ELICERENT

II. The Facility, Langulum

They sat in a circle around my naked form. A light shone down on me, making it hard to see any of the faces I knew were staring at me. I squinted in the direction of the voice. It was familiar.

"There are still a few things that I would like to monitor before she is deployed, Minister. Her frame is much slighter than I would like at present. She would never survive within the confines of the city on her own."

"Robinson, she looks lean and strong. Increase her rations for the next few days and she will bulk up."

"I do not believe that she is ready yet Minister," he sighed, "But rest assured, once we run the secondary tests, I will forward her results and medical release straight away."

There was a moments silence and some movement form the silhouettes surrounding me.

"Robinson, you have run all the preliminary tests. I have read the file and watched the footage. We need someone out in the field gathering the intelligence that we need so that we can rectify this situation. Now."

"Yes Minister, but what about the oth..."

"She is ready," snapped the Minister. "She is to go int three days and your job is to follow my orders and have her ready."

The Minister's figure rose and paced slowly toward me. The light cast a shadow over his square face, his eyes black holes, making his gaze eerily uncomfortable. It seemed unfair that he could see all of me clearly, when I could not even look into the colour of his eyes. His breath was slightly strained, like he had just run a flight of stairs and smelt metallic. Every moment I had to draw him in made him seem less human.

"You may go," he breathed onto my face, waving a hand dismissively.

I walked through the circle of glaring eyes and through the door. Enna waited there and placed a long covering over my shoulders, hiding my bare body.

"I will escort you to your quarters," she smiled.

She led me through corridors of white, until stopping at a door numbered 856. She placed a hand on the panel beside the door. It glowed green and slid aside.

"I will return for your final test. Until then, stay here," as she gestured for me to enter the room. Once I has cleared the doorway, it swished closed. It was a small, square room, with frosted glass separating the washroom and sleeping quarters. I walked to the bed and lay down, reaching to pull a blanket over me. The lights automatically dimmed, and then, after a moment, switched off. I lay for a while, staring at a ceiling that I could not see, until I fell into a restless sleep.

I tossed in a fit of sweat. Hazy images of figures with no faces stared over me. They were hurting me. Jab after jab of sharp pain reverberated through me nerves until me eyes opened. I lay, panting heavily. The lights were still off, save for those that reflected dimly onto the ceiling. They must have turned on after I had fallen asleep. I re-wrapped myself with the shawl that Enna had given and rose. There was nothing in the room of interest, except for the door. We stared at each other; the invitation made. I contemplated what would happen if I left the room.

Eventually I was overcome with curiosity and exited. I wandered the halls, careful to count and memorise my movement so that I could find my way back.

There was no one around and most of the doors were easily accessed. The top levels consisted of many rooms like my own and the large circular one where I met the Minister for the first time. The other levels were full of laboratories and infirmaries, except for the base level.

From what I could make, it was much larger than the Facility itself. The lights glowed blue and the walls were lined with rows and rows of pods. Each of them glowed a slightly different colour. They were beautiful. The whirring of machinery highlighted the many wires and tubes that also lined the floor and walls, connecting them all together. The floor was painful to tread on, grated and wet. Despite this, I wanted to get closer so that I could see what the pods were. I approached the first row. Each pod was labelled with a number that was proceeded by the letters "Y" or "X". This row seemed only to be full of brightly lit fluid. I crouched down, trying to find something larger in the pod. Nothing. But as I glimpsed past the gap between the first row, I could make something out over in the next. Whatever was inside shimmer and moved erratically. They were tiny figures, with small limbs and oversized heads. A small human. It was then that I realised that this level was dedicated to the future citizens who would be awoken on the first day of their thirtieth year. I was in one of these, just days ago and I never even knew.

Movement and a faint mumbling reminded my that I had to get back to my room. Getting caught would mean questions. And I had no answers, other than that I was curious. Now, more so than ever before.