Blocks

by Tara Basi

  Just then Tracy reappeared, causing Sara to jump. Grain hoped Tracy hadn’t been listening as they moved as far away from the woman as possible.

  “Where’s your ship, the Small Business?” Tracy immediately asked.

  “It’s docked with the Maxinquaye, an old space station.” Sara replied, her tone level.

  “How many came down in the shuttle?”

  “Three of us, our friend Mina disappeared; probably fell down the shaft,” Sara replied.

  “How many are still up on the Maxinquaye?” Tracy asked.

  “Six from the Small Business and we found an old guy on the Maxinquaye.”

  “What,” Tracy said, looking genuinely surprised there was anybody left on the Maxinquaye.

  “We’re no threat, we just want to know what’s g…,” Grain started to ask, and just a shadow of the previous testicular pain flickered across his body, causing him to double over. Sara visibly tensed and balled her fists when she saw Grain flinch and almost immediately she grunted in pain as her face creased in agony.

  “You’re all going to the Vat,” Tracy said, then looking up, “them up there as well. That’s the rules. You’re not screwing my numbers. Not now, cycle’s nearly over.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Sara asked through gritted teeth, obviously in some discomfort.

  Tracy glanced at Sara then locked eyes with Grain for a second. Grain knew what that usually meant. Tracy reached up and touched a diamond stud in her ear Grain hadn’t noticed before, “Give them an extension, till the end of the cycle.” Tracy turned back to Grain, “I’ll talk to you, later,” then left.

  “She’s going to kill everybody. Why?” Sara raged, after Tracy had gone.

  “My men will fight. It won’t be the same walkover as last time,” Grain offered, without any real hope.

  “It’ll be just like Piglet, everything will shut down. We shouldn’t have told her anything,” Sara replied, close to tears, wracked with guilt.

  “We had no choice,” Grain answered, trying to soothe Sara, though it was all pointless, in a day or two they could all be dead.

  “There must be something we can do?” Sara pleaded.

  “She wants to talk, maybe I can change her mind,” Grain said, without much confidence. Like a losing marathon runner at the end of a race Grain slumped to the floor, head bowed, alone in his own thoughts. His only chance was to ingratiate himself with Tracy. From the look she’d given him she might be interested. Sara followed him down to the floor

  “There might be a way. I think you could fool this thing,” Sara whispered pointing at her earring.

  “How?” Grain asked, without much enthusiasm, he didn’t think there was much chance of getting past Tracy’s defences.

  “I think you could attack her, if you zone your mind out. Just try not to think about what you’re doing. Use numbers, count sheep, anything. You might get a couple of seconds.”

  “Really? It might be worth a try. You don’t give up, do you?” Grain answered softly and smiled.

  Sara reflected his smile; a light blush rolled across her cheeks. For a moment Grain felt bad about what was going through his head. He had no intention of trying to attack Tracy. He was thinking the exact opposite, trying to seduce her. If she really was the Boss of the Block she might be able to save his life.

  Further scheming was interrupted by the return of Happy. Without speaking she beckoned them to follow her through the door into a short, all white corridor with only two doors opposite each other. Each led to identical small rooms, furnished with a bed, desk, chair and at the back, an opening to a bathroom with a shower and a toilet.

  “Be ready. I’ll be back for you in an hour,” Happy said, looking at Grain. She turned away to leave, stopped, turned her head and called back, “Remember, same rules as before, don’t screw up.” A moment later Happy vanished through a temporary door at the end of the corridor.

  “There’s no way out,” Sara said as Grain emerged from one of the rooms.

  “That’s no surprise.”

  “Did you see? There are fresh clothes on the bed. I’m going to have a quick shower, change, then we’ll talk about what you’re going to do. We haven’t got much time,” Sara said and turned to enter her own room.

  “OK,” Grain said. Inside his room he moved the new clothes off the bed and lay down, still thinking of all the ways the next few hours could play out and his chances of surviving. After a while he decided there was nothing he could do but wait and see. He showered, donned the new clothes and sat on the bed.

  “Hi,” Sara said from the doorway. She looked relaxed, almost pretty. Pink made her look quite feminine. Grain had only ever seen Sara in dull brown flight suits.

  “Pink suits you,” Grain said.

  “Really, you like it?” Sara said with a big smile, unsuccessfully trying not to blush. “So, have you thought about the attack, on Tracy?”

  “Like I told Mina, I’m not special forces or anything. I’ve never even been in a bar fight.”

  “You won’t have time for anything complicated. Just grab something heavy and smash her in the head. If you get hold of knife go for the throat.”

  “Could you do it, kill her?”

  “Sure, of course. If I got the chance.”

  “Maybe she’ll listen to reason,” Grain said, taken aback by Sara’s cold determination. The woman surprised him at every turn. He didn’t think he was capable of killing anyone, not directly anyway. He’d stick to his strengths. Try and charm the crazy Tracy.

  Happy reappeared an hour later and motioned him to follow her towards the featureless wall.

  Grain turned and smiled at Sara, “Wish me luck.”

  Sara took a pace forward, “I’m not letting you face her al…” and dropped like a stone banging her head on the side of the desk.

  Grain just started to turn to move towards Sara when his scrotum caught fire. He fell to his knees in agony.

  Without any emotion Happy said, “You have to come, now. I’ll check on her later.”

  The wall parted and Grain got to his feet and stumbled after Happy. He didn’t dare even look back to check on Sara. The memory of the pain was still too raw. Passing through the door he walked into a minimalist cathedral built for giants. Grain found himself standing in a vast air-craft hangar sized L-shaped space. To the right and left, flowing from vanishing points far in the distance, were soaring transparent walls, stretching from featureless grey floor to an equally smooth ceiling. Behind him was the sharp edge of two grey walls meeting at right angles. Directly ahead, was a colossal, impossibly smooth junction of the two glass walls, creating a transparent corner of epic proportions. Happy waved for him to follow as she headed towards the corner.

  As he got closer to the glass walls the views became ever more astounding. To the right Grain could see over the tops of thunderous clouds which were swirling far below, and beyond a primordial sunset that splashed streaks of crimson, pink, purple and ruby across the sky. The view to the left was of a spectacular night sky glittering with stars, down below it was pitch black except for the occasional flashes of sheet lightning crackling under the dark clouds. Grain followed behind Happy in open-mouthed wonder.

  As far as Grain could see the giant space was completely empty except for the one piece of furniture Happy was leading him towards. It was a long, ornately carved, heavy wooden table. The table ran diagonally across the corner of the room. Only two places were set. Tracy had already occupied the chair at the head of the table looking out towards the setting sun. She’d changed, a good sign. Her hair was washed, but still hung flat and lifeless like a black wig made of wax. The boiler suit had been replaced by a plain white blouse and a dark skirt. Tracy was wearing badly applied make-up that did little to hide her spots

  Tracy didn’t look at Grain. By the slightest of hand gestures she invited him to sit on her left. The two diners occupied only a small portion of a table that could easily have sat more than a hundred revellers. An elaborate
dinner service adorned their end of the table, bone china, crystal glasses, dazzling silverware, and blindingly white linen. Grain sat down, and waited. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of trying to speak before Tracy invited him. Tracy’s eyes darted from the incredible views back to the empty plate in front of her. She avoided looking at Grain and for long moments there was silence. Grain fidgeted nervously in his seat.

  “I used to like this, the Heaven House. It runs all the way around,” Tracy said, indicating the huge space with a nervous flick of her eyes.

  Grain thought it would be the size of a city if it really did run the entire circumference of the monolith

  “How old do you think I am?” Tracy asked, unexpectedly, turning to lock eyes with Grain for a moment.

  “Eighteen?” Grain suggested, hoping to flatter, but without having any clue if the spotty girl was younger or older; and braced for an earring attack if it thought he was lying.

  “Ninety Nine. Wasn’t even born when you left. What was it, a hundred years ago?” Tracy asked, looking back down at her plate.

  “Yes, a hundred years ago. You’re ninety-nine? That’s… amazing. How?” Grain stammered, taken completely by surprise.

  “You shouldn’t have come back,” Tracy said quietly, turning her head to stare at the view.

  “What?”

  “Just kept going, maybe found somewhere new,” Tracy continued, still not looking at him.

  “Really?”

  Turning back, with wet eyes, she said, “Welcome to hell. It was heaven for a while.”

  “What happened,” Grain asked, then flinched in anticipation of the pain that didn’t come.

  Tracy caught the pained look on his face, “It’s OK. Your control’s been turned down.”

  “Control?”

  Tracy looked at him and touched her ear, “Live till you’re ten and you get a Block control as a birthday present. And every squabbling Block tribe has a different design. The stupid sheep wear them like some kind of gang badge. I’d have said it was a Reference joke, but Reference doesn’t laugh.”

  “Thanks,” Grain said, and smiled weakly. He wondered what the other controls looked like and what the new boundaries were with his.

  “But don’t get any ideas. Turned down or not, your control will cut you in half if you try anything,” Tracy said, seeming to read his mind.

  Grain swallowed but decided to press on, “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “The Blocks came. Before that, I was a teacher, got made redundant. Pension was screwed. Ended up cleaning offices. Dirt poor and treated like dirt, no friends, no family. Just waiting to die really. Then I saw this ad, ‘Rule the world! No qualifications needed, must be over seventy.’ What’s to lose, I thought. Went along to the open night. Thousands there. Same thing happening all over the world, I guess. We got tested, hundreds of tests, took days and days,” Tracy explained, and paused as though she was remembering things she hadn’t thought about for a long time.

  “What kind of tests?” Grain asked, enjoying the freedom of just having a nearly normal conversation without being in fear of his balls being cut off.

  “Physiological mainly, but it was all sorts. People got sent home, hundreds at a time, till there was just one left, me.”

  “You must have been very proud,” Grain said, hoping she would be flattered. “Who was running the tests?”

  “Proud? Yes, suppose I must have been. No idea who was behind it all, machines did the tests. There was one more test, but that was two days later. A machine gave me a little green pill, a sample, and I was told to take it before going to bed. Woke up, and I was twenty,” Tracy said, laughing gently, remembering the moment.

  “Twenty? Twenty years old?” Grain asked, not quite believing.

  “It lasted the whole day and night, and then I was an old woman again and it was the worst thing, terrible, terrible,” Tracy continued, shaking her head and shivering.

  “There was another test?” Grain prompted.

  “Yes. Basically, what would I do to get another green pill? I passed that as well. Then I signed a contract and was given this Block hell to run. Now, every five year cycle, if I meet my Quantity and Quality targets, I get a proper green pill that makes me twenty again, then I age normally and it starts all over again. It’s been getting harder and harder. I don’t think I can stand it anymore,” Tracy said, swallowing her words as her tears started flowing.

  “Who’s it all for?” Grain asked.

  “No idea. There’s the Reference, but it’s just a system, there’s the Crawlers, they’re just machines. We’re all slaves to the QQ and I’m running out of ideas,” Tracy said, still crying softly. She turned away from to Grain again to stare out over the clouds.

  “Sorry,” was the only thing Grain could think of saying.

  “Everyone goes, at twenty-five, me too if I don’t get my pill. It’s always horrible but these last days of the cycle, waiting for the numbers, not knowing,” Tracy said, and trembled as though she was suddenly cold.

  “Numbers for what?” Grain asked, though it was only one of hundreds of questions that were buzzing around his head.

  Tracy sucked down a sob, wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and turned to face Grain, “First three cycles. Reference wanted Quantity, increased production. Last cycle and this one it wants better Quality. And I have no fucking idea what that means. I’ve tried all sorts of additives. God knows if they’re making a difference.”

  “Sorry? You don’t know?” Grain asked, wondering where she was taking the conversation and no longer so sure of why Tracy wanted to talk to him.

  “Millions of little Bosses in the Block eat and shit QQ targets and they have no clue either. I’m the only one who knows, what really happens, in the Yard, the Vat. I don’t want to know. I can’t stand it sometimes,” Tracy said, and groaned.

  “Millions? How many people are in the Block? What happens in the Vat?” Grain blurted out, while he wondered if he might be better off not knowing.

  “They’re just kids in here, fuck like animals and can’t talk about anything but bloody QQ and getting another year. Nothing changes, it’s always the same, year after bloody year,” Tracy hissed between gritted teeth. She turned and stared in to Grain’s eyes, “Fuck it. Let’s just eat. Talk about the old days. That’s not a request.”

  Grain felt a small tremor run through his body and guessed it was an earring warning, “Sure, great.”

  On cue Happy rose from a hole in the floor carrying a tray. From time to time Happy returned to clear away one course and deliver another. Every dish looked exquisite and tasted just as good, just like the wines. Grain tried to stay focussed on keeping an emotional Tracy amused and charmed. Their conversation veered between the banal and sad longings for a world long dead. On the few occasions he tried to bring the conversation back to the current situation, however subtly, a ripple of pain swept over him. Grain got the message.

  Much later, after dinner was over, and they were both nursing brandies it was a melancholy Tracy who turned the conversation back to the present.

  “Control kills anything human. Her,” Tracy said nodding towards Happy standing with her back against the glass wall, “she’s one of the few. Still got some fire in the eyes. Its hate, but I’ll take anything real these days.”

  “I’m real,” Grain said, jumping on the opening.

  “There’s a million level Bosses just waiting for me to fuck up, so one of them can take over. They’d say and do anything to survive. Like you Grain?”

  “I don’t want to die but I’m not a Block kid. I can help you with the QQ. We can work it out.”

  “Reference told me you’re riddled with cancer. You’ve got a few months at most. “

  “I know. Me and my whole squad. The medical system on the space station says it was because we were in deep sleep for so long. Can Reference help?”

  “Maybe,” Tracy said, staring at her hands.

  “Please, I can help you, we’
d both win,” Grain said, trying not to sound too desperate.

  Tracy pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. For a moment she just stayed still, leaning forward on her arms, palms pressed flat on the table and sighed deeply. Turning away from Grain Tracy walked away, towards Happy, stopping in front of the tired older woman who was staring down at the floor.

  “You think I can trust him?” Tracy asked Happy.

  Happy raised her head slowly and looked straight at Tracy, “No.”

  Grain winced and thought of saying something but decided to keep quiet.

  “Of course I can’t. Not without full control, and then, what’s the point,” Tracy said to Happy. Tracy turned back towards Grain, “Not unless we’re married, till death and all that.”

  “Married?” Grain mouthed, taken completely by surprise.

  “We’d do it Block style. I’ll get a little green pill just for you. You’ll be twenty again and cured of everything. No earring. You’ll be free. We’ll Boss this Block together.”

  “That’s, that’s wonderful, I don’t know what to say?” Grain said, struggling to take in everything Tracy was offering.

  “You should say, what’s the catch?” Tracy said, starting to cry again.

  “Catch?”

  “Same catch as me. You can never leave the Block. It’s a life sentence. We miss the QQ, no pill. We go straight to the Vat. We both survive or we die together.”

  Grain couldn’t believe it, he was going to be saved, get young, and live as a king. There was just one nagging doubt, “What about Sara, and the others?”

  “The Vat. Nothing I can do.” Tracy said, sucked up her tears and gave Grain a sour look. She turned back to Happy who was still standing with her back against the gigantic glass wall. “You know, if we get married,” Tracy said, nodding back towards Grain, “I’ll let you go early; you can go to the Vat with Sara.”

  Happy looked at Tracy and then at Grain, and smiled, “Thanks.”

  Tracy turned back to stare at Grain with sad wet eyes, “Listen, go think it over. I’ve got things to do.”

  Before Grain could say, “There’s nothing to think over,” Tracy sank into the solid floor and disappeared.