Numbers Ascending

by Rebecca Rode

  The giant face winked out, replaced by blackness once more. Kole’s gaze remained fixed on Virgil’s desk, his face a blotchy red.

  “Now, then.” Virgil turned and hopped onto his desk, sitting to face us. “Let’s settle the matter of your implant.”

  I raised my chin. “So you can make me sick like them? No, thanks.”

  “Being a scientist, it’s critical that I understand what’s happened.”

  “No, I want to understand. Explain to me what your purpose is here because, honestly, it looks a little crazy. You allied with the Firebrands and my brother and took over the government. So what? People will figure out that their loved ones got sick as a result of your update. They’ll never trust you again.”

  “People tend to believe what they’re told, but yes, I’m expecting the general public to come to that conclusion.”

  That wasn’t what I’d expected. “Then why?”

  “New NORA never cared about my career. Hawking has spent the last year slandering me to the point where people here won’t look me in the eye. I’m no longer interested in proving myself to them. The rest of the world, however, has turned a very interested eye upon this little experiment. Now that it has succeeded, some very important doors will open for me.”

  I wanted to kick the man right between the eyes. “My country is not an experiment.”

  “All new countries are. I remember traveling here as a child with your grandmother, Miss Hawking. She was a lovely creature with big ideas, but none based on political experience or even fact. We would do better allied with a more powerful country. One that sees Neuromen for its vast potential.”

  I gaped at the man. Alex wanted to turn the country over to the Firebrands, but this was a hundred times worse. Dad had half his troops fighting in border skirmishes because of greedy outsiders trying to take over our lands. An underhanded alliance of this nature could be catastrophic to our entire military. “You’re talking about Malrain, aren’t you?”

  “For a start. There will be others. It’s like I told you, girl. The IM-NET has spread to every civilized country on the planet. Whoever controls implants controls the world.”

  “Until everyone stops getting implanted,” Kole muttered.

  “People are smarter than you think,” I snapped. “They don’t like putting their lives in someone else’s hands. My grandmother’s policies weren’t perfect, but she gave up everything to create something better. And you just tossed it all into the ocean overnight.”

  Virgil smirked. “Then it was never that strong anyway. If I were you, I’d consider what all this means for my own country. With a teenager at its head, I doubt New NORA will last long as the fight over technology grows more intense.” He turned to Kole. “Now for you. Your uncle has volunteered you as our first trial subject.”

  Kole’s eyes went round and fixed on me. I must have looked equally horrified because he swallowed. “But the update is already out.”

  “Neurotechnicians are always looking to the next project. This version is a huge step toward the future I’ve just described. Few lucky subjects will receive it, of course. Ethics and all. I would loop Miss Hawking in too, but her brother wants her alive a little longer. Just not conscious.” By his tone of voice, he thought it all some kind of amusing game.

  I tried to stand, only to be slammed back into my chair again by the guard. “Wait. What does this new version do?”

  “Legacy,” Kole said, looking a little pale. “It will be okay.”

  No, it wouldn’t. My chest constricted more with each second, squeezing my lungs until I had to pant for air. These terrible men—Virgil, Dane. Even Alex. They had no right to play with us like this. If Alex were in front of me, I’d knock the sense back into him with a punch that would make my ex-boyfriend’s head spin across town. I would give him the lecture of his life. I would set Dad’s office aflame and see how he liked it.

  Set his office aflame. That was it. Virgil was more paranoid about fire than anyone I’d ever met. Because of Mom’s explosion? It had spread quickly, destroying half the lab wing within the hour.

  I didn’t want to put Millian and the others at risk, but with luck, a little fire could cause a distraction long enough to get me and Kole out.

  “The experiment has been uploaded,” Virgil said, his eyes distant. Communicating with his relay station, no doubt. “You should feel it any second.”

  He’d barely finished when Kole grunted.

  I tried to rise again, only to be shoved down even harder this time.

  Kole looked as if a thousand pounds had just descended upon his shoulders. His eyes widened, his veins bulged, and his face turned pink. He grunted again and slid off the chair, kneeling on the floor.

  Virgil looked intensely interested. “So fast. Only eleven seconds in.”

  “You made your point. Release him now.” My voice reeked of desperation, but I didn’t care.

  “There’s no reversing this. Right now his brain is experiencing a series of massive shocks. I need to see how long it lasts before he loses consciousness. A little quiet would be nice, Miss Hawking. Twenty-two seconds.”

  I sent a desperate glance at Kole. He’d planted his hands on the ground and knelt on all fours now, ducking his head as if bowing. His shoulders shook. A tremor ran down my own body, my gaze riveted on his face as if I could lend him strength. He had already experienced the worst imaginable pain in losing his mom, not to mention the earlier beating he refused to discuss. He had only come to help me.

  And now, I realized with a sob, he was going to die for it.

  I glanced up at Virgil, who watched in fascination. He had to be wrong. Surely this could be reversed. If I could get to that relay station, I could stop this.

  A strange weight pulled at my pocket. Somewhere in my anxious mind, it registered that the guards hadn’t taken Dad’s ring from me. The legacy stone it held was identical to Mom’s. Or at least it had been, before the explosion. According to Fire Management, all that remained of Mom was tiny charred and twisted piece of metal, barely recognizable as a ring, with its center stone missing. The legacy stone hadn’t made it through the explosion.

  Unless . . . it had caused the explosion.

  Kole cried out, his face an unnatural purple.

  “The disease is progressing much faster than anticipated,” Virgil said to himself, eyes lit like a child watching fireworks. I snuck a glance at the guard standing over me. He watched Kole with a disturbed frown.

  Slowly, I reached into my pocket and retrieved the ring. The stone was protected by a net-shaped cap. Keeping it in my lap so the guard wouldn’t see, I grasped the cap tightly and yanked until the piece slipped loose. The legacy stone looked even more brilliant without its protective barrier.

  I gave the ring one last, longing glance and let it roll softly down my trouser leg to the ground.

  Thankfully, Kole’s groaning was enough to cover the clang of its landing. I leaned forward ever so slightly, placed my foot on the ring, and kicked it gently toward Virgil’s statue at the center of the room.

  It settled half a yard from the statue’s base. A bit too close, but it would have to do.

  Another cry wrenched from Kole’s lips, tearing free a piece of my soul. Hold on.

  Then I bolted.

  Matheson’s hand grabbed for my shirt, but I twisted away from his grip and swiped the stunner from his back pocket as I danced out of reach. A squeeze of the trigger and the man collapsed midstride.

  I scrambled for the statue.

  “Guards!” Virgil snarled, but I had already rammed my shoulder into the ugly statue with my entire weight. Something popped inside the base. Another try, harder this time. Something cracked. I hoped it wasn’t my shoulder.

  The guards rushed over from the door. I managed one last kick at the statue before they grabbed my arms and dragged me away. The metal swayed.

  Virgil’s eyes narrowed.

  The statue fell forward . . . and hit the ring almost dead-on.
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  A white light flashed beneath the statue.

  I was in motion again. Ten seconds.

  As the guards gaped, I slid over to Kole. He lay on his side, but he was still conscious. His chest rose and fell rapidly, eyes unfocused.

  “Time to go,” I said and placed his arm over my shoulder. Kole nearly collapsed as I fought to my knees, then struggled to stand under his weight. It was like lifting a transport. He grunted and tried to help, but it was clear that even one step was agony.

  Five seconds.

  Across the room, some of the guards now approached the fallen statue, staring in awe at the bright white being emitted from underneath. Even Virgil looked entranced.

  I darted toward the door, half dragging, half supporting Kole. I kicked it open with my foot and launched us both into the hallway.

  The door had barely closed when the explosion came.

  Thirty-Two

  Legacy

  I moaned and pushed onto all fours, dazed. The world was silent, but it was an unnatural quiet that I didn’t trust. My backside felt singed. I squinted through the misty gray fog surrounding me and saw Kole lying on the floor.

  My brain snapped to alertness. The explosion. I turned to the door. Dark gray smoke slipped beneath the opening.

  I’d done it.

  I tried not to think about those guards inside as I scrambled over to Kole and lifted his arm over my shoulder just like before. This time, he just groaned.

  “I’m not leaving you here,” I told him, but my voice sounded muffled. He didn’t stir.

  I looked down the hall, wishing a gurney or something with wheels would appear. There was nothing but a series of closed doors. One that looked different than the rest stood to my left.

  As I watched, the door slammed open, and a man sprinted out with a panicked expression. He didn’t give us a glance as he gaped at Virgil’s door, then ran the other direction. In the room beyond lay floor-to-ceiling equipment, consoles, and a couple of screen desks. This had to be Virgil’s precious station.

  An alarm sounded overhead. A few drips, and then the overhead sprinkler system came on. The equipment inside would soon be useless. If I was going to reverse the virus, it had to be now.

  I caught the heavy door with my foot before it closed. Then, grunting, I grabbed Kole’s shoe and dragged him toward the doorway. It took every ounce of strength I had left.

  Finally we were both inside. I let the door close, rushed to the console and pulled up the public records database. There it was—every person in the country’s blood and DNA information. I skimmed the options, not surprised to see there was no way to delete implant files. Of course they wouldn’t make it that easy.

  I found Kole’s name and tapped the master control page. Scanning quickly, I felt frustration welling up inside. There was no reverse option or anything close to it. Every swear word I’d ever heard ran through my mind in a long string.

  Fine. If I couldn’t delete whatever they’d done to his brain, I would override it.

  The screen glitched. My shoulders were soaked now. The water had to be affecting the equipment.

  I pulled up Virgil, but his record was stripped of any helpful information. It wasn’t surprising that he would protect himself. Had he done the same for his daughter?

  Water dripped from my hair onto the screen. I swept it aside as I pulled up Zenye’s name. Parts of her files were protected like Virgil’s, but I could still access her implant version. It was different from any of the others I’d seen. No surveillance, no communication restrictions, and most importantly, a clean update. Perfect.

  I stole the version number and let my fingers fly across the glass. One final keystroke and it was done. “Thank you, Zenye.”

  PLEASE WAIT. UPDATE COMMENCING.

  Come on, come on.

  Somewhere over the sound of sprinklers came a roaring noise. It took a second to register that the fire had reached the hallway. We were trapped. Worse, the wing could explode any minute.

  For the third time in two days, I turned toward the window.

  I picked up the heaviest freestanding object I could find, which happened to be a chair, and launched it at the window. My heart hung between beats, watching the black wheels beneath the chair spinning in midair. Then the glass shattered.

  Two seconds, then a bounce and a splash.

  A splash. The bay.

  Peering out the window, I felt my stomach flop. This was no second-story drop with a dumpster below, nor was there a fire escape to aid our plight. Only a four-floor drop to a walkway between the building’s foundation and a narrow railing that divided the sea. We’d need momentum and a trainload of luck to make that jump.

  I grabbed Kole’s leg and dragged him toward the broken window, wincing at the glass shards on the floor and thanking the fates for Virgil’s glass obsession. Was the man even alive? Had he survived the explosion and managed to escape through his glass-less window? We’d have to escape to find out. The room had already begun to heat up, giving the wet air a swampy feel.

  Now for the hard part. With his long legs, Kole could easily clear the walkway if he were conscious. But he wasn’t. I couldn’t carry him on my back or drag him out, much less run to get the momentum we needed. Mom would know a way.

  An inch of water lay at my feet now. That would slow us down even more.

  What would Gram do?

  She’d once jumped out of a chopper wearing some kind of squirrel suit, but we didn’t have that luxury. All we had was a bunch of heavy equipment.

  My shirt clung to my body. That reinforced door could only hold off the flames for so long.

  I hurried to the equipment lining the walls on the far end of the room and opened the lid to look inside. A second later, I looked at the lid again and retrieved a screwdriver from the top of the nearest glass desk.

  It took several agonizing minutes to get the screws and bolts free, but the sheet of metal finally came off. It was flimsy, but it was all we had. A nervous flutter rose in my stomach, threatening to launch my most recent meal.

  I shoved it toward the window, glass crunching underfoot and water sloshing into my shoes. Grabbing Kole’s arm, I dragged him onto the metal. It floated a bit on the water. If it floated on water, it would float on air.

  “Here goes,” I muttered and threw all my weight into sending it out the window. At the last second, I threw myself over Kole.

  We were airborne. My stomach felt disconnected from my body as we plummeted, weightless. Someone was screaming. A huge, hot burst of air whooshed in our direction. Another explosion? Whatever it was, it had just sent off my aim. Now, rather than avoiding the walkway below, I was trying not to overshoot the water.

  I turned my body as the water approached. It wouldn’t be enough.

  With a mighty cry, I wrapped my arms around Kole and leaned forward. We slipped off the metal and spent half a second freefalling before hitting the water. The piece of metal hit the railing behind us with an angry metallic clang.

  Kole, who had slapped the water like dead weight, now plunged deeper beneath the surface. I dove into the waves and wrapped my arms around him, yanking him to the surface. A moment’s positioning and I held his back against my chest, kicking my legs to keep us both afloat. My arms already felt numb from the sudden cold.

  It was only then that I looked up at the window we’d just leaped from. A strange glow shifted from its gaping mouth. The fire had broken past the door.

  We’d made it just in time.

  A familiar whirring sound made me want to cry with relief. Somehow, Travers knew we were here. The man had to have the sharpest eyes on the western coast.

  But when the boat arrived, I couldn’t believe it. It was Millian at the wheel, not Travers. He lay limp in the passenger seat, eyes barely open. My roommate halted the boat and began tugging at Kole’s motionless form. I helped her haul him over the side and pulled myself in, suddenly shivering.

  Millian pulled a blanket over Kole and handed me
her jacket. “You need this more than I do.”

  “F-follow the c-coastline south,” I told her through chattering teeth, accepting the jacket gratefully. “How in the fates did you find us?”

  “The guards went running when we heard the explosion,” she called over the wind, taking the wheel once more. “I evacuated with the others, but instead of meeting in the parking lot, I headed for the coast and found your driver. He isn’t doing so well.”

  “I noticed.” I turned to look back at the building. The entire wing was engulfed in flames now. We wouldn’t have made it another minute. It registered as a dull fact in my shock-ridden brain. “Thank you.”

  “Thank me later. You Hawkings sure like theatrics, don’t you? I mean, don’t get me wrong—that was a pretty epic way of getting things done.”

  Two legacy stones, two identical explosions. Only Mom was gone and I was still here. Hopefully she approved, wherever she was.

  “Did Virgil survive?” Millian shouted over her shoulder.

  “I don’t know.”

  We settled into a somber silence. Dawn was arriving, the rising sun shooting brilliant rays of gold across the horizon.

  Only time would tell whether we’d made any difference tonight. Either the update had worked, or the country would be stuck with its current implant version for a very long time. It would take months to replace all that equipment.

  Except Virgil probably had backups at his house. If he was still alive.

  Disturbed by the thought, I took the seat above Kole and stroked his face. “You said it would be okay,” I whispered. “I’m holding you to that.”

  A burning Neuromen grew smaller in the distance until it disappeared altogether.

  Thirty-Three

  Legacy

  “Any news?” Gram asked the physician as he left Dad’s side. The man looked as if he hadn’t slept since his visit yesterday with his stringy hair and unkempt clothing. The machine next to Dad’s head ran on an electrical reserve since Gram had no generator here in the cavern, but it also required daily maintenance from a medical professional.