by James Cox
"The which we don't have," said Micah, "That file transfer?"
"Six-sigmas. I wish we had it."
"Wish in one, fish in the other," said Micah, "I wish we had Vera here. This is definitely more her orbits than ours."
"Truth," said Ferrel, "but she and Ted are working the other end of this pizzle party. That means we have to make do with us. Any thoughts?"
"Possibly," answered Micah, "but not a nice one. Who baits the baiter?"
Ferrel frowned but voiced no opposition. Finally he nodded.
***
When Robin emerged from the fresher Robert and Carl looked up from their terminals. They blanked the screen and motioned her to a chair.
"We believe what you said," said Carl, "for now. We've been looking through those chips. Anything to add?"
Robin shook her head.
"Slib. Take the inside bed."
Dressed in the towely robe she found in the fresher Robin climbed into the bed uneasily. She heard the two men talking but she couldn't make out the words. Still, once she settled they made no move toward her. In fact, past verifying that she did indeed take the bed farthest from the door both men ignored her completely.
Determined to stay awake, Robin stopped her head from nodding twice. Then a third time, barely. Then sleep overtook her.
***
Micah nodded to Ferrel when Robin's breathing turned deep and regular. He slipped a vaporcap out of his bag and handed it to Micah, who moved quietly to Robin. Micah waited until she breathed out then popped the capsule under her nose. Her breath caught as the vapor slid into her lungs but she didn't wake. After a few seconds her breathing slowed.
"She's out," said Micah, "I hope she appreciates our efforts."
Micah took her hands and began massaging and relaxing them while Ferrel fixed a band around her head. They stretched her out flat and Micah examined her fingers. He then took a surgical laser and scored her hands carefully and precisely. The beam didn't penetrate far, barely enough to feel awake, and a coat of medical sealant would have the microscopic cuts healed and scarred by morning.
Ferrel aimed his laser more carefully. Though he used a beam thinner than Micah's any careless movement would have consequences he didn't want to explain. He aimed the beam at the back of her eyeballs and made small but significant cuts. When he finished Ferrel dripped antiseptic drops into her eyes.
"Done," said Micah.
"Likewise," said Ferrel, "Plant a tracer?"
"No. She probably wouldn't find it but someone else might."
Ferrel nodded. Now came the less delicate but more time-consuming task. Before starting he evaluated Robin carefully and spoke to Micah. Micah pulled on his shoes and left quietly.
Alone with his patient, Ferrel pulled out a tube of bone density gel and a thin needle.
Chapter 5. Building a New Life
Robin woke slowly with her body totally relaxed. She completed most of a stretch before her memory returned. Shocked, she snapped open her eyes and the room blurred into focus.
The empty room!
She flung aside the covers and hopped to her feet. The other bed was rumpled but crudely made. She saw two empty mealpacks in the wastebasket along with a third on the table. Beneath it lay a stack of bills along with the receipt for the room: paid for another night. Of Carl and Robert there was not a trace.
Robin glanced into the fresher. Empty. Likewise the small closets.
"Feces!" The word felt odd in her mouth. Aunt Lilly was always a terror on young girls swearing, or smoking, or drinking or even working. Still, she felt strangely satisfied so she repeated it. Her stomach growled but she ignored it.
Clothes! Beneath her robe Robin still had her undergarments but her other clothes vanished from beside the bed where she left them. Or not, she thought, perhaps she left them in the fresher.
One step into the fresher froze Robin where she stood.
A complete stranger stared at her from the mirror.
Robin ran a hand through her hair. Normally she wore it tied back and just below her shoulders. Now it shone a glaring blonde, cut to barely below her ears. When she glanced down she saw a pair of cheap dye brushes atop a note on a neatly folded stack of clothes. She picked up the note.
"Robin:
"As you no doubt noticed you look different now. It should keep you clear of the CA, at least for a few days.
"Good luck."
Unsigned.
Robin felt a small spark of anger. Not that she minded being able to evade the CA, potentially, but it happened without her knowledge or permission!
Robin examined herself more closely. Whoever cut her hair, most likely Robert, did a decent job. No, a really good one. Her cheeks looked higher and her face sharper and fuller. She never considered herself particularly good-looking but she now admitted a possible need to revise that.
The clothes matched her hair. They revealed more of her than she liked but no more than what Everett gave her. She put them on and examined herself critically. She tossed her hips then made a petulant kiss at the mirror. She held the pose several seconds.
"Practice," she told the mirror, "That's all."
Robin counted the money as she devoured the mealpack. One thousand unicreds, mostly in not-new tens and twenties. She also found most of a pack of 'sticks. She lit one and, impulsively, went back into the 'fresher.
"In charge," she said, holding her chin up. The image she saw said it but she didn't feel it.
"Hot vix with the plan!"
"It's all me, nubb."
She took the last draw off her 'stick and flipped it into the toilet. Then she lifted a finger to the vix in the mirror and exhaled in its face.
"Torque it!"
Robin held herself as long as she could. Inwardly she still felt like her but the image didn't acknowledge that.
Robin walked casually across the concourses at the transit station. She felt horribly self-conscious all the way there and it took more willpower than she knew she had not to crouch or scurry. She still felt uncomfortable but when she stopped to look at her reflection in a window the arrogant vix looked back at her.
A half-seen figure in blue approached her. CA officer! She looked at the man and smiled. He smiled back, touched his cap and continued walking. Robin found her concourse and sat, still mulling over her walk.
A hovertran departing behind her made Robin think of FuzzyFeet. That led to thoughts of the twins, Rimmie, Vix, Grape and the rest of her chat friends. She bit down hard on the sadness trying to form, that would spoil her image.
Robin felt a heavy gaze come to rest on her. When she looked she saw a young man dressed in sloppychic. He smiled, showing off his dyed teeth, and walked toward her. She visibly examined him then turned her head and dismissed him. From the corner of her eye Robin saw his shoulders droop as he walked away. That surprised her with an implication larger than she wanted to consider right now.
***
"Quite a change," said Micah, seated with Ferrel several rows behind Robin.
"Understated, I would say."
They looked totally different from the last time Robin saw them, of course. Ferrel held out his hand and Micah returned the five credits he won off their first bet.
***
The weak-chinned man eyed the smoldering rubble before him. The fire squad suspected arson and their investigators would arrive soon. The mansion had a top-rated fire suppression system, likely deactivated before the fire started.
The crime seemed senseless. No one stood to gain. Once the fire investigators proved arson the insurance wouldn't pay. The small company that rented the place and always paid on time existed only on paper. It and its owners disappeared like the smoke drifting up.
The man walked as he gnawed these thought-trails. He saw evidence of strategically-placed heavy plasma. He sifted through bits of debris seemingly at random. He found nothing solid, he looked mostly to satisfy his own curiosity. Even though the fire destroyed any evidence he might hav
e found it served, in an obverse way, to add weight to one of his theories. That suggested his next course of action.
His opponents stole a march and the weak-chinned man liked that not at all!
***
Robin stood just inside her aunt's yard. The cab settled to the pavement, its driver paid for a few minutes more. Robin walked to the doorway. Though not a mansion neither was it small. Memories rose with each step she took, both good and bad.
The door buzzer produced no response. Odd. Aunt Lilly never left without good reason. No matter. Robin walked the not-short distance to the nearest neighbor.
Mr. Kelsey answered on her second buzz. He looked at her blearily, blinked and looked again.
"Mr. Kelsey," said Robin, "I'm Lilly's niece Robin. You took me swimming when I was little."
"Robin? Frost a-mighty! You look different."
She thought fast. "I'm a city girl now, sir." She added a smile. "Umm... Do you still have the key to Aunt Lilly's house? I've lost mine and I really need in."
"Key? Yeah. Yes." He gave her a puzzled glance. "Let me find it."
Robin waved to the cabbie who promptly left. After a few minutes she started to fidget. Kelsey didn't invite her inside, unusual, but Aunt Lilly said he changed when he lost his wife. From what she saw through the door his house hadn't changed much. That didn't surprise her. After a career trading the space lanes on a cargo ship Kelsey swore he'd settle and not move an inch.
After another pair of minutes Robin sat on the steps and lit a 'stick, mildly irritated. The one time, years ago, she needed the key he found it quickly.
For that matter, she remembered, he kept it near the front door!
Before Robin could think of leaving two Central Authority hovers settled to the ground in front of her.
"FREEZE!!"
Robin raised her hands. Four troopers pulled her roughly to her feet, searched her thoroughly and shackled her hands behind her. When they turned her Robin saw Kelsey peering out the door.
"Why," she mouthed. After a pained second he dropped his eyes.
Robin rode in silence. The troopers boisterously discussed the extra charges she would face and where she'd likely serve. She tried to marshall her arguments but without Robert and Carl she had little chance of convincing anyone. Still, at least she was away from Everett.
The St. Gore-Wharton CA office looked depressingly like Primary's. Once again they searched her thoroughly and a lady took her prints and retinals. Then, holding Robin's chin firmly, she took a full facial metric.
"Name?"
"Macy, Annette Robin."
"Give me your name, perp!"
"Annette Robin Macy."
The lady closed her datapad. "Look, vix. Right now we have you on harassment, attempted entry and conspiracy to violate interdiction. Give me your name or I'll add resisting and obstruction!"
"But... I am Annette Robin Macy. I was trying to see my Aunt Lilly."
"Slib," said the lady, rising, "We'll see what the prosecutor has to say."
After half an hour the lady returned with a sharply-dressed man.
"This report says you claim to be Annette Robin Macy," he said.
"I am!"
"Signora," he said, "I don't know what game you're playing but you are not Annette Macy. I don't know why Kelsey called full alarm. We have full metrics on Macy and on you and they are totally different. Whoever told you confession establishes identity lied to you."
Robin felt the floor lurch beneath her. The man's expression softened.
"Slib. You've had your game and it didn't work for you. We're very busy right now so if you recant your statements I'll drop all charges. Forget that name and go play your game with someone who has free time."
Robin opened her mouth, then closed it when she realized she had nothing to say.
"Polar," said the man, "Don't forget, though, we do have your metrics now. Try your game again and I guarantee you'll face full charges! Am I understood?"
"Yes sir."
He turned to the officer. "Drop all charges and return her possessions. Also, if you see Bill tell him I'm in Interrogation."
***
Robin walked aimlessly. Ideas and thoughts chased each other around inside her head. Somewhere among them all lay a rational explanation but it evaded her. A blinking sign caught her eye. Robin entered the bank kiosk and closed the door behind her. She selected her home bank and entered her ID. The machine beeped and she placed her finger on the pad. The screen flashed red and denied access. She tried again, this time with the retscanner.
"Warning," said a recorded voice, "You are not authorized to access this account. Any further attempts will result in notification of the Central Authority. Please check your account identification and try again. If this is your account please contact a bank representative. Thank you for your business."
Robin sat on a bench not far from the kiosk. Now she felt totally and completely empty. She bit back on the tears trying to form. Some of them had a bitter ironic flavor. Lorna Gallaway thought Robin the victim of identity theft. She was wrong. Now that Robin actually was she doubted Gallaway would come close to believing her. She almost chuckled at the thought: she lost an identity with nothing but an impressive list of crimes and all she could do was mourn it.
After an eternity Robin looked up and around. The sun had long since set and more than several rough-looking people eyed her appraisingly. Shelter. She needed some place safe to sit and think. She checked the public comm and started for the closest cheap motel.
Safely ensconced in her small room Robin popped open a soda, lit a 'stick and switched on the holovee. She didn't select a channel; she only wanted some noise in the background.
Robin thought intensely. Someone took her identity and her life along with it. When that settled in it sparked a wash of anger. Some person or group - Everett! - robbed her of everything she held dear. The critical question: what could she do about it?
Fury finally drove Robin to her feet. She paced the small room. She'd seldom been truly and thoroughly angry and never before to this extent. She wrestled with it until she forced it to focus her thoughts into clarity: blaster bolts aimed at a distant target.
Information! That was the key. She needed a lot, had none and had no way to acquire any.
"Everything has a reason." She spoke those words to the angry woman in the mirror. "Find the reason, find the cause and the effect follows. Change the cause and you change the effect. Change enough and you change the world. Know the cause and you know the effect." Elementary information science tenets but useful!
"Analyze the cause like an engine." Her thesis advisor in graduate school liked building and restoring vehicles, both wheeled and gravitic. He often used mechanical analogies to make his points. "If it's broken there is a reason. Try the obvious first. If that doesn't work try something else. Set up a pattern and you will find a pattern."
Robin reached for a pad and stylus and started writing.
Several sodas and a mealpack later Robin had a plan. It started clicking into place when she viewed her problems as she would an assignment at work. She washed down the last tasteless bite with her last swallow of soda and added the final touch. Her plan would need a lot of refinement but at least now she had a starting point.
Robin tossed the empty soda bulb and mealpack at the wastebasket. She made to turn off the holovee when it caught her attention. The channel played a long series of public service and community interest announcements of which the current one caught Robin's eye. She smiled and made another note.
Robin sat in front of a terminal at a carefully-chosen datamart. She had a hundred-unicred access card and plans for most of it. She also had a handful of blank chips with plans for all of them. She connected to a public video site and directed the stream into one of her chips. Working carefully she forked a limited command shell. With the security system monitoring her download she set about promoting herself to a diagnostic user. Though not an easy task, public sy
stems and especially cheap ones were not designed to resist determined burners.
She verified that the dogz indeed monitored her download stream. The access she purchased barely allowed enough pipe for the media stream. Since typical users wanted only that the dogz didn't monitor past it.
Slowly and carefully Robin isolated a large chunk of memory and that took only time. She threaded her connection through the lax security and into her favorite openware site. She maintained several IDs there and soon she had a system image download under way.
She chose an image optimized for diagnostic use. A few simple tweaks and extra modules would transform it into a pyro-plus-plus data penetration monster. With that download solid she reflected a connection from that site to one Thomas showed her.
Robin moved extra cautiously now. This site had thermal-pyro warez and more than just the CA monitored it. Robin found and began downloading a core boot interrupter. Legal only for private nets or personal machines, CBIs were the sine qua non of burners seeking hot access to machines they themselves did not own. She echoed the download through the existing connection and sat back to watch the rest of the movie.
With one chip full of movies, under which she'd hide plenty, Robin terminated the net connection. She didn't need it now and shutting it down took away most of the security. Configuring the CBI alerted several dogz but Robin placated them easily enough. Meshing the CBI into the system image took a lot of time but bothered the dogz not at all. After burning her work to a bootable chip Robin broke for lunch.
She ate a light lunch at an open-air cafe. Afterward she had a 'stick and watched the crowds pass by. Some of the people looked back. Robin returned the smiles and ignored the rest. Strangely, even the heaviest glares didn't bother her. Much.
Robin closed the kiosk behind her. The machine cleared to its usual welcome screen. She made several selections and counted two hundred fifty unicreds into the tray. That took a lot of her money but she'd have it back soon. The terminal requested a biometric scan and Robin refused it.
Though most of Echo Bend's population found biometric identification both convenient and secure a small minority refused it. Not wanting to lose even this small source of revenue most banks implemented what they considered well-obsolete ID techniques. Robin wrote down her sixteen-character ID and password and took a moment to memorize them. When she verified both twice the machine disgorged a card, still warm from the scriber.
