He motions for me to sit down on one of the hard armchairs and sits opposite me in an identical one. He leans back, crosses his legs and places the tips of his fingers together to make a tent-shape or perhaps a steeple. It reminds me of the old rhyme,
Here’s the church and here’s the steeple
Look inside and see the people.
No chance of me leaning back. I’ve had to hitch myself up to sit on it and my short legs dangle over the edge of the chair like a puppet’s.
He turns the church upside down to see the people and stretches out his arms. His bones crack.
‘How do you think it went?’
I have no idea what he’s referring to.
He helps me out. ‘My speech. Did it go down well with…’ he hesitates, searching for the right word, ‘your colleagues?’
What can I say? Should I be polite and congratulate him or be honest and tell him it was crap, the same old-old we are dished out by Ra.
He seems tense, as if my answer to his question is important in some way.
He sees my reluctance to offer an honest opinion and leans forward. There is something passionate about the way he speaks. ‘Please, be frank. I’d value your opinion.’
Why he should do that I haven’t a clue, but I take a chance. ‘You speak well, very fluently, it’s a pleasure to listen to your voice….’
‘But…’ his slate grey eyes do not leave my face.
‘You said to be frank.’
He nods encouragingly.
I take a deep breath. ‘OK then. Here goes. You said nothing we hadn’t heard before. It was company-speak.’
He throws his head back and laughs, a rich full-throated laugh. ‘Too right,’ he says. ‘I didn’t write it. It was given to me to read.’
So he’s not in charge. Someone is telling him what to do – Ra or someone else?
‘Thank you for answering that question truthfully,’ he says, his face a bit more relaxed. ‘A good start to what I hope will be a fruitful exchange of ideas. Tell me, Mercury, are you happy here?’
That is an easy question to answer. ‘Very. I’m proud to have been given the opportunity to learn more about Worldwideculture in such a rich environment.’
He gives an odd little smile. ‘Now who is using company-speak?’
I feel the colour rush up my cheeks. ‘It may sound like that, but I really mean it. I’ve learnt so much in the three months since I’ve been here. I find out one thing and that puts me on track to dig deeper and learn more.’
He nods. ‘A perfect student.’ There is the little smile at the corner of his mouth again. ‘You don’t need to convince me of your dedication, Mercury. Your progress – everyone’s progress – is monitored. We are very pleased with your aptitude for study.’ He leans forward again. ‘But what I really want to know is – are you happy here?’
I don’t know what he’s getting at. How could I not be happy with all these powerful, big-screened compus where I can surf the net, watch a wide variety of filmograms or take part in a series of fascinating virtual trips?
I start to explain this to him, but he waves his hand to stop me.
‘I mean socially? How do you get on with your colleagues? Have you any special friends?’
I think of Kali and her seeming rejection of me. As for the other students, I like them well enough and they seem to tolerate me, but I’ve never been one to have close friends, apart from Isis. There is a games room with darts, billiards and table tennis, but I rarely go in it. In Compound 55 we had no leisure facilities. That’s all changing now of course. Sati’s innovations will provide a gym and a social centre but, even if I were still there, I can’t imagine joining in such activities.
‘I suppose I’m a bit of a loner. A nerd,’ I tell Mr Suit.
He raises his eyebrows. ‘Where did you learn that word?’
‘Same place I learn all my words. Online or from watching filmograms. What I mean is, I don’t socialise much. I prefer to sit at my workstation.’
‘Why do you think that is?’
‘It’s what I’m used to. At C55.’
‘Ah yes, in the days of Kali’s regime.’
He talks about it as if it is something in the distant past, something defunct, which I suppose it is.
‘Tell me about Kali,’ he says.
At last something or rather someone I can really talk about. ‘Kali is – was – a wonderful leader. Everyone respected her. She always reached her targets.’
‘I heard it was a reign of terror.’
I stare him. ‘Then you heard wrong. Kali cared for her workforce, always aware of any problems that individuals might have and she did her best to solve them.’
‘She didn’t threaten them with her snakes?’
I pause. ‘Only when absolutely necessary.’
‘She poisoned Sati, tried to kill her.’
‘No. It was necessary for everyone’s sake to sedate Sati for a while. That’s all. If she’d wanted to kill her she could have done, but she didn’t. Kali is a balanced, thoughtful humanoid, dedicated to the welfare of her workforce and to the company.’
‘You use the past tense. Do you think she’s still loyal to the company now?’
‘Of course. It’s in Kali’s nature to be loyal.’
‘She’s rather neglected you lately I understand.’
‘We don’t spend so much time together as before but that doesn’t mean….’
‘You are very loyal to her. You obviously admire her a lot.’
‘Indeed I do.’
‘The thing is, Mercury, your ex-boss doesn’t appear to be as enamoured with the learning process here as you are.’
‘Are you surprised? Kali was chief administrator at C55, a position of authority. Now that authority has been taken away. She must feel…’
‘Resentful?’
‘She resents the fact that her sectoid is being run by Sati, yes. Who wouldn’t? She has to live with the knowledge that she has been replaced by a woman who is no better than a prostitute – except she gives her body away freely to anybody who wants it.’
Watch it! Mercury rising! I mustn’t let this humanoid make me lose my temper.
Mr Suit’s lips twitch. A ghost of a smile. ‘I take it you are not a fan of Sati?’
‘I most certainly am not. She has behaved appallingly. I can’t believe that she’s now in charge of C55.’
‘With Jaga, who will surely tone down any wild ideas that Sati might have.’ He runs his hand down the knife pleat of his trousers. ‘You disagree with Ra’s decision to put the sectoid into their hands?’
I look him straight in the eye. ‘Kali worked hard to make it work efficiently. Now it’s in the hands of a slut and a farmer.’
He doesn’t disguise his smile this time, but gives an approving laugh. He leans forward and the intense look returns. ‘You feel passionately about this.’
‘I do.’
‘It was a legitimate regime change, Mercury. Ra had already sacked half the workforce and those who were left were forced to work all hours with no let-up.’
‘Kali was determined to show Ra that his faith in her was not misplaced.’
‘She pushed the workers too hard. Oppressed people are bound to rebel sometime. They were ripe for it. When Sati arrived they were ready for a change of leader.’
I don’t believe that’s a true assessment of the situation, but I keep quiet. I’ve been outspoken enough. I don’t want to antagonise this man. I still don’t know who he is or what he wants.
Mr. Suit makes his fingers into a church steeple again, clearly thinking about what to say next, or how to say it. ‘What I am interested in is Kali’s attitude now. Of course, any deposed leader would feel – what shall I say – ill-used. It’s a natural reaction, but she’s been treated very fairly. Been given another chance to polish her leadership skills. But she’s resistant to the retraining programme we’ve set up for her. In fact she’s never once logged on to it in the three months she’s been
here. Why is that, do you suppose?’
‘You’d better ask Kali the answer to that, not me.’
Mr Suit sits back. ‘What a loyal person you are, Mercury. I like that. I like that very much indeed.’
Is that what all these questions are about? A test of my loyalty? It suddenly occurs to me that he’s called me in here to persuade me to spy on Kali, that “they” don’t trust her. My mercurial spirit leaps up. I don’t care who this humanoid is, how high up he is in the hierarchy of Worldwideculture. I will not betray Kali. I wriggle somewhat awkwardly to the edge of the solidly upholstered chair, slide myself off it and place my feet firmly on the leaf-patterned carpet. I draw myself up to my full height and make an announcement. ‘I must inform you, Sir, that, though at times I have been a messenger, I have never been, nor ever will be, a spy. I am a proud mutant humanoid who will never betray my fellow mutants. If you think I would be willing to spy on Kali or on any of my colleagues for that matter, you have chosen the wrong mutant humanoid.’
Mr Suit opens his eyes wide and begins to clap his hands very slowly. He is grinning broadly from ear to ear. I do seem to have passed some sort of test.
‘You have misunderstood my intentions,’ he says, his voice as smooth as the sheen on the velvet curtains on the four-poster. ‘I have no intention of asking you to spy on your colleagues. In fact, I am here to ask you to come back with me to Planet Oasis.’
‘Planet Oasis? Where’s that?’ I’ve never heard of such a place.
‘To be accurate, Oasis – as it’s generally known – is not a planet but a man-made satellite. It floats in space, way above Earth. That’s where I live.’
I must look as gob-smacked as I feel. He seeks to reassure me. ‘It’s a good place, Mercury. You’ll like it. It has lots of computers with no censors to block access. Imagine – unlimited knowledge at your finger tips.’
I can’t take it in. ‘You live on a satellite? In the sky?’
‘That’s right. That’s my world. I live there with others like me. It was constructed along with quite a few other satellites soon after Earth burnt out.’
‘So – it was built to protect humanoids like you from pollution.’
‘How quick you are, Mercury. Mercurial indeed. Yes, it was built for complete human beings – completes.’
It’s the first time I’ve heard that term, “completes”, and I don’t like it much. ‘While we mutant humanoids were left to rot in the wilderness.’
‘Left on Earth, but not to rot. We built the compounds to keep you safe.’
‘And to keep us away from you – in case we should infect you.’ I take a peek at his face to see if I have gone too far but he answers reasonably enough.
‘There was fear of contagion at first, yes.’
‘We had no say in the matter. We were herded into the compounds and locked in like prisoners.’
‘It wasn’t quite like that, Mercury. What we did was for your own good. We couldn’t let you wander about on contaminated ground. You wouldn’t have survived.’
I think about what he has told me. ‘If Oasis is only for humanoids without mutations why do you want to take me there?’
‘I’m impressed with your thirst for knowledge and dedication. Sometime in the future you could become some sort of liaison officer between Oasis and the compounds, between completes and mutant humanoids. To help us understand each other better.’
‘A kind of ambassador for my fellow mutant humanoids?’
‘You could call it that, although…. Mercury, you would be ideal for such a post. Your love of learning for its own sake, your intelligence, your insights – you have so much to contribute to both cultures.’
I stare at him. How does he know so much about me? He’s offering me a job, a real job, on a satellite that floats above the Earth. In the sky. What young man brought up on sci-fi and action filmograms wouldn’t be tempted by what he is offering?
‘You will love Oasis. You can’t imagine what treasures we have there. A museum full of artefacts from every period and place and state-of-the-art technology to die for. Oasis could have been made for someone like you.’
But it wasn’t made for me. It was made for “them.” I shake my head. ‘I don’t want to leave. I’m fine here.’
‘You’ll be leaving Headculturedome soon anyway – this is only an interim place to study or retrain. If you don’t come with me you’ll will be sent to another mutant humanoid compound which, I assure you, will be nothing compared to Oasis.’
He’s certainly persuasive. I think about what he has said about compus with no censors. Unlimited access to the world wide web. It’s very tempting. ‘If I do come, I will have to leave Kali?’
‘If you stay here you and Kali will be separated soon anyway and sent to different compounds.’
Pause for thought. ‘I’d like to discuss this – proposition – with her.’
‘Impossible.’
‘Why? I’ve told you she’s reliable and completely loyal to the company.’
‘No, I can’t allow it. No one must know. I take your word for it that Kali is trustworthy, but what about her companion, Heracles? Is he?’
I think of the way Heracles hacks into computers and how he broke the teleport codes to bring Durga and Jaga to C55 to help Kali fight Sati. Heracles, the hacker and code-breaker. No, I can’t swear to him being trustworthy. Neither can I be sure that Kali would not confide in Heracles.
‘If you decide to come with me, Mercury, we leave tonight.’
‘That’s impossible.’
‘Why? You don’t need to take anything with you. You’ll have everything you need on Oasis.’
He leans forward and his intense gaze returns, compelling me to listen to him.
‘Mercury, you’ve admitted you have no close friends here and what you like best is the virtual reality of the compu-systems. Let me tell you something. Once you switch on our unlimited access machines you’ll wonder how you could ever have thought Headculturedome so special.’
He’s right. I have no close friends. I don’t want to leave Kali without saying goodbye, but I have to face the fact that she has already left me and, as Mr Suit points out, I shall soon be moved to another compound without her. The halcyon days of childhood, C55 and Headculturedome are over. The uncensored, open access compus high up in the sky beckon.
Yet I hesitate. There is something he isn’t telling me. Why is he so keen to take me to Oasis, a satellite intended for uncontaminated humanoids – completes? Because I can help both cultures to understand each other better? I don’t buy it. There must be another reason.
My thoughts turn to other possibilities. Am I to be some sort of humanoid guinea pig? Do they want to dissect my brain to find out how a mutant humanoid thinks? Will I end up a ghastly experiment in a laboratory?
‘You say that if I go with you I can never come back?’
‘I assure you that you won’t want to come back.’
‘I don’t understand. You say the compounds were built for mutant humanoids and the satellites for – there are other satellites?’
‘Yes, there are others. On Oasis the predominant language is English, on others….’ He spreads his hands in a gesture that speaks for itself.
‘Different satellites for different nationalities, but all built for – non-mutant humanoids.’
‘For completes, yes.’
I take a deep breath. ‘I have to ask you – why do you want to take me there? I’m not a complete. I’m a mutant humanoid.’
He sighs. His shoulders hunch, his hands are trembling. He stands up and begins to pace about the room, his whole body tense. He paces a little longer, comes back to his chair, perches on the arm and crosses his legs facing me, his hands clasped.
‘I know you’re a mutant humanoid, Mercury.’ He lowers his voice to a whisper. ‘You have feathers on your shoulder blades that, if not kept trimmed, could develop into fully-fledged wings.’
My mouth drops open. ‘No one knows that.
Only Kali and me.’
‘I know.’ He looks me straight in the eye. ‘I’ve seen them.’
‘How? When? I don’t understand.’
‘In a maternity hospital, just after you were born. I saw those little outcrops on your back and the tiny white feathers trying to push their way through. I picked you up, wrapped you in the nearest thing I could find, a pillowcase, frantic to hide you, but the midwife snatched you away from me, her eyes wide with horror as she realised you had mutations. Everyone was terrified of contagion in those days. She held you at arm’s length as if she couldn’t bear to look at you or touch you and rushed out of the room. You were screaming at the top of your voice. I’ve never forgotten that scream. I’ve heard it every night in my dreams for sixteen years.’
Tears are streaming down his cheeks. I can’t believe it. Mr. Suit is crying.
‘There was nothing I could do. No one was allowed to keep a mutant baby. That was the law.’ He swallows, trying to control his emotion.
I watch him, amazed, trying to make sense of what he’s telling me. ‘You say you saw me just after I was born? Where was this hospital? What were you doing there? Are you a doctor?’
He looks confused by my multiple questions. ‘It was a hospital on Oasis and no I’m not a doctor. I was there for the birth of my son.’
I stare at him. He can’t possibly mean what I think he means.
He sees my disbelief and adds, so that there can be no mistake, ‘Mercury, I am your father.’
Impossible. Mr Suit, my father? How many more stories is he prepared to make up in order to persuade me to go with him? I shake my head. ‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Why would I lie about something as important as that?’
‘To persuade me to go with you. I don’t know why you want me to do that, but you’re obviously prepared to do or say anything to convince me.’
Mr. Suit looks pretty upset. The smooth lines of his face have crumpled. He leans forward and takes my hands in his.
‘You are making things very difficult for me, Mercury.’
On the contrary, he is making things very difficult for me.
‘I’ve been searching for you for years and when I saw you online, sitting at that auto-put in Headculturedome, I was almost sure it was you. I did a bit of research into your background. The timescale was right and everything fell into place. I came here today to make sure it really was you and to take you home with me.’
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