Socket 1 - The Discovery of Socket Greeny (14 page)

“You are feeling well?” Spindle came into the
room.

I just looked at him, not knowing what to
say. He had to know what happened, but you wouldn’t know it by the
way he walked in like any other morning. He put his hand on my
chest, put his fingers to my neck. His face flashed multiple
colors.

“Your vitals are perfect. You may follow
me.”

“Wait.” My voice sounded different. Deeper,
maybe. Richer. “Where are we going?”

“Your preliminary judgment.” The colors on
his face muted. “The Paladin Nation will decide your immediate
future.”

His skin was cooler than usual. His voice
wasn’t really Spindle-like, either. It was more business-like. More
robot-like.

“What did they do to you?”

“Information classified.”

“What?”

“I am not classified to discuss the
case.”

“What case?” I pulled him from the door.
“Listen, Broak attacked me. He said some crazy shit about
delivering a message, and then he shot this accelerator into my
neck with his teeth…” Spindle’s face contained no color. “Are you
listening?”

He pulled his arm away. “We cannot be
late.”

The lights in the room dimmed. Spindle waited
in the leaper, his shoulders thrown back and his head high. The
leaper wobbled the moment I stepped inside. They did something to
him, again. They stripped the Spindle out of him. Now he was just
another servy. I started to say something, but he stepped through
the door.

* * * * *

The room was enormous. Everyone in it wore
the same color clothes as me. Mom was on the right next to the
minty man, Walter Diggs.
Commander
Walter Diggs. His eyes
were harder than the last time I met him, what seemed like a
lifetime ago. Pike and two other minders with black wrap-around
glasses were several yards in front of me. They were skinny waifs
that were at least a foot taller than Pike and stood just off his
shoulder a half-step behind him.

To the left, standing all alone, was
Broak.

I clutched my fists and warm spots whirred
along my spine. Time warped as the metaphorical spark glittered in
my belly and I started after him. I had a message to deliver.

Spindle clutched my arm. “Control your
actions, Master Socket. An act of violence will be dealt with
severely.” His face darkened. “Crawler guards are on alert.”

I yanked my arm but his grip tightened. Broak
stared ahead, unblinking. He didn’t plan on me surviving. The
minders went through my memories; they would see what he said. They
would see him spitting the accelerator. He would get what he
deserved.

“Please step forward.” Spindle pointed at a
circle glowing on the floor.

The spongy floor squeezed between my toes.
Mom and the Commander stood with their arms locked behind their
backs. Her lips were thin and her eyes red. The Commander had a
soldier’s unmoving expression.

The room rumbled and sections of the floor
rose up behind the minders, forming a horseshoe wall encircling us
all. The room turned brown, the floor hard marble, and the ceiling
sky blue. Men and women appeared at the top of the wall, like a
panel of judges, from the chest up. Soldiers’ expressions.

“Hearing 24489 of Socket Pablo Greeny,” a
woman’s voice rang through the room, “is now in session. Evidence
mined from Socket Pablo Greeny’s memory has been presented to the
committee. Witnesses and the accused are present.”

A big man with slumping shoulders sat
directly above the minders at the top of the wall. He looked around
the committee and cleared his throat. “Socket Greeny.” His voice
boomed. “Do you know why you are here?”

I shook my head.

“I see.” He looked down at notes or
something. The rest of the committee kept hard looks coming. “You
have accessed an awakening portal without authorization.”

I moved my mouth, searched for words, then
found them. “Um, Your… Honor?”

“You may address me as Authority.” His deep
set eyes hid under the shadow of his protruding eyebrows.

“Your Authority, I don’t know what this is
all about. Broak approached me, initiated my awakening with an
accelerator, which was like this squiggly wire he shot out of his
mouth and went right in my neck.” They stared, no one saying a
thing. “Look, I know this sounds crazy, your star pupil over there
attacking me out of jealousy and all, but it happened. Just check
my memories, it’s all there.”

The Authority held up his hand. “Broak is not
on trial. It is you, Socket Greeny that we are here to judge. I’ll
confirm that you understand why you are here and we can
continue.”

“Wait, he’s not on trial? How can… are you
kidding? He tried to kill me!”

He held up his hand again and I stiffened
under his psychic pressure. He looked around the circle and each
member of the committee returned his knowing glance.

“Each of these members is projecting from
around the world, so let me get on without further interruption.
Your preliminary results are exceptional, demonstrating the highest
potential the Paladin Nation has ever recorded. Including the young
man to your left.” He nodded to Broak. “You have very promising
timeslicing skills and have demonstrated superb psychic aptitude.
For a cadet, that is quite impressive, especially at your age. And
while you might claim cadet Broak attacked you out of jealousy, the
minders have probed both your minds sufficiently and shown no
evidence to support your claims.”

“Impossible.”

The Authority grimaced, on the verge of
emotion. “We’re not here to play games, Socket Greeny. The memories
mined from you were distorted by your premature awakening. Many of
them were indecipherable, colored with hallucinations. Broak’s
memories were clear and accurate and have been confirmed by
security. You two had an argument. Broak instigated the altercation
and has been reprimanded for his behavior. However, the fact
remains the argument incited your awakening. Provoked or not, this
is of concern. All of this has been confirmed by the minders.”

“Him?” I pointed at Pike.

“The minders monitor each other. There was no
deception on the part of Pike, I can assure you. There is enough
psychic power in this room to keep him from concealing anything
from us.”

“This isn’t fair!” I looked around for
support, but there were only soldiers looking ahead, letting me
dangle. Mom quivered, her jaws grinding, but she held still. “That
isn’t what happened, Authority! He attacked me! Check the records.
He spit an accelerator through his teeth—”

“Enough!”

I slammed my fists into my legs, careful not
to step out of the circle. This couldn’t be happening. He’s getting
away with it. I glared at Broak, standing at attention. I reached
with my mind. Invisible psychic tentacles wrapped around his head.
I squeezed. Broak shook, his face twitching in pain, until an icy
lance of psychic energy cut through me. I almost fell. The minders
hadn’t moved, but had immobilized me physically and mentally. One
last cold wave squeezed my brain and I could breathe again.

“Authority?” Pike said.

“Continue.”

“I’m willing to excuse cadet Socket’s
insolence due to his ignorance and youth.” Pike’s left eyebrow
twitched.

“Noted.” The Authority leaned forward,
furrowed his wild eyebrows. “No more interruptions. The real issue,
Socket Greeny, isn’t the unauthorized awakening or the intrusion.
It is your stability.”

The atmosphere tightened. The air moved in
waves. I stood straight, drawing air to purge the scraping
discomfort of Pike’s mind against mine.

“Your father was feral, which means he
developed Paladin powers outside the breeding program. Therefore,
you will face greater scrutiny because of your potential
instability. The fact is, there are many Paladins that do not want
you awakened, regardless of your potential, because you were not
bred. Do you understand what I am saying?”

I nodded, efficiently.

This pleased the Authority. His lower lip
plumped out and looked to his notes, once again. “Let me officially
recognize that Socket Greeny prematurely entered the awakening
phase. While this does not prove instability, it is suspect. He
infiltrated the awakening portal, a most sacred source of power
hidden deep within the Garrison, to complete the awakening—”

“He could’ve died!” Mom finally broke,
stormed in front of me. “He did what any Paladin should do! He
assessed the situation and responded accordingly! And you ignore
the evidence that cadet Broak incited this premature awakening and
you condemn my son for saving his own life!”

The Authority stuck out his chin, his brows
setting his eyes deeper in their pockets. The Commander stepped to
Mom’s side, put his arms around her, nodded to the Authority and
ushered her back. Her cheeks flamed.

“I WILL NOT TOLERATE ONE MORE EPISODE OF
IMPUDENCE!” the Authority said with the booming voice, shaking the
walls on which he sat. “The next outburst will be dealt with
severely, Commander Diggs. Is that understood?”

The Commander nodded once. Mom resumed the
pose, hands behind her back and head down, quaking. Pike’s
expression softened with a curl at the corner of his mouth.

The Authority took a deep breath. “This
matter is not an easy decision. The committee understands that
cadet Broak was involved in a confrontation. We also know that
Socket Greeny was
taken
from the Graveyard. This person who
took you there will be held responsible, just as you are.”

“Pivot?” I said, barely above a whisper.

“He will be judged when found.”

Found?

“However, the committee has voted, 8 to 7,
for a continuance to further investigate the matter,” the Authority
said. “In the meantime, your abilities will be clamped. You will
not be able to timeslice or exercise psychic ability. You will
reenter society. The clamp will prevent you from discussing Paladin
matters and will remain in place until final judgment is rendered.
Do you understand this, Socket Greeny?”

“You’re going to make me normal?”

“For a time.”

Like normal was punishment.

“Very well,” the Authority said. “If there is
no more from the committee?” He looked around and got cold stares
in return. “Then hearing 24489 will conclude. You will be summoned
for final judgment in four weeks. Please be escorted to receive the
clamp.” The Authority nodded to me. “Good day.”

* * * * *

The wall collapsed into the floor, taking the
images of the Authority and his companions with it. Pike and Broak
quickly went to a leaper on the other side of the room. Not until
they were gone did the glowing circle disappear and I could move. I
tried to speak, but nothing intelligible came out. Mom put her arm
around me. I tensed.

The Commander still had his hands behind his
back. “You have a lot of questions, but for now there is business
at hand. While you were recovering, we lobbied for a continuance to
further investigate Broak. If what you believe is true, there is
much to understand.”

What I
believe
. Even he thought I was
cracked.

He patted my shoulder, but not so much like
everything would be all right.
More like hang in there,
kid.

“But—”

“Socket, you truly don’t understand the
impact you’re having on the Paladin Nation,” he said. “When you
display your kind of potential, you make enemies as fast as allies.
Penetrating Spindle’s database caused a lot of concern, but this
awakening…” He paused. “I want you clamped so there are no problems
while we sort some things out. It’s the only way.”

Mom squeezed me, again. “I’ll be with you
very soon.”

I could feel her emotionally disconnect. I
had always felt that hollow craving for her, the missing element of
a mother, but now that I was awakened it was painfully present. No
escaping the dull pang of watching her leave with the
Commander.

Or just leaving.

Spindle guided me to the leaper. He was
stiffer, consciously picking each leg up and putting it down. There
was no sway at the hips. His eyelight was fixed on the destination.
He stepped in the leaper and did an about-face fresh out of boot
camp.

“Where’re we going?” I said.

“We will go to the infirmary to have the
clamp installed. Your mother will meet you there to take you
home.”

“Home?”

“Yes.”

“They’re letting me go home?”

He didn’t answer because he was a program and
my question didn’t make sense to a program. Spindle would’ve
answered, but not that hollow shell. I could sense his optical gear
viewing me as another human, just a task to complete. Once he was
done, he would move on to the next thing on his list. And that was
to put a clamp inside me.

We entered an infirmary with a sterile table
in the center. A hood of lamps hovered over it. Three rotund servys
waited. The one in the center was red and larger than the
others.

“Lay face down on the platform,” Spindle
said.

I swore I wouldn’t do it again, but I
reached out
to read him. It got him reprogrammed the last
time, but what was there to lose? That wasn’t him standing
there.

When I moved my mind this time, it seemed as
effortless as lifting my arm. I could take his memories like
plucking apples. The circuit fluid flowed with a steady rhythm, not
the BUM-bum of a heart but the mechanical efficiency of a pump. I
sensed a fresh set of criterion burned into his procedural code. He
had recently been reprogrammed, but this time there was a dimness
surrounding his circuits. They shut down his heart processor, the
thing that made him Spindle. It was what made him curious.

Spindle shut down my psychic intrusion,
kicking me back to my own skin. “Lay on the table.”