Botanicaust (10 page)

He disappeared into his office and Tula knew it was pointless to argue with him. Conversion used enough resources without further requirements for gene therapy.

She stared at the protein drinks in her hands. Her extension request would never be approved now. Levi would be dead by morning.
A waste of resources.
Unless she could prove he was worth saving.

She tried to keep her countenance light as she continued into the prison block. No need to worry him. But she wracked her brain for reasons to recommend converting an ad
ult carrier of Cystic Fibrosis.

“
G
ood morning, Levi.
”
Tula greeted him as usual, but her smile seemed stiff.

“
Gut morning, Tula.
”

She dropped eye contact as she handed both canisters through the bars, and he thought he detected a gleam of moisture on her lower lashes.

He reached a gentle hand toward her.
“
Tula? Eye?
”
He
’
d been learning the names of body parts.

“
…
okay
, Levi.
”
She said a few more words he didn
’
t understand, but he had a feeling things were not okay.

He accepted the canisters and backed away from the cell door to sit on his cot. She palmed the lock and closed the door with a click behind her before joining him on the mattress. She smelled warm, and he wished she hadn
’
t settled so close to him.

At the same time, worry gnawed at his gut, and he struggled to find a way to ask her what was wrong. Sometimes communication between them seemed to click, and other times one or both of them ended up frustrated.

In silence, they sipped the flavorless drinks.

“
Tula, eye?
”
he asked again, and then pointed to himself.
“
Levi?
”

Tula tightened her lips into a forced smile then picked up the gamma pad on the bed. Since the incident with Awnia, he
’
d been given a more primitive notepad. The stubby plastic pencil was better than his fingers, but not by much. Nothing like the slender utensil Awnia had turned into a weapon.

Much to his chagrin, Tula pulled up the last sketch he
’
d been working on. The one he thought he
’
d erased. Were all of his lascivious creations still inside the device? Heat crept up his face and he reached over to take the screen from her.

Tula didn
’
t let go. She rose, her deft hands bringing up another picture he thought he
’
d deleted.

His heart raced with embarrassment. His father had always warned him his drawings would lead to trouble. Shaking his head, he again tried to take the notebook.
“
I didn
’
t mean for anyone to see those. Please.
”

An entire string of unintelligible words streamed from her lips, and she pressed the notebook to her breasts as she palmed the lock and exited his cell.

“
Tula, no!
”

But his words were in vain. He wondered what his sins would get him into now.

As she climbed the stairs out of Confinement, Tula scrolled through the memory on the gamma pad, reviewing all the drawings Levi had done since he began talking. Her patients usually made multiple drawings of her over the course of counseling, but what struck Tula about these was the way he turned color and light into something powerful. A talent some might consider genius. Especially considering he
’
d done it on a child
’
s gamma pad.

She passed her lab and continued to the second flight into the Liebert building. Although the walls were solid concrete, the sun bored through the retrofitted nuvoplast roofing, and the unaccustomed brightness made her eyes tear as she emerged into the hallway. Only a few doors down from Confinement, Council Woman Arnica
’
s office stood open to indicate the head of the Conversion Committee was available.

If Tula could convince the Board of Levi
’
s talent, they might listen to her plea for special consideration.

She needed a full portfolio. His notebook from the Reaches was at her house
—
technically illegal, but it seemed a shame to send it to the incinerator, and now she gladly rushed home to retrieve it. She lived a few minutes walking distance, and a little direct sunlight felt good on her skin in the middle of the day. A haze of dust in the air made her nose itch and hinted at an incoming blowout. She glanced at the green yuvee tree in the square outside her apartment. No imminent UV storm.

In her apartment, Mo lay snoring on the sofa. Burn Ops must have cancelled flights because of the impending sand storm. Levi
’
s notebook rested face open on her entertainment console. Even Mo had been intrigued by the portraits, the long sweep of a building and its shadow, the grotesque face of a creature with curled horns she
’
d researched and discovered was a goat.

“
Hey, baby. What are you doing home?
”
Mo rubbed his eyes and stretched his long green legs over the edge of the sofa.

“
They want to euthanize Levi in the morning, and I have to petition the Board immediately.
”

“
Here I was hoping you
’
d come home for a nooner.
”

“
It
’
s a matter of life and death, Mo.
”
She scolded,
then
relented.
“
I know you
’
ve missed me the last few days. As soon as I get Levi through conversion I
’
ll take some time off, okay?
”

Lips drawn down with disappointment, he nodded.
“
You
’
re going in front of the Board like that?
”

“
Like what?
”
She tucked the notebook under her arm.

“
You know how judgmental they can be. Maybe some jewelry?
”

He was right. She had to look like she had connections. Her heart warmed and she bent to kiss him lightly on the lips. She
’
d have to make sure to give him time as soon as she could.
“
Thanks, Mo.
”

In the privacy of her vanity, she selected some long amber bead earrings and a pendant to match. The earrings hurt going in, the pierced holes having drawn shut from disuse. She chose a thin gold bracelet, a pair of matching anklets, and a topaz ring. In lieu of hair beads, she pulled her short bangs out of her eyes with a simple, nuvoplast clip given to her as a child by Dr. Werne, her conversion therapist. Thanks to his efforts, she
’
d become a genetic psychiatrist herself. The clip would be good luck.

Taking the notebook in one hand and the gamma pad in the other, she hurried back to the living room.
“
This better?
”

Mo looked up from his gamma pad.
“
Wow.
”

The short praise was all she had time for. She headed out into the increasing wind. Privacy screens mirrored her reflection from the buildings, and she looked away from her image with embarrassment over the uncomfortable glittery weight.

Councilwoman Arnica sat at her desk, gesturing into the air as she talked to the
com
screen. Her short graying hair sported silver clips above her ears, matching thick bands at her neck and wrists. The short skirt she wore was the same green tone as her skin, with decorative beads woven into the loose rayon. A matching rayon band supported her ample breasts with a strand of silver beads looped up and behind her neck.

Tula wished she
’
d ditched the lab coat and changed into a nicer skirt.
Too late.
Arnica spotted her and gestured to come inside and sit. Tula set the notebook and the gamma pad on the edge of the desk and waited for the head of the Conversion Committee to finish her conversation.

Arnica said goodbye, relaxed into her chair, and folded her hands in her lap.
“
Dr. Macoby, we don
’
t see you aboveground too often. What can I do for you?
”

Trembling with nerves, Tula swallowed and jumped right in.
“
I put in a request for an extension of term for a prisoner who is scheduled for euthanization tomorrow.
”

“
Yes. Vitus pulled it this morning. Genetic mismatch, correct?
”

“
I
’
d like to put the extension request back on the table.
”
Tula activated the gamma pad and offered it to the Councilwoman.
“
I believe the man is an artistic genius and well worth investing in. He created those on a child
’
s gamma pad. Imagine what he could do using a better medium?
”

Tapping through the drawings, Arnica nodded,
then
handed it back to Tula.
“
I can see why you
’
re flattered, Dr. Macoby. They
’
re lovely. But I
’
m sorry. We can
’
t justify the expenditure.
”

A flush rose in Tula
’
s face. She hadn
’
t considered the drawings to be flattery. She scrambled to open the paper notebook.
“
He had these with him when he arrived. The Entertainment Division would be interested in his work. They
’
re always looking for new ideas. Once he
’
s converted, he
’
ll earn back the cost of CFTR therapy in no time.
”

Arnica hesitated, her nose scrunched in disgust before she accepted the book with
a silver
ringed thumb and index finger and dropped it to the desk in front of her, the page open to the goat. She didn
’
t move to turn the pages.
“
Dr. Macoby
—
”

“
Look. He has a lot of drawings.
”
Tula boldly stepped around the desk and flipped the page. The woman in many of the drawings stared down into the face of a baby. On the next page, a group of laughing men sat in a circle on four legged chairs. As she turned pages, the councilwoman leaned closer. Tula reached the end of the notebook and faltered.
“
Don
’
t you see any value to such talent?
”