Authors Note: This isn't part of the Courtney/Loor challenge I'm doing (have about three pages of the first theme for that done so far) but as I was rereading The Reality Bug this just popped into my head. Hum. Only did it in about ten minutes and didn't give it much thought but I just wanted to get this down before I forgot about it. Hope you enjoy.
The Pyramid was always alive; after all it was the center of the universe here in Rubic City. Nonetheless everyone had their jobs to do, which made crowd control near zero, they all knew where they had to be and there were no stragglers. However there was an exception to this unspoken rule for this single night, a very important one. Two figures could be found in the dimly lit scaffolding of the top floor where the jumping rooms could be found. The walkways spread like an intricate spider web, a single line crossing from one end to the other of the Pyramid with thousands of other railings branching off to lead to endless other rooms.
On the main bridge, in front of one of the many paths that led to one of the few unoccupied rooms were a phader and a vedder. The phader was a woman in the traditional blue jumpsuit her occupation was designated. She seemed to be in her early twenties, a beautiful thing with a buxom figure and long golden hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a large bright blue but they seemed to be on the wrong face entirely. Those were the eyes that belonged on a happy face, a sweet, ecstatic one. Her face looked anything but that. It was red and sweaty that hinted had a recent excursion. Her eyes were narrowed tightly and jaw locked in a deep scowl. She looked anything but sweet and friendly.
Holding her up by the waist in a red vedder jumpsuit was a man. Unlike her he seemed more upset instead of angry. His hair was short and black, a mess of long bangs which fell over his indigo eyes in a charming manner. His eyes were fixed on the woman, who upon closer inspection was even worse for wear then first glances would reveal. Between her legs and down them the jumpsuit was stained dark with the splotches of blood, water, and other things best not mentioned.
His eyes lifted from her lower half to her face that was set on the bundle she was holding out in front of her. She slowly uncovered the top of the bundle to reveal a baby's head. The baby was aware and wide-eyed but unusually silent. It greatly resembled its mother with brilliant sky-blue eyes, and the tiniest bit of blond fuzz on its still predominantly baldhead. It was obvious there was something special about this child. Its downy skin was covered in a slick sheet of bloodied water, which was mostly soaked up by the blanket; it was obvious that it had only been recently born which explained the woman's condition. But unlike most newborns this one wasn't crying, and its eyes almost possessed a calculating expression that instantly became enthralled at the sight of its mother. It raised its chubby arms to reach for her, toothless mouth opening up with gurgles of laughter.
Still the expression on the woman's face did not change. She would be a beautiful child, and more intelligent the average child of Veelox. She'd be a sweet person too who smiled a lot if how she was currently acting was any indication. Her lover was thinking the same thing, but he knew after what would be done to her that that last trait would be lost forever.
The child's laughter stopped and it dropped its arms, now looking up at her parents with an almost puzzled expression. Even as only a newborn she could tell something was wrong.
"M-maybe we shouldn't do this Katia." The man suggested hopefully.
Katia turned to him with an ugly sneer, snarling "I won't let this mistake keep me from what I want!"
He winced, he'd never seen Katia act like this before but he supposed the aspect of losing her chance to go offline so she could take care of the child instead was much too horrific for her.
But…
He looked at the child, his child. He'd give that up for her.
"Why don't we just hand her over to the group home, they're going to find her anyway and she'll end up there either way."
Tears were finally welling up in the baby's eyes; it was as if she could understand them.
"Because I don't want them to know it's mine. No one will! I want to be remembered as one of the most efficient phaders! Not just one of the women stupid enough to get pregnant!" Without another word she dropped the babe into a wheeled canister in front of her. Now it began wailing as it fell into the cushioned bottom, surrounded by steel walls that resembled a cage. A cage that would exist all her life as she would be forced to devote every second of her existence to work and studies, to then be pushed into the very work that would seal the death of her world.
With a furious sweep Katia kicked the canister sending her daughter shrieking and crying down the slope to the vacant room. The door automatically slid open seconds before she would have crashed into it and shut quickly behind her, silencing her despaired wails.
"Lets go," Katia muttered without remorse, tearing herself away from the man who was staring on in horror. "I'm cleaning myself up then jumping."
The man stayed for a moment longer before bowing his head ruefully and uttering an unheard apology.
They'd find her there the next day; a trembling child locked in darkness and closed walls. Like all other children she'd be taken to a shelter home to be trained. Though time would erase the memory it'd always be a personal turning point for her. The day Aja Killian lost her smiles.