Pages and Pictures

4 • Isiah

4.

Isiah looked down at the sketch of the white roses that Oscar grew. He was a good artist, but in his eyes his art wasn't all too good. He preferred his writing. Words flowed smoothly from his fingers to the page, and the clicks of his typewriter were like music to his ears.

The typewriter. Like his record player, it had come from the auctioning off of an older Resistance member's items after his death. Isiah loved antiques and 'vintage' items. He especially loved clocks, old and new, ones that you could see the gears at work inside. He built clocks as a hobby before, but he's moved on from them to much more complicated machinery.

Isiah had a reputation as a "tinkerer" or a "mad scientist" but he just loved machines. The thought that a few pieces of metal and a few gears could create something almost human was fascinating to him. Sadly, he lacked the resources to build anything larger than half scale of a human. His favorite automaton was a little humanoid no larger than a foot tall. Isiah had made him early on, naming him nothing simpler than Minion, but Minion had been a loyal companion over the years. Right now, though, Isiah was calling on Minion's services as he slumped into a chair in the library.

"Minion! Fetch me a book, I need a distraction and I'm out of mysteries to read." The metal being clanked away, hoisting itself up on one of the many ladders running along the shelves of the Resistance library. It grabbed an old leatherbound book and hurried back to Isiah. Isiah plucked the weighty book out of Minion's metallic hands and dropped it into his lap.

"Oof! Thanks Minion. What'd you pick? 'The History of the Homeland.' Oh, how wonderful Minion. I really wanted to remind myself of the oppressive brutality of this nation. Oh well, I need to brush up on my history I guess." Isiah mumbles, flipping open the book.

"The Homeland. Our 'wondrously prosperous' country, a 'perfect utopia.' Yeah right. The Homeland was formed from the ruins of a failed nation, rebuilding and strengthening the old world nation of the United States of America. The Homeland itself is divided into East and West by The Line, an impassible wall. Those on the East are trained for jobs in military and those in the West are trained for the other jobs. The 'glorious' Homeland is protected by Senator Crimson, the Presidential Emperor." Isiah gives the book back to Minion.

"That one bores me. Bring me another." Isiah commands, and Minion scurries off.

Hours later, after Isiah has finished 'perusing' the library, (a.k.a. reading the entire mystery section...again.) Robert knocks on his office door. Isiah opens it cautiously, only to be tackled to the floor by a large Siberian husky. Isiah frowns at Robert, but ends up laughing.

"Hey Sparky. Get off boy." He says, scratching the dog behind the ear, causing it to roll over happily. Isiah leaps to his feet.

"Well, hello lunkhead. What news do you have now?" He asks. Robert shrugs.

"I just dropped in to say hi...and maybe borrow a comic book or two?" Robert manages an innocent smile. Isiah huffs.

"What did you bet?" Isiah asks, opening up the back door in his office that led into his comic collection. Isiah had the largest collection in all of the Resistance, as far as he knew.

"I need to prove to Andromeda that Scarlet Witch and Vision did have kids." Robert informs Isiah, who laughs almost mockingly.

"She owes you man. That's an easy prove." He says, walking over to a shelf labelled "A" and pulling out a comic collection.

"Just show her any of these." Isiah instructs after warming Robert what would happen if he didn't return it on time.

"I get it Isiah, I'll return it this time..." Robert scowls, remembering the last time he forgot to return a comic. Isiah had taped him to the big stalagmite in Wonderland's town square for six hours. Robert certainly returned them all after that.

Suddenly, a bell sounded from somewhere. Isiah and Robert reckognized it, leaving for the square as soon as Isiah had grabbed the copies of Grimm's Fairy Tales and The Complete Edgar Allen Poe. Oscar's Call, the bell, should never be ignored. They knew that the hard way. So when they reached the square, everyone was already there.

"I have grim news, my friends." Oscar's voice booms, louder than all others, and silencing everyone. "I discovered a spy in Wonderland not yesterday. A Defender spy." Oscar announces, and the silence is suddenly sliced into whispers and murmurs by the crowd.

"Silence! I know not how he entered, so I am forced to one conclusion." Oscar bellows. He looks out at the audience, fixing his eye on Isiah. This is your fault, hippy, Oscar's eyes read.

"There's a mole in our ranks."