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Extended Work
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| Reformatory (Ch 6) | |
| By AmeliaWonderland | ||
| 12 April 2008 | ||
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I don't know what to say really. This is for those who are still interested in how the story progresses. Alex opened her eyes. She was lying face down back on her own bed with a blanket thrown over her legs. Except for the gentle humming of the ship, the room was quiet. Alex sat up, throwing the blanket on the floor. How did she get here? What happened to her last night? Alex tried to make sense of it all, but couldn’t. She remembered images of people moving about – all wearing white uniforms. Then she remembered someone waving at her. It was a friendly gesture from a familiar face. The face was smiling and the lips were moving in slow motion. Alex could not hear the words, but she thought that the lips said, ‘see you soon.’ Alex remembered that she attempted to reply, but she had no control over her face – like in a dream. If her face had moved at all, at best it would have been a contorted imitation of a smile. Alex also remembered feeling scared and confused, thinking she had plunged into an alternate reality from which she would never return. But she did return. Back to her own bedroom. Somehow. There was no more people in white suites; no more heaviness in her body; and the only reminder of her dream (Dream? Alex was not sure) was slight aching of her right arm. But she did fall on it after all, and aching was to be expected. Alex got up. The easiness with which her body obeyed impressed her. She felt rested and there was so much lightness in her limbs that she thought she would fly next. Her watch was on the table – she did not remember taking it off. Alex placed it back on her wrist and looked at the illuminator. They had ‘left’ the planet and were floating in empty space somewhere outside the Sar-sa’s star system. Alex smirked: Delta City’s technology was impressive. If she did not know she was looking at a simulator, she would have easily believed the ship was light years away from Delta’s home planet. But there was no time to dwell on technology. Somebody had spiked her drink and possibly abducted her during the night. As much as she did not want to admit it, she did not like it. She felt violated, and she wanted to know who had kidnapped her and why. The door burst open. Roni stood in the doorway grinning. ‘Time for breakfast, precious. It’s either you come now or you go hungry until lunch. No time to waste; you snooze you lose. Besides, the first simulation commentary is about to begin. I suggest you hurry up.’ ‘Okay, okay,’ Alex moaned. ‘Have you not heard about privacy?’ ‘Have you not heard about timetables?’ Roni had not a hint of apology in his voice. ‘You should have been in the living room… er…five minutes ago. Hurry up before I put a first blemish on your file.’ ‘My file?’ Alex was still waking up but this comment did not escape her attention. Roni did not answer. ‘Hurry up, precious.’ Slowly, Alex walked into the living room. The whole family was watching something on the screen of the simulator. ‘The commentary is very interesting.’ Chris said noticing Alex’s stare. ‘You are welcome to join in.’ Alex sat next to Chris at the table. ‘Sure.’ Roni and Rick rounded the corner. With trays full of breakfast shakes, they almost squeezed Chris and Alex together. Rick also brought his work bag. He dropped it on the floor and pushed it with his foot under the table. ‘I tell you,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen so many people. We are like ants squeezed into a jar here,’ he chuckled. Alex looked in his direction. She did not say anything. ‘Hey, Alex,’ Roni winked, stretching his arms and almost knocking over Chris’ food. ‘We know that you are different, but you don’t have to hang out with him.’ He pointed at Chris. ‘Chris was an accident, if you know what I mean. There is not much that you can gain from him.’ Alex glanced at Chris; he did not even flinch at the comment that had been thrown at him. ‘I’ll decide with whom I will hang out if that’s okay,’ replied Alex. ‘Suit it yourself, but don’t tell me I did not warn you. He is family and this is what is frustrating. You are not supposed to hurt your family, but he …he’s such a disappointment.’ There was a minute of uncomfortable silence as everyone concentrated on their food. Chris looked withdrawn. He fidgeted in his chair and it looked like he wanted to leave. Alex glanced at him sympathetically and smiled. He understood her. Meanwhile, Ross had turned up the volume of the simulator so that everyone could hear. The screen showed a big lecture hall full of attentive audience – some passengers had turned up to hear the commentary in person. A tall authoritative woman at the front of the hall, facing the audience, cleared her throat. ‘Shall we continue? Let us recap what we have discussed so far.’ The camera scanned the audience and Alex saw anticipating faces. ‘We now know that our home planet is flat,’ the woman went on, ‘and that its edge stretches into infinity. We also know that the sky is a giant cone that covers the planet, and the horizon is where the edge of the planet and the sky meet. This giant cone is populated with numerous heavenly bodies we call stars, and it is towards one of these stars we are now heading.’ The speaker paused. ‘What I mean to say that if we were in a real flight, we would be heading towards the stars.’ In disbelief, Alex looked at the family. You must be joking, she mused. Are you going to tell me next that four elephants are supporting the planet? Nobody had raised an eyebrow and all ate their breakfast quietly, anticipating what the speaker would say next. Alex could not believe that they did not seem to acknowledge what looked like a rather large elephant in the room. Or at least from her point of view. Flat planet? Perhaps genetic engineering tampered with their brains more that they realised. But then she looked at Chris and noticed that he too was unaffected. ‘I am sorry,’ Alex spoke, ‘Did the lady just say that Sar-sa is flat?’ Alex could not hold it any longer. Chris looked secretly at Alex and she briefly caught his gaze. She thought he wanted to say something, but this impulse to speak disappeared as instantly as it came on and he turned his attention to his food. Roni put down his glass. ‘Yes. This is what the speaker said. Your point?’ ‘But surely you must know that your home planet is not flat. It’s spherical like a ball.’ There was a moment of silence. Roni walked to the simulator and switched the channels. Alex saw the same picture of empty space. ‘A ball?’ Roni laughed back. ‘But how can this be? Then where’s the edge?’ Alex was slightly confused now. Was he serious? Judging by the look on his face he was. She went on with her argument nevertheless. ‘There is no edge. You can start walking around Delta City at any point and if you walk long enough you will return to that same point.’ ‘Really? And what surrounds this ball?’ Roni shook his hands in disbelief. ‘Nothing. Just empty space. Like what you see on the screen now.’ At his point the whole family laughed and even Chris, whose face had been hard to read up until that point, joined in. ‘I see.’ Roni smirked. He eyed Alex top to bottom and checked something in a small techbook that was attached to his waist. ‘Ah,’ he said finally. ‘It says here that you’ve been home schooled. This makes sense of course. You are clearly behind in your studies. I will recommend you for one of our slow groups at school so that you could catch up with the curriculum at your own pace. I’ve always said that home-schooling is dangerous. You don’t even know the basics.’ Alex got up and tried to get a hold of Roni’s techbook. ‘What is this? What are you reading?’ But Roni caught her arm in mid air and pushed her away. He did not hurt her, but his grip was strong. There was something very authoritative about the way he pushed Alex back that she did not want to challenge him further. Meanwhile Roni looked at his parents, who had hardly moved during the whole incident (Alex could not help but notice it) and got up. ‘Now, listen, everyone. These are Alex’s own ideas. She appears to be exceptionally imaginative. Her ideas are pretty wild but let’s respect them. Don’t laugh,’ he said, struggling to keep his face straight. Alex wanted to retaliate (and among other things to point out that the flat world view was correct, the simulator would be showing a picture of receding landmass instead of empty space), but she found it difficult to speak. It hurt. Her eyes were filled with tears and she turned away. What is this place? she wondered once again. Alex attempted to smile (although she did not mean it). ‘Roni, you are right. My knowledge is very shallow, but I am confident that with your recommendations, I’ll catch up in no time. Slow group or not. Can I go and do my chores now?’ Roni looked at Alex, studying her intently. ‘What about breakfast? No food will be available till lunch.’ Alex looked at the liquid food the family were consuming. ‘Thank you, but I am still… full… from yesterday. Food’s here … er … very nutritious.’ ‘You are right about that. I am happy you appreciate this already. We’ve only got your best interests in heart.’ Alex gave another fake smile. I bet you have. She left the apartment and walked along the corridor. She wanted to find Leo or Lewis or better both of them so that they could explain everything… She hardly walked ten paces when Chris caught up with her and touched her on the shoulder. ‘You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!’ he said. ‘Are you okay?’ Alex thought he was referring to the incident in the living room. ‘Flat planet?’ she said. ‘You tell me.’ ‘No,’ Chris replied. ‘Not that, which is, by the way, not a big deal. I would not worry about Roni if I were you. Something else. Even when you first walked into the living room, your face was white. Like something had scared you…’ Alex glanced at Chris but did not say anything. Did he know something? She suddenly had an urge to tell him everything, but she did not know how much she could trust him. ‘Okay,’ he said as if reading her thoughts. ‘Let me go first. Common, I’ll show you something.’ Chris grabbed Alex’s by the arm and pulled her along the corridor. ‘Delta is not what you would call a normal city,’ he said, leading Alex through the maze of corridors to the back of the ship. She had guessed as much. ‘It’s a prison.’ ‘A prison?’ Alex stopped and reflected on this. ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Not in the traditional sense. You see,’ Chris hesitated. ‘It’s more like a reformatory. Most citizens who are sent here would not have committed a crime before they came. Their sentence is usually based on the Establishment’s supposition that they are capable of doing so.’ Alex looked at Chris questioningly. ‘Capable? What do you mean?’ ‘I mean they have a way of deciding whether any given individual has potential to commit an unlawful act.’ ‘Reformatory?’ Alex raised her eyebrows in disbelief. ‘Are you serious?’ ‘I am dead serious. It’s hard to accept it at first, but you will get used to it. Especially once you realise that you cannot go anywhere for a long time. Maybe even for the rest of your life. End of story. You see, once you have been condemned, you can never leave. And neither can your children or your children’s children…’ Chris lowered his head; his face looked very sad. ‘I see,’ said Alex. This was a revelation to her. She knew prisons existed; she knew people who advocated Time Before Crime policies, but she did not think that someone would have taken them seriously. She did not want to press Chris for more information if he did not give it to her. ‘Okay, Chris, reformatory or not, what about this flat planet stuff?’ ‘Flat planet? What do you mean?’ ‘Do you mean to say that you actually believe it?’ ‘Of course I do. This is how the world is – a giant landmass standing on four elephants – each representing North, South, East, and West and covered by a giant sky cone. The reason the simulator does not show the landmass is because the ship is turned away from it.’ ‘The ship is not turned anywhere, it is a simulation!’ Alex raised her voice. This is unbelievable! she mused. ‘I mean it would have been turned away from the mainland if we were in a real flight!’ Alex flung her arms in frustration. Maybe Chris did not escape genetic engineering after all. ‘But surely this does not make sense,’ Alex retaliated. ‘Your father engineers miniature animals. This is a sign of great intelligence. Surely he would want to see proof that the four elephants support Sar-sa.’ ‘I want to see proof and I can’t wait until it happens, but most residents don’t care about proofs. Their minds have been obliterated so they don’t question reality anymore. Remember that green cocktail jammed up your arm upon your arrival? This is your first dose. You will now be getting regular injections to maintain your obedience. My father is a textbook case. He’s got amazing skills, but they are all subconscious. The fact he can create miniature horses does not mean that he understands how he does it. He believes everything that the authorities tell him. He never questions anything.’ Alex reflected on this. Come to think of it she met numerous people outside Delta – both where she grew up and back in Little Meadow who could do amazing things – build plane-cars, create vaccines, save lives and at the same time be oblivious to what went on around them. They never questioned reality and took each day as it came. Lizzie was a perfect example. Maybe this obliteration stuff was a far more spread phenomenon… She never discussed what the world was like with Lizzie. Who knows, maybe this was what they taught in normal schools too… She recalled the four elephants idea was one of Sitho’s common jokes. Perhaps there was more than a grain of truth in it than she had realised. ‘So how come your self-awareness is normal?’ Alex challenged Chris. ‘Good question. It appears that some of us are immune to the green cocktail, and judging by your reaction, so are you. There is a whole group of us, and we do what we can to save people. To give them a chance for freedom. Don’t worry, Alex, we’ll save you too.’ ‘Save me from what?’ ‘You see, Alex, everybody makes mistakes, and Establishment’s officials are no exception. We believe that sometimes Establishment sends people here who don’t deserve it. Judging by your appearance, you are probably one of these people. We help people like you escape the claws of our prison and find freedom.’ Alex had not noticed it, but they entered a large open area full of people. These people sat on the floor, huddled together in small groups and waiting for something. Many had bags with them, ready for a long journey. Alex studied the faces of those who were present. They looked weary and confused. Alex wondered what Chris had told each one of them in order to convince them to come.’ ‘If their minds have been obliterated,’ Alex uttered her thoughts out loud, ‘it may be difficult to persuade them to leave.’ ‘We have to speak to them as if they were children, and then they come. Sometimes, we have to trick them or bribe them. All for their own good of course. Sometimes, if they know too much, we have to force them to come, for even without really understanding what is going on, they can blow our cover.’ ‘I guess every good deed requires a sacrifice.’ Alex said these words without thinking, but the words resonated with her more that she had anticipated. As she was speaking to herself… Chris stood in the middle of the area – there was a family sitting huddled together. He whispered something to one of the adults and the group moved towards the corner of the room. When the area was clear, Alex saw a hatch. ‘We managed to save many people over the years,’ he said, ‘and we will do it again. This hatch leads to an underground city located deep in the planet’s crust. When the simulation is over, I will take you there. In the meantime you will have to stay here.’ Alex looked at Chris questioningly. ‘Why?’ ‘The fact that I can trust you does not mean that everyone else in our group can. You would have to be certified by the elders first. And now since I showed you this, you can’t go outside.’ Alex was alarmed now. ‘But I can’t stay. There are things I have to do. Something I have to find out…’ ‘What?’ ‘Like what happened last night!’ ‘Oh, that…’ Chris sighed. ‘I know, I know. Everyone’s drinks had to be spiked. There were some technical difficulties with the simulator and the take off could not be performed appropriately. So in the last minute Roni made a decision to put everyone to sleep. The irony is that in the end the simulator did work, but it was too late…’ Chris went on talking, but Alex did not listen. Her arm still ached and she doubted that her drink had been spiked solely to hide the technical difficulties of the simulation. One of her childhood memories stored a conversation between her parents about a research facility under the code name Delta. She only remembered it because the conversation made her mother upset and she cried all night afterwards. Chris’ story sounded like a plausible theory, but she was even more convinced that there was more to the spiking of the drinks that met the eye. She waited for Chris to look away and at the first opportunity charged towards the door. She was quick and managed to escape.
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