The Diamond Deep (31 page)

Wow. A dismissal. A complete dismissal. Koren might as well as have said, “
I have everything I need from you and you weren't, actually, that interesting. I'm going to go do more important things that fit my station.
” Well, good riddance. Ruby hadn't liked the woman from the moment she set eyes on her.

Bright colors clung to Lake's body, yellows and oranges with streaks of red. His hair was impossibly orange, a color she had never seen anywhere, and it hung down his back in a long ponytail.

Ruby felt drab next to him, and swore she would bring Jali next time she came here.

They gave Lake their names. He hesitated when SueAnne introduced herself, as if her appearance bothered him. Maybe the wrinkles and age spots and graying hair, or the shape of the old woman's body: blocky and waistless with thin shoulders.

Lake's voice was silky and easy to listen to, full of confidence. “I understand you are new to the
Diamond Deep
. Welcome to the station and to Exchange Five. The most common goods and services all flow through the exchange, as do most requests for work. This area closest to the station is where the paymasters—the people who will be able to hire you—come every morning. It is a chaos in the early morning. An hour ago there were hundreds of people here. The best jobs go quickly.”

“What kind of jobs?” SueAnne asked.

“Anything. Sorting and cataloguing incoming goods for buyers, loading and unloading cargo, working booths at food exchanges, repairs of all kinds, sometimes caring for people.” He glanced at SueAnne. “Most of the work exchanged here is physical, usually a few days' worth of credits for a day of work.”

Ruby frowned. The grays would do all right, or at least the young ones. “Why use people instead of robots for carrying?”

Lake smiled at her. “We use both. Robots are more expensive, and make bigger mistakes. The Economist structures a certain amount of work for humans. So it depends on the job.”

Exchange Five throbbed with light and sang with a cacophony of sound. All of this mixed in a single wide-open space, a big box of a room with high metal walls and a metal ceiling, and an assault of words written on signs and in light almost everywhere. People in booths called to people outside of them. Here and there, humanoid robots played either role: seller or buyer.

Other booths sold food and drinks.

Color bloomed everywhere, although on closer examination the clothes weren't as rich as Koren's or even Naveen's. Most of the robots were less smooth or unblemished than the assistants Koren had brought with her.

KJ broke his long silence. “How many people look for work each day, and how many find it?”

Lake looked down for a moment, as if uncomfortable. “There is work for a little less than half.”

Ruby wondered if a little less than half meant a quarter. “And the other half?”

“If they are lucky, they get work on a different day.”

“Not all work comes through here,” Joel observed. “Where would a trainer or a fighter or a singer go for work?”

“Professional work happens on the boards. You can access those via your slates. But those jobs need certificates and approvals.”

SueAnne frowned. “So how do we get those?”

“With credit.”

Ruby asked, “Does credit rule everyone's lives?”

Lake laughed. “You must have it. But whether or not it rules your life is up to you.”

“So what can we acquire here?”

“Almost anything. Things to wear, delicacies from other lands or gardens to grace your table, medicine to help you feel better, skills to give you access to new jobs, a moment of live entertainment or a copy of a song to play over and over. You can buy a program to create new things, a larger place to live, pretty shoes for your pretty little feet.”

He gave her a little bow. “You are a beautiful redheaded woman. What could you possibly need that the
Diamond Deep
cannot provide? Ask, and I will try to show you.”

A short silence fell on the group from the
Fire
and they looked from one to another before Ruby looked back at Lake. “Food and sustenance for thousands.”

He blinked at her, as if counting. A beat of silence passed before he said, “Easy enough to order. I'll show you.”

Joel added, “Physical training.”

Lake nodded. “Of course.” He looked around. “Is there one more thing?”

They all looked around, and SueAnne whispered to Joel.

Lake smiled. “We should begin to tour. But you have still not told me what third thing you want to acquire today.” He looked right at Ruby.

“Bits of the colored materials you used in your clothes.”

“All right, then. We've talked enough. Allow me to show you the wonders of Exchange Five.” They followed Lake into the swirling movement of commerce. Dayn and KJ walked side by side at the end and watched all of them. Joel let SueAnne lean on his arm so that she could keep up.

When they finally passed through the doorway to home, Ruby could barely walk and her stomach felt slightly nauseous from the assault of the new. Colors she had never seen before, scents she hadn't known existed, people with hair and skin and eyes of all colors. She'd seen a man with metal legs.

Beside her, SueAnne sat in a wheeled chair that moved by itself. Her gray hair lay flat against her face, and her lips were drawn thin with pain. Before they'd made it even half-way through Exchange Five, she had begun to falter so much that Joel's arm wasn't enough. Dayn had taken her other side, but in spite of the extra support, they had slowed so that people stepped around them. Lake had ordered up a robot chair for her and showed her how to give it basic instructions. Then he had helped them buy one. Their first purchase aboard the
Diamond Deep
.

The whispering women waited for them at the door. Lya stood in front of her, blocking the way. “Tell us what you saw.”

It was all Ruby could do not to snap at her. “Tomorrow. We're tired. We'll share everything we learned tomorrow. In the meantime, can you find it in your hearts to help SueAnne get back to her place?”

Lya stopped moving as if Ruby's tone of voice had been a command to become a piece of art.

“Please?” Ruby said. “The chair probably can't do stairs. I really don't know.”

Lya blinked.

One of the three women with Lya nodded and tugged on Lya's sleeve until Lya nodded as well. The five of them left, the four women and SueAnne heading silently away.

“I think you should keep them busy all the time,” Joel observed.

Ruby shook her head softly, bemused. “At this point, I'll try anything except violence.”

A shadowed figure sat by the door. For a moment she thought it might be Onor, but when he stood up she noticed the slighter form. “Haric, what are you doing here? Do you have a message for us?”

He shook his head. “I just wanted to know if you were all right.”

The earnest look on her face touched her. She gave him a long, soft hug. “We're fine, and thank you.” She smoothed back his hair. “How are you?”

“I'm scared,” he said. “And I'm bored.”

She'd thought she was too tired to laugh but she wasn't. “And we're very tired. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Could you pass on a message for me? Could you ask Jali to meet me in the morning? Tell her I've got work for her.”

He looked pleased and left quickly, as if he had wanted something to do more than anything in the world.

As soon as they were inside, she took a long drink of water and flopped onto the bed. Joel was more disciplined about getting to the same place, and soon they were right next to each other, breathing softly.

Ruby couldn't recall being so drained since the days of fighting. Her head spun as hard as her feet throbbed. Joel lay beside her on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She reached deep inside herself for a scrap of energy and managed to roll over closer to him and touch his cheek. “I didn't see any children. Not one.”

She left her fingers on his jaw so she felt him say, “I think I saw one being carried. A babe in arms. We'll ask Onor.”

“Has he come home?”

“I think he would have met us,” Joel said

“Or passed out from exhaustion. In the old days I could have asked Ix.”

“I know.”

She stretched, fighting to find a few more minutes of awareness for conversation. It had been a long day, but she still felt mystified by her exhaustion. “I didn't see anyone that looked old, either. I want to know how they do that.”

“It's unsettling.”

“I'm amazed we got SueAnne home.” She had so much to think about now. “We need to assign someone to keep track of these credits, maybe a few people. So one can watch the other.”

“The
Fire
was so much easier,” he murmured. “We had to work to live, but everyone was fed.”

“That's not so different than it is here.”

Joel rolled to face her, stroked her hair. “But we were all always together. Even when the levels were closed off and I didn't know you existed, we were all necessary.”

“We're all going to be necessary here.”

He paused for a moment, and then asked, “How are we going to care for people like SueAnne? How can she earn credit?”

“People will have to pool the credit they earn, I guess.”

He touched her cheek, ran a finger along her lips. “How will we make them? This is not a closed space where they must accept a leader.”

“Or leaders.”

“Or leaders.”

Ruby had closed her eyes, but nevertheless she heard his soft laughter in his voice. She whispered, “We're going to have to be so strong, so smart. Koren is no friend, and Naveen may not be either. We may not have any friends here.”

“We have each other.”

By the time they made it into the meeting room they'd chosen, Joel was seething. “If you don't do something about those women, I will.”

The room was still empty, although someone had already been here brewing stim, the scent of it filling the air and giving Ruby a boost. She put a hand on Joel's arm, felt the tight set of his muscles. “I will take care of this. It's only been two days since they started it. I'm thinking.”

“Don't think too long.”

Maybe love was always infuriating. She had learned that taking him on directly seldom worked. Not that she was happy about the women; they bothered her on a deep note. But she spoke quietly and calmly. “Lya was my friend once.”

He only softened a bit. “If you allow yourself to feel guilty about Hugh forever, he will haunt you. Save your guilt for those
you
actually kill.”

“What a happy thought.” The door opened and Haric came in with three cups in each hand. Ruby smiled at him. “Six? Aren't we only expecting Onor and KJ?”

Haric grinned at her. “And me.”

“That's still only five.”

Haric simply smiled and continued to look full of a secret. He poured three cups, and the three of them sat down at the table.

“What happened here yesterday?” Joel asked.

“There's five more children that came up sick, but one of the first ones who got sick looks better. Marcelle's really worried about another one, though.”

Ruby frowned. “They're all quarantined?”

“And you feel okay?” she asked Haric.

“I was sick one day. But I'm better now.” He looked more closely at her. “You look tired. Are you okay?”

“I am tired. We were out a long time yesterday. I can't tell you how much there was to see.”

“I wish I could have gone with you.”

He was so earnest. “I know. I have a feeling we'll all get to see more of the station soon.”

The door opened again, admitting Onor and Naveen.

“You're the sixth,” Ruby said in greeting.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Good to see you. Haric will pour you some stim.”

They shared stories from each other's trips while they finished the first round of stim. Onor's description of the Brawl fascinated and frightened Ruby. Although it was Onor who had relayed the story of seeing the Brawl, Ruby turned to Naveen. “How do people end up in the Brawl?”