Boring

Brontë’s breathing accelerated and she bit her lip. 

‘Here? How does he know? How close?’

Alain shrugged his well-developed shoulders. ‘Didn’t say, just to be on guard.’ Grown for total shoulder arthroplasty, his upper body musculature was spectacular and he exercised it as frequently as he could.

‘Do you think they would be able to pick us out of a group of these worker clones now?’ Brontë’s soft golden eyes were wary and suspiciously moist.

‘Depends which sorting tools they are using. The big crane-mounted ones we saw back at the growth facility might, but anything smaller, say the hand-held ones from the despatching area probably wouldn’t.’

‘They have to find us first,’ said Hugo. 

The spare time in their days of freedom had been mainly spent piggy-backing on Xavier’s access to digital feeds. Being able to read was a huge advantage, thanks to Xavier’s initiative, and like the others, he had consumed enormous amounts of data, at any time when the links were open. They had decided early on that each should concentrate on skilling up in different areas: Hugo had focussed on familiarising himself with human mannerisms, language and interactions, while Alain had searched out the practical technology of computers and mechanics, and Brontë had specialised in transport and logistical links. When, mired in the complexities of train timetables and roadworks, she complained about how boring this was, she got short shrift from her companions.

‘With your knees, you should be looking into cycle paths and climbing walls as well,’ Hugo had remarked. His time spent learning about human behaviour had fed a wry humour which tended towards the sarcastic. 

Brontë glared at him. ‘It’s all very well for you, your research field has nuances and endless possibilities. Mine is rigid, ridiculous and full of nonsensical rules-’

‘-which will no doubt be of immense value once we are out of here and making a new life. Come on Brontë, this has got to be better than giving your knees for spare parts.’ Alain the peacemaker, strove to lift their mood.