Hyperthought

by M M Buckner

  21

  Go, Angel

  THE NEXT INSTANT, Jin pushed himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his head. He didn’t seem to notice Merida’s lifeless body. He just smiled and started humming. I was too stunned to react. The tune he hummed seemed strange and familiar at once, and somehow it soothed me.

  Jin scooped me up in his arms. Mes dieux, but he’d grown strong. “Rise, Airlangga,” he murmured with a smile. Was he making a little joke?

  He carried me to the cot and wrapped me in a blanket. Then he sat on the floor beside me with his back against the gear cases. He seemed oblivious of Tan’s unconscious body curled on the floor. I tried to speak, but my tongue still lay huge and flaccid against my teeth. So I gave up and relaxed against the pillow and stared at the yellow fabric sun stitched to the blue sky. Jin’s soft humming blended with the whine of the air recycler. For the first time in a while, I felt peaceful.

  I closed my eyes—for only a moment it seemed—but when I opened them, jagged rocks were rushing past my face. Someone was dragging me along the floor of a dark tunnel. I cried aloud.

  “Lady, I’m sorry.” A hand closed over my mouth. “You gotta be quiet, okay?”

  Tan. I recognized his breathless whisper even though his helmet lamp blinded me. The last time I’d seen Tan, he’d been lying unconscious in the tent.

  “Tan?” I choked out the words. “Are you hurt?”

  “Don’t worry about me, ma’am. A few bruises ain’t gonna kill yours truly.” He was wearing a full surfsuit, and his voice emanated from his helmet speaker. Now he started moving again, dragging me along in the travois sled Vincente had made for Jin. Where was Jin?

  I tried to ask questions. My throat was clearing. My tongue didn’t feel so swollen.

  “Please, ma’am, you gotta keep it down. Them dern Nome troopers has got us surrounded. I’m projectin’ mirage signals all through these rocks, so they can’t tell exactly where we are. But we gotta stay quiet. And we gotta get up top fast and find a clinic. We all been exposed to toxins.”

  “The immune response,” I said, but he didn’t hear me.

  Ahead, Vincente whispered, “Niño. Through here. The senda.”

  My travois swung up on its end. As I tumbled out, someone caught me around the middle and shoved me upward through a rough laser-blasted tunnel. I bit my lip till it bled, trying not to cry out.

  Vincente pulled my arms, and Tan pushed from below. We struggled up through Vincente’s laser-blasted “senda” for what seemed like years, but I don’t remember how we came to the room. Maybe I dozed again. When I regained my senses, I was staring at the ceiling of Vincente’s metal cube. We were back in his room in the neuroscience clinic! I felt warm. I flexed my fingers. My muscles were working again, and I could see fairly well. Yes, I knew it was true! Jin’s blood did carry the immune response!

  Tan and Vincente were still wearing surfsuits, but they’d removed their helmets. They huddled over the worktable in the corner, doing something to a black box. I whispered to get their attention.

  Vincente raised his shaggy head. “Chica, you feel better?”

  I sat up and pulled the blanket snug around my shoulders. “Where’s Jin?” I whispered weakly. And then I saw him. Jin was standing in the shadows near the worktable, thin and pale, wearing nothing but that dingy hospital wrapper. Yet his face glowed with absolute joy.

  “Jin,” I breathed. He didn’t look my way. Instead, Vincente lumbered over and knelt beside me. They had spread a pallet for me on the floor.

  “So, so,” the old man whispered, stroking my forehead and grinning. “You are better. Saint Einstein and the Laws of Physics have granted our prayers. The bruja, the witch, you stabbed her a good stroke, niña. Sí, you saved us. We left the witch to rot.” Vincente spat on the floor.

  “The doc surprised us.” Tan spoke without looking up from his worktable. He seemed to be ripping the guts out of his black box. “Guess that botanical sleep aid wasn’t so brilliant after all. But we located your friends again. They’ve landed.”

  Luc. A memory flashed—Miguel. I remembered the words Merida had whispered into her wrist node: “Go ahead as planned. Don’t leave any evidence.” She’d ordered Luc’s execution!

  I clutched at Vincente’s collar. “Luc! She’s going to murder him!”

  Vincente looked at me as if I were raving.

  A scritch of arcing electricity blotted out my next words. Tan whooped. “Dern Nome troopers think they can track my signal. Just watch this!” A holographic light matrix shimmered in the air above the box he’d been eviscerating. Deftly, he slipped a single cybernail onto his right index finger and twirled its point through the luminous icons. “Take that, boys! I’ll fry your skinny metal butts.”

  Tan stopped short and cocked his head, listening. He said, “Un-huh. Yes sir, Mr. Viollett.” Then he swung around to me. “Ma’am, can you talk to Luc?”

  Luc was still alive? I grabbed the Net node from the boy’s outstretched fingers. “Luc, mon cher, are you all right? Is Miguel with you? You have to stop him, Luc. Listen to me, he’s an agent—” My words tumbled out rapid-fire, but Luc was speaking at the same time.

  “Chérie, calm down. Miguel is gone. How did you know about Miguel?”

  “Huh? What happened?” I stammered.

  Luc chuckled. “Miguel was a customs agent, investigating Trinni’s import trade. C’est vrai, we saw through his secret We played him like the cat and mouse.”

  “Half hour ago, Miguel takes a call on his node.” That was Trinni speaking. “Next thing, cool as you please, he climbs through the airlock and ejects.”

  “We saw his parachute open,” Luc said.

  “Sleazy jade. I don’t care if he spied on my business, but he tried to seduce Luc.” Trinni sounded peeved.

  “Chérie, you are better? You sound good,” Luc said.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” I repeated dopily. Relief warmed my soul. Luc was safe!

  The line chattered with several other voices. Adrienne’s was loudest. “Where have you been, Jollers? Do you think we’re playing mumblety-peg out here? This is serious. Now stop goofing around, and speak to our friends in Euro. Jonas, are you onwave?”

  “Here, love. Ready to broadcast. Tan, can you cloak the signal from your end?”

  Tan leaned over and spoke into the Met node I was holding. “Well, Mr. Tajor, I cain’t actually cloak it. I can bounce it around a dern echo loop though. Works good enough.”

  “No choice. We can’t lose any more time,” Adrienne said.

  Vincente pulled the node from my hand and spoke. “Amigos, can you not wait until the Angel is safe? The Nome troopers are very close, and they are not known for their kindness.”

  “Jollers, you know the situation. You decide. Every minute we wait, the Parisians lose more ground. And lives.”

  “Never you worry,” Tan said. “Miss Sauvage is a dern iron lady. She’ll stand up to them Commies, whatever it takes.”

  Whatever it takes. Tan spoke with so much youthful confidence, it made my heart ache. Did he realize what Nome would do if they captured him? Vincente’s expression told me he had a plenty clear idea.

  “Just a few words,” Jonas said. “We’ll make it quick.”

  Aside to me, Tan whispered, “Don’t worry about Vince and me. We’ll take care of ourselves. You just talk.” He put the Net node in my hand and nodded. He expected so much.

  I glanced at Jin. He leaned against a metal cabinet, gazing into space, lost in his glorious quantum song. I believe his face had started emitting light again. He looked radiant. I loved him so much in that moment. All I’d ever wanted was to save Jin, and yet, one more time I was about to make a choice that might kill us all. Protect a few dear friends close at hand, or help millions on the other side of the globe? There had never been any way to avoid such choices. I saw that now. D’accord, suck it up, Sauvage. You can’t play favorites, even for love.

  I said, “Are you ready, Jonas?”

 
“Go, Angel. You’re onwave.”

  I squeezed the node tight in my fist and enunciated as clearly as possible. “Hello, Paris.” Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t planned anything to say. “Um, this is Jolie Blanche Sauvage. I’m a tunnel rat. I guess you’ve heard of me. Bien, the thing is, the Commies are preter-lame. They’re fighting each other like a bunch of babies. You’re going to win. Just don’t give up. No matter what happens, keep fighting. And um, this is really me. Those holos were a trick. So, that’s all.”

  “Perfect!” Jonas said. At least I thought it was Jonas.

  But Tan raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “It’s a dern intruder. Someone’s hacked our signal.”

  Had Nome triangulated our location already? They would be aiming their cannons in seconds. They wouldn’t hesitate to torch us now. Any moment, we’d feel the neutrino blast

  “Good job, Sauvage. I couldn’t have scripted a better speech myself.”

  Mes dieux, but I recognized that blustering voice. That was Suradon Sura! I almost dropped the Net node. “You wanted me to say that?”

  Tan was flipping icons all through his light matrix. “Who’s talkin’, ma’am? I cain’t get a ID.”

  “Who is that, love?” Jonas asked.

  “My compliments to your geek friends,” Suradon boomed. “The Euro protes are picking up your broadcast now. Hot damn, it’s stirring them up. They’ll oust those Greenland dickheads in a week.”

  “You planned this?” I couldn’t believe it. Then the truth dawned. “You used me to get at Greenland. This is nothing but Triad politics.”

  Suradon’s laughter ricocheted around Vincente’s metal cube. “What are you complaining about? Your Euro pals get their islands back. We’ll see if they can run things better than Greenland. It should be entertaining.”

  “Evil man, you got what you wanted,” I said. “Now, keep your promise.”

  “Whoever called you an angel? You’re a greedy little savage.”

  I gripped the Net node so hard, its plastic case cracked. “Your promise, Suradon.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he said. “You might thank me for sending that fake message that got Miguel out of the picture. But never mind. I don’t expect gratitude.”

  “You did that?” I sat up a little straighter.

  “That and more. My people fragged Nome’s security system. A giga-feat of geek, I might add. You and Jin can walk outta that sewer anytime you please. Nome thinks they can hold my son for ransom? Screw the cocksuckers.”

  Just then, a pinpoint of light flared on one of Tan’s screens. It began to spread and brighten. Then it jetted out from the screen and swelled into a luminous holographic projection of Suradon. His Asiatic features expanded to gigantic proportion. Tan and Vincente sidled toward the far walls. Tan’s eyes were so big, the whites showed all around his irises, and Vincente fidgeted as if he needed to take a piss. I knew Suradon was trying to intimidate us. I’d seen that trick before.

  “Give me a break, old man. I’ve been sick.”

  Suradon’s eyebrows twitched. I could tell he wanted to grin. “You’re right about that, Sauvage. You look like crap.”

  “You have to protect Tan and Vincente, too,” I said.

  “Sauvage, it’s never enough with you. I give you my only son, and you still want more.” With effort, he smothered his amusement and assumed a stem scowl, steepling his fingers and arching his eyebrows. For a long time, he studied me. He was making me really tense.

  “Hell, take the prote dogs. So what if they’re Nome property. And do something about your complexion, Sauvage. You’re falling apart.”

  “Yes,” I beamed.

  “Just remember I’ll be watching. If you think I don’t care about my son, you’re mistaken. Guard him. You hear what I say? Guard him from Merida. I expect regular updates.”

  “Merida’s dead. I killed her.” I lowered my eyes.

  Suradon broke out in a hoot. “You think Merida’s dead? That’s rich.”

  He didn’t believe me? I opened my mouth to protest. I’d seen her dead body. But before I could speak, Suradon’s image vanished.

  He kept his promise though. Maybe he’d been keeping it all along. I’ll never fathom that man. After Tan and Jonas ran independent scans to make sure the way was safe, we walked out together, the four of us, straight through the front door of Merida’s clinic, up the service elevator, and into the heart of downtown Frisco. As we searched for the nearest exit, we passed cyberguards frozen in mid-action and humans slumped unconscious on the floor. Surveillance cameras failed to swivel on their mounts. If Suradon had done this, he’d pulled off the hack of the decade.

  When we entered an air chute, I felt the buoyant cushion of air lifting us upward. At the top level, we cycled through an airlock. Tan and Vincente wore their surfsuits, and they worried because they didn’t have extras for Jin and me. When I told them about the immune response, they thought I was delirious.

  Then we were outside on the surface. A moist gust of atmosphere touched my bare skin. It whipped my hair and filled my nostrils with pungence. A lavender glow suffused the eastern sky. For the first time in my life, I saw the dawn with unshielded eyes. To be on the open surface without a surfsuit! I felt unfettered. Joyous. Even brazen. All at once, I wanted to rip my blanket off and race across the plane. I managed to stifle the impulse.

  As we walked across the windy launchpad, Jin’s dark hair streamed straight back over his shoulders. He was singing now, in a language I didn’t recognize. We advanced through ranks of police cars and rail buses tied down with steel guy wires. No one stopped us. We didn’t see a single guard. In the distance, a weird brown jet with flat, stealth-clad wings crouched at the end of a runway. Its hatch lifted at our approach, and a ladder descended to the ground. Tan insisted on letting me go first.

  “Chérie!”

  “Luc!”

  There he sat in the cockpit, mon cher petit, wearing that old surfsuit with the Jolie’s Trips logo silk-screened across the chest. And Trinni al-Uq was sitting beside him. Scarcely believing my senses, I reached out to take Luc’s gloved hand, thanking the spirits of Newton and Ptolemy and Niels Bohr that the Laws had combined to produce this miracle. But Luc was staring at my face. This was the first time he’d seen me since the bacteria attacked. His expression spoke volumes.

  I wanted to ask so many questions, but even though I could talk now, my tongue floundered. I moaned and squeaked, and I might have fainted from sheer joy if Jin hadn’t piped up. “Rise, Airlangga,” he said with a whimsical sigh. For some reason, that made everybody laugh.

  While Vincente buckled me into a seat, Luc snapped open his med kit. I explained that I didn’t need any meds, but no one believed me. Trinni closed the hatch and readied the jet for takeoff. Soon, real sunlight warmed my face. Its smoggy rays streamed through the jet window. Luc fed me fruit juice and intravenous drips of painkillers, so I got a real buzzy high. Jin held my hand, and I grinned at the irony of our reversed roles. Now and then, Trinni slipped worried looks in my direction. Luc seemed plain horrified. Didn’t they realize how happy they’d made me? I tried to tell them, but those painkillers made me giggle too much.

  Only Jin seemed content, humming his little tune and smiling down at me, now and then whispering, “Rise, Airlangga,” then laughing softly as if it were our own private joke.

  All the way back to Palmertown, I pressed my cheek to the glass and let that yellow sunlight explode against me. It burned through my closed eyelids and glowed bright orange on my retinas, flooding me with hope.

  22

  Rise, Airlangga

  WE FLEW DUE south in Trinni’s stolen jet. We got away clean. That was one year ago. Maybe you think this is the end of the story. I thought so, too.

  But nothing ever ends. As soon as we landed in Palmertown, my friends grabbed a rental van and rushed me to a clinic. They were so worried, they ran red lights. Luc even yelled rude words at a pedestrian who stepped in front of our van. That was a first.
Despite my protests, I spent two months in cell hygiene therapy. The docs wanted to write a paper about me. They couldn’t believe I survived the toxins. They said the only thing that kept me alive was sheer brute faith and stubbornness. But I knew better. I knew the immune response in Jin’s blood saved me. Saved my life, at least. Though it didn’t my skin.

  Now I’m wrapped up in these funny synthetic epidermal graphs. When I catch myself in the mirror, I have to giggle. A meat sausage in a wig, that’s me. But I can move around fine, and Jin doesn’t care what I look like.

  You may be asking, why didn’t Jin share his immunity with me earlier? Don’t hold it against him. I don’t. See, Jin’s perspective is way broader than most of us can comprehend. He’s moved beyond our selfish, human-centered worldview. To him, those bacteria and his friend Jolie were exactly the same—beautiful organisms trying to hang on to life as long as possible. He felt it wasn’t his place to alter the natural course. And also, let’s be frank, Jin has a slight decision-making disorder. Ça va.

  Jin and I live in Sydney now. I have a job working for Sydney.Edu. I guide field trips and teach surface survival skills to freshmen and sophomores. We don’t travel all over the world, we just camp out on Sydney Topside, but the kids love it.

  Vincente has a cube one level down. He helps me with stuff like shopping, fixing the sink, getting Jin bathed. Tan attends Sydney.Edu. He’s studying communication theory. I predict that boy will go far.

  Luc stayed in Palmertown. He and Trinni and Adrienne launched their own fashion ezine, and they’re grabbing raves on the Net. Their styles mesh, you know? By the way, Luc eventually told me more about Miguel. Remember, Merida’s assassin?

  Turns out the boy made an entrance at some post-edge gallery opening and started flirting with Luc. Trinni nearly came to blows with him, right there in the hot buffet line. But mon cher Luc, he could see inside people. He knew Miguel was faking the scene. He figured the boy was a customs agent spying on Trinni’s hot-market import business. Trinni was furious, but Luc convinced him it would be fun to play cloak and dagger. I think Luc could charm a cyclone if he tried. Anyway, Trinni got paranoid and made Luc wear concealed body armor night and day. When I heard that part, I had to stop and give Trinni a big slobbery kiss. Trinni and I, we get along better these days. I told them it was Lord Suradon Sura who called and got Miguel to parachute out of their jet.