by A K Blake
Iona shrugged. “I guess I didn’t have much choice.”
The truth was that she couldn’t remember a time when code didn’t make sense. It was a kind of refuge. People were sometimes difficult to decipher, too much politicking and emotional baggage. There no updates you could run to patch up an argument or default modes you could reset your relationship to. With people, there were no simple fixes. Jedrick had taught her that.
She cleared her throat. “Actually, do you think I could take a look at that device?”
“My spore? Why not, this is better than a holovid! I should take a video and put it on the net.”
She buzzed with adrenaline as Kaius passed the seemingly innocuous device into her hands. The metal was warm from his skin as she clasped it around her wrist. Though she’d never been connected to the network itself, she knew the FreeNet programming language backward and forward, could do things with it that left even their most senior mechanics scratching their heads. She’d had dreams about the real thing, a network to which you could connect any device, even without wires. The full resources of Laemia would be at her disposal, a whole new world of code and information, available at the stroke of a key.
Making a fist, she pulled her hand toward her chest, but before she could release the screen from the band, the ARGAS machine startled them both.
“Dr. Memdi will now see Kaius Amicus. Kaius Amicus please proceed through the available door.”
She struggled to swallow her disappointment as the spore made its way back into Kaius’ hands.
***
“Eris, I can’t rush science. I know how you jam things through in that shoddy excuse for a government you work at on a nightly basis, but there are no deadlines on discovery. As I have said many times over I will tell you when I have an update. That is, if I have time to get anything done while responding to your constant messages!”
Dr. Memdi ended the recording with a vehement stab at the button, her furious energy suddenly drained. She fell heavily against the ergonomic backing of her chair, rubbing her temples with both hands. Too much vis, most likely. What with all the work and the constant setbacks, she had been throwing the acrid stuff back almost on the hour. Her teeth were turning a nice shade of pink. Closing her eyes, she tried not to focus on the pounding between her ears. Behind her, medical instruments lay on steel carts, an ancient looking manuscript and a tablet next to them, juxtaposed. Things were not going as planned.
Rising, she opened the door panel, crossing into her office. Whereas most panels were made distinct to mark their location, this one blended seamlessly with the wallpaper, making the lab virtually invisible when it was closed. The lab was of course biolocked and otherwise safeguarded, but her father always said the best safe was one no one knew was there.
Looking at her schedule, Dr. Memdi saw the young daughter of Representative Vyoral was booked for later that night. He was probably worried her fangs were growing in crooked or some such nonsense. Not that he would be there himself. That, at least was a relief. It would likely be a nanny with the child, and she could give her a sucker and get her out of her hair. She was tired of the constant interruptions and feeling increasingly anxious about her impending, nebulous deadline.
As if on cue, an icon appeared in the corner of her computer screen, jumping up and down to alert her to an appointment in less than ten minutes. She hated when ARGAS booked her on such short notice. However, the appointment was with Kaius Amicus, which surprised her. She had heard he was working at the compound from his mother a few months back but had not yet seen him. The message had said he was with security, but she had a feeling this was far from an accurate description of his work. Very little was as it seemed here.
Sighing, she rubbed her temples again. Something niggled at the back of her mind, something important that was meant to happen tonight…
***
Iona followed Kaius into the doctor’s office, which was surprisingly cozy. Carpets coated the floor, long tufts of thread sinking beneath her feet, and the walls were bright with tapestries. An old wooden armchair, its back hulking and majestic, squatted behind a claw foot desk.
The only thing that looked at all modern was the exam table, rising white and pristine from an area that was sectioned off by matching circular grooves in the floor and ceiling. An arm-like machine extended down over the bed, bent at the virtual elbow and wrist. Iona resisted the urge to draw closer. So many machines, so little time...
The doctor was a female vampire, handsome in a square-jawed sort of way, with a long braid of ash-blond hair that hid a few strands of gray. Iona realized this was the first vampire she’d seen who showed signs of age. Looking at her and imagining how old she must be, Iona felt suddenly tiny and insignificant, a fleeting moment in the centuries the doctor must have lived.
Flickering from behind the desk with a speed that belied her age, the doctor reached them in a blur. She clasped Kaius on each arm and kissed him on the cheek.
“Kaius, what an unexpected surprise! It’s been too long.”
He nodded, more sedate than Iona had yet seen him.
“Dr. Memdi, a pleasure to see you again.”
“You know you are welcome to call me Rhetta.”
He grimaced. “I prefer Doctor.”
“As you wish. And what have you brought me today?”
“This is the human with effusus praedulcis that’s been contracted out. It says she’s here for vaccinations, but she doesn’t have a UPI yet. I hope it’s not a problem, but I’ve booked the appointment under my name.”
Dr. Memdi turned, staring at Iona with something deeper than renewed interest. There was a hunger to her gaze now, a sort of insistence that Iona found hard to ignore.
“Ah yes, the rarest blood type. The universal receiver. I believe she was mentioned to me. That will be fine for now. I’ll need to run a few tests to make sure she is cleared to pass the royal medical inspection. She will also need to be made up to date on her shots. Girl, step over there. Just inside the circle. Kaius, you will want to cover your eyes.”
Iona edged behind Kaius, keeping as far as possible from the doctor, who had returned to her desk and now donned a pair of dark-tinted glasses. Iona could feel her watching from behind the lenses. Suddenly, she was blinded by series of blinking lights emanating from the metal rings. They disappeared almost as quickly as they began, leaving a dancing imprint across her vision.
“What was that?”
“Disinfectant light. UV rays kill the residual bacteria left after manual cleaning. On the table now.”
In the reclining position, Iona felt suddenly exposed, acutely conscious of the veins pounding away in her neck in a way she had never been before.
“AMA, let’s start with a blood specimen, testing for Packages A and C, based on the patient’s history. After this, proceed with the complete adult vaccine order set, minus the detrahere and tinixus.”
The metal arm above her whirred to life, speaking in the same detached way as the ARGAS machine, though this voice was female. “Good evening. I am AMA, Automated Medical Assistant. Dr. Memdi, are you aware that Kaius Amicus has already been vaccinated this decade? Per the governmental standard—"
“Yes, yes, I’m aware. Patient will pay the difference. Put ‘Extended contact with unvaccinated humans’ in the exception field.”
“Adding exception. Thank you. Kaius, please remove any clothing from your right forearm and place your palm up. Remain still. You will experience a zero point five on the standard pain scale.”
A set of pincers descended and closed around Iona’s arm a few inches above the wrist before a needle shot forward like an arrow. There was a prick of pain, but she hardly noticed, distracted by the small plastic vial turning red with her blood.
“Thank you. Your specimen will now be processed.” The arm deposited the vial of blood into a square machine, which began to shake back and forth rapidly, and approached again, this time extending a long, thin tube. “Please remove any sl
eeves or clothing currently covering your right shoulder.”
Iona rolled up the sleeve of the dirty shirt she had been wearing since she was taken, feeling suddenly disgusting after her trek through the woods and extended time without a shower.
“You will now receive vaccinations for pneumonitis, caedicis, incruentus, vertarae, and nixalus. You will experience a zero point zero on the standard pain scale of 1 to 10.”
Iona found this hard to believe, but as the thin tube released against her shoulder, she felt nothing but a quick dart of air. The machine reloaded and discharged four more times. “Thank you.” The arm began to move back toward the blood machine, which had stopped shaking, but halted abruptly.
“ALERT: Invalid findings in specimen. Blood type does not match records for Kaius Amicus. WARNING: medications may have been administered to incorrect patient. Logging for this encounter will be transmitted to the National Medical Administration and Governance board for review. Please make a statement for the ‘Reason’ field for complete transmission.”
Kaius broke in. “I apologize, Doctor, I didn’t realize this would cause such a mess. I can bring her back when we’ve gotten her a UPI, I didn’t mean to—"
“It’s fine, Kaius. Not a problem. I’ll have Elsu look into the logs. We’ll just have to finish the tests manually for now. AMA, shut down.”
“Shutting down is not advisable at this time. Recent patient data may be lost. Would you—"
“Yes, override. Shut down now.”
“Shutting down.”
The arm returned to its original position and made a decompressing noise as the doctor flickered across the room, snatching the vial of blood from the machine and hitting a button that caused it to spit out a long sheet of paper.
“It’s still processed her diagnostics. No harm done then. Kaius, just send me her UPI when she’s been assigned one, and I will add these findings to her record.”
“Aren’t the logs and stuff deadwired, though? I thought that meant it was in some kind of unbreakable code or something, like a lot harder than hacking the FreeNet.”
“It will be fine.”
Kaius looked as if he would argue, but the doctor headed him off, changing the subject. “These results look to be in order. Healthy for the most part, nothing that should adversely affect the blood. All that’s left now is the remaining vaccine.”
Iona frowned. “I believe I’ve had them all.”
The doctor waved her hand. “You are mistaken.”
“No, I’ve had five shots. I counted.”
Dr. Memdi stopped entering the results from the paper, rising slowly from where she had been hunched over the keyboard. She turned toward Iona with a deadly grace, dark eyes boring into her. It was impossible in this moment not to think of the ease with which she could shuck Iona’s soul from her body, like freeing an ear of corn from its husk.
“Tread carefully, girl. I did not study medicine for the better part of a century for some child from the Rasuk Woods to order me about in my own office. You are mistaken, you are still missing the nixalus.”
Kaius shifted his weight. “Doctor, I don’t mean to offend, but are you certain that—"
She turned her terrifying gaze on him, and he fell silent, glancing at Iona with an apologetic look. There was a weighty pause before the doctor resumed her typing. When she finished, she pulled a plain metal key from her pocket, one that seemed out of place with the advanced technology around them. Opening a drawer, she withdrew a box and removed a vial and a syringe. Though it was what their doctor used in the village, compared to the sleek method of vaccination Iona had just witnessed, the needle seemed suddenly cruel and medieval. Dr. Memdi pulled on a pair of gloves and inserted the syringe into the top of the vial, pulling back the plunger as it filled with a dark liquid.
“You’re fortunate I had the foresight to keep a backup in case of power failure. You never know what might happen, Kaius. You’ll learn that when you are my age. Girl, roll up your sleeve.”
Iona thought of arguing again, but it didn’t seem prudent to fight with a vampire when she was holding a needle. Gritting her teeth, Iona rolled up the other sleeve, the one nearest the doctor. Dr. Memdi flickered to her and depressed the plunger. Iona’s arm immediately went numb. She wondered if she was imagining it.
The doctor disposed of the syringe and bottle, dropping them like a hot plate into the bin. She pressed a button that ignited a roar like fire from inside the waste panel and pulled off her gloves with a loud snap.
“You may experience some minor discomfort over the next few nights. Dizziness, fever, and coughing or difficulty breathing for short periods of time are to be expected. However, if you find yourself struggling to breathe for more than fifteen minutes or experience hemoptysis, alert me immediately. Otherwise, barring any complication, you are cleared for medical review.”
“Hemoptysis?”
“Blood in the sputum.”
When Iona’s face did not clear, the doctor pursed her lips.
“It means coughing up blood.”
The vampire returned to her desk with an air that made it clear the appointment was over and began working at her computer, her fingers a blur across the keyboard. She stopped suddenly, as if realizing they were still in the room. Smiling at Kaius, she gestured toward the door.
“Please do come again, and give your mother my love. It’s been a delight.”
Chapter 3
Kaius was in a foul mood as they exited the doctor’s office, muttering under his breath as they began winding through the tunnels at a pace Iona could barely keep up with. “...myself arrested….paid enough for this shit…believable night…” He flicked through the screen on his arm, then stopped abruptly, so that Iona was forced to veer to one side to avoid running into him. Jabbing his finger against the thin material, he began swearing inventively. She was familiar with this kind of temper tantrum. People were so thankless when it came to technology.
“You know that won’t make it work better.”
“Well, it will make me feel better. Damned network is always timing out in this place. Gotta get back to civilization before I just completely—there, finally!”
He paced forward several steps before swiping his palm across a digipad and entering through the next door panel. Inside was a stark room, filled with computer desks. A female vampire with short, curly yellow hair looked up as they entered. Her hands moved rapidly across the keyboard, and she glanced back at her monitors every few seconds as they talked.
“Well, what’s this, we’ve actually got some visitors for once? What a nice change of pace! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hi, yeah, nice to meet you. I’m Kaius Amicus, I’ve brought a human we contracted out to get her set up with a UPI.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.”
Without missing a beat, the female pulled out a pad like the one on the ARGAS machines. She paused her typing for a moment, eyeing Iona with raised eyebrows.
“Aren’t you quite the sight? I’ll bet other humans have a hard time picking you out in the dark. Thank Dieda for night vision, am I right?”
Iona glared. The indents in her palms were beginning to really sting.
“Ok, so just put your right hand on here and hold still until the light turns green. Now look into the camera with your right eye and try not to blink. You can type?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“Oh ho, feisty one! Must be that southie spice.”
The vampire passed her the keyboard, and Iona filled out several fields. Mother: Eeda Meranto. Mother’s UPI: Unknown. Mother’s Age: Deceased. Father: Unknown. Siblings: None. Birth Date: 03.12.6032. Place of Birth: Aequus, Rasuk. Blood Type: Effusus praedulcis. She wondered how they would know if she lied.
“Perfect! I probably won’t get your UPI in until tomorrow night, but the system isn’t really concerned about keeping down human numbers, what with the new blood tax, so don’t worry too much about not getting approv
ed.”
The vampire winked, though Iona felt it was more directed at Kaius than at herself.
“Well, I hate to send you all packing so soon, but that’s really it. It’s a pretty straightforward process. Nice to meet you, Kaius, was it?”
“Yeah, thanks. But actually there’s a security issue of sorts that I’d like to discuss with your superior in private if possible.”
She stopped typing and swiveled in her chair toward them. “I’m the manager.”
Kaius looked pointedly toward another vampire lurking at the far end of the room, who seemed to have perked up since they came in. The female turned to look, following his gaze.
“Zaan, go ahead and take your lunch.”
Zaan stood, looking guilty for a moment before he flickered past, exiting through the door they came in. The female turned back to Kaius.
“What kind of security breach?”
“An alert for malpractice is being sent out for Dr. Memdi. We tried to run her tests under my name,” Kaius jerked his head in Iona’s direction, “because she didn’t have a UPI. Guess I should have taken care of that first, but I was following this stupid agenda. I don’t suppose there’s any way you could...take care of that for us?”
The vampire seemed strangely unsurprised at this request. In fact, she gave the impression that she was only half listening, like someone who has already heard a story and feigns interest until the end to be polite. Perhaps Dr. Memdi had sent her a message in the time it took them to get there. Or maybe, Iona considered, the order of the itinerary was not a mistake.
“I see. How very unusual! Well, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to the good doctor, now would we? She is such an asset to the cause. I’ll let her know not to worry, I can take care of that.” She gave them a sunny, self-satisfied smile.
“Really? You can? I thought all that stuff was deadwired, all the ARGAS and AMA machines. Doesn’t that mean, like, no one can hack it?”
The female tossed her head, flipping her curls out of her face lazily, as if already bored of the forthcoming explanation.
