Growing Up Quickly:
As infants, X5s were treated just like all the other generations before them. Crying was ignored, they were put into a strict schedule of feeding, sleeping, learning, and playtime. Playtime was always fun to watch -- they rolled around like little cubs, play-fighting and wrestling. When they could stand, they stood at attention. When they could walk, they marched together.
They regarded the training obstacle courses for the first time as little toddlers. It must have looked like a huge playground. Ropes to climb, monkey bars, tires to run through... it was all there. And they were eager to get at it once they laid eyes on the course. Those kids would spend hours out there. At first they were allowed to run around and play freely, but that didn't last long. As soon as they had figured out all the courses and different obstacles, they were put into teams and drilled through exercises repeatedly. Over and over they were drilled, until their movements were precise, quick reactions to a familiar challenge.
Their play fighting was turned quickly into directed sparring. They were learning techniques and different fighting moves before normal kids could walk on their own. I poked my head into a sparring room one day, just to see what was going on. It is quite a sight to see little toddlers being drilled in different stances and Kung Fu moves. Their little yells on the execution of each different move made hardly enough noise to be heard in the hall, yet I could already see the power that would soon flow out of their limbs and prove they were the ultimate fighting machine.
By their third year, the X5s were exceeding the previous X generation by a large margin. Lydecker, as is imaginable, walked around almost cheerfully. His sharp yells were heard much less often echoing through the hallways. His staff lightened up and everyone was in better spirits. Lydecker almost seemed...excited. He was obviously proud of this group, the X5s. So far, they were everything he'd ever dreamed of. His creation, his inspiration, finally taking on a physical form.
I walked into the aquatic center one day in the early spring of the X5s' fifth year. I had a couple drains and tiles to check out, see what needed replacement. Lydecker was in there with the X5s -- they were underwater. He motioned me over.
"They're going for a record today," he announced, "They've been doing four minutes under regularly now. We're going for four and a half today." He told me, indicating to the stopwatch he held.
"Impressive, sir." A weak response, but it was all I could come up with after that info. I guess I didn't fully understand what the need or purpose of this exercise was.
"Yes, we're at 3:45 now." Lydecker glanced at his stopwatch.
I watched, curious. They looked perfectly calm under there, standing on the bottom. There was about a foot of water over their heads. All eyes were open, looking up through the water, starring directly at Lydecker. At 4:10, one started to struggle. When he didn't rise to the surface I realized with shock that they were harnessed to the bottom -- not down there on their own accord but strapped in to either succeed or drown. I glanced at Lydecker -- his face was set. They were staying down there for 4:30, or they would inhale a lot of water. I turned back in time to see X5-452 make a sympathetic calming gesture to the struggling X5, who then visibly controlled himself. X5-599 was obviously fully aware of what was going on, and glared up through the water at Lydecker, accusingly. Lydecker ignored him.
4:30. The harnesses snapped open and they rose quickly to the surface. Lydecker rewarded them with a "Good work, soldiers, now get showered, changed, and report to classroom 48 in 20 minutes." And then he left, leaving TAC leaders in charge. I couldn't seem to walk away with him, curiosity held me in my place. X5-452 glanced at X5-599, who swam over to the X5 who had struggled.
"Are you all right?" X5-452 asked.
"Yeah," was the weak reply.
"Take him back to the locker rooms and help him," X5-599 said to X5-452. She nodded curtly and led the boy away. I noticed a protective 'come near him and you'll regret it' look on X5-599's face when he regarded the TAC leaders. He then nodded to the other X5s, and they all moved out together. Obviously they were a highly efficient team, with many un-spoken signals and excellent communication.
I realized later that evening that I had never, in all my years at Manticore, heard a prototype speak. With surprise I realized they had sounded more like thirty-year-old soldiers, not the four and five-year-old kids that they really were. I wasn't sure what I thought about that, only that it was different and definitely not what I had expected. If I'd expected anything.
As infants, X5s were treated just like all the other generations before them. Crying was ignored, they were put into a strict schedule of feeding, sleeping, learning, and playtime. Playtime was always fun to watch -- they rolled around like little cubs, play-fighting and wrestling. When they could stand, they stood at attention. When they could walk, they marched together.
They regarded the training obstacle courses for the first time as little toddlers. It must have looked like a huge playground. Ropes to climb, monkey bars, tires to run through... it was all there. And they were eager to get at it once they laid eyes on the course. Those kids would spend hours out there. At first they were allowed to run around and play freely, but that didn't last long. As soon as they had figured out all the courses and different obstacles, they were put into teams and drilled through exercises repeatedly. Over and over they were drilled, until their movements were precise, quick reactions to a familiar challenge.
Their play fighting was turned quickly into directed sparring. They were learning techniques and different fighting moves before normal kids could walk on their own. I poked my head into a sparring room one day, just to see what was going on. It is quite a sight to see little toddlers being drilled in different stances and Kung Fu moves. Their little yells on the execution of each different move made hardly enough noise to be heard in the hall, yet I could already see the power that would soon flow out of their limbs and prove they were the ultimate fighting machine.
By their third year, the X5s were exceeding the previous X generation by a large margin. Lydecker, as is imaginable, walked around almost cheerfully. His sharp yells were heard much less often echoing through the hallways. His staff lightened up and everyone was in better spirits. Lydecker almost seemed...excited. He was obviously proud of this group, the X5s. So far, they were everything he'd ever dreamed of. His creation, his inspiration, finally taking on a physical form.
I walked into the aquatic center one day in the early spring of the X5s' fifth year. I had a couple drains and tiles to check out, see what needed replacement. Lydecker was in there with the X5s -- they were underwater. He motioned me over.
"They're going for a record today," he announced, "They've been doing four minutes under regularly now. We're going for four and a half today." He told me, indicating to the stopwatch he held.
"Impressive, sir." A weak response, but it was all I could come up with after that info. I guess I didn't fully understand what the need or purpose of this exercise was.
"Yes, we're at 3:45 now." Lydecker glanced at his stopwatch.
I watched, curious. They looked perfectly calm under there, standing on the bottom. There was about a foot of water over their heads. All eyes were open, looking up through the water, starring directly at Lydecker. At 4:10, one started to struggle. When he didn't rise to the surface I realized with shock that they were harnessed to the bottom -- not down there on their own accord but strapped in to either succeed or drown. I glanced at Lydecker -- his face was set. They were staying down there for 4:30, or they would inhale a lot of water. I turned back in time to see X5-452 make a sympathetic calming gesture to the struggling X5, who then visibly controlled himself. X5-599 was obviously fully aware of what was going on, and glared up through the water at Lydecker, accusingly. Lydecker ignored him.
4:30. The harnesses snapped open and they rose quickly to the surface. Lydecker rewarded them with a "Good work, soldiers, now get showered, changed, and report to classroom 48 in 20 minutes." And then he left, leaving TAC leaders in charge. I couldn't seem to walk away with him, curiosity held me in my place. X5-452 glanced at X5-599, who swam over to the X5 who had struggled.
"Are you all right?" X5-452 asked.
"Yeah," was the weak reply.
"Take him back to the locker rooms and help him," X5-599 said to X5-452. She nodded curtly and led the boy away. I noticed a protective 'come near him and you'll regret it' look on X5-599's face when he regarded the TAC leaders. He then nodded to the other X5s, and they all moved out together. Obviously they were a highly efficient team, with many un-spoken signals and excellent communication.
I realized later that evening that I had never, in all my years at Manticore, heard a prototype speak. With surprise I realized they had sounded more like thirty-year-old soldiers, not the four and five-year-old kids that they really were. I wasn't sure what I thought about that, only that it was different and definitely not what I had expected. If I'd expected anything.