We drove east for twenty minutes, going through the neighborhood where I had met Lucy. Another couple of minutes, and we were at the edge of the city. The car parked, and Tony motioned for me to get out.
“Come on. We have a walk ahead of us.”
He led us into a large, abandoned apartment complex. We walked through the dark structure, and I noticed that all the rooms were open, the doors removed. After a moment, we came to a set of stairs. Down we went to a lower level, and Tony tried his hand at a little humor. “And this is the easy part of the walk.”
I took each step vigilantly as I followed, and at the bottom, we came upon our first door with the letters B and A. Tony waved his hand in an odd pattern: right, left, right, left, down, down, up, up. He put a hand on the A and then the B. The door opened automatically, and we walked through. We came to another door, and instead of trying to open it, Tony took a knee and felt the ground. With a click and a rumble, the floor began opening next to him. Dust spewed into the air, and after the commotion, there was a one-by-one meter hole of darkness. Then, the smell hit me. Mildew mixed with body odor. I grimaced while inching away from it.
“I know what this looks like. I assure you it’s for security reasons.”
We descended the ladder, and the stench thickened. I heard Tony’s shoes make tiny splashes as they hit the floor. I couldn’t hold back my disbelief. “This isn’t a human waste sewer, is it?”
He delayed his response just long enough to make me want to vomit. “Not for a couple decades. It’s mostly rain water now, but I suppose there’s probably enough rat droppings to make the water lethal.”
The darkness was the most intimidating part of it all. “You going to turn on a flashlight?”
“No need. Wait just a moment.”
Tony took a couple steps, and the walls began to light up.
“Bioluminescent paint? I’ve only heard about that stuff.” I remembered it from the steel mill in Charlie’s memory.
“This stuff is a little more sophisticated than your average light-up paint. It’s tied to my body chemistry, so it won’t react to just anyone. It’s part of our parameter security.”
The tunnel continued to illuminate as we went. Twenty minutes went by, and we went down another ladder. Then, after a half dozen turns, we came to another ladder. This one went up.
“It’s time to meet your people, Ryan.”
I shrugged.
Tony went up first, and I followed. Rung by rung, we finally made it to the top. He pounded on the door above three times, paused, and hit it two more times. There was a rusty grinding noise as if someone was turning an old valve wheel, and then a blinding light fanned out overhead. I covered my eyes as a voice beckoned from above.
“Come inside, friends.”
We completed the rest of the climb and emerged to a small room. A guard patted us both down. “Those phones secured?”
Tony nodded. “Yes, W-B. This is Ryan’s inaugural visit. I’m going to give him the full tour.”
W-B laughed. “Welcome, Ryan.” He turned back to Tony. “Just so you know, Jess-Ami is in an interesting mood. There was another fire in the generator room. Luckily the power only flickered, but you still might want to speak with her later.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” Tony waved me to the room’s only exit and had me lead. Stepping into the next expansive room was like walking into another world. It was two stories, and dark green vines covered the balconies above. All the light appeared to be artificial, and then I realized we were still underground. My eyes were drawn to an old sign at the far end of the room. The words had been covered with a light coat of paint, but I could still read them.
Children of the Earth Church
Peering back at the main area, one thing was striking. There were people everywhere. Talking. Working. Eating. Drinking. Carrying supplies. From where I was standing, I could see that they all had one thing in common. Each of them had a single white eye. I involuntarily exhaled hard and chuckled to myself.
My people.
I couldn’t tell much about the upper level. However, the lower level was divided into seemingly logical areas. The far-left corner had to be dedicated to recreational activities. Some had up holos of the popular holo-show Mr. What. Others were at gaming stations playing various virtual simulations. To the right of the leisure space, there was a café with a menu displayed overhead, behind the main counter. It was in that moment I realized my nose was no longer being abused by sewage. In its place were hints of hazelnut and vanilla. Immediately to my left was a long corridor under a sign that read, “Medical and Security.” Farther to my right was a long hallway where people were coming and going with supplies. Everyone was dressed similarly to Tony, but they all had content looks on their faces. I was emoting something entirely different.
Tony glanced at me and smiled. “The Shift Alliance headquarters. Spectacular, isn’t it?”
I could only muster a muffled “uh huh” in response.
“Come. Let’s get a warm beverage before we proceed.” Tony led me past a number of tables as we walked through the rec area.
One woman was playing virtual co-op chess. The only problem—she was alone. The whole point of co-op chess was to work with a partner, and so I was more than confused.
I waited to pass her to not be rude, then grabbed Tony’s shoulder and looked back. “Why was she playing alone?”
“Look again.” He pointed back to her.
I turned around to see the woman cross her arms and close her eyes. Then, her white eye flared and she resumed playing.
It was odd, but it didn’t mean anything to me. “Okay?”
“She’s not alone. She just shifted from one mind to her other.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Wait. What? You mean that her host…and she…and they…and what?!”
Tony’s light laughter at my response was welcome. “This is what I came to show you, Ryan. Your people have some amazing abilities.” He continued toward the café.
Still dumbfounded, I turned around to speak with the woman. “Excuse me, but are you playing co-op chess with your two minds?”
She smiled and nodded. “You’re new here, huh?”
“Yes. I had a migration, but my host’s mind died.”
The woman tilted her head like she didn’t believe me, but before I could explain, Tony had wandered back over and was asking, “What are you drinking?”
I shook my head. “Uh, oh. Caramel Macchiato.” Then, I smiled and waved at the woman. “Thanks for chatting. Good luck!”
I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight about the implications of being able to shift back and forth between migrator and host. It wasn’t until I peered behind the café counter that I finally came back to reality. “Wow. I thought the only place around to get handmade coffee was at my old job.”
Tony smiled. “We automate where we can. But the people here see the café as a position of self-expression as opposed to a typical service job. Relaxation is vital to a population’s overall wellbeing.” He turned to the barista. “Two caramel Macchiatos, T-J.”
We slid down to the pickup area.
My mind immediately went back to the concept of shifting, and I zoned out for several moments. It wasn’t until I reached for my beverage that I realized something was missing from the whole transaction. “We didn’t pay?”
Tony didn’t hesitate. “We pay with our contributions back to the Alliance. Whenever and however we can.”
Perplexed didn’t begin to describe how I felt. “What if I don’t pay it back?”
He grinned. “Then, you’ll be on the hook for fifteen credits plus interest for a period of no longer than three months, at which point the Bureau of Credit Reclamation will freeze your accounts and arrest you for insufficient funds.”
That’s more like it! He really had me going for a moment there. I snooped
around for an ID reader to take my payment.
“Ryan.”
A hint of frustration came over me as I continued looking for a way to satisfy the transaction. “What?”
“I was joking.”
“About a credit-less system? I know.”
He laughed and shook his head. “No. About the BCR freezing your accounts.”
He finally got my attention. I turned, “So, we don’t pay?”
“We don’t pay with credits.” He shrugged. “Sure, if you never came back to this place again, we’d be out the cost of the coffee, energy to run the equipment, wear and tear on the equipment, and the labor to make your drink. But you don’t get this far unless someone vouches for you. I’m willing to bet that after you’re through with the tour, you’ll be contributing in no time.”
Another aspect of their economy concerned me. “How do they track my consumer habits and personal preferences? How will they know who I am?”
Tony scowled. “The way humans knew each other for tens of thousands of years. We’ll talk to you. Do you think the fact that you spend a quarter of your income on medical procedures or that you tend to buy alcohol on Thursdays is really core to who you are?”
I shook my head. “I guess not.”
“Neither do we. As part of the Shifter Alliance, you’re judged based on the character you show day in and day out. Not a bunch of data that can be manipulated to precisely determine how your chocolate preferences have evolved over your lifetime.”
It all sounded great in theory, but with all the reading I’d done in history class, I wasn’t convinced. “So, this is some kind of credit-less utopia where everyone is free to do whatever? What about disagreement and dissent? What about corruption?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Why do people always gravitate to that word—Utopia? Does this place look like paradise to you? As it stands today, we’re illegal squatters who must work like hell to get by and stay undetected. We have just enough supplies to live comfortably, and that’s through the hard work and dedication of all the members.
“In terms of differing views, you see how society at large handles that. You get arrested for protesting the wrong way, for views deemed too extreme on the Net, or for quitting your job without two weeks’ notice. That’s business as usual, but it’s really corruption wearing the mask of order. At least here, there’s a wide body of leadership to discuss differences, something they always do before negative ideas become truly dissenting opinions. The council has an equal number of migrators and hosts to represent everyone here. The council rotates every six months.”
His arguments were compelling, and even if I had my doubts, it seemed better than the status quo. As my concerns about their political dynamics waned, my curiosity rushed back. “Fine. Are we going on this tour?”
Tony shot me another grin, and with drinks in hand, we headed across the recreational area to the corner near the entrance. I took a sip of my beverage as we passed the room with the guard, and suddenly, I remembered all the strange titles that Tony was using for everyone. “W-B and T-J. What’s with the letters?”
We entered the long, dimly-lit corridor to the medical area.
Tony snickered through an exhale. “Every mind-pair chooses the names they prefer. There is one rule they must follow,” he paused. “The host mind’s name and initial must always come first. In almost all cases, their bodies were given up against their will. Most migrators didn’t intend to exploit their bodies, but the council thought it was a practical and symbolic gesture. We refer to mind-pairs by the hyphenated double first initial to keep it simple.”
My eyes widened as we continued to walk. It only took me a moment to connect the dots. “So, that would make me C-R or Charlie-Ryan.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The tour proceeded as we came to a set of windows that offered a view into a long room. It must have been used for training. There were a dozen or so people seated on the padded floor, their legs and arms crossed, and they had their eyes closed with their heads down.
“The meditation area. It’s used to practice shifting in a harmonious environment. Going between minds can be difficult and jarring at first. Mind-pairs spend time here until it becomes second nature.”
I nodded, and we continued walking. We passed a few red doors labeled Private.
“These rooms are a safe space for sexual activity. Many of our mind-pairs have troubled backgrounds when it comes to sex, so it was important that, with consent, they feel secure in expressing themselves and enjoying the hosts’ bodies. Sometimes, it’s between two mind-pairs, and other times, it’s just two-minded masturbation by one mind-pair. I hear the latter is better than the former.”
I had never dreamed of such a concept, but it made complete sense. The more I learned about the facility, the more it seemed to cater to the specific needs of the migrators and hosts alike. I was impressed. They’d thought of everything. But more questions came to mind as we meandered down the hall. “How are you a part of this group? Don’t tell me you’re a mind-pair?”
Tony frowned. “I must have raised too many flags when I was digging into ADG. Not long after you and I last spoke, I came home to men in black ready to kill me. Fortunately, I had also caught the eye of the Shifters, and they had dispatched an engagement group to bring me in. They saved my life. I’ve been repaying them with my knowledge of ADG and migrations ever since.”
“Glad it turned out all right.”
The light in the hallway transitioned to halogens, and the double-door ahead read Med Bay. Tony pointed. “This’ll be the final stop on the tour. It’s where we make the magic happen. I’m eager for you to meet our top doctor.”
We went through the doors, into what looked like a typical hospital floor with a nurses’ station in the middle and wings to the different specialties like the ER and OR. But it also had a Migration wing, and that was the path we took. We entered a lab that looked a lot like the migration area at ADG. There were medical personnel assessing and cleaning equipment. We made our way past the front area and stopped at a tired-looking man in a white lab coat who was evaluating a holo-chart.
“Hello, J-Z! This is Ryan, the prospect I’ve been talking about.”
J-Z turned to me. “Ah, yes! Ryan. Call me Doc. Everyone else does. How are you?” He exuded more excitement than his weary appearance would have led on.
“I’m doing well. This place is fantastic.”
Doc smiled. “There’s always more work than hours in the day, but we have made substantial progress from the early days. Now, I understand that you completed your migration and immediately became aware of your host mind?”
I nodded. “It was mostly in dreams, but I had a few conscious episodes as well.” I winced. “But I was telling Tony that my host died a couple months back when he was preparing me for…a big event.”
Doc’s eyes became wide, and he inhaled deeply as if he had a long-winded response forthcoming. Before he could get a word out, he was cut off by someone who had just come up behind Tony and me.
“He’s not dead. He’s just dormant.” The tone couldn’t have been more matter of fact.
We all turned around, and before I could process who I was seeing, Tony nervously introduced us. “Ryan, I’d like you to meet the very first member and founder of the Shifter Alliance. We call her J-A, but you might know her better as Jessica-Amanda.”
I made eye contact with the woman. She looked weathered, like a war veteran, dressed in all black with a leather vest. Then, my mind began to process her name. I didn’t know this woman, so why would her name mean anything to me?
Immediately after the thought, it hit me. And by hit me, I mean of all things I’d seen that day, and hell, in my life, this stunned me as much as any of them. I attempted a greeting, but it was tough to catch my breath. All that came out was disbelief. “You mean…Amanda Robinson…Jessica.
It’s you?”
She nodded with a stoic face. “It’s J-A. Nice to meet you, Ryan.”
Mesmerized didn’t begin to describe how I felt. “…so, you’re…the very first mind migrator?”
Her expression didn’t change. “Amanda was, and I was the very first host.”
I raised a brow. “Oh, so I’m talking to Jessica right now?”
J-A shook her head and scolded me. “You’re always talking to us both with our proper, hyphenated initials. As to whose mind is active at any given time, that’s up to the mind-pair.”
Her frustration seemed somewhat misplaced, but I appreciated how adamant she was about migrator-host inclusion. “Sorry, this is a lot for me to take in. I’m just trying to make sense of it all.”
J-A didn’t acknowledge my apology. “Is it true that you were immediately aware of your host’s mind after your migration?”
I nodded. “Some of my very first thoughts were Charlie’s memories.”
I could tell she was pondering what it meant. “We’ll run the Cognitive Congruency test, and we’ll probably want to do a baseline on your brain function. I’m interested in those numbers. Then, we’ll bring him back.”
It still seemed impossible to me. “You said he was dormant, but he transferred his skills to me. Other than a random memory here or there, he’s been gone ever since. I haven’t really felt his presence in over two months.”
She responded with more impatience. “Unless you had his mind neutralized, he’s still there.” She shook her head. “There’s no such thing as transferring skills. You’re using his abilities through him, you just don’t know it. It’s more common for migrators to go dormant, but it can happen with hosts as well. They can be gone for months at a time. The minds just go into subconscious mode, but they’re still very much alive.”
As amazing as the place was, I remembered the nights of terror that had seized me when Charlie was around. It was just like what Helen was going through, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted that uncertainty back in my life. “Things have been a lot simpler since Charlie’s been gone. Given the choice, I don’t know if I want him back. I almost died last time he was…active.”
Between Two Minds: Revelation Page 25