I have noticed so much change during my life, a restricted life it may have been but an eventful one all the same. As I get into my twenty-third year a revelation comes upon me, that somewhere deep down the child that used to look up at Logan and Zack with loving eyes has truly been lost in a sea of orders and discipline. It does not sadden me however, as in many ways I have not lost, but have gained. I am a stronger person for it, I matured quicker then my brothers and sisters, allowing me to cope with the major problems in my life including Jace's reprogramming and my break up of friendship with Brinn. I have made many mistakes along the way, like watching my baby sister being hauled away after she tried to escape. At the time I didn't understand why she did what she did, I was still a slightly immature child and like to put a strong front on things so that my true emotions wouldn't show or my insecurities.
Though my body and part of my mind follows orders and absorbs the lessons taught to me, I allow the other section of my consciousness to soar free and explore possibilities. When I was young I played the 'What if' game with Brinn, she would ask me what my life would be like if I wasn't a soldier. I answered to her that I would live in a house with lots of furniture, have a slave to rub my feet everyday and an endless supply of shampoo and nail files. Brinn would laugh every time she heard that, and then she too would disclose to me her life if it hadn't of turned out as it did.
But I stopped playing that game as my mind did indeed cry out for that sort-after freedom. I realised after the fence incident that the idea of freedom seemed to end up hurting in some way, and that distancing myself from it looked to be a good idea. Logan shared a revelation of his own once, that the lessons when we were shown projections of war and death weren't only to show us how tactical manoeuvres were figured out and used but to show us what happens when so many people fight for that same idea of freedom. In most cases, the oppressed won, but not without the expense of thousands dying.
So, it's not the case that I love the way Manticore imprisons us, but the protection it offers from the chaotic world outside.
"Tighten your lower back, soldier!" Sketch yelled in my ear as my mind switched back onto the lesson.
My stance was sloppy, so I strained the muscles in my back to straighten my posture and returned my focus to the wall in front.
"Yes Sir!" I replied and he checked it again.
Without a word he moved on to find a flaw in Zack's ready stance. No respect from my number guy, hey, that's life.
It's hard training from here on. Sketch has stepped up our schedule, adding classroom lessons into any free slot we have and training us in harder and more complex hand-to-hand combat. That can mean only one thing: Our first mission.
Sketch watched as I climbed up the rope centred in the middle of the room and then swung my legs over to meet the bars parallel to me. From there climbing up to the top of the apparatus isn't difficult, but it's hard to impress Sketch these days.
As soon as I get to the top, he dismisses the rest of my group and orders me back down.
"We have a potential threat to this operation. Doctor Tinga Davis has refused to continue on in this project, which is unfortunately to say the least."
He licked his thin lips, and stood up straighter. Why he was telling me this, I didn't know but it has shed some light on what had been going on.
"Frankly mark 03, we have been observing your groups behaviour for the past 23 years as you may expect, and our studies have shown that mark 01 is not as reliable as you are. As mark 04 is now the Chairwoman's project I can not place her in charge of the mission purely because she is too valuable" he rolls his eyes at this point, "so I am placing you in charge of the mission, but undercover as this sudden change may arouse suspicions among the rest of the SMS. Do you understand?"
"YES SIR!" I yelled, and I straightened to salute.
"Dismissed"
Though my body and part of my mind follows orders and absorbs the lessons taught to me, I allow the other section of my consciousness to soar free and explore possibilities. When I was young I played the 'What if' game with Brinn, she would ask me what my life would be like if I wasn't a soldier. I answered to her that I would live in a house with lots of furniture, have a slave to rub my feet everyday and an endless supply of shampoo and nail files. Brinn would laugh every time she heard that, and then she too would disclose to me her life if it hadn't of turned out as it did.
But I stopped playing that game as my mind did indeed cry out for that sort-after freedom. I realised after the fence incident that the idea of freedom seemed to end up hurting in some way, and that distancing myself from it looked to be a good idea. Logan shared a revelation of his own once, that the lessons when we were shown projections of war and death weren't only to show us how tactical manoeuvres were figured out and used but to show us what happens when so many people fight for that same idea of freedom. In most cases, the oppressed won, but not without the expense of thousands dying.
So, it's not the case that I love the way Manticore imprisons us, but the protection it offers from the chaotic world outside.
"Tighten your lower back, soldier!" Sketch yelled in my ear as my mind switched back onto the lesson.
My stance was sloppy, so I strained the muscles in my back to straighten my posture and returned my focus to the wall in front.
"Yes Sir!" I replied and he checked it again.
Without a word he moved on to find a flaw in Zack's ready stance. No respect from my number guy, hey, that's life.
It's hard training from here on. Sketch has stepped up our schedule, adding classroom lessons into any free slot we have and training us in harder and more complex hand-to-hand combat. That can mean only one thing: Our first mission.
Sketch watched as I climbed up the rope centred in the middle of the room and then swung my legs over to meet the bars parallel to me. From there climbing up to the top of the apparatus isn't difficult, but it's hard to impress Sketch these days.
As soon as I get to the top, he dismisses the rest of my group and orders me back down.
"We have a potential threat to this operation. Doctor Tinga Davis has refused to continue on in this project, which is unfortunately to say the least."
He licked his thin lips, and stood up straighter. Why he was telling me this, I didn't know but it has shed some light on what had been going on.
"Frankly mark 03, we have been observing your groups behaviour for the past 23 years as you may expect, and our studies have shown that mark 01 is not as reliable as you are. As mark 04 is now the Chairwoman's project I can not place her in charge of the mission purely because she is too valuable" he rolls his eyes at this point, "so I am placing you in charge of the mission, but undercover as this sudden change may arouse suspicions among the rest of the SMS. Do you understand?"
"YES SIR!" I yelled, and I straightened to salute.
"Dismissed"