Lia the Tranquil

Historically, the climate of Florida was said to be an assorted mix. Since the radiation and wars, the mixed climate had morphed into a jumbled mess. A hasty thunderstorm passed overhead as I sat in a temporary habitat. The thin walls wavered against the battering rain. I sat across from Priscilla and played Gin rummy.

Months had passed since Aki, Serizawa, Taeko and I journeyed to the Galapagos Islands. We buried Taeko there. Emergency repairs to the gunship got us into the air, after which we flew north to Cuba, where we got medical treatment. Aki and Serizawa weren’t difficult to help, but I’d needed to fly-in surgeons and MechDocs from a couple countries to carve me apart and stitch things back together.

My problems worsened, as my malformed flesh rapidly decayed. They had to replace everything with cybernetics. Almost everything. My brain survived the decay. I was the first of my kind: A brain surrounded by steel. Almost 100% cybernetic. The CVC debated taking my licence, but the public were fascinated by me, so they buried the matter.

Honestly…I didn’t mind.

With my Venator funds, I secured Aki and Serizawa passage back to Japan. I didn’t go with them.

Shortly thereafter, I contacted Priscilla, flew to Florida, and joined the clean-up effort. I lived with Priscilla in her temporary habitat, and Aemilia frequently visited in the evenings, after she finished work for the day. Priscilla worked as a nurse and got called away at odd hours, so sometimes Aemilia and I had the habitat to ourselves.

Being a Venator, I didn’t have to work, but I needed an activity to occupy the daylight hours, so I signed a contract to help explore the irradiated United States. I found a modicum of peace, exploring the wasteland, systematically marking dangerous zones. I enjoyed a minor bit of fame in the organisation; since I faced less risk from the radiation, I volunteered for riskier jobs.

Despite the peace of purpose and company, I felt uneasy. My mind often drifted back to the Galapagos Islands and the decision Aki and I had made. I tried to train, but it made me feel worse. Venator or not, I saw little reason to improve my combat skills.

One night, on TV, I heard talk of the world’s governments coming together to discuss changing the percentage laws. Nothing definite. Unsubstantiated rumours. Still, enough to make my cyborg heart beat faster.

Aki visited from Japan. He’d brought boxes of lychee. The expensive kind. He wore a brown suit and thick-rimmed, designer sunglasses. Pomade slickened his hair.

As we sat and ate outside the habitat on plastic recliners, facing a ruinous vista, Aki showed me a picture of his parents and elder brothers, taken before his birth. ‘Is it selfish to fear a world without me in it, but not the world that existed before I arrived?’

‘Just like old times,’ I remarked. ‘You pose a philosophical question, and I pretend to understand.’

Aki smiled.

‘How’s Serizawa?’ I asked.

‘Pretty good. Bit quiet. Doesn’t drink or smoke or host orgies at the pagoda. I think she’s trying to—think she wants to find something new. Suppose I am, too.’

I gave a meaningful look.

Aki talked about his family. His elder brother, Ginjiro, had moved back into the main estate after a mental breakdown. He kept rambling about a town in the mountains where he’d lived for a while, only to discover that all the inhabitants, other than him, were androids. The name and location of the town didn’t show up on maps, but Aki’s brother swore it was real. Ginjiro’s return to the estate set a precedent, and Aki got permission, too.

‘Recently, around midnight, I made noodles in the kitchen,’ Aki said. ‘Ginjiro comes out, calmly grabs a knife, goes to the window, and runs the blade along his cheek. He peeled back the skin, to check if he was real. I had to wrestle the knife from him.’

I swore. ‘I’m sorry, Aki.’

He shrugged.

An old TV sat on a stool between us. We turned it on. The picture came through pixilated and off-coloured. The current program showed interviews with famous Venators before and after attacks. It felt like interviewing athletes before and after a match. Iju Wataru got interviewed, but he fidgeted and wanted to get back to the killing. Corvus Corinthian’s interview came next, and his pristine suit made it look like he’d avoided the attacks entirely.

‘I wanted to escape my brother’s shadow,’ Aki said, eyes fixed on the TV. ‘Tatsuya, I mean. Now, I’m thinking of other things. I thought Mako and her daughter would dissuade me from family, but I like the idea even more. Except for…’

Taeko, I thought. Her death continued to affect him.

‘I need something. I don’t even have a job. Not really. I go to some syndicate meetings, but I don’t do anything. Just nod or shake my head when the others do.’

‘How about this?’ I gestured at the wasteland. ‘Wanna help with the clean-up?’

Aki grimaced. Then he half-laughed with an unusual tempo. ‘Why the offer?’

‘Because you’re my friend.’

‘I meant your reasoning.’

I hesitated. In truth, I’d gotten a message the previous night from my boss. The organisation wanted to assemble a low-percentage team with combat experience to make contact with a mutant settlement deeper inland. Aki had come to mind.

But, I knew why Aki asked. He wanted to know if the offer had come from me, or from external, unseen influences. It came from my boss, but where had that order come from?

‘I’ll think about it,’ Aki said, rising. He gave that same unusual laugh. ‘I think I’ll want to accept, eventually.’

I walked with Aki to the airfield, where he caught a flight back to Japan.

That night, Priscilla had to work. Aemilia visited. We watched a film, during which I abruptly asked about her percentage. She avoided the question, and I didn’t want to pressure her. As we shared a bed, in the darker hours, I discreetly inspected her body for cybernetics. I inspected my own and, reaching no conclusion, rested my head against her chest and fell into a tranquil, deep, indifferent sleep.