Synthetica (5 page)

As
Marcus took Dalla's hand and began asking if she'd like to go out
that evening, Anais' mind was racing. The sentence for buying
pirated products was a hefty fine and five years in prison. But if
what Marcus said was true...if she could buy an SLP cheaper than
what they would retail at...if she would learn what she wanted to
now
-
she
could have whatever future she wanted, she realised with a jolt. She
could get into the Institute of Architecture. She wouldn't have to
work at the picochip factory forever. She could save up and buy her
own SLP. Then she'd actually have a future. The thought made her
feel almost dizzy with relief, but she had to reign in her hope, at
least for the moment. These SLPs might still be too expensive, or
dangerous in some way.

“
I've
got to go for my career's advice,” Marcus stood up. “Wait for me
though, yeah?”

He was looking at Dalla as he said it. Dalla nodded, but as Marcus
bobbed away across the grass, she turned and pulled a face at Anais.

“
Let's
get out of here before he comes back. If he says one more word
against Civitas, I won't be responsible for my actions” she
grumbled, standing up. Anais followed suit.

“
What
do you think about the SLPs? Should we go and check it out?” Anais
burst out, unable to keep quiet a moment longer. She had to find out
more about them. She had to know if it was possible to own one.

Dalla nodded.

“
Definitely!
I don't know if I completely trust Marcus – he's always banging on
about some pirated tech or other, but can you imagine if it's true?”
Dalla's eyes got that faraway look again. But she blinked and her
gaze came back into focus. “So, what about that break-in at
Civitas? Shall we go and check it out?”

Anais was thrown by the change in conversation. She narrowed her
eyes.

“
Why
do you care?” she asked. Dalla shrugged.

“
I
just thought, if I'm going to work there, I should just make sure
that everything's okay for when I start on Monday. I'd hate to have
my start date pushed back.”

Although she looked innocent, Anais wasn't convinced.

“
Dalla...”
she said warningly. Dalla wilted under Anais' glare.

“
Oh
alright, I just want to have a look round before I begin on Monday,
and this is the perfect excuse! Plus, what's the point in you having
a boyfriend who works in security at Civitas, if you're not going to
ask him for a favour now and again?” Dalla pleaded. Anais rolled
her eyes.

“
You
know what Civitas is like with their security, Xander probably
wouldn't be allowed to let us in anyway. Plus, I'd be surprised if
they let anyone in today, if the news is true,” Anais said,
crossing her arms.

“
Oh
come on, pleeeasee? It'll be fun to have a look around anyway!”

Anais snorted.

“
Okay,
how about this – we go to Civitas and look round for, like, an
hour. Then we'll go downtown and I'll treat you to some ice cream to
cheer you up, how does that sound?”

The word 'downtown' brought something back to the front of Anais'
memory.

“
I
can't. I promised my parents I'd go straight home after our advice
was over,” Anais said, though she couldn't deny that the offer of
free ice cream was tempting.

“
How
about this - we'll whizz round Civitas, get some ice cream, and
you'll be home before it gets dark,” Dalla wheedled.

Anais tried hard to still look stern, but inside she was beginning
to cave. She was already planning on sneaking out later to see
Xander anyway; going to Civitas with Dalla wouldn't be any more
dangerous, not with the murderer apparently dead. And this way she'd
be able to see Xander for a little while and be home before it got
dark. When Dalla continued to look at her with her puppy dog eyes,
Anais gave up and threw her hands into the air.

“
Okay,
fine, let's go. But if we get kicked out, it's your own fault,”
Anais grumbled.

Beaming, Dalla took hold of her arm once again. As they made their
way across the quad towards the station, Anais tried hard not to
notice all the students around them that were chatting excitedly to
each other, or on their RetComs, making plans to go out and
celebrate that night. She also tried not to look at the ones who
were sobbing hysterically or staring dejectedly into space. She
still wasn't sure which one she belonged to. She fervently hoped
that Marcus' story about the SLPs was true – even if she had to
work at the factory until she managed to save up for one, there was
at least a chance of getting out of the life that had been chosen
for her.

“
Don't
worry about it, hon,” Dalla said quietly. Anais turned to see her
friend looking at her sympathetically. Dalla squeezed her arm. “You
won't have to work there forever. You can do whatever you want to
do. You'll show them all in the end.”

Anais managed to flash her a small smile, and squeeze her arm back
as they reached the station platform.

But they were hollow words, and they both knew it.

*

The Civitas building was a towering mass of glass and steel, built
in a prime location next to the meandering river that cut the city
in two.

It was an impressive feat of engineering. At one thousand feet
tall, it dwarfed all of the other slick buildings around it. It was
a landmark in itself; the giant white 'C' that marked the Civitas
logo could be seen from a mile away on a clear day. The great
expanse of glass shone in the afternoon sun, giving the building the
impression of being warm and welcoming. Anais felt a brief pang of
jealousy at the thought that Dalla would get to work in this amazing
building, but then she remembered what Dalla would have to do for a
job and the feeling passed. There was no way Anais would ever apply
for a job coding and programming computers. She'd almost prefer
being at the factory.

Dalla gripped Anais' arm as she stared up at the skyscraper in
front of them.

“
Doesn't
it look amazing?” she breathed. Anais rolled her eyes.

“
It's
a tower. There are plenty of them in the city,” she said. “It's
not like you haven't been here before.”

“
Yeah,
but even so...” Dalla's voice trailed dreamily off and Anais
sighed.

“
Come
on you, the sooner we look around, the sooner I can get that ice
cream you owe me,” Anais said as she pulled Dalla towards the
revolving glass door.

As they pushed through the entrance, Anais couldn't help looking up
in wonder. The main atrium was pleasantly cool, a respite from the
fierce heat outside, and it was filled with light – the roof (if
it had one) was lost in the bluish blur high above. Beneath her
feet, the granite floor was smooth, with no joints or cracks to be
seen. Everywhere there was a hum of activity, as employees walked
and talked, and announcements came over loudspeakers in that female
voice that seemed to be everywhere. On the far side of the atrium,
there was a bank of ever moving lifts, and as Anais looked up, she
could see that he walls on every floor that faced out onto the
atrium were glass too. She wondered idly whether there were any
walls in the building that were actually walls, and not windows.

“
It's
something isn't it?” came Dalla's excited voice from her left.
Dalla's eyes were bright with excitement and she couldn't stop
smiling. Anais was about to tell her to calm down before she had a
heart attack, when a new voice caught her attention.

“
Anais?”
came the puzzled voice.

She turned, and her heart lurched. There, standing behind the
security desk, was Xander looking at them slightly perplexed. Anais'
feet felt as though they were frozen to the ground as she stared at
him, her heart hammering hard in her chest. She still couldn't quite
get over the shock that she had a proper boyfriend, not just someone
to fumble around with like she had with Huw Messenger last summer.
Although his eyebrows were still raised, a slow smile was spreading
across Xander's face. Dalla grabbed Anais' arm and dragged her
across the floor to the security desk. Xander's berry purple hair
glinted in the sunlight that filtered through the glass walls, and
his indigo eyes were crinkled with warmth as he smiled at them. His
nut brown skin stood out against the shiny silver uniform that
marked him out as part of the Civitas security team.

“
Hey,”
Anais said as they drew closer. Xander's eyes were still crinkled
into a smile as he looked at her, and Anais felt another swooping in
her stomach.

“
Hey
Xander!” Dalla chirped, beaming at him. Xander opened his mouth to
greet her, but he stopped and looked at her quizzically.

“
Dalla,
what the hell have you done to your eyes?”

Dalla fluttered her eyelashes theatrically.

“
Do
you like it? I only got them done yesterday. It's called 'Golden
Summer.'”

“
It
looks like you've got a really bad eye disease,” Xander said
bluntly. He caught Anais' eye and winked. Dalla sniffed and flicked
her hair back.

“
Yeah,
well, you just wish you could pull off a colour like this,” she
said with dignity.

“
Yes,”
Xander nodded seriously. “You're right. Who wouldn't want to look
as though their irises are melting?”

Dalla narrowed her eyes at him and he grinned. He turned back to
Anais.

"Little early aren't you? I thought we said eight?” he asked,
but he was still smiling. Anais couldn't help but respond in kind,
her heart skipping a beat. She wished Dalla would stop staring at
them.

"It's her fault," Anais said, jerking her head towards
Dalla. "She forced me to come."

"And here I was thinking you just couldn't wait a moment longer
to see me," Xander sighed, shaking his head. "So what can
I do for you ladies? Or are you just here to distract me from my
work?"

Dalla tossed back her hair and flashed him an award winning smile.

"Well, I was just wondering, you know how you work in the
security team here?" Dalla asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"I'm aware of that fact, yes," Xander said, raising an
eyebrow.

"Would you be able to get us a couple of security passes, so we
can have a look round?" Dalla said in a rush.

Xander looked taken aback.

"Why do you want to do that?"

“
Well,”
Dalla lowered her voice conspiratorially. “We heard about the
break-in.”

Xander frowned.

“
What
break-in?”

“
Someone
apparently broke into Civitas' research labs last night,” Anais
said quietly. She watched Xander's face, curious as to why someone
on Civitas' security team wouldn't have known about a break in –
unless he was covering up the fact. But it was obvious from the
confusion on his face that he had no idea what they were talking
about.

“
I
don't know who told you that, but it's not true. At least, I haven't
heard anything about it. No one's mentioned it,” said Xander,
still furrowing his brow.

“
Great,
all that excitement for nothing,” Dalla sighed. “It's a good job
I had an ulterior motive, or this would be a wasted trip.”

“
And
what might this ulterior motive be?” Xander asked, his brow
clearing as he looked at Dalla in amusement.

“
I've
been accepted onto the Civitas internship! I was hoping we could
take a look around before I start on Monday, what do you say?”
Dalla beamed at him.

“
Wow,
congrats, Dal,” Xander said, looking at her somewhat surprised. He
paused, and turned his dark eyes to Anais, who knew exactly what he
was going to ask. She suddenly wished that Dalla would keep talking,
so she wouldn't have to answer Xander's inevitable question. “How
did you do?”

The knot in her stomach was back, but Anais forced herself to shrug
as though it was no big deal.

“
I've
been assigned to the picochip factory,” she said, trying to keep
her voice even. She saw the brightness in Xander's expression fade a
little. “It's no big deal. My parents can always show me a couple
of tricks of the trade. I'll be a manager or something in no time.”

She said it with an easy confidence that she didn't feel. Xander
contemplated her for a moment, as though weighing up whether or not
she was telling the truth. She prayed that he wasn't going to say he
was sorry, or what a shame it was. She didn't think she could bear
it if he pitied her too. Thankfully, instead of saying anything,
Xander turned and began to type something into his computer. Anais
craned her neck so she could see the wafer thin screens that were
hidden behind the desk. Each one displayed an individual's photo and
the information that was kept on them in the city's Central
Information Database, or CID for short. The screens flickered and
changed as employees and visitors alike entered and exited the
atrium, passing beneath the almost invisible ID scanners that lined
the front doors. She saw her own photo on Xander's screen, the same
one that Mrs Persimmon had had on her holographic screen that
morning, alongside Dalla's file photo. Two slim plastic passes came
out of a tiny slot underneath the desk, and Xander tore them off,
affixing them both to metal clasps. He held them out, and Anais saw
her image on one of the shiny pieces of plastic.