mistake.”
CHAPTER 10
THE STREET WAS BRIGHTLY LIT BY STREETLAMPS AND LIGHT FROM THE windows of buildings. Nick felt conspicuous in the harsh artificial light. “You’re in luck,” said Lexi, bending down to pick up the brown broad-brimmed hat from the sidewalk. “The street sweeps haven’t been through yet.” She held it out to Nick. “Here. Wear it.”
Nick felt a surge of disgust. He held his hands up. “I’m not wearing that,” he said. “A man got fried in that hat.”
“Listen, rock star,” said Lexi. “Be smart. Wear the hat. People have been looking at your face on the feeds for a week.”
Nick took the hat, looked inside it, then placed it on his head with a grimace. “Stop calling me ‘rock star,’” he said. “My name is Nick. My brother and sister are Kevin and Cass.” Lexi was attractive, Nick had to admit—maybe even prettier than Danielle—but she also seemed impulsive, and they couldn’t afford to be around that. Still, for now, they had no choice but to trust her.
“Kevin and Cass,” Lexi said, smiling at them. “Got it.” She appraised Nick in the hat. “Better,” she said. “Now wear these, rock star.” She handed Nick a pair of dark sunglasses from her jacket pocket. He put them on, and Lexi studied him a moment. “Good. You look like an idiot, but at least you don’t look like you.”
“Great,” said Nick. “How about less dress-up and more getting off the streets?”
They started walking, Lexi leading the way. “Normally I’d hop a trans—that’s an underground train—but the station gates scan your Citizen chip, so that wouldn’t work for you three.”
“Citizen chip?” asked Cass.
“Implant. Here,” Lexi said, touching the back of her neck. “Our I.D. gets us Citizens onto the trans and through CPs—checkpoints—and bots can use it to keep track of our location.”
“So you mean a bot knows where you are right now?” asked Kevin.
“ Could know, if it cared to,” said Lexi. “ Could know and does know are two different things. The trick is to not give them a reason to care about you.”
“But I bet they know right away if you leave the City,” said Kevin.
“Yeah, there’s no leaving the City proper,” said Lexi. “One step outside, and bots will come swarming.”
“And that’s why there’s no gate, and no fence,” said Nick. Kevin had been right. “The chips keep everyone in place.”
“Plus most people would be afraid to leave, even if we could,” said Lexi. “With the plague gangs, and all …”
“There are no plague gangs,” said Cass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, even the plague itself, without the gangs, is bad enough,” said Lexi. “The bots are the only ones who have the cure.”
“There’s no plague,” said Cass.
“What are you talking about?” asked Lexi. “You mean your Freepost never got the plague? Red boils, fever, bleeding from your eyes, highly contagious, usually fatal?”
“I think I’d remember that,” said Cass.
Lexi shook her head. “Maybe just not in your Freepost. Maybe you were lucky.”
“I’m pretty sure nowhere,” said Cass.
Lexi just stared at Cass, apparently too shocked to respond. Eventually she just shook her head silently.
Nick tried to maintain a sense of their location as they walked. They headed generally north. The buildings here were still the identical concrete-and-glass two-story structures, the only difference being the address numbers on each doorway. Lexi led them to the east once to avoid passing too close to a checkpoint. “Gotta avoid the CPs,” said Lexi. “This one’s for a construction zone; they’re putting up some new administration building. Any CP, they’ll scan anyone trying to go through. And you can’t just walk up to one and then change your mind and turn around. Bots don’t like suspicious. You get an infraction, you cross a CP, it’ll scan for your chip, and it won’t be happy when it doesn’t find
CHAPTER 10
THE STREET WAS BRIGHTLY LIT BY STREETLAMPS AND LIGHT FROM THE windows of buildings. Nick felt conspicuous in the harsh artificial light. “You’re in luck,” said Lexi, bending down to pick up the brown broad-brimmed hat from the sidewalk. “The street sweeps haven’t been through yet.” She held it out to Nick. “Here. Wear it.”
Nick felt a surge of disgust. He held his hands up. “I’m not wearing that,” he said. “A man got fried in that hat.”
“Listen, rock star,” said Lexi. “Be smart. Wear the hat. People have been looking at your face on the feeds for a week.”
Nick took the hat, looked inside it, then placed it on his head with a grimace. “Stop calling me ‘rock star,’” he said. “My name is Nick. My brother and sister are Kevin and Cass.” Lexi was attractive, Nick had to admit—maybe even prettier than Danielle—but she also seemed impulsive, and they couldn’t afford to be around that. Still, for now, they had no choice but to trust her.
“Kevin and Cass,” Lexi said, smiling at them. “Got it.” She appraised Nick in the hat. “Better,” she said. “Now wear these, rock star.” She handed Nick a pair of dark sunglasses from her jacket pocket. He put them on, and Lexi studied him a moment. “Good. You look like an idiot, but at least you don’t look like you.”
“Great,” said Nick. “How about less dress-up and more getting off the streets?”
They started walking, Lexi leading the way. “Normally I’d hop a trans—that’s an underground train—but the station gates scan your Citizen chip, so that wouldn’t work for you three.”
“Citizen chip?” asked Cass.
“Implant. Here,” Lexi said, touching the back of her neck. “Our I.D. gets us Citizens onto the trans and through CPs—checkpoints—and bots can use it to keep track of our location.”
“So you mean a bot knows where you are right now?” asked Kevin.
“ Could know, if it cared to,” said Lexi. “ Could know and does know are two different things. The trick is to not give them a reason to care about you.”
“But I bet they know right away if you leave the City,” said Kevin.
“Yeah, there’s no leaving the City proper,” said Lexi. “One step outside, and bots will come swarming.”
“And that’s why there’s no gate, and no fence,” said Nick. Kevin had been right. “The chips keep everyone in place.”
“Plus most people would be afraid to leave, even if we could,” said Lexi. “With the plague gangs, and all …”
“There are no plague gangs,” said Cass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, even the plague itself, without the gangs, is bad enough,” said Lexi. “The bots are the only ones who have the cure.”
“There’s no plague,” said Cass.
“What are you talking about?” asked Lexi. “You mean your Freepost never got the plague? Red boils, fever, bleeding from your eyes, highly contagious, usually fatal?”
“I think I’d remember that,” said Cass.
Lexi shook her head. “Maybe just not in your Freepost. Maybe you were lucky.”
“I’m pretty sure nowhere,” said Cass.
Lexi just stared at Cass, apparently too shocked to respond. Eventually she just shook her head silently.
Nick tried to maintain a sense of their location as they walked. They headed generally north. The buildings here were still the identical concrete-and-glass two-story structures, the only difference being the address numbers on each doorway. Lexi led them to the east once to avoid passing too close to a checkpoint. “Gotta avoid the CPs,” said Lexi. “This one’s for a construction zone; they’re putting up some new administration building. Any CP, they’ll scan anyone trying to go through. And you can’t just walk up to one and then change your mind and turn around. Bots don’t like suspicious. You get an infraction, you cross a CP, it’ll scan for your chip, and it won’t be happy when it doesn’t find
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