19-7-05
They led the confused Irken into a small, low-ceilinged room. It wasn't the sort of place you'd expect to find the two most prominent members of society, but then again, they liked to operate in strange ways.
She wasn't very tall. In fact, she was a little on the short side. But she was relatively unknown, and her intellect was more than likely greater than both the others' combined. In all fairness, the Irken's lack of height could—and would—be remedied.
"So. Your name is…"
"I-I'm Tiv, my Tallest."
"Great." Tallest Red rolled his eyes. "Do you know why you're here, Tiv?"
"No, my Tallest. I was summoned from my sleeping quarters-"
"We don't need to hear your life story!" snapped Tallest Purple as he stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth. "Tell her why she's here, Red."
"Don't call me that here!" Red punched his brother on the back of the head. "Anyway, we've heard some rumors floating around that what Irk needs is a female ruler."
"You know, people threatening to assassinate us if we don't allow a female to help us lead, that kind of thing," added Purple.
"Shut UP!" Red punched him again and hissed "I should have had YOU assassinated!" in his ear.
"I'm-I'm sorry, My Tallest, but I fail to see what the connection-"
"Shut UP!" Red punched Tiv on the back of the head. "Oh. Uh, sorry about that. Anyway, we were just getting to that part."
"You get to be a Tallest," chirped Purple.
"I—but I'm not the—"
"Oh, come on. Don't you want to be one of the Tallest?"
"If you don't," giggled Purple, "we get to kill you!"
"I've changed my mind!" Tiv grinned widely even as a thin shine of sweat appeared on her forehead. "I'll be a Tallest!"
"Good." Red gave a terrifying smile. "We'll begin shortly. I suggest you rest up. This is going to be very exhausting."
Tiv stumbled into another room early the next morning, this one large and silvery with steel and glass. Her guards turned tail and fled as soon as she'd cleared the threshold. This did nothing for her mood.
"Welcome, Tiv," murmured a voice near her elbow.
She turned and saw the smallest adult Irken she'd ever laid eyes on. The creature's glittering silver eyes blended in perfectly with the wall behind her, and they glowed with an artificial light.
"Come with me." Tiv obeyed, and the Irken led her to a terrifyingly well-camouflaged metal table.
At once three extremely tall Irkens, all silver-eyed, surrounded Tiv and swung her up onto the table. They stared at her with the same hollow intensity as the small one, but they had the added benefit of height.
"We are going to put you in sleep mode. It would not do to have you awake for this." The nearest one attached a glittering silver cable to Tiv's pak, and she fell asleep at once.
"I always hate doing this," sighed one of the Irkens. "Especially to one so young."
"It's unavoidable, Ming. Don't torture yourself like you did last time. It's so hard to find replacement eyes nowadays."
"Ming, Den, stop bickering. The Tallest want us to have this done in twenty-four hours." The third, even taller than the others, rolled his eyes. "Ani, could you get the wires hooked up while we prepare the shell?"
Ani nodded and scurried around the still Irken, attaching wires to Tiv's skin and pak. She pitied Tiv in a way, but was more relieved that she wasn't going through the procedure herself.
"The shell is prepared, then?" asked Den.
All four Irkens burst into laughter. The shell had been ready for almost a year. They'd gotten Tiv's measurements long ago.
"Ready for operation," announced Ani.
"Good."
The process was slow, grueling. The wires provided life support, but there was always the danger of damaging the tissue. They'd already gone through four potential candidates.
Den took the left arm, almost completely severing the limb at the wrist. He checked the monitors, then finished the job. A glance at Ming told him she'd finished with the other arm.
While the others worked on hooking the arms up to their artificial counterparts, the nameless head scientist performed the most delicate--and easily botched--part of the operation. Detaching Tiv's head was near-impossible to do without risking brain damage. This was the part where three of the four past candidates had fallen through.
Three hours and countless scares later, Tiv's head lay safely on a table nearby. The head scientist moved to the legs, expertly removing and discarding them. They weren't needed anyway.
"You two place the torso in the shell," he commanded, moving to another table. "I'm going to finish up the wiring on the lower body."
Den and Ming carefully picked up the torso and settled it into its protective silvery shell. Wires and microchips automatically connected to the skin, and one by one the life-support fell away. The stub where the neck ended hooked into an artificial extension, and Ming reattached Tiv's head.
"I've got the lower body ready. Bring Tiv over here."
Again, wires automatically connected the two parts together, and Tiv twitched.
"Get her back under!" snapped the head scientist. "Ani, why aren't you monitoring her condition?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm trying to get her pak updated." Ani scurried back to the monitors.
"Whatever. Ming, are her hands functional?"
"Yes, all the monitors show they're fully functional."
"Good. We can wake her up now."
"But won't she be in unbearable pain?"
"That's the point."
Ming looked worried, but she signaled for Ani to begin.
Tiv screamed. And screamed again.
"Oh, good. She's awake."
Tiv's limbs were on fire. She tried to sit up, but the second she moved, a fresh wave of agony overtook her. Another blood-curdling shriek escaped her throat, and even that nearly killed her.
"I'm so sorry, Tiv," murmured the nearest silver-eyed Irken, her voice shaking. "I'm so sorry."
"Oh, joy. Ming's going to go suicidal again." The Irken on Tiv's left rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to kill you someday, Den. I swear I will."
And Ming rushed out of sight, her eyes brimming with metallic tears.
"Tiv, ignore her. She's mentally unstable." The tallest Irken smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Tiv, but there's one last thing we need to do before you can rest again."
Tiv paled. She took in another tortured breath and lost consciousness.
"What do you mean, 'her ocular implants failed?'" screeched Red.
"With all due respect, my Tallest," murmured the head scientist, "we all have replacements. They function quite nicely-"
"But they're SILVER!" cried Purple. "Silver is an UGLY color!"
"Not to mention unnatural," snarled Red. "What were you thinking?"
"If we hadn't replaced her eyes, sirs, you would have had a blind co-ruler. Or we would have had to call it a failure and terminate her."
"But couldn't you have at least colored the lenses?"
"That would have interfered with her sight."
Red sighed, and for once, his shoulders slumped. "Fine, fine, whatever. Is she ready to have her thumbs removed?"
"Yes, of course. She's waiting in the recovery room."
Red and Purple followed the scientist to a small, silver room. The latter had to duck to get through the door, but Red and Purple's antennae barely grazed the frame. They waited for the scientist to get out of the way, and then they got their first glimpse of their co-ruler.
"I hate you," hissed Tiv through a cloud of anguish. "I hate you."
"Don't worry about her," breezed Ani, who stood on a table next to Tiv. "Once her recoding kicks in, she'll be good as new."
"Here are the knives." Den handed his leaders each a silver dagger with an ancient symbol engraved in its handle.
Red and Purple shared a grin.
"I'm going to enjoy this," sniggered Red, thinking back to his own "initiation."
"Definitely," agreed his brother.
Tiv screamed again. Then her face transformed into a mask of serenity, and she smiled. She stood and stretched.
"Well, boys, when do I make my first public appearance?" she asked.
"As soon as the bleeding stops," chimed Purple.
"Which should be...now."
They led Tiv out of the room and onto the bridge.
"You need a new name," began Red by way of conversation.
"I do?" Tiv looked on in interest as the scientists hurried back into the labs.
"Well, Do you honestly think our names are Red and Purple?" snorted Red.
"Not really."
"You need to have a name that goes with ours," added Purple.
"And since your eyes and shell seem to be predominantly silver..."
A cheer erupted from the crowd as Tiv came into view. She wobbled unsteadily for a moment, hovering just above the floor. Red caught her and set her upright.
"Citizens of Irk, please give a warm welcome to..."
"ALMIGHTY TALLEST SILVER!" Purple clapped enthusiastically, prompting a thundering round of applause.
"Silver?" whispered Tiv.
"Well, it works, doesn't it?" muttered Red.
"I suppose."