The Triad

THE READING

In the left side of Central Plaza, a big crowd of people waits in silence for The Reading, conducted by the Great Sentinel, the leader of planet’s custodians. His power is huge, he has even the right to decide who should be assimilated and who shouldn’t but only when the designated sentinel fail to determine this by his own reasons. I must admit that I’m afraid to death. The whole event has a magical and terrifying atmosphere, given especially by the impressive tribune allocated for future Triads in the right side of the Plaza. Painted in strident blue, tribune is split in twenty cells, one each for every Triad. So we are sixty teenagers, this year generation, ready to take our new places and to receive our new names. My hands and legs are shaking; my mind is blurred and cannot think clear. I have the strange impression all my training is in vain, all my childhood was sacrificed for nothing. If I win or if I lose, is the same nonsense.

“Are you ready for The Reading?” The Great Sentinel voice sounds lugubrious to me.

“Yes, we are!” Tens of girls and boys voices reach the pink sky of Triada. The small, red sun is already up, enlightening us with his pale radiance. I want to run right now, but it’s no place on the planet where I can hide. They will find me and, finally, I must follow The Confluence, wherever I want it or not. Nobody after eighteen can live otherwise but in Triad.

“You are all eighteen years old, the pride of Triada and our future. Seven days from today you will remain only one third of these bodies. The best personalities will became Primus, the good ones Secundus and the rest Tertius. You must fight in a strong competition, which tests first of all the inner you but also the physical resistance and the desire to win. After this contest, all individuals will be better, stronger and more powerful.” My whole body trembles and if I open my mouth I would probably start to screaming, so I clench my teeth until the pain crosses my maxillary.

“The rules are known by everyone, they are the same every fall for one hundred years. After The Reading, you will spend seven days in a team led by one Sentinel, trying to convince him or her you’re the best and deserve to be Primus. After this period, the contest is over and we’ll make our decision, so the Assimilation Process could begin. In two or three days The Transitorium will be done and you will be no more cocoons but complete personalities, real Triads. Go and win your place in your Triad!”

When the speech is over, big hurrahs burst everywhere. They are happy to challenge each other, to fight, to lose their bodies and their place on the planet and to converge with somebody unknown until today. The Reading is ready to begin. First goes a girl from a large group who encourage her shouting the name Lara. I don’t have any friends, so nobody will encourage me. Lara’s black hair is blowing by the cold wind. Hundreds of ice needles slip under my collar and melt on the back of my neck. Lara opens The Books and starts reading loud, so I can hear her from here, on the edge of the Plaza, where I was hiding.

“My name is Lara and my Triad members are Jen and Bob. Our Sentinel is Gregor and our name will be Alpha.” She is very proud about this new condition. I don’t understand why I couldn’t feel the same. What I forgot to tell you is that, during The Stagium Period, we lose our names and identities and we are called by numbers, following our triad name. For instance, Lara will be called from now on Apha 1, Jen - Alpha 2 and Bob – Alpha 3. The Sentinel is already a Triad, so he doesn’t have to change his name. All three Alphas are staying shoulder by shoulder, like a team which, of course, they are not. Tomorrow each of them is going to be discredited by the others two, to be confronted every moment, day and night. Otherwise, after one week, they will be one person and live their lifelong in this formula.

I don’t realize the Great Sentinel is calling my name until all faces turn in my direction. Besides me, mom exults; some unofficial rumors say the one called first is the favorite for becoming Primus in his Triad – but those are only rumors, never confirmed. I look at dad; his darken eyes are full of proud (pride) and I know he has faith in me more than I do.

“Go, my son. Show them your exquisite personality and beat them all!” So, that’s what means to have “an exquisite personality” – to conquer, to fight, and to “beat them”. Well, I don’t agree.

I am in front of the Books. Prior of this, I have never seen them closely. They are enormous and seem heavy, fully covered by grey dust. The big letters are black, only three names are written in a sparkling red. I suppose this happens because is our turn. My voice sounds so lame, that I’m ashamed of. “My name is Mark and my Triad members are Ianna and Alvin. Our Sentinel is Evan and our name will be Omicron.” Under my eyes, the red letters are mixing together and rearranging on the three corners of a blue tringle having in the middle the name of our Triad. Only now I see fourteen other triangles already arranged, beginning with Alpha, the first one formed today. We are the new cocoon generation they are celebrating. My new “colleagues” are already besides me. Alvin is a fat guy (how could you be fat on this planet?) and I cannot see anything from Ianna except her chestnut eyes, slightly apart from each other, making her look strange.

Evan joins us and repeats our new names:

 “Mark – Omicron 1, Ianna – Omicron 2, Alvin – Omicron 3, effective from now. I don’t want to hear your old names not even once. Your identities are erased, this is a new beginning”.

Evan seems to be tough but that’s OK because I’m used to be treated like this. He’s young and in a very good shape; I predict hard days for Alvin. Although my father told me this is not (only) a physical competition and a smart mind could easily win, I cannot imagine that Evan wouldn’t try to beat us in every possible way. Looking at him, I ask myself how a human being could ever assume such a huge responsibility, to decide somebody’s entire life course. Apparently, Evan doesn’t see things the same way. He’s probably just doing his job like anybody else, otherwise the pressure would be too big and he couldn’t judge impartially.

The Reading is almost done. As I can see, there are only twelve persons left. The right side of the Plaza is now full of new Triads, yelling, waving, and having fun. It seems I’m the only sad person. I’m looking for my mom, seeing her staying in a corner with a depressed, fake smile on her face. I couldn’t swear but I have the impression that her Tertius is on the surface right now – the same eyes, the same attitude, and the same shyness. I’m staring at her, trying to convince myself, but the crowd covers her and I am lost here, left behind, alone among unfriendly strangers.