valve convulsed. It disgorged a great blast of glossy blue discs, about the size of my palm. They poured out, but didn’t pick up much speed. They just floated in the air, rippling slightly. Slowly they began to disperse.
They looked vaguely familiar.
‘What – what -?’ Lais stuttered.
‘Just move!’ Dad snapped. ‘BioLab! Move!
’ ‘Scent pellets,’ I gasped. ‘Could they be scent pellets?’
‘ Move , Cheney!’
They were scent pellets – I was sure of it. I had studied the laundry system during my stint in Sustainable Services. All RALs carried scent pellets. When you didn’t clean with water, scent pellets were vital.
But I didn’t get the chance to have a really good look. We were already moving, running along the tube towards BioLab. I stumbled, and nearly fell. Mum hauled me to my feet again.
‘Mum -’
‘Later!’
We charged down the platform, though there was no need to. The RAL didn’t follow us; I glanced back to check. It was disappearing down one of the streets, leaving a trail of drifting scent pellets.
Ahead of me, Dad slipped. It was easy to do, on that surface. He hit one knee coming down, and swore. Lais careered into him; she also tumbled.
‘It’s all right!’ Zennor panted. ‘It’s gone!’
‘Slow down.’ Mum was also gasping for breath as she hung off my arm. ‘We can’t – can’t run – we’ll hurt ourselves – too uneven . . .’
‘I want my mum . . .’ Yestin whimpered.
‘This stinks!’ Dygall exclaimed wildly. ‘What was that thing? What was it doing?’
‘It was a Remote Access Laundry Unit.’ I was surprised that he hadn’t spotted it. ‘And those blue things were scent pellets. At least, they used to be . . .’ I saw one flit by, dodging a sampler, and added desperately, ‘I – I don’t know what they are now.’
‘Enzymes, perhaps?’ Arkwright speculated, his blank gaze fixed on the same pellet. ‘Hormones?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Lais said. ‘Come on .’
‘Of course it matters.’ Arkwright spoke quite sharply, for him. ‘Everything matters. We can’t deal with any of this unless we know what’s going on.’
‘Well, whatever those blue things are, they don’t look dangerous,’ Zennor remarked, sounding more hopeful than relieved. ‘There’s no reason to think they’re dangerous.’
‘Perhaps we ought to catch one,’ Arkwright suggested. I knew what he meant – I knew he was right – but I couldn’t dredge up much enthusiasm. Harmless or not, the scent pellets were strange and disquieting.
I just wanted to get away from them.
Fortunately, Dad said, ‘Not now. Later. We haven’t even got a sample box with us.’
‘When we reach BioLab,’ Mum added, ‘we can work out exactly what we need.’
So we pressed on, cautiously. I found myself watching the area above my head. Dad began to approach every junction with more care, even though – as Zennor had pointed out – there was no reason to regard the scent pellets (or the samplers, for that matter) as dangerous. They all seemed to be going about their mysterious business as if we weren’t there.
‘It’s like being Jonah inside the whale,’ Lais muttered, at one point.
‘Huh?’ said Dygall.
‘Jonah. You know. From the Bible.’
Dygall didn’t know. Neither did I. Though we had done a unit on the Bible in our history course, neither of us could remember any Jonah.
‘He was swallowed by a whale,’ said Lais. ‘He lived inside it for a while.’
‘And then what happened?’ I asked.
Lais hesitated. ‘Actually,’ she admitted, ‘I don’t really know . . .’
‘He was vomited up onto dry land.’ It was Zennor who spoke. ‘The Lord made him preach outside Ninevah.’
‘Well,’ said Dygall, ‘I hope that doesn’t happen to us . Unless we find the right sort of dry land.’
‘It’s a story about trying to avoid your destiny,’ Zennor began – and was suddenly hit.
A scent pellet hit him. It exploded against his back in a
They looked vaguely familiar.
‘What – what -?’ Lais stuttered.
‘Just move!’ Dad snapped. ‘BioLab! Move!
’ ‘Scent pellets,’ I gasped. ‘Could they be scent pellets?’
‘ Move , Cheney!’
They were scent pellets – I was sure of it. I had studied the laundry system during my stint in Sustainable Services. All RALs carried scent pellets. When you didn’t clean with water, scent pellets were vital.
But I didn’t get the chance to have a really good look. We were already moving, running along the tube towards BioLab. I stumbled, and nearly fell. Mum hauled me to my feet again.
‘Mum -’
‘Later!’
We charged down the platform, though there was no need to. The RAL didn’t follow us; I glanced back to check. It was disappearing down one of the streets, leaving a trail of drifting scent pellets.
Ahead of me, Dad slipped. It was easy to do, on that surface. He hit one knee coming down, and swore. Lais careered into him; she also tumbled.
‘It’s all right!’ Zennor panted. ‘It’s gone!’
‘Slow down.’ Mum was also gasping for breath as she hung off my arm. ‘We can’t – can’t run – we’ll hurt ourselves – too uneven . . .’
‘I want my mum . . .’ Yestin whimpered.
‘This stinks!’ Dygall exclaimed wildly. ‘What was that thing? What was it doing?’
‘It was a Remote Access Laundry Unit.’ I was surprised that he hadn’t spotted it. ‘And those blue things were scent pellets. At least, they used to be . . .’ I saw one flit by, dodging a sampler, and added desperately, ‘I – I don’t know what they are now.’
‘Enzymes, perhaps?’ Arkwright speculated, his blank gaze fixed on the same pellet. ‘Hormones?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Lais said. ‘Come on .’
‘Of course it matters.’ Arkwright spoke quite sharply, for him. ‘Everything matters. We can’t deal with any of this unless we know what’s going on.’
‘Well, whatever those blue things are, they don’t look dangerous,’ Zennor remarked, sounding more hopeful than relieved. ‘There’s no reason to think they’re dangerous.’
‘Perhaps we ought to catch one,’ Arkwright suggested. I knew what he meant – I knew he was right – but I couldn’t dredge up much enthusiasm. Harmless or not, the scent pellets were strange and disquieting.
I just wanted to get away from them.
Fortunately, Dad said, ‘Not now. Later. We haven’t even got a sample box with us.’
‘When we reach BioLab,’ Mum added, ‘we can work out exactly what we need.’
So we pressed on, cautiously. I found myself watching the area above my head. Dad began to approach every junction with more care, even though – as Zennor had pointed out – there was no reason to regard the scent pellets (or the samplers, for that matter) as dangerous. They all seemed to be going about their mysterious business as if we weren’t there.
‘It’s like being Jonah inside the whale,’ Lais muttered, at one point.
‘Huh?’ said Dygall.
‘Jonah. You know. From the Bible.’
Dygall didn’t know. Neither did I. Though we had done a unit on the Bible in our history course, neither of us could remember any Jonah.
‘He was swallowed by a whale,’ said Lais. ‘He lived inside it for a while.’
‘And then what happened?’ I asked.
Lais hesitated. ‘Actually,’ she admitted, ‘I don’t really know . . .’
‘He was vomited up onto dry land.’ It was Zennor who spoke. ‘The Lord made him preach outside Ninevah.’
‘Well,’ said Dygall, ‘I hope that doesn’t happen to us . Unless we find the right sort of dry land.’
‘It’s a story about trying to avoid your destiny,’ Zennor began – and was suddenly hit.
A scent pellet hit him. It exploded against his back in a
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