Divided We Stand

By Amy Orr

Raji/Vicki and John/Thomas had everything: friends, freedom, a modern alter lifestyle, and each other. But when one of Raji’s multiple personalities gets attacked, things get complicated. Who is to blame? Is it John, trusted but unstable? Is it Thomas, quiet, confident but with something to hide? Or is it the Institute, the omnipotent organization responsible for their creation? The city teeters on the edge of chaos as one cop attempts to piece together what happened and prevent their way of life from collapsing entirely. Everyone must decide: who do you trust?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Orr
• Release date: Jun 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310324178

Amy Orr

I'm a writer and general know-it-all, originally from the UK but now living in the frozen wastelands of Canada. I have been writing for years but only recently started publishing. My background is in astrophysics and finance but those were both pretty boring. Now I make things up.I read and write pretty much anything; I have a soft spot for science fiction, especially the dystopian kind, as well as the classics, weird classification-defying stuff and anything else that is original and interesting or funny.

Book preview

Prologue

Her breath came out in short, shallow gasps. It felt like something heavy was on their chest, but she didn't know what. She struggled to open their eyes, eyes that were hers but not hers alone, but she was gone before she could.

When she finally opened their eyes she found herself in a familiar room, though she couldn't quite remember when she’d seen it. Their head felt fuzzy, her thinking slow. Something was going on, somewhere, down there; she felt like something was happening. What was it? If only she could sit up she'd be able to see. She tried to raise them up on their elbows to take a look and discovered she couldn't. Something pressed down on their wrists. What is it? she wondered, struggling to think through the fog in her mind. Her worry didn’t last long. She noted with interested detachment that despite its paralysing effect she didn't seem upset by the force pinning her to the bed. She drifted back out.

She woke to the sharp sensation of pain. Tears welled up, but she knew they weren't because of the pain but because of something else entirely. She felt slippery and weird, wide open, tense. There was someone else there with her, in the room; she could hear heavy breathing and sense the heat of someone close to her, but she couldn't tell who.

PART 1

TIME SHARE

Chapter 1

The Institute’s headquarters took up an entire block of the city’s downtown. The towering edifice of cold stone was impossible to avoid and impossible to ignore. People who lived in the city hurried past, but tourists could always be found on the pavement outside, the only ones standing still, gawking in awe at the massive façade. They had a point. If you weren’t used to it, this building could easily take your breath away. The workers kept it immaculately clean, despite its vast acres of glass and white marble, and the filth around it.

There were entrances on every side of the building, many small and hidden and known only to Staff. The main entrance, in the north face, opposite the similarly immaculate Institute Park, took up another city block and constituted the only green space in the city’s centre. You needed a pass to get into the park, and only Employees or special visitors got passes.

Through the wide, swinging double doors of its main entrance, the Institute looked like so many other corporate headquarters: there were the requisite leather armchairs by the front windows, never to be sat in, a large and well-staffed reception desk spanning the length of the foyer. Important-looking people scurried about, scanning security passes at turnstiles and nodding to guards as they made their way upstairs. There was expensive, dull artwork and abstract sculptures in pride of place, centre stage, just in case a hapless visitor was unaware of the wealth and significance of where they stood.

Large, overblown letters on the walls demanded attention. For the Rights and Protection of All the walls asserted, with smaller and less grandiose excerpts from the Register scattered about beneath. The original Register was on display, too, for those who wished to see it and were well-connected enough. But for the layman, the oversized writing on the wall was good enough.

Terrence, like always, stared up at the writing as he entered the building. If nothing else, the words served to remind him of what he was doing. He, like the rest of the people in the lobby, waved his pass in the general vicinity of the scanners, smiled at the guards, and waited in line for the elevator. The words 'separate and equal' hung just visible out of the corner of one eye.

On the eighth floor, Terrence left the elevator and strode down the building’s central corridor. From here he could see almost all the other floors. Glass and chrome glinted, uninterrupted, in every direction.

Here in the building’s center the Institute liked to foster a feeling of inclusivity by having everything open-plan. All the really important stuff was done in the wings, at the end of long, dully-painted hallways. But from here Terrence could go into meeting rooms, kitchenettes, informal sitting areas. He walked past several clusters of Administration desks - the public-facing side of the Institute. From here you couldn't hear the perennial protesters outside.

As he passed people, Terrence smiled and nodded greetings. With some he exchanged a quick politeness, but he was heading to the east wing, and most people did not want to get in his way. Purple security passes and their hurried, important air distinguished Researchers from the other Employees. They were always afforded the respect their work demanded.

He went down one corridor, turning onto another. If he went left he'd be round the back of the Security Department. Terrence avoided going left. He kept straight on, head down, until he was at the first of three security doors. He swiped his pass over the reader, sighed, waited for the door to swing open, and entered. Another day on the coalface.

Chapter 2

The Institute was the crown jewel of the city centre's upmarket District. Here there was no litter, no loud traffic noise, no street vendors, just cleanliness, peace and tranquillity. Those who slept through their morning commute on the rail could tell when it was time to wake up and get off because their noses twitched with a strange sensation: fresh air.

Head a little west, across the rail lines and along a couple of semi-wealthy, cafe-lined streets, however, and the stench returned: a strange mixture of sweat, garbage and animals. The normal effluvia of the city also returned: the litter, the tramps, the wanderers, stray animals and discarded needles, overflowing bins and overwrought people. It wasn’t that the rest of the city was a bad place, not at all; the overt lack of habitation found uptown was unsettling for most locals, and the absence of their normal olfactory backdrop made them long for the mess and stink of millions living in close quarters.

There were plenty of other 'nice' areas outside of the Institute's gravitational pull. The city suburbs were almost uniformly beautiful, given a certain standard of beauty. Large houses vied for space with sprawling, well-stocked malls. There were leafy, tree-lined streets, children playing, neighbours having barbecues, men playing golf. Zoom into any random living room and the same people were having the same discussion: the disarray of the city in general, the dreadful state of politics. All the usual stuff and in all the usual combinations. Despite its isolation, both geographically and economically, the city exhibited all the same traits as its modern multi-cultural brethren, although they were so far away. People are people, wherever they may be, and to these people this was The City, so important it didn’t need a name - the single point of light and life in a vast and desolate country.

Like almost all major urban centres, this one existed in concentric rings. A well-kept, fancy centre surrounded by a poorer, crowded area where much of the actual living took place and where most of the normal workers resided, surrounded again by suburbs, for those able to afford it, and surrounded again by the outer reaches of the city. These were the areas no one would want or need to go to, unless you happened to fall through society’s cracks and weren’t able to afford life in the city proper but had enough sense to stay out of the countryside.

It took a full hour for the high-speed rail to reach downtown from the far reaches. Not surprising really, given it only got to high speed once it reached the suburbs. No one had wanted to pay for the necessary improvements to infrastructure needed this far out, so the rail travelled at quarter speed for those who most needed a short commute.

The rail lines ran like bike spokes from the city's core. From above it was clear a great deal of effort had gone into urban planning, especially in the city’s nucleus. But if you zoomed in, you’d discover that nothing really interesting happened there. Hardly anyone lived there. Even most of the Employees lived in the Fringe, a misleading name for the region around the centre of the city. This was where they could see their industry hard at work. A disproportionally high ratio of their customers lived there, whether they knew they were customers or not. Zoom in again and in these households would be discussing the price of food, their friends, parties, and who had just been Registered. And on the corners it was always the same: how much, how often and where's the money? It was here the dark blue uniforms of the CPD and the light blue of the APD could be seen on street corners, hassling passers-by, cajoling drunks and ignoring junkies. People from the suburbs were always amazed by the heavy APD presence in the Fringe, but then they weren’t really needed further out.

Walking through the Fringe at night was an adventure for the few tourists who dared try it. Not many did, and they were always warned against it. It was too easy to get mistaken. In the dimly-lit, bustling streets it was not uncommon for random acts of mistaken identity to cause no small amount of trouble or pain. The APD were always out in force, especially at night when the CPD went home.

The two did not work well side-by-side. The APD was happier when they got full run of the streets, could bash heads and arrest whomever they liked without anyone looking over their shoulder. They knew how best to deal with the crazies, how to tell an Unregistered by the way they shifted their eyes, who was causing trouble and who was just trying to get home after work.

It wasn’t unusual for a commuter to step off the rail at night after a long, hard day, walk onto the street, be greeted politely by an APD officer and then watch as he beat seven shades of shit out of some scumbag dealer. The dealers haunted the streets after dark. The takers were too far gone to be much trouble, but the pushers were violent and sometimes armed. Most ordinary people didn't see them at all. They had learned to unsee the human tapestry of their home streets at night.

Chapter 3

Who's shit is this?

I'd not call it that. Look, crabcakes! Suzie/Aisha enthusiastically grabbed a handful of hor d'oeuvres from a passing waiter and put four in her mouth.

Yeah John, biggest party in forever and all you can do is moan. Diu! What gives? John/Thomas' friends nodded in agreement. He'd been off all evening, despite the plentiful supply of almost everything.

They tried and failed to see what had brought him to such a mood. Maybe they didn't know the birthday girl that well, but that was no reason not to enjoy themselves. It was so rare these days, especially amongst friends like theirs, for someone to have a really decently-sized get-together; they appreciated the novelty and excitement of it, even though they, like John/Thomas, found it a bit embarrassing. John/Thomas was just so much more sensitive about the inevitable lapses in social niceties these large events caused.

You'll cheer up when Raji gets here, Aashiyana comforted him.

Cos apparently our fabulous company isn't quite doing it Tess/Tina/Daphne cajoled, adjusting her revealing dress.

Silence fell as everyone was temporarily dazzled by a sparkling, three-tiered cake being carefully man-handled into the centre of the room. There the thickest huddle of people stood, and presumably the birthday girl herself. The friends watched it pass for a moment.

Shouldn't we? Aashiyana ventured.

Nah. Tā mā de. Why bother, a chorus of voices agreed. The group remained where it was on the fringes of the party. In a moment people started singing. The six of them stood, separate, as the rest of the revelers, though experiencing the same level of awkwardness as they, chose out of politeness to humour the host's old-fashioned need to be serenaded as she cut the cake.

Aashiyana, Tess/Tina/Daphne, John/Thomas, Suzie/Aisha, Guowei/Chenglei and Darnell/Michael were not in any way antisocial or taciturn by nature; they were just so used to each other. They didn't know many of the other guests but some of them knew them, or thought they did, and that made things a little tricky. Especially in a social setting; especially when half of those accosting you were drunk or strung out. Easier to stay in a protective huddle, safer, quieter.

So they stood to one side of the attractive, wood-panelled rooftop terrace as fifty other people finished singing and resumed milling about. It was indeed rare for such a gathering to occur, and many of the guests had made a big effort for the occasion. Shimmering dresses and exotic colours danced alongside sparkling jewels and cleverly accentuated tells in a vibrant menagerie. Only the waiters were dressed sombrely, purely for identification purposes. There was enough confusion as it was.

It was a beautiful night and not too hot, for once. The guests found being outside in this part of town more than normally bearable and delighted in the open-air celebration. The professional decorators had set up extravagant, feathery bundles of potent fauna everywhere, just in case the smell of the city below encroached upon their enjoyment. This close to downtown, and with the wind blowing the way it was tonight, the flowers were hardly necessary, but they added another level of indulgence.

With all these accommodations from nature and host, the guests were able to enjoy the mild air in surprising comfort, adding to their festive mood. The view from up here was beautiful if not extensive. Tall buildings around them blocked out large swathes of earth and sky, but the city peeped through between them, twinkling and moving. The image seemed not that of a collection of people and lights and buildings and traffic and dirt but a single, living, breathing animal that spread out around and below them, encasing them and, tonight at least, befriending them.

Most who lived anywhere near the centre could not get this sort of perspective on a daily basis. Their windows instead looked onto alleys or brick walls. Some had no windows at all; the freedom of being up high, over but part of the city, their city, was intoxicating.

After collecting cake, the guests dispersed once more into groups of the familiar. It had been the same all evening, with only the occasional obnoxious single or just plain fool walking around trying to talk to everybody. At a totally public event such behaviour would have been borderline acceptable but in a situation such as this, where almost anyone could know each other, it was extremely poor form. Unfortunately one of the singles was the birthday girl herself, who as hostess had assumed the right of talking to absolutely every person present. She had more reason than most, and at least she had been the one to send out the invitations. She was supposed to know who was there. In theory.

Uh-oh, incoming Tess/Tina/Daphne warned the group out of the side of their mouth as she spotted the luminescent pink gown of her hostess through the crowd.

She was hard to miss, although they had been trying valiantly for most of the evening. An energetic person, fun-loving and silly, kind, rich and clueless, their hostess didn’t have friends but instead collected acquaintances. Everyone at her party had been happy, even surprised to be invited, but none particularly wanted to spend the whole evening with her. More often than not she treated them a little too much like exhibits in her own private zoo.

Diu. Is there time to hide?

Just pretend you don't see her John/Thomas advised as the birthday girl stuck her hands in the air and gave an exaggerated squeal.

You guys! she gushed as she approached. There you are! I have been looking for you for absolutely ever. She flung her arms around John/Thomas' neck and gave him a big squeeze.

Happy whatsit he muttered lamely as he patted her on the back and tried to disentangle themself.

Good job on ignoring her amigo Guowei/Chenglei whispered loudly.

Shut up, she'll hear you.

No she won't, she's totally off her face. Look.

Guowei/Chenglei was right, John/Thomas could see the moment he looked properly at her. After throwing herself at him, Xiomara stood in the middle of their half-circle and began talking loudly to no one in particular, though Aashiyana valiantly tried to engage her. Her dutiful efforts were wasted, though. A twinge of yellow glowed in the whites of the birthday girl's extraordinarily round, bright eyes. She was on stronger stuff than her guests, a fact that had annoyed plenty of people already. Habitual soft drug use was one thing, everyone dabbled from time to time, but it was just plain rude to get something special for yourself and not share it.

Why'd she get herself that shit and only give us tweak? Darnell/Michael asked John/Thomas and Guowei/Chenglei. It's not like she couldn't afford it!

Who knows, Guowei/Chenglei replied. Maybe she didn’t want to buy enough for everyone. Maybe her dealer could only get a little. He shrugged; if they spent time worrying about that sort of thing they’d never do anything else. Does it matter?

Maybe she wanted to guarantee she'd be higher than everyone else, John/Thomas suggested.

Ooh, you cynic, a voice behind him said. Maybe she knew the nature of her guests and thought they wouldn't want anything stronger.

John/Thomas turned around to see Raji/Viki smiling at him.

Hey, what took you so long? I've been dying out here! They greeted each other with a kiss.

Sorry, work. What did l miss? Hey guys!

Not much, Darnell/Michael started. Nice dress, by the way. We were just -

Raji! the birthday girl, swinging away from Aashiyana, said as she noticed the newcomer. Darling! You're here! Yay! She bestowed a happy kiss on the girls' flushed cheek. Thank god, we have all been wasting away without you. This lot... Xiomara jerk her head toward Raji/Viki’s friends "...are dead dull without you. Did you know that? And now there's cake! Come get cake!" She grabbed Raji/Viki's hand and tried to drag them away to the centre of the room. Raji/Viki laughingly resisted.

Not right now sweetie, hao? Let me say hello to my people first. And anyway, I wasn't trying to interrupt - you looked deep in conversation with lovely Ash.

"Oh yes, well, you know, Ash is lovely, of course, but, Xiomara said with a sigh, sometimes I find singles just so dull."

Silence fell on the group as they exchanged awkward glances and tried to decide whether they were going to take offence on Aashiyana's behalf.

But you're a single too honey, remember? Aashiyana said, neatly resolving the issue by not rising to the insult.

Yes, I know, but then I don't have to talk to myself when you are all here, now do I? the girl answered sweetly, bestowing an innocent smile on them all. Raji/Viki and Tess/Tina/Daphne laughed.

How can we take offence at her when she's in that state? She's got no idea, the daft cow, Tess/Tina/Daphne said.

Moi? Daft? the girl asked with mock horror, before dissolving into giggles. She quickly straightened up again and turned abruptly to Suzie/Aisha. Suz, darling, I wanted to say, I mean, I just remembered that I wanted to say a special thank you to you for coming. I know you usually wouldn't.

No worries; it’s a nice fiesta, Suzie/Aisha replied.

You should thank her better than that, Guowei/Chenglei said with a slight edge to their voice that only Suzie noticed. He put their arm around his girlfriend and drew her into their broad shoulders. Maybe you should remind some of your other guests to be more polite, or at least attempt to look for a person's tell. People keep mistaking her.

The birthday girl had only half heard him, or half understood. Oh dear, really? How awful. But then Aisha is usually such a juerguista. By the way, I do hope she wasn't insulted at not being invited? she said with a laugh.

No more than anything else insults her, Darnell/Michael said with a laugh of his own. I wouldn’t worry about it.

No, I suppose not. Well, I've got many more people to harass. Go get cake darlings, hao? And have a good time! Talk later! With that, the whirlwind of pink was gone, off to assault more unsuspecting guests.

'Oh really? How awful!" Tess/Tina/Daphne mimicked as soon as Xiomara was out of earshot.

Hush! She means well Aashiyana chastened her friends at their impatience.

"She may mean well, Ash, but she's effing clueless and at times downright rude. You'd never be that way, despite your very unfortunate disadvantages."

The friends tittered at Raji/Viki's emphases. Not one of them considered Aashiyana as anything other than one of them. Her chosen singularity had ceased to be strange to them a long time ago. She was just Ash, sweet-natured and caring and always the same. She met their occasional teasing with patience and love, which they reasoned was only fair since they did genuinely love her. But when others commented on the same subject, although Aashiyana tried to meet them with the same acceptance and patience, her friends met them with horror and offence on her behalf. It was sweet really, though very misguided. Aashiyana good-naturedly chose to accept this aspect of their behaviour, along with many others, as a small sign they were different from her, but that they loved her just the same.

The now complete group stood together, the seven friends and the thirteen others. It was a good group - a fact they were well aware of, and one of the primary reasons they were so content to remain in their own company. All young, all reasonably attractive, all fun-loving and metropolitan.

Tess/Tina/Daphne, at nineteen, was a little young to be at so sedate a party as this