by Ramona Finn
“And,” I continued, “I think it was the Ferrymen who rescued you.”
Her mouth worked itself open and closed, and she glanced around us like there might be a member of the Authority with a gun hidden in some corner of this tiny linen room.
When a minute had passed and she still hadn’t said anything to either confirm or deny my words, I decided to make things a little easier for her. I tapped the tech on my arm and face. “There’s nothing overhearing us in here. I’d be able to sense it with my tech if there were. I’m not going to get you killed, Mama.”
She blinked. “Me, either. I’m not going to feed you information that might endanger you or get you killed. There’s no way. The best thing is just for you to know that there was no other way besides faking my own death. I knew they were coming for me and, if I ran, they’d just chase me.”
“At least tell me how you faked it. The way Treb described it, it sounded like they attempted to individually cull you.”
Her face aged about ten years in one second, and she looked horrified. “Treb saw?”
I glared at her. “They were waiting for you, Mama. Treb saw you go down and Daw saw men who weren’t Ioan take your body away.”
“Oh, God. I thought… I never thought… Do they know what they saw? Could they be in danger because of it?”
I shrugged, suddenly furious with her. “They told me easily enough. And they know something was strange and unexpected. They don’t know that what they saw implies their mother is a Ferryman.”
She closed down completely. Her shoulders went in, her head went down, and she suddenly looked so small sitting there. “Don’t ask me, Glade. Don’t make me tell you something that could get you killed.”
“You know what? I’ve got enough information and have done enough to get me executed by the Authority about thirty times over. Whatever information you have might actually help me at this point.”
She pulled back, but her hands found their way to mine again. “Are you—have you—” She took a deep breath. “Have you been in contact with Ferrymen?”
I nodded. My words were a whisper. “I was abducted a few months ago, by them, and I learned some things that I couldn’t make myself forget. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get you and Treb and Daw off Io, and to somewhere safe, ever since.”
“Somewhere safe?” Her eyebrows went high up her forehead in exactly the same way that mine often did.
“Charon,” I admitted.
“Wow.” She clunked her head back onto the wall before she dropped back forward again and covered her face in her hands, her chuckles filling up the small closet.
“What?” I plucked at her sleeve. I didn’t have any clue why she was laughing. “What?”
“I just always thought we were so different, Gladey, you and I. I was blonde and you were dark, like Papa. I was maternal and group-minded, and you were logical and made decisions that were best for you. You were whip smart and one step ahead of the game; I was always putting the pieces together well after everyone else had finished playing.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that, for all our differences… like mother, like daughter.”
I searched her face. “You were trying to get us to Charon just like I was trying to get you all to Charon?”
She nodded.
“That’s why you came to the Station? For me?”
She toggled her head back and forth. “That, and other things. Once I finished those… other things, I was going to get you and get the hell out of here; pick up Treb and Daw on the way and get to Charon.”
“Wow.” Now it was my turn to clunk my head back on the wall. “Mama, that’s super badass.”
She laughed, just a little.
“Except I’m screwing everything up because you weren’t supposed to know I was here until I came for you. You were supposed to think I was dead. For your own safety.”
I lifted my head. “Then why did you send me that message to my comm? I’ve been wondering if you were really dead ever since.”
She looked instantly chagrined. “How did you know that was from me? I’d been hoping that you’d receive it as just kind of a general warning.”
“You called me ‘Gladey’. Dead giveaway.”
Her eyes closed. “God, I’m bad at this.”
I blinked at her. “If you’re so bad at this, then how did you access my secret comm?”
“I didn’t. The people who rescued me… one of them knew how to do it. I just… couldn’t let you head back to the Station without telling you to stay safe, even if it was anonymous. What do you mean ‘secret’ comm, though?”
“I mean that comm was only accessible by one other Ferryman. My contact. And then you and your people somehow hacked it to send me that message.”
She shook her head slowly, like she was trying to think of a way to explain all this. “I’m… not a hacker, Glade. I’m not particularly skilled at any of this, except for the fact that I volunteered. There aren’t many volunteers to be in this position. To have the to-do list that I have.”
She was talking like she was on some sort of suicide mission. I didn’t understand. “Who exactly are the people who rescued you? Just tell me. We’re obviously both way too far into this for subterfuge.”
“Ferrymen, Glade. They came for me because I’m one of them. They came for me when they got intel that the Authority had sent a Datapoint to cull me.”
This wasn’t exactly a surprise, considering the information I’d been given by Cyril and Daw. But still, I felt raw and peeled right open. If my mother really was a Ferryman, that answered a lot of questions. But it also meant that Kupier had lied to me about it. He’d flat-out lied.
I knew he was human, obviously. And sometimes humans lied. But I felt like an idiot because it had honestly never occurred to me that he might lie to me. He’d led me down this path, revealing so much information that he was the main source for. If he was lying about this, then what the hell else was he lying about? I felt my world tilt downwards, all the furniture sliding across the floor. Now that the corner was kicked out, I could see just how firmly I’d rested the entire foundation of turning away from the Authority on my trust in Kupier.
“You’re a Ferryman?” I asked my mother, trying to process everything, still. I needed more information, and fast. For the millionth time in just a few months, everything I’d thought I knew about my world was crumbling away. I was getting really freaking sick of this feeling.
She nodded.
“Tell me how you evaded the assassination attempt.”
“Well, when I joined up with the Ferrymen, they obviously provided me with the shielding chip, so I—”
“Shielding chip?”
She stared, obviously surprised that I had no idea what a shielding chip was. “The chip that Ferrymen have implanted in them in order to shield them from being culled?”
My mind shorted out. Ferrymen had technology that prevented them from being culled? I had never heard of that before. Never once. In fact, my time on the Ray had led me to believe that the Ferrymen were very worried about being culled. They’d put my tech through a dampener so that I couldn’t use it on them—I’d thought.
“It’s why all their heads are shaved…” my mother prompted. “So that the chip is more effective.” She turned and lifted the hair back from behind one of her ears. I saw a small bump underneath her skin. I’d never seen anything like that behind Kupier’s ear or on any of the other Ferrymen, but I’d never really looked before, either. And, I had to admit that they all kept their heads shaved.
“It keeps you from getting culled?”
“Yeah, but it didn’t keep me from being knocked the hell out. Which they knew was going to happen. All I had to do was stay unconscious on the ground until the Ferrymen came and got me, and then I was in the clear. The Authority had no reason to think I wasn’t dead.”
“The body? The ashes?”
“The Ferrymen’s friends aren�
�t always visible, but they’re there. The funeral home didn’t have a problem providing ash for you. They didn’t make a fuss about it.”
The Ferrymen had allies on the colonies who would perform services like that? Illegal favors? Yet another thing I hadn’t known about them. About Kupier. How much had he neglected to tell me? How many secrets did he have? How many lies?
“And then you came here.” I wished, so badly, that I understood this better, that I wasn’t a step behind. But here I was. A full step behind.
“And then I came here. After some modifications, of course.” She gestured at her face. I didn’t even bother to ask how the Ferrymen had done that.
“You’re here to…” I prompted.
She eyed me. “Glade, I told you. I’m not going to give you any more information than you absolutely need. Nothing that could get you into trouble, or worse.”
“Mama, I have access to almost every single part of this Station. I have the ear and the eye of Haven himself. And, oh yeah, I’m also a computer genius and the most skilled Datapoint to ever grace the solar system. There’s a good chance I could help you do whatever you need to do.”
And then we can get the hell out of here together.
I needed to focus on my main goal here. Getting my sisters to safety. If my mother had that in mind, then maybe it didn’t matter if Kupier had lied to me. Maybe I could hitch my wagon to hers. I’d confused myself before. I’d thought my allegiance was with Kupier and the Ferrymen. But really, in my heart, it had been with my sisters all along. There was nothing more important than their safety—and, now, my mother’s.
I pushed the twangs of betrayal out of my mind. I didn’t care if he’d lied, I told myself.
She blinked. “There’s information on Haven’s computer that we need. All we know is that he has a plan of attack for the Ferrymen—on the computer in his office. I need to get those files and then get off the Station as fast as possible.”
I could sense that there was more to her plan than what she was telling me, but I was way too hung up on what she’d said first to press her.
“They just told me exactly what to do once I get into Haven’s office,” she continued, “and I’m supposed to just follow the directions to a T and get out of there.”
“Tell me. Exactly what they told you.”
She hesitated, but I seemed to have gotten under her skin, pointing out what she understood—or didn’t understand—about the plan, because she suddenly looked nervous, like she wasn’t sure if she was capable of doing what they’d asked.
Then, she told me what they’d told her. And honestly, it was a pretty impressive hacking strategy. Whoever had instructed her in how to do it definitely knew computers. And, as she held up a comm that looked exactly like mine did, I realized that it had many uses beyond text communication. It doubled as a storage device for digital information. And hers was where my mother was supposed to upload this plan.
“There’s only one problem with this plan, Mama,” I told her when she’d finished explaining it to me.
“What’s that?”
“They sent a civilian in to do a hacker’s job.”
“I talked my way into it. It was the only way I knew for sure that I’d be able to get you out of here. I didn’t think I could trust the other Ferrymen to engage with a Datapoint, and drag you out. I knew you’d come with me. Just like they knew there was a good chance you’d kill them. It was too risky.”
“Okay. So, I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“I’ll get access to the files. And then we’ll leave. Alright?”
She looked like I’d slapped her in the face. “You’re serious? You’d do that? I mean, I knew your allegiance to the Authority was questionable at best, but you’d actually align yourself with the Ferrymen?”
Kupier’s face flashed in my mind. Plain and handsome and with those slicing blue eyes. I swallowed past the pain. Had he really lied? Could I trust him?
“My allegiance is to anyone who wants to keep Daw and Treb safe, Mama. And Haven made it clear a long time ago that he doesn’t care what happens to them. He’d do anything to manipulate me. Including torturing or murdering them. Or even worse, plugging them into the Datapoint program. So yeah. If we need to get this info to get us off this Station, then I’ll get it.”
She nodded and I, again, got the distinct feeling that she was keeping something from me. There was more to her plan than she was telling me.
“Mama, if you’re a Ferryman…” I chose my words extremely carefully. “Do you trust Kupier?”
It hurt to say his name, but I ignored the pain. I watched her face, trying to take in every squint, every breath, every minute expression that crossed her features. I watched her for any chance that she was hiding something or lying. When she spoke, I saw nothing but the truth.
“Kupier?” Her eyes went wide and her mouth pursed up. “No. Not at all. Is that who your Ferryman contact is?”
I nodded. “Oh, Gladey. If I’d only known. God. Of all the Ferrymen who could’ve… He’s gotten a lot of people killed. A lot of good Ferrymen. He’s divisive and untrustworthy. Don’t get sucked into his games.”
My hand reflexively clasped the hidden comm on my tech and I felt my body tighten down. Was I imploding? No. I was just tensing myself down into nothing. Pins and needles hit my cheeks as all the blood left my face. Untrustworthy.
Kupier was untrustworthy. Games.
I thought of him laughing and flirting. I thought of everything he’d done that I hadn’t understood at first. The eclipse he’d gifted to his crew. The marble between his fingers. The constant laugh on his face. Of course he was playing games. The man was made of games.
“Stick with me, Gladey. I’ll get us out of here. If you can get access to those files, then I’ll get us off of the Station. We’ll get our girls and we’ll be safe, okay?”
I nodded. But the truth was, I needed days to go over this information before I decided what to do. I needed to look at it from every perspective.
“We can’t interact. Not at all,” I told her. “I’m being watched. By another Datapoint. I can’t prove it, but I know it.”
“Right now?” my mother asked in alarm.
I shook my head. “She didn’t follow me. But you can’t come to me for anything. Or me to you. When I have the files, I’ll let you know. We’ll go from there. But nothing else. Alright? How should I find you?”
“You won’t have to. I’ll find you. I’ll check in with you every day. In the meantime, I’ll keep on as I was before. One of the maintenance techs.” She gestured at the linens.
A thought trickled in. “Have you seen me before this? And I didn’t notice?”
She nodded again. “Datapoints barely notice the techs, no matter what they’re doing. I’ve passed you over and over again in the halls. I maintain your bunk, too.”
I wasn’t sure what to think about that. “So, if I’m looking, I’ll see you.”
“Yes. You’ll be able to find me.”
She pulled me into one more hug, but this time I pulled away from it fast. I couldn’t handle being touched right then. All the new information was racing through me, sensitizing me to everything. I felt like everything around me was made of cold fingers, pressing into my warm parts. I had to get out of this room. I had to be alone. I had to think.
Chapter Six
It was days later when I finally came to terms with what the Ferrymen had told my mother to do. They weren’t wrong about needing access to Haven’s computer, that admittedly gorgeous piece of tech on the wall in his office. If his cloud was accessed externally, I was certain it would detect the hack immediately and shut down or even self-destroy. It had to be accessed via Haven’s office, which meant that I would have to be in there alone.
Great. Fantastic. What a breeze.
An unsolvable problem… Just what I needed at a time like this.
Strangely though, I was grateful for such a hard problem to solve. It kept my mind
firmly off of Kupier. The shock of his betrayal had worn off a bit, but that didn’t mean I didn’t get a slicing pain in my chest every time I thought about him. So, I tried very hard not to think about him.
I concentrated instead on how the hell I was going to get into Haven’s office on my own. I realized that there was probably only one way to know for sure he wasn’t going to storm in on me once I snuck in, and that was to occupy him somewhere else.
The only times I’d ever really seen Haven out of his office were when he came to observe me in simulations. Now, my simulations were old news at this point. But what wasn’t old news? It only took so much thought to figure that answer out—what had his attention now was the Datapoint training protocol he was so eager to implement.
So, weirdly enough, it was my idea to get things going. I went to Haven’s office a few days after I’d discovered my mother on the Station. I called on Dahn to go with me, and then I told them exactly what I thought should happen… that we should start training Datapoints for this new system of culling. I told them that I could feel the date of the Culling looming over me, and that it would reassure me to know that my fellow Datapoints were trained to clean up whatever mistakes I might make.
I’d never seen Haven look so pleased. And, I’d never felt so sick to my stomach. Considering it was a brand-new procedure, he called for observation of Datapoints attempting the skill in simulations. From there, we’d know better how to teach them to perform the skill with accuracy and precision.
Cha-ching. Exactly what I’d been hoping he would say. So, it was a week after that when Dahn, Haven, and I were shoulder to shoulder in the simulation room, slouching over the read-out screen, watching a young Datapoint fail miserably at the task we’d asked of him.
The simulation was set up as if a mass Culling had just occurred, thanks to my handy new genocidal skills. It was this Datapoint’s job to quickly sort through a few hundred of the remaining citizens and find any outstanding cullable who may have slipped past my radar. It was then this kid’s job to individually cull each of those cullable who he found.