My mother’s voice is slightly agitated.

“You’re late. If you miss the transport to The Academy your father will not be pleased.”

“When is he ever pleased with anything I do?”

I take a deep breath anticipating an argument; however, I roll over to see she is no longer at my door.

The sunlight breaks through my curtains casting an orange haze over my bed and onto the floor. Below my window I hear the faint sound of the government transports scuttling in and out of the departure area. I slowly sit up dangling my legs over the edge of my bed; slowly staggering onto my feet making my way into the shower. The faint sounds of my mother and father conversing in the kitchen is muffled by the roar of water reverberating in the tiny stall. Slowly I begin to put on my suit I had carefully ironed and laid out on my luggage the night before, checking to make sure every crease on my suit is perfectly straight, slightly amused at how good I look. My self imposed admiration comes to an end when I again hear my mother urging me to hurry.

Walking into a room with my parents is somewhat of an ordeal. The feeling of having every action and move judged is quite overwhelming. My father, Ianel, is chief engineer of a government research facility that often had him away for weeks at a time. My mother, Eandra, a biochemical technician, met my father as they were working on the same project together. My parents, both so used to figures, results and scientific facts that they often seem so inadequate at expressing their feelings. I am amazed they ended up together at all. I walk into the kitchen with my luggage in hand.

“…I just don’t understand why electromagnetic pulses would… Adaren! , are you ready to go?”

“Yes sir.”

“I want you to be respectful to the professors at The Academy, many of those men made me who I am today. Just keep your eyes and ears open and learn as much as you can.”

“I will”

“Well you better get going you don’t want to miss the transport.”

I give my father and mother a hug before I walk out the door into the courtyard of our housing complex. The smell of fresh air signals a feeling of freedom, for the last time I am stepping out of my parent’s house, and it feels good to be independent. A smile suddenly creeps onto my face as I brush past the many scientists and technicians headed toward the docking station. I look back one last time at complex 1111; this had been my home for so long I don’t know how it will feel to call something else as such. Transports float by; the roar of their magnetic boosters as they hover across the metallic ground makes the atmosphere in the docking station a cacophony of busyness. I notice from across the platform the transport that is destined for The Academy, as I rush towards the door I hear the engines start to rev up. I barely get my suitcase in the door before it closes. I guess my parents were right; I was going to miss it. I find that the seating situation leaves much to be desired. I stand in the front almost on my toes peering to the back, hoping in the sea of faces there will be an empty seat. I see a large hand waving out of the corner of my eye. I follow the hand down the arm and to a face that then nodded to the seat next to it.

I put my luggage under the seat and sit down.

“Hey, it’s pretty crowded on here huh”

“Yea you could say that, looks like you were the last stop”

I put my hand out to shake his.

“I’m Adaren Lang”

“Jathum Lee, it’s nice to meet you”

He is bigger than I am. The type of guy you wouldn’t want to see angry. Not fat or overly muscular just big. His head is shaved, and his face has a look of seriousness I can’t put into words. I look around at the other people all of them are in their early twenties, from all socioeconomic backgrounds; Hoping that the training at The Academy will get them a good job for the government. Only one third of high school students are chosen for The Academy. It is the place where the future of our society is forged. Or at least that’s what my parents used to say. This is not like an ordinary college, sure I could’ve gone to one, but I would’ve never heard the end of that. To be chosen is an honor and guarantees an important role in our society.
“So Adaren what did your parents do for a living?”

“They were scientist, yours?”

“Police, when they found out about The Academy they basically helped me pack they were so excited.”

“My parents seemed to expect it.”

“Must be nice…”

“Really its not”

His brow becomes furrowed as he glances down towards the ground, and cocks his head to the side. I turn my attention to the conversation going on in the seats behind us. Two guys in a heated discussion about the government and political affairs, the one on the left starts in;

“I don’t care how ready the president claims we are this “collective government” just took over half of the eastern countries in just three weeks.”

I look at Jathum with a confused glance, which he returns. It is the first time we had heard of any countries being taken over. The guy on the left is quick to reply; unaware that he has an audience in the seats in front of him.

“I say we have nothing to worry about, let them do whatever they want, as long as it doesn’t affect me and my family I don’t care. If the president says that we have nothing to fear then we have nothing to fear.”

“How can you be so naïve? Just because they haven’t come knocking yet doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be afraid, by the time they show up on our borders it will be too late!”

“Well if what I heard was true, then we shouldn’t ever see them on out borders”

“If you bring up that non aggression agreement you truly are naïve!”

“What? You don’t trust their leadership?”

“Trust them?! You are talking about a country that was a democracy for over five hundred years! Then one day they seal up their borders, and shut themselves off to the outside world. Four years later they are calling themselves “The Collective” dressing the same, acting the same, and taking orders from a dictator! I want to know what makes you think you can trust a country that throws away five hundred years of democracy in just four short years!”

The guy on the right looks down and is seriously considering his opinion as the man on the left continues.

“We both know they are a society that is not afraid of war, they might arguably be the best at it. Sure their last conflict ended in disaster and caused them to withdraw from the world stage. But severing all ties to all other countries just because you are afraid of retaliation is not the way to go.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying when “the collective” emerged from their fortress. They weren’t exiting to kiss and make up. To ensure their survival as a society, they decided to homogenize and take over those countries they saw as a threat”

I took a deep breath and sunk back into my chair. Political discussions give me headaches.

TO BE CONTINUED!

”For the good of the populace, curfew has been changed to 6pm”… Mother…her voice echoing through the city like a horn sounding attack; even in my icy tomb her voice pierces my soul and fills me with disdain. My stomach begins twisting in knots as anxiety attacks with swiftness that only anxiety knows…life is ending soon, and I feel that mine has been a struggle against the inevitable.

Who I am is not as important as what I have witnessed. In the grand design I am but one drop of rain plummeting towards the sea of existence. I can’t help but to laugh a bit when I think that maybe I am exactly where I belong. That all events leading up to this moment were aligned perfectly…I certainly was not working towards this outcome, so what exactly went wrong?

The tiny slat in my door looks as if it’s gasping for breath, as the light outside my cell flickers and sputters as it burns its last beams of life. The darkness envelops me like the embrace of a lost love. I welcome the cold chills, any feeling other than my burning rage is a welcome departure, but I lament the moans of pain that seemed to grow louder and louder, words that were barely audible become slightly clearer…but cries for help will do no good here. The deafening sea of moans is overlapped with fast heavy footsteps. The sheer size and magnitude of the ones that know no mercy is enough to strike fear in the heart of the hardest of hearts. Their massive frames barrel down the hallway to the first detention cube. Those that have just arrived would quickly discover how much worse their lives would become.
The moans quickly fade to shouts as The Ferrum Manus begins their new cycle of reeducation. The view of The Collective is that, one either assimilates or dies. I always thought that reeducation was some twisted game between the Ferrum Manus and The Collective. How many can the Ferrum Manus persuade to assimilate into the Collective each cycle…this will be my 8th cycle. I am not sure how long a cycle is, I only know that my wounds never have time to heal before the next cycle begins…but with the severity of the beatings if given enough time I don’t think these wounds would ever heal. The elite guards come to reeducate me themselves, you would think by now they would expect me to fight back. Every cycle I survive makes me wonder more and more why I am being kept alive, surely it would be easier to just kill me and be done with it. I am not sure how much more torture my body can bear, no matter how severe, they will never break me of my hatred or contempt of their kind!

The Ferrum Manus are the enforcers of The Collective’s will. It would be nice to think that if there was no resistance to The Collective that the Ferrum Manus would disappear; but at the same time it is agencies such as they, which require a resistance to The Collective in the first place. Not to be melodramatic but it does seem like a conundrum to which there is no answer.

Out in the hallway five men dressed in gray jumpsuits make their way from cell to cell. This is The Collectives final offer of absolution before the reeducation begins. One of the men will slide a tray through the slot in the door with the symbol of the Collective, if someone breaks and takes the symbol, then they are released to another facility in transition to assimilation. The only difference between this facility and the other is the type of reinforcement of The Collectives ideals. I only know of that place because of the many offers I have overheard while my torture took place.
“This can all end if you accept The Collective.”

The men are at my cell. The guards’ voice is soft and calm; it won’t be in a few minutes. I slowly raise my broken frame from the cold metallic floor, only to summon the thick red fluid from my lungs to spit on the offering and shove it back at the Ferrum Guards. The door swings open, the sun like glow from their flashlights flood my cell, the beams of light dancing around as they muscle their way in through the door, this pure light makes me think for just a second how much I miss the outside world. Without warning or notification I am lifted onto my feet by two huge hands by way of my neck, so fast that I almost black out from the force, and just as quickly as I am on my feet, I am slammed in the stomach with the business end of one guards shock batons. The electricity shoots through my body making my insides feel as if they had just been hit by a truck, dropping me onto all fours.

The icy metal floor burns my hands, or at least I thought that until I looked and saw the boot crushing my fingers, my observation is short lived as another massive boot swings up into my ribs breaking at least three on my right side. I am raised up by another pair of huge hands on the front and back of my skull… through all my hacking and spitting of blood I hear a shock baton growl to life as I am brought to my knees with my head pulled back and my face to the ceiling. With inhuman force I am slammed in the chest with the newly birthed shock baton, causing me to cross my arms gripping my torso in pain. As I pray for my heart to stop, I try not to concentrate on the growing pool of blood dripping from my mouth to the floor as my hands begin to become soaked in my thick red liquid. Another blow to the back of my head quickly follows, putting me in complete darkness once again…

TO BE CONTINUED!