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He pulls back, squeezing my shoulders. ‘I'm not going to stand in your way, kiddo. Just know I'm here for you if you need me.' He hesitates, then adds, ‘And don't let no one tell you you're not good enough either. You've got Ryder blood in you, which means you're a goddamn bare-fisted, blood-knuckled fighter.' His lips curl up into a humourless smile. ‘And if you see that slider who brought you here, you tell him if I ever lay eyes on him again, I'm gonna smash his goddamn teeth in.'

Then he limps from the room without looking back, his mechanical leg making its familiar grinding noise. Watching him go, my heart gives a violent wrench sideways. I'm close to running after him, but my feet are frozen, my knees locked stiff.

The door closes and Cora throws me a sympathetic smile. ‘I felt a bit lost when I first came here.' She pauses, then grins. ‘Actually no, sorry. I was dead happy to get away from my crappy waitressing job.'

I try to return the smile, but it wavers around the edges. ‘You were a waitress before you came here?'

‘Yeah. Only for a couple of months. I'd just started paramedic classes at a local college and it was the only flexible job I could get without a Citizenship. I had to wear a hat in the shape of a chicken and guys kept trying to put their hands up my skirt. If it wasn't for Helios picking up my application, I'd still be flipping in-vitro hamburgers to pay off more debt than I could ever dig myself out of. I made the switch faster than you can blink.' She walks to the window. ‘Was that your dad?'

I join her to watch Bobby being escorted by a man in a suit to a waiting air-car outside the medical centre. ‘My uncle. My dad died when I was young. Bobby raised me after that.'

‘That's so sad. How did he die, your dad?'

I frown and don't answer. The question is too personal. Cora doesn't seem to notice and she's now chatting about the day ahead as she walks back to the bed and sets down the bag she brought.

‘The famous rookie pack.' She runs her finger along the bio-sensor and the bag opens to reveal its neatly packed insides. ‘All the basics at your disposal. Toothbrush, toothpaste, underwear, deodorant, hair products and the very unsexy Helios cadet uniform. If you need anything else, just let me know, or you can fill out Request Form 83 for any item up to the value of eighty credits. Anything over and you'll need a Supplementary Form 84-A, which can take two weeks to get approved. Sounds complicated, but you'll get the hang of it.' She pulls out a dark polo shirt and pants that look around my size. ‘Once you're changed, I'll show you around. First stop will be your sleeping quarters at the dormitory, then we'll score some breakfast. Regular morning chow time is from six to seven a.m., so we've missed that, but we'll just raid a break-out room for some coffee and muffins. This morning is all about settling in, before we pop down to Assessment. Classes start at eight tomorrow morning, sharp.' She hesitates, then adds, ‘Just to warn you, some cadets can give the newbies a hard time. There are only a limited number of positions offered with Galloway Industries after the graduate program, so everyone's super competitive.'

‘I can handle myself,' I tell her. ‘What I want to know is, where can I get good coffee?' I glance at the coffee cup Bobby left behind. I've got a fantasy they'll have the real stuff here. Ground beans and all. Back home, I always bought the cheap powdered coffee, with its bright adverts promising bliss in a cup, but tasting more like dirt from a bucket. Once in a while, I buy my coffee from a cafe that roasts their own beans. While a take-away doesn't break the budget, they're still more than I can afford to indulge in daily. But when I do? I always make it last. The taste of the coffee, that delicious nutty, rich flavour, is something I always relish. Of course, the next day, when I have to go back to the bitter stuff, it's always a reminder of everything that's wrong with my life. Until now.

‘Of course they've got coffee.' Cora ushers me into the bathroom and shoves the Helios clothes in my hands. ‘What kind of horrible place do you think this is?'

Figuring this means that despite her lousy job, Cora came from a reasonably well-off family, I say nothing more. Just close the bathroom door and begin to strip.

Once I'm in my underwear, I sit down on the floor and put my head in my hands. The silence in the little room and the closeness of the walls gives my brain a chance to start shouting at me.
What are you doing
, it screams.
What have you gotten yourself into? This is exactly what James didn't want for you, remember?

I mentally wall up that voice, but my thoughts turn to my mother. I don't have many memories of James, even less of Alice. Just a fuzzy outline of a face with bright green eyes and wild chestnut hair like mine, but I'm not sure if that's something I made up from staring at photographs of her. And now, discovering this whole other life she had, it's like I've managed to connect to her and James somehow. I don't realise I'm crying until a tear falls on my leg. There's a tap on the door.

‘Out in a minute.' My voice wobbles.

There's a pause, then Cora says, ‘Take your time. Like I said, there's no rush.'

Wiping away my tears, I pull on the uniform: lightweight trousers with pockets down the side, white polo shirt and light jacket, all emblazoned with the Helios logo. Everything's a little baggy, so I end up rolling up the pants and sleeves.

Tying my hair back, I exit the bathroom and Cora runs a discerning eye over me. ‘Not the best fit yet. The uniform material is made up of hyper-molecules, so it can self-repair to a degree, and should self-adjust to your optimal fit within the hour.'

‘Okay.' I tug at the too-long sleeves, the material tough and smooth. My eyes are dry now and I'm determined to keep them that way.

‘Great. Let's go then.' She slings my rookie pack over her shoulder. ‘We'll dump this stuff then get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely starving for a snack.'

We exit the medical centre and walk along a street lined with trees, topped with dense green leaves. The landscape of the Babel township is made up of clean wide roads, clipped hedges and swept gutters and the air is clean and crisp, flooding my mind with memories of my childhood in the forest.

Cora gestures to a silver Lexus waiting by the curb. ‘I've got an academy car to take us back. I read on your file you've been living in Australia. What's it like? I heard it's hot as hell.'

I shake my head as we climb into the car. ‘It's not that bad. It's busy though. And crowded. Nothing like here.'

‘Yeah? My family moved to Hong Kong when I was a kid, so I know crowded. I was so excited when they agreed to send me here. Secondary schooling in the public system is the worst.' Cora raises her eyebrows at me. ‘You're gonna love it here, I can guarantee it.'

‘It's a beautiful town,' I say.

Cora winks at me. ‘Wait until you get a load of Helios.'

The car interior smells like artificial pine and I lower my window to let fresh air in. Cora chats as we drive down the wide streets and I only half-listen, devouring the sights of shops with pretty bay windows, cheerful signs and cafes with tables on the footpaths, customers chatting happily with each other. A rolling green mountain range sits in the distance and I marvel at the tranquillity. A dry internal voice reminds me that this tranquillity no doubt comes with a hefty price tag, well out of reach of people like myself. Not anymore, I correct myself, not if I play this right.

The shops disappear and then there's nothing but fields of green and the occasional cow, munching on grass, tail swishing. I want to ask if it's real, or something built for the tourists, then decide to keep quiet, not wanting to sound stupid. Act cool, Josie. Act cool.

As we pass a farmhouse, a field of crops comes into view with worker-bots picking the long vegetables from the stalks.

‘What are they picking?' I ask, pointing.

Cora glances over at me. ‘Corn. Haven't you ever seen a corn cob before?'

‘Guess not,' I mutter, a little embarrassed at her incredulous tone.

Buildings loom in the distance and finally the car stops outside a high ornate gate. A camera rises from the top and a beam scans the car, before the gates flicker once, then the solid looking hologram dissolves, allowing access, before materialising again behind us.

Considering how impressed I'd been with the cows and corn, entering the Helios Academy grounds is almost a religious experience. I try not to gape at the distant white buildings, the sprawling open green spaces dotted with trees and park benches. Squat-looking android mowers clip the lawn discreetly and a group of healthy, fit young men play a ball game near a lily pad studded lake.

Cora parks beside a line of slick air-cars next to a tall building. My boots crunch on white stones as I exit the car and follow her inside a deserted lobby full of long sofas and a wall mounted with holo-displays of food and drink options, with a dispenser at the far end.

‘This is our residence for the first year.' Cora makes a vague gesture around the large room. ‘There are around eighty new students who enrolled this academic year. Some are graduates from the academy's secondary school, which is about a twenty minute drive from here.'

‘Twenty minute drive?' I echo. ‘How big is this place?'

‘Pretty darn big,' Cora says with a shrug. ‘And there's areas you can't access, like the staff residential quarters. But you won't have much reason to go anywhere else, other than into town for a slice, of course.' She starts walking to the elevator and I follow, keeping close. ‘Ladies live on the second and third floors, while guys occupy the fourth and fifth. Up from that is a rec area, including break-out rooms and a kitchen, though you're expected to eat meals at the academy canteen, just a ten minute walk from here. Last level is a fitness centre, the best on campus.'

A small crowd of teenagers in Helios uniforms jostle by us, voices bright and excited. We follow them across the room and into an elevator, the doors sliding shut.

‘Are you supposed to be here?' Cora asks them, frowning.

One of the teenagers rolls her eyes and waves a small transparent card. ‘We've got passes to try the gym.'

Cora glares at them, but says nothing more as we ride to the top floor. To my left, colourful adverts flow down one glass wall, mostly advertising energy drinks and protein bars. A bell chimes, and a holo-display springs to life on one wall, showing images of sleek fitness equipment, and the teenagers exit, sniggering among themselves.

Watching them go, I try to push down an anger that stirs inside of me. Who knew what kind of life I could have had if Bobby had been able to afford to send me to a place like this to be educated? I realise Blake's accusation of being irresponsible about not training my talents has hit a nerve.

‘Sorry for the ride, I wanted to check where they got out,' Cora mumbles as she hits a lower button. ‘I'm pretty sure that pass wasn't legit. Lucky for them I'm in a forgiving mood.'

Exiting on the third floor, I follow Cora to a large dormitory room, set out with ten bunk beds. I spy eight women my own age, sprawled about on the lounges and beanbags scattered in between the beds. Some heads are bent over slates, and others wear net-glasses, eyes elevated to stare at the digital readouts. I've seen these glasses advertised everywhere, but even the knock-offs are crazy expensive.

I follow Cora over to a wall of lockers and watch as she taps on a holographic keypad. One of the doors near me swings open.

‘Getting your own room at this stage of the year will take a little time,' she tells me. ‘Until that's organised, you'll stay here. Some of these girls are late starters, like you, while others just kind of lucked out on the single room score. Bunking with a handful of strangers is no fun, so hopefully you'll get one soon. You can leave your stuff in this locker. I've set the programming and now you just need to enter your print.'

I press my thumb against a small pad on the door and a red light scans it before beeping green. Cora takes out a small functional looking slate from my rookie pack and passes it to me before stuffing the bag into the locker and swinging the door shut. There's a click and the keypad flashes red once. The slate in my hand is tiny, with a small academy logo at the bottom of the handle. When I pull the screen out, it's crystal clear.

‘Is this mine?' I ask.

‘While you're at Helios, you betcha it's yours. All your schedules should be loaded on it by now.'

Cora checks her slate, then walks over to an empty bunk bed, indicating the bottom cot. ‘This is where you'll sleep for now. You don't have a bunk buddy yet, but that could change. I'm sure everyone here will make you feel welcome.'

A girl in a nearby beanbag lowers her net-glasses, gives me the once over and then snorts, as if the sight of me is pretty darn funny. Thumbing the glasses back up, she leans back without a word. Cora gives me an apologetic look.

‘Well, I'm sure you'll be fine anyway.'

I slide the slate into a back pocket and try not to feel nervous at the idea of bunking with total strangers. ‘Where do you sleep?'

‘One of the private rooms, a level up,' Cora says. ‘Room 3F. You ever need anything, feel free to knock on my door. Now, let's get you a late breakfast. Most important meal of the day, you know.'

Exiting the dorm, we head towards another level populated with small break-out and quiet rooms. We stop in a large area lined with windows that overlook a sprawling green landscape, dotted with trees. A shiny metallic kitchen sits to the left and a long table sits on the right. A screen takes up one wall, playing adverts for vitamin sodas, and a couple of news-tablets, headlines scrolling across their screens, sit on a coffee table between two couches.