Binary Cycle - (Part 1: Disruption) (6 page)

Ever since that Spindroth had raided his camp and got a hold of him, he had been prone to severe pain and immobility. As he got older, instead of healing, the old wound always seemed to be on the verge of getting worse. The fact that his faulty leg might cost him success in a mission to go after the Spindroth was an irony he was very much aware of. But if he was successful, perhaps the completion of this project would finally give some worth to his old injury.

It was after five years of retirement that Reggie finally went stir-crazy. He was done with sitting around all day, watching the world pass him by. It struck him to do one last holo-shoot, before he became too crippled to go on. This would be the final cap on his career. Even Reggie admitted he should end with something more provocative than his last film about Andelusian butterflies and their migration routes titled, “The Flight of the Butterfly”. Breathtaking, to be sure, but lacking a certain suspenseful intrigue.

Reggie checked his packing list, nodding his head as he went through the inventory in his mind. His old yellow travel pack—polymer mixed with Spindex fibres—lay on the redwood floor before him. He ran a withered hand over the canvas straps, smiling as he noticed the stains and frays that marred the surface of his old life lines. The wear and tear said this pack had been through its share of ordeals, just as its owner had.

He filled the pack with food bars and water purifiers and tied the top off in an expert knot, thankful that he still remembered the complicated weave. He pictured the girl who had taught him that, remembering her as if it were yesterday.

He ran through a forest, the girl laughing at him, beckoning him to follow her through the jungle maze. His bare feet sunk into the mossy ground, spongy and soft.

She was naked, but her long hair flowed down well past her belly button, covering her breasts. She reminded Reggie of Eve from the old bible stories. 

Together, they ran through the underbrush, dodging branches and bushes as they stumbled along clumsily, lost in the intoxication of young love.

They reached the tree line and found themselves on a sandy beach at the edge of a great lake. She helped him undress and then pulled him out into the cool water, gasping and laughing as she dove in—carefree. He chased after her, launching himself in a dive, his senses coming alive as his head broke through the choppy water.

Swimming up to the surface was like breathing new life, washing away the past and future, bringing him into one single moment of perfection. He pulled her close, kissed her as waves tugged at them—their lips warm and bodies numb.

Hands clasped together, they hurried back to the shore. With solid ground beneath their feet, they tripped and fell into each other on the sandy beach. He pressed his body into hers as gentle waves lapped against their feet. Wind moved water, water moved bodies, and bodies moved the earth—

Reggie broke himself loose from memories of his past and looked up at the wall, along the rows of holo-pictures shining out at him. His beaming face peered out from half a dozen portraits. 

Looking from left to right he saw himself age, the youthful enthusiasm turning into hardened acceptance and then to exhausted reluctance. He wondered when was that moment? When was that time where everything came together in one’s life so perfectly? When you realized that even if death found you, you could die with a smile on your face, having accomplished all your dreams? Reggie had never experienced that moment, and wondered how much more he would have to accomplish to feel that. Would it ever happen?

His eyes rested on a group photo, everyone on the research team young and jubilant, all smiling like they shared some secret triumph that only they were privy to. Reggie brushed his hand slowly over the prints, feeling the grain, his fingers resting on one sandy-haired girl a little longer than the rest. He frowned, realizing there was room for a few more photos in the second row. If only he had pictures of children to fill the empty spaces. But he had neither children nor wife. 

Sometimes he wondered whether he had anything at all. Did memories count? Money? He sighed and turned away from all the could-have-beens of his youth and set his attention back to the task at hand.

He felt better as he packed, as his blood began to flow. His pulse thrummed in his veins and excitement flooded his body. Had preparing for adventures always felt so good? The same adrenaline that fuelled his passions as a young man now brought him renewed strength. He floated around the room, the ghosts of past achievements nudging him onward.

Reggie’s heart swelled with each item crossed off the list. Every scratch of his pencil opened up more and more possibilities in his mind. He propped the bursting yellow travel pack up on a table, smiling as his cherished belongings breathed new life into old bones.

The large titanium door made an upward path impossible, so Jonathas had no choice but to head back down the tunnel from which he and Linsya had ascended. How long had he been out? He wasn’t sure…

To Jonathas, it seemed only moments ago that he and Linsya had been together, about to step through the security door. When the disruption struck, it had blasted shut, locking them in. After he’d passed out, he supposed Linsya had set off to search for another way to the surface, probably trying to find help for him. He felt guilty, knowing she was in danger because he couldn’t stay conscious. He should be the one getting help.

He looked down at the small, luminescent hair band that she had secured to his wrist. He didn’t know why she’d left it with him, but he hoped it meant that she was ok. 

As he started downward, his footsteps echoed against the hard granite floor and arched ceilings. The oppressive silence around him magnified the sound even more, making him feel self-conscious as he walked, like he was disturbing spirits as he kicked up dust behind him.

Emergency lights flashed orange alert, signifying a level-four orbital disruption. 

Damn
, he thought. If this had been a simple Earthquake it would be over quickly: one or two main shocks followed by a series of aftershocks, each one less powerful than the one that came before. But the orbital disruptions could last much longer—sometimes hours, sometimes days. When they had first begun nearly twenty years ago, Jonathas was just a kid. Most people had dismissed them at first, until
OD1
, the first truly devastating disruption. Buildings and bridges had collapsed, entire sections of cities had tumbled into the planet’s exposed depths, and thousands of colonists had died. 

Amazing how death and destruction can turn skeptics into believers.

Hoping the worst of this disruption was behind them, he continued on, following the tracks of lights overhead, their luminous glow alerting him to any sharp corners or alternate passages that snaked through the catacombs. Without the lights, he would be walking blind.

The sound of thudding footsteps replaced the lonely silence of the corridor. Jonathas turned his head as a shadowy figure approached from one of the side passageways. It was hard to make out any features in the dim light, but he could tell who it was by his slow and deliberate movements. 

Of all people he could have run into down here, it had to be Fletcher, the chief engineer of the repairs division.

Fletcher didn’t have as much authority as some of the other people Jonathas sometimes worked with, but he was ranked higher than Jonathas, and he rarely let him forget that fact. Now that Jonathas had been promoted to Operator, he was technically higher up on the whipping chain. Fletcher wouldn’t be happy about that, and Jonathas hoped he hadn’t been apprised of his sudden promotion. Fletcher’s shadow paused in the darkened hallway. He was breathing heavily.

“Hello?” Fletchers deep voice rang out against the walls, a chorus effect of echoes.

Jonathas didn’t answer. He simply slowed his steps and turned to face the dark figure, the orange lights sending intermittent flashes across his face.

Fletcher squinted, peering forward. “Is that you, Jonathas?”

“Hi Fletcher,” he replied.

They both stopped at the intersection where the hallways met. 

“I thought it might be you,” Fletcher said. “Everyone else went back to the surface when their shift ended. But you were passed out somewhere, weren't you?”

Jonathas kept his mouth shut as Fletcher continued, “Yeah, ‘cause they injected you with nano-DNA, right?” His tone was accusatory now. “I heard you didn’t take it well. Your body is probably rejecting it.”

“I’ll be fine.” Jonathas told him.

Fletcher barrelled on. “Not everyone can be an Operator, you know. Some people’s physiology won’t accept it.” He let out a harsh, mirthless cackle. “I’ve seen people try to fight against the nanos for a couple of weeks. I’ve seen ‘em get real sick. I heard one guy even died.” He coughed into the sleeve of his tunic. “Then, after a few shifts in the operating module you start to feel the drones
crawling
inside you. That’s when most people snap, they can’t take it anymore and then BOOM, you’re done… You’re right back to where you started, kid.” He pointed a bony finger at Jonathas’s chest. “Maybe that’ll be you.” He spat onto the dusty floor, “You think you’ve got what it takes to be an Operator? Why’d they choose such a puny kid anyway? Doesn’t make much sense to me—”

Enough of this.

“Have you seen Linsya?” Jonathas asked.

Fletcher huffed. “Have I seen Linsya? What, is she your girlfriend now?” he cackled again. “Sure I’ve seen her. I see her when I close my eyes in the shower, and I see her when I’m falling asleep at night.” Fletcher shoved Jonathas hard on the shoulder, as many people would do when poking fun, but to Jonathas it stung, and the feeling didn’t go away.

Jonathas shoved him back. “Don’t talk about her like that, Fletcher, you know what I mean,” he said. “She was with me when the alarm went off.”

“Oh, was she? So, now that you’re a famous Operator the girls come running to you, is that it?” His voice quivered, as if holding back panic. “And then what, you just lost her?” His eyes crinkled as he peered through the darkness. “Pfft, some boyfriend you are.”

“We’re not... she’s not really my girlfriend.” He did not want to be discussing his private life with a co-worker, and a creepy one at that.

“Oh, great. Fantastic! Then, you won’t mind if I take a turn at her, will you? Share the wealth, distribute the resources, isn’t that what she does best? It’s her job in the DoD, right? Don’t worry, I’ll treat her nice. I’ll show her what a real man can do for her. She’ll be—”

Jonathas moved swiftly, grabbed Fletcher’s wrist and twisted. He swept his foot into Fletchers leg, causing him to crash down to the rough floor. Jonathas’s boot crushed against the back of his neck.

Fletcher’s voice was muffled when he spoke next. “Oh, gonna fight me now? You gonna fight me?” He laughed and choked, breathing in dust.

Jonathas leaned down, keeping a steady grasp on Fletcher’s arm, his boot held firm.

“I think you resent me because they made me Operator and not you,” Jonathas said. “You’re jealous of me because they overlooked your file again.”

Fletcher made a move to get up, but Jonathas tightened his grip. Fletcher gave up and slumped back down.

Jonathas continued, “I didn’t choose this promotion. None of us chose any of this, you understand? The bad things that happen in our lives? It’s no one’s fault. We don’t have control over it, we just do the best we can with what’s given to us.” 

Jonathas felt Fletcher nodding under his grimy work boot. A line his caregiver used to say came to his mind. “The best we can do is use skill to get us to a place where luck can help.”

Fletcher coughed, his mouth full of dirt. “They didn’t pass over my files.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathas asked.

“I got promoted, just like you. Five cycles ago.”

“But then—”

“I don’t know why I couldn’t do it. I was going to be an Operator. I was so...
happy
. I felt like my life would finally have some purpose, some
meaning
. They injected me with the nano-DNA and… yeah I passed out too,” he admitted. “They brought me to the control module, turned it on, but I just couldn’t
see
anything. No bots, no drones, nothing. They injected me with more of the stuff, cranked up the amplification syndicates, but it didn’t help. I just got sick and fevered. Some people’s bodies can’t process the nanos properly.

“They had sought me out, promoted me, moved me into a higher station in life, but then I failed. There’s nothing I could have done differently. My body rejected it, not me”. He sighed, his breath sending chalky particles into the air.

Jonathas lifted his boot and backed away. Fletcher rose slowly and brushed the sand off his work clothes, patted and smoothed the wrinkles out. As if anyone would notice an unkempt uniform down here.

Fletcher leaned against the wall, catching his breath. “After my failure, they sent me back down to repair division and made me head of the department. They felt sorry for me, gave me a bigger living chamber, a ration increase, but that was it. I’ve been stuck here ever since, my entire working life spent wandering these damned halls and now there’s nowhere else for me to go.” He slapped his hand against the wall.

“I’m sorry Fletcher, I didn’t know,” Jonathas said.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault...” He trailed off. “Listen, I’m sorry about Linsya, I shouldn’t have said those things. It’s just when I heard you got promoted I felt so... angry. Seeing you get the opportunity that I once had, it’s like having to relive everything that happened to me. 

"Jonathas, I’m sorry ok? I’m happy for you.
I am
. It’s great to see people like us get promoted out of this dump. Refreshing to see it’s not always the city-borns who get all the opportunities. I really mean it. And Linsya’s a great girl.” He flashed a grin. “She’s obviously way too good for you, but if she doesn’t see that, then you must be doing something right.”