Naomi and I stand as straight as two planks in the center of the elevator. We prepare ourselves for whatever is on the other side when it opens. The elevator comes to a smooth stop as we reach the floor. Anxiousness causes Naomi and I to hold our breath and wait for the door to open. Then it flies wide open instantly throwing us into the unknown. I don’t see anyone down the hall as we take a step on the deep red mahogany floor. We both sigh in relief then walk down the hall admiring the white marble floor and walls painted to look like a forest until we reach the security door at the end of the hall. Naomi quickly takes out her fake I.D. and swipes it across the scanner. The door zooms open and we quickly step through, the atmosphere is the same as the hallway. Two men stand at the entryway of an empty room. At the center of the room is a clear glass orb, no bigger than a few inches in diameter. It is held up to knee level by wires that plug into the bottom of the orb then disperse across the floor like the roots of a tree. The two men salute as we walk past them, they are dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses. They are armed with submachine guns strapped at their sides.

“You two,” Naomi demands as she inspects the room. “How often is this room swept for spy devises?”

“Ma’am, this room is swept for “bugs” daily,” the man on the right responds.

“Good,” she says sternly. “You both secure the hall and let no one inside.”

“Of course, ma’am,” the man on the left replies. “Other officials will be sent to different government floors.”

The man on the right side of the door opens it and the two retreat quickly closing the door behind them. Naomi looks over to me smiling and gives me a thumbs up. She and I approach the orb. She waves her hand over it. The lights cut off and the room is lit up by the 3-D holographic computer monitor. A key pad materializes in front of Naomi. She types a code into the computer and instantly gains access. Metal vines come up from tiny holes in the floor behind her. We recoil from the vines. They continue to grow and began to twist and intertwine with each other until they form a chair.

“Cool,” Naomi says as she walks back to the computer and sits.

“That is the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen,” I say as I walk up beside her.

“You have not seen anything if that’s freaky,” she responds.

She puts her hands over the key pad and closes her eyes. Suddenly streams of light extend from her fingertips towards the computer. The screen then starts to scroll, click and type information on its own. She is silent for several minutes before opening her eyes. When she does, the light stops flowing from her hands.

“Smile,” she says as the computer flashes.

Seconds later my surprised face, appears on the monitor.

“You know that isn’t right,” I say as I look at the picture.

“I think it looks cute,” she responds.

“Redo it,” I demand.

“Fine,” she says defeated.

In a second flash, the picture is taken and the I.D. is finished. She stands up and grabs me by my arm and pulls me over to her. She then swipes her hand over the bracelet on my arm. It turns on and she immediately starts typing away again. The image of the I.D. appears on my arm as well.

“Congratulations. You are now an official Gandole citizen,” she says. “Your I.D. is going to be electronic though.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” I say, “So what’s next.”

“We need to get some supplies,” Naomi says as she lets go of my arm. “I fear that we won’t be able to stay in this province for too long even with the underground Black Technologist ruin.”

“I thought we were coming to train?”

“We will soon, but until the bone integration I can’t do anything with you. Right now your muscles are stronger than your bones and the last thing we need is you fracturing or breaking anything. We need to go to the city.” She logs out of the computer and turns it off.

The lights in the room come back on and the metal vines that created the chair untangle then disappear into the floor when Naomi stands up. I trail behind her out of the room.

“The room has been vacated,” one of the guards says on an earpiece as soon as we vacate. “Send up the clean-up crew.”

Naomi and I walk to the elevator. After she scans her I.D. the door opens. As before, the bright light from the glass wall blinds us until our eyes adjust.

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“What was the light that came out of your hands when you were on the computer?” I ask pointing at her hand.

“Oh, that,” she says nonchalantly. “My grandfather personally designed the Copy Seed within me. It is the most highly developed created by Gandole. What you’re talking about is a hacking program called Control. One of five ah…” She pauses to search for the right word. “… accessories my grandfather created with the Copy Seed.”

“So what are some other things that it can do?” I ask.

“You’ll find out later I’m sure. A girl can’t tell you all her secrets. Some of them you have to find out yourself,” she says with a wink.

The elevator comes to a slow stop. We find ourselves back inside the library. We stroll out and begin our expedition through the hectic streets. Naomi is leading me to a mall in a busy part of town. Most of the people in the city appear to be working on beautifying the major streets. They are putting up festive decorations and setting up stalls, some selling cultural foods.

“What’s going on?” I ask Naomi.

“The Festival of Allegiance. In two days is the tenth anniversary of Albany’s union with Gandalia as a state. There’s going to be fireworks, parties, drunken idiots… girls your age,” she says to catch my attention. “Maybe we should stay for it.”

“I’d rather not,” I say. “I came here to prepare to act out the vengeance of my people not to party.”

“I know our mission, and trust me when I say you will need times like this to reminisce about to keep from becoming a monster. The path to vengeance is paved in the blood of the innocent as well as the guilty and it has ruined many good men like you. Once you lose yourself to vengeance, you will become what you sought to destroy.

“What am I to do then,” I ask, “if vengeance will destroy me?”

“We will walk the path of justice, not vengeance,” she says. “We will be an incorruptible force not acting on scornful feelings but on just principle.”

I look up at Naomi and see in her eyes a deep burning fire. The same fire I saw in Timpuji if anyone ever threatened Kai, Fantasia or myself. The same fire I saw in Kai when he was a member of the Brotherhood. This fire, this drive is something I’ve always wondered, do people see it in me as well?

∞

Naomi and I stop at a throng of people a couple blocks away from the mall. We force our way through the crowd to find the road blocked to prepare for the festival. This is the main street for the festival so the entire road is costumed for the festivities. One of the workers sees Naomi and me and lets us through the barrier so we can be on our way. Being dressed like military police has its advantages. The stores set up for the great tourist traffic. Naomi and I are bombarded with the pounding of hammers, scraping metal and loud talking. We reach the mall booming with people.

The mall is huge, four stories high and seems to stretch as far as the eye can see. The parking lot is full of venders walking around searching for customers to buy their shoddy “genuine” souvenirs. They avoid Naomi and I as we walk and, one of them watches us from the corner of his eye as we walk by.

Naomi does not pay him any attention so I turn away as well. We reach the main entrance which is an outside plaza with several storefronts with shoppers milling about. For the first time I’ve been in Albany, I feel like I can let down my guard.

Naomi leads me over to our first stop—a pharmacy. We are greeted with a “Welcome” by the middle—aged cashier as we walk in. Naomi approaches him. What catches my eye though is the candy shelf. Candy bars I have not seen or tasted for years and many more that I have never seen before.

Candy in Aidon is a luxury that Timpuji could not afford. There were a few wealthy individual living at the capitol who trade for it. Some of them wait for weeks before they actually eat it to show others less fortunate they are so endowed to afford candy. Treats such as cakes, ice cream and other sweets are used mostly to show the difference in classes. There are only three classes—the rich, the unfortunate, and the dying, each of which is only separated by a thread.

“You want one?” Naomi asks.

“Yes,” I respond without even thinking. “But we should probably save money for things we need.”

“Don’t be that way. Just choose one,” she says.

“Okay. You don’t have to be pushy,” I say as I reach down and grab a chocolate Herse. “I’ll take this one.”

“For that and the ten cases of Oni-Med,” the cashier says, his thick mustache dancing across his face, “that will make your total 151 vabren. We also accept the Gandole dollar valued at the same price. Oni-Med can only be sold to military personnel so you’ll have to pay with I.D. or MHC with pin.”

“I can’t believe you have that kind of money,” I whisper to Naomi.

“Of course. My grandfather has been preparing for this for eighteen years. You thought he would leave us penniless?”

“So he left you a secret account as well?” I ask.

“Yes I will be paying with the Gandole dollar through my MHC,” she says as she swipes her computer bracelet over a scanner and types a nine-digit code on a screen that emerges.

The man unlocks a drawer taking out the ten sixteen-ounce containers of Oni-Med placing them each in a bag. He then hands them to me.

“Wouldn’t want the lady to be carrying the bags now would we?” the cashier says.

I take the bag and am amazed how light ten containers of Oni-Med are.

“What is this stuff anyways?” I ask Naomi as we walk out.

“It’s a medical miracle. If you were to acquire a cut, gash or even a gunshot this would help stop the bleeding, numb the pain and temporarily replace damaged tissue. Of course it has its limits with the severity and size of the wound. It was actually created by your parents.”

“I thought they were Black Technology scientists,” I say. “Why did they create something for medical practices?”

“The formula came from studying Black Technology. Many of our sciences are reverse-engineered from Black Technology now. Your parents were two of the greatest pioneers for Black Technology research. They created many inventions with the sole purpose to aid human kind.”

“You know so much about them and I am their son and I can only barely remember what they look like.” I say.

“That isn’t right. The Seed should have given you perfect memory by now,” Naomi responds.

“Where to now?” I ask wanting to change the subject.

“A clothing store called Banana Nation. You need some new outfits.” She says. “After all, you only have the military garb.”

“Okay,” I say unsure of how to react.