Anomaly

DEVIANT

Two men with large binoculars scan the desolate grey landscape that besets them. For miles the lenses' zoom catches nothing but the sea of gravel. The two men can see the heat move in a shimmering wave that hovers across the top of the flat surface.
​"What was the young postulants name" The voice from the first man is smooth and carries a legitimacy that demands attention. His facial expressions do not deviate or change with the question. Sweat beads on top of his bald head and can be seen soaking through his fitted grey jumpsuit. The man next to him quickly accesses his tablet to search for his superior's inquiry. His fingers move quickly across its smooth surface.
​"Tessa" His voice is flat but focused. "Tessa Alma"
​"Tessa" The first man repeats, as if tasting the name for the first time. "What was Tessa Almas diagnoses?" For a short moment his voice hints with curiosity but his face still does not change. Sweat now looms over the man's thick dark eyebrows, the heat is still immense despite the setting sun. The second man's thin fingers go to work on the tablet again at once. His brown eyes focus intently on the task.
​"Colonel" The man's voice breaks its familiar monotony. He is surprised at something but only momentarily. "I do not have access to her full diagnoses"
​"Do not have access" the Colonel repeats, contemplating the purpose of such a blockage. "It is not our duty to question the reason for this" He says plainly again dropping the notion of reasoning with the thought all together. "Our job is simple, track the missing postulate and confirm only if she lives or has died. If the Assembly believed the diagnoses of this particular postulate was vital for the task at hand we would be able to access it. Therefore, we must assume this information is entirely irrelevant." His voice is stiff and mechanical. "Have you had any previous contact with the postulate?" He turned to the younger man beside himself. With his large stature he is forced to bend his head down slightly to meet his eyes. The smaller man's fingers move the tablet back into the slot that rested over the right side of his chest. His eyes flicker with thought sending his eyebrows' up to one side then back down as he speaks.
​"Yes" the word comes out like syrup, almost sticking to his tongue. "She was," His voice trails off as he digs deeper into his memories. "Well, it appears I do not have any adequate memory of her Colonel" His face is contorted in confusion for a short while then loosens into the familiar flatness. Composure seems to return like a sedative to the man. "I do apologize Colonel; I should have been more careful with my claims. I will be sure to better articulate the truth"
​"Interesting" the colonel says grabbing the binoculars again scanning the vast wasteland. She would be dead he thought. Finding her would be as easy as following her last known direction with the bio detectors. They would find the postulates body, dry, rancid, and consumed by the beasts of the gravel field. Something did feel obscure to him, a faint sense of curiosity nipped at his mind. A curse he has always dealt with, the gnawing was nothing new. Of course this allotted amount of curiosity is what placed him as Colonel of Investigation. There were 14 CI's total, 1 for each city, and 1 for each Sem Academy. He had never met any of the others but he always had the thought that they would be quite similar to himself. He had no basis to assume that the others dealt with anything that deviated from what he experienced within his own confines. Which is precisely why this incident was profoundly abnormal. Even among the deviant postulates within the Sem Academy, no one ever attempted to leave. Anomaly among anomalies he ponders. ​
​"How do we procced?" The thin man questions, looking to the Colonel. His beating eyes appear menacing despite his lackluster stature.
​"We follow the protocol we have, and report to my superiors for strategic assignment." He says with an unmoving gaze still on the fields.
​"Gather the searchers and the bio detectors, and we will go find her. According to the incident report the postulate was quite dangerous is that correct?"
​"Yes, she injured 3 guards in the process of her escape. She has also taken some superficial damage herself. Guards report the physical altercation left her partially immobile upon her escape."
​"How long was the initial pursuit?"
​"The remaining guard on watch pursued till the edge of the fence. There is no protocol for beyond that point, so he ceased once he reached our border." The man states flatly.
​The colonel ponders the importance of this fact. The postulate was capable of manifesting physical aggression and no less be effective in doing so. Aggression is almost entirely a dead human trait. Among the 7 cities the general populations aggression was inhibited almost completely. Only select groups of the government were allowed controlled amounts for training and potential combat purposes. Being under the umbrella of Protection Agencies the colonel also had a certain amount of regulated aggression. He knew well the power these traits have when unchecked. Even his curiosity proved dangerous at times if left untethered. The colonels face stayed unchanged in light of these thoughts. He turned his stiff body around, now facing the academies large silver exterior. It glowed a deep orange mirroring the fizzling sunset. The thin man continued his blank stare out towards the mountains.
​"This one is different than the rest" The colonel said staring at the orange reflection that began to slip into an array of a purple hues.
​"It appears that way" the thin man responded slightly turning to the hard face of his superior. "Yet she is still under the Cities Councils gaze, that fact cannot change". 
​The colonel allowed the man's statement pass through his mind without response. There was no one outside the control of the Cities Council. This, he held as a certainty in his world. Just as when he jumps he will fall back to the earth, the Cities Council would always be within the minds of its citizens. He attempts to move past the next thought in his head but it thuds like a relentless hammer. The thought that this young postulate, as insignificant as she should be, could escape the eyes of the council. For a moment the Colonel suspected a feeling of warmth flood threw him at this thought. He pushes the thought as far away as he could manage but its faint glow persisted somewhere in the distance of his conscience. He shifts energy towards the task ahead of him and his search team. This would be his first conducted search that has gone beyond the limits of the 7 Cities known territory. He also had no knowledge of any past CI's that have been brought beyond this point.


BARRACKS

​Within the Sem academy orders for searchers within barracks 3 were confirmed. The group chosen consisted of 12 searchers. Their names glowed on the far wall of the drab barracks. Through rows of bunk beds, a long line formed neatly awaiting to see the names on the screen.
​It read "ASSIIGNMENT #767 FOR BARRACKS 3. NAMES SUMMUNED MUST REPORT TO HANGER 3 IMMEADIATLY. SEARCHERS MUST BRING THEIR TRAVEL PROVISIONS PACK AND DESERT ATTIRE. CHOSEN SEARCHERS ARE AS FOLLOWS.

1.​TROOPER KOJO
2.​TROOPER ANAHID
3.​TROOPER GYASI​
4.​TROOPER SAOIRSE
5.​TROOPER GENSI ​
6.​TROOPER TEVDIV
7.​TROOPER KRUELA
8.​TROOPER BENSI ​
9.​TROOPER SHANDO
10.​TROOPER SIAN

​Each chosen trooper reports to their respective bunks and begins preparing according to the instructions. There is little talking among any of the troopers within the barracks. Only the sound of ruffling clothes and clanking of water packs can be heard echoing off of the concrete walls. Despite the grey faces of the troopers chosen, there seemed to be a quickness in there packing that separates them from the others in the barracks.
​The shuffling of packs and boots stops only minutes after it starts. The troopers move swiftly past the rows of bunks and bland faces to the other end of the barracks. The metal door hangs wide enough for four men and swings open with a deep hum of rubbing steel. One by one the boots of the selected pass the threshold of the barracks to the unknown task that lay ahead.

STRATEGIC BREIFING

​The Colonel and the thin man join 3 older members of the Peoples Protection Agency (PPA). Two of them are stumpy and grey. One fashioning a short silver mustache that brushes his upper lip. He has eyelids that seem unnaturally open giving him a manic appearance. The other stumpy man, like the first, had a glow on his bald head. He also appears chronically disinterested and has a habit of licking his teeth. The third however, is a middle aged woman. She displays a more intense professionalism than her counterparts. Her hair is a deep black with curls that stretch into a neat bun. Her large eyes are a golden hazel and do not avert the colonel. Her hands do not fidget but lay firmly crossed over one another on the cold metal table. The light in the room is a bright white, illuminating all the imperfections in the other men's faces. Moles and deep cracks expose their age and lack of physicality. Yet, the woman's skin is smooth, almost seamless. The only evidence of aging is small hints of lines that draw from the corner of her eyes. Something about her gives the colonel a sense of hesitancy. Her eyes pierce through him; they say "Your curiosity has gotten the best of you hasn't it?". He pushes the thought away, keeping his gaze with her. Her eyes did something in that moment. Was it a recognition of his thoughts? Did she know what he is thinking at this very moment? Impossible, he reassured himself. She was not an EYE for the Cities Council, she was a part of the same branch as him, the PPI. Can he be sure? The thoughts spiral, he frantically tries to focus on the task.
​"The task" he repeats in his head, "the task, the task, the task". This was a strategy he used in the past that worked well for him. This time its effect is not as potent, but suffices in changing his thought process for the time being.
​"The task..." the woman begins slow not moving her eyes from his. His heart feels as if it has jerked out of position in his chest. He can feel a small bead of sweat forming on his smooth head. "The task ahead is not as unprecedented as you think" Her voice is cool, almost soothing. Yet, he feels as if someone was dumping ice in his stomach at the sound of it. Not as unprecedented as you think? That word, think. His mind reverts back.
​"She can read my thoughts" He whispers in his head.
​"This has happened before; this postulate is not special. Understand?"  She tilts her head slightly forward. "She is defective, she is a failure of many things, she is barely human in her state. She has more in common with the beasts beyond our borders than with us within them." She leans in again. "Understand?"
​His mind combusts in several separate directions. "Not unprecedented? He knows his job better than anything else. He has read all the relevant incident reports. There was nothing that preceded this that resembled what this girl has done." His thoughts branch again. "To what degree was she defective? Was she human at all? Her traits do not resemble a citizen of the 7. Is she a hybrid? Some sick outcome of the past human's experimentation?" His mind explodes behind his facade of calm. The sweat now gently drips down his forehead and rests on his brow.
​"Colonel" Her eyes never left his. He wishes she would look away, he was beginning to spiral again. "If you need your levels reevaluated" She leans in closer, "We will do that for you, we cannot have an unstable searcher in front of this task". Just then the Colonel notices the man who was standing on his right side, it was his young partner Daxia. His thin figure and piercing eyes. Those dead eyes. Daxia did not look at him, he simply was, as if another piece of furniture in the room. He fundamentally disliked Daxia and at this moment he felt mounting aggression towards him.
​"Colonel" The woman's voice rose cutting the colonels thoughts off abruptly. He looked back to her and regained a moment of calm.
​"An adjustment would make me more effective for the task" he responded flatly, and he truly did want an adjustment. The burden of the confusion would drown him he thought desperately. The idea of carrying these thoughts alone would be truly detrimental. He did not dislike Daxia, he was only in need of an adjustment he reassures himself. The other confusion steadily swelled still, but in the knowledge of coming relief, it was not as maddening.
​"We will postpone the task" The word cut him like a knife. His eye twitches slightly looking at her and continuing to fake his usual unmoving persona. "For 2 hours," there was a momentary pause before her next words. The ice returns to his stomach. "while you are readjusted." She leans back at this. He now notices the other men, staring intently at him. There tired skin seemed taunt in expression now as if examining a beast. He wanted to shrink, he felt as an other, an outsider, and this was worse than the confusion.
​He heard the familiar hum of the steel doors swinging open behind him. A group of hushed steps gently approached from his rear. He knew what was next. The Colonel stands up, accepting of what was now to happen. To come voluntarily was the only option. No one can refuse. No one can deny the will of the council. He had no ambition to scream, fight, or even to gently refuse. He would be cured of his confusion. Of that incessant itching in his skull.
​The hands placed on his shoulders belonged to two men on each side of him. Their white jumpsuits identifying them as members of the Peoples Healing Agency. Their faces are as cold as the room, glowing with lifelessness. He turns towards the door in compliance and begins to walk. The Colonels head dipped down towards his drab boots. Their black shine was faded by the gravels dust. "Some things cannot help but get dirty" he thinks.
​Just before he passes through the door the voice of honey throws one last jolt through him. "In the future, do not make me come to you when you are in need of a readjustment. Understand?" The footsteps of the caravan leaving the room all halt at the sound of her voice. The Colonel closes his eyes. I am an outsider he confirms solemnly.
​"Understood"
​