by Eliza Green
‘What are they using the power for?’
‘No idea. The cable leads back to their environ. Whatever they have inside needs energy.’
‘Have you tried disconnecting it?’
Bill nodded. ‘I sent out a group of engineers to take a look. The GS are using an interactive cable that’s embedded into the main supply at a halfway point. We need to do more analysis on how the cable has attached itself to the feed. If we just yank it out, we risk shutting down the power to the city.’
‘What about your former boss, Simon Shaw? He’s one of them. Why not ask him what’s going on?’
Bill hadn’t seen Shaw in almost eight years, not since he first came to Exilon 5. Bill had introduced him to Stephen, who had given him a tour of District Three. That was before Bill had learned of Simon’s involvement in Tanya’s GS human experiments. Simon had been a friend once who’d helped him out on more than one occasion. But now, Bill had no idea what the experiments had done to him.
‘I can’t be sure if the Simon I knew even exists any more.’
‘A quiet group of genetically enhanced humans can’t be a good thing, Bill.’
He had to agree. ‘But the splinter groups forming on both sides worry me more. Groups of who knows what size preparing to fight each other? We could be facing another war, worse than what happened eight years ago.’
The war eight years ago between board members, their soldiers and the Indigenes had ended Pierre’s life, but had also cemented an uneasy treaty.
‘That time was different.’ Stephen paced. ‘That dissent amounted to nothing. Pierre had abandoned his leadership duties after Elise died. The district was in turmoil. None of us knew what would happen to our race.’ He stopped pacing. ‘But when he died, Serena and I secured a future through the treaty. Dissent while things are good doesn’t make sense. We are in a better position than before the treaty.’
Bill stood up and joined Stephen by the bookshelves. ‘It appears some don’t agree with you. To be honest, that damn treaty is held together with paper and glue. One hundred genetically enhanced humans with numbers too small to do damage on their own evolve every day. But with a new race comes a new set of problems. What are they becoming? Where do they fit into society? Will they issue demands?’
‘I know. It’s the Indigene situation all over again.’ Stephen sighed. ‘Give me some time to analyse the root of this new Indigene dissent.’
Despite his investigator background, Bill preferred action and real solutions over analysis. But Stephen knew best how to handle the situation with his charges.
‘What about the unrest on the human side?’ said Bill.
That was Bill’s problem. How to handle it? He’d no idea.
‘We need spies,’ said Stephen.
Bill perked up at that actionable idea. ‘Anyone in mind?’
‘Well, Laura for a start.’
‘No. Absolutely not.’
‘Come on, Bill. She should put her Indigene skill to use and weed out the liars.’
‘It wouldn’t work. They all know she works for the ITF.’
‘How about we alter her appearance so she’s unrecognisable?’
While Bill liked the idea in general, he hated it for Laura. He’d almost lost her once, during her Indigene transformation.
‘There must be another way.’
‘I can’t think of one and we have to act soon, Bill.’
‘I’ll give it some thought.’
‘I thought you preferred to move fast on ideas?’
Bill almost laughed at the irony. But when it came to Laura’s safety, he had all the patience in the world.
Stephen held his hands up. ‘I sense your unease. We can talk about other solutions. I might have an idea about something else.’
‘What?’
‘The boy, Ben. He wants something to do, a reason to live. It could help to heal his wounds.’
When his first wife Isla had died protecting the Indigenes, Bill had found solace in ignoring others’ problems. Life had been simpler back then. But Laura had come along and shown him a better life, one where he didn’t turn his back on society.
He would see the boy right. He owed Ben that much.
‘I’ll see what I can find for him to do.’ Maybe Laura would have a use for him. ‘Jenny Waterson said he was good at gathering intel and staying off the radar. She found him hiding in the back of their car once. Didn’t even know he was there—’ Bill stopped talking when Stephen’s expression brightened. ‘What?’
‘I think we should call a meeting with the representatives to discuss the GS and the splinter groups. I’ve just thought of a better idea.’
6
Laura stopped off at one of the rooms near the entrance to the surface where she’d left her backpack. She rummaged inside the bag and pulled out a sandwich she’d made for Bill that morning: ham and cheese. Her husband barely ate unless she forced him—or steak was on the menu. She also took out an unopened bottle of water and caught up to Serena and Ben.
She didn’t have to go far, picking up Ben’s scent in one of the tunnels close to her location. She stopped at one of the special rooms built to accommodate human visitors. Inside was a bed and bedside locker. The faint bubble from the insignia rock that drew clean air from the surface shimmered around both items. Only those with superior sight could see the outline. Laura had seen many new things since her transformation eight years ago.
Serena stood by the door while a quiet Ben sat on the bed, leaning forward and staring at the ground. His energy was a contrast to the boisterous teens she’d encountered on Exilon 5. Through Jenny Waterson’s recounts, Laura understood what horrors the teen had seen on Earth. The criminal regime had been days away from starving the residents or shooting them. If it hadn’t been for Isobel, things might have been far worse. Jenny had credited her for shifting the balance of power back to the ordinary people. And saving them.
Ben held his mask in his hand. A mobile amplification machine sat next to the bed and drew out pockets of trapped air inside the insignia rock into a contained bubble. The environmental barriers surrounding the hunting zones worked along the same principles, except in reverse.
Laura pushed through the membrane and handed the sandwich and water to Ben. ‘Here you go.’ Ben took the items from her and she popped off her mask. ‘It’s not much, but you’ll only be here for tonight. We really should get a replicator down here.’
She looked back at Serena, who nodded.
‘I’m sure Anton could find a way to power it,’ she said.
Ben examined the room hewn out of bare rock.
‘Your accommodation is located in New London, a shared property run by a lovely lady, Annette. Someone will take you there in the morning.’
Ben put the sandwich and water down on the locker and looked up at her. ‘So you can dump me there and forget about me? I won’t stay there. I want to be of use. Stephen promised.’
Laura sat beside him. ‘No, not dump. You need to live somewhere other than underground. If Stephen promised, he’ll deliver. But you must be patient. This planet is not how you remember it.’
‘You mean the genetically superior humans?’
‘Among other things.’ Laura stood. ‘Eat your food and get some rest. There’s a bathroom two doors down.’
She put on her gel mask, pleased to see Ben had at least unwrapped the sandwich. She exited the bubble. Serena nodded for her to walk outside.
‘You’re good at that,’ said Serena when they were far enough away from Ben that he couldn’t hear.
‘At what?’
‘Calming people. You’re a natural.’
Laura didn’t agree. She shrugged.
A strange feeling came over her when Serena invaded her mind and tugged at the privacy wall she’d erected around her thoughts.
‘You could just ask, you know,’ said Laura. ‘It wasn’t that long ago you were also human.’
Eight years ago Serena had been altered using som
e of Anton’s code. Serena was a perfect human-Indigene hybrid because she could switch between her human and Indigene side at will.
‘I didn’t mean to intrude,’ said Serena. ‘But I wonder why you maintain such a high privacy wall around us. You’ve had the same length of time as I have to get used to your abilities.’
‘I may have been Indigene for a half a second, but that wasn’t long enough to feel like one.’
Serena shook her head. ‘I disagree. It doesn’t matter how long you are something; it matters where you feel you belong. I had been Indigene for only a short time before Stephen showed me my files. It felt natural to remain as one.’
Laura fiddled with the oxygen flow on her canister. Serena’s astuteness bothered her. She didn’t want to admit to how lost she’d felt for a while now. Accepting it could mean major upheaval in her life and she couldn’t do that to Bill.
‘You know, that gel mask may not be necessary,’ said Serena.
‘It feels necessary,’ said Laura.
‘After Isobel’s genetic reversal, her lungs adapted in a way we never thought possible. The reversal changed the lung tissue’s rate of oxygen absorption. She could move between environments without the need for the air filtration device or the gel mask.’
Jenny had said as much in her report. Laura had glossed over that detail on purpose.
Serena continued. ‘We reversed your genetic mutations. We may have given you the same ability.’
Laura readjusted the mask on her face despite its already tight seal, as though the action would put an end to this conversation. ‘Maybe I’ll test it someday.’
Her reply was short and clipped, much like her temper these last few months. Serena pushed against her privacy wall a second time.
‘Stop, please. I don’t like it when you do that. If I wanted you to know something I’d tell you.’
She felt Serena’s exit, like a flutter of wings against her skin.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just you haven’t talked much about your brief time as an Indigene, and my influence doesn’t appear to work on you.’
Laura stopped walking. ‘There’s nothing to say about it. I’m fine.’
Serena stopped too and grabbed her hands. ‘Aren’t you curious to know what abilities you unlocked, to know your real self?’
‘My real self is human, Serena. I don’t know how else to say that.’
‘I’ve seen glimpses of your speed, how you pay greater attention to some people than others. You use your senses as if you’re a child figuring them out. You’ve worked out some, but you won’t embrace the ability you’ve mastered the most. Instead, you hide it.’
Laura sighed. Sometimes it drained her to be around the Indigenes, who felt and sensed too much. Maybe if she told Serena something, she would back off.
‘I can tell when people are lying. It feels like a tiny shudder in the air between us. But it’s not just that; the lie also manifests as an impassive, dark figure or shadow behind them. When the person lies, the figure moves almost imperceptibly, like an adjustment.’
It was the only thing clear to her.
‘A dark figure?’
Laura nodded. ‘We all have one, but others can’t see it. The more we lie, the farther the shadow misaligns from the original. When we tell the truth, the shadow stays perfectly aligned to our corporeal form.’
Serena’s smile told Laura she’d only heightened the elder’s curiosity, not dampened it.
‘I’d like for you to work with Arianna in the Nexus. She helped me after Stephen brought me there for the first time. Her empath ability sensed a new connection between me and the Nexus. It had to do with the different energy I put out. The Nexus changed the same day I used it.’ She tapped a finger against her lip. ‘I’d like to see how it reacts to you. There are other tests we can perform, lab-based ones. Stephen performed similar ones on me—’
Laura put her hand up. ‘I really appreciate your interest in this, but I don’t want to explore anything. I know what I can do, and I’m happy with that.’
She strengthened her privacy wall when she felt Serena push against it a third time. Truth was she hadn’t been happy for a while.
Serena backed off. ‘I promise not to push, but I am curious and I will ask again. Because the GS humans are up to something and we need everyone at peak ability fitness. We’ve no idea what they’re planning.’
‘And you will have my help. Mine and Bill’s.’
Serena turned and listened. ‘Stephen’s calling me. We should head back.’
Her connection with Stephen impressed Laura. To her, Bill’s thoughts sounded like a gentle hum. She couldn’t read them, or sense when he was lying. His mind was closed off to her. But wasn’t that a good thing?
Maybe love blinded the truth.
They walked back to the Council Chambers.
Along the way, Serena said, ‘You’ll have to face it at some point. If you don’t it will consume you.’
‘And I will,’ said Laura. ‘But not now.’
Never, if she had her way.
Because accepting just how Indigene she felt would force her to face another truth: She’d outgrown her human life.
Where would that leave her and Bill?
7
The vehicle destined for the detention centre passed through a steel perimeter and pulled up outside a dome-shaped building on the edge of the city with a rusty sign that read: Biodome. The place reminded Marcus of the condemned buildings on Earth that were no longer fit for purpose. The cracked tarmac road to the facility showed further signs of neglect as weeds pushed through the fissures. A layer of red dust covered the white dome made of glass and the tarpaulin that partially covered it.
The area buzzed with activity as men in green uniforms patrolled the vicinity. Marcus waited his turn to get off the vehicle.
‘Inside please.’ A solider gestured to the entrance of the building. ‘And be ready to scan your identity chips.’
Marcus followed the other “detainees” inside the building. It felt like an internment camp in the presence of so many soldiers. The dome interior was a large, open space with a long table at the back wall where several people sat with DPads. The air had a faint smell of dung to it, and even though the space had been cleared, Marcus could see evidence by way of holes in the floor that the space used to be sectioned.
He’d heard the biodomes on Exilon 5 housed and cultivated several breeds of animal resurrected from preserved DNA following their extinction on Earth. The rusty sign and faint smell told him the animals had been moved on some time ago.
Now, those in charge used the space to herd a different animal. One day, Marcus would show them just how much of an animal he could be.
He moved only as fast as the person in front of him and reached the long trestle table where a woman with a DPad waited. A scanning flat plate on the table tilted outward at a forty-five-degree angle.
‘Press your left thumb on the plate,’ she said without looking up at him.
Marcus did and watched his identity chip produce a fake picture and details about the alter ego that Harvey had created for him on Earth.
She turned the plate back to her and swiped the information off screen to the left.
‘Mr Martin Casey, you will be assigned a construction job. Please wait over there.’ She pointed at a group gathered under a sign that read: Construction. ‘Someone will take you to the safe house soon.’
Safe house? Like the type they used for reformed addicts and criminals just out of prison with no place to go? Marcus would not let some woman order him around. He’d been Gaetano’s right hand man for fuck’s sake. Or at least he would have been if his son Enzo hadn’t muscled his way into the family business. Enzo had been nothing more than a pretty boy asshole and lazy, psychotic fucker who couldn’t organise an orgy in a brothel.
Marcus levelled a glare at her but she returned him a look filled with boredom and apathy.
‘Is there nothing else?’ he said. ‘I’m
more qualified than that. Check my credentials.’
He’d given Harvey a list of his qualifications: strategist, management, right-hand man.
She turned the plate outward to show him the second page of information from his chip. He nearly threw up in his mouth when he saw only one thing under skills: Construction.
Harvey, the lying bastard. He searched for the man, finding him in another queue and paying him no attention. He turned back to the woman.
‘This is a mistake. My skills are listed wrong,’ Marcus stuttered. ‘Check again.’
‘No mistake. The chips never lie. Please stand over there. Next!’
She pointed off to the side and tended to the next person. Her disinterest irritated him more than Harvey’s lies about his skills. What kind of world put bitchy women in power and men like him at the bottom of the career barrel? The sooner he got out from under Harvey, the better.
He gritted his teeth and stood alongside a group of able-bodied men. Marcus could do manual fucking labour in his sleep. But it was beneath him. His true skills lay in his mind and he would put that to the test soon.
Harvey scanned his thumb and joked with the woman in charge. Ever since he had changed Marcus’ face, the man acted like he owned him. Harvey Buchanan did not compare to a man like Gaetano Agostini. Marcus would not follow a glorified geneticist for long.
Harvey joined him under the Construction sign.
‘What the fuck, man?’ Marcus hissed out of earshot of the others. ‘I didn’t agree to this. What happened to my other skills, the ones I told you to put down?’
‘What, strategist, management?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Can you read?’
‘A bit.’
‘Can you write?’
Marcus didn’t see how that mattered. ‘I didn’t need either when I was on Earth. So why here?’
‘Because this is not Earth. Your lot aren’t in control here. The ones with brains are, get it? You need to slide in under their radar.’
Marcus puffed out his chest. ‘I’m ten times better than these assholes in charge.’