by T. C. Edge
“Come in and shut the door, Brie,” he says. “Like I said, we have a lot that we need to discuss…”
I step forward, drawn in by a burgeoning curiosity, and let the door drift shut behind me.
And pacing on, I start my search for the truth.
It begins right here, right now.
42
I enter into a large living space that appears very similar to the apartment occupied by Rycard and Sophie. Only larger.
With wide windows and an airy feel, it might appeal to minimalists and clean-freaks who hate clutter. To me, it’s lifeless and empty and exceptionally uninviting.
I care little for the state of the apartment, though. As we move towards a polished white table, set up near the window, Adryan begins to briefly tell me about the place. It’s not the subject I’m most interested in.
“Should we marry, our apartment would be very similar to this one,” he tells me. “The top couple of floors of this building are reserved for courting Savants and their partners. The apartments below are smaller, and used for other Enhanced…”
“Fascinating,” I say.
His voice cuts short and he looks at me with a rare measure of annoyance. I suppose he’s probably never been spoken to in such a fashion by a girl like me. His superiors, maybe, but that would be fine. To be cut off mid-sentence by an orphan from Outer Haven...what a shameful thing it must be.
Then again, I’m not Unenhanced. I may not be a ‘pure-blood’ Savant, but I’ve got a mix in me that, for my money, makes me a more impressive specimen than he is.
And that’s probably the very reason why the Savants outlawed interbreeding in the first place. Hybrids like me are too much of a threat. And to those in power, threats cannot be tolerated.
He moves towards the table and sits down in a chair in front of me. To his left and my right, the clear wall of the building presents a magnificent view over the city and beyond. It speaks volumes that I’m not distracted by it.
“You haven’t answered my question yet,” I say. I lean forward. “Are you part of this?”
Slowly, he begins to nod.
“It depends on how you look at it, really,” he says. “I was assigned my duty, and I performed it. We have conducted a lot of research, Brie, and one of the conclusions we drew was that suppressing emotion would lead to a safer, more co-ordinated society. We feed our findings to the Consortium, and they determine what to do with it.”
“So, you’re essentially telling me that you’re complicit in all this? That your work has brought us all to this point?”
“That’s an awfully simple way of looking at it. Most of us are just pawns on a chessboard. We are tasked with a duty and do it to the best of our ability. The same is true here, among my people, as much as anywhere. But pawns don’t make the decisions. That is the person playing the game. The Consortium is that person. Yet…they are not evil people, Brie. They’re merely doing what they believe to be right for the future of mankind.”
“The future of mankind,” I sneer. “And you? What are your thoughts on the matter? It sounds like you agree with them…which is odd, really, given how you’re here with me right now.”
A flash of concern rumbles through me. Have I been lured into a trap? Can I actually trust this man, or is this all just a ruse to draw me out?
The sudden thought forces me to lean back. I’m unable to hide the wrinkle of worry from creasing my forehead. Adryan, clearly so well versed in reading Outer Haveners given his work, quickly douses my concerns.
“You’re afraid, but you needn’t be,” he says. “I disagree with the methods of the Consortium as much as you do. I believe that, for us all to have a future, we need to embrace all of our people and come together as one. And…I have my other reasons too…”
He trails off and turns to the window, his pale façade dimming. I search his silver eyes and try to put into practice the lessons of my brother. I inch into his thoughts, his memories, but see nothing but a blur.
His gaze swings back round to me.
“Stop it,” he orders harshly.
I recoil.
“You have no right to try to read my thoughts, Brie. I know just what you’re capable of. Keep out of my mind.”
He stands to his feet, his chair sliding back along the floor and scraping at the polished tiles. I examine him closely as he takes a few paces away, before turning and looking back.
The brief wave of anger has passed, the ocean now flat and calm once more. He takes a breath.
“I am in remiss,” he says. “I haven’t asked you if you’d like a drink? These apartments are well stocked.”
“Um…water, maybe.”
He shakes his head.
“Might I suggest wine. You may be craving it soon.”
He moves off, leaving me alone with my thoughts for a few minutes, before re-appearing carrying a decanter and two glasses. He pours them out and takes a seat once more.
I take a sip. So does he, mirroring me.
Then he sucks in a long breath, before breaking the short silence.
“I know all of this is quite…shocking for you. And try as I might, it can be hard for me to fully relate. Yet my work gives me a unique insight into the relations between all sects of this city. Slowly but surely, the Consortium have been trying to phase out the Unenhanced completely. They see the future as theirs, and us – the Savants – as being the only ones capable of spearheading the repopulation of this world. I don’t agree with this doctrine.”
“And so you contacted the Nameless to offer your services? It seems a very dangerous thing to do.”
“Danger isn’t a particularly strong concept to me. One of the benefits of having muted emotions is a lack of fear. I have no real fear of my own death. Yet I do have a compassion for the Unenhanced, and the many Enhanced who have slowly been turned into slaves. If I have to give up my life, then so be it. I am just one man. I don’t mean anything.”
“That’s a depressing way to look at your own life. And if you place so little value on it, why won’t you kill Director Cromwell?”
“I would if I could,” he says, his words cracking with bitterness. “But I cannot.”
“Why?”
“I’m not capable of such a thing. I am just a man, Brie. I don’t have the powers that you do.”
I laugh, shaking my head, and scoop up my wine glass.
“I think you’re overestimating what I can do. This is so ridiculous. Surely the Nameless have better spies – or should I say assassins – than me? I’m no warrior. And I’m no killer.”
“Not yet,” he utters. “But things can change quickly, and so can people. You don’t yet know who you are. And no, there is no one but you. Other than your brother, the Nameless have no Mind-Manipulators. Such powers are extremely rare, even in the High Tower, and when you master them, you’ll be capable of some devastating things.”
He follows me as I take a sip of wine once again before continuing
“And you have something more. You have anonymity, and you have me to open doors. This mission is one that only you can carry out. If you don’t do it, no one will.”
His words seem to echo in my head for a while. I feel the burden of the entire city bearing down on me. How can this have happened? How can they put so much responsibility on me?
I thought this was merely an operation to find information. To discover some big plot or ploy. To feed secrets to the Nameless and let them take care of the rest. That would have been bad enough, dangerous enough. This is something else entirely.
They’re asking me to become a murderer.
“This isn’t fair,” I whisper. “It’s…too much.”
I stare down at my fingers, gripping the stem of the glass. Losing focus, they begin to fall forward, the tiniest bubbles in the wine growing into giant, clear boulders, my fingers appearing so colossal and bulbous, like those of the Brutes only magnified tenfold.
As I stare, I feel a touch to my hand, and a new set of finge
rs emerges into view. I’m snapped out of my stupor and my vision returns to normal, and I see Adryan’s hand lightly laying on mine.
I turn left, and he stands above me, his icy eyes thawed and softened.
“You remind me of…” he starts. He cuts himself short, blinks a few times, and turns away again, dragging his fingers with him.
He takes a few paces away as he did before, before turning back and retaking his seat.
“I’m sorry for all of this, Brie. But it will settle. Right now, it’s all just so fresh. Change can be difficult to master.”
Change…
Everything is changing for me now.
I drain the rest of my wine. Adryan refills the glass.
“I don’t see how Director Cromwell’s death would change anything anyway,” I say, swirling the wine around the curved interior of its container. “They’d just elect a new leader, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes, they would. And that’s precisely the point…”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my words hardening and eyes lifting from the mesmerising liquid.
“The Nameless have their tendrils everywhere, Brie. They don’t just exist in Outer Haven, lingering in the shadows. There are others, like me, hiding in plain sight. Some are merely sympathisers. Others are fully-fledged members. And then, some consider themselves as leaders.”
Leaders? When I first met Lady Orlando, Zander told me she was ‘one’ of the leaders of the Nameless. Are there others? Perhaps even living in Inner Haven?
And then it starts to dawn on me, the true goal of this mission.
“There’s someone on the inside,” I whisper. “Right at the core. The Nameless want to replace Cromwell with their own leader…”
My eyes join Adryan’s. One corner of his mouth rises. His imitations of a smile are varied and convincing.
“Like the Consortium, the Nameless have been moving their pieces,” he says softly. The room feels like it’s closing in, growing ever tighter and tenser. “They’re the other player in this game of chess, and they have some moves they can make. This is their major play. If they can eliminate Director Cromwell, and replace him with someone sympathetic to their cause, then it might just save a lot of lives.”
“And if they can’t? If…I refuse to do what they want?”
“Then few places, or people, in this city will be safe. War is brewing, Brie. So far, it’s been kept to the depths of the northern quarter. Soon, it will erupt into something far worse. Director Cromwell is as ruthless and uncaring as a Savant – as a man – can be. He may not be evil, but he has a single mind to see the strong survive, and the rest diminish…”
“Sounds like Darwinism,” I mutter.
“That’s exactly what it is,” rises Adryan’s smooth voice. “Artemis Cromwell, like many of my kind, believes that the Savants are the next stage in human evolution. Hundreds of years ago, the homo sapien reached beyond the boundaries of nature. They accelerated their natural evolution through genetic engineering. It was eugenics on steroids, and now the inferior species of human is gradually being exterminated. It may take decades, or even longer, but before long, there will be no Unenhanced remaining…”
As he speaks, I feel my mouth curling into a grimace of disgust and anger and hatred. I look out of the window and down to the cold, uniform streets, and then spread my gaze beyond the wall to the vibrant colours of Outer Haven. Even at a glance, the distinction is remarkable, a colourful haze hovering over the narrower roads and lanes and alleys across the border. Here, there’s a cold detachment, everything built for purpose and not pleasure.
“Why now?” I ask, still staring out. “The Enhanced and Unenhanced have lived in harmony in this city for decades. What’s changed?”
“Time,” comes Adryan’s quick reply. “The Savants have been tending to the growth of the population here for many years. Our numbers have increased significantly. Ever since the birth of the Council of Matrimony and the process of scouting, more and more suitable Unenhanced have married up…”
“I’ll bet Cromwell hates that,” I snarl. “His people being diluted by Unenhanced blood.”
“A necessary evil,” says Adryan. “In-breeding would be the only other choice among our people, and genetic defects would likely occur. We’ve seen that before, and the results were not pretty. Bringing in Unenhanced to live here has helped to diffuse our bloodlines.”
I gulp more wine. He was right. I need it.
“Soon enough,” he continues. “We won’t need Outer Haven anymore. Anyone who has no function in the world Cromwell creates will be considered expendable. That may even include many Enhanced. Before long, a super-race will emerge. And you can be sure that it won’t include any Unenhanced.”
“If the people knew...” I begin, thinking of the hundreds of thousands living in blissful ignorance of all of this.
“Then what?” Adryan’s voice cuts in, a degree of passion oozing from it. “This has been happening for years, right in front of them. The Enhanced have already had most of their liberties denied. They don’t complain. The Outer Haveners have been treated differently, yet the same is happening to them. The most effective methods of indoctrination take time, Brie. The longer it takes, the more natural it seems. And no one even knows it’s happening…”
As if on cue, a sudden tremble begins to rise up through the building. It shakes lightly, the glasses on the table rattling. I pick mine up to stop it from toppling off the edge.
When I look at Adryan, his eyes are already staring out of the window. There’s no look of shock at what he sees, merely a knowing expression, an expectation even, as if he anticipated it.
In some strange way, I did too. But it still shocks me. It cuts right to my core.
I see orange and black. The former hovers in a haze; the latter spews into the sky. The trembling dies down, and the room falls completely silent. And then, after a few short moments, the rumble of an explosion hits us, delayed like thunder after a distant flash of lightning.
Miles away, across the wall, Outer Haven burns.
I stare with wide, unblinking eyes, and allow the details to grow clearer as they zoom right in. From this high, my vantage is good enough to see the people fleeing in fear. See them writhing on the floor, drenched in flame. See the red blood and charcoal black and the growing grey of the suffocating fumes.
I watch the whole thing play out, seeing it as if it’s right before my eyes, and yet unable to hear a thing. A silent scene of destruction and death. Another attack from the Fanatics, from the Consortium, designed to weaken our resolve and fill the streets with more of their slaves.
Another pawn has been moved, and another of ours has been taken…
And as I watch, my heart fills with a fresh terror. I pull my gaze back and try to get my bearings. We’re in the north of Inner Haven, just off the Inner Spiral near the core. Yet this window is facing west, straight towards the districts I know so well.
It’s the western quarter that’s on fire. And it looks to be district 5…right near the academy.
My mind rushes with names.
Tess.
Drum.
Mrs Carmichael.
Abby.
I turn to Adryan, who looks upon my stark expression, his grey-blue eyes crinkled with concern.
“You need to go,” he says before I can. “Come on…”
We stand as one, sending chairs flying.
And together, we rush back to the door, down into the garage, and out onto the streets of Inner Haven.
43
Adryan commands his car to drive as fast as the laws of Inner Haven will allow. It’s a low top speed.
“Can’t this damn thing go any faster?!” I ask, pulling on my jacket and zipping it up tight to cover my dress.
“Its maximum speed is programmed into it,” he tells me. “It’s the same as all cars here.”
“Well can’t you, I don’t know, re-programme it?”
“Possibly. But that could raise a lot o
f red flags, and it’ll waste time. It’s best we stay under the radar.”
I grunt loudly, my eyes seething and cutting right through the front window.
“Fine.”
“Anyway, it won’t make much difference. We’ll be at the gate soon enough.”
What he can do, however, is ensure that the car takes the most direct route. So, instead of circling around the Spiral, the car twists and turns down linking side streets instead, stopping and starting as we hit red lights.
I fidget as we go, always shifting my position to get a better view ahead.
Adryan continues to study me, like an anthropologist living with apes. I suppose that’s why he’s so good at showing emotion, if muted. It’s because it’s his job to understand the Unenhanced and what’s makes them tick.
Still, I find it quite aggravating, and aren’t afraid to tell him so.
“Ah, sorry…force of habit,” he says, pulling his silver eyes back to the front of the car. “You realise there’s nothing you can do to help, though, right? There will be City Guards and Con-Cops swarming all over the place already.”
I turn to him with heavy brows cutting off half my eyes.
“I don’t expect you to understand. For all I know my academy could have been blown up. My friends, my family might…”
I hold back the thought, and the emotions bubbling inside me.
“I’m sure they’re all OK,” he says. His words are comforting, yet his manner is not. At least he’s trying, though.
He reaches out and lays a stiff hand on my shoulder. I don’t brush it away. I just sit forward and let it rest there awkwardly until he feels like sufficient time has passed and he can withdraw it.
Soon enough, we’re speeding – well, dawdling would be more accurate – onto the Outer Spiral and moving around towards the short linking road that provides passage through the western gate.
Before the car comes to an infuriatingly gradual stop, Adryan offers some words of caution.
“You’re emotional, Brie, and that’s very understandable. However, be careful out there. It may be tempting for you to use your new powers out in the open, and you might not be able to stop yourself in this state. Make sure you don’t. If a Con-Cop or City Guard sees you…”
