Artemis Files (0.5)

Chapter 4

Mid 2269 - The Institute

S9-43 picked up the long dark jacket from the Scientists and Synths handing them out. The training to become a Courser had taken six months. She'd watched as several synths failed and were taken to get their memories wiped and were returned to their domestic duties. One had been a male synth who had been particularly handsome. He looked like he would make a good Courser, but looking the part and being the part were two different things. He'd been taken early on in her training. She struggled trying to remember the synth's designation, it started with an M she knew that for sure. There were so many synths in the Institute, they easily outnumbered the scientists, it was impossible to know them all.

Regardless now that her training was over there was really only one thing to do. She went to the nearest changing area and exchanged the clothing normal for a synth and put on the Courser uniform and jacket in it's place and stared at her reflection in the mirror. In one of the pockets she found a hair tie and placed her red hair into a ponytail knowing she'd need to with its length. That's what X6-88 had told her anyway as he personally saw to her training. As she did so, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind...and yet she couldn't even grasp one of them.

S9 had always been curious about the surface. She knew Coursers went after those that escaped the Institute. She'd seen them being carried to robotics sometimes and wondered why anyone would even try to escape. The Coursers were very good at their jobs and its not like there was anything for them up there. It was still a mess from the bombs from what she was told and people struggled to survive. The world and humanity in general was a lost cause. Still she wondered what it was like up there though that was a curiosity she hadn't even told J6. She wasn't sure why but it was something she felt she should keep to herself.

S9 left the bathroom and was taken to the nearby weapons room with X6 where she would be assigned a weapon, probably a laser rifle since that's what the Coursers and scientists sent to the surface usually used. When they got inside however, there was a weapon that was different. The curve, the mechanics, the wheels on each end and the multiple strings that went from end to end, the clean white accented by black, and the different types of arrows that had been set beside it. She'd been trained in multiple kinds of weapons including this one... and struggled with it, though she did get better with time. Yet still she felt some kind of odd attachment to the bow as if the thing called to her.

"I'd like the bow," S9 said suddenly though X6 denied her immediately. Clearly it wasn't a popular weapon, only a few had been loaned out and that was for practice. She'd never seen a Courser seriously use one outside that.

"You did get better with a bow, but you're better off using a laser weapon," he tells her. "You didn't struggle with one as much."

"I'll get even better," she says. She's not sure why she feels so adamant about this but she does. She wants that bow. "I might even become the best." The immediate slap that follows is enough that it takes her eyes and mind to get resituated. Before she can speak, she can vaguely hear a scientist reprimanding X6 for the unnecessary beating before coming over to S9.

"You really should listen to a senior Courser," the male scientist tells her with a firm voice and then backs up to look at both of them. "But you have gotten better. I say we humor her and see how she does on her first official mission with it tomorrow morning. If she fails she fails and she'll either be dead or we'll take her and wipe her memories to send her off to do some domestic duties."

This made her gulp silently. The threat of getting ones memory wiped hung over the head over every synth if they didn't obey orders and follow the rules. Regardless X6 says nothing though S9 gets the feeling he's annoyed. S9 is handed the bow and is asked to practice with it for the rest of the day. Something about having it slung over her shoulder feels natural. As she practices with it she thinks about J6. S9 is wondering how her friend is doing. She hasn't seen her since X6 came to collect her to report to Dr. Zimmer to start her Courser training.