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the function of the device and that he was using one on his phone line to talk to her. He told her six of these devices had been made before production had been closed down by the Council. After all, it did them no good for people to be able to block their monitoring of all communication.
    So in her hand she held the Silencer, the first of many such small gifts from Maken Derille. The meeting after the supposed kills went as well as she could have expected, but she knew the lack of bodies would cause some concern despite Derille’s explanations on that point. Government departments, and especially the Council, liked to have evidence of anything they had asked for, even if it was a body or two in the closet. Maybe it originated a hundred years ago when bureaucratic red tape ran riot through the government. Gradually, they tried to reverse the trend by making paperwork disappear into thin air. Still, there were some things that could never be taken on the word of a politician, not even one as highly ranked as Administrator Derille.
    From that moment on, Tarris suspected she was being watched, her total loyalty now in question. She knew the Council members were content to use her power while it suited them, but she also knew her actions were under scrutiny. Her only sanctuary now was within the four walls of her apartment.
    Whether she liked it or not her actions had forced her to take sides.
     
    “Tarris? Hello?” Darmen said.
    “Huh?” Tarris blinked rapidly as her mind returned to the present.
    “Watch it there, child. You nearly walked into a tree.”
    “Oh, sorry.” She tried to push the memory back into its compartment. She could see that Darmen was curious, but she couldn’t divulge what her thoughts were about.
    “Too much serious thought for such a nice day.” He chuckled at her incredulous look. “It was all there on your face, dear. It wasn’t too hard to figure out.”
    “So much for hiding my feelings,” she muttered.
    In a mock whisper he replied, “Don’t worry, Tarris, I won’t tell anyone.”
    She seriously doubted that he really had any idea what she had been thinking, but she was content to let the matter rest. She sighed deeply as she tried to marshal her rampaging thoughts. What had brought this up now? Today was for enjoying the warmth of the holographic sun and leaving her troubles behind her for a few hours.
    She detoured to a small metallic receptacle on the grass verge. She scanned her wrist and waited for the dispenser to give her two metallic flasks. She shook them gently before she activated the button on the side. “There you go.” She handed one over to Darmen while she drank from the second container.
    “Thank you, child.”
    The flask went cold as the chemical reaction in the reservoir lining had the desired effect. The cool liquid was welcome as their walk continued along the shaded pathway. Birdsong could be heard from a nearby tree. Of course, it wasn’t a real bird but an animatronic one. No one was allowed to keep live pets anymore. There was so little left of the old days after the Food Riots of fifty-three and the Oxygen War of sixty-seven, even affecting nature and the environment. Thousands of species had been starved into extinction, while many thousands more struggled to gain a foothold and flourish. It was happening even now, but it was a slow process.
    That was when the world stood at the brink and stepped back. A world governing body, the Union, was formed to repair the damage done. Massive tree planting took place as they tried to replace the earth’s lungs. It took many years before they could finally breathe a sigh of relief but it had been done. In the meantime, scientists manipulated the atmosphere to bring rain to regions that had none. Large tracts of land were converted for planting food and raising animals. It had taken near extermination for the world to realize what was really important. Tarris hoped they didn’t forget that lesson too