The mention of Sam's name brought her unknown fate to the fore of Ty's mind. She had ceased to matter after he had seen Jenn 2.0., but suddenly, he wanted to know where his double was. He asked Zeemo, who remained silent.

As always, Crendan was the main mouthpiece.

"Samantha is safe, and she contacted us. She willingly traded herself for your wife's release."

It was beyond reasoning. Sam had traded herself? And how had she known to do so? Her secretive behavior made much more sense than it had before. Ty stared at the ground, silent tears falling. He had no shame for his open emotions. What he did feel ashamed about was the thought, would I have traded myself for her? He didn't know. It was the shame that made him cry, and the realization he would never see his sister again.

Sister?

Yes, that's who she was.

"Tears for a composite?" It was like a human trying to understand an ant, but Crendan persisted. "Why not cry happy tears for the return of your wife?"

"She's not my wife." (Yes she is. No, she's not). "What do you care, anyway?"

"It's interesting." Crendan very carefully and very deliberately wiped a tear from Ty's face, looking at her wet finger as if she had never seen one before. "Your entire family dynamic is interesting."

The words were clinical, but the tone was not. Ty brought his head up to watch Crendan. He tried to see himself through her endless ocean eyes: a low-income Hispanic with post-secondary education and religious affiliations. Even by Tramp standards, he was a loser. By Prominent standards, he was gum on the bottom of a shoe. Does it matter to her, my being a man? He saw her deferential treatment of Zeemo and thought it might.

Crendan went back to her spot by Zeemo, and her demeanor went from personal to professional, like throwing a switch. No more insights about him, or statements about how interesting he was.

"If you don't want it," The it being Jennifer, "we'll gladly inter the rest of her twelve years of life to a work camp."

Twelve years of hard labor for a composite. So what. Ty didn't blink or move until he heard Crendan's next threat.

"If you speak about this to anyone, or do anything equally stupid, we'll put Damon in a work camp beside Jennifer, along with Martine and Antoinella."

Martine. They had Martine as well. Sam had been the only one to wonder about her fate with a dogged persistence. Martine's disappearance must have been what had tipped off Sam to the kidnapping capabilities of the Prominents. He wondered if Sam's deal had released Martine as well.

"Martine is still taking part in her rehabilitation and therapy process, and her release is contingent upon her responses to the treatment. Antoinella is still at home, untouched. For now."

Crendan nodded at Ty. His eyes were burning with hate, but he was listening.

"And if you still wish to be a dissenter, we'll put Helia in camp, and then you."

Ty had heard of the camps, but he had hoped it was a rumor. At the rate people were disappearing, the existence of the camps were hard to deny. In the face of Crendan's threats, their existence was impossible to deny. Through Crendan, Ty learned if convicted (even falsely), of Un-diligent Conduct, one would be sent to "work off" their crimes, until the State deemed their sentence to be complete. After release, work camp detainees were forbidden to speak of their time served, under imminent threat of return. Conditions in the camps were deplorable. Damon and Helia would never survive.

"If I'm a model citizen," Though he knew he never could be, "will you leave us alone and release Martine?"

Crendan clucked her tongue.

"You Bennings are always trying to strike a deal." She picked up the 3D printer. "Unfortunately, Martine cannot be part of any deal. She broke the law, and she'll serve her time. Eventually, Antoinella will too. If you wish to join them, that's another matter."

Black pistols were hanging from either Agent's side, ready to be fired. He had never seen a laser pistol before, but from the long flume, he recognized the weapon as such. It would be easy to un-holster the gun and fire the harmful ray through their heads. Ty could see them collapsing in a heap on the floor, a perfectly cauterized wound marring their foreheads. His turn to violence disturbed him, but it felt natural in its unnaturalness.

A saner part of him rationalized how killing the two agents would make him a fugitive. Helia and Damon might also be implicated in his crime of passion. By using violence, he would be creating more problems, not solving them.

There was a larger system at work. Crendan and Zeemo were acting on orders, and Ty couldn't know from who. Shooting the messengers would be the wrong way to deal with the situation, no matter how much his insides screamed for justice.

Ty's mood cooled. With a cooler head came attention to detail. Agent Crendan had taken the 3D printer. He wanted to know why.

"We're confiscating all 3D printers, starting today. We're also shutting down the composite network. Composite technology is too unpredictable when left in the hands of citizens."

Ty was smart. He read the context in her words and repeated it aloud.

"But composite technology will be left in someone's hands? It will still be used?"

Crendan typed message after message into her interface. Finished, she slipped the device into her pocket. "All of that is irrelevant. Have you made your decision? Either live comfortably with your wife and family, or reject it all in favor of the camps."

Certain misery vs. certain misery.

Either way, you'll be with your family, a voice sneered.

What choice was there?

If he couldn't decide, maybe he could stall.

"Can I have some time to think it over?"

Crendan shrugged. "Sure, take a few days, even weeks. Try the new Jennifer out. See if ya like her."

The remarks brought a twinge of feeling for the new Jenn he tried hard to suppress.

When Crendan brushed by him, she winked, her hands moving like a piston. It took Ty a second to recognize her movements as an inappropriate.

"She's not a thing!" Ty let the words burst out of him.

Once he had said them, he felt them to be true.

The new Jenn wasn't merely a composite, or a thing. She was a person, with memories, a name, and a family. Love for her flooded him swiftly, and he almost fell over with the force of it.

Ty would let a few weeks pass, even though he didn't need them anymore. He couldn't throw Jenn into the camps. Even based on her past actions, he could never condemn her to such a life.

Zeemo nor Crendan said another word as they vacated the Benning residence. Before they closed the front door, Helia called out to them.

"Bye-bye, guys. See you later!"

It was odd and adorable. Damon and (new) Jenn couldn't help but laugh. Uncomfortable silence dropped down after the laughter, a screen between them. Damon poked behind the screen first.

"How does it feel?"

The question could have varied meanings. Jenn needed specifics.

"How does what feel?"

Damon fidgeted. He was trying to spare the thing's feelings, and tactful comments weren't his strong suit.

"You're only going to live for twelve years. How's it feel?"

Jenn was sure she was missing out on a joke only Damon would understand. For the moment, she was right.

"What do you mean?"

Ty urged Damon to meet him in the hallway before he could answer Jenn.

Outside, Crendan and Zeemo were climbing into their government-issued car. Ty's neighbor peeked out of his curtain. Crendan waved at the window, smiling wildly. The neighbor shut the curtain, feeling like he had burned his eyes.

After Zeemo buckled his seatbelt, he told Crendan what he had been holding back.

"You did a good job in there."

It was neither a question nor a compliment.

"I followed the training. That's all. You could use a refresher course. You nearly emoted." She didn't look at her partner.

Zeemo shook his head. He wondered if she knew she was a composite.

Crendan adjusted the rearview mirror, catching and briefly admiring her own reflection. She wondered if Zeemo knew he was a composite.

****

A/N: You're so close to the end now! Follow me a bit further, and you won't be sorry. Or maybe you'll hate the ending. Comment and lemme know!

Then make sure to read Beauty in the Bones, by Holly_Gonzalez. She specializes in crafting retrofuturism, diselpunk, and even.....(drum roll)....children's books! You can also find out more about her on the @su-SPEC-t account :D