Chapter 43
James
“You had no right to sedate me,” Kate says, seeming like she might start growling at any moment.
“You weren’t being reasonable,” Sable counters, wrinkling her nose like she smells something off-putting.
“I thought James was dead! I thought—”
Sable, who has clearly had enough, jumps in. “You thought that I’d let him turn himself in and get decommissioned?”
Kate throws her hands in the air. “Why would I think anything otherwise? You have no reason to risk yourself to save him.”
“That’s not true,” Sable spits, looking as offended as James has ever seen her.
“Care to explain?” Kate crosses her arms, waiting.
Sable glances at the sunny particle panes, and James can barely hear her as she says, “Because you guys are my friends.”
“I thought you had your own friends, and we were throwing off your optimal balance,” Kate snaps. Her hand flies to her mouth, and Sable flinches like she’s been struck.
James is about to intervene when Kate jumps to her feet and rushes over to Sable.
“That was awful of me.” She looks at James, who gives her an encouraging nod.
Then she takes Sable’s hands, the latter only momentarily resisting, and says, “I’m so sorry, Sable.
That was cruel and I didn’t mean it. You’re absolutely our friend.
The optimal balance thing is stupid. I should have known you wouldn’t let anything happen to James. ”
James isn’t sure he is entirely following their logic, but at least they’ve quit arguing.
Sable’s lip trembles as she turns back to Kate, but she draws the emotion in before it fully slips free. “It’s only that my current friend group is underwhelming. I’m tired of switching them every year, so I thought it would be prudent to unofficially join yours . . .”
The women carry on apologizing for various things, including the sedation, and James wonders how likely they are to start an I’m sorry trend. He doesn’t think he’ll ever fully acclimate to the future. But at least he’s found something here he never had before.
“Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Oro1 mutters.
“Agreed,” James says.
Oro1 fishes out four glasses and takes a bottle of sparkling Vine from the cold storage. “Just because Sable’s learned how to apologize doesn’t make her any less frightening,” he says, uncorking and pouring it.
“Agreed,” James repeats.
“I heard that,” Sable snaps, releasing Kate from a long, slightly awkward hug.
Both women wipe tears away from their eyes, though Sable’s might have been a speck of dust.
Feeling the urge to stand up for Kate, James says, “You decommissioned that reincarnate, so Kate’s assumption isn’t entirely outlandish.
” Having borne witness to Sable’s callousness so often, he doesn’t bother feeling bad about confronting her.
And perhaps he wants to double confirm they haven’t partnered with an actual psychopath.
Sable barks a laugh. “I should have told you. That woman was a manupartner, not a reincarnate. They’re so eager to please, so I planted a little seed for the scene.”
“Be more specific,” James demands, not entirely convinced.
“She was one of the first to get turned in, so I pulled her aside and told her that her owner’s last request was for her to act distraught as she was being decommissioned.
I told her I would report it back to him and it would make him feel cared for.
” Sable shrugs. “It will end up in Avrel’s report. ”
Oro1 chuckles. “That is incredibly cunning. If you’re ever accused of harboring reincarnates, you can point to your cold heart and ruthless history.”
“Exactly,” Sable says. “See, I have no qualms about decommissioning people from the past who shouldn’t be here. It’s unnatural.” Her eyes track to James, then she winks, which makes his arm hairs stand on end. Frightening woman indeed.
Kate moves back to her place on the couch, patting the cushion beside her. James places the glasses of sparkling Vine on the coffee table and takes the seat beside her, and she nestles close.
Kate holds up a glass. “To James and Sable for winning the day!”
They raise their glasses and take a sip.
“Now that I’m officially a free man with a girlfriend with lots of unicoin, what are we going to do while the inspection is ongoing?” James asks. “And what does the recall mean for all the reincarnates out there?”
Oro1 holds up his tablet. “The recall has the reincarnates scrambling. I’ve already got a dozen messages.”
“And I might have a solution,” Sable says, waving her device in the air.
“I got Res6’s contact information before I left.
He saw Kate freaking out in the hallway and I think he must have recognized her, so I went after him.
He seemed more anxious to get out of there than anything, so I pressed our advantage. ”
James chuffs. “He was probably worried about covering his own ass. I bet he let us go because he recognized me and realized I knew he’s hiding his own reincarnate. Oro1, do you remember the woman with freckles who got spooked?”
“She was his?” Oro1 asks, rubbing his chin. “What a hypocrite.”
“Tell me about it. Imagine if it leaked out to the public,” James says. “He’d have a PR nightmare on his hands.”
Sable gasps, her eyes lighting up. “I smell an opportunity!”
“Hold on. I thought the reincarnates were limited to GROW,” Kate says.
“Apparently GROW isn’t the only one tinkering. Maybe CHOICElover undergoes more rigorous testing before they put out a new release,” Sable suggests. “Maybe his reincarnate is an unintended result.”
“That makes sense,” James says, nodding. “What if we could convince Res6 to make replacement manupartners using the reincarnate clients’ DNA? Then the client can turn the replacement manupartner in for the recall in their place.”
Sable bolts to her feet. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“So he essentially creates blanks that can be turned in instead of the reincarnate, which gets them out of the GROW system. But what about an identity?” Kate asks. “Doesn’t the Peaceful Passing Procedure candidate getting turned in solve that better?”
“Well, they can participate in the borrow program until I figure out the programming for the full identity replacement, which will be much less risky,” Oro1 says, refilling glasses. “I considered outsourcing for some of the work. Maybe when we get some initial contracts, we can pursue that.”
James watches as Kate takes a long sip. “If you need an investor, let me know. I’ve recently come into quite a fortune,” she says.
James chuckles as Oro1’s brows raise. “You don’t want to know,” he says, shaking his head. “You’re keeping every single one of those coins and using them for whatever your heart desires, understand?” he asks. She nods in agreement, and he takes her chin and kisses her firmly.
When he turns back, Sable is eyeing them like she’s watching a building collapse. “I hope whatever you two have isn’t contagious.”
As much as he wants them to leave so he can enjoy some time alone with Kate, he’s enjoying working with them, too.
This is the type of action his mind thrives on.
Making plans and anticipating problems. “Wait, if manupartners take a week to grow, doesn’t that conflict with the deadline? ” James asks.
“They can be grown quicker, but less grow time means more glitches, which shouldn’t be a problem for a unit ready to be turned in,” Sable explains.
“Sounds like all you guys need to do is get this Res6 person to meet with you,” Kate observes.
“And convince him,” Oro1 says.
Sable snorts. “More like blackmail him.”
“I’ll take care of that when the time comes,” James says.
“Actually, I’ve got this one. I’ll keep you in the loop, though.” Sable stands and collects her bag. “It’s been quite the day. I’m ready for a nice long jog in the lake trail simulation chamber.”
Before James lets them go, he has one more thing he needs to do.
Even though he now knows the decommissioned woman wasn’t real, he can’t shake the image of fake tears streaming down her face in the decommissioning chamber.
Did that happen to the reincarnate from the news story they caught when he first arrived in this world?
The nagging sensation feels like a call to action.
He was helpless then, but he isn’t helpless now.
It’s time to voice the idea that’s been marinating in his mind for weeks now.
“What if someone in need can’t afford our services? ”
Oro1 leans forward thoughtfully, while Sable cocks her head as if this is an odd thought. Kate gives him a warm, encouraging smile, asking, “You want to help them?”
He squeezes her thigh as his gratitude swells. He knew she’d understand and be his biggest champion. “Yes, I want to help them.”
Sable’s lips curl downward. “But if they can’t afford—”
He interrupts Sable, stating in a firm voice, “I need to help them. Don’t get me wrong, the unicoin is a strong motivator, but if we can do both, I think we should.
” He needs to do things differently on his second chance.
Kate asked him to be a better man, and at first, he wasn’t sure if it was possible.
But here he is with a golden opportunity.
Imagine: James Alexander Fletcher—humanitarian.
Or would it be philanthropist? Either way, take that, Timothy Borne!
“Okay,” Oro1 says. “Then we’ll help them. Come to the office tomorrow and we can work out the details.”
Satisfied, James stands, scooping Kate into his arms in a single movement. “Great. Now will you two please get the fuck out of here? Kate and I have some celebrating to do that’s been a long time coming.”
December 25, 2390, After.
Overnight, as sleep eludes him, the details of those last few days of his life slowly trickle back to him, like his second near-death encounter has broken something loose.
Kate stirs. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Memories,” he says. “Go back to sleep.”
“Tell me about them,” she counters.
She nestles into his chest, and he speaks.