Earthbound (The Reach, Book 1) (39 page)

“Thank you,” Knile said as the butler disembarked and held out his hand for the suitcase.  Knile handed it to him, and Ursie saw the butler’s eyes drop to Knile’s grubby shoes, which were somewhat out of place against the rest of his clothing, but the man made no comment.

“There we are,” the butler said, securing the suitcase into a small container on the rear of the Auto.  “All set.”

Ursie was surprised to feel Knile’s hand clasping hers, and then she realised he was assisting her into the Auto.

“Uh… thank you… sir.”

Knile waited for her to take her seat before assuming his place behind the steering column.  The butler resumed his position and inclined his head again.

“Good day.”

Knile wiggled his fingers on the steering wheel, achieving a comfortable
position with exaggerated care, then pressed his foot down on the accelerator pedal.  The Auto lurched forward abruptly, almost causing Ursie to bash her head on the domelike windscreen.  They came to a halt as suddenly as they had started, and Knile cursed.  He stepped on the pedal again with the same result.

The butler appeared at the window, a patient and accommodating expression on his face.

“Is everything all right, sir?”

“The accelerator seems to be a bit touchy on this one,” Knile said, embarrassed.

“Would you like a different vehicle?”

“No, no.  This is fine.”

The butler stepped back and Knile started off again, somewhat more smoothly than before.  They began to coast off down the thoroughfare, leaving the butler to stare after them curiously.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ursie said out of the corner of her mouth.

“Gimme a break.  I’ve never driven one of these things before.  It’s not as easy as it looks.”

The momentum of the Auto smoothed out and quickly reached top speed, and like the others they’d seen, that was not much faster than walking pace.  The two of them sat watching the glittering facade of Lux glide by as the wheels of the Auto squeaked against the polished floors.

Coming from the ruinous land on the planet’s surface, this whole scenario seemed utterly absurd to Ursie, but she attempted to push away the distraction of it and concentrate on the task at hand.

“So what are we doing?” Ursie said.  “What’s the plan?”

“There’s a house over by the core of Lux.  You could probably call it a mansion.  It’s the biggest residence in the whole place.  It’s also the only one that spans multiple levels of Lux.  That’s going to be our quickest way to move upward through this tier.”

“Are we breaking into the place?”

“No, there’ll be no need for that.  There’s always some social event going on there, lots of people coming and going.  We just need to blend in with the others and make our way upward.”

“Sounds easy.”

“Not so fast.  We can’t just be seen to be rushing through the place.  That will attract the wrong sort of attention.  We need to measure our pace and go with the flow.”

“Well, I have no idea how to do that.  As long as you know what has to happen, I’ll just tag along.”

They came to a cluster of Autos lined up along the avenue and were forced to stop.  Ursie craned her neck out of the side of the vehicle to see what was happening.

“What’s this?” she said.

“Traffic jam, I guess.  It’ll clear up.”

She slumped back in her chair.  “This is stupid.  It’s too slow.  We could walk faster than this.”

“I told you, no one walks in Lux.  If we’re going to blend in we have to do as they do, and that means travelling by Auto.”

Ursie looked around them, still trying to come to grips with the opulence of the place.

“Do you think these people know what’s beneath them?” she said.  “Do you think they know about places like the slums?”

“Probably,” Knile said.  “I don’t think the problems of people in the slums worry them too much, though.”

The traffic jam began to clear and they edged forward again.

Ursie turned to Knile.  “Wilt was right about something,” she said.  “You’re resourceful.  You could earn lots of creds if you wanted to.  Why wouldn’t you just do the easy thing – buy a place here in Lux and live the good life?  Why do you need to get off-
world?

Knile smiled with thinly disguised contempt.

“You haven’t worked it out yet, have you, Ursie?  All this,” he said, spreading one hand and looking about, “is ending.  The Reach is dying, just like the world outside it.  In a place like Lux, it might not look that way yet, but underneath the skin… underneath this gold plating, there’s nothing but rust.  Nothing but cancer.  Something that can’t be cut out or fixed, something that can’t be healed.  This place is terminal.  In a year, five years, maybe ten, there won’t be anything left alive in here.”  He turned to her and looked her square in the eye.  “The toxins get into everything, no matter how hard you try to keep them out.  Everyone in here is dying.  Some of them just haven’t realised it yet.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know the Reach.  I know it better than practically anyone else.  The air filters have become less and less effective over the years as the pollution outside gets worse.  They can’t keep it out of the water or the crops.  Not all of it.”

“I think you’re just looking for an excuse to leave.  I think you’re running away from something else.”

“Think what you want,” Knile said, shrugging
.  “I’m telling you how it is.  Anyway, right now we have more important things to worry about.”

“Such as?”

“Such as our backstory.  People are going to be wanting to chat to you.  They love newcomers in Lux.  We’re going to be like shiny new toys to them.  You’re going to have to mingle, at least for a bit.  Can you do that?”

“Mingle?” Ursie said, baffled.  “What the fuck is mingle?”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Well, what is it?”

“Chat to people.  Engage in some smalltalk.  Y’know, be charming.”

“Charming?”

“Yeah.  What’s the matter?  How did English become your third language all of a sudden?”

“Well, what am I going to talk about?” Ursie spluttered.  “I have literally nothing in common with them.”

“Be creative.  Just say yes a lot and nod your head, and ask people about their clothes and their jewellery.  They’ll like that.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Now listen,” he said, his voice hardening.  “This is our story: we’re a father and daughter and we just received accommodation here at Lux today.  We’ve travelled a long way from the south and we’re weary from our journey.  That’s why our clothes are wrinkly, and why we’re a bit dishevelled.  That’s why your hair looks so messy.”

“Yeah, thanks.”  She crossed her arms.  “What else?”

“Obviously we have a lot of creds behind us.  We couldn’t have afforded accommodation in Lux without it, but you don’t need to talk to people about how we came by our money.  You can just refer to it as ‘your father’s fortune’.  Act like the naive little kid who doesn’t know how the world works, they’ll lap that shit up.”

“Okay.”

“Avoid specifics if you can.  Just talk about fluffy stuff.  These people are pretty superficial and they probably won’t be interested in anything else anyway.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“That’s about all you need.”  H
e pointed through the windscreen to
where a great deal of activity was happening on the side of the avenue.  “It’s just up here.  Get ready.”

Knile parked the Auto behind the last vehicle in line, and as he and Ursie disembarked, another of the butlers in grey suits hurried toward them to perform the valet service.

“Good morning,” the butler called.

“Morning,” Knile said, removing the suitcase from the luggage compartment.

“Would you like me to take that, sir?”

“No, that’s fine.  I’ll manage.”

“Very good.”

Knile and Ursie fell in with a number of other well-
dressed citizens of Lux who were gravitating toward an arched marble entrance.  Not far away, two Enforcers stood with their thumbs hooked in their belts as they chatted companionably with a stately old couple with grey hair.  Ursie’s step wavered but Knile urged her onward, and together they passed through the entrance without being troubled by the men in black.

“The Enforcers don’t interfere with the nobility up here in Lux,” he whispered.  “Not unless they’re trying to use the elevators.”

Inside the arch, Ursie was struck by the lavishness of what she beheld, which seemed to have gone up several notches from what she’d seen outside. 
Again t
he floors were marble, but here there seemed to be a swirling gold pattern laid into the material that gave it an even more lustrous finish.  Around the walls, intricate statues of cherubs in varying poses had been placed inside recessed arches and lit from above to accentuate their features.  Black steel banisters with golden handrails flanked a broad staircase that led up to the next level, and hanging from the ceiling was a broad, glittering chandelier.

“This is insane,” Ursie breathed.  Socialites in refulgent gowns and pristine three-piece suits drifted past.  They nattered aimlessly and sipped coloured drinks from cocktail glasses as waiters circulated with silver platters of hors d’oeuvres balanced on their fingertips.

“Remember,” Knile said, “don’t stare.  You’re a noble.  This is just a normal day.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t,” Ursie said, blinking.

“Just don’t let them know you’re thinking that.”

“Welcome,” a man said gaily, stepping out from the crowd to stand before them.  “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”  His dark blond
hair was neatly combed, and he wore gold earrings with diamond studs that matched a ring on his left index finger. He flashed white and perfectly capped teeth as he smiled at them.

“Good morning,” Knile said politely.  “I am Remington, and this is my daughter Eve.”

“A pleasure,” the man said, extending his hand.  “I am Preston Glover.  Welcome to my home.”

“Thank you,” Knile said, shaking Preston’s hand.  He glanced around at the partygoers.  “What’s the occasion?”

“Pardon?” Preston said, not quite following.

“What are you celebrating?”

The man seemed to consider this, then flashed his sparkling white teeth again.  He spread his hands in a little shrug.

“Lunch.”

“So you do this every day?” Ursie said, not quite hiding her disbelief.

“Most days, yes.”  He glanced down at Knile’s suitcase.  “Let my man Davey take your luggage to the cloakroom.  You can retrieve it when you leave.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Knile assured him.  “My daughter and I have just arrived after a long journey, you see, and our accommodation was supposed to be ready for us, but there’s been a slight delay.”

“Oh?  Where will you be staying?” Preston said.

“Over on Gilt Avenue.”

“Oh, the western precinct?” Preston said enthusiastically.  “Gorgeous.  Those red sunsets are just
to die for
of an afternoon.  You’ll love it.”

“We hope so,” Knile said.  “They’re readying the place as we speak.  Eve and I would like to leave as soon as we get word so that we can go and rest.  I’ll keep our belongings handy, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Oh, don’t be so quick to dash out of here,” Preston said, placing an arm companionably around Knile’s shoulder and guiding him further into the room.  “There’s lots of fun to be had in the meantime.”

“Yes, so I’ve heard.”

“Really?” Preston said, his eyes lighting up.  “What are they saying about me?”

Knile hesitated for the briefest moment as he considered how to reply.

“That you throw the best parties.  They told us that if we had an hour or two to kill, this would be the place to do it.”

“Is that so, Eve?” Preston said, obviously giddy at the thought of such notoriety.  “Is that what they said?”

“Yes,” Ursie said with a weak smile.  “Uh… indeed.”  The phrase suited her about as well as the dress she was wearing, but Preston didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, then, I can hardly afford to disappoint you
, can I?” Preston said.  “Come on upstairs and I’ll introduce you around.”