I went by the mess on my way to the gym. It was technically open all day, but when I got to the food tables, I couldn’t help but gag. From the look of things, the food out there was only refreshed during mealtimes. I could barely stomach it when the food was fresh. The old slop that filled the metal pans stank worse than the food I’d pulled from the garbage when we were living on the streets in California.

I snagged a tube of water and a hunk of stale, crumbly bread and avoided the leftover watery eggs that no one in their right mind would ever touch. A few guys were talking at the tables, but no one that I recognized, so I ate as I walked to the gym.

A few wrong turns later, I finally found what I was looking for. The door to the gym was open. I expected it to smell sweaty and rank, especially with how hot it was, and it was a bit rank. But not as bad as some gyms I’d been to.

I spotted Ahiga and Santiago sparring in a ring off to one side. A bunch of guys were leaning on the ropes, yelling. Judging from Ahiga’s easy breathing, he had to have been going easy on Santiago. It looked to me like they were working out instead of actually sparring.

Punching bags and speed bags took up the area around the ring. Stairs along the back wall went to a balcony area. Rows of cardio equipment overlooked the ring. A few vidscreens were mounted to the pylons around the room.

A loud slam came from somewhere beyond the cardio equipment, rattling the speed bags hanging from the ceiling. Muffled trash talking filled the gym. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I knew the tone well enough and figured someone tried to lift a weight that was a little too heavy for them.

A few guys caught me standing at the entrance and puffed up their chests. I almost laughed, but I wasn’t sure if they’d take that as encouragement. I was here for a workout, and that was it.

I looked for Audrey’s red hair, but she wasn’t here. In fact, there were no other women in the gym as far as I could see, but maybe they were upstairs.

I wove through the bags hanging from the ceiling and took the stairs two at a time. The first row of treadmills was occupied, so I went to the second row.

The treadmill was fancier than anything I’d seen before, which didn’t seem very SpaceTech-like, but I figured there were enough people here that had a physical requirement to their job for them to spend the money. Healthy employees meant better productivity.

I punched a few buttons—not really sure what any of them did—and hit start.