Everyone spoke at once, each with a different question.
“See, this is why you have to go to school. To learn all of this and put it into practice.”
Max stood up and shouted over everyone, “When do we start?”
“Next cycle,” Charlie said, and everyone was quiet.
We all waited for Charlie to fall asleep before we piled out of the sleepers and gathered in the farthest corner of the room.
“This feels more like a storage facility than a bedroom,” Theodore complained.
“I hate it,” Grace said, sitting next to Theodore.
“The rest of the place is golden, though,” Max argued, the last to emerge from the wall. In her hands were the workings of the dream enhancement features standard on every sleeper we had ever used on the Rings of Orbis.
“Did you rip that out?” I asked her.
Max nodded. “I just wanted to see how these things work,” she mumbled, pulling at the chips and wires.
Ketheria, Nugget, and some of the other kids had brought their pillows with them and were sprawled out on the soft floor. Most of the floors in the house were covered with a cushy, malleable material, much softer than our own sleepers.
“Vairocina?” I called out.
“I hope your trip to Orbis 3 was successful, JT,” a voice inside my head said.
“It was, thank you,” I told her. “You can show yourself if you like.”
The room was dimly lit by warm colors seeping in from a light source buried in a crevice that ran the perimeter of the room. The air in front of me tugged at the light. It gathered and churned and eventually formed a holograph of my friend, Vairocina. She was the girl whose essence I had found inside the central computer. I once saved her from destruction, and now she helped the Keepers protect the immense sentient computer that runs everything on the Rings of Orbis.
The last time I saw her was on Orbis 2. She looked like a little girl then, almost like Ketheria, with brown hair spilling over her shoulders and big bright eyes. Except Vairocina’s eyes were darker and without pupils. The image that now floated in front of me was not the same little girl.
“That’s not Vairocina,” Theodore whispered.
“What do you think?” she said. Her voice sounded slightly electronic.
Variocina looked different, older, more like Max now. Her hair was a little wavier and she was pretty like Max, too, but different. Her clothes were colored pink and white, and her face seemed painted. Did she change her face? I couldn’t remember. Everyone circled the holograph, admiring the new Vairocina.
“I have made some upgrades,” she announced.
“You sure did,” one of the boys said.
Even Dalton seemed interested this time. Switzer had never believed Vairocina was real, the same way he never believed I could speak with the computer on the Renaissance, and Dalton always followed his lead. This, however, was hard to ignore.
“Why did you do that?” I asked.
“Why, don’t you like it?” Vairocina said, frowning.
“I think you’re beautiful, Vairocina,” my sister gushed.
“No . . . I like it. I mean . . . you know. What was wrong with . . . before? I liked that, too. I mean, not better. I mean, the same,” I stumbled.
“I have to grow up sometime,” she said. “I am over a million rotations old, you know. Maybe more. I lost count somewhere between an Ysidron war cruiser and a Simgeesian memory chip.”
Vairocina had run away from her planet as a child, hiding inside computers.
“I studied images of your human culture and found it very interesting. It’s quite similar to my own, you know. I think this new form suits me better,” she added.
“I gotta agree,” Theodore said.
Grace and Max watched and whispered.
“Did you want to have a conversation?” she asked me, adjusting her pink skirt. How can a computer code adjust a skirt? I wondered. Better still, Why?
“Actually, I have a couple of questions.”
“Ask her about the wormhole pirates,” Max whispered.
“I will, but first, is Charlie a Citizen now? Charlie Norton.”
Vairocina’s gaze drifted away. She was accessing information somewhere inside the central computer. After a moment she replied, “Yes, he is, and a very wealthy Citizen at that. He seems to have acquired a large amount of chits just recently, too.”
“Where did he get them from?” I asked. “I always thought Charlie was a knudnik.”
“There is no data pertaining to the money’s origin. Charlie Norton became very wealthy the same cycle he became a Citizen.”
“When did he become a Citizen?” Max asked.
“This cycle,” she replied.
“Wow, Charlie became a Citizen the same cycle we arrived on Orbis 3?” Max said.
“The same cycle he became very wealthy,” I added. And the same cycle wormhole pirates attacked the rings, I thought. “Vairocina, have the wormhole pirates ever attacked a shuttle before?”
“Are you referring to the attack this cycle on the Citizen vessel from Orbis 2?”
“Yeah, the one we were on.”
“The bandits you refer to lurk in the dimensions that intersect with the wormhole and other universes. Proprietary technology allows these criminals to remain undetected in space and time, feeding off innocent vessels that pass through the wormhole. No pirate spaceship has ever been caught by Rings of Orbis security, since none has ever ventured outside of the wormhole.”
“Until this cycle?” I asked.
“Until this cycle,” she replied.
“What are you kids doing up?”
Grace leaped off the floor at the sound of Charlie’s voice. He stood at the entrance, dressed in real striped pajamas.
“Is that Vairocina?” Charlie asked before her holograph dispersed.
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “She wanted to show us . . . something.”
He stifled a yawn with his big hand and said, “Well, back to bed, everyone. You’ve got school in the morning.”
When Charlie turned and lumbered back to his room I whispered, “Vairocina?”
“Yes.”
“Can you look around for where Charlie’s sudden wealth came from? Something you might have missed.”
“Certainly, but it may take a little while,” she said.
I spent the remainder of the sleep cycle on the soft, cushy floor. So did everyone else, but while they slept, I could only pretend to be sleeping. I tried, I really tried, but my mind was just too busy. How could that wormhole pirate know who I am? Why did Charlie become our Guarantor? Nothing fit. Why don’t we have to work anymore? Who gave Charlie all that money? This wasn’t how Orbis worked, at least not during the two rotations I had lived on the rings. My assurance that I was nothing more than a knudnik felt weakened, to say the least. How did Charlie even become a Citizen? I turned over and tried to fall asleep again. And when did Theodore start snoring?
Charlie was back in our room before I ever shut my eyes.
“Time for school,” he bellowed. He paused when he saw all of us out of our sleepers. “What are you doing on the floor?”
No one answered him. Instead we filed past and stumbled toward the bathrooms. It was a sleepy start for the first cycle of a new school.
“I want you to eat before we go!” I heard Charlie shout from some other room in the huge house.
When I was dressed, I headed for the chow synth with Max. In the kitchen Charlie had laid out all sorts of foods. I picked through cereals, fruits, nuts, and even eggs (although I had never heard of any chickens living on the Rings of Orbis before). I was too sleepy to stomach much, or to learn the origins of the eggs, so I settled with more brown bread and peanut butter.
“You’re coming with us?” Max asked.
Charlie lifted the belt draped around his waist and stared at the Citizen’s emblem for a moment, almost as if he were just as bewildered as I was to see it there.
“This i
s all new for me, too,” he said. “I still don’t have clearance for you to ride the chute by yourselves.”
The chow synth chimed, and Charlie turned to extract more bread. He fiddled with the controls, pausing to decide which button to hit next. Watching Charlie stumble through his new kitchen and tripping on the fleshy floor, I realized that he was no more accustomed to being here than we were. I didn’t belong here, and neither did Charlie. Someone (or something) had put us here.
I decided right then and there that I was going to find out why. I just didn’t know how.
The chute was a type of light transport that Citizens used to get from floor to floor inside most buildings. I had used chutes many times before, but never like the one installed in our home. In front of me pulsed three purple pillars of light that appeared to be holding up the ceiling inside the front entrance. The iridescent light shimmered as it swam from ceiling to floor. It reminded me of the clear ocean waters on Orbis 2.
Charlie tapped in a code on the small O-dats floating next to each of the light chutes.
“What are you doing?” Max questioned him. “Do we need a code to get back?”
“Don’t worry about that. If you do not put in another code, by default, the chip inside your vest will bring you home,” he said.
I caught Theodore eyeballing my vest. He ran back to the chow synth to find his.
Charlie pulled me to the front. “JT, you go first and wait for me on the other side. I’ll make sure everyone gets through all right.” Charlie glanced at us before fumbling with the little notes crumpled in his hands. He double-checked each piece of paper, then checked them a third time.
“We’ve used a light chute before, Charlie,” Ketheria said, trying to calm him.
“Right. Then maybe I should go first in case anyone questions you on the other side.”
“I’ll make sure everyone goes through,” Max assured him, and pushed Charlie toward the light chute. He disappeared inside the sparkling glow.
Stepping into a light chute is like falling asleep and waking up before you ever knew you were out. It’s instantaneous. Using three chutes, we arrived at the Illuminate in no time. Charlie waited patiently, keeping everyone close.
The Illuminate stood directly in front of us at the other end of an open stone plaza. Two glass-and-metal buildings snaked up and around an enormous center spire that poked through the sloping rooftops. There were aliens everywhere. Some arrived through the light chutes, while others landed in the vast plaza on private spacecrafts that whisked away after dumping their passengers. Other students arrived on stilted machines, which they abandoned next to other modes of transportation idling and waiting for their owners to return. I noticed that very few students, if any, walked to school.
“Are they all going in there with us?” I asked.
“Of course,” Charlie said, moving toward the building. “Follow me.”
“Are they all Citizens?” Max asked.
“So I’m told. I don’t think you’ll find many non-Citizens like yourselves,” he said.
“Oh, great,” I said under my breath. There was something to look forward to.
Max nudged Grace, who was frozen in awe under the shadow of the enormous structure. With Ketheria at my side, I followed them toward the Illuminate, stepping around groups of students casually chatting with their friends. The kids clung together in groups and sported clothes far more elaborate than the drab suits and yellowish skins we wore. Often someone’s laughter jumped over the din of the crowd, and I searched their faces for the source. I looked away whenever someone caught me staring, until I noticed the strangest thing. Some of the students — in fact, most of them — decorated their neural implants, the small ports everyone used to link with the central computer. Some kids wore devices that wrapped around the backs of their heads, marked or flashing with unfamiliar symbols. Some hung jewelry from their implants, while others transmitted small holographs of flying animals or colorful insects that fluttered around their heads.
Instantly, I wanted one. I wanted to be just like them, even though I knew perfectly well that was impossible. I was a softwire. I did not need an implant to connect with the computer. My brain, for a reason no one had told me, evolved to interact with any computer device without the aid of hardware or wetware. At that moment, walking into the sea of kids floating toward the Illuminate, I would have given anything for a plain old neural port punched in behind my ear. I did not feel like being different this cycle. I ached to be normal.
Charlie stopped just outside of the main doors.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Max asked.
“Not allowed. Children only,” he said, and pointed to a couple of robotic sentries standing guard. “They’re a little nervous since the wormhole pirates attacked. You can’t blame them, really.” Charlie glanced over his shoulder as if he were looking for someone.
“Why would they come here?” Max asked as Charlie scanned the crowd entering the glass building.
“You kids ask a lot of questions,” he said.
“Law of averages. We don’t get many answers,” I replied, and smiled.
I could tell that Charlie wanted to laugh. I could see it in his eyes, but instead he said, “I’m looking for a person named Riis. I have arranged for another student to show you around on your first cycle. Riis is supposed to meet us here.”
“Another student?” Theodore asked.
“Yes, she’s nice. You’ll like her. She’s a Wiicerian.”
“A girl?” Grace said, and Charlie nodded.
I had never met a Wiicerian before, so I did not know what to expect. As for being nice, I doubted that was possible for a Citizen. Especially when it came to knudniks.
Charlie shouted, “Over here!” and waved over the crowd. He let out a deep breath. Why is he so nervous? “We just got here. Kids, meet Riis. Riis, meet the kids.”
“Hello,” we all mumbled.
Riis was my height. Her smooth skin was so white that it was almost blue, and she was dressed in a sleek green and silver one-piece outfit with iridescent orange kneepads that matched her helmet. She looked like she had just arrived on one of those personal transport devices.
“Hello, everyone,” she greeted us. She looked so independent, standing with her helmet casually pressed against her hip. Her thin mouth moved slowly and confidently, and when she talked, she looked at you with big green eyes that were much wider apart than human eyes. They were almost on the sides of her face, yet it didn’t look weird. Her oval face was framed with stiff auburn hair that looked as if it belonged on some toy instead of a person’s head.
“I apologize for being late. Are you ready to follow me inside?” Riis said.
“They are,” Charlie spoke for us. “I’ll be here when the spoke is done.”
“We can get home ourselves, Charlie. It’s all right,” I whispered, trying not to let Riis hear.
“Not unless I have authorization for you by then,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll have everyone rounded up and they’ll meet you here again when the spoke is finished,” Riis assured him.
“Good, then,” he said, and clapped his hands. “I’ll let you guys be. Take good care of them, Riis.”
“I will,” she replied.
“Good-bye, Charlie,” I groaned. Charlie nodded and turned back toward the chutes. Ketheria waved good-bye to him.
Why was Charlie doing this? Suddenly, I felt angry. I didn’t need someone to watch out for me and drag me around. I fought Madame Lee! I saved the Samirans and battled with Odran. I could walk through these doors by myself, and for some reason I could not understand, I wanted Riis to know that, too. I needed her to know that.
“Everyone ready?” Riis asked.
“You know, we can do this ourselves,” I told her. “We have a lot of experience . . . I mean I have . . . well —”
“How old are you?” Grace cut me off.
“Well, that depends who’s asking,” she said. “But I did som
e calculations, and in Earth years I believe I would be fourteen or fifteen years old. The same as some of you.”
It was hard to swallow that she was the same age as me.
“Let’s hurry inside. There are some things I need to show you before the spoke begins.” Riis slipped through the sparkling energy field guarding the entrance, and we all followed.
The air inside the Illuminate was noticeably cooler. Something else was different, too. I breathed deeply. Were they pumping extra oxygen into this place? I tucked that question away for Vairocina. Hundreds and hundreds of students milled past me, laughing and shouting, moving in packs. My stomach turned over once, maybe twice, and I thought my palms would drip with perspiration. Bad things often happened when I felt this way. The two rotations I had spent on Orbis were never easy. In fact, they were often dangerous. But none of it scared me as much as I was scared now.
Riis stopped in front of a towering glass wall speckled with dozens of little holes about the size of my palm. I saw that each hole was actually the end of a clear tube that snaked up the wall to some unknown destination. Riis held her hand out under the opening and a small oval-shaped device popped out. She took the blue plastic thing and attached it to the port behind her ear. I noticed that Riis did not decorate her port like most of the other kids.
“This is how you get the cycle’s announcements, cancellations, test results . . . anything they want you to know. You might as well grab one. You won’t understand much of it, but you should get into the practice,” she said. “We call it the tap.”
Other students were reaching over and grabbing their tap, so each of us followed. Of course, I simply stood there. I had no place to put it.
Max reached out and took the blue device from the tube and inserted it behind her left ear.
“Why don’t they just do this wireless?” she said out loud.
“What do you mean?” Riis asked.
“I mean, why all this hardware? Surely with the technology on the rings, this stuff can be sent directly to our implants.”
Another Citizen, reaching for a tap, overheard Max and snorted at the comment. Even Riis looked puzzled. “You mean have the information come directly into my brain without asking?”
The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3 Page 3
