She brushed his hands aside and hunched over onto her knees, peering into his being. “There comes a time when enough is enough.”
“Look, I am trying to follow, Gayle, but this is some tough jargon to swallow.” That didn’t sound too condemning.
“Something inside of us recognizes that what is being done isn’t right, not the best for us.”
“We live in a utopia,” he said, hoping she knew this.
“And it’s worth fighting back, asking questions, seeking truth.” The passion was back in her spirit; it shone in her clear blue eyes.
“Truth is given to us by the Market and our companies in our time. In our time!” David said with conviction. The quote was in a musical—Redemption of a Corporate Thief. Or some such play.
“Truth is earned and sought.”
“You lie.” He stopped himself short of slapping her, wrestling against the brand and his anger. “But today? What happened today?” he prompted. There is no time to teach her a lesson, David, he warned himself; time was of the essence.
“Come inside so we aren’t spied on.” She led. The two moved inside and sat on the rusted metal stairs of the rotting clock tower. The tower’s decrepit interior contrasted starkly with its pristine outer shell. “David, it’s not easy, and the market fights back. And I messed up.”
“How did you mess up? You manager realized you have a fake?” he guessed.
“No, I was teaching children today, and I just couldn’t hold my tongue. I started preaching to the children that life was not all about looks.” Tears filled her eyes. “We indoctrinate kids against their own nature.”
Furtively, David signed himself against her lies with an X. “Thank productivity that we do. Laziness needs to be trained out of youth.”
“Don’t say that ever.” She glared. “We hide something that is innately human from them. At times I see the struggle so visibly. You may not believe me, but it’s as if they have a deeper brand, a nature or something that is being buried.”
“If there are monsters inside of us, let them lie,” David declared.
“Oh, you don’t know what you say. Not a monster but a guide. It’s still in there. A deeper reality. But damn, do we make it hard for kids to find themselves.” She looked up at him, willing him to understand.
“Keep going.” For once, even though he was confused, he chose to listen. More out of shock than empathy. He checked his watch to make sure the hour wasn’t finished.
“I was on the training ground today, and my manager caught me spreading heresy.”
Outright rebellion. Again! David thought with a sinking feeling. “The CEO covered up and forgave you after your scene of indiscretion on the grounds that you comply and go along with PPRE. This is bad!” Gayle would not be terminated, killed. He hoped not. Because she was too pretty and still had a lot of useful years. Now she would be sent to Orns and sold at a high price. Particularly high after the PPRE success.
“I won’t make it through the review.” Simply stated. With finality.
“This is bad. Real bad!” He’d never be able to date her if she was sent to Orns. Uriah or Grandpa Greg or even worse might end up dating her. He shuddered.
“David, the manager demanded that I go up for review immediately. And all because I picked up a cute hurt little girl and told her to smile and that she was beautiful even when she didn’t get her project correct on the first try.”
David began to pace, dust clouds stalking his footsteps.
“My manager caught my heretical preaching on film. The girl I picked up, I saw her getting bullied by the bigger kids for her failures. They called her snotty, ugly, and useless. It was cruel.”
David looked at her quizzically. He stated the obvious. “I thought it was customary practice for the teachers to encourage the older trainees to motivate, bully, or encourage the younger ones to do, do, do better.”
“It’s monstrous, David. Always it’s about doing and looking the best. Nothing about the girl’s true needs.” She smiled tearfully, remembering the little girl. “And so I am a repeat offender. A heretic.”
“How did you get out of there? Thrive QC would’ve forced you to go immediately to your review once the procedure was approved.” He was perplexed. David had recently read some of the managers’ rights and manuals of procedure. Thrive’s policy would be similar to Nnect’s, if not identical. Every company shamelessly copied from the others. “All the Majors operate that way. I think.”
“David, as my manager was logging the review into the system, I managed to get to my workstation and book a PPRE date first. I have one hour of freedom. Because our dating is so public and such a huge profit to Thrive and Nnect, the manager couldn’t stop me from coming without risking her own job security.”
“Is she waiting?”
“Oh, the crafty bitch is waiting, all right. QC is probably trying to figure out where I am right now. They’ll discover my brand infringement and everything.”
The gravity of the situation and the desperation of it sunk in. It was almost as bad as David’s current problems. “How could you involve me in this again?” he asked. His selfish side was at war with his heroic side. An inner debate ensued.
She looked at him rigidly, daring him to call QC. Steel sparks could have flown off her eyes at that moment. “Twenty-Three, kill me if they get me. I will not go to Orns.”
“Terminate you? What? Never! I want to buy you, Gayle. I could never kill you!” The word felt dirty.
“David.” She was as serious as ever. He shut up. “Kill me if they get me.” She pulled a knife out of her pocket. It was small. Maybe two inches long, made of black steel. The navy handle was rusted.
“Where in Rex’s greatness did you get that?” He took a step away from the weapon; weapons were very illegal.
She screamed, “David, this is for real. Open your eyes. I know what they would do to me in Orns. Promise me that you’ll kill me. Our relationship is nothing like what would happen there. This is child’s play.”
Then something strange overcame him; he saw himself in her plight. The desperate desire to survive. The fear of Nnect firing him. The serious implications of his failure at Lave Labs. She was in a similar boat. He paused; he decided. “OK, fine. I’ll help.” He knew the only way out. “Put that thing away, Gayle. I have a solution.”
“You do?” She didn’t quite believe him.
“Yes, the only answer. Come to Orns with us.”
Like lightning, her palm slapped him hard, dust rising around them. “You would take me to Orns? Cold bastard.” The sting of her palm turned his cheek red.
“That isn’t what I meant. Not turning you in. I-I-I…” he stuttered.
Tensely, she held back her second slap. His face throbbed in pain. “Explain yourself, if you’re not turning me in.”
“I-I mean we are already going to Orns. It is the safest way. We have a plan.”
Her jaw dropped in disbelief. “We?” She looked around at the empty room. “You hate Orns, so why are you going?”
“Yes indeed, to Orns we go. Down the winding road to hell.” The irony hit him. “Seems we are all doing it these days,” he declared sarcastically. He continued more seriously, because it wasn’t a joke what they were attempting. “It seems the best solution is to go to Orns before they come to get us.”
“Explain…” she said.
“I’ve banded together with a couple of other outlaws of sorts who are trying to figure out how to free friends and maybe free ourselves in the process. In all shamefulness, I’m as much of an outlaw as you. Believe it or not.” He smiled somewhat sadly, but also a happiness filled him; he liked the sound of going on a journey with her. It made him feel like a hero.
She looked at him in approval, surprise glimmering in her blue eyes. It was the first look of approval from her in a long time. “Sure. I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?” It was genuine.
“Finally, a real date.”
“Don’t push your luck.�
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And they headed off to meet up with the others before anyone found them. He explained as much as he could on the way. The old clock tower’s arm creaked and moved an inch as they left. The arms of the old clock tower never moved. It was a strange day indeed.
Chapter 37
Pairs of Investing
Quarter 1, Day 18
Looking around the corner from the small, dirty housing units on the block to the large, imposing gold buildings that formed the entrance to the Orns campus, the group of unlikely allies halted to decide their next move. Their backs were to the Orns gate, which they had just come though, and the west wall of the city of Xchange. Orns occupied the area just outside the imposing, bristling defensive wall. The housing blocks and low-grade sales district surrounding Orns were in direct contrast to the brilliance and splendor of the megabrand’s campus: the campus was inviting, entertaining, and cheerful; the housing units were crumbling, desolate, and bleak.
David grunted into the silence, “Remember, missionaries, this is not just about getting your precious Tara back. The primary objective is to make those who betrayed Nnect suffer.”
Manda nodded and said, “In addition, we must find some plausible data that we can use against Grandpa Greg for our lawsuit or none of this will help.”
“You’re all dead men walking.” In one of his moods, the angry captain with his neck collar shook his head in disgust at the situation.
David reassured him, “Captain Jonathan, I promised to give you the CEO armband when this is finished, as we agreed for your cooperation. All proof will be gone of your grandfather’s indiscretion.”
“I’d better get that armband back before this is over, or nothing will stop me from processing you, intern,” the captain said.
“Oh gee whiz. Enough bickering already,” Gayle chimed in, a bit exasperated. She was still wrapping her mind around the odd consortium of temporary interlocking truces that bound the invading group together.
“You’ll get the band, Captain. You will.” David was grateful for the menacing stance of Patrick, who held the collar’s controller around his neck on a thin silver chain. “And let’s not let the missionaries kill you with their neck cuff either. That would be a shame.” David looked ironically from the collar, which glinted cruelly, to his own intricate platinum armband. “Remember that it was your grandpa who gave me this key. I did not want or ask for it.” He shivered. “I have lived in terror because of it.”
“I think you two need to get over yourselves. From what Manda has told me, the giver of the armband might have had a good reason to bestow his gift,” Gayle said. She seemed to think the horrible armband was a gift.
“A gift does not get one killed,” David retorted.
Manda said, always trying to diffuse the tension, “Captain, maybe you should respect your grandfather’s choice and see how things work out.”
Gayle touched the band, her curious fingers reading the surface markings. David rotated the armband. He could feel it gripping his forearm like a second skin. Inside-Out or Outside-In? This was the key to unlocking the armband’s power.
“Events do not work out.” The last bit the captain snarled through his grating teeth, which he’d been grinding all day. “Quality citizens must be about making our own outcomes with fear and trembling.” He turned to David and said, “Growing cocky with your rebellion, boy?” He chafed at the neck cuff that held him captive. His neck was red from attempts to free himself.
Patrick waved his controller. “Keep complaining and you’ll dance.” David nodded gratefully toward his partner in crime.
“Relax and stop egging him on, boys,” Paul reprimanded the younger men, as he put a hand on David’s shoulder in a supportive gesture.
Why does he seem to care about everyone? David thought. He should be more worried.
“We also need to find a ship to get out of Xchange once we find the prisoners,” Patrick said more calmly, focused on freeing Tara. His clenched jaw and direct tone seemed much more pragmatic than earlier.
“David, I’ve been thinking about the condition of Lave Labs,” Manda said. She looked different without her lab suit. More approachable and less formal. She wore trim green slacks and a gray cardigan, which wrapped around her casually and dangled between her legs. She was quite pretty.
“Yes, Manda?”
“I should go back and be at the Lave command desk in case you need to communicate with Nnect or need any resources.”
“Don’t go back there, Manda.” There was an edge to his voice, caused by his caring for her. “That is too dangerous!” He grabbed her and shook his head. “They’ll detain you as soon as anyone outside of the team visits the labs.”
“Exactly. I now my way around the labs. I can stall, clean up, and buy you all time. Maybe get a report to the CEO saying things are going well.”
“A day or two could be the difference between success and failure,” Doc Gus said, nodding his appreciation of Manda’s intelligence and bravery.
Paul looked at Manda and gave her a hug, encouraging her like a kind father would. “You are very selfless.”
“I will try to find a ship for you to leave in as well,” Manda said directly to Paul. Paul’s kindness was having a strange effect on those around him. He treated her with respect, without an agenda. This is not the human-doing way. This man treats us all paternally. Like he actually gives a shit, David thought. It was odd. Manda smiled to the group, took a deep breath, and disappeared around the corner.
“What about the Donk and myself, Mr. Manager?” Gayle said with a hint of sarcasm. His lips curled; “Mr. Manager” was one of her derisive names. Being a manager is an honor, he thought indignantly. Donk was Gayle’s newest nickname for Doc Gus.
“Just walking around the campus and attempting to guess where the captives are will not work!” Patrick said. “This campus is enormous.” He looked around with intimidation.
“Indeed, a daunting adventure,” Donk said, and stroked his facial hair, tugging a gray hair out from the brown. Somehow his beard was always trimmed in a shapely professional manner.
Dull silver walls, round black roofs, and shiny clear windows rose overhead as the group snuck away from Orns into an alleyway just outside the campus.
“I’ve never seen anything so ornate.” Paul said, somewhat in awe of the architecture.
“Seems like very little security to keep people out.”
The captain, in a more helpful mood, said, “The campus is meant to welcome and encourage entrance.”
Doc Gus explained, “People attending large human sporting events or casual relationship users want easy access, and Orns wants their users to feel comfortable spending a lot of time and freedoms on this campus.”
spend and spend now. The blue-and-red sign dangled above their heads. the home of comfortable, convenient addictions read a poster on a wall opposite them. thoughtless purchase of happiness. The slogans went on and on.
“This place is disgusting.” Patrick looked around, horrified. “An entire company built on temptations, addictions, and pleasure.”
“You have no taste yourself.” David was not about to let these foreigners besmirch his country. “The three isms is a pretty basic business concept. Very effective.”
“I kinda agree with him, David,” Gayle said, to his chagrin.
“Temptations are not evil, just different pathways to happiness,” David murmured. He was self-conscious repeating the Mindmonk saying, because Doc Gus had told him that and was present. The Saver personalities like me try to avoid the temptations of this place. No human-doing with a decent chance at buying himself would come anywhere near this campus for fear of the Saver-to-Spender pendulum swing, David thought. But he would not admit this to the group. He wouldn’t debase himself by admitting his feelings about Orns in front of the foreigners.
As they looked with bafflement at the campus, from an observation balcony that was taller than the city wall, they puzzled over solutions to their obje
ctive. Gayle whispered, “There are rumors of employees and sometimes even free people being kidnapped here. Never seen again.”
Gossip. David shuddered despite himself. I’ve heard that rumor too. He decided to agree with Gayle on this. “The other four Major brands step carefully around Orns.”
“Donk, what do you think?” Gayle prodded the monk for information.
“Fear, gossip, and mystery are powerful contributors to a company’s ethos. The subservience to unknown authority figures that reside in these walls is real. Despite the mystery of Orns’s leadership, the magnetic addiction of this place is quite compelling.”
“From a security perspective,” the captain said a bit bitterly, “Orns has no need for high seclusive walls to guard its campus. They don’t need privacy and security like the other brands do. This is an open campus.”
“Should we be worried about guards from your companies, Gayle and David?” Paul asked.
“Yes,” Gayle and David responded in unison, sighing in relief.
“Coast looks clear. No barricades,” Patrick said. “Open campus, you say.”
“There is no time like today. No QC patrols.” He had expected swarms of QC warriors to be erecting a barricade to capture the rogue operation. He tightened his already-clenched fists and led the group down the steps, out an alleyway, through the western gate and to the broad titanium paved street that separated Orns from the ugliness in front of it.
He exchanged a glance with Gayle. She must have expected Thrive to locate her and capture her already. He said to her, “No one expects us to head toward Orns.”
“What is this place?” Patrick whispered as the team marched boldly onto the campus, past the outer rim of large structures. “This is fancier than any cathedral or government building back in our cities. What god do they worship here?”
“This is not a place of worship; this is a place of filth,” Captain Jonathan said. David looked at the officer, surprised at his vehement opinion of Orns. Maybe we think alike?
A Tale Of Doings Page 50