Unchanged by Jessica Brody Page B

public SkyServer…”
    Meaning whatever I access on them can’t be tracked by Diotech. At least not for another hour.
    My pulse races as the realization settles in.
    Now might be my only chance to find out what’s on that drive.

 
    18
    RUINS
    No one doubts my claim that the hyperloop fatigued me and I’m allowed to retire to my suite without much fuss. Crest reminds me that we’ll be leaving for the streamwork at six a.m. sharp.
    â€œDo you want me to walk you to your suite?” Kaelen asks.
    I come around to the back of his chair and kiss the top of his head. The coarse hair of his lingering genetic disguise feels foreign against my lips. “No. I can’t bear to look at you another second with that face.”
    Everyone laughs at my joke. I feel disgusted by it.
    â€œI’ll be back to my pretty self tomorrow morning,” Kaelen replies, playing along.
    â€œGood. I’ll admire you then.”
    Kaelen grins. “I look forward to it.”
    Once the door of my suite seals behind me, I waste no time retrieving the cube from the drawer, swiping it on, and activating the wall screen. The drive immediately shows up on the list of active devices.
    I know my time is limited. The network will be up and running soon and then my window of opportunity will be closed. But I still stare at the drive on the screen for a good two minutes, trying to build up the courage to connect to it.
    With the network inactive, whatever I see on that drive can’t be traced by Diotech. But there’s still the matter of my memories. Our weekly scans are obviously on hold until the end of the tour, but then what?
    What will happen when we return to the compound in a month and they find this?
    Because they will. They find everything.
    I remind myself that it’s only a problem if they think I was trying to hide something. If I access the drive, see what’s inside, and report it to Dr. A before they have a chance to scan my memories, then I should be safe.
    With a deep breath, I initiate the link.
    The syncing screen seems to take forever. It’s as though time is slowing down the longer the devices try to reach one another. I get a flutter of panic in my chest.
    What if the drive has been damaged?
    How long was it buried under the hard, unforgiving earth?
    Finally, the sync completes and I’m shown an inventory of files stored on the drive.
    There is only one.
    Everything else has been erased.
    And if there was any lingering doubt that the drive was left for me, it’s erased as well, as soon as I read the file name.
    S + Z = 1609
    I cringe as the memory stabs at my heart and my conscience like a vengeful warrior. Like an age-old curse.
    â€œIt’s beautiful,” I say, flipping the necklace over in my palm. I gasp when I see the engraving on the back. I run my fingertip over the text etched into the black heart pendant.
    â€œS + Z = 1609,” I whisper, afraid that the clouds might overhear.
    â€œAn equation only you can solve,” he says.
    S + Z = 1609 was our secret code. Along with the symbol of the eternal knot. Back when I used to call him Zen, instead of his full name, Lyzender.
    The equation was a plan for our escape. We were going to live in the year 1609. We were going to run away to a time before Diotech. Before science. Before the Objective.
    And we did. We made it. He lured me there with all of his romantic words and soulful promises.
    Yet it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. It was a dangerous time with distrustful people who did not take kindly to my uniqueness.
    Dr. A was right about Lyzender all along. His promises were false. His words were contrived. He tempted me into a hell that didn’t accept me. It wasn’t better in the seventeenth century. It was worse.
    Sometimes I wish Dr. A had simply erased him from my mind. That boy and the promises I made to him are my single most powerful source of shame.
    I understand why Dr. A didn’t,