The voice belonged to Lieutenant Henrich, one of the head instructors at the Lodge’s training division and one of Madame’s most trusted allies.
“Yes, sir,” Cassius replied, annoyed to have been spotted so soon.
“Come inside and give me a hand,” Henrich said. “You’ve been given the access code, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” Cassius plugged in his code beside the door and entered. Madame had just granted him access to the office two weeks ago. He was the only student privileged enough to receive it. Another perk of being her favorite.
Once inside, he passed through rows of computers and bookshelves. It was a tight space, longer than it was wide. At the far end, below a curved glass window, sat the central computer system, responsible for tracking Pearls as they hurtled through the stars and estimating Surface coordinates once they landed.
“Over here.” Henrich’s voice came from the Stasis Laboratory, a small room connected to the main office. A green glow spilled out from the open doorway. Cassius passed through an aisle of bookshelves, hoping that whatever Henrich wanted wouldn’t take long. He needed to find out what was happening to him. Madame’s cryptic answers weren’t enough.
Green light washed over his body as he entered the laboratory. Lieutenant Henrich stood before a wide counter, wearing a white undershirt and dark trousers. His black hair was slicked back as usual. A Pearl sat in a shallow basin before him. A wall of television screens beamed just beyond the counter, each displaying security footage from one of the ten entrances to the Bio-Net around Rochester. Many of the Lodge’s rooms shared this feature. A precaution.
“Stevenson.” Henrich greeted him with a lopsided smile. “Come over here and help me attach this stasis equipment. Fraggin’ thing’s already getting buggy on us.”
Cassius moved next to the Lieutenant in silence. He didn’t much like one-on-ones with instructors. It felt awkward. The adults at the Lodge didn’t interact with the trainees outside of instruction time.
“Hand me that harness over there.” Henrich pointed to a claw-like device on the far end of the counter.
Cassius picked up the heavy instrument. A wide tube attached to the top stretched into the wall. The claw portion would leech the energy from inside the Pearl and funnel it through the tube where it could be stored in the city’s energy terminals. It was advanced machinery. If Skyship hadn’t gotten their hands on the schematics a decade ago, the race for Pearls would have been over before it had started.
Henrich grabbed the harness and twisted the knobs on the side to open the claw to a suitable width. He laid his hand on top of the Pearl. “I hear we’ve got you to thank for this beauty.”
“Yeah,” Cassius mumbled, “but I stole a shuttle to get it so Madame’s not too happy.”
Henrich positioned the harness around the Pearl and tightened the clamps to secure it. “You’re lucky she’s taken a shine to you.” He checked the tube for holes. “You don’t want to get on Madame’s bad side. Honestly, I’m surprised she gave you clearance to this office. You should feel pretty good about that.”
Cassius looked up at the monitors. All ten entrances to the Net were still and empty, except for the guards, slumped over and yawning.
“Some fire last night,” Henrich continued. “You’re a lucky kid, I’ll tell you that. We’re doing a sweep of the electrical systems later this afternoon. I don’t know what could have happened.”
Cassius glanced over to him, expecting to see a hint of a knowing smile. Lieutenant Henrich was one of Madame’s right-hand men. But then Cassius remembered what Madame had said: I cannot trust anybody else in the Unified Party.
Satisfied with the strength of the tube, Henrich powered on the harness. Cassius watched as the device whirred to life, absorbing the energy from inside the Pearl and sucking it out. In a few hours there’d be nothing left but a hollow, translucent shell-an empty fishbowl.
“It’s amazing,” Henrich started. “All these years and we’re still not able to break through the outer layer. That’s some strong material there. It’d have to be to withstand impact, I guess. I’d hate to be standing in the way of one of these when it fell.”
Cassius agreed. There’d be no surviving it. A falling Pearl burned through anything it touched before hitting land. They were only safe after they stabilized.
“So you’re heading to Skyship tomorrow.” Henrich leaned on the counter. “Be prepared for protestors up there. Flip the Tribunal the middle finger for me, okay?”
Cassius kept his eyes on the emptying Pearl. “Do you know why Madame picked me?”
“You’re her kid, Stevenson. She’s giving you an opportunity the other kids don’t get. It’s an honor.”
He thought back to the infirmary room, to his raw, tingling skin. An honor. Right.
Henrich frowned. “Listen, I’ve known Madame longer than you’ve been alive. Let me tell you what I’ve learned.” He scratched his nose. “It’s all about Pearls. It’s all she thinks about. How to find them, what to do with them. Bring her Pearls and you’re golden. Stand in her way and… ” He chuckled. “Well, you don’t stand in Madame’s way.” He ran his fingers over the emptying Pearl. “If she’s bringing you up to Skyship, chances are it’s got something to do with these little babies.”
Cassius was about to respond when he noticed movement on the top-right security monitor. “Hey,” he pointed to the screen, “what’s that?”
Lieutenant Henrich craned his neck over the counter to see the screen. Cassius watched as a crowd of people-twenty or so-converged on the seventh Bio-Net entrance. He recognized them as Fringers immediately. Their clothing was filthy, little more than torn rags covering their gaunt bodies. Their skin was dark with the Surface Tan.
“Second group this week.” Henrich shook his head.
Cassius moved closer to the display, trying to make out details. The Fringers carried something in their arms. Sunlight glinted off of metal. Weapons.
A monitor in the opposite corner whirred to life showing footage from a nearby ground camera. He could see the rectangular entrance clearly, as well as the closest Bio-Net connectors-large, solid Xs climbing into the sky, growing fainter the higher they were placed.
The group sped up as they neared the entrance. Ever since the Unified Party had erected the Chosens and shut out anyone unable to pay the environmental tax, the cities had become targets for bands of Fringers, incensed with the government’s lack of support to those on the outside.
Cassius turned to Henrich. “Why are they allowing them to get so close?”
“Just wait,” Henrich replied, fixated on the monitor.
The group of Fringers stopped mere feet from the entrance and drew their weapons. The video feed didn’t pick up sound. Cassius wondered if they had fired any shots.
Henrich smiled. “Can you believe this? They think all it takes is a couple of guns to break into a Chosen City.”
“This happens often?”
He nodded. “We’re coming up on the anniversary of the Chosens. Perfect time to stage a coup, right? Expect the crowds to get bigger before they die down. Doesn’t matter, though. Watch.”
Cassius turned his attention back to the screen. The Fringers stood still, probably making demands of the guards.
A blinding beam of light filled the screen. The ground exploded. Dust shot up from below, engulfing the crowd in a swirling brown cloud. Limbs fell in a tangle to the ground. Weapons flew into the air.
“Automated defense systems.” Henrich chuckled. “Stupid Fringers forgot to look up. Bam!” He laughed.
Cassius turned to him. “Dead?”
Henrich nodded. “Dead and gone.”
A chill ran down Cassius’s spine. He’d seen people killed before. Even tortured. But something about the video stuck with him. The efficiency of it. The silent feed.
“And still they try.” Henrich shook his head. “I guess if you’ve lived outside the Net so long you’ve gotta have more than a few screws loose, huh?”
Cassius kept his attention on the display, watching as the dust faded to reveal a pile of bodies. He didn’t respond.
“ That’s why you don’t mess with Madame,” Henrich said proudly. “Or the Unified Party, right Stevenson?”
Cassius nodded, turning back to the draining Pearl. Maybe he shouldn’t go snooping through the research files
