The Defiant Spark

by Annie Percik

  ‘Don’t print anything off for the time being.’ Alessandra was conscious that a paper trail might lead them into trouble. ‘Just show me the documents you told Abelard about.’

  The brain-e-fact nodded and went to a work station, bringing up files for Alessandra to read. And they made interesting reading. When she was done she took a couple of deep calming breaths and sent the brain-e-fact off about its business with a stern warning not to do anything suspicious.

  Then she headed straight for her mother’s office. She walked right up to the desk and placed her hands on it.

  ‘I’ve found something out.’ Her heartbeat sped up at the implications of what she was about to say.

  Laleh regarded her calmly. ‘Oh?’

  ‘For decades top-level artisans have led us to believe that a person’s spark is inherent, set at a particular level at birth and only altered in extreme circumstances like Abelard’s.’ Alessandra paused to take a breath and her mother continued to regard her impassively. ‘But it’s a lie. The artisans control spark levels just like they control everything else to do with mana. Anyone can be an artisan if they have the right equipment to ignite their spark and everyone would be entirely mundane without it.’

  She stopped and waited for a response. When it came it wasn’t remotely what she had been expecting. Laleh looked at her for a moment more, then burst out laughing.

  ‘I’m not joking!’ Alessandra said. ‘The artisans have been manipulating the whole of society ever since they discovered mana in the first place. I have proof.’

  ‘Oh, darling.’ Laleh gasped, struggling to regain her composure. ‘I know you’re not joking. I’m just amused by the strength of your indignation. If I’d known this was how you were going to react I would have told you years ago just for the entertainment value.’

  Alessandra was stunned. ‘Wait, you knew?’ Her mind whirled as she tried to fit this new piece of information into her already shifting world-view. ‘You’re part of it?’

  Laleh was completely calm again. ‘Of course I knew. All the Board members know. We have to in order to run the company.’

  ‘And you have to reach Board level before you’re told?’ Alessandra was mentally scrabbling for purchase. She had been hoping to recruit her mother as an ally in whatever she decided to do but now it seemed her mother might turn out to be an enemy instead.

  ‘Mostly.’ Laleh grimaced in distaste. ‘Some people are more discreet with the information than others.’

  ‘And of course your precious power was more important to you than telling your own daughter about the giant lie my entire existence is based on. You let me believe there was something inherently special about me and it turns out I’m just the same as everyone else.’ Alessandra knew she was getting distracted by her personal feelings. She really ought to be treading much more carefully but it was so difficult not to let her mother push her buttons.

  Laleh smiled. ‘But you are special. You were considered worthy to join the ranks of the artisans. Most people can’t claim that. You should take it as a compliment.’

  ‘But I’ve spent my whole life thinking artisans are superior and all it means is that our brains have been messed with. What gives the top level artisans the right to play with people’s lives like that?’

  ‘Don’t be so melodramatic. Every company, regardless of its purpose, has the right to employ whomever it chooses and also reject whomever it chooses. Why should artisan companies be any different?’

  ‘But they’re letting people believe they’re being rejected for something outside their control.’ Alessandra was finding her way through her argument as she went along, discovering how she felt about it as the words formed. She realised she was mostly imagining what Abelard would say, which took her by surprise. ‘If people knew the truth they could work harder or change their attitudes and then try again. They could have more than one chance to pursue their dreams.’

  Laleh’s eyes widened. ‘I never knew you were such a hopeless romantic. People don’t know what they really want or what they are best suited for. We take that decision away from them and put it in the hands of people who are more experienced and better able to determine their worth. It would be chaos if everyone knew they had the potential to be an artisan.’

  Alessandra wasn’t sure she disagreed with this point but she was too stubborn to concede to her mother. She put her hands on her hips. ‘I guess we’ll see who’s right.’

  Laleh’s expression grew suspicious. ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Nothing yet, but I’ve just had a great idea.’ She spoke the words as they came into her mind. ‘I’m going to call my friend Becks over at the local viz-e-fact station and set up an interview for Abelard tomorrow morning. We’ll tell the whole world about your little secret. And then we’ll see what happens.’

  ‘That would be extremely unwise, Alessandra. I suggest you reconsider. Just go home and we can forget this conversation ever happened.’

  ‘Not a chance.’ Her mother’s patronising tone fuelled her resolve. ‘The world has a right to know the truth and I’m going to be the one that tells it. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.’

  She turned on her heel and stalked out before her mother could say another word. She might not have fully agreed with Abelard’s stance before but she was committed now.

  * * *

  Abelard’s brain was fizzing with what he had discovered. Hadn’t he and Mateo suspected something like this all along? He might have signed an NDA but he’d also made a promise. He directed his speed-e to Mateo’s flat, leaping out the moment it stopped, and leaning on the buzzer. Mateo took a long time to answer.

  ‘Hello?’ He sounded distracted.

  ‘It’s me,’ Abelard said.

  ‘Oh, hi mate. Um, now’s not a good time. Can you maybe drop by tomorrow instead?’

  ‘What? No! You wanted to know what I found out and you’re not going to believe it. Seriously, you need to hear this, right now.’

  There was a long pause, then Mateo’s voice sounded again, this time resigned. ‘Okay, come on up.’

  The buzzer went and Abelard burst through the door. The lev-e-fact seemed to take forever but at last he reached Mateo’s flat. Mateo was waiting in the open doorway.

  ‘Hi,’ Mateo said, not quite meeting Abelard’s eye. ‘You’d better come in.’

  Abelard pushed past him and strode into the living room, keen to start his tale. He was brought up short by the sight of Jen sitting on the sofa.

  ‘Um, hi,’ she said, looking sheepish.

  ‘Uh … Hi.’ Abelard didn’t know what else to say.

  ‘Mateo thought I might be interested in what’s going on.’ Jen looked embarrassed. ‘That’s why I’m here.’

  ‘There’s nothing … I mean, we weren’t …’ Mateo began, but Abelard spoke over him.

  ‘Not my business.’ He looked down at his feet, surprised to find that he really wasn’t bothered. ‘Look, do you want to know what I’ve found or not?’

  They both nodded eagerly.

  ‘I’m really not sure if it’s good news or bad news.’ Abelard updated Mateo and Jen on everything that had happened since the night before. Had it only been the night before that he and Mateo had sat in the pub talking like old times? It seemed like years ago.

  Mateo listened breathlessly, interrupting at a few points along the way.

  ‘The brain-e-facts want to help investigate? That’s so cool!’

  ‘And Alessandra was right outside the door? Shit! What did you do?’

  ‘You let her just take over? You wuss!’

  ‘Yes, I’m a wuss,’ Abelard said. ‘But seriously, what would you have done? I had to tell her something and she would have known if I was lying. If I’d even managed to come up with a lie in the first place. And she’s much better positioned to find things out than we are. She’ll know exactly what to do. She’s that kind of person. This might be the best thing that could have happened.’

  ‘But what actuall
y is happening?’ Mateo asked. ‘We don’t know–’

  A beep sounded, alerting Abelard to a message coming through to his smart-e-fact. ‘Hang on a minute.’ He brought the artefact out to check it. ‘I’ve just got a message from Alessandra.’

  Mateo raised an eyebrow and Jen edged forwards in her seat.

  Abelard read it out. ‘It’s all true. Meet me in the lobby at Gadg-E-Tech tomorrow at eight am sharp. And wear a tie.’

  ‘Woah,’ Mateo breathed. ‘Wait – that’s it? Wear a tie? What the hell is that about? Nothing good ever came from wearing a tie.’

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ Abelard looked from one to the other. ‘Want to meet me at Gadg-E-Tech tomorrow morning and find out?’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Walter was on his way home for the weekend when he got a call from Laleh and turned round to head back to Gadg-E-Tech. She sounded uncharacteristically anxious so he hurried up to her office to find her pacing back and forth, her hair escaping its neat chignon.

  ‘What is it?’

  She looked up at his voice and visibly composed herself.

  ‘Alessandra was just here. She found out about us controlling spark activation.’

  Walter laughed. ‘Is that all? So what’s the problem? Weren’t you going to let her in on the secret sooner or later anyway?’

  Laleh scowled at him. ‘Yes I was. But she found out from that engineer. What’s his name? Abernathy. And she’s somehow got it into her head that the world deserves to be told.’

  ‘What?’ This was a whole different problem. ‘The engineer knows? How?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Laleh started pacing again. ‘But Alessandra is setting up a viz-e-fact interview for him tomorrow morning and they’re going to announce it on the news or some such nonsense.’

  Walter sneered. ‘I might have thought you’d be all in favour of that. Solve the whole problem by bringing our illustrious leader’s plans to fruition in one fell swoop.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I know we have different ideas about how that should happen but you can’t think I’d support such a rash action. Who knows what the consequences might be?’

  ‘So why didn’t you stop her?’

  ‘I tried! But what could I say? I couldn’t explain fully. And she doesn’t listen to me anyway. Stubborn child.’

  ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’ Walter murmured and got a glare for his pains. ‘So you called me?’ He chuckled, unused to seeing Laleh so rattled. ‘How amusing. Viz-e-fact interview, you say? Shouldn’t be too much trouble to sort that out. Leave it with me.’

  He turned and strode from the room.

  As he headed for the lev-e-facts and his own office he heard Laleh shout after him, ‘Wait! What are you going to do?’

  But he didn’t slow down.

  * * *

  Abelard arrived at Gadg-E-Tech early and paced up and down the lobby, collecting odd looks from the other people coming and going. He had found a reasonable shirt and tie ensemble in his wardrobe, though he imagined it wouldn’t live up to Alessandra’s standards. At ten to eight two familiar figures pushed their way through the revolving doors and crossed the lobby to join him.

  ‘Hey,’ he said to Mateo and Jen, relieved to see friendly faces.

  ‘So what’s the plan?’ Mateo asked.

  ‘This is Alessandra’s show so I really have no idea what’s going on.’ Abelard caught sight of an imposing figure coming from the other direction. ‘Speak of the devil …’

  Alessandra strode up to them, boot heels clicking on the polished tile floor. She looked amazing. And angry.

  ‘Needed moral support, did you?’ Alessandra raised an imperious eyebrow at Mateo and Jen.

  Abelard bristled. ‘They’re both a part of this too. They deserve to know what’s going on.’

  ‘No, you’re right. I’m sorry,’ she said unexpectedly, sounding weary. ‘Look, we’d better get out of here. We’re on a timeline.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ Abelard asked as they made their way to the exit.

  Alessandra brightened just as quickly as she had deflated. ‘You’re going on the viz-e! In a couple of hours’ time everyone in the country is going to know who you are and what you’ve found out.’

  Abelard’s heart leapt into his throat. ‘Um, really? Is that, um, a good plan?’

  He exchanged a worried glance with Mateo and Jen as they stepped out into the morning sunshine. Abelard gulped some fresh air, trying to calm his frantic heartbeat.

  ‘It’s the only plan!’ Alessandra sounded confident as she led the group down the street. ‘It’s the best way to get the information out there in a way that the artisans can’t challenge. And once it’s public knowledge they won’t be able to do anything to you or everyone will know.’

  Abelard couldn’t fault her logic but wasn’t keen on being that much in the spotlight. ‘Can’t you do it?’

  ‘Nope,’ Alessandra said. ‘This story needs a human angle, a hero everyone can get behind and root for. An uppity artisan like me isn’t going to cut it. We need the humble engineer who stumbled upon this amazing power by accident and then pursued the truth at all costs for the betterment of the little guy. The press will eat it up.’

  Abelard hurried along in Alessandra’s wake like a naughty child being marched to the principal’s office. He couldn’t think about what might happen after the interview, it was too huge to contemplate. As they all piled into Alessandra’s speed-e-fact, he felt strangely detached from himself.

  The viz-e studio was on the fifteenth floor of a smart corporate building. At the reception desk a woman about Alessandra’s age came out to meet them. Abelard recognised her from the viz-e-fact. She had lots of long black braids piled up on top of her head and was wearing a smart grey trouser suit with a red silk blouse under it. She walked straight up to Alessandra and took both her hands, a broad smile lighting up her face.

  ‘Sandra!’ Her voice rich and melodious. ‘Long time no see. And way to be mysterious, girl! This interview had better be good. I had to call in a lot of favours to clear the programme schedule at such short notice and with no details.’

  ‘It’ll be worth it, Becks, trust me,’ Alessandra said. ‘This is Abelard Abernathy, your guest on the show this morning. Abelard, meet Rebecca Oyinlola, a friend of mine from school.’

  Considering how informally and warmly Rebecca had spoken to Alessandra, Abelard wondered what Alessandra had been like at school. He found it impossible to imagine her as an awkward teenager. Abelard stepped forwards and offered his hand.

  Rebecca shook it, looking him up and down. ‘Hmmm … We should have time for Wardrobe to sort you out before we go on air.’

  Abelard threw a panicked glance at his friends as he was whisked away. Jen offered up an encouraging smile and Mateo gave him a thumbs up. An efficient young woman gave Abelard a different shirt and tie that didn’t seem any better than his own to his eye but apparently satisfied the viz-e crew. Someone attempted to wrestle his unruly curls under control and someone else dabbed some makeup on his face. Then he was led out on to the studio floor and to a seat behind a high desk.

  Rebecca said, ‘Just relax and be yourself. Since I have no idea what we’re going to be talking about today, I’ll have to let you lead me into it and then I’ll go with whatever questions seem relevant.’ She chuckled. ‘It’s going to be fun to do something off the cuff. I’ve been feeling over-scripted lately. Too much time behind this desk and not enough time in the field. And if Sandra says this is important, it’s bound to have the wow factor.’ She nodded suddenly, reacting to a signal Abelard couldn’t see, then said, ‘Okay, here we go!’

  Rebecca turned face-on to the film-e-facts and pasted a bright smile on her face. ‘Hello and welcome to the Morning Report. I’m your host, Rebecca Oyinlola, and do we have an exciting show for you today! Exciting and mysterious, I have to say. So mysterious in fact that even I don’t know what it’s about!’ She gave a laugh. ‘With me here is
Abelard Abernathy from Gadg-E-Tech and I have it on good authority that he has some news that’s really going to rock your world.’ She turned back to face Abelard again. ‘So Abelard, why don’t you tell us–’

  Rebecca stopped speaking abruptly as all the lights went out, plunging the studio into almost total darkness. Abelard pulled out his smart-e-fact and switched on the torch function as other people around him did the same. Soon there were patches of blue light springing up all over the studio.

  ‘What just happened?’ Rebecca called out. ‘Was there a mana surge or something?’

  Alessandra, Mateo and Jen stumbled up to join Abelard. A harried-looking man followed.

  ‘We’ve lost mana flow to the entire building.’ He looked down at his smart-e-fact, then he pressed a finger to his ear, listening intently to something they couldn’t hear. ‘What the–’

  ‘What?’ Rebecca demanded. ‘What is it?’

  He looked at her in alarm. ‘I’m getting reports that there are armed men in the building and they’re heading up to this level.’

  Abelard felt his heart lurch. All his visions of being locked in a dungeon or shoved off a building came flooding back to him and they didn’t seem nearly as ridiculous now. They hadn’t discussed what the reaction of the artisans might be to him revealing their secrets. He wondered if he had led Mateo and Jen to their deaths and felt nausea rising.