Shuqba cleared away the remains of the rice she had left at Ferrassie’s bedside the night before and replaced it with a breakfast bar and a nutrient tea. Ferrassie was curled up in a foetal position, sheet over her head. Around them labourer Neos went about their morning routines. There was still no word on when Ferrassie would be transferred to medical research. At least she was eating and maintaining her personal hygiene. That was one positive to Lars’s daily visits.
‘Ferrassie.’
No response. Sometimes Shuqba wished she didn’t care; she had enough of her own issues and responsibilities. You care too much about other people. You need to harden you heart and look out for yourself, Karain had often said. When she was at the academy Shuqba had expected that being an SFO would give her the power to help people. The truth was she was powerless.
‘Ferrassie.’
Amud strode up and pulled the sheet off Ferrassie’s head.
Ferrassie pushed up onto her elbows, scowling. ‘What now?’
‘Amud says you didn’t go to the clinic for your injections this week,’ Shuqba said.
Ferrassie raised her focus to the ceiling and spoke through a clenched jaw. ‘What the fuck does it matter anyway?’
‘You understand the injections are important. When they cloned us –’
‘Yeah, yeah. I know the drill. They gave us the primitive immune systems of the Neandertals. Blah, blah, blah.’
‘Well, yeah. You seem to understand it better than me, so why didn’t you go for your injections?’
‘Because I’m going to fucking croak soon anyway and besides, Lars says the injections are a scam.’
Amud threw his hands up. ‘Fucking Lars. What bullcrap is he telling you now?’
‘It’s not bullcrap – Lars is involved in a lot of political groups. LC wants to control us –’
‘LeaderCorp already controls us. They don’t need to be reptilians, or whatever dodgy conspiracy theory Lars is peddling this week, to be greedy, controlling arses. If Lars spent some time facing real shit instead of believing in fantasies he’d be less useless. I can’t deal with this anymore.’ Amud stalked away.
Shuqba sat down on the bed. ‘We’re only trying to help you.’ She lowered her voice. ‘All this anti-LeaderCorp talk can be dangerous, Rassie. You have to tell Lars to be careful. Amud too. If another SFO overheard him talking about LeaderCorp that way he could be reported.’
‘I know, I know.’ Ferrassie lay back and pulled the sheet over her head again.
‘You should also look after your health. Amud cares about you.’
Ferrassie groaned.
Shuqba stood. She’d done her best. Ferrassie was a fully grown Neo-Neandertal; she couldn’t force her to look after herself. She nodded a goodbye to Amud on the other side of the dorm and headed to the hub for her shift.
The sun was rising from behind the dwellings to the east of the city, the cool of the night evaporating along with the peace.
A crowd stood outside the hub gate, Alida in the middle of them. Shuqba felt as cheerful as a simpleton. Other than the commander – who she was questioning her relationship with – Alida was the first Sapien she could call a friend and not just a colleague.
Alida was waving her hands around and pointing to her head as she talked. The Demis attended her every word. Shuqba unlocked the gate and they all looked up.
‘Implant installation will begin in half an hour. Thank you for your patience,’ Shuqba said. ‘Time to begin your shift, Alida.’
Alida shook a couple of hands and the crowd parted to let her through to the gate.
‘Ready to get stuck in again?’
Alida smiled wearily, the energy she’d had seconds before evaporating. ‘I need a chat with you, Shuqba.’ Dark circles ringed Alida’s eyes and her face was pale.
‘Sure. Let’s go inside.’ Shuqba led Alida into the hub. ‘Why don’t you change into your uniform and I’ll make us some breakfast to eat while we talk?’ With a full stomach Alida’s problems would perhaps seem a little less crushing.
‘Okay. Cheers.’
Shuqba prepared hot chocolates and toasted soycheese sandwiches in the CyberGourmet while Alida showered. When she returned she sat down on the opposite side of the table and pulled a crumb of crust off her sandwich.
‘I think it might be best if Graycie went to a family in the city.’ She kept her eyes on the table, blinking away tears.
‘Oh, right.’ Shuqba couldn’t say she was completely surprised. She wished there was a better way, wished there was something else she could do. Again she was powerless to help the people who deserved it and needed it most.
Alida raised her gaze. ‘Is that still a possibility?’
‘Yes, yes, I think so.’ Shuqba reached across the table and put her hand on Alida’s. She’d never been comfortable touching a Sapien before, even when they told her she could – even when it was Commander Rayne. With Alida it felt natural. ‘Are you sure this is what you want to do?’
‘No. It’s not what I wanna do, but I bloody well can’t look after her out here. They’ll be able to sort out her implant and get her the medicine she needs.’ Alida sighed. ‘I should’ve grown up in the city. I found out a few weeks ago that my own dad was a Citizen and would’ve kept me if my mum had let him. Imagine what I could’ve made of my life if I’d grown up in there.’
‘I think you’re doing the right thing.’ Shuqba hated that the right thing was splitting apart two people who loved each other, but she didn’t want Alida to feel any guilt or regret over an impossible choice.
Shuqba withdrew her hand from Alida’s, pulled her OmniScreen out of her pocket and sent a message off to Commander Rayne.
‘It’s in motion. I’ll alert you as soon as I hear anything.’
Alida nodded. They finished their chow in silence and opened the Medi-procedure gate when the medics were ready to begin.
Two hours later the day was heating up and the line for implant fitting stretched into a blurry mirage in the distance. The androids were dispersing another group of anti-tekker protestors when Shuqba’s OmniScreen buzzed in her pocket. She scanned in the next Demi-Citizen and accepted the call from Commander Rayne.
‘Hello, Shuqba. Good work locating the item. We have a recipient ready and waiting. I’ll send you a Temp Text message. Read it immediately and memorise the details before the data degrades and disappears.’
‘Yes, Commander.’
The commander signed off and the OmniScreen pinged as the TempText appeared. Graycie would begin a new life with a family in the city that very night.