As one day bleeds into the next, I decide that Strand has decided that boredom is their torture of choice this time. I get three meals a day from the food dispenser, but other than that I'm confined to my bedroom. It's still far better than being locked in a cell with Lexi, but something about the improved conditions makes me suspicious. Strand does everything for a reason.
I distract myself with long showers and by trying to force another vision to come through. But two days in and I haven't been able to open that door in my mind.
It's the morning of the third day, after I've showered and changed into a fresh uniform, that a buzzing noise interrupts the silence. I almost jump out of my skin as something flies through the air in my direction. I duck, covering my head. When nothing crashes into me, I look up. A camera hovers nearby but out of reach.
What the fuck is this? I try to snatch it out of the air a couple times without success. Could it be sent from my friends with some kind of message?
The camera follows me as I make myself breakfast and braid my hair. Again, I push against the door in my mind, hoping for a vision that will give me a clue as to what is happening, but it remains firmly closed.
I'm not surprised when the door opens, and two Deans put me in handcuffs and lead me out of the pod.
"Where are we going?"
One of the Deans glances at the camera that is still following us, and answers in a businesslike tone. "Strand is following the process and procedures protecting Genetic Replicants. You are entitled to a hearing to deliver justice for your alleged crimes."
I know that his answer is for the camera that's following us, not for me. Strand is putting on a show, and they're making sure that I don't know my lines. Too bad improvisation is one of my strong suits.
"Thank you for your answer, sir," I reply, slipping into my Sweet 'Lil Joanie persona like a second skin. If the world is watching, I'll give them my best performance.
I remember the mental exercises that Jo taught me before I came to Strand the first time, and try to find a center of calm.
The Deans lead me into a room that I recognize from one of my visions. Strand's boardroom has an enormous table with people at every seat. They eye me curiously as I'm escorted to a chair at the front of the room that is lit with bright lights.
Every expression on my face will be clearly visible both on and off screen. Behind the table with Strand's board members, a monitor displays the footage from the camera that is recording my every move. Though the sound is muted, I can see from the scroll across the bottom of the screen that my hearing is being live streamed on Strand's website.
Dr. Rodriguez steps forward, and I gasp. Are they going to kill me now, on camera, while everyone watches? I wait for a needle or a laser pen set to kill, but instead he sets wireless sensors on my skin that I remember well. They want to be able to monitor my body's reactions so they'll know if I'm lying.
A clear voice cuts through the silence as a woman sitting at the far end of the table speaks. "As is your right as one of Strand's creations, you, Joan Fasces, are entitled to a hearing for the crime for which you are accused—the murder of Dr. Josef Avery. How do you plead?"
All my law knowledge comes from vids I watched in high school, but even I know the answer to this one. "Not guilty."
"To begin with, since you have been arrested, has anyone threatened or harmed you during your time at Strand?"
"Not during this stay," I reply carefully.
"Truth," says a man watching a screen that must be monitoring my body's reactions to these questions.
YOU ARE READING
Joan Ascends
Science FictionSeason 3 of The Throwbacks The outlook for Throwbacks in Seattle - and across America - has never been bleaker. If Joan and her friends want to have any chance at building a more just future, they will have to expose the inhumanity of their enemies...
