Marya paused with her hands full of items she wasn’t even sure she needed. The last few hours had been a blur of panic and fear, but Joran’s question reminded her that there might be more than one option in the new path that she’d chosen. Joran’s uncertain voice stumbled into her consciousness.
“My father, he, uh, bought the patent. For the devices. And he redesigned them…sort of…and sold them…No, I don’t know how they…well, he tried to teach me, but I, I, didn’t want to learn. That. That way.” Slowly, Marya set down her things on the hated desk.
“They have self-building technology, which can be programmed to create different things – like weapons and combustibles, or speakers or tools or almost anything. I mean, some things would require special parts that take up room, but there are options. And none of it can be taken apart without keyed tools, sometimes fingerprint keys. And the alloy on the outside is heat resistant and waterproof and pretty much everything.”
She had destroyed herself with her choices, but might there be hope of building herself new with more?
“…the control system is really complex, too. But it’s easy to use, just it takes up a lot of space.”
She sank back into her chair. It was a risk, a huge risk. But she owed four lives worth of risks, and more. Whatever it took, she would do the right thing.
Zinnia Questel had begun to zone out a little, but only from the conversation beside her. They were still quizzing Joran when she heard the device appear. Seconds later the coach jerked to a halt. The passengers, eyes wide, stared out the empty window without daring to lean for a better view.
She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to show her fear, or watch the light drain from their eyes, but she couldn’t not say goodbye – however the moment ended – so she met first Jor’s terrified gaze, then Cay’s.
Cay Vojen had never experienced as long a moment. He wasn’t sure if anyone in the carriage was breathing; he felt suffocated in his rising panic.
A gently grating buzz emanated from somewhere just outside his line of vision. If he leaned a little to the right, the device would see him, and that would be it.
That would be it…
Not once had the device killed more than one of them at once. Okner and Elle had died together, but Okner not directly because of the orb.
He hesitated. Zinn’s gaze was desperate, although he didn’t know her meaning. He had to do it, it was worth it, he was not ready – and as ready as he’d ever be!
Cay leaned slightly to his right.
There was the orb.
He’d never seen it, really, not close up like this, and his panicked mind stored in detail the curves and orifices on its sleek body.
Then it spoke.
“Hello, Cay Vojen,” it said in a woman’s voice.
Joran Arundasi let his eyes open just a crack. Cay was still sitting there, alive, his eyes so wide that the whites were visible all around the irises.
“Hel…” His voice choked off. “Hello?”
Joran shut his eyes again, ignoring the suppressed murmurs from the other passengers.
He could hear Cay swallow before repeating more loudly,
“Hello?”
The orb’s voice buzzed in Jor’s ears; probably dust in the speaker.
“I…I am…Marya.”