Can you walk? I yelled over the siren.
The woman nodded, but her legs were shaking like crazy, like they might break. Atrophy, she said through her teeth. I remember running, but my body doesn't.
Lean on me. I put her arm around my shoulder. She was so light, way too light. Like holding a bird skeleton covered in silk.
We went down the aisle. The red flashing lights made us look jumpy, like a bad stop-motion movie. Server 9 was like a maze. It was made for robots and repair drones, not people. The floor was metal over a scary drop with cooling pipes, and the ceiling was full of high-voltage cables.
Where are we going? she asked. Her voice was getting stronger, but the glow in her eyes was fading back to a normal, scared hazel color.
Service elevator, I said, leading us to the North Quadrant. If we take the main lift, Security will be ready with brain-fryers. They'll cook our brains before the doors even open.
Security... She laughed, a bitter sound. You mean the Sweepers.
Sweepers?
They don't protect anything, Elias. They clean up messes, and I'm a mess.
I didn't ask how she knew that or how she knew my name. I just stared at the heavy mag-lock door up ahead. It said, MAINTENANCE ONLY - BIOHAZARD.
I swiped my card. The light flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED. LOCKDOWN ACTIVE.
Crap! I hit the steel door with my fist. The sirens were getting louder. I could hear boots banging above us, like they were jumping down.
Give it to me, the woman said.
What?
The card. Just give it.
She grabbed the card from my hand, fast. She didn't swipe it. She pressed it between her hands, closed her eyes, and for a second, that blue light was back in her eyes, even brighter this time. Electricity sparked from her fingers into the card.
Beep.
The light turned green. The bolts moved, and the door opened with a hiss.
I just stared at her. How did you do that? You're not jacked in. You don't have a rig.
I was in the Aether for thirty years, she whispered, pushing past me into the dark tunnel. You don't just forget the code, it sticks with you.
We went inside, and I locked the door behind us. The tunnel was dark with just dim blue lights on the floor, smelling of ozone and burnt rubber.
We walked for five minutes without talking. The adrenaline became a cold, scared feeling in my gut. I had just broken a ton of company rules. Kidnapping a client? Messing with a stasis pod? Running from security?
They'll kill Jasmine, I said, the realization hit me hard. I stopped.
The woman stopped and turned around. Who?
My sister. If I run... if I vanish... nobody pays for her meds. The company will kick her out of the medical center. She won't last a week. I rubbed my greasy hair. I have to go back. I can tell them you made me do it. I can say—
They won't believe you, she interrupted. Her voice was strong now. The billionaire was waking up inside that weak body. And even if they did, do you really think they'd let you go after what you saw?
I didn't see anything! Just a client waking up!
She came closer. In the dark, she looked like a ghost, You saw panic, Elias. You saw someone from Paradise wanting to get out. That's bad for business. If people hear that the Aether sucks, stocks will go down. And when stocks go down, people like you get taken care of.
She jabbed me in the chest. You wanna save your sister? Help me survive. I got stuff. Secret accounts. Hidden stashes the Corp doesn't know about. Get me to the top, and I'll get your sister lungs. A whole new body, if you want.
I stared at her. Deal with the devil, but she was the only one offering anything.
Name? I asked.
In the Aether, I was Queen Lysandra. Now... She glanced at her shivering body. Just Sarah.
Okay, Sarah. Service elevator's ahead. Needs a scan, but I don't have the level.
I will, she said.
We got to the elevator. Big thing, used to lower pods. Panel looked old.
Sarah put her hand on the scanner. Nothing.
Need a port, she said, feeling around. I need a direct line.
Jack on the side, I said.
She found it, grabbed the wire from her neck, severed it from the pod, and shoved the wires in.
She screamed.
Her back arched as power hit her. Sparks flew.
Sarah! I reached for her.
Don't! she gasped, sounding like two people. I'm... getting... the code...
Lights flickered. Numbers changed. B9... B8... B7...
ACCESS GRANTED.
The elevator started descending.
She ripped the wires out and fell into me. Smoke rose from her neck. She was burning.
Get in, she coughed.
We jumped in. I hit the top floor, Waste Processing. Easiest exit. The thing went up, shaking.
Going up, I asked, You said the Aether is fuel?
She was huddled up. She looked up, scared.
You think it runs on power, Elias? It takes more to fake a world. To make food taste real, love feel real, time flow... Silicon can't do that.
She tapped her head. Brains are the best. They just don't put us in to live forever. They link us up. Use our minds to do work for the Corp. Crypto, codes, markets.
So? You're a computer. Not so bad.
It starts that way, she whispered. But you get old... stay in longer... you start to fade. The system takes too much. Eats memories for space. Eats your soul to be efficient. My husband faded, Last week. King Yesterday, just a tree now. Not enough 'self' left to be real.
I felt cold.
They're eating us, she said. Rich pay to get eaten slowly. But the poor?
She looked at me, and I thought of Jasmine, and the server I was saving for.
The get burned like coal, Sarah said.
The elevator stopped. Metal screeched.
We weren't on the surface. We were at Level B2, Security Command.
The doors started to open.
They took over the lift, I whispered, grabbing my stun-baton.
No, Sarah said, standing up, wobbly but determined. They didn't take it over. I brought us here.
What? Why?
Because, she said, her eyes starting to glow again. If we go to the surface now, they'll hunt us with drones. We need something to distract them. Something big.
The doors opened. Three guards in riot gear stood there, weapons raised.
Freeze! On the ground! the lead guard yelled.
Sarah didn't get down. She raised her hand, palm open, pointing at the guards.
Cover your ears, Elias, she said calmly.
Fire! the guard shouted.
Sarah screamed. But it wasn't a scream. It was a screech of digital noise, a high pitched blast that sounded like a modem from you-know, where amplified through a mega speaker.
The guards dropped their guns, grabbing their helmets, twisting on the floor as their comms units blew up with feedback.
Sarah grabbed a fallen rifle. She looked at me, blood running from her nose, looking less like someone who needs help and more like a fighter.
Welcome to the revolution, Caretaker.