Tool

Chapter Six

She pulled out her own screen and checked her agenda. There in black and white was a message summoning her to the arena. How had that happened so quickly? "Crap," she said, for Jason's benefit. "I'm supposed to be at the arena this morning."

He laughed. "Got you doing the guided tour, have they?" he said. "Don't worry. It only lasts a couple of hours. They try and force everyone to do it. I think it's scare tactics, personally. Showing you how mighty the military are and all that stuff. That, and the elite who oversee the clones are pissed because they're stuck with them clones and want everyone important to see what a good job they're doing in the hopes they'll get promoted the hell out of there."

Aurelia shrugged. "Whatever. It can't be all bad, I guess. You're covering for me this morning—got anything you want me to look at before I go?"

He shook his head. "All under control. Oh, but before I forget, Elza was asking to see you yesterday. You should go up when you've got a minute."

"She okay?"

"Yep, should be working tomorrow or the day after, I think. We've told everyone she had the flu, so there should be no questions."

Aurelia smiled. "Good work." For all the medical advances made in the last few centuries, simple colds and flu were still incredibly difficult to treat, mostly because the genetic makeup of the viruses kept changing.

"Go on, then," Jason urged her. "Go see the pretty boys playing soldiers. I can take care of things here."

"I know," said Aurelia with a smile as she left. Jason was turning out to be a very competent med Worker indeed.

***

She arrived at the arena having little idea of what to expect, but keeping her fingers crossed that she would find Zak or he would find her. She presented herself to a sec Worker by the main door and was told to wait. Within a few minutes, a tall blond clone appeared. "Hi!" he said brightly, holding out his hand. "I'm here to guide you on your tour of the arena. If you're ready, let's go."

Aurelia barely had time to shake his hand, let alone say anything, as she was whisked away through a pair of swinging doors. The clone kept up a constant flow of chatter.

"Given that the military class are here to protect the workers and elites of both Lunar and Earth, we feel it's important that we're transparent about how your soldiers are trained and educated . . ."

His voice droned on, and Aurelia found herself being dragged through training locations and classrooms. Rows of young men sat or stood obediently everywhere she went, drilled with robotic precision, answered questions in synch; it was like a well-oiled machine. But Aurelia found it spooky. Sure, Worker schools were places of discipline too, but here there was no laughter, no playing, no differences. She hurried to keep up with her guide, who kept on talking.

She wanted to ask questions. She wanted to know where the small clones were; she hadn't seen anyone under the age of around ten or so. She wanted to know what they ate, where they slept, how they felt. Were they lonely? Questions ticked around her head, but she guessed it was probably for her own safety that the clone kept talking. Her questions could get her into trouble.

Finally, they had circled the arena and arrived back at the reception area. But they weren't done. The clone led her up the wide flight of stairs that she had once climbed with Nicholas, and she knew that they were going to the viewing decks surrounding the parade grounds in the center of the arena. Still talking, he led her about a quarter of the way around the circle before stopping.

"Maneuvers will begin shortly, if you wish to see them."

His voice told her she had no choice, so she sat on a bench and waited, though she had seen this show before with Nicholas. As the buzzer sounded and the clones began trooping out, her guide sat beside her on the bench.