Cercen, Dirim, Selene and I are walking to School 9463, where all fifth to eleventh years in sector 9 of Sai City go to learn. I am feeling twitchy because we aren't following the Council-mandated rout as usual, but we have been appointed as the week's Patrol for rebellious students following the wrong path. I would never dream of doing something like that myself. Looking around at my fellow students, I saw that the Council has put the same emotion in their minds as well. The Council monitors us with their WatchCams, and sends us appropriate emotions when needed. We have been taught in school that it is only because of the Council that we had emotions at all. We are truly lucky that They care so much about our comfort.
Our group turns a corner and the pale gray, box-shaped building of the School comes into sight. Even though it is early morning, students in blue uniforms and teachers in red are already streaming through the seven doors on one side of the large building. No one is ever late for the School, but some people come earlier than others, based on what household tasks they have in the morning. I always come early because I only have to sweep the front pathway, but my brother Leth has to wash the kitchen floor and comes a half hour later.
As we are about halfway to the School, a strange buzzing fills my ears. I feel nothing, since the Council sends me no curiosity. The buzzing grows progressively louder, and no one reacts.
Suddenly, a spacepod drops out of the sky a few paces in front of me. It hits the ground with a rusty clang, and a door hisses open. A tall woman with light brown skin and long dark hair steps out,
"Oh, god," she mutters. "It's so much worse than I thought." I observe her for a few seconds without feeling anything, then suddenly the Council floods me with enough haywire emotions to last a year. My system crashes, and everything goes black.
