The Significant

by Kyra Anderson

  “And you,” Paul added. “No one else is here. He is not coming back, and you are not the same person you were when he was here. You are much stronger now.”

  “My other doctor would disagree with you,” Isa said with a broken chuckle.

  Paul smiled, tapping his finger gently against her forehead.

  “This doctor is talking about up here,” he said. “Gihron is threatening you, but Colonel Amori is dead. We know that for a fact. Remember, Michael did the autopsy.”

  Isa’s eyes turned to Dr. Busen, who was looking at her tenderly, though he was clearly concerned.

  “He cannot harm you anymore,” Paul assured. “He won’t harm Rayal, or Remus, or Tarah, or Kailynn. He’s gone.”

  “He’ll never be gone, Paul,” Isa whispered.

  “I suppose that is so,” he admitted. “And you can’t think of Gihron at all without thinking of him, can you?”

  “No.”

  “And you can’t forgive yourself for what happened, can you?” Paul murmured.

  “We’ve been over this thousands of times, Paul,” Isa groaned.

  “I know,” Paul agreed. “And we’re going over it again.”

  “I could never live with myself if I let anything like that happen again,” Isa whispered. “To anyone. But…”

  “What happened to the prototypes reminded you of it all?” Paul asked knowingly.

  Isa nodded.

  Dr. Busen dropped his head and Remus looked away, both suddenly understanding.

  “Isa,” Paul started, “you did what you had to do to protect yourself. You were not responsible for his actions. You were the victim.”

  Isa closed her eyes.

  “Are you not going to listen to me say this?” he asked. She shook her head quickly. “Okay,” he said. “I won’t say it, yet, but soon, you’re going to have to hear it. For now, I think it would be best if you were to see Michael at least once a week to be sure that you’re physically strong enough to endure this stress.”

  “I don’t want to endure it,” Isa growled. “All I do is endure it. I’m tired.”

  “Isa, if you can’t perform as Golden Elite…” Remus trailed off. Isa turned to him, her eyes cold.

  “Venus will order me dead?” Isa concluded sharply. “I know, but she wouldn’t kill me without finding a replacement, and in that time, I’ll rip her apart.”

  “Isa, remember where you are,” Paul said, placing his hand on her shoulder. She pushed his hand away and tried to sit up, but Dr. Busen guided her back to the couch.

  “You’re attached to fluids. Stay put.”

  “Let go of me,” Isa ordered darkly.

  Paul backed Dr. Busen away from the agitated Golden Elite, worried about Isa lashing out.

  “I don’t care if she hears this,” Isa snarled. “I am tired of having to endure all of this. My life was determined to be like this hundreds of years ago. It was never my choice. I was taught to endure the abuse of the teachers, I was taught to endure the threats of Venus. And I was taught to endure this alone. I am risking death just by having someone to go home to, someone with whom I don’t have to be the Golden Elite. But because I am the damn Golden Elite, everyone around me is in danger, Kailynn especially, if Gihron is so set on revenge for what I did to Colonel Amori.”

  The others were silent.

  “I am sick of my hands being tied no matter what I do,” Isa hissed. “After a while, the threat of execution loses its edge. It’s been hanging over me my entire life. And every death threat I’ve ever received, whether it was at the Academy or from fucking Colonel Amori and the rest of Gihron, has been because of Venus, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I want her gone.”

  “Isa,” Dr. Busen said slowly, “you became the Golden Elite because you were very careful and smart about how you rebelled. You have changed a lot on Tiao, and in the Alliance, and I know it’s not everything you’ve wanted to change, but you have accomplished a great deal, even with the horrors of Colonel Amori.” The doctor rubbed his forehead. “I guess, what I’m trying to say, is don’t throw away all of your hard work. You can still change things, but you are the only one that can at this point. A new Golden Elite will fall right into routine, you know this.”

  Isa closed her eyes again, going quiet.

  Remus rubbed his eyes tiredly, his irritation reaching levels of anger. Paul glanced at him, seeing his agitated state.

  “Remus, may I speak with you?” he asked, standing. The Silver Elite nodded quickly, turning and walking out the door of the office. Paul followed him, leaving Dr. Busen and Isa alone in the office.

  The doctor reached forward and checked the small screen on the monitor attached to Isa’s arm. Content with the knowledge that she was no longer severely dehydrated, he backed away and rubbed his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “I’m not an Elite Psychiatrist,” he started quietly, “so I may say the wrong thing here, but I want you to know that I admire you immensely, Isa.” She opened her eyes and turned to the doctor. “From the moment I saw you, fifteen and full of fire about changing the entire Altereye System, I knew that, if any Elite were to actually change things, it would be you.” Dr. Busen took a deep breath. “There is a fire inside of you still. Colonel Amori did not take it from you, no matter what you think.”

  “How can you be sure?” Isa whispered.

  “Because I see it,” Dr. Busen said tenderly. “I see that fire in your eyes again.” He looked to the ground, rubbing his hands together once more. “I think…this thing with Gihron has you even more confused than ever before, because you have always wanted to shut down Venus, and they are asking you to do so.”

  “I can’t shut her down, Michael.”

  The doctor smiled, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

  “There it is,” he breathed.

  “What?”

  “There is the Golden Elite,” he said. “And I don’t mean the A-Class prototype that was appointed from the Academy, I mean the Golden Elite, the leader of the planet, the one who knows how to play this bloody game of politics and knows her strengths. You won’t shut down Venus because you know it can kill you. And you don’t trust anyone else, not even Remus, to implement the changes you want on this planet.” He reached forward and took her chin, smiling at her. “That’s the fire. You know things have to change, you know how to change things, and you have the confidence and trust in yourself that you are doing right by the people of this planet, which is why you don’t trust anyone else to lead this planet through that revolution.”

  His smile widened.

  “Anything is possible,” he breathed. “We’ll always stand behind you. If you want to find a way to shut down Venus, and keep yourself alive, we will find a way.”

  Isa stared at the doctor for a few moments before clearing her throat and looking at her desk.

  “Over there,” she said, “bottom left drawer, there is a key secured to the back of the drawer. Take that key and open the hatch on the floor under the desk.”

  Dr. Busen obeyed, despite his confusion. He found the key, inserted it into the small opening in the floor, and pushed aside the covering of the hatch. In the floor were several electronic files and drives, each marked with a number.

  “Which one?”

  “Number nine,” Isa said.

  He sifted through the contents, finally coming across a case marked with the number nine. He pulled it out, closed the hatch, returned the key, and walked back to Isa. She tapped the case and looked at the doctor seriously.

  “This is absolutely never to connect to any NCB chair, or any terminal,” she hissed. “This computer is wired outside of Venus. It’s not connected to her at all.”

  “How did you manage that?” Dr. Busen hissed.

  “It was not easy,” she said, “but the information on there is vital.” She placed a hand over her heart. “If you want to know anything about how this works,” she said, “then carefully look over all that information.”


  Dr. Busen stared at her, trying to figure out what she was saying. His eyes shot wide when he realized what he was holding in his hands.

  “These are the notes—”

  “From the very first Golden Elite prototypes,” she completed with a nod. “All the failures, all the deaths, everything before they finally figured out how to make it work, all the information is in there.”

  Dr. Busen looked down at the file, feeling the weight of it in his hands.

  “If you really want to help, look over those and see if there is way to keep my heart beating once she’s shut down.”

  Rayal walked into the kitchen of Isa’s level at Anon Tower, following Tarah as the caretaker went to prepare something light for the Golden Elite to eat. Isa had returned home early, pale, shaking, and accompanied by both of her doctors and Remus. Paul told Tarah that Isa was over exhausted and needed to rest and eat, trying not to worry the young caretaker about the Golden Elite’s health.

  Isa refused to rest, sitting in the living room and working on her personal terminal. Tarah repeatedly asked if she wanted something to eat, but the Golden Elite refused.

  When Rayal returned to drop Kailynn off at Anon Tower and saw Isa home so early, he knew something was wrong. There was a look on the Elite’s face that worried him. Kailynn went forward immediately and asked if everything was alright. Isa smiled and assured her she was fine and she was just exhausted.

  Even though it was clear Kailynn did not believe the Golden Elite, she did not press and sat with the Golden Elite.

  Tarah came out of the kitchen and asked if they wanted anything, but they both refused.

  Standing uselessly in the living room, Rayal finally went into the kitchen after Tarah.

  “Hey,” he greeted. She turned to him, her face tired and dark circles under her eyes.

  “Hey.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  He nodded slowly, his eyes lowering to the ground.

  “She collapsed at the Syndicate,” Tarah whispered. “She’s not eating, she hardly sleeps…” Tarah rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what to do…”

  Her voice became choked and she turned her eyes to her feet.

  Rayal placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “The most you can do is be there for her. She’s very stubborn, you know this. You can’t do anything about her behavior, but if you show her you care, and that you’re worried about her, that will be enough.”

  “I am worried, and I do care,” Tarah choked. “I can’t just sit back and watch her do this. I feel like she’s going back to the ways she was when—”

  “She’s not,” Rayal assured quickly. “She’s teetering on the edge of it, but she won’t do that again. We won’t let her. This time, we know what to do when she starts acting like that. Things are already different than they were five years ago. Plus, she has Kailynn, and that has helped immensely.”

  Tarah nodded, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, her hand going over her mouth as her eyes became lost in the floor.

  Rayal squeezed her shoulder.

  “Hey,” he said, ducking his head to look her in the eye. “Remember what I told you when you started training as a caretaker? You can’t take everything she does to heart.”

  “I just don’t know how to help,” Tarah hissed. “It’s so unfair, you know? She has done so much for me. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her. But…I can’t do anything to repay her for that.”

  “Tarah,” Rayal caught her attention, “having you alive and well is more than enough to repay her. You don’t owe her anything.”

  “It’s not about owing her,” Tarah said. “It’s about…doing something for her…about using this life she gave to me to do something.”

  Rayal took Tarah’s face in both hands, forcing her to look at him.

  “You are her caretaker. You are responsible for her home and her safety. You feed her, because you know she won’t eat unless the plate is shoved under her nose. You keep her company when she needs it. You are doing something amazing with your life. You are helping the leader of a planet. That is nothing meager.”

  Tarah closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.

  “It’s not enough.”

  Rayal smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the kitchen.

  “Rayal?” she gasped, confused.

  They walked through the living room and to the front door.

  “We’ll be back,” Rayal called over his shoulder to Isa and Kailynn.

  He pulled the startled and confused Tarah into the hallway toward the elevator.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Out,” Rayal said. “You have been cooped up in there too long with your thoughts. You need to get out.”

  “Then shouldn’t we get the car?” Tarah asked, pointing to the opposite end of the hallway.

  “No.”

  Rayal stepped into the elevator, pulling Tarah in and pressing the button to go to the lobby.

  “Are we getting your car?” she asked, her voice tight with nervousness.

  Rayal turned to face her as the elevator descended.

  “I have been meaning to tell you this, Tarah,” he said with a gentle grin. “You cannot care for Isa when you don’t take care of yourself. You can’t let yourself go into that dark spiral of thoughts, thinking that you owe Isa something or that you are not doing enough.” He took her face again. “Your existence is enough. You are enough. Don’t think that you need to be anything else to take care of Isa. And you can’t put yourself last, because if you do, and she needs you, you won’t be able to help her because you’ll have no energy left to give her.”

  “Rayal,” Tarah said, “Isa is the leader of the planet. Her problems are significantly more important than mine.”

  “No, they’re not,” Rayal said strongly. “There is no difference in your worth versus Isa’s.”

  “Yes, there is,” Tarah said, laughing as the doors to the elevator opened.

  “No,” Rayal repeated. “There is no difference, particularly not to me.”

  Tarah was surprised by the statement. Rayal walked out of the elevator, taking her hand once more. Tarah had always felt that Isa was more important to Rayal than she. She had not felt jealous about it, because she knew that Isa was the leader of Tiao, and that was the highest position in the entire Altereye System. The statement that Rayal cared about Tarah and Isa equally made her chest bloom with warmth.

  However, that quickly changed to fear when she saw they were approaching the doors of the building. The lobby was empty, as usual, and the outside world was beaming with sunlight, but devoid of people.

  She stopped walking and pulled against Rayal’s insistence.

  “No, wait.”

  “What is it?” Rayal asked

  “We can’t go out there,” she said. “No one walks anymore. It will look suspicious.”

  Rayal smiled. “No one else is out there, so no one will see,” he said. “You’re safe with me.”

  She stared into his mismatched eyes. She had always avoided looking at Rayal’s scarred eye, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Even though Rayal never told her how he received the injury, she had watched the security tapes when she started training as a caretaker. For months after seeing the footage, she thought about the violent fight that broke out in the living room of Isa’s home between Rayal and Remus. But even after part of his face had been destroyed, Rayal would not let the Silver Elite get anywhere close to Isa. He stood between them, arms stretched out, face bleeding profusely, trying to protect the Golden Elite.

  Perhaps seeing the loyalty he had for Isa was what made Tarah feel so safe with the former caretaker.

  With a wobbly smile, she took his hand and followed him into the sunlight.

  She had been on the balcony on multiple occasions, but there was something different about being at the base of Anon Tower, staring up at the towering structure among the other sky scr
apers in Anon. The sun was bright and hot, but there was something about it that was comforting.

  Of course, that might have been the way Rayal held her hand as they walked on the abandoned walkways between the buildings, strolling away from Anon Tower.

  Rayal turned to her, walking backward, his hand never leaving hers.

  “We have the entire city to ourselves,” he joked. She smiled, her cheeks flushing. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Anywhere,” she murmured. “As long as you’re there.”

  Rayal slowly stopped walking, his hand tightening around Tarah’s.

  “Tarah,” he started quietly, “you know that I’ll be here for you. Always.”

  “I know.”

  She glanced around the buildings. She felt very small in comparison to the structures of glass and metal, but there was something comforting about the feeling. High in Anon Tower, it felt like everything was so delicate and fragile below. As she stood in the middle of the structures, noticing just how large and beautiful everything was as the sunlight bounced around the angles and facets, things seemed somehow simpler.

  “Rayal,” she said, before she could stop herself, “remember how I told you that you made me realize how strong I was?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m also feeling pretty brave, right now.”

  “You are very brave,” he agreed. “This is the first time you’ve been outside in…at least a year.”

  “It’s not only that,” she said, looking at him. Her face was burning hot and her stomach was twisting itself into knots, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself of her bravery and her strength.

  “What is it?”

  Tarah stepped forward, leaning up on her toes and kissing Rayal.

  She backed away from the peck and laughed nervously.

  “Um, sorry…”

  Her hand started to pull out of Rayal’s, but his fingers tightened and stopped her from backing away. He took a step toward her, his other hand reaching up to brush over her cheek.

  “Don’t apologize,” he murmured. He leaned closer, but did not kiss her. He waited for her to close the gap between them.

  Tarah’s entire being felt like it was flying when she kissed Rayal. She had been infatuated with the man for nearly four years, her childhood admiration turning into interest as she grew older. However, she had always been too nervous. Rayal never seemed interested in her.