The Bloodlight Chronicles: Reconciliation (3 page)

For three glorious days they relived their honeymoon fantasies and planned an uncertain future as their existence was stripped back to basics by simple privation. Food and water and heat during the night became prime concerns. Sex became the highlight of the day. Why couldn't they live this way forever? Why go back to the community at all?

They spent hours by candlelight discussing strategies for life. Perhaps Zak's days as a field runner were over. There were other areas of service to the virus. Perhaps he could go into programming or training, perhaps assist in wetware surgery. There were lots of frontiers and an infinite playground of possibilities. First he had to get rewired himself and get a clean avatar with no echoes on the net. He could go legit. He could start from scratch. Everyone should be allowed one chance at rebirth.

The afternoon sun was hot, the sky cloudless, and Mia rubbed oily sunscreen on her husband's shoulders as they sat on rocks by the lake. The air smelled sweet with fertility, and light danced upon the waves.

“We have to trust someone, Mia. We can't hide forever.”

“No one deserves our blind faith, Zak. Not the community, not the V-net controllers. Certainly not the brain wizards with their laser knives.”

“I trust you, Mia.”

“Well, that's a start.”

“Maybe I just pushed too hard on this last run. Maybe a simple error was made, a spelling mistake in some background code, a botched password. This stuff is so complex it borders on the metaphysical, the interface between man and machine, the mix of electrochemical neurotransmitters and raw digital energy.”

Mia rubbed fruity sunscreen on her arms as she watched Zak dangle his bare feet in the water from a rock ledge. His body glistened with oil as the dazzling sun seared their skin. His naked back rippled with finely toned muscle.

“You just can't go back and offer your brain on a platter, Zak. It's too dangerous.”

He nodded reluctant agreement. “We're at war with an invisible enemy. There's no doubt about it. We need to get to the high ground, the front line. I can't be a pawn in someone else's game; you know that. I've got to see the big paradigm. I've always pushed the limit. What I'd really like to do is get offplanet right to the Source.”

“C'mon, Zak, don't be crazy. There's no advantage to being Eternal if you go and get yourself killed.” The words left a taste of acid in her mouth, a sarcastic edge that she rarely used with her husband and regretted instantly.

But his face had already crinkled with disgust. “Yeah, right. We've got too much to lose now, so we just sit back and let life pass us by. We quarantine ourselves in little ghettos of experience, physically and mentally.”

“You're scaring me, Zak. You've always scared me.”

“Why'd you marry me then? Why waste your time?”

Mia forced a tight smile and placed a hand on her breastbone as though that simple support might help calm her raging blood. She dared not force the issue and risk alienating him. She decided to play it cute, to let it blow over. “Oh, nice buns, strong shoulders.”

“Seriously.”

Zakariah stayed solemn.

“Buns are important for a woman. What do you know?”

“C'mon.”

“I fell in love with you, silly. I don't know how it works. I just try to maintain it, to build it up.”

Zakariah stared at her for a few seconds, his face a stoic mask. Then he frowned and hung his head with a sigh, a burned runner again, a failure. “I guess it's a lot of work sometimes.”

Mia draped a long arm in comfort around his shoulders. “I've never been attracted to anyone but you, Zak. If I lose you, I'm afraid I'll lose most of myself also.”

“I'm a gamer, Mia. You wouldn't like me if I became something else.” Zakariah turned again toward her, searching her eyes with his own, probing her soul.

What did he want from her? All she had was the bare truth, nothing more. Wasn't that enough? She pulled away, feeling self-conscious. “Don't be afraid to try me, Zak. People grow. People change. You're not hustling on Main Street for access time up Prime. The stakes are higher.”

“You know I love you, Mia.”

“You could turn yourself in at the Eternal Research Institute.”

“What?” Zakariah jumped to his feet in surprise. He took a step back. “Sell out to the
ERI
? You've got to be kidding.”

“At least it's safe. Better than getting caught by vampires or government greysuits.”

“They'd make me a guinea pig. They'd fill me full of needles.” Zakariah began to pace back and forth on the rock ledge behind her.

She turned awkwardly to face him. “They'd give you clean wetware and constitutional protection as a research volunteer. I've heard it's not so bad. What choice do you have, Zak?”

“What about us? Would you follow me into prison?”

Mia looked off in the distance, pained by the thought of separation. “If that's what it takes,” she said finally. “I could say goodbye to Rix for a few months.”

“A few months?” Zakariah shook his head. “We might
never
get out of the
ERI
once they get their hooks in us, Mia. We'd be on death row in there.”

A bird twittered happily in a poplar tree above them, a high and resonant tremolo. They both looked up in response and watched the grosbeak sing from the very tip of the tree. Oh, how happy are the birds, Mia thought with envy, their innocence unmarred by consciousness. Free will was the greatest of all sins and the most precious gift from God. She longed for a pathway through this darkened maze of life. She needed help. Just one simple signpost to show her the way.

Jimmy Kay looked up from the latest batch of nanocrystals in his cultivation lab. His ranch house in the Nevada desert was miles from the city, and he was unaccustomed to visitors. A red warning light glowed above the door, indicating that a perimeter alarm had been triggered. He secured his equipment and changed the access codes. Cops? Tax accountants? His mind wandered through a long list of vulnerabilities as he locked up the lab. There was no reason for anyone to bother him this many years into his retirement. No reason at all.

He ambled to his office and checked his webcam surveillance. A single man was walking up the long driveway. A single car was parked near the front gate, blocking the entrance. It looked like a civilian electric vehicle with upscale aerodynamics, not government issue. The slow approach was an obvious invitation for a full scan, a token of peace. Fair enough. Jimmy triggered for electromagnetics and whistled. Heavy tech.

A wirehead with lots of alloy in the brain. Coaxial cable down the medulla and into the left shoulder, down the arm to a small briefcase of V-net candy. No weapons, unless the briefcase itself was a weapon. A metal belt buckle, an archaic defiance of spaceport protocol. Nice touch. The man's stance was confident, his pace unhurried, a tourist just out for an afternoon stroll.

Jimmy made his way past potted yucca and ferns to his front entrance. He swung open both doors and stood watching the man approach. An insect buzzed at his ear and he brushed it away.

“Nice day for a walk,” he said when the man was in range.

The visitor stopped at the sound. He raised his hands up as though for a wand search, his briefcase dangling. He had a full head of hair brushed up high from his forehead, greying at the temples. Crow's feet radiated from wide, placid eyes.

“It's okay. I've logged a full scan.”

“You know why I'm here,” the man said, no trace of inflection in his voice.

A tickle danced in Jimmy's spine. One of Zak's demons had tracked him down.

“He's not here.”

The mystery man nodded once in recognition. His expression indicated that he already knew that and much more. Too much. “I sent the message to meet him downtown.”

Jimmy grimaced with distaste. “He was there all right, but he left.”

“I figured he might return to his old haunts in time of trouble. I'm glad it worked out.”

“You burned him?”

“A nudge perhaps. I can't control everything.”

“I did what I could for him.” Jimmy shrugged. “We used to work together.”

“I know. I've watched you both for many years.”

A kaleidoscope shifted in Jimmy's mind. Was that a veiled threat? Blackmail? He wondered what evidence the stranger might have to implicate him. A lot of critical data had gone through his hands over the years. A lot of borrowed passwords, technical illegalities. What difference could any of it mean now?

“You might as well come in, then.” Jimmy made his way to the mini-bar and pulled a beer from the fridge. “Want a drink?”

“Do you have an antioxidant?”

Jimmy nodded with recognition—a health nut, probably older than he looked, a rejuve user. He read some labels. “Peachfix, Betablock . . .”

“A Bee would be good.”

“You want a glass?”

“Please.” The man's smile was genteel, a bit snobbish, as though to drink from the carton would be
très gauche
.

Jimmy opened his beer and took a long slug from the bottle. He found a chilled wine glass in the back of the fridge and filled it with antioxidant. It smelled of carrots and lemons and looked like sludge. He threw in a casino stir stick and handed it to his guest.

They made themselves comfortable on cushioned divans and inspected each other. Jimmy sipped his beer, content to let the moment linger on home turf. He noticed that the man's briefcase computer was wired directly into his arm in place of a hand, some sort of experimental V-net jackbox. The man seemed poised and aloof.

“What does Zak want, Jimmy?”

“Who needs to know?”

“I'm his father, Phillip Davis.”

“Really? He never mentioned a father.”

“That's not surprising. We were estranged after a messy divorce. I haven't talked to him in twenty-five years.”

“That's a long time.”

“Blood ties never die.”

“So you put him in play again after all those years?”

Phillip's smile went steely, and Jimmy sensed a fracture in his composure. “I want what's best for him. I made some mistakes. Perhaps I can make amends in some small way. He must have said something to you.”

“He's looking for the virus, if you must know. He wants to inoculate Rix. He cares a lot more for his son than you ever cared for him.” Jimmy eyed his guest carefully, looking for a flinch of conscience, a semblance of humanity.

Phillip pursed his lips in thought, his eyes still tranquil. “Good,” he said.

Jimmy winced inwardly. What a cold piece of work. He wondered if Phillip had access to the virus. Perhaps he was Eternal himself. He looked too young to be a grandfather.

“Do you want to help us out, Jimmy? There's a good margin of profit for you.”

“I'm retired.”

Phillip looked around with a critical air. “You could do better.”

“How much better?”

“An exponential increase. It's a simple smuggling operation, just like old times.”

“Is the product legal?”

“The product doesn't even exist.”

“But it will?”

Phillip bowed his head with the grace of a sage. “New nanochip architecture.”

Jimmy smiled, feeling familiarity like an old lover. “I like chips.”

“I'll leave the creative details of transport completely to your expertise.”

“No strings?”

“Only the purse strings, Jimmy. Just the way you like it.”

With a lump of pain in her throat, Mia stuffed her backpack with dirty clothes. “Rix is fine on his own,” she said. “He doesn't need a babysitter.”

“We can't just leave him there all alone.”

“I know that.”

“Well, one of us should at least check on him.”

“I'd rather be with you.”

“C'mon, Mia, I just want to chase some numbers with an old friend while you get Rix ready for another relocation. He's not going to like the idea.”

“How will I contact you? What if something comes up at the community? What if there's a purge?”

“I'll pick you up in a week, Mia. I promise. I'll scout out a safe home and we'll make a clean break.” Zakariah peered out the window at dark thunderheads gathering beyond the hills. “You should try to get out before the storm hits, hon.”

“Yeah. We're not very good at saying goodbye.”

Zakariah turned with a comforting grin. “Oh? I thought we did pretty good.”

Mia smiled, but her face quickly relaxed into a stern and worried mask. “I wish we had a plan.”

“Just be careful. Assume the elders are compromised. Play the secret agent. Use your chi magic and keep Rix out of trouble for one more week.”

“Rix can look after himself. You know he's the smartest kid on the planet.”

“Well, he still needs a mother. He's got to be clean if he's going to get an ampoule.”

“Do you really think it makes any difference? The moral imperative?”

“I don't know. I guess so.”

“Why is it all so secretive?

Zakariah shrugged. “Everybody wants to live forever.”

“Then why can't we just give everyone an ampoule? Mass-produce the virus?”

“Too expensive, maybe.” Zakariah shook his head. “I wish I knew.”

“Neither one of us paid a penny for Eternal life.”

Zakariah met her eyes. “The chosen few.” He turned and looked back out the window. “Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay.”

Mia stepped up behind him and kissed the side of his neck. “Goodbye, lover,” she whispered.

Zakariah reached back and pulled her hips against him, but he didn't turn around. “See you soon,” he lied.

Fifteen minutes after Mia disappeared into the forest, a knock sounded on the cabin door.

Zakariah carefully placed the last floorboard over his cache of food and stood up. “I am unarmed,” he said.