Unbecoming Humans

Chapter 5

Aria walked slowly towards the front of the auditorium until she heard the door close behind Nyan, then she spun on the spot and hurried back to sit beside Nima.

"You're Nima, right? We met the other day?"

Nima narrowed her eyes at Aria. "I'm not supposed to talk to you."

Aria waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. It's just scare tactics."

Nima frowned at her but Aria continued before she could ask any questions.

"Hey, um - are you okay? Things seemed...rough the other day." The expression on Aria's face showed how inexperienced she was at caring about other people.

"Oh, thanks. I'm not really -" Before Nima could finish her sentence, a severe-looking, graying woman stepped onto the stage from behind the thick curtain.

"Vybran of Eden, thank you for being here today." The woman's words were heavy in her thick Eastern European accent.

"As if we have a choice," Aria snorted under her breath.

If the woman on stage had heard her, she didn't acknowledge it. "We are here today to celebrate the values of Eden and our progress towards the future."

"So, are you okay," Aria whispered to Nima, who was doing her best to focus on the woman on stage and ignore Aria's continued attempts to steal her attention.

"- of humanity is on our shoulders, and each of us must be a shining example so that together we may be a beacon for humanity." Nima was working hard to process the words, but she could feel Aria staring at her intently. She turned to face her.

"I'm not supposed to be talking to you," Nima whispered. Aria continued to stare at her expectantly. "I don't even know you. I'm fine. Please just go back to the front before that Rotar guy comes back."

"Every hand for our cause lifts us up higher, stronger-" Another piece of the woman's rhetoric cut into Nima's thoughts before Aria interrupted again.

"You don't need to worry about Nyan. I can handle him for you, but if you don't want to talk to me I'll back off. The offer stands, though."

"Fine. I don't want to talk to you about it," Nima whispered back, and she let the tension settle between them while she turned her full attention back to the stage.

"Together we will lift up all of humanity to new heights, new potential, and the next evolution of what we each can be. From ashes, we will regrow humanity into what it deserves to be, what we each deserve to be."

Nima was listening, but she could feel Aria still staring at her. She tried to parse the meaning of the woman's flowery words.

"She's always had a way with using far too many words to say a lot of nothing," Aria said, as if reading Nima's thoughts. Nima didn't respond. Aria rolled her eyes and turned to face the stage again. "Okay, fine."

Nima thought about moving to another seat away from Aria. She didn't want the Rotar to come back and kick her out of the compound, but if she moved the woman on stage might notice and kick her out anyway. She needed this place. She had nowhere left to go. Even if things here were off, at least it wasn't a death trap like the rest of the world. She fiddled with the outer seam of her pants and stared straight ahead.

The woman on stage finished speaking and Nima started to panic when she walked straight to where Aria and Nima were sitting.

"Aria, a word backstage, please?" She gave Nima an appraising look and walked away without another word. Aria rolled her eyes at Nima and followed.

As Aria reached the stage, she turned to see Nyan leading Nima out of the room without a fuss. Aria pushed through the part in the stage curtain where Dr. Sekin had already disappeared. Before her eyes had a chance to adjust to the low light, the woman was towering over her.

"Aria," she spat, "if you are going to lead these people, you need to step up, stop fooling around, and do what you're told. I will not tell you again that you are not permitted to fraternize with the Predoc. Eden has invested more into you than you'll ever know. If you will not be grateful, you will at least learn respect."

"If I'm supposed to be a leader, shouldn't I be making the decisions instead of doing what other people tell me?" Aria flashed a cheeky smile. Dr. Sekin's nostrils flared.

"You have to learn to follow, before you can lead, Aria." Dr. Sekin was spitting now. Aria ignored the flecks that hit her face.

"Well, I'm not going to learn by standing here being lectured by you when I'm supposed to be in class." She turned to walk away, but Dr. Sekin caught her by the arm and spun her around to face her again.

"So help me, child, if you do not fall in line -"

"You'll what? Ground me? Kick me out? End me? Don't forget how much of an investment I am. It would be a shame to waste all of those mysterious resources." Aria jerked her arm out of the doctor's grasp and waved her hands to add flair to her final, mocking words. Before Dr. Sekin had a chance to recover from her fury Aria marched off the stage and out of the room.