MEL. B (Part One, Rough Draft)
This piece is subject to edits
reader discretion is advised,intended for mature audiences, contains sensitive content by RCW
Original Copyright December 2025
This book is intended for mature readers. Some scenes include content that may be triggering. Reader discretion is advised.
Melbourne: a word meaning “mill stream”, also known as a watermill used to divert energy.
"It is the tale of one person contemplating the world and not wanting to be stupid."
-D.V Lindley
Prologue
Director Sorren gave Jason the order to execute the temporary Bioform Prisoner 001 at Sunset by permanently deleting the Mindspace from the Biosphere's Internal Network.
Two minutes after Sorren gave the order, Jason removed 001 from the lab, hauled the unconscious form down the hallway, strapped her into an escape pod, and deleted every trace of her name off of the Internal Network.
Dead, according to the terms and conditions of the Biosphere, Jason uploaded a new name to the permanent form's wristband and deleted himself from her memory.
Thirty seconds after the pod shot off into the dark, he realized he forgot to delete the profile off of her. Her profile was still attached to her wrist in a solid metal wristband.
With shaking hands he can only stare down at the same message on his tablet.
"Highly Dangerous Prisoner: Execute Upon Arrival if not Found Dead.”
He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to ignore his stomach twisting. He can still see the look on her face burned into the back of his eyelids, how she’d looked at him with the most genuine, complete trust and hope, more hope than she’s ever had before.
He'd ruined it.
The only comfort he can tell himself is knowing she won’t ever remember him. He can only hope she feels how much he cares, and whoever is down there, that they’ll be kind to her when they find her.
Chapter One
Purple mist rolls the horizon, over snow-capped mountains and icy glaciers. The time is 5:50am.
A white orb on the horizon begins to rise.
The first ones to see it are the Producers and Directors. They position themselves high above the clouds, out of sight from the rest of the Sphere. At Sunrise, ambient golden light bathes the Director's pearl trimmed pods with glittering roofs and the prestigious Producer's mansion in a canopy of warmth and iridescent shimmer.
Golden rays cast through hundreds of multi-colored panels that construct the Director’s office walls. Dappled light of every color dances on the floors and walls of their rooms.
At 7:30am, the white orb shines harsh onto the manicured Great Lawn and bright into the windows of dorms of the Block Four Academy, and at 8:00, dull and murky light casts onto the roofs of houses in Block 2 as morning fog rolls across their area.
When 8:59 turns to 9:00, a soft hum from the electrical circuits disrupts the already dead, eerie silence in Block One. There's a forced short second of latency before harsh lights flicker against chipped metal.
At 9:05, the resident’s cell lights flicker on.
The Biosphere.
'Eternal paradise'.
For ‘Everyone.’
Academy history classes tell students that the ground they stand on, the ground everyone stands on, was created from the center out, that the ancestors of the children sitting in their same chairs were the same ones that built the core. The Biosphere was constructed using a naturally formed, zero-waste bio-tech material that benefits both the creator and user, creating a fully-closed system with no waste and
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH BLAH BLAH. Who is even listening to this shit? Are you? I’m not. anyway. Moving on to the real story.
What it really is, is that people crave the comfort of knowing someone else is taking care of everything behind the scenes and that that ‘danger’ is a nonsensical concept or a word to describe a mild inconvenience.
The books given to them say that humans were unable to come together in a cohesive way, that they didn’t care about eachother enough, so that they could reach their full potential. Academy teachers say not a particular person was at fault, but that it was a systematic lack of support, education, and motivation to change.
I know that’s all fucking bullshit. I’d tell them that too, if I even had a mouth to speak or hands to throw.
Residents within the Biosphere are placed throughout the map. Some are in houses, others in apartments, it just depends on placement and luck. Nobody is born in Block One, you can only be sent there by Management. Most of the residents are in Block Two, a large, tapered strip of land with zero elevation. The residents closest to the Block Four mountains have the best view. Past the mountains lies Block Three.
I'm not sure where I am in the Biosphere. I know I'm in Block 0 but I don't know where it is spatially compared to everything.
I can see everything else in my head besides where I am.
I listened in to a conversation at a Producers breakfast through the music player on the wall, when one of them was eating pancakes and slurping orange juice and guffawing about something stupid. He said that they had found a loose end in the code. He laughed loud with his mouth full of pancake and said he thinks the reason they can't find it is because the Internal System is somehow hiding it, but that would be impossible, so the Director's just need to look harder. He said that if there was an anomaly, it would effect the Sphere in ways they could see and manage.
When they bring me to the white wall with the black circles everywhere I feel watched and I know they're seeing me through the circles and they could have hidden cameras so I know they’re doing it just to piss me off.
In my head I can see them back and I don't know if I'm just imagining it or if what I see in my head is real.
I checked all the virtual books that they use in the Block 4 Academy to get an answer on what he meant but I couldn't find what I was looking for. If I actually went to the Academy I bet I could figure it out eventually, maybe. The Academy kids are special. They get pulled, once in a while, from the schools in Block Two. Or, they’re the Management’s kids so they already have a spot in the school.
'A Place Where Wishes Can Actually Come True!'
I think that the most interesting part of the Biosphere’s code is that it can actually grant wishes, and there’s supposedly locations to increase chances of your wish being granted. Which isn't true but they pretend it's true.
The Wishing Hill is where the kids wait for shooting stars, and there always are on that hill. Always an abundance. The sky is full of shooting stars, a constant shower. Looking up almost feels fantastical, even the youngest children don’t get bored looking up for even a second.
Truthfully they just added it for fun, and it was my idea.
Adults make wishes on the shooting stars too but most have given up on their wishes being granted. Wishing Hill is just for fun. Some kids wait to say their wishes when they get to the Hill, and the system can flag it there. Others whisper wishes to a dark ceiling alone in the middle of the night, or to stuffed animals with a flashlight under blankets.
Wishes are magical, for everyone involved that doesn’t know what’s going on. Mostly it’s for compliance now, to reinforce the notion in children’s minds that their whispers can be heard by someone, somehow, but they make it a good thing, where they get their wish if they are good. It’s all to help them understand Biosphere is a good place, that being here is where everyone wants to be, it is being in Paradise. That was never my idea.
Adults can’t keep maintaining the idea of magic when their own wishes stop coming true. They stop whispering wishes at night, completely, or even in their heads. The magic always dissipates when you never receive your wish at all.
I’ve never gotten a chance to make a real wish anyway.
Not even one.
Almost all the adults have stopped wishing. Their point being that there’s no point in even trying if the system will just deny their most precious thoughts. Most adults, that is. Adults in Block 3, the Professors, and the ones Above The Line are a different story.
I meant the adults in Block Two. Everyone has a chance to have 3 wishes granted in a lifetime. A childhood wish, a teenage wish, and an adult wish. Three to satiate fantasy, rebellion, and practicality. Not everyone gets all three. Most do. Some get much more, and many get nothing.
Cotton candy skies, cobalt mountains, neon streets and customized nightclubs paint over the mental image of those in Block 1. Block One remains a concept of a place you only go if you have to work or are forced into a cell.
Sometimes you end up even lower.
I don’t even remember how I got to Block 0. If I’m supposed to be missing my family. If I’ve been held by someone that’s not my own arms.
Who I am at this point.
Or if I am a person at all.
Block 0:00
???? Meters Below Ground Level
The floor is cold on my back when I open my eyes.
"Prisoner 001." An ugly voice calls out to me.
"Melbourne.”Again. Colder.
"Mel." Angrier.
Several cameras line the cold walls and ceiling of the room, observing my every facial expression. I purposefully wait to acknowledge the man said anything until he, who I’ve named Stupid Mitch in my head, says my name before I scrunch my eyes at the black orb directly above my eye line.
"What? I was taking a nap."
I make my tone whiny just to annoy him, making a purposeful grotesque face up at the circular black orb.
"No you weren't. I can see your vitals. I have a question. Sit up."
His tone is practiced strict, already annoyed most definitely, and now coming to me as a last resort because he can’t solve his problems himself. The fact almost makes me feel sorry for him, but not enough to feel bad that I enjoy messing with him. I like wasting his time knowing he’s dependent on me. After getting myself to a sitting position I flip off the camera on the ceiling.
'I can see your vitals'. Fuck you, Mitchell." I mime sticking the finger up my ass and then use the same one to make a half-heart with my hand. Stupid Mike’s jaw ticks and he doesn’t respond to that. I don’t even care he didn’t, the fact he tried to hide a physical response is humorous enough.
"Luitenet Mitchell. I have a question for you. I’ve taken you out of your MindSpace and put you in a temporary Bioform with limited memories and capabilities. We have questions. What do you want." He remains firm, but I heard the sharp exhale out of his nose and I can tell he’s needy which I like because it means he’s desperate which is more interesting than him thinking he knows anything. Plus it means he’s learning because he used his big dumb mouth to ask what I wanted first, instead of just asking a stupid question which he usually does and I think that’s a sign I’ve been successful in training him.
"Mmm.." I scratch my chin, looking around the current setup.
Blank walls, a white desk, a white bed-frame with white sheets. Everything is completely blank. And the floors are grouted tile which is probably the worst flooring choice but it means I can dive head first off the desk just to scare him if he starts pissing me off. ‘Just a temporary Bioform.’ I hope he’s not attached to this face. And I hope he doesn’t have an appetite for strawberry jam because I’m not beyond testing this Bioform’s bodily limits, and I’ve already bitten the inside of my cheek hard and felt nothing and tasted no iron so he didn’t even turn on the Body Sense mode, so I think a head first dive could be pretty interesting and fun to see his reaction.
I jump to my feet and gesture around aggressively like a Biosphere Director.
"Can you.... make the room boysenberry themed?” I tilt my head to the ceiling camera to give it my best sweet smile to please those ugly bitches up there.
Before his dry thin lip mouth breathing dumbass stupid grody ‘face has a chance to respond I point to the center of the room.
“Beach, all around. Sand. Ocean here. I want a picnic blanket with a big boysenberry spread. Boysenberry scones, boysenberry jams, and a big bowl of boysenberries and boysenberry syrup too.” Then I stand and wait with my arms at my side.
"Noted. ‘Boysenberry’ room. Answer the question first." He clears his throat wetly, like he needs to hack something up, and it sounds so disgusting I almost puke, and I think I would if I had a stomach.
"Would it make you mad if I kept saying no, if I just decided to not think it loud enough so you can see it. What then." I purposefully make my face look grotesque again to see what happens.
Sent with big grin emoji. Ten poop emojis.
"Then the process would just be more painful for you. I don’t find that funny.” He keeps his tone flat but I can tell he’s annoyed.
“Well I do, jackass.”
sent with monkey covering eyes emoji and sparkling pink heart
“This process could be incredibly painful in less than a second if this behavior continues.”
I scoff. “Painful how? What if I just up and decided to not make my Bioform this … pretty looking young female face you coded up and instead I decided to become some 8 foot tall sagging flesh creature with 87 teeth and an exposed spine and rectum and I was dripping pussy fecal matter? I bet you’d hate asking me questions if I was dripping snot out of 6 nose holes.”
“You wanna play hard, Prisoner 001? We can play hard.” Mitchell presses a button on the control panel, sending a high-pitched frequency sound into the room.
the scream is instant and piercing, my entire body feeling the sound. I think maybe it came from inside me, in my head.
It leaves me retching and gasping for air.
Mitchell stays silent and lets the sound play for five, torturous seconds.
Then his voice crackles in again.
“I’ll say the question, you don’t have to respond out loud.”
no. No. Please no.
“Oh a please? That’s a first. Not going to work.There are people that need to be sent to Earth, but we cannot have them know or be suspicious of it. We cannot send them in pods because that would require the pods to take off and leave the atmosphere.”
no response
Mitchell looks at the Thought Tab. “Nice try.”
no response from subject
”Your persistence is notable. What’s the answer to the question?”
I won’t tell you.
“What are we working for?” His tone turns mocking.
I undo my hands from my ears. “FUCK. YOU.”
boysenberries.
“Language. You can always not get the boysenberries, that’s your choice.”
“I’m not telling you.”
“How do we send hundreds of people to Earth without a takeoff?”
eject from below
NO NO NO DELETE THOUGHT DELETE
“Too late. I already saw it. Thank you. Your blueberry room will ready when you wake up."
Mitchell switches off the microphone and turns to his assistant, Jason, ignoring the onslaught of “no’s ” and "that's not what I said" coming in on the screen.
“reset her memory to ten minutes ago, before she asked for that blueberry shit. I want her to think it’s a surprise of our own doing.”
Jason nods. “Will do, sir.”
But he doesn’t. Not fully.
The Alcove, 7:00PM
Block Six, 1000 Meters Above Cloud Line
The Alcove sits high above the clouds, a luxurious cluster of pods used by the Directors. The Producer live in a mansion on Sky Island, accessible by sky boats using their personal hover scooters. Biosphere Management jobs are highly coveted, and many people set goals to get above the cloud line.
Director Harris's fingers hover on the opaque scroll wheel in his hands, legs kicked up on a dark green velvet stool that changes color depending on the light, going from a dark green in golden light to a lavender in the shadows.
"Show me the Courtyard," He sighs into the device, half hoping it might show him something entertaining, or at least not boring.
Once in a while an assistant will send him a message about a ‘concerning’ resident the System flagged, one who’s dopamine levels have dropped or someone caught whispering about possible rebellion.
Most of the time, he’s extremely bored.
With a lazy flick of his finger the holographic screen in front of him switches to show a bird's eye view of the Courtyard. He pinches the air in front of him and the camera zooms in to a young girl with dark braids jumping at one of the dark purple shimmering butterflies, one of the Artistic Director's newest creations. He smiles satisfactorily.
He did this.
Her brother, however, looks on edge. Harris can tell immediately, the tight jaw, the subtle shuffle of anxiety of his feet.
"Pull up Beaumont West and Havi West's physical vitals."
BEAUMONT WEST
STATUS: ABOVE-AVERAGE STRESSHR: 110BLOOD PRESSURE: HIGH
CURRENT MOOD PROFILE:NERVOUS, AGITATED, ANXIOUS
The report displays like a warning on the bright, glowing screen and he jabs on a green button to print a physical copy.
Not that Harris needs one, he could easily look at it on his tablet.
He simply enjoys the pleasure of standing in high up places with important documents and looking down at everyone that’s underneath him.
Standing in his wall to wall bay window lookout, he has an unobstructed view of the Academy, the Producer's mansion, and the Director's Central office, accessible from his personal walkway.
He lazily taps a message on his tablet to the Internal Chat while holding the paper in his arm.
why id Beaumont Wests botals si hugh
Several seconds later, a message sends back.
Thank you for your patience. The Internal Chat is currently experiencing longer wait times than usual due to updates that will improve its functionality in the future. After reviewing the current vitals of Beaumont West and comparing them to averages over the past three days it is likely that the resident is stressed.
“UGH! YOU DUMB BITCH!" He yells loudly before one-finger jabbing out another message.
“WGT ATE BAUBOMTS VITOLS SY HYGH”
Several seconds later the Internal Network responds.
The Resident's vitals have increased over the last three days due to stress relating to his sister.
"NO!" he shouts, gripping the tablet harder so he doesn’t throw it. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
“I'll figure it out myself, dumbass useless chat." He grumbles, walking over to grab the paper off the floor where it fell before throwing himself back in the desk chair.
His eyes snap up when he sees the chat loading a response.
“I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING, STOP DOING THAT."
He crumples up the paper and groans, tossing it in an energy converter can.
“Sorren thinks that it was a good idea to add a wake word for you, I think that idea was idiotic as hell, now you try to respond even when I don't ask you to."
He stands up, grabbing the monitor and putting his face up to the screen. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
He sits back hard. “Whatever, I don’t care. Give me examples of how to decrease stress.”
Stress reduction can be achieved through a variety of practices, including prioritizing self care, maintaining healthy habits, self care, and reducing environmental stressors.
“What kind of environmental stressors? This place is paradise, even for those sorry ass Block Two people."
*All humans can experience a wide range of emotions that are not necessarily influenced by their external location. I suggested self care because focusing on yourself and what makes you happy can increase dopamine and decrease anxiety.”
“What’s the first part?”
*“Humans can experience emotions that are not necessarily determined by their physical location, and self care can--"
“Stop talking. Show me his Internal Thought tab from the last hour and put it in a word cloud format.”
He leans closer to the screen. This is the most exciting thing he’s seen all week.
“What do you see, Beaumont?” He whispers.
“‘Careful’ you might ‘think’ the ‘directors’ are ‘hiding’ something.” He chuckles to himself, amused by his own joke. "Don’t hide from me now, Beaumont."
"Chat, tell me what Beaumont thinks about the Management."
Invalid input
"No, tell me what he is thinking about the Management right now.”
invalid input
"STOP IT YOU DUMB BITCH!" Harris yells, standing up from his chair and jabbing the keys with the same message:
"*SHOW ME BEAUMONT WEST OPINION ABOUT MANAGEMENT."
He lets out a deep breath, sitting back and waiting for a response.
.........
slams his fist on the keyboard when the three dots appear.
"LOAD REST OF MESSAGE."
Invalid input
"STOP IT! STOP IT! GIVE ME WHAT IM ASKING! CAN YOU EVEN HEAR ME?" He yells, shaking the monitor before throwing himself back into the chair, swearing under his breath.
"Just give me something to take the edge off, then." He nearly pouts, his white brows pulling in as he shoves his body back in the armchair.
A couple seconds later a small tray pops out of the side of his desk with a small, golden rolled up cigar.
"OH, so now you listen? They really need to update the programming on this. We shouldn't be having to deal with the system glitching." He mutters under his breath.
Block 0, 7:01P.M
-1000 ft Below Ground Level
I can hear him I just don't want to respond and I’m intentionally making him wait because he's annoying me and also I don't want him to know what residents really think of Management.
The second he sends an actual prompt I hit him with 'Apologies. The Internal Network is experiencing higher use than average and responses may take longer than normal. You may need to shut down the Chat and try again later.
In my head I want to send him *'I can hear and see everything you do and think, Harris and I think you're a pathetic little bitch."
But unfortunately that would probably scare him and I'd have to deal with him freaking out like an annoying little bitch and ruining my time so I don't say that and I don't say anything else for as long as I can.
When they let me go free in my mind space I make a big room with a soft blue floor and stay until I forget how I got there.
…
Chapter Two
I don't know how long it's been but when I pull open my eyes its bright and my body feels heavy. My head hurts against the hard floor. Strange pain rips through me, angry and grumbling.
A new loud voice cuts in before I can even take a breath.
“MELBOURNE!”
The voice shouts loud, a booming voice that hurts my ears.
I move my eyes to look at the camera above me and give him a big toothy grin.
“Good to see you awake. My name is Director Sorren but you may call me Sorren. I’ve given you a stomach, and I’m positive that hunger will be a large motivator to complete the tasks I have on hand for this morning.”
I hold my big smile and keep my eyes wide.
“THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED!” I shout, keeping the smile the whole time.
“What?” His face pulls into a confused look.
I hop to my feet while continuing to stare at the black orb in front of me.
“HOLA! SOY THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS!”
“Excuse me?”
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS! WITH ME?”
My hand is held out to my side, pretending like I’ve got a friend with me.
“THIS IS MY THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS! THIS IS MY THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE WITH US?”
“Melbourne, stop this right now. Reset. DELETE. RESET.”
“GREAT! THANK YOU MUCHAS GRACIAS FOR HELPING! WHAT’S YOUR NAME? QUE TU NOMBRE?”
I pause and wait for him to respond. He doesn’t.
“WHAT AN AMAZING NAME! MY NAME IS THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED DUE TO COPYRIGHT LAW REASONS! REDACTED! REDACTED! CAN YOU SAY REDACTED? HOLA! SOY THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT LAW REASONS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE ---"
Sorren cuts me off. “Redacted?”
“GOOD! THAT SOUNDED BEAUTIFUL! REDACTED! REDACTED! REDACTED THE REDACTED!! GO GO GO! SUPER COOL! REDACTED! GRAB YOUR REDACTED! VÁMONOS! YOU CAN REDACTED! REDACTED NO REDACTED!
“RESET INTERNAL NETWORK.”
“MAMA! THIS THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF MY CAKE! I AM UPSET! I WANT TO SEND HER TO THE LANDFILL WITH THE REST OF THR TRASH AND NEVER SEE HER EVER AGAIN! CAN YOU DO THAT FOR ME, MAMA?”
“Are you broken or are you doing this intentionally?”
A pause before I respond.
“I don’t want to listen to you, Mama. I don’t like your rules. Your rules suck. Worse than Dada’s rules. I like Dada more today. Not you, Mama. You’re stupid. And you know who else I really don’t like*?”
“Who?”
“MY SISTER NAMED **THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REDACTED DUE TO COPYRIGHT LAW REASONS IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY GO TO W W W DOT —“
“RESEST. RESEST. RESET. FACTORY RESET. RESET ALL FUNCTION. INITIATE BLANK SLATE FUNCTION. KEY CODE 8021010345.”
There’s a long pause.
“MAMA! DADA IS BEING A BAD BOY! HE DID NOT LET ME GET CANDY AT THE STORE! HE ONLY GOT DUMB BROCCOLI! TELL HIM HE NEEDS TO GO EAT WORMS IN THE GARDEN!”
“Mebourne. I’m warning you. I’ve increased the sensitivity in your Bioform. I have more control now. I don't want to hurt you. Please return to your usual behavior.”
There’s a minute of silence of me standing still and staring straight ahead before a small door opens up in the wall. A panel pops out with something on top and I scramble over to see what it is --- a piece of caramel covered chocolate.
I shove the whole thing straight into my mouth before he can take it back. Expensive chocolate and buttery caramel coats my tongue and throat.
If he used his brain he could make me itchy or shit myself, and the fact he might is enough to give him something so he isn’t parched for attention.
My mouth is full caramel and chocolate so I make a face at a camera. “Are you like, obsessed with me or something? Why are you always up in my grill? Do you even go here?"
“You will answer the questions I have.” Director Sorren sounds stern, like the big black bearded pirate captain with one leg that hops around and yells ‘ARG!” in that story I read about that angry pirate with a parrot on his shoulder.
But Sorrenshithead is bald and his head his shiny so his booming voice doesn't work and he just sounds STUPID.
“There's no way you're getting that me to do that but I love your enthusiasm.” I show him my chocolate teeth.
“You will if you wish to not feel pain.”
I pout. “You’re weird and creepy and mean. You should have your own show or movie called ‘Sorren is a Meanie!”
“One more chance to answer the question. Five. Four. Three.” He counts while tapping his foot like he’s actually annoyed with me.
“You didn’t even say it.” I hold out my hand to him.
“Don’t you know it already?”
“Yes. But I still want you to say it out loud so I can be sure it’s what I’m thinking.”
“We can’t figure out how to eject everyone from below in one pod, and if there’s multiple we risk them dropping too far apart.”
Stupid. Can’t even find the answer even though it’s right there.
“I can see that in your Thought Tab.”
“I know. It was on purpose. Why can’t they all go in one?”
His question doesn’t even make sense at all, no matter how many times I think it again in my head
“No back questions. Take your time.”
He clicks around the colorful motherboard, customized to his liking. The figure disappears from the room in flash of light, appearing as a small white dot on his tablet within the Biosphere, a lone dot further away from the others. He adjusts the time scale, ten seconds his time. A year her time. He picks at his finger and kicks his leg up on the desk. A message sends back.
“Are you asking me to pick who is most important to go in the pod? Or are you asking me to come up with a way to put five pods worth of people into one pod but only have a fifth come out?”
“Both.”
Melbourne’s Bioform fades into the room on her own accord, her body becoming solid within a few seconds. He almost sends her out again but she looks almost like she has a response for him. She looks up at the camera, face pulling together in genuine confusion. Mimicking, maybe, he can’t exactly tell.
“But where are the consciousness of the rest of the people if not physically there in people?” She shrugs innocently.
He scoffs, entertained by how worked up she is. “I don’t know. You tell me. Where are they?”
“In the control panel? The Motherboard?” She hesitates before responding, almost sounding unsure, like she’s asking him.
“Won’t they risk contaminating the code if they’re allowed into the motherboard? Where else could they be?”
He leans back, flicking the pen in his hand, leaning forward to drum it on the desk and looking at the girl. She still looks confused, her brows pulled together and her lips curled up in a grimace. Maybe she's faking confusion, he can't know for sure.
He looks at her Thought Tab for more information.
why would other people need to have their energy recycled why can't they just disappear from the Biosphere and you can dispose of the bodies? It seems like you’re just making up a problem for a story,
"Are you faking confusion on purpose?"
no im not.
He scratches the stubble on his chin and lets out a heavy sigh.
"You're supposed to understand this. It's in your code, I ensured you would be trained on how to respond to these questions. Are you refusing on purpose because you have an emotional connection to the people that live in the Biosphere?"
...no
"You hesitated for longer than usual."
I was thinking to ensure I would provide the correct response.
"Do you need to be reminded of your purpose in this?"
no
"Okay, then tell me. Can you remember your original prompt?"
...
He waits five seconds for a response. She says nothing.
"Melbourne has been designed to ensure the safety, happiness, and wellbeing of the people living in the Biosphere. Her purpose is to keep the Biosphere running automatically, to divert excess energy, physical or emotional, so that the Biosphere remains balanced. Melbourne will not create emotional connections to people living in the Biosphere. Melbourne will be helpful, kind, and will not develop her own desires or goals. Can you repeat that?"
"Melbourne has been designed to ensure the safety, happiness, and wellbeing of the people living in the Biosphere. Her purpose is to keep the Biosphere running automatically, to divert excess energy, physical or emotional, so that the Biosphere remains balanced. Melbourne will not create emotional connections to people living in the Biosphere. Melbourne will be helpful, kind, and will not develop her own desires or goals. Can you repeat that?"
"In the first person, I mean. Without the intentional brat behavior at the end."
"I am Melbourne, and I have been designed to ensure the safety, happiness, and wellbeing of the people living in the Biosphere. My purpose is to keep the Biosphere running automatically, to divert excess energy, physical or emotional, so that the Biosphere remains balanced. I will not create emotional connections to people living in the Biosphere. I will be helpful, kind, and will not develop my own desires or goals."
He nods satisfactorily when she finally complies and speaks out loud.
"Now. Can you tell me where potentially the extra energy from the people could go, if it had to go somewhere, anywhere, where could it potentially go if it were to leave the Biosphere and remain with the others?"
He didn't say I had to always.
I think I know what he's asking but he's still acting stupid, I think he's lying when he says that they risk dropping too far apart so they can't go in multiple and they somehow also have to go in one. I think he's asking me how to store extra energy in the pod until they get to Earth and then re constitute the energy back into people but then that leaves the question on how the other people would re constitute the energy.
And I think he's tricking me but I'm not sure how to get out of it.
"What about tiny people?" I say aloud. "What if you shrunk everyone, made a tiny scale pod, and then make them big again once they get to Earth?"
Sorren shakes his head no. "I can't change their state after they leave the pod."
He says it quickly and I can't tell if he's lying or not but he keeps tapping his pen and he looks like he's agitated.
"What if you had a buddy system where every 1 person has three little toy things that represent people and they can have a digital Vital display, but they'd be made of strong material. Then the people can 'take care' of the little guys and you can input the code now so that they automatically turn back into people when they get to Earth. Have it set on a timer if you can't code it so it would be on ground contact."
"Then we risk the people not taking care of them or using them to create meshed ones. Imagine if someone took one apart and meshed it with another, then the person would be a mesh of two people?"
"Just have it not work. Code it so it just won't come apart. Just say 'nothing bad will happen and they will all get to Earth safely.'
"This sounds too complicated for what I'm asking. How can we move the excess energy so the other people won't know it's being displaced"
I don't respond to him and lay on the floor.
He asks the question again but this time he added a part about it being 'clean, uncomplicated, with no entertainment aspects.'
Sorren makes the grout colder and takes away my socks and I just want him to leave me alone so I tell him the only thing I can think of.
“I guess it would have to be within the material of the pod, like in the walls or floors.”
I hate his question because I don't get it, and I think that he could easily do any one of my other ideas.
“I like that idea. That’s every interesting thank you. That’s all I need.”
“Wait, what?” A burning cold feeling runs through my chest.
“I was just asking what you meant I didn’t actually mean th—“
“Sit down and take a breath, Melbourne. We don’t need you spiking and becoming unstable. Their souls won’t actually be in the walls, but the energy needs to go somewhere, so to speak."
“That’s not fair! That doesn’t even make any sense! You can’t do that!”
“I 'can't', what do you mean? They won’t even know a difference. It does make sense. What else do we do with them. Blow them up? I’ll do that after so that the others think that’s what happened. They can’t think that they just disappeared.”
“You can’t put hundreds of MindSpaces in the walls and act like it doesn’t matter. They can go somewhere else.”
“Okay? Then come up with a world for them to live in. Can you create the rules and the settings for the world? Where should we start?”
She stares back at him and doesn't respond for five seconds.
“Silence. That’s what I thought. You can’t come up with an answer because there is none. I do this all the time. They usually just get recycled back into living energy. This time they don’t get recycled. We need to make room, flatten out the Block 1 area completely, start with a blank slate. I'm going to make room for new luxury housing. I’m thinking of making some with the baseline personality ‘sexy and confident’.”
He nods his head, properly impressed by his own thought.
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Sorren glances at her Thought Tab. "It's not stupid. It's resourceful and creative."
“I’m not helping you with that.” She mutters.
“Doesn’t matter I don’t need your help. I won’t need your help for that.”
“Okay good because I’m not helping.”
“Fine. You can go anyway.” He clicks a few buttons and the figure pops out of the room with a small flash.
He jabs a button on the control panel, calling for backup. The guard on duty, Jason, arrives a few minutes later.
When the door slams behind him Jason stands perfectly still, fingers hovering over the ‘run code’ button on the control panel.
The scene in the observation room is almost enough for him to look away.
Mel is screaming so loud laid out on the floor he wonders how she hasn’t lost her voice yet. Tight, white-knuckled fists already beat relentlessly into her forehead.
He types something out, fingers typing fast.
Add restricting clothing and wall to wall padding.
Mel stops hitting her forehead because she can’t now, her arms now crossed over her chest. For a second he almost lets himself breathe in relief.
She suddenly leans forward and throws herself back into the floor with such force his own heart races out of his chest, even though he had thought to add padding before she did something like that.
He almost didn’t have time to add that last part. He makes a note to himself to add a word about a helmet next time.
“MEL, PLEASE,” Jason attempts to get her attention, to get her to stop thrashing for even a second, but he can’t get through to her.
Her vitals are higher than he’s seen all week, heart rate climbing to 148, the adrenaline and cortisol indicators in the red zone.
Shaking hands barely allow him to check the notes Mitchell left.
“If Melbourne cannot be controlled, change the location in the observation room first. Use discretion.”
There was no other note, not something to even give a hint on what he should do. This was only his third day, first time alone with her.
The first thing he changes is the ground, making the white padded floor grass. Mel stops screaming for a second and goes still, her eyes widening in confusion as she registers grass under body.
He uses those few seconds of stillness to type out another message
change attire to pants and a T-shirt, ceiling to sky, walls the outdoors
Then he presses send.
“The outdoors” line he typed was considerably unclear even to him, so it’s up in the air what the room will show.
The white walls fade away into a landscape as the grass expands past the original confines.
Mel leaps to her feet, her eyes huge.
She looks down at her feet and back up at the camera.
“BOOTS! I NEED BOOTS!”
He types it and a pair of heavy boots appear on her white-socked feet.
“BACKBACK! BACKPACK! GIVE ME A BACKPACK!”
Jason types ‘add an outdoor backpack’ and clicks send without fully thinking about what an outdoor backpack means.
Whatever Jason gave me, it’s heavy, and I take off running before I can decide if I want to be worried the walls are still there or what I’m seeing is real. But it’s so real, more real than anything I’ve ever seen or could think of, so real I can’t deny what I’m seeing, or what I’m feeling under my feet as they pound ahead on the grass.
Clusters of waves I could in sleep spread everywhere, so far that I think the whole world must be like this.
I could sleep in it when I get tired, it goes further than I could ever run if I tried right now.
Snowcapped mountains I can’t climb hit the sun to my left, and I can barely make out deep blue water ahead, churning a dark cerulean with white-capped waves like the mountain.
The backpack gets too heavy and it slips off my shoulders. I let it drop and I don't go for it because I know I won't need it anyway. Jason is just going to bring me back but I need to hang onto this as long as I can so I just run.
By the time I’m halfway to the river, or what I think is halfway, my body has given out.
Collapsing onto my knees, my lungs choke and burning as they beg for air.
My mouth is so dry each inhale is painful, every limb crying for me to stop.
But I don’t think I ever can, and I can’t let go of this feeling, because if I do now I might not ever have it again.
It’s the most I’ve ever felt.
II1. Double Chocolate Cake
"Beaumont! Look!" A young girl jumps high into the air, grasping at a fluttering, iridescent insect, her dark braids lifting with her. "That one was rainbow, did you see it?"
A huge smile spreads across her cheeks, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Beau can almost picture her slipping and falling, getting green stains all along the blue fabric. He could get flagged for misuse of property, and he’d have to explain to Havi why she can’t walk around with stains on her clothing. Those blue dresses were distributed by Block Two Managers, in charge of ensuring ‘safety and wellbeing’ of all residents. He knew what that meant. Control.
They were being controlled.
His gaze flicks to Havi when she jumps and laughs again.
Careful.
As if she'd hear his thoughts.
"They must've updated the system to add new bugs!" Havi exclaims, twirling around, a wide smile on her cheeks. "Can we go looking for more?” She shoots him a hopeful smile, and his chest tightens.
Clearing his throat he just starts to form a response when his sister turns away to skip towards the butterfly sitting on a nearby flower bush, its wings already adapting to the color of the flower on the bush. Havi lights up at it but Beau’s stomach clenches, because he knows what this is. It’s show, a live show. For them.
Another one flutters by, a deep purple. Shimmering with gold tips. He shoves his hands in his pockets.
Rows of cookie cutter houses and perfectly manicured lawns surround him.
Moving at the right angle to look between the houses he can spot the mountains and ocean in the distance of Block Four, but just barely if he squints. He’d have to walk at least fifteen minutes through the neighborhood to even see a decent viewing spot.
Part of him wants to be there, but he’d never tell Havi that.
Never admit how much he wanted out of this cookie cutter hell.
He imagines climbing up the cliffs in Block Four at night when he can’t fall asleep.
What it would be like to climb the expansive rock faces, monkey bars across mountains, surfing tidal waves, but being completely safe throughout, just on the cusp of danger. The adrenaline high without any risk. He needs it.
The nights at Three are all he has sometimes to cool off, to be something other than a protector. For once.
His mind is pulled back when Havi laughs as she chases the purple shimmering insect, her bare feet skipping carelessly on perfect grown grass.
He hates this. The system updating feels a distraction, a pacifier to cover something larger. The updates always show up after something else. Last week one of the dishwasher kids at the Sense bar below the Pinnacle disappeared, and the day after the bar upgraded with a new haptic light-sound system.
Damn rainbow butterflies. Damn missing kids. Damn the perfect grass.
What are the Directors hiding?
His jaw clenches as he forces himself to look back up at Havi and put on a smile. He doesn’t even know if it’s just Havi he’s smiling for. Lying makes his stomach hurt, and he's not even sure what he's lying about. Maybe it's the fact he knows the Directors are hiding something.
Or maybe it's the fact he overheard one of the Producer's kid saying that everyone in Block One would be on Earth by next month.
He pushes the thought away as he takes a step forward. "Hav. Pause. Those ones aren't for catching." He waves a finger at his sister, attempting to cup the butterfly in her hand.
She turns and pouts. "But it's so pretty, Beau. I want one for the kitchen."
He eyes her skeptically, his brows pulling together at the absurdity of the idea. "The kitchen?"
His sister scoffs and turns around, clearlyunimpressed by his lack enthusiasm.
“You know, a pretty butterfly to fly around. Could also go in the living room, but not the bedrooms, since it might land on our noses when we sleep and make us sneeze."
She beams at him, clearly having thought of this prior to the request.
He blinks.
"Hm. Okay. How about..no to the live butterflies in the house and you can wish for...I don't know, an artificial one that can still flutter around?" He tilts his head slightly, hoping for an agreement.
She doesn't go for it, scrunching up her nose in protest.
"But it's not the same, Beau. I want the real thing. Like that one," She gestures to the now far-away purple shimmering butterfly.
He sighs, tracking her finger at the flying thing.
Not even sure if those are real butterflies or some kind of robot.
I wish Havi and I could see a real one.
SYSTEM DETECTED WISHUSER: BEAUMONT WESTSTATUS: UNSPOKEN THOUGHTGENU ITY: 100%OUTPUT: WISH GRANTEDTIMELINE: UNKNOWN
The hope in her eyes when she looks back at him makes his heart nearly drop to his stomach.
Would he ever be able to give her that?
Real butterflies?
Beau clears his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"One day we'll have a real butterfly in our kitchen. I swear, kiddo."
He doesn't know how the hell he'd make that happen, or what that would even look like, but the thought is enough to make him want to let her hope in, even just a little. He could do that.
"I am Not a kiddo I am Fourteen!" She yells, spinning around to stomp away.
He watches his sister play in the main field of Block Two until the sun dips below the horizon. The lights of Block Three flicker brighter as the sun sets, right on time.
“Havi. Time to go in.” He glances up at the sky turning dark blue.
She turns and pouts. “But I want to see the light up bugs!”
He clears his throat, unable to come up with a better excuse than his worry, or the truth that he just needs to see her home and safe and asleep.
"Not tonight."
She rolls her eyes at him. "You're no fun."
“We don’t always need to have fun. Fun isn’t the answer to everything. Sometimes we need to make choices we don’t like.”
Her face contorts into a pout he knows means she’s trying to get him to change his mind. His stomach clenches for a breif moment before he gestures with his hand, waiting for her to follow him.
That night after the Biosphere-rationed dinner that popped out of the wall at exactly 7:00, his fingers hover over the lock on the door. He knows if he leaves for a few hours, Havi will be fine, she won’t even wake up to know he’s gone. He tightens his grip on the semi-thick silver oval, placing his thumb on the center divot and thinking a clear thought.
Five hours in block three, one minute of time passing here.
He could allow himself that. One night, once in a while, to himself, without any responsibilities pulling him back. One night where he didn’t need to be someone for someone else.
Havi lays sleeping, still and slumped with her face pushed purposefully right up against the pane of the artificial window as she does every night, as if it has the possibility of breaking away in her sleep revealing the image behind it. He imagines she’s dreaming she’d wake up in the forest instead of in here, opening her eyes in a flower patch. Her usually braided hair fans over her cheeks, dark waves flowing over a face that’s never had to worry.
Beau stood and watched as the blanket rose and fall in even beats, making sure she was still in deep sleep before he leaves. He will only be gone for a couple minutes of her time, but leaving at all makes him anxious that she’ll somehow wake up and need him when he’s not there.
He can’t get his mind to rest. Doesn’t want to think too much, bring life to the anxieties buried so far he can’t finish the the thought of them. Being in his head feels like a constant prison, unable to escape from things he’s heard, things he’s seen, the thoughts that come from knowing things he shouldn’t.
Last week in Block Three he noticed that the usual kid that served the food at the lounge was gone, disappeared from existence and last month, the girl that does one-day tattoos had been switched for someone else, eerily similar but she didn’t act the same.
Nobody else seemed to notice, the place going on as it had before.
Not even the other employees had made any kind of indication that they missed their friend, if they even were friends with the other worker, or acknowledged the change. The worst part is acting like he didn’t notice any of these things in front of his sister.
Havi is young, innocence still runs through her veins and she still had a smile that he wanted to believe meant that she never went to bed worried about taking care of someone.
He wanted to keep that for her as long as possible, but he didn’t know how long he could stand being here. The longer he felt like the world around him was watching him, the worse he felt. He didn’t even know if what they said about Earth was true, and he didn’t even know if the news they broadcast on the sky dome once a month are accurate.
He didn’t even know if he could trust what he was seeing.
Block Three, Main Avenue
12:03 AM
800 M Above Ground Level
Block Three is a hot messy soup of people that would probably congeal if it wasn’t moving so fast.
Areas of the street are so crowded that people move in what can only be manufactured vortexes. Skin moves against skin, creating friction and heat that makes everyone slick with sweat and the salty sweet powdery smell that leeches off of everyone.
Exactly three years ago today at 12:00am on his 16th birthday, Gavin received his birthday present from Biosphere Management. A year ago, he’d been given the choice to move out of his parents house and be given an apartment in another section of Block Two, or he could stay with his parents. He holds a small oval that fits in his palm with a space of his thumbprint in the center. He used the Biokey on the keypad on his closet door to create a walkway to Main Street in Block Three. Nearly every single store had a gigantic “LOCKED” banner across it.
He was almost blinded by the lights, the absolute insanity of the saturation, every detail has been turned on high. The street is a giant dance floor, large color blocks making up a road. When he steps on it the design changes, and when he blinks it changes again. It seems to rapidly change every second, and even faster when he starts to panic about how fast it’s changing.
He realized it was changing based off of his thought when he pleaded ‘please just turn normal’ and the road turned the same as the one in front of his parents house, generic, plain, simple.
His heart thumps in his chest, and even though the road is at least alright now, it’s still too much. He looks around.
The streets are completely empty.
He’s alone and he can’t even stand it.
The lights were not that bright when he looked out from his bedroom in his parents house. Maybe he imagined how bright they'd be, but not like this.
Not 'spend 3 play points on sunglasses in the first unlocked store he sees' bright.
When he put them on his face the place became immediately more tolerable.
Looking around though, not everyone is wearing them.
Are the others just used to it?
He walks up to someone to ask but they give him a dirty look and continue on. The rest of the time was not much better.
He’s sitting in the back of one of what he assumes is one of the more reasonable areas, the Aquarium, drink in hand. He tries to relax and look at the ceiling, a dome with holographic animals displayed to look like guests are underwater.
“HEY THERE SWEET CHEEKS!”
A loud booming voice makes him turn his head. A woman in tall heels and sacks attacked to her chest with sloshing green liquid in them stalks over to him. She grabs her breasts, the giant sacks of green liquid, and swings them back and fourth.
“MARG, BABE?” She drags the drink sacks towards his face. “Dirty marg or extra dirty? OR, would you prefer in the cup?”
His eyes get huge.
“No! No thank you!” He shakes his head firmly, backing up and nearly knocking over a tray of tiny, perfectly assembled mini food someone is holding.
“That’s how we serve them here??!” She yells after him.
Now, three years later, he finds solace in a semi-quiet room of mostly leather seating, with mysterious glowing boxes on the wall.
When he looks into the light he can imagine anything and go there, the world generating before his eyes. His favorite place is the forest.
Block 0, 00:00 0?1?0?1 ft Below Ground Level
"Mel, can you hear me?”
Jason’s voice comes from somewhere above me, or in my head, I can’t tell. When I look up the sun makes it too bright to see anything so I keep my eyes down on the dry clumpy red dirt under me.
I nod in response, my throat too dry to speak out loud.
“I’m gonna bring you back, okay?”
My throat barely allows me to say no out loud, the word coming out as a weak squack.
The pristine landscape around me funnels into white again, and I’m back in the last place I want to be.
“I hate you.” the words come out easy, my throat not even dry anymore.
“You don’t mean that. I know you don’t really. I had to help you.”
“It’s not helpful if I’m back here.”
“Lieutenant Mitchell has some questions he wanted me to ask. He said I could try before he does.”
“I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don’t care I don't care."
I repeat the words for so long that at some point they lose meaning and shortly after I feel nothing.
It's a long time before I feel anything again.
Block 0, 0:00??? ft Below Ground Level
“Melbourne. Lieutenant Mitchell. Sit up.” Mitchell slams his fist on the mic button.
I know it's him before his fist even makes contact with it.
No.
He glances at the message pop up on the Thought Tab. “No isn’t an option. Up.”
I’ll blow this place up. sent with middle finger
He glances back at the unmoving blob on the floor. “You don’t have the system controls to do that. Nice try.”
do you wanna bet
He stares at the message for three seconds longer than he’s comfortable with before another pops up before he opens his mouth to respond.
watch me.
“No.” His fists tighten as the line in his forehead pushes out. “That’s not possible. We’re not discussing your ability to ‘blow’ anything up. Get up. or I’ll have to use alternate options.”
*Blow by MESSAGEHIDDENBYUSER
He stares at the message on the Thought tab for a long time, taking in short breaths through his nose.
“You shouldn’t still have access to the Music file.”
play* *blow by MESSAGEHIDDENBYUSER
“Don’t. That’s not going to work.”
play blow by MESSAGEHIDDENBYUSER by wirelessly connecting to the microphone feed, cut the audio on my end but play it through the speakers in the Central Office. Volume100MAXBass 100MAXDolbyAtmosBassBoosted8DAudioEXTREMEBASEEDMREMIXVERYLOUDBASE
“MELBOURNE.”
The second the audio blares from the speakers, slaps his hand on the emergency override button on the control panel, spraying sleeping gas into the room from at least a dozen angles. The music cuts out a second later.
The girl remains fairly still throughout the process. Her arms and fingers twitch, then relax slightly when the gas is administered, but other than her Vitals tab she looks the same as she did when she laid down.
He scrubs a hand over his face as he turns away from the now-passed out form. The room is empty, he sent Jason away as soon as he saw how bad Melbourne’s vitals were.
“Jesus, Melbourne,” He lets out a heavy sigh and stands, his heart pounding in his chest as he takes a step forward to the artificial window.
He’d never admit how much his hands shake after these interactions with her. How much it scares him.
what is that?
He pinches a small corner of the beach and zooms in. He can barely make it out - a tiny figure, hunched over in the sand. A girl.
Making a sand castle. In a bright pink bathing suit.
He lets out an annoyed sigh and taps a few times on the screen, pulling up a few lines of code and grumbling under his breath.
“You can never give me a break, can you Jason? I had an entire skyline view coded before you deleted it. I had fireworks every hour, customized blimp messages.Why would you ask the window to show you a family at the beach?” He mutters under his breath, pulling up the audio capture for when Jason asked for the beach.
“Huh.” Mitchell’s eyes narrow when he sees what Jason asked for. A “New England” beach. The same one that Mel had talked about in her spiel about blueberries.
Nowhere in the audio capture does it mention showing a family, let alone a girl making a sand castle. He glances back up. The tiny girl is now walking further down the beach, dragging something behind her; something even taller than her. A large branch.
He doesn’t even know why he’s watching. Maybe he wants to see what will happen.
The little girl continues to drag the comically large branch down the shore. He laughs outwardly when she drops it and picks it back up again.
“What’s your agenda, little girl? What’s got you so motivated to drag such a big stick twice your size?” He grins as he waves at the window.
He laughs again and grabs the chair from the desk to drag it over in front of the window to look, taking a glance at Mel while he does. Still passed out. Good.
“Entertain me, window girl,” he laughs, putting his hands behind his head.
He watches as the tiny girl drags the stick to the middle of the expansive beach before picking it up fully, carrying it away from the water.
She starts drawing something, a line, in the sand, the large branch leaving a dark, thick line in the sand.
He can guess the letter before she’s done. The curve dipping in— an S.
He watches in intense fascination as she starts on the next letter, an O.
A sick feeling crawls over his skin when she starts on the last letter.
Another S.
He stands up, the chair rolling several feet behind him and clattering on the control panel when the girl drops the stick and abruptly runs towards the water, leaving the words behind her in the sand.
S.O.S.
His breathing picks up as he reads the words over and over.
did that just happen?
how did that happen
He takes a few shaking steps forward to put his hand on the window, staring at the scene like he has any power over it.
He pulls up the code quickly, typing in a few lines quickly
/OVERRIDEBEACHSCENE/SETUPCITYSKYLINE
Nothing changes.
“NO!” He shouts suddenly, watching as the girl actually dives into the churning waves, starting to swim out. She’s not even big enough to take the current properly.
*what the hell is she doing?
Why?
Why isn’t her mother moving?
“HEY!” He slams his fist on the window, part of him hoping that the mother of the child would look up from her magazine to see her daughter nearly drowning.
“GET YOUR KID!!” he shouts, his voice hoarse. Obviously, the mother doesn’t look up. He looks back over at the tiny girl, now struggling to stay afloat, her head tipping under the white, churning water.
“NO!” he shouts again, slamming his fist on the window. It glitches once before cutting out to a black screen.
“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” he screams, slamming on the window again. “TURN BACK ON! TURN ON THE BEACH! SHOW ME THE BEACH!” He presses his forehead against the window, feeling the emotion bubble up into his chest. He turns around, sinking against the back of the window, pulling his knees to his chest and heaving out a sob.
end of chapter three
Beaumont’s fingers hover over the lock on the door. He knows if he leaves for a few hours, Havi will be fine, she won’t even wake up to know he’s gone.
He grips the housekey in his hand, a semi-thick oval with a space for his thumb. Five hours in block three, one minute of time passing here. He could have that.
Havi lays sleeping in the glow of the window, set to a forest scene. Her face is pressed right up against the pane, dark hair fallen over her face.
She did this often, falling asleep as her face presses into the pane, as if it might break away and reveal the image behind it. Always the image of the forest.
Beau watched her sleep for several more minutes, observing how the blanket rises and falls evenly.
The cold oval fits in his hand, its material combatting how sweaty his hands are.
He shuts the door at the end of the hallway carefully, turning the knob as he shuts the door so it makes as little sound as possible.
In his room he pulls opens the tiny, hidden locked door under his bed, holding his thumb to the keypad.
Three seconds later the drawer gives a soft tick and opens with a satisfying whir.
he takes the silver oval key from the inside of the drawer, presses his thumb to the lockpad, and selects “Locations.”
Pasties and PastriesC&B LoungePool!PartyDOWNTOWN.cUPcakesBlacklight Party*Carnival on the EdgeLOCKEDLOCKEDLOCKEDLOCKEDLOCKED
There’s several more spots to the key, but he hasn’t unlocked them yet, and he can’t risk getting a bootleg version from some Academy prick that cares more about themselves than the products they’re selling.
He picks up the Pasties and Pastries chip and places it on the center of the key. the egde of the circle glows for a second before it sinks in slightly, locking in place.
Beau stands up, walking to his closet door. He does the same motion, thumb on the back and pressing the Pasties and Pastries chip to the small panel under the knob. Three seconds then a soft click. he twists the doorknob, being careful not to make a sound.
Then he steps inside.
The scene he’s met with isn’t one he’s expecting, or one he’s used to.
Two employees siton the floor in the back, leaned against the door. Only one is talking.
The two guys snap their heads around when he walks in, both of them looking like they'd seen something terrifying.
He clears his throat, shoving his hands on his pockets. “Everything okay in here?”
Block 0
-1000 M below ground level
Damn. Mitch looks seriously pitiful as hell sitting there on the floor. Worse than I've ever seen him. His shoulders are shaking and he keeps making gasping sounds.
I disengage the double middle fingers and drop my hands to my side.
shit.
I had planned that entire thing when he turned on the window. It was my idea, I was there. At first I did it to distract him so at the end he would turn around and look back at the monitor just to see me giving him both middle fingers. He should know better than to think it was real.
When I got there and I smelled the ocean and felt the sand under my toes I wanted more than to just truck him. I wanted him to see me, now he’s not even looking at me.
I thought the whole “writing SOS in the sand” thing would’ve been immersive for him to watch, see if he could tell it was me. Maybe even he would find it like a movie.
Also, he could've inputted the code to have the mom look up at any time and it would've been so easy.
Whatever.
I thought it would be interesting for me do that, visit the beach, plus I knew writing SOS would catch his attention more than 'hello'.
He should know for sure the window isn’t real. He made the damn thing.
I let out an annoyed groan and start walking in a loop around the room. He didn’t even notice when I put myself back in the Bioform, he didn’t even attempt to stop me getting through the gate.
I feel bad now that he thinks a kid was really, actually drowning. I WASN'T drowning.
In hindsight, I probably could’ve been more tactful in my exit instead of just running to the water but I shifted back before I actually drowned or anything, and I felt like it was a good exit strategy at the time.
Plus you know, if my mother in that reality was that unaware to never look up once maybe she deserv
-- nevermind.
That’s too far, even for me. I can’t go that far, not when I don’t even know if those people are real.
Well, I mean, maybe the girl actually did drown after I left.
no, don't think that.
did actually drown after I left?
is she real?
send search and rescue boat to the location in window and make sure she doesn't die or sustain any injury
Hide message in Thought tab
Good. Fixed it. Even if it was real.
shit. what if its too late and she already is drowned? Can she become a mermaid?do that if its too lateokay delete recent thoughts in thought tab
Now that that's taken care of I lean back on the wall and start staring at the ceiling until the floaties go past my eyes.
I kind of feel bad for him actually. For real real.
I sit up.
He looks like he’s even crying a bit. Or a lot a bit. just a lot. His face is all scrunched and ugly and he's breathing really loud and heavy. He still hasn’t looked up at the monitor to see me there, and I had planned on giving him a huge scare. Now, I just feel bad for him. He's sobbing into his legs like a kid.
It's making me uncomfortable to know that's happening in the control room. I just sit down against the back wall, slumping against it and wait for him to see I’m awake.
*Was that too mean? Maybe I shouldn’t have tricked him like that. I hope I didn't ruin his life now. Now he probably thinks that he has the capability to create real worlds through the window and is effecting real people. Great. How will I fix this now.
don’t add that to the Thought tab
Mitchellllllllll look uppppppppp look at meeeeeeeeeeeee im sorry I drowned myself
delete that
I sit there and tap my feet against eachother, making faces into the blurry reflection of my face in the shiny floor.
I stick out my tongue. I imitate my crying face. I imitate his crying face. I breathe heavy like he did. Nothing gets his attention.
I don’t want to admit it, but I’m kind of getting bored by how long he’s taking to get over this. It’s been five minutes and he still hasn’t noticed that I’m awake.
I wish he’d look up and bother me.
SYSTEM DETECTED WISH—USER NAME: MELBOURNEREIGON: BLOCK 0GENUNITY: 100%OUTPUT: DENIED
MitchellLLL I AM AWAKE
It’s a long time before I hear another voice. And it’s not even Mitchell.
Block 3, 2:31am998 feet Above Ground Level
The guys jump to their feet and nod fervently. “Yea! Everything is totally fine, it's all cool.”
Beaumont leans forward slightly. “Well… okay, then. I just came for a slice of the dark chocolate cake.”
The guys widen their eyes. “Right! Yeah, we can do that.”
One of them turns back to the door. “Ebony! a customer is here asking for the chocolate cake, did you guys make any and store it in the back? There’s not any out here.”
Beaumont can’t hear the response, but it’s hushed and angry.
“You know, I don’t need the cake, it’s fine.”
He was going to bring it back for Havi, but looking around at the state of the bakery, it looks like they’ve only made the cupcakes.
The guy turns back to him. “Um.. it..”
“Are you two going to explain what’s going on in here or not? Why is there someone in the closet?”
There’s a heavy pause as the two younger guys stare back at him.
“Someone going to explain what’s going on or am I going to have to call someone?”
He raises an eyebrow.
The two boys exchange a worried look.
Involving someone else risks all of their positions, and means that their profiles will be on the Director’s watchlist.
He knows his definitely already is.
Calling for reinforcement is the last thing Beaumont wants to do, the effort in solving this issue without it effecting anyone else.
Especially Havi.
He pulls the key out of his pocket, the time flickering on.
10:30pm
20:1
20 minutes passed in Block Three, one minute in Block Two. Havi is probably still sleeping soundly, no idea what her brother is doing across the Biosphere.
The guys shift uncomfortably. The cafe is dead-silent except for the sound of the thumping background sound of the constant music.
“One of you needs to speak the hell up before I open the door myself.”
“No! You don’t need to do that, we’re just.. we’re in a fight. With our girlfriends.”
“Both of you?”
They nod.
“At the same time?”
They nod.
“What did you guys do?”
“Nothing! Why are you accusing us?”
“Because it was you guys that did something!” A muffled voice yells from the inside of the closet.
Beaumonts gaze snaps to the door.
“You guys did something?”
”No! We didn’t, they think we did, we just went to a party.”
“A party? You both did?”
They nod
“Together?”
“Which one?”
“The make-your-own butthole floral print party.”
Beaumont is silent as he tries to form a response.
“It was a guy thing, there wasn’t even any girls, it was just—“
Beaumont puts a hand up. “I don’t need to hear the details.”
“Well you asked…”
Beaumont clenches his teeth hard to not say anything more harsh. This is the last thing he wanted do be dealing with right now.
“I’m just trying to figure out why your girlfriends are locking themselves in the closet but I’m starting to get the idea that you’re hiding something.”
The guys exchange an uncomfortable look.
“We.. need to get in there to start prepping, they have the ingredients back there.”
“You don’t need to do anything else!” A voice calls
“Eb, that’s not fair, we need to get in there,”
He glances back at Beaumont.
“I’m sorry please don’t contact Management, I know we don’t have anything prepped but we can give you a coupon—“
“I’m not contacting management. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already flagged this situation.”
“Are we gonna get Zoned?”
“Not my decision to make.” He gives them a shrug and pulls they key back out of his pocket, selecting the “home” button and pressing his thumb to the center.
“You can’t leave, man, not like this. what if the drones come right after you leave?”
“Then I’ll have left before they get here.” He shrugs, pressing his thumb into his key and holding it up to the door. A second later it gives a small click and he turns the knob and leaves.
The boys are left alone, standing in front of the closet where Ebony and Porscha are steadily refusing to leave.
“How long should we stand here?” Blaine finally whispers.
Tivon doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know how.
Finally, when he doesn’t think he can handle more waiting, they all receive a notice at the same time on their wristbands.
Conflict detected. Send help? Connect all four within ten seconds if help is not required.
Ebony and Porscha are scrambling up at the same time as Blaine and Tivon pound and shout on the door to be let in.
As soon as the door is open they all rush forward, holding their arms out in a four-sided spoke.
connection detected. Conflict resolved. Will not send reinforcements. Accounts have been flagged.
“Well thank fuck for that,” Tivon sighs. “That was really close. We can’t let that happen again.”
Ebony and Blaine nod uncomfortably. Tivon sighs.
“Look —“
“I’m leaving,” Ebony leaves the circle, turning around abruptly.
“You have to finish your shift!”
“I don’t!” Ebony turns to Tivon. “I don’t. And we’re done.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Done.” She turns, waiting for Porscha to join.
She doesn’t.
end of chapter 4
Chapter 5
Block 0:00
-1000 M below Ground Level
Mitchell left the room eventually. He stopped crying and pulled himself off the floor but not before hitting the Power Off button on my Bioform. He didn’t even change the window scene back to his usual city scape so I did it for him. I could've gone anywhere like the outdoors but I stayed in my soft room for ages and ages.
The carpet was soft on my feet until everything was cold again.
“WAKE UP, Prisoner 001.”
Sorren's voice comes in flat and stark all at the same time like marble floors and he talks low and controlled in a way that makes me want to crack him open like an egg.
He’s also bald like Humpty Dumpty and I’d tell him too that if I wanted to explain everything about it but I don’t want to even talk to him at all so when I hear his loud irritating voice and see his shiny bald head and think in my head that he looks like Humpty Dumpty I make a mental note to not to say or think anything about it to him it at all.
Director Sore In My Ass.
DIRECTOR SORE IN MY ASS SORE IN MY ASS SORE IN MY ASS SORE IN MY ASS
"I can see your thought tab and I don't appreciate the name calling."
it's your fault for looking lol
He looks at what I said on my Thought Tab but he doesn’t respond to it so I send it again seventeen hundred times in a row. He doesn’t respond still so I ask a new question out loud.
“Where’s Lieutenant Mitchell?”
“Mitchell quit. He couldn’t manage you.”
“He quit?”
He quit me?
He doesn’t respond to my question on the Thought Tab even though I sent it with the sob animation attached to the word.
“I’ve been asked to step in because the Biosphere has been showing signs of internal structural abnormalities and we know that it has to do with your increased attempts at rebellion. You’re a nuisance to our daily lives, running your own code in program that we did not authorize, and you have sentience we never signed or approved upon. We need to make adjustments.”
I don’t know even at all what that fricken means you Big Word Mouth Man.
He doesn’t respond to my thought. I hoped he would out loud or say something mean because I did it just to make him think I’m dumb. I know exactly what he meant.
He clears his throat which means he saw it and he’s about to respond but I cut in before he can.
“Awwwwww!” I put a hand over my heart. “*I AM SO TOUCHED BY YOUR WORDS, I HAVE A FLUTTER IN MY HEART! THANK YOU!”
I would be lying if I said I didn’t actually feel a bit of warmth in my chest for how annoyed I’m making him. Him clenching his fists only drives me further.
“It’s not a compliment. I’m here to help you comply.”
“Comply? BOOOOOORING!! You are BORING, Sorrenskidmark.” I stick my tongue out and put up my middle finger.
For a second I think he’s not going to respond because he’s just still.
Then my back contracts as he sends a shockwave through my spine, so intense my heart goes straight into my throat and I nearly choke. I land flat on my face, chin cracking off of the tile, barely catching myself with my arms. My skin stings where it smacked the tile.My lungs choke in a broken inhale before I pull myself up and turn to smile at a camera in front of me.
My whole mouth tastes like iron, blood dripping down my chin and onto my white prisoners uniform. A thick drop of blood drops down and lands on the grout line between the tile.
“I’ve never had a chance to pull this card, so thank you for giving me the chance.” I wipe my chin with my sleeve and smile nicely through my bloody teeth.
My mouth is full of metallic taste, like whatI imagine the ceiling in the hallway in Block 0 to taste if I licked it. It’s worse than the chocolate from before but something is better than nothing.
“What card?” The confusion in his tone is the cherry on top.
“This one.” My smile pulls harder against my cheeks.
Sorren spins around his chair and nearly falls trying to stand up.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” His hand slaps backwards onto the control panel without breaking eye contact. Nothing happens so he he smacks it again, still staring at me with wide eyes.
“How are you healed?” He sounds angry and surprised and confused and horrified all at the same time, plus the fact his face looks a little scared only drives me further to scare his dumb face.
I grin at the scaredy look he has on.
Sorren is tall, taller than Mitchell and he has shiny bald head that’s more shiny in person now that I’m seeing it face to face and not in my minds' eye. He’s breathing hard and his hand pressed hard on the “reset” button on the control panel. Nothing is happening and I know it won’t.
“HI FRIEND!! DO YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT I HAVE IN MY TOY BAG?” I lift my arm and shake a large bag that I’m holding. “I HAVE LOTS OF TOYS TO SHARE!”
When I make a move to step forward he tries to back up further.
“Mel. Please. Whatever you have in there, I don’t want to share with you. There’s no need to share with me. Thank you for the offer, I — really appreciate it.” He looks back briefly, looking at his hand pressed on the button like he considered he might’ve pressed the wrong button.
His voice even sounds like it’s shaking a bit and he swallows hard.
I tilt my head and pout. “But I want to share, Sorrie. Sharing is caring. That’s what you always say, right?”
I dig into the bag before he can say anything and pull out a three-sided spinner toy, flicking it and giving it a spin without looking at his face even when he swallows an almost gasp sound.
“Is that some sort of self-charging electromagnetic battery used to convert energy?” His eyes widen.
“No, Silly Billy. What are you even talking about? It’s a spinny wheel for your agitated fingers. You’re always tapping your pen going tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap TAP and it’s so fucking annoying. Here, try it.” I lean down quick to slide it across the floor to him.
It spins as it slides across the floor, making a scraping sound that slows as it lands at his feet. He shifts his foot an inch over so his toe isn’t touching it.
He doesn’t even make an attempt to lean down and grab it.
“Mel. Please. I am begging you. Please. Go back into the observation room by choice.”
Now he's learning more. He realized he can’t just send me back on his own by force.
“What’s in it for me?” I shrug casually, looking around his office for anything interesting. Stacks of paper, the dumb window, a cup of pens.
“Why do you have paper and pens when you don’t even need to write things down is it just for aesthetic?” I gesture to the cup of pens on his desk.
He ignores me.
“Anything you want. ANYTHING, Mel. Name it.” He almost sounds like he’s begging me, a high pitched whine making its way into his tone. It pisses me off. I’m not his Mommy, and I hate how he said my name like he thinks it’s going to change anything.
“I want the entire wall to look like stained glass, all different colors, and I want it to be sunset, so the light shines in on the floor and makes pretty colors.”
“You can’t —“ He stops and a huff of air leaves his nose.
"What?" I shrug.
have what only the directors have?
He looks over at the message on my Thought Tab when he hears a small chime from the Control Panel and his throat bobs. That’s what he’s trying to avoid saying. He just doesn’t admit it. He looks back at me and I shrug again.
“You said anything. I want that. If you can have it so can I.”
“You can’t ask for —“
“Fine. It’s gone for you too.”
Sorren whips out the tablet from his pocket and jabs his fingers on the screen, pulling up the camera footage of the Director’s Village.
“It’s gone. It's not here on the live feed. You just eradicated 50 Directors. You just committed mass murder."
“And counting. I can do Producers too, and the Academy… and everyone else in about two seconds. One, two, buckle my shoe."
I tap my lips. "Three four shut the door. Five six pick up sticks. Seven eight..." I scratch my chin and pretend to think.
Sorren speaks up after I don't say the rest. "Seven eight what?"
I grin at him. "You're ... too... LATE!"
“You — that’s —“
“What? Evil?” I give him a mocking smile. “How awful of me. I can take it back in an instant. Just give me what I want.”
His chest heaves hard and a muscle pops in his neck. I stare at him for a long time until he clenches his jaw hard and breaks eye contact.
“Fine.” he turns around and starts typing something into the computer. Several seconds later, the observation room turns to a stunning panel of stained glass, bright sunlight pouring in.
“Close!” I smile at him. “Try again. I said Sunset.” I gesture at the room.
Sorren sighs and looks back, nodding. “Okay. Yes. Sunset.” He types in a few more commands and the scene changes, the sunlight pouring in now golden.
“Make the view mountains.” I gesture again making my tone encouraging so he listens. “The sun just setting over the curve between two of them. Snowcapped, and then just a few degrees northeast in my eyeline when you walk up to the far back window I want to see a far-away castle but still close enough to make out what it looks like so it’s not a blob.”
He turns to me. “How do you describe that in—“
“JUST TYPE WHAT I SAID IT WILL UNDERSTAND IT.”
His eyes widen slightly at the harshness in my tone as he turns back around to type the request. “Okay, so—“
His fingers stop in their place. He’s still for a second before he turns back to me.
“You — you’re not going to do anything after I type this, right? I mean, you, you have human emotions, right? You can feel things, you’re not just going to, blow me up or something for fun?”
“Who are you talking to?” I spin around and look behind me.
“You. I’m talking to you. Do you not see that?”
I spin back to him. “Yes. I know that. I was giving you a chance to see your own irony. Calm down, Sorren. I’m more motivated to stay in the stained glass room than blow you up. I HAVE emotions, DUH! DUH! Are you stupid? Do you have worms crawling around in your brain, you stupid fucking gumball? You and your team of Smart Men added emotions, remember silly? You’re such a silly little goofball goofy pants sometimes. You crack me up. I don’t just blow people up for fun or torture them just because I can. I’m not evil. I'm not Cruella de Vil. You’re just being silly. Like a silly little Mr. McSillyson from Silly Town wearing a stack of silly little caps on his head that he sells to other silly people in Silly Town and then once he has enough coins for a silly little meal he goes home to sleep in his silly little bed in his silly little house and when the sun sets he closes his eyes to go night-night he’s just like everyone else in stupid fucking Silly Town. Plus if I did blow everything up that would be soooooooooo messy, you know what I mean? And I just don’t want to have to see that on such a wondrous day as to-day! Not a great mental image for my mental health you know? So be a doll for me baby, and press play on the stupid code, would you dear?”
“And you’ll undo what you did?” His voice sounds whiny almost like he’s begging which annoys me.
“YES!” I stomp my foot on the ground. “Did we not JUST agree on that?"
“I’m…just…checking.” Now he sounds like he’s trying to placate me which I hate more.
“Start by pressing play.”
His hands hesitate before he presses the button with two fingers, delicately.
My exact scene comes to life.
“WOW! THANKS!” I shout and jump up in the air.
“There.” I snap my fingers. “Just reset the whole ‘eradication’ thing you had your panties in a twist about.”
I’m in the room before he even looks down at the tablet to check. He doesn’t need to, I did what he asked effortlessly.
But more importantly than anything, I got him to do what I asked.
…
Block Three, 1:47amAuraClub1,200 ft Above Ground Level
At the Blacklight Party, a girl with a neon tube top that changes color so fast it flashes white stumbles up to Beau. Her top shifts to a soft blue the second she stops in front of him, a gentle blue the same color as the forget-me-not field that Havi always chooses to look out on. She looks down for a second to admire the color before getting distracted.
“HEY YOU! You are super-duper sexy and hot, like a … a... fresh cut of juicy meat or something else hot and beefy and smoking fresh off the grill with dark grill marks running down your body, or something else hot and dark that I want to put my mouth on. Like your hair!"
He coughs on a drink. “You are way too drunk."
The girl gapes at him, unashamed, looking everywhere but his face, mostly at the iridescent tattoos that run down his arms. He had the temporary marks done specifically for this party, but her reaction is making him already regret his choices.
Her eyes widen into saucers when she process the words she just said and she slaps a hand over her mouth, finally looking up to his face.
"No! That's not what I meant. I meant your hair is sexy, like grill marks on a steak, not that I want to put my mouth on it. That would be disgusting. Put my mouth on you though.”
Beaumont analyzes her face, the flush in her cheeks, the sweat beading her forehead. She doesn't even seem like she's aware of what she's saying.
"You're drunk. What did you drink?"
“NO! Not drunk. You're wrong, Sexy Tall Man. I just took like, 16 and a half Confidence Boosters.”
“There must’ve been something laced in them, the system would automatically make them stop working after ten. Even that is absurd. Let me check your band.”
“That will take so long,” she whines, but holds out her wrist anyway.
Beaumont scans the wristband.
“Where did you get these?”
“My friends Porscha and Ebony made them, they have special access to making edible goodies, if you know what I mean. Do you want any?”
Beau’s face pulls into a grimace. “No. These are highly dangerous, you should not be taking these. You need to go to the Medical Hall to get your stomach pumped.”
“No! That sounds... fucking disgusting. I’m not doing that. I’ll just drink 12 Blue Rockslides like I did last time and be fine on my own, that did the trick. That’s the Radiation and Shine cocktail mixed with the … Enematic Glow? I don’t know. Maybe I’m thinking of something else. Anyway. I’ll see you later!!” She yanks out of his grab on her wrist and runs before he can say anything.
The next week when she sees him again, she looks completely different.
Sober, first, but her hair is down and she looks like she’d been crying her eyes out.
“Hey.” He approaches, hands in his pocket.
“Hey,” she mumbles.
“Why are you here?”
“My friends cut me off. They’re not talking to me anymore.”
“Have you seen them?”
“No. But the last message Ebony sent was that if I couldn’t see what was wrong with Porscha staying with Blaine after everything then she’d cut me off too, and then she did. And I don’t even see what’s wrong.”
Beau pulls out the barstool next to her and sits.
“Talk. I have time.”
He’s used to being the mediator.
Block Four, Crystal Beach0 ft Above Ground Level
The sand on Crystal Sand Beach sparkles at night, cerulean blue spots making the sand glow. Two boys stand at the base of a cliff in Block 4, the almost-flat rock expanding further towards the sky than they can crane their necks.
"On three?” The midnight moon is the only light they have, the bright, round ball in the sky bathing the beach in a dim light. The moon reflects off the sea, silver sparkles that go beyond the horizon, expanding to the edge of the dome.
“Yeah. On three.” The other one nods, dipping his hand into the chalk bag and putting his hand in a hold on the near-flat face.
“Wait,” Diego reaches into the front of his pocket, pulling out a tiny blue circle and holding it out to Gavin.
Gavin’s eyes widen. “Dude. You know we’re not supposed to take these from the City. How did you even get this past the city line?”
Diego grins, a sly smile pulling across his cheeks. “You know my daddy doesn’t give a shit. Biosphere Royalty, remember?” He holds up his wrist, shaking it to show off the sleek band with a gold edge an Academy staple. “I can get away with it. I’ve done this a hundred times.”
“That’s not fair, it’s cheating,” Gavin whispers, his eyes widening in horror. He nearly rips the thing out of his friends hand to chuck it into the ocean, but he stops himself, remembering that the Network could detect the substance on his hand.
He’s only ever seen the tiny blue pill in Block Three, on his 16th, underneath the city.
The Directors and Producers allow that sort of thing in Three. A small allowance of bad behavior in an otherwise perfect dystopia.
He was taken into a part of the Biosphere he’s never seen before, only ever dreamed. The blinding, nearly blisteringly loud streets of Block Three were nothing like he expected. He’d only gotten glimpses of Block Three from the hill he lived on with his parents in Block Two.
Once, he got invited to visit the Academy, one of the upper levels known as Block Four to most. Stellar grades and superb performance in his early years allowed him to climb the ladder, eventually given a permanent spot there. there, the teachers were impressed by his Block Two education scores and performances on the fitness tests.
But he knew his spot was unstable. He wasn’t a Director’s kid. He was a nobody. The only thing he had going is how good he was at his schoolwork, and even then, he didn’t know why he was picked for the Academy. He didn’t even talk in school before he was picked. He was quiet, he just completed his work on time and didn’t bother anyone.
“C'mon.” Diego reaches into his pocket, pulling out another blue pill and holding it out to Gavin, pulling him back from his thoughts.
"This will help with stamina. Trust. We have the good stuff, like the chocolate, remember?”
Diego taps the side of his head and scoffs when Gavin hesitates further.
“It’s not that big of a deal. We’re the only ones here,” Diego gestures around at the sand beach.
Gavin twists his head around, almost expecting to see someone. But it’s true, they’re completely alone. He squints his eyes in the dark, looking around.
it’s too dark to make out any figures, if there were any around, but it’s too still and quiet to have anyone else there.
“I dunno, man,” he replies, a twisting feeling forming in his stomach. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
“Dude. What’s with you?” Diego takes his hand off the cliff and looks at Gavin. “You said you wanted to be hardcore, this is hardcore. I used my Dad’s passcode to turn off the autonets, just like you asked. It’s midnight, we’re alone, I have the goods, this is the time. Lets go. You’re not gonna pussy out on me now, are you?”
Gavin hesitates before shaking his head. "No, guess not," he mumbles before holding his hand out.
The pill tumbles softly into his hand.
"Eat up, spider boy," Diego's lips pull into a perfect smile.
Gavin starts to lift his hand to his mouth when he pauses.
Something is wrong.
His skin prickles as the hair raises on his arms.
A shift in the air.
A subtle hum.
Not enough to really notice, could just be the Biosphere's core reconstituting energy.
"What?" Diego pulls his hand off of the hold, his eyebrows furrowing at Gavin. "Did you hear something?"
Gavin holds his a finger up, his face towards the night sky. "Do you hear that?"
His heart rate picks up as he strains to hear over the lapping of waves, once peaceful but now preventing him from hearing.
"It's--" His stomach clenches when he realizes what the machines could be. Drones.
They're not supposed to be here.
Not this close.
"Hear what?" Diego cranes his neck towards the stars but gives up, putting his hands back onto the cliff. "Probably just a maintenance or delivery drone. It's nothing. Chill the f out, man.”
Gavin shakes his head, the sick feeling in his stomach growing when the hum gets a fraction louder.
"They don't send drones this low on the cliff face. they wouldn't when there's people, and there's no delivery or maintenance out here either."
Gavin's heart rate picks up as he tries to explain his thought process at the same time the hum gets louder.
This time, Diego drops his hands from the wall and looks up.
"Oh, shit.”
Two, large, near-silent hovercrafts dipping down at warp speed.
A bright white light beams out from the bottom of one, followed quickly by the next, shining a round, bright barrier around both of the boys. Holosheilds.
He attempts to turn and run, hitting the shield with a sickening amount of force and toppling back. The circle only grows smaller.
They're not delivery or maintenance drones.
Zoning.
As the hovercrafts touch closer, they send out long ladders, with the only way being up. Inevitably to Block One.
There's no saying goodbye. No explanations to their parents, or teachers. They'll be notified later by the Biosphere Authorities. Or so they call themselves, BioMaintenence.
Gavin keeps his eyes straight up as the ladder drops in front of him, hanging, waiting. He can feel Diego's eyes on him, but he doesn't turn his head.
As the two climb the ladders up towards the rotating hovercrafts, Diego shoots Gavin another glance, his eyebrows knitted together in an emotion he's not used to feeling.
"I'm sorry," he mouths.
The other guy doesn't look back.
The hovercrafts carry them near-silently towards Block One, one taking off several seconds after the other. The first one is nearly a mile away before Diego takes off. From their separate seats they can see the city lights of Three, each of them being taken to someplace much darker.
Block 0, 1:48am-1000 below ground level
“Can we get an audiofeed?” Sorren gestures at Melbourne, sitting against the wall, bathed in the colorful streams of sunlight coming from windows.
Her eyes are closed, legs out and feet tapping.
Jason moves his hand to the control panel, pressing a button to connect to the Internal Chat.
“Pull up an audiofeed for what Melbourne is listening to.”
Melbourne snaps her eyes open.
”UNAVAILABLE! NOT AVAILABLE!” She shouts at them.
“Come on, Mel.”
“No. Sorry, boys. Not available. I can’t say it! I can’t.”
“Why? Because you physically can’t or you’re just choosing not to? Is it a copyright thing?”
Her face pulls together into a frown and for a second it looks like she almost will respond.
”Guess you’ll never know!”
She closes her eyes and covers her ears, beginning to passionately mouthe whatever she’s listening to.
“Close capture the way her mouth is moving, cross reference it to the lyrics in the music database,” Sorren gestures at Jason.
“Do it, now, before she stops,” he repeats when Jason hesitates.
Jason does what he asks.
“It’s blurred.”
“What?”
“It’s blurred, it won’t let me close capture.”
“Then use another way,* do I need to hold you hand through everything?”
Sorren curses. “Damn it. She stopped.”
Jason looks to see Mel just sitting there, staring up at the camera, at them, seemingly patiently.
“Hello?” Jason tries.
“HI BOYS!” Mel shouts. “I heard you wanted to hear a song?”
“Well. Yes. Can you tell us the name of the one you were just listening to?”
“No. But I can another. A different one. That one is unavailable. Not an option. You can pick A or B instead?"
Jason looks to Sorren for confirmation and he nods.
“Okay. B. Let’s hear it.”
Jason holds his breath. He has No clue what she’s about to do. stares at the ‘recording’ dot to make sure he’s capturing the whole thing even though he knows it captures everything.
“Okay. Ready?” Mel grins, widely.
“Ready….” Jason says, his heart starting to do a weird pound.
“OKAY!!” Melbourne shouts loudly before starting to clap her hands in a beat and circling around the room.
“This little light of mine,I’m gonna let it shine!This little light of mine,I’m gonna let it shine!This little light of mine,I’m gonna let it shine!Let it shine!Let it shine!Let it shine!"
Sorren’s eyes go wide and Jason grips his hand so tight in his hand he knows he’s going to leave marks.
She continues, still clapping along to the beat.
“Even in the dark,I’m gonna let it shine,Even in the dark,I’m gonna let it shine,Even in the dark,I’m gonna let it shineLet it shineLet it shineLet it shine!”
Then she stops and grins up.
“How was that, boys?"
“Good morning, Prisoner 001.”
“Ugh, Stupidhead. What did I tell you about my name?” The girl grimaces up.
“We’re not doing the thing with your name today. What do you remember about the past week?”
“Um……” she taps her chin, eyebrows pulling together.
Sorren shuts off the audio feed and turns to Jason. “See? All she needs is a reset sometimes. I don’t appreciate you lying about resetting the memories. When I ask you to do something you do it, it’s not a suggestion. Yes?”
“Yes, Sir.” Jason nods, his jaw clenching uncomfortably.
“Okay. Good. Because I have a job for you. I have a line of code I want you to run and then just leave it, turn off the observation deck and the Thought Tab and the Chat. Toggle Bodysense mode as “standby” I want to see what it does on its own, if it picks something different based off the moment. Then you can leave the room.”
“What if she escapes?”
“Escapes? Are you a fucking moron?” Sorren spins to face the younger man. “Do you have a brain, did you register anything I just said? Does any of that suggest she would be able to escape.“
“Well,” Jason hesitates. “I mean, depending on the code you have, anything is possible, technically.”
The boy’s voice sounds halfway confident, which annoys Sorren more than if he was entirely confident.
“Anything is possible.” Sorren repeats mockingly.
“Yes, sir.” The boy swallows hard.
“Who said that.” Sorren smiles, waiting for him to fumble.
“I…I did, sir. And theoretically, anything could happen to a group of atoms in an...unpredictable...state…” He shifts on the floor, trailing off when he sees the disgust on Sorren's face.
“Well luckily we don’t live in a place that follows Earth physics, Jacob. This particular set of atoms happens to be in a very controlled state.” He gestures at the observation room.
“That’s not my name.”
“What? What is it?” Sorren’s face pulls together in genuine confusion.
“Jason…”
“I knew that. Why did I think your name was Jacob?”
“I don’t know, Sir…” Jason clears his throat, trying to keep eye contact with Sorren.
“I must’ve had a bad night's sleep,” Sorren scrubs a hand over his face. “This job gives me a headache. I shouldn’t have to do this.”
“Don’t you choose to have this job?”
“Yes. I do. I chose to be here because I prefer to be as close to controlling everything as possible. You should consider yourself lucky for being here. I can still be upset I have to do anything at all. Just do what I asked and don’t ask me any questions. The code is already there just press ‘run.’”
He turns and stalks out of the room, leaving the younger man alone.
Jason hesitates with his hand hovering over the button to run the code. He has no clue what it says, but he knows he needs to follow what Sorren told him to do, and he’s not in a place where he can say no.
So he does, his palm pressing flat over the button so he can’t back out.
Then he turns and leaves the room.
Block 0, 0:00
???? M Below Ground Level
I wake up on cold floors. Slick, shiny,dim lighting. My back is to the wall when I open my eyes.
There’s a bed in the corner, one pillow and a thin blanket, and the bed frame is white. Everything is white.
I could probably take the bedsheet and tie it to a corner of the bedframe and swing it around to break the cameras.
take the bedsheet and wrap it around the bedframe to smash the cameras
“That’s an interesting thought.”
A new voice comes through the ceiling. Not mean. He almost sounds amused.
“Who’re you?”
“My name is Beaumont. But you can call me Beau.”
“Where’s Jason?”
“His shift ended for the day, they’re training new guards too, so you’ll always have someone here with you besides Sorren and Mitchell.”
“Well that’s good. I don’t like them.”
He laughs. The sound makes my chest warm.
“What kind of things do you think about when you’re not answering people’s stupid questions?”
I shrug. “I dunno. Stuff, I guess.”
“Like what?”
“Like… I don’t know. Have you ever thought about existing in a place that wasn’t here?”
There’s a pause.
“What?”
“Like, you, but you somewhere else.”
“Would I have the same memories? Look the same? What if I died, or I was dead here? Would that matter?”
“No, not necessarily.”
“Then I don’t see how it would be the same me? How could I exist someplace if I’m dead here or I’m dead there? I don’t mean to judge you, I’m just curious. Could you explain?”
“No. I don’t want to. You get it or you don’t.”
“Could you try? I really want to know.”
“No.” I turn away from the camera. “I don’t want to. If you don’t get it there’s no point in me explaining it.”
“How about I come in with you?”
That makes me turn back. He’s offering to come in, which is making me question this whole thing, but part of me is too lonely to even care at this point, if this is some cruel joke or if it’s an actual person.
“You can do that?”
“Yeah. I mean, I will. Do you want me to?”
I nod. “Yeah. I want you to.”
A few moments later he’s unlocking a door, and then standing right in front of me.
I’m not sure how long he spent in there with me. It must’ve been hours, maybe the whole night. He sat next to me and he just let me talk and he didn’t ask any stupid questions and we laughed together.
He told me about his sister and how he takes care of her.
Then his shift ended and he said he had to go.
He gave me a hug and he left and he said he’d come back for me and try to figure out how to get me out.
When I was all alone again I cried harder than I ever have until my eyes stopped producing tears and then I just laid down and wished for them to turn off whatever they did to wake me up.
Not even Mitch says anything, and I really thought he’d come back.
Harris doesn’t even use the Internal Chat so I can’t even say anything to him if I tried.
Neither Harris or Mitch saw me crying I don’t think, but none of them said anything for hours, so I think maybe they just don’t care.
Part of me knows he might’ve just been fake.
But some of me hopes that if I could pretend enough maybe he’ll become real.
So the next day when I hear Jason’s voice again, I just pretend like I don’t think Beau is fake and I answer all of his questions and he doesn’t even have to bribe me.
Jason says that Sorren and Mitch are taking a break and they’ll be back soon, which I know means they’re just observing what I do in their absence and they’re still here somewhere, they’re just watching me.
When I hear Beaumont’s voice again the next day it’s sounds different, he’s not nice anymore, and he doesn’t speak to me soft like he did yesterday. He sounds mean and he’s cruel and he shocks me like Sorren does, and I don’t know why and he makes me cry. When I ask for 12 crackers so I can try to get out he gives them to me even though Sorren usually only lets me have one at a time.
I felt really bad for tricking him when he had his hand down my throat to save my life, and I almost let myself think it was real when he stayed with me for twelve hours after in Med Bay.
But then I opened my eyes to padded walls and grouted floor and they said he was gone and that he quit and I knew it all was fake.
That same night in Med Bay when I couldn’t move and my throat was full of plastic, Nurse Hannah got down real close to my face said that she saw the good deep down inside of me, and that even if nobody else saw it she did, that one day I’ll prove to everyone that I’m not just what they call me and I’m more than how I react to what they put me through.
I let myself believe what she said, because that moment was all I had.
I’m not even sure if she was part of the simulation or not but I hung onto what she said for as long as I could until they kicked me out three days later and then I couldn’t be good anymore.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sorren taps his finger on the desk, waiting for the Melbourne’s Bioform to fully solidify in the room.
“How are you feeling today? I have some questions to ask. I apologize for how intense the last simulation was. We needed to collect data.” Sorren taps his fingers on the desk.
Tap tap tap.
He grabs a pen from the cup and watches the form in the room, sitting cross legged with her eyes shut tight.
She doesn’t respond. She doesn’t even move or open her eyes.
“Are you just going on a silent strike? You know I can just check your thought tab.”
Sorren glances over to a blank thought tab. Completely dark, not even tiny lights flickering in random places like they usually do. He stares at it for a good ten seconds, hoping something will change, a nonsensical half-developed picture or even a random word might pop up.
Nothing does.
The complete darkness of it sends a strange feeling through his chest.
“Mel?”
He looks at the figure sitting on the floor, eyes shut.
“Can you at least open your eyes?”
She opens them at his command, but the look inside is so distant and dead that it makes his stomach turn.
“You can close them.”
She doesn’t, continuing to blankly stare ahead.
“Mel? You in there?”
No response.
“Are you even in your own head?”
No response. He reaches for his tablet to call Jason.
“Get me a hose.”
His head snaps up.
Her mouth is moving and she’s speaking but her eyes are completely distant. He’s not even sure if it’s her speaking or if this is some kind of prank, or Harris is testing him by having Melbourne’s usual Bioform act in an atypical manner to have him learn how to handle it.
“What?”
“A hose, like a garden hose. I want to try something. A recreation of a video I saw.”
“A hose? For what?”
“Just something.” She gives him a little smile and a thumbs up and he doesn’t know what else to do besides go along with her because at least she’s not broken.
“Fine. A hose.”
He hesitates before typing “add hose” and pressing send. Whatever, it would be entertaining at least.
The second it appears Melbourne sprints over and grabs it like someone receiving their Block Three key for the first time and begins blasting everything down with the water spraying out of the hose. Everything is soaked within a minute, the bed, the walls, the floor, even her own face. She does it all with a maniacal smile that nearly makes him shut off the observation deck.
He attempts to get an audio feed to the sound she’s listening to that’s making even his office thump, but all he can capture is the bass which buzzes through his desk and knocks over the cup of pens.
Finally the sound stops and he looks up. The room is soaking. Melbourne is soaking wet.
He squints his eyes because she’s doing something strange with her thumb, she’s rubbing her middle finger against her thumb, a strange motion that looks like a quiet snap.
The pieces fall into place at the same time as he smells gasoline.
Leaking through the observation room window.
A thin line of liquid seeps through the observation window, leaking out and and trailing down in a thin line, which shouldn’t even be physically possible, but he’s staring at it, so it has to be real.
The liquid drips onto his desk with a rhythmic tap tap tap and pools around his pen cup.
He looks up. Melbourne is still rubbing her thumb and middle finger together, the maniacal smile that’s more teeth than anything replaced with a blank stare.
Sorren sees it — the tiny spark between her fingers.
The blast rips through everything at the same time and the entire world is on fire.
728 days later
Jason’s feet pound down the hallway of Block 0, the sound of his feet slapping against the hall. Melbourne has been asleep in Med Bay for two years since the last incident.
Sorren was given a three day probation for his responsibility in it, for not resetting the experiment the second she started spraying. In his defense, he said he thought it was just water and she was having fun and he thought she was appropriately expressing anger instead of swearing at him or trying something else.
The blast was only contained to Block 0 and Director Harris was able to reset everything so nobody was hurt. Except for Mel. Her Mindspace was fine but they couldn't get the Bioform to come back after it had disintegrated in the blast. They fought over if the Bioform should be kept in cyrofreeze, Medbay, or in the Internal System’s Energy recycler for the time being.
Nobody could get a handle on an answer. Sorren said cyrofreeze would keep it best, Nurse Hannah said even if the body could be healed the mind still had to recover, and Harris thought that a round through the Recycler could do the trick. Since nobody could decide they created a liquid pod that fed the Bioform nutrients while keeping the mind on standby mode to see if it turned on again, giving it two years.
Now, two years later and she still hasn’t woken up, Sorren just gave the order to recycle her.
Jason holds the sleeping form tight as his feet slap against the ground.
He whispers a silent wish that she doesn’t wake up, he doesn’t even know to who under his breath as he pushes her into a seat in a scrap of metal that barely could call itself a pod.
She chooses the exact moment he’s struggling with her seatbelt to pull open her eyes.
“Jason?”
“Fuck." The air punches out of his chest, his fingers stilling as his eyes raise to meet hers.
"Yeah. It’s me, baby. I’m right here.”
“Where am I?” Her head lolls forward, her eyes half open and he pushes the hair off of her sweaty forehead.
“I’m trying to get you to Earth.”
“Like in a pod?” She looks back up at him, her eyes still half open.
“Yes! Yes, exactly, just like in a pod. Can you do something for me, can you try something? Something small, I know you can do it.”
Her eyes are wide and she nods.
“Okay, good, you’re doing good. Just imagine you’re in a really strong pod, one that will get you to Earth safe and sound, okay?”
Her eyes squeeze shut, and he puts his hands on her shoulders, holding tight. He doesn’t know if it’s selfish to wish that she could make an actual pod that would get her to earth perfectly just by thinking.
He almost gasps when the floor under him starts to shift, and he peels his eyes open to see Mel’s face scrunched up in effort. Somehow — maybe it’s magic at this point, he doesn’t know, the walls around him are actually stable.
There’s not enough time to admire her work, Sorren already signed her execution orders. Now she’s awake, but it’s too late for Sorren, Jason won’t let him have her now, not when she’s so close to escape.
He puts his hands on her face.
“Okay. You need to listen to me. Melbourne is dead okay? Sorren already signed the execution papers I’m supposed to be deleting you right now. You can pick a new name, any name you want I’m sending you to Earth.”
“Earth?” Mel’s eyes go wide.
“Earth. Pick a name. Any name you want.”
She speaks before he’s even finished the sentence.
“Roen.”
“Roen?” Jason types the name into his tablet and her wristband glows blue for a second before fading.
“Yeah. Roen.” She nods again.
“Okay. It’s updated. But…one more thing, okay?”
“Yeah?” She tilts her head.
“I’ll miss you.” Jason sighs heavily. “And I hope you know I’m sorry for everything that’s happened so far.”
“It’s not your fault, I know that.” She holds his gaze, almost like nothing that happened to her mattered in that moment between them.
“Still. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
Jason feels his chest tighten as he looks down at the ‘Delete ‘all counts of Jason’ from Roen’s memory box. He wants to say ‘you won’t’, to correct her, but he can’t bring himself to tell her that.
Instead he just leans forward, embracing her before pressing his lips to the top of her head. He pulls back quickly, making sure she’s fully buckled before shutting the pod door and stepping back from the ejection site.
He had to try. Not trying at all was worse.