Meyer smiles. "Then I don't really need to tell you what the quote means."
That smile is definitely growing on me.
The sun sinks, casting a pinkish orange hue across the sky.
He checks his watch again. "Care to view the broadcast with me?"
"In here?"
"Sure. It will auto play on your media viewer in your unit, but we have access in here, too." He gestures to the dry earth behind us. "Have a seat."
"I'd rather watch the sunset, but I guess that's not an option," I grumble lightly.
Meyer laughs. "No… no, it's not."
I plop onto the ground and tug at my skirt in an effort to cover my ankles. Meyer doesn't notice. He's messing with his Flexx to bring up the announcement. As he joins me, the view changes into a giant Direction logo.
My stomach sinks. The sky looked better without it.
Direction's logo blips out of sight and Director Manning's face fills the sky, making me draw away. The camera pans back, and he sits at a sleek, white desk with a sterile white background. He's clothed in a white smock, a nod to the fact he's a Science Director. A smug expression reminds us he knows best, that he's the Director, the top tier of intelligence, and should not be questioned.
His icy gray eyes peering down over those watching send a shiver down my spine.
"Citizens, it has been Direction's goal for over thirty-five years to focus on strengthening intelligence, since our world population was robust enough to do so. This has meant sacrifice for the greater good. Fortunately, developed intelligence has evolved our nano and MedTech, providing optimal health and stability for our society through the sacrifice of pruning our population."
Manning's fingers gently tap on the desk and he forms balls with his fists to stop them.
"We have reached the point again where adjustments have become necessary due to dissenters who plague the population of Elore."
My hands dampen as he speaks of Affinity. I look over at Meyer, whose wide eyes stare toward the vid.
"We will not allow the Affinity terrorist group to destroy the exceptional future Direction lays before us. As of this afternoon, the latest round of vaccinations is completed at each level. Not only does it protect the citizens from the potentially life-threatening viruses spreading outside our city—"
"A lie." Meyer shakes his head. "No serious viral threats have surfaced in the Outerbounds for over ninety years."
Before a couple weeks ago, I'd never believed Manning to be outright lying to us.
"Each citizen's and child's internal nano system has been upgraded as a safety precaution. The new technology has the ability to control the nervous system, and as a result, those suspected of consorting with any terrorist group will be unable to move, or will remain 'suspended', until a team can arrive to retrieve them."
Fear cyclones through my body. I have this tech inside me.
"Affinity has forced our hand, so we do this for the safety of the people of Elore. We must begin a draft. When curfew lifts tomorrow morning, Level One citizens and children will have ten hours to report to a dispatch center on each block within their sector. From there, they will be evaluated to either join the new Direction Preservation Force, the DPF, or will be sent home to await future instructions."
On the screen flashes a digital image of multiple male and female soldiers in tan, camouflage-style uniforms. Displayed on their chests are letters DPF.
"Level Ones, we thank you for your sacrifice. As a show of our gratitude, if you, or someone in your family, is chosen for the new DPF, you will receive a fifteen percent wage increase. Levels Two and Three will continue as usual, following prior instructions to report any suspicious behavior via your citizen's account or app until further notice. Guardian drones will assist in Level One to maintain order. Until further notice, any business or scheduled family visitation is prohibited in Level One for Level Two and Three citizens."
Then he repeats the instructions from earlier in the day, that we must all log in to our accounts and answer a series of questions concerning the broadcast.
"Cooperation is the key to humanity's advancement."
The vid blanks and returns to the logo. I turn toward Meyer, numbness setting into my limbs. "What does this mean for us?"
His breathing is quick, and by his expression, I can tell he's trying to work through the news. "They're using the VacTech to control Level Ones and turn them into an army. Their goal has always been to phase out those with lower Intelligence Potential anyway, and this is an easy way to fight Affinity and rid themselves of Level One at the same time."
I gasp. "Is that true?"
"They did it with the viruses."
"Bess," I whisper. The thought pierces me. I still have a hard time letting go of the fact she allowed Ben and me to be a part of the experimentation to raise our intelligence potential. My head knows she probably had no choice, but my heart wanted her to fight harder for us.
"Your bio mother? Is she a Level One?"
"Yeah, but I can't see her being made into a soldier. She's not that strong."
"SI's aren't running everything yet. Direction still needs Level One for lower-level jobs. Hopefully, it can buy her time. But if I'm right... I don't know." He starts to dart his eyes around. He must see something in his EP I can't.
"Are you safe?" I ask, my heart racing.
Meyer frowns and touches my shoulder lightly with his hand. "Avlyn, I may not see you for a while, but I meant what I said the first time I contacted you."
I wrack my brain. "Lose your life‒‒"
"And you might find it," he finishes. And then he's gone.
My body quivers with the thought.
I'm ready to find a life worth living, because it's not this one.
And now… time really is running out.
17
I pace as morning sun paints my living room. I didn't sleep a wink after that announcement last night. Thoughts and feelings swirl through me, churning with visions of going to war.
My head throbs. At least the beach sim was vast and peaceful. I should have stayed in there last night. In the real world, I'm confined to this cramped apartment with nothing to do but imagine how I'll die. Even the view does nothing for me now.
Lena's not home. Again. There's no reason for her absence lately, but she doesn't answer the door after I try knocking for the second time this morning, and Kyra wouldn't understand. So I can't message her.
I'm utterly alone.
The pacing doesn't settle me down, and I finally resign myself to my generally comfortable couch. This morning it feels like stone, and there isn't a spot worth sitting on. I distract myself by moving into my bedroom to work on the required questions for the broadcast on my viewer. From the living room, my Flexx makes a muffled chime, and at the same time a notification blinks in my EP. My heart quickens. It could be Meyer.
I leap from my seat and follow the sound. Where is it? The chime stops just as I pull the device from inside the couch cushion. My hands tremble as I fumble to see Meyer's message. The screen's blank, and I enter my code for the Affinity app.
My heart plummets into my stomach when I see that the message isn't from him.
Affinity,
I come to you with a heavy heart. Direction is advancing their plans more quickly than we anticipated, putting not only Level One citizens in extreme danger, but all of Elore. Time is of the essence.
Today at 8:15 am, we will hold our own announcement. It is imperative that you join us to discuss your futures and how Affinity aims to counteract Direction plans.
Below, you will find sim coordinates for the meeting location. If you do not have access to an EP, the gathering will be available via your Affinity app.
Adriana Ruiz
I copy the coordinates into the sim program. Still wearing the EP, I blink twice to engage. Who cares if I'm thirty minutes early? The meeting location has to be better than this reality.
When my eyes adjust, I'm met with an amphith
eater, row after row of stone benches curving around to form the meeting place. Below is an open grassy space with a podium in the center. There's space for at least a thousand people. It seems like a lot at first, since congregating like this would never be allowed in Elore, but when I think about it, I'm not sure a thousand will be enough. Ten times that could be drafted from Level One, and I don't even want to think about the Guardian drone force.
Even in the sim, the headache I have in real life worms its way through my temple.
How will we be able to do anything against Direction? They have more people… more weapons.
After about twenty minutes, a few people have arrived and are scattered throughout the seats. I squint and lean toward those milling down below, trying to will away my negative thoughts.
Do I know anyone? No. No one's familiar.
From my EP, I see Lena has arrived. On the right somewhere. I turn, spot her, and wave.
"You weren't home last night," I say when she comes close.
"Sorry," she says. "Had official business."
I don't press. "It's okay. I watched the announcement with Meyer instead."
"You did? In a sim?" Her lips form into a crooked smile. "So that's where he was."
The dulcet tone she uses makes me blush, and I'm not sure why. Heat burns up my neck, and I pull at my already high collar. But with thoughts of how Meyer left the last sim in a hurry, the feeling drops to my gut.
"Do you have any idea what Adriana's announcing?" I ask.
"Nope, no clue. But with everything going on, I'm ready to hear it."
More people blink into existence, and the amphitheater slowly fills. I go back to studying them, hoping to recognize anyone, but no one familiar shows up.
"Checking out the faces?"
"Yes."
"I did that too." Lena chuckles. "In my first sim meeting. You won't find anyone unless you're aware a person is part of Affinity and they're on your contact list. The program keeps their avatars unrecognizable."
"What do you mean?"
"See that guy?" She points to a young man with curly blond hair. "He doesn't appear the same in real life. Who knows? Might be a sixty-five-year-old woman."
I chuckle nervously. "A woman?"
"Yeah, the gatherings build a sense of camaraderie and unity, but Affinity still won't risk exposing people. They program the sim to keep identities obscure."
"Lena," I ask, looking around at the crowd, "do you really think we have chance?"
She gives me a sad smile. "I have to."
"Outerbounders and citizens. Members of Affinity."
Our heads snap forward as Adriana Ruiz's melodious voice rings out into the amphitheater. She's a petite woman, close to Kyra's size, but older, perhaps in her sixties. Her boots are worn over a tan, form-fitting uniform, and she holds her hands behind her back. The jumbled background noise of people's conversations dies out as everyone stares toward her figure in the middle of the arena at the podium. A projection of her face also fills the sky.
"Thank you for joining us on this somber occasion. It was always our hope Affinity could make changes in the Direction Initiative with little to no loss of life. Without the use of violence. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be a reality. Manning is increasingly becoming more dangerous, and is threatening the lives of the citizens of Elore." She pauses. "It's time for us to choose a new Direction."
As she says this, the crowd, including Lena, goes wild. People stand, shouting, cheering, and pumping their fists in the air. The chosen phrase is ironic, and she knows it.
Instead of standing, I sink back and grasp at the hollow developing in my stomach. This is so backward from anything I've experienced. Citizens aren't loud. They keep to themselves. They don't throw fists in the air. They keep them to their sides. I'm suddenly dizzy, and my stare locks onto the white knuckles of my interlaced fingers.
From the right, people have begun chanting.
Choose a new Direction.
Choose a new Direction.
Over and over. The arena fills with voices shouting in unison. Affinity has a war cry.
I want to be excited along with everyone else, but with Meyer missing, all I can think about is his words.
Lose your life and you might find it.
I may actually die for a new direction to become reality. All these people might have to die. If Direction is blowing up their own people, there's no way they'll take mercy on traitors. A steady stream of air releases through my nose.
Ruiz raises her hands and a hush falls over the arena. Whispers continue, but then fade as people sit again. Ruiz opens her mouth to speak, but then closes it and drops her chin. After a moment of silence, she breathes again, and she lifts her head. Her face is serious, but her soulful eyes project a sense of bravery.
"But seeing a new Direction come to fruition will take sacrifice. The loss of life could be great, and this reality saddens me deeply. We have asked for assistance from New Philadelphia, but so far they have refused our requests. It's a loss, but one we will handle."
What's New Philadelphia?
"For the time being, those of you in the Outerbounds will meet with your team leaders for instructions. Those working undercover in the city should await further information.
"Affinity holds these truths to be undeniable. Everyone is created equal. They are entitled to certain intrinsic rights, including life, freedom, and the quest of happiness. With the dedication of each and every one of you, Elore can choose a new Direction."
At the end of the speech, she smiles tightly and exits. The crowd, including Lena, jumps to their feet again in deafening applause. Echoes of the chanting "Choose a new Direction" fill the stadium again.
I grab her shoulder and pull her toward me. "Gotta go. I'm exhausted." I am tired, but it's mostly an excuse to get out of here.
Lena nods and places her hand on top of mine to give it a squeeze. "Get some sleep," she half yells in my ear.
As she releases me, a pang of fear zips through me. The idea of losing all the people I love and care for in this mess becomes too much of a reality.
Love.
The thought of the word burns through me while I blink twice. Hard. I blip out of the sim.
When my eyes flicker to my desolate apartment, the sense of Lena's touch vibrates over my skin. I reach to where her hand was, trying to hold onto the feeling of security. It used to bring stress because enjoying the presence of others was wrong. Weak. Even missing my twin was wrong. I was always terrified of being seen as emotional. Now love and friendship is the only thing that's going to make the risk I'm taking worthwhile.
I log in to the Affinity account from my handheld to check for my instructions. Nothing new has been added other than Adriana’s announcement. There's no message from Meyer either.
What if I could find him? He said he could track me. Maybe I can figure out how that works.
My stomach quivers as I secure my desktop system from the network, then link my Flexx and enter the Affinity app through my desktop system. Only a few minutes later, and I find a path into the program. No signs they know I'm in here yet.
It's not long before I'm searching for Meyer's information, but there's too much code to sort through quickly. I blink twice to activate my EP. It should make it easier to navigate, like VR at work.
But inside, it's not like GenTech's VR coding at all.
The space around me goes white. Breathtaking. The simple numbers and patterns of the code have morphed into something like stars in the sky, close enough to reach out and touch. My whole body vibrates with energy as I tap the code. Despite an annoying dizziness, a thrill starts to run through me.
I could get lost in this…
No. This whole process needs to be quick. Find Meyer and leave before they realize I've hacked in.
I use my handheld in the sim to find Meyer Quinn, and when it does, I'm caught in the whirlwind of the search. Every part of me breaks apart and reassembles, whisking me to his inf
ormation. A series of white storage containers presents along with a section labeled Recordings. I touch it and up pops a series of files, identified by date. I pull one and activate it. Meyer's voice sounds around me. Then a hologram displays what he sees with his EP when it's activated. I wave away the vid, feeling guilty for seeing it. This is something private. Although, it would be fun to watch one of the sims we did together.
Focus, Avlyn.
"Track Meyer Quinn," I say, hoping the program will respond to voice commands.
To my surprise, a file presents itself, and I touch it.
"Download program."
My vision fills with code.
Download complete
The program appears to work. On the right side of my vision, a small icon sits with his name underneath. To find him, I call up a map to the city.
Meyer Quinn Found blinks, then switches to an aerial view of Elore, marking the sectors within Levels One, Two, and Three. The tracker locks onto him in Level One, Sector D. Vitals and all. Just like he could see on me.
He's alive. Meyer's alive.
The excitement burns along the back of my ears, but with the need to get out of the program, I blink twice. I find myself sitting at my chair with much less interesting surroundings.
Meyer, can you talk? I message.
Nothing comes back.
I wait for something. Anything. But eventually my need for rest overrides my frustration, worry, and excitement. So, without changing clothes, I drag myself to bed for a nap. The map still shows in my EP, and I blink twice to turn it off. A ghost of the image remains.
If Meyer doesn't message back by tomorrow, I'm going out to find him.
The thoughts swirl away as a wave of exhaustion hits, forcing me into desperately needed sleep.
18
My eyes drift open to a blurry room and the vibration of my handheld on the corner of the bed. After a second, I blink to clear the hazy coating on my eyes and roll over to pat for the device. By the time I find it, the buzzing has stopped.
ONE SPOUSE PAIRING MESSAGE ADDED BY A. BARTON.
Configured: (Book #1 in the Configured Trilogy) Page 14