The Assumption Code

by Melodee Elliott

  Tolman looked longingly in her eyes and glanced away. “Why did you come here?”

  She didn’t have an answer. Her mind fumbled for words.

  “You can’t come here. It’s too dangerous. We must come to you.”

  Margi stepped forward. “Who is we?”

  “I can’t tell you. You’re not ready.”

  “Ready for what?” The yearning in her voice overtook her professional intent. She wanted answers for herself. She wanted to tell him what Rivner regretted losing. That she wasn’t Rivner. That the bodies of his fellow men were stacked high and she didn’t know what to do, that he could help her if only he would tell her who we was.

  He came to her and braced his palms on both of her cheeks, riveting her attention. “Remember who you are,” he urged. “Remember.”

  She instinctively nodded as the words penetrated her facade, bringing to bear every wayward deed she’d encountered since coming to Danu. She collected her senses.

  “I remember,” she responded in earnest. “I remember I lost your faith in me.”

  Tolman’s eyes softened as he looked her over. His body became rigid with his gaze becoming just as stern. “You didn’t.”

  He grabbed her arm again and pulled her through the studio to the side door. His hand braced the latch.

  He turned to her and his eyes bore into her soul. “We’ll contact you. When the time is right.”

  She winced.

  He opened the door and looked through the alleyway. He directed her through the doorway and let loose of her. “When the time is right,” he reiterated and closed the door.

  She stood alone in the alley, trying to make sense of his rejection. Tolman and Rivner had a past. Yet both had moved on with their lives, in vastly different directions. It was as if he no longer knew her. At times, she saw a flash of compassion in his expression, and then she had apparently exhausted his patience in one instant.

  She casually looked down the alleyway to see if anyone would now come for her, take her into custody, and interrogate her for things Stavon would already know.

  She started walking back to the penthouse situated in the distance. No one came for her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She clinched the hat in her fist. A few perplexed glances from pedestrians lingered on her. An occasional obscene hologram swept beneath her. She gave no notice.

  Margi understood the attraction that Rivner would have had to Tolman if but in the folly of their youth where love and money and a lifetime of accolades from others were assumed. He was taller and more muscular than she imagined an artist would be, but he had the eye of observation required for aesthetic perception. To see beauty in all things. Could he see the beauty in her, show it to her so she could view it from another’s eyes?

  She reached the structure. A figure entered the lobby with her. She quickened her pace to the elevator and ascended alone to the penthouse.

  She revived under the bubbles in her shower once again and emerged to resume her never-ending studies. Rivner’s diaries were hidden away where she had kept them for so many years and would remain there for now. She didn’t have the mental energy for them anymore.

  The bell and a rhythmic glow drew her to the landing pad. The driver stood outside. Better outside than inside and scare the wits from her.

  She opened the door. “Yes?” she asked.

  “Stavon requests your company in his office,” he replied matter-of-factly.

  “What manner of business does he have?” she asked, trying to appear professional. She felt herself tremble from the inside as if each cell cowered in fear of death.

  “I am not informed of such details.” His manner was relaxed and polite, meaning he was keeping to routine, at least on his part.

  “Am I to give a public appearance?” she tried again.

  “I do not know. Only that he has requested I escort you to his office.”

  “Alright,” she said, defeated. “Give me a moment.” Her communicator was in the next room. It was her habit to always have it in the next room, and she would continue do so unless confronted.

  He nodded.

  Her only goal now was to mirror the same relaxed, routine day that the driver had undoubtedly had. She slipped into heels that matched a buttery yellow dress she’d chosen and proceeded to the hover car.

  They arrived at the highest tiers at DanuVitro. The driver led the way as they walked the main corridor of the medical research division that lead to the executive suite.

  She saw a man cross the marble floor and enter another area. It was the mystery man who had given her the examination. He glanced her way and continued on to his work. Her heart raced, making her feel dizzy for a moment. She hadn’t eaten for most of the day. She craned her neck as she passed where she had seen the man and glimpsed him disappearing into another room.

  She summoned her nerve and continued toward the glass doors ahead. Once inside the space, an assistant greeted her. Margi admired the opulence of the room. Rich wood tones with stone accents played against the blue of sky beyond the glass walls. A trickling fountain to one side made the backdrop of light sparkle as streams of water hit the pool below. She hadn’t realized Stavon would prefer such decor.

  A man exited Stavon’s office and disappeared down the hall. He didn’t acknowledge her presence. She noted the oddity since she was the wife of Stavon, at his office no less, and should have been afforded the courtesy of a greeting.

  The assistant broke her train of thought. “Stavon awaits you,” she offered. The driver dipped his head to Margi and left.

  Margi entered Stavon’s office. There, Stavon sat at his desk. He rose upon seeing her. “Come. Come,” he urged.

  He was unusually chipper for an executive at the end of his day. That scared her.

  He gave her a kiss and offered a drink. She followed his lead.

  “Have a seat.” He motioned to a table and chairs at the far end of the room. The glass wall extended to the floor, with the floor itself clear as glass. She stepped onto the surface and heard her heel clank the hardness, declaring her intrusion upon such a foreboding space. She kept her focus on the table instead of the oblivion below her.

  No wonder Stavon placed the table there. The area became a tool for negotiations, as any fool could see. She was about to be the fool and waited for Stavon to deal his cards in this game.

  He brought a carton to the table. “I’ve an idea.”

  She eyed the box in anticipation of what horror it would bestow unto her.

  “We should take a Great Adventure as a couple.”

  She didn’t need to wait as the horror sat in the chair before her, speaking.

  “As a couple?” she echoed, speechless to attempt anything else.

  “Yes, of course. We’ve never done it ourselves. The experience would be good promotion.”

  She couldn’t argue with the notion and took a drink to soothe her nerves.

  He lifted the lid to reveal three devices.

  “I had an analysis run on which Great Adventures would be most suitable for us as a couple.”

  “Analysis?” she heard herself ask.

  “Nothing that you wouldn’t normally do on a couple’s trip. This analysis cross-references our Paths as they are today and goals those most enjoyable for the both of us.”

  She thought he eyed her suspiciously but didn’t have the gumption to care.

  “Apparently, you are an adventurer.” Stavon said the words like a fortune-teller who’d just read her palm.

  He took hold of the first device and displayed two avatars. A man and woman dressed in animal fur stood atop a mountain. Blinding snow swiped at them as they placed a hologram of the two of them atop the apex. They descend a cave where the woman unearthed a doll carved of ruby. She rinsed the object and held it against the torchlight, where its contours showed the mastery of its making. Margi was caught up in the unveiling of such exquisite beauty.

  Stavon closed the display and set upon another. The ko
hl eyes of a woman peeked from behind a gilded veil. Her subjects knelt before her as she rose from her gilded throne. Her mate flanked her side. Stavon smiled and closed this display.

  He reached for the third and last. A woman trailed a man through the brush as he hacked away sharp blades of grass. They stopped at the cliff edge where a water hole lay far beneath them. The woman took hold of a vine and swung to the other side, sending it back for the man to follow.

  This time Margi smiled. “What does all this mean?”

  “It means you’ll drag me through the wilds one way or another.” He looked at her with a lover’s delight.

  “Which strikes you?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She bided her time. “Which one do you like?” She flipped the burden back to him.

  “This one is for you. Obviously, your ambitions shine through more than mine,” he quipped.

  The sentiment resonated with her, making her cringe.

  “I need to think about it.” That was all she could say. She wished that at least one of the adventures could be as a news anchor on Earth. But she would always return to Danu. Even when Rivner killed herself on Meno, she returned to Danu and back to the person she would always be. And so would Margi, held hopelessly encapsulated by Rivner’s life.

  “Don’t take too long. I consider it an honor to have a Great Adventure with you,” Stavon impressed upon her. He closed the carton and passed it to her. “I’ll have a driver take you home.”

  She took hold of the box, kissed him, and walked the threshold to the opaque floor.

  She felt removed from her body as it walked the corridor to the rhythm of her heels’ strike upon the stone flooring. Her mind was devoid of thought. She saw the sign that read Research and Development. Her senses seized as if she inhaled smelling salts. She didn’t want to encounter Holan. Her gait quickened. She burst through a set of swinging doors and kept going. She felt someone keeping pace with her, and she ran. She saw a room. There, she hid in the dim space and waited for what would come next.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The door latch lifted, and light spilled from the open gap of the doorway.

  “Rivner?” came a male voice.

  Margi stood and approached. “Yes.” No use hiding after having been found.

  “I have a car waiting for you.”

  She stood tall and gripped the carton to her side as if it were the most casual of days and followed him without a word.

  He led her to a lower level and escorted her to a landing pad. The car there was the same old vehicle that she had ridden in with Tolman and also with the driver returning her to the penthouse. This was not the same driver, however.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Someone with an offer,” he replied and held the door open for her.

  Would he think her so desperate for a mere hint of escape from her predicament that she’d willingly get into a stranger’s car? “What kind of offer?” she countered.

  “That’s not for me to discuss.”

  “Who is it?” She didn’t dare invoke Holan’s name.

  “That’s not for me to discuss. Please,” he added. His voice was sincere. Yet Stavon was sincere. Tolman was sincere. Both had their take on who she was. Both were wrong.

  She gave him a warning look and took her seat. Soon, he levitated the car and took her over the ledge of the pad. They joined the nearest stream of traffic and traveled to the backside of the structure, where the driver merged with another level of cars before diving off to join another stream of traffic going toward her penthouse.

  The driver looked around them as they went and as they were about to arrive, he swooped from the sky to coast below the main stream of traffic overhead. Margi watched to see if any cars tracked their pace. They didn’t.

  Eventually, the car coasted into the alley behind Tolman’s white building. She emerged with the carton, holding it as casually as she could.

  The driver led her to the same door that Tolman had shut in her face. The man opened the door for her but did not follow. She slowly entered, tiptoeing in the high heels as if she could sneak into the room, being unknown to whomever was inside. The driver closed the door behind her.

  The room was much more brooding than she had remembered, with its ceiling and corners cast in darkness. A shadow moved at the other end of the room and took shape as Tolman stepped into the glow of an overhead pendant light.

  She put her carton on a nearby table and approached him.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said.

  She didn’t reply.

  “We come to you at great risk.”

  “We?” she asked and looked around. Metal sheets and flexible light tubing lay across the work centers. Art installations at various stages of completion were scattered about. She couldn’t see beyond them.

  “Yes. We.” He didn’t offer more.

  “You are in danger,” he informed.

  She scoffed. “You lure the wife of Stavon away from DanuVitro to tease of a warning?”

  “You came to me,” he shot at her.

  “You came to me!” she shouted, remembering the day in the labyrinth.

  He approached her close enough that she saw the stubble across his face. “Are you not in danger?”

  She couldn’t answer. “What do you want me to remember?” she said to entice him to give an account of their history together.

  “Who are you?”

  “Rivner,” she replied with offense in her tone.

  He took a careful stride to her and whispered in her ear. “You are not.”

  She stepped away. “Then who am I?”

  Another figure emerged from a corner. He stopped at the edge of the shadows and stood facing her.

  Margi backed away as she recognized the man without the nametag who had given her the exam.

  “I can help with that,” he replied and came to stand opposite Tolman.

  She looked for a way out of the room and saw none.

  The man stopped. “Your name is Margi Hall.”

  She wanted to deny it but knew it would be of no use.

  “And we are The Ward,” he added.

  “Ward to what?” She felt her world caving in on her, with an increasing inner knowledge that she was central to these happenings.

  “Danu,” he replied.

  Margi couldn’t deny what she had heard. “Why do you want me to remember who I am?” she demanded in an attempt to divert the dialogue.

  The man approached her. “You are the most important person on Danu.”

  She went to the other side, closer to Tolman.

  “Why?” She prayed for it not to be true.

  “Because you are not Rivner but have her voice.”

  Margi turned to Tolman as if he could save her from her predicament. He held steady, yet there was kindness in his form. She sensed that if she sank into his arms he would hold her steadfast though it did not appear so now.

  “What is your name?” she asked the man.

  “There will be time for that. You must understand.”

  “For me to be exposed and not you,” she countered.

  “You are not exposed beyond what has already occurred.”

  “What does that mean?” Her eyes darted between the two men.

  Tolman looked downward.

  “You are the product of Holan’s experiments. He sacrificed Rivner as a participant so that you would come here.”

  Margi remembered Rivner’s accounts of her Great Adventures and the justifications that followed. She did not want that for herself. She was now a client. That she understood but hadn’t grasped that she was stewarding the ownership of Rivner’s body. She hadn’t thought of her situation in quite those terms, owning a sacrificed body.

  “Why?” She wanted to die right there in that room.

  “Opportunistic, I’d say. No one could predict he’d have someone walk through his doors with her resemblance.

  “What does he want from me?” she pleaded
.

  “The same as anyone in his position. For it to work.” The man gave a coy look as if she should know why any of this was done.

  “You work for him,” she accused.

  “No. I am with The Ward.”

  “But I saw you there.” Fear laced her voice.

  “I am a DanuVitro scientist.”

  “You gave me an examination. Why?” Her voice was becoming strained with the questions rushing to the forefront of her mind all at once.

  “I had to see for myself if you could be saved.”

  Margi stepped one foot forward and stopped. “Did you?”

  “Yes, Margi. I did.” He walked to her, and she didn’t back off.

  “This is why we have an offer for you,” he said as if to test her willingness.

  “I’m listening.” She felt as if she was both the hostage and the negotiator in some grand scheme of ultimate betrayal.

  “I will return you to Earth if you help us destroy DanuVitro.”

  She let loose a whimper of a chortle from the base of her vocal chords. “And how would I do that?”

  “Look for a way.”

  Her heart felt heavy in the moment. For her to bring down a tycoon and his life’s work by herself in order to claim her salvation was too much.

  Tolman approached her and gripped her shoulders. She wished he wouldn’t touch her like that. She couldn’t think, yet didn’t sway from where she stood.

  Tolman cautioned, “I toured you through the Kalgare section so you could see for yourself what degradation Stavon has handed to the citizens of Danu. And that is what’s left for the living. He would do the same on your planet.”

  The man added, “Ultimately, he has set his sights upon Earth as his next source of participants.”

  “No.” The words fell from her lips as she remembered the pile of bodies.

  The man stepped forward. “Holan has other plans, of course. He is developing a technology for those on Earth to become his clients and those who remain on Danu to be his participants. So you see, time is of the essence. You must find a way to use Stavon’s weakness.”

  “If he has one,” she mumbled.

  “He has one. It is you,” he said. “Now, exploit it before the species of two planets meet their end.”