by Jones, Raya
‘What for? Now I am.’ I spotted the man that had let me use his cabin making his way down an escalator. I put on the headband and activated the camera. He threaded his way through the crowd towards the domestic terminal. He appeared to be alone but I suspected that his associates were discreetly around him. He wasn’t near us in Clay Valley when I spoke with the security officer via June, and yet he knew all about it.
‘This is history in the making!’ Freedom enthused. ‘What are the chances of another new star system opening up in your lifetime, Ivana?’
She stood between us, anxious and furtive, and didn’t say anything.
Within a generation the new star system will be just like Ronda. Most of the emigrants were miners being relocated by their corporation. Many will perish in bloody wars between mining corporations fighting for the richest sites. History repeats itself. ‘The species goes on milking world after world to sustain our addiction to technology,’ Freedom declared.
‘You’re reciting your lectures again,’ I muttered.
‘You’ve noticed! Have you read them? It’s a famous quotation, I can’t remember who…’
I told him the source.
Ivana turned to me. ‘Is there anything you don’t know?’
Freedom answered on my behalf, ‘What he doesn’t know he finds out.’
Ivana spotted something behind me. Her expression changed. I knew without turning that youths were congregating near a beacon of a smiley sun some distance away. Until that moment I wasn’t sure whether Ivana knew about the ET competition. She announced, ‘I’m going now. Thanks for everything, guys.’ She hugged and kissed Freedom, who reciprocated heartily. He winked at me over her head as if to say, our sprite problem is over. He asked, to make sure, ‘So this is goodbye and farewell, my dear?’
‘Yes. Thanks for everything. You’re great, Freedom.’
She disengaged from his embrace and turned to me, unsure what to do. We hardly saw each other during the journey, and spoke very little when we did. ‘You especially, for what you did. Thanks.’
‘Go ahead, give him a hug,’ Freedom encouraged.
I shook my head, ‘Not yet. You’re staying with us and we’re taking the shuttle.’
‘No, I really must go now. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, Al.’
I blocked her way. ‘You’ll forget everything that’s dear to you if you’re unlucky to win the ET competition.’
She tried to push past me. When she couldn’t, turned to Freedom. ‘Tell him. He can’t stop me!’ Freedom shook his head. Ivana swung back towards me, angry. ‘You’re not the boss of me! You have no right to stop me! Let me go or I’ll scream you’re kidnapping me!’ Passers-by stared but moved on. Freedom urged her to listen to me.
I told her, ‘Ivana, what they’re doing is unethical. Do you see the two women in black who’ve just teleported there?’ I knew she could see them—and she knew that I couldn’t, since I didn’t turn my head. ‘I’m seeing them behind me through my headband,’ I explained. I had no idea who those women were, but told Ivana that they were CSG agents going to close down the competition.
‘But it’s my only chance,’ she mumbled, tears streaming. ‘ET will give me citizenship.’
I wiped her moist cheeks. ‘Let me show you something.’ I took off my headband and rested it on her head. The 360° camera transmitted kaleidoscopic streams of images directly into her brain. I gave her barely half-a-minute demo—and she was trembling, nauseated, when I removed the headband. ‘It’s the same technology that ET uses for experience gathering except that it will be surgically put inside your brain and you won’t be able to switch it off.’ I advised her to stay with Freedom and head for the shuttle.
Freedom nodded, reading the situation correctly. He didn’t know about the competition until now but he knew ET. He also knew that the CSG had no powers to stop the competition. There was no Code violation. The agency protects the consumer. Nobody protects people from being exploited for product development. Freedom put his arms around Ivana. She buried her head in his chest, sobbing. I left them.
A banner under the smiley sun gave directions to a location near the ground terminal. Youths were still arriving, some of them too young to be granted citizenship. I called spaceport security, identifying myself as Jexu Jiu, and informed them that I was about to dismantle this beacon. I started even as I spoke, tracking its source to a company that rented out advertising space in public places. ‘When they complain, direct them to me,’ I told the duty officer.
‘Gladly,’ she said as if thanking me.
The sun and banner flickered off. ‘You’d better warn Section-9 security that they’re going to have a situation on their hands. Hundreds of kids with nowhere to go,’ I advised. She replied that all security agencies were already on alert since they anticipated many losers in the competition, kids with nowhere to go. She added, ‘Can we go off the record?’
‘I haven’t put this conversation on record.’
‘I’ve had a feeling you didn’t. There’s no Code violation. That’s what your agency said when parents petitioned to ban the competition. ET has hired a hangar owned by a black market boss. The security consortium doesn’t have any jurisdiction there.’
‘There’s no law stopping you from going there to keep the peace.’
‘We are being stopped. We are under explicit orders not to interfere. It’s going to turn ugly, isn’t it?’
‘Already is. Who owns the hangar?’
She told me, adding, ‘If there’s a legitimate security concern, such as the property owner requesting assistance, we’ll be there like a shot. Give me a personal call. Good luck.’
Port security guards were rounding up unaccompanied teenagers at the gates to the domestic flights. They couldn’t legally detain them, but they could delay them with bureaucracy. When the youngsters protested, the guards arrested them for being confrontational. It was all they could do by way of rescuing them from the competition.
I boarded the shuttle at the last minute and booked into a communication booth.
Afterwards I started looking for Freedom and Ivana. Halfway down the aisle I noticed the man who had let me use his cabin. He sat with his arms folded and looked bored, surrounded by vacant seats. This was a fortunate turn of events. It saved me from having to seek him out in the Backs. I sat down next to him. ‘What makes you think that this seat isn’t taken?’ he said.
‘It is now.’ We didn’t exchange names earlier. ‘I’m Jexu Jiu. I know three of your identities. What would you like me to call you?’
‘Ricardo, it’s my tribal name.’ It was a friendly gesture.
‘How come you’re travelling alone, Ricardo?’
‘I’m not. My associates are discreet. Did you imagine gangsters strutting around with armed bodyguards? That’s not how we do business. I’m not on the Register and not bound by your Code of Practice,’ he explained with strained patience.
‘I’m not on CSG business. I want to buy something from you.’
‘I’m listening.’
The seats were equipped with a privacy shield that scrambled our voices. I switched it on and told him that I wanted to buy the hangar where ET held the competition. He let out a soft whistle. ‘You must be joking. What can you possibly offer me?’
‘Let’s agree terms and conditions first. I’d like you to make the sale effective immediately so that I can evict them.’
‘Are you much smarter than you look or extremely stupid?’
‘You’ll be the judge of that, Ricardo. Let me guess: ET offer you a leak of merchandise on top of a handsome rent. But you’re going to lose your supplier. The CSG is already on their case. We can’t do you for buying, but supplying to you is a Code violation. If you sell me the hangar, you’ll have it back for half of what I’m going to pay as soon as the ET competition is aborted.’
He sighed. ‘Let me tell you some facts of life they probably don’t teach at your academy. Corporate society needs the grey eco
nomy. We balance each other out like black and white. Your agency will plug this leak and another one will open up. I appreciate you’re trying to stop the competition, but I’m not going to burn my bridges for sentimental reasons. Out of curiosity, how much were you going to pay me for the hangar?’
‘Two.’
‘Two what—hundred, thousand? I don’t start negotiating below a million, and you don’t have that kind of money.’
‘Two cents. I’ll pay you two cents and you’ll buy it back for one. Your profit.’
When his laughter subsided, I told him that it was for the sake of having a record of the transaction.
‘So what’s your real offer, backdoor agency information?’ He sounded almost hopeful.
‘No.’
‘What are you putting on the table?’
‘Your sister alive.’
He paled. ‘You can’t bring her back to life.’
‘She’s not dead.’
Her pattern was stored by 1Step Teletek. That was what he had wanted me to check out. He didn’t tell me she was his sister, but it was easy to find out. He’d been told that she couldn’t be downloaded alive due to a transmission error. He wanted them to release her body so that they could give her a funeral. I told him now, ‘I know what you’ve been told and I know what you were not told. There was no malfunction. Her pattern is intact. That’s why they can’t release a body. The moment they download her, she’ll be alive again. I wouldn’t be making you this offer if I wasn’t sure about that. I don’t know who wanted to remove your sister like that…’ His face told me that he probably had an idea. ‘Someone in 1Step is waiting for my call. I can contact them right now, and your sister will be home within the hour. Do we have a deal?’
Ricardo nodded, speechless.
I made the call. Ricardo called his family to tell them to expect her. Then he started retrieving documents for the hangar transaction. I closed my eyes, feeling comfortable with him. I imagined myself back in Ground Zero, sitting on the roof on a clear day, sitting there for hours, hearing the drone of power generators, air-traffic noise, the shrieks of gulls and dogs barking, the hubbub of voices and music rising from the yard.
The transfer of the deeds was duly registered with Ronda-6 Land Authority when the shuttle started its descent. Presently he had the call from home telling him that his sister arrived. I went away to give him privacy.
Moments later Ricardo found me by a porthole. ‘I’ve spoken with her,’ he blurted overwhelmed, his eyes moist. ‘I know who you are. You’re the one who balances things out, keeping things right.’
‘I’m not CSG,’ I said, uncomfortable.
‘Of course not. You’re the Unborn Other. The CSG protects consumer rights. You safeguard our soul. There’s an old legend in my tribe…’
‘I know it. But you’re a practical man, Ricardo. You know what I’ve done. I called in a few favours, made a few threats, and the rest is technology.’
‘How do you know our legends?’
‘I know the people tribe.’
‘I haven’t seen you around.’
‘It was on Earth. The people took me in and called me Al.’
He gasped, wide-eyed, ‘It is you! Yoko’s son. You don’t remember me, do you? I was visiting the Edges to get married. You didn’t stay long enough to know everyone. But we all know you. You saved my life. You saved all of us when you stepped out to go with the gangsters.’
Freedom and Ivana caught up with us in the foyer. They spotted me standing with Ricardo and his four associates. ‘Do you trust that man?’ Ricardo asked before Freedom was within earshot.
‘I trust him with my life, not with information.’ I told Ricardo that Freedom knew Yoko, and I didn’t want him to find out that she was my mother. That was one reason why I couldn’t accept Ricardo’s invitation to stay with the people. They all knew the legend of Yoko’s son.
The other reason was that before long ET agents might be looking to kill me. Ricardo and his people occupied a residential complex near the spaceport. I didn’t want to draw danger to their yard again.
As soon as Freedom and Ivana reached us, I told Ivana that Ricardo and his people will look after her. ‘So this is goodbye and farewell?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’
Ricardo said his farewell too. ‘Al, in case we don’t meet again, our tribe is everywhere. You might not recognise us but the people will always recognise you. We’ve known you since before the Apocalypse.’
His associates nodded vigorously, beaming at me. Then they watched Freedom and me walk away until we disappeared from sight.
‘Do you trust that man?’ asked Freedom when we were out of earshot.
‘I trust him with what really matters,’ said I.
We checked into the cheapest inn and entered a room identical to the one in Milkwood, except that it was grimy and the ventilation was poor. We sat down on the hired bedrolls to eat snacks from a vending machine. Freedom said, ‘Are you feeling an urge to talk? I’m sure listening.’
‘I don’t know where to start.’
‘You could start with how they knew you before the Apocalypse.’
‘I have no idea, it was before my time.’ I told him how the people took me in after my mother died and looked after me for a few weeks before Boss Ben found me. Freedom was not convinced that this was the sum total of my connection to the tribe, but gave up, opining that getting blood out of a stone would be easier. He suggested we accept Ricardo’s invitation to stay with the people.
‘We can’t. There’s a complication,’ I objected.
‘And just when life with you was starting to get simple!’
I told him about the hangar purchase and my plans. ‘I’m going to start the eviction motion now.’
‘Anything I can do?’
I rolled out the mat. ‘Nothing. Do you mind if I dim the light?’
‘Sure. I can sit in the dark doing nothing.’
In the darkened room, the faint illumination of my mat made his face glow eerily. ‘I might be an ET stooge for all you know.’
‘Are you in touch with your ex-wife?’ She was of an ET clan. It had been an arranged marriage, but didn’t improve relations between OK and ET.
He disclosed that she had called him, out of the blue, a week earlier. It was so cloak-and-dagger, it could be an OK spy movie. She booked a room in the Milkwood inn, and Freedom was supposed to drop a pearl there for her courier to collect.
I stepped on the mat. ‘It doesn’t take 9 minutes and 10 seconds to drop a pearl.’
‘Ah. You know. Well, I had to invent the story first.’
‘I must do this now.’ I logged in.
After registering with the security consortium for protection of my property, I sent the eviction order to ET. I gave them three days to clear out. Then I checked my mail. There was a text message from ET, dated two days earlier, in my Harvey Schmidt inbox. ET wanted a background check on Jexu Jiu. They read my terms and conditions, and made a reasonable offer. I replied that I’d take the case for 7% more, and almost immediately received their acceptance by an automated reply. An information file with a picture of me in Freedom’s house was attached.
Freedom sat doing nothing, his back against the wall and knees pulled up.
I stepped off the mat but kept the portal active. ‘Watch this,’ I said, sitting down next to him.
A mute video played. A young couple in perfect health scaled Ground Zero cliffs. They came to some level ground without sweat and laid out a picnic under an unrealistically blue sky. The five-second sequence started again, and again, and again, in an eternal loop. ‘Tell me what you know about Jexu Jiu, Freedom Cordova.’
‘That’s exactly what my ex-wife said last week, word for word.’
‘What do you know about Jexu Jiu?’
‘Right, well, he’s a high-ranking CSG Special Agent. He does deep undercover work. He came to cover for me when I was on an unofficial sabbatical, and stayed living with me until the gravity thing
amabob blew up my home. Now we’re travelling to Earth together.’
‘Why?’
‘I want to go back home for my retirement, and he’s coming with me.’
‘What will she read into that?’
‘That we’re lovers.’
‘So they know all about us,’ I laughed, punching him lightly. ‘They know we plan to marry in Ground Zero.’
‘What? You are very cheerful suddenly,’ he said morosely. ‘That really worries me. All my alarm bells start ringing. But no wedding bells. I can’t marry you, sorry. It’s not you, darling, it’s me.’
‘I’ve read your report.’
He had some strong swearwords in his idiomatic vocabulary, and now used several of them in quick succession. ‘You understand it’s only a cover story.’
‘If we had anything like that going, I must have been fast asleep. Doesn’t your ex-wife know you better?’
‘She knows me so well that nothing I do surprises her. How did you uncover that report so quickly?’
‘ET has forwarded it to me. I have another identity.’
‘Just the one?’
I told him about Harvey Schmidt and that ET wanted me to verify his account of Jexu Jiu.
‘I’ll be damned,’ said he.
What puzzled me was that ET should be interested in Jexu Jiu before Jexu Jiu became interested in them. I had found out about the competition by chance.
‘The universe is made up of quirky coincidences,’ declared Freedom.
By a quirky coincidence the man who owned the hangar owed me his life from fourteen years earlier. And that wasn’t the weirdest thing. If Ricardo didn’t ask me to check out 1Step about his sister, I wouldn’t have had anything with which to bargain. Aloud I said, ‘ET has an agenda.’
‘They want to recruit you,’ Freedom said matter-of-fact.
I switched off the deodorant advert. The mat’s glow dimmed, until only the LED light of the hygiene unit shone in the room. Unpleasant door of disinfectant lingered. Freedom smelled of perfumed aftershave. ‘I’m listening, Freedom.’