Astra (51 page)

All these odious pleasantries. Anyone could tell Samrod Blesserson couldn’t wait for his sister to be convicted of the gravest crime in Is-Land. Astra toed the useless knot in the wood.

‘As we discussed, Dr Blesserson, we won’t keep you long,’ Dr Wolfson purred. ‘For the benefit of Astra and her Shelter parents, we simply need to confirm the circumstances surrounding Astra’s Security Serum shot. According to the records,’ he consulted his Tablette, ‘she was violently ill at school, and rather than take her to the next town in the mobile clinic’s schedule – admittedly, a fair distance – Hokma Blesser brought her to you, in Sippur. You filed a report indicating that you had given her the shot.’

‘That is correct.’ His voice dripped with languor. He clearly wasn’t scared of Astra, or anything she might say.

‘We are entirely confident that you did so. It has been noted from more than one source, however, that Astra’s behaviour over the years has not been entirely consistent with that of a child who received a full dose of the Serum. According to her school reports, her verbal marks occasionally peak over the expected upper limit, while her teachers often comment on her apparent intensity of emotion. Physically, she is slightly smaller and lighter than was to be expected. Her Shelter mother Nimma has
today noted her high degree of discontent and unco-operative behaviour. We were wondering if you could suggest any reason why the shot might not have taken effect. Could her illness of the day before have interfered with the uptake, for example?’

‘That is highly unlikely.’ Dr Blesserson paused. Astra tensed. It was coming now: whatever lie he was going to spin. ‘Nimma, Klor,’ he continued, greasing the lie with his fat unctuous tone, ‘forgive me if I have been remiss in not mentioning my concerns before today, but I must confess that I have sometimes wondered about Astra myself. When I visited Or in 82
RE
, I found her to be an intelligent but somewhat, shall we say,
confrontational
child. Naturally the Serum has different uptake levels, and as I had delivered the shot myself I assumed Astra was just naturally resistant to some of its effects. Nevertheless, when Dr Wolfson called me earlier, I was not surprised to hear his report. I have been dwelling on the matter since, and given the recent revelations of my Code sister’s activities, the only conclusion I can draw is that she had some kind of secret plan in mind for Astra. It would be simple enough to give the girl an emetic and then contrive to be with her when I gave her the shot. It transpires, you see, that there is an antidote. If taken within an hour of the shot, it neutralises the effects completely.’

‘An
antidote
.’ Nimma’s hand flew to Klor’s wrist. ‘Oh, Klor – that would explain everything.’

Klor clasped her fingers. ‘Forgive me, Samrod,’ he said. ‘I hadn’t heard of an antidote.’

‘No. For obvious reasons, we haven’t wanted to publicise its existence. It was developed by a renegade scientist on the GeneIsis team who made it available for a fee to a handful of misguided parents. They have all been appropriately dealt with now, and the children involved re-Sheltered. We thought we had rounded up everyone, but I worry now that Astra was carefully schooled to avoid triggering an automatic investigation. All her anomalies are very slight, but taken together, especially in light of the current situation, they are deeply suspicious.’

No one spoke. Nimma’s chest was heaving. Astra could barely breathe and her hand felt like granite beneath Klor’s. The antidote story: she remembered now, that’s what Hokma had told her to say. But she couldn’t do it – if she did, Hokma would go to the well.

‘You must forgive me, Klor and Nimma,’ Dr Blesserson went on, ‘for not reaching out to you after the banquet. But for all that Hokma and
I have had our differences over the years, it honestly didn’t occur to me that she would have deceived us like this. Though, looking back now, I suppose when I relieved her of her School Spoke post I was unconsciously registering alarm at the amount of power she had accrued over Astra.’

‘It is almost impossible to investigate family members,’ Dr Wolfson said as Dr Petaldott lifted a black briefcase onto the table. ‘We are entirely unsurprised that the Superintendent suppressed that particular hunch. But I hope you’ll both agree that the use of an antidote is an entirely reasonable hypothesis. Astra, did Hokma give you anything to eat or drink right after you left Dr Blesserson’s office?’

‘No,’ she declared, pulling her hand out from Klor’s and gripping his arm. ‘Everything was
fine
. I had my shot, then we came back to Or. I didn’t eat anything.’

But her voice sounded tinny and Klor was staring at the table, where Dr Petaldott was clicking open the briefcase, taking out a syringe. ‘It was a long time ago, Astra,’ she said. ‘You might easily have forgotten. Or perhaps Hokma doctored your hydropac. To confirm that you had the full dosage of Serum, we would like to take some blood samples today.’

Her last shred of poise had been blasted away. Astra was trapped in her chair, trapped in the room. She pushed herself backwards, the chair teetering on its back legs. ‘
Klor
,’ she begged, ‘don’t let them put a needle in me. I don’t want a booster shot.’

‘Astra, you’re not a little girl any more,’ Nimma hissed. Dr Petaldott unwrapped the needle and examined the tip. Behind the IMBOD officers, Dr Blesserson’s green face gleamed with sour satisfaction.

Klor reached for the back of the chair. ‘Come, Astra. We have to co-operate,’ he murmured.

Dr Petaldott stood up. ‘We’re not going to inject you with anything, Astra. It’s just a blood test.’

‘
No
.’ She leapt up, knocked Klor’s arm away and swung the chair in front of her, a shield against the advance of the needle.

‘Astra?’ Nimma’s voice sheared through the air. ‘Why don’t you want them to test you? If you’ve really had your shot, everything will be fine.’

She flung the chair aside, ran to the door and shook the handle. It was locked. She couldn’t get out. Dr Wolfson was standing up now too, and Klor was reaching for her, to hold her down while she was punctured. She was a wounded animal, surrounded by hunters aiming bows and arrows at
her heart. All she could do was lash out, try to hurt them too before they closed in.

‘
Okay
,’ she shouted, ‘okay.
I didn’t have it
. I didn’t have my shot. But Dr Blesserson
helped
Hokma. He gave me a teaby injection instead. You can test me for that!’ She held out her arm, with the scar from the injection. ‘Go on,
test me for teaby antibodies
. And ask
Ahn
– he knew too. Lil figured it out, she told him. Go and ask Ahn – he’s been keeping it secret for years. Why isn’t he in trouble too?’

No one was listening to her. Dr Blesserson’s smug smile flinched not a millimetre as her accusations splattered the walls. Dr Petaldott walked smartly back to the table and exchanged knowing glances with Dr Wolfson, who made a note on his Tablette.

Nimma was virtually hyperventilating, slumped back in her seat, her hands crossed on her chest. ‘You didn’t have your shot! I knew it. I
knew
it! All these years, all these years …’

Klor tried to put his arm around her, but she elbowed him away and, sobbing, buried her face in her hands. Dr Petaldott returned the needle to her briefcase and closed it with another slick click. Dr Wolfson took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, waiting for Nimma’s hiccoughs to subside. Klor started towards Astra, but she backed against the wall, her arm in front of her in a judo defence position. He implored her with his eyes, but she held the pose.

He turned back to the officers. ‘Dr Wolfson—’ He sighed. ‘How could we not have known? What must you think of us?’

‘Dr Grunerdeson,’ Dr Wolfson said warmly, replacing his glasses, ‘please, don’t worry. I appreciate that this comes as a terrible surprise to you and Ms Shipdott.’

‘It’s not a surprise to
Dr Blesserson
. It’s not a surprise to
Ahn
,’ Astra hissed. ‘They knew.
Ahn knew
. If Hokma’s a traitor,
they’re
traitors too.’

‘Astra, stop trying to get other people in trouble!’ Nimma’s voice was rough with phlegm. She cleared her throat. ‘Samrod, I’m so sorry. She’s always been jealous of Ahn. Perhaps she was jealous of your relationship with Hokma too.’

Dr Blesserson shook his head, as if to say, ‘Not at all.’

‘That may be,’ Dr Wolfson said kindly, ‘but in fact, Astra’s right. Ahn did know about her condition.’

‘Ahn knew?’ Nimma blanched. Klor turned to Astra, his eyebrows knit together in a thick, tufty rope.

‘I told you!’ Astra shouted triumphantly. ‘Why don’t you arrest
him
too?’

‘No, Astra.’ Beneath Dr Blesserson’s massive, bilious smirk, Dr Wolfson regarded her indulgently. ‘Ahn’s not in trouble.’ He turned to Nimma and Klor. ‘As a matter of course, we investigated Astra’s records and when we discovered these anomalies we discussed them with Superintendent Blesserson. In his interview today, we asked Ahn his opinion. Ahn was hugely relieved – he told us he had discovered the truth when Astra was twelve, but Hokma begged him to keep Astra’s condition secret. He was deeply worried and conflicted, of course – he thought it was atrocious that Klor and Nimma didn’t know, but he had a long bond with Hokma, who worked hard to convince him that hers was a ‘victimless crime’. He’s not a father or a Code scientist, and the whole situation felt far beyond his capabilities to judge. He agonised over reporting it, but when Astra became the Gaia Girl, he felt that she was sufficiently integrated into Is-Land life not to pose a threat to her siblings. At the same time, he couldn’t trust Hokma any longer and as you know, their bond irretrievably broke down. He’s apologised profusely for his error of judgement, an apology we’ve happily accepted. Ahn, of course, knows a great deal about Hokma’s character and motivations, and he’s also going to give evidence in court that will help us understand the extent of her animosity against the state.’

She was speechless.
Ahn had told
, just as she had known he would – but on top of that, just like that gloating,
carnivorous
Dr Blesserson, he was going to help
convict Hokma
– help condemn her to a life sentence in the worst jail on earth. She wanted to smash something against Dr Blesserson’s monstrous visage, but there was nothing to throw, no vase, no sculpture, no lamp, just a potted orchid, and even in her fury, even to rip that sick triumphant mask down from the wall, she couldn’t kill a helpless plant. She stood there shaking, impotent, the adrenalin coursing in her ears.

‘How could she have done this to us?’ Nimma was bleating. ‘We’ve been raising a
cuckoo
, Klor. A cuckoo in our nest.’

‘Shh, darling, shhh,’ Klor hushed. ‘Dr Wolfson,’ he beseeched, ‘Dr Petaldott, this is a grave shock, a grave shock indeed – but surely it’s not Astra’s fault?’

‘No, of course not,’ Dr Petaldott replied. ‘Astra, you are the victim here. Why don’t you come and sit down and let us take care of you?’

‘I don’t want to sit down.’

‘Astra,’ Dr Petaldott repeated, ‘Hokma exploited you when you were far too young to understand the implications of your actions. What did she tell you? That the Security shot would limit your chances in life?’

Klor and Nimma had turned in their seats and everyone was looking at her now. She had no exit, no option except silence – but she couldn’t let anyone think that she was a victim, or Hokma a
criminal
.

‘She was trying to
help
me,’ she declared. ‘Look at the Sec Gens: they’re happy, but they never ask questions, they never have an original thought, they just do what they’re told. They’re not like me.’

‘I’m sorry to hear you say that, Astra,’ Dr Wolfson interrupted. ‘The success of the Security Generation depends on trust. By instilling in you contempt for your siblings and friends, Hokma has ripped you out of this circle of trust. She has damaged not only your own chances at happiness, but theirs too.’

Her words were being twisted. She addressed Klor. ‘I love Yoki and Meem – you know I do. But I’m not like them, am I? I’m the same as the older kids.’

‘No, Astra, you’re not,’ Dr Petaldott answered, in a tone of icy finality. ‘The older children haven’t been living a terrible lie.’

Nimma was weeping again, her face buried in a hanky, but Klor put up his hand as if to halt the advancing glacier of IMBOD logic. ‘Dr Wolfson,’ he asked, ‘what’s going to happen to Astra?’

‘Dr Grunerdeson, Astra is not culpable for Hokma’s abuse of her parental role – but Dr Blesserson is correct: this crime has caused unknown damage. Astra will need to be quarantined while we assess her and her siblings.’

It was a punch in the solar plexus. ‘
What
?’ she whispered.

Klor stood up again, and came towards her. ‘Astra,’ he said. She didn’t return his embrace, but hugged herself and let him put his arms around her. His touch was light and dry on her shoulders. His chin rested briefly on the top of her head. He smelled of Klor: of warm stone, of afternoons in the sun. He was the wise old man of the woods. Somehow, even in this terrible, endlessly escalating trial, he was still Klor.

‘Astra won’t be able to continue at school or do her IMBOD Service with the rest of her Year,’ Dr Wolfson continued. ‘If, Klor and Nimma, you both agree to continue in your roles as Shelter parents and Astra’s Shelter siblings are rehoused, Astra may keep living in Or and finish Year
Twelve via Tablette learning. She will also have to have daily sessions with an IMBOD psychologist. If Sheltering her is too difficult under the circumstances, she will have to go to an IMBOD school in Sippur for re-education.’

‘Rehouse Yoki and Meem?’ Nimma gawped over her hanky. ‘But—’

‘Of course we agree,’ Klor immediately overrode her, giving Astra a little squeeze. ‘Yoki and Meem can live with their Code parents. Astra’s a good girl, officers, and we love her. Of course we’ll look after her during her rehabilitation.’

The assault was too relentless, too well co-ordinated. She stood in Klor’s arms, trembling, no longer able to rebel.