Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(60)

Only the blue glow from the computer and the orange glow from the lava flows outside Mother’s window light the room. The computer immediately asks for a password. At first I panic. I have no idea what to do. One wrong move and I’ll set off a chain of events that will give me a one-way ticket to those lava flows. I close my eyes and take a deep breath to relax, then open them again, letting my instincts guide me on what to do.

But still, I barely breathe while I fight the computer.

My fingers fly over the holographic keyboard and my arm aches like a bad tooth, but I don’t dare stop. Even though I’ve never done this before, it’s like the codes and sequences are all there in my mind just waiting for me to use them. Somehow I know how to peel down each wall of security as if it’s an orange. Another lost memory? I don’t take the time to think on it. With every step I take forward to break the code, the more concerned I am the computer will tell Mother what I’m doing. Finally, just as another drop of sweat dribbles down my back, the desktop appears on the holoscreen. I cracked the password.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I do a search for the DNA files. I expect them to need passcodes as well and, when I finally find them, I’m not disappointed. I stretch my fingers and pop my knuckles. This is going to take more finesse. If I know Mother, she’s got fail-safes on them now. In case I find a way to get to them.

I start slowly tearing down each section of the security until finally—almost thirty minutes later and with stiff and aching fingers, head, and joints, including my shoulder that’s back to feeling like someone’s pressing salt into it—I’m looking at a list of every Citizen that has ever lived in Elysium. As Daughter of the People, this is the same list I look at every request day, to verify credentials for coupling. The only difference is this is the master list and can be altered, while my file was always just read-only, which gives me an idea. I do a search on Gavin’s and my names and put us back into the system.

Then I back out of the program, re-implementing the security around it, but changing the passcode. It’s not permanent, but depending on when Mother tries to get back in here, it should buy me enough time to escape Elysium. Well, at least, I hope so.

Then, even though I know this could backfire, I go and re-approve Macie’s Coupling License and stamp it. Then I even assign Nick and Macie new quarters. That way, by the time Mother figures it out, things will already be in motion and Mother will either have to go along with it or admit there was a clerical mistake. Something that never happens.

I smile. “Explain that one away, Mother.”

Now, I go after the gold. To find out the reason I’m still being Conditioned and the real way out of here. Like I told Gavin, I know she’s got to have a list of potential emergency exits. And baring that, maybe she has information on what exactly that EMF is at the exit and what it does, if anything. Maybe it’s just another of Mother’s scare tactics.

Finally, I find a folder labeled GENE MANIPULATION DATA.

I click on it. It brings up file after file after file of scientific jargon. Most of which is far above my head, but one of the files has my name on it.

Instincts humming, I open the file.

It brings up several more files. I click the first one dated several months before my birth.



SUBJECT 121:



Implantation of the female embryo, hereafter referred to as Subject 121, has proven successful. The host, while feeling the normal physical complications of gestation (i.e. morning sickness and fatigue), appears healthy. I will continue to monitor the host and embryo carefully for the rest of the first trimester, but if all goes well, we will continue medical exams as normal.



I know I’m not going to have time to read it all, so I scrounge around Mother’s desk until I find a data cube, then slip it into the data slot and hit copy on the file. I’ll read the rest later when I have more time.

While it’s copying, I search the computer for more damaging files against Mother, clicking copy on everything I think is relevant. I pause when I see a map of the facility. The entire building that makes up Sector Three is red. Staring at it, I ponder what that means, before hitting copy on that as well.

I glance back at the computer. Just as it finishes the download, I hear the telltale click of Mother’s shoes on the marble. I yank the cube out of the slot and then look for a place to hide. I’ve barely pulled my feet under the bed when she walks in. My arm is on fire and I can feel blood trickling down my arm, but I don’t even look at it. I don’t want to make a sound.

My heart pounds in my ears, but I’m still able to hear her muttering under her breath as her Maid flutters around her, telling her the details of the party she is to attend for Festival.

“Mr. Hummel will be there, and he’s requesting an audience with you to discuss some more funding allocations for his new project,” the Maid says.

“Yes, yes. That’s fine. Just not tonight. Make sure to schedule something for tomorrow.” Mother makes a sniffing sound and I wonder what she’s doing.

“Yes, ma’am. Also, Ms. Blackner will be there with her daughter, Seri.”

“And?” She sniffs again and pauses.

“You wanted me to invite them so you could look at the girl, in case…” She swallows audibly, and says, “She’s the one who aced Med Spec exams.”

“Oh right, right. Yes. Thank you.”