I stood marooned on my own island of light, haloed by the glowing screens. Instead of getting dressed in my normal clothes, I sat down and pulled my knees to my chest. Here, alone in this cosmos-like space, was the perfect time to crack open my mental crisis. Could there be others like me on Earth? Without knowing how Earth was monitored, I couldn’t guess what would trigger the vasithryn State to realize our population was viable for their children. Medical studies or news reports on infants with odd anatomy? I turned over a palm, prodding where I now knew there was an extra organ underneath. What happened when I was born? On the outside, my eyes were the only give away that there was anything alien about me. Mom’s only concern was my poor auto-immune system. Over the holiday I should gently ask to see how much she knew.
With a bit of a fumble I unlatched the box. Vials of clear fluid glimmered in rowed sockets. I plucked one out to hold before the light. It had a slightly blue tint. So this was zei, the vitamin substance that had nearly killed me because it didn’t exist. If I exposed these—which, according to Keiyron, were made of elements that didn’t exist in my universe—would anyone believe my story? The box lid clicked back into place. With zei, my own body, and the shkieroth bracelet, surely somebody would listen. But what would telling someone accomplish? Keiyron said his government could conquer an entire planet without war. Six planets before us had simply handled over power rather than fight. Unless he was lying to me so I’d stay quiet.
The darkness swirled against the green stain of the screens. I was so alone. The city skyline and the soulless silence of Keiyron’s neighborhood gave no indication about the state of the human population. But then there was that girl, creeping around like a homeless scavenger. She was my only clue to understand what sort of future Earth was threatened with.
I unraveled from the ground and stood up. I had to know. If the girl was still out there, I had to reach out to her for answers. As much as I longed to, I couldn’t go home yet, couldn't face the people I cared about without knowing how vasithryn treated their subjects. Keiyron put his family at risk to hide me, but was otherwise praiseful of the State and its machinations. For now, I could only selectively trust him.
Nothing I had on me was any defense if the girl had bad intentions, but it would be easy to contact Keiyron just by touching my shkieroth. Wait—I lifted my right hand—maybe I do have a weapon. After what happened with Hiarou, the idea of intentionally scalding someone with yrvaii radiation was disturbing. As a threat, though, it would do.
245Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs50VRtskWf
Exploring Shaian
The instant the portal door opened, doubts swarmed my head. I had only a minute before the door would shut again. Would she still be there? I passed timidly under the shadows of neighboring houses, heading to where I’d last seen the girl. The street appeared deserted. Seconds passed without any sign of her, and I grew nervous. My feet spun around and took a flighty pace toward the portal building. Keiyron said humans lived in a sector several miles west. If directions worked like they did in my world, I was facing west now. The afternoon sun was visible through scars in the clouds.
At the portal door again, I spent a moment breathing warmth into my hands and rubbing my numbing face. The parts of me protected by the vasithryn uniform felt fine, but everywhere else was stung by the atmosphere’s chill. I should have known finding the girl again wouldn’t be easy. Skittish as she was, she’d long since moved on.
I’d taken one step inside when suddenly I was swung backward. My knees hit the street with brusing strength as someone shoved me down and laced my arms at my back. As soon as a choked cry left my mouth, something sharp jabbed my neck from behind.
“One yell and your shiin is going to be in a lightningstorm of pain, vasi,” scowled a voice in my ear. Although I didn’t dare turn to look, it seemed I’d found the human girl. I held still, biting my lip to keep from protesting the bend in my muscles. “A four-year-old vasithryn girl lives in this zone. Where is she? Where’s Lia?”
“I, I don’t know, I’m not from here, I can’t help—” My babbles broke off as she pulled harder.
“I just saw you leave a house with your guardian, don’t bullshit me, grub.” Grub? I questioned in the midst of panic. Somehow I had to convince her of the truth, unbelievable as it was.
“He’s not my guardian, I, I don’t live here, I’m from Earth and he was sending me home. I wanted to talk to you, that’s why I came back.” The icy ground felt like it was starting to freeze to my cheek. I sucked an inhale as her hold changed and turned us face to face. Her head was shadowed, but green eyes blazed down at me. A couple seconds later they shifted from anger to bewilderment. The girl’s hands slackened, and feeling trickled back into my numb arms.
“Why isn’t facial recognition working? My lenses say you have a null profile,” she said. Her head swayed above, looking at me from different angles. “If you had a recog-scrambler, I wouldn’t be able to read your presence at all. But this is like there’s data missing…” One of her hands did a pantomine of typing on a keyboard. Either she was crazy, or she could see things that I couldn’t. “Do you think I’m stupid? You can’t be from Earth, that’s outside State territory.”
“The Seed virus spread to Earth. Keiyron’s family and I are the only ones who know. I was brought up human, so until a few days ago I knew nothing about parallel worlds or why my body was different. Why my body was...dying,” I swallowed. Although my pronunciation was shaky, I found that by speaking in a halting fashion my brain had time to come up with Shaianese words. The girl still glared at me, but she was listening. I just had to keep talking. “Keiyron brought me here and told me that Earth may become the eighth world overtaken by the vasithryn State, once Seed is discovered there.” The girl pulled and released at her lower lip.
“Impossible. If you were the first Seed-born of Earth, they’d have you locked under high security. Besides, news of a Seed leak wouldn’t stay quiet. Tashili is still in the headlines and they’ve been under State rule for fifty years.”
“Keiyron is hiding me. He promised he will keep me safe for a few more years so I won’t be responsible for my planet’s surrender. And so I don’t go stark raving mad.” I flexed a shoulder in a shrug. “The success possibility of the latter is questionable.”
“Now I know you’re lying,” she snorted. I had an urge to roll away in case she spat on me. “An adult vasithryn hiding you from authorities? That doesn’t happen. Vasi are by definition law-abiding automatons. Although, I can’t deny that your lack of an ID means something weird is going on...and if you are from Earth, you couldn’t have gotten here without insider help.” A bead of blood rose from her chewed lip, and she licked it away. Her face leaned closer, as if that might help her read my mind. “I saw him lead you into this portal station and leave alone...grubs don’t travel alone…and you say his name without honorifics, which is definitely suspicious. But, dŭ’shak, a vasi breaking the law?” she spoke to herself though she was inches above me. “The multiverse still throws out crazy surprises sometimes.” She drew away suddenly. “I’ll entertain your story, for now,” she said. With a grunt she stood, leaving me to raise my own battered limbs from the street. “This doesn’t mean I trust you. Remember, try to run or draw attention to us, and I’ll shoot.” The girl fingered something in her pocket. I nodded and glanced down the empty road. The portal door, I realized with grief, had long since shut tight. “You said you came back because you wanted to talk to me. Why?”
“Like I said, I only learned about vasithryn and the multiverse a few days ago. I need to know what kind of future my world is threatened with if the State takes over.”
“A shitty one,” she laughed in monotone.
“Keiyron implied that humans are well cared for—”
“Oh sure, we’re cared for all right, as long as we remain their obedient pets. If you want to know what living under State custody is like, I can take you into the human zone. If you prove you’re willing to go that far, I’ll trust you enough to tell you more.” Still shaking from the anxiety of her assault, I looked from the closed portal door to the inner city skyline. Unlike this ghost town, over there lights and movement were in constant flux. Conglomerations of skyscrapers stood out in sharp relief against the overcast sky.
“Won’t that be dangerous?” I hesitated.
“Not if you stick close to me. I know how to evade the security fauna.” She cupped an ear to show a silver cuff earring. “This scrambles my face-map in the eyes of A.I.. They can’t log an identity they can’t see. As for you...a null profile might raise alarm, so you’ll just have to keep your head low and covered.” I staggered a little as the girl grabbed at my collar. Her hand yanked the hood of my coat forward. Warmth flooded my face, and I exhaled in surprise and relief. I was grateful for whatever technological sorcery made air-conditioned clothing possible. She surveyed me dubiously. “You look weak. Try not to slow me down too much. Oh, and you can call me Nine.” She turned and began a quick trot into the misty street. Why did she want to be referred to by a number? Usually when people gave false names they chose something plausible. I took a steadying breath before following. The only other option would be to contact Keiyron and explain how I had managed to lock myself outside. That would involve giving away the girl, which instinct told me was a bad idea. It would serve as a last resort.
Windows winked darkly at us from both sides. Nine kept an athletic pace, only slowing when I lagged by more than a block. Her grey form was like a mirage I could never catch up to. Now and again I checked back for the portal’s beacon light. It barely seemed to move. The only real evidence of progress were street signs that floated high overhead in bold holographic letters. Certain characters became familiar, as well as a shifting sequence of what must be numbers. After a mile of eerie quiet, I was tense enough to startle at the sounds of my own steps. I slowed to catch my breath. Nine’s figure had shrunk to a mote in the shadows ahead. Fortunately she never changed direction, so all I had to do was keep straight. Condensation swirled from my breath as I put forth another spurt of speed.
When finally the scenery up ahead changed, it was like waking from a monotonous dream. The grid of mansions broke against a shore of taller structures. These were plated in grey metal and textured in vents, recesses, and piped bulges. Their walls slanted back just far enough that I imagined I could climb to the rooftop with all the available handholds. The added height turned the road into a deep channel. My steps were loud in the space between. One block later, the road widened into a new zone. This place, too, was vacant of life. Stoic buildings framed doors that shone with foreign lettering. My hand jumped from touching a wall when words materialized under my fingers. They faded once I’d scurried ahead.
Nine waited again at the next crossroads. She watched imperiously as I puffed nearer, drooping under my bowed hood. I wished I had access to drinking water, because my throat was parched from all this unusual exercise.
“Are we going there?” I pointed to the mountain of city lights that defined the horizon. It remained obstinately in the far distance.
“Not even close. The neighborhood we’re going to is only a few miles away. We’ll be clear of populated areas.” That was fine by me. The mountain’s looming congregation of skyscrapers had a nasty way of looking like torture weaponry cutting up the sky. That was a definite ‘stay away’ aura. “See those towers?” She pointed to a set of twin towers northwest. They looked like they might mark a bridge or gateway, some kind of division. “That’s the main east-side entrance of the human district. We can’t get in there—it’s packed with security—but I know a way farther up that’s safe. There may be some hrajor patrols between here and the wall, so keep an eye out.” She beckoned and made the first right turn of our journey.
“Hrajor?” I asked in alarm, but she was already too far to hear. With even more urgency I gathered my stamina and pushed forward. Nine had taken a generously slower pace, but she still kept a steady berth between us. About halfway down the block I crossed in front of a large trapezoid door. Red light strips flashed under my feet in warning chirps, and the shock of it sent me tripping backwards until I could conceal myself around the building’s jutting cornerstone. The hatch blinked open, and a vehicle flew out.
It literally flew; no wheels adorned the body. The vehicle glided over the street and sped away like a silent ghost. I’d seen the firefly dots in the distance and guessed car-ships existed here, but seeing one so close was stunning. A real flying car. I thought back to the airy feeling I’d had riding in Keiyron’s car, and the way the doors had changed once we were in Shaian. I had a strong suspicion his car was only disguised as normal.
Once my heartbeat had calmed, I skittered over the driveway and on down the street. My boots made a staccato beat over the pavement to where Nine waited impatiently. She made no comment, only jogged on before I had time to pause. Over the next few blocks things started to look more industrial, with wider complexes. In some awe I passed a grand entrance with a sweeping staircase. The walls had a black rainbow sheen like oil, colors that shifted under the gloss and overhead lights. Curiosity bade me to touch it. No message popped up, but the colors rippled and settled like water. At least vasithryn had some decorative imagination.
When I saw the girl again, she was descending into one of the pedestrian tunnels of a large intersection. Then I spied the body of a car-ship approaching. There was no time. I retraced my steps and scuttled down the stairs of the nearest underground passage. The tunnel’s lights lit up in reaction to my presence, almost blindingly so after the dark cityscape above. It was unnaturally warm down here. I took the opportunity to defrost my hands before peeking above-ground. All clear. I checked the street and through the next intersection’s passage, but the girl had already magicked herself away.
Progress was slow. Several more times I sheltered in crosswalk tunnels to wait out passing vehicles. I was uncertain whether it was dangerous it was to be seen, so I preferred to hide. This freezing weather was a health hazard; it wasn’t surprising that there were no other pedestrians. From the stiff pain of my exposed hands, I’d guess the temperature was below zero. More than the lack of visible people, the distinct lack of grime was uncanny. Every surface was spotless—it was unnatural. Impossible. I couldn’t shake the surreality as I moved through the landscape.
My eyes snapped wide as something small darted from an alley on the opposite side of the street and zipped nearer down the roadside. It might have been a bird, but birds weren’t that shiny and they didn’t fly in such a beeline fashion. When it came parallel I realized what I was looking at. Like a wingless dragonfly, the robot glided toward the intersection I’d just come from. A red glow shone from its underside onto the sidewalk below. Nothing hostile stood out about its sleek chrome body, but I didn’t have expertise on how to judge robots. The machine paused to survey the empty intersection. In a slow turn it doubled its height and arched over the street, descending over my sidewalk. A head of glittering lenses revolved its gaze up the block. My feet shuffled backward.
I pulled my hood low, fast-walking up the street just short of a run. I’d played enough science-fiction video games to guess that the robot might be some sort of sentry. It was probably one of the ‘hrajor’ Nine had mentioned. I risked a peek back. It was still cruising at a leisurely pace in my direction. Like the car-ships, it flew silently through the air. That alone gave me the creeps. I couldn’t tell how fast it was gaining without watching. Should I cross the street to get out of its way? Or stay where I was and wait for it to pass by? I stalled, peeked back again.
“Hajik xo, bou!” Run, stupid, a voice screamed. My shoulders flinched around. A grey hooded figure waved from the closest alleyway. “Bali xo, hatande makai!?” Nine yelled with a foot stamp. Hurry up, you wanna be caught? Like a shocked deer I leapt into an imbalanced run. Nine withdrew into the alley. At the corner, I slowed to glance at the robot. Although it was still cruising peaceably, its head of lenses cocked in a watchful stare. “Ujena xo, hajik!” Don’t look, run. I boosted myself down the narrow passage after the girl. Sloping wall foundations crushed the space into a claustrophobic channel. “Bali bali!” Hurry, hurry. Her arm grabbed my wrist, hauling us both deeper into the recess. We clambered under and around pipes and vents that gave momentary gusts of warmth. On the far end, a bulky metal box blocked the exit. Without hesitation she let go of my hand and climbed its ribbed sides. Still panting from exertion, I did my best to follow. Near the top she offered her hand and pulled me the rest of the way. By the time I had breath to speak she had already jumped to the street below.
“Wh, wait,” I called feebly. Balking at the height, I slid my backside to the edge and pushed off rather than jump. The impact slammed me into a crouch. Luckily my boot heels were low and I managed not to twist an ankle.
“Ba-li!” Nine hissed from the depths of her hood. She took my hand as soon as I stood up and dragged us across the road. We loped across the glassy pavement and through another channel between buildings. The girl paused in the shadows before the next street to listen and peek at the corners. Then she crouched, gesturing me to do the same. I heard nothing, but moments later a flash of silver darted past. This robot cruised twice as fast as the last one. Its red glow blurred along the reflective sidewalk. My internal translator couldn’t parse the words dropping from Nine’s mouth, but I could guess they were curses. We stayed still until the dragonfly bot vanished far beyond the intersection.
“You stirred up the hrajor, stupid,” she growled. “Why are you so damn slow!?”
“Sorry! I thought running from it would draw more attention.”
“Vasi larva don’t wander solo in this sector. Any watchers will be suspicious.”
“Vasi…larva?” I echoed.
“Nothing personal,” she shrugged, “but larva or grub is what some of us humans call vasi youth. Vasi being short for vasithryn, obviously.” The slur was pointedly grotesque for being nothing personal. The girl’s teeth pulled at her lip as she double checked the street. “You didn’t alert your guardian when you saw me back there in the housing sector. I just saved you. We’re even now,” she said. Her grey hood turned to give me a shrewd look. “Though you’ll still be in my debt when I smuggle you into the human sector.” I kept my mouth shut, wondering what sort of payment she was expecting. “To get that far, we’ll have to be more cautious. Hrajor can get nasty if triggered. I once got to see a ‘jor go after one of those anfakdu gangs.” My translator skipped over her local jargon. “They thought it was a great idea to toss scrap at it, and it went full red code, shooting tranquilizers. Greatest show I’ve ever witnessed.” She laughed, though I didn’t see why that was funny. “Speaking of dumb ideas, we better not hang much longer. I don’t intend to be anywhere near here when a real Akath patrol swings by to check out what that hrajor saw.” I remembered that “Akathshi” were Shaian’s police, and grew pale at the thought of running into them.
Nine drew herself up and moved into the street. I lagged behind, barely making it into an underground crosswalk before a car-ship flew overhead. A flash of grey cloak disappeared from the opposite mouth of the tunnel, and I dove after it. Keeping up was near impossible. The girl scampered between shelters like an agitated grey mouse, bobbing in a constant scan for danger. Twice she abruptly changed direction. I had to squint to catch silver flashes of movement far down the road. Hrajor and car-ships kept us on a slow and erratic path. While waiting for the street to clear I collapsed against a wall to catch my breath, exhaling streams of condensation.
“Naa…” Nine drawled, “you’ve got the stamina of a house cat. Vasi are usually strict on physical fitness.” She leaned back with arms folded, keeping watch. Annoyance flared at her nagging.
“I grew up human. And I’ve been sick and weak all my life because I didn’t have access to zei nutrients that vasithryn apparently need.”
“Hmm…” she made an interested sound. “I really am starting to believe you. About Earth.” Her cheeks looked bloodless under the artificial lights as she turned to me. “Which makes it all the more urgent to have you meet certain people.” Nine flashed an unnerving grin. Excitement lit her pallid face like a candle in a Jack-o-Lantern. Yet again I wanted to back away.245Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnSLmBVQdd
“We’re almost at the zone line. Let’s cross before the rain starts.” Rain? I looked to the heavy sky. At this temperature, it was just as likely to snow. When I looked down, the girl had already hopped a rail to the street. I ducked under without a pretense of grace. “This way,” she called. Hidden in the recesses of a building, a tunnel opened at about waist height. She hefted herself inside and made room for me to do the same. Metal grooves like tracks ran down the floor. There was only enough height for me to crouch, but Nine could extend her legs with her waist bowed. “Don’t worry, the cleaners don’t activate till curfew,” she said in reaction to my look. Cleaners? Activate? That explained the sterile streets. Were we crawling into a hive of cleaning robots? “Hrajor never come in here, so it’s a safe shortcut. Just make sure not to touch anything on the walls.” Immediately I shuffled on all fours to the very center of the channel. There was no light, but the grooves let me feel my way forward. I doubled my crawling speed to catch up. No way was I getting left behind in a pitch-black vent inhabited by live machines. Every so often a pinprick of light blinked in the peripherals of my vision, leaving dotted afterimages. I ignored a growing unease and focused only on following Nine’s footsteps.
When dim light gave shape to the walls again, I exhaled relief. My knees ached from crawling. Outside the tunnel’s exit I oriented myself, grateful to be upright. The street we’d come out on was illuminated by a compound on the other side. Tall fences enclosed the perimeter of a mess of structures: multistory wings connected by indoor bridges and stairways, paved yards, and industrial-sized vats. I looked far down the horizon and noticed a familiar set of towers. It looked like we were about a mile to the edge of them.
“Our unofficial entrance to the human district is this: Vsairn Medical Manufacture,” Nine drew my attention to the compound in front of us. She meant to trespass through that? There was no entrance in sight. A clang jerked my attention to where Nine was already climbing the fence. She pulled to the top and swung a leg over. Just looking at the height made my feet numb. “Hurry, we have to cross with plenty of time before curfew. Night-class hrajor burst out like hatched flies then.” In quick movement she swung to the ground. I hooked my boot to the first bar and tried to blank my mind from thoughts of slipping.
“Kjek,” Nine swore below. “Get over, a car’s coming.” I paused to look down the road. A beam was sweeping nearer up the long tunnel of buildings. Fear propelled me upwards, until finally I’m grasping at the top rail. “Baliii…” Nine moaned. How was I supposed to shift over this!? She’d made it look simple. I hugged the top bar, frozen with vertigo. Any way I moved it felt like I was going to fall. Oh God—the car-ship was a couple blocks away now. When I looked down again Nine was running, her shape blurring into the vats’ shadows. She’d abandoned me.
Shutting my eyes, I felt my way over by rolling painfully on my sternum. With grips tight enough to bruise I started down the other side. It was too late, the car was already crossing the last intersection. In panic I let myself fall. The impact folded my knees and hit my palms to the stone. Beams flashed past the fence like a single stroke of lightning, and then the car was gone. I sat there for a few seconds as feeling trickled back into my limbs. That was too damn close.
“Hey, congratulations on ‘falling’ under the radar, but can you get off your butt sometime soon? The faster we get over, the less likely we are to run into vasi personnel.” Nine was back, emerging unapologetically from hiding. Gingerly I rose to my feet. A twinge came from my right ankle, but it wasn’t bad enough to favor.
I followed Nine on a slinking path through the fleet of steel tanks. They towered meters above us. Mist had begun to rain down, coating the silver walls in droplets. The final row crowded too tightly together to pass between. By craning my neck I could see the top edge of a solid wall behind them. There was no way to climb that. Nine plunged her hand into a cavity on the side of one of the vats. In an echoing click, a panel shot back to reveal a ladder. She threw herself into a practiced climb. I took a few steadying breaths before ascending.
Past the hatch at the top of the ladder, the tank was a slippery dome of metal. Nine sat cross legged at the peak like a puffy grey Buddha. In a shuffling crawl I moved toward her, cringing at the sting of icy metal under my fingers. Her eyes seemed to be grinning under the shadow of her hood. “You’re going to like this part,” she said. The deranged giggle that followed wasn’t reassuring. She reared upward and rolled her shoulders in a stretch. In four metallic clinks she took a running jump that soared over the gap between the tanks. Her shoes slid just an inch on landing. “You can do it, bird legs,” Nine taunted with a beckon. Sure, just let me unravel my cape. I eyed the gap. It wasn’t too wide, but raindrops had gathered into rivulets down the edge. “Don’t hesitate. You hesitate, you fall. Just jump.” She couldn’t have come up with less encouraging words. Another pinch ran through my sore ankles. If many miles of alien metropolis didn’t lie between me and the portal home, I would have turned back. I set my toes in the direction of the far tank. Don’t think. Just—
The bones of my knees hit the top of the tank with a resounding clang. I’d made it. Relief won over the pain as I crawled to Nine’s perch. She had slid to the edge where the tank ran against the border wall. The top of the wall was two feet thick and comfortably flat. Only the sheer height made me reluctant to swing my legs over like Nine. I sat in a tight crouch instead, and finally looked at what lay beyond.
A blue moat of grass met the base of the fence. Grey-barked trees threw out skeletal boughs that appeared oddly furry; with a craned stare I noted tiny feather-like leaves. It was the first vegetation I’d seen in Shaian, not counting the nanomachine lawn. A few branches grew close enough to be a ladder down from the wall. The city continued on past the wild stretch, but the buildings here had a drastically different atmosphere. Modular ten-story apartments lined up in rigid formation. Instead of glossy black stone, the walls were a plain off-white. Their grids of windows were clear and lit. Shapes and tints spoke of inhabited interiors, although they were too far to see in detail. Some windows glowed with what looked like finger-painted neon designs. The apartments were like sterile tubes trying to contain the colorful human life within. Nine viewed them dispassionately, then turned back to me.
“You’ve trusted me enough to come this far...guess I don’t need this anymore.” She drew out a short piece of wire from a pocket and tossed it into the fields below. Her eyes skittered from mine in an embarrassed way. “The weapon was just a bluff. You’re larger than me, I had to keep the upper hand somehow. Although now I’m pretty sure I’m the strongest and could take you in a fight.”
“Probably,” I admitted. No sense denying that.
“Not everyone here is sympathetic to larva, so don’t expect welcome,” she said. “Keep a low hood.” Questions pounded in my head, but I couldn’t put coherent voice to them.
Nine let out a sneeze and wiped her nose. “Ugh, not again…” The back of her hand had come away smeared with blood. Without warning she pinched the fabric of my cloak with her clean hand. “Kjek, this is an actual microclimate suit. With a piece like this, I wouldn’t have to worry about nosebleeds or frostbite. Naturally only vasi can acquire these.” Her fingers lingered an uncomfortable moment. As if realizing it, Nine let go and thrust herself out on a reaching limb before picking her way down the tree. The delicate leaves crushed easily, so all I had to do was follow the marks of hand and foot prints. At last, solid ground. The rain had turned from mist to slush that coated the grass with fine ice. Nine’s step crunched as she turned to face me, eyes shaded. “I’ll trade my coat for yours in return for getting you over the border. You’ll need to ditch it anyway if you want to stay inconspicuous on this side.” I tensed. The comfortable warmth inside the suit made my exposed hands and ankles all the more bitingly cold. Crossing the city without its protection would be painful. “Even if people don’t notice your eyes, you’ll look like a high-ranker human with that on, and that can be dangerous.” She wiped more blood from under her nose and spat. “To get a high rank you either have to be a genius, a vasi suck-up, or lose a family member to their virus.”
“Lose a family member?” I parroted without meaning to. She made it sound like they died. Her expression plastered into a still mask.
“My baby sister was born vasithryn. Her name’s Lia. Hold on…did your pseudo-guardian give you access to the network? Birth family data is supposed to be confidential, but maybe the records are open to vasi.” She took a step closer. The smear of blood on her upper lip made her look unhinged. I shook my head while trying not to break eye contact.
“N-no I don’t—” I began, but gulped back the rest of my words. A shadowy figure moved between the lights from the apartments and the trees’ shade. I stood rigid and pulled my hood low, not daring to gesture for Nine’s attention. She must have sensed my sudden change anyway, because she slid a heel around to look back. The figure cut a straight line over the lawn at an intent pace. I felt relieved by the short height and light colored jacket. At least the person was human. Nine waited until they were within speaking distance before swearing, “Kjek, what are you doing here?” In the residual light I could make out a young man’s face crowded by tufts of rusty hair, eyes darting suspiciously from Nine to me.
“You answer first. Why are you here, Sena!?” His voice was hoarse. “If you get caught in the v-zones…hasn’t our family suffered enough? Don’t repeat my mistakes. Every second I imagine them doing to my sister what they did to me I want to shatter every goddamn window in the house.” The boy’s knuckles clenched. “If the Akathshi show up at our door again, mom will fall apart.”
“Jha, I—”
“Wake up!” he cut her off. “Quit chasing a ghost. Don’t you get it!? There’s no bringing Lia back. She’s one of them now.”
“She’s only four, she might still listen—”
“It doesn’t matter. If you so much as contact her, they’ll ship our family to another world. And I’m not even going to think about retaliation for attempted kidnapping.” Their panted breaths clouded the air between them. Nine—Sena—seemed to have forgotten my existence until her brother asked, “Are you dragging your friends into danger too now? Don’t you have any shame?” He turned to me. “I don’t know what Sena’s told you, but—” his voice squeaked to a close as we locked eyes, and he reared back like he’d been struck. “V-vasi!? Sena, what’s, going on!?” he chopped his words in panic.
“You’re not going to believe me even if I tell you. She’s a xie’nya, brought up by the humans of Earth,” Sena answered. “A renegade vasi is harboring her while her planet is still free from the State.”
“You’re insane!” Jhamad choked. He was shaking. “You got involved with a xie’nya? That’s treason!”
“It’s also the most amazing opportunity we’ve ever had. They’ll want to meet her.”
“They—” His mouth bobbed. “No. We’re not getting them involved in this. It’s only a matter of time before she’s caught, and they’ll duplicate the risk by wanting to use her. Don’t think we can get away with anything just by being a birther family. For treason, we’d be lucky if all they did was drop us to the lowest tier. ”
“I didn’t say you had to be involved. You’re an ex-member anyway. Let’s get indoors before I lose my nose and fingers to frostbite. You,” Sena tilted her head at me, “keep your hood low.”
“She is not coming into our apartment,” Jhamad declared in a hushed yell. Sena took two steps up to his face.
“You’re right: saving our sister is damn near impossible. But we sure as hell can help this kid who’s standing right before us. She was desperate enough to trust me, a human stranger. She’s not one of ‘them’ yet.” Jhamad turned his stare from his sister to me, and left it there for an uncomfortably long time. “You’re right...no matter what scanner I try, she really is unregistered,” he said in quiet awe. Then he continued tersely, “This is the worst idea you’ve ever had. Just try to get her in without mom or dad noticing.” I fingered the bottle of narthin that could change my eye color. Now would be a good time to use it.
“Nine,” I said to get her attention, and held up the bottle.
“Nine?” Jhamad echoed, bewildered.
“I told her to call me by my first family ID digit. Doesn’t matter now that we’ve blurted out each other’s names. Just call me Sena. What is that?” With a readying breath I pinched out a drop in each eye. The expected burn only lasted a few seconds, after which I brushed out the tears of my humanized face. Brother and sister gaped at me. “Kjek, I didn’t know morphing solutions were that easy,” Sena exclaimed. “Well. The disguise might get you past some people, but any scan will still see your face is unregistered.” She shook her head. “Knowing that vasi can blend as human is disturbing.”
“Maybe a child like her can,” said Jhamad. “But unless they have a way to make themselves shorter, their adult height would be a giveaway.” A child? I looked down at myself, confused and somewhat offended. Jhamad didn’t appear more than a few years older than I was. In what way could my fully developed body possibly be interpreted as a child? Sena started walking.
“You have a name?” she asked as I followed. It struck me that I still hadn’t given one.
“Erin.”
“Eh-ur-ihn? Never heard that one before.” She sneezed, swore, then lapsed into silence.
I tread a careful distance behind them as we approached the apartment tower. Sena’s pace was brisk, Jhamad’s skittish and jerky. Just having someone on my side—on humanity’s side—would be a relief, even if they were powerless to help.
The entrance to the apartments was wide and well-lit. The doors dematerialized in a gradient sweep as soon as we got close. Past the threshold, climate-controlled warmth relieved the aches of the past few hours. Couches sat over a white-paneled floor. Each wall broadcast some kind of information, from building maps to what looked to be weather advisories. Sena yanked my hood.
“Don’t look around like a bewildered tourist. Bo’kwo,” idiot, she whispered. “Communal areas are monitored.” I nodded meekly and traced after their heels with my head down. We halted in a nook near the door that was paneled differently from the rest of the room. Jhamad passed a hand near a mark on the wall. A glow woke over the wall’s surface, and I gasped as a pulse of heat burst through my body. Although it was only an instant of warmth, all the water and ice vanished from our clothes. Both Sena and Jhamad had gone from being drenched to dry, and had stopped shivering. That was some convenient tech.
The elevator we entered was spacious, and just as clean as the front lobby. My nose prickled at a cleanser scent. Jhamad took up the corner farthest from where I stood. His hair hung low over his eyes. The shaggy style didn’t look right on him, giving off a depressed vibe. At the end of a silent and surprisingly lengthy ride, the door opened to reveal a bright corridor. “We’re C10-2,” Jhamad muttered. He paced quickly down the hall. I couldn’t help staring out the nearest window. We were very, very high up, maybe even on the top floor. The dramatic architecture of Vsairn Medical Manufacture took most of the eastward horizon, but beyond that was the ocean of dark towers I'd been zigzagging through all afternoon. Slushy rain blurred the distance. When the window jumped to an opaque screen I flinched back. Sena coughed nearby.
“Don’t show your face to the windows too long or they show you advertisements. Unless you’re interested in those educational supplements, come on,” she said. I pulled away and continued to where Jhamad waited by a door. He tapped a finger to it and passed through when it opened.
Whatever I expected, it wasn’t this. What we walked into wasn’t a mere apartment, but a penthouse. Past a mirrored entryway, soft carpeting spread around a luxurious living room. Unlike Keiyron’s museum-like house, this place had a warm, lived-in feeling. Spindly plants grew in glass chambers on tables. The couches were thickly cushioned and set under a fleet of downward facing screens. To the side, an elevated dining room was screened by illuminated windows. Sena acknowledged my awe with a derisive snort.
“Welcome to the luxury afforded to vasi birther families. Though maybe you're used to something grander.” She shoved off her shoes and coat, feeding them to a bin slid from the wall. A hungry look formed on her face when she watched me remove my own. I set the outer piece of the uniform and the boots carefully against one mirror. I wouldn't put up a fight if she was determined to take the coat, but it wasn't mine to offer either.
“Mom's in her bedroom, and dad's doing laps in the pool,” Jhamad reported as he returned from elsewhere. He faltered in his step as his eyes landed on me.
“What are you wearing on your legs?” Sena gave voice to his concern. Both stared at my jeans. They were incongruous under the uniform's sleek black top.
“…jeans,” I shrugged.
“What are their auto-climate stats?” She seemed to be considering demanding my jeans as well as my coat.
“Sena, ask Erin-se about it later and take her to a back room. I need to start dinner before Mom does so she doesn't question why the kitchen asks about a guest's dietary plan. The house knows there's an extra person even if the people inside don't.” It felt weird hearing him add the young vasithryn honorific se to my name.
“Yeah, fine.” Sena made a rough beckon and moved down a tall arched hallway. At the rear she touched open a door to a comfortably spacious bedroom.
“Stay in here. I'll be back with food. Human food; we don't have access to the vitamin infused stuff vasi eat.”
“Zei?”
“Yeah, that.” I nodded acceptance, and she shut the door. The first thing I did once left alone was find my way to an adjoined bathroom to relieve myself. Even in the strangest of circumstances, that mundane need didn't go away. With some struggle I managed to navigate the hygiene facilities without getting soaked by the automated processes of an intelligent toilet. Multiple jets of suspiciously foamy green water cleansed my hands. When the sink flashed with heat I didn’t startle like I would have if I hadn't already experienced it in the lobby.
Sena hadn't yet returned, so I sat in a molded desk chair to wait. A few short orange hairs were caught in the chair's fabric. It didn't look like human hair. Could they have some kind of pet animal? I twirled a strand between my fingers as I thought about what to do next. I'd confirmed that the humans here didn't physically suffer under the vasithryn's rule as long as they were obedient. There was obviously a deep division between the species, distrust and separation. Still, the apartments and chaotic glows coming from deeper into the human district suggested that life continued despite a dictatorial government. So where did Sena’s anger come from? Why weren’t they allowed to see their vasithryn sister?
All the energy from my run through the city crashed now that I'd had a chance to rest. The ankle I'd pulled in the fall from the fence ached, as did most of my body. The mention of food woke my senses to a ravished hunger and thirst. All I'd had were a few spoonfuls of that bitter porridge this morning. I'd eat anything Sena could bring me.
Meanwhile, it was time to decide how I was getting home. Without the passcodes for the portal door, I would be stranded even if I could return to the portal on my own. From what Sena had said about a curfew, I’d rather not take that chance. Neither did I want to spend the night here and “go missing” in my world. That left contacting Keiyron. Oh man, he was not going to be happy when he learned where I’d gone.
“Here's what the kitchen came up with; I just copied my diet profile,” Sena said as she entered with a tray. I reached for it as soon as she set it on the desk. Compartments were filled with dishes that I had no name for but smelled good nonetheless. “Oh—Jha checked the news feeds and Akathshi public alerts, and there's no mention of trouble,” she commented as I shoveled foodstuffs into my mouth. “I guess that hrajor didn’t get a good enough glance.” In no condition to respond, I just continued chewing. “Um, look I get that you’re hungry, but most people don’t drink the bread dip.” I set the bowl down and wiped the tasty liquid from my lips. She took a moment to show me how the crackers expanded when placed in the sauce. It wasn't until I'd nearly cleaned out the tray when I tried to speak.
“Thank you,” I exhaled.
“Don’t mention it. Naa, what’s it like living in a free world? Especially one with such a high volatility rating as Earth.” It was hard to suddenly answer a question like that, and my mind stalled.
“Um...I was rather privileged, living in a middle-class American household. Tragedies happen every day in the news, but until recently I managed a mundane sort of life. I go to a nice school and try not to worry about the future.”
“At least you can chose your own future,” Sena said as she swiped at the desk. Her fingers danced one-handedy over a keyboard until a spinning globe of Earth rose from the table. I couldn’t help but touch the hologram, which turned obediently until I found North America. There was no sensation as my fingers passed through the surface.
“Most people are happy with vasi rule,” Sena spoke as I played with the projection. “Our lives are planned out before we’re born, so we don’t have to worry about a future. From three to thirty we’re pushed through the school system, then aptitude tests assign a career. If we stay in line, we earn credit to afford a family. More kids are shoved into uniforms. People are grateful the vasi take care of society so they can live predictable, leash led lives. Some of them probably never even get a glimpse of the ‘intelligent species’ that regulates every aspect of the world, aside from seeing them in newscasts.” She took a breath, scrolling through the texts on the desk’s surface. I was unable to read a thing. “It’s true that their totalitarian rule enforces peace. Educators love to remind us how unruly human-led societies are, and how fortunate we are to have a higher species to lead us.” She gave a short, exhaled laugh. “You wanted to know what living under State rule is like. Depending on who you ask, it’s heaven or hell.”
“This house looks pretty heavenly,” I said with a glance about the luxury laden room. Her face immediately tightened.
“You think wealth and a pretty house bring happiness? Every inch of this damned place makes me sick because it reminds me what it cost us to get it. I’d rather live in lowest-tier cell apartments than like this.”
“What did it cost you?” I asked. The girl’s riled stance made me nervous. When she didn’t answer, I carefully added, “Y-your vasithryn sister, Lia...you were looking for her, right? Why aren’t you allowed to see her?”
“Why aren’t we allowed to see her?” Sena mocked. “They don’t want us sullying her mind with our human inadequacies. Seed-borns are taken within minutes of emerging from the womb, and their birth family never sees them again. When mom was first confirmed to be pregnant and the v-viral check was positive, the hospital bombarded our net addresses with educational packets to prepare us. All this crap about how much honor our family had been blessed with, and what a wonderful life our sister would have. All so we wouldn’t put up a fuss. We weren’t even supposed to name her, form any kind of attachment. Then once she’s gone, they distract us with material goods and worthless luxuries. As ‘payment,’” she spat. All the food I’d just consumed felt like it had turned to bile in my stomach. “What’s wrong, did Keiyron-arshir conveniently forget to explain the separation rule?” she said sarcastically in reaction to my look. A dull roar of high blood pressure rang in my ears as I asked,
“But...why? Even if a vasithryn needs different education, why can’t their biological family be a part of their life?” Sena spread her arms to emphasize her sarcastic grin.
“Because we’re such a terrible bad influence. Emotionally unstable humans, dangerous, selfish, and un-evolved. They don’t trust us to lead our own lives, much less the lives of previous vasithryn.”
“But surely human society doesn’t just let them claim infants!”
“You’d be surprised. Every decade a few children are taken by Seed. Only those families pay a sacrifice, so everyone else pretends not to see the cost of vasi rule. We’re so sedated by peace that protest isn’t a real concept anymore.”
“Keiyron, he, he never told me...” A new seed of fear had been planted inside me, strangling my voice. Keiyron’s picture of vasithryn-governed society was too perfect to be real. From the beginning of this expedition I’d dreaded finding some ugly truth. But that was also why I’d been so willing to follow Sena. I had to know.
“Typical vasi,” spouted Sena. Just then there was movement at the door. Jhamad slipped in and sealed the door behind him.
“You’re lucky Mom won’t come out of her virtual reality shows for another hour,” he said as he approached us at the desk. “Erin-se will have time to sneak out again. Every minute she stays here is more risky for us.” I felt a bit crowded sitting there with both of them at my sides. Especially with the boy eyeing me like an exotic animal. “How long is she staying?”
“I’m not missing a chance to talk to someone from a free world. There’s so much I want to ask we’d be here past curfew to get to half of it,” said Sena. “But you’re right, she can’t stay. Mom and Dad are good people, but they’re cowards. They can’t find out.” She picked one of the leftover curry-flavored chips off my tray and crunched it between her teeth. “I still wonder what Keiyron-arshir is getting out of helping a xie’nya. I didn’t know vasi were capable of being sympathetic.” I thought back to Keiyron’s harsh expression as he told me he pitied me.
“He’s let me come and go from Earth freely. I want to trust him...even though he didn’t tell me the whole truth.” We were going to have a confrontation about that as soon as I got back. The siblings shared an unreadable look.
“I would not offer him my trust, were I you,” said Jhamad. “He is an anomaly. There must be something more to this motivation.”
“Whatever his game is, she’s stuck relying on him for now. If my egg were scrambled, I’d stowaway to one of the manufacturing industry planets where it’s easier to steal zei.” What? Was my translator malfunctioning? It took a moment to realize what Sena meant. Human eggs were genetically modified—scrambled—by Seed viruses. Scrambled eggs and larva…the local opinion of ‘vasi’ was definitely unsavory. “There’s rumor of a whole underground society of xie’nya in Durhrin,” she continued through a mouthful.
“You mean the stories Fhaskil tells when drunk? He doesn’t even have any connections in Durhrin,” Jhamad shook his head. He raked a hand through his scruffy hair to move it from his eyes.
“Not directly. But the rumors might have gotten started from some grain of truth,” Sena insisted. Her brother made a coughing noise of scorn.
“When the vasithryn State first moved into Shaian and demanded infected children, wasn’t there war?”
“How old do you think we are?” said Sena. “Shaian’s annexation was over a millennia ago. If there was war, they never taught us about it. History texts only like reminding us how violent we were before the vasi came and made peace. If you want a recent example of what to expect when those—” and then she said untranslatable words that made Jhamad cringe, “isvil dumŭr enslave a universe and call it philanthropy, look up Tashili. If you can find any information that isn’t filtered and redacted, that is.”
“Sena!” exclaimed Jhamad.
“What? She’s xie’nya, she wasn’t brought up vasi, it’s not an insult to her.”
“S-still…” The boy flicked his gaze to me and away. I shifted awkwardly and tried not to burp from my influx of food.
“What’s Tashili?” I managed to ask.
“The State’s most recently acquired world,” said Sena. “Seed-born were discovered there half a century ago. It’s not too surprising Earth’s been infected now as well, what with all those exo-universe research companies punching portals everywhere.” Her round face flushed with new intensity as she leaned in. “Which makes the Yindu’kan’s role increasingly important.” Jhamad stirred at her words, then fell still again. The name meant something along the lines of Assertion of Humanity. Sena’s fingertips lightly pulled at my arm. “Most Shaian humans are acquiescent to vasi rule, but the Yindu’kan are a small group of dissenters. They’re whom I got that face scrambler from. They can’t perform miracles like keeping your world safe, but they can at least give you tools to hide. And in return…” Her nails scraped my arm as her fist closed. “You can bring us materials and information from Earth. We might even be able to smuggle people there, as long as Keiyron-arshir doesn’t get in the way.”
“Erin-se,” Jhamad interrupted, “you do not have to go along with this. Your world’s freedom is too high a stake to risk. The Yindu’kan have been degrading for years. Now it is little more than a support group for birther families, rather than a resistance.”
“That’s exactly why we need her help!” Sena rose from her seat. “The chance to meet the first Seed-born of a new world before the authorities do—that’s the most exciting piece of news the group has had this generation. It will give us purpose.” I found myself leaning back from her proximity. “You don’t have to decide tonight,” she said to me. “I’ll need to discuss it with the group first anyhow. Just give me a way to contact you. Did your vasi benefactor give you a way to communicate without an ID?”
“Something called a shkieroth bracelet.” I pulled apart the cuff fastener of my right sleeve and drew it back. Sena squinted at it.
“Is it just really thin or is that in your arm?” Her voice held a trace of disgust.
“I-I’m not sure. Keiyron said only adult vasithryn can remove it.” My nails traced the scratches along the edges that had begun to heal over.
“Typical vasi, implanting shit how they like,” she muttered. “Even the ones that help you feel entitled to your body.” Queasiness ate again at my stomach, and I dropped my arm to my lap. “Vasithryn have perfect memory for numbers, right? My ID is 41-4-612-902-934-4.” The number latched into my brain as soon as she said it. “Jha’s the same except a three at the end instead of a four. Send me a message so I get the device address.”
“Er...I don’t know how to use it other than fast-dialing Keiyron…” I said uneasily.
Sena picked up the food tray while asking, “Jhamad, can you show her?”
While Sena was gone, Jhamad patiently explained the gestures to manipulate further functions of the shkieroth. Thankfully I had never accidentally opened a holographic menu while in public back home. We came to an impasse when I noted that the only text input was in characters that as of yet I could not read, but Keiyron would probably teach me if I asked.
“Please don’t give details of my sister and I to your vasithryn benefactor,” Jhamad was saying when Sena returned. “Nor anything regarding the Yindu’kan. No matter how well you trust him.”
“Of course I won’t. Thank you for telling me what I needed to know.”
“Here—” A blue coat dropped from Sena’s arms into my lap. “Take this, in exchange for the microclimate suit. Don’t look at me like that, I’m leaving you with the shirt piece and those jeans. I deserve something for all this.” I didn’t bother to point out that my jeans offered no protective specs whatsoever. The coat crushed leathery soft under my hands. It didn’t warp to my body like the one I had been wearing, but fastened naturally over my shoulders. It was a bit small, but I actually liked this one better. The vasithryn clothing felt weirdly alive, like I was wearing a film of skin cells. “Not my fault vasi are gargantuan,” Sena snorted when pulling the jacket barely made it reach my hips. Thanking her didn’t seem appropriate considering she didn’t give me a choice about the trade, so I kept silent.
Jhamad touched open the door and took a careful glance down the hall. “I’ll make sure our parents are out of the way. Please, Erin-se—”
“Just call me Erin,” I interjected.
“Erin. It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but...this isn’t something our family can afford to get too involved in. Make your own choice about the Yindu’kan, but don’t come back here. It’d be best to leave as soon as possible.” He managed to meet my eyes.
“I understand. I’ll contact Keiyron to transport me home.” I clenched my hands over my lap. Jhamad bowed and left the room.
“Don’t worry about Jha, he’s been nervous ever since his arrest,” said Sena. “He was the one who discovered the way over the wall, and used it to go looking for Lia. Now he has just...given up.” I had no words to return to that, but Sena didn’t expect any. I followed her cautiously back into the hall. We were nearly at the living room when a glittery creature the size of a hummingbird whirred around the corner. It made a fizzing sound like rubbing insect wings. I flattened myself to the wall, ready to panic. Next around the corner, an orange mass of fur skid wildly to a halt, tail whipping fast enough to make me think there were two of them. I realized I was looking at a very large cat. The cat’s jaws chomped down on the glittery thing, which continued to whir feebly.
“Take your toy somewhere else.” Sena gave the animal a gentle push on the flank with her foot. Instead of moving, the cat hunched down, fur puffing. A warning growl made me back up.
“What’s wrong with Truegold, did you pull one of his tails?” Jhamad asked as he approached.
“Cats don’t like me,” I laughed nervously. Under a still-fluttering mouthful, Truegold’s paws flexed as if calculating whether he were big enough to take me on. My eyes widened at the sight of his twin tails.
“Truegold, what’s wrong?” Jhamad exclaimed. “Sorry, he’s usually friendly. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” Sena shoved more firmly against his flank, sending him scurrying away.
“Cats aren’t fooled by disguises. He knows she’s a grub,” she said. Jhamad’s eyes flickered past my face, embarrassed. Sena pushed past him and headed for the entryway.
“Don't call her that,” Jhamad sputtered.
“It's fine,” I said. He looked upset.
“No, it’s not. You don’t deserve to be called that. Look, I...I can't imagine what you’re going through. Just finding out about the multiverse would be hard enough. And then to learn that your planet may soon be subjugated by the same alien species responsible for your abnormal birth… You’re a braver person than I am to come here looking for information rather than break down.” Who says I’m not breaking on the inside? I bit the inside of my mouth to stop the swell of words. My method of coping was apparently to dive stupidly into danger, trying to shake out answers that would make the panicked part of my mind stop screaming. In dreams, running head on at a monster was an effective way to wake up. No matter how sure I was of reality, the insanity of this situation still gave me the same urge.
“When Lia was taken,” Jhamad continued, “I spent so much time angry and in pity for my family. I never really thought about what it must be like for her. She never knew us, so I assumed she wouldn’t care. But, at least in the beginning of her life, I’m sure there’s a part of her that’s still human. That wonders about us.” He pushed hair from his eyes, blinking rapidly. “That’s why...I’m sorry for pushing you away. All I can do is advise you to cherish your family—your real family—as long as fate allows.” Not trusting myself to speak over the knot in my throat, I just nodded.
“It’s more practical to advise her how to survive without getting caught,” said Sena at the house entrance. She hugged my microclimate suit to her chest as if afraid I might steal it back.
“That’s not going to be convincing, coming from me.” Jhamad’s voice turned low and sulky. I knelt to slip my boots back on as Sena checked down the outer hall.
“Snow’s worse,” she remarked. The windowed walls were distorted by a static of white flurries. Snow was something I'd only ever experienced on brief vacations to the mountains, so the scene both dazzled and intimidated me. I walked toward my reflection and watched the flakes vanish into the dark ten-story abyss below.
“Good luck, Erin.” In the door-frame, Jhamad’s eyes carried a lonely Saint Bernard stare even when he smiled.
“You're going to need it,” Sena laughed mirthlessly. “The sooner you get off this world, the better. Send a message when you can.” She looked sidelong at her brother, clearly not wanting to bring up the Yindu-kan again in front of him. “Bye…Erin.” She pronounced my name in three disjointed syllables. I wrapped her coat around my body and met her gaze.
“I’m grateful for your help,” I said. “Goodbye.” My shoulders dipped in a slight bow before I turned away. It seemed appropriate. I thought I heard someone give a shaky exhale, but by the time I looked back their door had shut.
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The lobby was still vacant. Mindful of watching cameras, I let my hair shield the sides of my face as I moved toward the transparent front door. Even with my facial disguise, I was nervous about crossing paths with another resident. The park’s trees would make me feel safer. Seeing the twinkling Christmas lights over my dorm bed would feel like a miracle, I thought as the door parted for me. All I wanted to do now was curl up like a child.
Moving outside the building’s field of heat was a shock. I drew Sena’s cloak around me and pushed forward. The streets were mysteriously clear of snow, which melted the instant it touched the black surface. I skirted around the apartment tower and dashed for the trees like a feral animal. Grass and snow dampened my footsteps. On the far side of a thick trunk I stopped and panted mist into the air. Exhaustion and cold made my limbs tremble. Sena’s coat was too tightly fit to pull over my knees, but I crouched down and hugged into my upper body’s warmth. Residue city light barely penetrated the shadows under the trees. In the cold dark I searched for the will to confess my predicament to Keiyron. Our mutual risk meant he had to save me to protect himself, but he could still give me hell while doing it.
Before I had even touched the shkieroth, a shrill beep from the bracelet made my heart jump. Blue light burst into a long string of Sathrian numbers. Oh god, Keiyron was probably calling me. That meant he'd just noticed where my shkieroth was signaling from. A nervous bubble of laughter burst into a short cough. I forced my finger down to touch the bracelet. With a blank mind I whispered a timid, “Yes?” A moment of silence teased my nerves.
“Order save you, what are you doing in the Kuorhai district?!” Frantically I shoved my wrist against my chest to stifle his yell.
“I can explain,” I said in a hush. “But first, please say you can come pick me up. My chances of making it back across a robot-patrolled city in a snowstorm are small.”
“I would say the chance of you safely getting to where you are now is just as negligible, and yet you've done the impossible. What insanity drove you to wander through a world you know nothing about?”
“I had to see for myself how humanity is treated. The only sure way to know was to ask those already under vasithryn rule. I wanted to trust you, Keiyron, I really did.” My voice caught and turned high. “When were you going to tell me about the birth-family separation?” There was a beat of silence.
“I intended to tell you once you had time to adjust to everything else, and I could be sure you would be stable enough to handle it. That policy is one of the main reasons why I am sheltering you. You are the oldest xie’nya in history, and removing you from your family is likely to cause great psychological damage. I’ve witnessed the effects on children of Tashili.”
“So your government really would separate me from Mom?” The thought as a vise on my chest.
“Following normal procedure, yes. We can request that your mother have visitation rights. Your case is exceptional enough that they may allow it. But I can’t make promises. All we can do now is extend what time you have left.”
“But—”
“We can speak more about this later. It’s a miracle you weren’t caught, though I can see by the darting path of your location history that you were evading watchers. Thank order you were at least clever enough for that.” I was glad he couldn’t see me squirm as I thought of Sena saving me from the hrajor. “Do you have the narthin drops I gave you?” he asked.
“Yes, I've already used them.”
“Good. Stay hidden where you are. I should arrive soon.” Before I could make a noise of affirmation, the shkieroth light went dark.
That went as well as could be hoped. I rolled my knuckles over my aching stomach. Keiyron was angry, but he was also rational. The first priority was to get me out of here as soon as possible.
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For the next fifteen minutes I focused on mentally reciting song lyrics to myself as a distraction from the numbing cold. Every so often I brushed snow from my hair and rocked back and forth to keep blood flowing in my limbs. I tried not to imagine what might happen if Keiyron didn’t show up. Could I even figure out how to use Sena’s number before freezing? Her digits looped in my head: four one, four six, one two...
Ghostly light rippled through the trees at my back. Around the edge of my trunk, I watched as a car-ship floated parallel to the curb. Lights haloed out from its underbelly, dimming when the ship came to a slow stop. I covered the visible streams of my breath and waited. Finally a door blinked open. A tall figure rose from the cabin, made hazy by the ship's beams. Until I was sure it was Keiyron, I didn't dare move. The person waved open a midair screen. The distance was too great to make out what was displayed. Seconds later their head turned to stare in my direction.
“Erin! Come,” Keiyron's voice directed across the field. I stumbled to a standing position, wincing on stiffened limbs. One ankle was especially throbbing. My boots crunched over the frozen grass toward the car-ship. Near the lit street, Keiyron's face came into view. The sight scored me with unease. His eyes were set with raptor focus. I couldn't read it as anger, but there was something seething and dangerous in the lines of his brow.
“Kei—” I cut off as his hand pulled back and sliced through the air in front of me. Electric pain slammed into my head in an instant migraine, the shock of it felling me to the ground. Acid heat coiled in my skull and ran down my veins. I spat out a cough, rasping for air. It hurts it hurts— The initial pain quickly faded, but shock kept me from standing. Keiyron hauled me to my feet by my shoulders. I jerked free, mouthing empty words while wiping tears from my cheeks. He jabbed a finger toward the open back door of the car.
“Get in. Don’t argue, unless you’d like a second experience of what being nrshiathed feels like. Xsiani is right; a xie’nya is too unpredictable to be trusted.” I made another attempt to get something past my lips, but the man’s eyes scared me to silence. I was too tired to argue.
The inside of the car-ship was warm. After shrugging off Sena's damp coat I pressed my limbs to the cushions. The clean smell of them stuck in my nose. Keiyron entered the front and immediately set the vehicle moving in a one-eighty degree spin, accelerating alongside a long block of apartment towers. “When we near the zone gate, hide in the rear compartment. Pull down the level over the middle seat.” I uncurled from the heated cushions to feel for the lever. My fingers dipped into a nook, and with a quick squeeze, a narrow panel yawned open. Suddenly my stomach dropped in vertigo and I fell back. The car had risen around a steep curve. From our new altitude I looked out over a fantasy artist's dream of highways. From the outside the sky-lanes had been invisible, but through the car's windows, neon-bright lines sketched a second layer of roads through the city. Ghostly holographic lanes swooped between a forest of buildings leading deeper into the humans' sector. The scrambled architecture that way was a hybrid of the vasithryn's sharp glacial forms and more familiar concrete high-rises. Some buildings had wings of the alien design latched on in merged expansions.
We swooped a graceful turn toward a main artery ten lanes wide. There was some traffic here, although the silence of the car-ships was jarringly peaceful compared to the roar of Earth highways. As soon as we merged in with them I could see that the road headed straight between the gate towers. “Hide now,” Keiyron commanded. Shoving Sena's coat in first, I crawled into the hole and felt blindly for the walls. A hum brought the panel closed behind me. It was pitch black. The space was big enough that I could just barely sit upright.
The pull of inertia told me when the car slowed to a stop. I breathed slowly, this time reciting through the periodic table to keep calm. Two seconds of stillness, then we were moving again. Light entered the space as the panel snapped open.
“We're through,” Keiyron called when I hesitated to emerge. “Now is a good time for you to explain how you managed to climb over a twenty meters high zone line.” Talking was the last thing I felt like doing, but I crawled back to the comfort of the seats. Through the rear window were the massive structures holding open a gap in the wall. They looked like two robotic fingers facing each other, fields of light flashing on and off to cue the vehicles passing through on both sky and street level.
“I found a ladder. And a tree,” I returned vaguely. Tightness stuck to my voice. The brutal way he'd hurt me was unforgivable, and my mind hadn't yet settled whether to regard him with anger or fear.
“You crossed through a manufacturing plant. You're telling me there happened to be a ladder leading over the wall?”
“Not exactly...the ladder was on a tank close to the wall summit.” Keiyron’s bright eyes caught mine for a moment before I looked hastily at the floor.
“You’re certainly a lot more tenacious than I gave you credit for. If only you were equally sensible. No matter what you saw by crossing the city, one child can’t change Earth’s fate. All you accomplished was the possibility of hastening the annexation, had you been caught.” I shoved forward to the edge of the seat.
“So you expect me to just hope for the best when I’m told my world is going to be invaded? You’re the one who hid the most important part of the truth! And why do people keep referring to me as a child!? I’m taller than most adults, human adults anyway.” There was a curt sigh from the front.
“You are a child, by our species’ measure. ‘Childhood’ is the period prior to passing an exam that grants adulthood status, rather than an exact number of years. We measure maturity by intelligence, not time.” His chair swiveled smoothly to face the rear. I was unprepared to face him directly, and scooted immediately back. “Humans under State care have a life expectancy of two hundred years. Vasithryn, some two thousand.” Keiyron’s mouth kept moving, but whatever words he spoke were lost in the roar of my pulse in my ears. It made sense that in a more advanced society, lifespans would be extended. But...two thousand...did he really say two thousand? No matter how many times the number echoed, my head couldn’t process the idea of a life that spanned millennia. So much of my psyche was built around acceptance of an eighty to one hundred year existence.
“H-how old are you!?” I squeaked an interruption. Keiyron looked annoyed that he’d been cut off mid-sentence, but answered anyway.
“Six hundred twenty-two. I passed the exam in my five hundred and eighth year. You bring up a good point in explaining your behavior; I haven’t been around a person your age in nearly a century, and have forgotten just how emotionally driven that stage can be.” I gave him a curdled look that was ignored. Considering how afraid I was of the power in the vasithryn’s hands, I managed defiance very well.
“If I’m only a child, why did you,” my throat caught, “why did you do that…” I made a feeble swinging motion with my hand. Keiyron crossed his arms unapologetically.
“I nrshiathed you because you are a child who did a very stupid thing. Even under normal circumstances, wandering the city alone—especially in the human zones—can be dangerous. Despite the lack of serious crime, there are still hazards. I can’t recall a time I’ve ever felt so panicked as when I saw your location was in Kuorhai. I thought perhaps the portal had malfunctioned, or you’d been discovered…” Passing lights from the street moved across his face as he drew in breath. “Anyone or anything with network-enabled eyes would be alerted by your unregistered face.” He studied the blue coat clenched in my lap. “Did you get the answers you sought from Tal, Nataila, Jhamad and Sena?” I flinched and gaped. The two names I’d sworn to keep secret were known to him before I’d even mentioned my encounter. “Remember, I observed your location history,” he explained, “and looked into the apartment you entered.”
“...If it weren’t for Sena, I might not have made it,” I confessed weakly. “Please help me keep their family safe. They are good people.”
“Their crime is no different than mine, if they are aware of your status. I’ve remotely programmed your shkieroth to reset its data every twenty-four hours. Traces of your time here must be erased, for everyone’s sake. But that does not mean I trust family nine-three-four.” The numbers struck me with familiarity; I’d been repeating that string not long ago, as part of Sena’s ID.
“They won’t betray me,” I said. “They have good reason to be sympathetic; their Seed-born baby sister was taken by vasi.” Keiyron’s expression snapped back into a frown.
“Do not, ever, use the short term vasi. The word carries insulting connotation carried over from the time of Shaian’s conquest.” The urge to repeat the other offensive words I’d learned was hard to resist. Just to see the look on his face. But I didn’t quite dare after his violence against me earlier. Instead I hunched down into the seat.
“If my baby sister had been kidnapped I’d be bitter too,” I threw back.
“It is not kidnapping. Biological parents are thoroughly trained to understand what is best for their child from the moment conception is verified. Our children are fostered in order to provide them with a safe and adequate environment. It would be abusive to leave them in the care of their birth-family; humans don’t have the capacity to nurture the mental and physical strengths of a vasithryn child. Most biological parents are pleased to transfer custody.”
“What!? Why!?” I exclaimed.
“Some are grateful their child is gifted with superior capabilities and a longer, more meaningful life. And they are well compensated.” Keiyron folded his arms and released his straight gaze to the window. “I hear there are also some who reject Seed-born because of speciesism, despite the infant coming from their own body.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. My throat grew tight. “But vasithryn are the most arrogantly racist of all if they think humans are so uncouth that they can’t even be allowed to visit their own Seed-born children. What about parents who do love their child?”
“Like I said, they are adequately compensated.”
“That’s not an answer. Are you...are you seriously supportive of this law?” I asked with a note of a tremble. My nails dug into my palms to keep myself from crying. I did not want to cry and appear any more like a child in front of this man. Keiyron gave a short whistle of an exhale.
“Not entirely. Our children do need to be fostered, but personally I see no issue with birth-family visitation. But that is not for me to decide.”
“My mom raised me as well as she could, given my inexplicable health issues,” I said. My mind raced over all the trouble the Seed virus had caused my family. My parents’ splitting, Mom’s deteriorating mental state…
“You were raised in an ungoverned human society on one of the most dangerous known worlds. Relative to our standards, your education is negligible. It will take years of reconditioning to recover your lost potential. By any measure your past is one of unprecedented neglect.” A strangled cough left my mouth.
“Thanks for those flattering presumptions.” Whether or not he understood sarcasm, Keiyron didn’t respond. Outside, the black glacier buildings of the vasithryn residential district whipped by under slushy rainfall. “I don’t care what your government thinks,” my voice rose, muffled in the dim interior. “I’m not abandoning Mom.” Keiyron held my glare softly without opposition.
“Your mother shall receive the best of care, regardless of the verdict,” he returned after a moment. “And if my crime has not eradicated my reputation, I shall do all I can to prevent your separation. Human lives are fleetingly short, and I would not have you miss your mother’s final years. There is no harm to your personality that has not been done already.” I gave a sarcastic laugh, then fell to heavy consideration.
“...I can understand why you didn’t tell me all this right away,” I permitted. “And you say you’re still willing to risk defying the State. So I’ll give trusting you another chance. No more lies or omissions. I’ve made it this far, I deserve to know the whole truth.”
“Very well,” said Keiyron with a wry smile. “Then I will give you a chance in return. No more reckless adventures without my permission.”
“Granted. I never want to set foot alone in Shaian’s city again.” I folded my right leg over my lap. Ignoring etiquette, I slid off the boot in order to massage my weak ankle. Hopefully my feet didn’t smell too bad in the enclosed airspace.
“Is that an injury?” he immediately asked.
“It’s fine. Just pulled a muscle. I’m not the most graceful parkour artist.” My ankle wasn’t going to be the only part of me sore as heck tomorrow. Keiyron’s chair turned as he opened a compartment in the front. A soft plastic sleeve was tossed into my lap.
“Use that bandage around your ankle,” he said as the car-ship pulled parallel to the portal entrance. His door opened and he stepped out. I was left to fuss with plastering the damp wrapping to my skin. It was thick and gelatinous like rice paper, and stank of medicine.
This nightmare was almost over. As soon as I left this universe behind and made it back to the beautiful, messy reality of Earth, I could crash on my bed and for a few hours pretend everything was normal. I could pretend that Earth’s peril wasn’t potentially my fault.
After both boots were on my feet I joined his side, hunched against the wet winds. Keiyron tapped the lettering on the door like a magician casting magic runes. Once we were underground I was able to stop shivering, and wipe my face clear of ice. “I’ll walk with you to the center. Our last destination order will have long since been reset,” he declared, already moving. I dragged lifelessly behind. There was the small silver box and clothing I’d left behind an endless few hours ago. The journey had damaged my spirit from an unexpected angle. I’d feared for humanity, but it seemed the greatest trauma of State rule was the fate of vasithryn themselves. Namely, the fate of Seed-born and their families. The need to see Mom and make sure she was safe gripped my thoughts. There were still three days until she would arrive on campus to drive Terra and me home.
After working for a time on the control panel, the man’s eyes traveled critically over my disheveled form, as though formulating some new lecture. My fingers combed hair strands self-consciously behind my ears.
“You should take zei with a meal as soon as you return,” he said as his fingertips steadied my elbow.
“O-okay.” I hadn’t noticed how I was listing from exhaustion.
“Contact us with your shkieroth if anything happens—and especially if you have any more doubts that need counseling. For everyone’s sake, it is in your best interest to trust me. Do nothing risky on your own.” As soon as he said that, Sena’s words on the Yindu’kan came traitorously to mind.
“I’ll try...I will,” I amended under his stare. In the same breath I said, “When can you teach me Shaian’s alphabet?”
“I’ll send you a transliteration chart.” He gestured quickly through some screens. I startled as light glowed from my shkieroth. A glyph shone on its surface. When I instinctively touched it, a familiar screen appeared before my eyes, one I’d seen during Jhamad’s hologram computer tutorial. Keiyron stood uncomfortably close in order to show me how to use the program. I pretended alien email was all new to me, if only so I wouldn’t have to bring up Sena’s family again. Contacting Sena would have to wait until I was more literate. Not that I was eager to do so just yet. A clang shot from my heel as I stepped backward. Keiyron had abruptly leaned to be nearer face level. As if reading my mind he said,
“I forbid you from contacting family nine-three-four again. Both those children have multiple law infractions including acts of aggression. Their behavior and opinions do not well represent the mind of Shaian’s populace, so it was foul fortune that you met them first.”
“Their anger is justified!”
“Emotions can be justified, but aggression born from them is not. For their safety as much as yours, cease your association.” I tightened my jaw and said nothing. At least he hadn’t pushed on the fact that Sena had stolen the fancy coat he’d gifted me with.
“One last point,” he said. “that bears repeating. I understand that you are currently living independently at the university. It goes against moral reason to allow children this sort of freedom in such a violent country, but such is your culture. Remember that you may contact me for advice.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine. Living in a dorm may be hazardous to my sanity, but I’ll be safe as long as there’s Ibprophen in my closet and a lock on my door.”
“Nonetheless, be careful. If I do not hear from you, I’ll attempt contact on the first of December.” I nodded and stepped around him to pick up my belongings. The pain in my ankle, I noticed, had gone completely. “Goodbye, Erin,” he spoke at my back. “I’ll remain in the lobby to see you off and ensure that you leave properly this time.”
“Hah. Believe me, I want to go home just as much as you want to be rid of me,” I laughed wearily. Keiyron gave a faint twitch of a smile and turned to leave. “Thank you again...for rescuing me,” I said, and hugged my things to my chest.
“...I will continue to protect you, even if it is from your own foolishness.”
“You make it hard to be grateful when you put things like that,” I sighed.
“Good night Erin,” he dismissed with a final nod, and continued his walk to the distant lobby. His tall form wavered like an ink blot as he crossed through the energy field. I swallowed dryly.
“Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you for hurting me,” I muttered. My attention returned to the array of screens. Relief sighed through my shoulders as I found the waiting button and laid a finger to it. I was going home.
The screens flickered and changed, a billboard-sized presentation of alien letters filling the air overhead. My pupils burned against a dazzle of light and static energy. I shut my eyes in preparation of what was to come. Painful ringing filled my ears, like the time I’d listened to that high pitched ringtone adults can’t hear. An electric whirlwind teared through every particle of my body, and I felt as though I were falling in all directions at once. Only the thought of going home kept my mind from breaking. The moment I saw Chel’s face I was going to burst into tears of joy, and she could officially write me off as her mentally special suite-mate.
The vibrations eating into my muscles faded, leaving me with the unsteady sensation of having just gotten off a vile mix of roller coasters and falling elevators. Blinking milky white glare from my eyes, I tried to figure out which way was up and down. Something hard and uncomfortable pressed at my back, so that must be the ground. My vision opened to a black arc of sky overhead. A sneeze built up in my sinuses, and my finger pressed under my nose to stifle it. I’d been in and out of heat and cold so often in the past few hours it was no wonder that I’d made myself sick again. Sensation warmed up my body in a slow ache. The ground under my fingers was rough and grainy like concrete. With clenched fists I did a fast sit up, groaning when the world dipped and spun. After a minute of clenching my head the dizziness settled down, and I was able to look properly at my surroundings. Street lamps winked pallid light over the driveway circle in front of the dorms. This was a much more acceptable entry point than the last time. The cracked sidewalk and concrete dorm buildings look shabby after my adventure through Shaian’s pristine city, but I loved every inch of their grimy normality.245Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5peNPx3EGa
