Mirror Space - Marianne de Pierres [75]
‘Sammy!’ bellowed Fariss.
‘Keep it down, girl,’ said a voice. ‘I can see you well enough.’
Fariss frowned into the bright light, swivelling her head. ‘Well, I can’t see you.’
‘Is it him?’
‘Judging from the way someone was trying to strangle him when I turned up, I’d guess so. His name is Thales.’
‘Lasper’s man?’
Fariss clasped her hands together like a child. ‘I had to, Sammy. Didn’t want him tellin’ no one it was me.’
‘Did you spray him?’
‘Course.’
‘Good girl. As long as there’s no DNA residue.’
Thales heard a noise; a hiss similar to the one their hover-tug had made as it landed on the Ampere platform. A woman walked out from behind two banks of coolers and stood between them. She had the oldest face he’d ever seen.
On Scolar rejuvenation was compulsory, along with HealthWatch. While rejuve worked with variable success on individuals, it never, ever, allowed such obvious ageing. People tended to die from accidents or violent acts - but mostly they still looked young.
Samuelle’s old body was encased in a grey nano-suit that quietly pumped and deflated over her skin as movement was required. She grinned, flashing a set of perfect teeth at him that looked incongruous against her lined, age-spotted skin. There were some things Samuelle chose to keep upgraded.
‘Welcome to Ampere, Thales. Bethany tells me you’re a learned type. Could always do with a few more of them around here. Fariss wouldn’t know Villon’s philosophies from a dirty ditty.’
Thales cleared his throat, forming his response in his mind. ‘While I’m indebted to Fariss . . . and y-you . . . for your assistance, I have no plans to become part of your community. Bethany and I had a brief. . . relationship which has ended. It was her idea that I should come here. Not mine. Indeed if Fariss had not found me I would likely be dead and perhaps better for it. Despite my misgivings about still being alive I would like to say thank you and be on my way.’
Samuelle’s sunken eyes half-closed for a moment as if she were accessing a moud. When they opened, Thales saw a hint of something grim. ‘You wish to leave?’ she asked.
He glanced at Fariss apologetically and nodded. ‘I want to make it on my own.’
‘Then let me lay it out for you, young Thales. You would most certainly be dead without our intervention, and you will be shortly, if you return. Lasper wishes any trace of you removed from Edo. It is not often that I directly oppose his wishes, but the fact that you are a danger to him is valuable to me. I also owe a great debt to Bethany. She wants you alive and so you shall stay that way.’
Anger rushed through Thales, causing him to tremble again. ‘You can not choose whether I live or die.’
Samuelle and Fariss exchanged looks.
‘You’re right in that, to a point.’ Samuelle nodded.
‘You’re better off here, Thales. I can teach you some survival skills. Make it easier for you when you’re on your own again,’ offered Fariss.
Thales grappled with a deep, surging instinct to obey Fariss, and shook his head stubbornly.
‘Fariss,’ said the old woman in a sharp voice. ‘Wait outside.’
Fariss nodded and walked to the door. When she had closed herself outside, Samuelle took a step closer. Thales wasn’t sure if it was the lightweight hydraulics at her knees and elbows or the nano-suit that made the hiss, but the sound unnerved him.
‘I take a risk giving you this information, and you should know I will disclaim it and you should you turn out to be untrustworthy. Bethany told me what Lasper did to you, how he blackmailed you to retrieve the DNA sample from Rho Junction, and how the virus he administered nearly killed you. She said that you were desperate to find out the nature of the thing you transported here because you fear it is being used to cause problems on your homeworld. She guessed that you would try to find those answers in Lasper