by Ramona Finn
I shake my head. This is something I have no idea about. “Could be, without the AI, the Techs will be more like…well, like Rogues. Or…” I can’t finish the sentence. I don’t know how closely the Techs are connected to the AI. I have seen the AI control the Techs, force them to chase or attack us when we’ve been inside the Norm. But Glitches are Techs that have been thrown out of the Norm—that means the AI can disconnect and cut a Tech off.
But what happens if we cut the AI off from the Techs instead of the other way around?
Skye’s blue eyes become glassy. She keeps her fisted hands on top of her thighs and stares at them now.
Alis glances at Skye and shakes her head. “Skye, what matters is survival. You’ve felt the shaking. The world is going to shake apart if we don’t do something.”
I stare at Alis. I didn’t expect Alis to show such hatred of the AI. Is she thinking of Dat now and the others buried by the AI making the world shake?
Skye’s shoulders slump and her hands open. She stares at her hands and then looks at me and asks, “Are we going to have to get into the Norm again? How? It’s shut tight.”
It’s a good question. “I have some ideas—but I’m not sure yet. I can tell you, we’re going to have to hack some connects. And that’s not going to be easy. But I think the Glass Hall can help us.”
Skye tilts her head to the side, her long, blonde hair slips over one shoulder. She looks worried. Her forehead is creased and she glances from me to Alis and back to me. “Like last time?” She winces.
I don’t want to think about that last time in the Norm either. I’d almost died—and we’d lost Raj forever.
“Not exactly,” I tell her. “And I don’t think what we tried before of hacking the Norm will work again. We’re going to have to hit the Norm…and we’ll have to deal with the AI hitting back.”
“Drones,” Alis mutters.
“And Techs.” Skye nods. “The Techs came after us last time.”
“Yes, they’re under the AI’s control. They’re part of the AI’s repair system, just like the drones and scabs.”
Skye huffs out a breath then shivers. “Like we were at one time. I never really thought about what the AI was having us do—or that we were part of the AI. I just remember wanting to do well.” She glances away.
I remember that Skye once told me she’d been pushed out of the Norm because of having seizures, but I’ve never seen her have one. But I’ve seen her lock up in a connect—I know she has trouble dealing with lights in the virtual world.
I almost wish I could give Skye back the perfect Norm that she wants, but it’s no longer a place that is really good for her. This is her world—the same one that’s become my world.
I focus on Skye and tell her, “I’m going to try a hack to disconnect the Techs and the drones from the AI’s control.”
For a moment Skye only stares at me. It’s Alis who gives a small, shaky laugh. “You really think you can do that?”
Skye frowns at Alis and asks me, “If you can do that, what do you need me for?”
“You’ll be the one who goes in—if we can get in—to talk to the Rejects. We should at least warn them of what we’re going. They helped us. We owe them that much.”
“Get in.” Alis shakes her head. “You keep talking like there is a door into the Norm and we can walk up and open it.”
I nod. “Not a door the AI will open—that’s what we need the Rogues for. At least, that’s what Wolf is trying to get for us.”
Skye glances at Wolf. She is quiet for a long time, but then she looks at me and says, “Okay. I can talk to the Rejects.”
Alis folds her arms over her chest. “I don’t like this—everything sounds like it relies on the Rogues. That’s not good.”
I fix a hard look at her. “It relies on all of us. This isn’t something I can do alone. No one can. We’re all going to have to risk our lives—and most likely most of us will die. But the only other choice is to do nothing and die anyway.”
“That’s not much of a choice,” Skye says. “I still don’t see why we can’t just try to get back into the Norm.”
Alis glances at her. “You want to try for that, go right ahead. Just remember what happened to you last time, because I heard about that. You’re a Glitch, not a Tech. You’ll never be a Tech again, and you need to realize that.” Alis turns back to me. “So when do we get to hear the full plan?”
I shrug. “As soon as I know what it is—and if we have the help of the Rogues.”
Alis rolls her eyes over that. Skye gets up and walks away, and I wonder if she really will try to get back into the Norm on her own. I hope not. I don’t see how she can.
Glancing around the room, I keep thinking we just do not have enough of an army to strike at the AI. I count everyone and come up with just over fifty—and with the injured, another four.
Fifty-four—it seems so small. Impossibly small. I am not even certain that ten times that number could take down the AI, but maybe the small number is our advantage. The AI may think we are beaten down—or even killed in the shaking.
But if we could connect with the Tech—free them from the AI, or even use them against the AI—that would be an advantage.
But how?
The AI isn’t a stupid thing. Whatever else it might be, it learns. Once it senses any kind of attack, it’s going to come after us. We have to be ready for that.
And for drones.
I’ve controlled one drone before—could I control more? Will the Glass Hall really help me?
I’m not sure. Rubbing my forehead, I can feel my head starting to ache. I hope Wolf has found the help we need to make this work.
Glancing over, I can see it seems like the clan leader meeting is ending. Everyone is standing again. No one seems to be walking out, so it might be that Wolf was successful.
Wolf turns as if sensing I am thinking about him. His stare locks onto mine. His eyes seem very dark, more black than brown.
“Just go already,” Alis says and nudges my elbow. “We may not have a tomorrow.”
I glance at her and nod.
Standing, I head to Wolf’s side. He puts an arm around me and leans close. “I want to take you outside. I want you under the stars.”
I shiver. We should think of fighting the AI—but I am greedy enough to want this little extra time with Wolf.
Chapter Eighteen
Wolf leads me up and out of the Glass Hall. We come out to find it is early evening in the Outside. The sun has set, but the ground is still baked warm. I tug on Wolf’s hand and turn away from the shadows of buildings that once towered here. Now they seem more like twisted skeletons.
“Where are we going?” he asks.
“I want to be where I can see stars and smell the earth and the plants.” I lead him away from the Empties and to a place where there is only rock.
Sunlight still warms the sky, but the air is cooling. The night animals have not yet come out, so it seems still—not even the wind stirs the air.
I sneak a glance at Wolf as he walks beside me, still holding my hand. He glances around, checking for danger as is his habit—snakes in the rocks, drones in the sky, or even other Rogues. I let him be the one to track problems—I just want to enjoy. The ground is not shaking, the air is sweet and dry, the heat is pleasant but not too much. I don’t know if I will ever have this time again.
Looking back over his shoulder, Wolf asks, “What do you think this place was?”
Following his stare, I look at the outlines of buildings. For an instant, I see it as Dr. Sig must have—more glass and metal gleaming in the sunlight. The days getting hotter—the weather getting harder to predict. My heart stutters and I freeze momentarily, but Wolf tugs me over to a high spot where we have a view of the Norm. The dome seems to blot out the sky.
Forcing myself to relax, I say, “I think the Glass Hall was a place for research. I think this was built before the Norm—and to build the Norm, too.”
He
glances at me. “I first came to the Glass Hall with my father. Bad times had hit the Tracker Clan. We lost half the clan when rain washed into the tunnels. When we came here, we found Bird of the See Far Clan and a few others joined our clan to keep it going. The Glass Hall always meant hope to me.” The words come out slow, as if he is not used to talking so much. Turning, he fixes his stare on me. “I’m glad you could see it.”
Sitting on the rock, he pulls me down to sit next to him.
My heart thumps and my palms dampen. It seems as if my body heats with the warmth from Wolf. Wrapping an arm around me, he pulls me against his broad chest. I let out a sigh and rest my head against him. “We don’t have long.”
Wolf nods. “But we have agreement—or some of it. Mountain of the Walking Tall Clan said he would show what weapons his clan scavenged from the Empties. And Faun of the Sing-Songs said if Mountain will show his goods, their clan will also show what they have that is enough to make even the Fighter Clan cower.”
I give a snort. “Does anything make them afraid?”
Wolf tightens his arm around me. “The shaking does. That’s why they don’t want to stay here.”
Pulling away slightly, I touch my hand to Wolf’s face. “This feels like what we should have been doing all along—we lost so much time.”
He presses his lips against my hair. “That time got us here. But it makes it harder.”
“I know. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose this. But…I feel like I’m out of choices.”
He shakes his head. “There are always more choices. We just don’t always see them clearly.”
I laugh a little. “Now you sound like Bird.”
His expression softens. He pulls me close and covers my mouth with his. I can taste him and now I want more of him. I let my hands roam over his skin and slip under his clothes. Wolf seems to lose patience, for he pulls off my trousers and then his. Soon we are pressed skin to skin, my back to the warm, smooth rock, and stars overhead. Wolf joins his body to mine. His breathing quickens. Mine does as well. This time there is no sharp stab—there is just Wolf covering me and filling me and making me think only of him. His heart thuds hard against mine. His breath washes over my face. Again, this seems like a connect, but with more pleasure rushing through me. I give a cry and Wolf’s voice echoes my own. And then he holds still on top of me.
I want to keep him there, but he rolls to the side and pulls me against him. His skin is even warmer than the rocks now. I brush a strand of hair from his face and lean up over him on one elbow. “Do you ever think the AI could be right? That if the AI doesn’t take the Norm away and destroy this world, something will come looking for us?”
Wolf presses his mouth to my bare shoulder and says, “Sounds to me too much like the Fighter Clan. They worry too much too—another clan will take their territory. Food will run out. They have to fight for water. It’s always about fighting for them.”
“That does sound like the AI.”
I can feel Wolf nod, but it is dark enough now that I cannot see his expression. “Choices made from fear are always bad choices.” He touches my face with his hand. “That was why I had to look at you a second time. It’s good to be cautious, but too much of that and nothing ever gets done.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been too cautious. But…why would the AI be afraid. I think you’re right. The AI acts from fear—fear of the Rogues, of Glitches, of things going wrong. It seems to me all the AI does is look for problems it doesn’t really need to solve yet. Maybe that’s the alien part of it.”
His tightens his grip on me. “Or the weak part. You’re not weak, Lib.” His teeth flash white in the darkness. The moon is rising over the far mountains and the edge of the Norm. In the distance, the wolves that Wolf is named for start a howl that sounds both mournful and comforting.
He leans over and puts his mouth to mine again. It’s a small way of joining, of mixing close. I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him even closer. My body stirs, but I am still tingling from our last joining.
We break apart, and it feel as if it is too soon. But the night is coming and so is the cold. My skin puckers and I shiver. Wolf helps me find my clothes and dress. We do so quickly. I almost wish we could stay out here, just the two of us.
Taking my hand, Wolf starts back to the Glass Hall and he asks, “You were talking with Alis and Skye. They part of your plan?”
I nod. “Everyone’s part of the plan. It’s going to take all of us. But…well, I don’t want to really decide on much until we see what Mountain and Faun can show us. Do you really think they have anything or is it all brag?”
“Mountain doesn’t brag. Faun I don’t know about.”
“And Red Kite?” I ask. “I saw her talking with Crow. I think she’s trying to get Crow to come back to the Fighter Clan.”
Wolf nods. “That’s why the Fighter Clan is afraid. They’re fierce, but their numbers keep falling. A lot of mothers give their children to other clans. Red Kite knows this—she sees her clan growing smaller.”
“But she still doesn’t want to work with others. Sounds just like the AI.”
Wolf laughs. The sound is a deep rumbling from his chest. I smile, too. “Maybe Red Kite is helping us more than we know. Her weaknesses could help us nail down the same weakness that drives the AI.”
He shakes his head. “Red Kite is a person. The AI only thinks it is real. Remember that, Lib. You may want to relate to the AI with a name, but I think you give it more personality than it has.”
His words leave me wondering. Is he right? Do I see the AI more as a reflection of Dr. Sig and not as a machine—a copy.
I glance up at the buildings of the Empties—so silent now, so barren and dark. Children once played here and people lived here—but now there is nothing. I make a small promise to myself—I will not make choices from fear. And I will start to try and see the world exactly how it really is.
Chapter Nineteen
The next day we all head out early to see what Mountain and Faun have to show us. Mountain sends three of his clan to get the weapons he spoke of. Faun says the Sing-Song Clan has no need to get anything, but they do need an empty building far away from the Norm.
On the walk to the site Faun has chosen, we cross through the dusty Empties. The wind is up a little and everyone keeps glancing at the sky, looking for drones or for the stirring of a sandstorm.
I listen to Alis talk to Skye about what it must have been like to live in the Empties. It sounds to me more like Alis is remembering what it was like to live in the Norm. I do not have those memories.
I remember only from the time I was put in the Outside by the AI. And I have bits and pieces of Dr. Sig’s memories. I do, however, remember, going back into the Norm—it was green and the buildings had walls and doors and windows, but it was also deadly.
The day starts to heat up. We keep to the shadows as much as we can and at last arrive at a small, square building that has walls but no roof or windows or doors.
“This will do,” Faun says and nods to two of her clan. Each member of the Sing-Song Clan carries a deep pouch slung over one shoulder, and the pouches look full. The two Faun nods at head to the building. They lean over and seem to leave chunks of something around the four standing walls. Faun glances at Wolf and tells him, Mountain and Red Kite, “Better move your clans back.”
I don’t want to go back—I want to see this. Crossing my arms, I brace my legs wide and stay put. The Fighter Clan lounges in what little shade is left—the sun is almost directly overhead. The Walking Tall Clan takes a few steps back and glances around, almost as if embarrassed to have moved. The Tracker Clan closes around Wolf—we’ll do what he does. Wolf stays put, too. Faun shrugs, waves to her clan. The two at the building come running back.
A boom hits the air, the ground shakes and dust erupts into the sky. The Fighter Clan crouches and pulls knives out, the Walking Tall Clan hits the ground and most of us in the Tracker Clan are knocked to the
ground. It feels as if an invisible hand punched me in the chest.
I climb to my feet to see Wolf helping others up, Bird included. Dust still swirls in the air. Glancing at the squat building, I no longer see it. Just dust where it once stood. I stare at it and slowly walk over to where it once was.
A hole in the ground seems to be what is left of the building.
Looking back at Faun, I see her smiling. She looks pleased with herself—or with her clan. The others in the Sing-Song Clan group around her, most of them keeping a wary eye on the Fighter Clan, and I don’t blame them. Whatever Faun’s clan used to destroy that building is something I do not want in Red Kite’s hands.
Red Kite stands and walks over to Faun, her blade flashing in the sunlight. “What was that?”
“My grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmothers taught our clan of something called the black powder. My clan has learned how to gather the rocks to make it and how to make it stronger with distilling. It is ours and ours alone and we will never share the secret of how to make it. But we all can see we are in danger from this ground shaking, and if Wolf of the Tracker Clan swears we can stop it with an attack on the Norm, then the Sing-Song Clan will use the black powder.”
I glance at Wolf. He is staring at the hole left behind by the black powder. When he looks up, I know he must be thinking the same thing I am—is this powerful enough?
The Norm is not an empty building that is already half-fallen down—it is metal and huge. But even a dent in the Norm will be good. If we can damage the Norm, we can slow down the AI’s plans to leave.
We start back to the Glass Hall. Mountain has said to meet us back there. The heat beats down on me. Sweat sticks my clothes to my skin and I wish we had water enough to wash or bath—I fear I am starting to stink like one of the black beetles.
On the way back, Wolf comes up to walk beside me, and I ask him, “What do you think of the Sing-Song Clan’s black powder?”