Gene. Sys.

by Garcia, Aaron Denius

  Another monitor catches my attention and I look to see Dr. Kivuli walking down a hallway with Hawk, Dr. Metzger and a fourth scientist that I recognize from both the picture I saw with Ev and from the Center for G.O.D. He is very tall and thin with light brown hair. Not a combination of people I would expect to see walking together. They are in the middle of a very heated conversation and at one point Dr. Kivuli turns to shout something at the tall scientist.

  The tall scientist stands his ground, but doesn’t reply. When they walk out of the frame of this camera, I look around to try to spot them in another, but can’t find them.

  After a few more moments of watching the monitors with no activity, I decide to get in the shower and try to wake my body up before I head to class. The cold water is initially painful but soon turns refreshing and I have to force myself to turn the water off and get out.

  I get ready and head down the hallway to my class. As I turn the corner I run into Ox, standing in the hallway.

  “Hey Ox!” I greet him.

  “Hey man. How’s it going?” he asks.

  “Pretty good. What are you up to? Aren’t you heading to class?” I stop next to him.

  “Yeah. I’m just waiting for Fe to come out.” He says nonchalantly.

  A hint of rage and jealousy rises up within me. Why would he be waiting for Fe? My thoughts are broken up when Fe opens the door and gives me a big smile and hug when she sees me.

  “Atom! Why are you here?” she asks cheerfully.

  “I was on my way to class,” I say.

  “Us too,” she replies as she starts walking down the hall. “Walk with us.”

  It suddenly hits me that I had put both Fe and Ox in the same Mechanical Engineering class. I feel my breathing ease up as we walk. “Sure. How do you guys like the class?”

  “Love it!” She takes my hand. My breathing increases again but for completely different reasons. My mind, however, shoots to Ev and her reaction. Suddenly my hand feels awkward in Fe’s hand and it begins to sweat.

  “It’s pretty good. I’m not a big fan of the teacher,” Ox says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “Really?” Fe looks at Ox. “I think he’s great.”

  “What’s he like?” I ask.

  “His name is Hawk,” Fe responds.

  I’m surprised by this revelation. I wouldn’t have thought of Hawk as someone who would be mechanically literate, but then again I don’t know anything on the subject myself, so I’m in no place to make the assumption. “I know Hawk. I don’t really like him.”

  “See,” Ox adds and looks at Fe.

  “Why not?” She looks at me with concern in her eyes.

  “We have a history and it’s not pretty,” I say definitively. It’s not a subject I want to talk about.

  “Besides, what kind of name is Hawk?” Ox whispers to us as we approach the classrooms.

  “Says the guy named Ox.” I smile at him. He laughs so Fe and I join in.

  Fe pulls me close and gives me a hug. “See you later.”

  Down the hall I spot Ev looking right at us. She turns her head in disgust. I frown and I feel my heart drop. I don’t want her to be hurt. As Fe pulls away I put on my best smile. “Have a good class.”

  “You too.” She walks into her classroom and Ox turns to walk in after her.

  “Ox, wait a second.” I put my hand on his shoulder.

  He turns. “What’s up?”

  I look around to make sure no one can hear me. “Let me know if Hawk does anything weird.”

  Ox raises an eyebrow at me. “Why?”

  “Just do it, please,” I say as I turn to head to my classroom.

  When I walk in, Hydro, K and Dr. Cicca are already there.

  “You’re late.” Hydro pokes me and smiles.

  “Sorry about that.” I look at Dr. Cicca.

  “It’s alright.” She smiles. “Okay. Today’s class will be outside.”

  She hands each one of us a tablet and we head out of the classroom. We turn down a couple of hallways and exit through a door that I have never been through before. We are in a part of the compound that I have never been to before. I can only assume that it is the back part of the compound.

  When we turn the corner, I see the tall plants behind the library that I hid in when Dr. Kivuli was talking with Joey. What I had not noticed that night was the sheer variety of plants that have been arranged in perfect sections.

  Dr. Cicca stops us just short of the first set of plants and turns to look at us. “Today we are going to learn about agriculture and farming. You’ll learn how to decontaminate soil, how to choose and cultivate crops. You will be getting your hands dirty.”

  I look over at Hydro and K. They both have giant smiles on their faces. We spend the majority of the class going back and forth between the tablets and the plants. We use the tablets to learn about the plants we are working with and how to balance the PH of the soil.

  Dr. Cicca actually encourages us to try a lot of the fruits and vegetables that we have been working with. My favorite is by far the corn, which happens to be the tall plants I had hid in. I also like the grapes, watermelon and carrots. My least favorite is probably the tomatoes.

  Tasting all of these fruits and vegetables reminds me of the chicken that 80 gave me. My mouth waters thinking about it. This has easily been one of my favorite classes and I hope we get more chances to try more food. The protein pouches seem so bland to me now.

  At the end of the class, Dr. Cicca walks up to me. “So I hear you guys are playing Breekbal against the drones.”

  I’m caught off guard by the question. “How did you know that?”

  “The scientists have been talking about it. I’m pretty sure there is going to be a crowd there to watch you.” She smiles.

  “Watch us what?” Hydro asks as she and K join us.

  A sudden surge of nerves rushes through my body. I was not expecting there to be people watching us. I look at K and Hydro. “We are playing a game against the drones.”

  “A dangerous game,” Dr. Cicca adds.

  I shoot her a look to let her know that she’s not helping. She steps away.

  “I’ll explain it as we walk. We need to get there,” I tell K and Hydro.

  “Good luck,” Dr. Cicca says as she turns to head back to the compound.

  As Hydro, K and I walk around the outside of the library, I fill them in on what we will be doing. “So our training today is actually going to be a game that we will be playing against the drones. There is really only one rule: get the ball into the other team’s pit.”

  “Is it really that dangerous?” Hydro asks, concerned. K’s face tells me that she was thinking the same thing.

  “It can be.” I know I have to tell them the truth. “It is very likely that someone will get hurt.”

  “Do we have to do it?” K pleads.

  “Yes,” I state.

  We walk silently the rest of the way. When we get to the outskirts of the drone part of the compound, I see the other Genesys gathered in a group. They are all paying attention to Ev. To my left, a steady stream of scientists is making its way to the field in the middle of the drone quarters. I actually spot Rene among them.

  To my right, an equal amount of drones seem to be moving to the field as well. I need to get better at not calling them drones. 80 was right, it makes them sound like they don’t have a mind of their own.

  When Hydro, K and I approach the group, they all turn their attention to me. Ev steps up to stand next to me but she doesn’t make eye contact.

  “I told them what you told me,” she says out of the corner of her mouth.

  “Thanks,” I tell her and then turn my attention to the group. “The game is pretty simple. We have to get the ball into their pit by any means necessary. They will have a clear advantage since they have all played before and have most likely formed strategies, so we have to play smart and play as a team.”

  “Can we hurt them?” Titan blurts out.

&n
bsp; I look at him and see a hunger in both his and Sil’s eyes. I sigh. “If you must. Realize though, they can and will try to hurt us. So be quick, be strong and trust the person next to you.”

  They all look around at each other. I see some eager faces and some concerned faces.

  “I don’t want to do this.” Mag’s small voice breaks the moment of silence. I can see tears on her cheeks and fear in her eyes.

  “You have to,” I say apologetically. “Listen, we are all going to have to face things we fear and don’t want to do, but it’s important that we conquer those fears. We have a lot resting on our shoulders.”

  Mag bows her head and slinks back behind Ox. I look around the building we are standing next to and I see a crowd gathered around the field.

  “Alright everyone, let’s go win this!” I try my best to get them pumped up, but I don’t get much of a reaction. I start to walk towards the field and they all follow behind me.

  Cal catches up to me. “Nice pep talk, buddy.”

  “Thanks,” I throw out.

  “I was being sarcastic.” He punches my shoulder and smiles.

  I force a smile and walk on. As we get to the crowd, the group of scientists and drones move aside to let us in. When we reach the field I see the opposing team, including 80 and 13.

  When 80 sees me he gets his team to walk over and meet us in the middle of the field. The first thing that pops into my mind is that they all have different haircuts. Some even have facial hair. I find it funny that this surprises me, but I guess it’s because not more than a month ago all the drones looked the same with the same haircut.

  “You sure you want to do this?” 80 says, snapping me away from my thought.

  “Yeah we are!” Cal shouts. Most of the other Genesys shout ‘yeah’ after him.

  I smile at 80. “You better believe it.”

  “Very well.” He looks at all of us. “The rules are simple. First to three, wins. Get the ball completely into the other person’s pit by any means necessary and we don’t stop for injuries.”

  I look back at the Genesys. They all have their game faces on, even Mag. I turn back to 80. “We’re ready!”

  “Suit yourself,” he says, winking at me. He tosses the ball at me and smiles. “You guys can start.”

  The ball feels slightly heavy and rough in my hands. It reminds me of the rubber that laces the floor of the simulation room. I throw the ball to the ground and it bounces right back up at me.

  I return my gaze to 80 and the drones. “When do we start?”

  “Now!” 80 shouts and then charges right at me. His shoulder bores right into my stomach and I lose my handle on the ball. I fall hard to the ground and he kneels over me, pinning my shoulders to the ground. “You okay there, Atom?”

  His smile is both playful and evil. I smile back and then, with one quick move, I reach my hands up, grab his neck and flip him off me. I look around when I stand and I see the majority of both teams off to one side. It looks like one of the drones has the ball and the Genesys are trying to tear it away.

  From my left I see two drones charging hard at the group. They get there before I do and ram through the majority of the Genesys. I see Sil, Al, Sodi, K and Fe all fall hard to the ground and get trampled over.

  A few drones fell as well, but the strategy opened up an avenue for the ball carrier. He steps forward and bounces the ball high towards our pit. I chase after it and jump. Just as I am a couple of inches from grabbing the ball, my legs get knocked from underneath me and I flip to the ground.

  I land hard on my shoulder and look to see 80 breaking away with the ball straight to our pit. When I turn to get up, a foot hits me swiftly across my face and I fall back to the ground. I roll away and stand to face my attacker. It’s 13.

  He stands tall, anticipating my move. He plants his foot to charge, but just before he does, a large portion of the crowd erupts in cheers. I look around and see the drones watching this game, on their feet and yelling. 80 must have scored.

  The drones on the field all walk back to their side of the field and I see the Genesys slowly picking themselves up. I start to walk back to join them on my side when 13 sticks his foot out and trips me. I land flat on my face and get a mouthful of dirt. Its dry chalkiness is horrible in combination with the saltiness of the blood in my mouth.

  80 reaches me and helps me up. He smiles. “Give up yet?”

  “No.” I spit the dirt and blood out to the side.

  “Good. Next round starts the second you grab the ball.” He jogs to his side of the field.

  I head back to join the rest of the Genesys who have gathered around the pit. They all look defeated. I realize that we need a strategy if we are going to have any kind of chance at this.

  “Okay, well now we know how to play.” I smile, trying to get their hopes up.

  “Ass,” Sodi mutters. A few of the other Genesys laugh.

  “You’re right.” I play it off. “We need to have some strategy, so what I would like to do is attack like an arrow. Ten of us will form a ‘V’ and wedge our way through them. Knock them over, get them to the ground.”

  “What about the other two?” Fe asks, panting through her words.

  “One person will be in the middle of the ‘V’ with the ball and the other person will stay back and guard the pit,” I state.

  “I’ll guard the pit,” Ox says.

  “Okay, good.” I look around at the group and spot Mag shying behind a couple of the others. She will be too timid to be part of the ‘V’ and take out a drone. “Mag, you carry the ball.”

  “Okay,” barely escapes from her mouth.

  “Let’s do it!” I shout, trying to get the Genesys pumped up. It doesn’t seem to be working.

  Mag grabs the ball from the pit and the screams from the other side of the field tell us that the drones are on their way. They are running at us perfectly spread out in a line. I take off towards the middle and four Genesys flank me diagonally to my left and the other five are to my right. Mag stays perfectly paced in the middle of us.

  I scream as I run full speed at the drone in front of me. At the last second I spin around him, grabbing his arm, and I fling him to the ground. I quickly stand on both his arms while he is on the ground so he can’t get up. He thrashes his legs and curses at me, but he’s not able to shake me off.

  I look around to see how the strategy is paying off and if anyone needs any additional help. As I scan the field I see most of the Genesys engaged in fights with a drone. They all seem to be holding their own. Out of the corner of my eye I spot the two unaccounted for drones heading directly for Mag. It’s 13 and a second drone with longer hair.

  “Mag! Watch out!” I scream as I jump off my drone. He swings his legs, connecting with my side, and I fall.

  When I look up, I see 13 and the longhaired drone knock Mag to the ground. She drops the ball and 13 scoops it up. I get up and start running after him. A few steps into it I am tackled to the ground from behind.

  The drone steps on my shoulders, preventing me from getting up. “Now it’s my turn.”

  All I can do is watch what happens next; the drone with the long hair jumps up and stomps on Mag’s leg. A slight crack followed by her loud scream fills the air and silences the crowd.

  “Mag!” I hear Ox yell as he leaves his post, defending the pit and runs straight for the longhaired drone. He passes 13 on the way, completely ignoring him. I can see the red in his eyes where I lay.

  Ox reaches the drone, grabs him by the hair and flips him over his head by the handful of hair. The drone lands hard on the ground and Ox stands with a handful of hair. He rears back and, with as much force as he can, he kicks the drone in the head. The drone’s body goes limp.

  My attention is squarely on that exchange so I don’t notice that 13 has scored. A hushed applause by the drones on the sideline lets me know that we are one goal away from losing.

  I and the other Genesys run to Mag as the drones run to their fallen teammat
e. When I get to Mag, Ox has already scooped her up in his arms. She moans through the tears running down her cheeks.

  Ox looks at me. “This is your fault!”

  I back up and sense a few others’ eyes on me. They share his sentiment.

  “No it’s not,” Mag struggles to get out.

  We all look at her. Ev starts to say something but stops herself.

  “Put me down. I can walk,” Mag demands.

  Her resolve has not only surprised me, but everyone else as well. A few of the scientists applaud as Ox gently sets her down. Mag lets out a yelp as she puts weight on her leg and draws it back into a moan.

  “Let’s play,” she says as she gingerly takes a step towards our pit. She uses Ox for support.

  I can tell that Mag’s toughness has rubbed off on the other Genesys because they are starting to get hyper.

  “We can do this!” Al blurts out. The other Genesys shout in agreement.

  When we reach the pit, I look back to assess our opponent. I only count eleven drones and when I look to the side I see the longhaired drone lying on the sideline. Dr. Peters is tending to him.

  “Okay, it’s eleven on eleven.” I turn to the group.

  “Twelve. I’m still playing,” Mag says defiantly. “I’ll guard the pit.”

  “What about your leg?” Ev asks.

  Mag smiles. “Don’t let them get the ball and it won’t be an issue.”

  “Deal.” I chuckle and then remember what Dr. Kivuli suggested. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

  “That last strategy almost worked,” Titan speaks up. “I think we just need to add a little twist to it. Maybe some deception.”

  Everyone’s attention turns to him.

  “When we did this last time, the drones left one half of the field wide open. I say we attack as we did, but just as we engage with the drones, the last wingman peels off and takes the ball from the person in the middle. They then sweep around to the other side of the field that’s wide open,” Titan says, exhausting himself.

  I look around at the other Genesys. “What do you all think?”

  “I like it,” Hydro says.

  “Okay. Titan, do you want to be either of the ball carriers?” I look at him.