The Acceptance (The GEOs Book 1)

by Ramona Finn

  “Yeah, sure. Just let me get a quick shower,” I said. Showering had become part of my daily routine now, especially after simulations.

  “Cool. I’ll save you a seat.” We exited the simulations hall and Kev shot one last smile over his shoulder before making his way to the dining hall.

  It was only after he was out of sight that I realized I was missing something. My gloves, which I’d removed for the simulation, were no doubt still sitting on the floor beneath the terminal. As I turned to retrieve them, though, I heard voices. Cautiously, I peered around the doorway to see the Elite who ran our survival classes speaking with another man, whose back was turned to me.

  “It’s obvious from her scores that she won’t survive. It’s a waste of all of our time for her to continue,” the Elite said.

  My mouth went dry. He was talking about me. I was sure of it.

  “Let her be,” the other man said. Farrow!

  “But she’s obviously the result of the hack. She doesn’t belong here.”

  “Causing a disturbance in their group will throw the results of the experiment. You know that. Besides, there is no proof she’s the one. The computer does occasionally choose people with low survival scores, just to make sure that the algorithm is up to date. Besides, even if she is a result of the hack, she’s going to die anyway.

  My shoulders sank in relief. They didn’t know I was the hacker! I had mixed feelings about being sent to the Above with an incompatible score, but this was something. It was hard to be sure how I felt about the new information, though. There was relief that I still had a chance to save my mother, but also something else I couldn’t place. Everyone knew that no one had survived the Acceptance in years, but listening to them talk about my death with such certainty was surreal.

  I bit my lip, evaluating my choices. I could give myself up, but what good would that do now? If Farrow was willing to let me continue, who knew what he would do if I outed myself? Besides that, the algorithm didn’t know me. It didn’t know about Wallace. Plus, what good would that do my mom? She was the whole reason I’d come.

  Suddenly, the fact that even Farrow didn’t think I could make it stoked a fire in me. I’d show him. I wasn’t going to let my survival score determine my fate. It would just fuel my determination to win the damn thing.

  My stomach rumbled and I held my breath, waiting to see if anyone had heard me. The conversation lapsed into something more mundane, something to do with rations. I decided to forget about the shower and head straight for the dining hall.

  “Hey, Ty.” Kev waved me down as I picked up a tray, next choosing from an assortment of greens and meats. There were no vouchers here. Food was given freely at specific times during our shifts. “I saved you a seat.” Kev pointed to a set of empty chairs at a nearby table, away from the others who were just finishing up their meals. “Was afraid you weren’t going to make it in time.”

  He didn’t seem to notice I hadn’t showered, and I was glad for it. I was still trying to shake off the ill feeling that eavesdropping on Farrow had left in the pit of my stomach, but something that Kev had said pulled my attention in another direction.

  “Time for what?” I asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. Dinner hour wasn’t even half over yet.

  “The guest speaker.” His grin grew even wider, testing the limits of his skin’s elasticity.

  Guest speaker? I followed him to the table and took my seat. No one had said anything about any—

  “Welcome, friends, and dare I say, future family?” R.L. Farrow’s voice boomed as he walked in the door I’d just come in. Everything in the dining hall went silent as he made his way to the front of the room, his silken robes flowing around him. “I won’t take much of your time, I promise. I just wanted to address you all formally before you move on to your next stage of training.” His eyes scanned the room, a smile on his face. I’d admired that smile, but now as I watched him I noticed that his eyes didn’t crinkle in the corners like they usually did. Today’s smile was false.

  “Please.” He spread his arms out, palms up. “Don’t let me keep you from finishing your meals as I speak. Think of me as one of your own, addressing you casually, as friends do.”

  That was part of his allure, the way in which he interacted with the crowd. Like he was one of them, and vice versa. It gave the masses comfort. So much so that we’d often forgotten which of us was clothed in damp rags instead of soft white silk.

  “You all know how the Virus has evolved over time,” he said as we continued our meals. “How it began as an animal virus spread among livestock before mutating and infecting the human population.”

  Around me, heads bobbed; of course, we’d all learned about the Virus in grade school, and then were reminded of its evolution more recently in our training. We knew that a cure was found, and then lost, and the gallant tale of the one man who’d dared to save the world by taking us underground.

  “You won’t be surprised to hear that the Virus continues to mutate. But in our attempts to recreate a cure, we discovered something else. Those who are exposed to the Virus experience their own mutations, most of which are deadly. We understand these mutations, but not how to prevent them. Those who get past them are the ones who survive the Acceptance, who carry a natural immunity, and who will help save all of humanity. Though we know these people exist, we don’t have enough information about why such immunity occurs, or know enough to replicate a cure.”

  The hush that had fallen over the seven of us turned to hushed whispers between pairs. Exposure to the Virus had always been a possibility, but the idea that only those who were both exposed and able to survive would be going forward was shocking.

  “I have faith that each of you will honor your Unions with your contribution to the cause, and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavour. For the Cure!”

  One by one, the others stood and echoed Farrow’s words: “For the Cure!” Kev was no exception. His eyes beamed with pride and admiration. I followed the others’ lead, but my heart had sunk. I’d almost dared hope that I’d found someone to talk to about what I’d heard, but it was clear that Kev wasn’t going to be that person. Suddenly, I was very lonely. I thought of my parents, especially my dad. What if I didn’t make it? What if the last thing I’d done with my dad was argue and storm out?

  Suddenly, I was having trouble remaining still. Every cell in my body was screaming for movement. I wanted to run back home, to tell my dad it had all been a mistake. I wanted to go back to my normal life.

  But I couldn’t. I fidgeted with the cuff of my sleeve, trying to keep my movements minimal. When that stopped being enough, I began to shift my weight ever so slowly from one foot to the other, a skill that I had learned from Wallace when he’d been teaching me to read a Rej’s body language.

  “Your only chance of survival if you run into them,” he’d said, “is gonna be calling their bluff. Most will threaten more than they’re actually capable of. Those are the ones you dare to follow through with their threat. If you judge right, you’ll get safe passage.”

  “And if I choose wrong?” I’d asked.

  “You’re dead.”

  So, he’d explained, being able to read someone could be the difference between life and death. I only hoped that R.L. Farrow’s eye wasn’t so delicately trained. It wasn’t like I could hide in a crowd of seven.

  Farrow continued his speech after we sat down again, but none of it landed firmly enough in my mind for me to take in exactly what was said. His voice seemed distant and muffled as I struggled through my panic attack. Just as I was certain that the beads of sweat forming on my forehead would give me away, my mind was thrust back into the moment by the sound of scattered clapping. The speech was over.

  Farrow gave one last nod to us before exiting. He was gone as quickly as he’d come. Across from me, Kev took his seat again. I sank into mine heavily, collapsing into a heap of exhausted bones as I tried to process the new information. The closer we got to the Acce
ptance, the more I found myself regretting how I’d left things with my dad. I needed to make things right before I left.

  “You okay?” Kev leaned in, his brows knit together with concern.

  “Yeah,” I tried to play it off, but then changed my mind. “Actually, no. I’m kind of dizzy, and nauseous. I think I may have overdressed.” I motioned to my long sleeves. “Still not used to circulating heat.”

  Kev nodded. The environmental difference in the training hall meant a difficult adjustment for all of us who’d grown up in the cold dampness of the Geos.

  “Kev, I’m not feeling so well. I think maybe that last session in the sims caused some eye strain. Mind if I catch up with you later?

  His face sank in a way that made me feel guilty for lying to him. I knew he’d been looking forward to catching up, and he had always been so nice—not just to me, but to everyone I’d seen him interact with. Farmers may have been known as more suited to manual labor than formal academics, but I had never in my life met an educated person who was as kind and willing to help another human being as Kev was.

  “Yeah, Ty, of course.” His voice was sincere, if disappointed. I wondered if forgiveness was just part of his genetic make-up, if maybe that was something the algorithms had honed in on when they’d chosen to approve his parents getting a birthing license. I knew that in the past they had denied licenses to families with a history of anxiety or chronic health issues that would put too much strain on the Geos’ resources. Maybe they approved them based on positive traits.

  Or was it just that I’d gotten him used to being disappointed by me? I pushed the thought aside, along with the guilt. I didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

  I managed to choke out one last “Thanks!” before getting up and bolting for the door, pausing only long enough to dump my tray on the way out.

  I didn’t slow down until I’d made it all the way out of the dining hall. Then, I paused to catch my breath. While it hadn’t been the heat affecting me at dinner, it sure wasn’t helping now. Even with the physical training we’d been doing, I found it hard to run in the heat. Inwardly, I chastised myself for bothering with the extra layers at all today, but I’d started to get homesick and the layers felt like home to me. Knowing I would shortly be facing my own mortality had made me hold on to any and every form of sentiment I could.

  It was probably well enough, since I was sneaking out anyway—I needed to make things right with my dad before I ran out of time. The shirt I was wearing wasn’t really fit for the cold of the Geo tunnels, but it was better than short sleeves, and I didn’t dare go back to my sleeping quarters, for fear of being caught sneaking out. Better to just go, and hope I wouldn’t be caught now or when I snuck back in later.

  I glanced over my shoulder once more before turning down the hall that would lead me back to the shuttle station. I was in the clear.

  Which was why I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone put their hand on my shoulder.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Hey! I was hoping to catch you before you’d finished dinner.” Ben flashed his signature Farrow smile. “Sorry if I startled you. I saw you slip out before the others…” he trailed off awkwardly.

  “Yeah, I just, um, needed some space.”

  He laughed. “Father can be a bit overbearing at times.”

  My jaw went slack momentarily before I was able to collect myself. I never would have expected Benjamin Farrow to say something so relatable.

  “It’s not just him, it’s…” I gestured to the general area around us, and finished awkwardly, “everything, I guess.”

  Ben nodded. “Lots of contestants struggle at this point. Scientists in the Greens, too. Each new trial brings intense feelings. Hope, fear, envy. We’ve seen the best and the worst parts of humanity during some of these trials.”

  His words were strangely reassuring. I’d been so wrapped up in the intensity of my own experience that I had let my emotions isolate me. “Maybe I’m spending a little too much time in my own head,” I admitted.

  He nodded. “Come on, I’ll show you where I go when I need some space. It’s basically the most deserted place around here, and I spend most of my mornings there before work begins.”

  He took my hand and led me out the main doors toward the shuttle station. My heart leapt up in my throat. This was it! I was actually going to make it out of here, and with the son of R.L. Farrow at my side, I was pretty sure no one was going to try and stop us.

  But I found myself drawn to him as we approached the shuttle station, where I noticed there wasn’t even a terminal to scan my travel waiver. There were no voucher terminals on this side, and the room was completely open, giving me space to note how it felt to be in his presence—just the two of us.

  I raised my eyes to the florescent lights hanging above us, blinking the tears out of my eyes. I was embarrassed. Not because I was crying in front of Ben-freaking-Farrow, but because I was crying in front of someone who had zero chance of understanding why.

  And yet, I could feel the question, still unasked, crackling with electricity in the air around us.

  “It’s my family,” I offered in a half-truth, hoping it would be enough to satisfy his curiosity.

  He nodded. “It’s okay. Lots of contestants miss their families when they come here.”

  I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but the way he’d worded it felt off. Still, I could tell he was trying his best, and I could use another friend.

  “I mean, it’s my dad, really. We fought before I left. He…” I was about to toe the line here, and I knew it. “He didn’t want me to come.”

  Ben’s eyes widened. Refusing the call to the Acceptance was so taboo that we didn’t even have a punishment for it. No one had ever dared.

  “He wasn’t going to stop me,” I clarified. “He was just really worried.”

  Ben was visibly relieved. “Everyone has doubts. Families, too, I think. At least mine does, though obviously not about the same things,” he offered. “My father has been disappointed in me more times than I can count.”

  “You consider Farrow your father?”

  “Well, why wouldn’t I? He created me, even if it was through scientific manipulation rather than, well, you know…” He blushed, and then added, “The other way.”

  “Well, but it’s more than just worrying about being a disappointment,” I said. “My mom, she’s really sick. She has the Cough.”

  “I don’t understand. Plenty of disease symptoms include coughs. I’ve never seen anyone die from one.”

  I stared at him for a minute, surprised he wouldn’t know what I was talking about. He really was isolated from the Geos. “It’s not a cough,” I finally explained. “It’s the Cough. It kills us. Every one of us if we get it. Some live longer than others, if they’re lucky enough to get decent medical care, but it’s a matter of time.”

  “Oh, well, that’s easy. Now that you’ve been chosen for the Acceptance, she’ll have access to the best treatments available.”

  “You say that like I’ve already won.” I didn’t see how he could be so optimistic, especially knowing that he had watched each wave of contestants fail before me.

  “I believe in you, Tylia Coder,” he answered, and the corner of his mouth pulled up into a lopsided smile that was so stunning I nearly let down my guard entirely.

  “Well…” I shrugged awkwardly. “I hope you’re right.” As soon as it was out of my mouth, I wanted to kick myself. “I hope you’re right?” Way to be lame, Ty.

  He didn’t seem to know that I was the hacker. That my stats had been artificially inflated, including my survival score. I fully believed that he thought I could win this. That he was personally invested in it. I even felt like he genuinely cared about me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why such a thing would be true. I was simply confident that Ben Farrow meant me no harm. That he meant to help me, even.

  I may have let slip a small smile as I realized that Viv would have b
een blind with jealousy. I couldn’t wait until this was all over with. If I didn’t die in the Above, I might just die telling Viv about my conversations with her celebrity crush.

  “I guess I’m afraid that she’ll die if I don’t make it,” I added as he kept watching me. And there it was—the truest truth I’d told him so far.

  “Oh, you’ll make it through the Acceptance just fine,” he reassured me, “which means she’ll be okay, too. You just have to keep training. They have you wear a neurofeedback suit to increase the simulation’s realism.That means, if you get hurt in the Sim, you feel the pain in real time. It frightens some of the new contestants at first, because they don’t warn you during orientation. Some people even want to quit—just don’t do that. You’re strong though, so I know you can handle it, and since you already know it’s coming, you have time to prepare.”

  At first, I thought he was kidding, but when I looked into his eyes, they were serious. Dead serious. A shiver ran up my spine. The practice Sims had been bad enough, but I didn’t stand a chance in the next round of training if there was going to be painful feedback…

  “Oh, and when you do get to the Above, you’ll want to avoid the others,” he continued, oblivious to my horror. “Even if you think they’re your friends here, once you get up to the Above, everything changes. Trust no one, and nothing. Oh!” He reached into a secret pocket in the sleeve of his robe. “That reminds me… I wanted to give you this.”

  He handed me a small metal tube with openings on either end. One end was more narrow, and reminded me of one of the smoke tubes some of the gamblers used in the atrium back home. Only, this didn’t seem to have a battery pack. I looked to Ben questioningly.

  “It’s a filter,” he said. “For water. You’re going to need it in the Above. One of the top reasons candidates fail the Acceptance is water-borne illness. Don’t eat anything you find, either. Everything up there is toxic.” He looked upward almost instinctively and shuddered, but when his gaze returned to me, the moment had passed, and he was back to his cheery self. “You should take some protein strips with you. The dried ones.”