by Magus Tor
“Interesting idea,” she said, returning her attention to Lukas.
He stood and smiled again, the white of his scar showing even more brightly as the skin stretched, and she wondered how he'd gotten the mark. “Thought you might be kind of bored,” he said. “With your dad and Jonathon going through logistics and your other friends still at the clinic.”
“So you took it upon yourself to entertain me?” she teased, arching an eyebrow.
For a second he looked unsure, then realised she was kidding. “Well, someone has to, I suppose,” he teased back. “Fancy the grand tour?”
“I'd be delighted,” she said. “Lead on.”
He showed her most of what she'd already discovered by herself, but it was nice to have company. Lukas knew a lot about the Resistance on Earth, making him a valuable source of information.
“I'd say around a couple of hundred hard-core members in each of the Earth Cities,” he said when she asked him about membership once the tour was done and they were sitting in the canteen. “Then there are probably a few hundred more connected people, those who don't really work for us but are aware on some level of what we do.”
“That's not a lot to mount a revolution,” said Aurelia, thoughtfully, before realising what she'd said.
“Indeed it's not,” Lukas replied, not seeming at all surprised by her use of the word “revolution.”
“And what about outside the Cities?” she said.
“The settlements, you mean?” He grabbed a box of liquid off a tray that was being brought around by a hospitality Worker and shook it before opening it and offering it to her. “That, we're a lot more unclear on. There are settlements that we haven't even made contact with yet, and even those that we do have some kind of communication with are less than friendly. Can't blame them, really. I mean, they connect us with the Cities that pretty much left them out here to die.”
“Do you think we could count on the support of Settlers to back our cause?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It's possible, I suppose. Listen, have you even seen a settlement?”
“Of course not. I lived my whole life inside City 01,” she said. “Why? Is there one around here?”
“Wanna see?”
She nodded.
“I'll take you in the boat, okay? Let me just go tell your father where you'll be.”
He rushed off and left Aurelia sitting alone. It bothered her a little that he'd gone to ask her father for permission. She was an adult, after all. When he came back, minutes later, she took him to task.
“Whoa, I'm sorry,” he said. “Bit of a misunderstanding. See, none of us leave the clearing without telling at least one person where we'll be. It's a security thing.”
Okay, now she felt like an idiot for bringing it up. “Is it really that dangerous around here?” she asked, feeling foolish.
“We're the Resistance; what do you think?”
She hadn't really considered the danger of the village. It seemed so safe, so settled—but then, she supposed that everyone had to be ready to leave at any moment. And yet they all seemed comfortable with that. She sighed. “Come on, let's go get in that boat.”
He led her back to the dock that they had arrived at, where a vessel was waiting for them. “Hop in,” he said, sliding down the rope ladder that was already attached.
Once in the boat, her stomach lurched a little at the movement; but Lukas moved his weight, and soon they were steady.
“We're going the exact same way that we came,” he explained, as the boat started floating away. “You can climb, right?”
“Er, I guess,” said Aurelia, mystified as to why she'd need to climb in a boat.
“Good. I got the gear.” He patted the pack beside him.
She was learning not to be so fast with her questions. She'd learn what he meant in due time, and right now, with the mist cleared from the day before, she was seeing the swamplands for the first time. Deep, dark stretches of water were interrupted by small floating islands of debris. There were definite channels through the foliage, though, and she could see how navigation might not be as difficult as she'd thought. It was like a map, just with water rather than trails. Looking closely, she saw movement in the water.
“Are there...things down there?” she asked, not knowing a name for anything and feeling strange for asking.
“You mean like animals or stuff? No,” said Lukas. “The bubbles you see and the movement of the water is gas escaping from the swamp, that's all.”
“Poisonous?”
“Probably, but it shouldn't do you any harm. The foliage around City 02 makes the air here some of the cleanest on Earth, though the water isn't safe at all. It's not a bad place to live if you have to live somewhere.”
He was sitting cross-legged in the bottom of the boat and looking very at ease with life.
“You seem very familiar with life here,” she commented.
He laughed. “I grew up around here, that's why. Born in 02, raised here. I didn't go to 01 until I took my posting. The Resistance arranged it, since I was more use there. 02 doesn't have its own shuttle bay, you know?”
“Really?” The boat was beginning to slow down. The journey was much more pleasant without the eerie mist.
“Ground isn't firm enough,” said Lukas, preparing to dock the boat. “There's been plans to reclaim a plot, but nothing's happened yet.”
The boat slid up over the sandbar, and Lukas jumped out. He offered his hand to Aurelia, who climbed out clumsily.
“The boat will stay here,” he said. “We won't be gone too long. Ready to go back into the jungle?”
She nodded.
“Have to keep it down a bit, though. There's no need for total silence, but whispering is advisable. We really don't want to be heard.”
He set off through the jungle. There was a clear trail here, unlike when they'd first entered, and she followed many overlapping footsteps as they walked through the cool, damp air. After only a few minutes, Lukas stopped in front of a huge plant. He dropped his backpack and opened it.
“Okay, you'll need to wear these,” he whispered, handing her a set of overalls. “And these.” This time he gave her some thick gloves.
She raised her eyebrows but said nothing, quickly putting the overalls over her uniform. The material was thin, a lot like the breathing suit she'd used outside of the Lunar dome, and very flexible. It also looked strong, and she assumed it was protection, as were the thick gloves. Once dressed, she glanced at Lukas and saw him wearing the same getup.
“We're going to climb up here,” he said, pointing at the large plant. “It's easy; I'll go first, and you follow. We'll get a good view of the settlement from up there. You're protected from the plant's sap, just in case; but as long as you're careful not to damage the stems, then there won't be any sap to be protected from. All okay?”
She nodded, starting to regret asking him to bring her here. She'd assumed that they'd walk into a settlement, maybe meet some people—she hadn't thought that they'd be climbing lookout towers to spy.
Lukas had already started climbing, and she waited until he was a few metres up before following. It was surprisingly easy. The plant's stems grew out at angles like steps on a ladder, and all she had to do was choose those that looked thick enough to support her weight. There was a fresh, biting smell to the plant; and though she felt leaves brush her face, she conscientiously avoided damaging anything. Eventually Lukas stopped, and she almost banged her head on his feet.
“Climb up here on the other side of me,” he whispered down.
She skirted his feet, moving around the trunk of the plant until she was on the opposite side, then climbed up to his level.
“There, look.” He parted the leaves with his hands. Below, maybe two hundred metres in the distance, she saw a clearing in the foliage of the jungle.
Lukas handed her a pair of glasses, and putting them on, she could see more clearly. The open area was surrounded by small green domes. Houses, she
assumed; given the shapes on the roofs of the domes, she guessed they were made from the foliage surrounding her. There was a large fire in the middle of these, and people, maybe twenty or so, in various positions around the clearing. What surprised her most was that no one wore uniforms. The inhabitants were in different states of undress, but each looked unique. They appeared to be working or doing chores, with the exception of a couple of small children who were chasing each other around the encampment.
Suddenly one of the children ran close to the fire. A woman stood, grabbed the child, and began what was obviously a telling off, though Aurelia couldn't hear what was being said. The child lowered his head, and the woman swept him up and held him, and then Aurelia felt horrible. She was watching these people—these normal, everyday people—without their knowledge. She was invading their privacy, spying, and she didn't like the feeling that it gave her. Handing the glasses back to Lukas, she began climbing down the plant again, faster this time so that her breathing was deep when she jumped to the soft ground.
“Ready to go already?” asked Lukas when he'd joined her on the ground.
She nodded, and they walked in silence back to the boat. He didn't speak again until they were already moving.
“What happened up there?” he asked, quietly.
Aurelia sighed. “It was just…they looked so…normal, I guess. These people are exactly the same as us—except, well, except that they have the freedom to choose what they want to do.”
“Other than to leave their settlements,” Lukas said. “They have no right to come into the Cities, though most of them don't wish to anyway.”
“But that's what life could be like,” Aurelia said. “We could do as we wished, build our own houses, hug our own children, wear our own clothes. I guess I knew that in the abstract, but I hadn't really considered the concrete before. Do you know what I mean?”
Lukas smiled. “I do.”
“And these were the ones who were left to die. They're survivors. They live the old way, the way that we were always taught is the wrong way. The way we were told ruined the Earth in the first place. But I didn't see anything there that made me think they were wrong.”
“Aurelia, you need to think about the big picture,” Lukas said, settling more comfortably in the boat. “The truth is that those who ruined Earth are the same ones who are telling us how to live now. And do you really think things are much different? Do you think they're trying to save Earth now? Surely Jonathon must have told you some of what's going on down here.”
“He did,” Aurelia said. “He talked about moving resources and things...”
“I worked in the shuttle bay, Aurelia. I saw it.” His eyes were flashing with anger. “They take as many resources as they can from down here and ship them up to Lunar. Meat, food, rock, minerals, anything they can get their hands on. And you know what people down here do? They live shitty lives eating synth food and working every day as hard as they can to provide more and more resources for the Ruling Class. Instead of being our saviours, instead of helping clean the Earth, repopulate it with trees and plants and cleaning the air naturally, they build machines with resources to filter the air. And you know what that means?”
Shocked by his sudden passion, Aurelia shook her head.
“It means that sometime, maybe a century from now, maybe a decade from now, when the resources are gone, when Earth truly can no longer survive, they'll close down the shuttle routes, cut off contact and leave us all down here to die with our planet.”
He slumped into silence. Aurelia considered his words. He was right—that was exactly what was going to happen, exactly what they had to stop. This battle, this revolution or whatever it was going to be, was about more than equality, more than personal freedom. It was about their very existence.
“I'm sorry,” Lukas said after a while. “I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at all this. Angry that the Empire has become this way.”
Very carefully she moved forward, the boat rocking slightly, so that she could put her hand on his shoulder. “I understand,” she said. “I really do. And I think you're right.”
He placed his hand on top of hers and gave her a smile again. “Hey, wanna know how I got this scar?” he asked, pointing to his eyebrow.
“Sure.” She smiled back.
“Fell off that plant we just climbed, when I was a kid. Got sap in it and had to have a big chunk cut out.”
The boat was docking, and he jumped up to catch the falling rope.
“That's not true!” Aurelia said, but he was already halfway up the ladder. “Is it?”
“Might be!” he shouted back down, laughing.
Back at the village, Lukas accompanied her to the canteen, and both of them ate lunch. The trip together had changed something, and she felt more comfortable with him now. They'd shared an experience, and now their conversation was easier and lighter. The food was as fresh as the night before, and the strong tastes were a little overwhelming for Aurelia, who was used to synth foods.
“Where do you get all this food from?” she asked him when they were done eating.
“We grow it,” he said. “We clean up the soil, plant seeds, and grow it the old-fashioned way. Totally possible, though expensive.”
Interesting, thought Aurelia. But Lukas was already standing up to leave.
“I've gotta get back to the main building, see what's going down with the logistics. They might have something for me to do,” he said.
“I'll come with you,” Aurelia said, standing up. With a lack of anything else to do, she thought that she might lie down for a little while, take a nap in her quarters.
As they were strolling out into the clearing, however, Elza came running and stopped them.
“Aurelia, you need to come to the clinic. You have to talk to him, please!” she cried, panting, then took off running back to the clinic.
“What was all that about?” Lukas asked.
Aurelia shrugged. “I guess I'd better go find out.”
“Alright, catch you at dinner maybe,” he said, giving her his toothy grin before he turned to walk to the main building.
Aurelia walked into Nicholas's hospital room to find a distraught looking Elza, a frustrated looking engineering Worker, an angry looking med Worker, and a very truculent looking Nicholas.
“They thought you could persuade me, huh?” Nicholas said when she came in.
“Persuade you of what?” she asked, coming to the foot of his bed.
“This...this idiot,” Elza said, “has decided that he wants nothing to do with any kind of prosthetics. No deal. Simply refuses to do anything. We've been trying to talk to him about it for the last hour, and he won't give in.”
“That's simply not true,” Nicholas said calmly. “You've all given me plenty of reasons why I should get a new hand, and told me that I'm stupid for not wanting one. But none of you have actually talked to me about it; none of you have listened to any reasoning that I might have.”
Elza sighed and looked pleadingly at Aurelia.
“Okay,” Aurelia said. “Perhaps the doctor here and the engineering Worker could go grab a coffee for a few minutes?” She looked at the two men questioningly.
“Sure,” the med Worker said, looking relieved that he was excused for the time being.
She waited until the two men had left the room, then sat on the end of Nicholas's bed. “Alright, want to tell us what's going on, then?” she asked him. “Why are you refusing the help of that nice eng Worker?”
Nicholas shifted until he was more comfortable against his pillows. “Because I think that you might have done me a huge favour,” he said, smiling at Aurelia.
“What do you mean?”
His smile got even bigger. “Look, my whole life I've been trained to be in the Military. My whole life I've been nothing more than a tool. I have to do what I'm told when I'm told to do it. And now, now I get the chance to leave all that behind. Look at me. I'm a soldier with one hand; what use am I? I don't ne
ed fixing; I'm already fixed. Do you understand that?”
Aurelia glanced at Elza and then nodded. “I guess,” she said. “But are you completely sure about this?”
Nicholas gave a deep sigh. “Surer than I've ever been about anything before,” he said. “I want a normal life. I want to get married, to be a father. I want to be myself, not just some tool to be used in conflict or death.”
Elza's eyes were glowing with tears. “I understand,” she said firmly. “Completely.”
“Really?” he asked, looking at her hopefully.
“Really,” she said. “By giving up your hand, you're both literally and figuratively giving up a part of you. It's your sacrifice. It's your way of never going back to the way you were before. Yes, I understand that.”
“And you?” Nicholas asked Aurelia.
“I think it's your decision,” she said. “But yes, I understand what you're doing. And I respect it.”
She went out into the corridor to find the med and engineering Workers loitering by the door, portable coffee containers in their hands. “You can come in now,” she said.
“You have my thanks,” Nicholas told the two men. “But I don't need your help.”
The med Worker shook his head. “Do you understand that this is your only chance? If we don't perform the operation in the next day or so, the nerves will no longer be able to act as proper connection points. Should you change your mind in the future, you will have little or no control over the prosthetic.”
“I understand,” Nicholas said.
“And you're sure?” the engineering Worker asked. Aurelia wondered if he was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to do his work.
“You heard the man,” Elza interrupted. “He's fine just the way he is. Thank you, both of you.”
The med Worker raised his eyebrows at the engineering Worker, who shrugged. Both men left the room.