A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2)(13)
In this way, she found, her coned vision had a silver lining: she had to turn the kit’s head to look at things. As long as she stayed focused on the back of Pepper’s head, she could ignore the endless, edgeless clutter. Mostly. Somewhat.
She followed Pepper down the ramp into the tech district – the caves – and the kit sighed in tandem with Sidra’s relief. Ceilings and walls, and an immediate drop in temperature. The kit was self-cooling, so overheating wasn’t an issue, but the market’s climate was warmer than the inside of a ship should be. She’d had an errant external temperature warning needling at her ever since they’d stepped off the Undersea. She was very glad to see it disappear.
A shaggy Laru man leaned against a wall near the entrance, his limb-like neck bent low as he watched people come and go. His yellow fur was braided from head to toe, and he idly flipped a pulse pistol around one of his prehensile paws. There was a large warning sign on the wall beside him, written in multiple languages.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS CAN CAUSE HARM TO TECH, BOTS, AIs, MODDED SAPIENTS, AND SAPIENTS USING PERSONAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS. DO NOT BRING ANY OF THESE ITEMS INTO THE CAVES. IF ONE OR MORE OF THESE ITEMS IS IMPLANTED ONTO OR WITHIN YOUR BODY, DEACTIVATE IT BEFORE ENTERING.
Ghost patches (surface-penetrating ocular implants)
Hijacker or assassin bots
Hack dust (airborne code injectors)
Improperly sealed radioactive materials (if you’re not sure, don’t chance it)
Anything running on scrub fuel
Magnets
A handwritten message was scrawled beneath, in Klip:
Seriously, we are not f*cking around.
And below that, a second message, in a different hand:
Why is this so hard to understand?
The Laru’s wide eyes crinkled as they approached. ‘Morning, Pepper,’ he said, bringing his face respectfully down to her level.
‘Hey, Nri,’ Pepper said with a casual, friendly nod. Her demeanour had changed the moment they’d entered this place. Up on the surface, she moved like she was on a mission – chin up, feet fast, never stumbling as she ducked through every pause in the sapient stream. But as soon as they’d reached the entrance ramp, something in Pepper let go. Her shoulders loosened, her pace slowed. She sauntered.
The caves were every bit as labyrinthine as the market, every bit as busy and loud. Garish lights and pixel displays flashed in a chaotic array, and the air was overflowing with voices and mechanical noise. But this place was easier for Sidra, just as Pepper and Blue’s home was easier, just as the Undersea was easier. Everything here was something new, too, but the walls told her protocols where to stop. She’d only been on Coriol for a little over a standard day, but already, she saw patterns in the places that were relatively comfortable for her.
‘Hey, Pepper!’ shouted an Aandrisk woman unloading crates from a cargo drone. ‘Good morning!’
‘G’morning!’ Pepper drifted over to her. ‘Need a hand?’
‘Nah,’ the Aandrisk said. ‘That’s what bots are for.’ She nodded toward the small, bulbous squad working together to haul a crate into a shopfront.
Pepper gestured toward the kit. ‘Hish, this is my new assistant, Sidra. Sidra, this is Hish, owner of Open Circuit.’
Sidra flipped the kit’s hand into eshka – Aandrisk hand speak for nice to meet you. She was glad she’d taken the time to download such things.
Pepper raised her brow, but said nothing.
Hish returned eshka enthusiastically, then reached out to shake Sidra’s hand Human-style. ‘It’s a pleasure,’ she said. ‘Have you been to the caves before? I haven’t seen you around.’
‘I just got to the Port,’ Sidra said. ‘It’s my first time here.’
‘Oh, welcome!’ Hish said. ‘Where are you from?’
Sidra was ready for this. She pulled up the repository of technically-true responses she and Pepper had prepared together. ‘I was born on a long-haul ship. Decided to finally get my feet on the ground.’
‘Ahh, a spacer, huh? Any system in particular, or just all over?’
Sidra scrambled for an appropriate response. ‘I started out in the GC. I’m not a citizen, though.’ This seemed like an unnecessary point to volunteer, but Pepper had assured her this was the right track to head down. There are plenty of crazy Human isolationists doing who-knows-what out there, Pepper had said. If you were born here but aren’t a citizen, that means your parents didn’t register you. That’ll make people think your parents were fringers in the neighbourhood for supplies. And given that Human establishments on the other side of the fence are rarely anything anybody wants to discuss in casual conversation, you won’t get asked much beyond that.
Hish gave Sidra an understanding nod, proving Pepper right. ‘I gotcha,’ she said with a bittersweet smile. ‘Well, you could hardly ask for someone better suited than this one’ – she nodded at Pepper – ‘to show you the ropes. You got a place to stay?’ The question was asked calmly, but with unmistakable concern.
‘Yes.’
Pepper clapped the kit on the shoulder. ‘We’ve put her up. She’s going to get sick of me real quick.’
Hish laughed, then touched Pepper’s forearm. ‘You and Blue are good people. I’ve always said so.’ She straightened up, glancing at her heavily laden bots. ‘Well, I shouldn’t keep you two. Sidra, have a wonderful first day. And if you ever need comp tech gear, you come straight to me.’