Doctor Sera Dwain has been working for Manticore since 2005. She was a fresh doctor coming out of med school when she got her job at 25 years
old. Her uncle spoke to her about this great opportunity for her, and by curiosity she applied. She got the job very easily since she was a very
bright girl. Her uncle told her about the new experiments that were done on a military
base, but he couldn't say much since it was a big secret.
'Military.' just the word sounded interresting to Sera. But never did she think it was that kind of experiments, and now, she was stuck at that
awful place forever. 'It's like the Mafia, once you're in, you can't go out.' She'd told herself 15 years ago, after having cried her eyes out.
It was may the third 2005, Sera's first day at Manticore, and she was so eager to begin. Her uncle was the boss of this place and since she was the
first of her class, he wanted her to work 'directly in the field', as he said to her. Sera was so happy to finaly be able to make a true
contribution to the medecine science and the genetic evolution. But her dreams and hopes vanished when she saw what her job really was. She stood
there, looking at those poor children acting like soldiers, warriors. 'Oh God...it's awfull!' She ran to her uncle's office and stormed in without
knocking.
" Are you nuts? I can't do this! You never told me it was THAT kind of experiments! Using children? It's just cruel, how can you put those
kids through such phisical and psychological tortures?" She was angry as one could be. "It's pure Evil if you ask me!" She was a very
determined woman.
His eyes were fixed on hers, looking at Sera through his glasses, he walk towards her and sat on his desk. He was very calm.
" I see character runs in the family, but I'm not asking your opinion Sera. Give yourself some time, you may change your perception of the whole
situation."
" I quit!" No way I'm staying here!
He studied her a long moment, and decided to be straight with her.
" You can't go back Sera. Not now, not EVER, do you understand me? If you quit, you'll finish dead in a dumpster somewhere. Do you want to know
why?"
Sera looked at him very differently. She was orrified by what he was telling her, HER, his own brother's daughter!
" Because Sera, the X5 kids are geniuses, and they are the first of a great generation of perfect worriers to come. The world's coming to an end
Sera, and we, the United States of America, have to be prepared for it, we have to win the battle!"
'I can't believe this...I'm gonna be sick.'
"You see, he continued, we can't take the chance of someone spilling their gutts to anyone, so we can't just make you sign a Silent Contract,
and tell you ByeBye See You Around. It doesn't work that way. And even if so, you'd end up getting a bullet in the head by some guy wanting to make
sure you stay silent. No one can sabotage this experiment. No one. You're following me?" He looked just like he was when he was telling her
bedtime stories when she was a little girl, instead that now the story wasn't that great. 'He's acting like everything is just fine...how can
he?', she asked herself. 'But then again, he's the boss, he's the creator of all this nightmare.'
"Sera, do you understand what I'm telling you?" He was getting impatient.
" Everything is crystal clear. You'll never hear me talking about this again, but lets just get something straight. I don't agree with it,
but I'll make sure those kids stay healty. I'm doing it for them Donald, not you! Don't ever, EVER, forget that!" And she turned her back on
him, her father's young brother, who was now the devil in person, and closed the door behind her.
Never did he have to tell her how to do her job, and he was more than satisfied with his niece. 'She's getting over it, I knew she would come to
reason.' But Lydecker's weakness is that he often underestimates the wrong people.
One day, she heard of the killing.
It was the little Eva he had shot. Sera thought she was going crazy when she heard the news. 'Not Eva!' That poor girl had many genetic flaws, and
today, to make it worst, she made a big mistake in the pool test. Sera always knew Eva was the weakest of all the X5s, but she wanted to
help her so bad. She had spend many hours talking to Eva, making strategies for her not to demonstrate her fear to others. But Eva wasn't
able to handle it. And Lydecker knew she was having problems with the seizures, they were getting more and more stronger, and were about to be
an obstacle to the X5's mission.
So he killed her. She was sitting on her desk, grabing her head, trying to hold back the tears that were filling her eyes. She heard light steps near
her. Sera lefted her head and saw a little girl all trembling in front of her, staring at her with her big brown eyes. She jumped up and closed the
door of her medical office.
" Max! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be doing your training outside? You could get reprimands for that!" The girl just
stared at her trying hard not to show her fear.
" Please," said Max to Sera, "Please Dr. Dwain, don't let him kill me too." Sera looked at the kid who was begging for help.
She saw that Max was having a seizure right now.
" You have seizures like Eva?" She asked softly.
" Yes, but not as bad." Max said, trying to clear her voice, and her mind of the image of Eva dead. She knew she wasn't supposed to be
there, but she wanted to know why they were keeping Eva so long in the office, and when she looked, she saw him pulling the trigger.
" You took great risks coming to see me Max. How did you know you could trust me?" I know that girl is clever, but a Manticore's doctor
is enemy territory.
"Eva told me how you tried to help her, and that you were a nice person." All Sera could see in that child's face was her eyes. 'She
looks so innocent and fragile, and at the same time so wise and strong.'
" Fine Max, I'll help you, but under one condition." Max said yes with her head. "You have to promess me that you will never, EVER,
tell anyone about this, not even Jondy. Eva wasn't careful to tell you, but you Max, you are a reliable person, and she was lucky to have such a
friend. But you are smarter than her, bless her soul, and if you know what's in your best interrest, you'll keep your mouth shut. For both of
us." I could get kill, and so could she.
"I swear I wont say a word." Max said sincerely.
" Good." Sera told her. "Now come here that I look at you." Max wasn't sure she could move. "Come here, sit on the
table. I just want to check your head for a minute. I wont hurt you." She smiled at Max, trying to unfroze the child. Max walked slowly and sat
on the medical table, feeling awkward.
"I'm going to look into your eyes with a light to make sure your blood vessels are intact in your retina, okay?" Sera knew those kids
were smart, and that she would know what a retina is.
"Okay." Max said, knowing that the doctor was waiting for her approval before doing it.
Sera examined her, made some tests, and passed a CT scan. She gave Max 3 pills.
"I'm giving you this until tomorrow. I have to get the results of the tests, but I'm pretty sure I know the problem." Sera put the pills in Max's hand.
"And if tonight you feel the seizures coming back, you take another one, and the third if necessary. This is Tryptophan Max, it's serotonin supplements
that your brain isn't producing enough, and the results is the seizing. But I really don't think it will be much of a problem to control them for now."
"Okay, thank you Dr. Dwain."
"Please call me Sera when you come see me. And don't worry for the tests, I'll destroy the evidence, nobody will know." Max headed to the door.
"Wait! You'll get in trouble now because you weren't training with the others..." Sera tried to think of something.
"Cut my leg. This way you'll have to make stiches and put a bandage on. I'll tell him I fell during the training while running, and came right here without
telling him. He'll believe me, since I never follow orders to the letter."
"I wont cut your leg!" I'm not hurting that child!
"I'll do it then, give me something." Sera gave her the scalpel since Max looked like she was doing it one way or another. Max took the knife and made herself a
great cut of about 2 inches. She hold back the tears. She then put the scalpel back on the table and kicked her wounded leg on the table's leg. Now she yelled.
"Are you crazy?!" Sera had jumped when she'd seen Max do it.
"It has to look real. This way I'll get a bruise and the cut wont look neatly cut." Sera stared at her. 'Wow, the kid knows where she's going in her life. You could never
think she was 7 years old.'
Sera wanted to give her something. She looked on her desk and saw the box of chocolat. Very good chocolat.
"Do you want a piece of chocolat Max?" She suddenly wanted to spoil her.
"What's chocolat?" Max asked her. 'What?, Sera thought, Well, I guess they never give them goodies here.'
"Trust me, you'll like it." Sera took a piece of chocolat that looked like a bunny and gave it to Max. 'Put it in your mouth." Max put it in her mouth and her eyes
just opened wide. She made Sera a big chocolaty smile and Sera bursted into laughs, but inside she wanted to cry.
It has been 10 years since she last saw her. All this seemed so far away, but again so near. And now Max was in front of Sera again, back at Manticore. The prison she
escaped years ago, thinking she'd probably never come back.
"Will you help me Sera?" Max felt like she was 7 again.
"I'll do my best Max." My best...