Fracture (Chronicles of Discord, #1)

Fracture - Chapter 8

When Ben returned to his room, it was to find his father had been back from his excursion around the Tula medical research unit for some time.

“It was incredible, Ben, like nothing you could imagine! The lives that could be saved…” Senator Burton’s voice trailed off and Ben, in the middle of the intricate process of tying his bow tie, turned to see why his father had stopped talking.

Senator Burton was leaning against the port, his eyes down cast, it only took Ben a moment to realise that his father was thinking of Lana, Ben’s mother and Senator Burton’s late wife. Ben swallowed unsure what to say and then turned back to the mirror and his tie. After a few moments the tie was so hopelessly tangled that he had to start again.

“Can you guess where I went today?” he asked, then winced at his overly enthusiastic tone.

“Where? What have you been up too?” queried his father.

“Astra took me to a Museum! Can you believe it?”

Senator Burton smiled faintly.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Sure but…” Ben met his father’s eyes in the mirror. “I think she might be a robot! I'm not kidding: that girl knows everything. Are we sure they haven’t invented A.I.?”

“As a matter of fact, they have,” responded his father, “but they are only in charge of the most menial tasks.”

Ben turned his hands frozen in their task and a speculative gleam in his eyes.

“Then do you think?”

Senator Burton shook his head slightly and Ben stopped immediately, realising that they could be watched.

“Would explain some things,” he laughed. “I think I tried every line in the book — but she is one tough cookie!”

Ben finished with his tie and slipped on his tuxedo jacket before turning to face his father. Senator Burton levered himself upright and straightened his son’s slightly askew necktie.

“Then use a sledge hammer, Ben.”

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Ben recalled his father’s last statement when he found himself seated next to Astra at one of the banquet tables. It was all very well to suggest a sledgehammer approach, but that was slightly difficult when surrounded by the Tula High Council.

The dinner took place in the elegant surroundings of a ballroom, yet another space made entirely of glass. It made Ben feel like a goldfish. The walls were frosted and etched and the floor was the highly polished black Granite that the Tula seemed to have such a fondness for. The people were dressed in either black or white with the women wearing chunky silver jewellery. Astra wore a white, one shouldered sheath that had gold embroidery around the hem. For the first time Ben saw clearly the two wide gold bangles around each wrist.

Gold.

Not silver.

Gold.

Ben was still frowning over why this struck him as so important after the table had been cleared, and couples had taken to the floor. Why was Astra allowed to flaunt convention? It wasn’t as though everyone had woken up and decided that they wanted to live out the rest of their lives in monochrome! It had been imposed on them, so why was Astra exempt?

He was pretty sure that Astra was in her current position through no desire of her own. In company she was ignored or treated like some sort of slave. For some reason it bothered him that she never ate or drank with them, apart from that one glass of water when she was alone with him at the restaurant. Her reaction to threats was calm acceptance instead of shock or fear, which suggested to him that threats were something she was used too, and yet she was allowed, by her appearance, to rebel.