their health is undiminished.”
“That doesn’t sound like no harm,” Pink said, raising an eyebrow. “That sounds like lots of harm that gets fixed in a hurry.”
Krachi’s tone gained a thorn of irritation that he quickly suppressed. “All Attuned are exceedingly happy and well cared for in every way possible, and only the willing participate in the trials that lead to the Tournament.”
Eva knew what Pink was thinking, and why, and frankly she thought it sounded like cockfighting, too. But she wasn’t here to get into it with their tour guide over local customs, especially ones she didn’t fully understand because she was an outsider.
“What’s on the other levels?” Eva asked, to move the conversation along.
Krachi’s tone evened out, back to excessively friendly and positive. “The medical facilities are located below the training and testing grounds, so that all may access them with great ease. The physicians treat both xana and their Attuned.” He paused, his huge eyes taking in his passengers again. “They are also very capable of treating virtually every other species in the universe, thanks to our excellent educational resources and government-supported extraplanetary experience missions.”
Multiple rooms were arranged on the interior of that level, with xana and their Attuned engaging in what Eva assumed were technologically assisted examinations of patients. Pink stared at the operations to the extent that they were clearly visible from their car, through the translucent walls.
“I can’t connect to their internal network,” Pink muttered. “Probably not set up for non-xana at this location.”
“There is a public network available at all Communal Centers,” Krachi said, then added quickly, “but you may want to experience the more private local network possibilities for an additional fee, as they are part of the truly immersive experience offered especially by this excellent tour.”
A slow smile spread across Eva’s face. She’d been wondering when the grift would start. She knew from her research that the government tours were supposed to be free, so she had assumed Krachi would either low-key try to charge them at some point for the trip itself, or start loading on extra costs for random stuff.
“That could be fun,” Eva said, earning another raised eyebrow from Pink. Eva winked at her with the eye facing away from Krachi.
Before he could launch into an explanation, Eva pointed at a line of xana circling around the side of the building near the landing platform. “What’s that about?”
Krachi psychically winced, but recovered quickly again. “That is the local community members obtaining their allotted nourishment rations from the government distributors. Every Communal Center provides this service to all xana and their Attuned for the well-being of all of Rilia.”
Free food sounded plenty good to Eva, even though she wasn’t hungry. She had expected that the government she’d unintentionally helped install by force would be less caring, to be honest. The notion that someone could thank her for murdering hundreds of their people and then turn around and make sure everyone else was always fed . . . There had to be a catch. There was always a catch.
Or was that just her cynical upbringing talking? Could it really be so simple? Just because most planets still hadn’t figured out how to offer more than the most basic services to their people, often on a small scale, that didn’t mean it was impossible. It meant most of them hadn’t tried hard enough to make it work.
Then she thought of the Watchers. She didn’t know to what extent they exerted control over the people they ostensibly guarded, but given the VI’s assurances about how peaceful Spectrum City and Rilia were, Eva had plenty of suspicions.
“Do we get to go inside?” Min asked. She was already standing, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I want to see the battles!”
“Of course you do,” Pink said, shaking her head.
Krachi stroked his tail, his tone struggling to remain positive and chipper. “There is a particular location to which I would be exceedingly honored to escort you all, once we have safely landed. One of my esteemed compatriots crafts—”
“Sounds awesome, let’s do it,” Eva said. Once they had landed, he’d probably drag them to some back area where Watchers didn’t frequent, at which point she and Vakar could quietly shake him down for information under threat of turning his ass over to the authorities. Worst case, they grabbed another cable car back to Spectrum City and tried again. Best case, they had an in to whatever under-the-table shit went on here.
The cable car touched down on a landing pad near the line for food, one of only two cars present, though there were a number of the smaller open vehicles, and virtually everyone seemed to be wearing their own zipline harness with antigrav for safety. Not every xana had their own Attuned, but many did, clambering over them or flitting around them or merely standing next to them quietly. Krachi led them past the waiting people, whose expressions were flat even as their psychic tones were much more open and varied than anyone’s in the tourist area had been.
“My nestmate says it is ahaaki again,” one of the waiting xana told another as she broadcast psychically somewhere between irate and grumpy.
“The harvest must have been good this season,” the other replied. “Do you have sufficient hirsali to diminish the aroma?”
“No such amount exists,” the first xana replied, and they projected amusement at each
other even as it was laced with bitterness.
That was its own kind of catch, too, Eva thought as they passed by. It hadn’t been very long since her own crew was eating whatever they could afford, cobbling together meals from sacks of protein powder and whatever replicator recipes they’d found on the q-net. Things were better now, but they could get worse again anytime, and even mediocre food was better than nothing.
Around the side of the building was a series of translucent bark overhangs tied together with leaf ropes. Apparently Krachi had informed his people that he was on his way with tourists, because a half dozen xana were already waiting with their wares spread out across a table carved from another piece of bark. Some items seemed meant to be worn like jewelry or as harness accessories, while others were woven packs or garments designed to fit a variety of body types in multiple sizes. Another table held complex carved figures of various Attuned, all of them moving, engaged in what were presumably typical activities for the creatures; those were impressive for their detail and the ingenious way they were put together. A holo projector mounted in the corner showed images of other items or designs available, presumably to be made and delivered later or simply stored elsewhere.
“Behold, honored guests, the magnificent achievements of the finest artisans in Rilia,” Krachi said. “Their fees are exceedingly reasonable and they are capable of undertaking custom creations should you desire to describe them.” He was unable to hide his nerves, now projecting them psychically in addition to rubbing his tail, and Eva shared a look with Pink that said they were both thinking the same thing.
They were assholes.
This guy wasn’t trying to hustle them; he was trying to get a cut of the massive tourist take that Spectrum City was probably hoarding. Or at least, his hustle was so far extremely mild compared to what they had been expecting.
“Ooh, look at these, Sue!” Min exclaimed, examining the Attuned sculptures. They didn’t appear to have any electronics making them move, though of course those might be cleverly hidden inside, and their colors had been achieved through the use of thin layers of overlapping bark in different shades.
Prime Deceptions Page 17