Shattered Minds Read online

  Clavell begins to plan the party. Carina doesn’t want to give him Kim’s name initially. She chances the same subfrequency she used before to call Kim, when Roz confronted her after the chop shop; Raf helps her mask the location three times before she uses it, just in case. He sits cross-legged on the bed, resting his cheek on one hand, his old tablet balanced on his knee so he can follow along.

  It takes a while, but Kim accepts the ping.

  ‘Is this safe?’ Carina asks. ‘Last time we spoke, you said you’d send me something, but you didn’t.’

  ‘A safe word. Yeah. I tried, but I couldn’t risk it, even with quantum cryptography. You changed your implants and VeriChip again, didn’t you?’

  They were all flushed when Dax changed her face. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I can only promise it’s me, and hope that’s enough. I think this is safe, or reasonably. Call me back in five so I can make some safety arrangements on my end.’ Kim hangs up.

  Carina brings up a timer in the corner of her ocular vision. As it counts down, she tries not to think about the fact that Kim could be pinging Sudice and turning her in at this very moment. She knows Kim well, or thinks she does. The timer beeps. She tries the subfrequency again. ‘Hi.’

  ‘Hi. I see they haven’t caught you yet,’ Kim says.

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Are you safe?’

  Carina glances around at her surroundings. ‘Safe enough. I’m in a veritable fortress. We have a plan. We need your help.’

  ‘We? Wait, never mind, don’t tell me over this line.’

  ‘Can we meet?’

  ‘How? Where?’

  ‘Can you get to LA?’

  ‘I’m already here.’

  Suspicion flares within Carina. Raf raises an eyebrow. ‘Come again?’ she asks.

  ‘I know how that sounds. I’m here for a tech conference.’

  ‘When did you get here?’

  ‘Yesterday. The conference starts tomorrow down in Anaheim. It’s going to be mind-bogglingly boring. I’m meant to attend a lecture on VeriChip ghosts – people sending out false signals for bogus locations, that sort of thing. The guy giving the talk is an idiot, though. I could give a better presentation while half-asleep.’

  ‘I can’t leave where I am for long, it’s too dangerous. You’ll have information we need, but to give it to us we’ll need access to our tech. You can come to me. Tomorrow night.’

  ‘How?’

  Carina tries to think of a way to phrase it so only Kim would know where she meant. Ah. Kim grew up in Los Angeles. ‘Remember the Christmas party?’

  Kim laughs. ‘I’m missing bits of it from that home-brewed alcohol. And I remember the pain of it the next day.’

  ‘Remember your first memory? And where your mom took you after?’ Santa Monica Pier.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘A hovercar will meet you there. At the . . .’ Carina tries to remember what’s actually at Santa Monica Pier. ‘The closest cafe from the parking. Wear an evening dress.’

  ‘An evening dress?’

  ‘Or a tux, whichever. Wear a coat over it so you don’t stick out. And one of those masks to obscure your features and make you look like someone else.’

  ‘OK then. You’ve got me interested. Are you sure I have what you need?’

  ‘God, I sure hope so.’

  ‘Can I bring a friend?’

  That stops her. ‘What? Who?’

  ‘Someone else you know is out here for the tech expo. The other member of our team.’ She’s avoiding names, just in case.

  Carina laughs. ‘OK, I think we can do that. The gang’s all here.’

  ‘Not all of us.’

  They both quiet, thinking of Mark.

  ‘See you tomorrow.’

  ‘Yes. Tomorrow.’

  The line goes dead.

  Carina rubs her hands over her face. ‘I hope they can help us.’

  ‘We’ve got just enough without them that I think we can swing it, but anything they can offer will be helpful. Who’s the other member of the team?’ Raf asks.

  ‘Aliyah. She still works for Sudice as well, but at the Boston branch.’

  ‘What was it like for them, after you left Sudice?’ Raf asks. ‘My colleagues had a hard time of it when it was discovered I’d been the leak at the government. There’d been suspicions for months, but not many actually suspected me. I was pretty good at staying under the radar. Still, though. If it hadn’t been me, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in that office after I left.’

  Carina sighs. ‘I doubt it was particularly fun. The project limped on for a few more months. Roz got a stay of execution. Little did I know she was doing her experiment with Nettie. Creating Pythia. I wonder if Kim or Aliyah knew about that . . .’ She trails off. ‘I hope they didn’t. I don’t know. I lost touch with them, did everything I could to forget about Sudice.’ By then I was addicted to Zeal and didn’t care about much of anything in this plane of reality, she finishes mentally.

  Raf lies back on the bed. He’s wearing a T-shirt with a band on it Carina’s never heard of. There are bags under his eyes. His dark hair falls into his eyes and he blows it out of the way, looking at her.

  Carina’s not sure what to do here. The only member of the Trust she really spends time with alone so far has been Dax, unless it’s passing each other in corridors or ordering tea and coffee from the replicator at the same time. Especially after they all saw Roz’s little gift, after Carina got rid of Dax’s brain malware.

  Carina fidgets. Raf opens an eye. ‘Do you want to watch a Clavell movie?’

  Carina snorts. ‘In his house?’

  ‘Why not, it’d be sorta funny. He has them all, of course. Vain man.’

  ‘You don’t have work to do?’ Don’t you want to run as far away from me as possible?

  Raf’s mouth quirks up in a half-smile. ‘I’m here. You’re here. Let’s just watch the movie, OK? Don’t overthink it.’

  ‘All right.’ She settles down into the bed, drawing the covers around herself and making the pillows comfortable.

  Raf brings up the list. ‘Any particular request?’

  She takes a few moments to look through them. ‘Not action. I feel like I’m living in enough of one recently.’

  ‘Fair enough. How about a romcom? Ooh, this one is perfect for being in the man’s very lair.’

  They settle on Everyday Normal, a story about a man who is so famous he feels he never connects with people any more – that they only see him for what he is, not who he is. He spends more and more time in VR, using a completely average-looking avatar. There he meets a girl, and they fall in love. There are the usual twists and turns, the suspense of who she is and whether she’ll accept him. The betrayal of a friend; the moment he makes a mistake and it seems he’ll lose the girl forever. There’s the usual happy ending, the passionate kiss.

  Carina watches it all with her usual detachment. The acting is fairly decent, the plot OK. Raf ends up teary-eyed, but Carina’s never cried at a film in her life and can’t imagine doing so. Sometimes she wishes she could, though. Raf seems to enjoy it so much more than she does.

  Afterwards, Raf says good night and leaves her alone. Carina’s still not sure what to make of it. He could have masked the subfrequency location, and then left her alone. He didn’t. He never mentioned the Zealscape memory the rest of the Trust had to witness. By spending some time and watching a film with her, though, he made his opinion pretty clear: he’s not holding it against her.

  She’s not sure if his trust is misplaced or not, but she appreciates it all the same.

  THIRTY EIGHT

  CARINA

  The Apex, above Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Pacifica

  Carina is impressed with how quickly Clavell can turn around a party. The droids are busy bees, darting about and adding understated white decorations to the grand marble staircase. The pool outside is cleaned, the protective dome around the house ensuring that the water temperature is always op
timal. She’s gone for a few swims in it, like a shark in the shallows.

  The invitations have gone out to some of the most famous people in Hollywood and the rest of Los Angeles. Carina worries that this means those who are friends with Sudice will attend.

  ‘Of course they will,’ Clavell says, with an unimpressed flap of his hand. ‘But you’ll be sufficiently peacocked and disguised, your two friends included. I’m sure the president of Sudice himself could come and wouldn’t recognize one of you.’

  ‘You haven’t invited him, have you?’ Dax asks.

  Clavell gives him an eyeroll in response.

  ‘Why are you doing all this for us?’ Carina finally asks the question they’ve all been wondering, but were too afraid to ask.

  ‘It’s hardly a surprising story. I owe a debt to Charlie. She got me out of a spot of trouble a few years back, but I don’t fancy going into it now, so don’t bother asking. And like the rest of you, I have my own bone to pick with Sudice. They’re nasty, but so good at pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. In fact, hasn’t it seemed like over the last few months, public opinion of Sudice has even been on the rise?’

  Carina hasn’t been paying close attention, but Charlie nods grimly. ‘Yes, the polls are rising steadily. We’ve been watching. We’re not sure why there’s a sudden upswing but it might work all right for us. A longer, harder fall is more difficult to return from when they trusted you.’

  ‘Or they’re still blinded by their own ignorance,’ Clavell says. ‘I’ve seen first-hand how brilliantly people can bury their heads in the sand, if they’re so inclined.’

  ‘True enough,’ Charlie says.

  ‘Well,’ Clavell says, all brisk business. ‘The party’s tomorrow, and there’s much to do!’ Clavell gives them a farewell wave. As soon as he leaves, the group sobers.

  ‘Has public opinion really been rising?’ Carina asks.

  ‘They’ve rolled out new products people are content with, but I’m starting to wonder if they’ve already been rolling out Pythia on the sly in small, controlled groups. Perhaps without even telling the subjects that’s what they were doing.’ Charlie shakes her head. ‘If so, this is only the beginning.’

  Dread spreads through all of them. They bend their heads back to their work.

  About an hour later, Raf snaps his head up, gasping.

  ‘Raf?’ Charlie asks, half-rising.

  ‘Kivon just messaged me on the emergency line. The police or Sudice have found him out. He’s busted.’

  ‘Shit. Have they caught him?’ she asks.

  ‘What about Tam?’ Dax’s voice is tight. Carina remembers Kivon is hiding Tam.

  Raf holds out a hand. ‘He’s managed to give them the slip and put the security measures I left him in place. His implants are blocked and he’s en route to get a new VeriChip. I don’t think they know about Tam. It’s not under his name. But we’ll check and move her somewhere else. I promise.’

  Dax nods, jaw muscles working.

  ‘Does he have a safe place to hole up? We can’t bring him here easily without arousing suspicion,’ Charlie says.

  ‘I know that,’ Raf snaps. Carina’s never seen Raf so stressed, and that’s including the time she saw him stung by Wasps in virtual reality. ‘He has a hideout. But we’ve got to sneak him in with Kim and Aliyah. Now he’s out, he’s in the Trust completely. We clear?’

  ‘You’ll hear no argument from me,’ Charlie says. ‘Isaac will add him to the guest list. Is he removing his police mods?’

  Raf scoffs. ‘No way. Too useful, especially if we’re going to break into Sudice. Plus, you’ve got to hear what he’s told me.’

  Raf’s fingers move and he projects Kivon onto the wallscreen. Kivon looks remarkably calm for someone on the run from both the law and Sudice. Not even a bead of sweat glimmers on his brow. He’s hard to read, but Carina would guess that he’s furious. She can’t tell where he is – some other underground bunker or abandoned warehouse, she’s guessing. Probably not comfortable, but well hidden.

  ‘You’re secure?’ Dax asks him.

  ‘As sure as I can be. But look, we’re going to have to change our plans,’ Kivon says. ‘Drastically, and fast.’

  ‘Why?’ Charlie asks.

  ‘You heard Sudice’s stock is rising fast, right? Lots of positive stuff in the media, and there’s that huge press junket in San Francisco in four days’ time?’

  ‘Yeah . . .’ Charlie says, her face tightening as if she’s guessing his next words.

  ‘They’ve been rolling out Pythia on some high-end reporters, tech gurus, the like. For months now. Without telling them, I was searching on servers at work and found records of extra security for the press junket, and a deleted message trail.’ He licks his lips. ‘They’re going to release their standard implant upgrades the night of the junket. We thought they’d mention Pythia then, right?’ Kivon says. The others nod, cautiously. ‘Nope. Pythia is no longer optional, but will be embedded in that update. Large-scale personality control is set to go live in less than a week. Everyone in Pacifica will have an automatic update alert. Imagine how many people will simply click “accept” without thinking about it.’ He gives a shaky sigh. ‘I legged it out of there as soon as I found the info, but I must have triggered something from within, no matter how much you taught me, Raf. I’m sorry. I couldn’t get it off the servers, but I figured you would believe me.’

  ‘It’s exactly what Roz would want to do,’ Carina says. Their eyes turn towards her. ‘She’s been working towards this for so long that she’d want to go as wide as possible. She’s already started, setting the stage so even if people find out what’s happening, it will be too little, too late. I wonder if she got the idea from what the Ratel did with Verve.’

  ‘Very possibly,’ Kivon says. ‘Except the Ratel wanted to use Verve to cause chaos, swapping it out in all the Zeal lounges. Tear down society so they could rebuild it. Messy. Roz is more considered in her approach.’

  ‘Just as ruthless,’ Carina sighs. ‘Her and Mantel both. So we have to accelerate our plan?’

  ‘It seems that way. Three days instead of seven weeks. Just brilliant.’

  ‘We’ll do it,’ Raf says. ‘We don’t have a choice. Better hope your friends come through for you, Carina.’

  Carina swallows, nerves wound tight. She hopes so, too.

  THIRTY NINE

  CARINA

  The Apex, above Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Pacifica

  It’s time for the Trust to don their disguises.

  Luckily, living with the most security-obsessed celebrity in Hollywood, there is no shortage of the things they need. They have masks to change their faces, and Clavell orders them all clothes.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he says. ‘If there’s anything not to your taste, let me know and we can exchange it for something you prefer.’

  After so long in show business, though, Clavell’s taste is impeccable. For Charlie, he has chosen a long evening gown the same vibrant red as her hair, with little cut-outs in the torso that show flashes of pale skin. Charlie wears a longer wig and a mask over her features to subtly change them, along with violet contacts. Dax offers to change her iris colour for her, but she waves him off, saying it’s far too much work for just an evening. Dax is wearing an orange bow tie and cummerbund, and Raf is wearing blue. He’s given his hair a blue sheen, which looks quite rakish.

  Clavell has chosen a deep green dress for Carina. It trails along the ground, and the sleeves leave her shoulders bare. The torso has a built-in corset, and the overall effect is of a dress borrowed from the 1700s. Dax brightens her hair from deep purple to lavender, and one of the droids twists it into an elaborate updo studded with false green roses. She paints her altered face herself, with blue, green and purple eyeshadow and a neutral lip. She dons a lacy, purple eye mask and smiles at the mirror. It’s still not quite right – too stiff, and doesn’t reach her eyes – but it’ll do. All told, the Trust brush up pretty well.
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  Isaac Clavell has deliberately made this a masked ball so that they don’t have to come up with false names. They each have their roles to play if prodded – they’ll hint that they’re newly discovered stars, not yet known to the public eye. Carina and the others don’t plan to spend much time at the actual party, but they’ve decked themselves out to fit in. She feels powerful, with the swish of her skirts along the pale marble. Her father would have found her get-up unbearably offensive, and the thought only makes her eyes narrow in satisfaction.

  She stays in the corridor above the main ballroom, watching the people arrive and waiting for Kim and Aliyah. The hovercar has picked them up and Clavell sent her confirmation that there were no difficulties, so they should be here soon. Kim knows enough to send a false location ping for both herself and Aliyah, so Sudice shouldn’t be able to follow. Even if, somehow, they do, they won’t get through Clavell’s security, even with an arrest warrant. The Apex is a law unto itself.

  So many celebrities are below her. The net wealth of the attendees is more than the GDP of many countries. Clavell gave the Trust an exclusive implant overlay so that they know who the true people beneath the masks are. There is Ada Khan (social rank: thirteen), the female equivalent of Isaac Clavell (rank twelve, he just squeaks ahead). She’s been in more than three hundred films, several starring alongside their illustrious host. There is Randall James (rank twenty-one), one of the most eminent film directors, and his wife, Marina James (rank eighteen), one of the most sought-after producers.