The Sound of Stars

by Alechia Dow

  M0Rr1S very briefly checked in on Ellie’s family, all fine and hidden in permanent housing, then had AvR0la contact cohorts to destroy distribution centers, making it appear as if the human resistance was fighting back. The plan worked. The doctor was incapable and did not have the clearance to re-create the formula, not without M0Rr1S, the lead of Human Services. AvR0la had also managed to invalidate the doctor’s work by suggesting that the humans were having negative responses.

  Getting captured had inadvertently allowed M0Rr1s to fix his error. It also helped that Brixton had baited him within Il-0CoM to go west and solve the human problem. That one action by Brixton had saved him and his mission. As had those Ilori on the road, allies who’d vouched for him. The true Ilori believed his actions were honorable.

  Crisis narrowly averted.

  His panel pings, and an invitation to connect to the private channel springs up over his left eye.

  AvR0la.

  We must be quick, AvR0la’s tone is choppy. I’m taking the humans west. Despite your reinstatement, Inquisition has contacted me regarding a full debriefing in six rotations. I need to disappear by then. And you will have to disable your own connection to Il-0CoM.

  Understood, Avi. M0Rr1S puffs out air as he leans back in his chair. Are they still safe?

  The humans are fine. The father’s part of the half-solutions program and unreachable until the enhancement leaves his system, although he may require reprogramming. The mother experiences mental illness that I may be able to resolve with time and medication. The girl is chatty, and I find myself amused by her. But the real concern is you. You must break into IpS1L. The ship is not safe, and you will have to upload your code and time it for the best possible moment. Our cohorts will be on the lookout for you, guiding your way should you need it. I cannot say if and when I will be in contact again, sir.

  You don’t have to call me sir, Avi.

  Old habits. There’s a hint of humor in their voice.

  I will do my best. Thank you for everything. I am most grateful for your companionship and support.

  Be safe, M0Rr1S. Avoid 0rsa. From the chatter I’ve received, she is suspicious. Priers lurk to sniff out disloyalty as distribution centers have been attacked by...humans. You are too important.

  So are you. We will talk again, I believe that.

  After they disconnect, M0Rr1S heads to the labs to give the new formula to the head doctor. “Follow it precisely, and we will not have any issues with production or endangerment to the physical bodies of the humans as the doctor in New York experienced.” The lie slips easily from his lips.

  Such arduous work. But when it’s perfect, it will be worth it.

  “Yes, sir.”

  M0Rr1S pauses in the doorway. “Once you’ve tested a human, please share your results with me via Il-0CoM.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  M0Rr1S finds the linen closets where clean clothes from the humans are held for further use, namely for the future when Ilori will inhabit the humans and wish to wear something “local.” He picks through until he finds a flowery sheath that looks to be Ellie’s size, a jean jacket, black leggings, and a pair of boots that should work, although he cannot attest to their comfort. She might hate them, but based on his measurements, these are the only items in good condition that will fit her.

  When he arrives in his room, she’s still asleep. He opens the windows, letting in light, and prepares a breakfast of toast with vegetable spread, apples, more calef juice and two hard-boiled eggs taken from the farms outside of nearby permanent housing. AvR0la told him once that many Ilori enjoy operating land and farms, as opposed to the centers. They especially enjoy delivering eggs and milk to the humans in the mornings, as a way of apology. M0Rr1S found that fascinating then, but now...he imagines it is a coping mechanism, like Ellie’s counting.

  He takes off his jacket and balls it up, then tosses it on the couch. The weight of his medals is heavy, and he enjoys the light synthetic shirt he wears underneath that leaves his arms bare.

  Ellie awakens with a small yawn and stretches her arms behind her head. He wanted to remove her coat during the night, but she didn’t give him permission to touch her, and that would have made her more uncomfortable. But now she’s covered in sweat, and her hair sticks to her face. He waits until she sits up before approaching her.

  “I have new clothes for you.” He places the folded clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed.

  “I have clothes.” She motions to her current outfit.

  “Yes, but your pants are ripped, and the bottom of your shoes are open.”

  She sets her jaw and turns away.

  “The bathroom is just there for showering, and there is breakfast for you in the kitchen.” M0Rr1S doesn’t wait for her to answer before heading to the couch, where the bag hides. He pulls out a vinyl record, then drops down on the cushion. He closes his eyes while holding the record up by the tops of his fingers, focusing his energy, and lets his fingertips trail across the grooves. The vibrations make the music, although it’s very soft, so soft that it’s nearly inaudible. It’s poetry, rhythm and rhyme, and it’s like nothing he’s ever heard before. The beat makes him want to move around, and the words are deep and interesting. He likes it.

  He is halfway through the third song when Ellie emerges from the bathroom, enveloped in steam with a white towel wrapped around her deep brown skin. Her hair frames her face in a fluffy cloud of corkscrews. She peers at him through her long eyelashes before grabbing the pile of clothes from the bed and disappearing back into the steam.

  M0Rr1S smiles to himself. She is so very beautiful.

  When Ellie next comes out, she is wearing the leggings, her old white sweater over the flowery dress and the boots M0Rr1S scrounged up earlier. He admires the way the leggings stick to her form. And her hair—he’s only ever seen it briefly without the hat. He likes seeing it down. It makes her look so alive, and young, and...breathtaking.

  M0Rr1S steals glimpses of her as she eats. She notices but doesn’t say anything. She hates him right now, and he understands. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

  There’s a knock on his door and they both jump. He throws her a worried glance as she takes a sip of the juice.

  “Coming!” he says stiffly in Ilori. He stuffs the vinyl under a couch cushion and doesn’t bother covering up with his jacket when he opens the door.

  “M0Rr1S.”

  “0rsa.”

  He senses Ellie shift in her chair.

  “The human is here?” 0rsa strides in without invitation. She eyes Ellie with distaste before settling on the dirty breakfast plate on the counter. “Are you feeding it? You are aware that we provide sustenance specifically for their kind?”

  M0Rr1S will not rise to her bait. “I am permitted to do as I like. This human has aided me in developing the formula.”

  “How?”

  “Its mother was the first I vaccinated.” Lies. “The father was part of the half-solutions program.” Unfortunate truth.

  0rsa’s eyebrow knit together. “But how did it help you?”

  “Its bloodwork from the center was used to create and re-create the current vaccine.”

  0rsa steps closer to Ellie and hovers over her. Ellie’s shoulders hunch, but she doesn’t turn around to regard 0rsa. Ellie doesn’t cower or falter. If she was an Ilori like them, she would be warier of 0rsa. She’d know that 0rsa requires respect, and that her purpose is pain. M0Rr1S reroutes 0rsa’s attention, hoping for an adequate distraction.

  “Please, leave it be. When it gets hysterical, it no longer serves a purpose and I do need it. In case there are further issues with the vaccine.” M0Rr1S keeps his voice light to conceal his worry.

  “As you like, Commander.” She steps back from Ellie, who holds her head high but her eyes cast downward. “Is
it intelligent?” 0rsa switches to English, just to see Ellie’s response.

  “No,” M0Rr1S lies in Ilori. “No humans truly are.”

  0rsa closes the distance between them and runs her hands down his arms, leaving goose bumps in her wake. “We can make our own entertainment, if it pleases you?”

  “0rsa—”

  “Are you worried your human will watch?” Her English is effective, and Ellie continues to look away. “We can go up to my chambers?”

  “I have provided the formula and await the testing. When the results come back, I will be able to begin the journey home. We will continue our betrothal there.”

  “I desire your services now.” She doesn’t pout. Her tone is no different than it is when she’s giving orders to the directors of this building, but the words are wrought with demand. He is expected to please her. They’re betrothed, and though they are the same, they are not equal. Her labmade generation is older, better received than his.

  “We will go upstairs, then.” M0Rr1S holds her gaze, establishing a sense of confidence. “I am at your command, 0rsa.”

  He grabs his jacket and follows her out of the room, leaving Ellie alone.

  CHAPTER 15

  “Doubt thou the stars are fire;

  Doubt that the sun doth move;

  Doubt truth to be a liar;

  But never doubt I love.”

  —William Shakespeare, Hamlet

  JANELLE

  Morris left with her. Morris is going to sleep with that monster. Why do I even care? He’s a liar, and a monster in his own right. He burned everything I had left. My books. The music. Poor Mrs. Turner’s collection.

  But why did he make me breakfast? Why did he find me clothes?

  I pace around the tiny kitchen, my mind stumbling through this situation. If I had to guess, I’d say these apartments used to be hospital rooms because there are outputs and markings in the walls where I’m guessing large screens and equipment used to be, while the floor gives off the tiny wafts of disinfectant.

  The tile floors are covered in white rugs, and the one room has a white couch, a massive potted plant and a chair. The large, open windows reveal the plains and most of the leveled city below. Oklahoma, Morris said. It looks like he was honest about that, at least.

  I search the refrigerator for more of that weird juice that makes me feel invincible and chug it from the bottle like Morris did. How long has he been gone? Twenty minutes maybe? Morris will come back, and then what? I stay and get the vaccine?

  No. I’ve waited too long.

  The door isn’t locked. I could just walk out and pray not to get caught. What do I have to lose? I dash across the room just as the door swings open. Morris steps inside, regarding me with raised eyebrows as he gently shuts the door behind him. “Thinking of leaving?”

  I take an uncertain step back. He doesn’t wait for an answer.

  “Are you ready to go? Because now would be a good time. The vaccines are made. They are being distributed exactly the way I planned, and 0rsa is preoccupied.” His gaze darts around the room, as if he’s figuring something out. “A car is waiting for us downstairs. We have to go.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere with you!”

  Morris doesn’t respond. He crosses the room and stoops beside the couch, his eyes glazing over. And then he picks up something off the floor before grabbing his jacket from the closet. He sets the jacket on the counter and stuffs it with packaged foods, fruit and juice. He pulls the edges together and carries it like a makeshift bag.

  “Right now, you should leave here with me. We’ll get out of this city, out of this state, and then you can go wherever you want. Please trust me, just one more time, and come with me.”

  I blow out a long breath. Trust. Do I trust him? I know that if I stay here, Whatever-Her-Name-Is will kill me. The way she looked at me earlier still sends shivers down my spine.

  I make a snap decision, stuff my pockets with the protein bars from the cupboard and leave my tattered, too-thin coat behind. I grab my purple hat, which I left drying in the bathroom, and pull it over my head. I feel eerily calm as I return to Morris. “Is it safe?”

  “Yes...but momentarily. We need distance.”

  I don’t try to understand, but I’ll never turn down freedom.

  I follow him down the hall and the fourteen flights of stairs to the bottom. We quicken our pace through the first floor until I notice what we’re passing by. I stop and stare at the humans locked behind glass windows and doors, like fish in bowls. I told myself that none of them matter anymore, because I can’t do anything for anyone. Just the ones who love me, my patrons. But these people are innocent. Helpless. Not everyone is like the people we lived with back home. These people behind glass don’t share my history tainted with hate and judgment in New York. They’ve done nothing to me.

  A little girl with big eyes and skin as dark as mine hides beneath her bed. Feelings rush through me. Everything I shut off, everything that closed up inside me and reminded me I can’t change this world cracks open. She can’t make her own happy ending, she’s not a character in a book. I have to help her.

  “She’s just a child.” My heart sinks. “Can we save them?”

  “We will, just not now.” He goes to grab my hand, but I pull away.

  “Morris, just because you gave me food and clothes and you’re keeping me alive doesn’t mean I trust you. These humans are trapped. If I leave them, I’m killing them. I’m a traitor. We have to do something.”

  “Ellie. I’m asking a lot of you, I know this. But please, please believe me. I am saving them. I cannot explain more, not now, but you must—” Morris glances over his shoulder and drops his extended hand. “0rsa.”

  “You left without saying goodbye.” 0rsa’s clothes are disheveled, and her hair is tangled around her shoulders. She speaks English because she wants me to understand. Why though? I have no idea.

  All I know of 0rsa is what Morris told me, and how she acted upstairs. She was Morris’s first lover—and second, it would appear. And she’s not a fan of humans. It’s that last part that makes me hate her, although if I’m honest, it’s probably all those things. Which is ridiculous, because he’s a liar and an Ilori.

  I’m going to translate. I’m sorry to not ask your consent first, but I want you to know what we are saying. Morris’s voice whispers into my mind, while he speaks Ilori aloud. “AvR0la commed. I’m needed at another center.”

  “Oh.” She walks down the hall and stands before us. “You are taking the human?”

  “Yes.”

  She eyes me with disdain. “I don’t understand.”

  “It will be husked soon. There is little to understand.” To me he adds, It’s not true, Ellie. Don’t do or say anything, I am violating your privacy, I know, but please stay quiet.

  0rsa leans into Morris. “Humans kiss, did you know this? They press the flesh of their lips together, and it means affection.” She looks at his lips. “I personally find humans abhorrent—” she drags the syllable out just for me “—and their world nonsensical. But I am curious to try it. Shall we?”

  Morris winces, but I doubt 0rsa notices. She wets her lips with the tip of her tongue and brings her head inches from his. And I should let it go, really. This has nothing to do with me. But I can’t.

  “Can’t you see he doesn’t want to?” I blurt.

  0rsa pulls back and regards me with a ghost of a smirk. “I told you this human has feelings for you. It’s dim-witted and pays no mind to natural order. Is it really worth keeping alive?” She steps closer to me, expecting me to shrink back. I don’t. “You should kill it. Now. If you can’t, I will.”

  “Neither of us will kill her. She has helped me, and I will vaccinate her personally.” He tosses me a quick glance. Please, Ellie, don’t say anything else. I do not know what she is capable of.


  0rsa narrows her eyes and tilts her head. “Why?” Her tone is flat. But I can read the expression on her face like a book. “Why keep it alive? Why do you travel with it? Let it share your room? Do you know how this looks? For you...for me?”

  Morris straightens his posture. Now he responds in English, an edge creeping into his voice. “0rsa, do I answer to you?”

  Chills creep up my arms. I instinctively hunch my shoulders. This is not the Morris I’ve come to know over the past week. Not the Morris I’ve come to...

  Come to what?

  I force the thought out of my head, to be reexamined later. Or never.

  0rsa clears her throat. “You answer to the Ilori Empire.”

  “When they question me, I will answer. But for now—” Morris steps between me and 0rsa “—I’m leaving. You may check the records before I go to see that it is done, but you may not question my methods. Or you may have someone question yours. There are children in those cells. Children and elders. Already, I’ve notified Command to remove any that are not primed for the vaccine, clarifying their presence here was a mistake. Imagine if I said it was not?” He stands tall.

  “You wouldn’t.” This time she says it in their language, and Morris translates.

  He tugs my hand, and together we walk down the hall. But we aren’t free of 0rsa just yet.

  “They gave you a new assignment and a passcode for a new pod, correct?” She doesn’t wait for him to answer. “Since we won’t leave together, I wish for you to tie up this human and leave it against the hatch of my pod. It’s beside yours, future husband. Her body belongs to us.”

  “Of course, 0rsa,” Morris replies without hesitation in Ilori. My mouth nearly flaps open as I stare back at her, but she can’t know I understood. She smiles and, for a second, I see flashes of anger, hatred and jealousy in her eyes. Not directed at me—all of this has nothing to do with me—but at him. No matter how much she tries to keep herself from showing it, her feelings have gotten the best of her.

  She continues staring as we leave, the glass doors shutting behind us. The air is crisp outside, and I’m grateful to leave that terrible place, though I wish I could have taken the humans with me. Their faces will haunt me for the rest of my life.