Log 1 Matter | Antimatter (46 page)

“Are we all in the same block?”

Tyson laughed. He was a tall, lanky Aryan
with pale blue eyes. “Yes, by some arrangement. This one is
assigned to the top ten queens and kings, and you, and us.”

They glanced at each other.

“Yes, I’m finding most things are by
arrangement when it comes to my life.” But she really didn’t
understand their exchange.

Silence settled on the group but she smiled.
Vin chuckled, locking gazes with her for a moment. Out of them all
she got on well with Ziana, a dark, gorgeous female from Harmony
Station, and Zarti, a massive male from Talaria, a tiny station
with only nine hundred and seventy-four occupied systems. Most
within the group were over three thousand years old but they
treated her with gentle teasing and playful respect, well, that was
Zarti’s version of the teasing.

“You’re the baby, Ara. We’re allowed to gush
over you a little.”

“Well,
old man
. Gushing may be
fatal.”

The group burst out laughing. Zarti chuckled,
rubbing his broad chin and staring at her.

At a dong, she looked to her right. Several
rounded transpads lit up in the lobby. Several kings transported
in. Ara’s group had to stop and incline their heads.

One king stopped and walked up to Ara barely
even acknowledging the others. “My dear, you don’t need to do
that.”

She stared at him. He was a Lesser Province
King but she still understood he was more than the usual PuG. “King
Begrin, I believe all royalty should be respected.”

He studied her longer than she liked, smiled
stiffly, and left her.

“That was odd.”

“Why?” Ziana asked her gently, her silvery
grey eyes showing concern.

“I’m not just a baby but a farmer—no,
farmer’s daughter. I don’t even have my papers for my
apprenticeship. Why would he stop and favor me with his presence?”
Her sarcasm was lost on the group.

Vin smiled and pulled her along, holding her
hand. “That’s because there hasn’t been a queenling in the making
for some time. They changed their system so much you don’t quite
fit in anywhere.”

“Of course. Orphan Queenling.”

“You’re from the old stock, Ara,” Zarti said
slyly.

She snorted. “Old stock. How fitting.” Of
course, she’d been teased about it before but never believed
anyone. “Dad gets rid of old stock at the end of every season,
practically giving it away at the markets.”

They all stared at her before laughing. Ziana
put a hand over her mouth, and took Ara by the arm. “My dear, you
are very refreshing for a queenling.”

They were teasing her on the way up the
stairs but when she was shown her rooms on the top floor but then
tagged along to their rooms, her mouth gaped.

Zarti smiled. “Do you believe us now?”

“We could all fit happily in my room! My
lounge room.” She walked out muttering, almost bumping into Vin.
“Honestly! You’d think I would have been told how important I was.
I could have demanded an extra slice of chocolate cake after
dinner.”

Vin laughed and then followed her to the
rooms. “Very nice, Ara.”

“It’s ridiculous. Can I ask for smaller
rooms?” The cream carpets and walls opened the room making it feel
even larger, while bright paintings, furnishings and bedding
created character. Her bath was a heated pool, with lush plants
hanging from the domed ceiling.

“You could order it, but I daresay they are
booked up.”

“Well, they can use my spare rooms. There’s
six of them. Is this half the top floor on this wing?”

He was studying her when she turned. She
looked around her. “What’s the matter?”

“You are invigorating for a Pure-Gen, Ara.
Someone called Korbet organized these rooms for you and for us. I
think he likes you.”

She grinned and glanced at the massive table.
She groaned.

“Ara?”

“Is that another manual? He can’t like me
that much.”

“I’m afraid so, happy studying. I’ll come by
to pick you up for lunch?”

“Thank you, Vinicus.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

She grumbled as the door closed on his
laughing.

After finding something to drink, and
struggling to choose from the large variety, she read the manual.
Her interest spiked half way when she hit a certain clause. “That
can’t be right.” She read it over and over. She grabbed her manual
and strode out to Vin’s room, down the corridor to the right then
left. She knocked. He opened it and his dark eyes fell to the open
book. He looked over her shoulders and then invited her in.

“Have you read this?”

“I skimmed it, Ara.”

Her eyes fell upon the text. “This says that
my vote, because I am old enough to vote but not yet reached the
Age of Determination, may block the majority.”

“Yes.”

Her eyes went from the text to his eyes. “But
… that can’t be right?”

He opened his and found the same text.
“That’s what it says, Ara.”

She sat down heavily on the chair. He
wandered off and poured them some drinks. He placed a drink before
her. Unthinking, she reached for it and then snatched her hand
back. “Well, surely I’d have no reason to vote with the minority. I
mean, we are a fair people aren’t we?”

But her mind flashed some of the dissention
brewing with the Avatara and the vague history of her people.

“You should vote according to your
conscience.”

She sipped her drink while Vin sat near her.
“I will, but … is this about the Avatara?”

“No one knows.”

“We’ll be given time won’t we? To weigh all
sides?”

“Yes, there will be people available if you
need clarification and we are encouraged to debate outside the
official rooms. There will be speeches you can listen to, repeats
of the case, or you may simply meditate your way.”

“Vin?”

“Yes?”

“Why would the vote be timed now? Why not
wait for me to reach the Age of Determination? Isn’t it risky
allowing one person so much power?”

“Perhaps it is urgent.”

“Yes, but … um … action may still be taken to
control things. I wasn’t a big fan of history.”

He grinned at that.

“But when I think about things that did
happen, that were available to me, and how the worlds are now, I
don’t understand what could possibly trigger a vote unless it’s
really, really big, or so small as to be insignificant in the grand
theme of things.”

He twirled his cup around and then drank.

She sighed. “I’m sorry for interrupting
you.”

“No need to apologize. We are willing to
help.”

She looked around his much smaller room. “If
you need to stretch your legs a bit come and visit me. A jog around
should give you a good work out.”

He chuckled. “Thank you.”

She stood, slightly embarrassed now, and
walked out after he opened the doors for her.

The doors closed behind her but then opened.
“Ara?”

“Yes?” She turned.

“I don’t think this is a small thing.”

She stared at him and then nodded. Hugging
her manual to her chest, she wandered back to her rooms.

Lunch was pleasant and they were shown around
the courtrooms, the amenities, where to get food and drink, the
gardens and the many offices that could be booked.

The night passed and she woke early, nerves
firing. As she lay staring up at the ceiling, vague recollections
of Puddy 2 began to pervade her mind. Why would she be thinking of
that cat? She went on adventures with all her cats. The fog hadn’t
just smudged memories, it had blocked memories. That’s right! Marc
had just told her about being an Aether Being, and that seemed
serious to Ara but Maya evidently thought not worth blocking. Ara
had fallen asleep and then woke to find Marc missing. She had crept
down the steps and Puddy 2 joined her. No, she corrected, Marc told
her about being Aether much later. It was after Korbet called her
“farmingbee” and that was after she told him about eating the
strawberries. She had heard voices and they said something about
matter levels rising and killing billions. All her fear that Maya
had been blocking came rushing back.

Maya had been protecting her! From what?

This had to be about matter levels. This vote
had to be about dealing with that. Ara’s heart beat erratically and
she felt the sweat drip under her arms to the bed sheets and wiped
it from her the back of her neck. She refused to believe that
genocide would be first on the list, no, they would vote on the
best solution. Yes, that had to be it, if this was about matter
levels. Pure-Gens were responsible for matter levels but they
couldn’t just make unanimous decisions! She’d been so silly about
it. They were actually stopping the indiscriminate release of
antimatter.

Feeling a little better, she started tidying
up her bed as it looked like there’d been a tornado in it.
Remembering the “helpers” who left her room after dinner, she
attacked the suitcases, finding them empty. Opening the closet she
saw that all her clothes were pressed and hanging. Color
coordinated too, that would impress Tara. She had no appetite for
breakfast but forced herself to eat something. Servants came and
went; she kept thanking them. The way they looked at her was mostly
kind, sometimes surprised.

She heard a loud clashing noise. Great,
they’d be donged to death. Ara’s heart pounded, her hands clenched
by her sides. Just try to walk naturally. Relax your fingers. Don’t
chew them. Dinner had been strained and she tried not to gawk
around at the opulent surroundings. She’d picked up on the nerves.
At the dance, many asked her questions and she felt they were
trying to find out what “side” she’d be on. She had snapped with
either, “I don’t know why we are here, how can I possibly know
that?” or “Are you saying some just vote with the majority?” and
had received a light laugh and affirmation. She had been stunned
when she returned to her table. Ziana had tried to engage her with
lighter conversation. But Ara grew aware that she was receiving
more and more attention. They all understood what power she had
over this case. She kept playing it over and over in her head:

Generally, a verdict had to be unanimous but,
by some flaw of the system, or sneaky deliberation, the vote was
forced early, which meant the unanimous vote would not hold. But
would it be an issue?

Why would she vote with the minority?

Repeat.

Why would she vote with the minority?

Of interest, had another Pure-Gen been
fabricated… Wait, there had been but what had Korbet said? The
other was being picked up by … someone. Damn, she tried to access
the CU but was blocked. Whatever! That person wasn’t registered in
Aryan Society so it wouldn’t count anyway, but had she been
registered then if Ara voted “yes”, and that other voted “no”, it
would be cancelled out. It was so bizarre.

Groaning, she pinched her arm to stop
repeating herself. The sting relieved some of the worry building
inside her. She lined up in the East Wing waiting for staff to
direct her in. By this stage, she had waved goodbye to the others,
who would all be in the back wings. She saw her position already,
upper East Wing, on the row by herself. Those in the inner rings
were the most powerful and/or oldest Aryans. Those in the back
wings were the lowest.

Audrina’s tall, willowy figure was easy to
pick out and she smiled at her across the carpeted hall. The queen
strolled over, her soft, elegant, flowing dress hugging her body
rather than hiding it. Ara couldn’t help but feel the female was a
little overdressed but another part of her was relieved as it
seemed to support her idea that this wasn’t life and death.

“Ara, dear. Are you ready for your first
vote?”

“Yes, Queen Audrina.” Not really.

The long arm rose gracefully, the long
fingers lifting Ara’s chin. Ara had no choice but to look into
those large, dark eyes with long lashes. “You do understand what is
at stake here, Ara? We are Pure-Gens.” There was a warning in those
words hidden behind the silky voice and smile. The dark eyes
drifted to behind her and she was startled. Ara glanced behind and
stepped away but a mist flowed up her body, on the left side, and
hung there.

There were whispers around her. “It’s the
Maya.”

It was creepy. But the mist slid down and
dissipated.

Her heart was pounding again as she’d never
actually seen Maya but evidently the other Pure-Gens had. How much
had she missed out on and how much had the Pure-Gens been told to
leave her alone? She seemed to remember some mist in that strange
meeting too, in Delario’s library.

“I understand, ma’am.” She now said
impulsively, “I’m sure I’ll be voting with the majority.”

Relief shone in the eyes but the energies
didn’t match that relief. “Good girl. You’ll do us proud, Ara. Many
of the Pure-Gens consider you to be very special and will rise to
high ranks once you are older, at least one thousand.” Audrina
smiled now. “The Maya loves you, Ara. It has gifted you with
insights. You were chosen by the Maya itself.”

Ara nodded dutifully. Whatever! And it’s
“Maya” and “herself”. Why did they always have to be so specific
too? Was she? Yes, how many times had her Wilds teams rolled their
eyes at her? Ara just wanted to go back to Wilds and resume
work.

A black suited male led her to her seat and she
waited impatiently. The seats were all dark wood carved, with
burgundy velvet padding in the seat, back and arms. Slightly to her
left hovered a holo tablet that she could move by tapping it. She
tapped it to float over her lap to watch the proceedings and would
later use it to make her vote. They had apparently tried to connect
everyone’s minds and create a virtual reality but no one liked it
much. Most Aryans liked technology that was tangible and
non-invasive. The implants were embedded in each Pure-Gen during
the fabrication stage and that was acceptable apparently, but the
Pure-Gens had made the law, with Maya’s approval, that all Iotans
received the implant once born as well.