The Fila Epiphany

by J. J. Green

  Mariko looked as though she was regretting her decision to cuff Cherry.

  “What if I said you’re here because you were taught by Twyla?” Cariad asked.

  “I’d assume you’re trying to find out if she involved me in the Natural Movement too.”

  “Do you remember being taught by her?” Aubriot asked.

  “Hardly. It was a long time ago. What I don’t understand is, why have you come after me in particular? Twyla must have had hundreds of Gens pass through her kindy class. Why pick me out?”

  “Maybe we’re going to interview all her ex-students,” Cariad replied.

  “But you had to start somewhere, and unless I’ve missed out on some gossip, I’m the only one you hauled in so far. I wasn’t the first kid Twyla taught, so you aren’t moving in chronological order. I can’t think of anything else that would distinguish me from the others, except… It’s something to do with my injury, isn’t it? That was what you wanted to talk to me about before. I scraped my leg when I fell from the cliffs and I was taught by Twyla. That’s what sets me apart.”

  The workings of the Gen’s mind impressed Cariad. On another world, in a different life, she would have made a good scientist. But Cariad couldn’t give away the fact that Cherry had hit almost perfectly on the reason for her arrest and questioning. The only thing she hadn’t guessed about was Twyla’s tattoo.

  More than ever, Cariad felt that Cherry was innocent, but she couldn’t just let the young Gen farmer walk free on the basis of a gut feeling. Besides, Cherry was the only suspect she had. Cariad looked to Aubriot for ideas. His brows were knitted and he was resting his lips on a folded forefinger, deep in thought. When his mind was occupied on a problem and he wasn’t bulldozing everyone around him, the man was almost bearable.

  Aubriot leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What do you remember about being taught by Twyla?”

  “Not a lot. It was twenty years ago after all.”

  “But you do remember some things,” Aubriot suggested.

  “Bits and pieces. I remember being so engrossed once when Twyla was reading a story that I peed my pants. Is that the kind of thing you want to know?”

  “No,” Cariad said. “But do you remember the story? What did it involve?”

  “Hmm… If I remember rightly, it was about how technology and science ruined the lives of everyone on Earth, but that when they changed their bad ways and began to live in a natural state, they were happy and could grow flowers again.”

  “Really?” Cariad asked.

  “No, of course not,” Cherry replied. “Though that’s what you were hoping I would say, isn’t it? Believe me, if I was a Natural Movement follower, I would never tell you how I’d been indoctrinated. That would be incredibly stupid.”

  Cariad sighed. “So what do you remember?”

  “I don’t know. Just the usual stuff you would expect. I was only four or five years old. After I left her class, I didn’t have anything to do with her. If she was going to convert me to the cause she would have kept in touch, don’t you think? From then until she killed herself, all I really knew about her was that she was Garwin’s wife.”

  “I wanna talk to you outside,” Aubriot said to Cariad, rising from his seat.

  Though she was annoyed at his bossy manner, she followed him into the corridor. When the door to the room was closed, Aubriot said, “I don’t think she has anything to do with this.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I can usually tell when someone’s covering something up. Either she’s a very good liar or she’s being straight with us. She’s angry as hell about being brought in and questioned, but I’m pretty sure she isn’t trying to pull the wool over our eyes.”

  Cariad’s initial reaction to Aubriot’s words was relief. His opinion chimed in with her own feelings. But she was also frustrated. What could she do next? Twyla was dead and the remaining people who might have worn the Natural Movement tattoo had no link to Twyla or the first saboteur.

  The door to the room flew open but was quickly slammed shut. The sounds of a scuffle came from behind it, followed by shouting. Cariad quickly opened the door again. Cherry was on her feet and struggling with Mariko and Arden.

  “Let me go! You have no right to keep me here. Let me leave!”

  Mariko and Arden could barely hold onto the woman as she twisted and turned to extract herself from their grip. She bit Arden, who responded by slapping her and shoving her into her seat. Cherry leapt up and tried to kick him. Mariko pounced on her.

  “That’s enough,” Cariad shouted. “Stop it.”

  But her words had no effect. Cherry was furious and there was no restraining her. Mariko was trying to reach for her weapon. Cariad didn’t know what to do. The situation was way out of control.

  Cherry’s face was contorted with rage and wisps of hair clung to her sweaty forehead. “Let me go! Why are you targeting me? It isn’t fair. I haven’t done anything. Go talk to the other people on your list. Or your precious Woken doctor. Why aren’t you interrogating him? You’re protecting your own just like you always do.”

  “Wait,” Cariad shouted. “Stop. What did you say? Are you talking about Montfort? What does he have to do with this?”

  Cherry stopped struggling. With a vicious look she replied, “He’s got a mark on his hip too. Did you bring him in for questioning? No. I didn’t think so.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Ethan was burning up. His lower leg was grossly swollen and stank. He was so hot he could barely think. He also needed water desperately. He’d sucked up the river water that had lain in a thin layer over the floor and now his prison was bare. He didn’t know how much time had passed since his recapture.

  The meaning of Quinn’s message of Two more still eluded him and he was too sick—too near death, he realized—to try to figure it out anymore. His idea of developing a way to communicate with his captors had been stupid. Even if he’d managed to speak to the threads clearly, they would never have let him go. They must be able to see the difficulties he was in, yet they still held on to him. He was only an observation subject to them. They were curious but they held no sympathy toward him whatsoever.

  So what was the point of trying to speak with Quinn? Ethan’s efforts only gave the threads more information—information that they might try to use against the colonists.

  No. He would not speak to Quinn again. Instead, he would spend his last hours remembering all the good moments in his life, and he would leave one final message in case his recorder was ever found.

  Ethan tried to ignore the pain in his leg as he cast his mind back over his life. He recalled his first memories of playing with his friends in his home room, of meeting Lauren at Main Park when they were both kindergartners, of endless boredom at school, learning about Earth and their great purpose in life as Gens of the Nova Fortuna Project. He remembered the momentous changes as Arrival Day had approached, like the revival of the first Woken and the lifting of the prohibition on natural reproduction. His great friendship with Dr. Crowley had begun not long afterward.

  Then, after Arrival, all the settlers’ hopes and anticipation had turned to sourness and despair as the Natural Movement’s sabotages tore into the colony and warring factions formed. Ethan wondered how different things might have been if terrorists hadn’t dogged the colonization and if the Guardians had never appeared. By now, he would have been tending his farm with Lauren. Perhaps they would be awaiting the arrival of their first child.

  Though he’d had misgivings about such a life, from his current perspective it looked blissful.

  Still, he’d gotten to know Cariad, and their growing friendship had helped him through the hard times. He turned on his recorder, the only thing remaining to him apart from the clothes he wore.

  Ethan recorded an account of his attempt to escape his captivity and went on to explain how he’d found himself back in the chamber. He also described his physical condition. He didn’t go into deta
il about the outcome he expected. That was obvious.

  He paused as he wondered what else to say. All of his journey across the continent and the things he’d observed had been recorded. He’d also outlined his experiences in his prison and his attempts to communicate with the threads. What else was left? In the face of his imminent end, it all seemed unimportant. There was only one thing he wanted known to whoever might find his recording: “Tell Cariad I loved her.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  It had taken Cariad some time to figure out what to do about Cherry’s revelation. The moment the words had left the Gen’s lips, certain facts from the investigation suddenly began to make more sense. When Strongquist had pointed out to Cariad that only someone who had an understanding of the structure of a shuttle could have placed a bomb right next to the fuel tank, she’d suspected the saboteur was a Gen who worked on or in the spacecraft. None of the other Gens were familiar with shuttles—the Nova Fortuna’s had been mothballed the entire trip. But all the Woken were at least vaguely familiar with standard shuttle structure after flying in them many times on Earth.

  And then there was the fact that the saboteurs’ bombs were made from chemicals refined out of fertilizer. The process wouldn’t have been too hard for a Woken, who were all trained scientists. There was also Rene’s odd experience. Cariad had suspected that her friend was being set up, but a high level of expertise would have been required to break into her cabin, sedate her, injure her, and administer a pain killer that would prevent her from noticing the wound until later.

  The final damning evidence centered on Montfort’s history. He hadn’t worked on the Nova Fortuna Project. He’d applied to come along as a cryonic revival specialist. Although he wasn’t unfriendly, none of the other Woken knew him in the way most of them knew each other after years of working together non-stop.

  Cariad’s first impulse had been to confront Bob Montfort face to face and ask him if what Cherry reported was true. A physical examination might prove it if the doctor still bore a scar from his injury. But if Montfort really was a Natural Movement follower he might not be the only one, and closing the net around him could prompt a co-conspirator to do something drastic. It made more sense to tread softly. Cariad needed another way to confirm Cherry’s words, then the doctor could be watched. Perhaps he might lead them to other saboteurs.

  She’d decided in the end to approach Alasdair. She knew the medic pretty well and trusted him. Of course, it was possible that he also belonged to the Natural Movement but she had to take that chance.

  Both Montfort and Alasdair had returned to the Nova Fortuna after completing their examination of all the colonists for signs of the Natural Movement tattoo, though Alasdair hadn’t known that was what they were looking for. And so the next day Cariad took the shuttle up to the ship.

  Cherry remained in custody at the Leader’s offices, much to her outrage. Cariad hated to confine her but she might tell others what they’d talked about and word might get back to Montfort. The Gen hated the Woken so much Cariad couldn’t trust her.

  As she sat aboard the shuttle, she went over the plausibility of Cherry’s statements. The Gen had said she had a fling with the doctor while he was planetside. That was how she’d seen the mark on him. Knowing Cherry’s penchant for older men and no-strings-attached relationships, Cariad thought that part of the farmer’s story was entirely plausible.

  And if she had slept with Montfort, she would have had the opportunity to see markings on his body that weren’t usually visible. After Cariad had questioned her about the abrasion she’d sustained in her fall from the caves, Cherry would have remembered seeing a mark on Montfort.

  When Montfort had examined Cariad, it hadn’t even occurred to her to ask him if he’d included himself in the process. Every single colonist had to be checked for the Natural Movement tattoo or a sign that one might have been removed. Montfort and Alasdair were no exception. But who had examined them? Before leaving the surface, Cariad had asked the Gen doctors at the settlement hospital, but they couldn’t give an answer.

  It seemed that if the Woken doctor and his Gen medic had been examined at all, they must have examined each other. So she had to speak to Alasdair.

  When Cariad disembarked the shuttle aboard the Nova Fortuna, she didn’t go directly to the medical center, however. She had no good reason to go there and she didn’t want to alert Montfort that she was speaking to Alasdair. He might guess why.

  She needed to speak to the medic without Montfort’s knowledge. While she tried to figure out how she would do that, she headed to the Fertilization Labs to see how Cassie and Florian were getting along.

  “Cariad,” Cassie exclaimed as Cariad went inside the lab. “We were wondering when you might be back. What’s happening planetside? Do you want to see the fetuses? They’re all growing nicely.”

  “That’s great.” Cariad sat on a lab stool. “Thanks for holding the fort while I was away. I’m still busy, though. I don’t know when I’ll be back here full time.”

  Florian said, “Don’t worry about it. Do you want some fake coffee? I was about to make us some.”

  “Yes, please.” Even the Nova Fortuna’s excuse for coffee was welcome in her current anxious state.

  “Is everything okay?” Cassie asked. “We’ve been getting on with all the work without any problems. I would have comm’d you if we had any issues. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you have, Cassie. You and Florian do a fantastic job. I don’t have any concerns on that account. I have bigger problems than that right now.”

  Florian put a steaming mug in front of her. “Anything we can help you with?”

  Cariad looked at the young Woken properly for the first time. He had an odd look on his face, like he was keeping a secret. Cariad turned to Cassie, who was suppressing a grin. “Is there something I’m missing? Something you want to tell me?”

  The two techs laughed and grinned ear to ear. “You tell her, Cassie,” Florian said.

  “No, you.” Cassie nudged him gently with her elbow.

  “Okay.” Florian cleared his throat, folded his hand in front of him, and said proudly, “Cassie and I are getting married.”

  “You are?” Cariad strode over to the young couple and enveloped them both in a hug. “I’m so happy for both of you.”

  “Careful,” Florian laughed. “There’s someone who’s a little fragile at the moment.”

  “What?” Cariad released the couple and stepped back. “Is one of you sick?” Then she noticed Cassie was blushing. “Oh, stars, are you pregnant?”

  Florian put an arm around Cassie and kissed the top of her head. “We are.”

  “Oh my… ” said Cariad. “That’s… fast! And amazing. Congratulations. Oh… I think I’m going to cry.” And she did. The tears welled up and overflowed like a waterfall spilling down her face. It was as though the happy news had brought all her worry, grief, and anxiety into focus. Though she was trying her best to move on, she missed Ethan dreadfully.

  She cried so much, Cassie put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, you know. It isn’t that amazing. This kind of thing happens all the time.”

  “Yes,” Florian added. “But it turns out creating new life naturally is a lot more fun than doing it in the lab.”

  Cassie batted him. “Cariad, what’s wrong?”

  She wiped her eyes. “I can’t tell you why, but I need to speak to Alasdair without Dr. Montfort knowing. I’m not sure how to do it. I can’t go to the medical center—Montfort would want to know what was wrong with me. And I can’t risk comming Alasdair either in case he tells Montfort.”

  “Huh?” Cassie said. “This is very weird. Are you sure you haven’t been eating psychotropic Concordian plants?”

  “Believe me,” Cariad said, “I’m not deluded. I’ve never been more serious. When this all comes out, you’ll understand.”

  “Oh well, if you want to talk to Alasdair, that’s easy,” Cassie
said. She lifted the back of her hand to her forehead. “I suddenly feel faint. I think I need immediate medical attention.”

  “You’re a genius, Cassie,” Florian said. He lifted his comm button. “Medical center? Cassie isn’t feeling great. Could Alasdair pop over to take her blood pressure? I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it wouldn’t hurt to check her over.”

  “What would I do without you two?” Cariad asked.

  Alasdair arrived within minutes carrying his equipment. “What’s up, Cassie?” he asked as he came into the lab. “Feeling dizzy?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Cassie replied. “Cariad wants to talk to you.”

  “What?”

  “And we’re leaving work early today,” Florian said.

  “Good luck,” said Cassie as they went out.

  “What’s going on?” Alasdair asked, putting his scanner down on the lab bench.

  Cariad took a breath. “It’s about Montfort. I need to ask you about some things.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. Let’s sit down.” When they were both settled on stools, Cariad continued. “You remember when you and Dr. Montfort had to check everyone for signs of a suspected skin disease?”

  “Do I? That took us forever. And then after all that we didn’t find anything. Total waste of time.”