Awakening on Orbis (18 page)

Theodore stopped and cocked his head, his eyes wide. “We wouldn’t kill Ketheria. The Scion is one of us. The Scion is a knudnik, JT. She came here just like we did, to work for the Citizens, to labor in their system, to dream
their
dream. We have more in common with the Scion than we do with anyone here.”

Was this where I told my friend that he had nothing in common with the knudniks on the Rings of Orbis? Did I tell him that he never had parents who chose to come to Orbis to work — that his life was an accident? Did I tell him that if Madame Lee had never attacked the
Renaissance,
he would have been flushed with the rest of the embryos on the seed-ship?

Of course I didn’t.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. It’s just that Hach told me that someone on the inside was involved.”

“And you thought it was
me
? You thought I would try to kill Ketheria? Are you crazy? I can’t believe you would think that.” Theodore glanced over his shoulder toward the building to my right.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t know if you should come, JT. People in there aren’t going to take that kind of thinking lightly. We are the last people who would try to kill the Scion.”

“Theodore, I’m sorry. I won’t say anything. Please, I need to talk to Max. I’ll be
gone
by next cycle.”

“I don’t even know if she’ll talk to you. Now is not the right time. You should have done this earlier, JT.”

“But I didn’t. This is my only chance. Please. I won’t say a word. I’m sorry for even thinking it.”

Theodore waited. It was a long pause. He was actually considering not bringing me. The thought freaked me out a little.

“Not a word, then?” he whispered.

“I promise.”

As we slipped off the main street and down an unlit alley, I was reminded that this was the second time I had followed Theodore to some unfamiliar place under his direction. The first one was the Shed, where he’d sneaked off to use a tetrascope. I only hoped this was a better place than that. When Theodore stopped, there was no light chute this time, no industrial cavern, just an unmarked metal door. He opened the door without knocking, and I followed him down a narrow hallway lit with golden glass balls that were embedded in the mottled walls.

“Whose place is this?” I whispered.

“I don’t really know. No one ever tells me,” he replied.

“Has the meeting started?”

“I don’t think so.”

We passed several unmarked doors before stopping in front of a double metal door at the end of the hall on the right-hand side. I waited as Theodore ran his hand over some sort of scanner before reaching down to grab a cable that hoisted the door up. I don’t know why the scanner bothered me. Maybe because it meant that there was some record of the people who were allowed entry into whatever club was now meeting on the other side. I had always thought anonymity was the best defense when doing something you weren’t supposed to.

There were several people on the other side of the door. They looked up at Theodore and me when we entered. I saw Grace and that kid immediately.

“What’s he doing here?” the kid said. I didn’t like his accusatory tone. If any knudniks were involved in the attack on Ketheria, I would check him out first. Maybe Queykay had something when he picked this kid up.

“What’s wrong with JT coming?” Theodore confronted him in my defense.

“He’s a softwire. He’s not on our side.”

There was that side issue again. This little group was quickly getting on
my
bad side.

“He’s still a knudnik,” Theodore argued.

“Hardly,” the kid spat.

“What is your name now, anyway?” I interrupted.

“Why do you want to know, so you can run and tell them?”

“Tell who? Queykay? It seems he knows you’re up to something already. Need I remind you that you’re stained, just like me? They don’t need your name to find you.”

Grace jumped in. “His name is Ganook now. He won’t be changing it again,” she said, smiling and placing her hand on his shoulder. Grace’s smiled seemed to put the kid at ease.
Ganook?
His choice, not mine.

“Besides, I think you should be thanking me for rescuing you last cycle.”

“You? Rescue
me
? The Scion did everything. In fact, as I recall, you were rather useless.”

I stepped toward the kid. Even Theodore moved next to me.

“That is enough,” a voice said behind me.

I turned and saw a slender alien approaching me. Large green eyes eclipsed his narrow forehead, and two small bones protruded from his slanted shoulders. The bones supported a deep burgundy cloth that wrapped around him, almost like a loose cocoon.

“Remember: we are against no one,” he said, his voice deep and soothing. Instantly, I felt relaxed. “We are for freedom and the sanctity of the moons, just as the Ancients were so long ago. We only wish to awaken from the dream, the dream of the Trading Council.”

“You must agree with the Keepers then. They want the same thing,” I said.

“Some, maybe. But greed has corrupted many of them as well.”

“Then what
do
you guys want?” I asked him.

“Freedom from the way of life that has destroyed the hearts and minds of so many here on the rings. Freedom from the tyranny of the Citizens and freedom from the deconstructive energy that plagues these rings and anyone who walks among us. It was not always like this, you know. The Rings of Orbis were once the glowing epicenter of true Source energy.

“So I’ve heard,” I said.

“Please join us. My name is Horgan.”

Horgan extended his arm and motioned toward a large green and gold curtain suspended from the ceiling. I could see more light through the sheer material and more people. The room was larger than I had realized.

Horgan walked next to me as the group moved toward the curtain.

“We could benefit from the abilities of a softwire. I’m sure you appreciate this. Your powers could single-handedly disrupt the lives of the Citizens.”

“I’m afraid I’ve heard that one before as well.”

“You are far more powerful than you realize, and so many of your friends are already with us.”

On the other side of the curtain, I saw Max sitting at a huge round table in the center of the room. Her shadow, created by open fires placed around the table like gigantic candles, flickered on the wall. Everything was afire in an orange glow.

“I can see that,” I replied, “but I’m afraid I can’t stay long.”

“Maybe after you sit with us, you will decide to stay longer.”

“Maybe,” I said.

When Max saw me, she looked at Theodore and then back at me. Max turned away and struck up a conversation with Grace, who had slipped in next to her.

My ears were burning. I almost used the sweat from my palms to cool them off. Max was going to freak when I told her I was leaving to train as a Space Jumper. I knew it. I hesitated to sit next to her, but I knew there was no more time to waste. In fact, my escort could show up at any second to take me away. I was moving toward the empty seat next her when a small Honine, her forehead spotted with small spikes, sat down before I could.

“Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit here? I would like to talk to my friend,” I said. I made sure Max could hear the last part so at least she would be aware of my intention.

The Honine smiled and moved away without incident. I sat next to Max, but she continued to talk with Grace. I hadn’t been this close to Max in a while. Just her scent made my eyes close, and I secretly breathed her in. When I opened my eyes, she was looking at me.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I was just — I mean, I . . .” It was hard to talk over the lump that was now formed in my throat. Why was this so difficult?

“I mean, what are you doing here?” Max said.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“We’ve had plenty of time to talk since your return. I don’t think this is the appropriate place for you to be apologizing to me.”

“Who said I was —? I mean, I
am
sorry.”

Max kind of grunted. “Do you even know what you’re sorry for?”

“I know what I’m going to be sorry for,” I mumbled.

“What?” she asked, but then Horgan stood up and raised his arms to quiet everyone down.

“Welcome, all. There are some new faces around the table. It makes me happy to see our ranks swelling.”

Max’s arm was about ten centimeters away from mine — so close. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to tell her what I was about to do while I was holding her, not like this. Theodore was right. It was the wrong place and the wrong time. I was such a malf.

“Max, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Shhh,” she shushed me as Horgan continued.

“As we discussed last time, signs of war are increasing. It was just this cycle that the Trading Council suspended all new petitions for work rule from inquiring races.”

“What?” I said out loud.

Horgan paused and nodded. “Oh, yes,” he said. “The Council has even suspended education for knudniks and Citizens nationalized in the last five rotations. And there is talk to suspend all work-rule expirations until the Council feels it appropriate to continue normal contracts. They want to make sure they have control of everyone and everything if they choose to go to war against the Keepers.”

“But why would they want war?” I asked.

“The Keepers have broken the treaty set in place almost two thousand rotations ago. The Council is using the Keepers as scapegoats and rallying the Citizens into a unified frenzy over the need to eliminate all Space Jumpers, and the Keepers with them. The Keepers’ arrogance has given the Trading Council the perfect enemy to go to war against.”

The crowd seated at the table fidgeted in their seats each time Horgan spoke. Some nodded anxiously while others called out in agreement.

“But why would they want war? They will only hurt themselves,” I yelled over the others. They went quiet when I spoke.

“War will give them more power. War will give them more control over the crystal moons with less interference from the Keepers and the Trust. The Citizens could rule the rings the way they want to, without restriction, and
that
would be devastating for the likes of you and me on the Rings of Orbis.”

Horgan began speaking to the entire crowd now. “Can you imagine what it would be like on the Rings of Orbis if the Trading Council controlled the laws? Can you imagine how many races would suffer under the hand of slavery? Enticed by wealth and greed, many more people would flock to the rings unaware of the consequences that await them.

“The Trading Council also wants to set their own prices for the crystals harvested from Ki and Ta. Many civilizations that rely on these energy sources would be shackled under the exorbitant prices set by the Council. With no intervention from the Keepers, economies would grind to a halt, societies would crumble, and, all the while, the Council would grow fatter from their obscene profits.”

“And how do you plan to stop them?” I asked.

“Do we have to explain ourselves every time someone new comes along?” Ganook complained. “This is a waste of time.”

I stared at the kid I had grown up with on the
Renaissance.
“What’s your problem?” I asked him. “What do you have against me?”

“He has nothing against you,” Grace interrupted, putting her hand on the kid’s shoulder.

“Let
him
answer,” I said.

Ganook stood up, shaking off Grace. He kicked his chair back and walked away from the table. Then he turned toward me. “Don’t you see it? You are their instrument,” he growled. “Just your presence gives the Trading Council another excuse to act.”

“But if you want the Keepers to stay in power, aren’t you going to need the Space Jumpers on your side? When I become a Space Jumper, I —”

I stopped mid-sentence and looked at Max. She spun around, her mouth agape.

“I’m sorry. I can explain,” I whispered.

Max’s eyes filled with tears. She shoved her chair back and ran from the room. Grace got up to go after her, but I stopped her. “Let me, please,” I said.

I chased Max through the curtains and found her against the wall, her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook in unison with her sobs. I placed my hand on her back.

“Don’t!” she cried, and pulled away.

“Max, please, it’s not what you think. I don’t have a choice.”

“We always have a choice!”

Without warning, an explosion ripped through the building. Chunks of concrete tore through the curtain, and I threw myself over Max as the debris rained down upon us. I heard screams and felt my skin turn warm as the open fires leaped from the their containers and crawled over anything that would burn.

“Theodore!” Max cried from underneath me. She pushed me off, and we both jumped up. Max sprinted through the dust and smoke that now choked the room.

“Theodore!” I yelled, but I heard only moans and crying as the last pieces of rubble trickled to the ground. “Be careful, Max!”

I bumped into Grace, clawing her way through the smoke and debris. She was bleeding from her forehead, and her hands were covered in blood.

“Ganook!” she screamed, looking around. “Ganook!”

I grabbed her by the shoulders. Tears and blood raked through the dust on her face. “Grace! Grace, we’ll find him,” I yelled, shaking her back to reality.

“He turned blue!”

“Blue? Who turned blue? What do you mean?”

“Ganook. He turned blue just before the explosion! His whole body.”

“Blue? Grace, you’re hurt. Sit down.”

“No! He was a target. They wanted him. They knew!”

It was Queykay. I was certain of it. If Ketheria’s little stunt had not completely erased his memory, then a trace on Ganook could have exposed his whereabouts. Could they simply kill us from an O-dat whenever they wanted? I certainly hoped not.

“JT, find Theodore,” Max cried.

“I’m here. I’m all right,” he shouted from somewhere in the smoke. “You have to find Grace. Make her stay where she is. Don’t bring her over here.”

“Why!” Grace screamed. “GANOOK!” She ran into the dust before I could grab her.