Whispers of the Dead (Miraibanashi, #1)

by James Litherland

  So Roshike intended to check out the screen in the classroom they’d used today and try to see if he could find the professor’s office, though it might not even be in the same building. Searching for it would at least be accomplishing something, more than the rest of his day at least. The professor’s engineering class had been the worst—he’d struggled to understand what was being said, all the while worrying he would be exposed as a fraud. Even though he could blame the Gaku-net for having made the mistake in the first place. And afterward he’d been directed to the individual study center for more remedial math and science.

  At the end of the day he’d barely had the energy to eat, much less talk to his fellow candidates. But everyone was still so reticent with each other, such reserve on his part would hardly have been remarkable. At least the food had revived him a bit. Some rest before he started stalking about would’ve been even better, but he was eager to do something productive, so here he was. He tried putting his horrible day out of his thoughts by studying the citizens he saw.

  Of course with the curfew he didn’t see any candidates, but he observed a few enforcers and a number of guards and administrators making their way from point A to point B, the cut and color of the outfits they wore proclaiming who they were. And they moved with a purposeful stride. Apparently no curfew applied to any of them, but he saw a lot more of those dressed in what he considered ‘civilian’ attire and wondered again at the difference. No one wearing regular clothes ate at the cafeteria the rest went to, but could some of these in civilian clothes simply be off duty? Or was it a privilege only granted to certain citizens?

  Roshike still had a lot to learn about how Batsu society worked, especially here inside the Gaku, but watching people moving in and out of the patches of light brought more questions rather than answers. And then he saw a familiar silhouette.

  A tall woman with long hair falling down across her back and moving with languid grace. It reminded him eerily of Shin. He wouldn’t soon forget such a strange person as that female Kyoushi he had encountered in Kyoto. Though this couldn’t be her, he decided to take a little detour and get close enough to make sure.

  Whoever the woman was, she didn’t seem to be in any hurry as she strolled along. Roshike turned to cut across the grass and over onto the same walkway she was on and followed her at a distance. And when she passed through the pool of light cast by a lamppost, he was startled to see the color of her hair was the same lustrous jet-black as Shin’s, and if the flowered dress the woman wore was a modern one, it still recalled to mind what Shin had been wearing as she had walked through the streets of Kyoto. She could’ve been heading for New Tokyo when he had met her and gotten here by now, but how could she have gotten inside the Gaku? And why?

  It was probably just a remarkable resemblance, but he had to know, so he increased his pace to begin gradually gaining on her. And the closer he got, the more certain he felt that she was Shin. Then she strolled into some shadows as the walkway ran between two darkened lecture halls, and he temporarily lost sight of her.

  He slowed as he approached the area where he had last seen her, peering carefully into the dark on every side. He had great night vision, but he didn’t make out anybody at all in the dark valley between the buildings, and he was sure he would’ve if there had been anyone to see. The woman must have realized she was being followed, which made sense if it was Shin, and then hurried on once she’d reached these shadows so she could lose him. Why? It made him wonder if he wasn’t mistaken, that the woman hadn’t been her at all.

  He hurried on and out into a more lighted area and looked around, but the only person he could see was walking away off to his right and much shorter than Shin. He wondered if he’d been seeing things, and was about to give up and go back to where he’d been headed to begin with, when he realized something was vaguely familiar about the person he did see. It certainly wasn’t Shin. Shorter, and in one of the gray skirt-suits the female administrators wore, he couldn’t place her or put his finger on just what was so familiar. His curiosity got the better of him, and he started to follow her.

  He was more careful to stay silent this time, to make sure whoever she was didn’t know he was following her. As he trailed behind, something about the way she walked tickled the back of his mind, but it took several minutes before the memory surfaced and everything clicked. Seiko.

  Roshike hadn’t seen her for almost three years, ever since she’d disappeared from the Kansai area. Without a word, to him at least. Not that he’d had a right to expect an explanation, but they’d both been members of the Yes network, runaway Kyoushi, and they’d helped each other from time to time. Might even have become friends, if they’d known each other a little longer. Then she’d vanished and eventually he’d given up on the idea he’d ever see her again. Finding her here and now, that threw him for a moment. He’d worried the Batsu might’ve caught her, though Keep had insisted he’d know if that were the case. But if she was working here as an administrator, then she must’ve become a citizen.

  Continuing to slide through the shadows while following to see where she was going, he had a brief sensation of panic as he thought of Keep, and all the other members of the Yes network she could’ve betrayed to the Batsu. And now Roshike was trapped inside the Gaku with no way to warn anybody on the outside, not until one of Tash’s agents on the inside made contact. Then they could pass on a warning. Thankfully that feeling of fear soon fled.

  Difficult enough to believe that any of the Kyoushi could turn traitor, it was impossible to imagine Seiko doing so. He would continue to think that unless she gave him reason to doubt her. She had to be one of the two Tash had previously managed to get inside, and this was an unanticipated opportunity. Still, he had to be careful how he made contact.

  The woman he felt sure was Seiko, unlike whoever he’d mistaken for Shin, rounded the corner of a darkened building. Roshike flitted across the grass and flattened himself against the wall and listened for the sound of her footfalls receding. But he didn’t hear any. What he heard was the sound of her shallow breathing as she waited just around the corner, probably flat against the wall like him. He wasn’t a bit surprised she’d noticed him following her. He’d let her make the next move.

  Exactly what that might be would depend upon whether she’d recognized him. If she was working for Tash, then she should know Roshike was inside, should be searching for a way to make contact. And when she spoke, he knew her voice. And that tone.

  Seiko whispered fiercely. “How in creation did you find me so fast? Tash’s message said he hadn’t even told you my name.”

  Roshike was relieved to have confirmation she was one of Tash’s agents. Keeping his voice just as quiet and insistent as hers, he also tried to keep his amusement concealed. “Just a happy coincidence. I happened to recognize your walk.” He wondered what Tash had sent her here to accomplish. It certainly must’ve been more than just to have her in a position to help someone like Roshike at some time in the future, should that become necessary. “And I didn’t want to wait until you found a safe way to get in touch with me.”

  He heard her sigh, and he could almost see her nodding her head. “I remember what it was like to be a candidate, and I didn’t think I’d have a chance to talk to you during the day. So I’ve been wandering around in the evenings hoping to find you scouting the place out. I knew you’d want to, as soon as you could.”

  He was grateful for her confidence in his ability to get out of the candidates’ dormitory, but the way she’d gone about looking for him had relied an awful lot on luck. “You weren’t headed anywhere particular, then? Not to meet Tash’s other agent?”

  Slipping around the corner, she looked at him a moment, then shook her head. “Tash thought it safer if we didn’t know each other’s identities. They’ll try to find a way to get in touch with you, but I have no idea how, or how they might be able to help.”

  He looked her up and down. She looked good, even in that drab gray, but he
wasn’t sure he should say so. “How long have you been here, to infiltrate the Batsu administration?”

  Seiko sighed. “I came in as a candidate almost three years ago—” That explained where she’d been all this time, and why he hadn’t heard from her. But it would’ve been nice to know. “And to get into administration, I only had to convince them I was well suited to sitting behind a desk all day.”

  She snorted softly, and Roshike was tempted to laugh himself at the idea. But the thought that she’d been here all that time, slaving away for the Batsu, even for a higher purpose—it was too sobering to be funny. Then he realized he had no idea what it was they had her doing.

  He shook his head. “If only you’d set out to infiltrate the guards or enforcers, it would’ve been an easy enough task to show them you were suited for that kind of work.” Though the idea of Seiko with a gun was truly frightening.

  She shook her head again. “To be a guard, you have to look physically imposing, and I don’t qualify. And I haven’t been able to figure out what criteria makes someone suitable to train as an enforcer. Maybe they’ll choose you.”

  Roshike imagined they wanted a certain sort of personality for that job. “No, I held back during the testing, so now they have me training to become an engineer.”

  She blinked at him and said nothing for a long moment. “You?”

  He nodded. “Me. The Gaku-net probably made a mistake, which will hopefully be corrected soon—meanwhile, all the studying I have to do is a nightmare.”

  Her expression was inscrutable. “Perhaps they just need more engineers, desperately. But it really doesn’t matter—whatever they might train you for, you’d be working all day long with no time to spare for your real job except at night anyway. And you’ll be long gone before you’d have to build something. How soon will it be before you’re prepared to make your move?”

  “That depends on how much help you can give me.” Her and Tash’s other contact. “Until I do what I came to do, I’ll have to continue convincing everyone I’m eager to be a good citizen. So I’d rather not wait any longer than I have to. I was just headed to one of the classroom buildings to check some of the screens there to see if any of them interface directly with the main database—”

  But she was already shaking her head as he was speaking. “Don’t waste your time. The only screens with that kind of interface, which don’t have several sets of firewalls between themselves and the actual servers—they’re all inside the administration building. And determining whose screen in which office will work would be a real nightmare. Breaking into the server room itself is probably your best bet.”

  Roshike sighed. He’d been afraid of that. A repeat of what he’d faced at the Osaka headquarters, only likely ten times as challenging. “At least since you’re in administration, you can help me get in the building and show me where the server room is.”

  Seiko shook her head again and stared over his shoulder. “I can get you the layout of the building, which will show you how to get there, but I can’t just open the door for you and wave you in, not without blowing my cover. And I’m not supposed to do that for any reason.”

  Trying to contain his frustration, he made sure to keep his tone even. “Then I hope you have some idea how I can get into the building undetected.”

  She didn’t seem to even try to keep the emotion out of her voice as she responded. “You don’t know the layers of security they have for everybody going in and out, electronic and human countermeasures both. And there are only the two entrances—”

  Roshike raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  She looked him in the eye. “You saw the administration building on your first day, didn’t you?”

  “Sure, and it looked pretty impregnable, but we both know there’s always a weakness somewhere.”

  “The roof. There are ventilation shafts running through the building. You could get in through the roof, and there are a few access hatches in the ceiling large enough for a person to get out, for maintenance purposes. They’re concealed, but I know for certain where one is. And it’s on the top floor, near the server room.”

  He heaved a heavy sigh. “That’s great. So all I have to do is scale a five story cement block.” He recalled the outside surface of the building, and even he couldn’t climb that, not with his bare hands.

  She smiled then, and she must’ve been reading his thoughts. “Well, I should be able to get you the proper equipment for that at least.”

  “Thanks.” And he meant it. “How soon?”

  “Can you meet me here around the same time, not tomorrow evening, but the night after?”

  He nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Good. I’ll bring what you need then, but right now—” She reached out, and there was a button sitting in the palm of her hand. “This contains the correct codes for accessing the main database, the protocols we use in administration.”

  Roshike finally allowed himself to grin. Taking the button, he considered how big a help it would be to incorporate the codes into his hacking program. He likely wouldn’t need more assistance than what Seiko was already doing for him.

  She glanced around to make sure they were still alone and unnoticed. “We probably shouldn’t stay together like this for too long—if somebody sees us and decides to take a closer look...”

  He nodded. “If they took our picture, thinking that our meeting might be worth something if they tried selling it to the Batsu. We don’t want to seem conspicuous standing in the shadows, whispering.” He smiled. “They might think we’re conspiring.”

  “Which we are, of course, and against the Batsu too. But before I go, there’s one other thing I’ve got to tell you.” She glanced around again and stepped back, a bit further away from him. “Did you notice those little houses ringing the administration building?” Seeing him nod, she continued. “Well, those are where the enforcers are quartered. So if there’s an alarm that goes off when you’re inside...”

  Then getting away would be worse than a nightmare. “Well, thanks for letting me know. I need to think how I’ll handle that little problem.” The obvious answer would be to avoid setting off any alarm, but that wouldn’t be easily accomplished. “Now go, and I’ll see you the night after next.”

  Seiko snorted. “You don’t think Tash would’ve gone to the trouble of recruiting you for the job if it were something simple, do you? If there’s anything else I can do to help... Think things through and tell me what when we meet again.”

  “Alright.” But he was talking to the night—she had already disappeared around the corner.

  Roshike sighed and stood there for a moment. He would need to take the time to make some plans for getting in and out of both the building itself and the server room, but he needed to know more first. And rather than searching for the professor’s office, he had to scout around the administration building before doing anything else. He’d have to be careful too. If all those little homes housed enforcers, then he could encounter them coming or going any time. But still, he had to become intimately familiar with that whole area.

  It was getting late, and there were fewer people about, so as he headed in that direction he stayed in the shadows as much as possible. And tried to keep from thinking about what it must have been like for Seiko all this time. Almost three years living under the Batsu. Just two days and it was already driving him crazy.

  He was slowly approaching the area where the quarters for the enforcers were arrayed when he observed another familiar silhouette. Not Shin or Seiko this time, but someone utterly impossible. Teresa was dead, so it couldn’t be her, and by the stride he knew the dark shape walking a bit behind her to be an enforcer. With his wife, headed home? They passed through the edge of a pool of light, but they were too far away for Roshike to make out anything beyond the fact that the woman had auburn hair. It couldn’t be Teresa though.

  He followed the pair at a distance, as they were all headed in the same general direction, a
nd he was curious to see where the couple were going. And to dispel the idea it could be Teresa. But he needed to avoid getting too close.

  So tired from his horrible day—no wonder that he might be seeing things. First Shin, and now Teresa. In the Gaku, with so many Caucasians everywhere, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a number of women who superficially resembled her. He almost turned back. If he were so worn out he couldn’t tell the difference between some random woman and a ghost...

  The two solid, real people, whoever they might be, eventually marched past the line of houses that formed a ring around the administration building, continuing on toward that ugly edifice itself. Well, this wasn’t the night to risk crossing that expanse of grass, especially just to satisfy his curiosity. Still, he moved around the side of one of the houses that was darkened and appeared unoccupied, at least for the moment, and sidled up to the edge of the corner so he could watch the pair continue on their way. The glow of light around the main entrance to the building would illuminate them, but by then they’d be so far away, he probably wouldn’t be able to see much of them. And yet he watched. At least until he was startled by a whispered voice just behind him.

  “Ro.”

  He whirled around in his surprise and saw her. Shin. No doubting it was really her this time, even in the wan light of the moon. Here she was, looking even more improbable, if that were possible, than in the middle of the ruins of Kyoto in midday. He took a step forward, and she appeared solid enough. She didn’t dissipate into mist as he’d half-expected anyway. So, not a spirit?

  Without thinking he reached out and squeezed her arm to see if she was real. And got an annoyed glare in response. So definitely not a ghost. It had to have been her he’d seen earlier, then. It seemed she must’ve not only noticed him following her, but turned the tables and tailed him here, without him being aware. Which was embarrassing.