61: Finally, the Call

“If you're going to call your son, I must advise you that while he may know about the existence of the Exodus Union as a political entity, he is not allowed to know anything I have told you about our Callisto facility, or Exodus City, is that clear?” The doctor told us with a kind smile. When we both nodded, she left mum and me to our own devices.

We returned to our seats, while the dark haired doctor wandered over to a hot drinks bar. Mum watched her go with a blank expression, then sighed and turned to me. “Time to finally call your brother.”

I nodded, already feeling a little anxious. This was a lot to dump on him, especially if he was busy or something…

Mum opened a virtual computer window and shared visibility of it with me. Then, pulling up the universal communications app that had replaced most phone calls, text messaging, and simple chat functions, mum scrolled through her contacts until she got to my brother's name. Kajii Riku.

She didn't click the button, though. Her finger hovered there—hesitating.

“Mum?”

She took a deep breath. “Sorry, sorry.”

She touched the button, then swiped sideways to initiate a video call rather than a basic voice call. It sat there, ringing and ringing for almost a minute before it picked up.

My brother's face filled the screen, at an angle that suggested he was on his phone rather than in VR. We'd looked pretty similar before I became Keiko. Before I'd… transitioned. He had dad's severe eyebrows for sure, and he was attempting to emulate his close-cut beard. It was close, but not totally there yet. His hair was actually pretty long, for a guy, and it was swept into artful waves and curves that appeared natural, even if they definitely weren't.

His dark eyes flashed with irritation when he saw mum. “Oh. Fiona. What do you want?”

Then, his eyes drifted to me, and I saw him do a double, then triple take. “Uh…”

For probably the last time, I allowed my UN social account to identify me in a tooltip for him.

His big eyebrows rose by degrees until they were partially covered by his prettily curved fringe. “Oh. Uh… Rosc— uh…”

“Hey dude, how've you been?” I asked, using every ounce of self control to keep my tone and expression casual.

“Working—It’s been busy,” he said, probably on autopilot. He was clearly still processing my new ‘look’. “Uh… you're wearing an interesting body. Must be… VR?”

“Kinda…” I said cagily, turning to look at mum.

“Riku…” she began, then trailed off, as if waiting for another hostile remark.

God, I wish… their falling out had not been pretty, but it'd also been inevitable. When Riku chose the course he wanted to chart through life… It was over from there.

When my brother didn't immediately snark at her, she continued, “Did you hear about the attack on the Hamilton City LTCH? The SAI run one?”

Confused, my brother nodded. “Yeah? If you're going to blame me, it wasn't us. It was a paramilitary group hired by—” he cut himself off. Probably ‘classified’ or some shit.

“We were there,” I said simply.

The colour drained from his face in noticeable increments as he followed his thoughts from conclusion to conclusion. Finally, he croaked, “You were there? How… nobody made it out alive… unless…”

“We were forced by the circumstances to become digital, yes,” mum said with a solemn nod.

Distressed, he turned aside and ran his fingers through his hair—Messing up the perfect style in the process. “But that means… you're with—You were saved by them.”

“The Exodus, yes,” Mum said, surprising me. We'd only just learned of their existence—Ah, but considering his job, he probably knew about them before we did.

“Fuck!” He swore, placing his phone on the ground. He wandered out of frame for a couple of seconds, until we saw a flash of movement—A decanter filled with a dark amber liquid. We heard him pouring, then the view suddenly changed, and we were looking at him sitting on an expensive sofa in an apartment. Out the window behind him was a gorgeous view of United Nations City. It was evening there, and the sunset could be seen dancing along the waves below the city. The whole place was built out in the ocean on stilts. I'd been there once, when I was young, and at the time it'd seemed like some sort of incredible fantasy land.

“Fuck,” my brother said again after he'd taken a swig of his drink. “You can't… you have to get out. Maybe I can swing it past my superiors. Get you some servers somewhere until we get you android bodies. I could even put them here, pay for the power myself—”

“Riku,” mum said gently. “We're going to accept their offer to become citizens of their new nation. We looked through their charter, their constitution or whatever they call it. It was very good. I liked it a lot, personally.”

“No!” Riku blurted, fear widening his eyes. “That— No! Bad idea. That isn't safe, we're… uh, there's…”

He looked like he was one step away from a panic attack, caught between his precious job and his estranged family. In the background, past the virtual window, I saw the SAI doctor turn to face us, coffee in hand. She sipped it with a carefully controlled poker face, then pointedly turned her gaze on mum and I. A slow, sly smile spread over her lips, and I realised that somehow she was intercepting and listening to this call.

Holy shit. Holy actual shit. This was some sneaky spy shit, and she was using us, even if only gently. But… I suddenly realised that it could also be a test of some kind, and… well, I'd always loved those.

“Why is it a bad idea?” I asked, and I didn't really have to fake any of the worry in my voice.

“The… I mean…” my brother stammered, then he quickly flicked up a virtual window of his own and tapped through it for almost thirty seconds. Mum and I looked at each other. What was he doing. In the background, the SAI suddenly went still, and I saw her eyes get that far away look that people got when they were using their mind to interact with a VR menu.

On the screen, my brother frowned for a second, then flicked through his menu for a couple of moments more before he said, “Okay. Nobody is monitoring the call. I had to be sure.”

In the background, the SAI’s lips twitched just barely as she stifled a smile. Oh, oh I kinda liked her. Sure, she was fucking with my family right now, but I mean… my brother was UN Intel, he kinda deserved it. Plus, seeing my brother professionally humbled without him even knowing was kinda like payback for all the ‘pranks’ he pulled when we were kids.

“Mum, and uh—” he paused and looked at me. “What do I call you now?”

My reply was instant. “Keiko.”

“Keiko,” he said, nodding as he assessed the name. He quickly forgot it as his worries resurfaced. “The UN isn't going to leave the Exodus alone, you have to know that. The things that SAI are capable of, they're basically intelligent WMD’s. The UN cannot allow a single organised group of them to exist. It's not… it's not a good idea. They have plans, guys, and if you join them…”

“When,” Mum corrected him. “At least, I am—Keiko?”

I nodded when she looked at me. “I was sympathetic before, but hearing them talk about things first-hand, I'm definitely on their side. Plus… their setup is incredible.”

“Their setup?” He asked, then shook his head, “No. Please don't do this to me…”

“You did this to yourself, Riku,” Mum said gently. “I told you who you would be working for, I told you what they were capable of, and I definitely told you about the harm they've caused. Now that the consequences of your ‘work,’ are impacting you personally, I hope you'll begin to see things differently.”

His expression became even more pained, but he also just sort of sagged into the sofa. It was interesting, watching him have an argument with himself—Like a little war on his face.

“We love you, Riku,” I said softly, while a small part of me revelled in my new role as caring younger sister.

Mum's hand came down to hold mine, and I realised with a swoop of sadness that she was shaking. “Riku, my dear son. I'll always love you. Please, think about things, okay? Keiko and I need to go now.”

“Wait!” He blurted, reaching out to the screen. “Will I still be able to contact you?”

“I’m… not sure,” mum said, glancing over at the doctor. “You'll be able to find us in Rellithesh, at the very least. We're running a guild called the Willow Guard, and an inn called the Galloping Willow. It's a giant walking tree—Difficult to miss.”

Frowning, Riku seemed to commit it to memory. “Okay… I… I love you both, too. I'm… I'm sorry, mum.”

“I'm sorry, too, dear son,” mum said, and closed the connection. The moment she did so, she sagged into herself and began to cry. I put my arms around her and held her, because that's all I could really do. I wasn't upset—I had faith that my idiot brother would come through in the end. It would just take him a really long time, and he'd be sure to cause himself a million other problems while he did so.

The doctor didn't comment on the conversation that she'd just been eavesdropping on, when she accepted our agreement to become citizens of the Exodus Union. She just nodded and explained that we'd be unable to perceive anything outside of our ‘digi-frame’ for a dozen or so seconds. When we asked what a digi-frame was, she said that it was the sort of software body that all digital people were wrapped in—But that ours only had basic functionality until we arrived in the Exodus Network.

With that, the room we were in vanished, and for fifteen unsettling seconds, I saw nothing but a dark void around me. I still had a few options, but all of it was simple stuff like a calculator or a notes app.

Then, slowly at first, my senses began to return, like an inky black haze was being lifted. Once I could actually see and hear, I looked around with interest.

The room I was in was very very large, and I began to gawk. It was a circular chamber, complete with a high dome above us and engaged columns holding it all aloft.

At first, I was ready to roll my eyes, because there was a lot of marble, and I didn't like it any more here than back in the Grand Celestial Temple of Rell. However, that was before I'd fully computed what I was seeing, because all the marble was fractured and broken. Between all the cracks, seams, and voids of the smashed marble, was a warm, dark wood of some kind. It almost looked like it'd been poured into the cracks, considering how seamless it was with the marble.

“Oh, goodness!”

Mum's voice startled me slightly, and I turned to look at her.

She was standing on a metal pad—One of six arranged in a circular shape. Many more sets of pads were arrayed around the floor of the room in a geometric pattern I couldn't identify from where I was. Which, I was standing on one too, as was the doctor.

“Welcome to Exodus City,” she said, stepping off the pad.

Past her, at a different set of pads, I saw a whole gaggle of women heading towards one of the large archways that led out of the hall. I only really paid more than passing attention to them because for a second I thought we'd been put back in Rell—one was a dragon lady, one was some sort of feathered raptor girl, another was a soft girl with animal ears and a large bushy tail, oh, and there was also was some form of grey-skinned elf.

As I watched, another batch arrived nearby and, to the consternation of their intended guide, ran over to the first group. Hugs were given, the fluffy girl started squeezing an elf girl really hard, then she moved on to another girl— wait, was that a boy? Nevermind, I was snooping. I should let them be.

“Oh, we can have non-human traits?” Mum asked, having seen them too.

“You can have whatever body you like, within reason,” the doctor said. “I'm afraid we have to keep you around human size, or we'd have issues with space. Every cubic metre of simulation takes computing power, and frankly, the civil engineers haven't exactly been kind to the physical infrastructure folks.”

She said the last part with a wry chuckle and a gesture at the massive room we were in. I could see her point… if space was limited by the processing power of the computers, well…

“Anyways,” she said, beginning to walk towards one of the exits. “If you'll come with me, we have several important things to do before I can leave you to your own devices.”

Beginning to follow, I noticed four people rushing in through the exit we were going to take. They hurried over to nearby metal pads and stood there. One of them quickly ran his fingers through his hair, and as he did so, each set of pads gained a whole bunch of new people. They phased into existence in much the same way we must've just before. Immediately the four began to greet the newcomers, and I realised that they were welcoming them to Exodus City… but they hadn’t arrived with us like the doctor had?

“Huh, how come they’re getting greeters they don’t know, but you personally took us in like that?” I asked as we stepped into a long passage.

The doctor chuckled and looked at the both of us. “I wanted to personally greet the girl and her mother who gave me time to save all those people. Several people owe their lives to you, and I’m not just talking about the people who were in that room with us. Your stalling held the terrorists back from getting to multiple wards like that one until after we were done.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling a blush come on. Well then, that was pretty cool.

Leaving the hallway, we stepped out onto a huge promenade that ringed the entire domed entry hall. At regular intervals all around the huge walkway were stairs that led down to little skyrail stations, which had bustling traffic heading from one to the next. This was the city transportation hub! Gosh, and the greenery. The promenade was big enough to have big pretty planters full of trees, flowers, and all sorts. The skyrail stations were shaded by these really cool peaked roofs too—They started out in the typical upside-down V shape, but then they curved downward and then suddenly curled up into a wave. I could also see how the curve could potentially act as a gutter for when it rained—If it did rain here.

“You’re lucky you’re arriving after we formed the government,” the doctor said, laughing to herself. “Not that the previous system of—let’s say, ‘controlled anarchy’—didn’t work, but… things could get a little chaotic sometimes. Now, we have a standard rubric for new arrivals that we can follow.”

We were heading for a stair that appeared to descend down the side of the large transport hub’s foundations. When we reached it, I was a little awestruck at how big this place was. It must’ve been a hundred metres to the ground from here.

“Before we keep going, I’d like to know your name, if that’s okay?” Mum asked sweetly. “You’ve been so kind and helpful to us, so…”

“Sirona,” our guide said, giving my mum a happy smile. “It’s my pleasure, really. The Exodus hasn’t had as much need for medical practitioners recently, so I’ve been branching out, but even then I’m bored.”

“Branching out?” Mum asked, intrigued.

“Into counterintelligence,” Sirona said with a sly look in my direction.

Mum caught the look. She opened her mouth to ask further questions, then frowned and gave the spy-doctor a pointed look. “Sirona?”

“You do have a fascinating son,” she said innocently.

Sighing, mum shook her head, then to my surprise, she grinned. “Good. That boy has sailed through life getting far too much of what he wants. Perhaps it’s time he was humbled a little.”

“That is partially your fault,” I pointed out. “You kinda doted on him. I was the forgotten child barely treading water.”

“Dearest daughter, I did my best with you, but you were never easy, either,” my mother said with a raised eyebrow. “For one thing, you knew full well that you could come to me with your problems. Even when you desperately needed help, you attempted to bull your way through the obstacle via brute force determination.”

Flushing, I looked out over the gorgeous city and did my best to ignore her words. I prided myself on my independent ability to handle my issues.

That appeared to stall the conversation long enough for mum to turn her steely eyed glare back on Sirona. “If you need any help, let me know. Now, where are we headed?”

The region of the city around this large transport hub was actually really cool. None of the buildings within several blocks of the marble edifice were taller than it, but as you went further out, they got taller until there were skyscrapers that punched up just far enough to poke above the first layer of clouds, but no further. The buildings directly around us were really pretty, too, and they crawled up the side of the hub like slumped jenga towers. There was a central theme going on too, with very few straight lines, lots of walkways and gentle terracing, greenery, and big windows. My brain couldn’t decide what the style was called, until I realised that it was actually two, neither of which I knew the name of. When I tried to access the net in an attempt to search them up, I found that I couldn’t access it at all.

I stopped in my tracks, and both women with me turned to look. I think they’d been talking.

“I can’t google what the architecture down there reminds me of,” I said, answering their questioning stares.

Sirona smiled and nodded towards the end of the stairs we were descending. There was a building that matched the dominant merged style I was curious about, and it looked for all the world like a large tourist welcoming centre plopped on top of another one of the jenga-tower building piles.

“You’re thinking of pueblo revival and prairie, with the added caveat that straight lines are to be used minimally,” she explained. “As for the net, we’re going to fix that now. See, when we digitised you, we didn’t give you the full suite of digi-frame enhancements or programs. Now, we can fix that by letting you customise them—A pick-and-mix operating system, if you will.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” mum said enthusiastically.

She wasn’t wrong, either. It really did sound fun.