Power + Duty

Chapter One

Peyton

Unfortunately, it was a beautiful day.

Peyton frowned, glancing up at the bright midday sky through the tinted car window as the vehicle flew down an old country road. The summer sun hung high above a sea of tall, green trees in the clear blue sky. Its light beamed down and tickled her face. Yet her frown only deepened. This was not what she wanted. Peyton had hoped for a storm as it was the only thing that could save her from the dreadfully boring weekend her family had planned.

A camping trip wasn't exactly how Peyton wanted to start her summer break. If she had a choice, she'd be hanging out by the pool with her friends and a cold glass of lemonade. Not spend the next couple of days in an insect-infested campsite with her dad who probably had a few lectures ready for her. The man loved his lectures. But after two hellish weeks of finals, the last thing Peyton wanted to do was listen to another lecture.

It's like I never left school, Peyton told herself. She closed her eyes and continued listening to her music. It was her all-favorite band playing in her ears: The Burning Beauties. Usually, the sounds of their drums and fast-playing electric guitars were enough to put her in a good mood., But not today, the sting of her disappointment killed any good vibe the music might have brought.

This weekend is going to suck, she thought with a sigh. Then her music suddenly stopped. And now there's that. I just can't win today.

Peyton opened her eyes and looked down at the commlink on her wrist. The wristband device displayed her music playlist. She scanned the device interface and found the problem. Somehow, her music had been paused. She didn't do it. Maybe there was a glitch in the system. Peyton pressed the play button, but her music didn't return. Ah, come on! She pressed it again, but still nothing. Suddenly it hit her. She knew exactly what was going on.

Peyton glanced over at the seat across from her. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"Sorry honey, but your father wants to talk to you," her mom's voice hissed through the comm channel even though the woman's mouth didn't move. Unlike Peyton, her mom didn't use a commlink or earbuds. She didn't need them. With her smart-link implant, she was practically a human commlink. Although she looked like an ordinary middle-aged Chinese American woman. At least until someone noticed her data-jack implant on the back of her neck.

Peyton deactivated an earbud and turned to her father. "Do you need something, Dad?"

"Yes," her dad replied, clearing his throat, "I know you're not thrilled about this camping trip, but this could be good for you. You'll get to reconnect with nature and get away from all that tech."

Peyton chuckled. She expected her dad to say something like that. Unlike her mom, her dad was an ordinary human, a baseline. He rejected the idea of having cybernetic implants even though they could afford it. Her mom only got them because of her job. But Peyton's dad wanted her to remain a baseline. It was something Peyton didn't want. How could she, when everyone else was becoming more, superhuman. There was no way she wasn't going to be augmented. She just had to wait till her eighteenth birthday.

Using her real voice, her mom explained. "What your father is trying to say is that we just want to spend time with you. You just finished your first year of high school and it won't be long before you're off to college."

Peyton sighed. It made sense, but still. "Why camping? Why couldn't we do something fun like going on a cruise or to an amusement park?"

"Because," her dad snapped but fell silent. "I didn't think of that. They do sound like fun. Fine, next year you can choose what we do."