Cyanide

Ten

The Secretary looked down at her holo and then back up at the President, her watery blue eyes blinking owlishly.
"There were six million Keepers working in the Lab last Assignment Day. This has gone down to only five thousand able to work, with just under a million deaths."
The President rested her chin on her hands, her eyes closing briefly.
"Since the Reassignment of Experimentals who scored badly in their Tests, the number of Experimentals has decreased to only three million able to work. One million have been Reassigned." The Secretary droned on.
The President closed her eyes and let the memories she'd been trying to suppress come flooding in.

Three Years Earlier
Ranielle Birchall looked at the crumpled, bloodied body of the Keeper in front of her and then at the bloodstained shard of glass she held. Horror at what she'd done threatened to overwhelm her but she took a deep breath and with trembling hands leaned down to the Keeper's body.

Dressed in the Keeper's uniform with the helmet covering her face, Ranielle was unrecognisable as Rat B24. Walking along the pristine corridors of the Lab, Ranielle forced herself to slow down and settle into a more casual pace even though all she wanted was to run out of the place that had held her captive for four years. Lost in thought, she almost collided with another Keeper.
"Watch where you're going!" The Keeper snarled at her, and continued walking.
Bristling with indignation, Ranielle made a promise to herself that she would never be spoken to like that again.

Now
The President allowed herself a small, self-satisfied smile as she thought of that vow she'd made to herself. No one had talked to her like that again. Ranielle Birchall was now the President and no-one had dared.
"Madam President?" The Secretary asked, sounding concerned. "Are you all right?"
The President's eyes opened and she forced herself to smile at the Secretary.
"I'm all right," she said. "But the Keepers aren't."
Taking a deep breath, the President let herself remember what had happened when she'd ran out of the Lab and into the streets of the City for the first time.

Three Years Earlier
Ranielle was burning. There was no other word for the pain that had suddenly taken over her whole body the minute she'd come out of the Lab building. Ducking behind a corner, she sank to her knees, pulling off the dead Keeper's helmet and muffling her screams in her hands. She could feel blisters forming and popping on her face and hands, each one bringing fresh pain. Half-blinded by tears, Ranielle fumbled in her pocket for the syringe she made sure to acquire before escaping the Lab. Pulling the neck of the Keeper uniform down, Ranielle stabbed the needle into her arm and released the silvery fluid inside the syringe. Almost instantly the pain faded until she could lift her head, still shaking with after-effects. Gritting her teeth, Ranielle pulled herself up from her sitting position. Leaving the helmet on the floor, she shook out her mane of blonde hair and set off down the alleyway.

Now
"The Keepers have been poisoned." The President blurted out.
The Secretary let out a noise that sounded vaguely inhuman.
"Wha- what?" The Secretary stuttered, her eyes wide. "Poisoned? By who?"
The President almost smiled at the Secretary's utter horror. People like her, who had never seen how cruel the City's system could be, were so easily shocked by what happened under their noses while they were walking over everyone to reach their own successes.
"They have been poisoned by the first President of this City." The President divulged.
As the Secretary struggled for air in the face of the revelation, Ranielle Birchall, a former Rat and now the most powerful person in the City, leaned back in her chair and smiled.

94 Years Ago - the Founding of the City
Thomas Birchall was seated at the head of a large, imposing table in the basement of the newly-erected presidential building. Around the table sat ten men and women of various ages with the oldest being Thomas himself - which was why he'd been elected President.
"We have no defences!" Keilah Adams, a small, dark-haired woman of twenty one, snapped at the man arguing with her.
Around the table, Keilah's sentiment was being echoed in several different ways. The noise was growing louder and louder until Thomas slammed his hand on the table. The talk ceased as everyone around the table turned to look at Thomas.
"We have no need for defences if our very City is its own defence." Thomas explained.
His words received many blank looks.
"The buildings are to be laced with a poison. Cyanide, to be exact." Thomas elaborated.
A furious hum of dissent cut off his next words.
"You are breathing in cyanide right now!" Thomas roared.
The talk stopped immediately, with many people's hands going to cover their mouths or noses in a futile attempt to guard themselves from the poison. Thomas settled himself in his seat, expression furious, and continued his explanation.
"We will inoculate every resident of this City with the antidote to cyanide. We will all be immune to it's effects, but any unwelcome visitors will not. We will have no need of weapons, or an army. It is the perfect solution to our defence issue."

Now
"The antidote only needs to be taken every three years while still a child. By eighteen, you're completely immune." The President explained to the Secretary, who now wore a look of increasing understanding.
"I don't know how the Keepers have lost their immunity, but I intend to find out." The President mused. "However, if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will make sure you will never be able to speak again, do you understand me?"
The Secretary nodded so quickly her head blurred. The President waved her hand in dismissal and the Secretary hurried from the room.