Sector Log//U.U. 09A//Day 2924
I joined the Orphans today, no longer a solo Spare. After 4 days and no service bot attached to me. “You’re efficient enough on your own now, try not to get eaten by a dog.” That was what she said, I never knew Sue could have a sense of humor.
I wonder if The Spindle reads my diary? Ha! Why would she care about a Spare like me?
Sue (I’m never calling her Service Unit Extension to her face, no way) helped me for two years, but now I’m an adult. Eight years old. I’ll write when I have time but I need to start hunting on my own now.
Sector Log//U.U. 09A//Day 2988
Fingers hurt, scrubbing makes my hands bleed. Hard to type and this terminal is keypad only “for security reasons.” Ha! Why are all the terminals in the Spare slab touch only?
I’m not calling this metal floor a bedroom, it’s not. I’m not. I’m cold, hungry, and I’m alone.
Sector Log//U.U. 09A/Day 2994
I’m not alone! I have a friend. One friend who doesn’t steal my kills, in the real world at least. Yeah, I play games now. When I’m good, Wren lets me play on his gaming rigs. The older Spares get to use the immersion rigs but I can’t do that until I’m 12. Something about young brains and overt stimulation.
I learned that I’m smarter than all of the other Orphans today. Wren warned me to never let them know that, unless I want to get hurt.
That’s how I know he’s a friend, friends look out for me. I need another friend, a spare friend, haha.
Sector Log//U.U. 09A/Day 2998
No time to write any more, now that I’m gaming. I’ll still read though, I need to learn everything I can if I’m going to make it out of The Big House. I need to be tougher and I need to be smarter.
Sector Log // U.U. 09A // Day 4189
Found a carb-rust filter today. Sold it for 3 credits.
Bot K3 said I did good. It’s got one arm and no voice box, but I like it better than most. He gets a name next time I see him.
...
Sector Log // Day 4192
That giant rat was playing dead, it bit me and kept biting me until I fell on it. I bled through two shirts, at least they’re both red. Got 7 credits for the rat and a pat on the head from a sanitation drone. He didn’t talk to me so he doesn’t get a name. I have rules.
...
Sector Log // Day 4193
Wren smiled at me today. Said I’ve got "hands for finer things.” I don’t know what that means, but I’m glad he noticed.
Day 4528
I’m tired of that Sector Log heading, removed it. I can program now!
Life at the Big House
Utility-Unit, that’s what the medbot calls me (just for that, no name for you). Trash, filth, thief, and other less-flattering names are what strangers have called me since leaving the Nursery, and anyone who isn’t a ganger or a bot is a stranger (except for Wren).
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Good thing there’s a lot of us Spares.
Life at The Big House isn’t easy, but it’s better than being outside. Ruined buildings, rusty wrecks of ancient transports, hard pieces of broken road are everywhere. That’s the good stuff, sometimes I get lucky and find things to sell.
The bad stuff? Weather, neighbors, citizens, and rats. Rats half my size and like everyone else, they’re always hungry. Well, ok, those are the dogs but the rats are almost as big and twice as mean. They all act the same, scared one minute and angry the next. Spares, like me, are grateful for both. They’re the only reason we have jobs.
The bots pay us for every rat or dog we deliver, no questions asked. We don’t have to hunt or clean up, but what else is there to do at The Big House? It’s what they taught us. No caravan wants another small person with a big appetite, no store wants to hire a thief when a bot works for power. We get odd jobs to do but usually we just clean The Big House and kill the bugs and the rats.
If that was all there was, I’d have offed myself a long time ago. But Wren gave me a future; the Arena.
Oh, I forgot to tell you why there are so many of us Spares. They make us in the nursery, from “spare DNA.”
I’m getting bigger, I’m bigger than most rats and as big as a dog now.
Day 4990
I’m tempted to delete my old entries, was I really that dumb?
I’m over 13 years old now, and a terror in the tunnels as well as the arena. Wren lets me use the better gaming rigs now, and when I’m 14 I’ll get to use full immersion.
Is it possible that learning to kill in the arena makes me a better hunter? I used to be lucky if I scored a rat bigger than 6 inches every other day, now I get rats by the handful by creating my own traps or pouncing on them. I even captured a dog last week! Poor thing was shivering in fear (it was also very cold outside, with exposure to acid ice and starvation, he was in bad shape). I wonder how many nutrient bars he’ll make? Without fat, he’s not good for much.
I still think Ken (Kiosk Echo-9) is paying too much for my kills, but I’m not going to point it out to him. I need the credits, books are expensive.
Day 5111
This is it, full immersion day. Leo is going to watch while I’m in the tank, I’m never going in without someone making sure I’m safe. Wren says he’ll vouch for my safety, but I want a fellow Orphan. Better yet, a friend.
Yeah, Wren is a friend but he’s not a Spare. He doesn’t get it like Leo does. Leo is my only real friend. He saved my life when the wolf attacked (there is no way that *creature* was a dog). It nearly tore my left arm off but Leo grabbed it so it couldn’t finish the job.
Leo is as good a friend as I can possibly get. Or deserve.
I’m not a nice person. When I game, people call me all sorts of colorful names when I kill them. Usually, I kill them fast but sometimes, I let them bleed out. It’s the rich ones I hate. The ones who call me Spare, how did they know I was a Spare? They think I’m garbage, so I treat them like I would treat that wolf if I saw it again. I kill them dead, I kill them fast, and I kill them often.
I won a season award for this, 2000 credits. Wren gave me the option of giving it to him for more immersion time, of course I said yes!
Day 5518
Knife fighting
Hunting, killing, and skinning animals
Building shelters
2280: Rise of the Corpo Giants
Ok, the last one was a book. I’ve been studying survival since I was 8 years old because, as a Spare, I have no future in The Big House. I can never become a citizen. I can never rent a space for more than one season. I can’t visit The Spindle, the local AI who takes care of all of us (I don’t care what people say about how COLD she is, these robots take care of us Spares because she told them to).
I really want to visit The Spindle. Every visitor gets to ask 3 questions per visit, but there are no guarantees that she will answer them directly. Sometimes she has The Caretakers answer. The visits aren’t cheap, but Spares are not allowed anywhere near her. Wren laughs at me and makes a sad face when I talk about her, but Leo agrees with me.
“She’s special Astrid. No one else cares about us but the robots, and they all answer to her. No one else. We’ll become caravan guards and visit her together.”
I’m going to become an arena gladiator, but I don’t tell Leo that. He’ll figure it out when I invite him to my team. I can’t form a team or join a league until I’m 18 years old, plenty of time to find more friends, friends who don’t hesitate to kill in the arena.
It’s just a game friend, killing people is fun and easy.
Day 5835
I’m exhausted. Wren swore me to secrecy and gave me access to a new class for a special mission in the game. I’ve been practicing on a private server for weeks, doing increasingly complex missions as I learn the ropes.
All of these missions are in space, which is AMAZING! Well, spaceships and orbital stations. I’ve been robbing these places blind, killing optional (but is it really optional when I get bonus points and in-game credits for doing it?) I’ve been using the credits to equip my alien (yes, I’m playing a non-human for the first time, it’s weird).
I can teleport. I can teleport! I CAN TELEPORT!!! Ok, it’s called phasing and it’s limited, but it’s very, very helpful for avoiding a blaster to the face.
I love the Void Operative class. Its body is soft (armor would be nice) but I’ve never taken more than a grazing shot.
Some of my opponents are actually begging me not to shoot them. I kill them anyways but I’m starting to feel weird about this. It feels too real, I’m hearing their cries in my sleep. I’m sleeping a lot now, Wren has banned me from the sims until my 16<sup>th</sup> birthday. He has something special in mind for me, I can’t wait!