Chapter 7

The door to the girls’ dorm slid open roughly ten minutes later. Ava was still in the bathroom, but instead of hurling up vomit into the toilet bowl, she had brushed her teeth and was now washing her mouth out with Galactic Gargle, a bitter oral rinse that, according to the label, CLEANSES YOUR MOUTH LIKE A STARSHIP ENGINE!

“You back there, Longwood?” Sibyl’s voice. The cold, sinister timbre couldn’t have belonged to anyone else. According to others, it was a disease. Tyrone had once mentioned that everyone from her galactic station was brought up under strict rules, with a heavy focus on education and, in his own words, ‘a lack of freedom onboard’. No fun, constant studying, and an over-reliance on academic performance. Yeah, that would cause anyone to lose their soul.

Ava spat into the sink and let the water run from the faucet. “I’m in the bathroom.”

“I figured,” she said, and it sounded as though she dropped something heavy on a bed. “Your package came.”

The water stopped. “My package?”

“The things you brought onboard the dropship,” Sibyl said. “They’re in the holding facility on the bottom floor. You’ll need your ID to collect them. Terrygrew thought I should tell you.”

Ava wiped her mouth dry with a piece of tissue paper, turned back, and opened the door to the bedroom area. Sibyl was standing near the end of her bed, nailing a swathe of tape from a cardboard box.

Oh, that package. My pictures, my books.

“Mindfield says security had to run our items through decontamination,” Sibyl said without looking at Ava. “So I’m a bit worried they might be ruined.”

Ava furled her brow. “You mean they put them through the foam and—”

“It was more a spray from what Mindfield says.” Sibyl tore the tape back with a loud rip. “They claim it was only used to terminate potentially malicious bacteria that may have managed to climb into the cargo hold.” She dug her fingers into the box and pried the flaps open. She began pulling things out one by one: some pictures, a blanket with black-and-white stripes, and a small portable handset of some kind.

“What’s that?” Ava pointed.

“A voice recorder.”

“But your Echo has a recorder built into it?”

“I’m aware,” said Sibyl. “But if you trust Fedtech not to spy on you while you’re making personal diary entries, you're a fool.”

How likely was that really? “I make diary entries too, but more so on paper as opposed to, you know, recordings.”

“That’s not as foolproof as it sounds,” Sibyl said. “At least with vocal entries you can lock them behind a code. In journals, anything you’ve ever noted could be stolen.”

“Not if you hide the journal well,” said Ava.

“There are no good hiding spots in Site 101. You can thank the sheer number of cameras for that. Look.” She pointed to the blinking blue light in the far-right corner of the room. Sure enough, it was coming from inside the glass of a rounded camera. “Our every movement is monitored. Did you notice any in the bathroom?”

“Cameras? No. There are none.”

“Try behind the mirror next time.” Sibyl smirked. “Have you ever taken the time to look behind your bathroom mirror on the SS?”

Ava hadn’t. She crossed her arms. “You think we’re being watched?”

“Not think—know.”

“How so?”

“I spent the last four years on Nexus Prime manufacturing cameras and sound recorders for the Federation. Come to find out not too long after starting, there was a special planet located on the outskirts of Orion with high terraforming potential, and the Fed was looking to create several habitats on the surface of it to sustain human life.

“Everything we manufactured was transported here shortly after the habitats were constructed, and before the Federation began moving people over one by one.”

Ava gave her a thoughtful expression. “How do you know you weren’t just making cameras for everyday use? I mean, surely that must have crossed your mind.”

Sibyl smiled coldly. “I’m a very curious person. I knew some of those cameras were too small, a mere fingernail in size. I asked myself why that might be the case. Of course, the Federation didn’t want them to be seen in places where they shouldn’t have been: bathrooms.

“But where in the bathrooms? I thought. It was only when I was getting ready to turn in for the night, brushing my teeth at the sink, that I had the answer: behind the mirror. So, one day after work, I snuck out a ballpoint screwdriver from the workshop and unscrewed the mirror. What do you think was behind it?”

Ava hummed in wait of an answer.

“A camera, the size of a fingernail,” Sibyl finished.

Ava almost shivered. The idea that she and her mother were possibly being watched in the bathroom their whole life didn’t sit well with her. It made her skin crawl even. “That’s… horrible.”

“Isn’t it? Changed my whole perspective on the Federation.”

“But why would they want to watch us? In the bathroom of all places?”

“Seventy per cent of illegal activity happens in a bathroom nowadays,” said Sibyl. “Drugs, to be specific.”

Ava pursed her lips. “I see.”

Sibyl reached into the cardboard box and pulled out something small and soft. A plushie. Particularly a minky cyborg with a cute little smile. “Before you ask, no, I don’t collect toys. This belonged to my grandmother long before it did me. She said it’s a good-luck charm. I don’t believe in spiritual magic, but I do believe in listening to my grandmother. Especially when she's on her deathbed and I don’t have any words of my own to go off.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure she was a great woman.”

Sibyl smiled and looked at Ava pleasurably. “She was, Longwood. She was indeed.”

Ava checked the time on her Echo device. An hour had already passed since the inkasum attack, which got her thinking. “Do you know if Crook is alright?”

“He’s in Med Bay,” Sibyl said, “or at least he should be. I wasn’t paying much attention. In all honesty, Crook is a bit of a crybaby.”

“That bite looked pretty painful,” said Ava.

“Well, considering that we impeded on a mother’s habitat and threatened her offspring, it’s no surprise it bit as hard as it did.”

Ava’s eyes flew open. “You know about that, too?”

“That those were babies? Yes. I knew as soon as I saw the size difference between them. Most creatures would book it at the sound of such a monstrous machine, and the sight of creatures—us—they might not recognise. But animals act in strange ways when their children are involved, threatened. Do you know why hamsters eat their babies?”

“Stress,” said Ava.

Sibyl nodded. “I have a feeling you’ve been thinking about this, too.”

“I have,” she said, “but… well, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’m still not. I feel horrible about the whole thing.”

“Why?” said Sibyl, brusque. “You feel bad for those things?”

Ava should have known that Sibyl wouldn’t have cared much about the whole moral side of things. Why would she? “Murdering innocent creatures will always be evil, Sibyl.”

“Is that why you don’t eat meat?”

“It’s exactly why I don’t eat animals.” There was a hint of annoyance in Ava’s tone.

“Do you think you’re benefiting the good of mankind by sticking to vegetables and fruit? That you’re benefiting the animals?”

Ava said, “Had we stopped eating meat centuries ago, maybe we wouldn’t be here. Maybe we would still be on Earth. Do you know why Earth ended up the way it did?”

Sibyl let out a high-pitched chuckle. “It wasn’t pollution.”

For someone who supposedly had a strict education system, you would think that she would know better. “What was it then?”

Sibyl placed the cyborg on the night table next to her bed. It sat against the wall with its arms flopped at either side. “Everything they tell us about toxic gases, poisonous interference with the Earth’s atmosphere, the ozone…. It’s all bullshit, and so is the hypothesis you and the rest of the vegan community like to go with, that it was the high demand of food that caused the overproduction of damaging fossil fuels. Overpopulation.”

“You’re not answering my question,” said Ava.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“The only reason Earth ended up the way it did is because no other country could agree to spread goods equally among the populations. Some people were buying too many goods. Not many liked that. Anger broke out, the rich wanted more, and the poor couldn’t get their foot in the game.

“Of course, that didn’t matter. Because once the government superpowers got involved, so did nuclear firepower. The explosions are what caused the atmosphere to disintegrate, Ava, not this whole nonsensical belief about ‘overpopulation’ and a high demand for processed food.”

Had Ava not already been exhausted by the day’s events, she might have spent a good five minutes educating her on the difference between a theory and a fact. The fact was that Earth had suffered from great overpopulation, and by extension, a heavy reliance on enormous food quantities. The theory was that the world didn’t want to work together. Sibyl was a whistleblowing conspirator, nothing more. “Interesting perspective, Anderson.”

Just then, the door to the dorm slid open again, and this time it wasn’t one of the girls on the other side. It was someone dressed in black-and-blue temp-armour, as was characteristic of the Colonisation’s security. A blowout pistol holstered on the belt, a vantablack helmet completely covering the face. “Miss Longwood.” It was a woman’s voice, muffled.

It took a bit of time for Ava to respond. She stepped away from Sibyl’s bed and approached the officer. “Yes?”

“HR would like to speak with you.” The officer tapped her Echo and spoke into it: “She’s in the dorms.”

“Is this about me running away?”

“Not at all.” The officer took a step forward before gently placing her thickly gloved hand on Ava’s shoulder. “I can’t disclose any information as per our General Data Protection Regulation, but regardless, I’ll need you to come with me.”

Ava was taken aback. What could this be about then? Whatever it was, she didn’t bother saying goodbye to Sibyl before being escorted out the door; she simply wasn’t worth the breath after that discussion.

* * *

Ava followed the officer through several domes, heat-resistant tunnels, and a hall packed to the brim with hundreds of people sitting at long cafeteria tables. It was lunchtime, and it seemed chicken noodle soup was a popular choice for most, although luckily the food bars had quite the selection of vegan-friendly meals on display. She made a mental note to come back here and give them a try when she had the time.

They caught the elevator up to the seventh floor and, after passing through yet another series of glass corridors—ones not connecting to other domes but instead giving a nice view of the forest—stopped at a large chamber door guarded by another officer dressed in the same uniform as the woman, though instead of holstering a pistol, he carried a semi-automatic rifle, and a general sense of seriousness about him.

“Ava Longwood,” said the female guard.

“ID?” the man said.

Ava reached into her pocket and provided him with the card. The man looked at the card, then at Ava, then at the card again, and back at Ava. He handed it back to her. “You can stop escorting her from here, Agent Priscilla.” Priscilla nodded and took off. The man punched a code into the dial-pad. Within seconds the chamber door separated, revealing a stout hallway of black-and-blue wires which led quickly to yet another glass door.

“Who am I speaking to, sir?” said Ava.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Walk through. They’re waiting for you inside.”

Ava’s confusion deepened. Her worry too. She stepped into the dark corridor and the door slid shut. The sound of an automatic air-freshener going off caused her to jump momentarily, but once she smelt that sweet lavender fragrance, she relaxed, although not by much. She took a breath and walked into the office. It was a large white room with a rectangular TV playing a slideshow of colourful, abstract art. At the centre of the room was a table at which three people sat, one beneath the slideshow—presumingly a member of HR based on his white lab coat—and two men opposite him. It took a couple seconds for her to recognise who they were, and all of a sudden she had a fairly strong idea of why she was here.

Zef, Jack.

“Miss Longwood, how are you?” said the man in the white lab coat.

The mood around the room grew tense and uncomfortable. Ava approached the table. “I’m fine. You wanted to see me, sir?”

“In fact I do. I won’t keep you for too long. I just need to get to the bottom of what happened today. I’m sure you’re already aware of what this is about.”

Ava locked her hands together behind her back. “I think so.”

“I know we haven’t met, but my name’s Professor Luther Stronghold. I’m the Head of HR Operations, and your captain tells me there was an incident today. An incident involving a certain misfire. Zef pointed his weapon at you and shot, almost killing you in the process. Is this correct?”

Zef cut in abruptly. “Christ, Luther. I didn’t mean to shoot anywhere near the woman—”

Luther made a cut-off motion with his hand. “Quiet, Agent Mindfield. And do keep this civil. My name’s Professor Stronghold. Let’s keep it that way. Now, Miss Longwood, I just need to ask you a question, and be honest with me, alright?”

Ava nodded. “Yessir.”

Luther steepled his fingers and leaned forward, his eyes stern. “When Agent Mindfield fired, how close did the discharge come to impacting you?”

Ava almost jumped at the answer—it had already been floating in the back of her mind—that, had she been a couple inches to the right, the laser would have cut through her helmet and blown her brains out on the grass. Although she wouldn’t quite word it like that.

The only thing stopping her was the eerie thought that followed: What would happen if she actually did give Luther that answer? Would Zef lose his job? Would he be placed on investigation for misconduct? She didn’t know, and she didn’t feel entirely comfortable putting someone’s career on the line for something that was over and done with, especially since he didn't mean to do it.

But she already lied once today, and she hated lying. The truth needed to come out. She could only hope that this wouldn’t weigh on Zef’s career too much.

“Well, sir,” said Ava, “had it been a couple inches closer, it would have likely killed me.”

Zef scoffed and threw his arms in the air. “Are you serious?”

Perhaps that was too harsh a way of putting it.

“And that’s from the lady herself, Mindfield,” said Jack.

“Aw shut up, Terrygrew. This is bullshit. Complete bullshit!” said Zef, scowling at the three of them.

“Agent Mindfield—” said Luther.

“What? You gonna sack me over a fucking accident? Really?”

“No one said anything like that, buddy.” Jack shook his head, cross-armed.

“Would—” started Luther.

“Carry on like that and you might though. Admit you messed up; it’s that simple.”

“Fuck you, Jack.” Zef gave him the finger. “Bringing me all the way here for this bullshit meeting. She’s alive, isn’t she?”

“Mr. Mindfield,” said Luther, his voice loud and orotund. “If you swear at or antagonise anyone in this room again I will terminate your contract indefinitely. Is that what you want?”

Zef laughed, a quick, high sound, full of tension. “Why don’t you ask her?” He jerked his head at Ava and scoffed. “‘Any closer and it woulda killed me.’ You were fine and you know it, Longwood.”

Despite his attempts at humour, Ava could sense the frustration in his tone, a gruff, half-suppressed quaver that made him sound like some comical supervillain.

“It was very—” began Ava, but Luther stopped her with a look.

“Don’t engage, Miss Longwood.” He gestured towards the door. “Ask Officer Jones to contact Priscilla and she’ll be here at a moment’s notice to escort you back to your station. I am terribly sorry.”

“Sure you are,” said Zef.

“You’re excused, Miss Longwood.”

* * *

No one said a word when Ava made her way out the door. After speaking to Officer Jones, he made a quick Echo call and, not even ten minutes later, Agent Priscilla came to escort her through the labyrinth of Site 101 once again.

Ava followed her through the cafeteria, the heat-resistant tunnels, and the many different docks for land vehicles: roamers, buggies, tiny podcars. Along the way, Ava remembered what Sibyl had said earlier, that her package was waiting in the holding facility, and she felt a sudden urgency to collect it. She hoped that none of the contents, particularly the pictures of her mother, had been damaged. So they made a quick stop at the facility near the entrance to her station building. Ava told Priscilla that she was okay from here onwards, and so Priscilla left to return to her duties. Ava provided her ID to security, grabbed her package, and brought it up to Floor 14. A heavy rain swept over the building, pounding on the roof like jazz percussion. She caught sight of the outside world after walking through the corridor to GX-27. Through the window wall, the clouds had darkened and the trees were blowing briskly. Was this the beginning of one of the hazardous planetary conditions that the Federation had documented on their website? Zurn 852 was prone to several types of storms, and the toxicity of the air tended to fluctuate depending on how severe the weather had been. Relative to Poseidon, this would have been what people on Earth would have known as autumn, meaning the weather would gradually worsen over the next few months.

With one hand, she pulled her ID out from her pocket, swiped it through the activation slot, and watched the door to GX-27 slide open. She walked inside, feeling relieved. Today had been her first day working as a true coloniser/astroengineer for the Federation, and it had been deeply unpleasant.

All the girls were inside. Kira and Jade were chatting to one another, while Sibyl was sitting at her bed as usual, her Echo stripped from her wrist and used instead as a manual mobile device. Her eyes were fixated on the screen.

Jade had taken the top half of her tempsuit off and tied the sleeves around her waist, exposing her sweat-stained tank top, and to a greater extent, her impressive muscles. “Ava?”

“Hi Jade,” she said, dropping her package on her bed.

“We heard you weren’t feeling well,” said Kira, munching on a bag of crisps.

“You want a water?” Jade reached down to the slab of water bottles at her bedside. “I got some at the shop earlier.”

“That’s alright.” Ava forced her nail under the tape on the cardboard box. “Thanks though,” she said, trying to get a good pulling grip under the tape.

“So, did Mindfield lose his job?” a voice said.

Ava looked up from the package. Sibyl, of course. “No,” she said tentatively.

“That’s what the meeting was about?” Jade raised both eyebrows.

“HR just wanted my side of the story,” Ava said. “It’s no big deal.”

“Don’t be surprised if we don’t see Mindfield again,” said Sibyl, swiping through her Echo screen.

A splinter of unease burrowed into Ava. She refused to believe that would happen. “I bet you’d like that.”

“I would,” she said. “That man doesn’t have what it takes to be a co-captain.”

“And you do?” said Ava, voice equally as cold.

Sibyl shrugged. “I’ve had my fair share of leading teams, but those were newbies. I wouldn’t dream of co-leading astroengineers such as myself. I don’t quite have the experience.”

“Or the humour,” quipped Jade.

Ava stifled a groan and ripped the tape off. She pulled the flaps open, saw that everything was inside, and began inspecting the pictures one by one. The first was a picture of herself, her mother, and her father; Ava had been eight years old at the time, and her father had been holding her in one arm. It was the day her father got accepted as an astrongineer for the Crimson Collective, and as such he had been wearing the red tempsuit with the spider crest. Ava smiled. She placed it on her night table.

“Nice picture,” said Kira coolly.

“Was about to say,” added Jade. “How old were you in that?”

“Eight,” said Ava.

“You were cute back then.”

Kira tittered. “You’re saying she’s not now?”

Ava sighed. “You guys are funny.”

Jade took a sip of her water bottle. “Do you guys think Crook’ll be okay?”

“I hope so,” said Kira with a wry expression. “If what Sibyl says is true and Mindfield ends up being let go, then that means we’ll be down two men tomorrow, not one. Crook will probably be in recovery for a while.”

Jade snapped her fingers at Kira. “I was thinking that.”

Ava wasn’t. Her mind was predominated with guilt. Reaching into the box, she pulled out one of her science books—The Anatomy of Time by Hershel Blue—flumped back into bed, and began to read. It was the only way she could take her mind off of things.

After all, tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.