hologram in the center of the circle.
The hologram lesson begins by showing us plant
after plant. It talks about which are poisonous, which are edible and which
have medicinal powers. In the flickers between the images I catch glimpses of
Fe. The glow of the hologram highlights the soft features of her face.
Suddenly I feel my hand being grabbed and I look
down to see that Ev has locked her fingers with mine. My heart races as it
always has and I can feel the instant comfort that her touch brings me. I’m
surprised, however, by another feeling that runs through my body, one that I’m
not quite sure how to explain. All I know is that I don’t want Fe to see that
Ev and I are holding hands. I pull Ev’s hand back between the beanbags and hope
that does the trick.
When pictures of animals start showing up on the
hologram, the entire room reacts in disgust to the notion of eating any of them,
including myself. Until a picture of a chicken appears. Seeing the image of this bird as it lives nearly makes my stomach turn, but
then I remember the taste and my mouth begins to water. Though I only tried it
the one time, the taste far surpassed that of any of the protein pouches.
“Those taste so good.” I’m surprised at my
words. I had not intended to say that aloud.
“You tried one?” Al speaks up.
A few of the other Genesys make their disgust
known.
“How?” I hear Mag ask from my left.
I get a rush of excitement as I begin to tell my
story. “I was outside the walls with—”
“—That’s enough Atom.” His voice cuts me
off. The lights turn on and I see Rene standing next to Brianna.
“Sorry,” I reply. I can feel everyone looking at
me and to my right I see Titan smile. There is something about him that doesn’t
sit well with me.
“I want everyone’s eyes on me.” Rene speaks as
he moves in front of the windows. We all adjust ourselves to face him.
“I’m going to explain everything once and I want
you to keep your questions until the end.” He looks right at me. I can sense an
anger building inside me. It took him months to open up to me and here he is,
telling the rest of them in less than a week.
“Some of you already know that the world, as it
is today, is going to end,” Rene begins. A few mumble their surprise. “The
people at this compound will be responsible for this end. The humans still
living on Earth are driving themselves to extinction.
So, when the time is right, we will be detonating all the remaining nuclear
weapons around the world to eradicate the majority of the population. Those who
remain won’t be able to withstand and survive the fallout.
“You were created to start humanity over again.
When the detonation sequence is initiated and the Ragnarok begins, you will all
be flown away from here. There are six bunkers currently being built in six
different locations in Africa. Each bunker will hold two of you, one male and
one female. We are splitting you up to make sure that, in case one bunker
doesn’t hold, the majority will survive. Of course, our hope is that you all
make it.
“You all will remain in your bunkers for exactly
two years. The doors will not unlock until then. Each bunker has been equipped
with hyperbaric chambers that will help you sleep for a couple of months at a
time and will continue to feed you information. Once the doors open, you will
all need to make your way back to this compound. The journey will be longer for
some, but once you have all congregated here, Atom will know what to do and he
will lead you.”
This last sentence hits me hard. I don’t know
what I’m supposed to do when I get back here. How can he expect me to lead them
if I’m not even sure what I’m leading them to? Suddenly the collective weight
of humanity has been thrust upon my shoulders and I feel it crushing me.
“Any questions?” Rene asks.
“Why Atom?” Titan speaks.
I hear some mumbles around the room and I can’t
tell if they agree with him or not. I glare
The hologram lesson begins by showing us plant
after plant. It talks about which are poisonous, which are edible and which
have medicinal powers. In the flickers between the images I catch glimpses of
Fe. The glow of the hologram highlights the soft features of her face.
Suddenly I feel my hand being grabbed and I look
down to see that Ev has locked her fingers with mine. My heart races as it
always has and I can feel the instant comfort that her touch brings me. I’m
surprised, however, by another feeling that runs through my body, one that I’m
not quite sure how to explain. All I know is that I don’t want Fe to see that
Ev and I are holding hands. I pull Ev’s hand back between the beanbags and hope
that does the trick.
When pictures of animals start showing up on the
hologram, the entire room reacts in disgust to the notion of eating any of them,
including myself. Until a picture of a chicken appears. Seeing the image of this bird as it lives nearly makes my stomach turn, but
then I remember the taste and my mouth begins to water. Though I only tried it
the one time, the taste far surpassed that of any of the protein pouches.
“Those taste so good.” I’m surprised at my
words. I had not intended to say that aloud.
“You tried one?” Al speaks up.
A few of the other Genesys make their disgust
known.
“How?” I hear Mag ask from my left.
I get a rush of excitement as I begin to tell my
story. “I was outside the walls with—”
“—That’s enough Atom.” His voice cuts me
off. The lights turn on and I see Rene standing next to Brianna.
“Sorry,” I reply. I can feel everyone looking at
me and to my right I see Titan smile. There is something about him that doesn’t
sit well with me.
“I want everyone’s eyes on me.” Rene speaks as
he moves in front of the windows. We all adjust ourselves to face him.
“I’m going to explain everything once and I want
you to keep your questions until the end.” He looks right at me. I can sense an
anger building inside me. It took him months to open up to me and here he is,
telling the rest of them in less than a week.
“Some of you already know that the world, as it
is today, is going to end,” Rene begins. A few mumble their surprise. “The
people at this compound will be responsible for this end. The humans still
living on Earth are driving themselves to extinction.
So, when the time is right, we will be detonating all the remaining nuclear
weapons around the world to eradicate the majority of the population. Those who
remain won’t be able to withstand and survive the fallout.
“You were created to start humanity over again.
When the detonation sequence is initiated and the Ragnarok begins, you will all
be flown away from here. There are six bunkers currently being built in six
different locations in Africa. Each bunker will hold two of you, one male and
one female. We are splitting you up to make sure that, in case one bunker
doesn’t hold, the majority will survive. Of course, our hope is that you all
make it.
“You all will remain in your bunkers for exactly
two years. The doors will not unlock until then. Each bunker has been equipped
with hyperbaric chambers that will help you sleep for a couple of months at a
time and will continue to feed you information. Once the doors open, you will
all need to make your way back to this compound. The journey will be longer for
some, but once you have all congregated here, Atom will know what to do and he
will lead you.”
This last sentence hits me hard. I don’t know
what I’m supposed to do when I get back here. How can he expect me to lead them
if I’m not even sure what I’m leading them to? Suddenly the collective weight
of humanity has been thrust upon my shoulders and I feel it crushing me.
“Any questions?” Rene asks.
“Why Atom?” Titan speaks.
I hear some mumbles around the room and I can’t
tell if they agree with him or not. I glare
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