Author's Note: Oh wow, thanks to those who have shown their appreciation for this story already. I give it all back to you. Enjoy! Make sure to review, please!
Although Ludwig was typically impressed on a daily basis, with him being the apprentice of a scientist after all; there wasn't really anything that could add up to the amazement of what was going on today. He was following behind his master, who was in turn following one of the "big boys" from upstairs. Right now they were touring around the facility. Gray, metallic walls locking in solid glass columns with bright beams of surging energy were used to power everything in the room, from the lights on the ceiling to the condition setters in the high-tech prisoner cells. The men and women who walked passed him stared at his master as if he was a common slug from the slums instead of a scientist; of course not directly to his face, but Ludwig could clearly see their expressions once his back was to them.
What kind of world did these people live in up here? He was already made aware that the different floors had different purposes and jobs, and oftentimes - the attitudes of the employees differed from floor to floor. Ludwig guessed that these people had the most stress in their department, and wondered if he'd ever have a position like theres. He certainly hoped not, because as he was looking at the multitude of high-tech equipment that were used on the patients, his stomach began to turn over.
Quite aplenty of these gadgets were no harmless instruments fitting to belong to a scientist or even a doctor. No, these were torture devices. These people seemed armed to the teeth should something happen, but why was it necessary? Did they have a steady stream of defiant and violent inmates, or did they seem to go beyond the normal means to keep their prisoners in check? They had been captured and stuffed into cages in order to be tested with...hadn't they suffered enough?
But before he could delve into these troubling thoughts anymore, the "tour guide" of a scientist stopped in the middle of a large open room in the facility. Scientists and doctors alike were crowding around several of the cages to observe their test subjects or writing down notes from the monitors that were scattered about in the room.
He grinned and began an explanation, "The top floor of this building typically stores inmates that are new, and needing to be broken into submission. Otherwise, they contain prisoners who are yet to submit."
The master crooned to Ludwig, "Doesn't make any sense to me, this whole system. Why don't they just keep the newest ones on the bottom levels?"
Apparently only two out of the three of the tour group understood why that was so necessary, but the blond merely shrugged, interested in hearing more about this floor.
The scientist pointed over yonder, "Mr. Zabek, would you like to follow one of our chemists over to the brewing station? I understand you're very attuned to testing chemicals."
Master looked back at his apprentice, "Well, come along Lud-"
The scientists smiled and shook his head, "The lad can stay and converse to me if he chooses. You're free to go on ahead."
Ludwig nodded, "I'll be fine, master. I want to speak to Mr. Kaminski about other matters." Master simply sighed and walked along with one of the other scientists before the apprentice turned back to Kaminski, "I apologize for any muttering of my master, he's a tad..." he swirled his finger in a circle near his ear, "...off, I suppose."
Kaminski crossed his arms and sighed, "Clearly. Now, may I ask? What is such a bright young man like yourself doing with a loon like him? That mad rabbit must be ruining your progression."
"It's not as if I had any choice of master. I suppose my name was drawn from the hat to work under him."
"It's a shame the way the downstairs individuals assign their apprentices. Either they really did draw from a hat or they are blind to his foolishness. That's why the building is the way it is, the smartest should be rewarded the top."
"The reason the building is this way is merely for protection, sir."
"Ah, so you understood my puzzle? Would you do me the honor to elaborate on your thought process?"
"It's not that difficult, if you keep the newest inmates that haven't been sedated yet at the top of the building, there's always the chance that one may break loose and try to escape. If one does, there's plenty of time to warn the other floors to have the staff and visitors get out of the building, or it will try the window - a fall to imminent death," he felt as if Kaminski was merely trying to pull him in and butter him up, and it was sickening.
"You see? You shouldn't be forced to work under a person like Zabek. You're talents and eagerness for knowledge go beyond the fools who reside downstairs. I ought to write the faculty and request for a change in apprenticeship for you. Or, at least you could stay a week up here and learn what we scientists really do in this building."
Considering that he wouldn't want his master to be killed in his experimentation, he figured that a week up here would be plenty. It would be enough time to give him insight into his possible future career, and possibly not enough time for him to cause too much mayhem in his lab. He agreed on the week, and Kaminski looked delighted.
"Splendid! It has been quite a while since I had an apprentice, and I have some new delights to show to you that I couldn't show to my last one. Poor doll, stuck downstairs with the common minds as a receptionist."
Ludwig was a bit irritated with the ego of this scientist, but he tried to not let that fill his mind. There was likely a lot he could learn from him, and it was only a week, so it wouldn't be pure hell. "Is there anyway I can see some of your progress? I'm interested in knowing what all I'll be seeing in the next week."
Kaminski twiddled his finger back and forth, "No, no. That's the joy of the surprise, good lad. Besides, I wouldn't want to be caught up in something important and having Zabek come bumbling along." There really was no need to keep insulting his master, but the apprentice held his tongue. "No, I want to hear more about you. More importantly, I have a very important question to ask of you before this upcoming week."
"Yes, sir?"
"As demeaning as it sounds, will you roll over and be the good government dog you're supposed to be as a citizen and scientist of the Nation?"
"My older brother and his consort are both well ranked in the army. The duty of the Nation runs in our blood, sir."
Kaminski grinned, "That's excellent, Ludwig. Exactly what I like to hear."
Suddenly, the heavy footsteps of master's eager feet came storming back towards the two of them. He smiled to his apprentice, clutching a notepad that was covered with scribbled down notes. They mainly looked like recipes. "Ah, Lud, you ought to see the brewing stations! There are a lot of chemicals that we should test on our subjects downstairs. Unless the inmates are having problems, tomorrow we'll start creating what we need for some of the greatest experiments I'll ever try."
Kaminski clasped his hands together and frowned pitifully towards the man, "Oh, Zabek. There's actually been a change of plans. I wanted Ludwig to work up on this floor for a week."
He glanced over between his apprentice and Kaminski and growled, "...Under who?"
"Myself, of course, though I would think that any of our scientists would be honored to have him as an apprentice, if only temporarily."
Zabek knew he really couldn't argue with the fellow scientist. He was much higher ranked, related to one of the Nation's council members, and he was practically in control of the top floor, which also meant basically the whole building. He merely hissed, "I see."
"Oh don't look so glum, friend. This would be a wonderful opportunity for Ludwig to gain some good experience. You wouldn't deny him that, would you?"
Master looked over towards Ludwig, and his expression was one of betrayal. But, instead of voicing his feeling, he only shook his head, "No, sir."
"Good! Everything's settled then!" Kaminski looked over towards the clock and whimsically sighed, though it seemed quite an act, "Oh, look at how the time has gone away from us all. I suppose the two of you should be getting home." He placed a hand on Ludwig's shoulder and said to the younger man, "I look forward to working with you, Lud."
Using the nickname clearly made his master more irritated, and even more so whenever he responded to the blond's thanks with a "my pleasure". Neither the master or his apprentice really liked the look in Kaminski's eye, and Ludwig was now certain that this week would probably drag on and on.
It felt like hours between the trip downstairs to leave the building and the ride to his cozy apartment. Dropping his lab coat on the hook by the closet, he collapsed onto the bed before reaching over to check the mail slot. Leafing through the multitude of letters, he disposed of junk mail and advertisements onto his desk, cluttered with several days worth of worthless mail, until he found something he was actually interested in. A letter.
It was from his brother and Lili both. They normally both wrote a letter to send whenever they had the chance to write - or sometimes a joint letter - for them to express both of their thoughts to Ludwig, who was far away from the battlefields. From what he could tell, it might be part of some weird romantic game the two played together. Although, from some of the letters he had received in the past, it was more likely that they did it to be openly honest, especially if they were concerned for their partner.
Both letters were written in fluent German, despite the fact that English had become the official language of the Nation. He didn't mind, he actually liked it because it reminded him of the quiet home life they once had before their entire family was drafted into the military. Conversations aplenty tossed about in German, the large meals they'd have on Sunday afternoons, wishing that they could take the family to go to the tropics, the laughter shared between everyone. Ludwig sighed, dwelling in the past was enough to make one emotional.
Gilbert's letter was talking about how he and Lili together had taken down another fort, along with some notes on his captain, whom he supposed that he was making fast friends with, but also dwelled upon some little wishes about seeing his younger brother again and wanting to return to the good old days before the draft. Lili's letter usually had more thought and depth put into it, so he normally read hers after he looked over his brother's. She instead talked about the obvious homesickness that Gilbert was having (so it wasn't just himself, huh?), and that she wanted Ludwig to start researching some cures and vaccines in order to send better medicines to the front lines. The medics down there, apparently, could only do so much for one person, and with the newfound ailments and weapons under constant development, there were more cures that needed to be invented. At the end of her letters, she'd have a quote from literature or some famous person from the past, so it was always interesting to think that even though she was a skilled army combatant, there was still a scholar within her. It was surprising to him that she still thought about her old job, even whenever she was under constant attack from the rebels...and she had Gilbert to distract her as well.
Setting the two handwritten letters on the table, he curled up in bed and fell asleep just as he felt his cat leap onto the bed to take a seat beside him.
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