Aedre's Firesnake Read online

  Aedre’s FIRESNAKE

  RAYNER YE

  Copyright © 2020 by Rayner Ye

  The following book is fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, or transmitted in any form, digital or printed, without the written permission of the author.

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  Broken Heart

  Hot with fury, Aedre rode the lift up the clear stem of her family’s home pod. She entered the living area on the first floor and marched to stairs, encased in her home pod’s transparent shell.

  Her fiery curls recoiled as she stomped up and around the steep spiral, passing two middle floors. At the top, she bashed the inner shell with her palm. “Open!” An arch snapped open. She bounded through and dived onto her bed.

  She pushed herself up, grabbed her airSphere-remote, and then pressed the button. A head-sized sphere of light appeared midair. “Talk to Ting.”

  After a few buzzes, Ting appeared and gasped. “Oh, Aedre!” she said in three chiming syllables. “Look at your face. Whatever happened?” Her Maozong accent was choppy, like her personality. Aedre found comfort in it.

  “I’ve broken up with Tomin. He’s been cheating on me!” Aedre’s chest heaved.

  Ting cradled her face with her hands. “Goodness!”

  “I saw him kissing some blonde at the bottom of Hill Park. He didn’t bother denying it either. It was like he wanted me to see. He knows I practice Union at the top of the hill after work every day.”

  Ting’s small hands covered her chubby face, and she peered through her fingers. “Oh, dear. You been together four years. No respect.” She lowered her hands to expose narrow black eyes.

  Tomin had been her rock after the maglev suction tube accident two years ago, which had left her face scarred. Mum’s death had left her devastated.

  Tomin had stuck by her when she needed him most. He’d also given her space during those frequent moments when grief curled her into a tight ball. But he’d always been a womaniser, before and after her mum’s death.

  She turned her gaze to the pod’s transparent shell. Twilight darkened her room, and the sinking sun cast long shadows across her egg-tip penthouse.

  All around, pods, crystal skywalks, and maglev suction tubes lit the sky like fairy lights. Far below, pedestrians and hovers became shadows as the light shone from crystal paths beneath.

  “I should thank the girl. I can’t stand all his flirting anymore.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’m sick of my life.”

  “It can’t be so bad, surely. You still young.” Ting continued in short bursting tones. “At least you employed and have food, pod, and—” She removed a strand of hair from her face.

  A family, Aedre thought, with no mother.

  “At least you healthy.”

  Aedre slouched. “I miss my mum so much.”

  “Yes. I know. But the world is still beautiful. Look around you.”

  “I know, but I can’t see. It feels like I’m permanently wearing sunglasses, but it’ll never be the same brightness as it was before.” She looked at the symbols on her small altar: earth, water, fire, and air.

  “I so sorry. It’s terrible since your mum died.”

  “Nothing’s right anymore. Tomin’s broken my heart, I grieve daily, and I’m not following my dreams.”

  “You still not happy with your work?”

  “Of course, I’m not.”

  “Me neither.” Not much had changed since their days studying Urban Humanitarianism. Ting paused for a moment and stared off into the distance. “I never thought I’d live to see androids and robots take away all our jobs. Soon they won’t need humans anymore.”

  “And I’m only encouraging it by working for my dad. Pushing around a trolley of android parts isn’t exactly helping underprivileged humans. I feel like a traitor.”

  The only perk to her job was the view. The Android Recovery Centre was housed in a four-thousand-year-old building, Oxfire’s once-famous Bod library. Its dark corridors smelled of mildew, but she never tired of looking through the windows. The stone spires and gargoyle-clad architecture were preserved in Oxfire’s inner city.

  Ting shook her head. “You lucky your dad got you that job. Working for Oxfire Hi-Tec is very good.”

  Goosebumps pricked Aedre’s arms as she thought of Dad’s regard for the androids they assembled. “Wipe the androids’ memories,” he’d muttered to an engineer one time. “Don’t check once, check three times. This batch comes from slavers.”

  “Better than packing suction-tube deliveries like me,” Ting said, bringing Aedre back to the moment. “I ask you, how can humans be such cheap labour? My life is cheaper than a machine. If I lazy, I do nothing. No problem, government can give me money! But I Jerjen. Work is important, not being a lazy ass.” Ting’s cheeks dimpled as she giggled.

  “I know.” Aedre rose and stepped closer to Ting’s floating image. “We studied Urban Humanitarianism for a reason.”

  Ting rubbed her eye with a knuckle. “I stuck, too. My father won’t even pay for my return ticket to Kuanja. It’s only five light-years away, but he says I need to save my own money. Myself. By myself!” She opened her palms towards the ceiling and looked up as if talking to God. “My gosh, can you believe that? What is my father even thinking?”

  Aedre suppressed a smile.

  Ting laughed, black eyes glittering. “He has plenty of money. What to do?”

  Aedre tried to stay serious despite Ting’s eccentricity. Now was the right time to share her unspoken desire. “I’ve been thinking for a long time about whether we could travel seventeen light-years to Mayleeda.” She looked into the distance again, imagining life on that beautiful moon. “We could volunteer in an eco-community for rescued slaves. They have apprenticeships at FRAP.”

  “Oh yes, FRAP. Your dissertation, I remember.” Ting’s face grew dreamy. “Oh, Aedre. Yes, great! It sounds so great! My ancestors from Maozong in Mayleeda. Every Jerjen want to go there.”

  Mayleeda orbited a gas giant. The fertile moon was superior to all the seven inhabited worlds of Plan8. Mayleeda’s life-extending genetic engineering, technology, environmental sustainability, zero pollution policies, and anti-slavery laws amazed her. If she lived there, she’d choose to live on the side tidally locked to Tushing, the gas giant. How wonderful it would be to wake to that purple beauty in the sky every day.

  Ting’s expression turned to frustration, breaking the spell. “It expensive, though. Seventeen light-years would take—”

  “Four Nerthus years by cryosponge.”

  “Tachyon cryosponge for four years too expensive. Can be dangerous too. I became so plump when I came to Nerthus. You remember?”

  “I remember Ting. If I get fat, I can eat less and work out.”

  “Not easy. Not only that. I became more stupid. Kept forgetting things.”

  “What’re you talking about? You’re a genius.”

  “Higher chance of cancer, infertility, brain damage…”

  “Lots of people are fine. Sometimes you have to take risks to get what you want. Mayleeda has the best cancer treatment in Plan8. So if I get it, I’ll have easy access to treatment.”

  Ting sighed. “And the money?”

  “I’ve got compensation from the accident.” Aedre ran her fingertips over the scar, tracing the line of her upper cheekbone. Five centimetres long, it felt bumpy like a centipede.

  A shudder went through her from her terrible memory. The broken Maglev’s suction tube had cut into her cheek as she lay there
, struggling to hold onto Mum’s wrist. If only she’d been stronger. Mum had slipped from her grasp, fear on her face. She’d fallen so far, disappearing into the forest. The only sound was that of survivors’ screams and the howl of the wind.

  “Your compensation’s not enough. No one has enough! Only rich and famous.”

  “I’m going to ask my dad for an early inheritance. I’ll call you later.”

  She walked around and down the inside of her home pod’s shell. Pods near and far glowed in brilliant colours. Through transparent sections of their pods, families prepared supper. What secrets were being made in opaque areas?

  In a neighbouring pod, three children ran around in a soft play zone. Soundproofing was switched on, so Aedre couldn’t hear their squeals of delight. When they landed on padding, it rippled like water. A child tapped the floor and mouthed something. A transparent bouncy castle arose, and two older children raced towards it. A toddler had a tantrum outside it, kicking and rolling on the floor. The bouncy castle changed colours like a kaleidoscope as they shouted at each other.

  She found her middle two floors dark. The ground floor was mostly dark too, except for a section by the edge, where Dad sat watching the news. He’d enlarged and flattened his airSphere against the concave surface of the pod’s inner shell. The white light emitted from the floor and his chair made him look like a cosmic being.

  Since the accident, the central kitchen remained silent and dark. Before then, the warmth and fragrance of supper had filled the room pod at this time of day. The sweet smell of baking roots and deep, pungent aromas of spiced meat stews. Her mother would be busy chopping vegetables and keeping up a lively chatter with her family. If Dad hadn’t returned from work, they’d talk in Mayleedian, her mum’s native language.

  She missed listening to her voice more than anything, whether speaking in Mayleedian or her grammatically incorrect Enderlish. She’d been such a talkative person, full of songs and always speaking her mind—the centre of everything. Now the kitchen was silent and lonely, like Aedre’s heart.

  Dad turned around to meet her eyes, his armchair rippling and moulding around him to suit his new position. Bloodshot eyes in his haggard face held her gaze. A half-emptied bottle of sea soda stood on his coffee table next to him. He tapped his foot, and a tall glass lamp rose above her, dispelling shadows with a soft glow.

  “I’ve finished it with Tomin. He’s been cheating on me.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” He shook his ginger head as if it might help him shake his drunkenness away.

  “But there’s more to life, isn’t there?” She paused, wondering whether it was appropriate to say what was on her mind. “I mean there’s more to life than living and working in Oxfire, getting married, buying a home pod, and having children.”

  Dad muted his airSphere. “That’s your choice, Aedre. I never liked your Tomin. There’s always been something about him I don’t trust. I like his mum, though. She’s a good woman. His dad’s a bit peculiar.” He straightened, rested an ankle over a shin, and poured a fresh glass of sea soda.

  Aedre tapped her foot. “Cosy seat.” A chair lifted from the floor, and she sank into it. It swamped her body, and her feet lifted. “Shrink to five foot three. No light.” It decreased to contain her petite body.

  “Now, Tomin aside.” He cleared his throat. “What I’m more concerned about are your job prospects.” He cleared his throat again. “How many jobs have you applied for?”

  Oh, here we go again, she thought. “Eighteen.”

  “And any interviews?”

  “No.”

  “Your sister’s been offered five different positions with prestigious pharmaceutical companies.” He peered over his glasses. “Yes, your sister’s doing well. It’s to be expected. After all, she is intelligent and did choose the right Hi-Tec subject for success in life. No android can compete in verbal communications for sales yet.”

  She stared at Dad, wishing she could afford to live elsewhere. “Let’s hope that no one finds a way to improve it in this lifetime then.”

  “By the time anyone does, she’ll have enough savings not to worry about that possibility. There’s no doubt she’ll have enough money to give me two grandchildren on her salary alone. Soozan will be earning at least fifty thousand a year.” He cleared his throat again. “While you—on the other hand—are presently earning eighteen.”

  Heat flooded her face. Instead of stomping off in a rage, she squeezed the back of her aching neck, breathed deeply, and composed herself.

  “Okay. You’re right.” With a tight jaw, she spread her fingers out on her knees. “But instead of making a lot of money, I’d like to help people.”

  “You need money to have children.”

  “I don’t want children.”

  “You will in the future.”

  “I know what life path I wanna follow now. I wanna join FRAP.” She waited for him to ask her what it was, but he didn’t. “It stands for—”

  “I know what it stands for. Show me.”

  She took out her airSphere-remote, found the link, and flicked it onto his airSphere. He motioned for his airSphere to peel itself off the pod’s inner shell, then proceeded to expand and pull it to where he sat until it surrounded his body. He broke the silence now and then by clearing his throat.

  ‘Female Rights And Protection’ had several divisions. She wanted to volunteer in one of the eco-communities alongside rescued Plan8 sex slaves.

  Dad flattened his airSphere against the shell again and looked at her.

  She shifted under his gaze. “I can’t afford to get there. But if I could, I’d make a new life for myself, and have the career I’ve always wanted.” She struggled to continue and waited for a response, but none came. “It was only a dream before. But now that I’m not attached to Tomin, I was hoping you might give me some of my inheritance now instead of later.”

  “Not a chance.” He swigged his sea soda and looked away.

  She straightened and tugged at her sleeve. “Please, Dad. I’m so stuck here. It would set me up for life. Ever since I was a child and watched that news documentary with you about human trafficking, my wish has been to rescue slaves.”

  “I can’t remember letting you watch that.”

  “Come on, Dad. You used to let me stay up late and watch all sorts when Mum worked night shifts at the hospital.”

  Dad cleared his throat and nodded.

  “This is the closest opportunity I have to follow my dream.”

  “Dreams, Aedre, dreams. That’s all life has ever been for you. Don’t you think it’s time to get your head screwed on and find a job that’ll pay you well?”

  “What’s wrong with dreams?”

  “Nothing, if they bring you money.”

  “I don’t care about money.”

  “You shouldn’t ask for early inheritance if you don’t care about money. It’s money that makes Plan8. Money is security. FRAP needs money to support these migrants too. Why don’t you save and donate instead?”

  Heat pulsated in her head and chest as she glared at him. “If you won’t help me, I’ll find a way. I need to get away from you for a start! Your drinking makes me feel so sad. Even before mum died…”

  “Don’t you dare bring your mum into this! I don’t want to hear about her.” He drained his drink. “And I don’t want to hear about your fantastical dreams of saving humanity either.”

  Dad rarely raised his voice. No use in continuing. He was as stubborn as she. All her hopes evaporated when he switched his airSphere on again.

  She retreated to her room. She left it dark with a transparent shell, so neighbouring pods cast shafts of colour onto her carpet. An opaque shell would only add to her loneliness. Her chest was about to explode. Her mother wasn’t alive anymore, and Dad wasn’t there to offer support and strength. Tomin was supportive, but now he was shagging another woman.

  She fell to her knees in front of her altar and clutched a wooden statue of a woman. “Mother Nerthu
s, please help me.” She placed the Goddess beside a bowl of water, feather, and candle, then rested on her back.

  She cleared her thoughts and focused on her breathing. In her mind’s eye, light from the planet’s core arose through magma, crystals, rock, soil, and finally into her heart. The white light intensified and expanded throughout her body and aura until every shadow disappeared.

  She released her spirit into the Otherworld and emerged onto a path in a pine forest. Cool air filled her nostrils and lungs. Sand slipped through her toes as she stepped forward.

  Loud flapping came from overhead. In a flurry of white feathers and wings, Sharr Shuvuu, her spirit guardian, landed. The young owl woman and had a heart-shaped human face. Feathers covered her human torso and breasts, and her feet and legs were pale and bare.

  Aedre fled into the warm, safe embrace of Sharr Shuvuu’s wings. Tears wet her face and hair, soaking through her spirit body, filling her with warmth and sadness.

  “You came to me at the right time, Aedre. You must leave Nerthus immediately. Your destiny will be dire unless you listen to my words.” She cupped Aedre’s face in her soft human hands. Her huge brown eyes carried unshed tears and reflected nothing but trees. “You must break all hearts to break the chains.”

  Aedre’s spirit body was so tense her veins and arteries felt as if they would explode through her skin. Her physical body remained relaxed on the floor. “I have no money.”

  “Money’ll have no gain. You’re looking in the wrong direction. Mayleeda’s not the way.”

  Aedre’s head throbbed. Sharr Shuvuu tilted her face towards a bright blue sky as if she was ready to leave.

  “But I could help rescued slaves, Sharr. I wanna help.”

  “You need to listen to me. Mayleeda’s not the way.”

  “Where should I go, Sharr?” Aedre offered her a white rose from light in her heart.

  “Neither Nerthus nor Mayleeda. Keep your rose. You need it more than me.”

  Aedre’s airSphere pulsed when she returned to her body. She stood and put her hand into it. “Accept.”