by Guy Morpuss
Kate spoke first. ‘God, she’s cold. Who’d choose to be an andi? You might as well dump your mind in stasis and never come out again. I don’t care what she says, it doesn’t seem human.’
Sierra shrugged. ‘It’s not for me. This is what I’ve always wanted. Four hours on suits me fine. That’s longer than most relationships I’ve had.’
The others laughed, although with differing degrees of sincerity. She must have started young, thought Kate.
‘Logically,’ said Ben, ‘becoming a schizo is the only choice that makes sense.’ His voice was soft, and muffled beneath his hood. Kate strained to hear him. She was surprised that he had spoken at all. ‘You get to live the longest, you are given a new body every twenty-five years, and you don’t have to work. If you run the numbers, it’s a no-brainer. Besides, 142 is a great number. If it wasn’t for seventy-one it would be a prime number. I like that. It makes sense to live to 142 – it’s two prime numbers.’
‘No offence,’ said Kate, ‘but I’m surprised you didn’t choose to be an android. Logic is what they are best at.’
‘That’s a myth,’ he replied. ‘Android minds are no different from ours. They think the same as everyone else.’ He paused. ‘It was my second choice. I considered it for a long time. But the maths doesn’t work. I’d have got another sixty-three years, whereas as a schizo I get almost twice that. Who knows what will happen in that time?’
‘And androids are freaks,’ said Sierra. ‘Schizos are cool. Mysterious. People find them intriguing.’
‘Not wanting to argue,’ said Alex, turning to Ben. ‘But the maths isn’t that obvious. We get another 125 years, but only four hours a day, so in total only around twenty years each’
‘It’s 20.83 recurring,’ said Ben. ‘But we don’t lose time to sleep. To keep the maths simple let’s assume the average person spends one-third of each day sleeping. That means we are effectively getting six hours per day, so your 20.83 becomes 31.25 …’
He trailed off as Sierra yawned audibly.
‘Look,’ he finished quickly. ‘The point is that it’s the only way for certain of living for another 125 years. By then who knows what other options might be available. We may be able to download permanently into andi bodies, or into stasis. We might live for ever. I’d happily do this without you lot if I could. But at the moment it’s the only option to live that long.’
‘Fine,’ said Sierra, holding up a hand. ‘Let’s quit the geek fest and get on with things that matter.’
‘True,’ said Mike. ‘Interesting though this is, we don’t need to debate why we’re here. We’ve all made our decisions. There’s a lot we need to get through today.’
‘You’re right,’ said Kate. ‘There’s no going back now. So where do we start?’
‘The first question is whose body we use,’ said Mike. ‘Can I start by making a pitch for mine? It speaks for itself. I think I can safely say that I am the fittest person in this building. I have been a competitive athlete now for seven years. Swimming, running, rowing, cycling – I’ve won them all since the age of ten. I train at least two hours a day, and I would keep up a significant workout regime if you choose me. I can give you my stats if you want.’
No one else spoke. Although she had prepared for this for years, Kate now found the discussion bizarre.
Eventually Sierra reached over and put her hand on Mike’s biceps. ‘So, are we allowed to test the goods first?’
‘What exactly do you have in mind?’ Kate asked waspishly.
‘I want to get some idea of what we’re buying into,’ said Sierra. ‘This is a big decision. We can’t just return Mike’s body if we get it wrong. Or at least not for twenty-five years.’
She slipped a hand between the buttons of Mike’s shirt. He made no effort to stop her. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Is there any fat on those abs, Mike?’
He smiled and gently pulled her hand away. ‘Overall, I have just under ten per cent body fat,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t joking when I offered you my stats. Although I can’t tell you the precise fat-to-muscle ratio on my abs.’
Kate looked around. ‘If you two are quite finished, are there any other volunteers?’
‘How about me?’ said Sierra. ‘I may not have Mike’s abs but I do have certain other attributes. This body has served me well, and I’m sure that there’s a lot the five of us could do with it.’ She smiled at Ben, and ran her tongue around her lips. ‘And let’s face it, choosing me is the best chance nerd boy here has of ever getting close to a body like mine.’
‘Sierra,’ said Kate. ‘I don’t know what you are trying to prove, but this isn’t helping.’
‘Just trying to liven you all up a bit. You’ll get used to me over 125 years.’
‘Let’s just get on and choose a body,’ said Mike. ‘I can certainly see the attraction of yours, but mine is likely to last the twenty-five years better. Don’t forget it’s high usage, twenty hours a day.’ He paused, then smiled. ‘Besides, someone as adventurous as you might enjoy seeing what things are like from the other side. Particularly when you get to be in a body with as much stamina as mine.’
‘That could be fun,’ admitted Sierra. ‘I’d be happy enough in your body for our first life. And Alex and Ben won’t know what’s hit them when they have women falling at their feet – probably men as well.’
‘I’ll make it easy for you,’ said Alex. ‘I’m not offering mine. We can sell it back.’
‘Let’s hope they pay by the kilo,’ Sierra said sharply.
Kate gasped. Alex reddened and looked down.
‘Come on,’ said Sierra, looking around. ‘I’m only saying what we were all thinking. Alex knows his body is useless. None of us wants to spend twenty-five years in that. Let’s at least be honest with one another.’
Kate glared at Sierra. ‘For God’s sake, Sierra. There’s a difference between being honest and deliberately nasty. Alex has told us he doesn’t want us to use his body. Let’s just accept that and move on.’
‘Well, why don’t we take a look what people are offering?’ said Sierra. She nodded to the screen. ‘You heard the woman. People will be bidding for any bodies that we don’t want. We ought to know what they’re worth so we can decide.’
Kate hesitated. This was unlikely to help Alex. But she had to admit Sierra was right. Before they made a final choice they ought to know what credit they could earn.
‘All right.’ Kate stepped up to the screen and cycled through the menu until she found an option headed ‘LIVE AUCTION’. She tapped on it.
Kate Weston – 4.1 years
Sierra Summers – 6.3 years
Michael Ganzorig – 7.8
years Benjamin White – no bids [3 years]
Alex Du Bois – no bids [3 years]
Sierra snorted. ‘Well the geek squad is bringing in the credits. What a surprise.’
Kate glared at her.
Ben shrugged. ‘Our bodies are just empty vessels. It is vanity to think otherwise. It’s only our minds that matter.’
Alex was staring at his feet and looked as though he was trying hard not to cry. ‘I don’t want to be here,’ he muttered.
Kate sighed and crouched down in front of him, taking his hand. He flinched.
‘Look, Alex, we’re all a bit tense,’ Kate said. ‘It’s a big day, and some of us are saying things we’ll regret later.’ She met Sierra’s gaze, daring her to speak. Sierra raised an eyebrow, and shrugged.
‘I understand,’ said Alex, gulping hard. ‘It’s just, people have always bullied me about my size. I want to just get rid of this body and start again.’ His shoulders shook and he started crying.
‘Christ, what a loser,’ muttered Sierra under her breath.
Kate turned to her angrily. ‘Stop it.’ She stood and took Alex’s hand. ‘Give us a minute. Come on, Alex,’ she said softly, and led him outside.
•
There was a small canteen nearby. A few tables were occupied by counsellors in earnest discussion w
ith the undecided. Kate sat Alex at an empty table and went to get him a glass of water. Judging by his size he found food a comfort. She printed him a sticky pastry. That ought to do. And grabbed some tissues.
By the time she got back to him he had calmed down a bit. He blew his nose noisily and left the dirty tissues on the table. Disgusting. Then devoured the pastry in three bites.
‘Thanks,’ he said around mouthfuls.
Kate cringed. ‘Are you feeling better?’
‘A bit. This just isn’t what I expected. Sierra is so … so horrible. I thought we’d all be nice to each other. That I’d finally have some friends. This feels all wrong. I don’t even know why someone like her chose to be a schizo. She seems perfect to be a hed.’
‘You saw the presentation. We’re meant to be different. I’m sure we all have different reasons for our choice. From what I’ve seen of her I’m guessing Sierra wants to live life at full speed but have someone else take responsibility for the boring bits. Mike seems nice, but you can tell that he’s vain. I guess he doesn’t want to ever grow old.’ She looked across at him. ‘What are your reasons?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ he said. ‘Look at me. Sierra is right. I’m disgusting. I’ve ruined this body and I just want to be rid of it.’
Kate couldn’t disagree with him with any pretence of being honest. ‘So why not an andi?’ she asked.
‘I’ve spent all my life alone,’ said Alex. ‘I wanted to be part of something. Maybe it was a stupid choice. But maybe not.’
He reached across the table and held Kate’s hand. She found it uncomfortable. Moist and slightly clammy. He didn’t seem to understand normal social conventions. But she couldn’t pull away without hurting his feelings more.
‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘Why is someone like you becoming a schizo? Why would someone as pretty as you give up their body?’
Kate was embarrassed at his clumsy flattery. In other circumstances she would have thought he was hitting on her, but he was just trying to be sweet. She hesitated before replying. Maybe it would help to take his mind off his own problems.
‘If I tell you, please don’t tell the others. I don’t want them all knowing.’
He nodded.
‘For me it was a process of elimination,’ she said. ‘I grew up in a small village with a few hundred people. Nearly all workers. It was so dull. My mother was a single parent and spent the best years of her life juggling work with looking after me. Don’t believe what that andi told us in the hall. Being a worker isn’t a good choice. The name tells you everything. You work and work and work. Then you die. So I ruled that out. And I could never be a hed. I’d spend my whole life worrying about dying at forty-two. I don’t know how they sleep at night.
‘I was never going to be an andi.’ She hesitated again. Should she share this with him? It seemed to be helping. He seemed calmer now, although he still hadn’t let go of her hand. She plunged on. ‘My father was an andi. My mother wouldn’t talk much about him. They met when she was working in the city, young and impressionable. He was much older. Andis can have children the same way we do, but they don’t often do so. So I don’t know if I was planned or an accident. I never dared to ask. He evidently didn’t want me. The relationship didn’t last, and they split up when I was still young. I don’t remember much about him.’
She tightened her grip on his hand, although she was no longer seeing Alex. ‘My clearest memory is of him leaving. I’d just turned four. There was no drama, no shouting. Or not that I remember. I can see him pausing at the door, telling my mother he would send someone to collect his stuff, and saying goodbye in his normal way. He must have discussed it with her in advance, but he said nothing special to me. Not even a hug … nothing. I never saw him again.’
Kate blinked furiously. Don’t cry. Not now. ‘Sorry, I’m probably not helping. I didn’t mean to tell you that much.’
‘No,’ said Alex, kindly. He looked intrigued. ‘Carry on.’
‘That’s really it. My mother fled to a small village where no one knew us. Word gets around, though. The first time I heard the phrase “andi-whore” was at school, after my mother dropped me off. I thought it was something special, that it meant I was special. It was only when I repeated it at home that I understood. My mother cried. And it wasn’t just the children who called her that. Adults can be just as cruel.’ She paused and shook her head. ‘It’s a long time ago now. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
She smiled weakly at Alex. ‘So that’s me. That’s why I’m becoming a schizo. It wasn’t really a choice. More about picking what was left. And getting rid of my half-andi body.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Come on, if you’re feeling better we ought to get back. The others will be wondering what we’re up to. We still have a lot to get through.’
Alex smiled. ‘Thanks for telling me. I promise I won’t tell anyone. It can be our secret. Just the two of us. As friends.’
•
Back in the room Mike and Sierra were sitting close, heads together, giggling about something. Ben was standing in front of the screen on the wall, reading lines of code. Mike looked up as they entered.
‘You all right?’ he asked Alex.
‘I’m good. Thanks to Kate.’ He looked pointedly at Sierra with an uncharacteristic flash of boldness.
They took their seats.
‘Where had we got to?’ asked Kate.
‘We still haven’t decided on a host,’ said Mike. ‘I’m voting for me. We could make good credit by selling my body, but we’d do better to keep it. I think Sierra is for me as well.’ She nodded. ‘What about the rest of you?’
‘I’d be happy with Mike,’ said Ben, softly, still staring at the floor. He looked up slightly, not meeting their eyes. ‘Just so you know, I’m super bright. That’s why I’m here. We will make a good team if Sierra can just learn to be nice to us. Five is a good number. It feels right.’
‘I’ll be sorry to say goodbye to this body, but I knew that was part of the deal,’ said Kate. ‘Mike is a good choice. Unless anyone disagrees, I think we’ve made our first decision.’
‘Sure,’ said Alex softly.
Kate went over to the screen and started tapping in their choices. After a moment she said, ‘Right, decision made, and we’re left with a time credit of 16.4 years. Before we decide whether to spend it, I suggest we work out where we go in the cycle. I’m happy to take the first slot. I’ve always been a morning person. I’m happy with my own company.’
‘Give me one of the night slots,’ said Sierra. ‘I like the night, clubs, music, drinks. People are what I do best.’
‘I want the morning,’ said Mike. ‘I need the daylight to go work out. I could take the slot after Kate.’ There were nods all round. He looked across. ‘What about you, Ben?’
‘I don’t much mind,’ Ben said. ‘Like Kate, I like to be on my own. But I don’t want to never see the sun. The third slot will start at 14:00 – I’d like that.’
‘I’d be happy with the last one,’ said Alex. ‘I stay up late. I could follow Sierra.’
She turned and put a hand on his knee, and winked at him. ‘You just want to get close to me, don’t you?’ For the second time that day Alex blushed. He shied away from her.
‘Leave it alone, Sierra,’ said Kate wearily. ‘If you want to help you could start by saying sorry to Alex.’
Sierra shook her head. ‘I never apologise for anything. You’ll learn to live with me.’
Kate sighed. She’d have years to sort Sierra out. No need to antagonise her now. ‘Let’s just move on. We’ve got a lot to get through. Let me get the cycle order down, and then we can discuss our other choices.’
The rest of the afternoon was spent considering the various possible enhancements available. Was it better to spend two years on zoom lenses with night vision (Kate and Alex), fourteen months on EPO trickle glands (Mike), thirty months on neural nano implants (Ben and Alex), or three years on an inhibitor/reclean package that would not
only speed up the effect of alcohol but also remove it at three times the normal rate (Sierra)?
The arguments ranged back and forth. By the end of the day they were tired, but seemed to have achieved consensus.
Kate, standing at the screen, made their final choices.
Mike gave Kate a high five.
‘Nice one,’ he said, looking around. ‘See you all tomorrow. The first day of the rest of our lives.’
ALEX
DAY TWO
21:00–02:00
Sierra lies.
Know one thing about her, know that.
She flirts and charms. Manipulates and controls. But most of all she lies. Big lies, little lies, lies for a reason, and lies for no reason at all. Catch her out and she is utterly shameless. ‘So what? I lie to get what I want. Why doesn’t everyone?’
The worst of her lies seem to be reserved for me. That was the start of all our troubles.
So I usually assume that what she is saying isn’t true.
Alex. I’m telling you this but you can’t tell anyone else. I don’t know who we can trust. Mike has gone missing and Kate has got involved in some dodgy deal with an andi called Amy Bird [see attached]. I tracked her to a bar but once I started asking questions I got hit on by shorty and his grunts [attached]. His name is Guskov and he seems to be some sort of drug dealer.
The thing is, he knew us. He said that one of us bought something from him. I’m thinking maybe he uses the andi to do his deals remotely, so they can’t be traced back to him. I know you won’t have been buying drugs, and it wasn’t me, but it’s got to be one of us? Maybe Mike bought some boosters, told Kate, and something went wrong with the deal.
I’ve arranged to meet this dealer called Karl who works for Guskov [attached]. He says he can tell me things about the andi and us. I’m hoping he can tell me what they sold to us. If it’s performance boosters then we know it’s Mike, which might explain why he disappeared.
I’m going to be short of time so don’t whine to me if I have to drop out in a bar again. This time you can’t blame me. I am trying to sort out the mess the others have made.