CYPHER: A Dystopian Novel

by Barbara Winkes

  Katlena shared a look with her colleague who stepped closer to sit in the third chair. She gave Ami a sympathetic look before she joined the conversation.

  “See, honey, this isn’t going well for you,” she said. “Your employer seems to be a nice guy, but there is a lot of pressure on him. You can bet he’ll save himself before he’ll save you. No one is that altruistic. OA already has their eyes on you. Here’s what we can do for you: You plead guilty and—”

  “No way!” Ami jumped to her feet, only to be stopped short by Cervantes’ hand on her shoulder. Damn, she could move fast.

  “Have a seat, please.”

  Sadly, Ami had to admit she had underestimated her. She’d seen the inspector as an ally in the face of the OA officer’s contempt. Compared to the woman who had irritated Ami so much with her ignorance, Cervantes was by far the smarter, more dangerous one.

  “Now,” she whispered, and Ami sank back in her chair, aware of the shiver skittering down her spine. There was a tension in the room, one that she couldn’t afford to acknowledge. Maybe it was so obvious to her because she had nothing left to lose, so she might as well let her mind go there. Feel something pleasant before her life, and the only hope that had kept her going, disintegrated altogether.

  “Okay, okay. I’m sitting! I did not steal anything, food or drinks or Mary’s goddamn coffee. In fact, I’d rather starve than take anything from her.”

  Inspector Raymond seemed to barely stifle a smile. Cervantes frowned.

  “Okay,” she said. “Have it your way. We’ll go through the motions then, booking, finding you a nice comfy holding cell since it looks like you’re going to be our guest for a little while.”

  “What? You can’t do that! What are you charging me with anyway? I have the right to a lawyer!”

  Cervantes voice was soft and apologetic which made the content of her words even worse.

  “No, you don’t,” she said. “You knew that, right? Let’s go, 51308. We’ll find you a public defender if this gets any worse. We don’t call them in for minor crimes or misdemeanors of cyphers.”

  “How much worse can this get anyway?”

  Ami got up, her bound hands making the movement awkward. With Cervantes standing right behind, she couldn’t avoid brushing against her, instantly drawing back like she’d been burned. Ami noticed two things: One, she was desperate for human contact. That, and the scent of the inspector’s perfume, in another world from the two no name brands cyphers were allowed, gave her a funny and most inappropriate feeling. She’d almost forgotten what that was like in her black-and-white world where everything, people, emotions, faded to a dirty kind of grey.

  They walked along the hallway into another office, where Ami had her fingerprints and photographs taken by a twenty-something who seemed rather bored and indifferent with his task. Cervantes waited, but she radiated impatience.

  I can sympathize. I have somewhere else to be too.

  The next stop made reality hit home on a new disturbing level. She kept her eyes closed while the female officer searched her. She was quick and efficient, and didn’t seem to like this any more than Ami did, but the thought wasn’t much help.

  Katlena Cervantes led her along another corridor, at the end of which she opened the holding cell for her.

  “Don’t worry. We try to process these cases as fast as possible.”

  “Inspector.” Ami cringed at the sound of the key turning in the lock. This couldn’t be real. She’d been working so hard to keep a low profile. She had a first report to turn in later tonight. She couldn’t be here. “Please, help me. You need to believe me. They hate my kind, because they think we have it so easy. I didn’t steal.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll try to clear this up. I promise.”

  “Inspector Cervantes.”

  She didn’t know what was worse, the fear of how she’d get through the night, the way she was begging, or that none of the above could do away with those other emotions taking hold of her unbidden. It had to be a form of the Stockholm syndrome. In any case, it wasn’t sane.

  “Look, if you want to have any chance of getting out of this, you don’t want anyone to think I’ll be doing you favors. We’ll look at your case, and we’ll look at the people who got you here. We’re not monsters at the IdA. If you’re innocent, you’ll be out of here soon,” the inspector concluded.

  “What if you decide I’m not?”

  “If that was the case, why would I be here?”

  When Cervantes walked away, Ami was left to wonder if she had imagined the brush of fingers over her hands that were still clutching the iron bars, a dubious comfort.

  Chapter Three

  This was it. Beyond that door lay the path to freedom, to the new life she’d always dreamed of. She hesitated.

  “What are you waiting for?” the woman asked, a hint of impatience to her voice. “I thought you couldn’t wait to see her. Besides, there are people waiting for you.”

  “Yes, but—” She turned around, wondering if something had gone wrong.

  “No buts. You come with us now, or you’re on your own. You know that, right?”

  “I can’t…”

  “Oh yes, you can.”

  She could see the syringe glistening in the half dark. There was no turning back..

  Nightmare? Reality? It had become hard to tell.

  * * * *

  Katlena Cervantes believed in the work she was doing, if not always in the system that backed it up. She’d figured she’d work with the circumstances and do her best to protect the people in the City—including those she’d been assigned to protect from a fate worse than they had already chosen for themselves. Contrary to popular belief, cyphers were the victim of a crime more often than the perpetrator. All of these cases would go through her department. Some of them made her wonder.

  The case against 51308 was sketchy, to say the least. Katlena found it ridiculous. She was inclined to believe her more than Mary Rivers. Then again, Katlena had no idea why anyone would envy a cypher. For the life of her she couldn’t imagine a situation bad enough to make you want to become one, not even considering what she knew about 51308.

  In front of her were the transcripts of the early interviews, pages after pages of signed statements, the joined agreement of the City government and the persons signing their lives away. They could always buy it back at some point, but since it was rather uncommon for any of them to come to great wealth or even the $20,000 they would need, this clause remained a formality for many.

  She stared at the picture of an eighteen-year-old 51308, Ami Moore. She looked younger than her age, then, and now. If she was going to be convicted of a crime, even something as ridiculous as drinking another secretary’s coffee, her chances of ever being a person again would become even slimmer. It was a vicious cycle. Adam Shelton seemed sympathetic, but Noelle’s assessment was correct: Chances were he had already replaced 51308 with another cypher.

  “Don’t make that face,” Noelle said as she set a coffee in front of Katlena. “She knew what she was doing.”

  “Maybe. Thanks.” Katlena took a sip, uncomfortably reminded she had taken a young woman to a holding cell over something this trivial. She hadn’t lied to Ami. The moment the boss or even anyone above him thought she was too soft on a specific case, it wouldn’t turn out well for her or the cypher woman. Maybe she was trying to find an excuse. Katlena had done everything by the book. That didn’t mean she felt good about it.

  “Over some spilled coffee, for Christ’s sake. There are two open murder cases and one missing person on my desk and they sent me there because some jealous co-worker told a lie.”

  “I take it you believed her,” Noelle said, her tone indulgent.

  “You didn’t?”

  “It’s the law,” Noelle reminded her. “We have to investigate no matter how ridiculous we think it is. Sorry to tell you, but this is the only way you’ll get to sit in Drago’
s chair at some point. I know that’s what you are after.”

  Katlena gave a shrug that was neither confirmation nor denial. Most of the time, she was convinced she could help change things for the better in the City, if she only made it that far. Some days, the idea seemed delusional. If laws like this existed, it meant that at some point, before her time, people in the IdA had voted in their favor. It was their obligation to improve people’s lives, not making them worse, but with great power came not only great responsibility, but the temptation to abuse it.

  “She’s not going to get any job like that ever again. Basically, we send her out on the streets.”

  “That might happen, but it’s not our problem. It’s sad, but true. You’re not responsible for all of them.”

  “Only that by definition, we are.” Katlena caught herself getting defensive, and she knew the reason for it. Noelle gave her a quizzical look.

  “I think you feel a little more responsible for this one.”

  “That’s not true.”

  They held each other’s gaze in a silent stand-off until Katlena sighed.

  “Okay, maybe it’s a little true. She’s just so…”

  “Pretty?”

  “Don’t go there,” Katlena warned her colleague. Her tone was serious, ending all bantering. She had made sacrifices for her career and the prospect to someday be privy to all secrets of the Identity Agency. One of them was the fact that she hadn’t dated a woman since she’d stepped on the fast track to promotion. Rumors traveled fast in the IdA, and the policies of her workplace did have a homophobic streak to them. Even if that hadn’t been the case, an inspector getting involved with a cypher would still be frowned upon, even if technically, it wasn’t illegal. Yet. Some politicians had argued the imbalance of power could put individuals in danger of being taken advantage of.

  Why was she thinking about this anyway? There was no way. Katlena wanted to make sure she didn’t contribute to the downward spiral 51308 was on, more than she already had.

  “I’m serious,” she continued. “There must be some way, something that can be done in less severe cases, for prevention.”

  “Prevention is why we locked her up.”

  “Rehab, then.”

  “All right. I offer you this. I’ll take over the witness interviews for the rest of the day, and you can do some research. If you don’t come up with anything by tonight, we’ll move on?”

  Katlena smiled in gratitude at Noelle. She could have sworn the other woman blushed.

  “You’re my favorite colleague, you know that, right?” she teased.

  “Of course I do—and since I’ll have to go out now, I’ll have to change into my uniform. You’re so welcome.”

  “Thank you.” Katlena chuckled. Noelle, like most IdA officers, preferred the work at the department. Here, they weren’t required to wear the uniform and the severe hairstyle. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  Noelle sighed. “Promises, promises. Go get cracking. Honestly? That secretary sounds mean. Girl’s probably better off if she doesn’t have to see her every day.”

  * * * *

  After Noelle had left, Katlena went to the law section of the library. Most of the books on cypher law had been written in the past ten years. The majority of the ones available weren’t older than one or two years. There wouldn’t be much on the Internet as the City government didn’t like to spill their secrets online. She took a couple of huge volumes and a pile of journals back to her desk. Before she opened any of them, Katlena refilled her coffee mug and went over the contents of 51308’s file once more.

  She didn’t like to address people by numbers. It was awkward to say and sounded rather stupid. Well, not everything could be perfect right away. Decades ago, the City government had come up with an idea to end overwhelming debts for individual people as well as the smaller communities. The employment rate was going up, or it had been in the beginning, with some people who lost their identities dropping out of the workforce over time. Lately, more and more employers had discovered cyphers cost them even less than sending their production overseas, causing dissatisfaction among local skilled workers.

  Of course, a lot of cyphers, if not most of them, were skilled too in the field they were coming from, if not always for the jobs they were sent to do.

  There was friction, even without taking the rebel camps into consideration. Aside from the usual crimes, there was always the threat from the outside, former cyphers, program outcasts and their allies gearing up for revolution. There were occasional attacks that made it clear those camps weren’t just an urban legend.

  Katlena frowned. Five minutes into this, and she already felt the beginnings of a headache. It would be the saner, safer thing to let it go. She had murderers and kidnappers to deal with. There was something about this particular woman dressed in black and white that made her hard to forget. She hadn’t given up like some other cyphers Katlena had dealt with before. She was a fighter. She also seemed to have more courage than common sense. Katlena liked her. Truth be told, like was a bit too tame a word to use. Somehow, that made everything worse.

  There was a loose page at the end of 51308’s file, a document she wasn’t familiar with. Katlena couldn’t make sense of it, something about a three-year-clause, a name and some personal information. She wondered if somebody had made a mistake. She would have to ask Drago about it later. Maybe he had some idea on how to proceed with 51308.

  She leafed through the journals, looking for anything that said rehabilitation in the title. There had to be something. She didn’t want to punish somebody for being on the wrong end of some mean person’s innuendo. That wasn’t what she had signed up for. It wasn’t protecting anyone except for maybe grown-up bullies like the secretaries who had accused 51308.

  Time was ticking by, Katlena’s reading only interrupted by trips to the break room to get more coffee and the occasional word to a colleague. Drago was still out on some official business. Noelle hadn’t returned yet. Maybe she’d gone home after seeing the last witness. Katlena hoped she’d check in once more. She wanted to talk to Drago and then bounce off some ideas with Noelle. She hadn’t found so many helpful references, and the lack of progress frustrated her.

  With a rueful look at the clock, she settled behind her desk again, starting the chapter detailing relations between IdA employees and cyphers. Not the kind of relation she could imagine having with 51308, Ami Moore, that much was for certain.

  Drago finally came in around nine.

  “You’re still here,” he stated unnecessarily. “Cervantes, we need you to get a hobby.”

  Katlena gave him a wry smile. “I’m afraid my job leaves me no time. Do you have a moment?”

  “I was hoping to sneak out, but since you waited all this time, I can hardly say no. I heard you arrested a cypher today?” Of course he had heard. There was nothing going on in the IdA that Drago didn’t know about.

  “Yes, on charges that seem pretty ridiculous to me, but I had no choice. I was wondering how much you can tell me about the IdA’s rehabilitation program and…oh, there’s something else. A note I found in 51308’s file. A three-year-clause? I never heard of that.”

  Katlena had noticed the startled look before Drago schooled his features into a jovial smile.

  “Inspector Cervantes, finding all the weak links. That’s why you’re such a valuable asset to this organization.” There was admiration is his voice mixed with an undercurrent of warning. Katlena had taken the hint.

  “I’ll tell you what I know about rehab, but I have to warn you, it doesn’t apply to every cypher,” he said. “We’ll see what you have. As for the clause, it should not have been with the file—that was clearly overlooked by someone. Congrats, Inspector. You just made it to a higher level of clearance.”

  “Well…thanks.”

  “It’s either that or, well, I’d have to kill you.”

  Katlena frowned, making him laugh.

  “Your sense of humor might be the on
ly area where you need some improvement. Come with me.”

  He waved Katlena into his office, and she followed him, taking a seat in the visitor’s chair. “What exactly do I need for my cypher to qualify? I read here about the internship program.”

  “First offense?”

  “As far as I’m aware of.”

  He studied her, amused for some reason that eluded Katlena. “Then I’d say it’s a yes. I trust you have been thorough. What was her previous employment?”

  “A secretary with the Shelton Company. She’s been accused of stealing food and drinks from the break room.”

  “I see. Is she showing remorse?”

  Katlena thought about telling a blatant lie, and decided otherwise. “I’m working on it.”

  Drago chuckled. “I get you. Let me tell you something: I’ll ask around a bit and will get back to you tomorrow. I trust your judgment, and I believe I’m not the only one in the IdA, so I’m inclined to say this might work. Bring her for an interview. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Thanks, Boss.”

  “You’re welcome. Have a good night. Even overachievers sleep sometimes.”

  “About the three-year-clause?” she reminded him.

  “Of course. I don’t have to tell you that you need to keep silent about this, not even your colleagues are allowed to know. Hell, technically you weren’t allowed to know.”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  “You’ve seen what it says in the contracts, that identities can be bought back at any time?”

  Katlena nodded. “Of course, it’s difficult to come up with $20,000.”

  “That’s exactly the point.” Drago seemed relieved. “I knew you’d understand that. I have to admit I have no idea how that paper ended up in her file. This particular document is highly sensitive. All of them are kept in one place. It’s a romantic delusion to think that somebody who’s so far gone they give up everything they are would magically come up with that kind of money. Some might be lucky. Fine with me, that means more money for the City. For the others though…It’s too sad, but they knew what they were doing.”