===== Beware the Radish Presents... D A R K T I M E S started by John Evans Chapter 6: Morning written by John Evans ===== "Good morning!" Natsue blinked. It was dark...and he'd been thinking about something. Or--he had been dreaming. Yes, that was it; memory returned with his ascent from unconsciousness. They'd taken the Lander tests yesterday, or at least the first tests. Then they'd spent the night in this bare room, listening to the Nightwalkers outside... He and Akie... Natsue pushed himself to his feet and smiled at Akie. She folded her arms and grinned at him. "About time you got up," she said. Natsue rubbed his eyes. "Mornings...you can keep 'em," he said, stretching. He looked around at the knots of other trainees. There was a certain--tension in the air. Furtive glances darted around the room, in a context Natsue didn't quite understand. Something had happened--something significant, while he was asleep. He turned to Akie, her face lit by a mischievious smile. "Anything new?" he asked. Akie leaned in conspiratorially. "Well--" "Attention!" All eyes moved to the front of the room, where a senior Lander had just appeared; the same as last night, Natsue noticed. The two guards slipped out of the room, to be replaced by fresh thugs. The Lander Captain folded his arms and waited. Natsue nudged Akie to his side and stood at attention. The other trainees quickly got the idea and lined up next to him, silence falling over the room. The Lander smiled. "Today is the first day of the rest of your life," he said. Natsue blinked, trying to get rid of the morning sand in his eyes. The Lander approached the line of trainees and began to walk along them, hands clasped behind his back. "Today you begin learning what it means to be a Lander." He stopped near Natsue, who suddenly felt acutely awake. "And one of the things it means is--" The Lander Captain spun and punched the man standing next to Natsue, burying his fist in his stomach. Natsue felt a chill crystallization--as he always came alive when danger was close. He held out his arm and felt Akie straining against it--watching the Lander drag the groaning man to the door, the guards taking hold of him and hauling him through. More meaty thumps and grunts were heard, then faded. The Captain turned back to regard the trainees again, and the low susurration of whispered conversations faded. Natsue forced himself to breathe evenly, willing his heart to slow its pounding. "Now." The Lander Captain steepled his fingers. "Does anyone know why we did that?" He looked around. "Anyone?" He turned towards Natsue, and Natsue was suddenly certain that Akie had raised her hand. "Yes?" the Lander directed at her. "You want to impose the absolute significance of this enterprise upon us by randomly killing someone?" Akie replied sweetly. There was a moment of frozen silence. Then the Lander grinned. "Interesting theory," he commented. "But it's a peasant's answer. Soon you will realize that we don't work that way. Soon you will learn to THINK like Landers." He surveyed the line again, and Natsue allowed himself a moment of belief that he might actually survive. "Anyone else?" Natsue leaned forward slightly to risk a look along the line of candidates, and felt a small shock of surprise as he saw the exercise girl raise her hand. The Captain nodded to her. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?" she asked, voice small in the silence. And then the Lander nodded. "Exactly. For those of you who might not be aware," Natsue could have sworn the Lander's eyes looked to him for a moment, "last night this young woman was...approached by another candidate. Who tried to, shall we say, force his attentions on her. A sad, sordid affair." He shook his head. "But nothing much happened, as she was able to defend herself. As any Lander should be." The Captain sighed, and rubbed his palms against each other as he stared into space. "But this raises an important point," he continued. "The Landers are a close-knit group. It's us against this dark world, this world that thinks the humans' time is over." His gaze refocused on the candidates, who leaned back involuntarily from the intensity of his stare. Natsue swallowed. "We do NOT attack each other," the Captain growled. "Or harass each other, or torment each other. This is a lesson which must be learned--which WILL be learned, or instead you shall learn exactly what happened to your young friend." Silence, once again, for several moments. Then, once again, the Lander smiled. "But it shouldn't be too hard. Lesson One--respect your fellow Landers." Natsue felt his hand going up. He wasn't sure whether he was about to be very clever or very stupid. The Lander noticed him, and nodded. "Yes?" "What would have happened if she hadn't been able to defend herself, sir?" Natsue asked. There was suddenly another stiff silence, though Natsue could hear a nearly-inaudible laugh from Akie. The Captain raised an eyebrow. "Then she wouldn't really be Lander material, would she?" "So if she wasn't a Lander, would it be such a--an infraction to, uh, harass her?" The Lander looked at Natsue--really looked at him, for several moments. Natsue tried to force himself to stop shaking and gaze calmly back. He felt as though each twitch, each muscle, each layer of his skin was being pulled away and examined by those dark eyes. On the edge of hearing, Akie was still laughing next to him. He recognized it as the laugh just before something painful happened. The Lander suddenly smiled, his gaze clicking off like a searchlight. "You'll have to work that one out for yourself," he replied. "You'll understand soon enough." He turned to address the candidates at large, and Natsue allowed himself to exhale. "You all want to be Landers!" the Captain boomed. "Well, it's time to find out what you're really made of. Candidates, follow me." He turned and strode out the door, the trainees quickly following in an unorganized mass. Natsue tried to ignore their stares as he waited for the press to subside. Akie took his hand and squeezed it playfully. ===== Dr. Belker looked up from his keyboard for a moment as Reiko entered the room, yawning. She aimed a wave at him. "Morning, Doctor." "Morning, dear." The doctor smiled, then turned back to his screen. Reiko reached the small area of the room that had evolved to serve as a kitchen and began rummaging through the assembled foodstuffs. "Good morning, Reiko-san." Reiko halted her actions, and then slowly turned around. A bright hologram filled the air above the work table--a kneeling woman in a red kimono, her makeup subtly artistic, her smile precise. "Er...good morning, GEISHA," Reiko answered. The hologram bowed, and she frowned. "Doctor..." Dr. Belker blinked as Reiko took hold of his shirt and pulled him away from the console, then turned to face away from the hologram. "Something the matter?" he asked. Reiko sighed. "Doc, this AI you found. How much do you really know about it?" The scientist blinked for several moments. "Reiko, are you doubting GEISHA's motives and honesty?" "Yes, I'm doubting its motives." Reiko frowned. "I mean, having an AI would no doubt be useful, but--computer science isn't really your field, right?" Dr. Belker scratched his chin. "Well, mostly I dabble--" "So you haven't taken apart its programming to find out what it's really programmed to do," Reiko pressed. The doctor stared at her. "Reiko, what an appalling thing to say!" "But it's just--" Reiko looked at the hologram, floating serenly in the air. GEISHA was smiling in their direction. There was a feeling, a hunch in the back of Reiko's mind...she knew it would be absurd when nailed down into words, but it cast a shadow over her mind... She shook her head. "Whatever. Look, you just be careful, okay?" Dr. Belker patted her hand. "Of course, dear. I always am, you know that." "I'm going out to check on some things." Reiko cast one last look at the AI and turned to the door. "What about breakfast?" Dr. Belker called. "I'm not hungry." The doctor listened to the door open, close and seal itself after her. He stood still for a moment, considering, then shrugged and turned back to his computer. "Ara, she seemed upset, Sensei." "Oh, she's always been high-strung..." ===== Marigold opened her eyes, and smiled. It was morning...she could sense the impression of sunlight filtering through the windows. The room was still dim, but she didn't let that get in the way of her mood. The young priestess sat up and looked around. Yomi was visible, sitting against a wall and reading. He glanced up and nodded to her, and she smiled back. "Good morning!" The Lander nodded again. "There's a room you can wash up in over there." He jerked his head toward the back of the small building. "Watch out for Nobuhara." "Oh..." Marigold peered around the room again. "Where is he?" "Around." Marigold blinked. Then she smiled, slighty. "Um, okay then. I'll watch out then." She surveyed the makeshift campsite. "And then I'll come back and start breakfast, okay Yomibito-san?" Yomi watched her go with a vaguely uneasy expression. ===== The Spider threw himself into a battered wooden chair and exhaled for several moments. Seiji found himself wondering if the man's lungs were larger than they appeared. Finally, he had to breathe in again. "Another night over with, and we're still here." A grin spread over the Spider's face. "Still here, and what more could we ask for?" "Yes, sir," Seiji replied, blinking his eyes. His corneae seemed to hurt, against all logic. It was merely a side effect of his lack of sleep, though. "Eh, Seishi?" Suddenly the Spider was out of his chair and sticking his face right up to Seiji's. Seiji leaned back involuntarily, trying to quell his urge to flee. "I asked you a question," the Lander snapped. "What more could we ask for?" Seiji stared at the man, desperately forcing his brain to work. "We, ah, survival, of course," he replied. "And, food. Resources...A chance to rebuild." Suddenly he knew what the Spider was getting at--or thought he did. Seiji had a hunch that a confident wrong answer was better than a hesitant catechism. "What we really want, what we have worked for, is a chance to bring the human race back to its former glory," he said. "A chance to once again take control of our environment, and adapt it to our needs. A chance to--" "Yes, hm, very good." Seiji quickly shut his mouth. "A good answer," the Spider nodded. "A proper Lander answer." Seiji said nothing. After a moment the Spider looked at him sharply, then chuckled to himself. "Seishi, I have a confession to make." "Yes, sir?" Saying 'sir' was probably never unwelcome. The Spider crept closer and laid one hand on Seiji's shoulder. "I sense a certain potential in you, Seishi," he confided to the younger man. "Ever since we first met I've sensed a certain cunning, a certain drive." He nodded. "It's a valuable thing." Seiji felt a chill on the back of his neck. He had met the Spider once before, in his 'former life'--was that what the Lander was referring to? Or was it a coincidence. "Thank you, sir..." "That's why I want you on my staff," the Spider continued. As Seiji opened his mouth, the other Lander grinned. "I understand you have your own commitments to meet," he added. "It is an order, not a request. You may think it over." "Uh, right. Sir." With a cheerful nod the Spider returned to the chair, swiveling around to sort through a few papers on a nearby desk. Seiji turned his options over in his head. He had very little in the way of a specific assignment. Yet, working with the Spider on whatever he had his hands in might take him away from opportunities for observation. Or it could afford him new opportunities of the same kind. He might eventually have to leave the Spider's service, drawing attention to himself. But at the same time, refusing the generous offer of a high-ranking Lander would draw attention as well. Decisions, decisions... "Sir?" The other Lander swiveled back in his chair. "I accept." And the Spider smiled. ===== To be continued... ===== Author's note Yeah, I decided to start writing this again. There are more plot threads to be dealt with, sure, but I wanted to get this part "published". Amazing how the Spider is starting to get himself developed in the story... John Evans jevans@alum.mit.edu 10/31/03 #56 Beware the Radish http://www.chaoseed.com/btr