Megan snorted. “It’s those damn Academics. They labelled Hal a fanatic and call everyone with an atramento a cult member. They don’t like anything they can’t explain.” She had heard from her father as well. He was worried as well. The Academics had been thinking to put restrictions on those who could have tattoos. He didn’t think they would have any traction with the law, but it meant the Academic’s sentiment was fear rather than acceptance of what the atramento could do.
Megan thought it was because the Academics saw themselves as the real gods of the city and they were worried they were going to be supplanted. But she had also seen a similar sentiment from the Edgers and they were far from academic.
Chapter Three
Edge June 2097
Toa sat at the table in silence as he listened to Natasha speak to someone over a video line.
The woman on the line said, “We can always give it a go. The healing atramento isn’t very good with scar tissue. When it worked on Freya’s spine it caused new pathways to be grown rather than working through the scar tissue. I believe this has to do with the actual atramento. If there was an aspect which healed scars, then it would also heal over the atramento and undo the healing atramento. So the chances of him getting his sight back are slim. But for him to get some kind of sight now that is possible. And interesting.”
Toa wasn’t sure what the woman was talking about, but Megan had convinced him it was a doctor who could be trusted.
Natasha said, “What about the senses atramento?”
The woman on the line seemed excited by this suggestion. “Ah, now that might be more productive. Mmm, yes, that will do very well. Yes, definitely start with that one and don’t forget the balance atramento.”
Natasha sighed. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Hal. I have done hundreds of these and my sight is better than yours.”
Hal huffed. “You don’t have to rub it in. It’s only different because mine is mechanically based. Now was there anything else?”
There was a short pause and Natasha asked, “Have you heard Warren wants to invite a group out here to talk about the atramento.”
The woman on the link replied after a short pause, “Yes, and it will be pointless. The Academics are completely blind to anything new or innovative. They think the atramento are bull hacky.”
What type of doctor used the word bull hacky? Natasha snorted before she said, “He has found some who are very interested. If you can truly believe that. He was hoping you would come out and explain some of what you do.”
Hal groaned. “Argh, you are going to ask Misha if I say no, won’t you?”
There was amusement in Natasha’s voice. “Of course.”
Hal sighed. “Fine, then I’ll be there. And I’m going to be evil and tell Warren you invited me to the symposium so obviously you want it to go ahead.” She then turned off her side of the link.
Natasha switched off the line and turned to Toa. “Now this is what is going to happen. We can’t be sure if we can heal your eyes, but we can put in some Bioware which can improve your senses in general. We will give you extra strength and better health overall. There are a few other pluses for this, but I think the one you will be interested in the most is the senses. The senses atramento will make it possible for you to hear more, feel more and just pretty much sense more. We haven’t been able to tell exactly which senses are enhanced, but we think all of them. So are you interested?”
Toa asked, “How much will it cost?”
There was a hint of confusion in her voice as she said, “Nothing.”
He didn’t believe that for an instant. “Nothing is for free.”
Natasha paused as she obviously thought about his words before she answered, “Well, if you want a cost, we could do with a hand around the place. We haven’t even really started emptying out that server farm. Help us with that and that will pay for the atramento as well as board and room. That’s alright with you?”
Toa knew she was really only saying that as a favour. He couldn’t understand why they were willing to help him for nothing. Their generosity made him nervous. People always had a reason to be generous and it often had strings attached.
Natasha sighed when it was clear he wasn’t completely convinced. “Okay, let me be straight. I like to be a bit blunt, so I hope this doesn’t offend you. Well, the reason why I’m doing this is for two reasons. One is that I’m curious to see what the atramento will do for someone who was blind.
“I know Hal and Freya are also interested in the outcome. Freya has been wanting to try the atramento with more people, but it’s difficult to convince people with other options to try something this experimental. Also, only a very small group are able to have these atramento in the first place. So you are one rare beast. The fact you can have the atramento is an endorsement for you.
“That brings me to the second reason I’m doing this. Megan likes you. She has been a little lost lately. She has pretty much finished everything here she had been planning to do but she is restless. I don’t think she found what she was looking for when she started here. You are at the very least a distraction from the fact she isn’t happy with what she thought would be the answer to her problems. And also I think she likes you.”
Toa said, “You have said that before.”
There was amusement in her voice when she spoke again. “Yeah, and Megan doesn’t like a lot of people. The fact she likes you and you hardly ever speak means there is something to you. Now does that worry you?”
It did worry him, but not for the reasons she thought. Toa said, “I’m not right for someone like her.”
Natasha touched his arm to guide him as she said, “Oh, and why is that?”
Toa grabbed the first reason which came to his mind that would be believable for her. “I’m from the islands.” He let that sit with her for a moment so she could understand the implications.
She snorted. “And I’m Russian. Everyone here is a refugee, Toa. My father and uncle were kicked out of their country. My Dad because he liked to speak his mind. And my uncle decided to cut his ties and took a submarine with him when he did.”
Toa coughed to hide his complete shock and asked, “A submarine?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, it wasn’t new or anything but he took it and the whole crew along with him when he left the navy. So you can see why he could never go back. It took them awhile to make a place for themselves here. They married and had kids and people forgot soon enough that they came from another place. The Shield Builder has made it easier for us to accept others.”
Toa had never heard of a town so small to get a weather shield. The highly sought after technology usually went to people with way more resources than a town generally had.
He asked curious. “Why is that? You have limited space and resources like everyone else.”
Natasha’s answer surprised him with its bluntness, “And we have limited children.”
Toa frowned at her come back.
She added as explanation, “Many of the men from this area are sterile. Some fallout from the war here almost forty years ago seems to play hinky with men’s equipment. If we didn’t take in new people our population would have dropped. We are stable at the moment. I know because my father is in charge of all the water which goes to the city.
“We can tell you to the hundred how many people are living in the city, from month to month, from the consumption of water. We could do with some more people.”
Toa wasn’t sure of that. He had heard these promises before and fear usually blew facts out of the water when it came to people’s ability to accept new people.
Natasha patted his leg and asked, “So are you ready for your atramento?”
To have some sense of what was around, which would help him without his sight. He nodded his head. Even if it was experimental.
She pushed on his shoulder. “Lie back. This is going to take a while. We will put the healing atramento and the balance atramento in first after we have put in t
he sense atramento. We will put the strength atramento in after lunch. If you want anything else besides that we will put it in as you need it. We have tested speed and if you want to be a guinea pig, I’m sure we can find another atramento for you.”
Toa had no idea what she was talking about. If it got him to the point where he could do something about his situation, then he would take all the hope he could get.
___
Toa had his arms out in front of him. He could feel the surface of the bed before he touched it. Almost like he could tell the air was a touch warmer so close to an object. He couldn’t put his finger on why he could tell it was there. He just knew.
He spun around when he heard someone step up behind him only to realise they were farther away and only just then entering the room. He could tell it was Megan. It was her scent. Like frangipanis.
Toa asked, “Where do you get your perfume? I thought those flowers were extinct.”
Her voice was warm. “My Dad is a horticulturist, and he has a hothouse with all sorts of things. He has a Frangipani. They are apparently very easy to grow, but I wouldn’t really know because every tree he has given me has died. I regularly raid his tree for myself. My sister makes the perfume. She is the next oldest after Warren. She is the only one who took after Dad plant wise.”
Toa hadn’t met many people with large families anymore. “Do you have a large family?” he asked.
Megan moved closer as she answered. “Mmm, yeah, I suppose so. There is Warren, then I have two sisters and an older brother. Then there is me and then a younger brother. That makes six of us in total. For most that is a big family.”
Toa missed his family. “I have a sister.”
Her voice when she spoke was filled with sadness. “Oh. Is she… No, don’t answer that. Is she still alive?”
“Yes.” He didn’t add anything even though he wished he could talk to someone about his sister.
Megan motioned her hand to him and he smiled when he realised he knew that. She asked, “How are the atramento working?”
Toa shook his head slightly. “Amazing.”
Megan chuckled. “Another convert.” She touched his arm. “Well, do you want a tour of the town?”
They had called it a town, but he still wasn’t sure they were telling the truth. “It’s a town? I thought only cities were allowed to have the weather shield.”
Megan tucked his hand into her elbow. “True. Especially, in the early days when the Shield Builders were trying their best to get as many people as possible under cover. But that was almost thirty years ago. A lot has happened in that time.”
Yes. The smaller islands had all finally disappeared under the ocean. His family had been some of the last holdouts to stay on the islands. They hadn’t wanted to go to the mainland or the larger islands where things were worse because of war and famine there as well. But eventually staying had not been an option. Most people from the islands had moved to the larger islands and had hired themselves out as soldiers to other countries to get supplies sent back to their families.
That was the world he had been born into. But the islands were never able to maintain that large of a population. He still wondered if the weather shield could have helped his people, but that hadn’t been an option.
The islands had been part of the warring factions and that meant the Shield Builders had avoided them.
Megan’s fingers caressed the back of his hand to make sure he kept his connection with her even though he didn’t need the touch to be able to tell where he was going.
Toa didn’t pull away though, and he knew he was a selfish bastard to accept her touch. He wasn’t good for her, no matter how much he wanted to be. He’d never had the chance to relax enough to think about girls and now wasn’t the time either.
___
Megan yelled out to her Construction manager as they approached the building site. Josh turned and gave her a short wave. She had worked with Josh for a few years now and he was always professional.
She was worried about him, though. He had seemed melancholy recently.
They were almost finished all their projects. And she wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay here in Edge. Edge wasn’t going to have any more major building in the foreseeable future. She wondered if he should move on to something bigger and brighter.
Megan turned to Toa. “That is Josh, my Construction manager. We are almost finished here and mostly it’s highly skilled labour. Do you know anything about construction?”
Toa shook his head and asked, “What is this place?”
She waved to take in the whole place as she said grandly. “I call it the palace. I’m thinking about making it my place.”
“You aren’t sure?” His voice showed his surprise. “I would have thought anyone who could live in a palace would want to live there.”
Megan said, “I always thought I wanted a place like this, but I’ve lost the passion for it. I find every now and then I think that this place would be nice for a certain person. I just haven’t made up my mind yet. When it’s finished, I can decide then.”
Josh approached them and nodded his head in respect to her. She had hired him because he was the only adult who had been willing to work with an eighteen-year-old who had already had several large projects under her belt. She had already gone through a few Construction managers by that stage so she had been grateful to work with someone that respected her skills.
Josh ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “A new worker?”
She smiled at Josh’s tired tone. “This is Toa. We found him in the Wildlands. He doesn’t like to be lazing around so he offered to help out. Natasha is going to take him out tomorrow to help finish up her project, but you have the two of us today here to do anything you need. Well, for a short while. I’m going to take Toa for a tour later on.”
Josh nodded accepting her story easily. “He looks strong enough. He can carry in the plaster boards for the internal walls.”
She snorted, that was an understatement. With the strength atramento she was stronger than most of the men on her crews. Toa would have no trouble with the awkward boards. She motioned for Toa to head off. He seemed to understand. She was impressed by how much the sense atramento helped him to take in everything around him.
Megan would first inspect what was happening and make sure all the specs were up to code. Toa could do some heavy lifting and feel like he was contributing before she dragged him off to see the rest of the town.
She winced at the thought. He wouldn’t be able to see the town. Even with the sense atramento he would not see the town in the same way as he would have before he had lost his sight. Natasha had told her that the blindness had been caused by acid and it didn’t look accidental. Who would do that to another? To steal their sight and then make them wander alone in the Wildlands where they were prey for raiders and the elements. She shook off her dark thoughts.
Josh motioned to one of his foremen to keep an eye on him. Toa went off with them.
Megan walked with Josh and asked, “Did you have any trouble yesterday?”
Josh shrugged.
She frowned and asked, “Are you alright?”
He sighed. “It’s almost all done.”
Megan looked at him seriously. “I know and I know what you are feeling. Do you want to wallow in what you have created or do you want to do more?”
Josh shot her a sharp glance. “You do know.”
She shrugged. Her father, though more interested in plants, was very good at understanding his children. He had to as most people thought they were more alien than human. She recognised in Josh what she had been feeling about this project.
Josh ran a hand through his hair again. “I thought I would like it when it was all over but there is something missing. I think I like the making more than the looking.”
She grinned at him. “I think I’m the same. I thought I would be different. That is why I started this monstrosity of a house. If I go on to another project, I’ll
take you with me.”
Josh chuckled. “I just might take you up on that. What is with the guy, by the way?”
Megan said, “Found him wandering around just like I said.”
His eyes narrowed. “So you don’t know his story.”
She said, “He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
Josh shook his head. “I forget how young you are sometimes. He could be a mass murderer and you wouldn’t even know.”
She laughed. “And he would tell us that if he really was one? I’d rather watch and find out the truth. He isn’t dangerous.”
Josh grumbled. “And how do you know that? That is a soldier if I ever saw one.”
Megan gave him a knowing smile. “A blind one.”
“What?” Josh gaped at her.
Megan chuckled at his shocked expression. “He is blind. The only reason he can see anything is because of the atramento and that is how I know he is alright.”
Josh said, “I know Natasha swears she knows when people are up to something, but I never bought into any of that.”
Megan shook her head. She had been trying to convince him for years to get the atramento but he wasn’t interested. Or more accurately, he didn’t believe they worked. She patted his shoulder. “One day you will believe me and Natasha.”
Josh snorted. “That will be an interesting day.”
Megan laughed as she completely agreed with him. She turned to study the plans that were tacked on the wall of the office.
She had said she had built this place because she wanted a big project, but that was a lie. Some time ago someone had made her remember she was considered a princess by the world and she wanted to rub their face in it.
Knowing she hadn’t really built this place for herself was probably why she didn’t have the passion for it she should. Perhaps it would change if she filled it with children like her parents had done with their place.
Chapter Four
Edge June 2097
It hadn’t been hard to find the pile of drywall the Construction manager had wanted moved. There were other men moving things and he had just followed them. The dry wall wasn’t heavy, but they were awkward.
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