Legacy's Ghost

Episode 6: Job Description

Mr. Francois claps to get the TAGs attention. "Since we're down here doing nothing but waiting, let's help Mr...Atan play catch up."

The group quiets and several shuffle closer to face their teacher. 

He waits for them to settle down, then asks, "Who can tell us the role of the Trinity?"

Trina's hand shoots up like a bolt of lightning. "They make the rules for the colony and are liaisons to the Swarm."

Mr. Francois inclines his head in approval. "Who makes up the Trinity?"

This time the grumpy boy with the beady eyes and freckles on his cheeks speaks up. "The PPNs or the People of Pace and Nature, the LAs or the Legacy Army, and the Ghosts."

"Very good, Nash," Mr. Francois says. "What are PPNs?" The teachers eyes scan the group for hands. Finally Trina's raises again.

"They are a group of the colonists who oversee the production of food, beautifying the landscape and the environment, and ensuring the same mistakes made on Earth are not made at Legacy Colony."

Mr. Francois inclines his head again. "Excellent." he looks around as if looking for another victim. "What are the LAs?"

Rigel's hand shoots up, and he lifts his chin, puffing out his chest. "They're the warriors who protect the colonists from the Swarm, and keep the peace by enforcing the Trinity's and colony's rules."

"Good," Francois says. "And what is a Ghost?" His eyes zero in on me, and I lean away from him, wishing I could disappear into the cavern walls. Why does he think I'd know? I've been a Ghoul all of twelve seconds.

Tercia, a sixteen-year-old girl who is as dark as I am light, with her hair twisted down her back in multiple braids, lifts her hand. "Our job is two-fold. First we're supposed to be the mediators; the person who helps the PPNs and the LAs, who live on drastically different ends of the theological pendulum, see the wants and desires of the other. Then, if they still cannot decide, we are the tie-breaker."

Francois nods. "And second?"

"To do the investigative work necessary to find the truth."

Francois smiles at Tercia and nods. "Very good." He levels his gaze back on me. " A Ghost must be impartial at all times. Emotion must never be a part of the decision-making process, despite any history they may have with any parties involved. They must be willing to give up everything, including their very identity for the sake of truth, right, and the good of the colony." 

I nod, mainly because I figure that's what Francois wants me to do, and I want him and everyone else to leave me alone. I've had more attention in the last fifteen minutes than I have my entire life. I've reached my limit.

Then the reality of my situation hits me and I drop my head into my hands. My stomach sinks, and I breathe in deep gulps of the musty air to keep from retching the food I'd worked so hard to get. 

From this point forward I won't exist in the shadows. I'll be like the rest of the TAGs. Always watched. Always Judged. Always tested. And Edmond threw me into the hardest group. 

This is the coolest thing, yet the most horrifying thing that can possibly happen to me. Any hope for a normal life outside of the monastery is gone. 

To avoid being compromised, my identity must be protected at all costs. The only people who know I am a ghoul are the people in the monastery and my classmates. 

At some point, if the rumors are right, even that will change. It's not unusual for a ghoul to be given their cloak and devices for blending into the environment before puberty so those they are working with will forget what they look like. 

Apprentices can't have relationships.

Apprentices can't live with family. Apprentices must, at all costs, live in such a way that they won't be compromised by outside forces. 

Edmond has sentenced me to a life of complete and utter solitude. Except, how is that any different from my current circumstance? I'm already an outcast. 

I guess nothing has really changed. At lease socially. But now I'll eat three meals a day and have a bed. Is it worth it to spend all day in class, be hated by my classmates (or at least some of them), and to be expected to excel in courses and standards few people qualify for?

Life as I know it is about to change drastically. 

Am I up for the challenge?