Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

08 - They'll Get Used to You

Well, whatever else she thought about AmpCore, it was a step up from the local corporate academy she'd gone to. The underground vastness of AmpCore was a brightly lit, immaculately maintained warren of corporate splendour. The dockside 'schools' barely warranted the name – just big corp advertising agencies painted over with a veneer of education for the masses, just enough to read and write; not enough to be dangerous.

Not enough to wake up to what a shit-show the whole of Hadrian really was when you peeled back the wallpaper.

With her induction into AmpCore now 'official', Piper found herself moved to a larger room, part of a large block of accommodation in the academy's northern quarter. It had a bigger bed, an attached shower cubicle, a gleaming flat-screened computer embedded in the wall above a black desk, and a wardrobe filled with corporate-sanctioned attire. It was a lot of space for one person, compared to what she was used to.

After spending the night drifting in and out of a restless sleep, Piper dragged herself out of bed and made a decision. She would show every arrogant, corp-stamped drone here what a kid from the streets was made of, and give their precious 'Board' something new to think about.

She let herself enjoy the luxury of a powerfully hot shower. Back home, the water supplies were in the fickle hands of disinterested third-party contractors who couldn't give a shit about maintenance work, so long as they could keep their quarterly crypts flowing in.

Blasted clean, with hair dried and wrenched down into straightness, smelling vaguely of cinnamon from whatever soaps the corps piped through the showers, Piper tackled the wardrobe next. The selection was pretty much what she'd expected – a functional grey-black array of slim-fitting jackets, tops, trousers, skirts and shoes.

She flung on a grey tank top with a black jacket and trousers, and a pair of dark grey trainers. Piper examined the figure in the mirror, and didn't like what she saw. The uniform made her feel like she was already bought and paid for. Life on the docks might have been a hard graft, but it had been her own. Now? Now everything for her was going to be decided by the bastards who ran this place.

Fiddling around to get the jacket to sit properly, she spotted the empty white patch on the right shoulder where a corporate brand out to have stamped its claim.

Not on me, she thought. That space would never be filled, not while she was still breathing.

A knock at the door sent butterflies trembling in her stomach. The first day of life in AmpCore was waiting for her whether she wanted it or not. Rolling her neck from side to side, Piper took a deep breath and turned from the mirror. She passed her hand over the lock control, and the door slid open.

On the other side, she found Odiye standing there, looking infuriatingly fresh and with a pearly smile on his face, as though the chaos of the previous day no longer registered in his mind.

"Good morning," he announced pleasantly.

"Morning." She fixed him with a withering look and spread her arms wide. "How do I look?"

His eyes flashed up and down, taking in the transformation form dockside riff-raff to AmpCore student.

"You look ready."

"Yeah, we'll see."

Stepping back, Odiye gestured to the corridor. "Let's get some food. You have a big day ahead of you."

Piper stepped past without comment, unable to muster the same level of enthusiasm as her chaperone. The corridor beyond was as clean and bright as the rest of them. On the far wall a strip of text advised her to invest in personal armament insurance from Belt-Lock Arsenal Supplies.