Chapter 8

Simon woke with a hand clamped over his mouth and had to stifle a scream.

His own, he realized; by the stiffness in his fingers, it had been there for awhile.

The morning sun was shining through the gauzy curtains at the head of the bed, and by its light he saw Renee's grey eyes staring straight into his own. Her dark hair gleamed in the light, all around her head.

He blushed, removed the hand, and flexed life back into it.

"Do you do that every night?" Renee asked seriously, staring at the hand.

"I guess." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I get ... kinda bad dreams, and Henry doesn't like it when I wake him up."

Henry beat him when it happened.

"It didn't look like you were having a nightmare," she said.

"It was just..." Simon didn't want to tell her he'd been reliving the night before. He didn't want to think about it at all. "Nothing." A thought hit him. "How long were you watching me sleep?"

A smile lifted the corner of Renee's mouth. "Worried about drool? Snoring? 'Cause you passed those tests."

"It's just ... a bit creepy," he said, but he didn't really mean it. She wasn't looking at him the way Henry, or Emilee, or any of the others would have. Had.

"I've only been awake a little longer than you. Surely it's not too creepy, when only done for a short amount of time."

He rolled his eyes. "I have to use the bathroom. And get dressed. You think you have any ... guy clothes?"

"Don't you like dresses?" she asked wryly. "The nightgown is very flattering on you."

"Yeah, right," he said, glancing at the light pink fabric.

He sat up fast, trying to beat the aches before he had time to think about it-

-and realized Renee was much more nervous than she had let on as she instantly rose to match him.

She's afraid of what I could do, he thought, somewhat hurt. He kept the knowledge to himself, though, and moved from the bed with deliberate sluggishness.

"You could check the wardrobe," she said. "There might be something in there."

He did, and found jeans and a white shirt that definitely looked like they had been made for him. They could have been, though Simon doubted Claude was wealthy enough to own a forge.

He walked haltingly to the bathroom; every part of him seemed to be sore.

When he returned, Renee was sitting at the edge of the bed, wearing a long t-shirt and skirt. She smiled, but he didn't think it reached her eyes.

"Welcome back," she said. She nodded at the exit. "I was thinking about finding breakfast, but I'm a b-bit nervous about heading out."

He stopped a good distance away. A safe distance.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Um." She glanced behind her, at the clock. "Seven-ish."

He smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much. Most of the masters won't be up until eight, and they probably won't be down until nine, at the most." He walked to the door and opened it. "You want to eat together?"

She only hesitated a moment before saying, "Sure."

Renee and Simon walked to the syns' room. Tables had been set up on one end, filled with breakfast. A few other people were there, most of them were eating silently along the walls. Their carefully blank eyes took in the two, then slid away.

"So," said Renee as they settled into a corner. "Talk to me." She took a bite of an apple.

"Ah- what do you want to talk about?"

"What should I expect?" she said promptly. "Why you seem okay now, when last night you looked like you needed someone to carry you?" She shrugged. "Or tell me about yourself. Any or all of the above."

Simon glanced at the others that were pointedly not looking at them. Completely not listening.

Right.

" ... for your first question, I can't really say. I mean, your master might let anything happen- or he might be jealous of the others, if they try to use you, and keep you pretty close. You might worry about getting damaged, but only a few of them are into that. I doubt you'd be in much danger of getting killed, 'cause you're so-" He realized she had stopped chewing and was gaping at him. " ... what?"

"How about we, um, skip this conversation. Not while we're eating," she smiled wanly. "New topic."

"O-okay," he said, mentally kicking himself.

Idiot, he thought, what were you thinking?

"Um."

"What are you like," she prodded. "Just who is this boy 'Simon'?"

He could feel his face heating up again. Was there anything harder to talk about, than himself?

"Well ... um- wait, okay, I got it. I have an answer. You asked me why I wasn't all- all weird, this morning, like I was last night. Well, that was probably because I woke up in a bed, and clean, and it just ... well, it seems more like a dream in the morning, y'know?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah." She suddenly turned her attention back to him. "Why were you surprised I had my own room? Is it uncommon?"

"As far as I know," he replied, relieved the conversation had turned. "Most syns sleep in the same bed as their master- or on the floor next to him."

"Why would I be different?"

Because Claude is still playing with you, he thought, and said, "You're new, and you're his first."

She frowned. "Aren't most... 'masters' worried about getting killed in the middle of the night?"

The question was so unexpected, Simon burst out laughing.

Renee glared at him crossly.

"All right- I'm sorry," he chuckled. "I'm sorry. That was just- heh, that's a good question, but it's not something syns would usually ask." He tapped his head. "Mind control, remember? All they need to do is tell you not to kill them, and bam, no killing for you."

" ... what if they haven't?" she asked quietly. "Could-"

Simon was shaking his head. "I wouldn't try it." He wouldn't- now. But he had before. Most of them did. "You need to remember- they can read your fucking mind. Unless you don't think about it before you do it, you won't get the chance. And you won't get the chance anyways, 'cause unless he's set 'kill me, ' or something like it, to your top priority, you'll have a 'do not kill' rule in your logic. It's usually the default."

"So escape is impossible," she said flatly. "That's what you're telling me."

He shrugged. They all accepted it eventually. "If it is possible, I don't know how you would do it." He drank some water, letting the cold sooth his throat. "And if you did kill your master, the computer would sense his death, and send an instant command to shut you down."

"Oh." Renee swallowed once, tried to ignore the disappointment running in her veins, then began eating her food.

Simon spoke for the rest of the meal, naming the syns as they came in and giving her brief biographies on them and their masters.

Renee doubted she would remember most, but she tried to commit as much to memory as she could.

She hadn't realized how much time had passed until nearly everyone in the room simultaneously winced.

They were being summoned.

All talk between the syns ceased as they exited their room. Renee glanced at the faces around her; most were strained, or blank, though some- like Katie's- actually held smiles.

Simon's expression was empty.

She wanted to ask him what was going to happen, but the silence daunted her. Maybe she wasn't allowed to speak.

Most masters were standing, though a few were still eating. Claude stood between the syns and owners, grinning merrily as they filed in, and turned to face his guests.

"Now that everyone has settled in for a day, I think it is time to begin the actual festivities- if there are no objections?" He paused, then clapped his hands together. "Great.

"We'll start today with a game. It's going to involve one on one competition- your syn, against another's- and no, Fen, you can't use both." He pointed to a row of chairs lined up against the wall. "Your syn will sit and your opponent will use one of these-" he hefted what looked like a gun, but it was connected to a hose. Bots were hovering, handing them out to the rest of the masters. "-to stimulate her. You'll do the same to his.