Chaos Cipher (41 page)

‘
But right
now,’ said Dak, ‘we need to get Kyo out of the city for a
while.’

‘
Our
hardlander guests have issued a threat,’ said Enaya
Chahuán.

‘
What
threat?’ Kyo asked.

‘
They’re
demanding we hand you over to them,’ Sonja explained, putting her
hands on his shoulders.

‘
Who is?’ Kyo
said, his voice breaking with the inflection of
surprise.

‘
Vilen
Krupin,’ Sonja explained. ‘The hardlander man you met earlier
today. They’re demanding we hand you over or they’ll inform the
Atominii about you. We don’t know what the Atominii will do then,
it could start a war.’

Edge reached
for Pania’s pouch and removed another pinch of tobacco and she
didn’t blame him for smoking them up so fast. Rolling a fresh
cigarette he lit the end and folded his arms.

‘
Sounds like
you better get out of here, Biter.’ He declared on a breath of
smoke. ‘You don’t wanna end up in the hardlands, kid. It’s not safe
for anyone there. People fighting over a drop of water. Cyborgs up
your ass ready to kill for a promotion. It’s a place devoid of
humanity and imagination.’

‘
There’s one
more thing,’ Daryl added. ‘Krupin has visual data on Kyo proving
he’s been here. We need to erase that data.’

They looked
over to Professor Aldous Laux and the man had been staring into
space, nodding along half listening until it dawned on him at last
the suggestion of the statement.

‘
You want me
to do it?’ he said. ‘But all my equipment is gone. I’ve nothing to
work with.’

‘
Tell us what
you need,’ said Enaya.

‘
Oh no it’s
going to take time. I need to test, I need to build. It’s not that
simple.’

‘
Whatever it
is we can get to it,’ said Daryl. ‘We’ve already got volunteers.
We’re a gift economy, Laux. We don’t have workers we’re more of a
ludic place, we’re all about design through play. And you’ve
aroused some admirers at the other side of the city who equally
want a good rep for their own genius inventions. You’re quite the
inspiration to their businesses and they’ve been doing their best
to match your creations, pulling together to compete with you. They
said they’ve been following your work and they’re great admirers.
If you want anything, you can bet they’ll have it.’

‘
I know but
I’m a man of habit.’ And he rolled up his wrist to check his
Quantic-W and gasped with joy. ‘Gracious Atomagod my C.A.L.C link
is still active! I can still acquire true time from the Atominii.
That’s one scrap of fantastic news.’

‘
Which
means?’ Pania asked.

‘
Which means
I know the time,’ he smiled brightly, big white neat dentals wide
on his wrinkly grin. ‘But completely off topic I appreciate. So…’
and Laux clapped his hands, ready to get back to work, his mood
elevating at last. ‘I’ll do it!’

‘
Erase the
data. We’re going to tell Krupin the kid left, never to return.’
Daryl explained.

‘
But…I’m not
leaving for good, right?’ Kyo asked.

‘
No Kyo,’
Sonja said gently, ‘just for a few days, just until this all blows
over.’

‘
So…where
will we go?’

‘
I’ve a good
idea,’ said Dak. ‘But we need to get moving.’

‘
You wouldn’t
be going to the Novus, would you?’ Laux said. Dak didn’t want to
say where they were going. He barely knew Laux and he could sense
Kyo now glaring at him expectantly.

‘
I’m not
sure, why?’

Laux dug into
the inner pocket of his lab coat and was mumbling to himself. They
watched as papers spilled to the floor with scraps and notes and
rumples scattering to his feet. Laux seemed to find what he was
looking for after a few more seconds of this, and then handed
something to Kyo. It was a small pill, blue coloured. Laux peeped
over his hand again to check he’d given him the right colour and
smiled to himself assuredly.

‘
Take that if
you get into trouble.’

‘
What is
that?’ Dak asked suspiciously.

‘
It’s a
bio-hack,’ he explained. ‘A sudden boost of strength and adrenaline
will help you run and get out of trouble. It stimulates the bionome
gland, I’m afraid I only have the one and…since Kyo’s in need of it
the most I’d suggest he stays with the booster.’ And Laux began
digging. ‘For you, however, I have something that can help you see
in the dark. But the method of application is a little irritating,
sadly it’s not a pill but…’

‘
Its fine,’
Dak dismissed. ‘Thank you.’

‘
Kyo, you be
careful with that!’ Laux reminded. ‘Only when in a bad situation,
got it?’

‘
I got
it…’

‘
Not picking
up cylinders or competing for the high-jump. I mean serious
trouble, like you need to outrun gunfire.’

‘
Alright,’
Kyo smiled.

‘
I’m not
joking! If someone is shooting at you…’

‘
I got it I
got it!’

‘
Hey,’ said
Pania, running to Kyo’s side and kissing his cheek. ‘Keep in touch.
Use the quantic peer-to-peer encryption. I’ll talk to you on
private call.’

‘
Okay,’ he
nodded.

‘
Take care
Biter,’ Edge waved with his cigarette. ‘I’ll be sure to have
Hattle’s face flash-fried before you get back.’

Kyo smiled as
he followed his family and waved back. Daryl and Enaya Chahuán
stayed put for the moment, concluding their plan.

‘
How are they
getting out of here?’ Pania asked.

‘
They’re
going to need some supplies first,’ said Daryl, ‘we’ve assigned
them a SkyLark at the other end of the air zone.’

‘
So,’ Edge
said, puffing on his cigarette. ‘How are we gonna deal with the
itty bitty problem of old shit-sticks Lewis?’

‘
Diplomatically,’ Enaya Chahuán decided.

‘
Are you
sure?’ Edge asked. ‘Would be a lot more fun for everyone if you
just let me mob him with an AK-fourtee’ seven and a few shots of
adrenaline.’

‘
No,’ Daryl
enforced. ‘That’s not how we do things here. He’s going to be
contacted by our local federation and evidence to the fire will be
presented. The proceedings will be transparent and publicised on
the Q-net for those interested and willing to get involved. We’re
contacting other victims of Hattle’s violence to speak out against
him. At the end of the proceedings, East B’ One’s super majority
decides what is to be done after Pierce makes his defence appeal.
We’ll even review if any other section of the dome would take him
in before complete exile is suggested, although considering how
many people are pissed off with this guy so far it’s looking
unlikely anyone else will want him. It’s a courtesy the Lewis
family we know would not offer any of us if the situation were
reversed.’

‘
So why offer
it to him?’ asked Edge.

‘
Because
we’re happy knowing we’re on the opposite end of the spectrum to
his warped ideologies.’

‘
A fair
point,’ Edge conceded. ‘I wouldn’t personally be as
nice.’

‘
Laux,’ Enaya
said, approaching the tall scientist confidently. ‘Kyo needs you.
We all need you right now. We’ll deal with the Lewis family. But
you need to access the Perigrussia Skybus databases and delete
anything you find in there related to Kyo. I am fairly adequate
with computers so…anything you need I can help.’

‘
Right!’ He
promised, straightening up. ‘I’m at your service.’

-29-

T
he V-TOL plane cruised through the
cold morning air, cutting through the clouds and soaring above one
of the Ameritropolis Atominii cities.

Malik gazed
out of the window down to the hellacious crystal concords below, an
expanse of emerald glass buildings, tubes and bridges, where the
twinkle and wink of flying objects glittered in the sun. The city
had a precise geometry to it, oval with four symmetrically
triangular points. This enormous luxurious structure seemed to be
growing out of an even bigger expanse of ruins and poverty, the
suburban areas, the precariat fringes occupied by those desperate
to return to the paradise of the Atominii. He saw explosions
bursting in the buildings and ruins on the outside and glared at
the spectacle ponderously.

‘
Magnificent
view, isn’t it?’ Vance gloated, recumbent in the leathery warm
seats of the passenger lounge of the plane, as though he hadn’t
seen the fires and surrounding mire. Malik soaked up the view,
watching the uncountable columns of putrid black smoke rise from
the craters of blast zones, while the Atominii glittered unscathed
beneath the sun.

‘
I believe
the terrorists are acting up again,’ said Filipe with a mournful
sigh.

‘
What
terrorists?’ asked Malik.

‘
That’s most
likely the Galileo Coterie.’ Vance explained. ‘They don’t much like
the Atominii. Many transentients do their duty in the Syridan army
to suppress the terrorist activities in the precariat civilian
zones. It’s a dirty job…but it’s got to be done.’

‘
Who are
these transentients?’

‘
It’s a
politically correct name for a cyborg,’ Filipe told.

‘
Usually, the
ones most ready to take up the jobs are ironically the precariats
themselves already living on the fringes. They do it to try and win
back their Atominii citizenship by service to civil duties. It’s
mandatory to serve in the Syridan army for no less than three years
before Atominii certification is recognised again. From then on
it’s up to the transentients, they can either pick-up their lives
in the city where they left off or continue serving the Syridan
military. Strange how many choose the latter. A surprisingly high
number.’

Malik turned
back out to the view, but as they ascended higher the clouds fogged
up the glass and they were soon drowned in an opaque
mist.

‘
Would you
like another suppressant?’ Vance offered. ‘Those nanomes sometimes
cause quite a headache after the initial neurophase
inception.’

‘
It’s fine,’
Malik smiled, ‘I’ve got it under control.’ And he turned to Filipe
and asked where
he
fitted into all this. ‘Are you one of us Serat’s?’

‘
He’s a clone
of my son.’ Said Vance, ‘exo-viviparous, a cultural experiment of
mine. My son was American born. Filipe here was cloned and grew up
in a safe and well educated environment in Paris. I wanted to see
how different his environment would make his personality compared
with my son.’

‘
Was it a
successful experiment?’ Malik asked, analysing Filipe for some
strange product code in his skin or hair.

‘
No,’ Vance
declared, ‘my real son perished in an accident. Filipe is all I
have left.’

‘
I have no
mother,’ said Filipe loquaciously, lifting his shirt to show his
stomach even lacked a bellybutton. ‘That’s what exo-viviparous
means. I was grown in a laboratory, you see? No button. It is not
an unusual practice today.’

‘
I know what
it means Filipe,’ Malik said calmly. ‘I’ve known what it meant
before you even existed.’

‘
Pardon me,
sir,’ Filipe smiled, pulling down his shirt again sensitively.
‘So…I too have a question. Some people think you are insane, what
do you think?’

‘
Well Filipe
in answer to your question,’ said Malik, ‘what you must know is
that I am entirely insane. I have a side-affect brought on by a
rare condition called chronoshock, it causes hallucinations. Every
crew member of the Erebus suffers from the same thing. I struggle
to sense my reality sometimes, I struggle to adjust.’

‘
Interesting,’ said Filipe, staring out the window again. ‘And
you say this chaos cipher is a sort of guide?’

Malik
chuckled. ‘Oh you’ll see.’

‘
We’re here,’
said Vance at last, looking out of the window and pointing. ‘Look
brother...a symbol of my power. The floating city, Atominus
Phalange.’

Malik Serat
leaned over his knees to improve his view and there in the brumous
clouds, over the typhonic blusters that lashed around the spires of
skyscrapers jutting above the foam and mist, he witnessed the
floating city. It was a huge silver sphere, seemingly anchored high
in the sky, with several other spheres attached to its magnitude,
each one had earth scrapers reaching down from the bulbous
floatation. It was an inverted city where everything hung, and he
could see there that the trees seemed to bend and want to coil back
up to the sun, creating strange verdant images. He saw flocks of
birds migrating above the puce clouds, the ginger mist of the peach
sun colouring the stirring storm.

‘
A floating
city,’ Malik stated. ‘This is our new address?’

‘
Yes,’ Vance
said gladly. ‘Much like the other eternals I live quite comfortably
here. And I’ll show you how.’