Fixed (20 page)

How she longed to be back in Advanced, shooting holographs, running laps and studying viruses. No matter, she thought grimly, studying her twin through slitted eyes. She would complete this special assignment in stellar fashion, earning herself extra points. And when it was over she would file it in one of her deepest, most inaccessible filing cabinets and return to Advanced where she wouldn’t have to think about it ever again. For once she would be glad to forget something. A shiver skittered up her back, and she fought the urge to run her fingers over the scars hidden beneath the hair on her scalp.

Across the room her twin sat motionless, her eyes dark shadowed and heavy lidded. Soon after Nellie had entered the room she’d sat up, but neither had spoken yet. A scowl crossed Nellie’s face and she almost hissed at her twin’s placid expression. Didn’t the girl realize where she was, stuck in K Block, the very bowels of danger? Anything could happen in this place,
anything
, and the memory of it completely erased. Nellie’s lips parted, a surge of angry words on her tongue. But just as she was about to speak, a vague whispery sensation rippled across her brain, almost like window curtains lifting in a breeze.

Don’t look surprised
, her twin’s voice said quietly inside her head.
Keep scowling the way you are, and they won’t suspect a thing.

Nellie’s face shifted in amazement, but she covered by scratching her nose.

Good
, her twin said approvingly.
I’m going to pretend to go to sleep now, but I’ll keep talking. All you have to do is think at me and I’ll hear you. As long as we keep connected, I’ll hear your thoughts and you’ll hear mine.

Cat-like, Nellie’s twin yawned and stretched, then lay down and curled into herself. To all appearances, she looked to be fast asleep. Abruptly the vague whispery sensation came again, quick high vibrations that danced across Nellie’s brain.

Listen
, her twin said, deep inside her mind.
I already know what they told you in your meeting with the director of K Block and the man pretending to be Dr. Nova. The implants are the Goddess’s blessings, and you’re supposed to spy on me while pretending to be my friend.

Nellie deepened her scowl to prevent astonishment from leaping onto her face.
How did you find that out?
she thought frantically at the apparently sleeping figure.
Did they show it to you on the monitoring screen?

I read it in your vibrations when you came in
, said her twin.

Nellie’s thoughts raced. She’d never been able to pick up information that detailed, but she supposed it was possible.
How did you know it was the director of K Block?
she asked.
And that the other man was pretending to be a doctor? I didn’t know that, so you couldn’t have gotten it from me.

I read it in their vibrations
, her twin replied calmly.
You were sitting close to them, so you pulled some of theirs into yours. They’re fading now, but they were clearer when you came in.

Openmouthed, Nellie stared at her twin. Even if she’d probed the two men while she was sitting in front of them, she wouldn’t have gotten that kind of data.

Don’t stare at me like that,
snapped the other girl.
It’s not hard to do if you know how. You could do it easy if you didn’t have those implants shutting down your brain. It’s only vibrating at half-speed. The implants are running an interference pattern through it. Can’t you feel it?

Nellie focused on the inside of her head. It felt like it always did.
No
, she said.

Maybe you’re just used to it,
said her twin
.

Sometimes ... ,
Nellie said slowly, then stopped. She’d never told anyone about this, ever.

Sometimes what?
her twin asked eagerly.

Sometimes I can see ... energy,
Nellie mumbled.
Everything turns into colors and vibes. Nothing is solid. If I’m really tuned, I can walk into a room and tell what’s just happened by scanning the vibes in the air. But I can’t tell what people are thinking. At least, not much.

Can you travel levels?
her twin asked quickly.

Levels?
asked Nellie.
What are levels?

There was a slight pause, laced with disappointment, followed by another question.
What about doubles?
asked her twin.
Have you met any?

Doubles?
Suddenly Nellie remembered the dream in which she’d seen her twin’s look-alike step out of thin air.
The girl in the gold dress
, she said excitedly.
The one who looks like you — is she your double?

One of them
, said her twin, her voice quickening.

How many do you have?
asked Nellie.

Probably zillions
, her twin said carelessly.
It doesn’t matter. Doubles are like that — every time flux happens, more of them show up.

Flux?
On overload, Nellie’s brain wobbled.
What’s that?

The opposite of fixed, said her twin, which is what you are. You’re fixed and I’m flux. Not that it means much around here. The skins are so thick in this place, it’s like they’re made of hatred. It’s impossible to open a gate. And it’s damn hard to vibrate out of sync, with the interference they’ve got going. Ever notice the buzz people give off?

No, Nellie said flatly. She was beginning to tire of this conversation. Either her twin was talking some kind of incomprehensible code, or utter nonsense.

Everyone I’ve met so far, the other girl continued remorselessly. Even you. Everyone’s brain gives off some kind of buzz. It must be the implants. You all have them.

Everyone in Detta has skull implants?
Nellie asked quickly.
Even Col. Jolsen?

Yup
, her twin said calmly.
But not like you or me. The others only have one. I guess, she added wryly, the Goddess didn’t bless them quite as much.

Nellie’s body sagged under the weight of this latest information. Col. Jolsen had a skull implant? And Lt. Neem, and maybe even Westcott?

It must help them serve the Goddess better
, she thought faintly, trying to keep a grip
. Ivana would only require it if it was absolutely necessary.
Glancing at her twin, Nellie tried to give the apparently sleeping girl a quick scan but came up against a wall of static.
So much for the buddy-buddy act,
she thought grimly. In spite of the conversation they’d just had, her twin was still running her own interference. Fat chance she would ever let Nellie into
her
head.

How are you doing this?
Nellie asked carefully.
Talking inside my head and reading my thoughts?

Something I learned
, her twin replied.
You speed up your vibrations and it happens
.

Nellie’s eyes narrowed at the vagueness of the reply.
The enemy
, she reminded herself firmly
. Worse than that, an enemy whose mind was shaped by one of the Empire’s worst traitors
.

“We have to get one thing straight,” she said aloud, enunciating clearly. “I am an Advanced cadet. I work for Detta and the Empire. And I am not going to let you mess with my head.”

Across the room the shorn-headed girl remained motionless, as if asleep. No voice replied inside Nellie’s head. With a start, she realized her twin’s quick high vibrations had retreated from her brain, leaving her feeling oddly empty and alone.

With a grunt she rolled over to face the wall and also pretended to fall asleep.

THEY WERE WORKING
out in a small gym. Fifteen minutes ago two drones had escorted them here, then gotten to work setting up various pieces of sports equipment, as well as a makeshift shooting range. In spite of the fact the drones now stood guard at the door, Nellie could hardly wait to get to the range. She’d asked for a specific holograph she was sure would blow her twin’s mind, but first they had to run the required number of laps and Nellie was being merciless.

“C’mon, faster,” she hollered, easily outstripping her twin as she completed another lap. It was the third time she’d passed the puffing
girl, and Nellie’s mouth curved in contempt. Outbackers — they thought they were so superior with their rebellions, disobedience and hot-headed chaos, but put them in a maze or a gym and an Advanced cadet could beat them any day, any how.

“Fuck you,” yelled her twin, slowing her pace to a meandering walk.

“Suit yourself,” smirked Nellie, pivoting and running backwards on the spot. “But if you don’t put more effort into it, they’ll show up with electrodes.”

“So what?” Slumped against a wall, her twin wheezed voraciously.

“Electric shock,” bellowed Nellie, taking off again. “They’ll zap you. It’s great for getting you motivated.”

Lifting her arms, she let out a whoop. How she loved the feel of her body working so effortlessly, with nothing to worry about, no niggling questions about right and wrong. On top of that, she was finally getting the chance to put her know-it-all twin in her place. Glancing back at the panting girl, Nellie snorted grimly. She seemed to have picked up the pace slightly — that warning about electrodes must have convinced her to put some sweat into it.

Putting on another burst of speed, Nellie passed her wheezing twin again. “C’mon, Nellie Joan,” she shouted, walloping her on the back. “You’ll never get your 99 Badge at this rate.”

At the far end of the gym, a door opened and two men entered. Catching sight of them, Nellie faltered, then slowed her pace. The director of K Block and Col. Jolsen — what were they doing here? In a flicker of unease she came to a halt, and felt her twin come up beside her.

“Buzz,” the other girl said quietly. “Can you hear it?”

Nellie shot her a suspicious look. With the men’s entry, her twin had gone through a rapid transformation. The wheezing and gasping had vanished and she now showed no sign of fatigue, standing with her head up and her shoulders back.

“No,” Nellie snapped. “I can’t.”

Standing between the guard drones, the men conferred briefly, and then Col. Jolsen lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly Nellie broke into a trot and headed across the gym. “Cadet Kinnan reporting, sir,” she said, coming to a halt before him and saluting.

But the colonel’s eyes weren’t sliding over her in the usual approving glance. Instead they stared past her shoulder in a look of icy incredulity. Turning, Nellie saw her twin leaned against the wall on the other side of the gym. The fingersnap hadn’t budged her one inch.

“I would suggest, Cadet Kinnan,” the colonel said meaningfully, without taking his eyes off the shorn-headed girl, “that you find some way of motivating your twin’s ass in this direction immediately, or I’ll tell these drones to give you both some time with the Black Box.”

Nellie paled. “Yes, sir.” Taking off in a burst of electric fear, she slid to a halt beside her twin. “Get moving,” she snapped, grabbing one of her arms. “Now.”

“They’re doubled,” said her twin, twisting in her grasp. “No way am I going near anyone that’s doubled.”

“Doubled?” hissed Nellie, tightening her grip. “What are you talking about?”

A look of impatience crossed her twin’s face, and then her slanted gray eyes fixed on Nellie’s. Suddenly Nellie felt it again — the sensation of curtains parting in her head as a surge of quick high vibrations entered her brain.
Stand still,
said her twin,
while I get rid of the interference they’re running through you.

Briefly Nellie felt a gentle fumbling inside her head, and then a dense pressure lifted from her brain and she filled with a clear singing sensation.

Now look at them
, said her twin.

Glancing toward the door, Nellie saw what appeared to be four figures standing between the guard drones: Col. Jolsen and the
director of K Block, and overlapping their bodies, two radiant silhouettes.

“Sweet ever-loving Goddess,” she spluttered.

Can you see them?
her twin demanded eagerly.

I think so.
Bewildered, Nellie glanced at her twin, then caught her warning look and glanced away again.
They’re both shining like stars,
she thought rapidly.
Is that their souls?

Uh-uh,
her twin said emphatically.
The vibrations are way too fast. Those are sarpas — beings from another level that can pop in and out of people in this level. In the Outbacks they usually just come for a bit and leave again. But here in the Interior, they seem to move into a person and live there permanently. A lot of people have them.

A shudder ran through Nellie.
What do they want?

How should I know?
her twin demanded indignantly.
I just got here, remember? Anyway, I’ d better get out of your brain or they’ll figure out what we’re doing.

Before Nellie could protest, the quick high vibrations had withdrawn from the inside of her head and the pressure returned, encompassing her brain like a helmet. Angrily she shook her head, but couldn’t dislodge the thick heavy sensation. Incredible. She’d never noticed it before. Glancing toward the door, she saw Col. Jolsen and the director of K Block, minus their radiant silhouettes, giving her decidedly impatient glares.

“We’d better get moving,” she hissed at her twin. “Maybe I can’t see them like you do, but I can see pissed-off rage shooting out of the top of their heads.”

Grimly she started across the gym. Doubled or not doubled, the colonel was the colonel, the Black Box was the Black Box, and an Advanced cadet was nobody. To her immense relief she heard her twin following at her heels, once again in heavy puffing mode. Coming to a halt before the two men, Nellie whipped off an extra-crisp salute, then elbowed her twin. Very slowly, the other girl copied her gesture.