Skeleton Key

Chivida rushed out the door at Keal's signal.  Time to go hacking again.  She had endured the month-long torture of lockdown and early curfews after the last time her mother caught her sneaking out.  Well, to be fair, she was allowed out, just not with Keal.  And without him, there was nothing fun to do.

But tonight, they could return to their little project.  She couldn't wait to see what progress he had made on the nights she couldn't go.  They nonchalantly walked the short distance to the nanofactory; no sense in alerting the street monitors by running.  As they reached the gradually reclaimed building, Chivida immediately noticed something new.

There was a small, white lock on the chains holding the door shut.  "My own creation," Keal said with a wink.  He pulled two white keys out of his pocket.  "Made one for you too," he added, passing one of them to Chivida.  "In case I get grounded one of these nights."

She inspected the key, running her fingertips over the sturdy, yet intricately decorated body.  It didn't resemble any of the keys she'd seen in her life.  "Where's the tech?" she asked.  "Is it all inside?"

"There is none," Keal replied simply.  "Not a single nano, ferrobit, or electrode.  Just a key."

She looked at him with surprise.  "Is that very safe?"

"Safer than you'd think.  Everyone expects it all to be teched up.  No tech in the lock either.  These used to be called skeleton keys.  They were modified to open any lock.  The name's a bit silly now, because these keys will only ever open this lock."

Chivida paused to admire the brilliant simplicity of it.  "If there's no tech, what are they made of?" she inquired.  Keal's marked hesitation made her uneasy.  In a sudden instant, she remembered the name.  "You didn't... you... no..."

"It's ivory," he blurted out.  "It's... it's elephant tusk.  Not illegal!  It died of natural causes!  And they said the skeleton wasn't good enough for a museum anyway!  ... Forgive me?" he asked sheepishly.

Chivida sighed and muttered, "You know I always do."

Keal laughed and hugged her and said, "Well then, what are we waiting for?  I can't wait to show you what else I've been working on."

With trepidation, she wondered what could possibly be bigger than real elephant tusk, or worse, what else Keal could have done in a month without supervision.  Yet, she allowed herself to be pulled inside the nanofactory to see what trouble he'd gotten them into this time.