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That was when Spencer gave up the pretense. He clapped Rory on the shoulder and leaned into her. “You’re going to love it here.”
In her real life, Rory’s smile would’ve said touch me again you die, but she managed to look at Spencer without daggers shooting out of her eyes and shift away without kneeing him in the junk. On the job, Rory was peerless. Right up until she’d gotten her heart broken. This job was different from anything she’d done before, and it would test her.
They got their suitcases into the cabin. Packed according to guidelines full of helpful advice about climate, work assignments and the fulfillment of living without being tied down by possessions. The Continuance could show Marie Kondo a thing or two about decluttering. This was radical life-downsizing.
Rory fretted when Spencer collected their electronics. Not all of it was faked. When he asked for their watches, Zeke objected. It was useful to have Spencer think they were off-balance. Anyone doing this would be. “I need a watch, man.”
“We have a bells system. You’ll always know what time it is.”
“But it’s just a watch.” Plain old Rolex, nothing gadgety about it. “Why can’t I have a watch?”
“We’re just going to hold onto it for you until you get settled and then you can choose whether you want to wear it or not, same as your other tech.”
From outside there was the sound of an engine. “Okay. I guess you’re right,” he said, handing the Rolex over. Good thing it was a fake. Which they’d find out if they tried to flip it.
“You’re nervous, I get it. Perfectly understandable,” Spencer said. “It’ll feel strange for a few days, but the quickest way to fit in is to embrace the new ways immediately. You’ll be converts in no time.”
“Now don’t go promising what you can’t deliver, Spencer.”
Orrin Epcot had a lazy smoke-cured drawl and a hawkish way of looking at you that he softened with the hint of a smile. He came in through a side door, making them all turn to face him. He was a couple of inches shorter than Zeke’s six-foot-three, broad in the shoulders, square in the jaw, deeply tanned. He carried his forty-five years like a man who enjoyed working outdoors.
Epcot was born Paul Kavanaugh, in Bakersfield, California, son of a teacher and an engineer who were killed in a light plane crash in his late teens. Unremarkable education and early years. Never married. He showed up on the radar next at thirty as a software developer with a cool ten million in the bank made from the sale of a piece of financial fraud detection code that he likely stole from a dying colleague. He used that money to change his name, buy the land Abundance sat on and plan to survive the end of the world.
He didn’t have the usual pathology of a Jim Jones or a David Koresh. He wasn’t inspired by a twisted form of religion. He was a straight up ego-driven power hungry con man and opportunist out to profit from other people’s fears.
Orrin didn’t offer his hand to shake and he barely looked at Zeke, focusing on Rory, who kept her eyes down.
“I was telling Zack and Rosie what a good decision they made joining us.” Spencer was deferential, but not cowering. The two men were comfortable with each other. The master and his head of recruitment and propaganda.
“Come get settled and let’s talk.” Spencer gestured to the table and they all took seats. He pulled out a chair for Rory and pushed it in when she sat. A gentleman snake in the grass. “After we finish, you’ll find a meal in the kitchen ready to eat. You’ll have time to rest, and in the morning, you’ll officially be Continuers.”
“What happens if we change our minds?” Rory said.
Orrin made a point of looking at his watch as if he had somewhere better to be. His watch. It was a crass powerplay. A clear signal there was one rule for the Orrin and another for everyone else.
“You’re free to leave anytime,” Orrin said, taking them both in with a measured look. “We’ll have your car brought back around, return your equipment and your financial contribution. No one is forced to live at Abundance. People from all around the country apply to come here and we’re very selective about who we allow in. I’m sure you understand why? We are the privileged few. We will survive what’s coming and we will choose who we take into the new world with us. The only reason you’re here now is because Spencer vouched for you. Was he wrong to do that?”
Aside from the theatrics with the watch, Orrin nailed the part of benevolent dictator. They were free to leave. Having been electronically disarmed was just an inconvenience. They were special, chosen, but not so lucky that they couldn’t lose the very thing that would save their lives.
“Spencer isn’t wrong,” Zeke said. “We want to be here.”
Rory chipped in with, “We didn’t mean to offend. It’s just...” she let the sentence trail off and Spencer put his hand over hers where it lay on the table.
“We understand. You are safe here, Rosie. Safer than you were in the decaying world.”
She slipped her hand out from under his. Spencer might not be safe if he kept pawing at her.
“Let’s begin,” Orrin said. “Your parents, I understand are both dead. You have no other close relatives?”
Zeke shared a meaningful look with Rory. “It’s just been us for a long time.”
Orrin shared one with Spencer. It might as well have said, you’re on your way to employee of the month, buddy.
“It’s a sad fact that you were victims of wealth and greed, of the moral collapse of society. The decay is accelerating. The signs are everywhere. The climate is disintegrating faster than expected, foreign powers are infiltrating our country, interfering in our government, politicians do nothing but satisfy their own greed and they operate above the law. Diseases of the flesh and brain are everywhere and there is no cure for them. The population has armed itself in response to a collapse they cannot survive. You’ll find a new family here and have no need to think about those difficult times you suffered again.”
It could even be true. And that’s what made this so insidiously scary.
Orrin followed up with questions about the sale of property and other assets, about signatures on legal documents, and then he turned to Rory. “You were an addict.”
