SL Huang - Up and Coming - Stories by the 2016 Campbell-Eligible Authors

Amba lifted her arms, tipped her head back, and allowed the power to explode from her. Releasing it was a sensation as familiar as breathing. She laughed, all else forgotten, as the heavens answered her with a rising wind and a bolt of lightning that streaked down from the clouds toward her. She recognized the voice of the wind. She knew the lightning like a friend. It struck the ground at her feet, and the peal of thunder that accompanied it was majestic.

The rains began, fat drops, pelting from the sky. The smell of moist air and earth filled her nostrils. Rain ran in rivulets down her face and arms. It continued to intensify, falling with a force hard enough to sting.

“Amba, have you done this?”

Her father had to shout over the storm. He must have run to her when the rain started. The pounding water slicked his dark hair to his head. The roar of rain cascading to the ground made him hard to hear, though he stood at her side. In his voice she heard the plea that things were not bigger than his understanding, that her strange behavior and the storm were no more than a coincidence.

She reached out and took him by the shoulders. “It’ll be all right, Father. Everything will be all right.”

The grubs were the first to die, drowning in puddles no larger than her hand. The sparkers stayed underground longer, but finally they, too, had to emerge from the sodden soil to take their chances above. Amba stayed outside for hours, reveling in the rains that lashed her. Never had she felt so whole.

Once the rains began, the ship weighed anchor and sailed back the way it had come. Beneath the roar of the storm, Amba finally heard the quarter winds in the sails and the splash of the ocean beneath the hull.

Father left too, on the task she had assigned him. The people had to start building waterwheels and repairing their windmills. Grain stores needed to be gathered in a central, dry place. Most important, Father had to see that word got to the Wheat-singers and the Wave-tamers and all the other old families in the county. They needed to come to her so that, together, they could learn the true meaning of their names and discover how to tap their powers.

There was much work ahead for them all.

“Last Transaction” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2015.

(RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM activated. Self-diagnostics complete. Morning sequence initialized.)

Good morning, Citizen 79867. The time is now 0700, on Monday, April 23, 2136. Temperature on Colony 13: 18° Celsius. Temperature outside of colony bio-dome: 65° Celsius.

Calendar reminder: Your biannual physical is due. Scanning citizen biometrics. Blood pressure: Normal range. Blood sugar: Slightly elevated. Weight: 6.8 kg higher than last physical. Should results be submitted to Citizen Census Bureau now?

No.

Measurements discarded. You have 7 days remaining to submit biometrics to the Citizen Census Bureau. Pending messages on your account. Would you like to review them now?

Yes.

Three messages found. Message One: Timestamp: 22APR2136, 0900. Sender: Federated Colony Credit Union. Priority: Low. Message contents: The scheduled monthly salary deposit from Logistics, Inc., was deposited Sunday, April—

Skip message.

Message Two: Timestamp: 23APR2136, 0600. Sender: Executive Director. Priority: Heightened. Message contents: All Logistics, Inc., personnel are to attend a mandatory meeting at 1500 this afternoon regarding the ongoing defense contract negotiations. Tardy individuals will receive disciplinary—

Skip message.

Message Three: Timestamp: 23APR2136, 0630. Sender: Federated Colony Credit Union. Priority: Urgent. Message contents: Several monthly scheduled transactions were declined on April 23, 2136, due to insufficient funds, as follows: Scheduled payment to GraviWorks Utility Company. Scheduled payment to ColonyGlo Electric. Scheduled payment to—

End message retrieval. Access personal financial account.

Personal financial accounts accessed. Current account balance: -25037.6 credits. Select an option to repeat this balance in yuan, rupees, yen, or the US denomination of the now-defunct United States. Be advised: Federated Colony Credit Union will cease providing American currency services on August 15, 2136 as per—

Access last transactions. Date range: Sunday, April 22, 2136, to Monday, April 23, 2136.

Two transactions found.

A recurring deposit of 2972.5 credits was received on Sunday, April 22, 2136 at 0900, from Logistics, Inc. Resulting balance: 3008.4 credits.

A withdrawal of 28046 credits was made on Monday, April 23, 2136 at 0615. Resulting balance: -25037.6 credits.

Trace last transaction.

Last transaction traced. Outgoing transfer authorization found to Citizen—

Incoming urgent message requiring immediate attention.

Skip.

Message cannot be skipped. Incoming urgent message from the Federated Revenue Bureau. Timestamp: 23APR2136, 0710. Message contents: Due to recent negative transactions on your financial account in excess of 28000 credits, your account has been flagged for potential criminal activity. Criminal activity flags for amounts exceeding 10000 credits result in an automatic reduction of civil status to probationary citizen, pending judicial review. Probationary status will impact your access to certain public services, such as—

End message retrieval. Access personal financial account.

Personal financial accounts accessed. Current account bal—

Skip. Trace last transaction.

Last transaction traced. Outgoing transfer authorization found to Citizen 68516.

Look up Citizen 68516.

Command error: Public records cannot be accessed or modified by probationary citizens. Please contact your local judicial—

Skip. Access financial account services.

Services accessed. Please select from the following—

File financial theft report for last transaction.

Preparing financial theft report. Command error: Financial theft reports for amounts exceeding 7000 credits must be forwarded to Central Judicial. Would you like to forward your report now?

Yes.

Warning: Probationary citizens do not have access to priority report forwarding. Report has been submitted and placed at the end of judicial queue. Current queue position: 3426. Estimated time until review is—

Skip.

New pending messages on your account. Would you like to review them now?

Yes.

Two messages found. Message One: Secure Message. Encryption key verified. Timestamp: 23APR2136, 0715. Sender: Security Department, Logistics, Inc. Message contents: Please contact the Security Department for information regarding a change of status in your security clearance. Do not use unencrypted communication to respond—

Skip.

Message Two: Timestamp: 23APR2136, 0717. Sender: Human Resources, Logistics—

End message retrieval.

(Navigational program activated. Self-diagnostics complete. Personalized navigation system initialized.)

Good morning, Citizen 79867. The time is now 0807, on Monday, April 23, 2136. Temperature on Colony 13 is—

Skip. Activate manual navigation.

Command error: A remote boot has been placed on this jumper vehicle by the Federated Revenue Bureau, pending a judicial review. In the case of a negative ruling, this vehicle will be seized along with any outstanding assets for possible liquid—

Skip. Access pedestrian navigation map.

Pedestrian navigation map accessed. An alternate route has been suggested by the Federated Revenue Bureau to your nearest local judicial—