PSYCHO-PASS : Paradigm Shift

Chapter 7 : Integral Part

PART 7 - Integral Part

"It's dark. Darker than usual. This eerie feeling keeps filling me with each step I make... because something feels off. I can tell by the atmosphere. It's unusually silent... and the corridor seems much longer now."

Her heartbeat quickened. She tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths as her body was moving on her own.

"Please... continue. You can do it, dear," that soothing tone gave her encouragement. Step by step, she is moving towards the big, wooden door with metal doorknob.

"I can't."

"You can. You've done it already. Let's go once more. Come on. You can do this," the voice kept guiding her. She shuddered and reached for the doorknob.

"I can't," she uttered.

"You can. This is nothing new; it won't be as shocking as it has been the first time. You can do this, darling."

She took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking. Still, she turned the handle, and moved the door a bit. The door squeaked. He always wanted a retro-styled house, filled with antiquaries. Good old, antique vibe, he'd say. Normal... before digital. No simulators, no digital imprints. He disliked modern technology. The advancements of the system that took over... were never to his liking.

"It's unreliable," she whispered to herself.

"We will work it out. For now... just face it. You are strong enough to do so."

"I can't! I am but a child!" Shizuka wanted to scream, but stopped herself from doing so, remembering this was all something she's done multiple times in the past.

"You are perfectly safe," gentle tone helped her go through the painful experience, making her focus on dark corners of her mind.

She gasped. The room was dark. His papers were spread all over the wooden desk, in messy patterns and lines, crossed over in different colors and with a lot of added remarks in colored pens. He was underlining a lot of paragraphs, circled out a lot of words, and also added pictures, all done via analog photo-camera he used to love taking pictures with.

There were several frames with photos of the family on his desk.

His cigarettes, half-smoked in his various ashtrays, piled up in various places, were a messy sight. His coat, hung loosely and carelessly over his chair, attested to his careless state. Ironically enough, all of his chaotic habits... contradicted his sharp focus. He always had a good focus. He also had a unique mind. His many friends and colleagues attested to its un-denied brilliance.

"It's okay," the voice whispered.

She approached the desk. A shadow was moving over the mess, somewhere far up. Shizuka avoided looking at the moving shape. Instinctively... she avoided looking at the ceiling.

"I can't," she said.

"Dear... you can," the voice soothed her once more.

"Shizuka," the new voice came from the corner of the room. It resided in an old armchair, warm and cozy, placed in front of the rustic fireplace. She sounded as gentle as ever.

"No," Shizuka whispered. The figure rose from the chair. Her hair was shiny, long, thick and black. It was the first thing anyone ever noticed about her. It was her trade-mark in a way.

"Shizuka, my little bird... it's okay," the woman said, in that same weak voice that she wasn't used to hear out from her.

"Why are you in here?" Shizuka asked her. "It's not safe."