Tera kept to herself, for the most part. There were a few prisoners there who she liked and considered decent folks, but Tera didn’t fraternize with them when she didn’t have to. There was no chow line in a digital prison, no yard. She had a lot of time to herself.
She didn’t feel like she belonged, which helped add to the feeling of isolation that consumed her. All the other prisoners — even the nice ones — each earned his or her place in the prison. They had done things to get themselves in trouble, even committed crimes that hurt people. She had not. She was innocent, but no one would believe her. She felt like an impostor of the worst kind, and would find no sympathy for it.
During that month, former Human Liaison Officer Tera Alvarez had some time to think. She played the moment when the E.M.P. bomb went off over and over in her head. She could still see Abenayo inches away from the raider who had been in charge of the ambush. The crackling of the electricity, the fading of her vision. It was all like some horrible reel show she could keep rewinding and starting over again.
Then the day of the battle between the raiders and the Council soldiers occupied her thoughts. Everything the boss man had told her — everything she was able to discern — pointed to the truth. She didn’t see why the raider would lie to her. The E.M.P. had somehow been powerful enough to erase her identity but not delete her. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was intentional.
You’re being paranoid, she found herself thinking. There isn’t some conspiracy around you.
That didn’t stop her from being suspicious, however. The first thing she had learned in the academy was that not everything is what it seems to be. From the outside, it looked like a long run of bad luck, but she felt like there was more to it. There had to be.
After her month had been served, she was released. They gave her a spare bodyshell they had for just such an occaision. It was as low-end as they come. No weapon attachments or armor, naturally. She found that it even lacked a basic heads up display. It was as if someone had carved out a metal puppet for her to live in.
Along with the inferior bodyshell, she was granted a one-way autobus ticket into Slumside. She had no idea where she would go when she got there.
The ride was a dismal one. It was raining outside, so Tera could see nothing beyond the water stained windows.
Shame, she thought. I would have liked to see the Pavilion once more before I’m exiled to the slums forever.
She knew that’s where the prison was. It had to be the Pavilion, guessing by the bus stop she had waited at. Everything was so clean and pristine. Like it was built brand new. That kind of care only existed in places where I.I.s alone lived. It was easy to keep places clear of litter when there were no snacks to eat, no wrappers to abandon, and no waste to produce.
When Tera arrived in Slumside, she started to walk around. Without realizing it, she started to take the same route she would on patrol with Abenayo. It was as if instinct drove her, or perhaps she just wanted the comfort of something routine. Something familiar.
The faces were less angry and the people less disheveled than she remembered. In fact, some even seemed pleasant and kindly. Handsome and beautiful. Had it always been this way? Or had they become more attractive since she’d been gone?
Perhaps it’s me, she thought.
The slum dwellers weren’t disgusted at her for being a Council cop anymore, because she wasn’t a Council cop. They just saw her as one of their own. Another face in the many. Perhaps thinking that she was going through the same struggle made them less likely to scowl at her.
There were still some people who didn’t seem happy to see her, however.
No matter what your status, there will still be people who hate I.I.s, she thought.
As she continued walking, she started to grow uncomfortable. When she walked through the less populated streets and alleys, she sometimes found someone following close behind. Whenever she cast a glance back at them, she found them staring at her. Sometimes sneering.
She knew they couldn’t hurt her the way they could a human woman, but that didn’t make her want them to follow her. Having patrolled the streets, she had seen what some I.I.-hating humans were capable of. It was important to note that she was just a lowly bodyshell and not a cop; no one would care. Her case would be passed down to some rookie like so many cases had been passed down to her. They were all learning tools — no one expected them to be solved.
She started to miss the smiling faces from earlier.
I guess it doesn’t take long to be disillusioned by the slums, she thought.
Once she was able to shake a few of her stalkers, she looked for someplace to sit. Someplace to call home, she thought.
There was a small deadend alley she found not far from the precinct she once worked at. She figured, of all places in the slum, the safest would be those close to the police station. If for no other reason than that the cops didn’t want dangerous criminals too close to home.
There was a small patch of mud beside one of the alley’s dumpsters that Tera took a seat in. She didn’t care about the filth anymore — her cheap bodyshell wasn’t worth the concern. All she wanted was a safe place to conceal herself so she could enter a low power state.
