After receiving and registering their phones, Noah and Beata spent the next two hours in Everest’s company, receiving the “standard” briefing. Noah suspected this briefing was very different from the one at the Information Center. Everest read from a brochure, but never missed a chance to crack a joke, add a snide comment, or threaten to “deal with them” if they dared sneeze in the wrong direction.

  The briefing consisted of short introductions to the Guilds, Regia’s political system, geography, the situation beyond Regia’s borders, and so on. Everest rushed through all of it as fast as he could—apparently so that he could move on to the part he considered important:

  “Look, you’ve got your communication devices,” he waved his phone under Beata’s nose. “There you go, that’s all you need. You’re happy little ghosts now. Theoretically, you could find a hollow in a tree and spend all eternity inside it. Seriously, if I shook every tree hollow in the forests, I’m sure I’d find at least a dozen people living like that…”

  All three of them clearly heard Alicia cough loudly from the other room.

  “But we are intelligent, social creatures,” Everest continued as if nothing had happened. “Even dead, we’re still alive enough to retain certain minimal needs. Not for the body, but for a healthy mind. Yes, we could survive perfectly well inside a tree hollow. But what would happen to our minds?”

  “We’d turn into squirrels,” said Beata.

  “Oh. You’re so clever,” Everest smiled. “You know one mammal that lives in a hollow, and suddenly you think you’re smarter than me, right?”

  “I also know bats and martens.”

  “And you don’t know woodpeckers, owls, and chickadees?”

  Beata rolled her eyes.

  “Those are birds, not mammals, genius.”

  For a few seconds, Everest just stood there blinking, unable to think of a comeback. Then he stepped to the door, opened it, and called out to Alicia:

  “Listen... should we take the little gorilla into the team? I’d assign her to the rapid response unit. She could just burst into a raided building with the doorframe and kill everyone with her intellect. What do you think?”

  Receiving only a glare from the other side, he shut the door again and cleared his throat:

  “So, back to those tree hollows. It’s similar to the phones. Regia’s administration provides free housing to newcomers. Don’t expect royal palaces, though. If you want those, you’ll have to build them yourself. The government guarantees a standard two-room apartment—slightly larger than a janitor’s broom closet. Now, the address is a bit tricky. You can choose the city, but the exact location will depend on availability. Since you two are complete newcomers, you probably have no idea which city is dearest to your not-beating hearts. So here’s my advice—choose this magnificent city, Venice. The advantage? You’ll be close to us, and we’ll find it easier to keep an eye on you. Another advantage—you can complete your registration right here. No need to crawl back to the Info Center and apologize for being complete idiots.

  Oh, and a third advantage: since you already know each other, I can register you both in the same building.”

  “We’re choosing another city,” Beata declared firmly.

  Now it was Noah who raised an eyebrow. We?

  “Wonderful!” Everest grinned. “Which one?”

  “Any city, just not this one!”

  “Child, you don’t know the name of a single other city. And you have no idea who runs the FIC departments in those places. Remember, we’ll have to report your relocation to the local crew so they can supervise you instead of us. Alicia and I already promised not to get in your way as long as you behave. Other departments might use… measures you won’t like.”

  “If we’re prisoners in this city, you could’ve just said so,” Beata clicked her tongue.

  “Prisoners is a bit strong. You can still travel anywhere in Regia. You’ll just have to notify us before you go wandering off. I’ve already added mine and Alicia’s numbers to your phones. You’ll find them listed as ‘That Woman’ and ‘This Magnificent Agent’…”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Before he even finished, Beata grabbed her phone and began furiously tapping the screen.

  “So we’re living in this city,” Noah said, deciding to move things forward. “In a city—and a country—where no currency exists. Maybe you can advise us on what things we should take care of first?”

  “Now that’s a good question!” Everest clapped. “Finally, at least one of you knows how to swim with the Flow instead of kicking against it. So, kid—listen carefully to Uncle Everest’s wisdom! First, you two will register your addresses, inspect your homes, and get to know your neighbors. And after that, you can do whatever you want!”

  * * *

  Leaving the Flow Intelligence and Criminal Investigations building, they followed Everest’s advice and headed straight for the nearest teleportation booth. Looking back, Noah saw the FIC headquarters for the first time. It was just as gothic and impressive as the rest of Venice.

  “All these teleporters have one serious flaw,” he muttered. “We no longer know where we are in relation to the station. Even if we have the address of our home arrival zone, the real route from point A to point B remains a mystery.”

  “Does that even matter?” Beata asked.

  “I don’t know. But… what if these booths malfunction one day? Then what? We’d be like those people from that internet meme who can’t find the nearest supermarket without GPS and therefore starve to death.”

  “You’ve got all eternity now,” she shrugged. “You can explore the whole city on foot if it bothers you that much…”

  Her expression suddenly changed. She looked at Noah almost fearfully.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just… now realized something. I’m going to look like this for all eternity. Twelve years old…”

  “I’m sure you’re not the only one,” Noah tried to comfort her. “They must’ve found a solution by now.”

  “Really?” she looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “You’re not lying?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but you arrived here just past twelve. Your case can’t be unique. If others had the same problem, they’ve been here much longer than you. They must’ve figured something out.”

  “Okay… then our goal is clear,” she sighed, placing a hand on her chest. “You will walk across this city and memorize every route. And I’ll look for other kids and a way to grow up… to appear at least twenty-five… No, wait. Better forty-five. That’d give me more authority.”

  Noah couldn’t help laughing. Then he pointed toward the nearest teleportation booth, and they headed toward it.

  “So you don’t want to find your apartment on foot?” Beata teased, suddenly in better spirits.

  “My apartment will be the starting point for all my travels,” Noah explained. “If I explore Venice on foot, it’s better to begin from home each time, venturing a bit farther. Coming back will reinforce the routes in my memory… assuming our memory still works the old way. Hard to say what those sixteen IP units did to mine… And I still need a map of Venice,” he added.

  This time, Beata burst out laughing—mockingly, the way only snotty twelve-year-olds can.

  * * *

  As soon as they arrived in the assigned arrival zone, they stepped through the wide doors into daylight and turned to see where they had ended up. In Noah’s opinion, teleportation inverted the whole concept of travel. Now it felt like they moved from one arrival zone to another, with the buildings themselves reduced to mere interior spaces.

  Their assigned building was only seven stories tall—a true dwarf next to the surrounding skyscrapers. Built from dark gray stone, adorned with even darker statues, ornaments, and sharp corner towers, it looked luxurious.

  If currency existed in Regia, this place would probably be far out of his price range…

  “Well, fine, you were right,” Beata admitted reluctantly. “If I’d run straight to my apartment, I wouldn’t know I lived in a palace.”

  She lifted her phone and snapped a few pictures.

  * * *

  Noah stepped out of the elevator first, on the fourth floor. Beata’s apartment was on the seventh. They went over each other’s apartment and phone numbers—just in case. For now, they were the closest people they knew. The same batch that survived the Sphere. Tram companions. Almost friends…?

  Noah suspected the girl would soon find a group of her peers and forget him entirely, the way selfish teenagers do.

  He stopped, surprised by the unexpected sight. He remembered clearly how the building looked from the outside—beautiful, neo-gothic, maybe thirty meters wide at most.

  So why did this corridor stretch far longer than it should? An optical illusion?

  The nearest door was labeled 401. Noah had been assigned 419, but he walked past it, counting his steps. After fifty-four, he reached a small, ornately decorated open space where the corridor branched into four directions like a cross. And each branch seemed just as long. Far longer than should physically fit in the building.

  Suddenly, he grew curious about what Everest meant by calling their housing “broom closets.” What size closets did the man have in mind? And what exactly could fit inside them if the building itself was larger on the inside than outside?

  Back at door 419, he woke his phone’s screen and tapped the little colorful key icon. The apartment door chimed softly as it unlocked and even eased open a couple of inches on its own.