* * *
Suzanne Nguyen staggered through the training room’s double doors. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. She could feel the nausea, written all over her face. She gagged but managed not to throw up.
“What the fuck are you doing to them?” she demanded.
The Hispanic trainee turned away from William Power to answer her.
"Basic First Aid ma'am." His voice and face were pleasantly polite, as if... as if that weren't happening on the other side of the doors. "Oh, excuse me, Kerry needs another replacement." He stepped around her and... Wait.
He was still there, next to William Power. What...?
It clicked.
"Duplicator?" she asked.
Still polite, he nodded. "Yes ma'am. Hector Hive."
She looked back, through doors that were still open from his passage. "The... dummies, they're all you?"
He nodded again. His manner was starting to edge out of polite, more like the way you'd treat someone who was- Suzy made the conscious decision not to be hysterical, to calm down. She took a few deep breaths, then resumed speaking.
"Duplicates or no, we can't show that on the air. Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions instead?"
This time, her voice was that of a professional, calm, cool, collected and free from that little edge of hysteria that was still shrieking, deep down inside of her. She was certain of that because she was being very careful to make sure it stayed that way.
She'd directed the question to Hector, but William Power answered first. "Not a problem Miss Nguyen. Please consider the trainee at your disposal."
"Of course," Hector added, "But there's a few things I can't talk about and a few things, well, a few thing I just won't."
Suzy gave him a reassuring smile. Considering the circumstances, it probably wasn't one of her best. Although, considering the circumstances further, she was a little proud she'd manage to do it at all.
"Naturally. That won't be a problem Hector. This'll be what we call a friendly interview. It just means that if there's anything you don't want to discuss, if you aren't comfortable, for whatever reason, just speak up and I'll avoid the subject."
Instead of agreeing right away, he stopped to think it over. If she was any kind of judge of character, and even without using her power she was a very good one, he was deciding in advance what he would or would not discuss.
"Okay, let's do it." he told her, eventually.
She gave him another smile, then "Oh! Um, sorry if this steps on your toes or anything, but.... for my own peace of mind, can you feel what your duplicates are going through?"
He grinned. "Technically, I'm a duplicate too."
"Wow, really?" she asked. "I had no idea."
Hector shrugged. "At this point, I'm not even sure if the original me is still around. But yeah, to answer your question, I feel what all my bodies do, sort of."
She cocked an eyebrow at him. It had taken her maybe six months to learn that, worth every minute.
"I used to think that my bodies shared thoughts, formed a group mind that was outside of all of them." he said. "But, a little while back, I realized it was actually memories. Every one of me remembers what all the rest of me is doing, more or less in real time."
"I'm not sure I see the difference." she admitted, cocking her head to the side in puzzlement. She'd have to be careful to avoid things like that during the actual interview. It might mess up the video from her borrowed headset.
"It's subtle, but I think it's why I can go through something like that and it's only... unpleasant, rather than horrific. Pain is bad, right?"
She laughed, nodding. "Uh huh."
"So is fear, embarrassment and so on. But the memory of pain, or fear or whatever, that's not quite as big a deal." he grinned.
"How did you ever manage to figure out something so abstract?" she asked.
"Have you ever been so pissed at someone that you didn't stop to think about the consequences, you just attacked?"
"Sure. I think everyone's been there once or twice." Suzy answered.
"Well, a while back, one of the other trainees said something pretty fuc- er, pretty messed up. I lost it and went for him without thinking. Thing was though, even though there were lots of mes there, it was only the me he said that to that got angry enough to attack. The other mes were just really, really annoyed."
"Okay, I understand what you're describing, but I don't get how-"
"See, that me was angrier!" Hector went on, eagerly. "I did some research and it turns out, a big part of emotion is chemical. Hormones and all that." He shrugged.
"I'm not far enough along in my degrees to follow all the details, but I got the gist. The rest of me didn't get the chemicals, so didn't react as strongly. If I was really a hive mind, like I always thought, it wouldn't work that way. I'd either be angry or not, instead of it varying between mes."
The difference still seemed largely irrelevant to her. She latched onto the part that had made sense, instead. "So this other boy, the one you attacked, was he alright?"
Hector's face went from a cocky grin to eerily flat. "He was fine, just some bruises." His voice was just as lacking in expression.
"Did you get in trouble? I know in Army Basic you'd have been set back a few weeks, maybe even expelled."
"Yeah, they made me help train the others." he said, nodding towards the double doors.
She... she didn't even know what to say to that. It must've shown on her face, because Hector started to reassure her.
"It's not so bad." He shrugged. "I never would've agreed to it otherwise, but it was this or get kicked out. To tell the truth, I'm actually kind of grateful. I've ended up learning a lot that I just wouldn't have otherwise."
"Well," she said, a little numb, "I hope you learned your lesson. Next time you don't like what somebody has to say, there's better ways to handle it than hitting them."
Hector didn't answer at first, his face blank but for a tiny little hint of amusement. "I'll keep that in mind, ma'am." That cocky grin slowly started creeping back.
Suzy really wished she dared to use her power. Without it, she had no idea what was going on around here.
* * *
The Sparring Field
The next day's first interview was scheduled for more than an hour before dawn. Suzy didn't like starting so early. Who would? But William had promised her that, if she met with this woman from Support early enough, she'd get to see something spectacular.
Suzy looked around, confused. It was dark enough that she couldn't see very well but still... This training ground, the 'Sparring Field,' seemed utterly featureless. It was just a flat plain of dirt and sand, with a few tufts of grass and the occasional bush. Not wanting to give up but unsure just what she should do, Suzy took to walking in slowly expanding circles.
After a time, something changed. She saw a light in the distance, one she was sure hadn't been there before. Hopeful, Suzy began making her way towards it as fast as she could without running. Closer, the light proved to be several floodlights attached to a tower. Not the great stone Tower that had caused this base to be called the Hub. This one was about a hundred feet from its base to the covered platform at the top. It was almost like a kid's tree house, a wide pillar of stone with steps spiraling up to the top. There was someone on the platform, waving at her. She shoved down a perfectly natural fear of heights and went up to meet them.
"Hi, I'm Annie Molder." said the unfamiliar woman, extending a hand.
Still a little breathless from the stairs, Suzy returned the greeting while examining her as best she could without her power. Annie was a plump woman, a little shorter than average. Her hair and skin both showed the effects of too much sun. Her smile was infectious and showed far too much cheer and energy for this time of the morning. Lastly, she wore the black pants and grey shirt of Citadel Support and, given the name, was likely Empowered.
"So, Suzanne, do you know if there's something wrong with your headset?" t
he woman asked. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last twenty minutes. Much longer and you would've missed the show."
Puzzled, Suzy removed the item in question and offered it up for Annie's inspection.
"Mr. Power- I mean, Sr. Operative Power told me all it could do was record." she said.
"Oh, um... sorry about that." Annie's face was too heavily tanned for it to show well, but Suzy was sure she was blushing. "If I'd realized, I'd have met you at the road and led you in."
Obviously she would've preferred to skip all that wandering around in the dark. Still, faced with the other woman's embarrassment, Suzy couldn't hold it against her.
"Don't worry about it Ms. Molder. A little exercise is probably good for me." A thought occurred to her. "Oh, is that right? I've only ever spoken with operatives and trainees so..."
Back on familiar ground, Annie smiled. "Mr. or Ms. works fine. The rest of us don't follow operative tradition. But you can call me Annie, of course."
Suzy smiled back making it as warm as she could.
"Thanks Annie, and please, call me Suzy." Time to get back on track. There was a reason she was here. "So, can I ask what it is that I'm supposed to be seeing?"
Annie's expression went from friendly to mischievous.
"Well Suzy, Director Greer thought you might like to see our combat training rooms."
"Well sure, that sounds like it could be pretty interesting. Is that why this is called the Sparring Field? Are there underground training rooms with hologram simulators or something?" Woops. Suzy was normally more disciplined with her questions, careful to guide the conversation and keep control of the interview. Maybe it was the time? No, best not to lie to herself. Suzy had been off her game since she got here.
"I don't know about interesting. They're pretty much featureless domes, but I do think this part is pretty cool." Annie told her.
What happened next shouldn't have been silent. Suzy looked over the field in awe as dozens, maybe even hundreds of the domes Annie had mentioned rose from the ground. It was a slow process, maybe thirty minutes from start to finish. Suzy might have been bored if it weren't for the sheer scale of it.
"How... are you the one doing that?" she asked.
Annie nodded, a faint look of concentration on her face. "Yep, that's my power. I can shape stone and earth, make stuff out of em."
Suzy took a moment to process that, still stuck on the possibilities. "That's incredible. Why... why haven't I ever heard of you? You should be one of the most famous Empowered in the country. I mean, if you can do this in half an hour..."
"Nope. It's not quite as useful as you're thinking. All this," Annie waved her hand at the massive collection of structures, "is only temporary. Right now it's stronger and lighter than steel. And yeah, I could build a high rise or whatever without much trouble. But as soon as I fall asleep or leave the area it'll all crumble."
"I guess that means you won't be revolutionizing the construction industry over night." Suzy said.
"Nope." Annie sighed. "I can help out in emergencies, reinforce damaged structures, provide temporary shelter and stuff, but that's about my limit."
Suzy found herself nodding along. "And you can't do much in a combat situation because the effect is too slow."
Annie didn't answer right away. "Maybe. I... I have to watch the fight training, make sure the domes don't collapse in the middle of a match, fix any damage they take, that sort of thing. I've seen kids with powers a lot less dangerous than mine come through here. You might recognize a few of their names. For that matter, the Army would probably love to have me."
Empathy or no, Suzy could hear the unspoken 'but.' She stayed silent, hoping Annie would volunteer the rest.
"I could never do what they do. Risking my life..." Annie shook her head. "Just the idea, it makes my blood run cold. I know what the operatives do is important. All you have to do is take a look at the Battlegrounds to see that, or worse: Winter."
She looked down and Suzy could see traces of tears in her eyes.
"I'm proud of what I do, helping them train, making it safer and more effective, but it's horrifying. Most of them, they're just kids. We get a few that are older, but the average age of a trainee is just nineteen. I help kids learn to fight, just so they can go out and risk their lives to protect the rest of us. Every day of my life, I thank God that they're stronger than me." Her next words were very quiet. Suzy wasn't sure she'd been meant to hear them.
"Then I ask him to forgive me."
* * *
Beneath the Tower
For once, Suzy hadn't needed to spend the day running all over the base tracking down her interview subjects. Instead, she'd spent her time in this pleasantly air conditioned room in one of the Tower's sublevels as one trainee after another knocked on her door to be interviewed. It made for a nice change. Another difference, this was the first day without any surprises. Given the nature of some of those surprises, that made for a very nice change indeed.
The trainees had been pretty much what she'd expected as well. Most of them were fairly young. They were cheerful and bright, eager to make a difference. Suzy didn't cover the Empowered stories, not normally, but she paid attention. Something like half of the Citadel's operatives didn't make it through their first year. That was split, more or less evenly, between physical impairment and 'psychological distress.' Talking to those smiling young men and women, not one of whom had seemed to understand what they were in for...
Suzy had a great deal of sympathy for Annabelle Molder.
There came a tapping, a gentle knocking on the door.
"Come in." she cried.
It took an effort to suppress a sigh when she saw her latest subject. The broad, happy smile, the way she seemed almost to bounce when she walked, it was just more of the same. She tuned out the girl's greeting, preparing to do the interview on autopilot. Then, Suzy saw something in her eyes. Determination? No, not just that... This was the Citadel. Even the brightest eyed raw recruits had that. But... there was something there, a depth and weight that... Suddenly, the danger didn't seem to matter quite so much. Suzy made that little mental twist and focused on the girl in front of her.
"Well young lady, do you know why you're here?" Suzy asked.
For a brief time, no more than a fraction of a second, she felt guilt, fear, isolation, hopelessness and helplessness. It all added up to a tangled mess that she couldn't sort through. Easier to just call it misery. For that fraction of a second, Suzy was horrified. In its own way, it was every bit as bad as Achala Juggernaut's living hell. Then it was gone.
"Because of the mess poor Donald's in." the girl answered.
Something very different took its place.
"That's... not exactly what I meant."
On the surface, there was happiness.
The trainee gave a short laugh, too self-aware to be called a giggle.
"No, but it's true. Public opinion's dragging him through the mud and someone had the idea to bring you in and take everyone's mind off him, change the narrative."
Beneath the happiness was a host of other things, responsibility, compassion and... determination wasn't quite the right word. That was like calling the Pacific wet: true, but it didn't come close to telling the whole story.
"I'm not saying you're right, but if you were... It sounds like you don't agree with the plan." Suzy observed.
That brilliant smile went away as she shook her head, not faded, just set aside for the moment.
"It'd probably work, but I don't think it's for the best." she said.
"Then what should be done? What is it that brought you here?" Suzy asked.
And then the girl told her. She'd probably rehearsed it in her head but it lacked the polish of a professional speech. Despite that, or because of it, her sincerity was obvious. Suzy didn't need her power to be certain of that.
"I understand why people might be afraid, be resentful of the Citadel. The Interruption was a catastrophe. I don't know
the exact death toll. The last estimate I heard put it at more than four hundred thousand. Almost worse than that is the damage it did to society. Things we take for granted, cell phones, communicators and televisions, they failed us. Other things, the ones we depend on every day, cars, planes and even something as simple as a light bulb...
“Well, for a little bit, it seemed like all our tools turned against us. All of that, because a high school student got frustrated during a computer science class? That's terrifying, even if no one wants to admit it. I've seen news reports that praised the Citadel for its rapid response, read articles about a mother who rescued her children from a fire caused by a power surge... all kinds of stuff. Inspirational stuff, and true, but that doesn't make the fear go away."
Suzy started to say something, stopped. She'd kept her power focused long enough. It wasn't just giving her emotion or sensations now. She was getting the context.
"It's natural enough for people to blame the Citadel for that fear, to resent us. After all, it's our job to stop this sort of thing, to protect you. But using something like this to punish the Citadel... It won't work. That won't make the fear go away any more than 'changing the narrative.'
“We need to remember something. No one understands much about Empowerment, but one of the few things we do know is that emotional states effect the outcome. This kind of widespread fear and resentment? It won't lead to anything good."
Without making a conscious decision, Suzy found herself asking a question. "What should we do?"
The girl fully expected to die. Suzy could feel it running through her. It wasn't a death wish. She just knew what happened to almost every operative that stayed in the field long enough. That happiness, that beautiful, vibrant joy the girl radiated... It wasn't a false shell or a way to hide from reality. It was a deliberate choice. The girl had weighed her options and decided that the good she could do was worth her life. That joy... it was the feeling of a woman who had found a worthy cause and devoted her life to it without reservation.
Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity Page 31