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Speaker 1: Chapter three: Munn. Phase watched
Ambrosia put away the shard run equipment. She

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Speaker 1: hadn't said anything to him in a few
minutes. Once everything except her laptop was

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Speaker 1: put away, she took a long look at the
white crystal he'd pulled from the Fractality.

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Speaker 1: She met his eyes, and he looked away.
"Sorry, Amber." "You almost

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Speaker 1: died." "I'm sorry." She pursed her
lips and looked back at the

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Speaker 1: crystal. "Looks like a ping shard to
me. Can't be sure until someone can appraise

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Speaker 1: it, though. It's small. Small is good
though, right, for those?

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Speaker 1: [sighs] I can sell it." Phase stood
up, unable to

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Speaker 1: sit still. This was it. This was the
big payoff. Okay, maybe not the big payoff.

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Speaker 1: He'd almost died trying to get the
big one, but there was always next time. "How

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Speaker 1: much?" "Hmm, market is right for
these. People are more

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Speaker 1: paranoid than ever. Maybe 3 or
4,000."

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Speaker 1: "Dollars?"

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Speaker 1: Ambrosia nodded. That, that was an
absolutely insane amount

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Speaker 1: of money. A staggering, unbelievable
amount of money. He knew

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Speaker 1: that shards were worth something, but
hearing the numbers out loud changed

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Speaker 1: everything. Phase had been on shard
runs with his sister and her crew. He'd even

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Speaker 1: gone on a few runs for guild tryouts.
That had been a huge mistake, a great way to

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Speaker 1: do all the work and get none of the
rewards, a great way to make somebody else rich.

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Speaker 1: Why would he do that when he could
just do it himself? On all the runs he'd joined,

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Speaker 1: none of them had ever let him keep
the shard. He'd never even gotten a cut of the

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Speaker 1: money. "4,000."

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Speaker 1: Amber crossed her arms. "Yeah. It's
worth slightly more than my comm

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Speaker 1: shard you threw away."

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Speaker 1: He felt a twist in his stomach. It
was hardly a victory then. Phase kicked the
wall.

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Speaker 1: One step forward, two steps back.
Wasn't that always the way? Wasn't that how
things

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Speaker 1: always went for him? He fished the
remaining comm shard out of his pocket and
handed

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Speaker 1: it back to her, along with the
borrowed earpiece and body cam. "I want you to
take

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Speaker 1: the money, Amber, all of it." She
looked at him skeptically, but slipped the new

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Speaker 1: shard into a lead tube and pocketed
it anyway. Phase looked away, out the holes

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Speaker 1: where the windows used to be. "I
broke my promise to you. I saw the marks on the

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Speaker 1: walls, and I went in anyway."

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Speaker 1: Ambrosia gave him a side hug. "Bring
a real crew next time. This sloppy

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Speaker 1: stuff seemed fun, but I think there's
no such thing as quick, safe money. 20% of

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Speaker 1: something is better than 100% dead."
He turned to look at her. He hadn't noticed the

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Speaker 1: redness around her eyes before, the
faint spots of wetness on her T-shirt collar.

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Speaker 1: She was smiling now, but her stare
was intent. "Don't make me watch my friends

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Speaker 1: die again." Phase and Ambrosia split
up after they hitched a ride back to the

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Speaker 1: outskirts. Most splitters, techs, and
other people who lived outside the

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Speaker 1: Collective's rule lived in the
outskirts around the mega city. It didn't have a

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Speaker 1: name. It was just the mega city. The
outskirts didn't have a name. They were just

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Speaker 1: the outskirts. Technically speaking,
he lived in light residential block 43F.

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Speaker 1: The Collective influence was weaker
out here, mostly because there was nothing worth

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Speaker 1: influencing. The only blocks with
real police oversight were the agricultural

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Speaker 1: blocks. Phase looked up at the
overcast sky. The sun was a shimmering yellow

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Speaker 1: circle behind a gray wall. Seemed
like every day was gray. It was a rare treat to

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Speaker 1: see a blue sky anymore. Even Wurster
smiled on days like that, probably.

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Speaker 1: As he neared the group of identical
tan buildings where he lived, he stood up

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Speaker 1: straight and walked fast, like he had
somewhere to go. He tried to look both bored

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Speaker 1: and irritated, like an overseer had
sent him on an errand. A man sat at the opening

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Speaker 1: to the chain link fence. It wouldn't
have been hard to circle around back and hop

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Speaker 1: the fence to get home, but what if
somebody saw him? It was best not to look

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Speaker 1: suspicious at all. Why should he look
suspicious? He was sent home early by an

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Speaker 1: overseer because they didn't need
him. He had no reason to jump the fence. "Hold
on,

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Speaker 1: Teddy." Phase rolled his eyes. No one
called him by his splitter name here. That was

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Speaker 1: the whole point of a splitter name.
It was only for splitters and the people in

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Speaker 1: their crews, an alias. It was the
name you chose, not the name you were given. It

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Speaker 1: actually meant something. "What?"
Rhett got off the wooden stool he was sitting
on.

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Speaker 1: Phase glanced at the club leaning
against the fence. "Don't 'what' me. Where were

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Speaker 1: you?" "Working, until I wasn't."

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Speaker 1: "Hmm." Rhett would understand this. A
lot of people were coming

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Speaker 1: home without finishing their jobs
these days. If you didn't finish a job, you
didn't

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Speaker 1: get paid. Didn't matter that the
overseers overhired for the work. There was

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Speaker 1: actually an incentive to overhire, a
little anyway. Better to bring 12 if you needed

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Speaker 1: eight than fire the people who
weren't working hard enough. Phase tried to make
his

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Speaker 1: face tell that story. "It's 'cause
you're lazy." "It's because it's boring."

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Speaker 1: He'd worked hard to cultivate a
reputation for being lazy. It explained why he

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Speaker 1: didn't work as much as everyone else.
It explained why he was skinny instead of fat.

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Speaker 1: It didn't explain the lean, sinewy
muscles or why he disappeared so often.

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Speaker 1: Rhett nodded for Phase to go through.
"You'll be taking the offering if you keep

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Speaker 1: this up." "Hmm. Better than hauling
trash."

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Speaker 1: Faize cursed himself as soon as he
said it for adding more details to his lie.
Rhett

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Speaker 1: looked back to watch the street.
"Don't think that's true." Faize caught the note

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Speaker 1: of sadness in the man's words. They
sounded pained, like the pain of experience.

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Speaker 1: As he walked away, he reminded
himself not to look down on the muns who did the

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Speaker 1: collective's dirty work. They were
just people. They didn't deserve this treatment

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Speaker 1: any more than he did. Even people
like Rhett. He kept up his pissed off

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Speaker 1: act all the way to the building, but
his mind chewed on deeper thoughts. Even the

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Speaker 1: collective was under somebody else's
thumb. Difference was, they chose to be there.

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Speaker 1: Muns like him, they didn't get a
choice.

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Speaker 1: After he showered off, Faize went to
the bottom floor. His stomach demanded more

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Speaker 1: than protein ration bars.
Fortunately, the cafeteria was still open. Just
before he

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Speaker 1: pushed open the double doors, a hand
with iron grip grabbed his shoulder. The

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Speaker 1: fingers dug painfully into a pressure
point he didn't even know he had. Worster, his

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Speaker 1: building's keeper, spun him around.

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Speaker 1: "Theodore?" She didn't

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Speaker 1: say anything else. She didn't have
to. He was certain the old woman could smell

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Speaker 1: trouble, and he was certain he reeked
of it. "You missed work

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Speaker 1: sign-ups today."

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Speaker 1: Faize shrugged like it was no big
deal. That much, at least, wasn't an act. "You

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Speaker 1: have money?" "Enough for a few days.
Figure I'll take some time off."

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Speaker 1: Worster stared a hole through him, as
if trying to determine where the money had

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Speaker 1: come from. She looked like she had a
jaw carved from stone. Graying hair

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Speaker 1: jutted out of a bun on the top of her
head. She wasn't ugly, but she was

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Speaker 1: intimidating. If that teacher lifted
weights and chewed gravel...

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Speaker 1: "Your crimes are my crimes,
Theodore."

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Speaker 1: She slammed her right hook of a hand
onto the stairwell banister. In retrospect, it

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Speaker 1: had been a mercy that she'd grabbed
him with her real hand. "Just getting some food,

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Speaker 1: ma'am."

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Speaker 1: Knowing she had nothing concrete on
him, the keeper released him. She didn't say

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Speaker 1: anything else, but she watched him
go, like an ant under a magnifying glass.

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Speaker 1: There wasn't a line at this time of
day. Most of the residents would be out working,

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Speaker 1: as it was still too early for dinner.
That left people like him, people who had

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Speaker 1: nothing better to do. Faize smeared
on his most charming smile.

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Speaker 1: "Double helping, please." The only
mun still serving food walked up and

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Speaker 1: gave him an irritated look. Why? It's
not like he was doing anything. Faize thought

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Speaker 1: the man's name was Terrence? Terrence
slapped a scoop of green paste against

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Speaker 1: his metal tray. "Don't give him
that." A woman came in from the kitchen and
walked

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Speaker 1: up to the serving counter. Terrence
looked back at her, the look of irritation

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Speaker 1: immediately masked. He gave Faize an
attitude, but he wouldn't try it on an

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Speaker 1: overseer. Not if it ruined his
chances at kitchen work. Muns craved work like

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Speaker 1: that. Safe, indoors, stable. It was
pathetic. The

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Speaker 1: large woman strolled up to Terrence
and pulled the ladle right out of his hands, as

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Speaker 1: if he were unfit to wield it. "I got
something fresh for you, baby. Hold on."

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Speaker 1: A minute later, she came back with a
different color paste and gingerly spooned it

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Speaker 1: onto a new tray. "You said double
helping?" "Triple, please."

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Speaker 1: Faize eyed the three scoops of brown
mush on his tray. "Lentils and celery puree.

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Speaker 1: Don't worry. I know the color's not
the best." "Only the taste matters, ma'am." The

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Speaker 1: overseer shoved his previous tray
into Terrence's hands and walked off. "Thank
you."

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Speaker 1: Terrence sneered openly now that she
was gone, and Faize just walked off. Anything

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Speaker 1: he said would only make it worse, and
he, he couldn't afford to have enemy.

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Speaker 1: Enemies got you noticed. When he
neared the register, Faize noticed that an older

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Speaker 1: man had been watching them.

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Speaker 1: The man watched Terrence scrape the
green paste into the trash, visibly dismayed.

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Speaker 1: Then he grabbed a box of ration bars
and brought them to the register. They had

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Speaker 1: worse than no flavor, but they were
as cheap as calories came. He knew him,

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Speaker 1: but not his first name. The father of
the Juarez twins. His kids were just a few

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Speaker 1: years younger than Faize himself.
"That'll be eighty-four." "I, uh,

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Speaker 1: I don't..." "Eighty-four." "

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Speaker 1: [coughs] I'll, uh, I'll take the

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Speaker 1: offering." "Pardon?" "I said I'll
take the offering." The register

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Speaker 1: worker started punching in numbers,
then looked up at Juarez, pausing before

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Speaker 1: pressing the last key, waiting as if
he would change his mind. Faize had seen this

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Speaker 1: man taking the collective's offering
a few times over the past month. Always him. He

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Speaker 1: never saw his wife or children do it,
who were old enough to go into debt on their

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Speaker 1: own now. The man's left arm was in a
sling, and Faize put it all together.

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Speaker 1: "Hold on. I'll cover it."

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Speaker 1: Could he cover it, though? He pulled
out the wad of bills from his back pocket.

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Speaker 1: Ninety-two dollars. "Here." Fay's
walked over and shoved the wad of bills into the

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Speaker 1: man's hand before he could turn it
down. Juarez just stood there, dumbfounded, and

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Speaker 1: Fay's took one last longing look at
his tray of food. His stomach knotted itself

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Speaker 1: further, clearly expressing how it
felt about this course of action. Should have

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Speaker 1: just pulled that first shard, Fay's.
Easy money.

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Speaker 1: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Fay's nodded at the man and pushed
open the double doors. Doing a good thing didn't

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Speaker 1: stop him from feeling empty. He put
his foot on the first stair back to his room,

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Speaker 1: then stopped. His stomach still
rebelled, but it wouldn't find relief anytime
soon.

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Speaker 1: He had basically no money to his
name. Belatedly, he realized he should have kept

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Speaker 1: the change for himself. He could have
gotten half a serving of food with that. But

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Speaker 1: how would those bites taste, knowing
they had come from somebody else's meal? Fay's

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Speaker 1: looked over at the keeper's door. It
was slightly ajar, almost inviting. Inviting

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Speaker 1: as a spider's web.

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Speaker 1: He walked over and pushed open the
door. Somehow, Worster was already staring at

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Speaker 1: him. He hadn't even seen her move.
Was she just waiting there like that? Locking

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Speaker 1: eyes on the spot where someone might
enter? It had the intended effect. He did not

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Speaker 1: want to cross this woman. Theodore,
how can you serve?

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Speaker 1: He noticed that she hadn't said, how
can I serve you? I

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Speaker 1: lied. I don't actually have enough
money. It hurt showing

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Speaker 1: weakness to the keeper. Admitting
failure to himself? The fullness of his failure

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Speaker 1: hadn't actually hit him until just
then. Instead of walking tall with fifteen

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Speaker 1: hundred in his pocket, he had
nothing. Less than he did yesterday. And what
did he

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Speaker 1: have to show for it instead? He was
nearly cut to pieces, eaten alive.

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Speaker 1: Fay's shoved away that image of the
slicer opening up its body to eviscerate him.

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Speaker 1: He'd never seen one so close. None of
the other runs had even encountered them up

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Speaker 1: close. Once, on one of his sister's
runs, they'd seen a Tesserati glyph, the

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Speaker 1: equivalent of an interdimensional
keep out sign. And they had left the Fractality

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Speaker 1: immediately after finding it. No,
only he was so stupid, so

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Speaker 1: arrogant that he pushed the limits on
his first shard run. Would Ambrosia even run

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Speaker 1: tech for him again? She might, if
you'd brought Spineless with you.

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Speaker 1: Fay's batted down the thought. He
didn't need a second keeper. Worster took a
piece

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Speaker 1: of paper off the top of a stack on
her desk and handed it to him without breaking

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Speaker 1: eye contact. He took it, realizing
that she had probably known he was coming. And

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Speaker 1: his heart sank just a little deeper
into depression. Looks like he was living up to

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Speaker 1: everyone's expectations except his
own. She pointed at the paper in his hands. It's

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Speaker 1: sanitation work. Two spots left.
Location pay and everything else you need to

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Speaker 1: know is right there. He skimmed for
the line with the pay. It read, three

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Speaker 1: dollars per hour, twenty-five dollar
bonus for final sewage flow rates above

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Speaker 1: eighteen hundred liters per second.
The sewers were clogged. They were always

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Speaker 1: clogged because they were poorly
built. Fay's closed his eyes. He had literally
gone

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Speaker 1: from professional shard runner to
professional laxative in just a few hours.
Worster

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Speaker 1: hadn't even asked if he wanted the
job. She didn't need to. He belonged in the

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Speaker 1: sewers. He belonged with the trash
trucks. He belonged with the muns.

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Speaker 1: Because he was one.

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Speaker 1: Chapter four, Spineless. Fay's met up
with the other muns from his apartment block

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Speaker 1: on the same sewer detail. They were
all waiting outside for the truck that would

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Speaker 1: take them to the portion of the
sewers they'd spend the next three weeks working
in.

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Speaker 1: Mega city sewers. Not the relatively
clean, relatively unclogged sewers out here in

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Speaker 1: the outskirts. Seven other people
stood around the pickup zone. Hands in

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Speaker 1: pockets. Muted small talk. Fay's
recognized two of them immediately. The

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Speaker 1: first was Ricky Tate. Ricky stood up
and wrapped Fay's in a huge hug,

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Speaker 1: slapping his hands so hard on his
back that it stung. What's up, buddy? You get

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Speaker 1: fired too? He wasn't friends with
Ricky. But Ricky was friends with everyone. The

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00:16:48.244 --> 00:16:53.744
Speaker 1: man was so annoyingly happy all the
time that it was impossible to dislike him.

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Speaker 1: He had shockingly bright red hair and
an offensive amount of freckles. Ricky had the

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Speaker 1: kind of stocky, muscled frame that
enforcers recruited for, despite the restricted

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Speaker 1: rations that muns endured. Fay's had
to be careful not to embellish on any more lies

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Speaker 1: talking to Ricky. It was best that
everyone forget where he was yesterday. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: something like that. I feel you,
dude.

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Speaker 1: Ricky went for a fake punch to Fay's
gut, for no reason that Fay's could discern. He

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Speaker 1: pulled the punch at the last second
and laughed, pulling him into another big hug.

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Speaker 1: Fay's eventually wriggled out of it,
slightly embarrassed at how much effort it

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Speaker 1: took. Once he was free, he looked
over Ricky's shoulder at the second person he

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Speaker 1: knew. Someone he wasn't supposed to
know. Hannah Taraby.

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Speaker 1: Spineless.

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Speaker 1: She caught his stare and flashed a
mischievous smile, rising up into the air with a

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Speaker 1: little bounce on her toes. She spun
away on dancer's legs and gushed to the mun

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Speaker 1: standing next to her about something,
covering that knowing smile by pretending that

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Speaker 1: something funny had just occurred to
her. The mun nodded and smiled profusely at

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Speaker 1: whatever she was saying. They spoke
like old friends, even though Fay's was certain

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Speaker 1: they'd never met before just now.
Ricky faked another jab at his shoulder, except

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Speaker 1: this one connected. Hard. Phase
stumbled backwards. Ricky must have expected him
to

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Speaker 1: flinch, or simply thought it would be
funny either way. Phase rubbed his shoulder.

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00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:34.080
Speaker 1: Come on. I see what you're looking
at. Think I got a shot?

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00:18:36.560 --> 00:18:42.460
Speaker 1: We're literally living in the sewers
for three weeks. So? I'm hot stuff, Ted.

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00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:48.460
Speaker 1: Girls want me wherever they can get
me. Phase was certain they wouldn't want him in

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Speaker 1: the sewers. Based on how people
usually reacted to Ricky, they didn't seem to
want

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00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:57.800
Speaker 1: him anywhere. You wouldn't say that
out loud, though. Being mean to Ricky just felt

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00:18:57.840 --> 00:19:02.480
Speaker 1: like being mean to a puppy. It wasn't
his fault he was excited when everyone else

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00:19:02.540 --> 00:19:07.640
Speaker 1: just wanted to keep their heads down.
Good luck with that one, man. Don't need it.

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00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:13.140
Speaker 1: Just wait till you see my moves. I've
been practicing. On who? Your sister?

221
00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:18.960
Speaker 1: Something dark flashed across Ricky's
face. Phase worried he'd actually made the man

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Speaker 1: angry.

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00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:22.540
Speaker 1: Ah!

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00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:28.780
Speaker 1: You should see the look on your face.
Look at this guy's face. Hey! Look at this

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00:19:28.840 --> 00:19:34.520
Speaker 1: guy's face! Ricky continued shouting,
showing off Phase to the other muns, who

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00:19:34.600 --> 00:19:39.360
Speaker 1: either stared in confusion at Ricky
or turned away with deliberate disinterest.

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Speaker 1: Phase wasn't the only one who didn't
know how to handle him. You couldn't, really.

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Speaker 1: It was best just to ride it out.
Thankfully, the truck pulled up then. Muns
started

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Speaker 1: piling into the back, except Ricky,
who climbed into the front passenger seat

230
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Speaker 1: without invitation. Phase looked into
the cab. The overseer wasn't driving, so they

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00:19:58.780 --> 00:20:03.120
Speaker 1: must already be at the job site. The
really good overseers rode with their people,

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00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:09.480
Speaker 1: got to know them. Apparently, they
would have the other kind. No wonder

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00:20:09.560 --> 00:20:14.080
Speaker 1: there were spots open for this job.
It was a few hours to the job site.

234
00:20:17.560 --> 00:20:22.180
Speaker 1: Phase mostly kept to himself during
the long truck ride. He made small talk, asking

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Speaker 1: about people's families, where they
lived, why they were on sanitation work. It was

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00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.100
Speaker 1: an easy subject. Muns loved to
complain about work.

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00:20:32.040 --> 00:20:37.460
Speaker 1: He could bond with anyone over that.
His distaste was genuine, after all. He tried

238
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Speaker 1: not to look at the girl with the
sandy brown hair, the one who seemed to float
about

239
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.500
Speaker 1: rather than walk on the ground like
the rest of them. She must have talked to

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Speaker 1: everyone in the work detail by now.
Instead, he watched the sky, looking for

241
00:20:52.320 --> 00:20:57.620
Speaker 1: pinholes of blue behind all that
gray. A lone blackbird circled in the sky above,

242
00:20:58.360 --> 00:21:02.340
Speaker 1: searching. He wondered what it felt
like to be so high above it all.

243
00:21:04.080 --> 00:21:06.460
Speaker 1: I don't think we've met. I'm Hannah.

244
00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:13.340
Speaker 1: Phase looked for the sound of the
voice. Spineless sat on the wooden bench next to

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00:21:13.380 --> 00:21:19.360
Speaker 1: him, eyes dancing with playfulness.
Hi, Hannah. I'm

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00:21:20.280 --> 00:21:25.780
Speaker 1: Bruce? Bruce, huh? Yeah, uh, Bruce
Ironblock.

247
00:21:29.060 --> 00:21:34.940
Speaker 1: Well, nice to meet you, Bruce
Ironblock. Such a strong, masculine name. Yeah,
well,

248
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Speaker 1: sometimes a name just fits. Oh, I
agree. Especially the names

249
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Speaker 1: we choose.

250
00:21:44.060 --> 00:21:48.900
Speaker 1: They tell others who we are, remind
ourselves who we want to be.

251
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Speaker 1: Yeah? And what does your name say
about you, Hannah? Her smile faded and was

252
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Speaker 1: replaced with steel. It looked right
at home on her face somehow. Her

253
00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:07.120
Speaker 1: other side. That you can't hurt me.
No one can. The

254
00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:12.820
Speaker 1: social butterfly act hadn't really
been an act, and neither was this. What does
your

255
00:22:12.860 --> 00:22:18.780
Speaker 1: name say about you, Bruce? You
guessed already. It's a tough, strong name. No,

256
00:22:19.520 --> 00:22:24.780
Speaker 1: not that name. What does it say? What
does it really say?

257
00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:31.320
Speaker 1: Phase paused, trying to read her
face. It was all seriousness, a real question

258
00:22:31.380 --> 00:22:32.539
Speaker 1: behind the false one.

259
00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:36.880
Speaker 1: I just thought it sounded cool.

260
00:22:38.520 --> 00:22:41.520
Speaker 1: Hmm. Because it sounds like a tribute
to me.

261
00:22:44.300 --> 00:22:49.040
Speaker 1: Phase turned away and pursed his
lips, an unexpected little dagger of pain in his

262
00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:55.080
Speaker 1: chest. Had it been a tribute? Phase.
At the time, it really

263
00:22:55.140 --> 00:23:00.740
Speaker 1: had just sounded cool. He could
change it, like Spineless had. Maybe.

264
00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:06.840
Speaker 1: Phase looked up at the sky again,
searching for the bird. It was gone, though.
Maybe

265
00:23:06.840 --> 00:23:12.120
Speaker 1: it had found whatever it was
searching for. He hoped so. When he looked back,

266
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Speaker 1: Spineless had moved on to talk to
another woman. She was pointing at something
down

267
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Speaker 1: the road, gesturing excitedly with
her hands as she spoke. The other woman smiled

268
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Speaker 1: and nodded eagerly.

269
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Speaker 1: The overseer marched up and down
between the assembled muns and the long concrete

270
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Speaker 1: incline leading into the sewers. All
right, listen up. We're already six days

271
00:23:34.340 --> 00:23:39.780
Speaker 1: behind. Half the last crew quit by
the second day. That

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Speaker 1: means you work hard enough to make up
for the work they didn't do. Forty-something

273
00:23:45.820 --> 00:23:50.240
Speaker 1: people had signed up for this work
detail. He'd never seen a group this large for

274
00:23:50.300 --> 00:23:56.240
Speaker 1: sanitation work, which cast some
doubt on the overseer's story that half of the
last

275
00:23:56.300 --> 00:24:01.820
Speaker 1: crew had simply quit. You want a
bonus? I want a bonus. The collective wants

276
00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:07.500
Speaker 1: clear water works. His red overseer
sash stretched to fit over his spotless white

277
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Speaker 1: uniform. It seemed impossible to keep
something like that clean in his line of work.

278
00:24:12.760 --> 00:24:17.736
Speaker 1: Impossible only if he ever actually
set foot in the sewers, that is. In a few

279
00:24:17.816 --> 00:24:22.296
Speaker 1: moments, you'll be divided into
groups. Your group will receive a single map of
the

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00:24:22.356 --> 00:24:28.016
Speaker 1: clog sites. Do not lose it. If you
see workers from other teams or

281
00:24:28.076 --> 00:24:32.816
Speaker 1: homeless down there, you are to
report their presence immediately on the
authority

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Speaker 1: of Overseer Elm. Do not assume that
anyone outside this workforce has permission

283
00:24:38.836 --> 00:24:44.456
Speaker 1: to enter the waterworks. You are
authorized to use non-lethal force against

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Speaker 1: anyone who will not accompany you to
a guard post. Wait, what? Did he really

285
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Speaker 1: expect them to forcibly remove the
homeless? That wasn't the kind of work he'd

286
00:24:55.416 --> 00:24:59.396
Speaker 1: signed up for. It was bad enough that
people had to live in the sewers. There was no

287
00:24:59.436 --> 00:25:03.636
Speaker 1: way he was gonna kick them out. I've
nominated a foreman for the duration of the

288
00:25:03.696 --> 00:25:09.016
Speaker 1: project. She will liaise with me
directly to arrange sleeping quarters,
distribute

289
00:25:09.076 --> 00:25:14.476
Speaker 1: rations, and settle any disputes
among you. Overseer Elm let a chubby arm rest on

290
00:25:14.496 --> 00:25:20.196
Speaker 1: the girl's shoulder. Spineless smiled
brightly, as if she didn't mind at all. Faize

291
00:25:20.256 --> 00:25:24.816
Speaker 1: resisted the urge to topple the man
and watch him roll down the slope. I look

292
00:25:24.896 --> 00:25:29.656
Speaker 1: forward to working with you all. They
split into groups and introduced themselves.

293
00:25:30.196 --> 00:25:34.896
Speaker 1: Ricky traded places with someone to
join Faize's group. That wasn't actually allowed

294
00:25:34.936 --> 00:25:39.356
Speaker 1: as far as Faize knew. The six of them
walked down the slope toward their dark,

295
00:25:39.976 --> 00:25:45.876
Speaker 1: slimy, filthy home. A seventh person
jogged to join them. I'll be with you

296
00:25:45.936 --> 00:25:50.376
Speaker 1: today, Group Three. First, I'll show
you to your sleeping area, and then we'll walk

297
00:25:50.436 --> 00:25:55.376
Speaker 1: to your area of the sewers. Spineless
sounded as enthusiastic as ever.

298
00:25:56.696 --> 00:26:02.116
Speaker 1: Ricky waggled his eyebrows at Faize.
It was only then that Faize realized the depth

299
00:26:02.196 --> 00:26:07.516
Speaker 1: of her plans. It wasn't an accident
that she was here, and she'd talked up everyone

300
00:26:07.576 --> 00:26:13.476
Speaker 1: on the work detail on purpose. She'd
intended to be nominated as foreman so that

301
00:26:13.556 --> 00:26:19.196
Speaker 1: she could move about with impunity,
so that she could get close to Faize. The only

302
00:26:19.256 --> 00:26:24.796
Speaker 1: question now was why. He glanced at
her, and she returned a friendly smile.

303
00:26:25.736 --> 00:26:30.956
Speaker 1: He had a sinking feeling he wouldn't
like the answer. I'm trying to get it. Your fat

304
00:26:31.016 --> 00:26:36.476
Speaker 1: head's blocking my view. Faize and
Ricky were about a hundred feet down a pipe lit

305
00:26:36.556 --> 00:26:42.456
Speaker 1: only by the flashlights on their
heads. You have to pull at the same time. I

306
00:26:42.656 --> 00:26:48.096
Speaker 1: am. Just try again. One. Two.

307
00:26:49.496 --> 00:26:54.416
Speaker 1: They each pulled on the handles of
their iron clog rods. The other end of the rods

308
00:26:54.456 --> 00:27:00.016
Speaker 1: had four hooks like fireplace pokers,
which were buried in trash, slime, and worse.

309
00:27:00.796 --> 00:27:06.756
Speaker 1: Fatbergs, they were called. A slew of
solidified human waste, cooking oil, and

310
00:27:06.916 --> 00:27:12.496
Speaker 1: other unidentifiable rotting bits.
These fatbergs clogged up the sewers and had to

311
00:27:12.516 --> 00:27:17.016
Speaker 1: be unclogged. Otherwise, the human
waste dumping into the pipes would eventually

312
00:27:17.096 --> 00:27:22.096
Speaker 1: pile up. Sometimes, the waste would
pile up high enough to generate enough pressure

313
00:27:22.136 --> 00:27:26.556
Speaker 1: to unclog the pipes all on its own,
but usually enough people complained about the

314
00:27:26.676 --> 00:27:32.316
Speaker 1: smell long before that happened.
Three. A wave of warm biological

315
00:27:32.436 --> 00:27:37.836
Speaker 1: sludge surged past their knees. As
the water rose, Faize was pulled away into the

316
00:27:37.896 --> 00:27:42.416
Speaker 1: rotten torrent. He fumbled for
purchase but fell below the black water. He was

317
00:27:42.476 --> 00:27:47.516
Speaker 1: pulled away, and he slipped trying to
get up. He slipped again, and panic seized

318
00:27:47.536 --> 00:27:52.176
Speaker 1: him. He took in a mouthful of putrid
water and gagged, breathing in more through his

319
00:27:52.236 --> 00:27:57.876
Speaker 1: nose. Help. He wanted to scream for
help. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe. He'd

320
00:27:57.916 --> 00:28:02.456
Speaker 1: get swept into a smaller tunnel like
the ones he'd seen, just wide enough to get

321
00:28:02.536 --> 00:28:08.116
Speaker 1: sucked through, pulled deeper into
inescapable darkness as he choked on human
waste.

322
00:28:08.576 --> 00:28:13.756
Speaker 1: Just another dead mon in the sewers.
Someone grabbed him under the arms and pulled

323
00:28:13.796 --> 00:28:18.476
Speaker 1: him to the side of the flow. Ricky
held Faize tenderly against the wall while Faize

324
00:28:18.556 --> 00:28:23.356
Speaker 1: coughed out as much of the filth as
he could. Easy. Easy.

325
00:28:24.536 --> 00:28:30.516
Speaker 1: I got you, buddy. I got you. Just
take it easy. Faize wiped the slime from his
face,

326
00:28:30.736 --> 00:28:32.496
Speaker 1: enough to see and breathe again.

327
00:28:35.356 --> 00:28:35.676
Speaker 1: Thanks.

328
00:28:38.196 --> 00:28:38.796
Speaker 1: Of course.

329
00:28:40.416 --> 00:28:44.756
Speaker 1: Faize nodded back his thanks and
steadied himself on shaking legs as the
adrenaline

330
00:28:44.836 --> 00:28:49.616
Speaker 1: subsided. Ricky stood up and waved
for him to follow him back down the unclogged

331
00:28:49.716 --> 00:28:53.736
Speaker 1: pipe. Come on, that's enough
swimming. I'm gonna show the foreman those moves
I was

332
00:28:53.796 --> 00:28:55.836
Speaker 1: telling you about. Faize followed

333
00:28:58.756 --> 00:29:04.176
Speaker 1: and thought about telling Ricky that
he was covered in literal crap. He thought

334
00:29:04.256 --> 00:29:08.536
Speaker 1: about telling him that being covered
in crap still didn't affect his chances because

335
00:29:08.576 --> 00:29:14.476
Speaker 1: his chances were zero. But he didn't
have the heart because maybe

336
00:29:15.096 --> 00:29:18.076
Speaker 1: he might have misread Ricky Tate.
Maybe they all had.

337
00:29:19.716 --> 00:29:23.576
Speaker 1: Faize dunked his head under the fresh
water spout at the semi-permanent camp set up

338
00:29:23.636 --> 00:29:27.636
Speaker 1: underground. It was far enough away
from the wastewater not to overwhelm them with

339
00:29:27.656 --> 00:29:31.796
Speaker 1: the smell, but it was still
incredibly unpleasant. The smell would fade from

340
00:29:31.856 --> 00:29:36.096
Speaker 1: consciousness after a few days, he
knew. Of course, the people back home would

341
00:29:36.136 --> 00:29:40.556
Speaker 1: remind him for a few days after he
returned that the smell had in fact not gone

342
00:29:40.616 --> 00:29:45.996
Speaker 1: away. He had just become one with it.
Once he was as clean as he could get by

343
00:29:46.056 --> 00:29:49.996
Speaker 1: washing off in the sewer, he looked
around for the rest of his group. They were

344
00:29:50.036 --> 00:29:52.016
Speaker 1: trickling back in from their own clog
work.

345
00:29:54.256 --> 00:29:59.436
Speaker 1: So far, only he, Ricky, and one other
person had returned. Then he heard someone

346
00:29:59.496 --> 00:30:04.916
Speaker 1: laughing with genuine joy nearby.
Spineless walked into the camp with the
remainder

347
00:30:04.956 --> 00:30:10.236
Speaker 1: of Group 3. Ricky grinned and gave
him the thumbs up. Oh no.

348
00:30:12.276 --> 00:30:16.516
Speaker 1: Faize watched Ricky stroll up to the
group. It seemed to happen in slow motion.

349
00:30:17.056 --> 00:30:21.036
Speaker 1: Ricky pretended at first to be
searching frantically for something in his
pockets,

350
00:30:21.296 --> 00:30:26.928
Speaker 1: growing alarmed. Oh, don't buy it.
Don't buy it. Spineless asked him what was
wrong,

351
00:30:26.968 --> 00:30:31.148
Speaker 1: and Ricky flashed her his most
charming grin. She looked back at him in
confusion.

352
00:30:31.388 --> 00:30:37.028
Speaker 1: Oh, don't mind me. I just thought I'd
lost my heart. But now that I see you, I know

353
00:30:37.128 --> 00:30:42.648
Speaker 1: it's been stolen. Fay's put his hands
over his face. He delivered the line with the

354
00:30:42.708 --> 00:30:46.668
Speaker 1: kind of confidence that only somebody
who actually thought it was cool could.

355
00:30:48.048 --> 00:30:53.848
Speaker 1: Spineless let out a tinkling little
laugh like a shard come to life. Then she hugged

356
00:30:53.908 --> 00:30:59.548
Speaker 1: him. It couldn't be real. This
couldn't be real. They walked back

357
00:30:59.608 --> 00:31:05.148
Speaker 1: together. You know this guy? I do
know

358
00:31:05.248 --> 00:31:05.708
Speaker 1: him.

359
00:31:08.708 --> 00:31:14.648
Speaker 1: He's the life of the party. Ricky,
right? Would you make us all some food?

360
00:31:14.948 --> 00:31:19.448
Speaker 1: There's rations in the crate, and I
think we deserve some real food. Technically,

361
00:31:19.528 --> 00:31:24.688
Speaker 1: it's not until for tonight, but I
don't see an overseer. Do you? Ricky shook his

362
00:31:24.728 --> 00:31:28.968
Speaker 1: head and ran off to fetch some food
for everyone, looking like he'd received a kiss

363
00:31:29.028 --> 00:31:33.488
Speaker 1: from a princess, even though he'd
essentially been politely turned down and sent
off

364
00:31:33.548 --> 00:31:39.508
Speaker 1: to do chores. She had that effect on
people. After that, the others

365
00:31:39.528 --> 00:31:44.428
Speaker 1: were all serendipitously sent off on
chores of their own around the camp. Each of

366
00:31:44.468 --> 00:31:49.228
Speaker 1: them seemed pleased to receive the
errands. That left only the two of them.

367
00:31:50.828 --> 00:31:56.028
Speaker 1: Spineless sat down on a box and
crossed her legs, letting an eyebrow rise
slowly,

368
00:31:56.688 --> 00:32:01.908
Speaker 1: begging forth his inevitable
question. Her face and outfit were remarkably
clean,

369
00:32:02.388 --> 00:32:07.088
Speaker 1: the grime somehow contained only to
her boots and the bottom of her pants. She would

370
00:32:07.148 --> 00:32:12.988
Speaker 1: not have fallen like he had. Why are
you here? She folded her hands and

371
00:32:13.028 --> 00:32:17.508
Speaker 1: looked him straight in the eye, a
light smile on her lips. Because I keep my

372
00:32:17.548 --> 00:32:22.628
Speaker 1: promises. Fay's watched her, waiting
to see if she'd say more. This

373
00:32:22.688 --> 00:32:28.488
Speaker 1: person was a relic from his past.
Sitting here with her made him feel like a
child,

374
00:32:28.848 --> 00:32:32.748
Speaker 1: even though she wasn't more than five
years older than him. I can take care of

375
00:32:32.787 --> 00:32:35.048
Speaker 1: myself. She nodded slowly.

376
00:32:36.868 --> 00:32:42.648
Speaker 1: Ambrosia told me what happened. We
sold your shard, by the way. That hurt. Fay's

377
00:32:42.728 --> 00:32:48.648
Speaker 1: gritted his teeth. She had even
helped sell the shard. Couldn't he do anything
on

378
00:32:48.688 --> 00:32:54.388
Speaker 1: his own? Look, I made it out, didn't
I? All pleasantness drained from her face. This

379
00:32:54.468 --> 00:32:59.668
Speaker 1: time. What about next time? One of
the other group three workers returned from
their

380
00:32:59.728 --> 00:33:04.488
Speaker 1: chores, clearly eager to sit down and
chat. He glanced at their faces, then quickly

381
00:33:04.528 --> 00:33:05.708
Speaker 1: found something else to do.

382
00:33:07.468 --> 00:33:13.328
Speaker 1: We can't do this here. Come with me.
Where? In response, she stood up and

383
00:33:13.408 --> 00:33:18.808
Speaker 1: turned away towards the maze of
waterworks that ran beneath the megacity. To
prove

384
00:33:18.848 --> 00:33:24.488
Speaker 1: to me that you can take care of
yourself. To my world. She didn't wait for him.

385
00:33:25.228 --> 00:33:30.668
Speaker 1: Fay's looked down at his shaking
hands, willing them to be still, then stood up
and

386
00:33:30.748 --> 00:33:34.748
Speaker 1: jogged after her. You didn't keep
royalty waiting.