[Contributor 02] - Infiltrator (2013) (5 page)

Exacting as Andersen was, Dara had never seen him work quite so hard on anything before, and all her other tasks had fallen by the wayside due to the obsessive honing and shaping of his presentation. He and Shah were engaged in a power play, but Dara had a hard time imagining that anyone could have gained the upper hand on him. Something big must be on the line, and she wondered what role Javier played in the whole mess.

Remember how he stole your plans and you didn’t even know it? Had Letizia not caught it, you would never have suspected him until you saw that flawed design on the screen.

Javier was far subtler and craftier than Dara had given him credit for being, and it wasn’t a stretch to imagine he nursed a vendetta against Andersen. Javier had seemed defeated when he’d acknowledged that she would become Andersen’s assistant, but there was no way of knowing if that had been a sincere manifestation of his emotions. He had made it quite clear that he would see to his own self-preservation, whatever it took.

She would have to dig into it, preferably tonight. She could sense that things were coming to a head, and she wouldn’t have long to pass the information along to Mal. A major development on Magnum’s part could shift the balance between the Creators, and Mal would want to know before it happened.

If he doesn’t already know. Don’t develop an overinflated view of your own importance in this whole thing.

Suppressing a sigh, she wondered again why she was so eager to help Mal. She felt indebted to the Free Thinkers for what they had done for her mother, of course, but it was more than that. The ease with which she’d been manipulated during her apprenticeship stung, and it chafed her that Mal had written her off. She was eager to prove herself to him, but, more importantly, she was eager to prove herself to herself. Acknowledging how naive she’d been all her life was a bitter pill to swallow, especially since she had thought herself so smart.

For once, Dara found herself anticipating a meeting as she and Andersen set off. She would be able to observe him and Shah in action, get a better feel for what was going on between them. He barked a few last-minute instructions to her as they walked, and she jotted down what she could on her tablet as she mentally ran through the presentation, anxious to make sure she nailed the timing.

Accounting wasn’t the only other department at the meeting, but this time she was prepared for the sight of Jonathan sitting next to the Head of Logistics. It still caused a pang, still made tears threaten, but at least it hadn’t hit her upside the head like the last time she’d seen him. Avoiding him would be impossible, given that they were assistants to two of Magnum’s most important Contributors, and she’d have to get used to it.

He gave her a tentative smile that she returned, not missing the flicker of disappointment in his eyes at her impersonal expression. She busied herself with setting up the electronics for the presentation, so that she wouldn’t have to think about how much it hurt to know she was letting him down.

Javier wasn’t present at the meeting, but she hadn’t expected that he would be. The Head of Accounting was there, along with Jasmine Shah, and Dara caught the searing glare that passed between Andersen and Shah. Were looks lethal, both of them would have been immolated.

What Dara hadn’t anticipated was the appearance of one of the Job Creators. As soon as Creator Hartley walked through the door, everyone hastened to grovel, Dara included. Hartley greeted them all with a benevolent smile and a motherly air, but it was obvious when she grew impatient with the delay, and everyone hurried to take their seats and begin the presentation.

After spending so much time slaving over the minute details, Dara had lost sight of just how brilliant Andersen’s project was. Much as she loathed him, she couldn’t deny that he was a man of vast intelligence. Even though he had borrowed from ideas she and her fellow apprentices had brought to the table the previous year, along with work Letizia had done, Andersen had used those ideas as a springboard for much more innovative tech. He had created a new, highly efficient motor that ran on biofuels and could be adapted for use in a wide variety of applications, from decreasing the amount of power required to run the domes’ environmental systems, to increasing the volume produced by the water extractors.

Shah was right to insist that it would be a costly project; it would demand an unprecedented commitment of both manpower and resources, but the potential payoff was enormous. It would be possible to build additional domes for the first time in generations, if the motor worked as anticipated. By the time Andersen finished, if Dara were the one making decisions, she would have approved the project without hesitation. No wonder he considered it his ticket to entry in the ranks of the Creators.

“Your project is very ambitious, Head of Engineering Andersen,” Creator Hartley remarked, giving no indication of her thoughts.

“It is, Creator Hartley, and it will lead Magnum into a new era of prominence.”

“Yet Head of Accounting Adams has misgivings, don’t you?” Hartley asked, turning to address Adams.

Adams cast an apologetic glance Andersen’s way. “I do. While I agree that such a project has the potential to provide Magnum with great benefit, other factors must be considered. As we know, Fosset Technical Solutions has long sought to undermine Magnum, and they’ve made it their mission to see to the more niche demands of other Creators. They’ve become quite popular with several of the smaller Creators, and have even gained standing with some of our larger colleagues. We must stay abreast of demand or we risk losing projects to Fosset Tech. Devoting the required resources to Head of Engineering Andersen’s project would necessitate diverting staff from other projects, delaying delivery of products promised to other Creators.”

“I echo Head of Accounting Adams’s concerns,” Head of Logistics Gonzales said. “I admire the scope and ambition of the project, but I fear it could lead to our falling behind in other areas.”

“I understand your concerns,” Andersen said, his voice smooth. “Magnum has a name and a reputation to uphold, and I am as devoted to those ideals as anyone else, but doesn’t Magnum also have an obligation to provide our fellow Creators with new, better technology whenever possible? Resting on our laurels will lead to stagnation, which will open the door to Creators like Fosset Technical Solutions.”

“That is a point well worth considering,” Creator Hartley said. It wasn’t much of a vote of confidence for Andersen, but Dara could see the others were taking it as such. Both Gonzales and Adams stilled, and Gonzales’s grip on his stylus tightened.

“Without doubt, we should consider it,” Adams said, his voice sounding strained. “But a project of this scope and scale requires more discussion, and we should consider bringing the other Heads on board to hear their opinions on the possibility of staff reappropriation.”

“Utmost discretion about this project is imperative,” Creator Hartley said, her warm front dissipating. She pinned each person in the room with her gaze. “If word were to get out, nothing would stop a Creator like Fosset Technical Solutions from making their own attempt at this technology. We will adjourn this meeting. I will take your input under consideration while I discuss the proposed project with my fellow Creators. Head of Engineering Andersen, you and I will meet again in one week.”

“Of course, Creator Hartley. Whenever it is convenient for you.”

The Creator glanced at her assistant, who said, “Creator Hartley has time available next week Tuesday, from eleven o’clock until noon.”

“I look forward to our meeting,” Andersen said, not even bothering to consult his calendar.

He had a major conference call at that time. Rescheduling it would be no easy task, but Dara didn’t dare raise an objection. When a Creator asked someone to jump, they jumped. Whatever it took, she would ensure that the conference call was rescheduled.

“Thank you all for your time,” Creator Hartley said, smiling at them with matronly fondness. Something about the smile was sinister, though, and it made the hair on the back of Dara’s neck stand on end.

“I have to see Mal,” Dara said, ducking her head and speaking in a low voice. Pulling a random can from the shelf, she pretended to examine its label.

“What is it? I’ll get a message to him,” Letizia said, adding a can to her own basket. She slanted an inquisitive glance at Dara.

Fighting the urge to throw her can across the grocery annex, Dara set it back on the shelf and selected another, putting it in her basket. She was tired of these furtive meetings and wished for the luxury of simply saying what she needed to say, rather than having to submit to all this charade and subterfuge.

“It’s too big for that,” Dara hissed, scanning the aisle. Another Contributor headed their way, and Dara acknowledged him with a respectful nod before moving farther down the aisle and pretending to contemplate a cracker box display.

A wave of weariness washed over her, and she felt like leaving her basket in the middle of the aisle and heading home. The Creators liked to maintain the illusion that Ballasts and Cores had choices in things like what they ate and what they wore, but, really, they didn’t have much choice at all. Once every quarter there would be a new item or two in the annex, slight reformulations of the same foods the Ballasts and Cores had been eating for years, complete with shiny new packaging to create the appearance of novelty. But for the most part their choices were strictly limited to a few grains, some legumes, and an unimpressive selection of canned fruits and vegetables. Anything fresh required privilege vouchers, which were not easy to come by, and meat was something they had only a few times a year, with the exception of the lucky people who could spare the vouchers for it. Dara’s eyes filled with tears as she thought of the chicken dinner her mother had lovingly prepared the night Dara had discovered she had been placed in the engineering apprenticeship. It was just over a year ago, yet it felt like part of another lifetime. It
was
part of another lifetime.

Letizia waited until the other Contributor left before she moved closer to Dara, speaking hastily. They couldn’t afford to be in the same aisle for much longer lest it become obvious they were carrying on a covert conversation.

“Are you sure about this?” Letizia asked, her tone almost pleading. “Just tell me what you know and I’ll—”

“No,” Dara said, injecting as much force in her voice as she could without shouting. “I have to be the one to talk to Mal. What Andersen’s involved in is huge, and I’m the only one who will be able to monitor what’s going on. You’re not close enough to him to do it, and believe me when I say that Mal will definitely want someone close to him, keeping an eye on it.”

“All right.” She heard the defeat in Letizia’s tone. “I’ll arrange it.”

“Thank you.”

“This is one of my favorites. All those vitamins and minerals keep me alert and focused, my contributions sharp,” Letizia said in a normal tone, handing a can to Dara.

“Thank you, Contributor D’Angelo. I’ll try it. It was good to see you again.”

“You as well. Have a productive day.”

“Have a productive day.”

Dara remained in the aisle, staring at the canned goods without seeing them, for what felt like an eternity, trying to battle back her weariness. Mixed in was a healthy dose of fear, though she didn’t want to acknowledge that feeling, not even to herself. If she thought too much about it, she might lose her resolve, and that was something she was determined not to do. Whether or not the Creators decided to pursue this project, it said a lot about Andersen, and it was important Mal knew about it. Knowing would, at the very least, enable him to glean more information about Andersen’s motivations, which would help him to make educated guesses about what Andersen might do in the future.

Snapping out of her stupor at last, she finished her shopping and headed home, exchanging smiles and greetings with other Contributors whose faces were no more than blurs to her, she paid them so little attention.

Joshua wasn’t home when she returned, so she put the groceries away and headed to the terminal to do some digging into the whole thing with Javier. The social networks contained the same general bland chatter about safe topics: how much her network friends loved their new positions, safe gossip about future Magnum projects, benign information about their families. All of it was carefully managed, triple checked, and scrutinized for the smallest detail that might cause a problem. Dara knew this because she did the same thing herself every time she posted to the networks.

It amazed her that she had once done so not out of fear at the power Magnum wielded over her and everyone she knew, but out of a fear that she might somehow disgrace herself in Magnum’s eyes, proving herself unworthy of the care they had bestowed on her. Now that she was aware of the manipulation, she couldn’t deny that she felt a grudging admiration for it. The Creators’ ability to take their despotic control and spin it in a way that caused people, Ballast and Core alike, to blame themselves for the oppression was rather impressive.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t register what she was seeing, but something gnawed at the edges of her consciousness, causing her to flip back to a few statuses and reread them. At last it dawned on her what was going on. Though Javier never said anything himself, several people had made oblique comments, which he must have hated. Every aspect of his image was meticulously controlled, crafted to ensure that nothing about him stood out, and people were chipping away at that pretense with their apparently well-meaning comments on the networks.

Javier’s sister was sick.

“If I don’t come home tonight, you need to get to the rendezvous point,” Dara said as she pulled on her running shoes, the tremor in her fingers making her attempts to tie them clumsy.

“I know,” Joshua said, his voice tight. “Access corridor B-12.”

Nodding curtly, she yanked on her right lace, tying her shoe so tightly it crushed her foot, but she didn’t bother adjusting it. “Right. Someone will meet you there, hopefully Raj, but there’s no guarantee it will be him. They’ll be wearing a Core uniform, and you shouldn’t say anything to them until they say to you—”