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CHAPTER 1

QUADRANT FOUR COLONY – FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

The projected silhouette of Lydia's figure cleared within seconds, becoming a near-exact copy of her. Only small errors in the translation of shades, as well as the stagnant nakedness of the image, gave the shape away as being a lifeless facsimile.

Air whipped around her, the cold gusts examining every microscopic detail of her body. Baseline data, they called it. Pearsal insisted on monitoring any changes that occurred during a new employee's stay. Lydia had expected to be profiled upon her arrival, and yet, forewarning didn't make it any easier to have a nude version of herself be the subject of scrutiny for Dr Levi and his technician. Though clothed, she felt as exposed as the naked hologram. It was, unfortunately, a far too familiar feeling.

Lydia knew if the scans showed the onset of any illnesses, the Quadrant Four Colony — Q4C — would put her on the next transport home. The possibility of being sent back to her father's apartment made her nervous. She needed to stay. To work.

A brief click indicated the end of the scan. Lydia pulled the zipper of her gum- leaf-coloured jacket to the top, one more barrier between herself and the medical staff. Dr Levi exchanged a few words with another man and then waved his hand across a control node.

Examining him more closely, Lydia figured Dr Terrance Levi's angular jawline, coupled with his stylish greying hair and hazel eyes, must have endeared him to many. Despite his pleasing exterior, something about the doctor's countenance made Lydia want to keep her distance.

The colony doctor pulled his shoulders back as he walked through to her side of the glass divider. The transparent door closed behind him, leaving the two of them cut off from his technician. Tucking one hand into his coat pocket, he grinned down at her. "Just crunching a few numbers, Mrs. Barrett."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "It's Ms. I'm his daughter. I'm not married to him."

"Right." His grin grew wider. "Nice jacket."

Lydia folded her arms across her stomach and re-directed her gaze to the floor.

The doctor's technician touched a control panel to activate the comm. "No anomalies have developed since the prescreen. You may now proceed. You will be met by another teacher, Jez Blumers, for your employee orientation. Welcome to the Q. Four C., Ms Barrett."

"There you have it, Miz Barrett," Dr Levi said, plainly pleased with his dramatic pronunciation. "You're all set. Come and see me sometime, yes?"

"Hopefully not, Doctor. I'd prefer to stay healthy." She flashed him her best passive-aggressive smile.

"Not all visits to the doctor have to be ... curative." He smirked. "Though, there are all sorts of cures to all sorts of deficiencies."

Lydia blinked. There was no point responding to him. It wasn't the first time she'd met someone like Levi, a person who saw her as some kind of pop-culture toy to be prodded for their own amusement. Being in the public eye gave people a disconcerting sense of entitlement towards her, as though it were acceptable to make comments dripping with innuendo just because they'd seen her face splattered across the media.

Looking past Levi, she asked the technician, "How do I get out?"

Dr Levi smacked his lips lightly, then left the room.

A door, not even noticeable moments earlier, opened to her left, and Lydia stepped through. The air had a mild rusty quality. A Pearsal logo glared at her from the opposite wall — a familiar image — the top section of the P housed a thin slit reminiscent of a serpent's pupil. More prevalent than the United Earth Alliance flag, the logo and its associated corporation had existed long before the eradication of national borders, extending garish tentacles into almost all areas of life. Babies were given a Pearsal Rattle the day they were born. Lydia's mother had once told her Lydia had never really taken to hers.

"Are you Lydia Barrett? The new teacher?" a woman called out as she walked towards her.

She assumed her to be Jez Blumers. Lydia held out her hand and smiled. "Yes, that's me."

Jez kept her hands behind her back, though she did return Lydia's smile. "It's good to finally have a replacement for Max; he's been gone for weeks and teaching all the Outsider children on my own has become jazzin' exhausting. Oh, shit. Sorry. I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Jez."

She kept speaking, but Lydia didn't hear. At first, she couldn't pin down exactly what made Jez so unusual. The woman looked to be about twenty-seven; she and Lydia could've been born in the same year. Maybe it was her stature, her shoulders so much leaner and squarer than her own. Lydia felt she could never match the woman's confident air. It came through in the way she held herself and was emphasised by long blonde hair curling down her back and shoulders in a sophisticated sweep.

No, she thought. It was Jez's bright, golden eyes that captured and kept her attention. Lydia had known it was a common trait in Outsiders, but she'd never actually seen it before. Lydia decided she liked gold-coloured eyes, which were all at once unique and beautiful.

Outsiders, when standing next to humans, always seemed so pale, their skin ghostly white yet nuanced like alabaster. From what Lydia had seen in videos, their ears were also ever-so-slightly pointed at the top where a humans were rounded. Jez's appearance lay somewhere in between. At first glance, she seemed like a Caucasian who'd not seen the sun in quite some time, someone whose ears were simply on the angular side. Jez's expression hardened for a moment, and Lydia realised, with a pang of guilt, she had been staring.

"I gave up wearing false lenses years ago," Jez told her, as though trying to read her thoughts. "I'm half human. The important half, anyway."

An alien half-caste. Lydia hadn't realised such a thing was possible. Her father had always described the Outsiders as 'fundamentally different,' but for Jez to exist the aliens must have a great deal in common with humanity, genetically. A common ancestor? None of the histories had ever mentioned that, though.

"Well, wherever you come from, I'm glad to meet you," Lydia said, making every effort to mask her own social ineptitudes. Making new friends had always been a cumbersome task in her opinion. Doing so whilst trying to politely acknowledge the person in front of her was part-alien was a whole new level of awkward. She had a talent for saying the wrong things, so it was best to keep things simple.

Jez once again adopted the benign tone she had used earlier. "Now that's out of the way, can I show you around? I wanna finish this up before it hits six so I can make it to the card game."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to ... Yes. Lead the way." Lydia was relieved her awkward staring hadn't seemed to cause irreparable offence.

Jez led Lydia down a passageway that took them to the secured doorway between the administration areas and the restricted human zone, or H-Zone, where those who worked in the colony lived. As they boarded the elevator, Lydia struggled to focus her thoughts. She was being led through an underground government colony by someone who was half-alien. Which of Jez's parents was human? What sort of situation could facilitate a human and an Outsider having sex? There were ways to conceive children artificially, but Lydia couldn't imagine anyone toying with that kind of thing. Ignoring the UEA charter regarding Responsible Application of Science and Technology would be a dangerous practice for anyone, government contracted or not.

As the governor of this quadrant of the planet, her father had much to say about Outsiders. It was one of the few topics the two of them discussed in recent months as she waited for her contract to begin, though it appeared he had distorted certain details. She was not surprised. He had been democratically elected to oversee a quarter of the planet, a collection of what used to be countries and states before the Fall of Nations. Though Quadrant Four couldn't be considered as wealthy or influential as Quadrant One, Damon still had more authority than most, and somewhere along the way, that authority had become more important to him than simple things like being truthful with his family.

"They weren't exactly using their imagination when they designed this place. It's cleaner than a government toilet though. I hope you like eucalyptus-scented antiseptic."

Listening to Jez as they made their way through the complex, Lydia didn't know what to make of her. Jez's drawl was unusual for someone living this far south of the equator. At times, she spoke with the same abruptness you'd expect from a SinTral Hooker. At other times, she seemed as polite as a teenager meeting their girlfriend's parents for the first time.

Jez explained that the four different sections within the H-Zone were each on a different floor. With only the top quarter of the building above ground, the whole place felt restrictive in the way that only a sterile, government-owned complex could.

Section A, found on the lowest level, was divided into cafeterias, game rooms, and an expansive gym. The vastness of the space amazed Lydia, as did the stench of stale sweat wafting from a virtual-reality leisure zone. Jez informed her that VR contact lenses didn't work down there. People had to resort to old-fashioned pod- consoles, the kind that required masks. It was a primitive system.

Jez also told her the gym was usually close to empty, not uncommon since the development of Dietex, Pearsal's weight control drug. Lydia was pleased because she planned on spending a lot of time in that gym. Running cleared her head far more effectively than any drug. Skinny doesn't mean healthy, as her mother always said.

"See him?" Jez directed her gaze towards a Latino man about to enter the gym, a few years older than them but somehow youthful nonetheless. He acknowledged two women walking past him with a bombastic greeting.

Lydia nodded. Why was her guide pointing out some guy?

"That's Rafe." The upper corner of Jez's mouth curled into an uneven smile. When Rafe disappeared into the gym without looking back at them, her smile subsided. "Anyway. He's nice to look at, isn't he?"

"Mmhmm," was all Lydia could manage. The question felt like a trap.

"On we go," Jez said.

On the second level from the bottom, Jez stopped in front of a door labelled Cube 11.

"Your very own cell. You're bloody lucky they don't make you share anymore. Two people in here would've been as suffocating as an N-C glitch." Lydia's skin tingled as she thought about the reality of a Neuro-Comm sending wayward signals to her brain, fast and relentless sets of misinformation that could completely debilitate a person. Suffocating was a polite word to describe such a feeling. Jez cocked her head as she continued. "Go on then. The lock should be programmed."

"Okay," Lydia raised her hand. The familiar spark of her subdermal marker tickled beneath Lydia's skin, working its way through her thumb towards the black, glossy pad next to the door as she touched it.

Having confirmed her identity, the opaque glass door slid open. Automated lights flickered to life, as did the climate control system, cooling the room in moments. Like the rest of the building, the walls were as grey as an antiquated revolver. A motel-style landscape painting hung on the left wall.

Regret latched onto the inside of Lydia's gut like a parasite. What a gloomy, claustrophobic place she would live in for the next three months. Moving away and teaching such a unique group of people still appealed to her, but the accommodation was nothing short of depressing. There wasn't even a private lavatory or shower. It was all communal.

Two people used to share these. Lydia found it hard to imagine. Her father may be a large part of the reason she needed to leave New Sydney, but still, she owed him some thanks if he changed the accommodation system down here. It might have been nice if they'd added some artificial windows, though.

The far wall was coated with a clear layer of glass that rested atop a foundation of indium tin oxide. It was Lydia's only means of accessing the Hive. A disc protruded from the top of the glass panel, allowing for the projection of interactive holographic data. Remote access to the Hive, the UEA's worldwide virtual environment, had been cut off the moment she stepped on the transport. The rules of virtual connectivity that existed elsewhere did not apply in a place subjected to such strict security protocols. How sad it was that a wall of circuits was her only connection to the world beyond the complex.

"You can get any information about the Outsiders you'll be working with through the colony network, though it won't let you save or send any of that data, obviously." Jez wandered around the open-plan living space, opening empty drawers and then closing them again. "You'll also find the approved lessons and activities. Double-check those before you do anything with the kids. The 'teacher' title is a bit generous for what you and I do here. Let's consider it more as structured babysitting. Alien babysitting."

Lydia knew as much already. Teaching human children wasn't much more than that either, not now that the Hive, a seemingly limitless virtual world, allowed for a ratio of one teacher to every five hundred public students. Education had been completely streamlined since the Fall of Nations. A devastating pandemic like the one preceding the breakdown of national borders managed to bring with it a whole host of consequences, even the kind that resulted in a complete corporate take-over of education systems. Everything from teacher training and student testing to resource management and funding was managed by Pearsal.

Jez leaned over the bed, pushing her knee into the mattress. "It isn't the most comfortable bed, but I've seen worse in some of the other cubes."

"I'm sure I'll make do. I don't always sleep well, anyway."

The corner of Jez's mouth curled into a half smile. "Not needing much sleep might make your life easier. I think you've got noisy neighbours."

Lydia paused for a moment. Jez was right. Beyond the light, rhythmic buzzing of the ventilation system, voices from the rooms to either side of hers could be heard through the walls. "Maybe I'll hear some good gossip," Lydia quipped.

"I bet. We can't even stream Living Blogs in here. People have to amuse themselves, somehow."

The tips of Lydia's ears burned hot. Was Jez suggesting the H-Zone was basically a hotbed of sexual activity? She hoped not. She wanted to keep herself well and truly away from trouble during her contract term.

They continued their tour of the colony. Long-term employees had larger studio apartments decorated with washed-out pastel colour schemes. Jez pointed out that those rooms included double beds, twice the storage space, a small lounge area and a kitchenette.

"Mine is Studio Seven. If you need anything, just come find me." The lack of enthusiasm in Jez's voice told Lydia the offer was an empty one.

"Do you do much cooking in there?" Lydia searched for a topic that would allow a less one-sided conversation.

Jez responded with a shake of her head. "No, why bother? There's a perfectly good AI chef in the cafeteria."

"Makes sense. I just thought, maybe that man you pointed out, Rafe ..." She regretted the comment immediately. Jez's interest in him seemed obvious earlier, but Lydia knew better than to make assumptions about people's relationships. Interactions between two people were so rarely what they seemed to be on the surface.

"You thought what?" Jez raised one eyebrow. "We cook together or something? A little holo-lit dinner?" Jez's eyes flashed, and her pale cheeks darkened.

"I suppose, yes. That is what I was thinking," Lydia said.

Lydia's grandmother would've described the silence that followed as being as awkward as a stain on a toilet seat. Her father would've just described it as awkward.

Jez drew in a long breath. "Listen, that's about all there is to show you. You've already seen the top floor where the transports come and go. There are also a few offices for the management types, as well as a medical centre, canteen ... the usual."

Lydia was relieved. She had no talent for recovering from such a faux pas. "Thanks for being so helpful." Lydia hoped keeping her responses simple would prevent any further social missteps.

Jez arched her chest and shoulders upwards, drawing in a breath. The tension in her face started to subside, and she spoke again, her tone amiable once more. "There's a bunch of us who play cards sometimes, if you want to come along. You should see Rafe shuffle; he's a pro!"

"Cards? As in, real cards?" She didn't think anyone played games like that except through a holo or a Hive tablet.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Beneath the Surface"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Rebecca Langham.
Excerpted by permission of NineStar Press, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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