“What about your scar?” Cal presses, looking directly at 13. I turn to Cal and see that he’s stoking the flame on purpose. He’s trying to get a reaction out of them.
“What the hell, Cal?” I stare at him. He furrows his brow and looks off towards the city. I turn back to 80 and 13. “Sorry about that.”
Without warning, Cal stands up and heads down the rubble pile and back to the compound.
“Where are you going?” I yell after him but he’s already too far and doesn’t respond.
“Nice friend,” 13 says under his breath.
“I don’t know what’s up with him. Sorry about that,” I respond as I see Cal disappear into the building. I really don’t know why he was acting so strange. Anger builds in my chest and I feel my hands ball up into fists. How could he be so rude?
“Don’t worry about it.” 80 puts his hand on my shoulder. “Things have gotten crazy here, haven’t they? I saw that Grant is gone.”
“Things are definitely different. The timetable has been moved up and everyone seems to be stressing out over it.” I realize that I have also been stressing about it. I still don’t feel prepared and I’m not sure I ever will.
“Did they say when they moved the timetable up to?” 13 pries, finally making eye contact with me. 80 shakes his head at 13 and he looks away.
Their exchange seems a bit weird, but I think nothing of it. “No one has told me an exact date but I’m sure Rene knows.”
“So he’s still planning on setting off the nukes,” 80 says, almost to himself.
“He is. I hope it works.” I’m surprised that those words just escaped from my mouth and I want desperately to take them back. I feel their eyes looking at me so I try to change the subject. “So what have they got you guys doing?”
After a few moments of awkward silence, 80 finally speaks. “13 and I have been overseeing the cleanup and reconstruction here at the compound, but we just volunteered to go into the city and help with the attacks.”
“Why would you volunteer? You’re safer here,” I ask.
“To protect you of course,” 13 answers with obvious sarcasm. He seems to have the same attitude towards me that Cal had towards them. I can’t help but feel a little hurt. I was really hoping that we would all get along.
“That’s enough 13!” 80 yells at his friend. “Go back to your bunker, we’ll talk later.”
Without a word, 13 heads down the pile and towards the drone bunkers. The quiet he leaves us with is thick and unnatural. The comfort that I used to feel when I hung out with 80 seems to have been stolen away. He’s more serious than he was before. In his defense, I’m sure I have changed as well.
“So it sounds like you agree with what the scientists are doing now.” The hurt I hear in his words is harder to handle than the silence.
“I really don’t know. This last attack was savage and from how you described what you experienced, I just don’t see any hope for improvement.” As I speak, I feel my mind and heart agree with my words.
“But what gives you—I mean the scientists—the right to decide their fate? It’s genocide,” 80 snaps at me.
I’m startled by his sudden outburst. He is right though. We are essentially triggering a mass extinction with the hope that we can start everything over with twelve people. It doesn’t make any sense but at the same time it seems like the only option humanity has been left with.
“I didn’t mean to yell—” 80 takes a deep breath “—It’s been a long and stressful day. I’m sorry.”
“Yes it has. Maybe we should call it a night.” I stand and wipe my dusty hands off on my pants.
80 gets up and heads down the rubble pile. “There is something I want to talk to you about, but we can do it later.”
“Sounds good.” I join him at the bottom.
He puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles. I smile back but I feel uneasiness in my stomach. Things are definitely not the same as they used to be, but neither is the world we knew back then. He turns to walk away and I head off in the opposite direction.
I’m not really ready to head back to my room and the cool air feels great against my skin, so I decide to walk around the compound for a little bit. In the many months that I have been here, I’ve never really taken the time to explore my own compound. I was always too focused on what occupied the space beyond the walls.
A fair amount of drones seem to be patrolling every corner of the compound. If I didn’t know any better I would think that they never slept. I just know that there are so many of them that they replace each other regularly. I weave around various debris piles as I make my way to the library.
When I look up at the roof of the library my heart jumps. I remember the last thing I did up there before the attack. Fe and I kissed. I touch my fingers to my lips hoping to remember how her lips felt on mine. Whatever my mind tells me, I’m sure it pales in comparison to the actual sensation and I want to experience it again.
My cheeks stretch as a smile appears on my face. I continue on my walk and turn the corner to the back of the library. This is an area that I haven’t explored before, so I am surprised at what I find. There are rows and rows of plants, all evenly spaced. There must be twenty or thirty different types of plants, some as tall as me and others barely peek out of the ground.
I walk closer to get a better look, but my attention gets diverted to a sound of voices coming from the right. When I turn, I see two people making their way towards me and I can tell that they aren’t drones. Not wanting to get caught, I jump into the rows of the tall plants to hide.
The voices grow louder as they approach and I can tell that it’s a woman and a man. It isn’t until they are a few feet away from me that I can make out some of their features. The man is slightly darker than the woman, but not by much. They are about the same height and he seems to be as wide as he is tall. His breathing is slow and heavy, which I am sure is due to his large size.
The woman has a familiar build. I wipe my eyes, that seem to have gathered a thin layer of the smoke that is in the air, and I look again. Instantly, the unique hair pattern stands out. It’s Dr. Kivuli.
She looks around and then looks directly at the man. “Listen, Joey, I need to know if there are going to be any more attacks before the Ragnarok. We have to make sure that all our efforts are coordinated, especially since Rene seems intent on exterminating all the outsiders from the city.”
A slight gasp rises through my throat, but I catch it before it escapes. I knew I had a bad feeling about Dr. Kivuli, so it really shouldn’t surprise me that she would be one of the Mutineers. All I want to do is charge at her, both of them, but I do my best to keep calm and listen.
“I really don’t know, ma’am.” The man, Joey, answers with a shakiness in his voice. It’s obvious who is in charge between the two.
“Then you have to take me to the next meeting of the Mutineer council.” Dr. Kivuli raises her voice.
“I can’t do that, ma’am. The council specifically said that no one outside of the council can ever meet or know who is on the council.” Joey looks down, ashamed. “I’m sorry.”
“But you had to meet with at least one of them. How else could you get them the architectural blueprint of the compound?” She steps closer to him and he backs away.
“I never saw them. It was always a double blind correspondence. We didn’t even speak; it was all written exchanges, so I don’t even know if the person I interacted with was male or female.” He puffs his chest out a bit, not letting Dr. Kivuli intimidate him too much.
Dr. Kivuli lets out a frustrated huff. “I need you find out who they—”
“—Shhh.” Joey speaks over her and turns his head in my direction. “There is someone over there.”
My heart drops and my knees get weak. They are looking directly at me. I thought I had been careful in hiding myself. My mind races with excuses, but none come.
They take a few steps towards me and, just before I decide to step out to confront
them, a drone appears from my left. Dr. Kivuli and Joey stop and smile at one another.
“It’s just a drone.” Dr. Kivuli laughs.
“I’m going to bed.” Joey, hurt by the laughter, turns and walks away.
“I need you to get me a name, Joey!” she yells at him.
Dr. Kivuli stands still and watches Joey and the drone walk away. Once they are out of sight, she whips her neck right back in my direction and scowls. Her stare appears to be shooting right through me. I do my best to remain as still as possible so as not to reveal myself.
After a couple of nerve-racking moments, she turns and heads back towards the compound. I wait until I see her disappear into the building before I come out of hiding. Rather than risk getting caught, I head straight for the library and enter through one of the adjacent doors.
I make my way down the hallways that I used to frequent. The debris has been cleaned up, but the holes in the walls are an eerie reminder of just how close Ev and I were to being casualties.
To my left is the hole that used to be my room. I step in and don’t recognize any of it. It has been almost completely stripped clean. The desk to my right remains intact, but is severely charred. A book has been placed on top of the desk. I grab it and see that it is one of the books I had previously read on ancient Egypt and the pyramids.
I tuck it under my arm and walk over to my old closet. When I open it, I am surprised to see that a lot of my jumpsuits still remain in pretty good shape. I grab a handful and fold them over my arm. After another quick look through the closet, I turn back and see two drones staring at me from the hole that used to be the door.
Their silhouettes appear ominous and I feel extremely vulnerable. “Hey guys.”
They stand scowling at me for a few more uneasy moments and then they walk away. I let out a deep breath and suddenly realize how dirty and tired I feel. I proceed towards my new room at a double pace; avoiding eye contact with any of the other drones I pass along the way.
As soon as I enter Grant’s old room I throw the book and jumpsuits on the bed and head straight for the bathroom. I turn the shower on and make sure the water is nice and warm. The second I climb into the shower, I sit on the floor and pull my knees to my chest with my arms. I watch the water stream its way towards the drain as the back of my head receives the majority of the water coming from the showerhead.
I think more about Dr. Kivuli and Joey, wondering who else might be involved. How big of a group are these Mutineers? What other plans do they have? Who is on the council? Was Dennis on the council? Either way, I know I have to tell Rene what I saw. I should probably tell Ev too.
All these questions cause a throbbing to begin in my head. I do my best to push them aside and before I know it my eyes begin to get heavy. I use all the strength I have left to pull myself out of the shower, dry off and crawl into the bed. The large size allows me to spread my arms and legs as far as I can. I am barely able to acknowledge how great it feels before I fall asleep.
I dream of the white abyss again. This time I am calm and know my bearings. I don’t feel lost or alone. I walk towards the area where I usually saw the silhouette and, just as always, Fe is standing there.
She smiles as I reach her and I take her hand. She leans in and gives me a kiss. I don’t want it to stop but, before I know it, she is pulling me by my hand towards a large structure. It doesn’t take long for me to recognize it as the Great Pyramid.
At the base of the pyramid, I see a large gathering of people and instantly recognize them as outsiders. Their eyes burn with rage and death. They look like they are eager to tear us apart. I try to stop Fe but her pull is too strong. She’s taking me right to them.
“Stop!” I yell, but she doesn’t hear me.
Suddenly, another hand grabs my other arm and begins to pull me in a different direction. I look to see Ev at the end of the hand. She is slightly stronger than Fe so her pull starts moving us in the opposite direction. Beyond her, I see another Great Pyramid with outsiders at the base.
I struggle to pull away from both of them, but before I can gain any traction, I feel myself being pulled in two additional directions. Between Fe and Ev, right in front of me is 80, pulling me from a third arm that is protruding from my chest.
When I look behind me, I see Rene yanking me from a fourth arm that is sticking out of my back. Both of them are also pulling me towards Great Pyramids with hungry outsiders at the bottom.
Their combined strength feels as though they are ripping me apart, but none of them have gained an advantage over the others, so I remain in the same place. A quick look around reveals that the outsiders have begun closing in on us. They all seem rabid.
I struggle and scream to get loose, but I can’t. I only have time to look around one more time before the outsiders are on top of us. My body and those of Fe, Ev, 80 and Rene get torn to shreds. As they rip the lasts parts of my flesh and eyes out, the white abyss that once surrounded me turns pitch black.
There is nothing there. I can’t feel my body or see anything, but my consciousness just floats in the black. The only thing I feel is fear. Black, fear.
14
My body is drenched in sweat when I wake up. The aches in my body and burning in my eyes tell me that it’s still very early. I know I can’t go back to sleep, so I take my time in the shower and getting ready. I replay what I saw with Joey and Dr. Kivuli in my head.
After I put on one of the jumpsuits that I retrieved from my old room, I make my way to find Rene. The hallways are fairly empty with the exception of a few drones. Most of the drones pay no attention to me, but there are a couple who stare at me intensely, making me uncomfortable.
I knock on Rene’s door and, just as I am about to turn away, he answers. “Morning, Atom. You’re up early.”
“I couldn’t go back to sleep.” I walk past him into his room. “I have some information.”
Rene looks into the hallway and then closes the door. “What is it?”
“I was walking around the compound last night and overheard something,” I say.
He sits on his bed and places his breathing mask over his face. I can’t help but think how weak he looks and it makes me ill. If it were not for the Ragnarok, he wouldn’t have much longer anyway. Rene waves his hand, urging me to continue.
“As I said, I was walking around the compound and I happened to be in the area behind the library. I saw Dr. Kivuli and a man called Joey talking.” I look at him for a reaction but the little of his face that I see behind the mask remains unchanged.
“Dr. Kivuli was talking about a council and she was trying to find out if there were any more planned attacks. She was very intent on finding things out but the man, Joey, wasn’t really giving away information.” I feel that pretty much covers what I saw.
Rene reaches up and removes his mask. “Did Joey give a last name?”
“I didn’t hear one,” I say.
He frowns. “I need you to tell Ev about this. She is in Dennis’ old room and has a personnel database in there. You can find out which Joey it was. Also, I need you to promise me that you will be as you were with Dr. Kivuli. We don’t need her to become suspicious that we are on to her.”
I hadn’t thought about how I would react when I saw her, but Rene is right. If she suspects anything, we might lose any chance we have of finding out who the Mutineers are. “Okay.”
“Is there anything else?” he asks.
“I guess not.” I look him in the eyes. His eyes are tired. I can’t imagine the stress he must be under. He puts his mask back on and lies down on his bed with his eyes closed. I take that as my cue and head out of his room.
I proceed down the hallway, unsure of where I’m going to go. I decide that I will just get to my classroom early and relax for the next hour. After a few more turns I reach the classroom door and walk in. It’s dark and I decide to leave the lights off.
After I close the door behind me, I head to the back part of the room and lie on the
ground. I stare at the ceiling above me and I instantly get the sensation of being trapped. When I used to lie on the roof of the library and stare up at the sky I felt free. The infinite vastness of space made me feel happy. I had hope.
Now, staring at a dark ceiling twelve feet above me, I feel constrained and hopeless. I realize how guided my will is. I might have the ability to make my own choices, but the choices I have were selected for me. I didn’t choose to be a Genesys. I didn’t choose to have to lead them; Rene and the scientists chose that for me. They sent me on this path.
I wonder if it’s the same for the outsiders and humanity in general. Did they ever have true free will? Or was it just an illusion put forth by those in power? I guess people need that. Would I know what to do if I wasn’t guided and given parameters? At this point it doesn’t matter. I have already committed to my role in this and, whether I am right or wrong, I believe that what the scientists are doing is humanity’s best option. Perhaps when we restart humanity, we can do better at letting people have free will.
The kick to my foot shocks me awake and I realize that I must have dozed off. My eyes adjust to the bright lights and after a few blinks I see Hydro standing above me.
“Morning, sleepy head.” She smiles.
I wipe my eyes and stand as my heart rate settles. I look around and see both K and Dr. Cicca smiling at me as well. My cheeks get warm with embarrassment. “Hey. Sorry.”
“It’s quite alright,” Dr. Cicca replies as she moves to the center of the room. “Ok, everyone grab a seat.”
Hydro and K sit next to me and I realize that I don’t really know much about either one of them. Even with the amount of time that I’ve spent with Hydro, she and Al are usually in their own world.
Dr. Cicca jumps right into her first lesson and tells us about the importance of shelter, especially with regards to certain elements. She uses a hologram to show us various shelters, from igloos and huts to caves and even holes in the ground.
Gene. Sys. Page 16
