CHAPTER 3
Phantom is a being made of energy. A dark, coalescing creature who takes a vaguely human form every time I see them.
They sit behind a desk that is one-hundred percent set dressing.
I refuse to believe they haven’t made this office as a mockery.
But I sit down and play the game.
“How are you feeling, Jennifer?” Phantom’s voice crackles, like it’s being played over an antique radio.
It’s always strange when they use my real name. It doesn’t feel like Jennifer exists here.
“Frustrated.”
“I understand. I’d like to return you to full privileges, but I need one of two things to make that happen. Either, one of the medical staff needs to sign off… or we need to have a conversation.”
“What do you need to know?”
“Obviously, you’re not in trouble for choosing not to go into the booth today. That is not and never will be something you have to do but when someone comes in and is… absent like you were and they don’t seem to be themselves, I get concerned.”
“Your bots get concerned.”
“I am the bots. They are me… Technically.”
They say it so nonchalantly. “I don’t understand.”
“That’s okay.”
I swear I see them smile… even though they’re just darkness in the shape of a human body with lightning striking though them occasionally.
“What is wrong?” they ask. “And how can I help?”
There’s no point in keeping my problems to myself. “I told you when I started working here that I was doing it to pay off debts.”
“Yes.”
“I was almost done, and then someone decided to bury me again.”
I still don’t understand how she did it and I have to screw my eyes shut against the frustrated tears that want to well up.
There’s a faint static crackle in the air. “Is it safe for you to return to Earth?” Phantom asks.
“Yeah, I don’t think the bank is going to come for kneecaps…” I laugh, because I used to make jokes about the hospital repo-ing my knees.
The sound is bitter to my ears.
“Do you want to return to Earth?”
“What?” I blink at them.
“If returning to Earth causes this distress, I would be happy to discuss alternatives.”
“I could just stay?”
I know other human women who work at Phantom’s live on the station, but I’d never actually been told how or why.”
“It is an option. If you would like to remove yourself from those debts, we could discuss a… work visa.”
I laugh because those two words feel so utterly human, so steeped in bureaucracy that they feel wrong coming from an alien.
“You’re offering me the option to move here?”
“Yes.” They lean forward, a shifting shadow. “Your debts could not follow you here.”
But my guilt can.
Still, I consider it for a moment, wondering if I might wind up in an “owe my soul to the company store” situation if I was to accept that offer.
“You can think about it if you like.” They wave their hand toward the bulkhead and the station beyond it. “Take a day or two, explore the station, consider what you might gain from leaving those problems behind.”
“What kind of problems would I find here?”
“Only fun ones, I hope.” A silver bracelet appears on the desk between us. “Wear that and you’ll be able to go almost anywhere on station.”
I pick it up, trying not to think of it as a futuristic ankle monitor.
“Anything you need, charge it to me.”
“How will I know what I need to repay?”
“The next two days are completely free to you. There won’t be anything to repay.” They motion to the bracelet. “If you get lost and need to come back. Just tap it and someone will come to collect you.”
So… very much like an ankle monitor.
But if it’s the price to pay for free rein of the station… I slip the bracelet on and stand.
“I’ll think about it.”