John and Mycroft entered their assigned house and the first thing John noticed was the kitchen or lack thereof. He turned to their guide.
"Where's the kitchen?" He asked looking around as if one would appear.
"In the cafeterias at the learning and work institutions." The guide said with a grin. "The herd eats together."
"Every meal?"
"Every meal." The guide repeated. "That way our work-force can focus on more important things. Instead of buying, prepping, eating, and cleaning your food, you just eat it."
"I suppose that makes sense." John looked around the living area. Tobias had told him the houses were bigger on the inside and John begged to disagree. The living room only held one sofa and television set. There was a hall off the living room with four doors.
"This is one of our largest homes. It's not often residents have four children... not to mention four partners."
"Four?" John queried.
"Om-com Morstan, Omegalander-Holmes, Alpha-Holmes, and Alpha-Lestrade?"
"Oh... right." John said blushing. Mycroft looked around the boys' room. It was painted a sunny yellow with a mural of a rearing horse on one wall.
"It's hideous." Mycroft said plainly. There were three cribs jammed against one wall and a solitary dresser on the adjacent wall with a small lamp sitting on top. The boys had six laundry bags full of clothes, stacked in the corner of the room and the drawers were already over-flowing with clothing.
"You may obtain permission from council to change the wall colour if you'd like." The guide offered.
"Berber carpeting." Mycroft said wrinkling his nose in disgust. He started sniffing the air. "This house was just built... The dresser is oak... the cribs are... Scots pine." Mycroft shook his head clear. "The whole house is made of tree."
"Most of our buildings are made of wood."
"You killed... trees... just to build housing?" Mycroft asked looking at him in disbelief. "We only claim dead trees. These trees were still alive." Mycroft said reaching out to stroke the dresser. "It must have only been a few decades old. Cut down in its prime."
"Trees are renewable resources."
"So are people." Mycroft snipped. "Do you kill them as well?"
"Mycroft, it's alright." John said placing a hand on his shoulder. Mycroft stayed in the boys' room while John toured the rest of the small house with the guide. Milo had a room all to herself, painted lavender with another horse mural on the wall. The horse looked gentler than the one in the boys' room. It was white with a wreath of flowers around its neck. John felt like reaching out to stroke the mural.
He snapped back into reality and was led to the master bedroom which was equivalent in size to the other two rooms John had seen; only it had two full sized beds pushed together. There was hardly any floor space to manoeuvre around the beds.
"Where's the loo?" John asked looking around.
"Oh, let me show you." They stepped out of the bedroom and the guide opened a fourth door in the hallway, revealing a small toilet.
"It's scarcely larger than a broom cupboard." John said sticking his head into the tiny room that housed the toilet. "Where's the shower?"
"We have communal baths and showers."
"So there are only three bedrooms, no kitchen, no shower, and only one toilet?" The flat John shared with Mary seemed more spacious and better arranged.
"Should we grab lunch?" The guide offered.
"Where is Mary going to live?"
"With... your pack?" The guide asked with uncertainty in his voice.
"She's... Well it's not that I wouldn't... Mycroft?" John turned to him.
Mycroft's face twitched into a grimace. "The house is rather... small."
"It may take a while to get her reassigned housing. Your pack has been on the waiting list for quite some time."
"What?" John asked looking to Mycroft who also looked confused.
"You've been on the list for four months."
"Sherlock." John said.
"Yes, Alpha-Holmes put in the application. We've had a massive influx of om-coms and we've been having trouble finding housing for all of them."
"Prime Minister Moriarty-"
"Know that we, including the royal family, are in no way affiliated with Omicron Moriarty."
"Sherlock said he was once royalty." John said looking at the guide who looked flustered.
"The Moriarty brothers are wanted for treason in Edinburgh. We do not condone their actions in any way, shape, or form."
"That's good to hear." John said with a sigh of relief.
"Now, how about lunch?" The guide said cheerfully.
The cafeteria was packed with Omicrons. John couldn't believe his eyes. It was a sea of blondes. Mycroft stood out like a sore thumb with his ginger hair and was at least half a foot taller than any of them. He shifted nervously as he and John grabbed their plates and queued up.
"They really don't have much genetic recombination do they?" He whispered to John.
The only part of Mycroft that fit in nicely was his well tailored three piece suit. The Government building was filled with well dressed Omicrons that were already half-way done with their work day.
"Where are all the brunettes?" John wondered out-loud.
"I haven't seen a single one either..."
John's plate was loaded with food while he wasn't paying attention. He looked down to see congealed slop on his plate. It jiggled as he slid he slid down to the end and grabbed his drink. Mycroft was on John's heels as he sought for a place to sit.
"God, I don't know anyone." John said searching the crowd.
"How are you supposed to tell them apart?" Mycroft asked as he nervously licked his lips. John spotted the clerk and headed straight for him.
John took a seat and the clerk greeted him warmly. "Watson!" He shouted. "Going to start stage zero this afternoon?"
"It's all moving so quickly." John said with a crooked grin.
"Don't panic." He chuckled.
"I was nervous about handing the pups over. I guess I wasn't preparing for them to be out of the house so soon." John said poking his fork into his food. "What is this?"
"It's a gelatinized silica-free biologically active cellulose derivative. It's entirely vegan." The clerk said proudly. "Fortified with all the essential amino and fatty acids."
"How do they break down the cellulose?" Mycroft said poking his gel.
"Enzymatically. Outside the ruminant of course."
"Let me guess, equine enzymes?" Mycroft said curtly.
"Bovine as well. It really is misleading though: the cellulase enzymes belong to the microbial flora that happen to reside in the animal's rumen. So when one says they are equine or bovine derived, they really mean that they are bacterial or fungal derived enzymes."
"Lovely, pre-digested grass. Won't Gregory be ecstatic?" Mycroft said sardonically.
"The Alphas will receive meat-supplements until they stabilize."
"Stabilize from what?" John asked.
"Their withdrawal. Alphas should never be given meats. It makes them physiologically dependent."
"I... did not know that." John said blushing.
"Don't panic. They'll be right as rain. With only mild discomfort at first."
"Mild." John repeated with a grimace.
After lunch, John was led to a small white room with large square floor to ceiling tiles. He was instructed to sit in the chair in the middle of the room and await further instructions.
The room was in a secluded wing of the government building, on the opposite end of Mycroft's office. As always, what Mycroft was doing in the government was a complete mystery to John. He was assigned to a 'minor' position, whatever that meant.
John started to feel anxious when his guide left him alone in the dim light. He found himself whining like a small pup. The wall in front of him illuminated. John started to panic as the floor and ceiling panels started light up as well. He lifted his feet as the screens under him turned into a very convincing river and he became surrounded by mountainous scenery. John felt a rush of cold air that felt very sterile. He reached his foot down and tapped the screen. The water image rippled but his foot remained dry.
John tentatively placed both his feet on the ground once more.
"Welcome!"
John's feet shot back up into his seat as the word started coming at him in bright gold letters.
"I am the sister program to STABLE, my name is IRIS. May I ask, what is yours?" The computer interface asked.
"J-John Watson." John said with a squeak.
"John Watson." The computer repeated. "Does this interface frighten John Watson?"
"Yes." John said biting his bottom lip.
"I will change it, how is this?"
The scene changed to a busy London street. John covered his head with his hands as a cab started speeding towards him.
"I will try again, how about now?"
John removed his hands and looked up.
"We're at 221-B Baker Street." John said looking around the flat in disbelief. He stood up and walked to the edge of the room. He saw the skull on the mantel piece. He reached out to touch it but all he felt was the wall. "It looks so real... But how did you-"
"I learn from you John Watson, just as you learn from me." The computer responded. "Is this interface acceptable?"
John sniffed the air. "Yes. I rather like it." The computer had the look right but the smell was lacking a certain il ne sait pas.
"Let's begin. An introduction: John Watson will complete three sets of material diurnally. Set one will begin before breakfast, set two between breakfast and lunch, and set three before supper." The computer highlighted the key points in bullet format. John was fascinated by the text that appeared to be floating on the wall.
"We will keep John Watson with his Mycroft Holmes during meals and communal showers. If any problems should arise who would you like as your auxiliary emergency contact?"
The computer listed ten possible contacts on the wall above the sofa.
"Um... Sherlock."
"Very well. Let's begin. Re-evaluation must take place before any of the sets may begin."
A flightless fowl appeared in the flat. It strutted and pecked the floor.
"What is that?" John asked reaching out to touch the three dimensional image.
"Gallus gallus domesticus."
"Chicken." John said looking at the bird closely. "Oh... Horses are to hay as chickens are to corn."
"Good."
The chicken disappeared and they moved on to other domestic beasts.
"Animals, John Watson. They are domestic animals." A bovine appeared in the middle of the room and let out a loud 'Moo'. "Bos taurus."
"Cow." John said automatically. "I've seen them before in the beta-sector."
"There are also non-domestic animals. Wild animals." The computer interface continued. A canine appeared and started pacing the floor, snarling its upper lip. "Canis lupus."
"Grey wolf." John said. "But those aren't the canines that were in London."
"The line between wild animal and domestic animal can be thin. Watch closely." John watched the wolf transform into a small furry animal with a wet nose and a wagging tail.
"Aw." John said as it scampered across the floor.
"This is also C. lupus."
"C. lupus familiaris." John added.
"The adult female is known as a bitch, its children are known as puppies."
John scratched his head. "Like... our puppies?"
An ungulate with horns appeared. "Capra aegagrus."
"Goat."
"The wild goat's children are named kids."
"Okay." John shrugged. "So what you're saying is animals can have offspring with similar names to our own and that doesn't necessarily mean we're their direct decedents."
"Good."
John felt a rush of something course through his whole body. He tasted something sweet on his tongue. He liked being good.