“That’s right.”
“May I ask why?”
“I just didn’t see the point. I don’t use…”
“And you have you ever used your subdermal for medical purposes?”
He was getting tired of this Granger interrupting him, so he didn’t answer, shaking his head instead. There was no reason to tell him about the hangover cure, and he didn’t think they would scan his chip to see if it had been used.
“I see. So, you have a clean medical history. May I ask why you decided to take part in this trial?”
He considered shaking his head no, but answered, “I wanted the...”
Granger nodded. “The credits. That’s fair. Well, we will be installing the new test chip later this afternoon. I will monitor how you react to the chip afterward, as well as tomorrow morning, checking for any adverse reactions. There may be an elevated risk since this is the first upgrade you have ever received. I can tell you that subdermal technology has come a long way since yours was first installed. It is quite quick and painless. A simple outpatient procedure. I hear there are even some code junkies who have it done in the streets, but you can be assured we will do a much better job here.”
Two-Step nodded.
“After the trial, we will remove the test chip and reinstall your old one. However, you are being given the option of having an upgraded chip installed at a steep discount, of course.”
“I guess…”
“You do not have to decide now. Just inform me of your decision before the trial is completed,” Granger said. He stood and pushed the chair back under the desk. “A nurse will come by shortly and take you to the installation room.”
He shut the door behind Granger. He did not like that man. Rude and impersonal was the best way to describe him. He was exactly the kind of person his parents would say was the result of an overreliance on technology and corporate life.
More importantly, he wasn’t Xia. There was no way he was going to get out of here with the new chip if Xia wasn’t his monitor. He wasn’t allowed to bring any electronics with him, so he had no way of getting in touch with her and coming up with another plan.
Trying to think of a solution, he paced the room for a few minutes. He toyed with the idea of hacking the system using the monitor in the room, but quickly realized it was nothing more than a closed system media player. Finally, he gave up and stretched out on the bed, but now no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get comfortable, no matter what setting he entered.
Chapter 48
Xia watched her hands move over the input panel in the testing room as if they were not a part of her but only attached to the ends of her arms. At times she still had trouble coming to grips with where life had taken her in the last few weeks. That feeling only came through in moments like this, moments when a sense of detachment came over her, and she felt like she was watching her life on a screen.
Snap out of it, she told herself. She closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath in through her nose, letting it out through her mouth. After repeating the breathing exercise, she felt calm and present again. Everything was going as planned so far. She had downloaded the backdoor Sandy would use to crack the security system, Two-Step had been admitted to the testing program without any trouble, and she had the overload code ready to send to him during the test. There’s no reason to worry.
Going back to the display, she scanned the list of test subject names she would be in charge of monitoring during the test. Two-Step wasn’t on the list, or rather, Robert Klein wasn't. She checked the other monitor’s lists and found him on Granger's. So much for no reason to worry, she thought.
It had to be Granger. She didn’t like him very much. He had a habit of interrupting people, especially females, and he liked to argue with anyone he perceived as impinging on his territory. Despite those faults, he was a good researcher and a thorough one. Xia would bet he already had his test subjects’ names memorized. She looked around the lab. Granger was at a table in the corner reviewing notes on a pad.
She went to him and sat down. “I’m going to have to transfer test subject 47 to my monitoring list. His subdermal chip is extremely…”
“Yes, I know. I’ve already slated him for the new installation,” Granger said.
“Well, all of the subjects will need to have this chip…”
“Of course, I was…”
“That’s not the point,” Xia said loud enough to interrupt him. “According to his file, his current chip is his original chip, and he has never had medical code prescribed, and...”
“I saw that.”
“And I’m concerned about the potential risk of an overload in his case. Since that is one of my areas of…”
“It makes sense that you would monitor him.”
Xia expected and argument from him. He had argued with her about much less in the past. However, it made sense that he didn’t. He wouldn’t want an overload on his watch. It wouldn’t look good for him, and he did care about looking good.
“Great. I’ll take subject 47 and transfer subject 52 to your list,” Xia said and walked off before he could reply.
After she left Granger, Xia checked the schedule. Two-Step was due to have the new chip implanted in two hours. She’d already conducted pre-implant interviews with her three other subjects, and Two-Step would have been interviewed by Granger, but she needed to talk to him. She made a note on his file justifying a second interview and went to find him.
He was with several other subjects, relaxing in the rec
