Jane Doesn't Save the World

by Erin Grey

“A lot has happened to you,” was his stilted beginning. “I can’t imagine how you felt: a little girl in a big family, lost and confused and desperate to be needed. I wish I’d been there to tell you that you didn’t need to try so hard. That it was enough to just be a little girl, finding her own way.” He brushed his lips across my forehead. Gwendolyn thrilled at the touch, but Jasper flinched with disapproval. Mitch nudged a few tears over the edges of my eyelids, dampening Aidon’s tunic. Emmy soaked up every iota of comfort.

  “I’m sorry it happened. You didn’t deserve it. But it’s in the past. Because we chose you. We could have left you to rot in that clinic.” He huffed out a half-laugh. “Frankly, as you so brazenly pointed out, we could have done without the hassle. You certainly gave us a run for our money, flying off with Brianus and Gudolf. Then getting the Regulators on our tail. Twice.

  “But we still chose you. Over safety, over peace, over quiet. We could have ditched you at any time. Left you to the Yewnikruns that first time you disappeared. Fled the safe house and let them find you. But we didn’t. We chose you. I chose you.” He gave me a squeeze.

  “You’re enough, Jane. And wanted. Wanted by us.”

  Despite the fact that I was a ticking time bomb who could easily bring annihilation down on them with a misplaced flick of my wrist.

  “People say they want you,” said Sandy. “But they don’t mean it.”

  “As long as you do not let Sandra and Mitchell have free reign, he may continue to accept you,” said Jasper.

  “Not enough,” said Mitch. “Never enough.”

  “But,” said Gwendolyn. “Maybe he really means it. Maybe this time it’s true.”

  “I want to believe you,” I said.

  “And you will,” said Aidon. “With time. Just let us help you.”

  “And if I hurt you? You know my powers are a danger. Going near the Regulators is a danger.”

  “So, what? What’s the worst that can happen?”

  I was silent. There were so many things that could go wrong, I didn’t know which one was the ‘worst’.

  “I can see the wheels turning in your head, Jane. Stop. Why are you so determined to go it alone?”

  “I’m not—”

  He hushed me with a raised hand. “You’re looking for a reason to push me away. Why?”

  I did a slow gasping fish impression. He was right. And I had no idea why it was happening.

  “Maybe you’re just smart enough to protect yourself from being dumped over and over again,” sneered Sandy.

  I could see Sandy hugging herself as she said it, and suddenly she was me all those years ago, terrified of being the odd one out yet again. Claiming the title as ‘different’ and ‘a loner’ before anyone could force it on me.

  “That’s fear on your face,” said Aidon. “You stay alone to protect yourself.”

  “Why does he have to psychoanalyze us?” complained Sandy.

  “You don’t know me.” I wanted to snap, but it came out as a feeble cry.

  “That’s the problem, Jane,” Aidon answered gently. “I do.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Help me understand.”

  I was furious with him. He was pushing me somewhere I didn’t want to go.

  “I’m a disaster. I’ve hurt everyone I know.”

  “You just demonstrated your potential to singlehandedly destroy the entire treehouse. Do you see me running?”

  I breathed out. “But just think how much easier it would be without me.”

  “I know how it was without you. I still choose to have you.”

  He nudged me with his shoulder and pulled on my arm so that I was sitting up, facing him. “You think we’re all perfect. It’s not like that. Quirinus can barely hold a conversation without mentioning food. Charis is annoyingly intolerant of messes. You should see her when she’s not allowed to tidy up after us. She goes nuts … and gets stabby. Ric brings home all manner of junk because, “someday we’ll need it”. It drives us insane. Ju never smiles. She’s prickly as a cactus, but we love her. She’s part of the family. Like you.”

  I sliced at my cuticles with vicious nails. “I don’t belong here. I can’t even control my powers.”

  He covered my hands to stop my destructive fingers. “Doesn’t matter. You’re you. You belong wherever you want to be.”

  Gwendolyn sighed shamelessly and fell ten feet further in love with Aidon.

  “Gosh, he’s hot when he says stuff like that,” said Sandy.

  “This is not appropriate—” began Jasper, but Sandy slammed a hand over his mouth.

  I snivelled. “I only just started figuring out who ‘me’ is.”

  He gave my hands a squeeze. “We’ll figure it out together.”

  38

  The bit where we make a plan

  That evening, Quirinus served up an amazing vegetable broth redolent of pineapple-sage and miso. After Ric confirmed that my outburst hadn’t alerted the Regulators, Aidon folded his hands and put on his ‘business meeting’ face.

  “Ok, team,” said Aidon. “Time to mind-wave. How do we beat these guys?”

  “Charis sent a proposal for how to get into the headquarters and through to the portal,” said Ric, pulling out his tablet. “The tricky part is getting past the surveillance without being detected. It’s all top-notch stuff.”

  “What have they got, Ric?” asked Quirinus.

  “Drones, towers, living walls—the works.” He pointed to the image on his table: a green-lined layout of the Regulators’ Headquarters. BIOS filed it as a ‘green print’. “Here is where Charis suggests breaking through the perimeter. It’s a service tunnel. There are two sets of ID-activated doors, cameras, and one living wall.”

  I glanced at Brianus who slumped over the table, chin resting on his folded arms. “What’s a living wall?” I asked.

  “It’s an organic structure that reacts to irregular changes in energy,” answered Ric. “When the service tunnel is in use, the alarm system linked to the structure is manually disconnected. But at all other times, energy levels above the norm will set off the alarm.”

  “So, if we walk through, our combined energies would set it off?” I posed.

  “Yes,” answered Ric. “The difficulty with that is, because it’s made of organic material, I can’t deactivate it by hacking into the system. It can only be disconnected manually from inside the complex.”

  “But we have to pass it to get inside?” I asked.

  “Exactly,” said Ric.

  “Then, obviously, we need another way in,” said Ju, rolling her eyes.

  “There are other ways past living walls,” said Aidon. “Personal energy manipulators, for example. Ric will investigate it further.” He looked back at the tablet. “What about the drones?”

  Ric took out a stylus and started sketching on top of the green print in bright orange.

  “The drone towers are here, here, and here. The service tunnel is here. So, there’s an overlap all around this area. But here” —he circled an area the size of my fingertip— “is a blind spot for the stationery cameras. If we deactivate the drones in that zone, we’re good to go.”

  “How do we take them down without drawing attention? A diversion?” asked Quirinus.

  “It’s a tried and tested method,” said Ric.

  “Ugh, but so obvious,” complained Ju.

  “We’re not trying to win an award for most inventive way to outwit a drone,” said Aidon. “We just need to get in, get Jane to the portal, and get out.”

  “But we’ll be right there,” said Ric. “Can’t we hit the bad guys where it hurts?”

  “That’s not the plan, and you know it,” replied Aidon.

  “But a strategically placed bomb would be so cool!” said Ju, quickly coming around to Ric’s way of thinking.

  “And how many people will you take out in the process?” asked Aidon. “Think how many people work there, regular people who just want to feed their families. It’
s not their fault the economy’s in ruins. Do you really want to punish them for earning an honest living?”

  Ju sunk her chin into her hand and grumbled, “People who aren’t willing to stand up for what’s right shouldn’t get upset when they get caught in the crossfire of those who do.”

  “And they certainly never think of the families of the people they torture and kill,” said Ric bitterly.

  “That’s not how we work,” said Aidon. “Killing just leads to more killing. If we destroy the complex, they’ll rebuild. Besides, there are complexes in other places. They’ll continue to function whether we destroy the headquarters or not.”

  “We just take out the leader, then,” said Ju.

  “They’ll replace him, perhaps with someone worse. And we’ll be no better than terrorists.” Aidon scratched his chin. “If we’re ever going to take them down, it will need to be with politics.”

  “Politics?” exclaimed Ric. “You thinking of running for Senator?”

  Quirinus chuckled. “That’s not the kind of politics he means.”

  Aidon nodded. “I’m talking about using their own politics against them. They spread propaganda about the ‘Abnormals’. Their community outreach programs make them popular and sway public opinion in their favour. We need to change that opinion. We need information, a way to expose them. If the world knows the truth about what they’re doing, change will come.”

  “Slowly,” groused Ju.

  “But in a way that’s lasting,” said Aidon, ruffling her hair. She snarled at him and champed her teeth as though she would bite, but he just laughed. “Now, give me a workable, non-murderous way of getting past those drones.”

  “I’m with Ju on this one,” said Sandy. “Those murdering bastards deserve everything they get.”

  “Aidon’s way is kind,” said Gwendolyn. “He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “Hurt means more hurt,” said Mitch.

  “Kindness won’t change the world,” insisted Sandy.

  “You’re wrong,” retorted Gwendolyn. “Kindness changes everything.”

  Quirinus cleared his throat. “What if we create a diversion that will distract the drones, but not blow up anything? A package that looks like a bomb, or a wild animal.”

  “They might shoot an animal,” said Ju with uncustomary sensitivity.

  “What exactly do the drones do?” I asked as Jasper and BIOS attempted to map out a plan. “Do they take video that is monitored somewhere else? Patrol in a specific pattern? Sense movement?”

  Ric chewed his lip in thought. “As far as Charis and I can tell, the complex is divided into ten zones with five drones each. They send an audio-video feed to the central control room which is monitored by security guards. They also have sensors which pick up abnormal levels of energy, heat, and sound. If the sensors are tripped, they set off an alarm in the control room. The only thing that would draw the drones away from their assigned zone is a huge altercation, basically a full-on attack.” He glanced at Aidon. “Which is apparently what we are trying to avoid.”

  Aidon’s face scrunched up. “Where does this sudden obsession with blowing things up come from, anyway?”

  Ric’s lip twitched. “I want to do some damage,” he growled. “I want revenge for Niamh.”

  Quirinus answered my puzzled look. “His sister,” he whispered.

  “I know,” said Aidon, laying a hand on Ric’s shoulder. “We will get justice for her. Patience will win it.”

  Jasper and BIOS began a complicated discussion of sensors and statistics and tactics. I scrounged a single thought from the muddle of equations and probabilities.

  “What if we didn’t cause an actual altercation?” I suggested. “What if we just make the drones think there’s one?”

  Ric leaned back, hand pressed to his lips as his brow furrowed, presumably to increase the processing efficiency of his brain. “We could overload the sensors in one zone to imply a full-on attack …”

  “Then the other drones will rush to help and we overload their sensors too,” completed Aidon.

  Ric nodded. “Now, that might actually work.”

  “How do we overload the sensors though?” asked Ju. “What would cause the right kind of sound or energy levels?”

  “Remember,” said Quirinus, “we don’t need to actually create those levels. Just make the sensors think they’re there.”

  “If I could make a program that sends infinite pings to the sensors … but I’d need to confirm what language they use … or I could exchange the cloak drive …” Ric stood and wandered away from the table, fingers flying over his tablet.

  “I think Ric just left the planet,” laughed Quirinus. “But we’ve only found a way through the perimeter. We still have to get Jane into the building and through to the portal.”

  Aidon yawned. “I’ll leave him to work on his drone attack. Best not to disturb him when he’s in programming-mode.” He tapped the table with restless fingers. “But you’re right, the plan still needs a lot of work. I’ll video call Charis as soon as Ric can get me a safe line. Then we’ll discuss the rest.”

  “Well, I’m for bed, then,” said Quirinus. “Past your time for turning in, too, Fabiola.”

  Ju scowled at him but slunk off to her hammock without argument, Quirinus and Brianus following her lead shortly after.

  “Surely there is fodder for their campaign against the Regulators within the Headquarters,” said Jasper.

  “Oh, how wonderful it would be if we could get it for them!” said Gwendolyn.

  “Wait.” I stopped Aidon from rising. “I want to help.”

  “What do you mean?” He dropped back into his chair, and for the first time I noticed the dark rings under his eyes.

  “You’re risking yourselves to get me home. The least I can do is help you get somewhere with the Regulators. We have to get inside anyway.” I picked at my fingernails. “Maybe I can get that information you need. Just find me a way to get it to you before I go.”

  “This isn’t about us.” His tone was firm. “This is about getting you home. I don’t see the point of endangering you further.” He pulled out his stone and flipped it in the air. At the apex of its arc, it caught the light and glittered.

  I held out my palm, and Aidon placed the rock in it. It had four sides.

  “This is a diamond,” I said.

  “A diamant, yes,” said Aidon.

  “How did you get it?” I asked, handing it back to him.

  He shrugged. “I told you I can sense things under the ground—minerals and gemstones included. I found that in a cave a long time ago.”

  “You play with it like it’s a toy,” I said incredulously. “Aren’t you scared it will get stolen? Or you’ll lose it?”

  “It’s just a diamant,” he said, forehead crinkling. “I can find another.”

  “They’re not valuable here?”

  “Relatively valuable,” he answered. “Not valuable enough to make anyone rich.”

  I shook my head, eyes wide. “They’re worth a fortune on Earth.” I handed the stone back and pulled my distracted thoughts back together. “But about that information—please,” I begged. “You’re going to all the trouble to get me inside the Regulator’s headquarters. There must be a way I can help—put a bug in the system, send you information about the portal—something.”

  Aidon watched me with a look in his eye that said he couldn’t decide between murdering me or hugging me. Then he called over his shoulder, “Ric! Can you join us for a minute?”

  “Yup,” came back the answer. Ric appeared in the doorway.

  “Sorry to disturb you while you’re onto something, but Jane here has an idea.”

  “Yeah?”

  “She wants to collect information for us once she’s inside the headquarters. What do you think?”

  Ric rubbed his chin, eyes focused on the middle distance. “We could jimmy her transmitter to connect to the mainframe. Then we could download anything she hears or says
.”

  “Can you add anything she sees to that?”

  He nodded. “She’ll need glasses to hide those eyes. We can add a camera.”

  “If we can get footage of what’s going on inside, we’ll have proof of their intentions,” said Aidon. “We can leak it over the Knit.”

  “Do it,” I said. “I want to do it.”

  39

  The bit where I try to help

  In all the excitement of exercising my newfound energy and concocting a plan for getting into the Regulators’ headquarters, I’d completely neglected Brianus. He’d been morose and silent since the Yewnikrun massacre, spending most of his time sleeping or taking solitary walks.

  First thing in the morning, I went to his hammock and woke him. “Hey there sleepy head. Want something to eat?”

  He mumbled a reply and rolled over in the hammock, a risky manoeuvre when someone is holding the side up, as I was.

  He hit the ground with a thud.

  Mitch tried to make me feel bad, but Sandy was in a mood and very much in the driving seat.

  “Don’t sit there,” I said, hands on my hips. “All kinds of bugs in this tree. Let’s go get you something to eat.”

  “Not hungry.” Brianus didn’t move from the floor, just curled into a little ball.

  I made some stinging nettles spring up near his head. He jumped to his feet, rubbing his cheek where one had caught him. “That was nasty,” he grunted.

  “But for your own good,” I said in my most motherly, no-nonsense tone. I grabbed his hand. “Now come and get some food.”

  “When did you learn to do that anyway?” he asked, still cradling his stung cheek.

  “You’ve been in your cocoon a long time, friend.”

  I dragged him to the dining table where I’d set out some porridge and fruit juice. I’d rather have given him some coffee, but there didn’t seem to be an Eorthe equivalent. Probably why Sandy was so crabby lately.

  He sat at the table and stared at the food, unmoving.

  “I’m worried about you,” I said. “You’re clearly in a bad place. Can we talk about it?”

  Brianus shrugged, the movement so small and energy-less it was barely perceptible.