16. On the Same Wavelength #2
“Because I still need to network. You three are my friends, business aside, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want your help working my way back into the social circles I once belonged to.
From this experience alone you can see that my return to society–even though my holiday was brief–brought a lot of questions.
People might not be as willing to work with me, but I want a way in. Headfirst into the heat of the elite.”
Koro held her glass up, inviting the waiter to return for a refill. “Why not do it yourself? You’re the zegging Neon Idol. I don’t think your reputation is as tainted as you might think. We’re here for you, shouldn’t that show you that people are willing to listen?”
“You know how Anton treated me.”
“His precious songbird,” Kao said.
“One he wouldn’t dare taint. Sure, I have some connections, but he forbade me from the circle I’m trying to reach. I don’t want the surface level business connections, I want it all.”
When their eyes failed to show recognition, Naoma elaborated. “You know what Anton forbade me, right?”
None of them offered an answer, giving her only determined attention as she prepared her reveal.
“I’m sure there were plenty of indulgences Anton and the other Fins kept away from me because they didn’t want to taint their prized idol, but I’m talking about Zhou.”
“The Dynasty?” Kao asked.
Koro huffed a laugh. “So you want to get into partying now that the Fins aren’t holding you back?”
“Can we blame her?” said Kyo. “The girl wants to live. She’s got a boy, now she wants to party.”
Naoma leaned on. “I’m not looking for partying.
I want to build connections without having to set up meetings like this.
This isn’t to say that we aren’t old friends reconnecting, but I don’t want people to see me as a desperate freelancer looking to leech off of others’ success.
I want to blend in and have opportunities presented to me when people see what I’m capable of with their guards down. ”
Koro scoffed. “That’s one way to put it. You do know what Zhou’s Dynasty and the parties are like, right?”
“I’ve heard.”
Kao clinked the ice in her glass. “You know just as well as I, Koro, that words do nothing to explain the Dynasty.”
Feeling I had been too silent–despite my lack of belonging–I put myself back in the conversation. “Is that positive or negative?”
Kyo winked at me. “Depends on what you’re into, du. I take it you’ve never been?”
I shook my head.
She placed a manicured hand against her breast. “I, for one, delight in Shou’s festivities.”
Naoma paused before sipping. “Shou? I thought it was Zhou?”
“Zhou is the disgraceful name given to him,” Kao said. “Shou is what his inner circle calls him.”
“And how large is that inner circle?” I asked.
“Ever expanding.” Kyo sighed with girlish glee. “Awe, Nay, I’ve missed you! We’re going to have so much fun. Going in with two Dynasty virgins is like taking a kid to their first mindshow.”
Koro rolled her eyes. “You’re overselling it.”
“You’re sure this is the direction you want to head in?” Kao asked.
Naoma nodded.
I trusted her but couldn’t bridle my curiosity. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“It’s a lot.”
“Don’t be such a party pooper,” Kyo said.
“I’m not, I’m just trying to be realistic. Look, we love you, Nay, but it didn’t surprise us that you were forbidden from participating in the Dynasty.”
“She’s not that sheltered.”
“I never said that she was, I just want her–” She faced Naoma. “I just want you to realize that the Dynasty is full of indulgences.”
“As you probably know,” Kyo said.
Koro groaned. “Stop beating around it. Naoma, if you see people you thought were saints there, you might realize that they’re not as perfect as you would have hoped.”
“Good. I’d rather meet people in their honest states.”
The sisters didn’t look too sure. Except for Kyo, whose excitement masked any other emotion.
I hadn’t the faintest belief that any of the celebrities I knew avoided any indulgences when they were so readily available to them.
Sex and drugs–both digital and physical–among all other forms of costly pleasure had to be only the surface level of delights available to those unconstrained by poverty’s vice.
I had held a grudge ever since falling to the depths of desperation, especially after seeing them proclaim sorrow for refugees like me despite doing nothing for us.
The less I had, the more I wanted to condemn them, yet here I was, in love with one of them.
Was Naoma an exception? Or were there many puppets to corporate heads like her?
If the Dynasty was as revealing as 3Rochi suggested, I would learn soon enough.
“I’ll get you in, then,” Kao said.
“How often do they have meetings?” I asked.
“Meetings?” Kyo shook her head. “The parties are every night. If we can get you in, we’ll have you in tonight.”
“I doubt there will be an ‘if’ ,“ said Kao. “You’re the zegging Neon Idol. People have been asking about your attendance for years. Give us a bit and you’ll be in, if you’re ready.”
Naoma nodded.
A call rang in my neurospace. In the second I took to check who it was, Koro noticed. “Need a break from us? I get it. You two hang tight. We’ll step out to reach out to one of Shou’s Eunuchs to get you an invitation.”
Naoma looked at me, then thanked 3Rochi as they stood to leave.
I spoke as soon as they left. “Kuni’s calling for a vidchat.”
She laughed. “He called me first and must have tried you when I didn’t answer.”
“Want to join me?”
She checked the girls, making sure they had truly departed, then moved closer to me. I thought I would have grown used to her close proximity, but the now familiar warmth that radiated from her filled me as she continued to hold my hand, despite the show being put on pause.
Despite my fears, this was real.
I prayed it would last.
“Might as well,” she said. “He was trying to call me in the first place.”
I laughed. “The kid probably doesn’t even want to talk to me.”
“Who would?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’ll open the chat in my neurospace then send you the link invite.”
“Pulse.”
I answered the call then saw Kuni and Akna. My neurospace searched for the nearest camera to link into, then joined the hub in the center of the table, just as most cafes had. Had it not been there, I doubted we would have to move far. In a world lacking privacy, there were still some benefits.
“Hihow du!” Naoma waved.
Kuni responded with exponential enthusiasm.
Akna glared, then scoffed. “Still putting on the show, huh? Are the other girls still with you?”
“What show?” Naoma asked.
Akna made air kisses.
Naoma and I looked at each other, then laughed like rosy-eyed kids. I knew the initial bliss would wear off, but I savored it while it lasted.
“Whatever,” Akna said.
“What’d you call for?” I asked.
“Naoma!” Kuni exclaimed.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“We saw you all over the news! Denji was projecting it on the kitchen walls and all of the channels were talking about you!”
“Not quite all, Akna said.”
“Zeg you!”
“Language, Kun.”
“Don’t blame that on me!” Boyband shouted from the background.
“You keeping him in check?” I asked Akna.
“Which one?”
“I’m not too worried about Kuni.” I winked at him.
“He’s been fine. A little stir crazy but has been helping Denji out around the monastery.”
“Good.”
“Can we talk about the news now?” Kuni asked.
“Let’s hear it,” Naoma said. Without a cute little Arabasian kid to tell her about the news, I wondered if she would have had such composure. Perhaps she was glad to be out in public now that the initial reentry had passed.
Part of me wondered what it would be like if I made a reappearance on the Medislavian neuroset. Did people still hold out hope for a change or had Pavtov destroyed the final remnant of their long-strung hope?
Images of newscasts appear in our interface. Kuni dragged it beside his face to point but obscured most of it with his head and hands. I couldn’t help but smile at the kid’s enthusiasm, especially as my anxiety drained away without Naoma’s to keep me on the edge.
“This was the store where it happened,” he said, pointing at a shot from the front of the building. Naoma and I were seen standing in front of the building when she exposed her identity to them.
“I know, Kun, I was there!”
“Right, yeah.” He laughed with a touch of embarrassment but didn’t let it overcome him. “Remember how you said you were worried what they would think after leaving for so long?”
She nodded. I didn’t recall her ever speaking of such a thing in front of him. He was young but had keen senses that made me even more excited about his future.
“You were so wrong!”
Her laugh was a deep joy filled with relief.
“What? Did I say something wrong again?”
“No,” Naoma said.
“Your Amerikese is better than Boyband’s by now,” Akna said.
Kuni smiled but continued to speak without acknowledgement. “The people on the news were asking a lot of questions.”
“Like what?” Naoma asked.
“Like–”
Akna patted Kuni’s shoulder. “Why don’t we let her just watch. Okay, du?”
“Why?”
“Because she has probably already had enough attention for now and just needs to process it on her own.” She looked at Naoma but still spoke to Kuni. “Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“You really should check it out.” Then she looked at me. “You, too, especially.”
“What?”
Her voice wasn’t assuring. “You’ll see.”
“Thanks for the call, Kun,” Naoma said. “I’m glad you called.”
“Of course!”
“Not too boring there without me?”
“No, Abbas is making me read these old Amerkese things.”
“It’s kinda cute,” Akna said. “Now that Abbas doesn’t have to hide behind a Republic-born identity, he’s been working on revisiting classics in Republic history and such while teaching Kuni. Abbas seems to know everything already so I think the whole thing is just an excuse to seem humble.”
“Still going for that act?” I said.