A queer sci-fi story set in near-future Toronto, when corporations have gained control of the people.
Violet slept deeper than she had in years, waking up refreshed in spite of the scant four hours of rest. Work plodded by at an even pace as her mind flipped between dreamily replaying the events of last night and casually monitoring the movements of the Supervisors and Managers near the assembly floor.
Part of her was suspicious about how easy it had been to get access to the Manager’s office, to eavesdrop so efficiently on top-secret FPC business with relatively little effort. The other part of her bitterly concluded that this was how little the FPC worried about any sort of civilian backlash. The vast majority of people lived in squalor due to the FPC, in a near-constant state of apathetic intoxication. She made a mental note to move with more caution before banishing the thought from her mind.
Mercy had told her to wait two nights before returning to the Stronghold. Still, she couldn’t help but scan the stoop that night and the following morning in hopes that another message might be waiting for her.
What would it even say? she silently chided herself, thanks for the lay, can’t wait to storm the FPC with you? She was struck by just how mundane these thoughts were. Wrapped up in infatuation, rather than worried or numbed. It made her feel silly and alive.
At the end of the next day’s shift, Violet made her way back to the Stronghold. She took a less-direct route to the courtyard this time, hoping it might throw off any pattern-detecting capabilities the FPC cameras might have. She scanned her surroundings thoroughly before dropping down into the hole, coming once again face-to-face with Mercy.
“Well hey, Assembler,” her gravelly voice greeted quietly. The two women’s eyes met, but Violet couldn’t get a read on her. She’d hoped for a warmer reception. Did I completely imagine the other night?
She fell in step behind Mercy as they made their way to the Defiance headquarters, trying not to overthink the situation. The padlocked door opened, revealing RJ and two other people. All three looked battle-ready.
Mercy didn’t break stride, making her way deftly through the halls. “No time to waste, let’s get you suited.” A whirlwind of activity ensued as Violet swapped her regular clothes for the Defiance-issued garments, the other four clipping various implements to their utility belts.
“Oh, this,” Mercy gestured to the taller, balder of the two strangers, “is Athena, and this,” nodding to the shorter one sporting tied-up dreadlocks, “is Eve.” The three exchanged nonverbal greetings as Mercy continued. “They’re our dynamic break-in duo.” Eve jingled a set of metal implements on a ring as a she cocked an eyebrow, a mischievous flash crossing Athena’s face.
Mercy stood at the front of the armory, hands clasped behind her back. “Alright team, tonight’s mission is to gain access to the FPC plant at Bay and Bloor. Violet here has intel that this is where Attentrix is being produced, and we need to scope out the situation.”
She paced the dusty floor. “Violet is not as experienced at recon as we are, but she still has her FPC chip. That may come in handy, so we’re going to bring her along.” She turned to face Violet. “Your focus is to stay quiet and hidden. We’ll keep you positioned between me and Eve. Try to stay there.” Violet nodded her assent.
Mercy made her hand into a fist, extending it outward. RJ, Eve, and Athena followed suit, touching their knuckles to Mercy’s. Without gloves on, their chip scars stood in stark contrast to the surrounding skin, each one telling a story of how long it had been since extraction. Violet brought her own smooth hand in to complete the circle. A wave of shared knowing settled over the room before they broke the gesture in unison, hands dropping away.
Mercy strode towards the armory door, each of them sliding on a pair of gloves as they followed her to the tunnel entrance. A heady mix of excitement and fear crackled in the air, hinting at the danger and possibility they were moving towards.
Before long, they had made their way back to the same greasy bus terminal from the other night. RJ led the charge, directing the recon team through the shadows of Bay Street using short-hand signals. The journey north proceeded without incident, bringing them to the alley just behind the building they planned to enter.
Violet watched as Eve’s gaze snapped quickly around the space, no doubt calculating their next move. She pulled a small metal hook attached to a rope from one of her pouches, pausing before tossing it into the road a few feet in front of them. It landed with a barely audible clink. Eve pulled the rope, causing the hook to settle into a hole in a sewer grate.
The group watched on silently as one, two, three minutes passed. Then, Eve gave the rope one precise tug. The grate slowly leaned back, settling against the curb and exposing a very small, incredibly dirty hole down into the sewer.
Eve and Athena mobilized quickly, moving from the alley and sliding into the sewer at lightning speed. They disappeared, sealing the grate off behind them and taking the hook, erasing any evidence of their entrance.
RJ edged deeper into the alley, crouching onto their heels behind a stack of partially collapsed boxes. Mercy gestured for Violet to do the same, the trio making themselves comfortable for what Violet would soon realize was a long wait.
Just as she was beginning to get restless, they heard a scuttling out on the street. RJ manouevered a small mirror device out in front of the boxes, giving all three of them a glimpse at the tail-end of a massive ant as it rapidly made its way northbound.
A pebble hit the ground in front of Violet, provoking a small jump. Another small rock hit the ground beside RJ, prompting both RJ and Mercy to look up. Eve waved from a small window a dozen storeys up before dropping a thick braided rope down. RJ did a quick visual sweep, nodding at Mercy to signal all-clear.
Mercy scaled the rope fluidly, pausing to wave Violet up. Violet grabbed the rope, grateful for the grippy material of her gloves as she braced her feet against the concrete wall and began climbing. It was a lot harder than Mercy made it look, but she surprised herself with her strength as she slowly progressed upward, RJ in close pursuit.
She reached the window, grabbing Mercy’s hand and tumbling into the building. The space looked long-abandoned, save for an emergency floodlight down the hall. RJ entered behind her in one fluid movement. Athena coiled the rope together, compressing it into a surprisingly tight bundle before stuffing it into her pack. She motioned for the group to come closer.
“Okay,” she whispered into the huddle, “no FPC in here, but we did see some of those mega-bugs. Stay still and they won’t bother with you.” The light from the hall softly illuminated her head with an angelic glow. “We’re targeting a tunnel in the basement that runs into the Bay-Bloor plant. Clear?”
Violet, RJ, and Mercy each gave a tight nod. Athena led the way out of the room, each of the others falling into place behind her, Violet positioned in the middle. The group walked on the balls of their feet, descending the stairs with quiet efficiency. Violet noticed bits of the shiny black material they’d seen in the abandoned subway scattered all around. More than once, they passed open rooms containing the massive ant-beings, but they seemed to be dormant, unresponsive to their silent passing.
The basement was cavernous and empty, amplifying every sound with an echo. Thick cobwebbing hung from the ceiling, prompting uncomfortable thoughts of giant spiders to match the nightmare-insects elsewhere in the building. Violet shuddered.
The “tunnel” Athena had been talking about was nothing more than a rough hole blown through the building’s northeast wall. Uneven concrete and dirt paved the way into complete darkness. Eve flipped the switch on her headlamp, stepping into the low-ceilinged space without hesitation.
They relied on the single dim light, grasping the shoulder of the person to their front for guidance. The tunnel got smaller as they went, forcing them to crouch lower and lower. After a few moments, Eve slowed down, switching off her light. They were almost at the Bay-Bloor plant.
The hum of machinery vibrated all around them, punctuated by the muted footsteps of someone in the distance. Once the footsteps had grown quiet, Eve made a low crawl through the tunnel’s exit, emerging into a space obscured from the wider room by heavy wooden crates. The remaining four followed suit, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the narrow gap.
Eve signaled all-clear, leading the group along the perimeter of the room towards a slightly cracked door. A Supervisor sat in front of a huge bank of monitors, his stark-upright form eerily backlit by the electronic blue glow.
Mercy moved swiftly, silently bridging the gap before wrapping her arm around his neck, squeezing tight and clamping a hand over his mouth. He flailed for a minute yet Mercy held tight, her form unaffected by the much larger man’s jerky movements. He went still before Mercy lowered his unconscious body to the ground, shifting him under the desk so he wasn’t visible from the door. With the guard out of the way, Eve descended upon the computers, scanning each screen in search of something.
Satisfied with her findings, Eve rejoined the group in the hallway, Mercy right behind her. Violet noted a defunct access pad to the left of the door as she slid it shut, replicating the always-closed policy she had observed at her own plant.
Eve stabbed a finger into the air, then held up seven fingers. Seventh floor, she mouthed, indicating the stairway on the other side of the room. They made the trek, pausing only once to avoid detection by a patrolling Supervisor on the fourth floor.
They breached the landing of their destination floor, a small glimpse of its contents coming into view through the door’s glass pane. Though Mercy’s sharp inhale told Violet something was off, nothing could have prepared her the harrowing scene she saw unfolding in front of them.
TO BE CONTINUED