A Perfect Utopia?

Chapter 11

“Why would you do something like that?” Aliyah shrieked at the man standing next to her. His face wore an expression of shock on it; it was clear that he had not known what would be the consequences of attempting to play a prank on Domini.

“I-I did not think that there would be such a result. I just wanted to see what she was like,” he responded flatly, trying to back up his actions. Still, he knew that Aliyah would not care why he had done it, only that he had. He also knew that Aliyah would have to clean up the mess that he had made of things. “I had no idea that she would have reacted in such a way; otherwise I would not have gone near her until you told me that it was okay to do so.”

“She has been inside that lab for at least a few weeks! Did you not think that it would affect her somehow?” Aliyah shot back at him. It was true that he would not have done it if he had known, but Aliyah could not take any chances where Domini was concerned. She was far too important to be messed with. “It does not matter,” she finished tersely.”Just go back to your rooms and try not to scare anyone on the way there.”  Her tone of voice conveyed that it was not a request, but an order.

Aliyah waited until he had gone before entering a room that had been right behind her. There were two twin beds in the center, but neither one had been slept in; they were still perfectly made up. Aliyah tapped on the door lightly- in a special pattern. At the end of it two girls slowly came up behind her. “I am sorry, but you cannot see her right now; after that little stunt was pulled. Maybe in a little bit, but please wait for me to say so.” Again, it was not a request; it was an order, one that they had to listen to.

“Do you think that she is and will be okay?” The slightly shorter girl asked, looking up at the older one.

“I do not know, Vesper. I can only hope.” Vesper nodded somberly. She had been quite excited to see Domini, but did not want to scare her more than she already had been.

Immediately after that, both girls lapsed into silence. Vesper snuck peeks at the other girl to see what she was doing. In turn, the other girl did so as well.

Vesper thought about Celastrus; she missed her dearly. But she knew that it had to be done, and Celastrus had chosen it to be her. Otherwise, Vesper herself would probably not be standing where she was. She would be dead, and the only person she could thank for her life was also dead.

Vesper caught her thoughts before they went too far astray. Celastrus was gone, and she would have to make-do with what was left for her.

Lab Assistant 217 hands were shaking. Actually, her whole body was shaking; quivering from fear. It was not what they had done to her; the Elders had not even touched her. She knew now how they had instilled so much fear into every single human being’s mind.

Quite simply put: They had taken all her favorite memories and twisted them.  They had made them into something that she would not ever talk about again.

She knew that the Boss had been sneaking glances at her from time to time on the ride home, but she herself could not bear to look back at him. He was her friend; she was not angry at him. It clear that he had never been to see the Elders before, otherwise he would not have brought her with him. All she could do at the moment was try not to burst into tears- she did not to be analyzed while she was crying. Lab Assistant 217 was strong and she was going to prove it to those Elders.

But why could she not prove it to herself? Until she did that, she would never be able to prove it to anyone else. Nobody knew that better than Lab Assistant 217.

The Boss sat in his office. He had received another message from the Elders, and was glad that they had not requested (ordered) his appearance again. There was only so much that one person could take in a day without collapsing from exhaustion.