Entry Two:

Entry Two:

            Gavin took his first real sip of water from the dispenser in the corner. It tasted wrong. All his life he had assumed he knew what water tasted like and now he found it had no taste at all. He still had an acidic taste in his mouth from the vat chemicals which the water did not wash away.

            “How old am I?” he asked thoughtfully.

            “Probably two, or so,” Deborah sat with her head on the table. Their new quarters were Spartan. The main entrance led into a kitchen area with a small area to prepare meals. There was no stove, only a square-shaped dispenser with a touch pad to select meals. The dishes themselves came out of the dispenser as well, and went into another waste unit directly below. Gavin imagined they were recycled and reused in the same dispenser. There was a shutter below the dispenser as well that led to the bare floor. Gavin had no idea what it was for and it wouldn’t open. He had first thought that was where the trash was supposed to go. To the left of the kitchen was a seating area centred around a holographic projector set into the floor and low ceiling. To the right was the bathroom. Two separate doors at the back of the kitchen led to the shared bedrooms, one for girls and one for boys. Above their entrance was their crew name, “X-77,” in indigo blue. Beyond that there was no decoration. Everything was clean and sterile, even the air. “We all are.”

            Video was curled up on one of the two identical couches in the seating area. Goldie was completely sprawled out on the opposite. She hadn’t said anything since they brought her here and she appeared to be sleeping softly. Video was appropriately enough watching videos of the attack. “We’re only useful to them in our prime, so they grow us to that stage and keep us that way as long as possible.”

            “The Corporation, you mean,” Gavin surmised.

            “What’s left of it,” Video rubbed his eyes and turned off the news. “It’s been weeks and it’s still the only news story.”

            “Why grow us? Why not use… real people? Am I real?” Gavin felt like he was having his second existential crisis of the day.

            “We’re human enough,” Deborah told him, “only better. We don’t get sick or age normally. We’re smarter, stronger and faster. That’s why they use us instead of Norms. Norms spread disease into other dimensions and bring it back too. One viral infection could wipe out entire civilizations.”

            “That’s why whoever attacked our people must have used their nano-virus. There’s no biological defence against nanobots. You can’t even scan for them properly in their dormant state,” Video recited.

            “You seem to know a lot about this,” Gavin came and sat with him. He spoke softly so as not to wake Goldie.

            “I’m an Engineer,” he insisted. “It’s what I’m designed to know. That’s the other aspect of being a Generate. While we’re still developing us they run use through the programs in the Nursery. We’re ‘born’ knowing everything we need to do out jobs. Everyone but you, it looks like, and the rest of the First in our Generation.”

            “Even with what they’ve done, there can’t be enough First this Generation to fill all of the empty positions. This is going to take years to finish recruiting,” Deborah mentioned.

            “Worse still, the next Generation will probably get to finish their programming. They’ll be better suited for their jobs than you or me,” Video complained. “We’re getting the short end of the stick. No matter how hard we work, we’re always going to be on the bottom as newer, better Generates take the positions we want.”

            “That’s why we have to prove ourselves,” Deborah sat up sharply as if reinvigorated. “We Ace our first assignment and we get them to take notice. The only thing we’ve got going for us is how well we can operate in the field. If we get the experience we need, we can advance.”

            “How dangerous is this job?” Gavin wondered. “I mean we lost thousands in a blink of an eye, and we don’t even know why?”

            “We’re pseudo-soldiers,” Video told him. “Remember the part where she said we’re stronger than Norms? They’re the ones we’re doing business with. We’re their metal and physical superiors, and we’re the ones with all the cool toys. They may have their armies, but they can’t touch us. They’d only be shooting themselves in the foot if they did. Virtually all new technology comes from the Corporation. If they stop us, they stop progress.”

            “Then who are our enemies?” Gavin wondered.

            “Everyone,” Video insisted. “We’re just one Corporation in a multi-verse of Corporations. Our jobs put us in direct conflict with rival Corporations who want us out of the way. We’re at constant war, even if we don’t know who the enemy is.”

            “And all of this is over trade?” Gavin couldn’t put his head around it.

            “Call it trade, or call it conquest, it’s all the same. We’re an Empire that stretches across the known Universe and into countless others. We’re just the scouts who find new worlds with new resources. If we’re lucky, we’ll never see open conflict, but by the sounds of the news, that’s not likely going to happen.”

            The main entrance opened and two teenagers stepped inside. One was a man with unkempt black hair and pale complexion and a rather sharp nose like a hawk. The other was a tall woman with honey-brown hair and skin to match. They looked around the room cautiously. The boy referred with his wrist unit, then looked up at Gavin and smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, Captain Dales. My name’s Fredricks. I’ve been assigned as your Ambassador.”

            Gavin rose to shake his hand. “Thank you, but it’s not, ‘Captain Dales.’ I’m simply Gavin Dales.”

            “Are you kidding me?” Deborah tapped at her wrist unit. “No, he’s right. Gavin, you’re the Captain of our crew. You’re the one in charge.”

            “How can that be? I don’t even know what I’m doing!” Gavin protested.

            “Ah, modesty. I like that in a born leader,” Fredricks smiled at him. “And this is Lara. I can’t claim intimate knowledge, as we’ve only just met.”

             Lara waved to everyone then shook Gavin’s hand. “Are you confused as I am?”

            “Yes,” Gavin breathed a sign of relief. “I’m out of my element, if I even have one.” She laughed at this. “Are there more coming?”

            “One more, I think,” Fredricks answered for her. “Ah, here he is,” a bulky boy with dark skin came in. He looked far stronger than anyone Gavin had met yet. He had a square jaw and deep-set, yet thoughtful eyes.

            “Hi, I’m Lance,” he said shyly as he shuffled in. He was the tallest by far and slouched somewhat in the low vaulted room.

            “I think that’s the last of us,” Fredricks admitted. “Even the skeleton crews get skeleton crews.”

            Deborah made a frustrated noise. “We’re doomed,” she said. “There’s no way we can operate like this.”

            “That depends on the missions they throw our way,” Fredricks pointed out. “I think we’re more than capable of handling anything they serve up.”

            “Our first mission is likely a search and rescue, am I right?” Gavin looked around. “That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”

            Deborah laughed at him, “Gavin, we could be heading into Hell itself. You have no idea what it’s like out there. I don’t, even.”

            “I’m trying to be optimistic,” Gavin frowned. “I doubt they’d want us dead as soon as we’re born.”

            Fredricks was already making himself a coffee at the dispenser. “I like you. I was worried, coming out, that X-77 would be a bunch of know-nothing rejects. Here you are, a man given the worse news he can get and you’re already looking forward to sunnier days.”

            “We are know-nothings,” Deborah informed him. “I don’t know Goldie’s story yet, but Gavin hasn’t graduated.”

            “Neither have I,” Lara admitted in his defence.

            “I don’t know what any of this is about,” Lance said as he deposited himself on the couch.

            “It’s about adventure, it’s about learning, it’s about experience,” Fredricks told him as he sipped at his coffee. “We’re going to look back on this as the start of something wonderful.”

            “We could be dead this time tomorrow,” Deborah argued. “How do we know we haven’t just been infected with the same nano-virus as the rest? You think our enemies will wait while we regroup?”

            “Who’s to say who our enemies even are?” Fredricks shrugged, still smiling.

            “I’m sorry,” Deborah lowered her head. “I had expectations about my life. I had dreams and ambitions. This… isn’t them. That’s nothing against you all. It’s this situation I’ve found myself in.”

            “None of us find this ideal,” Fredricks relented, “but look at it another way. You had your whole life laid out for you before you were born and now you’ve been dealt a wild card. Your fate isn’t so clear now. We can become our own people. We can become better than what we were made for.”

            Video had been tapping away at his wrist unit. “I’ve noticed something auspicious about this event. The nano-virus had the potential to completely wipe us out. I’m talking about every last man and woman. All it needed was more time. That means whoever did this jumped the gun. They either wanted us alive, or else they panicked.”

            “That’s interesting,” Fredricks told him.

            “So we’re safe for now,” Gavin furled his brow, “or until they can create a new virus.”

            “The station has had upgrades since the attack to scan for nano-viruses on every incoming party. There’s a rigorous quarantine procedure. That should make it safer for everyone on board. Once we’re off, though, there’s no protection,” Video barely glanced up from his wrist unit.

            “There’s something else I find interesting about this. The nano-virus can only infect Generates,” Video claimed. “That’s how it was programmed. Norms are immune. It has something to do with how we’re fitted for node receptacles. The virus specifically attacks that point by the brain stem. Death is almost instant after that as the connection between the brain and the spine is severed.”

            Deborah thought it over. “It can infect any Generate? What’s to stop it from infecting Generates from another dimension?”

            “That’s what’s weird about it. If it’s a rival Corporation, they’d be using Generates like us. They’d end up sacrificing their own people,” Video looked at a few vids on mute. “What would they gain?”

            “We might not even have been the ones targeted,” Deborah surmised. “We could have caught the virus accidentally.”

            “These are all speculations for people higher up than us,” Fredricks warned them. “There’s no need to trouble ourselves with this now.

            “We need to learn as much as we can as fast as we can,” Gavin told him. “An hour ago I didn’t even know I existed.” He walked back to the dispenser and went through the menu. “Do I even need to eat?” he asked no one in particular. “I’m not human, am I? How often should I eat? Should I sleep?”

            “You’re human,” Deborah assured him. “You need to eat when you’re hungry.”

            “Could you make us all dinner?” Fredricks suggested. “I’m sure we could use something after two years in the tubs.”

            Gavin thought about it for a while and then settled on burgers. The dispenser produced his meals almost as fast as he could open and close the door. He soon had the table set with Fredricks and Deborah helping him. “Come on, everybody. I’m not sure if it’s your favourite, but it’s your first meal ever, so you shouldn’t have a favourite.”

            Even Goldie came to the table. Gavin took a cautious bite. It was steaming hot, with a flavour he couldn’t place. His palate was woefully small. He put it back down and looked around. “Can we do this?” he asked them. “Can we work together?”

            “I don’t see why not,” Fredricks shrugged.

            “You’re the only people I know, so I couldn’t really imagine working with anyone else,” Video told him.

            “Why don’t we go over the roster,” Deborah tapped at her unit. “Gavin’s our Captain, after what must have been the shortest decision ever. That Linn woman must have just picked us at random. No offence,” she hastily added. “Lara, you’re apparently Lieutenant and Co-Pilot. Great, two pilots and no ship,” she mused to herself.

            “I don’t know anything about flying,” Lara told her.

            “Where have I heard that before?” Deborah rolled her eyes. “Video and Goldie are Engineers, not that we need even one. I’m Research. Fredricks is Ambassador and Lance is Soldier.”

            “I’m a Soldier?” Lance was confused. “Am I supposed to kill people?”

            “If it comes to that, yes,” Deborah told him. “Just pray it doesn’t. I’m guessing by your node that you’re not familiar with your job either. Aboard the ship you man the weapons. In the field, you carry the weapons. That doesn’t mean you have to fire them off all the time. Soldiers are mainly just for show and get used like pack mules.”

            “Does anyone else want to be Captain?” Gavin offered. “I don’t think I’m up for the job.”

            “It doesn’t matter what you think,” Deborah told him. “It’s your job and you have to fill it.”

            “What happens to me if I don’t agree to any of this?” Gavin wondered.

            “You don’t have that luxury,” Deborah explained. “It’s this or a prison planet. If you think you can escape, go right ahead. You’re on the edge of nowhere. Like you said, you don’t know how to fly, and you’re on a space station. Do the math.”

            “So this is the rest of my life? Never being able to decide what to do for myself?” Gavin was terrified. “How long do I live for?”

            “Usually around a hundred and twenty years or more,” Video told him. “In this line of work it’s considerably less than that.”

            “Do we get to retire?” Gavin asked.

            “In about a hundred years,” Deborah told him, “although most stay on longer than that.”

            “Do you think…” an idea occurred to Video and then he began to tap on his wrist unit. “Oh, thank you,” he said to the file he read. “For a moment, I wondered if the last people who lived here were dead. We’re in a recommissioned dorm. The last X-77 team disbanded over twenty years ago.”

            “So we don’t have to worry about sleeping in the same beds as someone who died,” Deborah surmised, “or the legacies dropping in to see the new pledges. What am I saying? We’re in the bowels of the station. We’re lucky if anyone drops in.”

            “They’re putting everyone in the lower ranks. You shouldn’t feel so bad,” Fredriks told Deborah. “They’re the only available rooms. The rest of the quarters belonged to people M.I.A. or transfers.”

            “Maybe it isn’t as bad as I think it is,” Deborah tapped her fork on the table. She hadn’t touched her food. Lance was the only one vigorously attacking his meal. He was factually eating like he hadn’t eaten in years. Goldie looked at him with an expression that might have been disgust as crumbs trickled down his chin and onto his uniform. She herself drank heavily from the cup she had, but didn’t touch her food.

            The doorbell rang, which was the first time Gavin realized he had a doorbell. He got up from the table and answered it. A woman stood in the door. She was dressed in a uniform like his but with a ragged grey woollen cloak with a hood overtop. She looked tired and haggard, although she couldn’t have been much older than him. At her lapel was a button with the platinum insignia, “B-7.” Wisps of red hair trickled down from inside her hood and cascaded over her green eyes. Her nose was oddly pointed above her pursed lips. She stood there, with one gloved hand resting against the doorframe, staring at him searchingly. Her face was very sad.

            “Hello?” Gavin offered. “Can I help you?”

            Still, she said nothing. She merely looked at him with penetrating eyes beneath heavy lashes. At last, she turned and walked away down the hall.

            Gavin peered out after her, and she quickly disappeared around a bend in the hall. He shut the door and turned back to the room. “Who was that?” he asked.

            “How should we know?” Video asked him.

            “If you ask me, you have an admirer,” Fredriks winked at him.

            Gavin ran his fingers through his long hair, which had looked so much like the strange woman’s. It was one more thing to ponder. Goldie excused herself wordlessly and stumbled off to the bedroom. She left her untouched meal on the table, which Lance proceeded to snatch and devour. “I guess that’ll be the women’s sleeping quarters,” Deborah decided after the door closed behind Goldie.

            “We’re lucky to have a lot of empty beds,” Fredriks said. “This place seems rather large for the seven of us.” Gavin himself thought it was rather cramped, but then he had spent the largest part of his life in a metal container scarcely bigger than himself. He sat back down, but he still couldn’t get the thought of the woman out of his mind.

            The others grew tired shortly after having eaten and made their way off to bed as well. Gavin chalked it up to the after-effect of being born. He himself had too many questions racing through his brain to hope to find sleep. He sat at the table with his empty plate before him. Deborah was with him, but she was absently flicking through the news feed on the holopojector. At last, she turned it off and came over to him at the table.

            “Hey,” she said as she sat down. She reached out and put her hand over his hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

            “I’m not worried,” Gavin lied.

            “I want to thank you,” Deborah told him earnestly.

            “For what?” Gavin barely looked up at her. His gaze was on his plate.

            “For helping me today. I know this has to be harder for you than it is for me. You really stood out,” she told him.

            “Thank you,” Gavin glanced up at her. “I mean that. I thought… I’d go crazy a few times in there. Maybe I am. I don’t know,” he admitted.

            “You’re not crazy. I don’t think you can psychologically go crazy. You’re genetically engineered to adapt and you’re stronger than you’ll ever know,” she explained. “Still, it can be tough.”

            “Are you doing okay?” he asked. “This all seems like a disappointment for you.”

            “It is,” she admitted. “I’m sorry that I’ve been so negative, but this is devastating for me. They bred me to have certain ambitions, and they’re not being met.”

            “I hope I can be what you need,” he told her. “I don’t want to be Captain, whatever that entails. I’d rather be… I don’t know.”

            “You couldn’t know. They never taught you,” she said sympathetically. “What was it like, for you?”

            “I… I thought it was real. I imagined most of it, I guess. I’m not talking about the simulation itself, I’m talking about everything around it. I imagined I had my own home, my own parents and friends. Even in a fake world, that wasn’t real. I guess it was my subconscious filling in the blanks in my life, trying to make me feel real. Now I’m… nothing,” Gavin put a fist over his mouth and choked back a little.

            “Hey, don’t be that way,” she told him, leaning in. “You’re real. I’m here. Can you feel my hand?” she grasped his own hand firmly.

            “Yes,” he nodded. “I feel you.”

            “You were talking about escaping?” she whispered.

            “What? Yes. I don’t know,” Gavin shrugged. “Didn’t I already escape? I don’t know what kind of world is out there. I don’t even know where I am.”

            “Hold on to that feeling,” she told him in a hushed voice. “Then you’ll always know just where you are. I was in my own prison for a long time. You’re only in the vats for a couple of years, but to you it seems like decades. Once I learned where I really was, once they told me, I felt trapped. I could almost feel the wires sticking out of me. It was Hell, it really was, but I always knew that if I lasted there was a world waiting for me on the other side. Still, I thought about escaping from a cell that had no door. Now I’m out here and I’m as free as I’m allowed.”

            “Is it weird if we’re talking about rebelling against an organization I only just learnt existed?” Gavin asked her.

            She laughed at him. “No, it’s human nature I supposed. No one wants to feel trapped.”

            “I hope we can stay friends,” Gavin told her. “Are we friends?” he suddenly doubted himself.

            “Of course we are,” Deborah beamed. “We’ve been in this from the start, haven’t we?”

            “That was barely two hours ago,” Gavin laughed.

            “It seems like forever,” Deborah admitted. “That could be because of our perception of time regulating itself. We experienced maybe ten years crammed into the space of one. This is real time.”

            The shutter beneath the dispenser opened up and a small robot on a set of wheels rolled out. It was shaped like a trash can, and appropriately enough rolled up to the table and scooped up the dishes, depositing them inside its mouth on top of its head. It took no notice of either of them as it went about its task and then put the dishes into the refuse station. Deborah and Gavin looked at each other and then laughed.