“Yes, Professor,” she replied, and she hurried from the room.
Grimwade gazed at the immensity of his stomach with a frown as he collected his thoughts.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of your task that lies ahead of you all. The mission you have been selected to take part in is a magnificent experiment.”
“What is our task, Professor Grimwade?”
It was Nako. I was beginning to like her myself. The kind of girl you want on your side. She had a definite don’t-take-shit-from-anyone attitude. She had her chin stuck out, her elfish head cocked at a devil-may-care angle. Yes, I liked her.
“Did I ask you to ask a question?” Grimwade snapped. “When you are lined up like this for an address, no one speaks without being asked a question first.”
“Today you learn where you fit into the scheme of things…,” he began and turned when a knock on the door interrupted him. “Ah, here is my colleague. All of you will no doubt remember meeting the professor on the day you arrived at Burbank and Rosen Hall.”
I recognized the tall, slim, man who joined Grimwade as being the same man I had met the day I arrived at the Hall. It was hard to forget the vampiric sunken cheeks and slicked back hair. He looked kind of snaky, and yes, he looked sinister.
The two men stood side-by-side, gazing up and down the line of girls for a full minute in silence. They might have been gloating at the fine specimens they had gathered before them. While they studied us, they nodded their heads in unison, obviously happy with what they saw, more than likely they were simply pleased with themselves. I’ll be damned if they didn’t remind me of a couple of villains straight out of an anime.
11
Commander Jacinda
“I am Professor Wilhelm Klunker. And, please, no joking about my name. You may not have met everyone in the room. Is that correct?”
Jacinda nodded her head.
“I haven’t met them yet, Professor.”
“Oh, yes, that’s because you only arrived today,” Grimwade said to Jacinda. “Very good. We are going to fix that shortly.”
“Because you are all very clever individuals, you will have noticed there is no male team member standing in the line with you,” Klunker continued. “This team is made up entirely of girls and all of you, apart from Jacinda, were born within a span of a single year.”
“And none of us are on the Blockchain, Professor,” a girl with a strong Irish accent said.
He gazed around the room as if he was expecting one of us to give him an answer.
“Could it be that you selected us that way?” Isabella asked him. She was going to get herself in trouble.
I heard a snigger from somewhere in the line.
“I advise you not to joke around,” Grimwade growled. “Where you are going, everything we say will become essential to your survival.”
“Where are we going?” Isabella asked.
“All in good time,” Grimwade said.
“The nine of you have been selected out of thousands of possibles…” Klunker began.
“I’ve already been through that before you arrived,” Grimwade snapped at the professor.
Klunker nodded his head and said nothing more.
“Jacinda is the Mission Commander,” Grimwade said. “She was recruited out of the Air force training program.”
“I knew it!” Isabella declared in triumph.
Grimwade ignored her.
“Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate decision by her parents, Jacinda could go no further in her chosen career,” Grimwade said. “Jacinda, step over here, please.”
The tall girl walked up to Grimwade and turned to face us. She was red-faced with her eyes flashing as though she dared us to make fun of her.
“Your parents were responsible for taking away your citizenship rights, weren’t they, Jacinda?” Grimwade persisted.
“Yes, Professor, sir,” she said, louder than necessary. “I look forward to my role as commander of this mission, sir.”
“But, you do regret the choice made by your parents, isn’t that so?” Grimwade continued.
“Yes, Professor. I am very happy that I have been given the honor of commanding this mission, Professor.”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “Well, as I mentioned, what lies ahead for you all has a high element of risk attached.” With raised eyebrows, he gazed around the room. “Not all of you will return.”
“How long are we away for?” Isabella asked without even blinking. The professor’s ominous warning was terrifying, but instead of reacting with fear, she chose to fish for more information. “And where are you sending us? The Gobi Desert?”
“The duration of the mission is indeed one of the many challenges you will face,” Grimwade replied. “We need not discuss the location at this early stage, but, if it makes you feel better, I can tell you that it is remote. Which is a good part of the reason the main focus of the mission is to liaise with the locals.”
“The duration of your mission will be not less than one year,” Klunker told us.
“Professor, could you remind us why we might want to do this for you?” The Irish girl asked.
“If the mission is a success, you will have your human privileges reinstated,” Klunker said. “You will be able to live in the city again because you will be able to buy things on the Blockchain like everyone else. Yes, that means you will be given a Bricard, and naturally, you will be made a fully fledged citizen.”
“Sounds good,” Isabella said.
“What about our families?” I asked.
I saw Nako’s eyes flash in my direction. Was it a look of envy, or surprise?
“Ah, yes… families,” Grimwade said studiously gazing at a point somewhere above our heads and away in the far corner of the room.
Klunker looked uncomfortable and cleared his throat.
“How many of you remember your families?” He asked.
We looked at each other.
The girl next to me grimaced.
“I can’t,” she said.
“I can’t, Professor,” Jacinda said.
“Me neither,” I muttered.
“I want to reassure you all that having no memories of your family doesn’t necessarily mean you do not have a home along with a mother and father and siblings,” Klunker said.
He gazed at each of us in turn.
“The small operation we performed on each of you was a great success. We think it will help ensure your survival. With no distracting memories of your families constantly on your mind, you will be better able to give the mission one hundred percent of your focus.”
“I think I would rather keep my memories, Professor,” a large blond girl said.
Grimwade snorted contemptuously at her words. “Just should count yourself lucky you are not laboring on the freezing ice of Alaska, Hana!” His tone was menacing. “That was the only other option you had.”
He stepped beside Jacinda and clapped her on her back.
“It’s time to introduce you all to your mission leader. Meet Commander Jacinda Moriarty. She already has considerable flying experience flying a variety of craft.” He glanced up at the girl. “Isn’t that so?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“The commander is three years older than any of you. We judge her to have sufficient experience and discipline for her role. Always remember that.”
“Professor, what happens if Jacinda is hurt?” Nako asked.
“Quite right,” Grimwade said. “Should anything unfortunate happen to render Jacinda unable to continue as the mission leader, that role falls on her second-in-command. That person is you, Nako. You are Jacinda’s Executive Officer.”
Nako gasped in shock.
“But…”
“Come here,” Grimwade said and gestured.
Nako stood beside Jacinda.
“What’s special about her, sir?” Jacinda asked.
“She showed interest in your role for a start,” Grimwade told her with gruffl
y.
“No, I didn’t…” Nako began, but she was cut short by Grimwade.
“As XO, you are second-in-command. That does not mean you get to argue the commander’s decisions. It only means you organize the others in the day-to-day operations.”
Nako nods her head unhappily.
“Yes, sir.”
“You and Jacinda work in close coordination. That way you know what is involved in the commander’s role so that you can take over if necessary.”
“Won’t happen, sir,” Jacinda said.
“We certainly hope not,” Grimwade said with a nod of his head. “You two can get back in line.”
“Over the next four months you will be put through an arduous physical regime,” Klunker told us. “It will either make or break you so far as your mission is concerned. We hope there are no mishaps. Of course, we have the Doctor on hand if anyone does injure themselves.”
“Serious injuries, especially if you keep having them will be considered a sign of your unsuitability for the mission. Make sure they don’t happen. Do exactly as you are told and do it right the first time. It would be a shame if you found yourself on your way to an icy gulag, wouldn’t it?”
12
Each has Something Special
Each day began with a chilling three-mile run on the ice-covered roads before the first rays of the sun struck the land. The instructors increased the distance steadily until we were running seven miles, eight miles, and finally ten miles before breakfast. The only let up we got was when a spring snowstorm hit and the snow lay too thick for us to lift our feet. We wanted that snow storm so badly, and when it came we ran around the indoor track and it felt like Christmas.
Jacinda made it clear how she saw the state of things one morning after we finished breakfast. We were all sitting at the three metal tables in the cafeteria sipping cups of hot provitamin booster when she stood in front of us.
“Any word yet on what this mission we have been volunteered for is about?” I asked her.
“I know as much as you do,” she said.
“I don’t believe that,” Sinead the Irish girl declared. “It stands to reason you know more than we do.”
“Yes, I am the commander,” Jacinda replied with a shrug. “So what’s your role?”
“I’ve no idea,” Sinead shot back, but it was mostly bravado and I saw her fold her arms defensively across her chest.
“What about you?” Jacinda asked me.
“I studied aerospace engineering so something to do with that I suppose...”
“Have you been sent to space before?”
“No.”
“Have you flown anything?”
I shook my head.
“I’m still a kid,” I reminded her.
“I noticed,” she said with a snigger.
“Are you flying us somewhere?” Hana asked in surprise. “You better be a damn good pilot if you are.”
“I’ve had my pilot’s wings for over a year—I have the experience and knowledge to fly you anywhere. So, don’t fret your tiny head about that.”
I hated Jacinda already. Anyone who reveled in their rank as much as she did was not going to win respect from me. It seemed to me there was someone from my past that used to say something similar to me. I tried to recall who, but the memory was no longer there and I gave up trying.
The training was tough from the start, and it got tougher with each passing day. Most of it happened in a swimming pool. We spent a lot of time underwater. It was not fun. The pool wasn’t heated, and they gave us no thermal suits. We had to complete each task holding our breath. They pushed us hard, telling us that it was to make us stronger. It was all very basic. We carried equipment up and down ladders, and we pushed and pulled gear and stacked it on high shelves. That kind of training became quickly became boring.
Then one morning, they had us wear suits in the pool. They were the kind of sealed gear that astronauts wore. They told us we might need the suits if the weather turned bad. I couldn’t get the idea we were heading for the Gobi Desert out of my head.
I had always wanted to visit the wilderness of inner China. A vast sandy space filled with dunes between the feet of the teeth of the Altai range and the sweeping steppes of Mongolia. Of course, I made it far more romantic than it was ever likely to be.
I imagined there, I would meet a boy who commanded an eagle. Together we would watch the bird soar and wheel in the huge expanse of a Mongolian sky. Watch as the eagle dived on a small bird or furry animal with a fearsome scream. To control a wild animal like an eagle, the boy would need to be very strong in character.
The boy would take me to places I had never been. He would show me fantastic sights I took great pleasure in creating in my mind. There would be nights huddled around a crackling fire in the center of a herder’s high round tent, sipping sweet yogurt drinks then tearing delicious crisped fat from barbecued lamb ribs. Days spent in the foothills at the base of the mountains watching as his hunting bird, grasping a bloodied feathered prize tightly in huge talons, landed heavily on the boy’s outstretched gloved hand. The countryside would be harsh but it would also be beautiful and wild.
Like the kestrel.
Like the boy.
I probably wouldn’t take to the harshness of life in that part of the world for too long. I really only wanted to meet that boy and hear his laughter when I told him about life as a Zero in the cities, blocked from using a Bricard and the Blockchain. He would tell me it didn’t matter because in his world he already had everything he needed.
I looked forward to our mission in China. I knew in my heart that was definitely where we were going.
13
Isabella is Gone
We began noticing a change in our meals a month into our training. The food was becoming odder by the day. At first, it was the addition of tiny pickled creatures and woody stems. Then they added nasty salads, bitter weeds, and thistles that stung our lips to the mix.
They fed us twice a day. Breakfast was right after our run and dinner in the late afternoon. We were always so hungry we didn’t complain much about the food. After a while, we grew used to the interesting additions we were served up.
The training had become tougher, and we saved our moaning for the evening when we lay on our beds. That’s when we competed for the most vivid description of pain from sore muscles.
It was the end of our second month at Burbank and Rosen Hall when Isabella disappeared.
They simply told her to gather her things and follow them. We never saw her again.
We were sitting at the three tables set up, side-by-side in our chow room, as usual, finishing whatever it was they had fed us.
“She has told me often when we finished the pool training that she didn’t feel so good,” Diah said.
Diah stood next to Nako in our line-up. She had high cheekbones and curly ash blonde hair. She seemed to be a quiet type, who would be difficult to know at the best of times.
“Seemed fine to me,” Sinead replied. “She always ate like she was starving. She couldn’t have been all that sick.”
“She had a heart problem,” Jacinda said, as she gulped down her food.
Jacinda always ate everything they gave us.
“Who told you that?” Nako asked.
“Someone,” Jacinda sniffed, without glancing up from her plate and chewing vigorously.
“Who?” Nako persisted. “Was it one of the technicians at the pool? Was it a cleaner?”
Jacinda snorted in response. “It’s not important who it was that told me. What is important is that now she’s gone.”
“Oh, how do you expect us to believe that if you can’t say who told you!” I exclaimed.
“Professor Grimwade,” she said, scowling as she turned to me. “They discovered she had an irregular heartbeat,” she said still staring coldly at me. “And, that means she’s on her way to a gulag. Alright? Can I finish my meal now?”
“Damn!” Sinead said. “What a bumm
er.”
“If you’re not up to the challenge, then you shouldn’t expect to make the final cut,” Jacinda said. “It’s really as simple as that. As a team, we are only ever going to be as good as the weakest among us.”
She was right of course, but it didn’t help. We gazed around at each other.
“Not to put a too finer point on it, that’s plain shit!” Sinead said to Jacinda.
Sinead was a pale dark-eyed girl with a ready and fierce temper. Most of the time she was a bit intense, but we liked her for her sense of humor. Only now she wasn’t trying to be funny.
“We needed someone like her,” Hana said.
“No, we didn’t,” Jacinda told her.
“I know,” Sinead replied glumly. “She was too weak.”
“Only the best of us go,” Jacinda told her. “Might be all of us. Might not.”
No one liked our mission commander. It wasn’t too difficult to see why. It was the condescending way of hers that was really getting under our skin. She acted as though tomorrow we might all be replaced by a bunch of new recruits. I doubted that.
I suddenly felt sorry for her. She was in command of a team who either hated her now or would hate by the time the mission was over. From what I could tell, that prospect had never crossed her mind, or perhaps she truly didn’t care.
“I wish I could remember something about my family,” I said suddenly.
“It’s better you think about other things,” Jacinda said.
“Because it will only get in the way of the mission,” Sinead added, pulling a face at Jacinda.
Jacinda was lying on her back on her bed, holding a book up to her face and pretending to read as she talked.
“I can’t think about them if I don’t remember them,” I replied to Jacinda. “It’s just that I can remember friends at school, but nothing about my family. For all I know, I might have been an orphan.”
“Oh, believe me, you had a family,” Sinead said. “I can tell.”
“What about you?” Diah asked Sinead.
Atoma and the Blockchain Game Page 5