Fee and Tomoko found the dorm set aside for the only two females on the top ten list. It was a simple room with two wooden beds, two chests of drawers and cupboards made of the same musky vintage wood. Everything smelled straight out of an old school.

  "This is it," Fee said, sitting on a bed. "It's up to us now, the chosen eight."

  "Chosen seven."

  "What do you mean?"

  Tomoko handed her a letter and closed the door.

  "I'm not going to be a pilot," She said sadly. "I'm too much of a liability. I scored well, but BrassBrass doesn't trust me."

  Fee gave the letter a quick read.

  "Unreported criminality? Suspicious test scores?"

  "When they ran a routine Polygraph, I...told a lie."

  "Tommi."

  "I know, it was stupid," Tomoko said. "I lied about not having a criminal history."

  "What kind of criminal history?"

  "Hacking the council department."

  "Whoa. Yeah, that will do it. What were you looking for?"

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you; it's crazy just saying it out loud."

  "I am open to suggestions," Fee said. She was not ready to give her own account of teleportation and super-human strength. "Something bizarre could happen to anyone."

  "Alright," Tomoko said. "But this stays between us. I already got enough enemies."

  " 'course."

  With a deep breath, Tomoko rolled her shoulders and rubbed her nose.

  "Cards on the table, my real country is called 'Jinsei', the one everyone on this planet refers to as Japan. One day, I fell asleep on the train; when I woke up, everything was different, but in the same place."

  "Different but same?" She said.

  "Yes."

  "Alright." Fee said. "Let me just...let me...um."

  "Hard to take in, isn't it?"

  "Keep talking, I'll get there eventually."

  "I returned to my apartment, but my keys wouldn't fit," Tomoko said. "I asked a neighbour for help, but they were not the same ones I left behind. They also wondered why I wasn't back at the office. Apparently, in this world, I'm some hotshot lawyer."

  "The neighbours," Fee said. "Paid off actors? Someone playing a prank?"

  "Why, though? Why go to all that trouble? They would have had to change my entire life story to pull it off. I looked around my apartment and found old photos of me attending a different college on the other side of town. My so-called 'parents' even confirmed this."

  "What are they like?" Fee asked.

  "They acted like I was family, but I knew nothing about them. Their history was not my history. Also, I am no longer an only child, which was awkward."

  "More paid-off actors?"

  "You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

  "Okay, I have to ask..."

  "Did I meet the Japanese version of me?" Tomoko said. "I was tempted, but something inside was pushing back against this idea. I got the feeling some bad people would have taken me away. Luckily, I was on no database, so I could start over with a fresh identity and keep a low profile. "

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  Fee nodded. "You sure you didn't just have amnesia?"

  "Unlikely. Why did the world start referring to my country as 'Japan' overnight?"

  "Lots of paid-off actors?"

  "Dude."

  "I don't know what to say, Tommi,"

  "You and me both."

  "Hold up, here's the thing I don't get." Fee said. "If you were caught hacking, why are you here and not in the Brig? Surely they must think you're a spy?"

  "I am guessing it's a political move. To jail, a member of the top ten looks iffy, undermines the whole program and damages morale. A hacker on a leash is more useful. As of now, I am banned from all computers until further notice and grounded indefinitely. It turns out letting potential spies have access to devastating artillery makes top Brass very nervous."

  "They can do that? Ban you from all computers?"

  "I'm not even allowed a cell phone."

  "But how?"

  "You know your palm reader? Mine has a mini-explosive attached." She showed the new Star-shaped scar. "It won't kill me, but it will take my hand off, and then I'll be executed for being a spy. So technically, it will kill me, just indirectly." She clapped. "A lot to look forward to."

  "Please don't do that when I'm around."

  "It's remotely detonated; I'm not banging landmines together."

  "All the same, just no."

  "Chill," Tomoko said, giving Fee a hearty slap. "We're all in this together."

  "I will rip that arm off and throw it out the damn window, so help me God."

  Tomoko gave her a bear hug. "Not if I get you first!"

  "Get off!" Fee said, laughing. Something then occurred to her. "Hang on, if you're not flying, why did they send you here?"

  "I am still a Saw-Pig," Tomoko said with a shrug. "No getting away from that mess. Besides, the tech on this island dates back to the fifties, and no one has seen fit to update it. So it's not like I can get up to mischief while here. Who knows? In time, I may even become one of those radio operators." She plugged her ear with her finger. "Roger! Over and out."

  "Over and out doesn't make any sense."

  "Then I have to relearn the words."

  Fee got up and brushed herself off.

  "Laissez les bon temps rouler."

  "Let the good times roll."

  ***

  In the following weeks, Fee and Tomoko felt like they had scrubbed every inch of the sewer system, including the shiny fatbergs that made them retch. On good days, they took lunchtime breaks on an abandoned Control tower roof and watched the sun specks dance on the calm, forever sea.

  Fee had a clear look at the future for the first time, where she wouldn't have to move through hazy crowds with a dead cigarette, cursing neon city walls. A future where her friends would make her laugh in the backyard, share drinks, and complain about work.

  Tomoko stared out toward the horizon and sighed.

  "I don't know." She said, out of the blue. "Do I want to go back? I've become too well adjusted here; it would be like losing a piece of myself."

  "Your family is in Jinsei." Fee said. "They're waiting for you to come home."

  "What if I don't gel with other people like I do here?"

  "Family comes first. We'll still be there, just different."

  "You don't get it, Fee," Tomoko said. "In Jinsei, there is no Medacium, no Space Station, and none of this." She opened her arms. "We never meet because…why would we?"

  "Fate is a lost lamb, unbound and wandering."

  "No, it would be too weird," Tomoko said. "Unless I joined whatever company you worked in. We could slowly become friends again. God, I sound like a stalker."

  "Yeah, don't make other-me call the cops on you."

  "What if I just keep an eye from a distance? You won't even know."

  "That's even worse!" Fee said. "Anyway, I probably wouldn't be working."

  "Are you lazy in every reality?"

  "I meant I would probably be in College or university."

  "Ohhh…that does make more sense."

  "I'm so glad you think so little of my alternate timelines."

  Tomoko looked away. "Yeah, well, there's another reason I can't fly."

  She unravelled a bandage on her forearm to reveal purple stripes, which were too clean and uniform to be bruises.

  "What is that?" Fee asked.

  "I asked the Doctor, but they couldn't figure it out. It might have something to do with the shift in reality. Weirdly enough, Red Ginseng Tea makes the patterns disappear for a time. The problem is, RGT is only available on the black market."

  "If you're gonna ask, just ask."

  "Sorry, the nearest market is the Grey Knuckles. I'm too chicken to go on my own."

  "This is gonna be a fetch quest, isn't it?"

  "There's a Steak and Cheese Sandwich in it for you."

  Fee rolled her eyes and exhaled.

  "Using steak Subs as a bribe. I feel so dirty." She said. "You got the money?"

  Tomoko handed over a small envelope.

  "Treat yourself to a drink at Wasteland; it's a bar in town. I've heard there's good music."

  "Either that or a mass riot. So what are you going to do now?"

  "I've been moved to Comms, which is fine," Tomoko said. "Truth be told, I was gonna quit until your dumb ass came along."

  "Don't stick around for my benefit."

  "I actually did it for mine. I'm all alone on a planet of strangers. Who else can I turn to?"

  Fee sank a bottle of water. "In case you forgot, we're on the verge of invasion, with nowhere to hide. I have plans for the future."

  "If you bring out a picture of a loved one, I will kick you off this roof."

  "I know what a death flag is, don't worry."

  "You'll doom us all!" Tomoko said and laughed. "Alright, let's go before we get chewed out."

  "Y'know, there are other words you can use."

  She heard her friend giggle on the way down.