The Genesis Machine

Chapter 3

I stared at the men and women visible through the now transparent walls, hungrily studying each of them while they stared right back. Everyone was obviously both shaken and pleased to realize that they weren't completely alone in this strange place. The man on my left was of middling height, with olive skin and dark hair cropped close like mine. He was staring around as avidly as I was, taking in the features of those closest to him. 

The man on my right was huge: Easily six and a half feet tall, muscled like an ox and with short cropped brown hair. His hands were large enough to crush my skull in one palm and his shoulders strained against the tunic he was wearing. His eyes had a strangely blank look, as if there wasn't much going on behind them.

As I attempted to get a closer look at the people near me, the silvery sphere hovered to the table again and it's surface rippled again, this time disgorging a knapsack made out of the same material as the clothing. The pack landed on the table with a noticeably loud thump, as if it were full of heavy items. I hesitated before reaching for it, unsure if the orb would stop me. When it made no move to do so, I grabbed the pack and opened it. 

The first items in the bag were a pair of sturdy boots with a good tread on them and a pair of socks, again of the same material as every other piece of clothing I'd been given. I dug further into the pack, taking inventory of everything. When I had finished examining the bag's contents my gear consisted of the socks and boots, a medium sized all-purpose knife, a small ferrous rod with a ridged steel striker, six jars containing more gray food paste, a large canteen full of water, a packet of tablets with instructions on how to use them to purify water. In the front pocket I also discovered a heavy jacket with a hood, clearly both wind and water proof. 

I quickly repacked everything except the socks and boots, which I pulled on and quickly laced up. As I closed the pack and stood up I saw that the three people on my left were doing the same, though the huge man to my right hadn't even opened his pack, he just held it loosely in one massive fist, staring straight ahead.

"Follow me." The order was delivered in the drone's usual harsh metallic monotone, and without another word it turned and floated out of the room. This time, however, the wall did not reappear. The doorway that formed remained open as the orb stopped in the hallway outside my room. 

Taking one last glance at the room around me, I followed the sphere out to the hallway and looked around. The other people were leaving their rooms and many of them were also staring curiously around at their new surroundings, each accompanied by an identical metallic orb. Before any of us could do more than size each other up, the drones all spoke at once, their harsh metal voices blending together in an emotionless buzz that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. 

"Form a line. Stick with the drone nearest you. Do not deviate from this course until directed to. Do not ask questions."

For a second everyone looked rather stunned, seeming as unnerved as I was by the way the drones' harsh voices melded together. Then, of course, someone asked a question: It was the man at the back of the line, two people behind me. "Why should we follow you anywhere? We know nothing abou-" His words changed suddenly into a high pitched shriek as the drone accompanying him swooped down on him with terrifying speed. Its body rippled and changed, sliding around like water until three smaller spheres were hovering around the central glowing eye which glowed brighter. A second later, an arc of electricity had flared from the eye and struck the man, who's yell of fright was cut off as his whole body seized up. 

The man's eyes were bulging out of his head and his jaw was clenched, preventing any sound except a rasping grunt to escape his mouth. Then his body slumped and he fell to his knees with a whimper. Blood was leaking from his ears and dripping down his throat, staining the white material of his shirt. "Get up and follow. Do not deviate from this course until directed to. Do not ask questions." This time only the attacking drone spoke, it's voice fizzing with static as its body rippled and reformed from the smaller spheres. The rest of us looked at each other with surprise and quickly followed our drones, not daring to disobey.