Six years ago:
Peter Neski floated in darkness seeing the world through two pairs of eyes, neither of which were his own. The sensory deprivation chamber helped deaden the sensations from his own body even as the cold metal receiver at the base of his skull fed an overload of information directly into his nervous system from two separate monitors. Ordinarily, watchers simply watched the feeds on screens, listening to the audio on speakers as external stimuli. Even with the special chambers deadening their senses to avoid conflicting signals, it was most often impossible for most humans to accept signals from another person's body. Peter was receiving feeds from two individuals at the exact same time, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling every single thing from two distinct bodies other than his own. It was enough to drive most men into sobbing hysterics, for Neski, it was just his job.
Neski had spent twenty years watching for the IF, spending up to three years at a time living alongside the various little geniuses and reporting to his superiors whether they might someday become the saviors humanity so desperately needed. That had been his duty to his species, and he had done it well. While none of his children had gone on to become the fleet commander destined to save the world, he had helped catch a couple of promising but fatally flawed candidates who would most certainly have doomed it. He had discovered the slight fractures of psyche, the tiny tendrils of insanity that went just beyond the acceptable limits, discovered the children who would have collapsed under the weight of command and taken the hopes of the rest of the populace with them into destruction.
He'd retired with high honors from the I.F. and had immediately returned to his true duty. He brought all his experience and training and instinct and put it to use looking for the commander his Country would need, not for the war against the buggers, but for the war that would come after, the war that had been postponed far too long. The rest of the world had looked to space and grown comfortable in peace, but they'd forgotten just how close Russia had been to fulfilling their destiny of conquest. Peter didn't mind, let them forget, Russia had not forgotten. Russia had been waiting patiently for hundreds of years, constantly working toward this moment, a mere inconvenience like an alien invasion could not destroy the Russian quest for Hegemony, it had merely delayed it, allowing the soil to become all the more fertile for the inevitable victory. The bugger war would be over soon one way or another, and it was Peter's job to make sure Russia had the most brilliant mind on earth prepared to command those legions.
That was why when he'd been approached with an impossible task, he hadn't even considered refusing. He was the only one with the experience and mental fortitude to accomplish this task. If he was driven mad in the process he considered that a small price to pay in service of the Motherland.
It had been difficult at first, listening to all the input intended for two distinct minds as well as keeping a firm hold on his own sanity, but he had been well prepared, and after the first months Peter had become accustomed to the strange situation. Now he found it almost strange when he left the facility to live without the extra sensory input.
At the moment, the primary sensation was blinding pain. Neski felt the lash as if it were cutting into his own skin. He felt and heard the shrill scream as though it had come from his own throat, resounding in his own ears. He felt the trembling of "his" legs as the lash fell twice, then three times in the same place.. He saw the brief glimpse of Korovin over the shoulder through sweat soaked hair as he raised the whip for another strike.
He also felt hot anger but that at least was his own. It was an old anger, but still strong. It was one thing to inflict punishment for the sake of the state, but Korovin enjoyed it, enjoyed whipping a helpless little girl till her back was covered with bloody wheals. He was masterful at causing maximum pain while avoiding permanent injury, but Neski knew that given a free reign Korovin would have whipped the girl to death. The test had been unfair to the point of stupidity, yet she had almost pulled it off, almost accomplished what should have been impossible, almost avoided the lash that was tracing hot fire in crisscrossing lines on her back just like so many times before.
There was nothing he could do of course, he could only share her pain. He could have simply turned off the pain, but Neski never even allowed himself to consider it. It wasn't mere sympathy or martyrdom. Neski knew it was his responsibility to determine whether this girl was brilliant enough to serve the motherland, gifted enough to make all the pain, all the stupid unfairness worthwhile. He hoped she would. He felt sorry for her, and was furious on her behalf, but he would never allow sentimentality to affect his judgment. If she wasn't good enough, he'd write one report and destroy all her hopes, all her reason for continuing to exist just as surely as if he'd killed her with his own hands. He'd hate to do it, he'd curse himself and lose sleep over it for the rest of his life, but he'd do it and not hesitate one moment.
Even as he felt the leather cut into his back yet again, he had shifted the focus of his attention to his other body. He felt a pleasant smoothness as the rich silk he wore shifted slightly down his slender shoulder. He smelled the soft, almost unnoticeable scent of lilac. He heard the beginning strains of Mozart's Lacrimosa gently swelling from the speakers, almost as if the musicians and choir were in the room themselves. They would have fit comfortably in the lavishly appointed room, and with space to spare. He could see the giant holographic display showing the same stupidly impossible simulation, and in the lower edge of his vision he could see the delicate white hands flying across the controls almost preternaturally quickly.
He watched as his other self commanded the simulation with almost identical precision and grace as the girl who was now being whipped. He watched as she came to the same moment that had proved fatal before, and saw as she moved a part of her force out in anticipation of the coming attack, anticipating something that should have been completely unforeseeable. Neski watched as his other self completed the impossible task, and despite the agonizing pain he still felt, he smiled.
They wouldn't be able to simply write this off as coincidence anymore. This was the seventh consecutive exercise where Anna had anticipated the computer's movements in this fashion, every time after Sofia had fallen prey to an unforeseeable attack. No one could doubt that the philotic connection was indeed getting stronger. Information was moving from mind to mind despite the fact that neither Anna nor Sofia even knew of the other's existence. In fact they'd never even seen each other outside the womb.
The simulation and the lashing ended at almost the same moment. Neski took a moment to relax. There wouldn't be much to do till the various layers of higher ups all finally recognized what Neski and the rest of the team had understood more than three weeks ago. The first stage was a success, the twins' philotic connection had begun to grow stronger, once they got the go ahead, they could begin the real work. For now, they had no choice but to repeat the same redundant experiments, apply the same tests, and dish out the same needless punishments and rewards.
Neski could only feel Sophia's input dimly. Korovin had left her in a dazed pain-induced stupor. Neski could feel the cold concrete on her bare skin, the pulsing sting of the air on her back, the oozing trickle of blood down her sides. Neski felt a moment of cold contempt for Korovin, but knew there was quite literally nothing he could do except watch.
So he did, shifting his focus to Anna who was watching the door open to reveal Korovin, holding a huge bouquet of flowers. Neski felt Anna run, eyes locked on Korovin's handsome, beaming face the whole way. He felt her gather herself and leap into his arms, heard her giggle saying "I did it, did you see? I beat it!"
"I saw, you were amazing!" Korovin said, genuine warmth in his voice. It never ceased to boggle Neski's mind how quickly Korovin could go from sadistic tormenter to loving older brother. Neski felt the slight stubble of his chin through Anna's cheek as she held him as tight as her little arms could hold. Korovin laughed, set the flowers in an empty vase and swung Anna in a circle so fast her dress fluttered in her wake. She squealed and Korovin settled her back on his hip. She grinned and ran her hands over Korovin's face.
Neski could feel the heartbeat racing, the cheeks flushing as she looked at Korovin, running her hands along the smooth planes of his cheeks. It was inevitable Neski knew. Korovin was an uncommonly handsome and winsome man, it was a large part of why he'd been chosen to play this role in the twins' lives. He was smart, charming, strong, and more importantly, the only man either girl had ever met. Of course they knew more about psychology and sociology than most college student, but they were so deprived of real human company that they would have bonded with most anyone, much less an attractive, charismatic older man.
Anna's hands were tousled in Korovin's hair, and her heart was beating even harder than normal. Neski realized she was working her courage up for something. She just kept her hands moving over his face as she related every part of the last simulation, interrupted only when Korovin would add an "I know!" or "That was incredible!" or other such little nothings.
Neski would normally have tuned out this little post-game analysis, but he was intrigued by her nervousness. He knew she was getting ready for some sort of revelation. Neski was duty bound to notice any significant changes in Anna's psyche, but he was also simply curious. As the conversation continued, he could feel her breathing become more shallow and rapid, hear the blood rushing in her ears. Neski fixed his attention on Korovin's face, interested in what his reaction would be to whatever news Anna was about to unveil. He wondered if Korovin would be able to disguise his amusement… Probably so, the man was a consummate actor.
The next words brought his attention back to Anna though, "And so I just waited on the path Sophia told me about and there they were! Right on time!"
Korovin's perfect facade froze as he immediately realized the import of those words, mouth open, eyes widening. Perhaps that's what she'd intended, because in that very instant, Neski felt her taut muscles fire, jamming her painted nails into Korovin's eye sockets.. He felt the resistance as the eyes first compressed then gave way, he felt the sliminess and heat as the blood welled out, soaking the hands that were still driving into Korovin's screaming face with all their strength, felt her teeth grind as she exerted all her effort to cling to Korovin's bucking torso with her legs alone, felt the physical shock and total mind-consuming agony that comes when someone is truly hit for the first time in their life.
He heard Korovin's mindless shrieks and crashing as he flailed about the room in a rage. He felt Anna gather her uncooperative body and stumble to her feet, using a chair for balance. He felt her grab the heavy decorative cross off the wall as her feet once again began to obey her commands. He felt the glancing impact as she swung the three foot wooden cross with all her strength, barely connecting with Korovin's wildly moving head. He felt Anna reverse her awkward grip on the too-large weapon, and swing it hard, directly into the side of Korovin's knee. He heard the joint give way with a sickening pop, and felt the vibrations through the floor as Korovin fell to the floor, hands desperately trying to push his ruined eyes back into his face.
Anna was breathing heavily, but it was with excitement, not exertion. She walked around to Korovin's head and swing with all her strength, breaking his nose. Then she swung at his unprotected chest. Neski could both feel and hear the ribs snap under the force of the hardwood crossbeam. He felt as Anna dropped the unwieldy cross and started kicking Korovin repeatedly, aiming at the broken ribs and the ruined face with her sharp little high heels. Korovin was sobbing and screaming for her to stop, but she kept at it, kicking him again and again, blood flying up to splatter hot and sticky across her face.
Then, as suddenly as she'd started, she stopped. She left him shrieking in agony on the floor and calmly walked over to the vase where he'd deposited the flowers. She considered them for a moment and then removed a long stemmed rose. She walked back to Korovin, again without any seeming sense of hurry. He lay writhing and moaning, one hand over his left eye, the other over his broken ribs, trying to hold his broken body together. Anna grabbed the stem of the rose in her right hand, ignoring the thorns that dug into her palm and fingers, and she drove the stem straight down into Korovin's empty right eye socket. Korovin's body began to jerk spasmodically, but Anna didn't flinch, driving the stem further into his brain, watching as the body fought wildly against death. After a moment all was still except for the scarlet puddle that slowly spread outward from the body.
Neski felt the throbbing pain in Anna's right hand suddenly become sharper as she let go of the stem and the thorns pulled away from her flesh. He felt her head tilt back as she panted like a wild beast. Then he felt her throat and tongue working silently, subvocalizing words that would be inaudible to anyone but her... anyone except him. She simply said, "I'd like to meet my sister please."
Twenty minutes later, Anna was washed and changed out of her bloody garments with a fresh bandage over the hand that had gripped the stem. Nesky, now out of his tank and not receiving any additional sensory information finally saw Anna for the first time with his own eyes. She was a slender, almost willowy thing, the perfect little dancing doll. Neski was surprised to see just how small she really was. It was one thing to live inside her body as she grew for five years, feeling her develop from a giggling toddler to an eight year old child, it was quite another to see her, to be in the same room with her. He looked at the bandaged hand, so small, but strong enough to rip the life from an athletic, young man. She met his gaze and Neski was startled to realize he had no idea what lay behind the surface. He wasn't used to seeing her this way, and he hadn't expected this emotionless mask. She'd just killed the only man she'd ever known, the man who had been father, older brother, and mentor to her since before she could truly remember. Neski looked intently at her face, but he could find no sign of remorse. She touched the back of her neck where the monitor was implanted. It was a question.
Neski only nodded, turning his head and pulling aside his hair to let her see his own implant. He couldn't help glancing at the spot. A team had already torn up the hopelessly stained carpet and were replacing it, but Neski could almost see the blood still there, still spreading, slowly, inexorably. He couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for the man. That fact disturbed him, he'd detested Korovin, certainly, but it still seemed as though he should feel something for the loss of a human life. All he could manage was relief, almost bordering on satisfaction.
"I won't apologize." Anna said calmly, as if she was discussing the carpet stains rather than the fact that she'd just committed a premeditated, brutally violent murder. "I don't care if you punish me now or fail me or anything. He hurt Sofia , he hurt her and he liked it, then he lied, everything he did with me was a lie. I don't feel bad at all, and I won't apologize, ever!"
Neski only nodded again. He wondered briefly if she blamed him as well, and whether she'd someday do away with him as she'd done with Korovin. Neski decided he couldn't blame her if she did. He brought his mind back to the present and said simply, "I'll take you to her now."
It was only a five minute walk to Sofia 's room. Neski opened the door, and stepped aside, allowing Anna to enter first. Anna walked straight over to Sofia, who was kneeling on the floor despite the agony her back must have been causing her, with an expression of patient expectation fulfilled. Neski felt the stinging pinpricks in his eyes, though he showed no outward sign of dismay. Seeing the two together was almost more than he could bear. Anna was everything Sofia should have been allowed to be. Anna's skin was smooth, unblemished porcelein, Sophia's back was a fabric of old and new wounds, her face bruised and swelling. Anna moved with the poise of all her years of dancer's training at the hands of ballet master instructors, Sofia huddled, shuffled, her only teachers being Korovin and the pain he brought with him. Anna's hair was long, flaxen, immaculately cared for. Sofia's hair was shoulder length, cut only to keep it out of the path of the whip, uneven, greasy and ragged. Anna walked over, and knelt in front of her… and promptly broke down in tears. Sofia gathered her sister in her arms and pulled her onto her tiny lap. Anna lay there, trembling and clutching at her sister's rags. Neski was struck by the scene. Like a living Pieta, except reversed, the immaculate virgin being comforted by the scarred and wounded Christ who'd suffered for her sins. Sofia's expression was beneficent, almost glowing, as she allowed her own tears to fall, unheeded, into her sister's golden hair. She simply held Anna as they both cried, and cried, and cried.