Lifespan of Starlight by Thalia Kalkipsakis Read Free Book Online Page A

almost given up on a reply when he says,‘Time definitely seems different for
me these days. Each year seems to fly past faster than the last.’ A slow shrug brings
him out of his thoughts as he focuses on me. ‘Who knows? Maybe you’re onto something.’
    I think about showing him the gap in that woman’s history map, but if I head down
that path, I’d have to tell him where the chip came from.
    Years ago, Mum sat me down and told me how dangerous it could be for the people we
care about if I was ever found out as illegal. There’s no way I want to put Alistair
in danger, so we’ve always had a bit of a speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil agreement between
us.
    I’m not sure where to go next, but I don’t want to stop. ‘Some people believe that
if we understand time properly –’ I search for the right words. ‘We can learn how
to move wherever we want in it.’
    A frown. ‘Where did this come from?’
    ‘Just something I read.’
    Alistair goes quiet again. ‘So you’re saying we could travel through time if we understood
it properly? A case of mind over matter?’
    ‘Sort of. I guess …’
    ‘Interesting,’ he says. ‘Never heard of that one before.’
    ‘Yeah, don’t worry.’ Now that I’m saying it out loud, it sounds impossible. ‘I know
it sounds crazy.’
    ‘Maybe it does.’ Alistair’s watching me closely. ‘But they said the same about lots
of things that turned out to be true. Ever heard of Galileo?’
    ‘Yeah. Think so.’
    ‘I’ll send you a link.’
    ‘Okay, thanks Alistair. Better go.’ I grab our delivery and head for the hall. ‘Hope
the beta testing is a success.’
----
    Studying takes over the next few days. It’s easier to concentrate now that I’m on
full rations, but I also find out how tired you get when you eat a full lunch. I
decide to keep hungry enough to stay alert. Calm but focused, that’s the goal.
    Every now and then, I drop in on Mason and Boc during a study break. I’m sure they’re
watching me too. The way I see it, I’m simply returning the favour. Once I even catch
them in the middle of an argument, Mason saying that it’s worth a try and Boc telling
him it’s a waste of time. I’m not sure what the ‘it’ is, though.
    I even have a go at meditating once, sitting on the end of the bed, concentrating
on my breathing and allowing my mind to sink. It gives the sensation of tension trickling
from my brain and into the base of my neck. It’s really refreshing, and I’m better
able to concentrate after I finish.
    Do I reach the point where time seems to slow?
    No way. Not even close.
----
    On the day of the test, Mum arranges to start work late and catches a train in with
me. It’s not just for moral support. She hasn’t said it out loud, but I know she
wants to be there just in case. I’ve double-checked the deets on the chip and we’ve
talked through it all, but this is the first time it’s being tested for real.
    We come out of the concourse at Southern Station, and it’s as if the city is being
overtaken by thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds, moving in bunches of three or four,
or sticking close to their parents. Everyone applying for a select-entry school has to sit this test; twenty-two schools in total now that Karoly High School opened
last year. Pretty much everyone who thinks they have a chance is currently making
their way to the Exhibition Building.
    There was a time when these select-entry schools were only for the kids who couldn’t
afford the traditional elites, but these days everyone’s desperate to get in. The
game isn’t so much about who you know; it’s all about your contribution to the state.
Or, in the case of everyone my age, it’s about how much you’re likely to contribute
in the future. Your IP: intelligence potential.
    Everything started changing around the time the ration system was brought in. And
then when Christophe Eichmann won the Nobel Prize in physics, Mum says there was
a huge jump in kids applying. He