The World Which Is

Chapter 21

The door to the house closes. Dad must have slammed it for me to hear it in my room.

I've had thirty minutes to prepare my defense, and all I have is that Dad's being an asshole and hypocrite in trying to control my life. I don't care if it's because he wants me safe. It's not his decision to make now that I have a class.

Of course, it's not like he's going to care about that. He's going to keep treating me like I'm some classless kid who doesn't know anything.

My best course of action right now is to keep my mouth shut when he storms into my room and screams all the ways I'm hurting him by not blindly going along with what he wants. Meekly nods and after that, figure out what I'm going to do.

So, I sit here waiting. And waiting some more. A treen passes, then another without him bursting in my room, and I can't tell if he's letting me stew, so I'll imagine even worse things than him somehow being able to make me classless. Or if he's actually taking the time to calm down.

After another one, I get off the bed and crack my door open.

Silence.

No my dad shifting about as he... I don't know, works on something to calm himself in his room. No him in the kitchen puttering about. No him anywhere in the house. I guess I didn't hear him close the door on his way out.

It would have been nice of him to at least tell me he was leaving, instead of letting me worry.

Which might have been what he was after.

I get a tall glass of orange juice and ponder what I'm going to do as I drink it. He's at work, which means that so long as I'm here for lunch, because I just know he's going to come check on me, I should be fine. After that, it's about being here before dinner.

It would be nice to have Francis teaching me for the boosts to my learning, but any practice is good practice with the system. I wash the glass and put it away and head for the door.

Which doesn't open.

"I'm sorry," Base says. "Your father made it clear I'm not allowed to let you out under any circumstances."

I rest my head against the door. "What if I burn down the place?" I ask, not entirely sure how serious I am.

Base chuckles. "You can't keep a fire going inside my walls if I don't want it to."

"It's not fair," I grumble.

"I know."

"Why are you going along with him?"

The sigh is long. "As much as I like to think I am, I'm not like you. I'm the system that runs the base, and the Commander can give me orders that I have to obey. One such order he gave me a long time ago; when William needed the comfort the control over me gave him. Is that I have to do what his son told me to. No playing around with interpretations, no looking for loopholes. I have to obey. I've pointed out that he's old enough he doesn't need it anymore, but the Commander hasn't revoked the order."

"You use loopholes with my father," I point out. "That's how Rich got me out without you raising the alarm."

"The fact I can't go looking for them doesn't mean they aren't there. Richard is extremely skilled at finding loopholes and exploiting them."

I nod. "What did my dad order you to do, exactly."

"You aren't to let Dennis out," my father's voice sounds, "under any fucking circumstances. I don't care if God shows up in person and tells you to do it; my son is to remain inside until I say otherwise."

"What if I'm not fucking?" I try.

Bases chuckles. "That's not what it means, and we both know it."

I lean against the door and push the disappointment aside. "Okay. That is all Dad said, right? Nothing you're keeping back to surprise me with?"