by Sara Bushway
"That's neat! What else do you have here?"
She plucked a little metal beetle from a basket. Where the wings would be was a large, clear marble could see through the bottom of the beetle. "This is a legibeetle," she said. "You put it somewhere on the page where you want it to start reading, and as it passes over the words, it says them aloud. When it gets to the end of the line, it scurries back over to the other side of the page and moves down to the next line automatically. It's also nice for small print if you're going to read something yourself. The marble works as a magnifying disc, so it makes the letters look nice and big."
Honey was impressed. "That's amazing! Who thinks of these things?"
"Someone who likes the idea of getting people to read more, that's who!" They shared a laugh.
He didn't want to seem bossy, but he knew he had to get back to the real reason he was there. "I'm looking for someone, and I was told they had been seen here a few times."
"We do get the same customers in here over and over again. I wouldn't be surprised if someone claimed to have seen them in here before. What sort of books would they have been looking for?"
"Ummm..." Honey was at a loss. He had no idea of what kinds of books an Andro or a criminal might want. "Perhaps...a book about...legality? Uh...maybe becoming a citizen?"
The girl nodded and brought her hand up to her chin to help her think. "Legality. Citizenship. Oh! I've sold something like that lately."
Honey beamed. "Really?"
"Yeah. Let me just get this out."
Could it have been that easy? Honey thought, but no. It wasn't that simple at all. The girl rifled around in the shelves below the register for a few moments, grabbing hold of something heavy and dropping it on the ground. Honey initially thought it was a ledger book and started to offer to help her get it on the table. Then she popped back up and pointed a gun in his face. Honey froze in fear.
"Guys..." he called out to the others. "I think I found her-It-Them..."
Andy and Torq engaged her from their respective sides, their weapons drawn and ready for action.
"If you come quietly, no one has to get hurt," Andy commanded. "Put your weapon down."
The Andro smirked. "Or I could kill your little cowboy here and now and take him with me to the other side. That's where I'll be going if you turn me in any way, right?"
Honey pled, "Please don't kill me."
Torq stepped closer. "I can't let you do that. Honey is a good man. He was never going to hurt you, not if he could help it. And, if you hurt him, I'll be forced to hurt you whether you come willingly or not."
The gun may have been aimed at Honey's face, but its eyes darted between the other two. Honey took the opportunity to begin drawing magic into his hands.
The book said some spells could only be used when in combat, Honey thought. Maybe now is the time to test that theory.
Honey dropped to the floor and brought his hands together, drawing as much magic as he could, as quickly as he could. Practicing with the ball had made it so much easier than it had been before. It used to take him several minutes to get a good, noticeable glow around his hands, but now he could achieve that same feat within a few scant seconds. When Honey dropped, so did the Andro, causing Andy and Torq to each find cover on their respective sides of the room. Honey knew she couldn't get him from behind the desk. It was solid oak wood with a thick clear-coated finish. The tiny bullets that the gun fired couldn't tear through both the doors and back panels of the desk.
How's that for stuff you can learn from books? Honey thought to himself. Despite his knowledge and bravado, the other two kept a watchful eye on him as he sat in the middle of the floor, preparing to summon lightning inside the doorway behind the target, hopefully forcing them forward and causing it to give up peacefully. Andy and Torq looked on as Honey's glow grew larger and larger. He stood up, folded his hands together with his index fingers poking out, as though he was mimicking the shape of a gun at the door on the back wall, and recited the incantation. He felt the electricity flow through him, from the top of his head, down to his toes, and throughout his arms to his fingertips, but that's where it ended. A little spark of electricity flickered at his fingertips and fizzled. Shock and embarrassment welled up inside him, and he doubled back to hide behind a bookshelf.
"Well, that didn't go quite as planned," Torq said. Honey blushed.
"I don't understand! I don't know why it didn't work!"
"Never mind that now!" Andy said and returned her attention to the Andro. "You have ten tics to step out and give yourself up, or else we will be forced to take you unwillingly, which may or may not involve some level of violence. The clock is ticking."
They waited for a few moments, and then they heard, "Never! You'll never take me alive!"
The three of them shared a brief look of shock. Usually, when people said that, it meant they were willing to do something drastic to keep from being caught.
She's going to kill herself! Honey thought. I have to do something!
Honey sifted through his pouches and grabbed a wad of bandages, some oil, and an ever-lite match. Then he plucked a bottle of water from the potion-holster on his belt and drank it down.
"Honey, what are you doing? There's no time for that now!" Torq shouted.
Honey ignored him and went about his business. He dumped some of the oil into the bottle, tore and twisted the bandages into a wick, stuffed it into the potion bottle, and struck the metal ever-lite match against its box. "Get ready to catch her," he whispered. "She won't like this at all." He lit the bandages and tossed the bottle at the door. It shattered into a million little pieces, as thin glass usually did, and the burning oil streaked up the door but only so much of it. Shortly after, the Andro began to cough and hopped over the counter, smacking her flaming shoe and dress hem to snuff them out.
Andy and Torq both pounced on it, ensuring they were no longer on fire before cuffing and running a chain from the cuffs to Torq's wrist. Andy, meanwhile, ran to the back, found some extinguishing powder, and used it to snuff out the fire. The door and floor behind the desk would never come clean again, but the wood had held up well to Honey's assault.
"A dirty tactic!" the Andro shouted. "You could have killed someone! You could have burned down this store and all of these books! How terrible!"
Honey sighed. "Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if I could have used magic - I'm sure this whole place has a protection spell on it to keep magic from affecting it--, but...that didn't work out so well for me." Andy and Torq shared a brief look of derision and began to escort the criminal out. When they exited the shop, there was a small crowd of people waiting there, including some local law enforcement.
"Is everything alright in there?" one of them asked.
"Adventurer's Guild, and yes, we found what we were looking for," Andy answered for the group. "There was no one else inside, but if there is a co-owner, you'll want to make them aware of the damage and tell them this shop-girl was not a girl and is, in fact, a wanted fugitive of the law. They can direct their questions to the Guild headquarters in Terra Heute." The officers nodded, their faces indicating they only understood about half of what Andy had said, and went inside to inspect the shop.
The adventuring team went to the church-and-state building and requisitioned an interrogation room. This was ideal because the room provided privacy, security, and quiet until they were finished and a quick means of turning in when they were done. Intake was just down the stairs and left down the hall from where they were. It was also much closer than their nearest outpost. Honey brought up the rear of the group as Andy and Torq marched the Andro into the church-and-state building. He was still reeling from the failure of the spell, unsure of how to respond. Sure, the wizard had said he had very little magical prowess, but it had looked so promising. It felt so real, up until it fizzled at the end of his fingertips.
What a bust, Honey thought. I finally had a chance to help them, really help them, and I blew it.
<
br /> He knew learning magic would be difficult, but this felt like a low point to him.
Maybe I am just some dumb guy who shouldn't be trying to do such things. Maybe I belong in Beaumont's House with the girls. Hell, they might have a better shot than me at this adventuring thing.
Chapter Twenty-two
After approaching one of the counters where the attendants stood behind thick glass, Andy and Torq led the way to the interrogation room they had been assigned. A man wearing a suit of dark gray plastic armor plates over dark clothing opened a door as the group approached. Honey had only ever seen guards like this inside of the church-and-state buildings and assumed they were some kind of special forces, sort of like modern knights. There was one guard outside of each interrogation room and occasionally positioned throughout the lobby after some major criminal activity had just happened in a nearby city or if the building was in a bad area. Honey took note of the three firearms he could see holstered on the man's back and belt and made sure to give him plenty of space so as not to make him nervous. The knight handed Andy a key and returned to his position beside the door. It was nice that Andy took care of all of the paperwork issues for adventuring, but sometimes Honey wished he knew more about what was going on.
Andy let go of the prisoner and locked the door behind them while Torq put it in the chair and released the handcuff from his wrist. He banged the cuff against a metal ring that peeked out from under the table, closing the cuff and pulling it tight to make sure the Andro wasn't going anywhere. It was secure.
Satisfied it was locked up in the room with them, Andy took a seat across the table from the Andro and folded her hands in front of her.
"Tell me everything," she demanded.
The Andro just stared. Honey missed those few moments when he had thought it was a girl, and she smiled at him when they talked about the devices back in the shop when her freckles seemed to sparkle a little in a way that made Honey blush a little bit. Now she looked like a caged animal ready to pounce at the first opportunity. It looked feral.
Andy banged her fists on the table once. "Tell me! You can tell me, and I'll provide a statement that you were compliant and deserve mercy. Or I can hand you over to them, and they'll beat the answers they want out of you and make you an example of what happens to those who don't cooperate with the government!"
At first, it held its ground, staring up at Andy with a burning hatred, but it seemed Andy's words had sunk in as it slumped in its seat and stared into the polished steel of the tabletop. It was crying.
Honey felt a slight pain in his chest. "Do we have to be so rough with her---it?" Andy and Torq looked up at him, clearly upset that he had ruined the moment. Honey continued, "Can't we come to some sort of an agreement that doesn't involve torture or anything? What could be so horrible we have to pretend that we're inhumane to get to the bottom of it? Why can't we just listen to her--it's side of the story?"
Torq cocked an eyebrow at him. Honey was sure it was because he was annoyed that Honey couldn't seem to keep his pronouns straight. They weren't looking at a girl. It was an it. Andros weren't just non-citizens, but they literally lacked the physical parts that denoted whether they were male or female. They were neither. They could have gender, an appearance, and likeness of being male or female, but underneath, they were as dolls. Blank. Neutral.
I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that, Honey thought, gazing apologetically at Torq and Andy. He had experienced many types of people in his previous line of work. Some were born as men but dressed as women. Some were women who looked and lived as men, even going so far as to have things they could wear and use to have sex like men. Some men wanted to be called a woman's name and even dreamed of having their spare parts removed. Others still were somewhere in the middle, living in various states of one gender or another at different times and places. He had served them all, just the same. It just wasn't important to Honey to judge someone based on that. It was much more important to judge them on their actions and honor. This "it" was no different to him.
Andy sighed. "Anything you could tell us would be useful," she continued in a more even tone. Honey was proud he had gotten through to her but was sure he would hear about undermining her position later. "Please tell us your story, and we will do whatever we can to make this process fair and just."
It looked up at each of them and sniffled. "I work for the Andros."
"Naturally."
It continued, "I am part of their outreach program. I get liberated Andros--"
"Runaways."
"--from Kage's enforcers, and I give them names, identities, clothes, jobs. Everything they need to pretend they are citizens."
"Why?" Torq demanded. "Are you all working up a plan to place yourselves in positions of importance so you can strike? When and where will the strike occur?"
"To live," it said. "Just to live. All we want is our freedom, to be people. We want to have jobs, pay taxes, see shows. We just want what everyone else has. No more, no less."
"So, you aren't part of Kage's forces who have set out to destroy government buildings and kill people until--"
"Kage is doing what he thinks is best," it said. "I am not part of that, but I do see where he is coming from. He tried to be reasonable but was halted from citizenship for want of checking a little box on a form. That's why we cannot be citizens. Through no fault of our own, we can neither check the little box next to male or the one next to female. That's why we are not citizens."
Torq stood. "That and the fact that you're glorified Nobodies. You were sold and bought, and the only way one of you gets free is that your owner is killed--probably by you. You have no rights."
"By what means, though? Why is it my fault that I was sold as a child and bought by a woman who didn't want her man to look upon me or have me in his way? How is that my fault?"
"It's not," Honey said. "You're a victim of circumstance. Kage may not have been successful in getting through to anyone using peace but doing what he does makes him a bad person. What he does makes the rest of you look bad. That won't help you with your cause."
It nodded. "Then who am I to serve? Those who would steal my parts and identity or he who would kill and die for my freedom?"
Honey was stunned. He couldn't imagine being in her situation. As bad as people claimed he had had it, he never felt like he had been in such a terrible position as that, not even with that lady contortionist who insisted on her hour being spent inside a trunk with him.
Honey cleared his throat to give himself a moment to think. He didn't want to sound stupid, but he had to ask.
"Um. Why can't it all be settled peacefully?" He glanced at each of his teammates and the Andro across the table. "I mean it. If they want to work and be productive members of society, what would be so bad about letting Andros become citizens if they--err, Kage--promised to stop being violent?"
Andy and Torq shared a glance and sighed together.
"Honey, it's not as simple as all of that," Andy said. "Much of our economy is rooted in the buying and selling of Nobodies. It's what saved us from all being destitute. True, none of us grew up with silver spoons in our mouths but imagine how much worse things would have been if our economy was based solely on imports and what little we produce here. Much of the lands that used to be farms are still dead. If we turned Andros into legal citizens, the rest of the Nobodies might see their success and start being violent too."
Honey shrugged. "So free them all." Andy pursed her lips in frustration.
"There's more to it than that," Torq replied. "It's hard to explain, but we can't overturn the entire economy because one Andro thinks it's better than everyone else."
Honey was appalled. "Since when did money become more important than people?"
"Since politics began," the Andro quipped. "There's always someone being held back from their freedoms. It's just a matter of who and for how long in order to get the votes needed to keep someone's pockets full of coins."
&
nbsp; Andy leaned in close. "If you want help, we'll help, but first, we need to know some things. Where is Kage planning the next strike?"
"I don't know."
Andy stared at it. "You don't know?"
"No," it said, shaking its head. "I'm not one of his generals. I just run the transition train."
"His?" Torq asked.
It shifted in its seat and looked up at him. "Kage has adopted the male pronoun, both because he is masculine..." It paused for a moment to clear its throat and blush. "But he also has decided upon 'he' because 'it' is demeaning, and historically, the male pronoun stood for more than just a single man. 'He' is the word used to speak of mankind as a whole. Kage seeks to unite all people, so the collective he is appropriate."
Torq blinked at it. "So, you all want to be called he?"
"I can't speak for anyone other than myself," it said, "but I much prefer 'he' to it. Someday, I would like to be 'she,' but I'm sure you won't grant me such kindness."
Honey was taken aback. "Why wouldn't we? What does it matter to us which pronoun you prefer? Sure, you're still breaking the law, but calling you 'it' doesn't help us in any way. You will be 'she.'"
"No," Andy said. "No. You are not a legal woman. You are not a legal person. You are property that has run away. When Kage stops this madness and sits down with someone to settle this peacefully, you can all go by whatever names or pronouns you like."
"What's your name?" Honey asked, a little less demanding than Andy would have liked, based on her scathing glance.
"Buttercup."
"Buttercup?" Torq asked. "What the hell kind of name is that? Didn’t your owner give you a name? You replaced somebody."
"I don't go by that name anymore. I didn't ask for it, and I don't have to be called by it anymore."