by Dan Haronian
“Maybe I should speak to Rafel,” said Daio after a long silence.
“I don't trust him,” said Dug.
“He makes a lot money from every customer he brings us. I don't think he has anything to do with this.”
“You never know, maybe someone paid him more. One of our competitors,” said Dug.
“If one of our competitors wanted to hurt us they could do it directly,” said Daio.
“Maybe, but no one could hurt us as much as Rafel. He knows almost everything about our operation.”
“I cannot think of anyone else who can help. Rafel will do anything we ask of him if we pay him enough.”
“What do you want him to do?”
“I want him to get us out of here.”
“But where would we go?”
“I don't know, far enough away that we can figure out what to do next.”
Daio pulled out the unmarked telephone and entered Rafel’s number. Rafel was on the line few second later.
“Yes, I know the whole world is after us,” we heard him say.
Dug paced in circles. “He already knows,” he mumbled to himself angrily.
“We are in the city,” said Daio and listened to Rafel for a few seconds. “Okay, we'll wait for you in front of the bank,” he said and hung-up. He looked at us. “He said he will think of something, but until then he will help us hide.”
“How come he already knows?” asked Dug worriedly.
“Don't freak out Dug, why wouldn't he know, it’s all over the news channels.”
“I don't understand what happened. This must be a mistake,” said Dug. “Maybe we should talk with the police and clear things up. We didn't do anything that justifies this madness.”
“We built yellow boxes and we are involved with information scrambling,” said Daio and started to walk. “Come on we'll meet him in front of our bank branch.”
I heard what they were talking about, but I didn't really take it in. I was still fascinated by the things around me. Once or twice I wondered about the events that had finally brought me to the city. I couldn’t remember anything out-of-the-ordinary about the box I had just finished. I thought about Shor and for few seconds wondered if somehow it could have something to do with our situation. But then a building shaped like an upside down pyramid distracted me. When we walked underneath it I looked up and felt as if the building was about to fall on us. If this was the architect’s intention he did an excellent job.
Daio stopped at a food stand and bought carbohydrate and protein waffles.
“Chicken, beef and rice flavors,” said the seller in white apron when he pulled the waffles from the heater and handed them over. None of us had ever tasted chicken, beef, or rice to know how closely the taste matched.
I bit into the waffle with pleasure and licked the salty powder from my lips. I thought of all of the protein and carbohydrate cubes we sometimes bought and odd questions rose in my mind. Then the upside-down pyramid-shaped building returned to my thoughts and pushed out all of the questions.
We started walking again. Dug lead, Daio was behind me. We kept a short distance between us. Daio said it was safer. It was a long walk to the bank.
The roads were filled with cars, but the wide sidewalks were relatively empty. Daio told me that the sidewalks were built wide because it was once common for people to walk between the buildings. Years later the city had connected most of the buildings with climate controlled tunnels and large underground parking spaces. Soon, fewer and fewer people took the time to walk outside. The streets, Daio said, were left to people who were afraid of close places or had allergies. A few still sought out the warmth of Aion, the star of the planetary system. And there were the outlaws like us.
We stopped in the square in front of the bank. A few people were scattered around the cobbled common area. They all seemed to be waiting for something. I wondered if maybe some event was about to begin, or maybe they were waiting for the bank to open. Soon though the sights of the city again distracted me. The large open area charmed me. Daio was agitated. I thought he looked even more agitated than before.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“He is delayed,” he said not even looking at me.
I nodded, and looked at the bank entrance. Suddenly, it felt as if more people were crowding in around me. I turned back to Daio, but suddenly someone stepped between us.
“Daio Plaser?” he asked Daio.
Daio hadn’t even answered when someone stepped up from behind him and put a gun to his head. A big, shiny, black truck pulled up beside us. Several more people closed in and more guns appeared from nowhere. We were surrounded and pushed towards the truck. Someone shoved me against the side of the truck, and kicked my legs wide apart. Hands slid over my body checking for hidden weapons, and then dipped into my pockets to empty them from their contents.
They handcuffed us. The back door of the truck opened and we were pushed inside. A few armed people wearing black masks entered behind us and the truck started to move before we could even sit down.
“He has nothing to do with anything,” said Daio, indicating me with his head
“Shut up,” said the man in front of Daio and hit him in the face with the rifle butt. I looked at Daio. His nose was starting to bleed. He was trying to save me from this mess. After all, my name wasn't mentioned in the news.
Through the back window I could see two identical trucks following us. They were so close and followed us so precisely. It was as if they were chained to each other with transparent chains.
My head spun trying to think what we could possibly have done to deserve such treatment. I thought about our mother. Could all of this somehow be related to our flight from Taglam? We were outlaws because of that as well, but did it justify all of this? I lifted my eyes to Daio. His cuffed hands were on his bleeding nose. A connection between our mother and our present situation was an odd thought. The scenes of everything that had happened the previous night flashed through my mind, along with the image of the odd building we’d seen earlier. My mind circled back to my mother and our flight from Taglam years before. Then, somehow, an odd thought appeared and pushed everything else out.
There had been a detailed report in Shor about the military capabilities of several major planets. One of them was a planet called Mampas, on the other side of the galaxy. The report said that a lack of training and military action had left the Mampas army weak and degenerate. A rebellious desert tribe opposed the government of Mampas, but the rebels were too weak to be any real threat. I remembered there was a small comment saying that it would be possible to take over the interplanetary market around Mampas by force, and if Mampas resisted, a coalition could easily be formed with the rebels to take control of the planet.
Suddenly I realized that maybe I was not supposed to see any of that. Maybe this database was different from all of the others. Of course it was, I realized now. It could analyze data and come to conclusions by itself. Back then, I just thought it was cool, but maybe to other people it was far more than that. Mampas. Where was that planet anyhow? Shivers ran down my spine when I looked at Daio's swollen face. I wondered if maybe it was only me they were really after.
That didn’t make sense either though. Not only because I didn't like the conclusion, but also because it had been so long since my visit to Shor. I pondered these thoughts for few minutes. Could my evasions in the network be so good that it took them this long to find me? My pulse started to quicken. Other things I remembered seeing in Shor started to seep into my mind. I wondered what were they planning to do with this knowledge and what else Shor could do. Suddenly my face grew hot, as if the armed man had hit my face instead of Daio's. My pulse raced even faster. I wondered how I hadn’t thought of it before.
The truck entered an underground parking space and we were shoved out and led through a large steel door. We walked down long corridors until I lost all sense of orientation. We walked towards another steel door. There was a click w
hen we got close. The door slid to the side and stopped with a vibrating echo. We passed through the door and continued walking. The scene repeated itself several times until we noticed that the corridor itself was made of steel. Our steps began to echo as well. Steel doors were now all along the corridor. Except for a small slot at the bottom of each door they were completely sealed. A strong smell of trash was in the air when we passed one of the doors. It didn't completely disappear when we were ordered to stop. The steel door to our left slid sideway and stopped with a bang. They removed the handcuffs and pushed us into the cell. The door slid back with another bang that continued to echo in my head long after the noise had stopped.
A window with bars opened on the opposite wall. Fresh air began to fill the cell, gradually pushing out the bad odor. A bit to the left of the window were two beds, one above the other, hanging out from the wall. A ladder was on the opposite wall close to the edge of the beds so that prisoners could climb to the upper bed. A similar double bed arrangement was on the wall to the left.
To the right of the entrance door was a toilet that was blocked by a low plastic wall, a small sink beside it. Dug walked to the sink and opened the tap. A hollow noise sounded until murky water started to flow out into the basin.
“Wonderful,” I heard him say.
The small table and two chairs at the center of the cell were all bolted to the ground.
Daio sat down on the bed to the left, then swung his legs up and stretched out with a muffled sigh.
“So Rafel sold us after all,” said Dug.
Daio pursed his lips.
“That bastard has made so much money from us,” continued Dug.
“I guess he didn't make enough,” said Daio. His words sounded odd now because of his swollen face. He gingerly touched his nose. “I wonder who paid him?”
“How is your nose?” I asked.
“It's fine,” he replied.
“We must find a way out,” I quickly said.
Daio removed his hand from his face and gazed at me.
“Relax, you will be okay,” he said and gazed back at the bottom of the upper bed.
Dug closed the faucet when the water looked clear and walked to the small table.
“You are young, maybe they will let you go,” he said. “If they do, tell them you have an uncle that loves you who will be happy to adopt you.”
“I don't have any uncles and I don't need anyone to adopt me,” I said angrily. I looked back at Daio. “We must find a way out,” I repeated myself as if it was a magic sentence.
He looked at me again and sighed. Unwillingly he sat up on the bed.
“Is there something you are not telling me?”
I gazed at Dug, and then at him.
“I only think we need to find a way out.”
“We are locked in a cell deep inside the police building,” said Dug. “There are hundreds of yellow cops here, hundreds of doors, and who knows how many Flyeyes. You had better relax. We are not going anywhere.”
He said it slowly and loudly as if he was talking to someone with mental problems. It wasn't the first time. Dug had long before decided that I was slow.
Daio continued to look at me. “You are hiding something,” he said with certainty.
“I’m not hiding anything,” I said.
“So why are you so worried? You are still a minor. The law forces them to release you from custody. Maybe in the end this will be good for you.”
“I don't think so,” I said.
“Why?” asked Dug.
“I think they want to kill us.”
Daio stood up and walked towards me. He put his hands on my shoulders. “What happened,” he asked.
“They want to kill us, I just know it.”
“They want to kill us,” said Dug, “Not you. You are minor. Didn't you hear?”
“Dug!” Daio raised his voice and Dug walked angrily towards the wall that hid the toilet.
“Even if you scrambled information they cannot do anything to you,” said Daio and looked at me. “Don’t worry about us. Look at this place. There is nothing we can do.”
I removed my shoulders from his grip.
The sound of a hovercraft motor suddenly interrupted our conversation. We looked at each other surprised.
“That is really close,” said Dug.
Daio gazed at the ceiling. “We are outside. Probably in some kind of compound.”
The cell started to vibrate. I heard hydraulic engines start up and a few bangs shook the bars. High pitched squealing followed. It gave me the creeps. The noises suddenly stopped and then the hydraulic engines came on again. Next we heard the sound of steel hitting steel and another noise I could not identify. The cell started to vibrate again and the squeaky noises returned, then everything went silent. The hydraulic engines roared again and with them the sound of the hovercraft engines. We could tell the hovercraft was leaving. Its noise faded away to nothing.
“What was all that?” asked Dug.
“These cells,” said Daio, “I think they are detachable.”
“Detachable?” wondered Dug.
“They can be moved from place to place. I think they just lowered a new cell.”
I sniffed the air and walked towards the open window. “I think they emptied the trash,” I said and sniffed again.
"I can’t smell anything," said Daio touching his nose.
Dug nostrils expanded and he took a deep breath. “Great, they empty the trash,” he said. “I am glad we cleared this matter up.”
Daio chuckled. He walked to the sink, opened the tap and started to clean the blood from his face.
“How do you know they want to kill us,” asked Dug. “There wasn't a trial and not every scrambling trial ends with a death sentence.”
“It was in the network,” I said. I hadn’t had time to look but this was the only thing I could think of.
“What was in the network?'” continued Dug.
“After I removed your pictures, I looked deeper. They’re saying one of our boxes caused a lot of damage and they are going to judge us harshly for it.”
“And you manage do all this in just a few seconds? Change our pictures and names and still have time to find this?"
I didn't answer. Daio looked at me as he walked from the sink to the bed.
“I am not a liar,” I said confidently as I could. I couldn't tell Daio what was on my mind. I was afraid of him like a son is afraid of his father’s reaction to something really stupid he did. In addition, I thought there was still a chance for us to find a way out of this without me needing to tell them my suspicions. Besides, maybe it wasn't me after all.
We heard the lock on the door click open. It slid aside and two Flyeyes rushed inside. They moved fast, looking in every direction, then they hovered in front of Daio and Dug. A few seconds later they both flew towards me and hovered in front of my face. I trembled with fear. They both had a small lump at their bottom. I knew they carried a deadly gas that would kill us all in seconds.
A man walked into the cell and ordered them to leave. They awoke, lifted above me, and rushed towards the door.
“My name is Anigram, I am the chief of this detaining facility,” he said and gazed at each of us. “I assume you know why you are here?”
He walked and stood in front of me.
“You are Sosi,” he said and nodded. “Eighteen years old.”
“He is seventeen years old,” said Daio immediately and rose from the bed.
Anigram gazed at him with full contempt. “A bit too late to worry about your little brother, don't you think?” He looked back at me. “Usually at such an age the system tries to find you an appropriate vocation and maybe pull away the evil within you, but under the circumstances I doubt that it is possible.”
“What circumstances?” asked Dug.
“We'll move you from here in few days. You'll receive a closed trial. I assume you know why. You will have a lawyer but this is only a formality.”
&
nbsp; “Closed trial?” called Daio. “We are box traders! You cannot hold us accountable if other people broke the law by using them.”
Anigram walked towards him. “These boxes have only one purpose and it is forbidden.” He examined Daio's face. “You know, the difference between real and fake innocence is in controlling your facial expression, and as a professional information scrambler you should work on yours."
“I am not faking anything,” said Daio, “and I would like to know what we are being charged with.”
“The damage you caused goes beyond any use of regular or accelerated box. You caused an unimaginable damage to the future of Seragon.”
“We?” said Dug, his voice squeaked.
“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Daio.
Anigram gave him a blank look. He didn't really know what it was all about. The arrest report had contained only one line: "Arrested due to potential future damage to Seragon."
He’d seen countless arrest reports. They always had at least one paragraph explaining the crime, never just one line. Either someone high in the government was eager to put his hands on them for no reason, or the felony was so big they didn't want to detail it. Either way Anigram wanted to know who they really were.
He looked at us for few more seconds and shook his head in disappointment. “Food will be brought in through the slot in the door,” he said and pointed. He then walked out of the cell and the door closed behind him with a thud.
“That was interesting,” said Daio. He looked at Dug’s pale face. “Potential future damage. What does that even mean?"
“I don’t think he knows,” said Dug and sat on the bed.
To me it was completely clear.
He had replaced the hinges a few days ago and the feeling was so good that he regretted he hadn’t done it long before. But it was only temporary feeling; the surgeons had told him two hundred years before that replacing the hinges would make him feel younger. They’d also warned him that once the mechanism had been opened, new problems would arise. Bless them, thought the Doctor as he walked towards the governor’s house. He felt decades younger and it was just in time too.