Tesla Evolution Box Set

by Mark Lingane

  “Just like Bindi.”

  Bindi blushed. She went to chastise her mother for revealing an embarrassing family secret, but realized it was hardly embarrassing, as only the elderly and insane liked vegetables. She reiterated the line and Sebastian nodded in agreement. Then she shouted at her mother, just to maintain the balance of reality and expectation.

  Sebastian smiled and went back to his plate. Everything was neatly separated—the meat, the potatoes, and the rest of the vegetables. It was all easily classifiable, just like his life had been up until a few hours ago.

  “What’s the matter, love? You look a bit distracted. It’s not …” Sheila’s eyes darted toward Bindi, who was making a visual separation between good and evil on her plate, stacking the vegetables in the latter category.

  Sebastian picked up on the unspoken question. “Oh no, something unusual happened to me today, that’s all. You know when you think you know a group of people really well, that they’re bad and have wanted to hurt you all your life …” He distractedly chased a pea around his plate.

  “Er, well, not exactly,” Merv said, “but I get the same kind of feeling from the opening bowlers from South Tamaroon.”

  “And then one of them turns around and helps you when you really need it.” Sebastian looked up at them expectantly.

  Merv sat back, folded his arms and looked off into the distance. “There was the time when ol’ Bruce Hiddlestone whacked Darren on his head with that fierce spell last March. I was at the other end, Brucey let go this right sizzler and Darren completely misjudged it. I reckon it was because of that incident with the girl, what was her name, Sheila?” He glanced over at Sheila and snapped his fingers. “Peta. She up and ran off with his best mate. Completely put him off his game. Darren said it was the sun in his eyes, but, nah, it was early after lunch. Third over. Fourth delivery.”

  “So wrong,” Bindi said. “Dad, you’re so stupid. You always get it so wrong. Why do you even bother? It was in April.”

  “Anyway, Bruce was right up there, making sure Darren was okay. We thought they hated each other, especially after the big punch-up they had after the after-finals drinks party. Darren was moved by it. To me it looked like he had a tear in his eye, the poor young lad. He said it was just the sun.”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Sebastian said. He went back to chasing his peas and squashing the occasional one for its crimes against carbohydrates.

  “Sebby, often people can be more than your own expectations of them,” Sheila said. “How you behave is always a choice. Some brains and a bit of fire, if you will, generally make you good. The world can surprise you.”

  “I think what my lovely wife is saying is, good people are where you find them,” Merv said. “It doesn’t matter where they are, or come from, it’s what’s inside that counts.”

  They all tucked into their food thoughtfully.

  “I’ve been asked by your mate, Niko, to join those army blokes,” Merv said a few minutes later.

  “Nikola asked you to join the defense council?”

  “That sounds about right. Said he wanted some new blood with lateral thinking. We’s had a couple of meetings so far. I’ve given ’em some ideas, based on our T-twenty strategy. Hard attack, bring in the spinners to slow ’em down, finish hard with a power play.”

  “Really?”

  “Works a treat, doesn’t it, Bindi?”

  “Too right, Dad.”

  “We’ve been bouncing the ideas around between us.” He gave Sebastian a wink.

  Bindi beamed with pride. She even accidentally ate a piece of carrot.

  “I’m thinking, kid, we play our cards right, we could be onto a good wicket here.”

  “What about the farm?”

  “Yeah, sad news there. We got overrun by the cyber-blokes. The fires were pretty bad, and the land was scorched. It’s going to be a while before we can go back and use the land productively. Hopefully not too long. We don’t want city life makin’ us too soft.”

  Sebastian laughed. “You remind me of my dad. He was a strong man. He loved the land. He ploughed the fields himself. I remember him towering over me, his shoulders wide enough to eclipse the sun. He was big until he got sick and …” He paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t think that much about my dad, not as much as he deserves.”

  “Maybe you’ll remember him when you look in the mirror,” Merv said.

  “I doubt it, he was a titan.” He looked wistful as regret weighed on him.

  Merv and Sheila exchanged an impressed glance.

  “Looks like you’re headin’ in the same direction,” Merv said. He gave Sebastian a pat on his shoulder. Sheila nodded in agreement. Bindi blushed. “Big, like Niko, I reckon.”

  Sebastian gave them a half-smile. “I wasn’t strong enough to hold onto my mom when she was taken away.” He looked at his hands. They didn’t have Merv’s calluses. They didn’t have Albert’s dexterity. He wondered what he was good for.

  “You can’t beat yourself up about it, love,” Sheila said. “You can only do the best you can. And you never know what the future holds.”

  “I desperately want to go back and get my mom, but they won’t let me unless I go on my own. I sit around waiting for something they won’t tell me about, and it feels like she’s slipping further away from me. Maybe one day I will go by myself.”

  “Where is she, love?” Sheila asked.

  “She’s in the Hive, the cyborg city. I feel it calling out to me every day. I’m drawn to it, but I know I can’t get her on my own.”

  “If you do go, sport, I’ll do me best to help out.” Merv gave Sebastian a wink.

  “I’ve got a feeling there may be dark times ahead,” Sebastian said. “Your family will need you more than I do.”

  “You’re part of the family, love,” Sheila said.

  Sebastian wiped away a tear from his eye.

  Bindi burst into tears and ran out of the room.

  “Maybe she’s getting the dessert,” said Merv.

  She wasn’t, but that was okay because Sebastian could eat two portions.

  32

  AFTER THEY HAD finished the meal, Merv showed him to the door. He looked out and sniffed the air. “I think you’s right, Seb. Change is coming. Trouble has its own scent, and I can smell it everywhere here. Keep your eyes open.”

  “Thank you for the supper.”

  “Let’s hope it isn’t our last.”

  He walked outside and made his way down the alleyways back to his quarters. As he crossed over the main street he noticed a sign scrawled on the wall: Kill all teslas. The sound of nearby shattering glass spooked him, making him jump.

  He let himself into his small room. He felt a sense of calm seep into his body. He let out a big sigh and relaxed down onto his bed. He left the light off and let the quiet of the night settle over him. His breathing deepened and he closed his eyes. There were distant shouts as a rabble of troublemakers went past, and then all went quiet again.

  The window by his bed exploded and glass rained over him. He let out a scream, and leapt up off the bed, banging his head on a shelf. There was the sound of scurrying footsteps outside. He dashed to the window and looked out, but saw only the fleeting shadow of the cowardly thrower.

  He scrambled for the door and charged out onto the night street, then turned and dashed the short distance to the safest place he knew. He ran up the steps, down the corridor, and knocked on the door. It slowly opened to reveal Melanie.

  “Sebastian, this is unexpected.” She was wearing her soft clothes, layers of white satin and a laced matching bodice, totally inappropriate for close-quarter combat. The lacing was partially undone.

  “I’m sorry, someone threw a rock through my window. Then I banged my head on the shelf.” He gave her a sad face.

  She sighed. “All right, come in.” She opened the door and he stepped into her room.

  Gavin’s shirt was half open and he was on the bed, leaning semi-reclined against the wall and lo
oking languorous. His face went from a state of self-appreciation to shock to annoyance. He sat up straight. “What’s he doing here?”

  “He’s frightened,” Melanie said.

  “Oh, boohoo.”

  “Be nice, it’s getting dangerous out there. Aren’t you worried about all these sudden attacks on teslas?”

  “I haven’t seen any. No one’s attacked me.”

  “Just because you’ve been okay, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. The attacks are real,” Sebastian said.

  “Whatever, they’ll pass,” Gavin said. “It’s just the new people trying to find an identity. They’re dispossessed and looking for a focus. After a couple of cy encounters they’ll come crawling back to us.”

  “So where are you going to stay tonight?” Melanie asked Sebastian.

  “I don’t know. It’s too late to call on most people.”

  She gave him a small smile. “It’s all right. You can stay here.”

  “What?” Gavin exploded. “We’d planned this evening to …”

  “Well, we can shift the plan. Tonight. Tomorrow. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to some people. It might be inconvenient for me tomorrow.”

  “More experiments with Oliver?” She raised an incredulous eyebrow.

  Gavin turned away. “If he stays then I’m going.”

  “I’ll go,” Sebastian said.

  “No, Sebastian, you stay here.” She turned to Gavin. “It’s dangerous out there. If here is the best place for him, then here he stays. Imagine if it was you out there.”

  “It isn’t. We had plans.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  Melanie folded her arms and stared at Gavin.

  “I don’t need this,” he said. He grabbed his cape and stormed out. The door shut with a resounding bang.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for him to leave,” Sebastian said.

  She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave him a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. I was quickly becoming uninterested in the evening. It was getting a bit awkward. You may have done me a favor.”

  “He wasn’t very nice to you.”

  She sat down on the bed. “He’s okay when we’re on our own. He really takes an interest in what I do, and he’s comforting. I can really open up to him. But he gets a bit defensive when other people are around. Especially you.” She rocked backward, holding her knee, and giggled. “Perhaps he’s jealous.”

  “I don’t know what of.”

  “Maybe because you’re on the accelerated program.”

  Sebastian laughed. “It’s hardly a program. Most of the stuff we’re making up as we go. We never know what each day will bring.”

  Melanie looked out her window. She noticed a small group of men staggering down a small alleyway. One threw something at a window and they all ran.

  “You can certainly say that again,” she muttered.

  33

  KERRY KNOCKED ON the door to the office. The guard watched her closely. The muffled command to enter came.

  “Number Two, it’s time. I feel the people are ready. I have the order here from Ralph. All you need to do is sign it.”

  “We don’t see much of Ralph. I assume all is well.”

  “He’s a busy man, as you would be aware. There are many internal and external negotiations requiring his sophisticated and experienced touch. It takes its toll. I help where I can.”

  Kerry sat down in the velvet chair with disconcerting speed and enthusiasm. Number Two indicated for her to hand over the paperwork. The pen scratched quickly over the heavy paper and the deal was done. In the silence of the room, the scratching sounded like a desperate animal trying to break in. Or out.

  “You seem to have no hesitation in condemning the old guard,” Kerry said.

  “You think this is the first time it’s happened?” Number Two replied.

  Number Two handed back the authorized document.

  Kerry let her eyes wander over the plush office. “You have a pleasant office. I would like one like it one day.”

  A city guard wound a heavy brass lever. He cranked and the klaxon echoed over the city. Kerry mounted the tall podium especially constructed for the occasion. Times of change needed moments and icons the people could identify with and latch onto. Speed humps needed to either be hit at speed or gently caressed.

  People had assembled in the city square, with the great statue of Joshua Richards dominating the area.

  “Today we talk about fairness.” Kerry’s voice sounded through the klaxon.

  The crowd gathered around the podium, drawn by some social gravity, wanting to be where history could be made—or a holiday announced.

  “The greatest danger we face today is our failure to face up to the nature of the threat we’re dealing with. What we’re confronting here is an evil ideology.”

  The guards look uncertainly at each other. They knew these words. They knew what came next. They knew there weren’t enough of them to deal with the situation. A choice needed to be made.

  “There’s a position around which this city can unify; that we continue to root out abuse toward our people and our trust, but give a place to genuine friends; that we ensure controls are effective so that the friends who come, rightly and necessarily, for our economy, to work, study or visit here can do so; but that those who stay and deliberately destroy the peace, who use the political weapons of unrest, division and discord are removed.

  “The spirit of our age is one in which the prejudices of the past are put behind us, where our diversity, which we welcome, is our strength. It is this that is under attack. Moderates are not moderate through weakness but through strength. Now is the time to show it in defense of our common values.”

  The volume of the crowd was building. Antagonism and self-declared righteousness rolled around the square like a ball of angry energy.

  “I have here a decree from the mayor. As of nine p.m. tonight, the teslas will be required to submit themselves to Mr. Floater at the city detention center. Anyone who assists any known tesla to avoid their duty and responsibility to hand themselves in will be considered an enemy of the city. Anyone who hinders the city guards in the apprehension of any tesla will be considered an enemy of the city. Anyone who is seen conversing with a known tesla will be considered an enemy of the city.”

  The guards started to shuffle away as the unrest began to crescendo.

  “We’re sending a message to those who wish to cause us trouble. We’re standing strong against adversity. We embrace a new expectation of assimilation, and empower those who believe in and enact the principles by which we live.”

  The crowd’s response had peaked. All they needed now was an enemy, someone within reach.

  “As of nine p.m. teslas are now persona non grata in our city of peace.” She ended with “God bless you all.” But the words were lost in the roar of the crowd.

  Melanie burst through the door of Nikola’s office dragging Gavin behind her. “They’re coming. You can hear them in the streets.”

  Nikola and Albert turned to face them, both looking equally concerned.

  Sebastian followed moments later, with Isaac and his owl in tow. “They’ve got weapons,” Sebastian said. “They’re actually firing at us.”

  “They winged my owl,” cried Isaac, but the debate roared on, oblivious to the damage to his prized possession.

  “Surely they won’t actually do anything. It must be just to scare people,” Nikola said. He held out his hands in a gesture of disbelief.

  Albert shook his head. “Crowds like this are a collection of stupid and frightened people who believe they’re on the side of right. They believe they have the authority to do whatever it takes and beyond to get what they want. I’ve been here before, and I never wanted to see it again. We need to go.”

  Melanie had focused her attention on the crowd in the street below. “They’ve assembled outside. The crowd looks ugly.” She turned to face the others. “What d
o we do?”

  “We wait and see,” Nikola said. He kept his voice calm, instilling hope in the others.

  There was a crash at the front door, followed by a scream.

  Melanie looked down. “That was your guard. He was the last of our defenses. We have to go now or we become the coalface.”

  “We’re scientists and we’re being forced from our city of science. I refuse to go,” Nikola said.

  “You must.” Albert placed a gentle hand on Nikola’s shoulder.

  “I will stand against them,” Nikola said, reaching for his sword. He unsheathed it and rolled it between his hands. The gaslight bounced off its shiny surfaces, revealing a honed and deadly edge.

  “You can do that, but not today,” Albert said. “Stand against them when they’re ready to listen.”

  “But then it might be too late.”

  “Then it will be too late for us all.”

  “Nikola, please,” Melanie said, “think of the children.” She indicated the two boys. Sebastian and Isaac looked affronted.

  “Okay, we go.” Nikola re-sheathed the sword and gathered a few items.

  “What about the others? Shall we get Oliver and Number Two?” Albert asked.

  “I saw Oliver earlier,” Gavin said. “He said not to worry, he had an escape plan.”

  “Number Two?” Albert said.

  “I think we’ve misjudged the political waters,” Nikola said.

  “Do you think this was a plot by Number Two?” Albert asked him.

  “There’s a lot of power in fear and religion. It worked in the past and lasted for thousands of years. More importantly, would Number Two betray us?”

  The answer was left unsaid.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Nikola said. He marched toward the door.

  “No, no, this way,” Albert said. He indicated the secondary exit behind the bookshelves. “Melanie, I’ve left you something outside the gates on the left. Underneath the third dam.”

  “You’re not coming with us?”

  “No, my place is here. I’ve run away from this before but now it’s my turn to stand, especially as I’m too old to run very far. I’ll learn something and maybe they will too.”