The cells of Freemen were relatively large compared to those of the Vassals, but relatively small compared to Aristocrats. Every apartment housed two people, sometimes of the same sex, sometimes opposite sexes, there appeared to be no rule. Privacy for the couple was available with doors to every room and space. Each apartment had a tiny but well-appointed bathroom to maintain personal hygiene, a relaxation area with a Vid Screen and two comfortable chairs, and a tiny eating nook in which meals that had been ordered and delivered from the kitchens could be eaten if they didn’t want to go to the public dining rooms. A small bedroom with one double bed and a closet for clothes, which were worn everywhere—there was no nudity—completed the accommodation.
The large public dining rooms were similar to those of the Vassals—cavernous spaces where Muzak accompanied noisy eaters and soft golden light made food seem more attractive. The few cells with windows facing the parkland were reserved for those in positions of authority. All other cells were, of course, windowless, bathed in soft golden light during the day and dim at night; usually reasonably well air-conditioned—although recently there had been some serious failures resulting in asphyxiation of both Freemen and their Vassal servants, who seemed to be everywhere.
Obesity wasn’t a problem for anyone who wasn’t a Mage. Despite clever preparation, colouring, texturing and flavouring, the consumption of food made from algae was not as popular an activity as excreting it. Defecation provided a trip to one of the many attractive Evacuation Centres dotted throughout both the Freemen and Vassal accommodations. These were well-lit, well ventilated, popular unisex places where friends could meet, enjoy a game of draughts, or simply meditate while evacuating their bowels and bladders. Equally popular were the recreation rooms, libraries, cinemas and small concert halls that were sprinkled throughout the Freemen complex.
During their visit, Uretep and Peteru were treated with cool suspicion and a distinct lack of respect, due, Xanthippe informed them, to their skins being much darker than a Freemen’s. All straightforward questions were answered straightforwardly, but as with the Vassals, their otherwise symmetrically handsome features transformed when they were asked for their opinion about life in Oasis. Invariably, eyes narrowed, mouths compressed, and the body tensed as if preparing to fight. Instead of replying, they turned and walked abruptly away.
Several times on both days in the Freemen quarters they heard angry shouts issuing from closed apartments, usually high pitched followed by low growling. Three times in the corridor they saw men being attacked by women hurling abuse, screaming and clawing at them until the men slapped them callously to the ground and walked away in contempt. When one woman got up and hurled herself onto the fellow’s back, he ran backwards and slammed her against the wall, winding her. She fell off and several people gathered to watch impassively as her victim kicked her viciously in the head.
They never learned the cause of so much anger and argument, but it was always between males and females. Crowds invariably gathered to watch without interfering, dispersing silently when the battle was over, leaving the cleanup to Vassals who had been waiting patiently. Their efficiency at cleaning blood from the floor and walls was remarkable. As was the businesslike manner in which they disposed of the unlamented body of the woman whose head had been kicked in.
Nowhere in either the Vassal or Freemen apartment modules did they see an enforcer. When they asked Fabien about it, he shrugged and said enforcers only exacerbated problems within the residence modules because both Freemen and Vassals were happier sorting out their own affairs. As for the occasional violent arguments and fights they’d witnessed, he reminded them that sex-depressant chemicals were no longer added to the food and water, so females were coming into heat before the males were interested, and were venting their frustration. He predicted that such episodes were likely to disappear when sex became a religious obligation and travel by NumbaCruncha increased everyone’s libido.
Later in their apartment as they planned the number and placement of enseemats in the Freemen quarters, Peteru sighed in confusion.
‘Would you like to be the rulers of these people?’
‘No way! Nothing makes sense. What fun can the Mages have living like this? Their stupid regime ensures they have no social equals apart from the original thirteen.’
‘Why don’t they breed?’
‘They did, and everyone in Oasis is the result, remember?’
‘Ah yes. Even us. Makes me ashamed. I guess they don’t want to have natural children who might turn out like themselves, because they’re worried their progeny will be inferior to that of the other Mages.’
‘They’d start a war over that I reckon. And I can’t imagine any of them willingly surrendering any of their power to their offspring. If this is what humans were like before whatever it was wiped most of them out, I’m glad I didn’t live then!’
‘Me too. But what makes me angriest is that they’re building more of these places! It has to stop.’
‘Shush, Peteru. Not so loud. After what we’ve seen I’m becoming paranoid. We haven’t checked for new bugs today. How do we know the interference signal’s still working? Instead of seeing us sitting here quietly, talking about nothing in particular, they might be seeing the reality.’
‘You’re right. We’re getting careless.’
A thorough check revealed nothing new, but in case whoever was watching had become suspicious about their lack of other activity, they turned off the blocker and spent the rest of the evening working and exercising as usual, even giving a commendable demonstration of their physical affection for each other.
During the following three days they made an inventory of public and work spaces and, as before, the more they learned the less they liked the place and the organisation.
The behaviour of Aristocrats to Freemen and Vassals had long angered both young men, who reckoned their fellow humans deserved consideration and respect. It was even more upsetting to witness the vile treatment of Vassals by Freemen. Beatings, verbal abuse, overwork. A Vassal’s life was ignominious slavery of the worst kind as there was no hope of improvement no matter how well they worked.
In the interests of what the Mages cynically called social cohesion, attendance was compulsory for every inhabitant at biweekly events in the vast Arena. There were exactly enough places for the entire population and each individual was allocated a specific seat. Naturally, the best seats were reserved for the Aristocrats, the next best for Freemen, and Vassals made up the remainder of the audience. A quick check was enough to determine if a seat was empty, and as every seat was allocated, it was easy to discover the identity of the miscreant. Religious meetings involving breast-beating, chanting and singing, followed by an address from the Emperor, alternated with sporting tournaments and circus-like entertainment.
When the Arena was full, the vast circular city was empty. Every space, including the private quarters of the Aristocrats, was spied on by computer-monitored surveillance cameras that peered into every nook and cranny, twenty-four hours a day. Facial and body recognition software ensured that if an individual did not appear on a camera somewhere for more than five minutes, an alarm sounded and he or she was retrieved, castigated, retrained or disposed of.
Far from objecting to constant surveillance of even intimate activities, most inhabitants welcomed it as a guarantee of their security. Citizens of Oasis appeared to have no concept of privacy.
‘If I’d realised we were being watched all these years, I’d have gone mad. And despite our blocking devices I’m getting a neurotic about the current surveillance.’
‘Me too. I guess that’s because we haven’t been programmed to accept it. But it seems we have no option.’
‘When this is over, I'm out of here.’
‘And I’m coming with you!’
At regular intervals the pair returned to the Engineering workshops to check progress on the mainframe computer that would coordinate up to four million enseemats. While the attitudes towards the two inventors of both Freemen technicians and Vassal assistants had warmed appreciably, that of the Aristocrats had hardened. Thus it was a surprise to be warmly greeted by both Alger and Begum when they arrived to view and test the Mainframe and terminals, and sign acceptance forms relieving the engineers of further responsibility.
Glowing with pride from the lavish compliments, the two engineers offered Peteru and Uretep a drink, which they accepted gratefully.
‘This work we’ve been doing for you is the most interesting and demanding ever,’ Alger said.
‘That’s for sure,’ Begum agreed. ‘But don’t tell me all this fantastic electronic stuff is just a new health diagnostic tool.’
‘OK, we wont.’
Smiles dropped.
‘We’re not being cagey,’ Uretep placated, ‘we’ve been threatened with extinction if we tell anyone before Mage Ishbel decides it’s time.’
‘Come on, guys. We’re mates—you can tell us. Don’t you trust us?’
Peteru studied them carefully ‘We’re really sorry, but we can’t.’
Both faces clouded, eyes shrank to slits.
‘You’re exactly what we thought,’ Begum sneered. ‘Stinking black Vassals whose empty heads have been filled by the Mages with enough stuff to convince anyone else. But I wasn’t fooled. I could tell by the foul odour when you arrived you were just dirty stooges without a brain to share between the two of you.’ She spat contemptuously on the floor and stalked out, followed by Alger.
‘Well, well, well…’ Peteru said with a shake of his head. ‘And here I was thinking I’d found a couple of humans who were a bit like us.’
‘If its any consolation they had me fooled too. Lucky we didn’t tell them.’
‘Lucky indeed. Will you call Ishbel? This computer cannot be left alone. It has to be moved immediately to its secure spot. It wouldn’t surprise me if our charming engineers were considering a little sabotage now we’ve signed that we received it in perfect working order.’
‘Mmm, that would demote us from genius to algal food in no time flat.’
Two hours later, the computer, several hundred enseemats with their wireless terminals, and all the Mages were assembled in the circular Council Chamber in which NumbaCruncha had been first unveiled. A dozen floors up, enseemats had been placed in a multitude of locations throughout the Mage apartments. Every mat had been programmed, and a complicated system of moves planned to demonstrate the versatility of the system. As Mage’s Vassals were both deaf and mute and never left the apartments, even to attend events in the Arena, they were no security risk and were used to test the system.
It had been agreed [albeit reluctantly by some Mages] not to punish the Vassals for any indications of pleasure or sexual gratification—after all, Uretep reminded them, It would be a nuisance to have to train new vassals at the present when there was so much else to do.
Everything worked faultlessly and the Vassals enjoyed themselves possibly for the first time in their lives. As a result, it was decided to begin setting up the Oasis-wide system immediately because the automated production system was so efficient there would be a stockpile of mats if they waited any longer.
When all evidence of the trial had been cleared away, Alger and Begum were summoned. Self-satisfied expressions evaporated when on entering they saw Uretep and Peteru sitting as equals among the Mages. Panicked glances were exchanged. Clearly, they assumed their behaviour towards the two inventors had been reported and they were to be disposed of. As one, they threw themselves on their knees and grovelled unintelligibly.
Profoundly irritated, Ishbel boomed, ‘Get up on your feet you stupid people! You act as if you’ve guilty consciences! Have you?’
The two miserable engineers scrambled upright and stared at Peteru and Uretep who gave almost imperceptible shakes of the head. Relief flooded pale faces and they managed to stutter apologies and excuses about being overcome at having an audience with all the Mages at once. It was too great an honour.
As always, flattery did its work and they were congratulated for working so well with Mages Uretep and Peteru, and for accomplishing everything required of them.
When asked about progress on the enseemats, they modestly assured their overlords that work was progressing apace, every mat was automatically logged in wirelessly with the Mainframe as it came off the assembly line, and the entire order would be completed and ready to distribute within four days. The tiny chips too were ready; enough for every inhabitant as well as a thousand implant tools so health workers could start work straight away on implanting them in the entire population.
‘What about terminals? Mats and implants aren’t any use if there’s nothing to give instructions to!’
‘There’s a wireless computer terminal for every mat, ready to be affixed in a suitable place when the mats are placed in their final positions.’ Flushed with pride, Begum bowed deeply. ‘The Mages are to be praised for going to such enormous trouble to ensure the health of everyone in Oasis.’
‘Thank you—but it is merely our duty,’ Ishbel smiled, refusing to be drawn.
Everyone nodded sagely.
‘Your work pleases us—for the present,’ Augur announced pompously. ‘You may go.’
Peteru and Uretep took their chance while the Mages were still in a good mood to ensure they still had permission to visit the new city to check for possible problems installing the next set of mats.
‘What’s the rush?’ Melvyn demanded truculently. ‘We’ve got to re-educate the masses and accustom them to using the things first.’
Profoundly irritated, Justinian, Ruby and Job, shouted that he was an ignorant inconsiderate fool. Didn’t he realise they were desperate to clear Oasis at the earliest opportunity before the whole place collapsed?
‘The air conditioning is breaking down; there’s an epidemic of lung infections, and the weather isn’t going to hold much longer!’ Justinian snapped.
‘So many apartments are in disrepair I can’t accommodate everyone!’ Ruby shouted.
‘Every day there are new emergencies ranging from failing negrav chutes to dimming lights, faulty security cameras, lack of fresh water, putrefying food…If we don’t clear everyone out and completely rebuild Oasis very soon, we’re done for.’
Silence.
Ishbel turned a serious face to her two saviours. ‘What are your plans?’
‘We’ll need an escort the first time to avoid being eaten by the dogs.’
‘Of course.’
‘We’ll take fifteen enseemats and terminals, so from then on we can simply NumbaCrunch there and back. You people each have your own mats and terminals now, so you can also pop over if you wish.’
‘Good.’
‘And I suggest you immediately begin the assembly of another set of mats and terminals for New Oasis. The current Mainframe will be able to handle them with ease.’
‘We’ll start immediately,’ Ishbel agreed.
After receiving the numbers of their personal mats and of the ones Peteru and Uretep would be taking to New Oasis, without even a cursory nod of appreciation all thirteen Mages pressed their wrists and vanished, leaving smelly bundles of bejewelled robes.
‘That was a little too easy.’
‘Indeed it was, and that reinforces my conviction that they don’t care what we do now we’re approaching our use-by date. Probably the less time we spend wandering around Oasis with the potential to infect others with our heresies, the happier they’ll be.’
‘Mmm…you’re probably right. I felt sorry for Alger and Begum when they came in. Terrified when they saw we really were the Mages’ pets.’
‘You’re a soft touch. They imagined we’d complained about them. How insulting is that?’
‘It’s what they’d have done. But forget them, let’s get everything ready for tomorrow.’