Secret Worlds (546 page)

Well, duh, Fireseed is a god.

What’s Nevada doing then, with all the pressed leaves we gather each day? Funny, I didn’t think to ask. The Fireseed won’t be secret for long if George is flashing this video around the sectors.

In one long, liquid motion, Vesper leans forward. “Why are you telling us this?”

George Axiom reaches for his case and dumps a pile of shiny packets on the podium. He clicks the screen into another 3D image. Its blinking headline spells out Axiom Student Innovation Competition. “Nevada tells me that you students at The Greening are some of the brightest minds of the Hotzone.” This gets a lively response. “I believe in good old competition, so I’ve started the first ever Axiom Contest to study and develop Fireseed!”

Blane booms out, “What does the winner get?”

“I’m getting to that.” Geo Man threads a tanned hand through his poufy hair and beams. “There’s a huge cash prize, 7,000 Dominions, and a bonus prize for The Greening, should one of you win.” Cheers erupt. Even Armonk’s face lights up. I wonder what he’d use the money for.

“How many schools are participating?” asks Radius. He’s the smartest guy here from what I’ve seen in history and math classes.

“The Greening, Vegas Central, Spokane Way and one up near the border, Baronland South—“

“That border school doesn’t count!” Jan bellows. “Those rich kids came down from the north. They’re not climate refugees.”

Climate refugees? Is that what we are?

George’s mouth opens as if he’s about to scold Jan, but he stops himself. “If I have my way,” he starts, “We, in this dominion will never again call ourselves refugees!
We
never ran from anything. The northerners did. We are proud to live where we do. In fact, if I absolutely have my way, we’ll rename our land Axiom Dominion, and never again refer to this rugged, beautiful land as the Hotzone.” He snips off the last word with extreme distaste.

The room breaks into enthusiastic clamor. Armonk looks over at me and we nod vaguely. Something we both can agree on. I’m not sure about naming the
whole
dominion after this George guy, but anything would be better than the north’s condescending name for us.

“So, with only four schools vying for the grand prize that gives you a darn good chance of winning.” George reassures.

“That and plenty of hard work,” adds Nevada in her teacherly way.

“Do we get anything else?” Only Blane would be so rude to ask.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” George nods. “The finalists fly into Vegas-by-the-Sea for a whirlwind tour of the city, a Skye Ride over the Pacific Fury Ocean and a fancy banquet.”

This does it! See the ocean for real? I’m wobbly with excitement. Does the sea look like blue jewels all gleaming at once? Surely no flesh-eaters live in Vegas-by-the-Sea if everyone walks around dressed like George Axiom in white shoes and pricy shirts with shell buttons.

George Axiom’s holo-screen switches to an image of a spinning beige lozenge. There’s a tiny pastel blue pearl-shaped logo on its widest part. “As part of welcoming you all to our Axiom contest community I’m passing out Stream implants. Northerners have had them for years. In fact, they get them stapled in at birth. It will be a great way to keep you pumped and for us all to stay in touch during the contest dates.” He picks up a bunch of shiny packets filled with beige lozenges and what looks like a staple gun.

Radius peers at the gadget with suspicion. “How do they work?”

“You’ll hear the latest contest details, inspirational chats and news from Vegas-by-the-Sea.” George winks. “And the daily surf report.”

I’d love to hear any report about the sea!

Bea recoils into a doubtful cringe. “Where do you staple them?”

George approaches Bea and opens a packet. “Everyone, gather ‘round,” he says as he inserts the capsule in the staple-gun. The implant reminds me of Armonk’s fake leg, with its line of round sensors and smooth beige surface.

“May I?” He gathers Bea’s lustrous blonde hair in his other hand and gently lifts it up to expose the nape of her downy neck. “We inject them here. No unsightly scar or protrusion. Just a quick pinch.”

Bea flinches and lets out a high squeak of surprise more than pain as he pushes down on the stapler. Funny, as much Oblivion Powder as I inhale, the idea of injecting an implant, however tiny, has me feeling faint. I can’t help but notice that Armonk’s gone from hanging back to the head of the line. The prospect of winning a contest, and money does tempt me to get past my distaste at an implant. Has the contest money changed his mind about staying here? I’m not sure how to get him to talk more, but I’ll find a way.

Thorn is the one hanging back. “Want to do this?” I whisper to him. He doesn’t answer, only bites on his fingernails. “It’s worth a ride on a hovercraft,” I say. At that, he follows me.

The stapling feels like a spider bite then it’s over. Immediately a blast of news literally explodes in my head.

Congratulations, Axiom Contest Entrants! You’re now part of the vibrant community we’re building together in Vegas-by-the-Sea and beyond. Onward to Axiom Dominion. This first step, of developing Fireseed is exciting and will usher in new ways to thrive. We’re counting on you, bright students of the future.

Brought to you by Axiom Water Pellets, where thirst is quenched in bursts of color.

At this, an animation of pellets rolls across my mind’s eye in candy yellows, blues and oranges. Axiom makes our blue water pellets! Who knew there were so many different ones to choose from? And wow, you can watch films with this amazing implant. Looking around at the others, I see they’re grinning and rubbing their necks. They must hear it too. I glance over at Thorn. His face is lit up for the first time here. It warms me. If he’s happy, I’m happy.

That night, Nevada calls us into the parlor. She fields questions about what the Axiom Contest is all about because at dinner a few of us confessed we were confused.

“We know it’s about applications for Fireseed, but that’s very general,” Blane complains. “Can you give us specific ideas?”

I have to admit, I agree.

Nevada toys with one of her green-tinged braids. “It was originally bred for food, but as George said, now that we cultivate the less exotic Fireagar, we all feel that Fire
seed’s
destined for greater things.” She giggles. “We’re just not sure what.”

Bea pipes up. “Can I design clothes with it? They’d be heat resistant. Our own cellular burn fabric’s getting really old.”

“Perfect!” Nevada sounds relieved that someone’s figured something out. “You’re already good at that.” Nevada wags her head at Bea’s outfit. “You made your shirt, didn’t you?” Bea beams as others turn to jealously admire it—a ruffled purple design with wide, flowing sleeves. Clearly pleased to have a plan of action, Bea relaxes into her chair.

“How about using it in some form of transport?” asks Radius.

“Certainly!” This loosens Nevada’s tongue. “What about medical applications, household products, or totally, completely surprise us.”

By the end of the session, most everyone’s come up with a rough idea, though unlike Bea, most are keeping it tightly guarded.

As I circle the room, extinguishing the storm lanterns—my evening chore—I startle when an unfamiliar news report blasts inside my head.

Huzzah, Fireseeders! I trust you’ve come up with great contest ideas. Axiom Inc. will begin delivery tomorrow of advanced tools to use in developing your projects.

Remember, colossal ideas win colossal prizes.

Brought to you by Vegas Beach—for all of your water-sport needs—whether for hovercraft, air surf or Skye Ride. It’s all good and all Vegas Beach.

I’ll have to get used to this, because it’s not going away any time soon. It’s such a new thing to be so connected to the outside world.

The next day George Axiom returns in an equally cheery sky blue suit with coral buttons and his hair blown-out in an even higher platinum up-do. “How are my Fireseeders today, hmm?” We smile vaguely. “That won’t do,” he insists. “Give a loud, enthusiastic cheer!” We cheer on cue.

“What exactly are the rules?” Blane asks. “I mean, can we do
anything
with Fireseed?” He’s obviously not trusting Nevada’s word alone.

“Anything colossal, anything stupendous, anything revolutionary!” George says with an extravagant waving of his hands. Blane nods, arching his brows in a look of bemusement.

Axiom’s people—in a caravan of seven white gliders—drop off rolling containers of lab equipment brimming with the latest in holo tablets and software, testing chambers and micro-tools for performing experimental surgery on tiny particles of the Fireseed plants. The new equipment crowds out the old-fangled beakers and test strips that Nevada has scavenged over the years in what she’s now calling The Project Room, a spacious but sparely furnished room on third tier. With Blane and Radius’ help, she’s moved in four long tables that she had in her storage barn. They are all bowed in the middle as if the heat of the sun has melted their cores.

Nevada’s beaming and buzzing about, coordinating the delivery. It makes me realize how determined she must’ve been to start a school on nothing, really. Nothing more than a big heart and wanting to give a bunch of wandering teenagers a better life than she had.

It makes me intensely curious as to how she fell into the grip of the so-called terrorist group that Armonk mentioned. He called it the Zone Warrior Collective, and went on to tell of the time they bombed the border wall up north, and poisoned Varik’s father’s crops to protest the starving folks down here. I make a mental note to ask Armonk more about her past. He must be aware of it if his mom was a friend of hers. When we start to sort though the supplies Nevada looks on like a proud mother. If she can love these mean kids, maybe I can try harder.

I glance over at Blane, his overgrown muscles clenching up out of hardwired habit, and Jan’s defensive stoop as he hoards his picks, and I decide to give them a second chance. They’ve had a horrendous time of it—I know Blane has—wandering around in the desert, lost, parentless. Thorn and I were only exposed one night and it seemed like forever.

But they are nothing if not fast on claiming what’s theirs. While I am surreptitiously studying them, Blane, Radius, Vesper and Bea have already put dibs on their equipment. Only Jan seems at loose ends, pawing around in the jumble of leftover items and restlessly moving them into and out of his pile.

Armonk rubs his still-swollen cheek with its ragged cut as he chooses some random storage containers. He puts them next to Thorn’s pile of smaller containers and micro-scissors. “How are you, little guy?” he asks Thorn, who of course doesn’t answer in words, only with a slight nod of the head. I see him angle up one of his tiny boxes for Armonk to see, and I smile inside when Armonk answers, “That’s quite the box, Mr. Thorn. I can’t wait to see what you put in there.”

Thorn goes to officiously organizing the boxes in rows with the cutting tools at neat right angles. He’s always been precise that way.

Nevada enters the room and she and Armonk exchange quiet words. Armonk settles a square of cloth over his selection of goods and they exit together.

At this, Blane lets out an irritated, “Phss.” He and Jan exchange comments about how Peg Leg needs his nursery mom to bottle-feed him.

“She better not be angling to share the grand prize with that con,” grumbles Vesper. After that she keeps a close watch on the project room door for Armonk’s return.

“Peg-leg isn’t smart enough to invent anything,” Jan says darkly. Jan doesn’t look so smart either, pacing around aimlessly. His work materials are scattershot: some paper, a scissors, a mirror and a vessel of glue. Good for a third grade art project.

Brushing off my urge to defend Armonk, I concentrate instead on my final choices of Axiom equipment. I decide on a pair of tiny pinchers, red threads, sample syringes, matches, test containers, spinning devices, a box of beakers and tiny collection jars. A holo tablet too. There’s one for each of us! I’ve never had access to one at home, and I’m not even sure how to use it. Last, I choose an array of oils of unknown contents. I’ll figure out what these are and why Axiom thought to deliver them. It shouldn’t take long. My specialty is mixing compounds, and most do need some type of lubricant base. Who knows exactly what kind I’ll get from Fireseed, but my set of tools look professional, lined up on the table in front of me with my nametag claiming them.

Bea and Vesper are sharing a table, Blane and Jan, Armonk and Thorn. I’m stuck with Radius, who moves as far from me as he can. As Radius and I organize our materials we shoot off wary side-glances as if to say, don’t even think about figuring out my angle.

With a pronounced click, the project room door opens, and Armonk walks back in. His expression’s determined, and he says nothing more about returning home empty-handed.

Jan raises his hands in a pantomime of a baby at a bottle and makes sucking noises. Only Vesper laughs.

By the time we don our burn suits and enter the Fireseed plot everyone is rushing forward as if the field is a fully stocked candy store. As if everyone’s salivating at what they could do with the sweet prize money. I know I am.

I could buy a new glider and go back for my mom and my friends. Move them in with Thorn and me in the giant wave-colored house we’ll buy in Vegas-by-the-Sea. We’ll enroll in high school there, and I’ll find Thorn a specialist who can teach him how to talk in real sentences. We’ll eat succulent fish and fly trendy hovercrafts and I’ll make clothes with pretty shell appliqués for my family and friends.

Everyone scatters in a different direction, including Thorn. I’m less worried about one of my classmates messing with him out here, because people are preoccupied with their projects. So, I head deep into the west field as the Fireseed sways around me. It’s as if the plants are talking, the way they bristle with a sense of expectation as I pass and bend to wave me on by. I imagine them saying, “Walk in here, spend time with us!”

This time, in addition to gathering the leaves and flattening them under the wide stones, we’ll get to keep samples to experiment with. I can’t wait to get started making concoctions like my dad and I used to do.