Page 20 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly (Tyton #1)
“I don’t know. Maybe. Not with a guy though. I thought we’d been over this.”
“We have. Just confirming.”
Callie bolted upright. “Wait. What the fuck? You are not setting me up again.”
Sparx raised his hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Callie settled back down. Sparx turned on the movie.
“Besides, looks like you’re doing just fine all by yourself.”
Callie woke up the next morning to find a man who was definitely not Sparx sitting against her wall. She gasped, scrambling backward. She was about to scream, but he put his hands up in surrender.
“Talia was busy,” he said.
“Busy?”
“She does have a job. A regular one. The train takes a bit longer to get to Model 2.”
Callie wasn’t sure what the salary was like for a gangster, but she knew Talia also did AI psychology. Model 2 used to be its own facility, but as time passed and the company towns grew, Tyton encompassed both facilities when they filed for incorporation.
Callie clutched the blanket to her chest. There was something weirdly familiar about the man. Golden skin, black hair and a slight build.
“I’m Siku. Sesi’s twin,” he said when he noticed she was staring a little too long.
“A twin? I didn’t think twins were born anymore.”
Siku stood, using the wall to brace himself. “Yes, well, I’m sure Sesi has told you all about why we’re a little different.”
Callie blinked the sleep from her eyes. Then she remembered she was still naked. “Uh, do you mind?”
Siku turned around. Callie shuffled about looking for clothes.
“Sesi hasn’t really told me anything.”
“We were born outside the city,” he said to the wall.
“After you brought us those documents, we tested our blood. There are no synthetic organelles. We suspect it’s hereditary now for the rest of you.
We think it’s also why we can’t use implants or DocPods.
Biosig scanners don’t see us either. We’re basically ghosts. ”
“Ghosts?” Callie asked, the conversations with Model 21 slamming back into her brain. She found her sports bra and slipped it over her head. “Kind of weird that no-one noticed a brand-new organelle in everyone’s cells.”
Siku nodded. “It is. That’s probably what she’s going to go looking for next.” Siku muttered to himself.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“Okay, let’s go. We’ll be taking the access tunnels again” Siku turned and started limping toward the door.
“Oh. Can’t we just walk to a port closer to your spot?” Callie tensed up.
“Well, I’m a known quantity and you’re probably about to be one too.”
That part hadn’t occurred to Callie. “What exactly does that mean?”
Siku stopped and opened his mouth as if he was about to speak. It took him a moment, but eventually he said “you can back out now if you want to.”
Callie thought it over. “I don’t even know what I’m backing out of. I just want to know if I have to travel everywhere by creeping through tunnels now.”
“Ah, okay,” Siku nodded, he blew his cheeks out before continuing.
“The short answer is no. The long answer is you’ll only be using them to see us.
Biosig readers can’t penetrate very deeply and there aren’t many in the tunnels.
If they know who you are,” Siku held up his hands in a shrug, “they might find the rest of us.”
“I thought you worked with corporations.”
“Oh, we do. We’re not na?ve enough to believe that they won’t sell us out to a different corp if it becomes expedient.” Siku turned to keep walking.
“Would it be rude of me to ask why you’re limping?” Callie started following again.
“Yes, but I get it. Like I said, Sesi and I can’t use DocPods. You’re probably not used to seeing injuries because people get them fixed at the slightest problem – if they can afford it. If you can’t, you end up unemployed and eventually,” he gestured in a broad circle, “in the tunnels.”
“That seems unfair,” Callie played with the strap of her overalls.
“It is, but very human.” Siku kept his pace. When Callie didn’t say anything, he added. “Qimmiq told me once that we used to put the elderly on ice floes. I don’t know how true that is. Maybe it was his way of showing gratitude.”
“Qimmiq?”
“Our grandfather. He raised us when our mom disappeared in the city. Sesi found work here, sent supplies and I took care of him until he passed. Then I moved here.”
“And now you escort people in the tunnels?” Callie was trying to keep up with all the new information.
“Not usually. I’m the contact for people outside the city, I negotiate deals, that sort of thing. But there was no-one else available today. Because of you.”
“Because of me? Is this some sort of fantasy where you tell me I’m the chosen one ? Only I can save the galaxy?” Callie flailed her arms dramatically.
“No,” Siku chuckled. “You’re just the last piece of the plan.”
“So, how does that make you the only one available to escort me?” Callie was beginning to feel slow again.
“Because everyone else is getting ready. Sesi has been working on this theory for months.” Siku slid open the access hatch and lowered himself through.
“Normally, I’d say something cliché like, ladies first , but I see you’ve got a strength amplifier patch.
You can probably handle yourself better than I can. ”
Callie joined Siku in the tunnel and closed the hatch. She dusted her overalls off, more out of habit than anything. It was even filthier down here than it was up there.
“And you don’t have one because you can’t take implants, right?”
Siku shook his head. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t install one.”
“Why not?” Callie bit at her cuticles.
“Two reasons.” Siku held up two fingers. “First, is that they can be used to send remote commands to your system. That’s how we took you and Sparx.”
“What?” Callie took a step back.
Siku nodded. “Surely you wondered how we did that.”
“I thought it was an EMP or something,” Callie muttered. “Does everyone know about this?”
“That would have taken out the power station you were checking on. And no. We’re pretty sure we’re the only ones who know about it. Talia was the one who found the exploit.”
“Oh.” Callie felt a slight dropping sensation in her chest. It was a bit disturbing knowing that she could simply be rendered inert at the press of a few buttons. Callie realised that Siku had kept walking. She skipped forward and caught up.
“What’s the second reason?”
“Huh?” Siku shook his head as if clearing cobwebs. “Oh, the second reason is that they don’t really work on men. At least not more than regular strength training.”
“Doesn’t that take hours a day, though?” Callie frowned.
“Sure. But that’s why everyone looks like they have noodles for arms.”
Callie had to admit, in pictures of people in the past, they had lumpy arms. She hadn’t really given it that much thought. Everyone looked a little off in pictures of the past.
Talia though, her arms weren’t that muscular. She was quite thin, actually. “What about Talia? Does she not exercise then?”
“Talia used to have one. Removing it seems to cause a sort of lipodystrophy.”
Callie stared blankly.
“A condition that causes your body not to store fat. Or to overstore it. We’re not sure if it’s permanent yet, but I guess we’ll see.”
“Why did she remove it then?”
“Talia assumed it wouldn’t be long until someone else figured out the exploit.” Siku snorted, remembering. “Her exact words were in a species that uses tools, strength is the worst stat to dump your points into. I think Talia wanted to be a ghost, like those of us who never had implants.”
“Because of her childhood?”
“You know about that?”
Callie nodded. “Sparx told me.”
“Sparx has a big mouth.”
“That’s what Talia said,” Callie grinned. “I can’t imagine Talia not wanting attention though.”
Siku bobbed his head back and forth, weighing how much to say.
“We can’t erase her biosig, but we did alter it so the Natalists can’t find her that way.
And even if most video capture has been replaced by biosig scanners, she’s still worried, one of them will recognise her.
But,” he continued, “Talia really hates DocPods and she refuses to change her face. And she’s tall.
I think she’s aware that she’ll always stand out without a DocPod and so she’s going to stand out on her own terms.”
Callie rubbed her bicep where her own patch was.
She’d had it since she was nine, like almost every other child she knew.
The next day at the creche was chaos. The supervisor had spent all morning trying to get children back in their learning pods and stop them from throwing furniture and arm wrestling.
“How were you and Sesi taught? I didn’t even know anyone lived outside of the cities until recently. There couldn’t have been a creche.”
“The same way you were. We had an AI tutor and every now and then Qimmiq would argue with it.” Siku smiled and pursed his lips.
“I remember once, Qimmiq got really upset because the tutor didn’t know the difference between us and the Sami.
I mean,” Siku shrugged, “there isn’t really anymore since most of us who always lived above the Arctic Circle followed the jobs.
The rest started following what animals were left again and we kind of intermingled, but that wasn’t the point. ”
Siku stopped and tipped his head. “I wonder if that was why Sesi was so worried that Qimmiq would be upset if she moved to the city?”
“You were all really close, weren’t you?”
Siku nodded. “Can’t help it when most of your time is spent with just the three of you. You learn to get along.”
“What was she like as a kid?” Callie asked, but Siku just shook his head.
“Those are her stories to tell.”
Callie flexed her fingers. “I doubt she’d have a reason to tell me.”
Siku smirked and shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry about that. She likes you.”
“That’s what Sparx said, but I don’t see it.” Callie almost blurted it out.
“Forget I said anything. Come on, we’re almost there.” Siku hobbled ahead.