Entry 8: Seasons

Day 10

The seasons have shifted and it’s summer now, but the rain has come back with a vengeance. The strawberries are no longer in season so now I’m picking basil and hoping it won’t taste too disgusting come winter. For a moment, I thought the mushrooms were also gone, but I guess they just took longer to sprout this time.

I notice Nancy watching me sometimes. I’m hoping it’s just how she is with everyone she personally recruits. I only have a few levels until I can take over as Oracle, and then it won’t matter if she finds out I’m an outsider. I’ll be too powerful to take down. You don’t get on the bad side of the world’s best hacker, especially when that hacker is a quick learner who’s figuring out every little piece of your organisation.

The stress is really starting to wear on me, so I find my joy when I can. Even if that joy comes from running around in the rain. Luckily, it’s not acid rain and I make sure to wash in the sink when I get home.

Sometimes cheerfulness feels more like determination.

Day 12

It’s been a long week, but I finally have that level 8 promotion. The organisation has taken to calling me the An0nymous Ghost and Nancy has given me a slick office of my own at headquarters. For a few hours on my workdays, I get to sit in a chair that’s actually comfortable and use a computer that doesn’t stutter every time I do something more complex than open Notepad.

I can’t take any of that stuff home, though. The fact the mob has nice things has to stay on the down low. The protection money racket is bad enough without letting the people know the mob also hoards what few nice items can be found in Glassbolt. That might actually cause an uprising and make my job even harder. Until the high-tech factories are revived, that’s the way it will have to stay.

Now that my working week is over, I have a few days to recuperate. I start back 1 am on Sunday, day 15.

If I work hard, there’s a good chance I’ll make Oracle next week. Then the next phase of my plan can begin. I can only lift one set of restrictions, but I’m going to ensure the people who come after me have some extra help from the Wonder Child project.

For now, though, I’m going to take a well-deserved breather and build my stockpile of food.

Angel comes to visit me as I eat my fish later that day. Nancy is watching, so she keeps it short and doesn’t let on she knows I wasn’t born in Glassbolt.

“You’re moving up in the world, Nia,” she says, not seeming to care the woman I’m eating with can hear. “Won’t be long until you’re the power behind the throne. Don’t let me down.”

Sometimes I wonder if she knows about the Wonder Child project, or if she just has a good eye for talent.

I may never know, and that’s probably for the best.