Dadr'Ba

by Tetsu'Go'Ru Tsu'Te

Then hearing voices in the next room reached over to the dresser and picked up the robe she had been provided and putting it on slowly walked out to meet her mentors for her first lesson.

  The first lessons were exploration and familiarization. Gradually the lessons evolved into stimulation, and on to different methods and combinations. How to arouse, maintain, wane, ebb, and re-excite. How to tease, maintain control and finally to let loose and lose control. To guide, coax and push others to reset. To bring on and send a reset command from your core, cascading out to your extremities, casting yourself adrift as in space. To experience the mental and physical reset, the little death, that, when performed correctly, can result in momentary unconsciousness. Finally, to wake feeling fulfilled and refreshed.

  Pri’Api and Ti’Reso were good teachers and also showed Su’Zi how to introduce variety and play, and most importantly, how sex fit into Dadr’Ba society, not to take it too seriously and not to cross the line reserved for your life mate, and your birthing partner. This line is where sex stops being sex and crosses from the physical to the mental joining of mates for the purpose of pair bonding and birthing.

  Pri’Api and Ti’Reso only once allowed Su’Zi to witness their mental pairing psychically. Though physically intimate, what Su’Zi witnessed focused not on physical pleasure and gratification but something much, much deeper, a oneness that Su’Zi couldn’t put into words, and had trouble comprehending.

  Su’Zi wasn’t allowed to participate, but witnessed from afar, and from that distance couldn’t distinguish the two. She psychically preserved only one, a small bright point off in the distance, not cold but warm and one she could tell, felt right and good. Su’Zi was awestruck.

  Chapter 12, P’Ko Turns Sixteen

  Ever since P’Ko turned ten and his parents upgraded his TaC-B[48], from a restricted call out model, to an unrestricted call out model. P’Ko figured out how to remove it from behind his ear, stash it in his room and forward calls to his old TaC-B that he now wore and had disabled the tracking function on. He was thus able to roam and explore as he pleased with the tracker indicating he was cloistered in his room studying.

  P’Ko would disguise himself using one of his father’s mechanic uniforms, carefully obscuring the hash marks across the shoulders[49].

  His favorite, most interesting and safest from detection, haunts are the back alleys and shadows of “Ol’Tn”. Ol’Tn lies thirty meters beneath Nu’Tn[50] (where P’Ko lives with his parents and brother) and is the original living area for Dadr’Ba’s crew.

  Ol’Tn is crisscrossed with all sorts of ancient equipment, space barges, portable habitats, cargo containers, and a plethora of run down and broken equipment that had been dragged into the original construction tunnels and lashed together during the metamorphosis of Dadr’Ba’s from a migratory chunk of intra-solar ice and dirt into a starship.

  P’Ko thought back to six years ago, when he first ventured down to Ol’Tn by himself, not sure of himself, making his way through the darkened streets. P’Ko had visited Ol’Tn even before that, with his father to get repair parts from the D’Po[51], P’Ko was impressed and amazed, he fell in love with Ol’Tn and the D’Po.

  Despite the fact that for more than five hundred years, it’s been mostly inhabited by Mi’Nr’s, P’Ko felt comfortable there. The narrow semi-dark alleys and assorted space debris some turned at odd angles to provide structural support seem to P’Ko like art, he didn’t like the stark pastel and off-white, straight lines of the structures in Nu’Tn, they felt cold and uninviting, despite the fact that Ol’Tn was much colder than Nu’Tn.

  P’Ko having never met a Mi’Nr before was at first terrified during his first encounter, but that fear was short lived as the Mi’Nr’s he and his father encountered treated his father kindly. And P’Ko, discovering that Mi’Nr’s possessed an enhanced psychic ability, feeling fond amusement directed at him.

  At first, the dim light of Ol’Tn frightened and intimidated P’Ko. His father warned him not to stray off, warning that outcasts and criminals hide in the shadows and roam the back alleys of Ol’Tn. Adding that “the surveillance systems we take for granted in Nu’Tn and keep us safe are virtually nonexistent in Ol’Tn.”

  The Mi’Nr’s that inhabit Ol’Tn have natural night vision that makes it unnecessary for Ol’Tn to have brighter lighting. Now the dimmer light suited P’Ko; he had spent a lot of time training or discovering and exercising his night vision, although many in the medical community would have argued it an impossible task.

  Self-trained or discovered his night vision wasn’t good at colors and had little effect on his day vision, not impacting his color resolution at all but it did improve his depth perception and distant vision.

  He kept his enhanced vision a secret because all throughout his life he had been accused of being strange and different. He was even persecuted for it, which is very ironic because in Dadr’Ba society (being comprised of clones) people place a high value on being different.

  As soon as most people are able, they make dramatic changes in their appearance and even pay hard-earned credits to change themselves to fit the latest fashion. Some even forgo spending credits on food seasoning, to save enough for the latest hair or skin color, or tattoos, or eye, nose or ear job, or some other form of body mod.

  P’Ko, now sixteen, like lots of To’Ta’s his age was already talking about bio-mods they would like, and many of P’Ko’s classmates had prepared lists of what they want, having experimented with makeup, wigs, removable tattoos and even some (for those well to do) prosthetics from an early age.

  But unlike his friends P’Ko favored himself with less obvious bio-mods. He liked the idea of hyperspectral vision (special CA authorization required), strength and cold resistance (not authorized for workers, like most U’Te’s assigned primarily to zone two), and cognitive abilities, (only permitted for certain knowledge workers) memory capacity, high on his list.

  P’Ko would find out later, that his parents had paid under the table for a cognitive boost when he was very young, thinking that it would help him with his slowness in learning to speak and read but it didn’t seem to help and was highly illegal.

  His parents and those involved could’ve been fined, censured, restricted or reduced in status[52]; even restricted or confined. All these years later they could still get in trouble because the CA doesn’t have a statute of limitations, for anything.

  All this made making any further cognitive changes, like increased memory impossible, if his earlier childhood-mod were discovered everybody would be in trouble, just as if the crime were committed yesterday.

  The CA justifies its totalitarian attitude, with its many rules, and equally many secrets, by saying that it is necessary to provide for a disciplined, well-ordered and functioning crew.

  From the ordinary person’s perspective, the rules and secrets are applied unequally, and have driven a wedge between the different classes of people and created an enormous gulf between the CA and everyone else.

  The privileged aren’t held to the same standards as everyone else. Resources, beyond the modest collective living standard, aren’t earned or distributed according to the level of effort, merit or impact, but assigned according to family status and position.

  Dan’Zu is a glaring example, he doesn’t even attempt to be discreet about his illegal, underage body mod, but brazenly employs his extra height to bully and intimidate his classmates. And it goes unnoticed by the teachers and school administration who are all D’En.

  Dan’Zu’s case can be viewed as comical. P’Ko first noticed this watching Dan’Zu leading his gang from his perch in the stadium. Dan’Zu’s height job was cheaply done; it’s a legs only mod which puts his whole frame out of proportion. He walks awkwardly looking as though he’s walking on stilts and behind his back P’Ko has noticed some of the other kid’s make fun of him. Yet this didn’t make Dan’Zu less intimidating when looking up at him centimeters away and listening to his insults.

  Ot
her times the situation is so minor, and the reactions are so severe that it’s on the verge of bizarre. P’Ko’s mother, Le’Ta, sees this often, being a tailor, she has customers from across Dadr’Ba society. With only rare exceptions, all of her D’En clients insist on preferential treatment of their requests. She faces frequent threats, like “if you don’t get my alteration done by” such and such a date “I know someone that can make your life miserable and your husband’s job more difficult”.

  These situations and so much more like them have caused a growing discontent, and most people are beginning to complain (mostly psychically). The result has led to an increase in the number of scattered malcontents and groups coalescing into a growing resistance movement, something that hasn’t occurred since the equal job rights protests. The CA’s response has been to seek out and clamp down on the resistance as “anti-progressives,” (like Su’Zi’s father).

  P’Ko didn’t look forward to what he expected the years ahead to be like, more than ever, all of the To’Ta’s his age are begging their parents to pay for experiments in the way they dress, different makeup, temporary tattoos, and for those still undecided, trying out different gender roles.

  Only school issued uniforms are provided free to students and standardized work uniforms are issued to adults, stylish clothes, and clothes alterations are a common method of displaying the much-prized individuality a society of clones prizes and help keep tailors like P’Ko’s mother busy.

  P’Ko had to acknowledge that regardless of what he thought of Dan’Zu and his stilted legs, Dan’Zu dresses well and is good with makeup. He (Dan’Zu) seems to have a ready supply of stylized clothes, makeup, and temporary tattoos. And he’s wicked smart when it comes to school work.

  P’Ko saw that many To’Ta’s, boys, girls and pers (undecided) alike, appear to like Dan’Zu and even pump him with compliments which Dan’Zu relishes, not seeming to notice the coincidence that complements are often followed with requests for help with school work.

  People can be so shallow, and impressionable, though Dan’Zu’s height job made him look ridiculous, he had a lot going for him, his obvious edge in scholastics, especially when it comes to calculation speed, memory speed, bandwidth, overall throughput; sort, search, and retrieval, is plain. The other students realize it too and take advantage of it.

  Realizing that there are centuries of having to deal with Dan’Zu and his gang ahead, not just school years, but post-graduation, P’Ko would have to be careful how he deals with Dan’Zu. Dadr’Ba is a relatively small, closed society, and most people have long memories, especially regarding opinions they have of other people.

  Although there’s a zero tolerance for violence, and a low tolerance for bullying, or similar misbehavior, it never seems to slow Dan’Zu in his pursuit of P’Ko. Dan’Zu treats bullying like it’s the way it’s supposed to be. Bullying and intimidation are the natural state of affairs, a cruel game and he laughs about it frequently, even in P’Ko’s face.

  P’Ko knew he could get Dan’Zu to stop picking on him as soon as he submitted to Dan’Zu’s dominance. All P’Ko would have to do is play nice, load him up with compliments and always agree with him, but something in P’Ko refused to let him.

  As much as P’Ko dislikes Dan’Zu and despises him, P’Ko knows that he must, somehow come to terms with this bully, and potential enemy, P’Ko’s stomach tightened and churned at this realization.

  P’Ko avoided the clean, well-lit public ramp that offers vehicle and pedestrian traffic down to Ol’Tn. It and the others like it in the neighboring sectors were covered by extra surveillance that logs who and when people passed from Nu’Tn to Ol’Tn. His disguise, a bump helmet and an old pair of his dad’s coveralls provided a passable cover for the inattentive, but his obscured shoulder hash and partially disabled TaC-B would create an alarm with the automatic system when it tried to match the shoulder hash to the disabled tracking function in his TaC-B.

  The CASS would probably not send forces to respond, but the data from an alert would be databased indefinitely whereas ordinary traffic data stays active for only a few weeks before being overwritten.

  It crossed P’Ko’s mind that at least some surveillance systems were operating during the Touch of God Event, the thought of what they might reveal made him shudder.

  P’Ko accessed the stairwell adjacent to the auxiliary maintenance elevator which ran all the way from the upper decks of Nu’Tn down past Ol’Tn deck one and its main street to the airlock that provided access to the mining zone.

  P’Ko looked up at the landing above and noted the access door on the landing above was closed, as it should be. Dadr’Ba’s survival depended on a tightly controlled ventilation system. Even the vandals respected the need to carry heat from Dadr’Ba’s core quickly enough to prevent Dadr’Ba’s melting from within.

  The only light came from the emergency exit signs, this stair, and its accompanying maintenance elevator rarely gets used now, its purpose is only for emergency backup when the new elevator and stair which is well-maintained breaks or is closed for repair.

  P’Ko wondered what the CA must be thinking, how can they justify not maintaining an “emergency system.” He hoped that the other emergency systems, like power, are better kept.

  The lack of attention did have its benefits, though, the camera outside the stairwell entrance was pointed away from the stair entrance toward the closed elevator door and loading platform.

  Before exposing himself to the surveillance camera field of view in the stairwell, he used his pocket inspection multi tool and checked the camera positioning making sure it was safe.

  Inside the stairwell P’Ko looked over at the surveillance camera dangling from its broken mount and pointed at the deck, scrawled on the wall beside it, along with a crude diagram, was graffiti saying what the CASS can do with its cameras. P’Ko chuckled to himself recalling how years ago, his first time through this way, he ever so carefully and slowly moved the aim of that same camera to allow unobserved access to the stair.

  P’Ko exited the stairwell on the main street of Ol’Tn; it was safe from surveillance at least from cameras. All the surveillance cameras in Ol’Tn have a nasty habit of breaking, so much so the CA has given up on trying to keep them fixed.

  P’Ko felt comfortable; he’s become a regular here having visited almost weekly for six years. Now, rather than going directly to the D’Po office to report for “work” he walked down the busy street, tool bag over her shoulder.

  It was his favorite day of the week in Ol’Tn; it was trading day and everyone that had something to sell or trade or needed something was there. People staked out spots, showing their wares and hawking their offerings. P’Ko would occasionally pause if he spotted some old mining equipment, a tool, or scientific instrument.

  His height, lack of hair, self-done skin tone cosmetics and the rest made it easy to pick him out of the crowd, but this was “Ol’Tn”, a lot of strange looking people walk the streets, and nobody asks questions.

  He inwardly blushed and quickened his pace as he passed Fa’Na and La’Na, a couple of prostitutes not currently hawking their wares, aside from the way they dressed, but bartering with a spice vendor over some food spices.

  The “ladies” being ever watchful, noticed him, and one said, “Hey Mr. Mechanic. I’ve got some broken plumbing; can you fix it for me?” P’Ko knew they weren’t serious; they were only having a little fun with him. He knew both of them and had even fixed the door latch on the apartment they shared a while back. Not yet being equipped to be a client they promised an extra good time in repayment, once he came of age and was properly equipped.

  He laughed at their joke and threw back at them that he’d need to get an extra big tool for that job, and kept moving, watchful for anything that might catch his eye.

  Mindful that he only had a few hours to work with, he made his way down almost to the end of the street and stepped into Mi’Ka’s Curio shop, under a glowing red All-Seeing Eye sign. The
place remained much the same as it had been six years earlier, during P’Ko’s first visit, except that time it wasn’t a trading day.

  That day, P’Ko was supposedly home alone sick, but in reality, he was just overly anxious to test out his modified TaC-B system, the street was quiet then, almost deserted, most people somewhere at their jobs. And that day P’Ko had spotted the sign in the near dark (even at midday) and felt a strong compulsion to go inside.

  Much to his surprise, upon entering he heard a feminine, slightly cracking voice say “Welcome, P’Ko my name is Mi’Ka[53] I’ve been expecting you.” At that instant P’Ko panicked, unseen and un-introduced this person knew his name and must know he shouldn’t have been there. Still not seeing the source of the voice, P’Ko turned to run away, the voice interjected, “stop! Don’t be afraid I’m not going to hurt you.”

  P’Ko tried to run but found that he couldn’t move his feet. After a moment, P’Ko’s fear drained away. He turned back towards the back of the shop and ventured wondrously deeper into the darkened shop. It was much darker than the near dusk outside and was filled with all kinds of weird memorabilia and stacks of who knows what, piled up leaving only a narrow path.

  P’Ko, taking his time, letting his eyes adjust, found Mi’Ka seated at her Sooth Sayers table in a back corner. She directed his attention to her robotic pet and introduced “Ku’Ma[54],” a strange looking small matt black metallic four-legged creature with one green eye and one yellow eye, sitting at her side. Ku’Ma made a hissing sound. Mi’Ka remarked, “Give her (robopets are genderless. However Mi’Ka considers Ku’Ma female) time, she’ll get used to you.”

  Stranger still was Mi’Ka, at first sight, P’Ko thought he was confronting an outcast and tried again to run but again couldn’t move. Then he realized that he was in the presence of what could only be a Touch of God Survivor.

  P’Ko looked at the lady seated before him, a Mi’Nr with long dark hair and smooth pale skin sitting slouched, as if exhausted, over a small rune covered table. Strangest and scariest of all, being her eyes, overly large glowing frosted orbs with electric looking arc flashes of light behind them.