Love, hate, fear; these are only words to Alethea Atlas.
Born a prodigy among Sera Society, she's neurologically modified to feel nothing. But when her younger sister fails to meet Sera standards and is to be executed, Alethea feels for the first t...
She rode dangerously fast. The stars were disappearing, and the thick morning air whipped against her as she cut corners sharp and gripped the accelerator on the straights.
She nearly crashed into the garage and bound off her motorcycle then snuck through the house, scanning for lights, and listening for footsteps, as she rushed out to the pier.
She knelt behind the round counter beneath the Serata. Opening the control port, she snapped in the thumb drive. The Serata shuddered awake and opened its virtual arms to her commands. Her fingers typed madly, creating a fake digital trail of data mangling through the years.
The sun was rising.
She rushed back to the house and worked with precision and haste as she erased the evidence of her deeds. First, she snapped the thumb drive into pieces and flushed it down the toilet, then taped the monitor-blocking tab Ezi had gifted her to the bottom of the metal frame of her bed to keep it safe from potential metal detectors. She set everything back in order: her motorcycle, clothes, replacing the gold bars, and showering away the desert dust and sweat from her skin before slipping back into her pajamas.
She laid down in bed and closed her eyes, which was a mistake because her mind started running wild. She was securing her own execution. Her ability to feel was lingering; an icy fear crept through her veins like frost over flowers in the cold morning hours of spring. She didn't want to die, but she couldn't explain why. What would happen to Alexius after she was dead and gone? Surely, her new data would condemn her within a couple of years. Maybe, after her death, Alexius would come to her senses and control herself.
A knock at the door startled her from thought.
"Morning, Alethea. It's time to wake up. The trial is at nine."
She rose promptly and headed to her closet to select her clothes. The maid had dry cleaned her dress. She reached for it, but hesitated, feeling a sense of nausea at the sight of it. Maybe that was reason enough to wear it.
Dressed, she turned to the door and jumped at the sight of Alexius who stood in the threshold with wide, flooded eyes.
She felt panic shoot through her like an electric current as the imagery of the metal chair, the needle, and her fists banging on the door flashed in her mind. Her monitor flashed and she cursed herself. The effects of Ezi's work were still lingering; she'd need to get control of herself before the trial.
"Come now, Alexius. It's time for breakfast."
Alexius followed like her shadow down the hall.
"Alethea," Father said after finishing a bite of eggs. He was analyzing the night's data via a holograph on the kitchen table. "You're missing data from last night. Is your monitor working properly?"
"Yes, Father. It's functional. I seem to have slept on my arm crooked again." She extended her hand to reveal it was indeed still blotchy from blood loss.
"You must break that habit," Mother said.
"I am trying."
There was a knock at the door and Father let in a small team of Garda who announced the family's escort vehicle had arrived. Alethea rose with her parents and headed for the car. She could hear Alexius pleading, refusing to stand from her seat at the table.
She climbed into the back of the car and refused to watch as the Garda forced her sister into the seat across from her. She cut her eyes at her parents. Mother's eyes were closed and her lips moving with a silent prayer. Father's face was stone.
The driver drove through the high-blood district which coasted the southern curve of the lake's cove. People in flowing white clothes adorned with gold jewelry passed through the streets in a trance. Everything moved in perfect rhythm: the cars rumbling on the cobblestone, the pedestrians' shoes on the granite walkways, the sliding of doors all created music like that of an ancient war march. How had she never noticed its violent beating?
The car pulled up to the Courthouse and two Garda rushed to open their doors.
Alexius grabbed her hand squeezing it so hard it hurt.
"Thea...."
Thea felt her Father's eyes on the back of her head. She wrenched away and took a Gard's hand rising to her feet with dignity. She turned her face away as the Gards had to drag Alexius from the car and cuffed her hands to escort her behind the rest of the family.
The grand hall echoed with their booted footsteps and Alexius's cries.
Father stopped before the great doors and spoke with cold conviction.
"Alexius! Stop making a fool of yourself. Die with dignity."
Alexius froze and gawked at him like a deer in the headlights before it's struck down to bleed in the snow.
Alethea cut him a bitter look and smirked when she noticed his monitor flashing red.
"Is everything alright, Father?" She pointed to his wrist.
He jammed his hand into his pocket to conceal the flashing.
"I'm fine." He took Mother's arm and nodded for the Garda to open the doors.
She nearly smirked as she watched him turn with his head held high and his shoulders squared. He had no idea what was coming for him. She cleared her throat and turned to the Garda who held her sister's cuffed arms.
"I will escort her."
"But Master Atlas...."
"That's an order. It is for the propriety of my family that I tame her cries."
They bowed their heads and stepped aside.
Alethea grabbed her sister's shoulders and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Listen to me. I have a plan. But you need to control yourself. Don't let them see you cry."
Alexius met her gaze and nodded eagerly.
"Sera es Eirene, sister," Thea declared aloud. Order is peace.
Their parents glanced back and nodded in approval of their eldest and her wisdom.
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