by Magus Tor
“What I need,” Nicholas said, “is some kind of database that tells me which numbers have been changed and what they were changed to. There has to be one, but I just can't find it.”
“Hmm. Have you tried asking someone?” Aurelia said. A stupid question, and her mind was spinning, trying to figure out who would know something like this.
“Like who?”
“Ah, what about Tara?” she said.
Up in Lunar, Tara would presumably have access to plenty of information, particularly if she was in and out of the government sector. Unless the Elite had found a way to purge all their records, Tara was probably in the best position to find out what they needed to know. Aurelia doubted that the records would be deleted. The Elite still thought they were in power and were unlikely to erase their carefully recorded system because they wouldn't want the chaos of setting everything up again.
“Not a bad idea,” said Nicholas, thoughtfully. “I'll send her a com message, see what she says.”
With that settled, and Nicholas not yet ready with a plan to get them into 01, there wasn't much they could do. They played a few games of chess, Aurelia satisfied that she was improving, able to think more and more moves ahead, to plan logistically. Of course, Nicholas still won the majority of the time; but still, she was getting better.
“What are we flying over?” Aurelia asked as Nicholas put away the chess pieces.
He glanced at the console. “Just ocean.”
Looking down, Aurelia could see nothing and was secretly glad. The oceans scared her, and she'd never seen one in real life, although she'd seen pictures. Sure, she'd had the holographic holidays to the beach that most Worker families had, but that was different. The holograph ocean was the old ocean: warm, gentle, with soft waves. The real oceans were big, with towering waves and huge power, and the blackness of the water had always frightened her.
As the Earth had warmed, the oceans had grown bigger and stronger and had eaten away at the land. Now they claimed what they liked, and no one went close to the dangerous waters. The depths that had once teemed with food, things called fish that were caught and eaten, now were home only to dark monsters. Every now and again something would wash up, and a brave entertainment Worker in a flying pod would film whatever it was to project the image onto the screens of the Empire. Large, spiny, mutated creatures, their flesh black and slimy. Aurelia shuddered.
She wondered what would happen if the pod malfunctioned and fell into the waters below. She thought about the waters sucking the pod down, the huge pressure slowly cracking the glass of the windows, leaking in, filling up the space.
“What are you thinking about?” Nicholas asked. “You look weird.”
“Nothing,” Aurelia said quickly. She really needed to stop thinking about things like this. Her imagination was especially creative these days.
“Think you can get some sleep?”
“Yes, I think so,” she said. “We should try, anyway.”
He nodded, and the two of them curled up into their seats. It took Aurelia a long time to fall asleep. Even trying to think about comforting things like Jonathon didn't help.
Once again an alarm sounded to wake them, though it was still dark outside. Nicholas pushed icons on the console, and Aurelia stretched. The Clone always seemed to go straight from asleep to awake with no blurry period in between, and she wondered how he did it.
“Getting close?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said.
“And? Got a plan yet?”
“Eh, it's coming together,” he said, not giving any more detail. “I'm going to bring us down in a few minutes, okay?”
“Sure,” she said. “You sure we can't just fly into 01?”
He laughed. “Certain. They've got sensors everywhere. The second we cross the City limit, a voice will come through our com system asking us to identify ourselves by number as well as our vehicle. Having the rebel President's wife on board a stolen pod is probably not going to go down well.”
“Just asking,” said Aurelia, sighing.
Nothing was ever simple these days. Just for once, she'd like to be able to travel normally to wherever it was that she wanted to be. She chided herself for sulking. People were out there fighting, and here she was complaining about not being able to fly into 01.
She could see little in the darkness but could feel the pod getting lower and slower. Soon it began to hum as it came to a stop, hovered, and then landed. Nicholas pulled out his screen, nodded, and rolled it up.
“Okay, here's the plan,” he said. “We're going to walk in.”
“That's nothing new,” said Aurelia. “We always walk in.”
“Well, this is different,” said Nicholas. “We've got to cross an extremely barren piece of land that's closely watched. It isn't like sneaking onto an island in 02. It's going to be a little dangerous, but I think we'll make it. My contact said that there are vehicles that occasionally patrol the area, and that's what we're going to be on the lookout for. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Aurelia, not really understanding but figuring that everything would be explained on the way.
The ground where they had landed was rocky with a fine, shingled texture—bigger than sand, but just as hard to walk on. As the light grew stronger, Aurelia could see that everything was grey. Some of the rocks were huge, towering over them, whilst others were wide and flat. It was a strange landscape and one that seemed oddly familiar.
It wasn't until dawn really came, with bright yellow streams of light, that Aurelia saw what they were walking through.
“Gods,” she said as soon as she realised. “This is a city.”
And it was—or the remains of one, anyway. The tall rocks were high-rise buildings; the odd stray wall still stood. Everywhere she looked she could see destruction.
“Sure,” said Nicholas. “This was part of the old city that was destroyed during the War and then became City 01.”
“I thought they flattened the ruins,” said Aurelia, walking more carefully.
“Only around the perimeter of the new City. The rest they just left. I'm sure there were a few settlers around here, at least for a while, taking shelter where they could. But there doesn't seem to be anyone around now.”
The back of Aurelia's neck tickled. She wasn't as sure. She had the feeling that she was being watched.
They stumbled through the field of rubble, Aurelia falling more than once. It was a good couple of hours after dawn before Nicholas finally stopped her.
“Okay, I need you to wait here for maybe ten, twenty minutes. We're close to the open border, and I need to check it out. It'll be faster and quieter with just me,” he said.
Aurelia nodded. She didn't particularly want to be stranded out here, but Nicholas was right. It would be better for him to go alone. She sat down on a flat rock that had once been the floor of someone's home. She chose the place carefully, as far away from tall structures as she could, and in the middle of a bright patch of sunlight. And she waited.
She slowly scanned her surroundings. Once, she thought she saw movement; but when her eyes flickered back to the spot, there was nothing. Maybe Nicholas was right—maybe there was no one here. Maybe.
She heard him before she saw him, scrambling over the rocky terrain.
“Come on,” he said.
He was a tall man, thin, dirty, but there was nothing evil about him. Immediately, Aurelia sensed that he was trustworthy.
“I'm waiting for someone,” she said.
He gave her a grin, showing several missing teeth. “I know. We'll get him on the way.”
Knowing that she could be making a big mistake, she got up anyway. The man offered her his hand.
“Jak,” he said. “I'm guessing you two want to get in?”
“Yes,” she said, following him as he jumped from rock to rock.
“Well, the way you're going about it, you'll be caught in a second. There's an easier way. I'll show you.”
Nicholas had his h
and on his stunner the moment he saw them, and Aurelia held up her hands to show that everything was okay.
“This is Jak,” she said, when she was close enough to be heard. “He's going to help us.”
“Why?” Nicholas asked suspiciously.
The man laughed—a pleasant, rumbling sound. “I might be an Outlier,” he said, “but that doesn't make me stupid. We get news out here too, you know. You're Resistance, right?”
Aurelia nodded.
“Knew as soon as I saw you,” said Jak. “And the Elite are swarming over 01 right now. There are a few of your people around here, those in 01 that are known to be Resistance and didn't feel safe staying in the City at the moment. If you need to get in, I'm your man. You can't just wander across no man's land, you know?”
Nicholas sighed. The man was right. “How, then?”
“Come on.” The man set off, jumping from rock to rock so that Aurelia and Nicholas had trouble keeping up.
When he came to a large hole in the ground, he stopped, glancing around. From the looks of it, this was the remains of a basement. A large building must have stood above it, judging by the huge piles of rumble around. Jak found what he was looking for and tugged on a rusty metal pole, dragging a ladder out of its hiding place. He slid it down the hole, then started climbing, not waiting for them. Nicholas looked at Aurelia, who nodded, and down he went, Aurelia following.
Jak was waiting for them, standing next to another hole. This one was clearly man-made, its edges rounded.
“Here we go. This will get you where you want to go,” he said.
“What is it?” Nicholas asked, peering down into the blackness.
“A long time ago, before even the Great War, there used to be big people-carriers that travelled under the ground, taking people to different places in the old City,” explained Jak. “It was called a Subway. Hasn't been used for centuries, but the tunnels are still there if you know where to look. Go down here, keep heading straight, and eventually you'll come up in the City. There's plenty of exits, but look for one that has a red flag tied to the ladder. Those are the safe ones.”
Aurelia was surprised by this news. Obviously people had once needed a way to get around the City before they had pods, but she hadn't really considered the logistics of that. Tunnels under the City made sense, though. Nicholas was grilling Jak for more information, so she stood patiently and waited until he had all he needed.
“This should work,” he said. “Thank you. We appreciate your help.”
Jak grinned. “Any time,” he said. “And don't forget, we're out here. We're waiting. When you come to free us, you'll get any help we can offer.”
“Are there many of you?” Aurelia asked.
“More than you'd think,” Jak said, looking serious now. “And we're all sick of being banished out here to live like animals. So you need to get forces into 01, you come find me. We'll get you in.”
“Thanks,” said Aurelia.
“Don't mention it. You'd better get going.” He gestured towards the fixed ladder that led into the hole.
Nicholas went first, and Aurelia waited until she saw the glow of his light source before descending, herself.
“We need to walk carefully,” he said, having already looked around as she came down. “There're metal lines and deep trenches, but I think we can make it.”
“But do you think thousands of us could make it?” Aurelia asked.
“Possibly,” Nicholas said, setting off. “It could be the best way to take 01 if we can figure out how to do it efficiently.”
The tunnel was large, and every sound echoed for metres along the track, which Aurelia soon realised was what they were walking along. The ground was uneven but not impossible. Water dripped everywhere, and the dank air made her shiver. They walked quietly, not sure what could be heard outside and what couldn't.
“We should be through no man's land by now,” Nicholas whispered after about half an hour. His voice echoed eerily in the tunnel.
“Let's start looking for a ladder up, then,” Aurelia whispered back.
As they walked, Nicholas swung his light source from side to side. They passed several ladders, but none of them had the red flag that Jak had told them to look out for. Aurelia was beginning to tire. Her legs hurt, and she wanted out. She tried to imagine having to travel every day under the ground but couldn't. What a strange, dark life these people must have led. It was all too easy to think of a Worker's life as hard, but in truth, there had been many advances that she was glad of. Finally, her eyes caught a flash of red.
“There,” she said, pointing.
Nicholas nodded and headed towards the ladder.
“I'm going up first,” he said, pulling his stunner out of its holster. “If there's any hint of trouble, I want you to drop back down and head back towards Jak. He'll help you get out again. I don't know who knows about these tunnels, but I'd rather not give away any more information than necessary.”
“Fine,” said Aurelia, secretly glad that he was going first.
He climbed, his stunner gripped between his teeth. She followed, a few rungs below, until he reached something metal. Aurelia could hear a screech as he pushed up whatever was blocking the exit. There was a scraping sound as he slid the lid aside, then quiet. After a second, Nicholas pulled himself up, then crouched to give her his hand.
In the cool outside air, Aurelia immediately felt better. But looking around, she didn't recognise where they were. It was some kind of street, though blocked at one end; and they were obviously in the City, since there were the familiar spiral-shaped residential buildings around them. Hurriedly, Nicholas replaced the tunnel cover, pulled out his screen, and tapped it on.
“Okay,” he said. “There's a safe house close to here, around ten blocks or so. You okay to walk?”
She nodded.
“Aurelia, we're inside the City. There's little to worry about. There are so many people here that we're not likely to be spotted. But walk like you belong here, not like you're sneaking around, okay?”
Again she nodded.
He was right. The walk to the safe house was uneventful, and as strange as it seemed, Aurelia was feeling more comfortable. This was the City she’d grown up in, after all, though she didn't know exactly which part of it they were in. They made it to the appointed place a little before lunch.
Nicholas, of course, had work to do in 01. Aurelia eventually persuaded him to leave her with his personal com so that she could make calls, and promised that she'd work on the mystery of what had happened to Mattias whilst he was gone. It was better for her to have something to do. When she was busy, she thought less, and right now that was a good thing.
Her first task was to place a call to Tara. Nicholas had messaged her but had yet to get a reply, so Aurelia decided to go straight to the source and speak to her. The girl seemed overjoyed to hear from her, and she spent a solid ten minutes filling Aurelia in on all the gossip in Lunar City before Aurelia could get down to business.
It turned out there was a database that had the information they needed, but they had no password to access it. Tara had one of her friends working on the problem and would send them the password as soon as possible. Other than that, she had no other help to offer. She did ask why they needed the database, but Aurelia was suitably mysterious and refused to say.
She got the password an hour later, an hour she'd spent pacing around the small rooms of the safe house, unable to focus on anything for more than a few moments. Once she had the code, though, she sat down cross-legged on a bed and went back to work.
“I've found him,” Aurelia said as soon as Nicholas walked through the door. “Well, more or less.”
“Already?” Nicholas said, impressed. “Not bad. Show me what you've got.”
It turned out that after the death of his parents, Mattias had been sent straight into training. He'd been a little young, a year or so less than most of the kids in his section, but deemed intelligent enough to get start
ed anyway. Therefore, he'd taken an unusual identification number, one that reflected his training institution rather than his residential location. A little digging had found that he was being trained as a chem Worker—not surprising, since both of his parents had been chems.
“So, we find the school, find Mattias, and...?” Aurelia said, finishing up her story.
“And reunite him with Elza so that they live happily ever after.” Nicholas grinned. “Easy.”
“Nicholas, have you given this any thought at all?” Aurelia asked. “I mean, we're technically going to have to kidnap this child and then drag him to a war zone to give him to a sister he's never even met.”
“First,” Nicholas said, “it's not kidnapping if he wants to go with us. Second, he'll be in a war zone before long anyway. He'll probably be safer with us than he would be in 01.”
That was probably true. Aurelia looked at her time reader; it was late afternoon. “Now?” she asked.
“The sooner we go, the sooner we get back,” Nicholas said. “And then the sooner we can get out of 01, which could be a good thing.”
Aurelia shook her head. She couldn't believe they were about to do this. “Fine,” she said. “Let's get going, then.”
They walked, the streets of 01 long and crowded, their uniforms blending in with thousands of others.
“It was easier to find him than I thought,” Nicholas admitted. “I sort of thought that I'd have more time to plan what to do when I found him.”
“Things are a lot easier when you have information,” Aurelia said.
“Are we doing the right thing?”
It was unlike Nicholas to be doubtful, but Aurelia knew that he was worried about Elza rather than about himself.