“Oh, wow! It tastes disgusting!” He chuckled and ate some more, grimacing with each swallow. “Yes, it is absolutely horrible!” His pupils dilated as the opiates affected him. His next words were slightly slurred. “I’m getting a taste for this stuff. Want to try it? It’ll make you feeling immortal.”
“No,” I said, pulling away from him. “Why would I want to try something disgusting? I just want to get to the guildhall for my training. My mentor expects me on time.”
The guildhall was beyond the market square in the quieter southern quarter of the city, higher up the canyon’s side. It had been built a billion years ago by the unknown alien race that created the gateways. The direct route was blocked by a thousand market stalls, selling goods from countless worlds. Ten thousand humans and aliens were crammed into the lower city, eagerly seeking bargains and new experiences. I could hardly see the guildhall’s sixteen golden spires over the crowd pushing and shoving me. Someone elbowed me in the ribs. Hands brushed against my robes, trying to touch my breasts or steal something from me. I slapped them away, blushing, loathing this awful place. I was surrounded by perverts and thieves. I cursed my cousin for dragging me into this hell-hole against my will. I would rather have walked the long way over the six bridges.
“I’m going now,” I said. “I’m not going to be late. See you later.”
I turned away, but Paulo chased me. “Wait! We have plenty of time. Don’t you want to buy something from Ransor or Jarik Epsilon? See that memory vendor? It sells genuine historicals.”
I saw the high prices and shook my head. “I don’t have the money to buy anything. I’d prefer leaving with nothing than buy junk, anyway. Especially from an unlicensed memory vendor. A bad disk could fry my brain.”
Paulo rolled his eyes. “I got paid today. I’ll buy you a disk as a gift. I know you’re interested in galactic history. They might be something old from Earth or Mars or New California. At least look before saying no.”
Paulo could be very annoying, but he was right about my passion for history. But I wasn’t interested in buying a bootleg memory of someone’s birthday party or a wedding ceremony. I would have walked away, but I was feeling light-headed in the boiling sun. I had not been born with the constitution for the summer heat. The stall had a fan and an awning offering shade. For no better reason than to cool down, I browsed the racks of silver-cased memory disks, which had their contents written in Standard Galactic. The disks were categorised by planet of origin, then by subject, then the time of recording. I browsed through rows of Earth material, looking for something interesting, while the vendor studied me from behind a counter.
The vendor was a gangly Karrunian wearing shiny body-armour like a mediaeval knight, only with four arms. Two of the arms were attached to the shoulders, and two smaller ones waved on its head like feelers. A mirrored visor hid its face, but I sensed it looking at me through a dark slit.
“Can I help you?” it said through a translator.
“No–just looking.”
“Spicy memories for you.” A gauntleted head-hand waved towards a large section marked Erotica. “Excellent value.”
My cheeks burned. “No, thank you. I’m interested in historicals.”
“Ah! Have them too,” the vendor said. “Full-sensory recordings. Be Cleopatra, Queen of Ancient Egypt. Very popular title.”
Memory-recording devices had not been invented until the late twenty-third century, so the Cleopatra disk was an obvious fake, as were all of the ones supposed to show events from Earth’s early history. The vendor didn’t have any genuine Earth historicals, just fantasy re-enactments. I couldn’t see anything more pointless than buying a fake memory. I was disappointed. I was wasting my time. I had cooled down enough to move on, but my cousin was browsing the Alien Erotica section. I could see green tentacles on one lurid cover in his hands. I shuddered in disgust. “Let’s go.”
“Just a minute,” Paulo said, taking a dozen disks to the counter. “I’ll take these, please.”
“Superb choice, sir.”
I shook my head and turned away. I didn’t want to know what Paulo was buying. It would take a couple of minutes for his transaction. I spent that time idly looking along a rack of disks recorded locally. Paulo was almost done when I spotted a disk entitled TRALIAD AIRWALKERS: DANCE OF THE SEVEN ELEMENTS.
The date of the recording was marked on the disk, the day Marila disappeared.
As I read it, I felt faint and I almost passed out. I stared at it, checking the date again and again. I picked up the disk. The manufacturer information looked genuine. The disk was supposed to contain three hours of unedited memories recorded from the mind of a Traliad airwalker. The troupe had been performing during the time my sister had gone missing. It was too important to ignore. What if the recording showed what happened to her? The disk could contain vital evidence overlooked by the authorities.
I was breathless. I had to have the disk, even though it was expensive. I joined my cousin at the counter. He had promised to buy me something, so I added it to his purchases.
He frowned at the price. “You want that?”
I nodded, unable to speak for the thoughts pounding inside my skull.
Paulo shrugged. “Put this on my bill, please.”
The vendor bagged everything. Once we were on our way out of the market, the crowd thinning around us, I fished my disk out of the bag. “Thanks. This means a lot.”
I wanted to sample it there on the street, but I needed a quiet place and the free time to do it safely. Nobody tranced in public.
Reading the title of my purchase, Paulo looked puzzled. “Airwalking? What’s so special about that?”
“Nothing, but look at the date.”
Paulo frowned. “Sorry. Don’t get it.”
“Marila disappeared on that day.”
“Oh! Wow.” Paulo looked around and lowered his voice as though afraid someone was listening. “Do you think that will help you find her? Is that why you bought it?”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
“Don’t want to be pessimistic, but you’ve got to be realistic. Don’t get your hopes up. Your sister’s probably dead.”
“I know,” I admitted. “But if there’s even the slimmest chance–”
“I understand,” Paulo said. “I really hope you find something useful. I miss Marila, too. Let me know what you learn, okay?”
“I will, I promise.” We were nearly at the guildhall. I slipped the disk into my suncloak, sealing it in a pocket. Then I decided to have some fun messing with my cousin. “So, you’re into alien erotica, huh?”
“What? No! Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t buy those disks for myself.”
“Yeah, right. I believe you.”
“Really! The guys in my barracks love that sort of alien weirdness. I’ll make a good profit selling these disks to Franco or Zeech.”
“I understand completely,” I said. “You’re saying you’re not a perv, just a black marketeer?”
“I’m an entrepreneur,” he said. “You’re not going to say anything to Min, are you?”
Min was my best friend as well as my cousin’s girlfriend.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t tell Min about your tentacle fetish or your dodgy deals. She’s already got enough to worry about just going out with you, cuz.”
We said our goodbyes at the stone steps leading up to the guildhall. I watched Paulo heading in the direction of the naval academy, then I ascended into the shadow of the massive guildhall.