Lara passed me a card, I followed her on to the bus and swiped the card as the bus driver ignored us. I realized the bus was quite full, which was surprising to me, but we managed to find two empty seats in the back.
“Once we are in this person’s office it is important you don’t say much and listen only okay?” Lara indicated. “These are powerful people and I don’t want you saying the wrong thing. Look to me if you are unsure about anything.”
I decided to listen to her because the Council was new territory and I didn’t want to make any mistakes although my trust level with Lara remained low.
The bus ride was much different from the ones I had taken in Thomson because of the scenery outside and the route it took passing by rows and rows of tall buildings with elevated tracks on both sides transporting cars and other vehicles at high speeds. I even got a glimpse of one of those high speed trains from my first day at Vinder when it touched down near a bus stop. The high speed train touched down elegantly like a bird would fly down to get its prey and it was quite a sight considering the people inside didn’t seem to be affected by the sheer speed with which the train descended down and stopped.
“What are those?” I pointed at some people being moved along some smaller tracks to Lara.
“Those are elevated tracks for people,” Lara motioned.
“You mean we can be transported along without even walking?” I signed in disbelief.
“Yes, you could be reading the newspaper and those tracks will take you to your destination,” Lara highlighted. “It’s like a bus route for walking people, but it is slower and you aren’t protected from the weather of course.”
“Can anyone go on those tracks?” I motioned.
“It is open to anyone, but people need to buy a special pair of shoes and pay a monthly fee,” Lara signed. “These tracks are something new which was launched recently by the Council. It is part of their plan to provide many transport alternatives to its citizens.”
“The Council really has a huge amount of resources to do all this,” I highlighted.
“Yes and no, Marinette,” Lara signalled. “The Council hires external companies to do all this work. The elevated tracks were created by a special company, Teos, which belongs to one of the Council members. This company is one of the richest in Vinder and was the one which originally created the technology for the elevated tracks.”
The more I learnt about Vinder the more I realized this place wasn’t a squeaky clean city at all, but had its share of the rich and the powerful behind its technological marvels.
“We are here,” Lara signed and I followed her off the bus.
As the bus left I turned around and facing me was a large square with tall buildings on all sides and these buildings were like the ones I had seen before. In the middle of the square was a large silver statue of a person and there were robot patrols hovering around and people walking about.
“There are so many robots here,” I gestured.
“Yes this is one of the many central squares in the city with Council buildings on either side,” Lara signalled. “So, it is common to have more robot patrols around. Just walk normally without attracting any attention and everything should be fine.”
Now I understood why Lara had cautioned me repeatedly on this trip.
“Here is your photo id,” Lara signed passing me a small blue card with the Council crest on it. “Pin it on you like this.”
I pinned it the way she had her one and we started walking towards one of the buildings.
As we passed the statue Lara motioned. “This is Charles Gubb who was the founder of the Council hundreds of years ago and also was its first head. Many people said he was a decent person who wanted the Council to help people and society when it was created, but his original intentions no longer exist now. It has been corrupted by people and their desire for power.”
I glanced at the statue and wondered if he could have imagined the city today.
“Try to be calm as we enter the building okay?” Lara signalled. “There will be security drones inside which will check the pass, but we shouldn’t have any problems. Just walk straight without looking around.”
As we entered the building I didn’t notice any drones, but I guessed they were somewhere around hidden from my sight. Lara led me into a lift, we got in, she pressed for the thirtieth floor, the lift started rising and I noticed it wasn’t a transparent one like those I had gone in before.
At the thirtieth floor we got off and I followed her down a corridor and then into a huge office with large windows overlooking the city.
Inside sitting at a large leather desk was an older woman with her back towards us. After Lara closed the door the woman turned around, walked over to us and looked at me with a frown on her face.
The woman turned to Lara. “What was so urgent that you needed to meet me today? You do know it is very dangerous for us to meet like this in my own office at this time of the day. People could get curious and start wondering who you are.”
The woman obviously wasn’t so pleased to see us and I realized she didn’t know who I was yet.
“I am sorry Dr Loft, but I felt it was important because we discovered recently those parents who had given birth under the process were being terminated by Dr Liverfield’s men,” Lara motioned.
“Dr Liverfield isn’t so foolish to do it,” Dr Loft signalled. “She wouldn’t dare?”
Lara shared what we had seen with Dr Loft and she was stunned by this information.
“I never expected this,” Dr Loft highlighted. “Things are changing very fast and it is quite dangerous. Do you have any proof of this?”
“The Resistance can get you statements from those parents whom we managed to rescue,” Lara signed. “We moved them to a safe location out of the city.”
Dr Loft seemed satisfied. “Good. Remember to send them to me using our normal communication channels. It will be one more piece of evidence against the process and Dr Liverfield.”
Then, Dr Loft turned to me. “And, who are you my dear?”
Lara continued. “This is the other important reason I had to meet you today. This is the silence breaker.”
SEVENTEEN
Dr Loft looked amused. “I don’t believe you Lara. I have seen her photo and this isn’t her at all. The last I heard was Dr Liverfield had captured her and was studying her intensely in one of her secret labs. What trick are you trying to pull here because I don’t have the time for such nonsense.”
Lara glanced at me, waved her hand and I smiled briefly before taking off my disguise.
Dr Loft’s eyes widened. “Oh dear. I am sorry Marinette I wasn’t able to recognize you, but I guess it is a good thing, isn’t it?”
I smiled, but remained silent.
Dr Loft continued. “It is an honor to meet you Marinette.”
Dr Loft extended her hands, I shook them and she asked us to sit down as she returned to her desk.
“Do you know who you are Marinette?” Dr Loft signed.
I was confused as to what she was asking and shook my head.
“You are the first of a new generation, not only for Vinder and the surrounding towns, but this planet,” Dr Loft indicated. “I have always been supportive of getting humankind’s ability to speak back, but not the way my colleague, Dr Liverfield, is trying to do it.”
“I understand,” I signed.
“This is the reason why I am supporting the Resistance,” Dr Loft gestured. “It isn’t some power play if you know what I mean? Dr Liverfield’s process must be stopped, but we still don’t have enough evidence to do it. Dr Liverfield’s associates are everywhere and over the years some of my colleagues on the Council have mysteriously disappeared whenever they went against her publicly at our meetings. No one said anything when these people died from an accident. Eventually these people who disappeared were replaced on the Council by her people. Although our numbers are getting smaller on the Council, we are still more than determined to stop
her.”
After my encounter with Dr Liverfield I was not surprised she was willing to even kill her own colleagues for her own purposes.
“Your existence of course has changed everything,” Dr Loft motioned. “Once you speak you will be the living proof and substantial evidence we need against her.”
Lara glanced at me and I knew it was her way of hinting at me to learn to speak quickly.
Lara continued. “Marinette has shared with us information on how Dr Liverfield is doing her operation.”
“Really?” Dr Loft motioned.
Lara waved at me to explain the operation.
I then shared what I had seen at the secret farm in Thomson, the parents, the purple fruit thing and the secret train.
“Now I understand what is going on,” Dr Loft motioned. “She has been able to set up her operations outside of the Council’s purview, which is why we have been unable to find out what is going on. It is a clever play to use farms in the surrounding towns to harvest the purple liquid and bring it into Vinder. This must have been going on for years.”
“What about the train?” Lara gestured. “It would be hard to operate it without the Council’s knowledge, right?”
“The train Marinette mentioned is an old one that was used years ago to transport products, but was then replaced by the newer train lines into Vinder,” Dr Loft signed. “Dr Liverfield must have been able to resurrect those old trains for her purposes which is ingenious. It also means her network of people is much bigger than I had anticipated because moving workers and all is a massive effort.”
“She could also be using multiple towns for her operations and Thomson is only one of them,” Lara pointed out.
“I agree,” Dr Loft indicated. “Knowing Dr Liverfield she would have created multiple sites for her operations and some of these could be secondary or backup sites. She is well known to plan comprehensively for every scenario.”
I glanced at Dr Loft and she must have noticed my look of confusion.
Dr Loft continued. “Dr Liverfield and I go back a long way Marinette. She used to be my friend and colleague when we both in the armed forces, but this was so many years ago. After the armed forces we went our different ways as she went on to become a scientist and I chose another career. Now although she is my boss, I disagree with her on many things. She has a different vision from mine for this city.”
Sitting here listening to the both of them was mind-boggling because I rarely spent time with adults in such a setting and their way of thinking was very different, but at the same time intriguing to me. I realized Dr Liverfield probably had years to plan all this out and had an army of people helping her. I mean who wouldn’t want to help someone who was trying to get humanity’s speaking capability back and I was certain she had been able to brainwash a large number of people and get them all on her side.
“So, she can build her army?” I signed.
Dr Loft looked at me in surprise and then at Lara.
“I told her it was a possibility,” Lara motioned.
“This is our greatest fear Marinette,” Dr Loft signed. “While the Council has its own army, the head of the army is led by someone who is neither for nor against Dr Liverfield. Instead, this person remains neutral and this is one of the biggest reasons we have been unable to catch Dr Liverfield. It is also one of the reasons Dr Liverfield is raising up her own army as a way to take over everything. However, she hasn’t been successful in getting anyone to speak, which made me happy until you came along and turned everything upside down.”
The way Dr Loft mentioned me I wondered if I was a threat to her too, but I decided not to think too much on it.
“But I am still trying to sort it out,” I signed. “It isn’t as simple as opening my mouth and speaking. The sounds I made previously weren’t within my control and I am still trying to figure it all out.”
Dr Loft stared at me for a bit and turned to face the window. Did she know I was lying to her? It was difficult to sense what these adults were thinking about.
She then turned back to me. “I understand what you mean. Unfortunately, I am in no position to help you either because my power on the Council is limited. There are others like me who want to fight Dr Liverfield and expose her evil plans, but it is very hard for us. You are our only hope.”
“I am only one person,” I signed. “How much can I do?”
Why did everyone keep saying I was their only hope? I really didn’t know what they expected a sixteen-year-old girl to do to help the Council fight Dr Liverfield because I mean this was their own adult battle and shouldn’t they be able to figure it out. They had no right to throw this burden on me.
“You might think I am crazy,” Dr Loft indicated. “But once you are able to speak, we will be able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt of how Dr Liverfield has been creating babies injected with the purple liquid through her process.”
“But that won’t prove her intentions of an army, right?” I highlighted.
Dr Loft smiled. “You are as intelligent as my sources have told me.”
What sources was she talking about and what had they told her about me?
“We will still need to find evidence of her intentions too,” Lara motioned. “And this is something the Resistance will do. Your part is to get your vocal chords stronger and be able to speak under control.”
Finally, I understood better the Resistance’s intentions behind me speaking and I knew why they were putting some pressure on me although I didn’t like being manipulated while being kept in the dark.
As we were walking out of the building Lara pointed ahead. “Let’s take the bus back. I have an idea on how to help you learn to speak faster.”
Lara’s enthusiasm to getting me to speak was really bothering me now, but I knew I couldn’t show it.
As I followed Lara across the square something caught my eye and I stopped immediately in my tracks; it was Dr Liverfield and she was walking briskly into another building in the square to my right. Lara must have seen her too because she pushed me to keep walking so no one would notice us.
“I saw her too,” Lara signed. “Keep moving. We don’t want to attract attention to ourselves out here in the open Marinette. This public square is patrolled by Council robots and guards regularly and they have been trained to track anything out of the ordinary.”
Although my mind agreed with Lara I couldn’t move and it wasn’t because of seeing Dr Liverfield again, but because of who was with her and I couldn’t believe my eyes at all. It was Susie.
EIGHTEEN
Lara stopped and stared at me in confusion as to why I wasn’t listening to her and walking with her.
The entire world around me became a blurred vision as I focused on Susie. What was Susie doing here in Vinder? Was it even Susie? It couldn’t be, but my eyes couldn’t be deceiving me.
“What is going on with you?” Lara motioned in frustration placing her hand on my shoulder.
“This isn’t about Dr Liverfield,” I indicated. “My friend Susie from Thomson is with her. I cannot believe it.”
“What???” Lara signed. “I think you are mistaken, Marinette. It isn’t possible at all. There is no way your friend could be here. Come on let’s keep walking before we attract any attention. So far, the robot patrols haven’t noticed anything unusual, but it is only a matter of time before they do. We need to move now!”
“I need to be sure,” I motioned, ignored Lara’s request and started walking in the direction of Dr Liverfield and Susie before Lara could say another word.
I was sure Lara would be angry with me, but I didn’t care at this very moment because I needed to know if what I was seeing was true or not. I knew it was impossible, but then again I couldn’t ignore it if there was the smallest chance that it could be true.
I heard footsteps behind me as I began to walk faster towards Susie and I guessed Lara must have been behind me, which was a good thing in case my recklessness ended up being a stupid act of
mistaken identity.
By now Dr Liverfield and the Susie-like person were inside the building and, as I walked in, I saw the both of them had stepped into one of the lifts ahead of me and the lift doors began to close. I had no intention of getting into the lift, but I wanted to be sure it was Susie before I left here. I still couldn’t believe my own eyes.
Fortunately, this lift had a transparent glass and, as it started to rise, I managed to get near enough to it and glanced at the people inside. Susie’s eyes and mine locked for a second at most, she didn’t recognize me at all, but it was enough time for me to know it was really Susie; the same Susie who had helped me so much, been so genuine to me and sacrificed herself so much for me back in Thomson. What was she doing here and with Dr Liverfield? Had Dr Liverfield forced Susie to join her? Had Susie been brainwashed by Dr Liverfield too?
Emerging Above the Silence Page 7
