by Eliza Green
Bill didn’t respond but she felt a tiny displacement of air on her skin that told her he’d nodded.
‘This isn’t the end, Bill.’
She got out before he had a chance to refute her statement. Damn it. Bill was right; the part of her she’d denied for years was finally coming between them. She was stuck. She needed get unstuck and see what part of their relationship they could still salvage.
The car drove off with Bill in it; he was probably heading to the office. With a heavy heart, Laura climbed the stairs to their apartment on the top floor. She opened the door to an instant greeting from the LightBox. She swiped at her eyes and commanded it to turn off. It didn’t take her long to pack a few clothes, but she took some time to search for the perfect photo of Bill, for when her memory of him faded.
She stopped mid search. What was she doing? She was only going for a few days, not long enough to forget her husband’s face. This wasn’t the end. It felt like the beginning of something else. Would there be a place for Bill when it was all over?
Laura tucked the photo inside her bag alongside a few changes of clothes and some personal items. Then she left the apartment and began the thirty-mile journey to District Three.
☼
Laura took the Maglev train for New Singapore as far as the border ten miles away. The next stop would be the new city. She covered the last twenty miles on foot using her Indigene speed to get her there faster. An hour later she arrived at the main hatch that accessed the underground tunnels. Laura descended into the cold, dark pits of Indigene life.
The dark had used to bother her once. That had been before Stephen had treated her Seasonal Affective Disorder, which had mutated her cells and almost killed her. To counteract the change, he’d forcibly changed her into an Indigene then reversed the effect when she’d wanted to become human again.
It was the reason she was here. Even though she looked human, it felt like someone else shared her body.
She stood outside the access door to District Three. A bioscanner embedded in the rock face scanned her. Her Indigene mutations cleared her for entry. The door, made of the impervious omega rock, opened and she walked through the environmental barrier protecting the air inside the district.
The air thinned, forcing her to use her gel mask. She slipped it from her bag and pressed it over her nose and mouth. It conformed to her face to give it a tight fit. The oxygen canister she wore on her hip, which connected to the mask with a thin tube, stirred memories of her time on Earth. She didn’t miss that world. And neither did her mother, who lived comfortably in New Taiyuan and who was learning Chinese from a pair of immigrant women hailing from the original city on Earth.
A blur of light rushed towards her. Laura smiled as Arianna, with her elfin face and grey eyes, hugged her. She looked different to Serena, who was tall and had the most beautiful blue eyes she’d ever seen. But Arianna had a quirky style to her that Laura thought gave her a unique look. She saw why Anton adored her.
She pulled back, her eyes wide. ‘Laura, is anything wrong?’
Laura felt her search through her thoughts. She gave her partial access as she looked around. ‘No, yes. I don’t know.’
Arianna stared at her. ‘Bill knows you’re here.’
It was more of a statement than a question.
‘Yes. And you now know what I can’t say out loud.’
‘I saw it in you a long time ago,’ said Arianna. ‘So did Stephen, but there was no point us telling you. You had to feel it.’
Laura stood there with her bag of clothes, feeling stupid for dropping in on friends like she needed a place to crash.
‘This is your home, Laura. Never feel uncomfortable here.’
‘That’s just it. I don’t, even though I’ve arrived unannounced.’
Arianna smiled and tapped the side of her head. ‘I sensed you outside, your hesitation.’
Laura smiled back at Arianna, the Indigene who liked to fix others.
‘I do not,’ said Arianna.
‘You do, but it’s what’s so lovely about you. You care about everyone.’
‘Well, I suppose that’s my empath side. It gives me insight into others’ feelings to the point where they become my own. For my world to feel right, I need to fix theirs. That help doesn’t always go down well. Come.’ Arianna hooked her arm in Laura’s and they walked. ‘Let’s get you settled first before you talk to Stephen.’
‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a nuisance.’ Laura slipped her arm out of Arianna’s. ‘I know you have a lot going on and my timing could be better.’
‘Stephen won’t mind. He could use the distraction.’ Arianna reclaimed Laura’s arm. ‘Works too much as it is. Serena’s always thinking it.’
Laura grinned at the problems of her Indigene friends, which were similar, if not identical, to her own. Bill was the worst workaholic she knew.
‘I think that’s why Stephen and Bill are friends,’ said Arianna. ‘Because they share the same work ethic.’
‘I guess so.’
Thinking of Bill made her feel sad.
‘This isn’t the end, Laura. It’s the beginning. I feel you opening up to new possibilities, to the idea of your Indigene side. This visit has been a long time coming. Stephen will be pleased to learn you’re here. If he’s not too preoccupied with other things, he may already have sensed you.’
They walked a short distance until they reached a part of the underground network the Indigenes had converted into space for their human visitors. It was the same space that Ben Watson had used when she and Bill had brought him here to see Stephen. Laura entered the room and passed through a new environmental barrier surrounding the bed. She put her bag down. This would be her home for the next while. She might as well get used to it.
‘Don’t worry,’ Arianna said from the other side of the barrier, ‘you’re going to feel right at home.’
‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’
‘No point in denying it. Explore your Indigene side. Now, come with me. It’s time to see Stephen.’
26
Simon slept so little these days. Ever since the last mutation three months ago that had given him the ability to hear others’ thoughts, he couldn’t shake the extra voices from his mind. The voices of the Conditioned sounded like a stream of noise that played on repeat. The Elite’s thoughts were mostly about transcendence and what would happen when they reached it. Those thoughts were interspersed with new discussions about Tanya’s idea to use the Conditioned as vessels that would store a backup of their consciousness.
Tanya’s words still rang inside Simon’s head: ‘We need more power. We must tap into it more.’
She referred to the Nexus.
Simon had a good idea how far Tanya would go to access more of the Nexus and reach transcendence. But he didn’t know yet if he would be one of those selected for the task.
Even from inside his room, Simon’s mind could detect Tanya and the other Elite, but he limited their chatter. It drained him too much. He felt Tanya’s frustrations, heard her cries in her bedroom on the far side of the staging area. The effects of the Nexus’ healing were wearing off.
More power. That’s all Tanya thought about. Her desires became a chant that drowned out the other Elite voices.
He had met with Ollie Patterson and Harvey Buchanan the day before to hire them to protect the cable. With some minor adjustments to the cable connectors, Simon had reprogrammed it to mine double the power. But each change in command required him to visit the isolated site and disconnect the cable. It left him and the cable vulnerable. The men had spotted him connecting the cable the first time round and offered their services. All they wanted in return was GS protection from the ITF. Simon had given them a promise, but in truth it was an empty one. Tanya cared nothing for the operation she once commanded or the people she once controlled. Harvey, who had taken payment in worthless, early, medical data from tests conducted on the Conditioned, wanted something extra: immunity
from the GS—a deal he hadn’t shared with his colleague.
But for all his efforts, double the power wasn’t enough for Tanya.
She called out to him; it sounded like a roar in his head. He tried to shut her out, but she only roared louder. What would happen when Tanya and the others transferred a copy of their consciousness into selected Conditioned with fitter, more robust bodies? Bill had told him years ago about the effect a similar transfer had had on Anton. The Indigenes had almost lost him to the dominant imprint of Charles Deighton. Simon was certain Tanya would choose him, and he was even more certain her personality would take over the second her copied consciousness had a chance.
Tanya used her voice. ‘Where are you, Simon?’
Telepathy that only worked one way, out not in, drained her too much. Every day, when she pushed too hard, he felt just how much. What he didn’t tell her was his efforts to keep her out drained him too. She exhausted him.
He got up, feeling less like an individual and more like a pawn these days. The closer Tanya and the others neared their goal, the less space and freedom she afforded him.
‘Simon, come. I need you.’
Simon took his time to reach the area beyond the staging room that housed Tanya’s accommodation and separate rooms for the remaining Elite. He opened her door to find a hunched-over Tanya sitting on the edge of her bed. Her room was decorated similar to his, with just a sideboard and a mirror on the wall above a dresser. It took her some effort to look up at him. What he saw didn’t surprise him. Her eyes had almost disappeared behind the deep wrinkles and saggy skin. There wasn’t a sound in the room, but inside Simon’s head Tanya wouldn’t shut up. If only he could flick a switch to turn off his telepathic skill.
‘What is it, Elite One?’
She licked her lips and pointed feebly at the dresser. ‘I need water.’
Simon saw a jug and some glasses had been set out. Tanya had assistants for this work. She didn’t have to wake him for this. He poured her a glass, grateful she couldn’t hear his thoughts like he could hers. The intensive testing had destroyed the Elite’s ability to communicate telepathically.
Tanya mumbled out loud, but roared in his head. Where is it?
Simon handed her the water, wishing she would shut up for one minute. She grabbed it between two withered hands and tipped it back. The water ran down her face and neck, soaking the collar of her white robes.
He took the half-finished glass from her when she thrust it at him. He set it down on the sideboard.
‘I can’t return to this life, not when I had new mobility just yesterday,’ said Tanya. ‘The machine, the double power... I need more. The Elite need more.’
Simon released a soft breath, relieved to learn Tanya still wanted to try the machine in the environ to regenerate. ‘I’ll arrange to visit the site of the cable.’
She wagged a finger at him. ‘See that you do. I want to be twice as strong today as I was yesterday.’
Simon had no desire to tell Tanya the machine and the Nexus’ ability to heal may have reached its peak. She would figure it out sooner or later. By then he hoped she would be too weak to carry out the command to imprint herself on Simon.
‘Right away, Tanya.’
He headed out before Tanya could change her mind. He had no official way to contact either Ollie Patterson or Harvey Buchanan, but Simon had a vague idea of where they might be. They had promised him protection from human or Indigene attacks, something a team of Conditioned couldn’t give him, and the work to program the cable took long enough that Simon would be vulnerable.
He tried the construction property first and watched from a distance as men worked on building houses. He observed another man isolated from the others who cursed while digging a giant hole. Simon wondered what he’d done to deserve that punishment.
Neither man was there, so he tried the power station next. He found Harvey sitting in his car scouting out the base station. Simon wished he could read human thoughts. But his mutations only gave him access to the thoughts of other Conditioned, and the Elite.
He approached the car and Harvey startled. He rolled down the window.
‘I need you,’ Simon said.
‘Get in,’ hissed Harvey.
Simon slid into the front seat. Harvey turned to stare at him.
‘Where’s your friend?’ said Simon.
‘Busy. What do you want?’
‘I need more power. I have to do some adjustments to the cable again. Can you guarantee my protection?’
Harvey frowned at him. ‘How much power?’
‘Double again.’
He didn’t want to take too much and risk Tanya seeing the fault in the machine’s design: that the Nexus using it as a conduit couldn’t do what she wanted.
‘Double your double? What’s the matter, your leader getting all withery again?’
‘Something like that.’
Harvey smiled. ‘I was actually looking for you. Turns out, I need more of your medical data.’
Simon had given him outdated data on the early tests performed on the Conditioned.
‘I can’t get you more.’
‘Then we can’t help you,’ said Harvey. ‘It seems that we’re at an impasse.’
Simon would not risk working on the cable without protection. ‘You don’t understand; we need this extra power to work the machine.’
Simon needed it to stall Tanya.
‘Because your grandma is getting withered and old without it? Yeah, I know how it works. But here’s the thing.’ Harvey leaned closer, showing he didn’t fear Simon. ‘I went through the data you gave me and it’s all outdated. Plus it doesn’t address the tests performed on the Elite. I want to know what makes them much weaker than you, and why you built the machine, not them. If they underwent advanced testing, then that should make them superior beings, no?’
Simon didn’t disagree. ‘I guess the changes were too extreme for their bodies to handle.’
‘Yes, it broke their evolutionary code. And I’d like to know how,’ said Harvey.
Simon was curious to know why Harvey needed the information. ‘Why is it important to you anyway? You can’t do anything with the information. The doctors have all the equipment.’
Harvey clucked his tongue. ‘Not for you to know, Simon. If you get me information on the Elite, Ollie and I will offer you protection out there.’
He nodded to where the cable ran.
‘I told you it’s impossible.’
He couldn’t go back without double the power they had. Tanya would run with her alternative idea for transcendence.
‘You accessed information on your changes, so you can figure something out. Until then...’ He nodded at the station and made a cut off sign with his finger. ‘Work with what you already have.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
Simon gritted his teeth and got out of the car.
He set off running and contemplated his options.
Option one: Get the medical information for Harvey. Impossible, because he’d already tried; the data was locked away somewhere.
Option two: Continue to heal Tanya using the quantity of power they could mine.
Option three: Reprogram the cable alone and risk attack from the humans or Indigenes. Without Ollie or Harvey’s help, they had no deal.
Option four, and the most likely outcome: Tanya would order the doctors to proceed with the imprint and Simon would be stuck with Tanya inside his head.
No, the last option couldn’t happen. Maybe there was a fifth option. Could he increase the size of the access point to the Nexus, tweak the machine’s numbers to make it seem like he’d mined more power? Tanya might still believe the machine would help her reach transcendence in her own body.
But it was just a delay tactic before Tanya realised what he’d done.
He needed some way to see what would happen. Simon knew of only one with the ability to see into the future. The time had come to ask for outside help.
A nervous Laura followed Arianna through the tunnels and the core of District Three. They passed by several Indigenes who greeted her with a mix of apprehension and politeness. She’d never felt at ease in the district; it was as though the Indigenes thought her to be an imposter. It’s how they made her feel. Bill used to say, ‘It’s all in your imagination, love.’
But it wasn’t. While her telepathy wasn’t strong enough to read minds, she could sense, and sometimes see, the lies the Indigenes hid from her.
She was a fraud.
Arianna must have sensed her mood because she looped her arm in hers and pulled her along.
Her smile reached her eyes. ‘Almost there.’
Laura said nothing while they passed through the core and exited the other side into a tunnel. From there, she let Arianna lead her to wherever Stephen was.
Arianna was a second-generation Indigene like Stephen and Anton. Her mother had worked with Elise back when they were both human, in the time before they had both been changed. Arianna had taken the longest to come round to the idea of hosting humans in the district. From what little Laura sensed from this strong empath with the ability to hide her emotions, Arianna no longer felt that way.
They arrived at a laboratory with a long bench against one wall and another that cut the room in half. Medical equipment was dotted on the various surfaces. At the back of the room, Laura saw a bed with a machine attached to one end; an arm from the machine extended over it.
‘It’s a 3D-image body scanner,’ said Arianna.
Laura took in the rest of the room. ‘What are we doing here?’
‘Stephen has picked up on your presence. He asked me to bring you here. He’s on his way.’
Laura walked inside the room and ran her fingers over the equipment that looked similar to items she’d seen in Harvey Buchanan’s facilities on Earth. ‘What is all this?’
‘Anton’s work. He’s building a neurosensor.’