Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1)

by Mary Fan

  He continued toward Iothe. “Dammit, Jane, you could’ve been killed! I won’t let—”

  “You have no say in what I can and can’t do!” She pointed at the viewscreen. “Like I said, you can dump me on some float if you want, but if you do, it’s not the freaking Mega you should be afraid of!”

  “Listen—”

  “Try me! Leave me there and see what happens!” She put her hands on the armrests of his seat, leaned down, and looked him in the eye. “You know what? Do it! I’ll find the bastard myself!” She pushed off the armrests and crossed her arms.

  Damn, she actually would. The thought of his kid sister running around some shady sector alone looking for black market ship dealers made Devin more than edgy. It would be better to keep her near.

  Besides, he realized suddenly, No Name had already targeted everyone around her. She could be next. The thought filled him with dread. At the very least, having Jane along meant he could protect her.

  With a sigh of surrender, Devin maneuvered the Blue Tang back toward the interstellar tunnels. Jane smirked in triumph.

  He gave her a stern look. “Just promise me one thing. Promise you’ll do as I say, no matter what.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What is this, your version of pulling rank?”

  “Jane—”

  “All right, all right!” Jane rolled her eyes. “As long as it doesn’t involve me getting abandoned, then fine. I get it. We’re fugitives. Big Brother knows best.” She plopped down in the copilot’s seat. “Where’re we going anyway?”

  “The Viatian system.”

  Devin steered the Blue Tang through one of the interstellar tunnels, curved it around, and brought it toward a different tunnel. He wove the ship in and out of the shortening lines of spheres as he went further and further from the IC systems.

  As the minutes stretched into hours, his thoughts turned to Sarah. He wondered what she would think of all this, if she would believe him—and if he would get the chance to see her again and ask.

  About three months before, Devin had taken Sarah to the Colt estate to meet his father. He’d planned to introduce them for some time, but something had always come up that prevented Dad from joining them. This time was no different.

  Devin ended the communication with his father and turned to Sarah. “Once again, Quasar needs his immediate and undivided attention. I’m sorry to have dragged you all the way out here for nothing.”

  Sarah smiled good-naturedly. “It’s all right. I’ve wanted to see Serena since you first mentioned it. Show me around?”

  “Sure.” He considered giving Sarah the general tour of the historic mansion, then decided to show her something more personal.

  He took her out in a hovercar to his favorite childhood haunt: a waterfall deep in the forest, which poured into a wide, clear creek. Large gray stones and tall trees with red and violet leaves surrounded it.

  Devin stepped out of the vehicle. “I used to spend hours here.” He approached the rushing water and felt the cool mist carried in the wind. “If I was still enough, the wildlife would come out of hiding. I watched them go about their placid lives, wishing I could be like them—living in simple, unthinking bliss. It was one of the few places I could go to escape the pressures of being a Colt—the expectations, the orders, the perpetual disappointment.”

  Sarah, who walked beside him, put a hand on his arm. “That must’ve been hard.”

  “I ended up where I was supposed to.” He stopped near the edge of the creek.

  “Do you like what you do at Quasar? You never talk about work.”

  Devin kept his gaze on the waterfall. “There’s not much to talk about. And it doesn’t matter whether I like it. It’s my life.”

  They all think I’m perfect. He thought about the many times his father and those he called friends had commented on how he seemed to have it all. The ruse must be working.

  Sarah said slowly, “I know you’re not as detached as you pretend to be. You keep your face expressionless whenever you’re not conforming to a corporate ideal, and it’s as if you’re hiding yourself. Why is that?”

  Devin looked at her. “I’m not like that with you, am I?”

  She smiled. “Of course not, baby, that’s why I asked. You’re different with me than with everyone else. Why do you always shield yourself?”

  “I’m not shielding myself.” Devin turned away and walked along the water. “I’m protecting the rest of the world from who I really am.” He focused on the rough stones lining the creek. “I was a disaster until about six years ago, wreaking so much havoc it was absurd. By the time I realized the hell I found myself in was my own damn fault, I’d already devastated my family, all because I was trying to find myself, to find purpose, like every other stupid kid with grand delusions. All I could do was stop caring about the things that drove me to that insanity, and I’ve kept it up to this day. If there were a drug that could remove emotion, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Forget meanings, forget beliefs. I just want to live.”

  He stopped. Those were thoughts he’d long ago decided should remain unspoken. Why had he confessed them? No one could know that he projected the mask of a well-adjusted professional while hollowing out what lay behind it, cutting away every passion, every hope until he wondered what remained.

  He turned to face Sarah. She gazed at him lovingly, sympathetically. That she could love him made him believe there must be something good left within. He often felt as though she’d been sent by a supernatural force to save him from his capacity for madness.

  He smiled wryly. “You probably think I’m insane.”

  She approached him. “I’m glad you told me. I want to understand you.”

  “You won’t like me much once you do.”

  She hooked her arm around his. “Why would you say that?”

  Devin turned his gaze back to the waterfall. Might as well finish. “Because I’m still a disaster. I’ve fixed the outside as best I can, but there’s something deeply wrong with me. The only chance I have to overcome it is to simply do what’s expected.”

  Sarah was quiet for a moment. “I think I understand. Life’s passions cause more pain than anything else. They leave us wanting, but not knowing what for, reaching for an ideal of living beyond mere existence, but no idea as to how to attain it. But you don’t have to give up on happiness. In fact, look at all the good things you have—stability, security… someone who loves you. Remember that, and you’ll realize you’re already in the haven you seek. This is paradise.”

  She put a willowy arm around him and kissed him softly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” More than I could ever say.

  Sarah leaned her head against Devin’s shoulder, and he put his arm around her. For a while, he simply stood there with her, watching the never-ending flow of the waterfall and listening to the whispers of the wind against Serena’s untamed beauty.

  You’re right, Sarah. Now that you’re here, this is paradise.

  The Blue Tang exited the interstellar tunnel closest to Viate. It was the only tunnel in the region and several light-hours from the star system. A message appeared on the slate:

  Corsair: The Seer is on Viate-5. He’s a junk dealer there, and he said he’d contact you when you get closer to the planet.

  Devin entered the planet’s coordinates into the Blue Tang’s navigation system and set the ship on autopilot. Considering what it had been through, the ship’s ability to function normally seemed miraculous. BD Tech hadn’t been exaggerating when they said they made the best.

  His pursuers wouldn’t figure out which of Kydera’s hundred or so tunnels he’d gone into, let alone which of the vast number of possible combinations he could have taken. We’ll be all right for now.

  Jane had been silent since they’d left Iothe.
She sat curled up in the copilot’s seat, lost in a melancholy reverie.

  “Hey,” Devin said. “You okay?”

  Her eyes glistened. “He’s gonna make it. Victor Colt is all about being the exception.”

  Devin didn’t know how to respond. The anguish he’d felt when his father had been shot had nearly overwhelmed him, and he could only attribute his quick escape to survival instincts he hadn’t known he still possessed. The only thing he could do to hold himself together was to accept that father might as well be dead and deal with it.

  But that didn’t mean his sister had to. If blissful denial would help her handle her grief, then he wasn’t about to shatter her hope.

  Jane released her knees and sat up straight. “I’m not just being optimistic. He will recover.”

  Devin tried to smile. “Of course.”

  She clenched her fists. “Do you think it was the same bastards who assassinated Mom? Dad said it was a gang controlled by a Fringe warlord. Do you think that warlord went after him too? Is that why we’re out here?”

  Devin looked away. He owed Jane the truth, and he swore to himself he’d tell her someday—but not that day. She’d never speak to him again, once she knew.

  “Devin?” Jane peered into his face. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  He ignored the question in her eyes. “Viate is one of the few Fringe systems that isn’t run by warlords. I’m hoping to trade the Blue Tang for a lesser model. Anything made by BD Tech is worth a lot out here.”

  He paused, trying to find another topic. “You wanted to know what Citizen Zero is, right? They’re an anti-establishment Netcrew, and Corsair’s one of their most influential members. Most people dismiss them as paranoid conspiracy theorists, but they’re probably some of the best demons out there. You saw what they did to that warship.”

  Jane took the bait, and the question in her eyes brightened into curiosity. “How did they do that?”

  “They hack into corporate or government computers to steal documents, looking for proof of corruption. I asked Corsair to see if they could get the command codes to the ship patrolling Lyrona. I knew I’d have no chance of escaping otherwise.”

  “Who’s Corsair anyway? How do you know him?”

  Should I lie? After a moment of hesitation, Devin said, “We were both members of a cybergang called Legion. It was years ago, back when… back when I was younger.”

  “You were in a cybergang?” Jane leaned over her armrest. “Is that what Dad meant when he said you used to get in trouble?”

  “Yeah.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

  Jane must have sensed his unease, for she didn’t ask for details. She rested her head against the back of her chair. “So Citizen Zero’s like a smaller version of the Collective.”

  “They started out as an offshoot of the Collective, but now they’re suspicious of it. Several of their members were unveiled and killed after getting involved with one of the Collective’s leaders, Mastermind.”

  “Hacking can get you killed?” Jane stared in wide-eyed disbelief.

  Devin smiled, amused by her doll-like expression. “You don’t know much about cybergangs, do you? They work for Fringe warlords, drug kingpins, interstellar mafias—the most dangerous people in the galaxy. There’s a lot of overlap between the two, but unlike Netcrews, who operate entirely online, cybergang demons often get physically involved with their jobs. Being unveiled and having their identities revealed is the worst thing that can happen to them.”

  “So who’s Mastermind?”

  “No one really knows. He first showed up about twenty years back and made a hobby out of messing with the Fringe systems. The things he did determined the outcomes of their turf wars. The Collective revered him for it. He disappeared about ten years ago, after several of the demons he worked with turned up dead.”

  Jane grabbed her armrest and pulled herself forward. “What were they doing? What happened to Mastermind? How was he was so powerful? What—?”

  “Slow down, Pony! I don’t have the answers. I don’t think anyone does.”

  Devin had more to tell her, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it—not yet. In a matter of days, his world had flipped inside out, until it had splintered entirely, leaving him a wanted fugitive with no idea as to how he could begin piecing it back together.

  He might have to run for the rest of his life, because of what he’d discovered about Sarah. And hell, after everything, he still might not be able to save her.

  Jane seemed to notice the change in his mood. She grinned sheepishly. “I know I ask too many questions but… just one more?”

  “All right.”

  “Got anything to eat in this joint? I’m starving!”

  Devin turned toward the storage compartment behind his seat. He opened it, pulled out a package of food, and tossed it to her.

  Jane ripped it open and regarded the nutrition bar inside with distaste. “This has been here for twelve years, hasn’t it?”

  “Yup.”

  “Nutritionally-optimized, chemically-preserved, imperishable space food?” She wrinkled her nose. “Lovely.”

  Devin gave her a joking glance. “It’s not too late to return to civilization.”

  Jane looked as though she was considering going on a rant. She raised an eyebrow with a distinct expression of not-impressed. “Really, bro? You really want to go down this path again?” Her expression turned serious. “Look, I know I shouldn’t be here. I know I’ll probably… slow you down or get in the way or something. But I also know there’s a chance you’ll have to disappear forever and…” She attempted a smirk. “I think you remember what happened the last time you tried to ditch me like that.”

  Devin nodded, recalling the intense guilt he’d felt that day, when he’d carelessly betrayed the one person who had always been there for him, never asking for anything.

  He checked the time on the control screen. It wasn’t late according to the time zone they had come from, but it would be the middle of the day local time when they arrived at the Seer’s location.

  “You should go back to the living quarters and get some rest. We won’t have much time once we get to Viate-5, and I know how grumpy you are when you’re sleep-deprived.”

  Jane popped the last bite of her nutrition bar into her mouth. “What about you?”

  Devin shrugged. “I don’t sleep much.”

  “All right, then.” She balled up the emptied food wrapper. “Don’t wanna wander around some sketchy desert planet in a daze.”

  She got up and pressed the button to open the cockpit door. She started to leave, then poked her head back in. “You won’t try to ditch me while I’m out, right?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Okay, g’night!” Jane left the cockpit, and the door closed behind her.

  Devin gazed at the growing yellow star that was Viate, wondering how he would tell her the rest. It wasn’t fair keeping her in the dark, with her friend involved. Damn, why’d they have to involve Jane?

  He should have told her as soon as he’d found out, but he hadn’t been able to face it himself—the truth he’d sought since Sarah froze like a marble statue.

  Despite his attempts to tell himself everything was fine, Devin had soon given in to his internal disquiet and searched for answers. He had known he’d need help and contacted Corsair.

  Corsair had apparently been using voice commands when he responded:

  Corsair: Yeah, sure, no problem. But you’re gonna need another Netname so the bad guys won’t know what you’re up to.

  Anonymous: I’m already anonymous.

  Corsair: Yeah, right. Any nov could trace you, and if you level up to someone like me, you’re completely exposed. For example, your name is Devin Victor Colt, you
work at Quasar Bank Corporation, and you live in the FFC Residential Complex in Kydera City.

  Anonymous: You already knew who I was.

  Corsair: You’ve got a 22-year-old sister named Jane Winterreise Colt who… Is that her? She got kinda hot at university…

  Anonymous: Knock it off.

  Corsair: Uh… Sorry. Anyhow, I sent you an attachment.

  Devin opened the file and found a list of the Netsites he’d visited along with specific details about his most recent activities and movements, as well as similarly extensive facts about his father, sister, fiancée, and even some of his colleagues at Quasar.

  Anonymous: Point taken.

  Not long after that stunt, Corsair had sent Devin a special communications program, one that would scramble his signal, and created a veiled online identity for him.

  Archangel: I told you to use “Anonymous.”

  Corsair: Everyone and their pet alien calls themselves “Anonymous.” You need something with flair.

  Archangel: Why “Archangel”?

  Corsair: Because you’re the great avengin’ angel who took down all the demons in Legion.

  Devin had been annoyed, but there was nothing he could do about it other than shake his head at Corsair’s peculiar sense of humor.

  Their first move had been to look through Sarah’s records and learn all they could about her. Devin considered following her to see if she was secretly meeting someone nefarious. He abandoned the idea when he realized it could put her in danger. An online investigation would keep her physically out of it, for the time being.

  No matter how careful he and Corsair were, they were always caught. The amorphous entity known as No Name seemed to target their efforts specifically. Corsair had used that information to recruit Citizen Zero, whose members were eager to find out who No Name was and why they would care so much about Sarah DeHaven.