The Kohlna swam amid a facsimile environment of rocks, dancing sea cabbage, urchins, and finger-sized waddle fish, which played an outsized role in transferring Kohlna eggs to safety during their brief incubation. Words of awe, respect, and a fair amount of uneasy revulsion at the strange beast rose from the tourists.
“The most important creature in the natural world,” Parke said. “A survivor, a predator, a provider. After all these centuries, it continues to deliver sustenance like nothing else. And to think: The first colonists who took to the seas feared the Kohlna. Few Hokkis know this, but the Kohlna was not harvested for food until a century after colonization.”
“Pah!” A male tourist said. “With fair respect, Honored Parke, that is simply a maiden’s tale. I am an economist and a bit of an historian. I know for a fact the first stocks were traded in the original Aquatic Market less than forty years after the first colonists arrived.”
Parke showed no sign of indignance and replied with cool demeanor.
“Your timing is correct, Honored Sai, but I fear your details are confused. The Aquatic Market was a speculative venture geared toward shipping and the hope our Chancellor benefactors would provide the raw materials for ramping up construction of deep-sea vessels. They did not, and the Aquatic Market dissolved after twenty fruitless years.”
Parke saved the smug twirl of his lips until the end. Kara had no interest in a history lesson on the economy. Plus, she knew both men were wrong. She glanced at her hand-comm and zeroed in on the signal she needed. She scoped in every direction and spotted the required exit. She was close to fulfilling her mission.
Now was the time to end this charade. She hid the hand-comm and stepped forward.
“May I ask a question, Honored Parke?” She said.
“Young Miss Syung. Of course.”
“I wonder about the wisdom of keeping Kohlna imprisoned down here for study. I mean to say, we’ve harvested this animal for centuries. We use every ounce of it in some capacity. We know everything about it, down to the genetic level. What’s to explore?”
Parke smirked. “Nothing in nature is ever known in its entirety.”
“What do you mean, Honored Parke?”
“All creatures evolve, and not just in terms of their biology. Breeding habits, for instance.”
“Oh, sure. We can always make more pleasure supplements.”
His smirk disappeared.
“Not my meaning, Young Miss Syung. I was referring to environmental factors. They influence the Kohlna’s lifestyle, which could in turn alter its physiology and reproductive capabilities over time. If we see disruptive trends, we …”
“Disruptive? You mean like growing the annual catch and sending more ships to their breeding grounds during peak season?”
“I believe this is off topic and …”
“But you started the tour by telling us about the percentage growth in our product line, and since Kohlna is the primary product, I think any halfway intelligent Hokki could make a leap that …”
“Are you trying to imply …?”
Parke caught himself and raised a stern finger. He turned his attention to the tourists.
“I must confess, I taught Young Miss Syung three years ago during my tenure at the Vox School. She was an impulsive student, but I suppose we need strong heads among our future leaders. Yes, friends, she is a child of Syung-Low. She is going through the process of learning all facets of the business.”
“I am,” Kara said with beaming smile. She turned to the others. “And I’m learning so much from great men like Honored Parke. Father insisted I shadow him night and day.”
“Very kind,” Parke said, but Kara heard the contempt.
“I have another question. Earlier, you mentioned disruptive trends in the environment as a reason to study the Kohlna. I wonder whether acenomite levels might be a bigger problem than consumption.”
“Acenomite? You mean from the rings?”
“Oh, sure.” She pivoted to the guests. “Everyone knows about it, I trust. The acenomite dust falling from the rings, poisoning the land and such? Yes?”
Their confusion and horror did not surprise her but was what she needed. Parke tut-tutted and stepped between Kara and the VIPs.
“I believe Young Miss Syung is having a laugh at your expense. What’s she referencing is a conspiracy theory on the IntraNex and the Global Wave. No truth to it whatsoever.”
“Really?” Kara said. “So, you’re telling us there hasn’t been a steady erosion of the Kye-Do rings for the past few centuries, and the acenomite dust produced by all that Chancellor mining hasn’t spoiled the planet?”
“You see?” He interjected. “She loves a good laugh. No, Young Miss Syung. I had personal acquaintance with several of the best Chancellor exobiologists and geologists before the Carrier fleet departed. Years of tests proved the acenomite never posed a danger. It’s an insane notion being spread by Freelanders and competitors to The Lagos. Honored guests, if you will excuse Young Miss Syung and I for a moment.”
He tapped Kara on the shoulder and led her away to a quiet place.
“What are you trying to accomplish? These theories could sabotage your very birthright.”
She shrugged. “People talk. I like to know what people are saying everywhere, not just in Haansu and Nantou. I’m being a critical thinker, Honored Parke. Didn’t you encourage us to be so at Vox?”
He sighed. “I think this tour was a mistake. You’ll never be employed in BRED anyway. I understand your Honorable Father and Mother have tapped you for a career in marketing.”
“So they say, but marketing touches all divisions. Yes?”
“Leave the complexities of our industry to your brothers. Lang and Dae are exemplary young men. Everyone who has followed Syung-Low understands where the future lies. It is not with you.”
The jab hurt, but Kara needed it.
“Maybe you’re right, Honored Parke. I should leave now. And I don’t require an escort. I know the entire complex.”
He pointed toward the lift, but she faced the opposite direction.
“I also know shortcuts. Goodbye, Honored Parke. I’ll leave you to talk more about those pleasure supplements.”
She imagined the blades in his eyes, but he wouldn’t dare complain to her parents. Dr. Parke knew his station in Nantou; any perception of a conflict between him and a child of Syung-Low would not resolve itself in his favor.
Kara did not take a shortcut back to the central offices. Rather, she exited through a nondescript service door, raced down two flights of stairs, passed through a workers Commons, and entered the room where she expected to find her target.
The lighting was dimmed twenty percent, and the air did not smell as fresh. She passed rows of tiny offices – each little more than a cubicle with a ceiling – and heard a puttering of keys, the murky vocals of Puratoon Opera, and the aromatic fragrance of wild quovis flowers. She studied the schematic on her hand-comm and matched it to Office 5399.
Please let it be him.
She reached for the lock pad, but the door slid open before her. Kara didn’t have to wonder any longer. Suddenly, he was standing before her, a heavy-set man with a forehead scar, gasping.
“Honored Baek,” she said. “I knew I’d find you here.”
Teemo Baek looked frantically about then rushed Kara inside, shutting the door.
“Young Miss Syung,” he said. “You can’t be here, and you can’t be seen talking to me.”
“Please, Honored Baek. Call me Kara. We’ve known each other too long.”
“My name is Kae Motebe. I no longer wear an honorific.”
Kara understood his difficulty, but she intended to win him over.
“Yes, yes. An anagram of Teemo Baek. I recognized it when I was reviewing personnel records. I couldn’t believe it. For the longest time, my parents said you weren’t on the rolls. But I heard rumors. I had to investigate. Tell me, Honored Baek, how is Chi-Qua? I miss her.”
; He draped a hand over his eyes as if a headache of unspeakable pain grabbed hold.
“Young Miss Syung, I lost the honorific last year. I’m Kae. Who knows you are here?”
“No one who will ever matter. How is Chi-Qua? We only spoke once. We cried. That was ten months ago. Please tell me how she’s doing.”
Kae Motebe, once one of the wealthiest men in Haansu, who owned the estate next door to Syung, bowed his head.
“She lives. Some days she smiles. She speaks of leaving for the continent. She knows someone in New Seoul.”
“No. She can’t. Pinchon is her home.”
“Pinchon is the city where she lives. Chi-Qua no longer considers it home. In her position, would you?”
He made a valid point. Kara often wondered how she would have reacted had it been her own family who lost everything in the social refinery that followed the departure of the Chancellors. She had yet to shake the horror of that morning thirteen months earlier when she arrived at the Baek estate to find it empty. Then, to return home and learn the sordid, disgusting truth from her mother.
“I’ve tried to reach out, but I’m blocked at every turn. I can’t even find her on the IntraNex.”
“Please, do not take it personally. Her mother and I made those choices for Chi-Qua. We wanted to shield her from the repercussions of our shame. After I was offered this position under a pseudonym, we felt fortunate. I earn enough to pay lease and provide for Chi-Qua’s basic needs. If she leaves for the continent, she’ll have a few months’ worth of Dims to see her through.”
Kara looked around. The tiny office was nondescript. A desk. Two chairs. A touch bar with keyboard and holographics. A vase with purple quovis flowers.
“What is your job? This division is Support Services.”
“I am Inventory Logistics Sub-manager for Facilities.”
Her heart ached. “You make sure the bathrooms are stocked.”
He met her eyes with a surprising twinkle.
“I also keep the vases fresh, Kara.”
How could he bear to smile?
“I’m so sorry, Kae. None of it ever should have happ …”
“Please. Your sympathy is unwarranted. My family disgraced itself. Now we pay in standing. Many before us endured the same.”
Kara wanted to spit.
“The only disgrace is how you were sacrificed by families like mine. Don’t you dare try to convince me otherwise. If collaborators needed to be punished for siphoning revenue through the Chancellors, it should have been my parents.”
“Kara, no! Never in your life say that again. You cannot imagine how fragile your standing is. If even one of your parents’ associates heard such an accusation, they might bring down Syung-Low in a matter of days. You have no idea how dangerous life became in those first weeks after the Carriers left Hokkaido. Our economy stood on the brink of collapse. Anarchists and Freelanders killed thousands on the continent – much of it never reported on the Global Wave. We came within hours of a workers’ revolt in Pinchon.
“The only solution was refinery, as it has been for centuries. They even practiced a form of it on Earth, before colonization. The Gentry Class sacrificed families in the name of appeasing the discontented. Refinery allows scapegoats to fall, and honor be restored to the Gentry. This invokes confidence among plebians.”
“It is sick, and it is disgusting, Kae. There are days when I loathe my family.”
“No. Kara …”
“My brothers do whatever Honorable Father says. They’re his deputies. I believe they spy on other families and build dossiers in case more sacrifices have to be made. I used to love growing up in Haansu. Now, the blades are out.”
He grabbed her hands and wrapped them in his own.
“They always were, Kara, but you were too young to see them. In a sense, there is relief in knowing we cannot fall further. Our lives have been diminished, but not our love for each other. Kara, why did you come down here? This was such a risk.”
“Because I have a proposal. I think there’s a way to rehabilitate your family. At the very least, have Chi-Qua back in my life.”
He leaned in and planted a tiny peck on her cheek. Outside the office, this would be deemed a gross violation, perhaps a firing offense.
“Come now, Kara. You’re seventeen. A bit young to be fighting the scourge of social refinery, don’t you think?”
“No. Kae, I’ve been researching for months. I can’t find any legal recourse, but there’s a remedy. It’s been used for centuries. Most of the time, families are rehabilitated within ten years. Will you at least hear me out?”
He pulled away. “You sweet child. Also, naïve. Anything you might propose would be a product of your subterfuge. Your parents will hear none of it, let alone the rest of the Gentry. Besides, by the time Chi-Qua is my age, the Baek name will be spoken with reverence again. Social refinery is not a sentence of death. The next generation will see things differently. They always do.”
“That’s a myth. I’ve done the research. Most families never recover from refinery. The Ju-Ho clan practically ruled The Lagos for two hundred years after colonization. One scandal involving the patriarch’s brother brought down everyone. There are no records of the family – even through pseudonyms – from fifty years after. Families don’t return to the Gentry without direct intervention from the original accusers themselves. Kae, it’s the only way, and it will work. I promise.”
She saw the sudden, stark realization in his weary eyes. He understood what “intervention” meant. Kara knew her proposal was selfish at best. It might very well destroy whatever modicum of happiness the former Baeks found in their new lives.
But it was a chance – and maybe a way back.
“Kara, even if you had a plan, it would never work. Your parents were not the accusers.”
She wagged a finger. “Not yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m an angry coit,” she said, using an extreme vulgarity for women. “I’ve been angry for thirteen months. And now I have leverage to make my parents see things in a new light. Chi-Qua deserves better. If I can make them intervene on her behalf, will you and her mother go along with it?”
“Chi-Qua used to say your stubbornness was going to bring trouble down upon you someday. She also said you’d probably change the world when it did. I think you believe you have a plan, but reality will be a painful adversary, I fear. I will speak to Chi-Qua’s mother, but I will say nothing to my daughter. If you somehow succeed, we will consider intervention.”
It was as much as Kara might have reasonably expected. He was right on one count: Trouble was about to take a loud, punishing swipe at her. The next step in her plan required more than effective strategy and verbal gymnastics. She needed the sweet kiss of luck.
More specifically, stolen secrets from her brother’s memglass.
Betrayal among the Gentry was, Kara discovered, a matter of context. One family might turn upon another without repercussions if the refinery appeared to benefit the social order. But to betray within the family? Such madness demanded swift retribution, anything from long-term exile to inexplicable “suicide.”
Kara understood the potential outcome when she sat before her parents a few days later. Her initial strategy involved recounting a history of refinery they almost certainly knew then reminding them of the long, unshakeable bond between Kara and Chi-Qua.
“She was more than a friend,” Kara told them. “She filled my heart with love when I was depressed. When the snobbery and elitism at Vox became too much, we relied on each other’s sense of humor to make light of the silliness. We made plans for the future. We wanted to travel beyond Pinchon and see everything Hokkaido offered. We finished each other’s sentences, even without speaking them. If we were blood sisters, we could not have been closer.”
Her father, Perr, cared little for sentiment and appeared distracted as she laid out her case. Her mother, Li-Ann, held a dutiful half-smile and nodded throu
ghout.
“You sound to me like lovers,” Perr said. “In my long experience, those who complete each other’s sentences are romantically entangled. Hmm. Daughter, were you lovers?”
Though Kara sometimes imagined the possibility, she never doubted they were meant for others.
“No, Honorable Father. Though some in school were, as you say, entangled, Chi-Qua and I were platonic, but our bond was unbreakable. So much so, I find myself untethered every day. I have not spoken to her in months, but I’m certain she feels the same emptiness and misdirection. If I could have her back in my life, where I see her from morning to night, I’m sure my wounds will heal. As will hers. Chi-Qua played no part in her family’s disgrace.”
Perr tapped his desk.
“You are asking for intervention. Even if I could orchestrate the maneuver, Chi-Qua would become the property of another house. Asking such a thing of the accusers might beg unwanted questions among those seeking to undermine Syung-Low.”
“Honorable Father, I have read historical accounts where one house made a public proclamation as the accusatory party in order to shield another house from potential retribution. It is considered a noble act. It even leaves the other house indebted to the intervening house. We might gain in stature.”
Perr turned to Li-Ann. “And what do you think of Daughter’s unusual stratagem?”
Mother did not hesitate. “She is, as always, leading with a reckless heart. These precedents you speak of, Daughter, do not account for a post-Collectorate Hokkaido. We no longer live in the shadow of the Chancellory. The great families have few allegiances.”
“I think you’re wrong, Mother. These so-called ‘great families’ have shared concerns. The Freelanders gain strength. They’ll threaten The Lagos and our privilege. The families will look inward to protect each other instead of sacrificing. I believe they will accept an act of intervention without so much as a shrug of the shoulders.”
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