Fraction

Fraction Chapter 40 - Nameless

"This is great!" He said as he read the story, "Well, you have made a few spelling mistakes here and there... like here, it should be 'there was once a girl' not 'one a girl' but that doesn't matter because you've just started! This is really great!" Her face lit up. "Really?!" she asked. He smiled and said, "Really. You know what? I'm gonna take this to work tomorrow morning and read it to all my friends. They're gonna love-" he stopped when he saw the pen on the table. He picked it up and held it against the light. A full cartridge. "What's wrong?" she asked, "Did I break it?" He quickly put it down and said, "Oh no, no! I was just wondering how something so awesome can come from something as small as this... Now, I need to go talk to a friend. I'm gonna tell him all about your story. You go on and have your dinner."

He walked swiftly to the phone and pressed a button. "You were right. She has the trait too. She's just like her mother."

"..."

"How do I know? She spent the whole day writing a story. The pen hasn't lost a drop of ink."

"..."

"No. This was her first time using a pen! She does not know how ink cartridges work. Besides, there were no other pens or spare cartridges at home and I know she never left the house because no proximity alarms were set off."

"..."

"Yes. It looks like the exact same ability Ruby had. Yeah. Yeah. I'll take her to Leo and Rosa."

Of all the subjects produced through the process, some were special. In order to differentiate them from the rest of the subjects, they were not given proper names. From the time of their birth, they were given codenames. They were named, in alphabetic order, after different crystals. It was not a straight line. Sometimes, the special traits stopped at certain points and reappeared in other bloodlines. Many times, more than one bloodline would simultaneously exhibit the special traits. While everyone was indeed special, these special few exhibited properties that were beyond reason. The scientists did not understand how these traits worked, what powers they manifested or why they always only appeared in the female subjects. However, in science, all you need is time. Time to study and analyse. And so, in order to make it easier for future generations to identify and track these traits, they decided to go with this naming scheme. They named the first "Crystal Subject", Amethyst.

Beryl.

Celestite.

Diamond.

Emerald.

Fuschite.

Galena.

Heliodor.

Iolite.

Jade.

Kyanite.

Lazuli.

Moonstone.

Nebula.

Opal.

Pearlspar.

Quartz.

Ruby.

Sapphire.

Ruby was meant to be the last one. However, an unfortunate spark of love between her and a scientist gave birth to Sapphire. He was a young intern, newly recruited. He was supposed to follow instructions, inject her with the specific dosage of test fluid, observe her and record any reactions and then go back home. She was the subject. He was the scientist. No room for emotion, right? According to policy, he was kept in the dark about her actual identity and the true nature of her body. She was not told anything about the 50 scientists that visited her every day either. The rules were perfect... or they would have been, in an ideal world where the subject did not have feelings of her own. As such, she used this to her advantage. By the time the security team broke through the steel door, he was lying exhaustedly on her, having done his deed. She grinned and lifted up her third finger as the guards pulled the naked man off of her while handcuffing him. "Just keep your mouth shut and let me handle the legal stuff!" she shouted to him as they dragged him away from the room.

The guards went away, leaving her alone in the room. A few minutes later, the door opened and a familiar face walked into the room. She braced herself for the impending lecture.

"Ruby, you impulsive little! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"Oh shut the fuck up, Daryl. Aren't you tired of being their lab rat? I'm done with this crap."

"Death isn't the only way to escape from here for you, damn it!"

"Whoever said anything about escaping? They think they can control every single thing in my life? Well, they don't get to control my pain and pleasure now. Death isn't the answer. Life is. The life that's going to grow from me now. That life is my act of rebellion! Unlike the rest of you, I go out on my own terms!"

"You fool... you don't even know how important you are! I would say 'Don't do this.' but since you've already gone ahead and done it... the least I can do is help you get away with it."

"What are you talking about? They'll terminate me the moment I testify that I manipulated the intern guy into doing what he did. If you help me, they'll terminate you too."

"Intern guy? You don't even know the name of the guy who will be your kid's dad?"

"Eh, who cares? He was cute and it was the best 20 minutes of my life."

"Okay then... Anyway, it'll be hard to prove any charges against me if Intern Guy suddenly disappears and we find a news article stating that the court is going to sentence you to death for having an extramarital affair."

"But I'm not even married."

"When exactly did your session start today?"

"7 a.m."

"At 6 am, you were married to one Rosa Thorne. Go meet her at the pick-up point which I will text you later. She will escort you to a facility which will monitor the birth."

"Are you sure about this? If they find out, they WILL terminate you."

"I don't care. I did promise Opal that I would be your reed basket and river if the time ever came when you had to leave this place. I just never expected that I'd be carrying you out of the frying pan into the fire."

"And who is this Rosa?"

"Who is Rosa? Are you kidding me? She's one of us. Don't you have any friends here apart from me and Leo?"

"Who is Leo?"

"Huh? I figured he'd be your friend since you're hot and all..."

"Oh, you mean the grinning guy? He kind of went away after I ignored him for a few hours. Also, you should go turn on the surveillance in this room again before they start getting suspicious."

"Yeah, yeah. I have to go now anyway... I hope you're ready for what's coming to you now..."

"You're never really ready... but I don't regret anything... and I have one request. When it starts... please make sure Intern Guy isn't there. He doesn't know what's coming. I don't think he can take it. I've already caused him enough harm."

"He'll want to be there anyway. I think you know at least that much about him."

"I never wanted to know anything about him in the first place. It makes forgetting him all the more easy. And don't tell me his name. I don't want to know it. One less thing to forget..."