The Ninth

by Benjamin Schramm

  “Today you take your first steps toward a bight future. Above me you see the division leaders. They will be judging your performance, and if you measure up, they might approach you to join their division. Starting off in a prestigious division is a sign of a great career to come, so do your very best,” Bloom continued.

  The tall man in black leaned over and whispered something to Bloom.

  “Ah yes, an additional note. You recruits are to receive a great honor. Today’s placement exams will be a little different than the ones in the past. Do your best to adapt to the new conditions,” Bloom concluded and walked off the podium, the man in black following closely.

  His announcement caused quite a stir. The recruits started at once murmuring. High above, the division leaders were equally disturbed. Brent could make out shrugs and pounding fists; the division leaders had not expected that announcement. With a sudden tug, Brent was being drug along again. Without even looking, Brent knew Hiroko was dragging him off again. Ahead of Hiroko’s charge was a large sign reading “Group C form here.” A young man in a sloppy military uniform was holding it and was slouching a bit.

  “Group C reporting!” Hiroko saluted.

  “Great, just what I need. A perky recruit with a big mouth,” the young man muttered.

  Erin laughed and smiled cruelly at Hiroko.

  “Listen up. I’m only going to say this once so pay attention.” While louder than his aside, the Trooper’s voice was still a low mumble. “I’m squad leader Humphrey and I will be guiding you through the station today.”

  Hiroko pouted quietly to herself as the rest of group C got closer to the squad leader so they could hear him.

  “You will all be put through five exams, each one covering a different area to determine your skills, or lack thereof. The first will be infiltration, followed by stealth. After those two, you will get a break for lunch. The third exam is the survival test. Make sure to get plenty to eat; you’ll need it. The fourth exam will test your combat skills, and the fifth and last exam will determine if you have any command ability.”

  The mumbling man realized he had been encircled by the recruits and mumbled something under his breath too low to make out.

  “At any time, a division leader may approach you,” he said at his normal mumbling volume. “Most likely they will wait until the lunch break or after the final exam. The choice to join their division or not is up to you, but I suggest you take any offer you get. Those not claimed by a division will be placed in one.”

  The squad leader’s mumble was as annoying as it was hard to understand. It was painfully obvious he had no desire to be there and was putting as little effort into the assignment as possible.

  “So you will be giving us these exams?” a recruit asked, carefully enunciating every syllable. “Can you give us any hints?”

  “I’m just your babysitter,” Humphrey hissed more than mumbled. “Make sure none of you get lost. Beyond that you are all on your own. But I do have one hint for you – don’t screw up.”

  Abruptly turning, the mumbling young man started down a corridor. The group followed. Some imitated the mumbling voice of the squad leader as they talked among themselves. Hiroko was still pouting.

  “I wouldn’t listen to him, Hiroko” Owen said, comforting her. “This Humphrey guy seems like one giant sour lemon to me. He’d probably mope if you handed him a paid month’s leave.”

  Hiroko smiled and her pace increased.

  “So we have an Emperor?” a shorter girl asked. “I thought we . . .”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Erin cut in. “Of course we don’t have an Emperor. What gave you that dumb idea?”

  “Administer Bloom said we were joining the Imperial Armed Forces, didn’t he?” she asked timidly.

  “So?” Erin asked mockingly. “Idiotic rim worlders.”

  “An imperium, or empire, is a political body united under an emperor or similar position,” Brent said matter-of-factly. “The use of the term Imperial Armed Forced does in fact imply an Emperor.”

  “But don’t we call ourselves the Commonwealth?” a diminutive boy asked, obviously confused.

  “We are the Commonwealth,” Hiroko said proudly. “The military calls itself the Imperial Armed Forces in tribute. Legend has it that the human race would have been wiped out before the Great War even started if not for the sacrifice of the Xion Imperial Army. Doesn’t matter how the government wants to structure itself, we will always pay tribute to that noble sacrifice.”

  “How do you know all that?” Owen asked with obvious awe.

  “I studied everything there is to know about the military before I signed up,” Hiroko said, beaming.

  As Erin hissed at Hiroko, Brent wondered if anyone knew where they were going. They had changed corridors five times, although each one looked identical to the last. Whoever had constructed this place had an affinity for endless white corridors. Abruptly, Humphrey stopped. Erin, who had been following the closest, ran into him and knocked him over.

  “They are testing your infiltration skills first, not combat,” Humphrey muttered as he stood.

  The wall slid open. There had been a doorway of the same gleaming white as the rest of wall. Brent wondered how many doorways they had passed that he hadn’t noticed.

  “First stop, infiltration. Have fun.” Humphrey gestured to the open doorway.

  Descending from the podium, Nathan wiped at his brow. Jack in his Weaver uniform glanced back into the great hall.

  “I’m going to get an earful for this one,” Nathan moaned

  “Couldn’t be helped,” Jack said absentmindedly.

  “Three hundred years! We’ve been using the same exams for over three hundred years, Jack!”

  “That long? High time for a change,” Jack said as he started walking down a corridor leading to the upper level of the station.

  “Easy for you to say; you’re not in charge. I’ll have every instructor and division leader clamoring for my head on a pike.”

  “Relax. I’ve made it clear to the Lazarus commission that you are integral to our efforts. Worse case scenario is you say it was an experiment that failed and make the other recruits retake their placement tests.”

  “Really?” Nathan asked skeptically.

  “I give you my word,” Jack said firmly.

  “Well, that’s a load off my mind. Did you spot the boy?”

  “No, I didn’t actually; I couldn’t find him in the crowd.”

  “You couldn’t find him?”

  “I told you he was special.”

  “So I guess I’ll need to lock my quarters tonight.”

  “What are you talking about, Nathan?”

  “You know, when he mutates into some horrible creature that thinks human pancreases taste divine and starts roaming the halls looking for a midnight snack.”

  “That secretary of yours ever tell you that you watch too many plays?”

  “Constantly.”

  “In any case, I don’t think there will be any danger for now.”

  “For now?”

  “He could always develop another side.”

  “Side? Jack, when you want to start making sense let me know.”

  “Sorry, Nathan. I forget you haven’t been around the boy like I have. It’s my theory that the child has three sides to him.”

  “You mean he’s a Weaver and has some kind of multiple personality disorder? We’re doomed.”

  “Nothing like that; they are more like different states.”

  Jack surveyed the upper level.

  “Where is the observation room?” Jack asked.

  “So that’s where you are taking me. It’s this way. By now, everyone else has already made their way to the observation deck and is waiting for the exams to start,” Nathan said as he darted down the corridors.

  Jack kept pace, absentmindedly looking down the corridors they passed.

  “Well, go on. You can’t bait me like that and then not tell me about these states,” Na
than probed. “I’ll remind you I was a scientist after all. Behavioral science wasn’t my field, but I’m a big boy and would like to know exactly what I’ve let on my academy.”

  “It’s just my theory, Nathan. I could be completely wrong.”

  “And you could just as well be right on the mark. Look, I’d rather be your accomplice in this than an ignorant accessory.”

  “Have it your way, Nathan. It’s my guess that Brent is made up of three sides, one conscious, two subconscious.”

  “Subconscious?”

  “Yes, I believe Brent doesn’t even know they exist. The first side is like a failsafe. When the child is in extreme danger it takes over. When Brent was five years old, an intern was strapping Brent down for an examination, but failed to secure the device as well. As the device activated, it dislodged itself and fell off the wall. It weighed over five hundred pounds, Nathan. It would have crushed the boy flat. A fully-grown man couldn’t have mustered the strength to break free, let alone a boy of five. However, somehow Brent managed to break free of the restraints and bolted out of the way of the falling device. The whole thing happened in less than fifteen seconds.”

  “Could that explain why we couldn’t get any closer to the child when we first found him, Jack?”

  “Not really.” Jack scratched his chin in thought. “It has only happened a couple of times. But each time it has been limited to the child. He either moves faster than he should be able to or gains momentary strength. It never affects anyone nearby. I think.”

  “You know you are not helping me feel comfortable about all this, right?” Nathan sighed. “I suppose I’ll just have to keep scratching my head about that first day then. Are the other two sides that extreme?”

  “I wouldn’t call them extreme. The second subconscious side has an incredible potential for learning. It’s my assumption that we were dealing with that side of Brent for the first eleven years. Despite his age, Brent gained knowledge at an astounding rate. But it was more than just memorization. He actually understood what we were teaching and would expand into areas beyond the teachers.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, when Brent was being taught about the jump drives and the Wall, he not only understood it all the first time he heard it, but he started asking questions, questions the teacher couldn’t answer. We brought in an authority on the subject. The two got into it, and after about five minutes it stopped making sense to me – way over my head. For an entire day the two sat down and talked it over. When the authority left the institute, he was in an exhausted state and begged me for a copy of the recording of their conversation. After I gave it to him, I told him he could come back anytime he wanted, but he refused. As he put it, he wouldn’t live long enough to grasp what they’d talked about in a single day; another day would be overwhelming.”

  “Remarkable. But if that is the case, what can be gained from Brent attending this academy? I doubt there is anything we can teach him that would surpass that.”

  “Remember, Nathan, that is another of his subconscious sides. At least that’s my theory. About six years ago the dominant side started to form, without any memory or idea that the other two sides existed.”

  “Pity. So all that knowledge was lost, I take it.”

  “To the contrary, Brent still has all of it. However, it is like that information is stored in a back room Brent doesn’t have access to. Every now and then a bit of it leaks out, but it’s seemingly random. I’ve seen him have flashes of brilliance, but they don’t seem to be regular enough to be on command.”

  “That still doesn’t answer my question about why Brent is here. What are you hoping to accomplish by putting the boy through an academy?”

  “I’m hoping to keep us all alive. It’s because of those unique qualities that Brent must attend this academy.”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “Imagine, Nathan, that Brent stayed at the institute undergoing year after year of tests and examinations, threats on his life to bring out the first side, and the greatest minds of the Commonwealth prodding him continually to get a crack at the second side. Now imagine that one day Brent wakes up with full control over his abilities. He would be stronger and faster than anything we’ve seen before with greater knowledge than the best minds the Commonwealth can boast and armed with the most potent Weaver abilities ever seen.”

  “And a lifetime of mistreatment to get revenge for.” Nathan shuddered for a moment as he thought about it. “I see what you are getting at. But if it’s simply a matter of making sure he doesn’t want to kill us all, why not send him to some core world education center, where they brainwash everyone that the sun never sets and that not one tear is shed across the span of the Commonwealth.”

  “I thought about that, Nathan, but what happens when he finds out the truth? How does he react when he sees a live news feed that didn’t get censored, or, in passing, an instructor says something contrary to the party line?”

  “He sees us as a hypocritical race that’s lied to him his entire life. Add in full control of his powers, and we are right back at the razor’s edge. I think I get it now, Jack. But isn’t there a chance that Brent goes through the academy, seeing the best and worst of the Commonwealth, and still wants us all dead?”

  “That is a distinct possibility, but that’s why it had to be an academy. Nowhere else in the Commonwealth can Brent receive training on how to control his powers, how to limit them.”

  “So instead of making the entire human race extinct, Brent just wipes out the parts of it he doesn’t like.”

  “Not the best solution, but certainly one of the better ones.”

  Loud cheering could be heard from inside the observation room Nathan had led them to. No doubt some of the exams were starting, and the troopers were rooting for their favorites. Nathan knew about the betting that took place during the placement exams, who would fail what exams or how long recruits would last before they gave up, that kind of thing. All in all, it was harmless and gave the troopers something to do when not training. Nathan started for the door but hesitated.

  “Listen, Jack, I don’t want you to think badly of me for asking this, but I’ve got to ask,” Nathan said slowly.

  “Go ahead, Nathan. You know I won’t hold it against you,” Jack reassured his old friend.

  “If Brent is such a threat, if our survival is truly on the line here, wouldn’t getting rid of him be an option to consider?”

  “I thought of that too, Nathan. I know what’s at stake, but I don’t think that’s an option. The few cases where Brent’s failsafe kicked in were all accidents. We don’t know what would happen if we really tried to kill him. It might not even be possible.”

  “I know you, Jack. You’d think of a way. In fact, I’m sure you already have. What’s the real reason?”

  “Nathan, how many times did Lazarus fail to establish a link?”

  “Millions upon millions of times, perhaps billions. Why?”

  “Brent is seventeen years old, Nathan. What happens in three years from now?”

  “A lot of things, Jack. What are you getting at?”

  “Nathan, I can’t honestly believe that on the very eve of the millennial anniversary of the end of the Great War, Lazarus just happens to establish a stable link that produces a child that is both the greatest threat and asset to the Commonwealth. Maybe fate is tired of peace and Brent is the seed of chaos. But what if that’s not why Brent is here? What if he is our only weapon against something terrible?”

  “Now who’s been watching too many plays? But I get your point. It’s a stretch for it to be pure coincidence. If we kill him now, we might just be signing our death warrants.”

  It had been one of the best days Cain could remember. Placement exams were always exciting, particularly for a bookie of a division, but this one was down right exhilarating. Not only had the Administer changed everything, but also, for the first time in Cain couldn’t remember how long, the academy was getting quality recru
its from every edge of the Commonwealth.

  “Change my bet from ten against to twelve for,” a trooper said, laying her pad before Cain.

  Being so remote, this academy was lucky to get any recruits at all. The main source of recruits had always been the overflow from the more prestigious academies near the core worlds – when they had all they wanted, the leftovers were sent here. However, that had always suited Cain. This academy had something none of the most prestigious academies in the Commonwealth had – freedom.

  “Cancel my bets; I’m out,” another trooper griped as he thrust down his pad.

  Administer Bloom didn’t have the eyes of the military watching his every movement, and it showed. Not only was he able to make crazy announcements like he had done this morning, but he was able to make choices without some oversight committee second-guessing him every step of the way. That suited Cain as well. On any other academy Cain would have to be a master spy to keep his position as a bookie secret from the instructors or Administer. If they got even the slightest hint of his hobby, Cain would be lucky to end up as a part time security guard for a civilian storage depot. Not here though. Administer Bloom not only turned a blind eye on their activities, he had the entire staff ignoring them. Cain could run down every corridor of the station shouting, “I’m a bookie. I manage illegal bets, and I’m proud!” and no one would even bat an eye.

  “Twenty-five creds on Group D to fail infiltration,” a trooper said as he laid his pad before Cain.

  For months, troopers had been placing bets on the placement exams, but with Bloom’s announcement it was all for nothing. Cain was swamped with new bets, canceled bets, and arguments over current odds. It was normal for a few last minute wagers as troopers and division leaders saw the recruits for the first time, but this was inhuman. Cain’s hands were cramping from all the new information he’d had to submit to the other bookies. Cain hadn’t even been able to look up since the announcement, hunched over his own pad, entering the necessary changes while updating the pads the troopers tossed his way. Cain reached out his hand to grab the next pad and enter the next bet but found none. Cain realized that the clamor of the last minute bettors had died down.