‘No, he’s had some trouble at work he needs to deal with,’ she answered coolly, not looking him in the eye as she did so. Fortunately, she was in the middle of picking up her own drink and so it came out naturally, plus the rest of the crowd were also distracted getting their cocktails. Ambrose didn’t drop the topic, though.
‘Oh. But he’s coming for the New Year’s Eve party, I presume? It’s going to be something! First New Year’s celebration in The Universe. It’ll be a full house!’
‘Yes, I’m sure he’ll be here,’ she replied, but it took all the control that she could muster to look and sound naturally, all eyes now fixed on her again. ‘Are you guys coming also?’ she swiftly diverted the topic.
‘Yes, we were lucky enough to get tickets,’ smiled the guy in the middle, Olam. ‘I must say you made it quite hard by doing such a great job on the launch!’
‘I do apologize,’ she joked. ‘It won’t happen again.’
‘Whose immortali day is it tonight?’ she asked when they stopped laughing.
‘It’s Javid’s,’ Ambrose pointed at the guy standing to her right.
‘Cheers, then!’ she raised her glass towards him. ‘Congratulations, Javid!’
Everyone joined in the toast.
‘Thanks, guys,’ Javid said, instinctively touching the back of his neck, just above the top vertebra. She knew that the area where his annual dose of the Cure had been injected into his spinal cord would still be quite tender; the sensation would ease after a couple of days.
‘Which reminds me, you got your shot just a few days ago, didn’t you, Amari?’ Ambrose said. ‘My genius boss was too busy opening this place to celebrate her own immortali day!’
‘Really?’ the guys exclaimed in unison.
‘Oh, it’s history now,’ she waved her hand. ‘We’ll celebrate next year. So what do you guys do?’
‘We are all astronomers,’ explained Heng, the tallest of the guys.
‘You must be Ambie’s friends from his previous career, then, is that right?’ Amaranthine asked. Ambrose’s background was one of the reasons he was selected to work with her on The Universe launch.
‘That’s right,’ Heng confirmed with a smile. ‘Our friend Ambrose abandoned us and switched to PR,’ he teased. ‘Then again, you can’t blame him, if he gets to work on such fantastic venues as this one, and – he suspended his voice and raised his glass towards her – to work with someone like you.’
Amaranthine just raised her glass and thanked him with a smile. It wasn’t the first time that she noticed his discreet but telling gazes. Hmm, the night is already getting interesting, she thought. I’m glad I came out and not let Phoenix spoil it for me.
Another Hebe approached them, carrying a full tray. They exchanged their empty, partly molten glasses for fresh ones. Amaranthine already felt a little dizzy, and no wonder – she hadn’t eaten since ten in the morning. Bloody Phoenix, she thought, but with little emotion.
‘How about you guys?’ she inquired. ‘Haven’t you been tempted by a career change?’
‘Not recently,’ Heng was again the one to answer. ‘I was a doctor before, that was my first career. Got really boring though, with more and more diseases successfully treated by the Cure’s derivatives.’
‘Exactly,’ Javid said. ‘And with the safety standards so high now, even a traffic accident casualty is a rarity. Unless you want to work in the Mortals’ quarters, of course.’
They all laughed.
‘Not much room for discovery either, with all the genetic and the majority of viral and bacterial diseases being sorted out by the Cure,’ Heng continued. ‘Being in medicine these days comes down to reading about its history, unless you’re in neurology, of course, and I somehow never fancied that. Astronomy is the best field to be in nowadays, that’s my opinion. At least one still has a chance for a serious breakthrough. Discovering another planet suited for human habitation, that would be something!’
‘Do you think that will happen in foreseeable future?’ Amaranthine asked, looking into his dark, shiny eyes.
‘Well, let’s put it this way,’ he smiled again. ‘Definitely in our lifetime!’
They all laughed again.
‘Which, of course, is thanks to your good friend Dr. Life, Amari,’ Ambrose said.
‘That’s a huge overstatement,’ she replied. ‘Going back to astronomy,’ she added quickly, ‘Why did you give it up, Ambie?’
‘Oh, I just fancied some fun in the entertainment business. Twenty, maybe thirty years, and then I’ll see. Maybe I’ll go back into it. Or do something else.’
‘Like what?’ she asked, intrigued.
‘I don’t know, maybe something to do with environmental issues?’ he said. ‘There’s still a lot to be done, especially within the Mortals’ quarters. Did you know that there are still miles of tarmac-covered ground for their cars, because they can’t afford hovercars? Not to mention, the air pollution still created by those cars running on fossil fuels.’
‘How typical,’ Olam said. ‘But it’s no wonder they can’t afford anything, they waste most of their resources on transferring basic knowledge and skills from themselves to their offspring, who then in turn have to perform simple tasks all their lives to support their parents who are no longer capable of taking care of themselves... What a vicious circle.’
‘In a nutshell,’ Amari said, her face tensing visibly despite the alcohol’s relaxing effect.
‘I wouldn’t care, except they do it all at our expense!’ Javid exclaimed. ‘It’s us, Immortals, who pay taxes four times as high to not only solve the planet’s ecological and political problems, but also fund their offspring’s education! If that money was spent on space exploration, we could all be packing our bags now and moving to Earth II.’
‘There hasn’t been any news of that day getting closer lately,’ Amari said.
‘Well, who knows,’ Heng said, ‘maybe Shostak was right when he said we were doing something wrong.’
‘What do you mean?’ Amari asked.
‘Have you heard of Seth Shostak? The 21st century director of SETI?’
‘The name rings a bell,’ she said.
‘Well, back at the beginning of the 21st century, he said that if we didn’t detect any signs of life from space by 2050, we were doing something fundamentally wrong. Now, that was fifty-five years ago and since then they’ve put radio telescopes and transmitters not only all over the Milky Way, but also on the edge of the Andromeda galaxy, and they still haven’t found anything.’
‘So what might we be doing wrong?’
‘Well if you ask SETI, they’ll tell you that a big breakthrough in science is needed to allow them to advance further. New, unknown laws of physics that need to be discovered that will allow them to create better equipment and understand the universe better. But we’ve heard those excuses for so long,’ Heng downed the rest of his drink and summoned a Hebe to get another one, ‘that some are starting to put it down to SETI’s incompetence. The Space Exploration Project is costing us a fortune and we aren’t getting any measurable results. Maybe the time has come for a change at the steering wheel.’
‘Problem is,’ Olam added, ‘that nobody has come up with a better idea so far.’
‘That’s why,’ Olam said ‘if I were to change careers, I’d go into neurology. There’s another field for big breakthroughs. The capacity of our brain is still much more than what we are using. If we used all our potential, we’d have found those other planets by now. And memory is another matter – I mean look at these robots that are serving us. They not only read us perfectly, but remember our preferences in detail. Humans should be able to retain that sort of information with just as much ease, and yet they can’t.’
The guys got onto recent scientific studies in neurology and Amari listened attentively, impressed with their knowledge, particularly Heng’s. She reflected that if it wasn’t for the Cure, all of these intelligent people would long be dead now, and no human would be
able to gain such level of expertise in more than one subject, not only because of the short life expectancy and degeneration of the brain caused by the ageing process, but also due to the burden of raising children. If some of the Mortals who claim they contribute to the society by bringing to this planet new people, listened to these men, they would quickly change their mind, she thought. The world didn’t need any more humans that would have to be taught everything from scratch, and by the time they would be mature enough to use their knowledge and make some use of it for mankind, it would be time for them to die. The world needed people like these guys here – free to explore science, to research, and to achieve measurable results.
The conversation was interrupted by another Hebe waitress approaching them with a tray of flute-shaped ice glasses filled with champagne.
‘Complements of Mr. Paramonos,’ explained the waitress with a nod towards the other side of the bar. They all looked that way and noticed Mr. Paramonos himself, raising his glass towards them. They did the same with appreciative nods.
‘Wow, you guys really are in his good books,’ Olam said, impressed. ‘This is Bollinger, the best champagne in the world.’
‘I should think so,’ Heng gave Amari another one of his glances, this time even longer than before. ‘You made him twice as rich as he was before The Universe launched. I monitored the share prices of his companies and they all froze or dropped when the plans for this place were announced. Few investors were happy at the risk he took, many saw it as a wild-goose chase. But those who took the hazard, are now very rich people. The share prices skyrocketed after Saturday.’
Amari just smiled. She didn’t have the full picture of The Universe’s financial success, but she could make an educated guess and her estimate was that the revenue it generated constituted more than 65% of all the venues belonging to Paramonos Enterprises and that was before the New Year’s Eve party, which, judging by the exorbitant prices of entry tickets alone, was going to bring the equivalent of six months’ profit of all the other clubs combined.
They saw the businessman excuse his companions and approach them.
‘It’s nice to see you again, Amaranthine,’ he said, then nodded at Ambrose. ‘How are you?’
‘Great, thank you, Mr. Paramonos. And thank you for the champagne,’ she replied.
‘My pleasure,’ he said.
‘These are our friends, Javid, Olam and Heng,’ Amari introduced the guys. ‘We are celebrating Javid’s immortali day,’ she added as they all shook Mr. Paramonos’ hand.
‘Well congratulations, Javid. I hope you are having a good evening,’ he said.
‘Excellent, sir, I couldn’t imagine a better venue for it,’ Javid replied. ‘Or any occasion, for that matter! We all look forward to tomorrow night, together with the whole of New York City.’
‘Well, I hope you won’t be disappointed,’ he said, ready to take off.
There was a commotion at the entrance. They heard raised voices, but before anyone could react, the source of the tumult was brought towards the center of the club, dispelling the blue clouds of Neptune’s mist. It was a group of four very tall and authoritative-looking men, surrounded by more than half a dozen of Universe’s security guards who were trying to stop them. Mr. Paramonos stepped forward.
‘Are you Mr. Paramonos, sir? The owner if this establishment?’ one of the men demanded.
‘I am,’ admitted the businessman calmly. ‘What is the matter?’
‘Detective Roberts, NYPD. Would you please come with us, sir,’ the man said firmly, flashing his badge.
‘I am not aware of any reason why this would be necessary,’ replied Mr. Paramonos with full composure. ‘If there is trouble in any of my venues, I am sure it can be taken care of by my security staff. Let me take you to my office where we’ll be able to resolve the matter in peace.’
‘It has nothing to do with any of your venues, sir,’ the man said. ‘I must insist you follow us immediately.’
Mr. Paramonos looked him in the eye as he slowly uttered his response.
‘I must insist you reveal the reason for your demand. Unless you have a warrant, of course.’
The policeman looked at him lengthily, as if considering his position. He’s bluffing, Amari thought, and now he’s on the spot because he doesn’t have a warrant. He probably never came across a man as confident as Mr. Paramonos before.
But against her expectations, the officer didn’t lose his nerve. His facial expression didn’t change in the least. Instead of succumbing to the offer of moving the scene to the office, he reached to his pocket and pulled out his idatron.
‘I don’t have a warrant,’ he said coldly. ‘But I’m pretty certain this will suffice.’ The confidence in his voice was unnerving.
Amari suddenly apprehended that the whole clientele of Neptune was watching the unfolding scene with rapt attention. People drew nearer and surrounded them with a tight semicircle. The music, the conversations, the clatter faded. The policeman activated his idatron in deadly silence.
Amaranthine suddenly knew. Before the flickering image stabilized, sharpened and brought the scene into focus, she knew. She didn’t want to believe it, but deep down she couldn’t deny the sudden certainty of what they were all about to witness. She felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach and her legs transform into jelly.
A chubby face of a child, surrounded with a halo of hair the color of straw, and featuring two big, sky-blue eyes, took the center of the image. Then the camera zoomed out to reveal a big cake in front of the youngster, all covered in pink and yellow icing and decorated with fruit. As the girl looked up, the camera followed her gaze to the face of the adult on whose lap she was sitting. It was none other than Mr. Paramonos himself, holding the girl in a bear-like embrace and smiling down at her.
A woman entered the picture, holding a long, slim lighter and pressing a few-month’s old baby to her side with her left arm. As she lit the four candles on the cake, Mr. Paramonos pointed it to the girl sitting on his lap. ‘Look who’s daddy’s big girl,’ he said to her. ‘Don’t forget to make a wish, darling.’
The child squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, then opened them, took a huge gulp of air and blew the candles out. The whole scene disappeared behind the four plumes of smoke, then turned into a single blue line and vanished into the detective’s idatron.
No one moved or uttered a single word when the officers grabbed Mr. Paramonos by both arms and walked him out of the club. Amaranthine watched him step out of Neptune on stiff, heavy legs.
The group disappeared as quickly as they arrived and for a brief moment it seemed as if everyone would now wake up from this bizarre incident and go back to drinking and chatting as if nothing had happened and everything was the same again. But they didn’t. Nothing was going to be the same again. Ever.
As the magnitude of what had just happened hit Amaranthine’s consciousness, her heart rate jumped threefold in a space of a single heartbeat. She could feel it thump in her ears, her throat and her temples, as if it was to make her head explode. Her ice flute, still half full with the finest champagne in the world, slipped out of her shaking hand and smashed to pieces at her feet.
CHAPTER FIVE
Amaranthine lay in bed, staring bluntly at the ceiling of her bedroom.
She didn’t make the slightest move, not so much as a wink, in the last hour. She lay motionless for so long she barely felt her body. Maybe I’ve died, she thought when it occurred to her, and this thought didn’t stir any feelings in her. She felt hollow.
It was very early on Monday morning, January 4th, 2106. Five days since the disastrous Wednesday events and light years since the biggest triumph of her career. These last few days felt like some twisted, reverse side of the days she spent in euphoria following The Universe launch. Where there is a high, there must be a low, she thought bitterly. And this time they were both equally extreme.
She hadn’t left the house since getting in on Wednesday. She hardly
remembered what happened immediately after Paramonos was arrested. She must have blacked out, as she woke up disoriented, supported by Ambrose on one side and Heng on the other. All she could remember was penetrating cold and nausea. The guys spoke to her, asking if she was ok and she heard them as if from behind a glass door. The thing that helped her recompose herself enough to be able to summon her hovermobile and get into it was one persistent thought: I have to get out of here. Get home and hide, never to be seen by anyone again. Ambrose helped her to the exit and into her vehicle, or was it Heng? She couldn’t be sure.
The next morning she woke up on her sofa, still dressed in her full outfit, including the high-heeled boots. She felt totally spaced out.
All she did later was as if she was a Hebe robot and not a human being. Programmed, automatic, impassive. She took her clothes off. She took a shower. She wrapped a towel around her body. Then she sat and stared into space for the length of time she couldn’t even estimate. Then she fell asleep. It wasn’t a peaceful, refreshing sleep. She kept waking up to shed off the images of a blond girl blowing candles on a birthday cake. The four plumes of smoke took weird, horrifying shapes that had her in a cold sweat.
If it had occurred to her, she’d be proud of Eiko. She read Amari’s state of mind so well, she didn’t speak to her once. She didn’t make any suggestions, she didn’t connect any calls or responded to any approaching visitors. She let her come to terms with what had actually happened and what the consequences of it would be.
When she woke up again, Amaranthine finally started coming back to life. She replayed the whole event in her mind over and over again, trying to understand how it was even possible. Mr. Paramonos was the last person on Earth she’d ever suspect of duovitaery, and she wasn’t the only one. He had a notorious reputation for hating Mortals more than anything else, and he frequently verbalized it. Only now could she appreciate how carefully and perfectly he had built his outer shell, his whole other persona. His alter ego.
After a few hours of ruminating over the whole thing, she dared to watch the news. She did so first with the sound switched off. The images were easier to take, as she’d already seen the worst. The reports had more footage from Paramonos’ family life and more facts. They showed pictures of him with the woman and the two children at all stages of their lives, family events, holidays, and portraits.