Eva allowed herself to drift off to sleep, snuggled tightly in her duvet.
It was a bright, sunny morning. Only a faint chill to the air hinted that autumn was approaching. Eva woke to find herself in her own bed. She had a vague memory of Alison and Katie leading her back here the night before and tenderly tucking her in. Eva got up and pulled on a loose yellow sweatshirt and grey leggings and headed for the communal kitchen to make toast for breakfast. She felt surprisingly positive this morning. Someone had left black toast crumbs in the butter, but even that couldn’t spoil her mood.
After breakfast she wandered outside, out across the scrubby grass to her circle of limes where she gazed up at the leaves. Some were already yellowing in promise of autumn. The ground was wet; it soaked through the cuffs of her leggings, yet she didn’t care.
When Nicolas suddenly poked his head out from among the trees at the other side of the clearing and beckoned her toward him, she wasn’t at all surprised. She got to her feet and followed him into the strip of woodland that separated the Center from the nearby main road. Old cans and stained fast-food wrappers littered the woodland floor. The sound of fast-moving traffic filtered through the trees. Nicolas led her to Alison and Katie, standing in a tiny clearing by a patch of nettles and a hawthorn tree. Alison nodded at Eva as she approached. Katie was staring at an old beer can, an odd expression on her face.
“Eva,” Alison said.
“Alison,” Eva replied. Alison looked at Katie and came to a decision.
“Eva. Do you know that we’re being watched?”
Eva looked at Alison and frowned. “Well, yes. Everyone is being watched. Of course I know that.”
Alison shook her head. “No. I’m not talking about Social Care. That’s just something that’s been concocted so that the people in charge can say that they’re concerned about our well-being. We point to the poor souls that have been blinded by laser weapons and they say, ‘Who, us? Why should we do that? The world is a better place thanks to us. Look at all the money we spend on Social Care.’”
“Yeah,” Nicolas said. “It’s like the way the petroleum companies used to spend money on conservation projects: a way of presenting a clean image.”
“I’m sure there’s more to Social Care than just that. Some of them really believe in what they’re doing.”
“Okay,” Alison said impatiently. “Maybe that’s true. The point is, though, there’s an awful lot of information being collected about us. Did it ever occur to you that someone, or something, is behind all that watching? It’s not just about a collection of people or computer programs watching over us for our own protection. There’s something more sinister occurring.”
Eva smiled. “I have heard it talked about. It’s just the paranoia of our times. Back in the twentieth century, people thought that they should be looking in the phone system for an evolving intelligence plotting as it listened to their conversations.”
“Did they?” Alison said, looking impressed. “I never knew that. Well, this isn’t paranoia. It’s true. Katie thinks so, and we think she’s right. Katie is always right. It’s different when you’re here in the Center, a little bit removed from the rest of the world. You get to look at things from a distance. There’s something out there watching us. And we’re not sure why.”
“It’s trying to make us do something,” Nicolas said.
The looks on the faces of the others convinced Eva that they believed what they were saying. Eva chose her words with care.
“It’s trying to make you do what?”
Alison glanced at Katie, who shook her head. Alison spoke in low tones.
“We don’t know. We think it’s trying to bring us to itself.”
Eva picked a leaf from the nearby hawthorn tree. She rolled it between her fingers, staining them green with fresh-smelling juice.
“What makes you think that?”
Alison spoke haltingly. “We have ideas of escape. Opportunities present themselves, but we’re suspicious of them. Are they our ideas, or is something putting them our way? It’s difficult to explain-”
Nicolas interrupted: “A few weeks ago we watched a TV program about life in the free Russian States, where there’s a charter guaranteeing no monitoring of citizens. And then, the next day, Katie comes upon details on the net of cheap train fares to get there. Coincidence, or not?”
Alison spoke up. “I have a dream about walking down to the gate and hitching a ride from a red Mitsubishi van. Nicolas and Katie are already hiding in the back. I even dream about how to disable the onboard sensors so our passage is not detected. The next day I’m walking by the gate and I see the same van from my dream. Exactly the same van, down to the company colors on the side and the dent in the bumper. How could I know that would happen?”
Eva ran her fingers through her hair and frowned. “You’re saying that the Watcher planted the idea in your head? How?”
“I don’t know.” Alison shrugged. “But it knows everything about me. It must know how to push my buttons. Maybe it placed some sort of subliminal influences in the programs I watched just before going to bed.”
“Of course, we could just be paranoid. We are a bunch of loonies, after all,” put in Nicolas helpfully. He gave a nervous laugh.
“But I don’t think so,” Alison said. She gazed at Eva intently. “We’re frightened. We want to get out of here, get out from under the nose of the Watcher so that we can think for a while and examine our actions, decide what it is that we really want. But where to go? We may think we are running to safety, but really we may just be running toward the Watcher.”
Nicolas spoke up. “That’s why we want you on our side. Katie thinks you can help. You almost fooled Social Care in your suicide attempt. We want you to help us devise our escape.”
For the first time in months, Eva felt like smiling. It wasn’t that she believed the three of them; their ideas were riddled with supposition and fueled by paranoia. They were a self-confessed bunch of loonies.
Then again, she wasn’t exactly normal, either.
The thing was, they trusted her. They wanted her to be their friend. For that reason, more than anything else, she gave her answer. “Of course I will.”
“Good.” Alison smiled. “Come on. We’ve got to get back now. If we stay out of their sight for too long, someone or something might get suspicious. We’ll let you know more later on.”
They pushed through the damp, litter-strewn undergrowth until they reached the circle of limes. Ahead of them lay the solid, red brick building of the Center. To Eva, it suddenly had a sinister appearance.
Katie drew level with her. “You’re right to want to escape. This place sends everyone mad after a while.”
“I quite agree,” said the voice.
Eva ignored it.
constantine 2: 2119
Constantine was seeing stars. Tiny pinpoints of light winking and fizzing in the space between his roaring headache and the ceiling.
Where was he?
Cool white sheets, the bed much larger than a bed needed to be, bone china tea service laid out on a tray that rested on one of the bedside tables. He groaned and sat up. Prints in pastel shades hanging on the walls; a window that reached from floor to ceiling-recognition slowly dawned. Somewhere there would be a trouser press and a full sensory immersion booth offering a discreet range of adult entertainment.
He was in a hotel room, just as he had been every night for the past two years.
He placed one hand gently on the side of the teapot. Hot. How did they do that? How did they have that power of prediction that enabled a pot of tea to be brewed at just the moment of waking? He picked up the yellow-patterned teapot and began to pour, the smell of jasmine tea filling the room. A sound channel was fading up in the background: the morning news digest.
