Synthetica (2 page)

She shook her head.

"Just going to
City Hall. Dalla mentioned something about going shopping
afterwards," she said.

Mr Finch furrowed his
brow.

"I don't know if
that's such a good idea, sweetheart. Maybe you should just come home
afterwards? Just until all this dies down," he added, nodding
towards the table which was still lit up with photos of the murderer
and the victim.

“Dad, we'll be
fine,” Anais said gently, reaching over the table and squeezing
his hand. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll ask Dalla
to come over here instead."

Mr Finch flashed her a
relieved smile.

"Thanks, love,"
he said, patting her hand.

“Goodness me, Anais,
aren't you ready yet? Don’t think you can get out of going to
Career's Advice - they sent me a reminder just in case you
conveniently forgot. And you, Martin, what on earth are you still
doing up?”

Mrs Finch waltzed into
the room, barely sparing a glance at her daughter and husband as she
whisked away their breakfast dishes and grabbed a pre-made smoothie
from the FDU. She was already dressed in the navy blue uniform that
was almost identical to her husband's. The only difference was that
while Mr Finch's was covered in small burns and smears of grease,
Mrs Finch's was still spotless.

"Morning mum,"
Anais said cheerfully. "I hadn't forgotten. I just think it's
stupid that we have to go."

Mrs Finch shot her a
disapproving look.

"I don't think
you realise how important this is. You do know that once they assign
you a job, that's it? It's important you make a good impression.
Have you memorised your questions to ask them?"

Anais rolled her eyes.
There was only one question she wanted to ask - how long would she
have to work in her assigned job until she could leave and do
something she actually wanted to do? She chose not to mention this
to her mother.

Anais stood up and
gave her mum a quick hug.

"Don't worry
about me, mum, I'll be fine."

Mrs Finch squeezed her
back.

"I know,"
she sighed as they pulled apart. She tucked a strand of Anais' hair
behind her ear. "I just worry about you. It's natural for
mothers to want to protect their first child."

"I'm your only
child," Anais pointed out and Mrs Finch rolled her eyes. She
shooed Anais away.

"Be off with you!
You don't want to be late. And Martin, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I'll go to bed
if you join me," Mr Finch growled, reaching up and pulling his
wife onto his lap, drawing her in for a kiss. She shrieked in
surprise and giggled as she kissed him back. Anais wrinkled her
nose.

“Please,” she
said. “Save it for the bedroom.”

Mrs Finch broke away
from her husband's embrace looking flustered, but pleased.

“Well if you'd left
on time, you wouldn't be here to witness it now would you?” she
chided her daughter, as she smoothed back her pale green hair.

An icon in Anais'
vision flashed, informing her she had one hour before her
appointment at City Hall. Another icon appeared next to it, stating
that she had a new invitation waiting. Curiously, she opened it, her
heart giving a little leap as she saw who it was from:

Request
from Xander Silvas. Cinema. Proposed time: 20:00 - 22:00. Accept?

Anais couldn't stop
the smile spreading across her face.

"What are you so
happy about?" Mrs Finch asked, looking suspiciously up at Anais
from where she still sat on her husband's lap.

"Nothing,"
Anais said, immediately wiping the smile off her face. "Just
something Dalla sent me. I've got to go, see you later."

"Good luck! Be
careful today," Mrs Finch called after her. "And come
straight home after you've finished. Okay?"

Anais waved back at
her parents to show she'd heard. As she picked up her jacket, the
message from Xander still glowed gently at the top of her eyesight.
She hesitated for a moment. She knew her parents wouldn't approve of
her going out tonight, not after the news of the murder, but
privately she thought they were overreacting slightly.
Murder
in the Imperial City wasn't unheard of, but it was uncommon,
especially since the penalty if you were found guilty was death.

She was torn between wanting to see Xander, and not wanting to
cause her parents any extra stress. But she only had to think of
Xander's indigo eyes, crinkled into a smile as he looked at her, and
her mind was made up.

Anais accepted the invitation as she rushed out of the flat, into
the bright autumn morning.

Two

Anais had to run to
the station, her candy floss pink hair flying out behind her as she
ran round street corners, dodging in and out of the other commuters.
Her parents, like her grandparents before them, had chosen pastel
coloured hair for their only child - Anais strongly suspected it was
because pastel shades were one of the cheaper options when choosing
your child's initial DNA, but she'd never asked.

As Anais ran down the
path and onto the street, she called up the map function on her
RetCom, programming it to City Hall. She'd only ever been to the
City Hall once, when she was five years old, and her parents had to
register her for school. An orange line appeared in her vision,
guiding her to the maglev station and informing her to take line 7
into the city centre. There was another
ping
inside her head,
and this time she was unsurprised to see Dalla's name flash up next
to the little message icon:

At
station. Where are you?! D xxx

Anais fired off a
reply back to Dalla saying that she was on her way and upped her
pace. Today of all days, Dalla was likely to be even more wound up
that usual about being late.

Colourful blocks of
flats towered above her, their large glass windows gleaming in the
morning light. Trees lined the city streets, their dark green leaves
waving in the breeze. As Anais rounded another corner, she could
just make out the shining glass and steel skyscrapers through the
hazy horizon that marked the beginning of the city's downtown
district. Despite how late she was, she couldn't help but drink in
the sight in front of her, taking in deep breaths of fresh air as
she ran. A slow smile spread across her face as the city glinted
before her in the morning sun.

Her RetCom went off
again and she opened the new message without breaking her stride.
This time it was from Xander. Anais' heart gave a funny little
backflip as she read through it:

Hey
A. Looking forward to tonight ;). Good luck at your CA! X

How was it that
everyone else remembered about their Career's Advice and she hadn't?
She would have to see if she could get Dalla to tell her how to set
up a new reminder function on her RetCom. Her smile widened as she
read through the message again.

She was so distracted
by the warm fuzzy feeling the simple message had induced in her,
that she was forced to swiftly twirl around an orange haired woman
as she rounded a corner at speed.

“Sorry!” she
shouted over her shoulder to the disgruntled looking woman.

Thankfully, the rush
was worth it and she arrived at the platform with two minutes to
spare. As she bent over to try to get her breath back, her RetCom
flashed up her vital stats. It informed her that her heart rate was
too fast for the speed she'd been running. It helpfully asked her if
she'd like to schedule automatic exercise notifications. Anais
blinked the irritating little box away and stood back up straight.
She tucked her long hair behind her ear as she surveyed the crowded
station for a glimpse of Dalla's distinctive brown curls. Commuters
and students alike lined the platform, some formed groups which were
chattering loudly, others looking as though they were talking to
midair as they conducted conversations on their RetComs. The smell
of coffee and freshly baked pastries filled the air, wafted out from
the crowded platform shop. She was just about to phone Dalla when
she heard a shout above the usual morning racket.

“Anais!” She
craned her neck over a group of smartly dressed commuters and saw a
hand waving in the air. She pushed her way through the crowd and was
greeted by the sight of her best friend, looking immaculate as
always in a black and white striped shirt and black trousers.

Dalla threw her arms
around her as soon as she got in reach, and Anais returned the hug.

“Seriously babe,
what took you so long? I thought you'd been knocked down by a cab or
something,” Dalla broke away, peering down the empty train line.
“Speaking of which, d'you think we should get one? I don't think
we'll get there on time -”

“It'll be here,”
Anais said smoothly. “Stop panicking.”

“Yeah but still, it
doesn't -”Dalla broke off as she looked her friend up and down.
“Sweetie, is that all you're wearing today?”

“Well, yeah,”
Anais glanced down at her outfit. Denim shirt, favourite faded red
leather jacket (that somehow didn't clash horribly with her hair)
and dark blue jeans. “Why?”

“Anais,” Dalla
complained, her dark curls bouncing as she shook her head. “You
know
we have to make a good impression today. I even messaged
you last night to remind you to dress smartly. Did you not hear that
black and white is back in? What on earth are they going to think?”

“That I'm not some
weirdo who likes to walk around naked? Clothes are just clothes,
Dalla, who cares?”

Dalla closed her eyes
as though she was mortally offended by Anais' words.

"Besides,"
Anais added. "Our careers should already be decided, right?
They look at our exam results, not our fashion sense."

"Luckily for
you," Dalla muttered under her breath, and Anais elbowed her.

At that moment the
magnet train glided silently into the station, it's doors opening
with a small
whoosh
. Anais and Dalla hopped onboard, managing
to grab a couple of seats by the window before the carriage filled
up completely. Dalla hooked her arm through Anais' as they settled
down for the ride. The train began to move smoothly out of the
station, the blocks of flats blurring into a rainbow smudge as the
train picked up speed.

"I couldn't sleep
a wink last night," Dalla said as she sat back in her seat.
"All I could think about was whether or not Civitas will accept
my internship application. I think I messed up on question 42b. I
don't know whether they actually want you to be proficient in Xiscor
software, or if you're just supposed to be aware of it. The question
wasn't that clear. I'm hoping I'll be able to ask someone today. Do
you think it'll affect my chances of getting in?" She broke
off, chewing her lip and looking at Anais nervously.

"Definitely not,"
Anais said. "If they're going to pick anyone, it's going to be
the person who scored the highest mark out of the whole year on
their Programming exam. Besides, don't forget we've always got our
second and third options, if we don't get our first choice."

Dalla flashed her a
grateful smile.

"I don't know how
you can be so calm. I'm
so
nervous," Dalla squeezed
Anais' arm.

"I forgot about
today," Anais said truthfully. Dalla gaped at her.

"How could you
forget?! This is like, the most important day
ever
!"

Anais raised an
eyebrow.

"I don't know, I
just..forgot," she said and Dalla rolled her eyes.

“You'd forget your
head if it wasn't screwed on,” Dalla teased, as Anais stuck her
tongue out at her.

They sat in
companionable silence for a few moments, watching the city scenery
roll past the windows. It was only when Dalla turned to speak to her
again that Anais noticed something slightly off about her friend's
appearance.

“Dalla,” she said
sharply, and Dalla jumped, looking guilty.

“What?” she asked,
trying to sound innocent while avoiding Anais' eye.

“Look at me,”
Anais demanded. Slowly, like a small child that drags it's feet when
they know they've done something wrong, Dalla met Anais' gaze before
quickly shifting her eyes away again. Dalla's eyes, instead of being
their normal deep brown, were now flecked with shimmering gold.

“I don't believe it
– Dalla, have you been to a HelixPod again? That's the third time
this month!” Anais said in disbelief. Dalla squirmed in her seat
as Anais glared at her, trying hard to look stern. Eventually, Dalla
cracked.

“Okay, so I had my
eye colour done, but so what? Gold is so in this month - it really
suits my skin tone, don't you think? And it really brings out the
highlights in my hair,” Dalla said in a rush. Anais rolled her
eyes, but she couldn't help smiling as Dalla looked at her
imploringly.

Secretly, she was
baffled by Dalla's obsession with cosmetic procedures – although
it was normal for everyone to have a little fixer-upper now and
again, Anais couldn't understand why someone would want to change
their appearance so often on a whim, in the name of fashion. But
then again, Anais couldn't really complain – there was that time
when she was fifteen and it was all the rage to have neon green hair
and bronze skin. Her mum had almost had a heart attack when Anais
had walked into the kitchen sporting that look.

“It looks good,”
Anais said truthfully. She couldn't lie – Dalla did look even more
stunning that usual. She always had had a knack for standing out
from the crowd, despite the fact that they were surrounded by
flawless skin and perfectly made up faces.

“Y'know,” Dalla
said, looking at Anais thoughtfully. “It's been awhile since
you've been to a Pod. You could just change your hair colour –
what about mint green? Or a pale blue would look fantastic on you.”

“No thanks,” Anais
said firmly. “I'm fine the way I am.”

"You could go
blonde, and then get black and white striped irises - that would
look so cool..."

Dalla's eyes started
to mist over as she began to consider all the possibilities, and
Anais hastily changed the subject before she could get too carried
away.

"So did you hear
the news this morning? About that man that was murdered?"

"Yup," Dalla
said, as she pulled a compact mirror out of her bag and began
checking her immaculate make-up. "Daddy's not very happy. Every
MediTech employee has been hauled in for questioning."

"What? Why?"

Dalla shrugged.

"Just a
precaution apparently. Just in case anyone noticed someone
suspicious hanging around the building yesterday, things like that.
I doubt they'll spend too long investigating, though."

Anais watched her as
Dalla held the mirror up a little higher so she could see her eyes.

"How come?"
Anais asked. Dalla snapped the mirror shut and dropped it back into
her bag.

"Well," she
stopped and glanced round the carriage. Anais looked over her
shoulder, but she could only see bored commuters sitting silently,
their eyes occasionally flicking as they played games or composed
messages on their RetComs. Dalla leant in closer to Anais and
lowered her voice. "Apparently this Mr Anderson was planning on
leaving MediTech and setting up his own company with some other guy
from WireX Industries. S
omething
to do with innovative new medical technology, I forgot what exactly.
But he only had a week left at daddy's company before he was killed,
poor thing. Daddy's company weren't very happy about him leaving, of
course. He had to sign an agreement that he wouldn't use any of
their designs or patents in this new company of his.”

Anais raised her eyebrows. It wasn't exactly unusual for some tech
whizz to want to break out and do their own thing, but the three big
technology companies in the city - Civitas, WireX and MediTech -
generally weren't too keen on someone else trying to stamp on their
territory. The three of them had enough trouble as it was dealing
with each other.

"Speaking
of tech companies, how's Xander?"
Dalla
arched an eyebrow at her, and Anais felt her face flush. Dalla
squealed.

"How's it going
between you two?" she asked as she leaned forward, eager to
hear the gossip. Anais shrugged nonchalantly, refusing to give into
the bait.

"It's going
okay," she said, avoiding Dalla's eye, her lips twitching as
she tried to hide her smile.

"Just okay?"

"Good,"
Anais amended. "It's good. It's...nice."

She couldn't stop the
smile spreading across her lips this time, as Xander's indigo eyes
filled up her memory. The way he'd looked at her right before he'd
bent his head down to kiss her. The way he'd brushed her hair back
from her face, the tingle she'd felt across her skin from where his
fingers had touched her. They'd only been together a few weeks, but
Anais still got that little rush of excitement every time she
thought of him. And it
was
nice - nice not to feel like the
third wheel with Dalla and whoever her new love interest happened to
be that month. It was nice to have someone else to talk to if Dalla
was out and her parents were at work.

"Well, I wish I
could say the same about Marcus bloody Price. How many chances does
that boy think he's going to get?" Dalla's voice cut through
her thoughts, and Anais looked up to see Dalla pulling a face.

"What did he do
this time?" Anais asked and Dalla rolled her eyes.

"The idiot only
went and told me he's been messaging Lara –
Lara
, of all
people. I mean honestly, he won't leave me alone for weeks, then
when I do finally agree to go out with him, he's all like 'sorry
babe, I gotta keep my options open.' He's such a dick."

"I'm sure -"
Anais started, but a smooth female voice cut her off as it rang out
through the carriage.

“Imperial City
Hall,” came the polite announcement. “Exit here for the Imperial
Theatre and the Museum of Modern Art.”

The pair stood up,
jostled slightly by the crowd. The doors slid open without a sound,
and Anais allowed herself to be carried off the train by the throng
of people. As soon as their feet touched the ground, Dalla began to
jog towards City Hall, Anais keeping pace beside her. The sleek
glass building appeared in front of them, it's windows winking in
the morning sun. The front of City Hall was almost entirely glass
and it curved smoothly around itself, giving the impression of
gentle waves on the sea. There was a manicured expanse of grass in
front of the building, split into four quarters with smooth stone
paths running between them. Right in the middle where the four paths
met, stood a marble fountain carved into the likeness of two lions
standing on their hind legs, their faces looking powerful and
menacing as they bared their teeth at passers-by. Clear water
cascaded around them, giving the image of the lions having living,
moving manes.