Enhanced, page 19
The flare popped again, and this time, went out.
In the darkness, Urban groped her way for an exit. She bumped into something smooth. After finding the handle, she let herself out.
In the hallway, cold, musty air and cobwebs greeted her. In the distance, she heard a commotion.
She tried to remember which building she’d crashed into. She was pretty sure it was the same one she was supposed to land on. She found the elevator and pressed the top floor. As she drew nearer to the roof, the upheaval grew louder.
With a ding, the elevator opened to total mayhem.
The Artisan’s motorcycle was still pumping bass and vibrating the roof. Barely audible above it were screams, angry yelling, and crying. People ran about in total confusion, others stood in huddled corners silently talking.
“Where is she?” the announcer yelled at some Flyers. “She can’t just disappear into thin air. If her motorcycle is down there, she has to be too.”
One of the students noticed her. His eyes widened. “There she is!”
Several people looked where he was pointing. The music stopped. Everyone turned and ran toward Urban. One person outran all the others.
Lillian didn’t loosen her grip for some time. When she finally did, she had tears streaking down her face. She said nothing, just kept squeezing Urban’s hand as if to assure herself her sister really was alive.
“I thought I’d failed,” she whispered numbly.
What on earth does that mean? Before Urban could ask, Coral was beside her. “You alright?”
Urban nodded weakly.
“What happened?” someone asked.
“Yeah! Where did you go?”
A million questions followed.
“Let’s get you home.” Lillian didn’t seem angry at all. Urban wasn’t sure what she had expected upon returning, but an “I told you so” wouldn’t have been a surprise.
“Wait a second!” a voice boomed. “We still haven’t announced the race results.” The announcer stared at her.
Urban faced the announcer as the crowd fell silent.
“And the loser is . . . Lee Urban!”
Urban stood dumbstruck.
“Ridiculous,” Lillian snapped.
“This is street racing.” The announcer shrugged. “Bike or no bike, she came in last. That makes her the loser.”
Lillian pushed her way to the announcer and stood centimeters from him, stretching every bit of her one-point-seven meters. Even then, she only came to the Super’s chest.
“She almost died.” Lillian’s voice was ice, her eyes hard as obsidian. It was a tone Urban hadn’t ever heard her sister use before.
Even the Super seemed taken aback by her intensity but quickly recovered. “It’s the rules.”
“Rules are made to be broken,” Lillian argued, glancing around for support. “Isn’t that what street racing is all about?”
A couple whoops and a stray clap from the crowd.
“Listen, if she wasn’t planning on taking the risk, she shouldn’t have raced,” the Super retorted. “Tell you what, I’ll let her delay fulfilling her truth-or-dare, seeing as she’s had a rough night.” There were several boos at this. “That’s the best I can offer.”
Lillian’s face drained white.
“Truth or dare? Choose!” the announcer bellowed.
“Choose! Choose! Choose!” the crowd chanted.
The Super held up his hand for silence. “What will it be?
Urban swallowed. “Dare.”
“I was hoping you’d pick that.” An abominable grin crossed the Super’s face. “Your dare will take place at a time and place of our choosing. For now, you are free to go.”
Not knowing was worse. “When will I be notified?”
“You won’t.” Came the smug reply.
“But then how will I know where to go or what to do?”
The Super laughed. “Oh, you’ll know.”
The group began to disperse. Urban was one of the first to leave. She didn’t want to stick around and see Olive’s gloating eyes or face Lillian’s “told-you-so’s” or endure Coral’s questions.
But before she could escape, Lillian cornered her. “What happened out there?”
“You tell me,” Urban hissed.
Lillian’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t rat me out to our parents.” Urban attempted to move by her, but Lillian blocked her.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t tell anyone except Trig.”
“Then who accessed SCA and locked me out as I was going up that ramp?”
“Is that what happened?” Lillian gasped. “Mom told me the last time she accessed SCA was yesterday.”
I’ve been hacked. Again.
Urban started off, and this time Lillian let her pass.
How do I keep getting hacked? It’s like someone has my root password or something. But that’s impossible.
Her mind was still whirring as she reached ground level and found her motorcycle, or what remained of it. Her heart sank. There wasn’t so much as a stray part worth salvaging.
Her most prized possession was strewn in pieces across the overgrown street. A knot twisted in her stomach as she picked up a fragment of it. This could have been me.
She sank down onto the deteriorating sidewalk in a hidden alley to avoid everyone while she waited for a rental to be air dropped. She checked the price of the rental and sighed. I’m definitely not going to make it through the end of the semester with enough crypto points now.
She filtered through her list of friends, checking off anyone whom she could ask to borrow from. But the thought of it brought her so much shame. The only people she felt she could even ask were Everest and Lillian. But Everest barely had enough for himself and his own family. And Lillian . . . I can’t exactly ask her after what just happened.
It grew still and silent as the last of the crowd went their way.
So much for racing. So much for staying out of trouble. Mother and Father are going to kill me if they find out I totaled my motorcycle.
Once on her rental, she sped out of the ghost city, the familiar green triangle followed close behind. Frustration overwhelmed her. I can’t even escape my own bodyguard. I can’t get freedom in any part of my life. If I had a high sosh, I wouldn’t have had to risk my life at all.
At the thought, she checked her sosh and saw her near death and disappearance had helped her pull it up to 65. Not bad, except she was out of crypto and wasn’t planning on risking her life again.
Maybe working out with Brooke isn’t such a bad idea after all.
The next day, classes passed quickly, and Urban spent the remainder of the day in XDR, working on her homework assignments. She went to her favorite virtual library to plug away at her AI Foundations chatbot. After an hour, she switched to her genetic engineering assignment.
In most of her classes she maintained a steady C. In AI foundations, her grade had dropped slightly, despite her best efforts. She was hanging on by a thread. Only in Biopsychology did she have a high B. She frequently logged into the grades portal just to stare at her B with pride. I have to pull my other grades up, too, or mother will start stripping my freedom away.
Everest location requested her, and she realized it was already time for their virtual date. Where had the day gone?
Urban approved the request, and Everest materialized instantly. His avatar looked almost identical to his appearance in reality. While most Naturals had enhancements in QuanNao, Everest didn’t. That was just like him, transparent about everything and always making the best of what life handed him. Urban’s avatar fingered her bright-red hair as he approached.
He wrapped Urban in his strong embrace. It was safe and peaceful there, and a warmth trickled through her core. He smelled like jasmine and something else Urban couldn’t quite place—something tantalizingly dangerous.
“Hey, what are you doing for Mooncake Festival?” Everest asked as they pulled apart.
Urban’s gut tightened. She was relieved he was acting normal after their last few conversations, but she also knew he was going to be angry if she told him about the race. Their relationship was already precarious these days with the unspoken question of their uncertain future looming ahead. Should she bring it up?
“That’s a great question,” Urban responded. “Mother’s trying to get the family together, but I don’t think Lucas can make it, and Lillian might be a no-show too. She’ll probably just cancel.” She eyed him. “Why?”
Everest stuffed his hands in his pocket. “Want to celebrate with my family?”
Urban blinked. “I thought your parents didn’t know about us.”
“They didn’t.”
Urban inhaled a couple of deep breaths before enabling private mode so none of the other avatars could hear their conversation.
“You told your parents about us?”
Everest’s expression remained neutral.
“I thought we agreed to keep this a secret!”
“I can’t keep lying to them. They’re constantly trying to set me up with other girls.”
Urban’s heart plunged. “Why?”
Everest’s foot tapped nervously. He shrugged. “My parents are the only ones I know eager to have their son dating.”
“You’re Chong Everest! You mean to tell me you can keep thugs in check but not your own parents?”
Everest ran a hand through his thick hair. “If you think I’m stubborn, you should meet my parents. It’s getting out of control. I had a girl show up at work the other day—whom my parents sent.”
“Don’t you think you should have talked to me about this?” Urban gripped his arm. “What have you told them about me?”
Everest put a hand over hers. “Relax. I didn’t tell them anything about you except what you’re like. I didn’t give them your name. The last thing I want is them creeping on your avatar. They’re actually happy I’m dating. It gives them hope of achieving their lifelong dream of getting a grandchild.” He gave a wry grin, then grew serious. “But they do want to meet you in person.”
“This is a disaster! What happens when they find out I’m a Lee? Or worse,” she lowered her voice. “I live in the Metropolis?”
“Urban.” He held her gaze. “They don’t care about those sorts of things.”
Urban exhaled. “I don’t know. It sounds risky. What if your mom reaches out to mine or posts something on QuanNao?”
Everest laughed. “My parents are terrible with tech. They barely know how to check their sosh. I doubt they could figure out how to find and then message your mom even if they wanted. All they want is to eat mooncakes and enjoy time with us. The way I see it, the only real risk is your parents finding out via SCA.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “But I think I have a way of getting around that.”
“I don’t know . . .”
“Come on. Why not? You can’t spend Mooncake Festival alone.”
The idea of spending one of her favorite holidays alone in her dorm bothered her more than she cared to admit. But the way he always talked about his parents made her jealous. What would it be like to have parents who were proud of you? To belong? Maybe she still had a shot at that. She doubted anyone from uni would be in the Outskirts anyway. So long as SCA wasn’t an issue, it seemed like a low enough risk.
Urban relented. “All right, I’ll come.”
Everest’s face lit up. “The office is halfway between PKU and my house. Let’s meet there Thursday night. I’ll show you how to disable SCA there.”
It dawned on Urban she had a new problem. “What type of mooncake do your parents prefer? Do they like the ice cream versions or are they more traditional? Do they like the tart ones? Is there a certain brand they like? I have no idea what to bring.”
“Relax.” Everest calmed her again. “They’ll like anything you bring.”
Typical Everest response.
Urban hesitated, wanting to tell Everest all about the race. As her coach, he was the one person she always talked with about racing. It was odd not letting him know about it—and that she would have placed third, too, if she hadn’t been hacked.
Thinking back to that moment, the horror of dropping off the ramp returned. If it weren’t for the masked figure, she would be dead right now. Everest would be furious with her if she told him.
“You okay?” Everest asked.
“Just thinking.” Urban forced a smile. “See you Thursday!”
“Can’t wait, meinu.”
“Great!” Urban dissolved the bubble and with it, Everest.
Guilt welled up in her for keeping the race from him, but it was for the best. She’d tell him later when she wasn’t so stressed and their relationship was more stable.
Sighing, she checked the time and realized over an hour had passed. Concerned she’d lost so much time, she put on some music, then began working on researching chatbots in earnest. She stayed until late in the night. When she found she had reread the same paragraph five times in a row, she finally headed to bed.
The next day, Urban regretted having agreed to such an early morning meeting with her biopsych group.
Orion was already there. He wore a stylish XR suit that resembled wool and accentuated his muscular chest and biceps. Urban quickly looked away and went through the buffet line. She selected hot soy milk, fried youtiao, and a boiled egg, then remembered her fast-dwindling crypto points.
Cheeks burning, she quickly put everything back and grabbed a large bowl of rice porridge. That was her best bet at quenching her hunger for the lowest price.
“Hey, Orion.” She set her tray down next to him.
Her instructor looked up from his breakfast and gave her a stunning smile. “Hello! You look familiar.”
“I’m in your jiujitsu class.”
His face lit up. “Ah! Urban, right? I knew you looked familiar. How are you liking it?”
“So far it’s been great.”
His eyes held such intensity Urban quickly focused all her attention on her porridge.
“It’s all a mind game,” Orion tapped his head. “That’s why I love it.”
Urban wondered if Inceptors had a natural predisposition to this martial art given their ability to outthink others. She also wondered if he could sense her discomfort.
“Hey there. Is this the biopsych class group?” A Super approached, balancing a tray buried in steamed mantou, pickled vegetables, and sweet-potato pancakes. He had spiky black hair and red eyes that gleamed mischievously.
“You must be Sun Clay.” Orion gestured at an open seat. “Let’s start with introductions, shall we? I’m Orion. I’m a fourth year, and I’m in the Inceptor gene pool so this is a required class for me.” He looked to Urban.
“I’m Urban Lee, and I’m a first year. I’m taking this class because it’s one of my requirements for the general track.”
Clay momentarily paused from shoving mantou down his throat. “Clay. Third year. My advisor AI messed up, and I missed the prereq class I was supposed to take. This was the only substitute. I couldn’t care less about biopsych. I just need a passing grade.”
Urban glanced at Orion, and they shared a concerned look. Clay continued cramming food into his mouth. Urban found herself wondering if Supers always ate that much and if so, how they could afford to live.
“All right then,” Orion said after a moment. “Let’s focus on the assignment we have due for next week. I don’t think it should take long.”
They spent the next thirty minutes pulling sources and forming a point of view on the psychology of persuasion. Orion took the lead, and Urban and Clay supported him in fact-finding for each of his theories. The time passed quickly, and soon the three of them were heading to class.
As they entered the classroom, Clay ditched them to sit in the back corner, but Orion followed Urban. “Mind if I sit with you?”
Urban nodded as they took their seats.
For the first time, Urban found it difficult to concentrate in her favorite class. Her attention kept getting pulled back to the Inceptor beside her. Being in his group project might boost her sosh. He seemed genuine too. She actually found she wanted to be his friend, and not just for appearances.
Finally, some things are starting to look up for me. Keep hanging out with Orion and just get a picture with him, and that’s sure to help my sosh one or two points. Combined with Brooke, I’m already looking at around 66 or 67.
The trouble was afterward. Urban knew no other KOLs except Olive, and she had the feeling Olive wasn’t the type to give sosh-boosting selfies out at random. Especially now that Urban had lost the race. With each jump in her sosh, getting to the next, higher number, would be harder.
“See you in jiujitsu tomorrow?” Orion asked once class was out.
“Tomorrow?” Urban blanked. “Me and my—” She recovered quickly. “I mean tomorrow, I’m going to celebrate Mooncake Festival. Is class still happening?”
“Oh right. Mooncake Festival. I forgot. No, class is cancelled. I’m kind of a space case.” He motioned at his head, but the sharpness in his eyes was anything but starry. “See you next week then?”
“Wouldn’t miss it! Jiujitsu that is, not class. I’ll be at class regardless. Nothing special there. Your class is what I wouldn’t miss. Jiujitsu class, I mean.” She was prattling.
“Cool. See you then.”
Urban watched Orion walking away, grateful he couldn’t see her burning cheeks. What is wrong with me?
She shook her head. I have a boyfriend.
But Orion didn’t know. Hardly anyone one did.
Urban stared at the squashed mooncakes hanging from her motorcycle handlebars. She shouldn’t have taken that turn so tight. She blamed it on her nerves. That, and her rental motorcycle still felt foreign to her.
Those mooncakes cost me seven meals. They better be worth it. With each purchase, she got closer to having to ask her parents for more crypto points. Then she’d have to explain about the purple zone. She was already on thin ice. That conversation might just tip the scales, convincing her parents to make her come home.
