Chapter 4

The medic was right, with the help of the AI controlled IV line and administered drugs had me up and walking around in the morning like nothing had happened. I got the all-clear from the medics and Chi met me outside the train car.

“Good to see you up and walking around,” she said, handing me a steaming cup and a bagel. “Feroux makes the best bagels, come on,” she takes a bite of her bagel and starts walking away. “Let me show you around the camp before you meet with the leaders.” I take a bite and savor the chewy rich flavor of the bagel, there’s a hint of molasses that blends wonderfully with the cream cheese and increase my pace, Chi walks incredibly fast.

“This is what we call the market,” Chi gestured to the rotunda, “we trade parts, dry goods, and other materials here.” Now that I am fully aware I see piles of electronics, vehicle parts, dry goods and clothes piled around the stalls, there is a stall surrounded by several tables in the middle of the rotunda with people sitting and chatting, some are playing games, Chi gets smiles and waves and I get suspicious looks, the low din of conversation echoes through the circular space, amplified by the tiled walls and ceiling. Hundreds of people are in the market space, men and women, all fit and powerful looking, I wonder what classes their all from. I notice the strong smell of coffee and my mouth stars to water, in haven’t had a good cup of coffee since my internship at Klineburg Engineering, real coffee is far too expensive for my standing.

“Is that fresh coffee?” I ask, Chi nods and sips from her insulated mug, the temperature on the mug reads 60 °C.

“You want some?” She asks, “I wasn’t sure if you liked it, we can go get you a mug,” Chi smiles and leads me to the only stall in the middle of the rotunda, it is surrounded by the tables and chairs and there’s a decent line of people waiting. “Brinn’s great at making coffee, we’re really glad he joined us,” Chi says as we get in line. My mind is going a million kilometers an hour, I’m wondering where exactly I am, who these people are and what happened at the end of the cycle.

“Who are you people?” I ask, eyeing Chi and looking around the market. People at the tables are playing chess on holographic boards and other strategic games I don’t recognize.

Chi smiles at me, “figured you’d ask that eventually,” we move forward in line, “we are the Collaboration,” she pauses and waits for my reaction.

“Like the Diamond Collaboration?” I ask, the memory of Lykar flashes through my mind. Chi looks at me thoughtfully.

“Sort of, we fund and train the rebel collaborations around Avalis.” We move closer to the stalls order counter.

“Did you know someone in the Diamond Collaboration?” She asks, I nod and look away. Chi reaches out to put her hand on my shoulder then stops and nods. “I get it, I lost my sister and mother when they were raided. Who did you lose?” She looks genuine in her concern, and I see her eyes twitch, she look’s up to the lights.

“My brother, he hated them,” I laugh cynically, “if he knew where I was now…” I trail off, “I’m sorry about your family, Chi.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry about your brother.”

“Morning ladies!” A tall thin man exclaims as we reach the counter, “Chi back for another, eh?” The man has a recognizable accent from northern Avalis, “I’ll need more than intel on the latest delivery for another cup.”

“It’s not for me, Brinn,” she gestures to me, “got a new recruit that hasn’t had a real cup of coffee in several spans.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Brinn’s unusually green eyes sparkle in the light, he has olive toned skin and long black hair, I see traces of a tattoo peaking out from his shirt collar. “I’ve got a source inside one of the best bean farms in Avalis.” He hands me a mug like Chi’s, the temperature reads 95 C, “wait until it’s around 65-70 °C before you take your first sip,” he winks, “you’ll thank me.”

I thank him and take the mug, Chi leads me around a lap of the rotunda, pointing out the better stalls, even though it’s community and they’re all working towards the same goal, some people get better quality goods than others. As we reach one of the halls leading away from the rotunda my mug beeps, the temperature is flashing green and reads 68 °C, I lift it to my lips and take a sip, I savor the flavor, its rich and chocolatey with some smoky and fruity undertones.

“This is amazing,” I say, Chi nods and takes a drink from her mug. “Where’s the food?” I ask, my stomach is rumbling, and I could use a proper meal after five rotations on IV nutrients and a delicious bagel.

“This way,” Chi leads me down the hall, the aromas hit my nose first and my mouth starts to water, I’m hungry than I think I am. “We have all sorts of food available, like Brinn said, we have contacts and spies everywhere so we’re very well stocked.”

“How do they do it without being caught?” I ask, I’m partially distracted by all the options as we’ve entered a long open room lined with restaurants, the smell of burgers, steaks, fried chicken and an overwhelming amount of spices hits me.

“That is something I can’t tell you until you are officially accepted into the Collaboration.” She sips her coffee and looks around. “What are you hungry for?” I let her change the topic. I don’t want to pry too much, yet.

“Something hearty, I’m famished,” I scan the names of the restaurants, Chi grabs my hand and pulls me to the far end of the dining hall.

“How about this?” She asks, stopping in front of a bbq restaurant with a cartoon pig wearing a chef’s hat on the sign, Pork Fork, glowed in pink neon. “Some of the best comfort food down here.” Chi smiles and walks to a screen that takes our order. I’m amazed by the variety and freshness in the dining hall.

“This all comes from sources on the outside?” I need to know more, Chi steps away from the screen and I look through the menu. Pulled pork, brisket, macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes, dirty rice, the list goes on and on, I decide on a loaded sampler plate with extra sides.

“Some of it,” Chi says, we walk to the pickup counter. “There’s a farm on subfloor six, takes up the whole space, uses hydroponics, grow lights and compost from our leftovers and waste to fertilize the plants. They’re genetically engineered to produce massive amounts of produce to optimize the space,” this intrigues me, “and on subfloor five we have livestock, cows, pigs, chickens and goats.” She can see the confusion on my face, “the animals get recycled water and food from the lab, it’s packed with nutrients and doesn’t use up our food, and before you ask why we don’t eat the tablets, they taste like garbage and aren’t as fun. Meals and hearty food bring up morale.” She laughs and we walk to the counter and pick up our meals.

We take our trays to a table and sit down, my back is to the wall, and I watch people come and go through the dining hall, several people are stopping for quick bites like sandwiches or burgers, several people stop at the plant based restaurant. My tray has half a rack of ribs, brisket, pulled pot and fried chicken. For sides I chose Mac and cheese, bbq beans and corn bread, it reminds me of summer meals with my family, when my dad was around, we were able to afford meals like this without worrying about the Sewers.

“How long has the Collaboration been working?” I ask between bites, the food is amazing.

“Since the Invasion and the Cleansing,” Chi says, sipping from her mug and taking a bite of her pulled pork sandwich. “I don’t want to spoil too much, new recruits learn the history and it’s quiet fascinating.” She smirks at me, she’s teasing me with these pieces of information, making me want to know more about the organization. “I know I keep dropping little hints,” she says, winking at me, “it’s fun for me.” She laughs and finishes her sandwich. She waits for me to finish my plate and shows me to the compost shoot, the plates and utensils are compostable, we dump our trays down the shoot and place them in the wash tube. Chi thanks the cook and leads me through the rest of the dining hall to another walkway.

“There’s so little technology down here,” I say looking around, unlike above, nobody is glued to their communicator, nobody has an C.I.I and people are conversing and helping one another with tasks. If I were to go to a restaurant or even a coffee shop it would all be automated, no human-to-human interaction at all. Down with the Collaboration there’s more human-to-human interaction that I’ve witnesses in my life happening all around me.

“They pushed technology on us to placate us, to lull us into a simulated reality where everything is pristine and perfect, so we wouldn’t care about what they’re doing in Avalis,” Chi says, she looks at me with a dark expression, “we’ve lost what has made us human because of them, and we let them take it without a fight.” That resonated with me, I have always felt like an outcast for not wanting to escape into the Virtual Network or not wanting an C.I.I, I agree with her.

“We only use technology that will benefit our society, advanced water purifiers, genetic modification of plants for increased nutrients and harvest yield,” she gestures to me, “as you’ve experienced, we use it to develop advanced medications and optimize patient care, tracking of Enforcer routes and information necessary to keep out society safe.” She checks her watch, “Shoot, I have to get you to the Leaders, follow me.” She leads me through a maze of tunnels and down two flights of guarded stairs to a large steel door, two guards flank the doors, both armed with Klineburg Z-70’s, these weapons fire high powered laser rounds but take two to three seconds to recharge.

“We’ve got a new recruit for the Trials,” Chi says walking up to the door, the guards nod silently and look me over. The one on the right taps the wall and initiates the unlocking protocol for the door, seconds later the doors slides open and Chi leads me into an auditorium like room, there are seats around a raised circular stage in the center of the room, there are three people in the same black leather uniform on stage, two are standing and one is in an impressive looking wheelchair. I wonder why he opted to be in a wheelchair when there’s the technology available for life like prosthetics and tissue replacement, it’s probably not an appropriate time to ask him.

“Welcome to the Sanctum,” the tall man in the middle of three says, his voice echoes through the empty auditorium, “Chi, thank you for delivering her to us, you may take your leave.” Chi squeezes my hand then nods.

“I’ll meet you at the food court after,” she whispers to me before she turns and exits the Sanctum. I watch her leave, and as the door closes behind her, I feel immensely alone.

“Come to the stage,” the man booms, I walk to the stage, of the three, two are men and one is a woman with long black hair, they all have powerful builds and hold themselves like colonels in the army. The men have shaved hair and smooth faces, the one in the wheelchair has no legs and a scar across his face, the man that’s been barking commands has blonde hair and stern green eyes, he puffs his chest out and holds his hands behind his back. “Come, stand in front of us,” he orders. I walk up the stairs of the stage and into the lights.

“What is your name?” The woman asks, her tone is sharper than I imagined it would be, she stares at me with a hard to read stoic expression.

“Eiona,” I say, the man in the wheelchair pulls up a screen in front of him, “Eiona Dolgaran.” The woman nods and waits for the man in the wheelchair to punch in my name, he adjusts the screen and scans me.

“Eiona Dolgaran,” the man says, his voice is higher than I expect, he reads my information off the screen. “Middle-Lower Worker Class, just accepted a job with Hox Enterprises,” he looks at me with a sadness in his eyes, “brother Lykar Dolgoran was an active member of the Diamond Collaboration before they were betrayed.” The other two bow their heads, “I’m sorry, I knew him, he was an asset to the cause.”

I look at them in silence for a moment, they all knew my brother, maybe they can tell me more about his role. I smile and thank the man. “Lykar was wonderful,” I say with a melancholy inflection. “I miss him every day.”

“I bet you do,” the man in the wheelchair says, with a sorrowful smile.

“How does someone related to an abducted rebel land a job at Hox enterprises?” The woman asks, she’s eyeing me suspiciously. “Do you share your brother’s enthusiasm?” She sounds skeptical and prods me with her cold brown eyes.

“I despise them,” I say not breaking eye contact with her, “they took my brother and that ruined my family.” The three Leaders nod. “I needed a job to keep myself out of the Sewers, Svalbar Hox was the only one that believed me when I lied about knowing if my brother was a member of the Diamond Collaboration,” my voice rises in volume, “all I ever wanted since he was taken from my family was to join a rebel cause and take them down.”

The three exchange looks and nod, the man in the wheelchair pushes a button on the screen and a strange helmet descends from the ceiling. It looks like a modified virtual reality helmet people use to enter the Virtual Network, there are sensors my hands and feet attached to the helmet. I hear the scraping and creaking of mechanics and look behind me as a Virtual Reality chair rises from the stage.

“We are going to test you now Eiona,” the man in the middle says, his cold green eyes staring through me. “You are going to put on the helmet and sensors and sit in the chair, you will be set through a series of trials to determine your loyalty to the cause, skills you can contribute to the Collaboration and potential paths that would be a good fit for you. Do you accept these trials?”