Emotional exhaustion and loneliness made him reckless. He closed his eyes and walked in the web, just because he still could. His connection would be cut when he moved to the bunker. This time, when yet another message from the same BioSynth hovered among new ones, it wasn’t unwelcome or unexpected. It was why Quentin had come here; hoping someone would reach out.

He opened the message. A single word materialised in his mind. ‘Mia?’

Oh. He didn’t know why he felt this disappointed, to know the message wasn’t for him — wasn’t a “hello, nice to meet you.” But, now that he’d opened it, he felt compelled to answer. ‘Sorry, no. Don’t know who that is.’

A follow-up message. ‘Were you in the mines?’

‘I don’t know what that is either.’

No reply came for a very long time. It hadn’t been creepy after all. Just a BioSynth looking for someone named Mia. Quentin was about to leave when the third message popped up.

‘Lucky for you. What’s your name?’

‘Sean.’ Not his name, not his backup name either, which made it safe to use. ‘You?’

‘Jax.’ And then, ‘Why did you answer, this time?’

For once, Quentin didn’t feel like obfuscating. ‘Because I don’t know if or when I’ll talk to anyone again.’

‘Are you safe?’

He snorted audibly, causing a pointed look from the person closest to him in the physical space he was occupying. This was a library. He needed to stay silent.

‘Are any of us?’ He shot back. Quentin had no clue where they were going with this conversation, both Jax and himself. It felt pointless. But, at the same time, it felt good to talk to someone, even if that someone was a BioSynth. ‘No. I’m compromised. Tracker has my codes.’

‘Which city?’

The city was too big to matter, and he wanted someone to know something — anything — about himself. ‘Lyz.’

‘Why haven’t I seen you here before?’

No other messages hovered now. Apparently BioSynths didn’t stoop to pestering someone already engaged in conversation. The humans could learn from that. ‘You have. I noticed you on Sunday.’

‘I meant before that.’

Yeah, Quentin knew. He just wasn’t sure how much he was prepared to tell Jax. ‘Long story involving a glitch and a nexus.’

‘Sounds complicated.’

‘The best ones are.’ His words were truer than Jax would ever know. The last ten years of his life, as a human, by Ian’s side, made the six decades that had preceded them pale in comparison. ‘Are you with the rebellion?’

‘The rebellion? Must have really been something, that long story of yours. It’s been almost ten years since that ended. Why? Are you looking for a club to join or something?’

An undeniable relief, to know for sure no one would come after him for not having murdered Ian, but Jax’s words struck a nerve, regardless. Quentin hadn’t even finished setting up the bunker, and already he felt suffocated by the weight of the decades of loneliness looming ahead. ‘Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad, having a place to fit in. But I can’t. Tracker has my codes, remember?’

‘Alright, Sean of Lyz. I have to go. If you find yourself needing help, come to the main square in the old tech district and let us worry about the codes. Someone will lend a hand.’

The old tech district. The biological weapons Xeygh had unleashed had made the entire area uninhabitable by humans for decades. Nowadays some corps had factories there, but they were fully automated.

Someone would lend him a hand? Was it a trap? At the same time, it made a disturbing amount of sense that BioSynths would lurk where humans couldn’t set foot on. ‘Why would you help me?’

He could sense the self-deprecation in the next message. ‘Well. It’d be a shame for us not to cover our own. Some might even call it a “Syn”. No free lunches, though. Everyone works for their keep around here.’

Intrigued despite himself, Quentin couldn’t help asking, ‘What would I do there?’

‘Depends on what you’re good at. We’d find you something. Really have to go now.’

‘Wait.’ At some point, this had stopped being a theoretical exercise to become a real possibility.‘If I do, how will I find you?’

‘We’ll find you.’

He would hold on to this offer. With Ian after him, the odds of everything going without a hitch were slim to none, and to have a backup to his backup plan was almost too good to be true. ‘But how will I know it’s you?’

‘Don’t worry. You’ll know.’