Gene. Sys. (13 page)

This gives me a lot of insight into how to
manage a squad if faced against two enemies at once. Through the process, it is
evident that Titan is one of the best leaders, even better than Ev. I would
still trust Ev above anyone else, but Titan certainly knows how to read a
situation. Hydro and Ox are also instinctive leaders.

Most nights I head up to the roof of the library
for some fresh air. Cal, Al, Hydro and Fe have made it a habit to join me when
I go up there. Most of the time our conversations center on the simulations, the
last couple of nights, though, our thoughts have been drawn to bright flashes
we’ve been seeing beyond the wall.

10

When I wake up, I instantly know something is
different about today. My stomach churns and I’m barely able to keep down the
protein pack I eat. I brush off the thoughts, thinking that it’s because of the
simulation I plan to run today. I’ve been avoiding it since I saw it on Grant’s
sheet, but I know I can’t put it off forever. Today the simulation will be dead
bodies
.

Quick calculations tell me that there are just
over 100 days left before the scientists set off the end of the world. The
Genesys have all been around for weeks now and are pretty much caught up to Ev
and I. This simulation will be hard for them to handle if it’s anything like
the first time I saw dead bodies.

As I head down the empty hallway, like I usually
do to set up before the rest get down there, I see two figures standing by the
elevator. I recognize Rene instantly. The second figure takes me a second to
register, but then I realize that it’s the woman I saw in the medical ward
talking to Brianna and Hawk.

“Atom, good. I was hoping you would be by soon.”
Rene puts his arm around me and squares me up to the woman. Up close, her hair
seems to alternate between black and white. “This is Doctor Lila Kivuli.”

She reaches her hand out. “It’s nice to formally
meet you, Atom.”

“Nice to meet you.” I shake her hand.

“Dr. Kivuli is our resident psychiatrist. She has
been working with a lot of scientists here at the compound and she insisted
that she started seeing all of you.” Rene smiles.

“What for?” I speak to Rene as if Dr. Kivuli
wasn’t there. Something about the way she looked at me back in the medical ward
hasn’t sat right with me.

“I just want to give you all an outlet to vent.
You must be going through a lot of stress and I can help you talk out any
issues you might be having.”
 
Dr.
Kivuli answers for Rene.

“I’m fine. I don’t need to talk things out.” I’m
getting annoyed. I don’t want to be wasting my time when I should be setting up
the simulation.

“You may think you are, but the rest of them
might not be. Besides, Atom, this is not an option. I want each of you to see
Dr. Kivuli once a week.” Rene’s words are final. He motions for Dr. Kivuli to
walk before him and he follows her as they head down the hallway.

I get into the elevator and try to brush off my
annoyance. Rene is probably right though. They do need someone to talk things
through with, especially after today’s simulation. It probably wouldn’t be a
bad thing for me either because I don’t really have anyone I can confide in
with regards to my issues with being the leader.

Telling any of the other Genesys, including Ev,
that I am constantly second guessing myself would show weakness. I need them to
trust that I will always make the right decisions.

When I reach the simulation room, I decide that
I am not going to reveal what the simulation is. No amount of warning can set
them up for the shock they will feel. I open the weapons cache and remove
twelve rifles, making sure each one is loaded with six bullets. They need to
learn to conserve their ammunition.

The first of the Genesys pour out of the
elevator and make their way towards me. Their jovial conversations turn silent
when they spot the rifles on the table. It’s the first time we will be using
guns. They have all been coming down to practice, and though Titan is still the
best shot, the rest have become deadly accurate.

I assess the group as the last two approach the
table. There is a mixture of apprehension and nerves in each of their faces
with the exception of Titan. His smile is unnerving.

“Today we will be using rifles. They are the
most common weapons we are likely to encounter outside this compound.” I look
around and spot Ev and Fe standing next to each other. Neither of them is aware
of what they are about to see. I feel bad and I want to be able to comfort
them, but I know that they will each have to come to terms with it on their
own.

“What’s the simulation?” Sodi asks.

I take a deep breath. “The simulation will be
revealed to you when we start. Each one of you will take a rifle that has been
pre-loaded with six bullets. So be wise with your weapons.”

“What are the teams?” Sil asks as he steps
closer to his pal, Titan.

“No teams. It’s everyone for
themselves
.
We will all spread out and I will set the countdown for three minutes. The
second the simulation appears, we start.” I know I have a slight advantage in
knowing what will appear but the rifles even the playing field a bit.

They each step
forward,
grab a rifle and then head to different parts of the room. I pick up the last
remaining rifle and set the timer. When I turn, I notice that the only
unoccupied part of the room is where I’m standing.

As the time winds down, I look around at the
Genesys scattered around the room. Most are also looking around, getting
themselves into shooting stances. I want to tell them all that I’m sorry, but
before I can the alarm goes off. The lights shut off and when they come back
on, the protein pouch I worked so hard to keep down earlier comes back up.

The screams that emanate from every corner of
the simulation are deafening. As bad as I feel, I know that they were all going
to be face to face with death eventually. This will at least make it easier for
them to handle the next time they are exposed to it.

I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing the
lifeless eyes staring back at me. The scene I see before me has no shortage of
these lifeless eyes. It’s very similar to what I saw beyond the walls, a city
in ruins. There are streets at an angle to my left and my right. Both are
covered in rubble, trash, bodies and blood.

My feet don’t want to move. I’m afraid of what I
might see the deeper I go in. The sound of the first shots being fired snaps me
out of my trance and I instinctively fall to the ground. I look around and
don’t see anyone near me so I figure that the shots came from the other end of
the room.

I stay low to the ground and crawl my way along
the road to my right, making sure to keep close to the walls of the fallen
buildings. My focus remains on protecting myself, which helps push the images
of the dead bodies to my peripherals.

A blur crosses ahead of me and I am barely able
to make out that it is female. I hear a few more shots to my left and decide
that my best option is to be patient and let the others take each other out. I
shift myself back against the wall in a position where I can keep an eye on
both ends of the road.

As moments pass, I do my best not to look at the
bodies around me, but my memories begin to recall the smell I had experienced.
My stomach churns again so I take a deep breath.

I sense movement to my left and turn to see Cal
has taken cover behind a wall. Someone must be chasing him because he keeps
peering around the wall and hasn’t noticed me. I slowly raise my rifle to my
shoulder and peer through the viewfinder. Cal stands right in the middle of my
crosshairs and I inhale to steady the rifle. I feel a brief moment of guilt as
I squeeze the trigger, but I know that, if I don’t take him out, he might get
me later.

The bullet flies through the air and it hits him
square in the back. He falls to the ground, not knowing what hit him. I look to
make sure no one is around and then I quickly run to where Cal fell. I crouch
down next to him and pull his rifle away. It only has two bullets, but I remove
them and add them to my rifle. I look down at Cal’s face and see him glaring at
me.

“Thanks,” I whisper and add a smile.

A few shots go off around the wall that Cal came
from so I slowly peek around. I see Ev and Titan shooting at each other from
behind two separate barricades. I crouch down to avoid being seen and I watch
as they square off.
 
 

Without warning, a bullet hits the wall next to
my head and I turn and dive to the ground behind Cal. Another shot is fired at
me, but it hits Cal in the leg. He grunts and winces at the shock. I feel bad
to be using him as a shield, but I need cover.

Towards the end of the road, not too far from
where I was before, Sodi crouches behind some rubble. Using Cal’s legs, I
steady my rifle and put the only exposed part of
Sodi’s
body in my crosshair, her head. I inhale and squeeze the trigger, hitting her
right above her eyebrows. I don’t envy the pain that the shocks must be giving
her.

Behind me the gunshots have stopped, so I scan
my road for any more Genesys and when I don’t see any, I crouch back against
the wall. I peek around the corner but I don’t see either Ev or Titan. I adjust
myself and look around again, exposing my head a little more and spot both of
them on the ground. They have been taken out.

I duck around the corner, keeping my eyes in a
peripheral focus. Slowly I work my way down the road, checking behind me from
time to time. As I get closer to Ev and Titan, something strikes me as a bit
strange. Both of them lay on the ground facing me. Someone else shot them.

I stop and crouch down next to a pile of dead
bodies. I can sense someone watching me and right now I’m sitting vulnerable in
the middle of the road. Just as I’m about to continue on, movement from the
dead bodies startles me.

 
Before
I can react, Fe has popped out of the pile of bodies and has knocked me down
with her rifle. I try to turn over, but a wave of shocks fire through my head
as the butt of her rifle connects with the top of my neck. The pain in my head
is unbearable and I suddenly feel ashamed for what I just did to Sodi.

As Fe lies down next to me in the pile of dead
bodies, I am overwhelmed by a huge sense of pride and jealousy. What she is
doing is beyond genius. Not once did I think to look into the piles of bodies
as a possible cover. I wonder if she was one of the Genesys that screamed in
the beginning.

“Sorry,” she whispers.

My heart skips and I can’t help but smile. I can
sense her body right next to mine and it’s making me nervous. I want to turn my
head to face her, but the shocks are still running through my body, so I can’t.
Movement and a couple of quick shots next to me tell me that she has taken down
another Genesys.

By my count, there are six down. So not counting
her, there are only five left, maybe less. She slowly gets up and works her way
to the wall along the side of the road. She ducks into a small seam in the wall
and disappears. I realize that she is very good at hiding in plain sight. I
find myself rooting for her to win, but unfortunately I won’t know what’s going
on until someone wins and ends the simulation.

As I lay on the ground hearing the occasional
gunshot, I can’t help but take in the surroundings that are in my peripheral
vision. The dead bodies surround me. Because I am out of the simulation and no
longer have to focus on it, I begin to take in the details of the dead.

Their faces are stone and emotionless. Their
eyes are hollow, devoid of everything they ever experienced. No memories
remain. Nothing. They are nothing more than the road they lay on. My heart
aches for them. It aches for the scientists, the drones, the outsiders, and the
entire world. Everyone whose fate I’m looking at right now.

“
Apokalupto
!” A female
voice shouts. This snaps me out of my trance and I realize the voice belongs to
Fe. She won!

As the simulation around me disappears, I work
hard to remove the prideful smile on my face. I don’t need anyone to know that
I was rooting for her. My head pounds as I stand and I widen my stance as a
dizzy spell rushes through me.

The Genesys slowly work their way to me, each
recovering from their own aches. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, making
sure I have my bearings before I speak. In the darkness of my eyelids I see the
ghosts of the dead bodies.

As I look around at the group, I can tell that
each one of them is struggling with the sights they just saw in the simulation.
I realize that no matter what my apprehensions may be, talking to Dr. Kivuli
will be good for each one of us. There is no way that any of us can handle the
emotions associated with the dead bodies on our own.
 

Their eyes all rest upon me. I take another deep
breath. “I’m sorry that I did not prepare you for that prior to revealing the
simulation. The truth is nothing can prepare you for seeing your first dead
body. I wish I could tell you all how to handle a situation like this and that
it gets easier, but it doesn’t. We weren’t created that way.”

“What about the drones?” Ev asks. I know exactly
what she is talking about. Though she hasn’t seen it up close, she has seen
people die. She has seen that the drones aren’t affected by death. Except for
80. He seemed to have changed in the brief time I had with him. My thoughts
slide briefly to him, hoping that he is still safe.

“The drones had their genes altered so that they
would lack key traits that would interfere with their ability to think for
themselves,” I say with surprising anger. The Genesys are equally surprised
because their eyes have widened and some have taken a step back.