Inside

by Maria V. Snyder

  “Really?” Disbelief tainted my voice.

  “Yes.” He practically shouted the word.

  “Why?”

  “Because of what you told me when you…er…visited last week. Before you dropped in, I thought scrubs were…” His arms moved in a vague all-encompassing gesture. “Were like your little device there, but bigger. We’re taught nothing more about scrubs than they clean and work. We’re threatened to be exiled to the lower levels if we do anything really bad. It’s implied that if we survived, the rest of our weeks would be filled with hard physical labor.” He held a hand up, stopping me from contradicting him. “Look. There are no pictures in our training computers. Truthfully, I hadn’t really thought about who lives in the lower levels at all. But there you stood, a real human being. My age, with…” He dropped his arms, slapping his hands against his legs. “Never mind, you wouldn’t believe me. My father said there was nothing I could do to help. He was right until Domotor went missing and I caught you in LC Karla’s office.”

  “Caught?” I feigned innocence—all I could manage. His speech rolled around in my mind, and I couldn’t quite grasp the significance. “Don’t you mean found?”

  “No. Caught. You didn’t see the petrified look on your face when you turned around. It was gone in an instant, but I’ll never forget it.” He smiled at the memory.

  He could smile. He wouldn’t be fed to Chomper if caught. “Is there a point to all this? My work shift starts in an hour.”

  “My father had told me about a few uppers who’d tried and failed to circumvent various security systems in the computer network long ago. Domotor was rumored to be trying again before his accident and banishment to the lower levels. When you showed up looking for Domotor’s port, I guessed you know where he is and you’re helping him.”

  “Why would I care if Broken Man is trying to bypass computer systems?”

  Riley stepped closer. “If the other upper families regain control of Inside, then we can make life in the lower levels better.”

  I studied his expression for signs of deceit. Broken Man had said the upper families wouldn’t want to help. Or did he tell me that so I would focus all my energy on finding Gateway? Riley seemed sincere and he already knew most of it. How much worse could it be for him to know?

  “You’re right. I’m here to fetch Broken…Domotor’s port.”

  “You’ll let me help?”

  He managed to downplay his triumph. Impressive. I nodded.

  “I’m monitoring the electrical usage for level four during the next shift. I can’t disable the motion sensors because it would be recorded, but I can hide the spike from your device.” He glanced at the little cleaning troll. “Smoke was coming out of it before. Will it work?”

  “Yes.” Logan had repaired Zippy before I left.

  “Good. I wasn’t able to find the code for the lock. How do you plan to get into the evidence closet?”

  “I have another…ah…device.”

  He raised his eyebrows, inviting me to elaborate.

  “It’s better you don’t know.”

  “As long as it works fast,” he said. He slid his hand into a pocket.

  I tensed, but relaxed when he withdrew a port. He handed it to me.

  “What’s this for?” I examined the white interface. The size and shape mimicked three molars in a row, but underneath a square-shaped metal piece stuck out. Small numbers had been etched into the metal box. It was hollow except for a line of copper pins. I guessed the bottom piece was inserted into a person’s jawbone to anchor the port.

  “To exchange for Domotor’s. An empty spot will alert LC Karla. Do you know his ID number?”

  “Yes, but what about the LC? She’s also scheduled to work the next shift.”

  “All the high-ranking officers have a meeting in the Control Room at hour sixty. It lasts about an hour. She’s usually there.”

  “Usually?”

  “Wait to enter her office until a few minutes past sixty. The computer lists the whereabouts of important people so if there’s ever an emergency they can be contacted. If she’s not listed in the meeting room, I’ll flash the lights in her office to let you know.”

  “Do you always know where she is?”

  “No. I only have second degree security clearance. The hour sixty meeting and its attendees are general knowledge.”

  General knowledge to the uppers. The scrubs hadn’t a clue, and what we did know was doubtful. So much for reporting to my shift on time.

  “Get in position now,” Riley said. “I don’t want to open the door until you’re hidden from sight. Just in case someone is out in the hall.”

  “How come you’re the only one who uses this room?”

  “It’s hard to find and has been forgotten. I doubt anyone is outside, but it never hurts to be too careful.”

  I agreed with him, being extra careful should be our motto. Turning away so Riley couldn’t see my smirk—our motto, like we were a gang—I opened the heating vent and slipped inside, taking Zippy with me.

  Riley crouched down to help replace the cover. But before setting it in place, he touched my arm. This time I didn’t flinch as the heat from his hand sizzled in my blood. I met his gaze.

  “Be careful,” he said.

  Cog constantly told me to be careful, but Riley’s voice sounded different. I wondered if it was fear or genuine concern.

  “You, too,” I said.

  He nodded then replaced the vent’s cover. Rolling Zippy ahead of me, I slid through the tight space toward Karla’s office, but my mind reviewed the strange conversation with Riley as I traveled. Could the Controllers be as bad as the Pop Cops? It was hard to imagine and yet I couldn’t shake the image of blood dripping from his arm, nor could I forget the warmth that still lingered on my skin from his touch.

  I reached Karla’s office and slowed. Creeping toward her vent, I listened for any noise. The soft bluelight shone through the vent cover, signaling an empty room. My body was so used to the ten-hour system, I felt rather than knew when it was hour sixty. I hoped my supervisor wasn’t looking for me.

  The glow remained steady. After a few minutes, I removed the vent’s cover. Another couple passed before I turned Zippy on and pushed him out. When the alarm failed to sound, I hurried over to the gray evidence closet. Opening the doors, I pulled out Logan’s device and placed it under the keypad, pressing the button.

  It hummed and a series of numbers filled the small screen. Typing in the code, I braced for an alarm, but the bolt slid back. I exchanged the fake port for Broken Man’s, checked the ID numbers twice, then relocked the closet.

  The room’s daylights flashed a few times. I grabbed Zippy and dove into the vent. Voices sounded beyond the office door. The vent cover stuck in the hole. I tugged on it as the pings of someone entering a code rang. It jerked free. I placed it over the vent as the door opened.

  “Alarm off,” Lieutenant Commander Karla said.

  Daylights swept over the blue glow, trapping me and illuminating a frowning Karla. I couldn’t ever recall seeing the woman smile.

  “This had better be important,” she said to the lieutenant following her into the room.

  “Our detainee just gave us a clue to Domotor’s location. I need your permission to assign a search team,” the lieutenant said.

  “Has he implicated anyone else?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Hard to believe he managed to hide a physically disabled man without help.” Frustration tainted her voice.

  “He’s strong and has a high pain tolerance, sir.”

  My heart stumbled. Only one way to discover how much pain a person could tolerate.

  Karla grunted. “But he’s too big to fit in the air shafts. Another sc
rub had to be involved.”

  “But we have no real evidence, sir. That cloth bag could have been blown down to the floor. It’s light enough to have been sucked up by the return air.”

  “No. I know a scrub was there, and I’ll find out who was in the air shaft,” she vowed. “No scrub gets away from me.”

  “What about the search team, sir?”

  “Take team four and report back to me immediately. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” The lieutenant strode from the room.

  The LC scowled at his retreating form. She stood gazing at the door as if lost in thought then left her office, pausing only to reactivate the alarms.

  I waited a few minutes to ensure she was gone. The need to act pulsed in my body. Cogon suffered while I wasted time. I headed toward Riley’s room with reckless speed. Even knowing Riley wouldn’t be there, disappointment still jabbed me when I reached the place. I hid Zippy under the couch and hurried to Domotor’s room. My shift be damned. Cogon would not suffer in vain.

  Chapter 10

  I held Domotor’s port between my finger and thumb, flourishing the unit.

  The prophet pumped a fist in the air and grinned. “Good work!”

  “How long to get the information?”

  “It’ll take about forty to fifty hours,” Domotor said.

  I groaned aloud.

  “If I’m not careful, I’ll alert the system to my presence and we’ll be discovered.” He studied my face. “Trella, get a few hours’ sleep. You look terrible.”

  I ignored his remark, but thought about Riley’s comment about circumventing computer systems. “Are you going to tell me your real agenda?”

  He fidgeted in his chair. The ecstatic expression faded and wariness touched his eyes. I hadn’t given him the device.

  “Are you really seeking Gateway’s location? Or was that my incentive for retrieving the disks and your port?”

  “It’s complicated,” he said.

  “Meaning a dumb scrub wouldn’t be able to understand?” My hand fisted around his port.

  “No.” He pushed the hair from his eyes. The long blond strands hung loose. “Meaning you don’t know enough about the upper levels to realize that even if we find Gateway, we might not be able to unlock it without gaining control of key computer systems.”

  “Do you even believe Gateway exists?”

  “Yes, I do.” His gaze remained steady.

  Damn. Either he was a good liar or he told the truth. “How do you gain control of the systems?”

  “Through the computer network, but I need to find out who the real Controllers are.”

  “You mean which Travas?”

  “No. All the upper families think the admiral, vice admiral and captain, who are all Travas, are the Controllers. But I found a command flow chart in a forgotten file that put the Controllers above the admiral.”

  “Then who are the Controllers?”

  “No one knows. Not even the Travas. But I’ve overheard them speculating, and they believe the Controllers live Outside and send instructions through the computer. Sort of a divine influence.”

  Shock rolled through me. The thought of people or even a divine being dictating what we did Inside from Outside was hard to grasp.

  “Just because the Travas believe it doesn’t mean it is true.”

  “Do they know what is Outside?”

  “No. No one does. It’s all speculation. A few Travas think the divine presence lives in the computer network. Others think the computer itself has become intelligent.” He shrugged. “Knowledge of before was erased from the computer system thousands of weeks ago. Something has to be beyond our walls. The Controllers must know.”

  I mulled over the information. “Gateway could just be a computer link to the Controllers, and not a physical exit.”

  “It’s possible. And you’re holding our only chance to find out.”

  I unfurled my fingers. His port rested in my palm. Cog’s life in exchange for this. No turning back now. I would stay the course until the end.

  He snatched his port as a hungry man would grab food. Relief washed the worry from Domotor’s expression. He inspected the device and then inserted it into the gap on the right side of his lower jaw. I wheeled him over to the computer.

  “Get some rest,” he said half-distracted. “You’re welcome to use my bed.”

  A few hours remained in my shift, and I needed to put in an appearance. But I entered the kitchen first to inventory his food. Not much left. A few lonely bowls of casserole occupied the small refrigerator. More than thirty hours remained to the next assembly, and I doubted I could cough my way into the kitchen again. The prospect of standing in line multiple times for extra food seemed daunting.

  I straightened the dishes and checked his bedroom. The clicks and taps from the keyboard followed me. His sheets hung to the floor and his blanket was a balled-up wad. Must be hard to make a bed when you couldn’t use your legs.

  Pulling everything off, I remade the bed with clean linens. A mistake. The fresh sheets called to me. My body ached. My thoughts pushed through a numb fog. A sense of loss pressed between my shoulder blades. I settled on the edge of the bed and rested my head in my hands.

  What had I expected? Give Domotor his port and voilà! Directions to Gateway would appear in a matter of minutes. Huffing in tired amusement, I admitted that, yes, I had been expecting instantaneous results despite all my efforts to believe Gateway didn’t exist and to not get my hopes up. I guess a part of me really desired a true exit to Outside. Now the possibility of a computer Gateway instead of a physical Gateway sucked all hope away.

  I should be happy. Domotor’s discoveries would prove me right. Yet the possibility of the Controllers not living with us or even being a person caused a finger of fear to brush my spine.

  Morbid thoughts circled and conversations replayed in my mind. To escape them, I lay down. I would rest a few minutes.

  “Lousy son-of-a-Trava!” Domotor’s curses woke me from a dreamless sleep. Hours and not minutes had passed. So much for my shift. I hoped my supervisor hadn’t checked on me. I stretched and padded to the living area.

  Domotor scowled at the computer monitor. He punched a few keys then slammed his fist on the table.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “New security systems have been installed.”

  “And?”

  “I might not be able to get around them.” He typed a few words. “The program is…odd. The Controllers aren’t usually this…creative. They stick to what they know and what has worked.”

  “Perhaps your earlier forays into the system alarmed them?”

  “Possible. But this other program should work. It’s just complicated.” His attention returned to the screen.

  I left him to his work and showered. My stomach growled with urgent need and I resigned myself to spending the next five hours gathering food for me and Domotor.

  He grunted when I said goodbye. I traveled through the heating vents until I reached one of the main hallways. The scrubs traveling through the corridor ignored me. No curses. No taunts. I joined the flow and aimed for the cafeteria in Quad G2.

  Standing in line, I noticed the stiffness of the people around me. It was well known I didn’t like them and they didn’t like me. They called me Queen of the Pipes, believing I thought I was better than them. Used to glares and sneers, I now had scrubs avoiding eye contact. Different. And the ones who met my gaze, nodded. A few smiled in encouragement. Stranger still was the muted hum in the room. Pop Cops patrolled the aisles between tables, and a mist of fear hung in the humid sweat-scented air. Yet a sense of purpose emanated as if no matter how afraid they were, the scrubs were determined to endure the Pop Cops’ scrutiny. />
  I pushed my tray along the metal track and pointed to a vegetable casserole. The scrub spooned a ladleful into a bowl then added in a second scoop. I glanced at the man in surprise.

  “There’s a clog in the kitchen’s air shaft,” he said. “Can you clean it out for us?”

  It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me. “Report it to the kitchen manager.”

  He stared at me. “I did. She said to have someone check the shaft at hour eighty.” He returned to filling bowls and the press of the scrubs waiting behind me propelled me toward the tables.

  Odd. The whole exchange worried me. The scrubs couldn’t know about me. Could they? No. They’d rat me out in an instant. I shoveled the food into my mouth, but didn’t taste a thing.

  There had been plenty of chances for scrubs to gain favor by implicating me. Yet here I sat with a double portion. Enough for Domotor and me. Instead of standing in line again, I stored the leftover food and checked the cleaning schedule.

  My next shift started at hour eighty. Air shaft twenty-two was the first job listed on my sheet. Twenty-two crossed over the scrubs’ kitchen. I licked my dry lips. The man had said there was a clog. Could it be an ambush? No. Why go to all that trouble? A simple anonymous note to the lieutenant commander would do the trick.

  Something was going on. I searched for Jacy. He held court in his corner of the barracks. A tone signaled the end of a shift. I hung back, waiting for the crowd to thin. He spotted me and soon the scrubs hurried away.

  After scanning the barracks, he pulled two round disks from his pocket and handed them to me. “The listening devices,” he said.

  I remembered my deal to plant them in air shaft seventy-two. The metal felt cold in my hands. About a quarter inch thick, the silver circles fit within my palm. An inner circle of gold-colored mesh coated the one side, and a black magnet clung to the other.

  “Stick them close to the vents. They won’t come loose even when the cleaning trolls go through,” Jacy explained. “Put one in the Pop Cops HQ and the other over the Control Room.”