1200 Hours, September 19th, 2517 (Military Calendar)/
Zeta Aquarius Star System, Arizona 3, New Phoenix
The entire schoolyard of Educational Facility No. 191 was enclosed by a glass dome to keep the blistering heat out, and the children cool. A collection of six, seven, and eight year olds ran through the tall grass of the play field, or climbed on complex metal lattices, or skimmed grav-balls on repulsor courts. Dr. Catherine Halsey stepped into the two hundred square yard playground and felt the noise of laughter and yelling assault her ears. To her, it sounded like sweet music, full of an innocence that had long since been stolen from her.
Pausing to push several locks of her black hair out of her eyes, Halsey glanced down at her data pad and then scanned the playground for subject 144. For a moment she thought that perhaps he wasn't at school that particular day, that he might be home ill; she could not find him in any of the games that were going on, and she didn't know where he might have been. But moments before she was about to leave to come back later, she spotted him sitting beneath a large oak tree that had been grown inside the dome. There were no other children around him, and he seemed to interact with no one, instead chose to just sit beneath the tree and stare at something past Halsey.
Then, with a start, she realized he was looking at ''her''. Halsey stopped a yelp of surprise as she gazed into his ice blue eyes. Abruptly, she pulled her gaze away from him and stood slightly straighter. She turned to Keyes, who even after a month of wearing them, still didn't seem at ease in civilian clothes. She nodded to him, and he met her gaze, acknowledging her order. Halsey turned back around and, after confirming that no adults were within visual range, strode quickly across the playground to where number 144 sat watching her.
On the way over, Halsey noticed several things. One was that the other children avoided No. 144, and a few shot him disdainful or frightened looks. Another was that he had cuts and bruises all over his body—evidence enough that he had seen some fights. Halsey noticed that his gaze did not leave her for a second as she strode toward him and something in his eyes made her want to look away. It made her feel exposed…like he knew her darkest secrets—she mentally told herself to snap out of it, and remembering once more than he was only a six year old child, she increased her pace.
She neared him and let her eyes drift across his six year old body. He was nowhere near as tall as other candidates, such as No. 34, but he seemed quite lithe, and his muscles were oddly defined. His face seemed to be chiseled out of stone, and despite his young age appeared almost weathered. His brown hair was a dull bronze, but his eyes were a startling and magnificent icy blue, and Halsey knew they could easily analyze her.
"Hello." She said in as cheerful of a tone she could manage. "What's your name?"
No. 144 looked at her for a moment, as if wondering whether to respond, then finally answered.
"Leonid." He told her.
Halsey noted that No. 144's voice had a strong German accent; it gave him a strange air of command, and one of rudeness as well.
"Why aren't you playing with any of the others?" she asked cautiously, a bit at a loss of how to proceed.
"Why are you talking to me?" he asked back abruptly, catching Halsey off guard.
"I 'm…a social worker, I'm doing a survey of the play habits of children in the system."
He looked at her for a moment, and then spoke again. He sounded agitated, and the German accent was more pronounced.
"No your not." He said matter of factly.
"I am too." Snapped Halsey, perhaps a little to quickly.
"Then who's he?" he asked, and his eyes finally left hers and settled on Keyes.
"He's my assistant, he takes notes for me."
No. 144 shook his head.
"He's not. He's uncomfortable, out of place. He stands too straight. He's a space man, isn't he?"
Halsey was momentarily flustered. Few of the trainees had picked up on or even noticed Keyes's discomfort out of uniform. None had pressed the issue. She had to change the subject before she completely lost her composure.
"Do you like games, Leonid?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"No." He answered gruffly. It sounded more like a command than an answer.
"I do. Will you please play one with me?" Halsey tried not to sound pleading. It took tremendous effort.
No. 144 regarded Halsey for a moment. His blue eyes glittered with intelligence, and Halsey could tell he was busy analyzing her behind the icy orbs.
"Alright." He said finally.
"Wonderful. What kind of games do you like?"
He looked at her, and then spotted the thin metal disk imbetween her fingers. He snatched the quarter out of her hand lightning fast, startling Halsey for a moment. He held the finger up, sweeping his eyes over it's gleaming metal.
"What's this?" he asked, finally returning his gaze to Halsey.
"People on earth used this on money centuries ago, before we—"
"—colonized other worlds." He cut her off, and the handed her back the quarter.
"Are you lucky, Leonid?" Halsey asked, and he cocked his head quizzically at her.
"Luck?" he whispered.
"Yes, luck. I have a game for you Leonid, I'll toss the quarter in the air, and you tell me what it will land on when it hits the ground. The eagle or the man."
Leonid nodded quite suddenly. It seemed this child was intentionally trying to throw her off guard.
"Ready?" Halsey asked.
No. 144 nodded. Halsey flicked her wrist and the coin arced high into the air. Sunlight glittered off of it, until it slammed into the ground. Moments before it hit, standing straight up and looking at her, No. 144 said in a defiant voice: "Eagle."
Halsey looked down at the coin. Only the first candidate, No. 117 had successfully picked the eagle. Odd. She reached down and plucked the coin from the ground, then looked into his eyes. They seemed endless, and a slight feeling of vertigo passed over her looking at them. She offered it to him, but he shook his head. Halsey stood up, and walked away from the child. He was highly intelligent to be sure, but something about him…didn't feel write.
As she passed Keyes she realized she was shaking, something that hadn't happened since the first examination. Keyes fell into step behind her, not far behind. He seemed a bit shaky as well.
"Did he make it?" asked Keyes suddenly, and Halsey looked back at him.
"If he's as good as he makes himself out to be, then he made it before I ever asked his name." She replied.
No. 144 was much different from the other candidates, but something about him made her think that he would be among the best. Regardless, he fit the bill for the project. He was in.