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00:00:00.660 Speaker 1 Chapter three: Munn. Phase watched Ambrosia put away the shard run equipment. She
00:00:06.700 Speaker 1 hadn't said anything to him in a few minutes. Once everything except her laptop was
00:00:10.980 Speaker 1 put away, she took a long look at the white crystal he'd pulled from the Fractality.
00:00:15.580 Speaker 1 She met his eyes, and he looked away. "Sorry, Amber." "You almost
00:00:21.220 Speaker 1 died." "I'm sorry." She pursed her lips and looked back at the
00:00:27.180 Speaker 1 crystal. "Looks like a ping shard to me. Can't be sure until someone can appraise
00:00:32.700 Speaker 1 it, though. It's small. Small is good though, right, for those?
00:00:37.960 Speaker 1 [sighs] I can sell it." Phase stood up, unable to
00:00:43.940 Speaker 1 sit still. This was it. This was the big payoff. Okay, maybe not the big payoff.
00:00:49.780 Speaker 1 He'd almost died trying to get the big one, but there was always next time. "How
00:00:55.820 Speaker 1 much?" "Hmm, market is right for these. People are more
00:01:01.600 Speaker 1 paranoid than ever. Maybe 3 or 4,000."
00:01:05.860 Speaker 1 "Dollars?"
00:01:10.220 Speaker 1 Ambrosia nodded. That, that was an absolutely insane amount
00:01:16.220 Speaker 1 of money. A staggering, unbelievable amount of money. He knew
00:01:22.280 Speaker 1 that shards were worth something, but hearing the numbers out loud changed
00:01:26.400 Speaker 1 everything. Phase had been on shard runs with his sister and her crew. He'd even
00:01:31.240 Speaker 1 gone on a few runs for guild tryouts. That had been a huge mistake, a great way to
00:01:36.480 Speaker 1 do all the work and get none of the rewards, a great way to make somebody else rich.
00:01:42.260 Speaker 1 Why would he do that when he could just do it himself? On all the runs he'd joined,
00:01:46.860 Speaker 1 none of them had ever let him keep the shard. He'd never even gotten a cut of the
00:01:50.720 Speaker 1 money. "4,000."
00:01:56.520 Speaker 1 Amber crossed her arms. "Yeah. It's worth slightly more than my comm
00:02:02.400 Speaker 1 shard you threw away."
00:02:04.960 Speaker 1 He felt a twist in his stomach. It was hardly a victory then. Phase kicked the wall.
00:02:10.560 Speaker 1 One step forward, two steps back. Wasn't that always the way? Wasn't that how things
00:02:15.260 Speaker 1 always went for him? He fished the remaining comm shard out of his pocket and handed
00:02:21.240 Speaker 1 it back to her, along with the borrowed earpiece and body cam. "I want you to take
00:02:26.000 Speaker 1 the money, Amber, all of it." She looked at him skeptically, but slipped the new
00:02:30.800 Speaker 1 shard into a lead tube and pocketed it anyway. Phase looked away, out the holes
00:02:36.100 Speaker 1 where the windows used to be. "I broke my promise to you. I saw the marks on the
00:02:41.240 Speaker 1 walls, and I went in anyway."
00:02:44.200 Speaker 1 Ambrosia gave him a side hug. "Bring a real crew next time. This sloppy
00:02:50.040 Speaker 1 stuff seemed fun, but I think there's no such thing as quick, safe money. 20% of
00:02:55.860 Speaker 1 something is better than 100% dead." He turned to look at her. He hadn't noticed the
00:03:01.560 Speaker 1 redness around her eyes before, the faint spots of wetness on her T-shirt collar.
00:03:06.920 Speaker 1 She was smiling now, but her stare was intent. "Don't make me watch my friends
00:03:12.800 Speaker 1 die again." Phase and Ambrosia split up after they hitched a ride back to the
00:03:17.720 Speaker 1 outskirts. Most splitters, techs, and other people who lived outside the
00:03:21.940 Speaker 1 Collective's rule lived in the outskirts around the mega city. It didn't have a
00:03:26.220 Speaker 1 name. It was just the mega city. The outskirts didn't have a name. They were just
00:03:31.600 Speaker 1 the outskirts. Technically speaking, he lived in light residential block 43F.
00:03:38.040 Speaker 1 The Collective influence was weaker out here, mostly because there was nothing worth
00:03:42.580 Speaker 1 influencing. The only blocks with real police oversight were the agricultural
00:03:47.400 Speaker 1 blocks. Phase looked up at the overcast sky. The sun was a shimmering yellow
00:03:53.380 Speaker 1 circle behind a gray wall. Seemed like every day was gray. It was a rare treat to
00:03:59.220 Speaker 1 see a blue sky anymore. Even Wurster smiled on days like that, probably.
00:04:06.420 Speaker 1 As he neared the group of identical tan buildings where he lived, he stood up
00:04:10.040 Speaker 1 straight and walked fast, like he had somewhere to go. He tried to look both bored
00:04:15.200 Speaker 1 and irritated, like an overseer had sent him on an errand. A man sat at the opening
00:04:20.120 Speaker 1 to the chain link fence. It wouldn't have been hard to circle around back and hop
00:04:24.040 Speaker 1 the fence to get home, but what if somebody saw him? It was best not to look
00:04:28.100 Speaker 1 suspicious at all. Why should he look suspicious? He was sent home early by an
00:04:32.740 Speaker 1 overseer because they didn't need him. He had no reason to jump the fence. "Hold on,
00:04:38.800 Speaker 1 Teddy." Phase rolled his eyes. No one called him by his splitter name here. That was
00:04:43.580 Speaker 1 the whole point of a splitter name. It was only for splitters and the people in
00:04:47.040 Speaker 1 their crews, an alias. It was the name you chose, not the name you were given. It
00:04:52.800 Speaker 1 actually meant something. "What?" Rhett got off the wooden stool he was sitting on.
00:04:59.000 Speaker 1 Phase glanced at the club leaning against the fence. "Don't 'what' me. Where were
00:05:04.560 Speaker 1 you?" "Working, until I wasn't."
00:05:09.220 Speaker 1 "Hmm." Rhett would understand this. A lot of people were coming
00:05:15.220 Speaker 1 home without finishing their jobs these days. If you didn't finish a job, you didn't
00:05:19.620 Speaker 1 get paid. Didn't matter that the overseers overhired for the work. There was
00:05:24.500 Speaker 1 actually an incentive to overhire, a little anyway. Better to bring 12 if you needed
00:05:29.580 Speaker 1 eight than fire the people who weren't working hard enough. Phase tried to make his
00:05:34.520 Speaker 1 face tell that story. "It's 'cause you're lazy." "It's because it's boring."
00:05:41.080 Speaker 1 He'd worked hard to cultivate a reputation for being lazy. It explained why he
00:05:45.580 Speaker 1 didn't work as much as everyone else. It explained why he was skinny instead of fat.
00:05:51.160 Speaker 1 It didn't explain the lean, sinewy muscles or why he disappeared so often.
00:05:57.620 Speaker 1 Rhett nodded for Phase to go through. "You'll be taking the offering if you keep
00:06:03.160 Speaker 1 this up." "Hmm. Better than hauling trash."
00:06:09.132 Speaker 1 Faize cursed himself as soon as he said it for adding more details to his lie. Rhett
00:06:14.492 Speaker 1 looked back to watch the street. "Don't think that's true." Faize caught the note
00:06:20.452 Speaker 1 of sadness in the man's words. They sounded pained, like the pain of experience.
00:06:27.712 Speaker 1 As he walked away, he reminded himself not to look down on the muns who did the
00:06:31.672 Speaker 1 collective's dirty work. They were just people. They didn't deserve this treatment
00:06:36.732 Speaker 1 any more than he did. Even people like Rhett. He kept up his pissed off
00:06:42.632 Speaker 1 act all the way to the building, but his mind chewed on deeper thoughts. Even the
00:06:48.012 Speaker 1 collective was under somebody else's thumb. Difference was, they chose to be there.
00:06:53.452 Speaker 1 Muns like him, they didn't get a choice.
00:06:59.352 Speaker 1 After he showered off, Faize went to the bottom floor. His stomach demanded more
00:07:02.992 Speaker 1 than protein ration bars. Fortunately, the cafeteria was still open. Just before he
00:07:08.052 Speaker 1 pushed open the double doors, a hand with iron grip grabbed his shoulder. The
00:07:12.432 Speaker 1 fingers dug painfully into a pressure point he didn't even know he had. Worster, his
00:07:17.712 Speaker 1 building's keeper, spun him around.
00:07:19.852 Speaker 1 "Theodore?" She didn't
00:07:25.832 Speaker 1 say anything else. She didn't have to. He was certain the old woman could smell
00:07:30.892 Speaker 1 trouble, and he was certain he reeked of it. "You missed work
00:07:36.432 Speaker 1 sign-ups today."
00:07:39.572 Speaker 1 Faize shrugged like it was no big deal. That much, at least, wasn't an act. "You
00:07:45.412 Speaker 1 have money?" "Enough for a few days. Figure I'll take some time off."
00:07:52.372 Speaker 1 Worster stared a hole through him, as if trying to determine where the money had
00:07:57.352 Speaker 1 come from. She looked like she had a jaw carved from stone. Graying hair
00:08:03.352 Speaker 1 jutted out of a bun on the top of her head. She wasn't ugly, but she was
00:08:08.232 Speaker 1 intimidating. If that teacher lifted weights and chewed gravel...
00:08:13.072 Speaker 1 "Your crimes are my crimes, Theodore."
00:08:19.272 Speaker 1 She slammed her right hook of a hand onto the stairwell banister. In retrospect, it
00:08:25.312 Speaker 1 had been a mercy that she'd grabbed him with her real hand. "Just getting some food,
00:08:30.592 Speaker 1 ma'am."
00:08:33.692 Speaker 1 Knowing she had nothing concrete on him, the keeper released him. She didn't say
00:08:38.352 Speaker 1 anything else, but she watched him go, like an ant under a magnifying glass.
00:08:45.232 Speaker 1 There wasn't a line at this time of day. Most of the residents would be out working,
00:08:49.452 Speaker 1 as it was still too early for dinner. That left people like him, people who had
00:08:54.352 Speaker 1 nothing better to do. Faize smeared on his most charming smile.
00:08:59.232 Speaker 1 "Double helping, please." The only mun still serving food walked up and
00:09:05.172 Speaker 1 gave him an irritated look. Why? It's not like he was doing anything. Faize thought
00:09:11.132 Speaker 1 the man's name was Terrence? Terrence slapped a scoop of green paste against
00:09:17.052 Speaker 1 his metal tray. "Don't give him that." A woman came in from the kitchen and walked
00:09:22.772 Speaker 1 up to the serving counter. Terrence looked back at her, the look of irritation
00:09:27.332 Speaker 1 immediately masked. He gave Faize an attitude, but he wouldn't try it on an
00:09:31.972 Speaker 1 overseer. Not if it ruined his chances at kitchen work. Muns craved work like
00:09:37.752 Speaker 1 that. Safe, indoors, stable. It was pathetic. The
00:09:43.792 Speaker 1 large woman strolled up to Terrence and pulled the ladle right out of his hands, as
00:09:47.652 Speaker 1 if he were unfit to wield it. "I got something fresh for you, baby. Hold on."
00:09:54.052 Speaker 1 A minute later, she came back with a different color paste and gingerly spooned it
00:09:58.592 Speaker 1 onto a new tray. "You said double helping?" "Triple, please."
00:10:05.132 Speaker 1 Faize eyed the three scoops of brown mush on his tray. "Lentils and celery puree.
00:10:11.352 Speaker 1 Don't worry. I know the color's not the best." "Only the taste matters, ma'am." The
00:10:16.692 Speaker 1 overseer shoved his previous tray into Terrence's hands and walked off. "Thank you."
00:10:24.272 Speaker 1 Terrence sneered openly now that she was gone, and Faize just walked off. Anything
00:10:29.292 Speaker 1 he said would only make it worse, and he, he couldn't afford to have enemy.
00:10:34.892 Speaker 1 Enemies got you noticed. When he neared the register, Faize noticed that an older
00:10:39.952 Speaker 1 man had been watching them.
00:10:43.212 Speaker 1 The man watched Terrence scrape the green paste into the trash, visibly dismayed.
00:10:48.792 Speaker 1 Then he grabbed a box of ration bars and brought them to the register. They had
00:10:53.212 Speaker 1 worse than no flavor, but they were as cheap as calories came. He knew him,
00:10:59.192 Speaker 1 but not his first name. The father of the Juarez twins. His kids were just a few
00:11:04.872 Speaker 1 years younger than Faize himself. "That'll be eighty-four." "I, uh,
00:11:11.092 Speaker 1 I don't..." "Eighty-four." "
00:11:14.672 Speaker 1 [coughs] I'll, uh, I'll take the
00:11:20.492 Speaker 1 offering." "Pardon?" "I said I'll take the offering." The register
00:11:26.332 Speaker 1 worker started punching in numbers, then looked up at Juarez, pausing before
00:11:31.272 Speaker 1 pressing the last key, waiting as if he would change his mind. Faize had seen this
00:11:37.112 Speaker 1 man taking the collective's offering a few times over the past month. Always him. He
00:11:42.852 Speaker 1 never saw his wife or children do it, who were old enough to go into debt on their
00:11:46.672 Speaker 1 own now. The man's left arm was in a sling, and Faize put it all together.
00:11:52.232 Speaker 1 "Hold on. I'll cover it."
00:11:58.492 Speaker 1 Could he cover it, though? He pulled out the wad of bills from his back pocket.
00:12:03.472 Speaker 1 Ninety-two dollars. "Here." Fay's walked over and shoved the wad of bills into the
00:12:08.804 Speaker 1 man's hand before he could turn it down. Juarez just stood there, dumbfounded, and
00:12:14.684 Speaker 1 Fay's took one last longing look at his tray of food. His stomach knotted itself
00:12:19.784 Speaker 1 further, clearly expressing how it felt about this course of action. Should have
00:12:25.224 Speaker 1 just pulled that first shard, Fay's. Easy money.
00:12:32.044 Speaker 1 Thank you.
00:12:34.344 Speaker 1 Fay's nodded at the man and pushed open the double doors. Doing a good thing didn't
00:12:38.844 Speaker 1 stop him from feeling empty. He put his foot on the first stair back to his room,
00:12:43.904 Speaker 1 then stopped. His stomach still rebelled, but it wouldn't find relief anytime soon.
00:12:49.524 Speaker 1 He had basically no money to his name. Belatedly, he realized he should have kept
00:12:54.624 Speaker 1 the change for himself. He could have gotten half a serving of food with that. But
00:12:59.984 Speaker 1 how would those bites taste, knowing they had come from somebody else's meal? Fay's
00:13:04.944 Speaker 1 looked over at the keeper's door. It was slightly ajar, almost inviting. Inviting
00:13:10.924 Speaker 1 as a spider's web.
00:13:13.624 Speaker 1 He walked over and pushed open the door. Somehow, Worster was already staring at
00:13:18.684 Speaker 1 him. He hadn't even seen her move. Was she just waiting there like that? Locking
00:13:23.824 Speaker 1 eyes on the spot where someone might enter? It had the intended effect. He did not
00:13:28.864 Speaker 1 want to cross this woman. Theodore, how can you serve?
00:13:35.504 Speaker 1 He noticed that she hadn't said, how can I serve you? I
00:13:41.304 Speaker 1 lied. I don't actually have enough money. It hurt showing
00:13:47.124 Speaker 1 weakness to the keeper. Admitting failure to himself? The fullness of his failure
00:13:52.504 Speaker 1 hadn't actually hit him until just then. Instead of walking tall with fifteen
00:13:57.224 Speaker 1 hundred in his pocket, he had nothing. Less than he did yesterday. And what did he
00:14:02.864 Speaker 1 have to show for it instead? He was nearly cut to pieces, eaten alive.
00:14:08.884 Speaker 1 Fay's shoved away that image of the slicer opening up its body to eviscerate him.
00:14:14.844 Speaker 1 He'd never seen one so close. None of the other runs had even encountered them up
00:14:19.424 Speaker 1 close. Once, on one of his sister's runs, they'd seen a Tesserati glyph, the
00:14:24.924 Speaker 1 equivalent of an interdimensional keep out sign. And they had left the Fractality
00:14:30.604 Speaker 1 immediately after finding it. No, only he was so stupid, so
00:14:36.724 Speaker 1 arrogant that he pushed the limits on his first shard run. Would Ambrosia even run
00:14:42.344 Speaker 1 tech for him again? She might, if you'd brought Spineless with you.
00:14:48.224 Speaker 1 Fay's batted down the thought. He didn't need a second keeper. Worster took a piece
00:14:53.824 Speaker 1 of paper off the top of a stack on her desk and handed it to him without breaking
00:14:57.744 Speaker 1 eye contact. He took it, realizing that she had probably known he was coming. And
00:15:03.184 Speaker 1 his heart sank just a little deeper into depression. Looks like he was living up to
00:15:08.124 Speaker 1 everyone's expectations except his own. She pointed at the paper in his hands. It's
00:15:13.144 Speaker 1 sanitation work. Two spots left. Location pay and everything else you need to
00:15:18.984 Speaker 1 know is right there. He skimmed for the line with the pay. It read, three
00:15:24.584 Speaker 1 dollars per hour, twenty-five dollar bonus for final sewage flow rates above
00:15:30.024 Speaker 1 eighteen hundred liters per second. The sewers were clogged. They were always
00:15:35.304 Speaker 1 clogged because they were poorly built. Fay's closed his eyes. He had literally gone
00:15:41.164 Speaker 1 from professional shard runner to professional laxative in just a few hours. Worster
00:15:47.164 Speaker 1 hadn't even asked if he wanted the job. She didn't need to. He belonged in the
00:15:52.224 Speaker 1 sewers. He belonged with the trash trucks. He belonged with the muns.
00:15:58.224 Speaker 1 Because he was one.
00:16:01.844 Speaker 1 Chapter four, Spineless. Fay's met up with the other muns from his apartment block
00:16:07.184 Speaker 1 on the same sewer detail. They were all waiting outside for the truck that would
00:16:11.704 Speaker 1 take them to the portion of the sewers they'd spend the next three weeks working in.
00:16:16.044 Speaker 1 Mega city sewers. Not the relatively clean, relatively unclogged sewers out here in
00:16:21.644 Speaker 1 the outskirts. Seven other people stood around the pickup zone. Hands in
00:16:27.264 Speaker 1 pockets. Muted small talk. Fay's recognized two of them immediately. The
00:16:33.064 Speaker 1 first was Ricky Tate. Ricky stood up and wrapped Fay's in a huge hug,
00:16:38.884 Speaker 1 slapping his hands so hard on his back that it stung. What's up, buddy? You get
00:16:43.444 Speaker 1 fired too? He wasn't friends with Ricky. But Ricky was friends with everyone. The
00:16:48.244 Speaker 1 man was so annoyingly happy all the time that it was impossible to dislike him.
00:16:54.984 Speaker 1 He had shockingly bright red hair and an offensive amount of freckles. Ricky had the
00:17:00.464 Speaker 1 kind of stocky, muscled frame that enforcers recruited for, despite the restricted
00:17:05.564 Speaker 1 rations that muns endured. Fay's had to be careful not to embellish on any more lies
00:17:11.144 Speaker 1 talking to Ricky. It was best that everyone forget where he was yesterday. Yeah,
00:17:17.264 Speaker 1 something like that. I feel you, dude.
00:17:21.124 Speaker 1 Ricky went for a fake punch to Fay's gut, for no reason that Fay's could discern. He
00:17:26.564 Speaker 1 pulled the punch at the last second and laughed, pulling him into another big hug.
00:17:31.564 Speaker 1 Fay's eventually wriggled out of it, slightly embarrassed at how much effort it
00:17:35.284 Speaker 1 took. Once he was free, he looked over Ricky's shoulder at the second person he
00:17:39.964 Speaker 1 knew. Someone he wasn't supposed to know. Hannah Taraby.
00:17:45.804 Speaker 1 Spineless.
00:17:48.504 Speaker 1 She caught his stare and flashed a mischievous smile, rising up into the air with a
00:17:52.924 Speaker 1 little bounce on her toes. She spun away on dancer's legs and gushed to the mun
00:17:57.984 Speaker 1 standing next to her about something, covering that knowing smile by pretending that
00:18:03.144 Speaker 1 something funny had just occurred to her. The mun nodded and smiled profusely at
00:18:08.124 Speaker 1 whatever she was saying. They spoke like old friends, even though Fay's was certain
00:18:12.844 Speaker 1 they'd never met before just now. Ricky faked another jab at his shoulder, except
00:18:17.620 Speaker 1 this one connected. Hard. Phase stumbled backwards. Ricky must have expected him to
00:18:23.060 Speaker 1 flinch, or simply thought it would be funny either way. Phase rubbed his shoulder.
00:18:29.240 Speaker 1 Come on. I see what you're looking at. Think I got a shot?
00:18:36.560 Speaker 1 We're literally living in the sewers for three weeks. So? I'm hot stuff, Ted.
00:18:42.900 Speaker 1 Girls want me wherever they can get me. Phase was certain they wouldn't want him in
00:18:48.480 Speaker 1 the sewers. Based on how people usually reacted to Ricky, they didn't seem to want
00:18:52.980 Speaker 1 him anywhere. You wouldn't say that out loud, though. Being mean to Ricky just felt
00:18:57.840 Speaker 1 like being mean to a puppy. It wasn't his fault he was excited when everyone else
00:19:02.540 Speaker 1 just wanted to keep their heads down. Good luck with that one, man. Don't need it.
00:19:07.880 Speaker 1 Just wait till you see my moves. I've been practicing. On who? Your sister?
00:19:14.420 Speaker 1 Something dark flashed across Ricky's face. Phase worried he'd actually made the man
00:19:19.020 Speaker 1 angry.
00:19:22.220 Speaker 1 Ah!
00:19:24.140 Speaker 1 You should see the look on your face. Look at this guy's face. Hey! Look at this
00:19:28.840 Speaker 1 guy's face! Ricky continued shouting, showing off Phase to the other muns, who
00:19:34.600 Speaker 1 either stared in confusion at Ricky or turned away with deliberate disinterest.
00:19:39.940 Speaker 1 Phase wasn't the only one who didn't know how to handle him. You couldn't, really.
00:19:44.320 Speaker 1 It was best just to ride it out. Thankfully, the truck pulled up then. Muns started
00:19:49.340 Speaker 1 piling into the back, except Ricky, who climbed into the front passenger seat
00:19:53.200 Speaker 1 without invitation. Phase looked into the cab. The overseer wasn't driving, so they
00:19:58.780 Speaker 1 must already be at the job site. The really good overseers rode with their people,
00:20:03.660 Speaker 1 got to know them. Apparently, they would have the other kind. No wonder
00:20:09.560 Speaker 1 there were spots open for this job. It was a few hours to the job site.
00:20:17.560 Speaker 1 Phase mostly kept to himself during the long truck ride. He made small talk, asking
00:20:22.240 Speaker 1 about people's families, where they lived, why they were on sanitation work. It was
00:20:26.880 Speaker 1 an easy subject. Muns loved to complain about work.
00:20:32.040 Speaker 1 He could bond with anyone over that. His distaste was genuine, after all. He tried
00:20:37.600 Speaker 1 not to look at the girl with the sandy brown hair, the one who seemed to float about
00:20:42.720 Speaker 1 rather than walk on the ground like the rest of them. She must have talked to
00:20:46.580 Speaker 1 everyone in the work detail by now. Instead, he watched the sky, looking for
00:20:52.320 Speaker 1 pinholes of blue behind all that gray. A lone blackbird circled in the sky above,
00:20:58.360 Speaker 1 searching. He wondered what it felt like to be so high above it all.
00:21:04.080 Speaker 1 I don't think we've met. I'm Hannah.
00:21:08.720 Speaker 1 Phase looked for the sound of the voice. Spineless sat on the wooden bench next to
00:21:13.380 Speaker 1 him, eyes dancing with playfulness. Hi, Hannah. I'm
00:21:20.280 Speaker 1 Bruce? Bruce, huh? Yeah, uh, Bruce Ironblock.
00:21:29.060 Speaker 1 Well, nice to meet you, Bruce Ironblock. Such a strong, masculine name. Yeah, well,
00:21:35.320 Speaker 1 sometimes a name just fits. Oh, I agree. Especially the names
00:21:41.160 Speaker 1 we choose.
00:21:44.060 Speaker 1 They tell others who we are, remind ourselves who we want to be.
00:21:49.940 Speaker 1 Yeah? And what does your name say about you, Hannah? Her smile faded and was
00:21:55.600 Speaker 1 replaced with steel. It looked right at home on her face somehow. Her
00:22:01.420 Speaker 1 other side. That you can't hurt me. No one can. The
00:22:07.180 Speaker 1 social butterfly act hadn't really been an act, and neither was this. What does your
00:22:12.860 Speaker 1 name say about you, Bruce? You guessed already. It's a tough, strong name. No,
00:22:19.520 Speaker 1 not that name. What does it say? What does it really say?
00:22:25.480 Speaker 1 Phase paused, trying to read her face. It was all seriousness, a real question
00:22:31.380 Speaker 1 behind the false one.
00:22:34.440 Speaker 1 I just thought it sounded cool.
00:22:38.520 Speaker 1 Hmm. Because it sounds like a tribute to me.
00:22:44.300 Speaker 1 Phase turned away and pursed his lips, an unexpected little dagger of pain in his
00:22:49.120 Speaker 1 chest. Had it been a tribute? Phase. At the time, it really
00:22:55.140 Speaker 1 had just sounded cool. He could change it, like Spineless had. Maybe.
00:23:01.740 Speaker 1 Phase looked up at the sky again, searching for the bird. It was gone, though. Maybe
00:23:06.840 Speaker 1 it had found whatever it was searching for. He hoped so. When he looked back,
00:23:12.260 Speaker 1 Spineless had moved on to talk to another woman. She was pointing at something down
00:23:16.140 Speaker 1 the road, gesturing excitedly with her hands as she spoke. The other woman smiled
00:23:21.460 Speaker 1 and nodded eagerly.
00:23:24.880 Speaker 1 The overseer marched up and down between the assembled muns and the long concrete
00:23:29.380 Speaker 1 incline leading into the sewers. All right, listen up. We're already six days
00:23:34.340 Speaker 1 behind. Half the last crew quit by the second day. That
00:23:39.860 Speaker 1 means you work hard enough to make up for the work they didn't do. Forty-something
00:23:45.820 Speaker 1 people had signed up for this work detail. He'd never seen a group this large for
00:23:50.300 Speaker 1 sanitation work, which cast some doubt on the overseer's story that half of the last
00:23:56.300 Speaker 1 crew had simply quit. You want a bonus? I want a bonus. The collective wants
00:24:01.880 Speaker 1 clear water works. His red overseer sash stretched to fit over his spotless white
00:24:07.580 Speaker 1 uniform. It seemed impossible to keep something like that clean in his line of work.
00:24:12.760 Speaker 1 Impossible only if he ever actually set foot in the sewers, that is. In a few
00:24:17.816 Speaker 1 moments, you'll be divided into groups. Your group will receive a single map of the
00:24:22.356 Speaker 1 clog sites. Do not lose it. If you see workers from other teams or
00:24:28.076 Speaker 1 homeless down there, you are to report their presence immediately on the authority
00:24:32.876 Speaker 1 of Overseer Elm. Do not assume that anyone outside this workforce has permission
00:24:38.836 Speaker 1 to enter the waterworks. You are authorized to use non-lethal force against
00:24:44.556 Speaker 1 anyone who will not accompany you to a guard post. Wait, what? Did he really
00:24:50.296 Speaker 1 expect them to forcibly remove the homeless? That wasn't the kind of work he'd
00:24:55.416 Speaker 1 signed up for. It was bad enough that people had to live in the sewers. There was no
00:24:59.436 Speaker 1 way he was gonna kick them out. I've nominated a foreman for the duration of the
00:25:03.696 Speaker 1 project. She will liaise with me directly to arrange sleeping quarters, distribute
00:25:09.076 Speaker 1 rations, and settle any disputes among you. Overseer Elm let a chubby arm rest on
00:25:14.496 Speaker 1 the girl's shoulder. Spineless smiled brightly, as if she didn't mind at all. Faize
00:25:20.256 Speaker 1 resisted the urge to topple the man and watch him roll down the slope. I look
00:25:24.896 Speaker 1 forward to working with you all. They split into groups and introduced themselves.
00:25:30.196 Speaker 1 Ricky traded places with someone to join Faize's group. That wasn't actually allowed
00:25:34.936 Speaker 1 as far as Faize knew. The six of them walked down the slope toward their dark,
00:25:39.976 Speaker 1 slimy, filthy home. A seventh person jogged to join them. I'll be with you
00:25:45.936 Speaker 1 today, Group Three. First, I'll show you to your sleeping area, and then we'll walk
00:25:50.436 Speaker 1 to your area of the sewers. Spineless sounded as enthusiastic as ever.
00:25:56.696 Speaker 1 Ricky waggled his eyebrows at Faize. It was only then that Faize realized the depth
00:26:02.196 Speaker 1 of her plans. It wasn't an accident that she was here, and she'd talked up everyone
00:26:07.576 Speaker 1 on the work detail on purpose. She'd intended to be nominated as foreman so that
00:26:13.556 Speaker 1 she could move about with impunity, so that she could get close to Faize. The only
00:26:19.256 Speaker 1 question now was why. He glanced at her, and she returned a friendly smile.
00:26:25.736 Speaker 1 He had a sinking feeling he wouldn't like the answer. I'm trying to get it. Your fat
00:26:31.016 Speaker 1 head's blocking my view. Faize and Ricky were about a hundred feet down a pipe lit
00:26:36.556 Speaker 1 only by the flashlights on their heads. You have to pull at the same time. I
00:26:42.656 Speaker 1 am. Just try again. One. Two.
00:26:49.496 Speaker 1 They each pulled on the handles of their iron clog rods. The other end of the rods
00:26:54.456 Speaker 1 had four hooks like fireplace pokers, which were buried in trash, slime, and worse.
00:27:00.796 Speaker 1 Fatbergs, they were called. A slew of solidified human waste, cooking oil, and
00:27:06.916 Speaker 1 other unidentifiable rotting bits. These fatbergs clogged up the sewers and had to
00:27:12.516 Speaker 1 be unclogged. Otherwise, the human waste dumping into the pipes would eventually
00:27:17.096 Speaker 1 pile up. Sometimes, the waste would pile up high enough to generate enough pressure
00:27:22.136 Speaker 1 to unclog the pipes all on its own, but usually enough people complained about the
00:27:26.676 Speaker 1 smell long before that happened. Three. A wave of warm biological
00:27:32.436 Speaker 1 sludge surged past their knees. As the water rose, Faize was pulled away into the
00:27:37.896 Speaker 1 rotten torrent. He fumbled for purchase but fell below the black water. He was
00:27:42.476 Speaker 1 pulled away, and he slipped trying to get up. He slipped again, and panic seized
00:27:47.536 Speaker 1 him. He took in a mouthful of putrid water and gagged, breathing in more through his
00:27:52.236 Speaker 1 nose. Help. He wanted to scream for help. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe. He'd
00:27:57.916 Speaker 1 get swept into a smaller tunnel like the ones he'd seen, just wide enough to get
00:28:02.536 Speaker 1 sucked through, pulled deeper into inescapable darkness as he choked on human waste.
00:28:08.576 Speaker 1 Just another dead mon in the sewers. Someone grabbed him under the arms and pulled
00:28:13.796 Speaker 1 him to the side of the flow. Ricky held Faize tenderly against the wall while Faize
00:28:18.556 Speaker 1 coughed out as much of the filth as he could. Easy. Easy.
00:28:24.536 Speaker 1 I got you, buddy. I got you. Just take it easy. Faize wiped the slime from his face,
00:28:30.736 Speaker 1 enough to see and breathe again.
00:28:35.356 Speaker 1 Thanks.
00:28:38.196 Speaker 1 Of course.
00:28:40.416 Speaker 1 Faize nodded back his thanks and steadied himself on shaking legs as the adrenaline
00:28:44.836 Speaker 1 subsided. Ricky stood up and waved for him to follow him back down the unclogged
00:28:49.716 Speaker 1 pipe. Come on, that's enough swimming. I'm gonna show the foreman those moves I was
00:28:53.796 Speaker 1 telling you about. Faize followed
00:28:58.756 Speaker 1 and thought about telling Ricky that he was covered in literal crap. He thought
00:29:04.256 Speaker 1 about telling him that being covered in crap still didn't affect his chances because
00:29:08.576 Speaker 1 his chances were zero. But he didn't have the heart because maybe
00:29:15.096 Speaker 1 he might have misread Ricky Tate. Maybe they all had.
00:29:19.716 Speaker 1 Faize dunked his head under the fresh water spout at the semi-permanent camp set up
00:29:23.636 Speaker 1 underground. It was far enough away from the wastewater not to overwhelm them with
00:29:27.656 Speaker 1 the smell, but it was still incredibly unpleasant. The smell would fade from
00:29:31.856 Speaker 1 consciousness after a few days, he knew. Of course, the people back home would
00:29:36.136 Speaker 1 remind him for a few days after he returned that the smell had in fact not gone
00:29:40.616 Speaker 1 away. He had just become one with it. Once he was as clean as he could get by
00:29:46.056 Speaker 1 washing off in the sewer, he looked around for the rest of his group. They were
00:29:50.036 Speaker 1 trickling back in from their own clog work.
00:29:54.256 Speaker 1 So far, only he, Ricky, and one other person had returned. Then he heard someone
00:29:59.496 Speaker 1 laughing with genuine joy nearby. Spineless walked into the camp with the remainder
00:30:04.956 Speaker 1 of Group 3. Ricky grinned and gave him the thumbs up. Oh no.
00:30:12.276 Speaker 1 Faize watched Ricky stroll up to the group. It seemed to happen in slow motion.
00:30:17.056 Speaker 1 Ricky pretended at first to be searching frantically for something in his pockets,
00:30:21.296 Speaker 1 growing alarmed. Oh, don't buy it. Don't buy it. Spineless asked him what was wrong,
00:30:26.968 Speaker 1 and Ricky flashed her his most charming grin. She looked back at him in confusion.
00:30:31.388 Speaker 1 Oh, don't mind me. I just thought I'd lost my heart. But now that I see you, I know
00:30:37.128 Speaker 1 it's been stolen. Fay's put his hands over his face. He delivered the line with the
00:30:42.708 Speaker 1 kind of confidence that only somebody who actually thought it was cool could.
00:30:48.048 Speaker 1 Spineless let out a tinkling little laugh like a shard come to life. Then she hugged
00:30:53.908 Speaker 1 him. It couldn't be real. This couldn't be real. They walked back
00:30:59.608 Speaker 1 together. You know this guy? I do know
00:31:05.248 Speaker 1 him.
00:31:08.708 Speaker 1 He's the life of the party. Ricky, right? Would you make us all some food?
00:31:14.948 Speaker 1 There's rations in the crate, and I think we deserve some real food. Technically,
00:31:19.528 Speaker 1 it's not until for tonight, but I don't see an overseer. Do you? Ricky shook his
00:31:24.728 Speaker 1 head and ran off to fetch some food for everyone, looking like he'd received a kiss
00:31:29.028 Speaker 1 from a princess, even though he'd essentially been politely turned down and sent off
00:31:33.548 Speaker 1 to do chores. She had that effect on people. After that, the others
00:31:39.528 Speaker 1 were all serendipitously sent off on chores of their own around the camp. Each of
00:31:44.468 Speaker 1 them seemed pleased to receive the errands. That left only the two of them.
00:31:50.828 Speaker 1 Spineless sat down on a box and crossed her legs, letting an eyebrow rise slowly,
00:31:56.688 Speaker 1 begging forth his inevitable question. Her face and outfit were remarkably clean,
00:32:02.388 Speaker 1 the grime somehow contained only to her boots and the bottom of her pants. She would
00:32:07.148 Speaker 1 not have fallen like he had. Why are you here? She folded her hands and
00:32:13.028 Speaker 1 looked him straight in the eye, a light smile on her lips. Because I keep my
00:32:17.548 Speaker 1 promises. Fay's watched her, waiting to see if she'd say more. This
00:32:22.688 Speaker 1 person was a relic from his past. Sitting here with her made him feel like a child,
00:32:28.848 Speaker 1 even though she wasn't more than five years older than him. I can take care of
00:32:32.787 Speaker 1 myself. She nodded slowly.
00:32:36.868 Speaker 1 Ambrosia told me what happened. We sold your shard, by the way. That hurt. Fay's
00:32:42.728 Speaker 1 gritted his teeth. She had even helped sell the shard. Couldn't he do anything on
00:32:48.688 Speaker 1 his own? Look, I made it out, didn't I? All pleasantness drained from her face. This
00:32:54.468 Speaker 1 time. What about next time? One of the other group three workers returned from their
00:32:59.728 Speaker 1 chores, clearly eager to sit down and chat. He glanced at their faces, then quickly
00:33:04.528 Speaker 1 found something else to do.
00:33:07.468 Speaker 1 We can't do this here. Come with me. Where? In response, she stood up and
00:33:13.408 Speaker 1 turned away towards the maze of waterworks that ran beneath the megacity. To prove
00:33:18.848 Speaker 1 to me that you can take care of yourself. To my world. She didn't wait for him.
00:33:25.228 Speaker 1 Fay's looked down at his shaking hands, willing them to be still, then stood up and
00:33:30.748 Speaker 1 jogged after her. You didn't keep royalty waiting.