by Magus Tor
“Stop asking questions,” he said.
Aurelia quickened her pace to try and keep up with him, but the man did the same, preserving the distance between them.
“Go back to the hospital and wait. But no more questions.”
They were coming to the end of the alley now, and the man spoke only once more.
“Pick this up,” he said.
He reached into a pocket and pulled out an envelope. As he dropped it onto the ground, Aurelia had a clear view of thick scars on his wrist. There can be only one reason for that, she thought. The man was a Clone who had somehow erased his wrist numbers. She bent to pick up the envelope that he had dropped, and when she looked up, he was gone.
The alley let out onto a main boulevard just outside the hospital entrance. Aurelia shoved the envelope into her pocket and hurried inside.
She didn't open the envelope until she was safe in her living pod. And when she did, she felt bemused. Inside was a paper printout of a screen shot, showing an application for a guided tour of the Arena. It took her a moment to put two and two together. Then she pulled out her screen, found the appropriate icons, and filled out the application. She assumed that this was Zak trying to contact her, but even if it weren't, going to the Arena was no bad plan. When she was done, she rolled up her screen and checked her intercom messages. There was one from her parents but nothing from either Jonathon or Nicholas. Her time reader told her that she had a little over an hour before she was due at work, so she took the chance to nap. But she couldn't sleep; her mind was too busy to let her.
When she appeared in her office, Jason looked confused.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Er... well, I was going to work,” she said. Without her first coffee of the day, and after a sleepless night, she wasn't feeling especially sharp.
“You've been taken off the rota today,” Jason said, pulling out his screen to show her.
Sure enough, her name had been replaced by his as Acting Head of Trauma. What the hell?
Jason grinned at her. “Forgotten something?” he asked. “Important meeting you're supposed to be at? Presentation you're supposed to be giving?”
Aurelia shook her head. “I don't think so.”
She pulled out her own screen and checked her agenda. There in black and white was a message summoning her to the Arena. How had that happened so quickly? “Crap,” she said, for Jason's benefit. “I'm supposed to be at the Arena this morning.”
He laughed. “Got you doing the guided tour, have they?” he said. “Don't worry, it only lasts a couple of hours. They try and force everyone to do it. I think it's scare tactics, personally. Showing you how mighty the Military are and all that stuff. That, and the Elite that oversee the Clones are pissed that they're stuck with Clones and want everyone important to see what a good job they're doing in the hopes they'll get promoted the hell out of there.”
Aurelia shrugged. “Whatever. It can't be that bad, I guess. You're covering for me this morning—got anything you want me to look at before I go?”
He shook his head. “All under control. Oh, but before I forget, Elza was asking to see you yesterday. You should go up when you've got a minute.”
“She okay?”
“Yep, should be working tomorrow or the day after, I think. We've told everyone she had the flu, so there should be no questions.”
Aurelia smiled. “Good work.” For all the medical advances made in the last few centuries, simple colds and flus were still incredibly difficult to treat, mostly because the genetic makeup of the viruses kept changing.
“Go on, then,” Jason urged her. “Go see the pretty boys playing soldiers. I can take care of things here.”
“I know,” said Aurelia with a smile as she left. And he could. Jason was turning out to be a very competent med Worker indeed.
She arrived at the Arena having little idea of what to expect, but keeping her fingers crossed that she would find Zak, or that he would find her. She presented herself to a sec Worker by the main door and was told to wait. Within a few minutes, a tall, blonde Clone appeared.
“Hi!” he said brightly, holding out his hand. “I'm here to guide you on your tour of the Arena. If you're ready, let's go.”
Aurelia barely had time to shake his hand, let alone say anything, as she was whisked away through a pair of swinging doors. The Clone kept up a constant flow of chatter.
“Given that the Military Class are here to protect the Workers and Elite of both Lunar and Earth, we feel that it's important that we're transparent about how your soldiers are trained and educated....”
His voice droned on, and Aurelia found herself being dragged through training rooms and classrooms. Rows of young men sat or stood obediently everywhere that she went, drilled with robotic precision, answered questions in synch; it was like a well-oiled machine. But Aurelia found it spooky. Sure, Worker schools were places of discipline too, but here there was no laughter, no playing, no differences. She hurried to keep up with her guide, who just kept on talking.
She wanted to ask questions. She wanted to know where the small Clones were; she hadn't seen anyone under the age of around ten or so. She wanted to know what they ate, where they slept, how they felt. Were they lonely? Questions ticked around her head, but she guessed that it was probably for her own safety that the Clone kept talking. Questions like that could get her into trouble.
Finally, they had circled the Arena and arrived back at the reception area. But they weren't done. The Clone led her up the wide flight of stairs that she had once climbed with Nicholas, and she knew that they were going to the viewing decks that surrounded the parade grounds in the centre of the Arena. Still talking, he led her about a quarter of the way around the circle before stopping.
“Manoeuvres will begin shortly, if you wish to see them?”
His voice told her that she had no choice, so she sat on a bench and waited, though she had seen this show before with Nicholas. As the buzzer sounded and the Clones began trooping out, her guide sat beside her on the bench.
“I'm Zak,” he said.
She turned, but his eyes were fixed on the parading men outside, so she followed his lead and watched, speaking without looking at him. “I need to find Nicholas.”
“Why?”
“Do you know where he was?” she asked, needing to know how much he knew so she didn't waste time giving him information he didn't need.
“In custody with Jonathon Hansen,” the Clone replied promptly.
Good. She was glad she didn't need to explain. “He escaped last night. We had planned to help him get to Earth and protect him whilst he was there, but for some reason he felt it necessary to break out and go off alone.”
“Why do you need to find him?”
That was a good question. Why did she? She swallowed and thought. “Because if anyone else finds him first, he's going to be in trouble,” she said, honestly.
She assumed at this point that Jonathon had already reported Nicholas missing, in which case sec Workers would already be hunting for him. The Clone beside her was quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning the soldiers below him.
“Nicholas told me to trust you,” he said finally. “But why?” He sounded curious rather than suspicious.
“Because I've helped him before, I guess,” said Aurelia. “And also because, well, because he loves me, I think.”
“But you don't love him?” Again, his voice was gentle and curious.
“Not in the same way,” she admitted.
“It's rare to find a Worker that will return our love,” the Clone said, his voice sounding strange.
“But you know one, don't you?” It was a wild guess on her part but one that hit home.
“Yes,” said Zak. “My wife.”
He’d used the old fashioned word for pair mate, one that Aurelia hadn't heard for a long time.
“That, you see,” said the Clone, turning now to look at her, “is why Nicholas trusts me.”
Of course, pairing with a Clone was absolutely illegal. They must have an underground pairing, a life of secrecy, of barely meeting. Aurelia's heart ached when she looked into Zak's eyes. How hard must it be? She couldn't imagine. Would she feel the same if she were forbidden from being with Jonathon? Yes, she thought, I would. She'd do whatever was necessary to be with him, even if for only a few moments. Zak nodded at her, signalling that they'd come to an understanding, and she was glad that she'd been honest with him.
“What do you need from me?” he asked.
“I need to know where he is so that I can talk to him.”
Zak furrowed his brow. “But I don't know where he is. He hasn't contacted me, and he isn't likely to. I spend most of my time here at the Arena, which makes it difficult to get any kind of privacy.”
Crap. She'd just automatically assumed that Zak would know where Nicholas was. She bit her lip, thinking. “Okay, then, do you have any ideas about where he might be? Where he could be hiding?”
Zak shrugged. “There are hundreds of places in Lunar to hide, but none of them will last too long if people are really looking for you. And I guess that Nicholas is already being hunted?”
Aurelia nodded.
“If he's in Lunar, then he'll be found within the next day or so. It's impossible for you to check every hiding place. There's only one of you, and there are thousands of sec Workers,” he pointed out.
He was right. Even with purple-haired Tara helping her out, there was no chance of her searching hundreds of places. Her stomach felt heavy, and she was almost ready to give up. But she couldn't; she couldn't leave Nicholas to his fate.
“Where would you go if you were him?” she asked desperately.
Zak turned back to the Arena grounds, where long rows of men were snaking in and out of each other, creating a mosaic of complex patterns. He frowned as he thought and was quiet for several minutes. Just when Aurelia thought that he had forgotten her, or was unable to answer her question, he cleared his throat.
“I think if I were him, I would go Out.”
The word obviously had a capital letter; she could hear it, though she didn't know what he was talking about. “Out?” she asked.
Zak nodded. “If I was being hunted and wanted to avoid being caught, then my first instinct would be to go Out. You've less chance of being spotted, though the risks of living are higher, of course. It's a delicate balance, but I think Out would be the best bet.”
“And what is Out?”
He turned to her again, in surprise this time, and when he spoke it was like he was explaining things to a young child. “You know, Out—on the surface, Out from under the dome.”
Chapter Four
Aurelia's heart raced. It was the first hint she'd had of where Nicholas could possibly be, and instinctively she knew that Zak was right. Out. The Clones on the parade ground were beginning to form back into lines, preparing to exit the Arena.
“How do I get Out?” she asked.
Zak looked at her and shook his head. “You can't,” he said simply.
“But Nicholas did, or maybe did, so how did he do it?” There had to be a way for her to get to him.
Zak shrugged. “I don't know. But I do know that it should be impossible. Besides, it's dangerous out there.”
“I don't care,” Aurelia said impatiently.
“You have no idea.” Zak turned to her. “Under the dome is safe. Everything here is safe. Out there, there are no guarantees. You need equipment even to breathe, and if that fails, well...” He shrugged again.
The Arena was almost empty again, and noticing the sudden quiet, Zak stood up.
“And that concludes the tour,” he said, back to his guide self. “Are there any questions that I can answer for you, ma'am?”
Oh, so many, she thought. Her head was full of questions, but she knew that he wouldn't answer any of them, so she shook her head and allowed herself to be led back towards the stairs.
“How can I contact you again?” she asked in a whisper as they approached the stairway.
“You can't,” he said, shortly. “I'll contact you if necessary.”
Smiling politely, he shook her hand in front of the reception desk, and then suddenly she was back in the bright light of day, standing on the busy street outside the Arena. What now? Slowly, she began walking back towards the hospital, thinking about leaving the dome.
The dome stretched above her, the colours almost white at this time of day, signalling heat, though the temperature was comfortable. She could walk outside in only her uniform, and she knew that this day was the same as any other day on Lunar. Unlike on Earth, there was no rain, no clouds, certainly no snow. Water was shipped up from Earth and filtered onsite. There was no winter or summer, though the lights of the dome reflected the seasons in that some days were longer than others. That helped to preserve the circadian rhythms of those who lived here. The first Lunar inhabitants had rapidly learned that these rhythms were more important than they had first thought. Without the right light and dark cycles, the body lost track of time, both eating and sleeping became difficult, and med Workers ended up handing out thousands of antidepressants.
And the air. Again, filtered and pumped into the dome. Did it smell different than on Earth? She hadn't really noticed. There was always a sort of metallic tinge to the taste of breath in her mouth, which could be from the manufactured air, she supposed. The carefully stored water she drank could also be to blame.
She reached the hospital and bypassed the front entrance, going instead through the rear gate, where she could head straight to her quarters and avoid seeing anyone. Once in her living pod, she kicked her shoes off, grabbed her personal screen, and curled up on the couch. Her first stop was research.
Accessing histories of Lunar was easy, and there were hundreds of them. She skimmed her way through a couple of intriguing titles before giving up. Lunar histories were about the city and nothing else. Next she tried a news search, running as many combinations of “Lunar,” “Out,” “Moon,” and “dome” as she could come up with. Nothing, but she hadn't really expected anything. News was strictly controlled everywhere, even here on Lunar, and if Out was not a place people were supposed to be, then Out was not a place that could be written about.
Idly, she searched the terms inside the hospital database, more as a thinking exercise than anything else, while she tried to come up with somewhere else to look. To her surprise, she got a hit. The resulting document was a research study conducted on scientists working outside of the dome. The only reason the search engines had caught it was because the slang word Out was used in the first sentence. Aurelia read through the report with slight interest. The study was well done, and the results showed that working Out for more than three-week cycles could be detrimental to health, which was more or less what she would have expected to find. What interested her most, however, appeared at the end of the report. The author’s name. It was Elza.
Alright, so it’s a small lead, but at least it’s something. If Elza had done this study, then she must have been Out at some point, making her the only person Aurelia knew who had done so. It was a start. Hurriedly she pulled her shoes back on and then, remembering that she hadn't eaten for Gods knew how long, grabbed a protein bar. Then she was on her way upstairs.
Knocking on the door, Aurelia had already decided to be honest with the woman. There had been too much suspicion between them lately, and Aurelia needed Elza's help. She felt sure that she would get it, if only because Elza still felt that she owed Aurelia something. She found the hospital head lying on the couch in her living pod, a distinct improvement from the last time she'd seen her, when she'd been in bed.
“How are you feeling?” Aurelia asked, out of politeness. She was anxious to get to the point of her visit.
“Much better. I was thinking about going down to my office tomorrow morning.” Elza smiled. “Take a seat.”
Aurelia gratefully sank into an armchair. She hadn't slept for
what seemed like years, and for a moment she thought of the stim patch that Elza had once given her with a pang of longing. She hadn't known then how addictive the patches were, but Elza had found that out the hard way. At least she was nearly back on her feet now.
“Elza, I have to ask you something.”
“Mmm?” The woman was keying instructions into her screen. “I'm just getting us a coffee, if that's okay? You have time, right?”
“Yes, sure. So, I read this study you did about the effects of working Out,” Aurelia said. “There's some stuff I need to know.”
Elza rolled up her screen. “Sure, I remember the one. It was a good study, got some good peer reviews. I was quite proud of it. What do you need to know? Tell me you didn't find any flaws!” She was smiling, though, sure that her scientific mind wouldn't have missed anything important.
“No, no, it's nothing like that. I need to know about Out,” said Aurelia.
There was a knock at the door, and a young hospitality Worker brought the coffee in. Elza thanked her, and the young woman left.
“I've got good reason to think that Nicholas is Out,” Aurelia explained, picking up her cup. “And I don't know anything about Out. You must have been there; what was it like?” She decided to keep quiet for the moment about her intention of going Out to bring Nicholas back, which she realised was absolutely her intention.
Elza shuddered. “It's awful,” she said. “Cold, dark, just a terrible, horrible place. You couldn't pay me enough to work out there like some of those mine Workers and scientists do.” She cradled her coffee in her hands, as if its warmth could stave off the cold memory of being outside the dome.
Aurelia sipped her coffee and waited. She hoped that her silence would prompt Elza into talking, and eventually it did.
“You have to understand, Aurelia, that I was out there with permission. I mean, I visited Workers out there, ran tests, went to government-sponsored work sites and mines. Still, it was brutal. There are a legitimate number of people out there. They live dangerous lives. Housing pods and amenities are usually under small, portable domes, and outside Workers wear breathing suits that protect them from the atmosphere. And those suits are never far away, even when Workers are under domes. Portable domes break down all the time, they leak, and you have to be able to jump into your suit within seconds, wherever you are.”