‘Does Caitlin have authority to go back?’
‘Yes, but she won’t use it.’
‘Why not?’
‘There’s a detachment of resistance guarding the other side of the blockade. It’s an impasse.’
‘And that’s where you think Rufius is?’
‘Without a doubt,’ Eddy replied, with a small amount of pride.
‘I need you to get me in to see her.’
‘What do you think she is going to do for you? She won’t even know who you are. You’ll be interrogated by her redactors until you’re nothing but an empty shell.’
Josh shrugged. ‘We have unfinished business.’
5
Dangerous Materials
Gossy, Benny and Lilz were made comfortable on the couches of the lounge outside Eddy’s office. Josh smiled at the thought of telling Lilz about her sex-mad alter-ego one day — assuming he managed to repair the timeline.
‘What’s going to happen to them?’
Eddy shrugged. ‘They’ll wake up with a couple of creds in their pockets and a hangover that won’t shift for days.’
‘But long-term?’
‘The average life expectancy of a scavenger is twenty-five years, thirty if they’re lucky — there’s no such thing as long-term for a Shade.’
Josh stared at his friends. Eddy was right, they all looked like they were sickening for something. He knew he had to find out what went wrong, as much for them as for Caitlin.
‘Is there nothing we can do?’
‘Interesting thing about a world without history: no one remembers the mistakes, nothing to compare their lives to you see — people just live day-to-day, in the moment. They’ve no idea there was ever a better life, only the one they’ve been dealt.’
Eddy found a set of clothes to replace Josh’s robes. They were like something from a communist state: a drab grey suit, with an insignia of a gear wheel and a lightning flash stitched in gold thread onto the mandarin collar and etched into the silver buttons.
According to Eddy, this was the kind of uniform that would help Josh blend in amongst the lower ranks of the Ascendancy — the term the Shades used for those who lived in the world above. Josh was beginning to wonder if this timeline had been based on the global expansion of North Korea.
Eddy made a call while Josh was getting changed. The phone seemed to be nothing more than a stud attached to his ear. The tone he used was very formal — Josh’s Gran would have called it his ‘posh voice’.
‘Servitor 28491.’
Eddy paused, waiting for someone to verify his identity. ‘I have an unclassified artefact violation: policy seven-beta subsection four, as well as possible breach of temporal codes 1421, 2703 and 3836a.’
There was another brief moment of silence, during which Josh imagined the person on the other end of the line thumbing through a series of thick manuals, trying to find the paragraphs to which Eddy was referring.
‘Confirmed,’ said Eddy looking straight at Josh, ‘male, 17, Tag 10290992-H.’
Josh stopped buttoning up his jacket and held his hands up to Eddy as if to question what he was doing, but Eddy raised a finger to silence him.
‘Affirmative. Credit account Delta-Five-Nine-Zero-India. Transaction ends.’
Eddy dropped the call and smiled at Josh. ‘So you have your appointment with the Ministry. Although I suspect you’d have better chances in the maelstrom.’
‘Do they know you’re a spy for the Ministry?’ Josh asked, nodding at the door to the lounge.
Eddy shook his head. ‘I prefer survivor. This isn’t about good and bad guys. We all have to make the best of what fate throws us.’ He picked up the gun again and altered the dial. ‘Even if it’s mostly a crock of shit. A man’s got to make a living.’ He placed the gun against the side of Josh’s head.
‘Calm down Eddy,’ Josh pleaded, putting his hands in the air. ‘I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.’
Eddy smiled and pulled the trigger, and Josh felt a small sting as something went into the skin behind his ear.
‘That’s a tag: a personal ID chip, comms device and a few other little mods I did myself. It should embed in the next couple of minutes. Congratulations, Master Jones, you’re now a legitimate citizen of the Ascendancy.’
Josh winced, rubbing the spot behind his ear.
Eddy walked over to a painting and pressed his thumb against the frame. The image dissolved to reveal a safe with a lock made of intricate brass dials. He carefully rotated the numbers until there was an audible click and the door opened, revealing a small collection of old books.
‘Now which one of these will she go for?’ he said to himself, taking each book out and laying them on the desk. They were all meticulously wrapped in a fine white linen.
Josh was distracted by an annoying buzz of static that whispered to him, like a mosquito he couldn’t quite see.
Eddy laughed at his confusion. ‘The sound is bone conducted. It’s trying to establish a link to the network. Should settle down in a few seconds — ah, yes, this should do nicely, I doubt you could guess what this will cost me.’ He carefully unwrapped a book, a first edition of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and reluctantly handed it over to Josh.
Josh could feel the history flooding through his fingers as he flicked through the yellowed pages. It felt wrong, the timeline was distorted and hazy, and there was no way to get a clear reading on where it had been. Something was interfering with his ability to read its past.
‘Poetry?’ asked Josh, scanning the text.
Eddy put the other books carefully back in the safe. ‘Possibly one of the most dangerous subjects. It should get her attention.’
‘How?’
Eddy pointed to his illicit collection. ‘If we could break the dampening field, every one of these books has the ability to take you back to better times. Since virtually every historical object has been confiscated and burned or locked in the forbidden archives, these are possibly the most precious artefacts in existence. Poetry, however, constitutes another kind of threat: it has the power to inspire, to motivate the dreamer, and those kind of feelings can lead to revolution.’
The comms device suddenly kicked in, and Josh was overwhelmed by an incessant flow of information that flooded into the world around him. His vision was enhanced with multiple layers of information: maps, transit reports, news bulletins, and hundreds of pieces of data, all vying for his attention.
‘Close your eyes for a second,’ Eddy instructed. ‘Let the channels settle, try not to focus on them, and they will drop into the background.’
Josh did as he was told, and the information streams faded away, but he could sense their subliminal activity like a background hum as he opened his eyes once more.
Eddy was staring at him.
YOU HEAR ME? THIS PRIVATE CHANNEL + ENCRYPTED = SECRET
Appeared as a text message in the lower half of his vision.
YES, he replied.
Eddy nodded.
GOOD. DON’T SPEAK OF IT. NOW USE VOICE.
‘So, you’re taking me in for owning a book of poems?’ Josh continued to leaf through the pages, admiring the beautiful woodcut engravings that illustrated the text. He’d never really paid much attention to Shakespeare at school: the language was too strange and archaic. The most interesting thing about his plays was usually the crude remarks left by previous owners in the margins.
‘Only way I could think of to get you in. You can’t exactly sneak into the most heavily guarded building in the city!’ Eddy put on a pair of darkly tinted glasses and tapped a series of buttons on the sleeve of his jacket — the colour of his suit turned to black.
Josh realised he had no idea where Caitlin was. He had assumed that she would be in some version of the Chapter House, a bigger one perhaps, but not one that required extra protection. Its location had always been a closely guarded secret, or at least it had used to be.
‘Where exactly are we going?’
&nb
sp; ‘The offices of the Ministry, of course,’ Eddy responded, as if Josh was asking the dumbest question ever. ‘The home of the Determinists, and their glorious leaders.’ As he spoke, Eddy made a salute with one fist above his head and then brought it down to his chest.
‘Caitlin is a Determinist?’ Josh sputtered. This was nearly as unlikely as the idea of her marrying Dalton.
‘As The Minister of Memory, she is one of the strongest advocates of Determinism.’
‘The Minister of what the f —’
Eddy clamped his hand over Josh’s mouth and text began to scroll across his vision.
TWO THINGS YOU NEED TO LEARN, BOY: FIRST WHEN WE’RE UP THERE, THEY HAVE EARS EVERYWHERE. SECOND, NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE ORDER, ESPECIALLY THE MINISTRY — EVEN IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE, YOU BELIEVE. GET IT?
Josh nodded.
‘Sorry. It’s just that she doesn’t sound like the Caitlin I know.’
‘I’m sure she isn’t, but if you’re convinced that she can help you, this book is the only way for you to get close to her. Once we’re inside the rest is up to you.’
6
Ascendancy
The journey up through the final few layers of forgotten streets took hours. His legs ached as Josh followed silently behind Eddy, who was nothing like the doddery old repairman that used to buy the odd piece of stolen merchandise. He picked his way expertly through the service tunnels.
They came to a precarious set of old ladders that spanned a vast sink-hole. Staring down into it was like looking down through time. Josh could see the layers of the previous cities, each one stacked precariously on the ruins of its predecessor.
Every so often, Eddy would stop and stare up towards the ceiling, taking his bearings.
Josh was still trying to come to terms with his implant, the navigation systems could display three-dimensional maps in front of his eyes, but he didn’t know how to control them and had simply shut it off.
An alarm sounded in his middle ear, and a calm female voice reported: ‘Current radiation levels at 500 millisieverts. Extended exposure will result in decreased blood cell count. Countermeasures recommended.’
Eddy pulled out a gas mask and threw it to Josh. It was far more advanced than the one Gossy had given him.
‘Put it on. We’re about to pass through a hot zone.’
He took out his blaster and twisted the dial. ‘This should protect you from the worst of it,’ he added, pressing the gun into Josh’s thigh. The sting was like that of a giant bumblebee.
‘Shit!’ cursed Josh from inside his mask.
RADIATION SICKNESS HURTS A HELL OF A LOT MORE!
Eddy’s words appeared on Josh’s comm system.
RADIATION?
Josh replied.
BECAUSE SOMEONE LET OFF A DIRTY BOMB A CENTURY BACK. NOW MOVE BEFORE YOU RUIN YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING KIDS — NORMAL ONES AT LEAST.
Eddy shouldered his pack and set off at a fast pace. Josh limped after him.
They emerged from a service duct into the clean empty basement of a building. Eddy swiftly sprayed their exit with a kind of foam that set instantly and left no sign there had ever been a hole.
‘Never go back the same way,’ Eddy explained, taking the mask from Josh and stashing it in the backpack before dumping everything into a nearby bin. There was an orange flash of flame from beneath the lid.
‘Burner,’ warned Eddy, stopping Josh from looking inside. ‘No rubbish up here.’
They marched up a level and out onto a wide walkway, which as Eddy had predicted, was immaculate. Towering buildings surrounded them, gleaming columns of steel and glass that stretched up into an infinite blue sky. The air was clean and fresh; Josh could even feel the warmth of the reflected sunlight on his face.
Eddy breathed in deeply and took off his sunglasses, letting the sun warm his face. He was interfacing with something on his implant; Josh could tell from the way his eyes were flicking from side-to-side that he was processing information.
The walkway stretched out between the buildings, and Josh could see distant figures moving about along it. Similar structures spanned the levels above them, creating a web-like lattice of connecting bridges between the buildings.
Josh went over to the rails and looked down into the swirling clouds. They were like dark, poisonous blankets smothering the planet’s surface, and from above them it was impossible to know what was going on below. Josh remembered all those haunted faces he’d seen on the way up, thousands of frightened Shades trying to scratch an existence out of nothing but garbage.
Something caught his eye: a dark spot that was growing larger as it flew towards them. At first he thought it was a bird, a large one, but it was moving in strange and unnatural circles.
‘Inspectorate drone,’ noted Eddy, grabbing hold of Josh’s arm. ‘Probably best if you don’t get scanned too closely just yet, your persona won’t stand up to too much scrutiny.’
A glass pod floated down to their level, and Eddy pushed Josh inside the moment its doors opened.
‘DETERMINISTRY’ appeared on a glass screen along with a series of three-dimensional routes to choose from. Eddy tapped one, and the pod silently glided up and off along the path he selected.
‘ETA 15:02:12,’ displayed in small red numerals underneath the destination and began to count down in seconds.
‘What’s it doing?’ asked Josh, studying the drone circling slowly overhead.
‘Scanning your implant — making sure you’re in the right part of town.’
‘And am I?’ Josh nervously touched the skin behind his ear. It felt warmer than usual.
‘Shouldn’t matter. You’re currently logged as my prisoner, so as long as my security level is fine we’re all good.’
The drone descended until it was level with them. It was a matte black sphere with a military-grade array of antennae and apertures spaced across its surface. As their pod continued to ascend, the drone matched it. There was nothing to signify it was scanning them except a small red light that blinked intermittently on one side.
Josh tried to hold back the rising sense of vertigo as they went higher.
‘What happens if it doesn’t recognise me?’
‘It’ll shoot us out of the sky, but don’t worry, the database of citizens is vast and it will take a while to match you. The census systems are notoriously slow.’
The light winked once more and went out, and the drone accelerated away. Josh realised he’d been holding his breath and let it out slowly.
‘You okay? You’re looking a little pale,’ asked Eddy, watching the drone disappear.
‘Yeah. We don’t have stuff like this in my time.’
‘What, no police drones?’ Eddy laughed. ‘How do they keep the peace?’
‘CCTV, cameras and actual coppers — policemen.’
‘I heard that was how it used to be, back in 11.700.’
Josh did some mental calculations. ‘You think I’m from somewhere back in the eighteenth century? I’m telling you, yesterday the present looked nothing like this.’
Eddy shrugged. ‘Maybe so, but we can’t change the past now, not unless you can persuade the Ministry to let you go back and break the blockade.’
The minutes counted slowly down on the digital clock, and Josh watched the vast cityscape stretch out beneath them.
‘Where did all of this come from?’
Eddy looked puzzled. ‘I guess you’ve never heard of the Fermian Shield?’
Josh shook his head.
‘Science can build worlds and destroy them in a blink of an eye. What you’re looking at is the last remaining cluster of humanity on the planet. The Fermi Corporation practically saved the human race. Cured everything from cancer to space travel. Ecosystem paid a heavy price though.’ He sighed, looking down into the swirling clouds below. ‘The surface is practically uninhabitable now.’
Josh thought about his mother, wondering whether she was down there somewhere. It had been the first time he’d had a chance
to catch his breath, and it saddened him to think she might be lost among the Shades.
‘Can I access the citizens database through this?’ he asked, tapping his ear. ‘Call other people like you would on a phone?’
‘I have no idea what a phone is, but yes you can communicate with others. Who are you looking for?’
‘My mother.’
‘What’s her derivation?’
‘No idea. Her name is Juliet Martha Jones, and she used to live on the Bevin Estate, but I guess that’s probably under a couple of hundred tonnes of rubble now.’
Eddy closed his eyes and Josh could see them moving rapidly under paper-thin lids.
‘There are fourteen Juliet Martha Jones on record. I need something more to go on.’
Josh thought for a moment about what else he could add: she had a son, she wasn’t married — none of those things were definite anymore. Then he had an idea.
‘She has MS — Multiple Sclerosis.’
‘Yes, there is one with a medical history of such a condition, but she was cured when she was ten years old.’
Josh looked at him in astonishment. ‘Cured? You’re sure?’
Eddy opened his eyes and smiled. ‘Oh, it’s your mother. I can see the resemblance. Here, take a look.’
A notification appeared in front of Josh’s eyes: a holographic record of his mother with her medical history, a kind of passport style photo in 3D and maps of her last known location.
‘She’s a teacher,’ Josh exclaimed, studying the information, ‘and married.’
‘Happy days.’
A small chime sounded in the cabin, and the pod began to descend. They were passing through some kind of barrier, a force shield shimmered in the air around them. The connection to the network was disrupted, and all of the data about his mother disappeared. Josh groaned, there wasn’t enough time to learn how they had cured her MS.
The Infinity Engines Books 1-3 Page 38
