Kingdom of Cages(66)

“You are as you were made to be.” Dionte slotted a cartridge into the base of the probe. “Like the rest of us.”

“And how do the rest of you progress with Tam?”

“Not at all, Aleph. He will not see reason.” Dionte paced the length of the substructure, craning her neck to see the designations written on the ceiling tiles.

Aleph started up a search of her own records for chemical flow and balance inside her organics. A slurry of fatigue toxins were being taken up too slowly and needed extra stimulation. She lit up a panel for Dionte.

“He is concerned,” she said, letting her image walk along the wall beside Dionte. “The villagers are part of Pandora, as we are, and Pandora must be protected.”

A spasm of irritability, possibly even anger, crossed Dionte’s face. “And if we become so busy protecting the villagers that we lose the world? Think, Aleph. That can’t be what was meant for us.”

Uneasiness made Aleph’s thoughts tremble. She reopened Dionte’s file so she would have the woman’s history inside at the tip of her memory. “That is what I would like to talk with you about, Dionte.”

Dionte unfolded a platform from the nearest work lattice and clambered up it. She didn’t spare Aleph’s image a glance.

“Aleph, I don’t like the necessity of this,” she said as she removed the designated plate, exposing nerves, wrinkled gray matter, and bundles of veins. Aleph’s inorganic monitors immediately came on-line, presenting the details of her self-functions so she could monitor them and call in assistance for Dionte if the need arose. “I never have, but we need Helice Trust. We are out of options.”

“I do not wish to air our internal conflicts to the other cities,” said Aleph, putting a hint of sternness into her voice so Dionte would understand she was serious. “But it may be best if you listen to your brother. We depend on the goodwill of the villagers, Dionte. We cannot forget that.”

“At the same time, the villagers depend on us.” The needle slid into Aleph’s gray matter. “They are the ones who must remember that without the checks and balances our ancestors put in place, the Diversity Crisis would be here too.” She touched the release controls on the probe. “You feel that I’m right, don’t you, Aleph? We need Helice Trust. We need her.”

Certainty flooded Aleph. Her readings flickered as the fatigue toxins vanished. Dionte was a skilled worker. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“And you’ll remember this? It feels very right, so you’ll remember that it is.”

“Yes.” The image nodded. Aleph knew. She knew. Dionte was right. She felt it. She was supposed to feel, to understand, to learn, to have instincts. That was what made a city-mind better than any computer chip, however fast and accurate. Dionte was right. Everything pointed to it. Her internal chemical measurements flickered again, but she dismissed them.

“Good. Thank you for speaking to me, Aleph. It was indeed important, and I will handle it. Remember that too.” The needle withdrew and Dionte closed the panel tight.

“Yes.” Was something too high there? The endorphins were off, but then, they frequently were after a correction. She felt so well, what could be wrong? Aleph worked a few commands and shut the internal reports down. She felt too well to be bothered by that. Dionte was right, of course.

“There we are, Aleph.” Dionte laid a hand on her panel, drawing in additional information about the state of Aleph’s neurochemistry through her augmented fingertips. “We both have a lot of work to do.”

“Indeed we do.” Aleph turned her attention away from Dionte. The right thing had been done, and she was pleased. The day could continue with the bustle and detail that made her happy.

All the same, there was a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something.

I will review my files after the Conscience checks.

But by then, Aleph had forgotten even the memory of forgetting.


Chena waited outside the dorm at shift change for Sadia to come plodding up the path. Chena’s breath made silver wisps of steam in front of her face, and she tucked her hands under her arms to keep them warm. It would be winter soon, Mom said, and there’d be snow.

From the time she started her errand business, Chena had planned on asking Sadia to join her. They could cover more territory, carry more stuff. Maybe they could even get permission for Sadia to move to Stem. That way Chena could bring stuff to Sadia, who could carry it all the way to the next village, Branch.

Chena tried to tell herself that Nan Elle’s suggestion had just moved up the timetable a bit. She hadn’t really been all that frightened when she crossed the grassland today. Okay, it had been pretty bad when she had stopped to look around like Nan Elle had asked, and saw nothing at all left from the people who fell. That was a creeps-breeder, but she hadn’t really been pumping her legs on the pedals until she could barely breathe. She hadn’t been shaking all that badly.