Snow sank back into the earth, revealing weeds and grass. The days grew warmer. Spring hit Hiro with hay fever, reddening his nose and watering his eyes. The planet Earth did her best to kill us, first cooking us and then taking our heat, rising the water and freezing our food, but we were engineered to adapt and survive. Food were products made in labs, not in the dirt. Drinkable water was recycled and strained from the furthest and deepest caves, even if it meant dehydrating the forests. Our exploration to other planets buckled under the collapse of the economy. Those sent to Mars stayed and died on Mars. Reincarnation did not reach them, as they were never reborn back here to tell us their stories.
It was easier to see the destruction of the human race while standing in the pits of the poor, but when it came to those of wealth, it was as though every crack in the ground led to oil. Large gates wrapped the high-rise buildings with thick concrete walls, funnelling the massive queues into eight stretched lanes. Electronic doors barred the entrance, singling out everyone and stripping them of their weapons. The thinning suburbs felt foreign after travelling through the woods and abandoned back roads for so long.
Hiro and I stood in the queue, waiting our turn. The mass of the line was behind us now, and I felt the tightened frustrations from everyone wanting to get in. The city of the Elite was enormous, a beacon to their sense of superiority. Over the large concrete gates, I saw the tips of their sky rise buildings in the distance. Light pollution thickened above our heads.
“Feeling nervous?” Diesel asked, one step behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Do I look nervous?”
“You look determined. That’s good,” he said before a more serious thought dropped his smile. “But, as you know, I won’t get clearance into the city so you two have to go in alone. Don’t stay too long. Get the information and get out. You have my number. Call if there is an emergency or when you’ve found it.”
“I’m wanted by the Elite and I’m about to walk straight up to their doorstep. What if a fake imprint won’t be enough?” I asked.
“Soul imprints are everything to them. They are currency here. A passport. Your face will mean nothing once they scan your eyes. But it’s best not to push your luck.”
I took a moment to speak. “And what if I fail?”
His mouth tilted softly. I couldn’t read the subtleness in his expression. Before I could study it more, the smile dropped. My mind flickered back to the ranch, trying to imagine Diesel and I growing old in a world where old was a luxury. The more I thought about it, the fuzzier the details became.
Hiro’s voice called from ahead. “Nadia, let’s go! We’re nearly at the front.”
“Remember why you are doing this. Get McKinnon’s location. Good luck. And Nadia…” Diesel turned my focus to him. “If you can’t come back to me then I will come to you.”
“That’s risky. You can’t—”
“I will.” His expression hardened in his serious warning. He really would come in to find me again.
“I won’t fail,” I assured him. “I won’t.”
He smiled and then he was gone, disappearing behind a red hood and into the crowd.
I turned back to face the doors. I grabbed Hiro’s hand and squeezed. He squeezed back.
“Time to taste true freedom.” He chuckled nervously.
“It’s going to be a completely different world beyond those walls. It’s a little terrifying.”
“So weird. I always imagined you weren’t scared of anything.”
I pursed my lips at Hiro’s naïve understanding of the world. We stepped single file toward one of the eight aligned entrances. On the pillars separating the eight queues were posters of wanted criminals. I quickly scanned the posters when I came across Krane’s face. The rotten paper was stamped with the word captured and again with deceased, with cryo-quarantined marked over it in fresh ink. And a few posters away from his face mine. I tensed at it and automatically looked down. Lucky for him, Hiro wasn’t on the wanted boards. His entire existence remained a secret.
Hiro stepped forward into the jet of blue lights. A guard spun him around and patted him down. I couldn’t hear the conversation as a guard at a different door barked at me. I ignored him. Hiro glanced back at me wearily. He was being quizzed and struggled for answers. I tried to eavesdrop when the man’s voice became very loud in my ear.
“Miss! Miss, I’m talking to you.” I turned to a hand grabbing me. Suddenly, I was yanked out of line.
“Get your hands off me!” I tried to shove him off. I glanced back at Hiro just as he disappeared beyond the doors. It worked? I spun back to another guard walking over.
“What’s going on?”
The man who apprehended me shoved me forward. “She doesn’t look familiar to you?”
“No.”
“Check it.” He pointed to my wanted poster. “It’s the girl worth five mill.”
The second man peered closer at my face. “Looks nothing like her.”
“Let’s bet on it. Details says she’s a no-scan. Let’s test it.” He took out a small tablet with my face, my younger, healthier face displayed on the screen. I grit my teeth. My mind reeled back to Alpha prison, to my old life stuck in the disintegrating suburbs of a lower class family.
He held the scanner to my eyes. The beeping tone signalled and then it did something I had never seen it do before, it blinked with the colour blue. There was a moment of confusion between them. He scanned me again.
The tone signalled, “Welcome, Code 1L58.” Their hands quickly released me.
“I am terribly sorry for the confusion, senator!”
Senator? Suddenly, gunshots rose from the crowd. My shoulders jerked to my ears as five Sweepers emerged from inside the building. They stormed into the crowd, guns raised, not caring who they shouldered past to get to the shooter. More gunshots followed, followed by screams. People dropped in their panic. I quickly searched the chaotic swarm, looking for the gunman when a loud explosion ripped up into the sky.
“Go, go, g! We have a code nine at the security entrance. Bomber has detonated—” Guns unloaded into the crowd in cracking recession. Bodies fell. Some to the bullets, others to trampling. Black ash coloured the air. Before I could do anything, I was dragged backward past the security gates and inside the large, dark dome. The doors slammed shut, swallowing up the noise from outside. Bright red flashed from above, locking the doors. I turned around, disorientated. A low ceiling tunnel stretched into the distance filled with people and guards lining the walls. No one inside glanced over at the doors. Either they didn’t hear the bomb explode or didn’t care.
One of the uniformed men stepped away from his post and jabbed me forward. “Move it along.”
“There’s an attack—”
“I said move!”
“But my friend…my friend is out there!” I gestured to the door.
“I’m not going to repeat myself again.”
“Nadia?” Hiro grabbed my shoulders. “Nadia, there you are!” I turned toward Hiro. “Let’s go. I’m sure Diesel is fine. He’ll be okay. But we have to get on with it.”
I nodded. “Okay. Yes, of course.” He wasn’t near the explosion. He will be okay, I’m sure of it.
I turned and followed the crowd’s current down the long tunnel and into a second security checkpoint. On the perimeters of the crowd were small, square-shaped droids flying up and down, taking thousands of pictures of everyone lining up. They were the size of a basketball and their tiny jets balanced them into a hover. One of the droids swooped in on Hiro, running a light blue scanner up and down his face and taking quick snapshots of his eyes. Out of habit, I turned my gaze.
“Welcome, 1L83,” it purred in its robotic, toneless voice. “Last identity recorded, Dr Grant Fitzgerald. New facial recognition completed. What shall we call you, sir?”
Hiro looked at me then back to the machine. I also blinked up at it, dumbfounded. Doctor Fitzgerald? So those were the prints Diesel burnt into Hiro�
�s eyes.
“Er… Call me Hiro.”
“Welcome, Hiro. Would you like me to call a car around for you?”
“Oh, sweet! I get a car?”
“To take you home, sir. There hasn’t been any new instructions added to your script so primary protocol has been activated.”
I stepped up to them. “Take us to Elite McKinnon,” I demanded of the robot. The machine spun and took a snapshot of my eyes as well.
“Welcome, 1L58. Last identity recorded, Senator Tea Able. New facial recognition completed. I see a back log of over five hundred thousand unread messages in your account—”
“Take us to Elite McKinnon,” I said again.
“Apologises. All meetings with EL03 must be made six to nine years in advance. Would you like me to schedule you in?”
“We can’t wait that long. Show us where McKinnon lives.”
“That is classified.”
“Where does he work?”
“That is classified.”
“Can you tell us anything about the known whereabouts or activities of EL03?”
“Apologises. All information regarding EL03 requires a level one clearance.”
“Who has a level one clearance?”
“EL01 and EL02, ma’am.”
I glanced at Hiro. “Shit, those must be the other two Elites. Elite Sebastian Keel and Elite T. Swoon. One is like head of security and robotics and the other is just filthy rich.”
Hiro contemplated it for a moment. “Well, I don’t think we’ve got much chance against robots.”
“So Elite Swoon it is.” I turned back to the robot. “Can you give us any information on Elite Swoon?”
“EL01 is presently not taking any meetings, but there is an upcoming gala for the Fraises Foundation he will be attending.”
“Can you get us in?”
“Of course, ma’am. Invites are for all clearance codes level 3 and up. I have sent all the details to your specs. Anything else I can help you with?”
“Yeah. Take us back to Fitzgeral—I mean, Hiro’s place but ensure no one knows of our arrival.”
“Our database shows me that Dr Hiro has been operating out of Alpha Prison for the past two decades.”
“Then take us to his last residence here.”
“Certainty, ma’am. I shall organise a car for you both immediately.” The robot then flew off.
“Who is this Fitzgerald guy?” Hiro whispered.
“He was Elite McKinnon’s first hand man, and it’s no coincidence Diesel had those prints burnt into your eyes. If anyone has any information on McKinnon, it’ll be Fitzgerald.”
I immediately felt overwhelmed by the overcharged electric city. Colours blared down on us, tearing my concentration around as though my mind was a toy toddlers fought over. Nature shrunk into the cracks of the pavement where weeds were trampled beneath thousands of feet. It was busy, what I would imagine the inside of a brain would look firing off neurons to create thought. Electricity pulsed through the city like blood, illuminating the darkest of nights in their artificial, cold glow.
The massive towers created the steel armour around the elite district. On the outer ring was where all the businesses were set up. The hive of buildings completely blocked out the sky, narrowing the streets into a web of roads and footpaths. I had never seen this many people in one place. They seemed to move in clashing currents, weaving around each other, their interaction dwindled down to impatient shoulder bumps. In the centre ring, cocooned by the towers, were the estates. Swoon, as I would imagine, would be in the centre ring. And McKinnon too. This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on the outer walls of the Elite district and I was stunned by the might of the city.
The car we rode in was long and low to the ground, shielding us in a cage of leather seats and tinted windows. We drove through a strip of markets, tents pitched to create shop fronts, their large cooking pots scenting the air. Their static lights bled over the road, turning the entire street sickly green. Beggars were not tolerated. Anyone with a hand out were either thrown outside the walls or killed. Random fights broke out in pockets around the city. Sweepers guarded every corner. In the echoes of the streets, we heard distant screaming and yelling. Hiro, who had pressed his face to the glass in wonder, now hid behind his hand. The sound of gunshots outnumbered car horns. Violence danced in the waves of bodies. People constantly moved. Chaos. There was so much chaos. But it felt routine here. Normal.
“Wait… are they…” I glanced over at Hiro’s gasp.
The car slowed at a red light, stopping outside an alleyway. Two men kicked a fallen man against the alley wall. He didn’t lift his arms to defend himself, meaning he was either dead or unconscious. They picked the man’s pockets. Bystanders hurried past.
“Why isn’t anyone helping him?”
For a long time, I wondered the same thing.
The car moved on and I looked out the other window.
“Your destination is on your right-hand side. Please watch your head when stepping out of the vehicle. Have a great afternoon,” the car’s automated voice intoned.
We pulled up to a massive mirrored building reaching toward the sky. The front entrance scanned us and opened, lighting a path to the elevator.
Fitzgerald’s apartment spanned the entire 45th level. With an eye scanner pass key into the elevator and then again into the apartment, I wasn’t surprised to find his living conditions were similar to that of Alpha prison. He lived in his work, covering tables, couches and walls with paperwork, prototypes and messy formulas. The large grey room felt chilled—cold—like it was its own larger cell. The entire apartment spread out across the entire level, giving us a three-hundred sixty-degree view of the city. Three bedrooms, two studies, two lounges and three bathrooms, all of them used as storage for his many projects. Despite the clutter, the house felt dull. There was no art. No pictures of family or loved ones. Nothing but stiff furniture, his books, pieces of junk and booze. On one of the walls in the main lounge entrance was a black screen mantled inches above my head. At my approach, the screen flicked on.
“Welcome, Senator Tea Able,” greeted a feminine computerized voice. The pixelated face of a beautiful dark-skinned woman appeared on the screen.
“Whoa!” I stepped closer. “Who are you?”
“I am the AI in charge of Doctor Hiro’s estate. The doctor is often very busy but I am here to ensure his guests are properly looked after.”
“Oh! An AI? That’s really cool. Hiro, come check this out.”
Hiro jogged in from the other room. “Whoa! Who is that?”
“It’s a computer software built into the house.”
The screen addressed Hiro. “Welcome back, doctor. Please rest assured all utility payments have been kept up to date and there has been no entrances into your loft since your departure.”
“Probably should have let in a maid at least,” I joked.
“What do I call you?” Hiro asked the screen.
“My identity is whatever you wish it to be, but previously, you called me Eve.”
“So, Eve, are you like my servant or something?”
“I am your estate management and schedule assistant. My existence is to ensure all of your needs are met and your safety is secured. I am here to assist you in any area you require.”
“Actually, you may be able to help us. Do you know the whereabouts of Elite McKinnon? Or any past meeting points between the doctor and McKinnon?” I asked.
“Apologises, senator, my concerns are limited to matters regarding Dr Hiro’s estate. It was at Dr Hiro’s request that I stay out of his political work in case unauthorized accounts get a hold of my database.”
“Damn! Okay, that’s all Eve.”
The screen went black.
“I could definitely get used to this lifestyle.” Hiro grinned.
“Well, don’t get too comfortable. We still have a job to do.” I walked back into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Bottled and canned food line
d the racks, but a fingerprint scanner locked the plastic cover. Paranoid about food theft? I thought about it some more. No, probably scared about poisoning.
“Wow, check out this view.” Hiro motioned toward the windows where the belly of the city fanned open in burning lights clashing against dark metal. I walked over and glanced down at the steep drop and vertigo clenched my stomach. I stepped back and sat on the coffee table, accidentally hitting a button that slammed the door down leading into the next bedroom. Both Hiro and I turned toward it.
“Wow, must be a trigger alarm.”
“He sure was paranoid.” I hit the button again and the door unlocked and opened. “Just be careful what you touch.” I checked the water in the kitchen. It was clean. Drinkable. I swallowed three mouthfuls before a rubbery taste kicked in. I spat my mouthful back out. I knew the taste immediately.
“Also, don’t drink the water.”
“Why?”
“It’s contaminated with D400.” As a kid, I stole some of the D400 from my parents to try it out. One glass of the expensive drug riddled me with migraines for hours. Lisa was so furious she had slapped my face so hard it scarred my eyebrow.
“So, this Fitzgerald guy, what did he do?”
I walked back into the lounge to find Hiro flicking through some of Fitzgerald’s old paperwork.
“He worked on the new XCELL drug with McKinnon.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know a lot but I’ve been told the XCELL is a toxin that eats part of the human brain, pretty much destroying the user’s personality, ambitions and turning them into mindless slaves. They plan to switch the current D400 drug with this new XCELL one. My guess is to better control the masses. With McKinnon’s knowledge maybe we can reverse engineer a drug from our Soulless blood in an attempt to find an antidote or at the very least, destroy the XCELL so that it can’t be released.”
Soul Finder (The Immortal Gene Book 2) Page 16