Page 210 of Sparktopia
The god sneers out a laugh. “Is that what they call them? Extractions?”
“Yes. I mean, that what we called it. But…” This is when that final exchange between Stayn and Tyse comes back to me. “But we, the Spark Maidens, we were… ordered?”
Delta nods, but doesn’t say anything.
“Like one might order a dress from the couturier?”
He nods again.
“That Tau City where we just came from, it placed an order for me to feed their little god. And there is paperwork proving that it’s legitimate.”
“This is all illegal, by the way. Here in the Alphas, we do not tolerate such things. There is spark here, of course. I make it. I don’t eat it, Clara. I’m old. Thousands and thousands of years old. I came into being long before the Great Sweep even thought about destroying the world. There are a few others like me. But in the Omegas—and I know that Tau City doesn’t consider itself to be part of the Outlands, but it is—in the Omegas they have turned your spark—ourspark—into a commodity. Like apples, or wheat, or tin. The Tau City you came from shared a space with the Tau City Tyse came from. It’s not the past, it’s not the future, it’s the present but along another dimension. There are many worlds like this. Tyse, as an augment, can see these worlds. Here, not so much. The veil is not thin. But out there, in the Outlands, and when he’s working properly, he’s like a…”
“A Looking Glass.”
Delta points at me. “Precisely. But the reason I’m telling you all this is because you, as a Spark Maiden from the illegal Tau Factory in Dimension 702, you cannot see through worlds. You are not a Looking Glass. You are just a power source.”
“So when I saw Haryet, and the other Extractions, it wasn’t real?”
“And we’re back to this. Real is relative. So, while I would love to dismiss this as a stupid, pointless dream, I cannot, Clara. Because I fear you are much more than you realize.”
“Much more than what?”
“Much more than abattery.” These last words come out with the most frustration he’s showed me so far. Though still, they are calm. “Which is why”—he stands up—“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Wait. You’re just gonna dismiss me? What about my answers?”
“Maybe they’ll come to you, maybe they won’t. In the meantime, enjoy your stay.”
Three things happen at the same time.
He disappears.
Everything goes black.
I open my eyes.
“Hey.” Tyse is smiling down at me. “I thought you were waking up. How do you feel?”
I sit up and look around. It’s not a bad room. Nothing like the health center in Tyse’s Tau City. In fact, the soft corners and neutral décor reminds me of home. I peek under the covers and find that I have been dressed in a loose linen gown, which causes a bit of longing.
“Clara?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m good. I think.” Then I smile, trying to push everything that came before out of my mind so I can just be… present. “We made it. Anneeta is OK?”
“She’s fine. They’ve got her in a special housing unit. Apparently, I’m not the first augment to steal a god and bring her home.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Well. That’s…”
“Concerning?”
I laugh. “To say the least. Did your god… plan this?”
Tyse blows out a breath, sighing loudly as he looks out the window to my right. “Do you want to see the ocean? We’ve got black sand here. It smells like oranges when you step on it.”
He’s changing the subject. Which means he’s pretty certain that Delta did plan this, but he doesn’t want to talk about it.
And I don’t want to talk about it either.
