Chaos Cipher (19 page)

‘
Can I be in
the militia?’ Kyo asked.

‘
When you’re
a little older, how old are you now?’

‘
Twenty-one.’

The man
started to laugh deeply.

‘
I am
twenty-one.’

‘
Enlisting
age is sixteen.’

‘
I showed him
how to use a gun,’ Pania explained. ‘He’s only thirteen years
though-’

‘
Am not!’ he
lied. ‘I’m sixteen.’

It was common
practice for militia people to educate the population on firearms,
not only how to use them, but how to store them safely. It wasn’t
usual practice for the citizens of Cerise Timbers to be denied
access to firearms, but it was generally not done without training
certain criteria being met. And whereas the militia had full
access, the general population were educated on gun combat, trained
for light-firearms and martial-arts. It wasn’t a mandatory
practice, like most education if it wasn’t applicable to most
people’s lives it wasn’t deemed such, but it was available as
education for those interested, while access was restricted for
those without basic training.

‘
Well,’ the
man nodded. ‘Guess he’s in good hands. You know the rules though.
Has he had basic training?’

‘
Sure did,’
Kyo nodded, holding up his Quantic-W to display his experience
points. The man leaned over and grunted.

‘
I never let
it out my sight,’ Pania winked. ‘Seriously, I’m done shooting
today. Gotta log this out, put it in my locker.’

‘
I’m not
interested in guns anyway,’ Kyo declared. ‘My mother’s a doctor. I
wanna be a medic like her. I’ll sign with the paramedical
syndicates one day.’

‘
That’s real
good to hear, kid,’ said the man, handing Pania the newly assigned
weapon. ‘We could use some heart pushers out in the
Novus.’

Pania loaded
cartages into her ammo belt and Kyo followed close behind. They
took the underground trams around to the city’s air zone, a twenty
minute ride. Departing from one of the standing platforms they made
their way down the metal stairways to the firm concrete ground and
headed towards the militia storage building.

‘
Ahh shoot!’
Kyo said snapping his fingers. ‘I was supposed to help dad
today.’

‘
Aww, you
wanna go cooking in Minerva Meadows little man?’ Pania
teased.

‘
Shut
up.’

Pania led Kyo
through the building. It was busy with militia personnel, some of
which greeted her. Pania opened her locker and slid the rifle
inside.

‘
So when are
you able to bring that thing home?’ asked Kyo.

‘
Whenever I
need to,’ she said, reaching in for her torn camo jacket. ‘I’m
keeping it here for now, it’s easier. I’ll have to get it checked
first and approved by a Mercenary before I can take it out. But by
the looks of things, I don’t think it’s faulty.’

‘
So when can
you use it?’

‘
In a war
situation,’ she explained.

‘
But you said
this will make Professor Laux feel safer?’

‘
It will,
Kyo!’ She explained. ‘I can get it if the situation calls for it.
For now, I’m showing him the weapons catalogue so he knows which
one I selected. After that I use it when training or on
missions.’

‘
Which kind
of gun is this?’

‘
A deadly
one,’ she assured, ‘you only got basic training, but you’re going
to need serious training to use that puppy. You gotta know it
inside and out. Laux will like it. He’ll be happy.’

She slammed
the locker tight.

*

When they
arrived at the hangar Pania slid through the doors calling to Laux
and Fenris.

‘
Yo skags!’
She hollered, holding up a data board displaying the weapons
catalogue. ‘Come n’ see the big guns, ladies. We’re talking
modified M’ ninety three with armour piercing, explosive and high
velocity rounds. I picked something that’s gonna kick a bulwark
down like a dried up sandcastle.’

‘
Hello Pania
Kedash,’ said a woman’s voice from on high.

She craned
her head to see Daryl and Enaya leaning over the rails on the wing
section platform above. Edge Fenris threaded his legs through the
bottom bar and hung off the wing’s edge.

‘
Sadly if I’m
not mistaken,’ he said, ‘there’s a whole world of trouble after
you.’

‘
What the
hell’s going on here?’ Pania’s voice echoed, ‘who are you people?
What you doing in my room?’

‘
My names
Enaya Chahuán,’ she introduced. ‘You may not remember me but I
remember you from many years back. You were quite the
artists.’

‘
Edge!’ Pania
groaned. ‘Have you been showing them my work?’

‘
Are you
kidding?’ Edge said delightedly. ‘Of course I have. The whole damn
world needs to see your work.’

‘
Especially
this one,’ added Daryl, holding aloft an image of Pierce Lewis
painted as a satirical looking Hitler.

‘
Oh,’ she
smiled maliciously, putting her data board by an old rusty weapons
locker. ‘I guess he’s complained, right?’

‘
Indeed,’
said Enaya.

‘
Laux I got
your cylinder flasks!’ Kyo called as he entered the
hangar.

‘
Leave them
by the lockers.’ Laux shouted from the back.

‘
Oh, hey
Enaya,’ Kyo smiled putting down the equipment bag.

‘
Aren’t you
supposed to be at the cook preparations with Dak?’

‘
Yeah,’ he
laughed scratching his head. ‘I know. I kinda forgot.’

‘
He’s not
going to be happy about that.’

‘
Ah,’ Kyo
said shrugging, ‘it’ll be fine.’

‘
Maybe you
should get a move on,’ Enaya encouraged.

‘
Yeah, beat
it you little rat!’ Edge re-joined, doling puffs of smoke as he
spoke ‘give my damn pencils a break before you chew up every last
one of them.’

‘
Like this
one?’ Kyo teased retrieving a pencil from his pocket and popping it
between his teeth.

‘
Oh you
unconscionable little ass-hat!’ Edge growled fiercely, climbing out
of the rail to give chase. His feet pattered like a machine gun,
echoing through the hangar as he raced over the plane wing to the
ladder. Kyo waited around until Edge reached the bottom step then
ran hell for leather, laughing out of the hangar and throwing the
pencil back at Edge.

‘
How did you
spray the Lewis property without getting caught I’ll never know,’
said Enaya following Edge down the stairs. ‘But you’re lucky. He
would have killed you if he caught you.’

‘
That
misogynistic bastard deserved worse,’ Pania said as Enaya handed
her art book back. Pania riffled through the pages as she spoke.
‘He said a real woman’s job was not service to the military but
service to the men.’ Pania looked up at Enaya and smiled. ‘So I
offered him to a wrestling match so I could service his way to the
hospital.’

‘
So what
happened?’

‘
He acts all
tough behind his fence,’ she explained. ‘He talks down to people
like they’re garbage. So I left him a little present in the night.
Had to feed his dog with a harsh dose of sleeping pills to get the
job done. But I don’t regret it.’

‘
Erm,’ Laux
suddenly crocked from the darkness. ‘Excuse me Missus Chahuán. I
want you to know I had no part of this. I mixed the sleeping dose
myself but I had honourable intentions I assure you. I just wanted
to help my friends get some rest. I didn’t know she
would…well…’

‘
You’re not
in trouble Laux,’ Enaya assured. ‘Nobody is. I’m not a police
force. I want to get to the bottom of this so we can ease tensions.
It’s important that even when we don’t agree with each other, we
can at least learn to be civil.’

‘
Tell that to
Pierce Lewis.’ Pania sneered.

‘
Well I was
rather hoping you could tell him,’ Enaya smiled. ‘It might be
prudent for you to remove your installation.’

‘
No way,’
Pania said hotly, hands on her hips. ‘I’m not removing it until he
shows some respect! I want an apology for the insult to me and
every woman here in Cerise Timbers. And I want him to know that he
lives in a world now where women are everything that men claim to
be. Patriarchy is dead here and he needs to know that.’

‘
Yeah, you
tell ‘em sweet tits,’ Edge said sparking up a cigarette. Pania
punched the cigarette sparkling out of his lips and Edge ducked as
the fiery embers spat over his face.

‘
We didn’t
know about any of this,’ said Daryl. ‘It’s always good to get the
other half of the story.’

‘
I’ll be glad
to let Pierce Lewis know your opinion.’ Said Enaya. ‘Supposing he
offers an apology. Will you consider cleaning the
property?’

Pania
scowled. Edge Fenris was crawling around on the floor in search of
his lost cigarette, hissing something about it being his last
one.

‘
I’ll think
about it.’ Pania eventually offered. ‘But a man of that level of
arrogance reducing himself publically to admitting he was wrong
about a woman…I doubt he’s going to say another word on it. He’ll
just play the victim and let everyone see him scrubbing his own
damn walls.’

‘
We’ll be in
touch,’ said Enaya. ‘Don’t you have a Q-net access point in
here?’

‘
Well…’ Laux
started jittery. ‘As a matter of fact I’m putting a new access
screen up for us in a few days.’

‘
Son of a
bitch took it down,’ said Edge on his knees, straightening out his
burnt cigarette. ‘So he could do his sciencey crap.’

‘
I needed
materials for laminating solar cells.’ Laux gladly explained. ‘The
hangar sees a lot of sunlight so I put in the new windows a couple
of weeks ago. We’re now contributing to the city’s power
network.’

‘
But we’ve no
Q-net access point you cretin,’ Edge said sparking up the cigarette
once more and climbing to his feet. ‘This is an information age
damnit, and we’re cut off from the city.’

‘
I said I’m
working on it.’ Laux assured. ‘Two weeks. I’ll register to the East
B’ One Federal building in two weeks and you’ll be able to reach us
via live-stream. Heck it could save your legs every time you need
to come down here and speak to us.’

‘
It could,’
Daryl said, turning away.

‘
Although I’d
much rather you visited,’ Laux confessed. ‘It’s always nice having
fellow thinkers around.’

‘
Just out of
curiosity,’ said Enaya, ‘how did you make those solar
cells?’

‘
Oh I have a
manufacturing hub at the back of my lab. It’s a material printer.
Got some products lined up ready to ship out to whoever needs them
in the city. So far I’ve got about twenty six orders in for
piezoelectric panelling. I’m also working on a wireless oscillating
electromagnet so we can have some
witricity
around here. God knows I’m
sick of tripping over the power cables.’

‘
Laux how
long have you been here?’ Enaya asked.

‘
Oh…about ten
months.’

‘
Why haven’t
you signed up with the tech schools,’ she quizzed in astonishment.
‘We’re crying out for people like you.’

‘
You got me,’
he shrugged with a nervous laugh. ‘I’m working for you all. I can’t
split myself into five people so; sadly progress is a little slow.
Just need to fail-safe test my equipment. Never had to build from
scratch before. Takes a lot of time.’

‘
Why aren’t
you inviting people to see what you’re doing?’

‘
I haven’t
the time,’ Laux sighed. ‘But as soon as I’m all set up in here then
I’ll dedicate more time to showing others how. I can’t concentrate
when I’m being observed.’

‘
Laux is a
dangerous man,’ said Edge.

‘
Thank you
Laux,’ Enaya smiled warmly, nodding as she followed Daryl.
‘Anything you need just let us know and we’ll get word
out.’

He smiled
back and bowed his head.

‘
And thank
you for the whiskey Edge. Maybe another time?’

‘
Yeah, sure,
whatever,’ he mumbled, shaking his head as he wondered into the
depths of the hangar with his hands deep in his pockets.

-11-

‘M
alik…

-Malik are
you listening…?’

Hardly. Malik
Serat watched Earth’s antumbra kindle before the obsidian expanse
right above him. The image of the Earth in blackness was still, the
sun wheeling dizzyingly around passing a frequent wink of light
that died behind the planet’s circular horizon, setting the veins
of the nocturnal power-grid afire like intricate luminous laces.
He’d been in space longer now than he’d ever lived on the planet by
Earth’s clocks. His eyes now beset on the Prussian blue sea,
ponderously searching forever between all the islands and gamboge
threads of light mapped across the intricate patterns of roads
below as they wheeled. He thought of the Mandelbrot set, forever
repeating itself in every dimension of reality, a webbed pattern
compulsively done over and over and over, from the fine troughs of
his skin to the patterns of the stars, from the archipelagos to the
traced motions of solar systems out in the void. He was seeing a
pattern in reality that carried forth through other dimensions of
reality, dimensions locked out to our limited senses.