Tosh stared at her, incredulous. She tried to imagine the young version of Elle confronted with such a dilemma. She couldn’t have known what her father was really up to, but she would’ve been inclined to trust him, and he wound up dead. That didn’t mean it was her fault, but Tosh could see in her eyes that she felt it was.
All eyes turned to Tosh.
She told everyone what happened the day before her parents disappeared in the FPC. Her research into her father’s movements revealed that he’d seemingly vanished near the multimeal processor, only to reappear in the same spot. But when he came to her, seemingly confused about where he’d been, she’d helped him — just as Elle did. Only that time, he didn’t come back and neither did her mother.
The story hung in the room for several seconds while everyone tried to process it. It was Greg, Vi’s father, who finally broke the silence. “You’re saying we all have these red Macros inside us?”
“Yes,” Owen said. “And if they lose the signal, they activate and kill us. That’s how the Box works.”
“And how they’d keep anyone from ever leaving the Dome,” Aaron added.
“After Dek isolated the signal, he made a device that would replicate it,” Owen continued. “We tested it on a mouse.”
“A mouse?” Susan asked, incredulous.
Of course. That must have been the real reason Dek had the mouse in the first place.
“Long story,” Owen said. “But he took it with him into the Box. As long as it worked like it should, he’s still alive.”
Elle said, “I think Cytocorp helped Luther smuggle his wife out of the Dome. Maybe even Owen’s father. Now they’re getting him out, too.”
“Where?” asked Aaron.
“To Pacifica.”
There was a collective gasp. No one believed Pacifica still existed.
“How is that possible?” Tosh asked.
“I don’t know exactly,” Elle said. “Some kind of train.”
“A train?” Greg said. “Now I’ve heard it all.”
“It’s possible,” Elle said. “They used trains to shuttle people and materials back and forth from the Northern Cities. Maybe they’re still there.”
“You’re the goddamned Administrator,” said Tosh. “How is this all news to you?”
“Everything I know comes from IDA and the Legacies, just like the rest of you,” she said. “If Cytocorp is still running the Dome Project, then they must have access to IDA, too.”
“You’re lying,” Tosh said.
Elle locked eyes with her and said, “I wish I was.”
“Okay,” Owen said. “Let’s say this is all true. There’s a train somewhere, Downing’s getting on it any moment, and Hideki’s not dead. What do we do about it?”
It was clear no one had the answer because they all just looked at each other.
“First we get Dek,” Tosh said, her eyes never leaving Elle. “Then we follow Downing out of the Dome.”
“Into the Burn?” Susan asked, pulling Vi close. “Are you insane?”
“There are climate suits. In case of a catastrophic infrastructure failure. They have oxygen,” Elle said.
“Suits? I’ve never heard of any suits,” said Byron.
Elle paused. “They’re for the Council.”
“Of course they are,” Tosh said.
“We’re wasting time!” Owen said, standing. Everyone turned to face him. “Listen, no matrix means no Macros. No Macros means we can’t fight infection. The Dome’s systems are failing. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be here when that happens.”
“He’s right,” Byron piped in. “The Dome’s on borrowed time and we all know it.”
Greg asked, “Are we really talking about… leaving?”
Owen continued, “I don’t think we have a choice. We need to know whether it’s survivable out there.”
“I saw a tree,” blurted Tosh.
Everyone shut up and stared at her.
“What did you say?” Byron asked.
“That day the shield went down,” she said. “I didn’t cover up because I wanted to see the real sky, just once. But just before the shield came back up, I think I saw the top of a tree.”
“That’s impossible,” Elle said.
“Is it? If Cytocorp has access to IDA, then they can feed it whatever data they want, including the Epoch readings,” Tosh said.
There was a long silence while this sank in, then Owen said, “I volunteer to follow Luther.”
“Well, obviously I’m in,” Aaron said. “Especially if it gets me out of work.”
“Anything to keep my family safe,” said Greg.
“I’ll go,” said Byron. “Susan can look after the girls until we come back.”
“No!” said Dee. “You don’t know whether you’ll come back. None of you do. We all should go.”
Byron was about to protest but she had a point. They had no idea what they were getting into, or whether it would even be possible to return if and when they got out. Vi clearly stood with Dee on this. Greg and Susan looked doubtful but didn’t protest.
“Are there enough suits for all of us?” asked Tosh.
“I don’t know,” Elle replied.
“Then it’s settled,” Owen said. “We get the suits, follow Downing out, then come back for everyone else. Give them the choice.”
“How do we know Downing hasn’t already left?” asked Byron.
“We don’t. But if the way out is where Tosh says it is, he couldn’t leave without being seen,” said Elle.
“So he needs a distraction,” said Owen.
“Not necessarily,” Elle corrected. “He’s Director of Security — he could order everyone out and make up any reason he wanted.”
“Third shift is the slowest in the FPC,” Byron said. “If I were him, I’d do it then.”
“Agreed,” Tosh said. “We’ll get the suits after curfew then get Dek out of the Box. Either way, we’ll all meet outside the FPC right after the shift change.” She turned to Elle. “How do we get inside?”
“I’ll take the transport corridor from the Stores,” said Elle. “It should be pretty much empty that time of day. I’ll open the door from the inside.”
“Okay then,” said Tosh, her eyes roaming over the room. “Owen, Aaron, Elle and I will get the suits and see about Dek. The rest of you, meet us outside the FPC around midnight.”
“Wait — won’t IDA know we’re all out after curfew? Together?” asked Susan.
“I’ll handle IDA,” Tosh assured her. “Eat a big dinner, cash in any Rewards you have and take as much food as you can. We don’t know when we’ll be eating again.”
Slow nods around the room. It all seemed so surreal. With Elle there, everyone Tosh truly cared about was with her. What they were talking about doing was scary and unprecedented, but it was also exciting. And excitement in the Dome, like just about everything else, was in short supply.
49
The undertaker’s truck came humming up to the back of the Quietus Center at exactly 11 p.m. as it had before. The odd, fastidious little man named Sam climbed out, opened the rear door of the truck, and his CHIT opened the rolling outer door for him.
Owen, Aaron, and Tosh stole across the rad and shuffled along the back of the Box until they reached the open door. There was a sharp metallic clang as the bolt of the heavy inner door released and a thin squeak as it swung open on its hinges. For a moment, there was only silence and Owen was gripped by terror. What if the device didn’t work? Or worse, what if it ran out of juice just moments before they arrived?
There were many scenarios in which Dek was dead and only one where he was still alive.