Sanctuary Falling (23 page)

Maria gave a nod of not quite acceptance, which suddenly brought to Annette’s mind the realization of how different Maria was from her mother. The girl showed everything on her face, belief, disbelief, pain, fear, and , Annette remembered back to the previous test, even when she was lying. In contrast,
 
Annette couldn’t read Angela’s emotions, telepathically or even straight from her face, unless Angela wanted to be read.

Annette glanced back at the seamstress who was watching Annette carefully. Annette knew from the moment of sensory overload that the woman was merely concerned about two girls wandering in research and development, and that she wasn’t part of the test.
 
Annette sucked up the rest of the emergency ration, “I’m good, let’s get this over with.”
 
She checked the map again for effect as much as for information.

“You sure you’re okay?” Maria asked.

Annette smiled, was she okay? She was flying without a suspension field. The rest of her life rested on the results of this test and her body was in open revolt. “Yeah, I’m fine. No problem.”

Annette started off on her preplanned path. Less than a quarter of
 
an hour and she’d be there. She’d have the note, she’d- Annette was thrown to the floor, by her own momentum, as she bounced off an invisible security field, not five feet beyond the next cubicle. She was still shaking it off and wondering what happened when Maria almost joined her on the floor.
 
Annette’s fall announced the presence of the barrier and Maria stopped before it knocked her down. “You okay?”

Annette was getting sick of the question. She was tired, frustrated, in shock, and her pride hurt.
 
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Annette stood and brushed herself off while Maria took a seat. Maria’s silent face said, “New problem,”
 
and it was Annette’s to solve.

Annette glanced around taking in the security panel centered in the wall of the cubicle
 
just above Maria’s head. It was pressure sensitive, and probably DNA coded.
 
Annette tried it and found the field remained up. She glanced at Maria, as a briaunti more than half of Maria’s DNA came from her mother, Angela. If the Chief factor didn’t have security clearance nobody did.
 
“Maria, may I borrow your hand?”

“Okay, but I’m not moving another step,” Maria slapped her hand onto
 
the security panel without standing or even looking, clearly she’d positioned herself to do that, and merely waited for Annette’s request.

Annette tested for the field which was now down. “Thanks, I appreciate your help, but bear in mind I’ll buzz your pad if I need you again.”

Maria smiled, “You won’t. You probably didn’t need me in the first place. You could’ve found another way around, I’m sure.”

Annette stepped into the security area and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as the security field rose behind her. She regretted leaving Maria behind. Even though they hadn’t spoken much a companion had offered at least a small degree of confidence. After all Maria was there to help. Now, Annette proceeded alone. In minutes, her fate would be sealed, that’s how she thought of it, even down to the negative connotations the cliché implied. She no longer had the energy for optimism, not while she could feel her body trying to betray her.

Annette had to will her feet to move, forward, one step at a time. She fished through her pack and found another liquid emergency ration.
 
Sucking it dry her mood and momentum picked up. Within minutes, she stood face to face with the doorway to the room, and hopefully the last obstacle in her quest. It was an outstanding doorway, at least in her eyes, it had hinges and a knob just like the quarters where she stayed since this escapade began but it also had a mechanical lock. Annette stared at the lock for a minute, trying to decide the best way to pick it or otherwise defeat it.
 
Then she came to her senses and decided to try knocking first.
 
Her knuckles rapped hollowly on the door. She heard footsteps and the sound of the door being unlocked. The door opened a slit and a grumpy grey green eyeball
 
peered out around at her.

“Who goes there,” grunted the man, in a clear imitation of a troll, or at least Annette hoped he was trying to imitate a troll.

“My name is Annette, I’m testing to be a factor and I would appreciate. . .,” Annette began, but was interrupted by the man slamming the door and the sound of the lock sliding home.

It was too much, Annette sat with her back against the wall the door was in. How could she get the note, if she couldn’t get in the room. She was too. . .
 
everything to think. This WAS the test. Getting into the room. She hadn’t really had a problem so far, but now. . . what? What did she have left? The pack, she could force the lock and muscle (ha, ha!) her way in.
 
Or she could offer to trade for the note, if he would listen. What did she have to make him listen, she opened her pack and began sorting through it. Her hand found the doughnut mainly through its icing. She almost ate it before thinking about it. She popped back into a standing position and knocked again, this time it didn’t feel so hollow to her, she had the answer.

The lock unlocked and the door opened a crack, “Whadda ya want, Annie-factor-testee?”

Annie started to open her mouth, and felt him start to shut the door again, so she held up the doughnut.
 
The door opened a crack wider.
 
She chanced speaking, “I have a doughnut to deliver and a note to pick up.”

The door swung open and the man relieved her of the doughnut handing her the note with a big smile on his face. With his mouth full of doughnut and jelly oozing over his hand he mumbled,
 
“Annette, you speak my language like one native born to it!.” Then, after he had swallowed, “Step into my parlor and I’ll even zip you directly to Angela.”

“But wont that mess up the equipment and the like down here?” Annette wondered out loud, knowing more than a little, after all of her studying, about the dangers of mis-calibrations.

“You’re clearly bright, so you tell me if you were sending a pair of green students down here to wander aimlessly if you would have sensitive equipment up and running?” The man answered ushering her towards what looked like a jury-rigged transport pod.
 
He had her maneuvered into it before she could think hard about it, and she was facing Angela before she could answer.
 

Annette forced herself to hold her breath, and to let it out slowly, to hold back a verbal and mental explosion. She had reached the end of the test, the pass or fail point, and she knew she’d done well. In front of her Angela stood with peculiar look on her face. Given new insights into Angela’s makeup, Annette guessed that Angela was not displeased with Annette’s results.

“Under two hours, not bad, Sinclair’s boy started five minutes after you and is still trying to find his way into R&D. Mario isn’t with him,” Angela said in a conversational tone.
 
Turning back to a bank of screens showing an increasingly infuriated Tony trying to get a malfunctioning door to let him through.

“Is that the first door?” Annette asked timidly.

Angela glanced back at Annette revealing a look of disappointment, before returning her attention to the monitors,
 
“No, that’s the third he’s come across, still he hasn’t thought to check his pack for assistance. I do have to give him half a point for remembering to take the pack. . . though it did take some obvious reminding from Mario.” Angela let out a sigh, “Not much question of why I’ve had less and less to work with. Hey he’s checking the pack! Finally!” On the screen Tony fished through his pack ultimately retrieving a small explosive device, “Uh-oh!” Angela tapped a sequence of keys and Tony, pack and all disappeared from the screen. “Test over!” She muttered into a small micro phone.

Annette stood uncomfortably quiet, aware of how unusually open Angela was being with her. Angela pushed her chair back from the screens and stood, in the same instant, and with a swift blurring the observation room turned into the conference room around them. Annette felt the teleportation as it happened in the pit of her stomach. It was totally unlike any other teleportation incident she had experienced. It was smooth and didn’t disrupt so much as a thought.

“Ladies, and gentlemen,” Angela began speaking in her usual authoritative and falsely personal tone. Now that Annette had seen a bit of the real Angela Daniel’s, the officious facade that went with the tone abraded at Annette’s thoughts. Fortunately the shock was enough to draw her attention to the other realities of the room. There were four chairs. Sinclair and Niri sat in the middle two. Anthony sat next to Chavez, thankfully without the explosives. There was an open seat next to Niri. Annette rushed to fill it keeping her eyes on Angela. “I have completed my assessment.”

“No! It’s not fair! I didn’t get to finish! You said that I would be able to finish! That there wasn’t a time limit!” Tony grumbled.

Angela, cocked her head to the side, “I said it was possible to finish, that I had provided you with everything you needed to finish. And I had, it is not my fault that you didn’t avail yourself of all of the opportunities and advantages I gave you. Annette,” Angela gestured benevolently towards Annette, “Finished in under two hours. And got past the locked door in less time than it took you to find your way to the transport pod. Now, for those of us who are a bit slow, I might allow questions and challenges after I have finished telling you my decision. Okay?” The last part was spoken in an exaggeratedly articulated tone.
 
Annette felt a strange satisfaction watching Tony and Sinclair squirm at the implied insult.

“As things sit, with all the scores tallied and all parties having done their best or worst. I have to say I found Miss. Peterson the more qualified candidate. Physically she is more than capable, mentally she is gifted with outstanding problem solving skills, and an innate curiosity. Her gut ability to fish out the pieces of a puzzle and put them together in the right order is the most unusual I have seen in quite some time. Moreover she has a definite surplus of compassion for those around her. In the first test, faced with the choice of helping a fellow applicant or performing well on the test she chose to help, and looking back on the play by play she actually got them both through faster than Mister Simmons got through alone. Now to my disappointment, Sinclair I asked for your most promising applicant. You brought this boy, self-centered, lazy, and dull as he is.
 
He was more ready to blow a chunk out of R&D than he was to take the time to ask for help with the door. I cringe to think what he would have done at the security field. Mister Simmons, I refuse in perpetuity your application to become a factor.
 
As adequate an applicant as Annette is, Anthony is a poor one. The fact that you couldn’t see that, Sinclair, is disturbing. Right now I think it would be better if you moved to a department where power rating is as critical as you seem to think it is, namely R&D.
 
Niri I name you head of factor training. Annette, I’ve already mentioned how much I approve of your entering factor training, but let me put a clear quantitative level on it. As of tomorrow you are to join the second year trainees in their classes. If you continue to apply yourself I foresee you graduating in three years as a secondary factor, or in four as a primary. Good luck, and feel free to keep me apprised of your progress.” Angela disappeared abruptly.

“But what about those other two?” Tony asked the empty place where Angela had been.
 
Sinclair glared at the boy and disappeared in a funk.

“They were a part of the test,” Niri answered compassionately, “Tony perhaps I should take you home and we can discuss with your parents your future career opportunities.” Tony nodded numbly and both he and Niri disappeared too, leaving Annette alone in the room with the physical crash after a prolonged adrenaline high. She felt like she could sleep for a week. Never mind that she felt like she was dreaming. A primary factor in four years? She would only be eighteen.
 
All of the really great factors had been really young when they started. Now Annette could- would join them.

Well not now exactly, for the moment she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Everyone left without her, and without telling her where she was supposed to be. Annette sat alone in the meeting room, frozen by the mental shock Angela’s words had caused, as much as by the fact that she had been promptly abandoned without instruction. All of her life to this point had led to gaining enrollment in the factor training program. Now she was in and she didn’t know what she should be doing. What’s more the sudden rearrangement of power meant that it might be days before Niri was free to deal with Annette’s intake.
 
Excitement was bubbling out Annette’s pores she should celebrate now while she had the time to do it. Maybe she should tell someone.