The Elitist Supremacy

by Niranjan K

  “Why are you helping me?” John asked. He truly was surprised. “You helped me before, you’re always helping me. Why?”

  “Because you’re my friend, and those are rare in my life,” Alexander said. “Also, I owe you. You helped me escape from them once, and I can never do enough to pay that debt!”

  “I was young and stupid, and I needed the money,” John said wearily, and hadn’t Alexander already repaid that debt when he helped him escape his life as Mason Davis, and to start over as John Patrick? It was Alexander who had erased every last trace of him from the system, even the physical samples of DNA in the Nishati so that his former colleagues couldn’t track him. Who else could have breached the Central Console to delete almost every record they had of his?

  John was touched by the man’s statement that John was his friend, and wasn’t Alexander perhaps the truest friend he ever had?

  “I wasn’t part of the Elite then, and my loyalties were-fluid, shall we say?”

  “I don’t care what your motivation was,” Alexander said drily. “The fact is you helped me then, and I want to help you now.”

  “You already did when I wanted to escape my old life and build a new one with Aria. New identities, new appearances... you erased me from the system so they couldn’t trace or track me, even helped falsify my children’s DNA records so they could have a normal life.”

  “And yet, you decided to come back to Prith after just a year in Hafi,” Alexander said. “You knew the risks. Dammit! I should've made you go back then.”

  John smiled. “I wouldn’t have gone. Hafi... it was making Aria sick. The cold, and the wet. I had to come back. It saved her life,” he smiled at Alexander. “You know, when I met her, I was 22 years older than her.”

  “Technically, you’re centuries older than her,” Alexander said. “And we really have no time for reminiscences.”

  John smiled. “Now, she’s eight years older than me, and I just keep loving her more with each day.” He lowered his head, “It was all worth it,” he said. “Every single day of the last thirty years, despite the fear, the poverty, the inability to get a job... it was still worth it.” He didn’t look at Alexander, didn’t raise his head, but his voice was high. “And you’re asking me to throw it all away. This is my life, our life, the life we built together!”

  “John,” Alexander said quietly. “You don’t have a choice. If they come, Aria will be dead, you will be in Cryo, and your children will either be dead or in stasis, or forced to be part of them. You’re not leaving your life behind. You’re leaving some things behind. You can build again, life, house, whatever you call it. I have connections. I can help you get away, but we have to act now. We don’t know when Thaxter is coming back. We can’t afford to wait.”

  “I’ll have to tell my children the truth about me.” John said, his whole body sagged at the thought, just as his spirits did. “I’ll have to tell them about my life as Mason Davis!”

  “Look,” Alexander said. “I know this is daunting, but think of the alternative. When the Elite come for you, your children will find out anyway, and isn’t better for you to tell them so they can have a chance to escape rather than them finding out when none of you have a choice?” He paused. “You need to make up your mind, John. I left in the middle of Sergio’s wake, asking Niek and Quinn to cover for me, and I have to be getting back.”

  “What are they going to think of me?” John groaned, hearing but not registering Alexander’s words.

  He had never faced that possibility before, that one day his children might find out, that one day they might start wondering why their father didn’t grow old and infirm. Make-up could make one look old, but nothing was going to make him infirm. To be honest, he dreaded the revulsion that would appear in their eyes when they learned the truth more than he dreaded Cryo or what came before, but Alexander was right. It wasn’t just his life or liberty that was on the line any more. He had to do whatever he could to protect them, whatever the cost to him.

  “Give them a chance,” Alexander said quietly. “Perhaps they’ll surprise you.”

  John hoped so. It was all he had left now. Alexander put a hand on his shoulder. “Call me when you’re ready, but don’t wait too long, John. Thaxter could be on his way back now for all we know.”

  John nodded wearily. “Thank you,” He said.

  “Don’t thank me,” Alexander said. “Just stay out of Thaxter’s hands.” He paused. “You don’t have to tell them every gory detail, you know. This is about preparing them for the danger, not about you finding catharsis.”

  “You would know, wouldn’t you?” John asked, his voice low, and weary. Had Alexander ever tried to confess his past to anyone?

  “I do actually,” Alexander said softly. “I’ll call you later.”

  John sat in the room alone, and though it was the middle of the day and the sun was shining brightly outside, the room seemed cold and dark to him.

  Twenty Seven

  The house was still full, and Niek was getting tired of waiting for the guests to leave. He wasn’t used to seeing a house full of people, nor was he used to being among them openly to be acknowledged as Alexander’s ward, for want of a better term. It was new and strange and it was freaking him out a little bit, especially after Alexander had gone out with a whispered, “Cover for me, will you?”

  Niek didn’t want to cover for Alexander, or rather he didn’t know if he could. What was he supposed to say if anyone asked for him? Fortunately, Quinn and his bots were supplying drinks and snacks to the guests, and there were too many people, so no one appeared to notice that Alexander was missing. The drinks might be alcoholic since none of the bots would give him one. Quinn had given him an orange juice when he said he was thirsty. Sitting on the couch in the corner and sipping his orange juice, Niek watched the crowd of strangers.

  The reporter, George Savin, was being monopolised by Kaya Richards, who looked better now. She was no longer crying. Niek knew that they were having a wake for Mr. Martinez, but he couldn’t understand what purpose was being served by people getting together to drink and snack, and share embarrassing stories and corny jokes.

  “Hey Niek,” Raul Beltram sat down next to him on the couch. “How’re you doing?”

  “I’m fine,” Niek said, a bit carefully, the memory of their last meeting when he had lied to Mr. Beltram and threatened to report him still fresh in his mind.

  Something must have shown on his face, because Mr. Beltram smiled and said,

  “I understand why you lied, Niek. It’s okay. Lucas would be proud of you if he could see you.”

  Niek refrained from saying that his dad had been calling him every night since Alexander had found him. He hoped Dad would have been proud even if they couldn’t see each other. Alexander had hinted that his dad was a genius and Niek had stared at him in astonishment as he thought of Dad, unable to even make a cup of tea.

  “I thought you said you’d never heard of him,” Niek had said, a bit accusingly.

  “I recognised him when I saw him,” Alexander had replied. “He saved my life once.”

  “But you didn’t know who I was when you took me in,”

  “I didn’t,” Alexander had smiled at him. “But you were just as annoying.”

  Niek had rolled his eyes and gone back to whatever he was doing.

  Mr. Beltram looked at him with a faint smile. His dad trusted Mr. Beltram, and Alexander had said he would probably tie up with Mr. Beltram’s company to develop Ignis. He relaxed. This wasn’t someone he needed to be afraid of.

  “I still don’t know why Mr. Tyrell left me alone like that, with you. He isn’t supposed to do that.”

  “I told you back then. We’re old friends,” Mr. Beltram smiled.

  Niek made a non committal sound. Why did adults assume children were stupid? Or that it was okay to keep things from them?

  “I’m sorry for threatening to report you,” he said.

  “That’s okay,” Mr. Beltram smile
d. “But no apologies for lying to me?”

  Niek shrugged. “I was trying to protect Alexander,”

  Mr. Beltram introduced him to his fiancé. Niek liked Ms. Duran. She was beautiful and nice, and talked to him like an equal.

  “Alexander says you work for the State,” Niek said.

  “I did. I guess I still do, but I’ve given my notice.” Was it that bad, working for the State? She sounded quite relieved.

  “So, has Mr. Beltram been vetted then?” he asked.

  “You know about that?” she asked. “Most fifteen year olds don’t even know there’s a law like that.”

  “I like reading up on various laws,” Niek said. “Did you know the vetting law has a loophole?”

  “A loophole?” She asked.

  “Sort of,” Niek said. He looked at Mr. Beltram. “They won’t have to vet you if you had a parent who worked for the State.”

  “It doesn’t make any difference to me,” Mr. Beltram said. “But why is that? Does that mean any children Isabel and I have will never have to be vetted?”

  “It’s about control,” Niek said. “The State still hasn’t made it mandatory for DNA to be verified before employment, and it isn’t mandatory to submit a sample of your DNA when you join the State’s employ, but most people do it anyway. Also, partners of employees are vetted which requires them to submit a DNA sample. As such, the State has a means of finding both of you, whenever it wants. By extension, it can find your children too, and keep track of them their whole lives. Why should it go for the expense of vetting them when it already knows everything about them?”

  “That’s...” Mr. Beltram frowned. “I don’t know if I’m more worried or impressed that you know the law and has deduced the State’s aim in having that law in place.”

  Niek was aware of his face burning. “It wasn’t that difficult a deduction,” he said.

  “I guess, but... I’m not sure I like the sound of that law,” Mr. Beltram said. “And I wasn’t aware they would be keeping my DNA sample either.” He looked profoundly disturbed.

  “That’s part of the law, actually,” Niek said.

  “I’m impressed,” Ms. Duran said. “You really have a gift for understanding the minutiae of these laws. No wonder Alexander is so well versed.”

  She had nice eyes and they kept straying to her fiancée. Though they didn’t touch each other, it was embarrassing him the way they kept stealing glances at each other, which was why he had talked about the law, hoping to scare them off. These two were obviously more resilient than the average adult Niek came into contact with.

  “Mr. Beltram?” A tall man was approaching them, a wide smile on his face, and Mr. Beltram and his fiancé rose and went towards him. Niek was relieved. He didn’t know most of the people in the room. David hadn’t stayed, making his excuses and leaving within an hour. He knew Ms. Richards because she was still crying when Nolan had ushered her to a chair, and Niek had asked Alexander who she was.

  “So, you’re Mr. Selwood’s ward,” Niek was dismayed to find the reporter standing before him, smiling.

  “I am,” he said, standing up. The man was taller and bigger than him. Niek wished he wasn’t so short. His dad wasn’t very tall, but he wasn’t short either. Niek wondered if his mother had been tall or short. His mother was the one subject his dad had absolutely refused to discuss.

  “Niek Hendriks.” he held out his hand, hoping it wasn’t clammy.

  “George Savin,” The man shook his hand firmly. “You’re Lucas Hendriks’ son.”

  “You know my father?” Niek was instantly wary.

  “Wouldn’t be much of a reporter if I didn’t,” Savin smiled. “I tried to find him, you know, after he disappeared. For a story, of course, but-” he gave a shrug. “Must be hard for you. Not knowing where he is.”

  Niek didn’t look away. “Very hard,” he agreed, not fidgeting.

  “But I suppose Mr. Selwood was there for you,” Savin continued. “No one would've thought it.”

  “He’s been very good to me,” Niek said stiffly, growing angry now.

  Savin laughed. “Don’t glare at me. I’m not trying to insult your guardian. It’s just that his reputation-” he paused and gave Niek a rueful smile. “Why don’t we change the subject? Tell me about yourself. Which school are you going to, and what are your future plans?”

  Niek could guess what Savin had been about to say about Alexander, but he couldn’t understand why the man changed his mind. He probably thought Niek was too young to know of Alexander’s various lovers. Though why he should think that when Niek stayed in the same house and ran into them regularly was beyond him.

  “Mr. Savin,” Nolan was there, smiling at them both, but it seemed to Niek that there was something off about his smile. “Mr. Selwood was looking for you.”

  “I haven’t seen him for sometime. Was he not here?” Savin asked.

  “Just in the other room, attending a call,” Nolan said. “You know how it is. The world doesn’t stand still because you lost someone.”

  “So true,” Savin said. “I better go then. I need a quote from him.”

  Nolan stared after him, and muttered. “Kaya’s quotes not enough I suppose,”

  Niek chuckled as he sank back onto the couch again, and Nolan sat down next to him. “Is Alexander really back, or were you just trying to rescue me?”

  “You mean he actually wasn’t here?” Nolan groaned. “Where the hell was he?”

  “I’ve no idea,” Niek said. “He just told me to cover for him, and left.”

  “He told me to find a way to keep Savin occupied while he finished some work,” Nolan said with a sigh.

  “So, you foisted Ms. Richards on to him?” Niek asked.

  Nolan grinned at him. “It did keep him occupied, didn’t it?”

  Niek grinned back. “That it did.”

  He liked Nolan best after Alexander. Nolan never treated him like a child.

  “He cheered her up too,” he said as he looked at where Ms. Richards was talking to Ms. Duran now. She looked much more cheerful, and-

  “Does her hair look messy?”

  “With all the people patting her on the head, what do you think?” Nolan asked.

  “You don’t want to know what I thought,” Niek said, feeling his face grow hot.

  Nolan chuckled.

  “I don’t like that reporter,” Niek said. “He’s too nosy.”

  “Savin?” Nolan shrugged. “He’s a reporter. He has to be nosy. Part of the job description, but Mr. Beltram says he’s a decent person.”

  “How does Mr. Beltram know him?”

  “Not all businessmen have an aversion to the media, you know,” Nolan said. “Not that I mind. It would have been a nightmare if I had to add interviews with the media too on Mr. Selwood’s schedule.”

  “Are you okay?” Niek asked. There was something definitely off about him today. “Or are you drunk?” He couldn’t smell any alcohol on Nolan’s breath, but that could be because the entire room stank of the stuff.

  “I’m not drunk,” Nolan said. “I have no head for alcohol. So, I avoid it.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” Niek persisted.

  “Just getting over it, I guess,” Nolan said. “Mr. Martinez’s death, interrogation by an Elite.” He smiled at Niek. “You probably think that’s cool, right?”

  Niek shook his head. He would probably be scared enough to pee in his pants if an Elite questioned him.

  “I would think it is scary,” he said.

  “It is scary,” Nolan muttered, looking down, as if he was ashamed.

  Twenty Eight

  The heat of Ignis was relentless, even during the night, but inside the habitats, the temperature was at comfortable levels. As he raised a cup of coffee to his lips, Lucas thought that technology was indeed a marvellous thing. Science had been his lodestar for a long time, and when technology became more important than science, he had felt sad and angry. But sitting here, in the darkened room, with only
the light from the monitors of the media wall spilling onto the desk, on a planet that was considered uninhabitable, he thought that perhaps science and technology weren’t so different, after all. The kind of science he specialised in hadn’t had much use for technology back then, but now, things were different. Technology was no longer an aid; it was how things were done, and it meant that someone like Amir on their side let them have an advantage they had never had before.

  He took another sip of his coffee and glanced at the monitors. How Amir had found a way to use the State’s own monitoring system, he didn’t know. They had access to every open camera, though they used them very rarely, when they needed to find a way to bring someone to Ignis without the State’s knowledge. They’d tried to use them to spy on the Elite, but without something to filter out the unnecessary feeds, it was nearly impossible. They had facial recognition, but the Elite were adept in using simulators. Amir was trying to create something that could see through simulators.

  The State had a secondary monitoring system which used the private cameras, customised Sentients, and cameras used by citizens. That was how they monitored who they called potential threats. Access to that would have been a game changer, but it was so secured that Amir said that even trying to get access would be suicide. Lucas wasn’t too familiar with the terms that Amir used, but he had understood enough to know that if they tried to get access, they could be tracked. They had measures against being tracked, but the State could still get the location, and none of them were eager to turn the State’s attention to Ignis.

  Since all the Elite had generic Sentients, it wasn’t too difficult to monitor what they did while in their homes. What was difficult was monitoring anything that happened in the Central Console. They had their own Sentient, not generic or even customised, but built by their own people to their own specifications. Much like Quinn. Alexander had said Quinn couldn’t be tracked, nor could he be used for monitoring Alexander since Quinn didn’t record anything Alexander didn’t ask him to.