The Enigma
PyroKid
05.23.04
The little girl accepted the black object she was offered as she strode onto the open field. She raised the gun, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger. Unlike most children of her age, she didn't flinch at the bullet's sound, but instead stood coolly, watching. With amazing – frightening, once her age was considered – accuracy, a bullet flew from the barrel and struck the center of the bull's eye of a target 100 feet away.
For an evanescent moment, a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and her blue eyes sparkled triumphantly before her features slipped back into the original placid mask.
"Don't do that," the man who had handed her the gun rapped in a voice that radiated disapproval. "Don't let your true emotions show, Sherry… E-"
"Emotions are signs of weakness." A childish voice completed for him. As she raised the gun again, Sherry remembered the first time she had used such a device.
Bang!
Even when exposed to such a startling sound for the first time, the girl clad in black stood calmly in the same position as she had before the gun had fired. Her teacher was inwardly exultant, although his expression and poise remained the same.
"Malibu, wouldn't…isn't…" Sherry looked at her new 'toy.' "If aimed and discharged at a human being within reasonable distance, this object could inflict devastating damage to the human system…"
"Of course. How perceptive of you," Malibu responded in a sarcastic yet empty tone; his words conveyed the sarcasm yet his voice was neutral.
"But…why? Why would I…anyone want to injure another? Why was this device brought into existence?" the girl asked innocently.
"Disagreements. When two groups disagree and cannot reach an agreement over an important matter, one group decides that the annihilation of the other is the only 'resolution. Yes. Disagreements and morals, the general idea of right and wrong. Listen carefully; this is an important lesson. Right and wrong… what are the true meanings behind these words? Right is what is considered acceptable in today's society. Wrong covers the actions and thoughts deemed unacceptable; bad. But why? Are we born with an ability to differentiate right from wrong? No. Then what makes 'right', or what is considered correct by majority vote, right? What is there to back it up other than what a group of old geezers in the government thought and have developed into basic rules? These rules… they're made by the government, but does that make them right? Greed is the true operative behind the everyday morals. Plus, the majority of the policemen favor the richer. They're easily bribed, rendering the system corrupt,"
"And that is why we exist? To… to well, first we need some money before we can do anything… so we look into blackmail, right? It's not that 'bad'; someone does something 'bad' and instead of exposing them, we sell the evidence to them, thus we both benefit. Heck, the government itself is often mixed up in blackmail one way or the other."
"Yes. Although we have established our own system of morals and are operating by it, what we do is considered bad by the majority. Who gave them the right to judge us? That is why we need this," Malibu pointed at the gun. "to eliminate anyone who gets in the way."
She leveled the gun adroitly and took aim again. The bullet headed towards the target, but instead of hitting the dead center of the bull's eye, it was off to the left a bit. The girl tried to maintain her impassive look, but could not keep her eyes from narrowing in disgust.
"I know," she said in an even tone before Malibu could comment. "I'm trying. I can free my voice of emotion, but… that was such a bad shot… I couldn't help it, although I think I can do it with more practice."
"Well, results show that you'd have a promising career in other fields, anyway. Not that you're not good with this," he pointed at the gun, "but we're lacking progress in a particular field..." Malibu had received the results of Sherry's aptitude test a few days ago. They had revealed that she was an incisive, preeminent kid with scintillating mental capabilities. She had scored exceptionally high in all fields, but particularly in science. Biology. Human physiology. Chemistry. Toxicology. The only question was that of her placement. To which of these fields should the promising prodigy be assigned? Just as Malibu pushed the question to the back of his head, the answer struck him. She would prosper in the new human studies project. Just like her parents did. They had been on the brink of discovering the correct formula when the 'accident' happened… Of course, Malibu knew only vaguely what the project was about, but the skills specialists of that project needed were definitely within her grasp. Maybe… to think of the honors that would be bestowed upon him if his student succeeded in creating the drug…
"How would you like to work on the new drug project in the future?"