Mammi Ama shrugged. “I heard you went missing. People at school have been talking about you.”
“What did they say?”
“Checked yourself into the Sanitarium. They say you lost it or something. Not your looks though.”
He thought if she’d seen him on TV she’d be more alarmed by his presence. “So I haven’t been on TV or anything.”
She shook her head.
“How’s the old gang? Anna Lee?”
Mammi Ama was downloading books that had been posted on the BIP. “Oh, she disappeared. Moved back to Roudeville is what I heard. Apparently, there was some weird guy stalking her.”
“There’s some people after me too. I think you’d do best not to tell anyone that I was here. And if they ask, you and I don’t care about each other.”
“Already told the Earnings Authority that when they came around school a week ago. But I don’t think they believed me.”
“Call and report Saad Price when he gets here. He’s following me. But he won’t be here for a little while. Say he’s suspicious. I’ll be gone in a few minutes.”
“What does he look like?”
“Green eyes. Brown hair. A wide face.” He winked at her. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too, cutie.”
He put his hands on the counter and jumped towards her kissing her on cheek. “I did have feelings for you.”
Pierre saw Dot in the middle of the store, scanning entries in the kiosk for Harbinger’s book. He walked past her to the café in search of his parents. Cloud and Edmond were sitting at a table in the café with Harbingers book in their hands, diligently reading it together. “My parents are here,” he called to Dot.
“Be there in a second.”
His parents both turned shocked, stood up, and hurried towards him. His father, Edmond, hugged him. “Pierre. We missed you.”
Then his mother hugged him. “Thank God,” Cloud said. Pierre found himself thinking that was the first time he’d ever heard her mention God.
“We thought we were going to lose you,” Edmond said. “We can’t protect you.”
Pierre nodded. “I’ll take my chances.”
“No bracelet, huh?” Edmond said.
“No. They took it off at the Sanitarium. I’m working with the Gamblers.”
Cloud pulled up her shirt to reveal a five dot Gamblers tattoo above her waist. Edmond put his hand on Pierre’s shoulder and gave him a smile.
“Guess you got your head straight,” Cloud said.
Pierre realized Cloud was Audric Compliant but somewhat loyal to the Gamblers. After
all, Dot was a Gambler.
“I didn’t fall thirteen stories. A side effect of the GSKT 2300 is thinking you got the information at a library.”
“So who fell thirteen stories?” Edmond asked.
“It has something to do with Saad Price pretending he’s me. His father, Caleb, shot Kalpana.”
“I know Caleb,” Cloud said. “From Stylic. Saad came to talk to us this morning. We told him to leave us alone.”
“Have you been to the house?” Edmond asked.
Pierre nodded. “I put some Gamblers money in the closet. You’re supposed to find it.”
“Why?” Edmond asked.
“Genesis Smith wants me for his speech.”
“We heard he wants Saad Price now,” Cloud said.
Pierre sighed. “Great.”
Dot approached with Harbingers book in her hand. “Here he is. Still in one piece.” She gave Cloud a hug. “We should get out of here. Saad is on our tail.”
Edmond said, “We thought if we could get the codes for Southwick we could negotiate your freedom.”
“We can leave. Start over someplace else,” Pierre said. “You guys know about Karma? Chester Higgs and a hundred others are part of a program where they don’t get boosts and Audric tracks their progress. It’s called Karma. Ethan Chadwick is gonna round them all up and they are going to Southwick. Storming the castle.”
“There’s only one place where that many poor depressed people are going to be rounded up,” Cloud said.
“Where?” Pierre asked.
“A drug den.”
Pierre shrugged. “Maybe they can help us. You guys were looking for the codes right?
Only I can find them. I have the GSKT 2300 knowledge.”
“Sorry to interrupt.” They all turned. It was Mammi Ama.
“Pierre, is this him?” She held up a tablet with an image of Saad Price at the bookstore.
“Yeah,” Pierre said.
“He was here this morning. He didn’t buy anything.”
Realization dawned on Pierre, then on Cloud and Edmond as well. “He knew we would go to the bookstore,” Pierre said.
Mammi Ama realized the danger. She turned and ran for the exit forgetting she had to document leaving the store. The exit had a threshold a few feet in front of the door. When crossed by the clerk a wall descended from above. The Audric Earnings Authority would be there any second.
Pierre’s parents were behind him and Dot next to him. Mammi Ama crossed the threshold and the alarm sounded. The wall from above began to descend and Dot ducked under it. Pierre turned for his parents. “Come on,” he yelled. He ducked underneath, but Pierre’s parents weren’t so lucky. The wall closed before they could make it.
“Damn,” Pierre shouted. “Open the door.”
“Oh God,” Mammi Ama said. “I don’t remember the code.” She walked over to the key pad and opened the guard. She typed in a few numbers but they weren’t right. She tried again. Pierre’s heart was beating five feet in front of him, it felt like. Mammi Ama tried another set of numbers. They saw blue lights flashing on them. It was the Audric Earnings Authority.
“I’ll get them out. Go!” Mammi Ama said.
Pierre and Dot ran for the Sun Pod. They got in. Pierre and Dot drove away. In the distance, Pierre saw a blast tear through the store. A fiery haze leapt thirty feet into the air. Some of the bookstore was still there. Pierre lost his breath. He looked for a back exit hoping they had gotten out, but he didn’t see anyone. Pierre felt like he was going to lose consciousness. He fell forward, his head hitting the dashboard. He fainted.
Edmond and Cloud were gone.
The pillow was no escape. It stopped neither the acute pain in Pierre’s belly nor the shockingly intense psychic wound in the center of his head. But when he awoke, he thought he’d stay on that pillow for the next decade. He’d never felt this way, didn’t know it was possible to feel this way, only knew he wanted it to end. This time when he awoke he decided to open his eyes. He felt his right pocket and realized he still had the Prozac Generation 15.
He saw a metal bunk bed to his left, old-fashioned, the bed unmade. He closed his eyes again and willed himself to stay awake. To his right were more bunk beds. There must have been fifteen of them in the large room. There were mosaics on the walls. Everything about this place said they were not Audric Compliant -- a throwback to the twentieth century. On the wooden floors sat two African men. One was skinny with a long face and clean brown eyes. The other was fat with prominent cheek bones and a shaved head.
Pierre heard hushed voices and he turned to the door. Drapes had to be parted to exit the room. Someone said, “That’s Pure Pierre,” as if impressed. Then he heard them all laughing quietly.
“How long have I been asleep for?” Pierre asked.
“Almost a day,” the fat one said.
“Where are we?” Pierre asked.
“The Bright Sun Drug Den,” the fat one said. “In the suburbs of Brighton. I’m Oba.” He pointed to the skinny one. “This is Tabansi. We wanted to meet you.”
“I feel like I want to die,” Pierre said, putting his face on the pillow.
“No one cares if you do,” Tabansi said.
“Why would Dot bring me to a drug den?” Pierre asked.
“She thought you could learn something from us,” Oba said. “We run this den. We’re from Botswana. And we know about what Audric is up against.”
Pierre nodded, then put his face on the pillow. “Mindblown.”
“Not yet,” Tabansi said, looking at Oba and smiling. “You need a radio for that.”
“Do you have a radio?”
No one answered. “Dot went to get one,” Oba finally said.
“Excuse me,” Pierre heard Dot saying in the hallway. “Coming through.” Dot came into the room. “You’ve got a fan club,” she said to Pierre.
“What do they want?” Pierre said.
“They want to know what you’re gonna do?” Dot said.
She tossed a radio to Pierre and he switched it on. “Recent news involving Pierre Morena,” Pierre said.
The reporter spoke from the radio. “It seems Pierre Morena is not the only Audric Compliant that doesn’t have an acceptor. Saad Price, son of Caleb Price who is the new Head of Security for Audric, has been arrested at Dolphin Park when he identified himself as Audric Compliant yet a GPS tracker had no reading on him. He has been remanded to the Brighton Audric Sanitarium where it has been discovered he is without an acceptor.
“Saad Price has reportedly threatened that he is not to be harmed as he has put a Brighton High student by the name of Anna Lee in an ER Marine Machine. According to Price, Anna Lee will not be found. Authorities say it is almost definitely a bluff as no one knows how Saad Price would come by an ER Marine Machine.
“Meanwhile, Pierre Morena is being accused of blowing up a bookstore. Genesis Smith says the story is unfolding and more news will be given as it comes to light. Pierre Morena is wanted for questioning and is not to be apprehended by average citizens as he is considered to be dangerous.”
Pierre shut off the radio. He closed his eyes and grimaced. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re depressed,” Dot said. “Thought it’d never happen to you, huh. It’s in your belly, right?”
Pierre nodded. He pulled out the vile of Prozac Generation 15. “Does this work?”
“Not when your parents are dead. When you’re a little depressed, maybe.”
Oba called out, “Foo.”
A boy in his early twenties emerged from the hallway. “Yes?”
“Sweep the floor, get the bowls for dinner ready, then you can have your fix.”
Foo smiled then and walked out.
The Bright Sun Drug Den used to be a hospital before it was infested with rats. In
Audric, it was commonly believed that the only people that took drugs were Gamblers or people failing in the system. But drugs were legal nonetheless. In the Bright Sun Drug Den, Oba and Tabansi regulated who got the drugs and made the tenants work for them.
“I get Devin’s drugs here,” Dot said. “And the drugs for the Churches.”
“We’re fighters, Pierre,” Tabansi said. “For something other than ourselves. We provide a place where people can live by the code of an addict. It’s a life not unlike the Audric Compliant. Free of depression.” Tabansi moved his Queen and said, “Checkmate. Let’s have breakfast. We’ll go to Lonnie’s.”
As they left the drug den and walked to the restaurant, Pierre said to Dot, “Why did you bring me here?”
“Tabansi and Oba know about Mindblown. I want you to hear what they have to say.”
There were twenty people in Lonnie’s noisily chatting and only a few waiters. Pierre followed Oba and Tabansi to a room in back.
“We provide food and shelter for these people,” Oba said. “The boys that prepare the food we call Foo. This is Shell.” A waitress walked by and gave them a nod. “No one here cares about how many people you have or haven’t killed.”
They sat down in a room separated from the rest of the restaurant. Shell entered. She had haphazard blond hair to her shoulders and a lazy eye. Pierre looked at Tabansi who was silent, seemingly brooding.
“Bring us a round of Whiskey Sours,” Oba said. “And a water for Pure Pierre. He’s not drinking.”
“Ain’t no celebration,” Tabansi said.
“I’ll have a shot of Amaretto,” Pierre said.
“No,” Oba said. “You won’t.” He turned to Shell. “He won’t.”
Shell gave a nod and walked away. They sat in silence for a few moments. Tabansi looked at the clock, his eyes watery. “Dead parents,” he said nodding. “Join the club.”
Pierre looked at Tabansi and decided against asking him to elaborate. “Is Karma here?” Pierre asked.
Oba nodded. “Seventeen of them. Chester Higgs was here yesterday. They are planning on going to Southwick. I told Chester you would be here. He’s waiting for you. That bunk is all yours. For as long as you want. We have some things to tell you. A fight worth fighting is amassing. Tabansi, tell him about Mindblown.”
Tabansi sighed. “What’s the point?”
“Dot says it’s worth a try.”
“Mindblown is the most powerful force on earth,” Tabansi said. “They have people
everywhere. People sign on for the power, the ease of it.”
“Tabansi and I are from Botswana,” Oba said. “We come from poverty and injustice.”
Tabansi gave a weak smile like that was an understatement. “If you live in poverty you have to have something that you love. In Botswana, music was life for us. I grew up in a family where everyone was a singer. Mindblown believes depression is the natural state and the saving grace. They operate undercover creating depression. Everyone knows they exist though. Mindblown started a rumor, an unspoken code: no singing.
“One day, in school, I got caught singing by a boy who was on Mindblown. I argued with him, tried to get him not to tell. I said some things about Mindblown I shouldn’t have said. I knew they had marked me for ‘crossing out’ they call it. Punishment. They don’t do anything half ass.
“They arrested my parents for murder. Eight people on the jury were on Mindblown. You can spot them by the artificiality of their movements. They are saving their true selves for the afterlife as they think they are the only ones that have a good chance of going to Heaven. My parents were sentenced to death. Before they stood trial, my father told me about Audric.”
Oba said, “We moved here but we’re considered unwelcome. We’re not Audric Compliant or Gamblers. So we live at the drug den. Most people here are addicts, but we take care of them in exchange for room and board.”
“So Mindblown is atheists,” Pierre said.
“It’s divided up into segments. Each segment believes something different,” Oba said. “Some are atheists.”
“You want me to say something about the Audric Experiment. About what it’s like to be Pure Pierre.”
“From what we understand, that’s what Genesis Smith wants,” Oba said. “If it helps defeat Mindblown, that’s what we want too.”
Everyone sat in silence. Shell put their whiskey sours in front of them. Oba took a sip and sighed. “We know there’s a rumor circulating. You’ve heard it. That in Harbinger’s book The Rewarding Gamble is codes that control the computer in Southwick Harbor. This fact is even more interesting given the fact that Anna Lee is imprisoned in an ER Marine Machine. The codes that control the computer in Southwick Harbor may be her only hope.”
“Who enters the codes?” Dot asked.
“Whomever is at the control r
oom in Southwick Harbor,” Oba said. “I suppose we could ask Harbinger for the codes but doubt he’d give them over. Pierre is a knowledge encyclopedia thanks to the GSKT 2300 and from what we understand is therefore the only person who can find the codes. Shell?”
Shell handed Oba Harbinger’s book The Rewarding Gamble. “Thank you,” Oba said, then handed the book to Pierre.
Pierre took the book and began flipping through. “200 pages. All about what it’s like to be a Gambler?”
No one responded.
“Have you read it?” Pierre asked.
Oba nodded. “Parts.”
He flipped back to the table of contents. A section called The Destiny Proverb caught his attention. “What’s the Destiny Proverb?” Pierre asked.
“Harbinger’s sales pitch for the Gamblers,” Oba said. “The book is full of them. Reasons people should become Gamblers. The Destiny Proverb is believed by many Gamblers to be the best reason. Harbinger speaks of a feeling of bliss that is attainable by all Gamblers when they achieve a certain goal. Each person has one goal, their destiny, and no one knows what that goal is. But when they feel it it’s like Nirvana. None of the Audric Compliant believe in it.”
Pierre nodded. He flipped through the book, reading sections, and skimming pages. “I don’t see any code in this. I can read it like any book. It doesn’t shout anything special to me.”
“Why would Pierre be the only person that could find the codes anyways?” Dot said.
Pierre looked up as he realized the reason. “Because Harbinger is psychic,” Pierre said. “This is all part of his plan.” He looked at Oba who was nodding. He looked back at the book. “I don’t see anything special.” Pierre sighed. “I can’t reason with the knowledge. I can only spit it out like a computer.” He felt tears come to his eyes. “I’m useless.” Pierre focused on the pain in his belly.
“What do you see as the fight here?” Oba said. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to be in Smith’s speech. And I want to do what Audric was intended to do, put a stop to Mindblown. I also want to help Anna Lee,” Pierre said.
Tabansi nodded. “Then we are with you. But it’s not gonna be easy.”
Pierre nodded. “Mindblown is everywhere.”