-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN---To Sa'ida: I honestly haven't thought about it, but
it might be after the bugger wars way after Ender. This is still a fresh
idea I'm not really into it yet, but when I do get into it I don't know
what will happen. These ideas come but the middle part, the meat, doesn't
hit me until I write it.
To 'roxy': Thank you for the kind reviews. I sure do love my reviews, as
does almost everyone on this site I'm sure.
PS. Her name is Annie.
To 'Annie': That must be weird, I agree. When I first saw your review I
thought my characters were talking to me. It was scary
Thanks to everyone for their kind reviews.
Brilliant: The Generals Interview
The door crept open, my mind raced. Jacob stood still, looking almost dead. His face was pale, his eyes were closed. He looked as if he wasn't breathing. This all lasted until the door opened wide, where, suddenly, his features snapped to attention. His eyes were alert, his mouth in a taut line. He walked briskly out of the elevator into another lobby, this one done up in purple. I followed cautiously not wanting to do anything wrong, but it was bound to happen the minute I stepped in that lobby.
"Don't just stand there."
Jacob had disappeared into one of the numerous doors that lined the lobby. He left me with a short man in a uniform who looked like a baby soldier. He had a fat smooth face with puckering lips and light blue eyes. He was bound to be ignored. I stared at him wondering who put this pudgy little man in uniform.
"Sit down!"
I almost laughed. The first command was affective; he scared me out of my mind. But now that I knew where the commands were coming from he didn't take on quite as much authority. I would have just kept standing there. I might have gone as far as to comment on his lack of stature if Jacob and a scary looking man hadn't walked through the door. Jacob shot me a look that could have killed a kind cobra on the spot.
"Sit."
So I sat down. I guess it didn't matter where, because there weren't any chairs in the whole lobby. The floor must have been the best spot because the scary man smiled. He whispered something to Jacob that made him smile proudly. He dismissed the pudgy man with a tilt of his head and motioned for me to stand up.
"What is your name."
This came from the scary man and it wasn't a question. He was testing me, probably making sure that what the shrinks said wasn't true.
"Annie McCain."
I wanted to impress him, the first time I'd done that since I was in kindergarten.
"Who are your parents"
This was a trick question, but I didn't know it at a time.
"Jackson McCain and Jillian Hugh McCain."
"Wrong."
He said this in a wistful tone, like he was remembering better times.
"You no longer have parents. Didn't you hear Jacob? You have NO parents. None."
He was in my face. Something I despised with a passion. But I was determined to impress.
"You do not even know them. You do not know their names, the way they treat you, who your siblings are, where you live. You are no longer held to the surname McCain. You are Annie. Got that?"
"Yes."
"Yes? Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Yes.sir."
I furrowed my brow like I was in deep concentration. He smiled and let out a little chuckle. He turned around to Jacob.
"You picked this one out?"
"No sir, Mully did sir."
"Send Mully in will you? While I and Annie have a little chat."
A swallowed nervously as Jacob left. I was completely unprotected with him gone.
"So tell me Annie, where do you live."
I was finally buying into his little game.
"Nowhere sir."
"Wrong again. You aren't very good at this are you?"
"I don't understand.sir"
"No. You wouldn't. If they had sent you in, you would have."
My mind glazed over. Far more brainpower was being used here than any of my years in school.
"You are smart Annie. I don't know if anyone has told you that."
He let his last sentence end in an air of thoughtfulness. I stood there, waiting for him to go on.
"Do you know what MS is?"
"No sir."
"Mental Strength. That's what it stands for. It's a new concept that began a little before you were born. It's being tested all over the world. Infants as young as 6 months old are being tested."
"Is that accurate sir?"
"Who knows? I don't know; I don't test for it. But what it does is it takes a look at your brain through a process similar to a CAT Scan. There is a certain cell in your brain that-"
He cut off, then started again.
"You do know the theory that humans only use 10% of their brains right?"
I nodded, cautious of trick questions.
"Well, this cell, nerve actually, connects the 10% to a much larger percent that mostly no one uses. The scan finds the nerve and looks for electrons moving through it. If there aren't any, you're normal. A normal human being with nothing to worry about. If there is slow movement, you're military material, slightly smarter than average. Rapid movement, genius. Military or scientific people will love you and offer to take you in under their wing for training."
He searched my face looking for a sign that I understood him. I guess I looked like I did.
"You've never been tested. Partly because your father is about as stubborn as you are from what I've heard. He won't have anything to do with the procedure. But you will be. As soon as we get you set up."
At the exact moment he stopped talking Jacob came in with a placid expression on his face. An older man, most likely in his forties, followed him into the room. He introduced himself as Kevin Mully, Lab 46, Patient 62. When he said Patient 62 he nodded to me and offered his hand.
"-and I'm so thrilled to finally meet her."
I shot my gaze over to Jacob, who stood at attention, eyes closed; and the scary man, who looked at me the way my dog always did when he expected something better than dog food. I shook his hand, which was cold and clammy. There was a boom from downstairs and the elevator came alive suddenly. Jacob rushed to it and suddenly men popped out from everywhere. The doors that lined the hallway were thrown open and they all poured out, as if waiting for this to happen.
"They here General."
That voice made the room stand quiet. The scary man, now made know as the General, walked slowly toward the elevator and waited for the click it made before the door opens. Everyone was at attention as the door slid open. A young woman stepped out and in her arms a small boy who had boils and open sores all over his body. She was whispering the same words over and over again:
"Do you see what you have done?"
She moaned and lurched forward, taking the boy down with her. Mully ran over and checked for pulse.
"Dead."
It was all he said, but it was enough. The general walked over and slapped him.
"You FOOL!"
He stared at Mully and blue veins popped out in his temples. Then he ran to the stairs. I let out a breath while at least 30 men in uniform looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces.
I would learn later that the woman was the general's wife and the boy was their son, naturally. But what killed them was a big surprise, and it caught the general by the throat.
-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN- hahaha I'm so good. Sorry to you guys who have been reading this. Well, what do you think? It didn't come exactly as I had planned. I certainly didn't know the general would have a wife, but he did, so now the story goes on. More complicated for me. Ouch. I dug myself a hole here.
Brilliant: The Generals Interview
The door crept open, my mind raced. Jacob stood still, looking almost dead. His face was pale, his eyes were closed. He looked as if he wasn't breathing. This all lasted until the door opened wide, where, suddenly, his features snapped to attention. His eyes were alert, his mouth in a taut line. He walked briskly out of the elevator into another lobby, this one done up in purple. I followed cautiously not wanting to do anything wrong, but it was bound to happen the minute I stepped in that lobby.
"Don't just stand there."
Jacob had disappeared into one of the numerous doors that lined the lobby. He left me with a short man in a uniform who looked like a baby soldier. He had a fat smooth face with puckering lips and light blue eyes. He was bound to be ignored. I stared at him wondering who put this pudgy little man in uniform.
"Sit down!"
I almost laughed. The first command was affective; he scared me out of my mind. But now that I knew where the commands were coming from he didn't take on quite as much authority. I would have just kept standing there. I might have gone as far as to comment on his lack of stature if Jacob and a scary looking man hadn't walked through the door. Jacob shot me a look that could have killed a kind cobra on the spot.
"Sit."
So I sat down. I guess it didn't matter where, because there weren't any chairs in the whole lobby. The floor must have been the best spot because the scary man smiled. He whispered something to Jacob that made him smile proudly. He dismissed the pudgy man with a tilt of his head and motioned for me to stand up.
"What is your name."
This came from the scary man and it wasn't a question. He was testing me, probably making sure that what the shrinks said wasn't true.
"Annie McCain."
I wanted to impress him, the first time I'd done that since I was in kindergarten.
"Who are your parents"
This was a trick question, but I didn't know it at a time.
"Jackson McCain and Jillian Hugh McCain."
"Wrong."
He said this in a wistful tone, like he was remembering better times.
"You no longer have parents. Didn't you hear Jacob? You have NO parents. None."
He was in my face. Something I despised with a passion. But I was determined to impress.
"You do not even know them. You do not know their names, the way they treat you, who your siblings are, where you live. You are no longer held to the surname McCain. You are Annie. Got that?"
"Yes."
"Yes? Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Yes.sir."
I furrowed my brow like I was in deep concentration. He smiled and let out a little chuckle. He turned around to Jacob.
"You picked this one out?"
"No sir, Mully did sir."
"Send Mully in will you? While I and Annie have a little chat."
A swallowed nervously as Jacob left. I was completely unprotected with him gone.
"So tell me Annie, where do you live."
I was finally buying into his little game.
"Nowhere sir."
"Wrong again. You aren't very good at this are you?"
"I don't understand.sir"
"No. You wouldn't. If they had sent you in, you would have."
My mind glazed over. Far more brainpower was being used here than any of my years in school.
"You are smart Annie. I don't know if anyone has told you that."
He let his last sentence end in an air of thoughtfulness. I stood there, waiting for him to go on.
"Do you know what MS is?"
"No sir."
"Mental Strength. That's what it stands for. It's a new concept that began a little before you were born. It's being tested all over the world. Infants as young as 6 months old are being tested."
"Is that accurate sir?"
"Who knows? I don't know; I don't test for it. But what it does is it takes a look at your brain through a process similar to a CAT Scan. There is a certain cell in your brain that-"
He cut off, then started again.
"You do know the theory that humans only use 10% of their brains right?"
I nodded, cautious of trick questions.
"Well, this cell, nerve actually, connects the 10% to a much larger percent that mostly no one uses. The scan finds the nerve and looks for electrons moving through it. If there aren't any, you're normal. A normal human being with nothing to worry about. If there is slow movement, you're military material, slightly smarter than average. Rapid movement, genius. Military or scientific people will love you and offer to take you in under their wing for training."
He searched my face looking for a sign that I understood him. I guess I looked like I did.
"You've never been tested. Partly because your father is about as stubborn as you are from what I've heard. He won't have anything to do with the procedure. But you will be. As soon as we get you set up."
At the exact moment he stopped talking Jacob came in with a placid expression on his face. An older man, most likely in his forties, followed him into the room. He introduced himself as Kevin Mully, Lab 46, Patient 62. When he said Patient 62 he nodded to me and offered his hand.
"-and I'm so thrilled to finally meet her."
I shot my gaze over to Jacob, who stood at attention, eyes closed; and the scary man, who looked at me the way my dog always did when he expected something better than dog food. I shook his hand, which was cold and clammy. There was a boom from downstairs and the elevator came alive suddenly. Jacob rushed to it and suddenly men popped out from everywhere. The doors that lined the hallway were thrown open and they all poured out, as if waiting for this to happen.
"They here General."
That voice made the room stand quiet. The scary man, now made know as the General, walked slowly toward the elevator and waited for the click it made before the door opens. Everyone was at attention as the door slid open. A young woman stepped out and in her arms a small boy who had boils and open sores all over his body. She was whispering the same words over and over again:
"Do you see what you have done?"
She moaned and lurched forward, taking the boy down with her. Mully ran over and checked for pulse.
"Dead."
It was all he said, but it was enough. The general walked over and slapped him.
"You FOOL!"
He stared at Mully and blue veins popped out in his temples. Then he ran to the stairs. I let out a breath while at least 30 men in uniform looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces.
I would learn later that the woman was the general's wife and the boy was their son, naturally. But what killed them was a big surprise, and it caught the general by the throat.
-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN-AN- hahaha I'm so good. Sorry to you guys who have been reading this. Well, what do you think? It didn't come exactly as I had planned. I certainly didn't know the general would have a wife, but he did, so now the story goes on. More complicated for me. Ouch. I dug myself a hole here.