"Oh my God!"

Both boys stared at the drone in awe. A gold mine had just dropped on to their laps.

Securing a working bot was nearly impossible. The droids were fully capable of defending themselves and the bots maintained constant communication with each other. Facing a drone swarm wasn’t anyone's idea of fun.

However, hypothetically speaking, if one managed to isolate a bot, and wrestle it into submission, it would still opt for self-destruction rather than being captured. Safeguards were in place that would prompt the drones to fry their internals to prevent this exact scenario.

"We are going to make bank," Remy whispered.

"Shh!" Will's hands shook. "You're giving me the nerves."

"Okay, okay," Rem had his hands raised. "Take your time. Just remember, the market rate for the driver is a thousand credits, and for a cubit, it's ten thousand."

"You have an odd way of motivating people," Will muttered.

"Did it work?"

"Yes."

Will looked at the ether cubit. The translucent black cube was held secure within its casing. Tiny pinpricks of light twinkled in its depths like trapped little stars. Deep inside, he could faintly make out the master chip, which was the drone's logic center. He recognized the make; this was a high-end model.

He let out a breath and got started. First, the protective panels came off, and next was the bottom fixtures. With that done, he could access the back. The drive system looked intact. He took apart the bottom casing and broke the entire drive train free.

"Yes," Remy exclaimed as Will handed him the drive. It was intact and in working order.

"It works!" Remy cheered. "A thousand credits, baby, let's go!"

And here comes the hard part. The control chip was dislodged by a hair's width of misalignment. If nudged into place, they would lose everything. The droid would come back online and fry itself.

Will moved with glacial slowness, disconnecting one pin after another with careful precision. His movements exact, each step meticulous. Half a minute into the breakdown, he even halted his breath. As the final pin disengaged, he delicately pried the control chip from the board. The following moments blurred together, but in the end, he clutched the etherite in his hand.

"Yes!" Remy was positively gleeful, thumping Will on the back.

Will gasped, fixated on the cubit. It gleamed iridescent under their jacket lights—a cuboid black void with tiny pinpricks of sparks emanating from its center. Will had to remember to breathe again. He held ten thousand credits in the palm of his hand.

"Woah" Remy said quietly. Will slowly turned the ether cube and admired how it caught the light. He didn’t have to worry anymore.

"Wait—" Remy grabbed Will by the shoulder.

"What?"

"Look," he pointed near the edge of the cube. There was a small crack, nearly invisible, barely hairline thin. It snaked its way from the edge to halfway into the center of the cubit.

Will's face fell; all his dreams of big money went down the drain.

The reason why high-end chips were expensive lay in the near-perfect etherite crystals encasing them. These crystals kept psionic signature interference at bay. Even light exposure to external psionic fields would permanently increase quantum tunneling effects in the chips and render them useless.

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Without the crystals, the cubit would be reduced to a very expensive and extravagant paperweight.

"Ah, sorry, bud," said Remy

Will looked crestfallen. "How much do you think I'll get for it?"

"Ninety... maybe a hundred credits."

"... shit."

"Hey, at least we got the drive. We could split—"

"No," rejected Will.

"Will—"

"No."

Remy sighed, "Alright. Still, it is a hundred credits."

"Yeah, just not ten thousand," Will grumbled.

Remy deadpanned, "You had zero credits ten minutes ago."

Will deflated. "You're right.... you're right..."

Remy gestured toward the ether cube. "We've got something to work with now. We'll manage just fine."

"Sure," said Will. The stacks of crates rattled as the train slowed down. The next stop was close.

"You know what we should be doing," asked Remy, "this is going to solve all our problems."

"What, let me guess," mused Will, "beat Rowan up?"

"Well, yeah," chuckled Remy. "That's a given. But since you're against it, the next best thing: we've got to go to the awakening day-after party."

"And why would we do that?"

"You need to relax, and I need to party. Win-win."

Will shook his head, but Remy interrupted before he could speak. "Listen, we're all going to the Hallucia temple anyway. We'll hit a few places after that."

Will gave him an exasperated look.

"Look at it this way," said Remy. "It'll loosen you up, help you come up with an idea."

Will let out a breath. "I'll think about it."

Remy snapped his fingers. "That's the closest thing to a yes that I'll get from you."

He stood up as the train came to a halt. "Don't worry, bud."

Remy stepped toward the exit. "This is going to be great. Awakening day this year is going to be a blast. I got a feeling."

The doors clanged open, and two droids scuttled into the train. Remy turned his jacket lights on, and the compartment was turned into a chaotic disco. The bots ignored him as they brought collected a few crates.

Remy vaulted onto the platform, but paused right outside the doors. He turned around and tossed something to Will.

There was a flash of red and Will's hand closed around something smooth and cool. There was a crisp sweet smell in the air. Surprised, Will stared down at the apple in his hand.

He looked back up at Remy, who gave him a wink and wave before walking away. The bots followed him out, and Will watched them disappear into the station warehouse.

The train doors slammed shut, and Will flinched. He was left in the dark once again. The train lurched to a start. More clangs echoed from the train as it detached from the dock.

Will didn't bother turning on his jacket lights. He sat curled up in the dark, his head in his hands. A muted groan escaped his lips, which he tried to stifle but to no avail.

Dear old optimistic Remy. He seemed so sure that something would turn up. Will couldn't see how.

This could be it. Everything that he had worked for, everything he had done to move up the tower, could be undone. It was cause and effect. Everything was chained to one another.

If the scholarship halts, the money stops; without money, medication ceases; lacking medication worsens his condition. And all the way down the chain of cause and effect was the physical prerequisites for the psypher program, which he would not meet.

It was not as though he failed to understand the logic of the school board. It was fine to have programs to benefit underprivileged kids, but they should show some progress. They would have to keep their grade point average high and show consistent improvement in their medical condition. Stone man syndrome was best treated between the ages of ten and twenty. If the sickness lingered any longer, it would likely never go away. It was a cruel sort of calculus, and he had come out on the losing end.

Now, with the money cut off, it was the end of his medication and education. Without the medication, it wouldn't be long before his half-calcified leg would be fully calcified. With his nerves slowly turning to stone, he could forget about piloting a mech ever again. Forget climbing up the tower. No future, no prospects.

One mistake and it was the end of the line. Like swimming against the current on the edge of a waterfall. The minute you stop is the minute you go over the cliff. That was the problem living at the bottom; you are one step away from the abyss. People were barely clinging on. One wrong move, and it is a fall off a cliff.

Minutes ticked by. For how long he sat there unmoving, Will didn't know. It was only when the train started to slow once again that he stirred.

Will raised his head. He couldn't fall to pieces. He couldn't afford to. He picked up the apple; its sweet smell still lingered in the air. With great care, he wrapped it up with a kerchief and placed it in his pocket.

The etherite came next. The cube was cool to the touch; its tiny stars shone brighter in the dark as they twinkled serenely. It was beautiful in a way.

At least he wasn't starting from zero. A hundred cred was still a lot of credits. He stuffed the etherite into his pocket and stood up. He had to convert this hundred credits into thirty thousand for his medication. The undercity markets could fetch him a good price with the right seller. As for what came after, he didn't know, but he had to find a way.

A loud clang echoed through the train as it docked at its last stop. Will patted his pockets and then turned on his jacket lights.

The train doors flew open, and the worker drones swarmed in. Will stepped over them, exiting the train, determined to make the most of what he had.

This cubit was just the start.