Right Back After This

Episode 9

One fitful sleep and meaningless morning later, Riz stands again in the only room in this building to interest him. He sits in the chair that Ares offers him this time.

"Have you checked what the fans are saying?" is the first question he finds himself asking. "What does the majority think is happening in here?"

Ares shakes his head lightly. He's gazing out of the window again, and so Riz watches his back, tries to pull some truth from the man he sees in front of him. His sweater appears to be made of genuine wool, judging by the fluffy softness that can't be replicated with plastics. There's a sliding scale; only the poorest and the richest wear clothes made of worldly materials. Riz doubts that Ares grew up on some bronzeworld farm with real livestock, that that sweater was knitted and dyed by someone who loved him.

"I checked briefly," Ares says, "but I wouldn't worry. It is utterly impossible for us to deceive everyone, because someone, somewhere, will consider the correct possibility. Which is, currently, far from anyone's minds. The plausible explanation I'm giving is enough."

Riz plays with the cloth of the armchair under his fingers, and studies the sky. On Majadha, there was a dim red sun that rose in the west, but here, on Arbo, you watch the planet rise instead. You see night fall across it, at midday it eclipses the sun, and then you see its morning as you sleep. Riz likes to watch as the line of nightfall crosses the planet and artificial lights come on. There's people down there. A lot of them know his name. A lot of them might be worried about him.

Riz takes a deep breath. "I'm risking a lot to be here, but anything I lose will be taken from you far worse. You know that, don't you?"

Ares perches on the edge of his desk, arms crossed. There's only a sliver of day visible on the planet below them; it's about to eclipse, and then it'll only be the constellation of city lights across the verdant continents that'll illuminate their conversation for a while.

Riz keeps speaking when Ares is silent. "That isn't a threat. You know as well as I do that there's nothing I can do. But if anyone finds out, they'll throw you under the bus to save me."

Ares still isn't looking at him, but rather remains fixated on the window. Arbo's artificial atmosphere, reflecting the blue sun's light, creates a pale greyish blue sky around Bryten; it'll start to fade and scatter reds and yellows in a moment as eclipse hits.

"Are you worried about me?" Ares asks, as Riz stands.

"No." Riz relishes in the chance to be honest. "You're an adult, making your own decisions. I didn't force you to offer this to me."

Ares tilts his head. "I'm a little worried about you."

Riz freezes, having been about to step forward; instead, he stands awkwardly, transfixed. "What? Why?"

"Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have approached you with this if I didn't see you as mould-breaking, at least a little. But you can't do too much, baby, or they'll catch on."

Riz grits his teeth, so thrown by being called baby by a man he hardly knows that he didn't listen to everything else he said.

Ares sighs, and continues anyway. "We were prepared for the possibility that things wouldn't go to plan, but Paloma has been really wanting to push this Wrenley and Jace thing. You may have noticed- like some viewers suspect, but most assume couldn't be true- that Jace was cheating. So the fact that you worked so well with your 'worst enemy' that you beat them anyway- well, you're lucky it's interesting."

"I don't see what this has to do with anything," Riz mutters. He moves, escaping the awkwardness of being stuck between approaching Ares and sitting down; he does neither, instead walking over to the window. Not too close, for they're not exactly near to the ground.