The Gaia Project

by Claire Buss

  'You can't leave City 9 by boat. They don't exist anymore. Besides the seawater is too toxic for any kind of material to spend any length of time on there.'

  Max nodded to himself, exactly what he had thought.

  'You might be able to do it by air. I know someone who runs a private airstrip. He might be convinced to fly you over the water to the nearest safe zone but it won't be cheap. I hope you have more than tokens to offer.'

  Martha looked at Jed, she didn't think they had anything of any value at all to offer but this guy might be their only option.

  'We'll get whatever it is he wants,' she replied confidently. 'But we need to get in touch with our other party first.'

  'There are more of you, here in the city?' Zac sounded surprised.

  'No.' Martha didn't elaborate. She didn't want to put Zac into any further danger by telling him more than he needed to know.

  Zac nodded to himself. Trust worked both ways, he was well aware of that. 'Look, I think we should get you out of the city at least. You've been lucky so far but New Corp Security patrols are getting more and more invasive. It won't take them long to figure out who you are when you fail the retinal ident scan. I'm assuming you haven't registered your irises in the city's mainframe?'

  There were faint nos and head shakes.

  'Look, it's not all bad. I can take you to an abandoned outpost nearby, you can get in touch with whoever you need to and then when you're ready, get in touch with me. I'll take you to Artem. He'll come up with some mad plan to get you out of here - for a price - everybody wins. What do you say?' Zac looked at them, his face so open and honest that the group couldn't help but trust and believe him.

  'Sounds like a plan,' Jed replied.

  'Do you have any gear with you?' Zac asked.

  'It's in our room,' replied Martha.

  'Now that is risky, patrols can search public shared space without regard to whether guests are present or not. It's probably best if I go and collect your things.'

  'Now wait a minute, we've done alright so far,' Jed protested.

  'Yes, but every time you go out there, your face gets ident scanned hundreds of times from every camera, every model citizen, every food replicator. Believe me, if the powers that be don't know you are here they will soon.'

  'Okay fine, then let me come with you at least. Leave the others here to lie low. I know where everything is that we need. We didn't leave it lying around, you know. We have some common sense.' Jed's pride was a little hurt, this wasn't his first mission, he wasn't a rookie.

  Zac nodded. 'Okay, but do me a favour, wear this and try not to look at anything.' He threw a baseball cap at Jed who caught it in surprise.

  'Won't this make me stick out even more?'

  'Not today, it's games day and everyone will be wearing one, trust me.' Zac stood up. 'Let's get moving shall we? Game time is the perfect time to get you out of the city without being noticed.'

  Jed stood and put the cap on his head, he hoped trusting Zac was the right thing to do. They were putting an awful lot of trust into a stranger's hands. The others helped themselves to more coffee as they waited for Jed and Zac to come back.

  The two men were able to stroll through the city unnoticed. Zac had been right, they didn't stick out at all. It seemed like all the citizens of City 9 were out in force, all clad with different coloured baseball hats. It was surreal.

  'How is this happening?' asked Jed in a low voice.

  'People get attached to the strangest things and no matter how hard Corp or even New Corp tried with their neural implants, they couldn't get rid of the love of the game,' explained Zac.

  'Huh.'

  Jed entered their room cautiously but nothing looked out of place. 'I guess Security haven't been by yet.'

  'Yeah, you probably got lucky with it being game day. We should hurry. Whilst we don't stick out at the moment, once everyone has gone into the stadium we will.'

  Jed nodded and went through the room briskly. Fortunately they had been neat and consistent with where they had placed their things and it didn't take long to gather everything together. Back on the street they did look slightly out of place carrying three bags each, especially as the crowds were thinning with the game about to start. But they managed to make it back to the museum without incident. They did see one security patrol but the three guards were so involved in ribbing the fourth man with them on his choice of team, they didn't even see Jed and Zac.

  'What's the plan now?' asked Max, once everyone had been reunited.

  'We've got about ninety minutes until the end of game time. Everyone will be piling out then, that's the best time to leave the city. You should have something to eat, get some rest. We'll have to move fast once the game finishes. Curfew,' Zac replied.

  'Are you coming with us?' asked Martha.

  'Well, I'll have to take you past the city wall. You'll need a local in case you run into a patrol. After that, it's up to you but, if you'll take me, I'll come with you.'

  The others said nothing. This was an unexpected development. The silence dragged on uncomfortably until Zac coughed and stood.

  'I'll, er... let you talk amongst yourselves.' And he left the room.

  'What do you think?' Martha asked the others.

  'Do you think he's some kind of spy? For New Corp, I mean?' asked Dina.

  'I know what you mean. I don't know. He's been truthful with us so far. And let's face it, how long will he survive in a city that clearly only wants biddable, controlled citizens while he's running a museum that celebrates a way of life wiped out two hundred years ago?' Martha felt she would know if Zac were a spy. Just because Sean had completely hoodwinked her back in 42 didn't mean she had lost all judgement. Besides, she rather liked Zac. It would be nice to have another person to talk to.

  'I don't think he's a spy for New Corp, but I don't think he's told us everything he knows,' Max volunteered.

  'After everything that's happened, I don't know whether we can afford to trust anyone new. And I'm not keen on taking a stranger with us when we go to meet with the others. Those are our children we are potentially putting at risk,' said Jed.

  'It doesn't seem fair of us to discount Zac after all the help he's giving us here in City 9. We would have been identified and contained by now for sure.' Martha tried to argue her case.

  'Possibly, possibly not. Are you ready to take the risk, Martha?'

  'Look, where are we going to lead him? To two skimmers hidden on the outskirts of the city where ten fully armed, fully trained operatives will be on hand to detain him if necessary.'

  Jed nodded. He had already executed that plan in his mind. If Zac came with them, he would be swept for bugs, tagged and more than likely magno-bound under armed guard until Jed could prove one way or another whether he was with them or against them.

  'We'd better put him out of his misery, otherwise he might decide to defect and alert New Corp to us being here in City 9,' Dina joked weakly.

  Martha glared at her as she went to tell Zac the good news.

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 9 TO CITY 42

  >>Martha Hamble, Dina Grey & Jed Jenkins plus one other have visited the City 9 museum twice. This confirms our suspicions that the museum is linked to the Resistance - why else would they visit it twice? <<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>SEND A STRIKE FORCE IN TO RETRIEVE ANY DATA AND THEN REPURPOSE THE BUILDING. DETAIN FOR QUESTIONING ANY CITIZENS. ANY SIGHTINGS OF KIRA JENKINS OR RUTH MADDOCKS?<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 9 TO CITY 42

  >>No, although a communication was intercepted originating from Hamble's base here in City 9. We have been unable to decode the message but it was tagged for Team 36.<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>THEY MUST HAVE SPLIT UP AND SENT THE OTHERS UP TO CITY 36. EXCELLENT, RADIATION LEVELS ARE TOXIC IN THE NORTH. SHOULD YOU INTERCEPT ANY MORE COMMUNIQUES, REPORT THEM IMMEDIATELY<<

  Chapter 26

>   Zac led Jed and the others to a disused service hatch. It exited outside the city, unaffected by the force and was unguarded. By the time New Corp Security arrived at Zac's museum, there was no-one there to apprehend. On their journey from the city limits out to camp, Zac's handheld beeped frantically.

  'What's that?' asked Dina.

  Zac looked at his screen in dismay. 'New Corp have breached the museum. They're trying to download my servers but they triggered the self-destruct.'

  'Will they know where we've gone?' asked Jed.

  Zac answered distractedly as he flicked through his handheld. 'No, no, they won't be able to get hold of any of my files. It's fine.' He kept going until he found what he was looking for, then he looked up at the others. 'That's that then. The museum is gone.'

  Martha patted his shoulder in commiseration while the others expressed their sorrow. They continued the journey to the skimmers in silence. On arrival, Jed went to check in with the operatives so Dina, Martha and Max took Zac over to the communal tent. The largest of their temporary structures, it housed the shared food supplies, a travel hydrator and a synth-caf machine. There were no tables, they were too bulky to pack and only a handful of fold away chairs.

  'We haven't got much but help yourself to a hot drink, whatever you need. No coffee though, I'm afraid. Will you be alright here for a moment?' asked Martha.

  Zac nodded and busied himself making a synth-caf while the others went to find Jed. He was checking the comms system.

  'Listen, there's a message from Kira,' Jed said and he read it aloud. 'I didn't think 9 would have what we need, New Corp are too prevalent. I can't believe Ben is gone - Mum is in bits. I dread to think what would have happened to us if we'd stayed. We're about a day away, see you all soon.'

  'At least they've made good time,' commented Max. 'It'll be good to have everyone in one place.'

  'I can't wait to see Lucas and the other children,' said Martha. 'I hope he's alright.'

  'I'm sure he's fine, Ma. But what about Zac? Are we magno-binding him?' asked Dina. 'He just lost his entire livelihood and I can't help but think it's because he was helping us.'

  'No, we won't bind him,' replied Jed. 'But he stays away from the armoury and the comms system. And he doesn't leave camp without an escort.'

  'Are you talking about me, by any chance?' Zac asked with a smile, which slipped as no-one said anything. 'Um, do you want me to go away?'

  'Actually, what can you tell us about this Artem? I assume you managed to make contact?' asked Jed.

  'Yes, I sent him a message. He has his own airstrip which is about half a day's journey from here. We should be welcome to stay on his estate for as long as we need to, he enjoys having visitors,' replied Zac.

  'And he's definitely not loyal to New Corp?' asked Martha.

  'No, definitely not.'

  Martha smiled encouragingly and took Zac back with her to the communal tent while the others drifted apart to see to their own errands. Jed felt like he wouldn't be able to relax until he was reunited with Kira, Grace and Peter. He missed them all fiercely and he couldn't wait to get to know Peter better. In order to distract himself, Jed checked on the camp security. He didn't want to be surprised by any New Corp drones.

  'I get the impression the others don't trust me very much,' Zac said to Martha as they strolled through the grassy verge next to the road.

  'It's not that they don't trust you, they don't know you. I don't know you.' She smiled at him, to show that she didn't mean it in a negative way.

  'I'm just me. There's not much to tell.'

  'I'm listening.' Martha linked an arm through Zac's and waited patiently. She was desperate for him to open up to her so she could prove the others wrong; that Zac was trustworthy and they had been right to bring him with them on their journey.

  'Well, I was grown in 9. They have a small baby lab but most children came from 42 until you closed down that operation. My parents are both dead, resisters to various Corp initiatives.'

  'Sorry,' whispered Martha, feeling guilty. She hadn't considered the ramifications of their actions before. Not knowing what the other cities nearby were like had made it difficult to consider the possibility that her actions would have negative consequences for others.

  'It's okay, it happened a long time ago - way before your coup, but that did lead to a major crackdown by the way. The museum belonged to my parents. Naturally I lived there, so I sort of carried on running the place. It does, did, alright. People, if nothing else, are pretty curious about things that have gone before. I was regularly checked by New Corp Security to make sure I wasn't planning any additional nefarious activity.'

  'Bit of a risk to throw everything in with us, then.'

  'Yes and no. There is nothing left in 9 for me. My business has been destroyed and apart from wearing a fake neural transmitter there's not much resistance one person can achieve, provided he doesn't want to end up instantly detained.'

  'I suppose not.' Martha paused, trying to find the right words. 'But you have helped others, haven't you?'

  Zac nodded but said nothing.

  'Are you Anti-Corp?'

  'What's Anti-Corp?' he asked.

  'It's what the organisation was called in City 42 that opposed Corporation. I thought you might have heard of it,' Martha explained.

  'No, there's no Anti-Corp.' Zac stopped walking and looked directly into Martha's eyes. 'We're the Resistance.'

  A thrill leapt through her body. 'I knew it! I knew you were hiding something.'

  'Well, I had to make sure it was safe before I could tell you,' said Zac.

  'You had to make sure it was safe before you could tell us?' Martha laughed. 'You do know who we are, right?'

  Zac chuckled. 'I know, but you can never be too careful.' He got serious. 'New Corp will be after us both now.'

  'And your friend, Artem, he can help us?'

  'I hope so.' They lapsed into silence and walked on like that for a few minutes until Zac revived the conversation. 'What about you, anyway - what's your background?'

  'Well, my father was on the Board in City 42 so I'm a made to order.'

  'Wow, that's rare these days.'

  'Yep, that's me. No siblings.'

  'Hang on, your father was on the Board? What does he do now? Did he defect as well? Is that how you managed such a successful coup?'

  'He was murdered. He was helping us but things got out of hand and he was in the way.' Martha's voice wobbled a little.

  'Oh, frig, I'm so sorry.'

  'It's alright, I've come to terms with it - more or less. After mob rule got rid of the Corporation Board the city officials made me governor and I did the best I could. It was hard not having access to the Corporation mainframe and their systems. I guess we never considered the amount of behind the scenes organisation that goes into running a city. Plus there was Lucas.'

  'Lucas?'

  'Yes, I'm a mum.' Martha waited on tenterhooks to see what kind of reaction Zac would display.

  'Huh.' That was all he said. 'Assignment?'

  'Nope.'

  'Huh.' He looked a little stunned but as he didn't ask any further questions, Martha decided not to volunteer any additional information. She glanced at him but he wasn't looking in her direction. She tucked her hair behind her ears and checked again. This time he caught her eye and gave her a brief smile.

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each thinking about what the other had told them. Both had questions but neither was ready to quiz the other yet. It was getting dark when they returned to the communal tent and helped themselves from the dwindling supply of dried rations, joining the others.

  'When the other team arrive we'll pool our supplies, rest for one more evening and then head out to your contact, Zac,' said Jed. 'I assume they will be able to help us out on the supplies front?'

  'Shouldn't be a problem but I warn you, Artem doesn't give anything away for free. There will be some kind of price.'

  'We have a supply of tokens
, would that be enough?' Dina wondered.

  Zac's mouth twisted a little. 'It's not normally that kind of price.' He looked up at the others. 'Look, I don't know what he's going to say. He can help us, but... I can't even begin to guess what the fee will be. I'll do everything in my power to keep it reasonable. He's a good guy, he's just a better businessman.'

  Jed stewed on this for a while. Besides their dwindling rations which they needed to increase, not give away, they didn't have anything of any value they could trade. This was beginning to look like it could be a problem. At least he had an up to date inventory list now and surely they would be able to barter something. All he had to do was wait one more day.

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>DID YOU APPREHEND THEM?<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 9 TO CITY 42

  >>No, they escaped. Hamble and the others have met up with the rest of their group. There was some kind of illegal computer programme running at the museum so we have terminated it.<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>GOOD. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING NOW?<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 9 TO CITY 42

  >>There's only one place they can go. Artem Misner's enclosure is the only populated place left.<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>DO WE HAVE EYES?<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 9 TO CITY 42

  >>Of course.<<

  ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM CITY 42 TO CITY 9

  >>CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND REPORT REGULARLY. LETS GET AS MANY DISSIDENTS AS POSSIBLE IN ONE PLACE BEFORE ORDERING THE STRIKE<<

  Chapter 27

  Kira was frantic. Grace had started crying in the night and then she'd vomited everywhere. It had been stressful trying to soothe Grace while at the same time strip her off, wash her, get clean clothes, clean up the mess, try not to wake the others, which of course didn't work, and then listen to Grace scream inconsolably as Kira quickly changed and washed herself. She was now sat upright with her poorly little girl snuggled into her chest. Grace had been sick three times, and was running a high fever. She wouldn't take anything except for the tiniest sips of water.