The Branding

We were sitting on a bench outside the Officiator's Building on a humid July day. Not only was the air saturated with evaporated water but with anticipation. Nearan, Jastin and I had been sitting in the stagnant air for the better part of an hour.

"She has to come out soon," Jastin said, interrupting the silence that had hung over the three of us for quite some time. "I mean, ISSIE shouldn't take much longer."

"On the contrary, ISSIE could take an infinite amount of time to arrive at her conclusion", Nearan interjected.

Knowing that Nearan, left to his own devices would spend hours spewing sciencey gibberish that even I wouldn't understand, I placed a hand on his knee and said, "Yeah, but we all know what Erin'll be branded as,"

He let out a breath that was going to be used for a huge monologue and put on a sad smile. "I suppose you're right."

"I suppose I am."

We giggled to ourselves for a while until the solemnness of the moment settled upon us once again.

"Honestly, what do you think is taking so long?" Jastin asked us again with slight exasperation in his voice.

"Just let ISSIE work her magic," I told him.

The square was full of light from the bright, summer sun and a sticky sweat coated the back of my neck. The people in the square were going about their lives, buying fruit from the brightly colored stands and booths around the grounds. They were trading livestock, laughing and walking with their friends. Their feet were kicking up dirt and dust from the ground as they made their way around the square. They were all clad in loose cotton. The women were in simple and colorful skirts and dresses and the men were in brown slacks and button downs. Nothing they wore was fancy or intricate, but the scene was still very beautiful, if one found beauty in such things.

Which I did not.

The one thing that I did find beautiful in the square was the gigantic thirty foot wide sundial in the center of the business, on the ground directly in front of the Officiator's building. It was made of gold and yellow rock with deep blue roman numerals around the circumference. Little inlaid stones made the whole thing sparkle with when the sun was shining directly above it. The wedge that cast the sundial's shadow pointed toward the Officiator's building, a simple, tall building, made of white stone with six huge columns spanning the front. Its grand simplicity reflected the principles of our society. Take what you need, nothing more, and appreciate what luxuries you have.

And at that moment, a young girl came walking out of the heavy set oak doors. She was slight and fair, with waist length blonde hair that swayed sporadically as she skipped down the stone steps, and wore a gleeful, ridiculous smile.

Nearan stood up when he saw her come towards us. His wild dark hair was sticking up in all directions; a result from sleeping at the lab for weeks. He looked sad, and understandably so. But when Erin came close enough to see his face, he put on a wide smile and opened his arms wide.

Erin ran across the sundial to where the three of us were waiting. When she got there, she rushed into Nearan's open arms and gave him a crushing hug.

"Hey, kiddo, what's the news?" he asked her.

Erin broke away from Nearan and stepped back so that she could look at all of us. Her face broke into the largest smile that I had ever seen.

"Combatant."

The four of us all broke into fanatic cheering. Jastin and I got up and enveloped her in a hug. We were all screaming in her ear, and dancing around the square like maniacs. We all broke away and dissolved into laughter at our own behavior. We sat back down on the bench after a while so we could catch our breath. And then proceeded to dissolve into laughter yet again. When everything called down, Jastin said, "Combatant, huh?"