Gameboard of the Gods

CHAPTER 14 JUSTIN’S FAVORITE MEGALOMANIAC

“What the hell happened to you?”

Cynthia nearly dropped her frying pan when Justin stumbled into the kitchen. Tessa looked up from the toast she was too nervous to eat and immediately saw what had caught Cynthia’s attention. Justin looked pale and haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. He was dressed and groomed to his usual standards but was far from his dazzling self.

“Bad trip,” he said.

Cynthia gave him a wary look. “What kind of trip?”

“The one where I battle it out with volatile religious nuts to protect the way you live. Ask Mae. She’ll tell you.” He started to trudge off down the hall and then noticed Tessa in her maroon school uniform. He patted her shoulder. “Good luck today, sweetie. You’ll do great. I can’t wait to hear the recap tonight.”

She gave him a brave smile and nodded.

Although Tessa could understand Justin’s emphasis on getting a formal Gemman education, there was a part of her that thought she could absorb just as much by staying at home with the stream. She spent hours on it every day, amazed at what she learned from both its entertainment and reference options. She had yet to find a topic the stream didn’t cover. Some days it was almost overwhelming—but she loved it.

Still, she had to remember that the whole reason she’d been allowed to come to the RUNA was because of a student visa. Studying at home was a valid option in Panama—the only one, actually, for ladies of her class—but here, the country’s standardized education system was the path available to her.

“No private schools?” she’d asked Justin when they’d toured their suburb’s high school last week. There were fledgling public schools in Panama, but New Money and the upper middle classes often opted for a slightly more elite choice, if they could afford it.

“None that would let you in. But don’t worry—public education’s outstanding. It’s standardized across the whole country, even for castals and plebeians. Builds the national identity.”

That identity was becoming more and more apparent. Even someone like Mae, who’d been raised in a unique cultural environment, still had a strong sense of national pride instilled into her that had existed long before her military service. The RUNA held three things responsible for the Decline: biological manipulation, religion, and cultural separatism. All of the early genetic mixing had gone a long way toward stamping out group solidarity, and the loose Greco-Roman models the country had adopted had provided a new, all-encompassing culture that everyone could be a part of.

Tessa still wasn’t sure she agreed with all those principles, but it was hard to overlook the fact that the RUNA had become the most advanced country in the world.

The school had still been on holiday when they’d toured it last week, and Tessa grew nervous as she imagined those vast halls filled with students. She’d gotten better about dealing with the crowds in the city, but sometimes, claustrophobia still kicked in. The principal had made a special appointment with them, coming into the school on her day off. Tessa quickly realized that was because of Justin’s profession. People weren’t afraid of servitors the way they were prætorians, but there was definitely a lot of respect and awe.

“We’ve never had a provincial in all the time I’ve been here,” Ms. Carmichael had said, studying Tessa as though she were some new species. Another thing Tessa had learned was that all things non-Gemman were called provincial—and it wasn’t a flattering term. They all seemed to use it without thought. “I’m sure it will provide a unique learning experience for the other students…though I worry about your ability to, uh, fit into the classes here, dear.”

Tessa had picked up on the subtext. Like Justin, Ms. Carmichael believed Tessa’s education had involved “insipid reading and remedial math.” After some assessment, both Justin and Ms. Carmichael had been surprised to learn her literary and composition knowledge was up to par. But, to Tessa’s chagrin, her math skills were indeed remedial.

Now Tessa’s first official day had finally arrived. Both Justin and Cynthia had offered to escort her, but Quentin had informed her that would only attract more attention and was most decidedly “uncool.” Despite his young age, he hadn’t yet led her astray, so she followed his advice.

Ms. Carmichael had assigned her a guide for her first day. Melissa was bright and beautiful and seemed to embody every quality of the perfect Gemman girl. Although she was polite enough, it was obvious that she too regarded Tessa as some kind of freak of nature. She also seemed to think Tessa was five years old and deaf.

“This is a locker,” Melissa said, speaking more loudly than necessary, even with the din around them. Her words were also exaggerated and slow. “It holds your stuff. You have to open the door first. Put your hand over the lock, and it’ll read your chip. That’s the thing that’s in your hand.”

Tessa had already learned locker operation on her tour. Although there was nothing comparable in Panama, it wasn’t exactly a difficult thing to figure out. Still, she smiled at Melissa and said, “Thank you.”

“What did you say?” asked Melissa.

“I said, ‘Thank you.’” Melissa kept asking Tessa to repeat herself, claiming the accent was hard to follow.

“You’re welcome,” Melissa practically shouted.

Despite the condescension, Tessa was glad to have Melissa taking her to classes. The halls were as crowded as Tessa had feared, and the uniforms everyone wore made it worse. It all looked the same, making it difficult to pick out points of reference.

“This is your English class,” Melissa said when they reached the first room on Tessa’s schedule. “This is where you read books. Books have words in them and tell stories or facts.”

“Thank you,” said Tessa.

“What?”

The classroom was sleek and gleaming, filled with the same white light and metal that permeated most Gemman public spaces. Students sat at desks with built-in touch screens and were ready with readers and egos. No one paid much attention to her as she and Melissa entered, and Tessa hoped she might just slip into a desk in the back where she could quietly take in this new world. Unfortunately, their teacher—who’d been briefed on his new student’s background—decided to utilize her arrival as a learning experience.

Mr. Lu made her stand at the front of the room until soft chimes heralded the beginning of class. The students fell silent, and twenty sets of eyes focused on her.

“Everyone, we have a new student joining us. This is Teresa Cruz, who has come all the way from Panama.”

All those eyes widened, and suddenly, she could see them judging everything about her. There was something in their faces that made her think they’d expected her to show up in fur and feathers—which, perhaps, wouldn’t have been that out of line for someone from Europe. Aside from her hair, Tessa felt confident that the rest of her looked no different from anyone else.

“Teresa, what can you tell us about Panama?” Mr. Lu wasn’t quite as bad as Melissa, but he too spoke a bit more slowly to her than he had his other students.

Tessa had no idea what he expected. Some sensational, sordid tale? Or maybe a confession of how much more amazing the RUNA was? Her hesitation only made her that much more conspicuous, so she blurted out the first neutral thing she could think of. “It’s in Central America.”

Mr. Lu gave her a kind smile. “That’s very nice. Why don’t you take that desk over there?”

Tessa slinked away, though she knew she was still the center of attention. Some students were at least discreet about their examination. Others stared openly, making no secret of their fascination.

They were in the middle of reading a book by a famous Gemman novelist that Tessa had acquired and read in advance. Rather than letting her listen in merciful anonymity, however, Mr. Lu kept stopping class to ask her if she knew how to use the reader and desk screen. Tessa kept nodding and thanking him for his concern.

The rest of her classes passed in a similar way, with other “helpful” teachers embarrassing her. By the end of the day, she found that word of her arrival had spread, so that her classmates were waiting for her to show up and do something savage.

She felt a little bit of pride at her ability to keep up with English and history. She especially liked the latter since it filled in some of the gaps she had about Gemman culture. Melissa was in the same class and had again felt the need to explain how it worked.

“This is history. It’s about the past. We’re learning about the RUNA’s formation after the Decline and how the castes happened. Do you know what ‘caste’ means? They’re groups that didn’t have to follow the mandates because they helped fund the early government. We read books in here.”

Tessa simply nodded her thanks for fear of having to repeat herself.

Math proved to be a dismal experience, but her self-esteem was boosted in advanced Spanish. Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been placed in it. Spanish was her first language, whereas her classmates were still learning and working on translation. Her teacher kept making her say things but would always remind the others, “She has a provincial accent, so make sure you stick to the standardized one.” She would then helpfully try to correct Tessa’s pronunciation.

By the time she reached her last class of the day, Tessa was exhausted. One more class, she kept telling herself. One more class, and you’re free. This is the worst day. It can only get better now.

After the usual embarrassing introduction from the teacher, she took a seat near the middle of the room. Unlike the other classrooms, biology had no desks. They all sat at long tables with the usual touch screens, as well as another device Tessa didn’t recognize. It was round and metal, set with a piece of glass, also round, on top. Tessa could freely admit this was probably beyond her. She clung to the hope that if she studied enough at home, she’d eventually catch up. Cynthia had gruffly offered to help.

Their instructor immediately launched into a discussion of Cain, apparently following up on a lecture that had begun yesterday. Everyone knew about Cain in Panama, and Tessa started to relax, thinking she was in familiar territory. But as the lecture became increasingly technical, discussing how the disease operated at the genetic level, Tessa knew she was once again out of her league. Things grew worse when they received their assignment and Tessa learned what the round device did.

It created a three-dimensional image in the air, showing a model of Cain’s proteins and mutations. Manipulating the model proved to be challenging. The image had no substance, of course, but the projector could detect hand movement and “touch,” allowing the model to be rotated as needed. The technology was still new in the RUNA, so there was a bit of a trick to it. The other students had practiced before, but Tessa couldn’t quite get the hang of it. She didn’t seem to touch the image in the right spots to trigger detection, and more often than not, her hand passed right through it. Her classmates had no difficulty jumping right in as they worked through their assigned questions and problems.

After a day of being told how to use technology she’d already learned, Tessa had finally hit a wall. She knew if she went to her instructor, he’d find someone to help her—but that would draw unwanted attention to her and confirm everyone’s suspicions about the primitive girl from the provinces. No one had seemed to notice her difficulties—yet. They were all consumed with their own tasks, many of them chatting with friends as they worked. Tessa continued trying to doggedly manipulate the model, only succeeding about a third of the time. When she was able to manage it, she could barely understand the related questions, making the whole exercise kind of futile.

Panic hit her. What was she doing here? Her superficial features might have looked plebeian, but there was always going to be something that made her “other.” It didn’t matter if she wore the same uniform as everyone else in the school. The maroon pants and white shirt weren’t going to disguise what she was. And it wasn’t even her hair or accent or lack of technical skills that really made her stand out. It was something more intangible, an attitude and demeanor that screamed to the world that she hadn’t been born and raised in this glittering, frenetic society. The students here were just like everyone else she’d seen in the RUNA: confident, purposeful, and so certain of their superiority over the world. Tessa was never going to possess that air.

Clenching her hands, she took a deep breath and tried to seize control. She remembered the way Justin had fought for her with her parents and how proud he’d been when taking her to tour the school. More important, she couldn’t shake the way he kept calling her his prodigy. She didn’t really know if she believed that, but the thought of going home and telling him she couldn’t do any of this was unbearable. Another breath calmed her, and she resigned herself to asking for help, no matter how humiliating it was.

But when she went to the front of the room, she found her teacher deeply engaged with another student. Standing around made her self-conscious, so she returned to her table to wait her turn. Behind her, Melissa had taken a break in her work—or maybe even finished—and was talking to a cluster of friends.

“I can’t understand anything she says,” she told them. “And I’m pretty sure she doesn’t get half of what we’re saying. I don’t think they have electricity there.”

“Did you see her with the hologram?” asked another student.

Someone else laughed. “She probably thought it was some sort of vision. They’ve got crazy beliefs in the provinces.”

Melissa sneered, marring her pretty features. “Well, I’m just glad I don’t have to drag her around tomorrow. If I have to look at that hair one more—”

She froze, her smile slipping as she noticed Tessa watching. Melissa flushed, embarrassed at being caught. Then she became equally conscious of her friends and pushed aside her chagrin. “Well?” she demanded. Gone was the friendly peppiness from before. “What are you staring at?”

When Tessa said nothing, one of Melissa’s friends nudged her. “Forget it, Mel. Look at her. She didn’t even understand what you said.”

“I can understand bitchiness in any language,” Tessa said. A few seconds later, she added, “Do you need me to repeat that more slowly?” She kept her face cold and unrevealing, something she’d picked up after days spent around people who excelled at hiding their thoughts.

Melissa’s face said that she had indeed understood. “Who are you calling a bitch?”

“Who do you think?” asked Tessa, growing emboldened. “That’s rhetorical, by the way. It means you don’t have to answer.”

Part of Tessa knew she needed to stop. She was only digging a bigger hole for herself. Melissa didn’t seem like the type to defend her honor with fists, not if the way she pranced and kept checking her hair was any indication. But there was a malevolent look in her eyes that made Tessa think Melissa was very likely the type to take revenge in far more subtle and insidious ways. Fists might have been easier.

“That’s the part Melissa doesn’t understand,” a new voice suddenly said. “How not to answer. She can’t keep her mouth shut—just ask Silas Moore.”

Melissa glared as one of her friends snickered, and then she turned her fury on the girl standing beside Tessa. “Shut the hell up, Poppy! Everyone knows what you did last weekend.”

“Funny,” said the girl called Poppy. “How come no one ever brags about what they do with you? They always just look kind of sad and disappointed.”

“Ladies, why are none of you working?” That was Mr. Rykov, striding toward them. Melissa and her friends immediately began to disperse. Poppy, however, turned toward him and looked him squarely in the eye.

“Just helping Tertia, Mr. Ry,” she said brightly. “That’s the kind of person I am.” She reached toward Tessa’s model and deftly flipped the molecule over.

Mr. Rykov looked suspicious. “Well, I suppose that’s—you have that abhorrent makeup on again! I told you not to come to class like that. You’ll be serving detention with me tomorrow.”

“Can’t. I’ve already got another one. But I’m free on Thursday.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Thursday. Now get back to work, and try to accomplish something productive with your last ten minutes.”

When he was gone, Poppy turned to Tessa. “You know why he didn’t ask me to do detention today? Because everyone knows he goes and fucks Ms. Braeburn on Tuesdays. It’s the day her husband works late.”

“Oh,” said Tessa, not entirely sure how else to respond. “I see. Well, um. My name’s not Tertia. It’s Teresa. Er, Tessa.”

“Got it,” said Poppy. “Let’s knock the rest of this out.”

Without further comment, she took over Tessa’s workstation and began entering in answers as she worked through the assignment. Tessa leaned over to watch her, amazed at how much Poppy accomplished in so little time.

The “abhorrent” makeup was heavy black eyeliner and hot-pink lipstick that matched the streaks in Poppy’s short, spiked hair. Justin was always going on about how refined Gemmans were, but apparently, he only meant his own demographic.

Chimes signaled the end of the school day, and Poppy stepped back. “Damn. Well, that’s most of it. I don’t think he’ll really care what you turn in anyway. You heard those assholes. No one here even thinks you can read.” She suddenly paused. “You can, right?”

Tessa sighed. “Yes. And I’m fluent in English, even though I have an accent.”

Poppy shrugged. “The accent’s cool.”

“I still want to finish this. How do I bring it home?” Tessa gestured to the screen Poppy had entered the answers on. So far, all of Tessa’s work had been completed in class, and she’d simply been able to send it from the screens to her teachers.

“Easy.” Poppy took Tessa’s ego and held it over a small panel. A few taps on the screen, and it went blank. She handed over the ego. “Done. Just upload later. Your model will only be 2D there, though. Unless you’ve got a projector.”

The luxury house had many amenities, but Tessa hadn’t seen anything like the projector. Thinking of how little she understood, she said, “I don’t think it’ll matter.”

Poppy gathered up her things. “Where do you live?”

Although Justin refused to call it anything except “the suburbs,” Tessa had recently learned the name of her neighborhood. “Cherrywood.”

“Hey, me too. We can walk there.”

Poppy headed off as though it were a done deal. After a bit of hesitation, Tessa followed. She’d ridden the bus this morning. It was another automated vehicle but one that had a supervisor to keep students in line. True, the distance to school hadn’t been very long, but no one like her would walk that far alone in Panama. Poppy had no fear, however, and neither Justin nor Cynthia had seemed to care how Tessa traveled, so long as she made it to and from school.

Poppy lit a cigarette as soon as they were three blocks away. Smoking was a lot less common here, and Justin had held good to his commitment to quit. Those who did smoke were very respectful of laws about where it was allowed, and they always cleaned up after themselves.

Tessa soon discovered Poppy had no sense of personal boundaries. She peppered Tessa with questions about Panama, but it seemed to be out of friendly curiosity and not some sort of perverse condescension. Poppy’s reactions ran the gamut of emotions as the many rumors she’d heard were either confirmed or denied. She seemed legitimately disappointed to hear particularly savage stereotypes dismissed—but that was matched by supreme delight at other revelations.

“Really?” she asked. “No gun laws?”

“No. I don’t even know how they’d enforce one. You can get guns anywhere.”

“Not here.” Poppy sounded wistful. “They’re hard to smuggle in, and production is pretty closely watched. I wouldn’t mind learning to use one.”

“Join the military,” suggested Tessa.

“Nah. I could never follow all those rules. This is where you live?”

Tessa had come to a stop in front of her house. “Yup.”

Poppy gave a nod of approval. “Wow, nice. Your parents must have made out pretty good back in the provinces.”

“I live here with friends.”

“Cool.” Poppy brightened. “Are you like some orphan rescued from the wild streets?”

It was hard keeping up with her sometimes. “Not exactly. My parents are still back there.”

“Okay, that’s cool too,” said Poppy. “You want to get some coffee before school tomorrow?”

Did she? Tessa wasn’t sure at first, but then she decided she might as well. Poppy was the only person who’d treated her like a human being today, and besides, she seemed like she might be a good person to have around if Melissa did come after her. Tessa accepted, and Poppy told her she’d be back at six thirty.

As she approached the house, Tessa was greeted by the astonishing sight of a man sitting on the front step. She hadn’t noticed him from the street. Seeing her, he flashed her a grin and leapt to his feet. Tessa came to a halt on the walkway, too nervous to proceed. She guessed he was Justin’s age and possessed the same powerful presence, albeit in a different sort of way. He was tall and broad chested, wearing a gray T-shirt that showed off his extraordinarily muscled arms. His features were plebeian, tan skin and brown eyes, though his long hair had been dyed blond.

“Finally,” he said. He had a rich voice, one that urged her to relax. It only made her more uneasy. “I was about to give up. Is my good friend Dr. March here?”

“Y-you’re friends with Justin?”

“Yes, of course. He’s my favorite servitor, you know. I’ve missed seeing him. I’d gotten used to his yearly visits, and then poof! Off he goes without a trace. I was hurt. His replacement was a huge disappointment.”

Tessa really had no idea what the correct response to that was. “Who are you?”

He extended a polite hand, one she paused before taking. “You, sweet child, can call me Geraki.”

“Oh. I’m Tessa.”

“They told me he had a protégée, but I didn’t expect someone like you. It’s very charming. And intriguing.” Behind that amiable face, Tessa caught a glimpse of something shrewd and dangerous.

“He’s not here,” she said. She pulled her hand back from his strong grip and looked around nervously. One of their neighbors was outside working in her garden, which made Tessa feel a little more secure. She could also see a couple of kids walking home from school, which meant Quentin would be back soon. Cynthia had said she’d be home around the same time. “He probably won’t be back for a while. He’s out of town.”

“Shame. I’d really hoped to catch up with him.”

“He’s got a prætorian with him.” She didn’t entirely know what made her blurt that out or why it ended up sounding like a challenge.

Geraki chuckled. “I heard that too. Amazing how he pulled that off.”

“He didn’t request it.” Tessa knew that much at least about Justin and Mae’s odd relationship. “I think it just happened to him.”

“Things ‘just happen’ to him a lot, and he doesn’t even realize it. Or, if he does, he thinks it’s all due to his cleverness.” Geraki sighed and shook his head. “I tell you, the ravens are wasted on him, but who am I to dictate to higher powers?”

Tessa was growing increasingly panicked. “Look, Mr. Geraki—”

“Just Geraki, please.”

“Geraki, I have to go.” She prayed he wouldn’t try to stop her. Surely the neighbor would do something if she screamed. “Maybe you can call him.”

Geraki’s lips twisted into a half smile. “I’m not sure he’d take my calls. Still, I’ll leave you to your affairs. Tell him I said hello. And ask him why his employers have gone on a hiring spree.” He swept her a gallant bow. “It was lovely meeting you. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

And with that, he stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and strolled away, whistling as he walked. Tessa watched him for a few moments and then hurried inside, locking the door.

Cynthia and Quentin arrived within the hour, making Tessa feel a lot safer. She hesitated to tell Cynthia about Geraki without first speaking to Justin. Besides, Cynthia wanted to hear all about Tessa’s experience at school. When Tessa finished her generously edited report, she found Cynthia had had her own academic experience.

“I had my first class.” She didn’t seem entirely pleased about that. “I’ve been trying to make this work for four years, and then my big bad brother waves his hand and gets me in within four days.”

Tessa had heard pieces of this story before but never understood the full thing. “At…the university?”

“Yup.” Cynthia opened up the pantry and began adding up dinner options.

With the way Cynthia oscillated between kind and prickly, Tessa always hesitated to solicit personal information. Curiosity won out this time. “Don’t people usually go to college earlier?” She’d nearly said “younger” but thought that would be rude.

Cynthia snorted and dumped a bag of vegetables onto a cutting board. “They do.” She glanced briefly toward the living room, where Quentin was watching a show. “And they usually put their kids in national day care while getting an education. But I had an unusual husband who wanted me to stay home until Quentin went to primary school.”

Tessa forgot about Geraki. She’d never heard the story of Cynthia’s husband, only that he had died when Quentin was very young.

“In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad thing.” Cynthia’s expression softened a little. “I liked being home with him. But it meant I missed my window. Do you know how it works? Higher education is covered up to a certain age. Peter told me it was okay, that when he finished law school and Quentin started primaries, we’d have enough to pay out of pocket for my degree.” She paused. “But then Peter died.”

“I…I’m sorry.”

Cynthia’s face was very still as she spoke. “It was a car accident. Now, don’t freak out—they’re pretty rare. But they happen. And when everything was settled, it turned out Peter hadn’t actually been saving the money he said. He’d spent a lot of time gambling after his classes. I just can’t seem to escape that.” She chopped a carrot with particular force. “Anyway, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to do anything but mourn, and Justin told me not to worry, you know—in that way of his. He said he’d support us and send me to school when I was ready. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

That was a surprise. Tessa couldn’t imagine him backing out of a promise like that. “Why not?” she asked.

“Because he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth—and all the money dried up. And so, I was left waitressing and petitioning for a special grant.” She looked up at Tessa and waved her knife, using it to punctuate her words. “You want my advice? Don’t listen to the promises of men, even ones who mean well. Take care of yourself.”

Tessa decided then that it was a good time to do homework.

Justin came back late again. Quentin had gone to bed, but Cynthia was still up, watching a movie with Tessa. He had the same worn-out look he had each night and repeated his usual ritual, flouncing back into the armchair with a bottle of beer. Cynthia looked over at him with disapproval.

“Why do you drink that stuff? It’s overpriced and doesn’t even taste that good. You’re such a label whore.”

“Nice to see you too,” he said. He turned to Tessa. “Let’s hear from you. Tell me something that’s not going to stress me out. How was your first day?”

Tessa hesitated, not sure how to start. Justin had been regarding her with a lazy smile but suddenly snapped to attention. “What happened?”

“Someone came by today. Someone…” She frowned, thinking back to the bizarre encounter outside. “Someone who says he’s a friend of yours.”

Justin’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Someone from the university?”

“I don’t think so. His name’s Geraki.”

Justin sat up suddenly. “He was here? In our house?”

She cringed a little. That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. “No…he talked to me outside. He was waiting there when I got home.”

“Were you here?” Justin demanded of Cynthia.

“No,” she said. “This is the first I’m hearing about this.”

“He said he was glad you’re back and that he wanted to see you,” Tessa explained. “He also said you were his favorite servitor.”

“That’s fitting, since he’s my favorite megalomaniac,” he muttered. His gaze focused back on Tessa. “Did he threaten you? Hurt you?”

Tessa shook her head.

Cynthia regarded her brother warily. “What are you involved in?”

He stayed silent a few moments, but his eyes were troubled. At last, he smiled at Cynthia, but Tessa could still see tension all over him. “Nothing. Just someone I owe money to. Card game gone bad.”

“I knew it.” Cynthia stood up in disgust. To Tessa, she said, “See? I can’t get away from it. I’m going to bed. You should too—it’s late.”

Tessa hesitated but couldn’t fight against Cynthia’s logic or stern look. It was only after Tessa was in bed that she remembered that Justin never played cards.