Skyfall (33 page)

‘We need your help,' he'd said.

Saria raises her head and stares up into the glare above.

They need her help.

But how?

And why should she give it to them?

‘Shi!' Janil was running for the stairs before Lari had even finished falling.

‘Shi! Shi! Shi!'

What in the sky was he thinking? Didn't he realise what would happen?

‘Stupid bloody copygen!'

He was across the locker room in two steps and punching open the inner door.

‘Where is he?'

Through his headset, his father answered straightaway. ‘About half a metre in on the left-hand side.'

‘Conscious?'

‘Can't tell. The girl's blocking the view.'

‘Is she attacking?'

‘No. I think she's trying to shield him.'

Stepping into the lock, Janil closed the outer hatch behind him.

‘Okay. Open it.'

‘Are you suited up?'

‘There's no time. Just open it.'

‘Janil …'

‘Do you want your youngest son to become a shiftie, Father?'

Dernan Mann didn't respond and a second later the entry to the exposure chamber slid back.

The glare was incredible. Janil squinted into it, crowding towards the back of the lock to avoid the direct light from the emitters. Even so, he could feel it pricking his skin and immediately his wristband was screeching.

‘Janil?'

‘Hold on, Father. My eyes …'

He blinked two or three times, fast, trying to clear the tears which reduced the room beyond to a bright blur. A dark smear of colour against the white floor shimmered into view, and, shielding his head with one hand, Janil reached into the chamber with the other, grasping at air.

‘Come on,' he muttered.

The pain was slow to build, just a light tingle at first, but within seconds he felt as though he'd plunged his arm into boiling water.

‘Shi!' Instinctively, he jerked back into the airlock, curling his arm protectively into his chest.

‘Janil! Are you okay?'

‘Yes,' he snapped.

‘You almost had him. You were within a couple of centimetres.'

‘Standby.'

Taking a deep breath, trying as best he could to prepare himself for the inevitable searing, Janil plunged his arm into the white once more.

It's flaring!
Some part of his brain registered the bursts of light coming from the emitters, even as the rest of it struggled to ignore the pain.
Just like the copygen said …

Then something was shoved into his hand … cloth … skin …

With every bit of strength he could muster, Janil hauled backwards and felt his brother slide across the floor. It took several seconds to heave him into the airlock, where Janil collapsed on the floor, half under the dead weight of an unconscious Larinan.

‘We're in!'

Immedately the inner door closed, and as the cooling darkness slid around them, the last thing Janil noticed through the narrowing gap was the girl, silhouetted against the flaring light, watching the two of them lying there, her eyes a pair of dark pools. It felt like she was looking right through him.

‘Janil?'

‘Get a medik. Then come and help us out of here.'

The com went dead. Lari was pinning him to the floor and he found it impossible to lever himself out from under him. His arm was stinging, too.

In his arms, Lari groaned.

‘Hang in there, copygen. Someone'll be along soon.'

Lari's face was a bright, angry welt of red skin, which was already going puffy around his eyes and mouth.

‘You stupid, stupid shi,' Janil told him, but, even as he said it, he couldn't find it in him to really mean it. ‘You could have killed us both.'

The outer door slid back and their father reached in and helped Janil out from under his brother.

‘A medik's on his way up. He'll meet us in my office.'

‘Why not here?'

‘He'd have to come through obs. We can't compromise the program.'

‘Sky, Dad! Don't you think it's time we let go? The program's dead. You heard the Prelate. Finished. All you're doing now is forcing us to make desperate, stupid mistakes.'

‘We're not arguing about this now, Janil. Help me get Larinan upstairs.'

Lari groaned and tried to sit up.

‘Steady there, copygen.' Janil knelt beside him. ‘Can you hear me?'

‘What …' His brother's eyes rolled back in their sockets and he passed out again.

Taking an arm each, Janil and Dernan Mann hoisted Lari up and slung his arms around their shoulders, holding him suspended between them. The movement brought Lari round once more.

‘Try to walk, Larinan.' Dernan Mann was rewarded with another groan as the three slowly picked their way across the locker room and up the stairs into obs, one slow step at a time.

‘What in the sky possessed him, do you think?'

Janil threw his father a contemptuous glare.

‘You saw it as well as I did, Father. He was trying to save this program, just as desperately as you are.'

‘No, not the program. The girl, I think.'

‘It's the same thing.' Janil staggered slightly under his brother's weight. ‘For such a runt, he weighs a tonne.'

‘Either way, he made some progress, you must admit.'

‘What progress?'

‘He got her talking. He got her name.'

‘Ha! A name isn't going to help us untangle her genetic heritage, Father. A name isn't going to teach us how to find high-protein food and water out in that wasteland. A name isn't necessarily going to stop the copygen here from being declared a shiftie and sent to take his chances down below.'

‘He'll be fine. He's exposed, but I've seen field agents take far worse and survive.'

‘You'd better hope. Because when the Prelate hears—'

‘She won't. Unless someone reports it.'

‘She told us to keep her fully informed.'

‘Only of developments relating to the subject. And as far as I'm concerned, this has no bearing at all on the project itself.'

‘You should have been a politician, Father, not a scientist.'

Dernan Mann didn't reply. They continued on through the lab, ignoring the startled exclamations of the two scientists working there, and along the corridor into the office, where a medik was waiting.

‘What happened?'

‘Radiation exposure as part of a controlled experiment.'

The man raised an eyebrow. ‘Controlled? This was done deliberately?'

‘No,' Dernan Mann snapped. ‘Don't be ridiculous. There was an … error of judgement on his part. More than that I'm not able to tell you.'

‘Why not?'

‘It's classified.'

Lari woke up again and tried to sit up.

‘Just relax, son. It's all right. Lie back …'

Janil left the medik working on his brother and headed towards the door.

‘Where are you going?' his father asked.

‘The lab.'

‘You should get your arm seen to.'

‘My arm is fine. If he's able to survive this, I certainly will.'

‘Janil, you've been exposed …'

‘Only for a few seconds, Father. If you want to worry about something, worry about what your obsession with that girl is doing to those around you. Worry about getting a little bit of scientific objectivity back.'

‘Janil …' Dernan Mann stopped, suddenly aware of the medik listening in. He grabbed Janil's unburnt arm, his voice an angry whisper. ‘We have one week,
one week,
Janil, to find something in that girl's makeup which will persuade the Prelate not to shut down the whole project. One week. And in that time, I'm prepared to take whatever risks I deem necessary to keep moving ahead. It would appear that your little brother feels the same way, but what about you, Janil? Are you prepared to do whatever is required?'

Janil stared back. ‘Absolutely, Father. Just like you said.'

He jerked his arm free and walked out of the office.

‘Whatever it takes,' he muttered to himself as he entered the lab. Crossing to the nearest terminal, he punched a clearance code into the com system, and waited for the chime to clear his request. Then he spoke clearly and steadily.

‘Head of Security Jenx, on a secure connection, please. From Doctor Janil Mann.'

‘I still don't think this is a good idea, Larinan.'

‘Can you see any alternative?'

His father's silence was answer enough.

‘Me neither. Let's get on with it, then.' The burns on his face itched and tingled, but inside the helmet there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

‘All right then, but remember, the first sign of discomfort, you tell me and I pull you out, okay? And leave your helmet on this time.'

Lari didn't need to be told. He'd been lucky. The medik had made that perfectly clear. As soon as he'd finished treating Lari, measuring his specific exposure points and feeding fluids into him, the medik had spoken to his father.

‘He's going to be okay, I think, but it's hard to say for certain. Looking at the burns suggests that his exposure levels should be well outside the daily limits, but, according to my readings, he's actually just within safe parameters. If you'd tell me exactly what happened …'

‘I'm sorry, but as I've already informed you, that information is highly restricted. All we can tell you is that he was exposed to amplified light for a period of about four minutes.'

‘How concentrated was the light source?'

‘When he was exposed, the levels were at external midday norm.'

The medik had given a low whistle. ‘Four minutes should have done a lot more damage. I assume his body was protected?'

‘That's right.'

‘Well, he should thank the sky for that. Otherwise we'd have a shiftie on our hands. No doubt about it.'

‘Will there be any long-term implications of this, do you think?'

‘That's impossible to say without knowing details of the exact radiation source, the degree of exposure and the precise specs of whatever shielded him. If you'd like to give me more information, I could probably find out…'

‘No, thank you. That will be fine. We can monitor him ourselves.'

‘If you wish.' The medik had finished packing up his emergency kit. ‘He needs at least a week of rest and recovery. Lots of fluids, and monitor his temperature constantly. The gel I've put on his facial burns should help them heal up in the next couple of days, but if he develops a fever or skin lesions anywhere on his body, you need to get him to a med dome immediately. And absolutely no further exposure to any amplified light.'

‘For how long?'

The medik had given Dernan Mann a long, hard look.

‘It's never a good idea to risk it. I shouldn't need to say more than that, Doctor Mann.'

Eventually, he'd turned to Lari. ‘Rest up, young man, and be very careful what you do in the next few days. You were very lucky this morning. Next time, I don't imagine you'll be quite so fortunate.'

Then, with a curt nod to his father, the medik had left. That was two days ago. Now, despite a bunch of misgivings which he kept to himself, Lari was suited up and about to go back inside.

Back into the light.

Stopping before the hatchway, he nervously rechecked the neck seal.

‘It's fine, Larinan. I've double-checked it.'

‘I know. Sorry.'

‘It's okay.' His father made one last quick inspection of the life-support system, then opened the outer door. ‘In you go. I'll get up to obs and let you inside. Good luck.'

Alone in the airlock, Lari could hear his breathing, so much faster than normal. For the first time it all felt somehow wrong. Even having his father suiting him up instead of Janil hadn't felt right.

‘Are you ready?'

‘All set.'

‘Opening.'

The door opened and light spilled into the airlock. They'd deliberately left this visit until late in second shift, so that the reflected radiation inside wouldn't be so intense, but all the same Lari couldn't prevent himself stepping slightly backwards.

‘We're open. You all right?'

‘Fine. Going in.'

He toggled coms on as he stepped into the gleaming chamber, stopping just inside the door. At first he couldn't see the girl, but then she rose from the floor on the other side of the podium.

‘Saria?'

She regarded him quizzically, her head tilted to one side. The lights flared up, but not as much as usual.

‘Is that Lari?'

‘Yeah.'

‘How do I know?'

‘Sorry?'

‘How do I know it's you in that thing and not some other bloke? Or a woman, for that matter.'

‘You can't tell from my voice?'

‘Nah. You lot all sound the same to me.'

Something in her eyes made Lari suspect that the girl was teasing him, but he didn't know her well enough to be certain.

‘Tell you what,' she said.

‘What?'

‘How about you take that helmet off, so I can see for sure who it is?'

‘No way. I'd rather you didn't talk to me than go through that again.'

She laughed, a silvery trickle of sound that, even through the coms, Lari could hear echoing around the circular room.

‘Fair enough. I guess I'll just have to trust you, then. Are you okay?'

The question took him by surprise.

‘Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit burnt around the face. You managed to shield me from the worst of it, though. Thanks for that.'

‘Don't thank me. I'm the one who got you to take that thing off your head in the first place, remember? So how come you burnt like that? I've never seen anyone who couldn't handle light before. Do you lot live in the dark or something?'

‘Not exactly. We can handle light. It's just certain wavelengths that we can't…' Lari trailed off. He could tell he'd lost her.

‘Is everyone who lives here the same as you?'

‘With the light? Yeah.'

‘How do you mob find food and water? How do you get out to do your hunting? Do you go at night, or what?'

‘We don't hunt. We have … uhm … different sources of food and water.'

‘You need to stop her asking questions, Larinan.'
His father's voice, coming through his earpiece, felt like an intruder in his head.
‘Try to get her talking about herself, her life, anything which might be useful. Just be subtle, all right?'

‘Okay.'

‘What's okay?' The girl looked at him, puzzled.

‘Sorry?'

‘You said “okay”. What's okay? You talking to me?'

‘No. I …' Lari inwardly cursed his mistake.

‘Who were you talking to, then? That bloke who pulled you out?'

‘Janil? You saw him?'

‘Couldn't really miss him. All hunched up in that little room you come out of. No getup like yours, though. I got a good long stare at him, actually. Do you look like that, too?'

‘Like what?'

‘White. Empty.'

Empty. It was the strangest way Lari had ever heard himself described.

‘I … guess. A bit different, but generally, yeah.'

‘Who is he? That bloke.'

‘Janil?'

She nodded.

‘He's my brother.'

‘Brother.' The girl said the word slowly, as though tasting it, turning it over in her mouth. ‘What's that, then?'

‘It's …'

‘Choose your words carefully, Larinan. Remember, she has no conception of children, let alone siblings.'

'We have the same father. And mother.'

‘I got a father and mother, too. Dariand, he's my father. He's a nightwalker. And my mother, Jani, you lot took her off the night I was born, eh?'

‘I wasn't alive then.'

‘No?'

‘No. I'm younger than you. Probably by about a year.'

‘How'd you know that?'

‘My …'

‘Be careful, for sky's sake, Larinan. She might not be too happy to find out that your mother was the one who took hers.'

‘We've got ways of telling. With our tests.'

Lari couldn't tell whether she believed him or not.

‘So this “brother” of yours, this Janil bloke. He must like you a fair bit, then?'

‘What?'

‘I saw him gettin' burnt up too trying to pull you outa here. He do that 'cause he's your brother?'

‘No. I mean, yes, I guess. But probably not. Janil's not like that. Not with me, anyway.'

There was a momentary silence, until the girl spoke again.

‘So what do you wanna know, then?'

‘What?'

‘We had a deal. You take off your helmet, I'll answer your questions. What do you want to know?'

‘I …'

‘Larinan, standby …'
His father's voice suddenly changed.
‘Janil, what in the sky are you … What? No … No, this is completely unacceptable. And you … you have absolutely no authority to … Madam Prelate. I… of course. Hold on, please. Larinan?'

‘Give me a second,' Lari said to the girl before toggling the coms off. ‘What?'

‘Hello, Larinan! A
different voice answered.
‘Can you hear me?'

‘Yes, Madam Prelate.'

‘I'd appreciate it if you could join us up here in the observation room, Larinan, just as soon as you've de-suited. Your brother is opening the airlock now.'

‘But …'

‘Now, Larinan!

‘I have to go,' Lari told Saria, as the inner door slid open behind him.

‘How come? You just got here.'

‘I know, but something's come up. Don't worry, I'll be back.'

‘When?'

‘Soon.' He stepped into the airlock. ‘I promise.'

She smiled as the inner door closed and he snapped off his helmet while he waited for Janil to let him into the locker room. The outer door slid back, and Janil was waiting, a smug expression on his face.

‘You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, copygen.'

‘What's going on?'

‘Emergency meeting.' Janil immediately began unfastening the clasps on Lari's suit. ‘Hurry up.'

‘What's the emergency?'

‘You'll find out if you get this suit off.'

Lari climbed out of the suit and pulled on his normal clothes.

‘Let's go.' Janil was already halfway up the stairs.

Lari sensed the tension the moment he stepped into obs. His father stood by the data terminal, his face thunderous. Jenx leaned on the wall by the door, and the Prelate stood before the clearcrete windows, staring into the chamber. The moment Lari entered, she turned to him.

‘Larinan, come here. Let me look at you.'

Silently, he did as she bid. The city leader traced one finger lightly over the welts on his cheeks.

‘Does it hurt?'

‘Not really. Not any more.'

Then she turned to his father.

‘This is an absolute disgrace, Doctor Mann. Sending in your son, untrained, unfamiliar with the field protocols set down by a thousand years of experience, allowing him to be placed in such extreme danger—'

‘Why don't we dispense with the righteousness, Madam Prelate. All of us know you couldn't care less that someone got burned in there. This isn't about ethics, is it?'

Lari gasped, hearing his father address the Prelate like that, but the old woman didn't react as he would have expected. Instead of getting angry, she simply smiled.

‘Thank you, Doctor Mann. As ever, you have put things far more succinctly than I could manage.' She turned to Janil. ‘Janil, you will be in charge of the decommissioning of this project and will liaise with Jenx on the removal of any extraneous factors which may cause the city difficulties.' She glanced back down through the windows as she said this, into where Saria had settled herself on the padded sleeping mat. ‘Larinan and Dernan Mann, I am happy for the two of you to maintain your positions as DGAP officers, and Doctor Mann, you will remain as head of research, but on this matter you will defer in all things to your elder son. Do you understand me?'

‘Perfectly.' Dernan Mann spat the word.

‘Good. I would prefer that this was kept between the five of us in this room. But you should know that I will not hesitate to have you arrested should my instructions not be followed to the letter.'

She turned to Lari. ‘I am sorry for dragging you into this whole episode, Larinan. Very sorry indeed. And I would consider it a personal favour if you would contact my office in a couple of days, once all this has been satisfactorily wound up, for reallocation.'

‘Reallocation?'

‘You strike me as a resourceful young fellow and I think I could use someone like you over at the Prelature.'

‘But—'

‘I'll see you in a couple of days, Larinan.'

Without even a glance at their father, the Prelate swept from the room. Jenx threw a quick smirk back at them and followed her. As soon as she was gone, Dernan Mann turned on Janil.

‘Are you happy now? Was that what you hoped to achieve, Janil?'

‘I did what I had to do, Father.'