"Have a seat," Bradley instructed.

Lydia peered back out the door, catching a glimpse of her would-be E as Joshua tapped on a penlight. The door closed before Lydia could see him use it, but she assumed he was checking the E over.

Bradley busied himself around the office, a fat grin still in place.

"Sorry about starting off on such a shaky foot. Let's talk about a minor contract," he said, tapping on the wall. A fifteen inch panel slid away to reveal a keypad. Lydia knew a safe when she saw one. Bradley leaned in close, and after passing the eye scan, he reached inside. "But twins...I didn't know they were allowed to grow beyond infancy anymore. I'm going to need to consult a higher power for this."

The large book landed with a thud, not because Bradley wasn't careful when he put it down, but because it was too heavy to hold for long. A book, a real life book, with non-replicated paper so old the colors had changed. Though Lydia couldn't be sure, she guessed the thing was covered in leather.

She sat up to make sure. Whatever it was made from, it was certainly something that should be in a museum and not in some middle-aged collector's private safe.

"Twins, twins," Bradley muttered, leafing through the pages with care. "There must be something in here about twins."

Lydia watched on. Everyone around her seemed ecstatic—she felt only dread. Was it really that important? She found that hard to believe, considering how casually the E was handed over.

"Mr. Bradley..." Lydia began. When the man glanced at her and then went back to his search, Lydia cleared her throat. "Mr. Bradley, you said you had a job for me. I...I do know a lot about dance. It's not my preferred choice, you know...given...given the methods used when I learned it. But, I can act, I'm a great actress. The singing...."

"Yes, yes, I understand." Bradley sat up, finally. "I don't blame you with regards to the dancing, but we do need dancers, proper ones. I assume you are good. You'd have to be for... for Abraham to take an interest."

Lydia swallowed down the automatic gag.

"Yes, that's true," was all she could manage.

Bradley sat back in his chair and said, "Listen, child, I really do want to help you. But...dancers are good for the background and nothing more. Acting—especially speaking parts—they don't go to just anyone and the amount of money you'd need or a sponsor...well, I just think it's hard to come by and that you're out of your league right now."

Gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering, Lydia hung her head with a nod.

"Child, you're nineteen," Bradley reminded her. "This is the age when everyone's throwing party after party in the hope of showing their heirs off. Your twentieth birthday should be the biggest event of your life and I haven't seen so much as a blip from your family. The last time I heard from Daphne was years ago when she...made me an offer to ensure you'd have some place to work. But our agreement was from age twenty-one. By then, you would be married and have some notoriety to bring to our theater. Now you show up looking for more—for a job now? I'm not sure what else I can say."

Lydia didn't know what to say either. She was pathetic; in Bradley's eyes, maybe in everyone's. If wanting to work was so bad, what would happen if they actually knew why?

Maybe it was age that caused this man to stick to the same narrative, but Lydia suspected it might be more than just the small hint that she was jeopardizing her mother's final gift to her: a secure job at this theater.

"But you're lucky. An Elemental just fell into your lap. And if his height and hair color means what I think it means, then you've got a rather strong one. That we can work with. Let's see...twins, twins," Bradley muttered.

He found what he was looking for and his eager smile fell.

"What in the Colony...?" he gasped.

From this angle, Lydia couldn't make it out. Fear of seeming even more wretched hindered her from standing and peeking at it.

A knock at the door drew their focus. It slid open and a colorfully decorated face peered in.

"Mr. Bradley," the worker said. "He's...it's wandering to and fro, sir. What—what do we do with it?"

Bradley shot out of his chair. "He's not causing any fires, is he?"

As the men hurried out, Lydia watched the doorway then stood and made her way around the desk.

The book reminded her of a book of nursery rhymes she'd had on a diskette when she was a child.

When she found what she wanted, she read.

"Allow no twin to live past sixteen if you value your own throat, as they begin to feed off their master's flesh."

"Feed off their master's flesh?" Lydia repeated. She muttered the rest to herself. "Their power is difficult to harness and therefore useless. Render them to the ground first."

She wasn't sure what it all meant but the excited chatter and shouts coming from the doorway convinced her she should see what was going on.

"What did you do to provoke him?" Bradley demanded.

"Nothing, sir! Master Joshua only wanted to check—"

A stage prop sailed past, missing Lydia by a fraction. She stepped into the hall to see.

The E lumbered around. Each stomp of his foot shook the room as he caught hold of whatever he could and sent it flying.

A fake log missed Joshua's terrified face, but the next one would have connected with his chest if Lydia hadn't darted in front of him and taken the hit instead.

Lydia's shoulder throbbed from the impact, a strike so sharp she felt it resonate through her legs.

Fortunately, it seemed to be enough for the E because he didn't attempt another strike. He relaxed.

Tensed up, one leg off the ground as if he anticipated a blow, Joshua stepped to the floor.

"That's right," Joshua said. "You're his master. I suppose he won't go after you, that rude sack of imp-shit. Some nerve he's got trying to hit me. Do you know who I am?"

The pain brought tears to Lydia's eyes but she didn't vocalize it. She didn't have to dwell on it either because the E marched away, prompting a considerable amount of screams from workers who scrambled for safety. One man fell off the stage in his haste.

"No, no," Lydia called, hurrying to intercept him. "No, no, come here. Come to me. Don't go over there." When she went toward the E, the Elemental turned back and went in the opposite direction, an action that garnered more screams and fleeing people. "No. Not there. Not there. Please. Just stay still, please."

Shrill screams projected around the stage. The E stopped, slapped his hands over his ears and emitted a high pitch scream. Everyone froze and he stopped, shoved his finger in his nose, tugged at his ear and sat down.

Lydia hadn't been around 'simple' people often in life, or children, but it slowly dawned on her that whatever this E's affliction, it was a lot worse than she'd envisioned.

"He's dumb," one man commented. Lydia didn't see who.

"Dumb as in stupid? Or dumb as in he can't talk?" Another asked.

"Dumb as in dropped on his head as a baby," someone said.

As the chatter picked up, Lydia watched as the E flicked his finger and shoved it back up his nose again.

Lydia felt sick with herself. The E was simple, and she just didn't know what to do with him.

"Well...if he can at least sit still, it'll be enough," Bradley said. "Lydia, tell him to take off his shoes. If he'll listen to you, it'll be enough."

"His shoes?" Lydia asked. Bradley looked fed up so Lydia didn't wait for an answer. Wood was hard to replicate, no doubt Bradley worried about the E ruining his stage. Despite her new-found knowledge about the E, Lydia felt sorrier for him than fearful. "Hey, you're probably scared, huh? You don't know anybody?"

Lydia knelt and inched closer. "My name's Lydia. And I'm not scary, I promise. Listen, Mr. Bradley doesn't like having shoes on his stage, how about you take those off?"

Finger working its way up the E's nose as if it'd burrow all the way to the man's brain, the E only watched her.

Lydia sat down and took off her own boots to demonstrate.

"I'll take mine off, too. How's that?" Lydia asked.

It took some coaxing and a lot of waiting, but Lydia felt relieved when the E finally took his fingers from his nose and complied.

Now what? It was sheer cruelty for that High ELETE, Met, to not mention any of this before handing this Osbourne over. It had been the wrong one, and now she wasn't sure what should happen. Maybe she could call the brother back and get him to pick his twin up.

"System, shut off the main generators in three seconds, please," Bradley said, raising his voice.

"Command confirmed. Shutdown in three...two...."

The lights dimmed and a sterile silence fell over the room. In a matter of seconds, the air felt chilly.

Workers huddled together but Bradley didn't seem concerned—neither did Joshua.

A moment later, the lights brightened and one or two people cheered.

"Full power exceeded," the System warned. "Elemental reduction recommended. Reduce your count."

Joshua stepped beside Bradley. "Remarkable. It takes at least ten Colony sanctioned E's to overload a grid."

"Yes," Bradley agreed. "But the question is what to do now. There's no way to reduce the number of one."

With a shrug, Joshua mused, "We could cut off an arm."

Lydia spun to face him. "Don't you dare!"

The way she got into Joshua's face startled everyone—even her.

Joshua, shoulders raised, looked sheepish. "It was a joke. Besides, a big brute like him, it's doubtful anything can cut him, not for long anyway. He'd be one hell of a fighter—"

"He's not fighting anyone!"

With a soft sigh, Lydia looked back down at the E who giggled as he lifted both feet from the ground and the lights dimmed. He put them down again and repeated the action, gleeful.

"We need to find his brother," Lydia decided. "He needs his family. He doesn't need us."

"But...." Joshua relented and smiled. "Let's discuss it over dinner. Then we can come back here and see about it. Besides, I want to tell my mother. Maybe she can suggest how to fix him. She knows a whole lot about E's."

The lights continued to flicker and Lydia grumbled, "I don't think I should leave him alone. I'm lucky he listens to me even slightly. Leaving him might not be an option."

"You plan to stay here the entire night guarding this dunce?" Joshua challenged. "At least my mother can tell you what to do with him. And don't think for a second she'd come down here. She wouldn't be caught dead in a theater, much less one powered by an E."

Bradley groaned as the lights flickered on and off faster. "Damn this E!"

Faced with the prospect of being broke and unemployed once more, Lydia turned to the playful Elemental, crouched down, and pleaded, "Darling, could you keep your feet on the floor for just a minute or two?"

To Lydia's surprise, the E lowered his feet and smiled at her.

"Pretty Yule," the E muttered.

The childlike tone brought tears to Lydia's eyes. "Yes. That's me, Pretty Yule." The Pretty Yule letting them use you like a damn battery.

Lydia wasn't sure if she could give the E back, or what would happen to this job prospect once she had, but she had to do something.

"We need to find his brother," Lydia said again.

"Great! Come to my house and use my interface, I've got the other Osbourne's information there," Joshua suggested.

That was imp-shit. Joshua could easily give her that contact information right now.

"Try to find it on your own and the High ELETE might notice," Joshua said.

Lydia stared at the dopy smile this Osbourne gave her, and stood.

"I'll be back soon," Lydia promised. "Be good, okay?"

She had to get home to her mother. What she needed was to find the real Osbourne and hand this one over before things got even more out of hand.

Leaving the E here was the last thing she wanted to do, everything about her must have said as much because Joshua grumbled, "He'll be fine. He's an E, damn it. No one can touch him, literally."

That was true, at least. Not many people could physically harm an E and live to talk about it. With that in mind, Lydia decided she would try and put her faith in Joshua, just this once.