Rufus stiffly wiped the beads of sweat running down his temples. Another heavy breath escaped his nostrils and his eyes squeezed shut. Keeping Richard still proved to be the work of titans. Thankfully, the crowd was too focused on the vivid imagery of their corrupted government to ever notice Rufus’s inner struggle.
Zoey watched it all unfold as she followed Jasper’s every word. The evidence spoke for itself, from the mining videos to the numbered resources on IG-47, and the Chancellor’s recorded confession involving the officials from Zii and Steb in the chaos happening under their very evolved yet naïve noses. Even in this weird setting with each of the hybrids and humans stranded on each step leading to the stage like the Von Traps, Zoey could register the facial expressions in the crowd ranging from angst to dread. No one took it lightly. Fear and terror looked the same on all of their faces, caught in every line of their grimaces and every gasp. For once, their expressions spoke a universal language.
“I think it’s time for the council to verify these claims.” An official from the higher tribune spoke. It was enough for Mezin to nod and work her fingers on the intersat. She furtively glanced at Lilou and gave a reassuring smile. It was then when Lilou finally took the lead and began zooming in on the next matter at hand: Etienne’s derail. One by one the details of the former ambassador’s mischief came into view, from faking her sister’s death to ultimately siding up with Beck and Leiki and derailing the path of genome editing.
Over three hundred eyes now moved to the hybrids and humans alike—the pesky intruders who didn’t belong. All sorts of feelings crept up Emma’s core yet she straightened her pose and looked them in the eye. Jasper went ahead and explained each and every enhancement neither Zoey, Rufus nor Mia ever asked to be blessed with. From their captivity to the abuse they suffered and how they sided with the optans. How each and every one of them had risked everything.
“I am guilty of covering for my sister’s death,” Lilou concluded. “In short, treason. But the reason we are here today is to hopefully start anew and rethink our methods.” She turned to Jasper who took a deep breath before addressing the very last issue.
“These earthlings have fought side by side with us. They’re here because they have nothing to hide and we’re here thanks to them. We owe them our trust and immunity throughout our trials.” The word immunity caused another collective gasp. Emma and the rest shared a panicked glance. The amplitude of the room filled with hum again.
A voice from the first row though, challenged Jasper’s intentions. “We don’t know anything about them, we’ve seen they’ve been gifted with the immoral, yet here you are, not a Supreme Court judge nor high authority but a simple ambassador on his first mission asking for immunity no less!” It made Zoey stiffen in her trainers. “Given your overall experience that’s extremely bold, young man and we’re not known to float on water.”
If that was their way of saying Jasper was walking on thin ice, Zoey got the message loud and clear. She swallowed hard as another first row official spoke. “What you’re doing now ambassador is forcing the decision of immunity on us, just like they were presumably forcefully mutated.”
“And it’s not up for debate, sir.” Jasper’s frame grew imposingly. “It’s not my wish to go against the Alliance’s regulations, but given these new circumstances, I’m afraid we owe it to them. You’ve only watched ten out of the over four hundred documented breaches against the system we’re all known to serve.”
Lilou then came shoulder to shoulder with Jasper and threw him a quick glance before she spoke. “We’re only alive and here thanks to the earthlings.” That was such a big lie; Sam even shook her head a little. Who was ever going to believe that? “And thanks to the officers gone rogue we were able to uncover it all. It’s not a case of black and white anymore.”
There is no white anymore, Zoey thought, shrugging involuntarily. Jasper had broken the code, but still returned to his people—they all did. She couldn’t fathom the thought that the optans who actually uncovered everything were risking punishment and her chest now felt like one big, panic button.
“This is blackmail!” Another official spat. “You are not in a position to make demands. Restrict the rebels!”
Jasper though, straightened his frame and spoke. “Our collaborators are able to portal anywhere in the universe without prior approval from the host and are now in possession of the rest of the evidence. A rebel would have different demands, sir.”
Without a single word of protest, Rufus noticed how the guilty officials on the highest tribune—including Richard—were being escorted downstairs by soldiers. The hum in the auditorium got louder.
An official on the second level spoke next, his words directed at the crowd. “Thank you Ambassador, your crew along with the defendants will be escorted as we reach a verdict. Is immunity for Earth your only request?”
“As a matter of fact, we have a short list.” Lilou confirmed, displaying a hologram neither the humans nor hybrids understood. Based on the group mind and visible crowd astonishment, another unprecedented moment peered its head and shackled the audience. The puzzled faces and grim expressions grew in number. Heads started turning in all directions.
Sam was getting jumpy, searching for answers with desperate eyes. Zoey had none and, before they made sense of anything, the same guards in brown and navy suits directed them out of the auditorium. Out of Jasper’s sight, Zoey relentlessly craned her neck as she was being pushed forward.
“Jasper!” She shrieked among the restless voices. He’d heard her, but never looked back.
γ
Locked again.
This time, in what looked like a state-of-the-art waiting room with screens on every wall, possibly displaying news. They could only identify the pictures. The seats were white and many, joined together so they formed a square mattress where Sam rested, face down. In her defense, it did look like the world’s biggest, comfiest bed. Emma had crossed her legs on the edge and kept following the screen. Rufus and Mia had just discovered the restrooms and went to inspect the premises while Zoey took the floor. She’d ceased screaming twenty minutes ago.
Twenty more followed.
“Do you recognize anything on those screens?” Her voice came hoarse and Emma didn’t flinch, her eyes pinned on the screen ahead.
“A word here and there.” She admitted, visibly not pleased. “It must be some sort of internal bulletin board. We need to be patient.” The plasin units served them enough to know where to tap when they wanted water or food, and Emma had instructed them all not to waste an opportunity.
“Patient?” Sam finally lifted her head. On her long list of virtues, patience shone by its glorious absence.
Emma looked over her shoulder, just enough to raise a brow Sam’s way. “We’re awaiting trial in case you haven’t noticed. So far, nothing too different from what I’m used to.” Rufus and Mia had returned just in time to catch the end of that sentence. Emma had that kind of presence, that kind of gift in Zoey’s view—she could make anyone listen. Even Sam.
Zoey felt Mia’s arm coming around her shoulder. “How does this go?” Both Rufus and Mia had descended to the floor, next to her.
“I’m guessing Jasper’s dad is more of a hot shot than he led on if he was able to pull the strings for an emergency meeting with the law and order integrated, so I’m sensing they’ve already chosen a jury.” She sighed and pulled at the hem of her hoodie. “Look, if they call us in right now, it basically means Jasper got his wishlist, we get immunity and we can start the trial… I think. I hope.” A trial of such proportions could’ve extended for months on Earth. She kept her mouth shut, though.
Zoey rolled her sleeves in an exasperated move. “So let’s say we get immunity, what does that mean? Neither of us has properly spoken about this with the optans.”
“I have.” Emma looked unusually calm, making Sam roll from her unorthodox pose and into a sitting position. “Remember the time loop? When I was complaining I had
nothing to do while you guys worked on your enhancements?” Eight pairs of eyes followed her every word. “That was only partly true. Jasper knows I’m a lawyer and believe it or not, their system is not very far from ours. I taught him a few tactics, gave a few pointers and we came up with something.”
“Let me get this straight,” a ghastly whiteness spread over Sam’s face. “Zoey and I were sleeping in the same bed with you every night and you just forgot to mention this?”
“And risk being overheard by James when we were unsure of his intentions?” She retorted. “I don’t think so. Point is, if all goes well, immunity translates into Earth automatically receiving a team to oversee our development and shield us from NEOs until it can join the Alliance. Same goes for Leiki’s home planet and all the planets they’ve exploited.”
“How about… us?” Mia’s blood raced fast through her network of veins. She’d curled her hand around Rufus’s knee, unconsciously sinking her fingers in. The floor was cold, she was cold, everything got cold.
“We’re aiming for untouched, although Jasper’s expecting they’d want to study you to some extent.” To say the least. Emma thought, yet never voiced the latter.
“So we’ll be lab rats. Again.” Mia scowled pushing her forehead on Rufus’s shoulder. It was Zoey who locked arms with her now, trying to muster some sort of hopeful expression.
Emma couldn’t help but sigh in return. “I think you should start seeing that as the best possible outcome. I mean, how long can it last?”
“Until they’ll want to use us, which brings us back to square one.” Rufus locked ankles on the floor. He was visibly pissed under the weight of captivity. It had rubbed on him and Mia like a curse, and one simply grew tired of biting the bullet.
“This is Jasper we’re talking about.” Zoey jumped in. “And Lilou and Alex. If there’s anything I could give them for what they’ve given me, I’d do it.”
When she put it this way, Rufus couldn’t help but let out an exhausted breath. “Fine.” He muttered, unwilling to elaborate. “How does a trial go?” He slewed his eyes over to Emma.
“Well, the opening statements should be next so they can analyze the extent of the damage, followed by witness testimony and cross-examination. That’s where all of us come in. Then there’s deliberation and verdict.” No doubt in her mind, it was bound to take ages. The whole system would need a makeover, a shift in perspective.
γ
Emma wasn’t wrong.
They’d called them in to testify although no word on immunity had even been whispered. Three whole days of dry mouth and not enough sleep, as if they were trying to make them walk the line of insanity. One by one, humans and hybrids were relentlessly questioned on the entire spectrum of genome editing, enhancements and protocol, although they had no viable insight.
Three days of going over their every move apart and together, every training technique, every dialogue they’ve ever had in and out of IG-47, the time loop and Opt. Lilou had gone through these details before with them, skillfully replacing Jasper’s parents’ house with a remote location. She’d trained them to lie and no regret hung on her conscience. Nor on theirs for that matter.
“Again?!” Zoey scowled at the soldier requesting her presence. The waiting room had turned into a prison. Although they were now somehow allowed on the premises, neither of them trusted setting foot outside their comfort zone. They were too drained and over the edge. This door at least, was being watched. They’d already learned some of the gestures, and this soldier showed signs of impatience at her stalling.
“Just go,” Sam said in a hoarse voice, still sprawled on the chairs which served as a bed. Her throat hurt from so much talking, so she ushered Zoey with her hands instead.
They’d already questioned Zoey twice today, made her relive each moment of her two year relationship with James. Although not menacing, their tones had been stern, and the chosen specialists doing the questioning kept calling her by name and surname. The questions still rang in her head—‘How did you meet him, Zoey Mills? How could you not notice he was not human, Zoey Mills? How did he die Zoey Mills?’
The soldier’s boots made a noise she came to hate, a weird metal clang aimed like a knife at her temples with every step. She’d counted sixty-seven steps on one of her many journeys to questioning. Sixty-seven clangs in and out, so many times she’d lost count. And she’d lost Jasper to the people on the other side of the door sliding just for her.
She walked in, taking her seat behind the usual desk, welcoming the light which blinded all the frowns ahead. The equivalent of a bottle of water was placed next to her, so she pushed her chair forward, anxiously biting her cheek. More questioning was bound to follow.
Kalenium was everywhere. Easy to spot, nearly everything belonging to this place had some of the embedded material. This table for example, which also acted like a massive screen and never seemed to keep her prints or show any smudge.
“Zoey Mills?” She recognized the voice associated with an optan not much older than herself. “As a rational, intelligent species, would you consider an abuse being kidnapped, forcefully enhanced against your will and forced to exercise those enhancements to the benefit of your captor?”
“Yes. I think James, um, Etienne and professor Trenton Beck have abused their position with both Mia and Rufus.” Were they purposefully trying to wear her down with the same questions?
“But not with you?”
She fiddled with the hem of her sleeve, half bored, half irritated. “Altering anyone without consent and holding them against their will is abuse.”
“Why did you leave yourself out of the question initially?”
“Because I didn’t think straight, is that what you want me to say?”
“Exercising your enhancements in the time loop and in Pamplona, was that something you were particularly interested in doing, Zoey Mills?”
For the love of—“Not particularly, but I understood it was for a cause.”
“What would you say the cause was?”
“The first time around to see what my enhancements really were because I didn’t know what I was capable of at the beginning. All I knew was that I couldn’t forget. And of course figuring out how we were enhanced would’ve helped Jasper’s team get closer to the reason why Beck and the former ambassador enhanced us in the first place.”
“And have you personally felt abused when the new ambassador and his crew have used you as leverage in order to get to your first encounter with Trenton Beck?”
“No. Sam had been kidnapped, and Beck called me. He wanted me in exchange for Sam so Jasper and I concurred I would meet Beck at the agreed location, and they’d show up to ambush him. Nothing was done against my will by the new ambassador or his crew.”
“What made you trust them with your friend’s life?” It was questions like these she feared, she could be digging Jasper’s grave for all she knew and blood sizzled under her skin.
“Listen, I’ve answered the same question less than an hour ago!” Patience was running slim. Especially when she had no clue where this was going, no word about immunity, and no word about Jasper. They simply wouldn’t tell. “I was in the middle of discovering I’d been altered and the man who altered me now had my best friend.” She’d extended her palms in the shape of a scale. “Turning myself in to the people who’ve altered me and kidnapped my friend” She lowered her hand under the weight of her argument. “Or trusting aliens who made things fly.” Her other hand also lowered in balance. “I was out of better options.”
“Have you feared for your life?”
“Of course I have! I’m here, taking to you and still fearing for my life! I’ve feared for my life three days ago when you asked the exact same thing.” She scowled. “You keep asking the same questions and not answering any of mine! I’ve asked you if any of this was going to affect Jasper and you haven’t said squat. I’ve asked you where he was and nothing!” She dug her fingers at the edge of the table.
“You do realize that we’re not the enemy, right? I mean all of us are here, worn to a frazzle to help your organization be better! Why do you treat us like this? Why won’t you tell me where the optan crew is? I want to see Jasper!”
“When faced with the—”
“Enough!” She slammed her fist against the desk, still blinded by the light, she couldn’t see them but heard their gasps plenty as she bounced upright.
Haywire
“The act of falling apart or behaving unpredictably, as would wire spooled under tension springing into an unmanageable tangle…”
Zoey’s torso jolted up, desperately struggling for air. “Sonofabitch!” No! No! Her fingers found her throat in a violent cough. Everything was spinning, so she dug her fingers in her pillow and screamed her lungs out.
Powerless, she recognized her bedroom’s ceiling and the sleeves of the tartan dress she’d worn to school on the day she’d quit her job. Still torn from the last sentence echoing in the space between her ears, her chest convulsed under the pressure. Disconcerted at how it all came together, mocking her in the face as the stupor came crashing in merciless waves again. Everything started spiraling. She stared at the ceiling while unfettered tears trailed from her eyes, down her temples and on the bridge of her ears. Her whole body had turned into one giant, feral spasm and refused to obey. Why would it?
Was this how it felt? The pain that pushed people to suicide? So raw and angry in the chest. Even breathing pissed her off. It felt out of place. Like she shouldn’t. A scream followed. And another one. And another one.
Found in Amber Page 28
