Abel assumes this comment is related to the distinct scent in the air, the smoke of an herbal substance that is illegal on both Stronghold and Cray.
“None of you are thinking clearly about this,” says the girl with the red-streaked hair, the apparent ringleader. “If we don’t turn them in, what are we supposed to do with them? But we shouldn’t turn them in for nothing. Sooner or later, they’ll post a reward.”
“Then tell me this, Virginia—who gets the money?” demands the tallest of them, a sturdy, blond-haired boy. “Do we split it equally? Because I’m the one who checked the sensor grid.”
“Only after I told you to,” Virginia says. “I’m the one who figured out they had to have gone deeper underground.”
The Razers begin a fresh round of bickering. Noemi glances over at Abel, less alarmed than bewildered.
He cannot blame her for her confusion. Certainly their captors aren’t behaving like they’re in the presence of potential criminals; it doesn’t seem to occur to the Razers how quickly this situation could change, how easy it would be for them to get hurt.
And it would be very easy. Abel’s programming suggests six different ways he could kill or maim all four of the Razers within ninety seconds. If Noemi’s life is endangered, he’ll do exactly that. But his programming doesn’t allow him to kill humans absent such compelling circumstances, or a direct command.
Instead he must try to understand these Razers. Fortunately, what Abel knows of Cray is enough to help him develop a working hypothesis.
Aside from a few functionaries, the entire population of Cray is made up of top scientific minds. Children on Earth and the other colony worlds are tested at young ages to see if they have the necessary aptitude; if they do, they leave their parents behind to join the intensive boarding schools on Cray. Most never return home. As the planetary welcome message indicated, families can and do visit, but none are permitted to stay. Cray’s resources, like Kismet’s, are reserved for the elite. The difference is that Kismet is for those with wealth, and Cray is for those with intelligence.
The four teenagers standing before them will have been groomed and pampered their entire lives. They think sneaking around in back corridors and smoking controlled substances counts as rebellion. Compared to Noemi, they seem na?ve, even spoiled.
Nonetheless, the Razers found Abel and Noemi. The only way out would be to attack them, and Abel can’t do that unless Noemi’s at risk—or unless she explicitly orders him to.
By now he understands she would never give that order.
Virginia plays with the end of her red-streaked ponytail. “We could ask for a reward that wasn’t in the form of money. Extra processors for our plate tectonics project? Or vacation time on Kismet, maybe.”
Noemi speaks for the first time since the Razers’ entrance. “Kismet’s overrated.”
“Says you. Me, I haven’t seen the sun—any sun—in about ten years. Does Kismet have a sun? Then it sounds great to me.” Virginia says this with no self-pity. Her curiosity seems to have been piqued, though. “So what do they want you guys for? Yeah, ‘persons of interest,’ but come on. You guys are up to something.”
“We stole a part for our ship,” Abel says.
The others look at one another and scoff. Their youngest member, a boy just starting puberty, laughs at them. “They don’t issue planet-wide alerts for stolen parts.”
“You said it, Kalonzo. C’mon, you two, spill it.” Virginia smiles conspiratorially. “Was it good? Tell me it was something awesome.”
Noemi stole me, Abel thinks. Or I stole myself. The authorities almost certainly do not yet know Noemi’s from Genesis; their only possible source of information would be the Remedy members they encountered on the Kismet moon, but they would be unlikely to have informed the authorities of Noemi’s origins. They’d wish to preserve their link to a potential ally. Therefore, this pursuit is only about Burton Mansfield’s hope of getting Abel back home again.
Despite Noemi’s sodden clothing and damp hair, she comes across as confident as she leans back in her chair. “Tell you what. Let’s strike a deal.”
The Razers exchange glances before Virginia says, “What kind of deal?”
“We need to hide.” Noemi sighs, as though this were all no more than an annoyance. “Obviously. So you guys don’t tell the authorities that you found us. Plus, you help us get our hands on a thermomagnetic device, and you don’t say anything about us even after we leave Cray. In return, you get—let’s say—fifteen hours to study the most exciting piece of technology you’ve ever seen in your lives. I promise, it will blow your minds.”
The Razers’ eyes light up. Noemi has baited the hook well.
Virginia is interested, but hardly convinced. “Honestly, we probably would’ve hidden you awhile just for fun. But a thermomagnetic device? You’d have to offer up something pretty spectacular, and you definitely don’t have it on you.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Noemi says. “It’s better than you can possibly imagine.”
“We’re listening.” Virginia folds her arms. “What is it?”
Abel already knows what’s coming, but he still feels vindicated when Noemi replies, “The single most advanced mech ever created. The long-lost special project of Burton Mansfield himself.”
They’re not impressed. One of the other Razers, a girl called Fon with her hair piled up in a messy bun, actually laughs. “The legendary A model? Come on. Where would you ever find that?”
Abel steps forward, holds out his left hand, and runs his right thumbnail across his palm, along a tiny ridge too small for the human eye to notice. Only those well acquainted with mechs will recognize this as a repair seam.
As the Razers stare, Abel peels back the skin to expose the metallic skeletal structure of his hand. The limb isn’t entirely mechanical, which means he bleeds a little, and the pain is… considerable. But his programming allows him to ignore such sensory input, at least for a time.
He smiles easily as he meets Virginia’s eyes, and he says, “A is for Abel.”
Her face lights up with a wide grin. “Well, Abel, my name’s Virginia Redbird, and I promise, nobody’s ever been happier to see you than I am right now.”
Abel places only one condition on the Razers: Their studies can be as extensive as they’d like, but they must not do anything that would cause permanent damage. They swore they wouldn’t, said they’d sooner throw a Picasso on the fire, that it would be the stupidest blunder of all time, et cetera. As overblown as their promises are, Abel can tell they’re sincere. The Razers have taken the deal.
Noemi realized they would value knowledge above all other things, Abel muses as Virginia holds a spectrometer over his bare feet. Perhaps later, he might ask Noemi to teach him more about human nature.