“Yes Sir.”
“We lost the last three to suicide; try and prevent that as long as possible.”
“I’ll have one of the team assigned to spell him if needed Sir.”
“Oh, it’s going to be needed for a while. Keep an eye on him until he can hold his own.”
“Yes Sir.
• • •
Gregory arrived at the hopper as the work whistle sounded and just like the man said, the light was green. He opened the lid on the cart, positioned it under the chute, and then pulled the handle. The heat from the red-hot rivets forced him to move back. Once they stopped falling out of the chute, he closed the lid and started pushing it toward a group of men about twenty yards away staring at him. Holy crap! He leaned into it and started it slowly moving forward. He struggled all the way to the men and stopped out of breath. He went to a knee and took deep breaths while the men took the rivets out and used a rivet gun to put them into the ship’s hull. After what felt like a very short time, a man said, “Go fill the cart!”
Gregory grabbed the handle of the cart and pulled it back to the hopper. He filled it again and fought to get it moving. It was on his fourth trip that he collapsed to the dock in exhaustion. One of the men rolled him out of the way and rolled the cart to the riveters. Gregory remained on his back trying to breathe and the young man pushed the cart by him. He finally struggled to his feet and the young man stopped beside him with the cart, “Your turn,” he stated, and Gregory pulled the cart to the hopper. He decided to pull the cart instead of pushing it and he managed to complete the distance. He pushed the cart on the next trip up the dock and collapsed again.
On his first day on the job, Gregory collapsed seven times. He had to be carried to the cafeteria by one of the men and put in a chair. He struggled through the food line and barely finished eating in time. He stumbled to his room and collapsed on his bed. Lou was at the table writing and he said gruffly over his shoulder, “TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES! YOU STINK!” Gregory struggled out of his clothes and threw them in the laundry chute. He fell back on his bed and passed out in fatigue.
The next day, he only collapsed five times and managed to walk to the cafeteria. He took off his clothes and closed his eyes. He thought that at least this didn’t give him time to feel sorry for himself…he was too freaking tired to think about anything!
On the third day, one of the older riveters stopped him before he pulled the cart back to the hopper. “Listen Kid; we aren’t going anywhere; this ship isn’t going anywhere, and you certainly aren’t going anywhere. You need to pace yourself. What can they do to you for being slow…extend your sentence?”
Gregory stared in the man’s eyes and then nodded. He slowly pulled the cart to the hopper, filled it, and started pushing it slowly forward. He stopped and took a short break halfway to the men. He arrived and sat down on the dock. When it was empty, he slowly pulled the cart and stopped for a break after ten yards. Gregory was exhausted at the end of the day, but he hadn’t collapsed. The riveters invited him to eat with them; they had developed respect for the kid.
• • •
During the third month of his imprisonment, Gregory was introduced to one of the older riveters; well, it was a sort of an introduction. A guard walked up to the men taking a morning break and he confronted Gregory, “What have you done to the hopper?”
Gregory turned to him and said, “I ain’t did nothin!”
The guard scowled at him and said, “The green light isn’t coming on. Take a break until we can fix it.”
The guard walked away and one of the riveters reached forward and thumped Gregory on the forehead. Gregory’s head snapped back; the thump really hurt, “Owww…what was that for?!”
The man thumped him again and said, “If you’re going to speak for us, do it properly! Not ‘I ain’t done nothing’. You say ‘I haven’t done anything’. And not ‘what was that for’, you should avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. Instead say, ‘Why did you do that?” The man stared at Gregory and Sam said, “Webster, he’s just a kid.”
“Even so; he needs to learn to express himself properly.”
Gregory shook his head but as time went by, he received fewer and fewer thumps on the head. He asked Sam during dinner one day if the man’s name was really Webster and Sam laughed, “No, we named him that after the dictionary. He is a perfectionist, but we put up with it.”
• • •
By the end of six months, Gregory’s frame had filled out and his muscles had hardened. He could push the cart without having to use maximum effort any more, but he still stopped and took a break going back and forth; it gave the riveters a break from their hot work. His days became filled with the cart and hopper.
One day during the seventh month of his imprisonment, Gregory was sitting with the riveters during the fifteen-minute morning break and he said, “My roommate never talks to me.”
Sam turned to him, “Who is your roommate?”
“All I know is his name is Lou.” The men looked at each other and exchanged a knowing look between them. Gregory saw it and asked, “What did he do to be put here?”
The young riveter sitting next to him reached over, grabbed Gregory by the front of his jumpsuit, and snatched his face close to his, “YOU NEVER ASK THAT QUESTION HERE!!”
The young man glared into Gregory’s eyes and Sam said, “Let it go, Willis. He didn’t know.” Willis turned to Sam and he said, “Now he does.” Willis released Gregory’s suit and pushed him away. Sam looked at Gregory and said, “Lou doesn’t talk to anyone. He’s been here a long time and we just respect his silence; you should do the same.”
Gregory nodded and turned to Willis, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Willis shook his head, “I’m sorry; I over reacted.”
Gregory nodded, “No problem; it won’t happen again.”
• • •
That night, Gregory sat on his bed trying to fall asleep but just couldn’t do it. The work was no longer fatiguing, and his mind would just run away with him. He wondered if his mother was still alive; who was his father, why was he here…and a million other things; his mind was too active. He listened to Lou writing on the tablet and stood up. He walked up behind Lou and looked over his shoulder. Lou’s head instantly jerked around to him with an angry expression as Gregory asked, “Hey, isn’t that an equation?” Lou’s eyes widened slightly as Gregory said, “I was in advanced math class before…I came here. I know what an equation is. Would you mind if I just look over your shoulder at what you’re doing; I’m going crazy sitting in here doing nothing.”
Lou stared at him and after a moment, stood up and went to the two shelves above his bed. He took a book from the end of the top shelf and put it in Gregory’s hands, “When you can answer the final test with no errors, you can ask me that question again.” Lou sat back down and started writing again ignoring Gregory.
Gregory looked at the book and read, ‘Basic Mathematics’. He started to throw the book on Lou’s table; he was in eight grade advanced math class; this was an insult. But…he needed something to distract him. So, he took the book to his bed, sat back against the wall, and started reading. He finished the first chapter in less than twenty minutes and saw there were fifteen problems at the end of it. He looked up and asked, “Can I write in this book?”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!” Lou answered.
“How am I supposed to do these problems? Can I use some of your paper and a pencil?”
“You have some in your cabinets; use your own!”
Gregory stood on his bed and went through the cabinets above his bed. He found a stack of tablets and a short mechanical pencil with soft lead. Gregory snorted and thought, these can’t provide a possible weapon for us to use. He wrote the first problem and started solving them. He noticed at the bottom of the problems, answers on page 467. He turned to the page and checked his answers. CRAP! He missed seven of the fifteen.
He looked up from the book and stared out
into space; this wasn’t as simple as he believed it would be. He thought about moving on to chapter two but suddenly thought, what’s the rush? It’s not like I don’t have time. He turned back to the first page of the chapter and began reading slowly focusing on what was being said. He followed each example slowly until he fully understood what was being revealed. He would then write the example down and work it out. He finished going back through the first chapter the next night and then he took the test again. He successfully answered all of the questions correctly.
Gregory decided at that moment, that if he missed any questions, even just one, he would go back through the chapter again. He decided later that he would go through the chapter again even if he didn’t miss a question. Just to make sure he had mastered the material. Gregory had found relief from his anxiety by having the book to focus on each night. He went through the book from start to finish three times over the next six months. At that point, he decided it was pointless to delay any longer. He took the hundred question test at the end of the book and saw that test didn’t have the correct answers in the back. He took his answer sheet and walked over to Lou. He put the answers on top of the book on the table. Lou looked up and Gregory asked, “May I look over your shoulder now?”
Lou picked up the paper and glanced at it. He wadded the paper up and threw it into the trash can. Gregory’s eyes narrowed as Lou stood up, put the book back on the top shelf and pulled the second book out. He handed it to Gregory, “Ask me again when you finish this book.” Gregory looked at the cover and read, ‘Understanding Algebra’. He took the book to his bed and began reading.
The first book kept Gregory’s mind occupied and focused. It wasn’t challenging, it was tedious. Keeping focused on the rules and where decimal points needed to be placed required all of his attention. Rules like inverting and multiplying fractions when you divide them had to be remembered. But this book opened his mind to something that amazed him. He fell in love with the book and went through it six times and was constantly amazed at finding things he missed each time. The first book took six months before he gave it back to Lou. After nine months, he was still loving the book…but…
He took the test at the end of the book and put the book with his answers on the table. Lou looked at his answers and Gregory wondered how he could possibly remember the answers without looking in the book. Lou looked up at him and Gregory asked, “Do you have another book I can use?” Lou actually smiled. He put the book back on the shelf and took the third book down. He handed it to Gregory and Gregory smiled, “Thank you.” He glanced at the cover and read, ‘Essentials of Geometry and Trigonometry’.
He went to his bed and quickly opened it. Gregory started the fifteenth year of the Suppression learning about the math involved with triangles. He also turned seventeen years old but didn’t know it. Clocks and calendars weren’t allowed on the docks and one day looked like all the others. Time was kept by whistles telling everyone when it was time to wake up, go to work, get off work, and go to bed. No one knew what date it was and somehow, it didn’t matter. With a life sentence and no hope of it ending, life became living in the moment and struggling to get through it. Gregory’s days revolved around working and looking forward to getting into the book each evening. He turned nineteen and took the book back to Lou. He didn’t take the test at the end of the book; he was troubled.
Lou looked up at him and Gregory said, “Something’s missing.” Lou’s eyebrows went up. “Everything in this book seems to be…I don’t know.”
Lou smiled, “A prequel,” he suggested.
Gregory’s eyes widened, “Exactly! It’s like it’s the first or second step on a ladder.”
Lou took the book and removed the fourth book off the shelf. He handed it to Gregory and said, “Try this and see if it scratches your itch.” Gregory looked at the book and read, ‘Calculus and Analytic Geometry’. Gregory rushed over to his bed and Lou stared at him for a long moment. He remembered he had felt the same way when he finished that book. No one else he ever encountered mentioned feeling it. He turned and went back to writing on the tablet.
Gregory’s world exploded around him. He learned that everything in the universe could be described by a mathematical formula. His mind was filled with new discoveries every month and he was lost in the book until he was twenty years old.
• • •
One day during the evening meal, two men sitting next to each other suddenly jumped up and began attacking each other. Gregory jumped up and Sam grabbed his arm, “YOU NEED TO STAY OUT OF THIS!!” Gregory shook his hand off and rushed across the cafeteria. The screams from the onlookers encouraging them filled the room. Gregory ran up to the two men, put his arms between them and forcefully shoved them apart. Gregory was no longer a weak fourteen-year old; he was powerfully built and incredibly strong. The two men flew apart and fell to the floor. They jumped up and now they were focused on Gregory. The room was silent, and Gregory shouted, “DON’T DO THIS!” One of the men moved on Gregory and snarled, “YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED OUT OF THIS!!”
• • •
The Port Manager had rushed in with three guards just as Gregory entered the fight. One of the guards lifted his remote and the Port Manager put his hand on his arm, “Wait! I want to see this.” The guard kept his hand on the remote staring at the confrontation.
• • •
Gregory turned to the man moving in on him keeping his hands down and said, “We don’t have much here! The only thing we really have is each other. All of us are here for some reason or other but we’re all in this together.” The two men stopped and stared at Gregory. He lowered his head and continued, “We all live a miserable existence… the only thing that gets us through it is each other. Please, don’t do this!”
The room was silent for a long moment and the man stared at Gregory before turning to the other sticking out his hand, “He’s right. I’m sorry for losing it Steve.” The other man glared at him for a moment, then shook his head and shook the first man’s hand. They sat back down at their table and Gregory walked back to his table.
Sam stared at Gregory as he went back to his meal. He looked out at the men sitting in the cafeteria in silence. They were all looking around the huge room at each other and Sam saw they were thinking about what Gregory had said. Until that moment, all of them lived in isolation in their own private hells. Now they realized that everyone shared a common existence. Sam looked at Gregory and knew something had happened.
• • •
The Port Manager also stared at the men in the room and knew that what the Kid said had made a huge impact. He looked at Gregory sitting at his table eating his meal and knew he hadn’t jumped in because of ego, he didn’t do it to be noticed; the Kid was sincere. The Port Manager knew how to evaluate people and he was seldom wrong in his assessment. One thing he knew for certain, this kid was no killer. He walked out of the cafeteria and kept his eyes on Gregory from that day forward.
Chapter Eight
“I miss Merry, Charles.”
“So do I but we knew she was going to leave us eventually.”
“She could have waited until she was eighteen to enter college.”
“She would have been bored to tears Nicole.”
“But she’s only fourteen; she’s going to miss all the fun and social things in college.” Trust me on this, Merry is not in the least interested in a social life. Her goal is to repair the stardrive and she wants to get started on making that happen. The communicator she made at Georgia Tech is fully operational now.”
Nicole nodded, “She can be tenacious.”
“She’ll probably enter graduate school early. Georgia Tech was a good choice for her undergraduate studies.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“We can always go back to the ship, but I’ve enjoyed living here in Carver,” Charles answered.
Nicole sighed and shook her head, “I don’t want to go back to the ship.” Nicole was silent and she said, “You
know, you never told me about the time you spent in Boston before the Revolutionary War.”
Charles smiled, “That was a fun time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you know the Boston Tea Party was the first act of aggression toward England, right?”
“Yes.”
“It almost didn’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“The colonists were frightened there would be reprisals against them. I convinced them to dress up like Indians and they wouldn’t be recognized. I had them dress up like the Wampanoag.”
“That was your doing?”
Charles shrugged, “I never really liked English tea, so it was no great loss to me. I was also one of the riders that went out to warn that the British were coming. Paul got all the credit for it and I was fine with that.” Nicole smiled and sat back. Charles paused and said, “I’ve spoken with the Alpha over the communicator and he’s coming to take a look at what’s going on.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s not. I’ve explained everything that’s taken place and he wants to come here and look around before we tell the rest of our species about what’s happened.”
“Why is he called the Alpha?”
“He’s the first one of my species to achieve intelligence. He was also the one that led in developing our covenants. He’ll be arriving shortly; I think you’ll like him.”
“What do you think he’s going to do when he arrives?”
“I know he’ll be curious about Merry; she’s the first offspring of my species. He’ll also want to get to know humanity. I think we can assist him in getting up to speed.”
“I look forward to meeting him,” Nicole replied.
• • •
The Watcher II: The Time of Suppression Page 9
