Chapter Six

"Between you and me, Jule, Jared's finding it hard to resist the more physical forms of protest."

The two of them, Marton and Jule, were eating together in the Coalition's shabby, makeshift dining hall. It was the prime place for gossip, and Marton was taking the opportunity to bring his friend up-to-date with the things Jule would certainly have known if he hadn't been caught up in other, more personal issues.

"Jared?" Jule shook his head in disbelief. "He'd be the last person to consider that!"

"It seems that way, doesn't it? But I had a chat with him yesterday…he's been testing methods in private. To see how effective they are, I guess."

"What sort of things?"

"Ad-hijacking and merchandise tagging, mainly. Harmless stuff. Obscure messages…gives the recipient something to think about, other than all the "great new bargains" and "special features", that's all.

He needed me to make sure the anti-tracking program on an edited upcar advert was secure…no good if the Corporations can trace us, is it?"

Jule was about to ask whether the messages seemed to be working when Marton hastily dropped his eyes and shovelled a sporkful of vegetarian risotto into his mouth – the Coalition boycotted all genetically-grown meat, on environmental grounds.

Jule glanced behind him, and saw Jared searching for a spare place at the long table. Jule was about to dig in to his own plate of spicy rice when he heard somebody addressing their leader.

"That last merch-tag go well then, Jared? A great pile of tables from Brazil, wasn't it?"

Jule could not catch the man's reply as he brushed past the pair of women who had spoken. A second later, another voice rang out. "You'll have to tell me more about this ad-jacking, Jared. Could finally make my wife see things from my perspective!"

As the low chuckle reached Jule, he glanced at Marton.

"Between you and me, huh?"

Marton rolled his eyes. "Well…what can I say? I'm popular with the gossipers."

Jules snorted. "And they're the only people you're popular with! Jared's not…you know, he's not gonna…broadcast, is he?"

"No!" Marton replied loudly enough to turn several inquisitive heads. "I told you before; I don't believe he'd be that stupid."

" 'Course. I should've remembered."

Marton shrugged, and the pair of them continued their meal in silence. A minute or so later, Jule cleared his throat. He'd made a hasty decision.

"Ah, Marton…can I ask you something? It's important, and whatever you think, please don't tell anyone.
Especially not Ember."

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