The name "Carver County" was made up. I have no idea if there is a Carver County in the United States or where it is located, if any.
CHAPTER THREE
So far, the young Pretenders were working out. The very name, "Nutritional Supplement" was thought up by Lamech Parker, so that The Centre would think the Pretenders, non-persons. Not only was the term derogatory but the gunk also it did look like what you'd throw to pigs. There were other methods to dehumanize the Pretenders. Except for their mentors and maybe one who assumed an equal level with them, no one spoke to them directly. It was as if they were not in the same room.
No one in the Centre had cared if they knew what was being said about them. No one in the Centre showed any concern when Raines stuck one with a needle or had a Sweeper twist his or her arm to register their pain threshold.
Jarod took credit for removing the habit of Pretenders speaking to others about themselves in the third person; Lambourni and in a few cases, Dr. Cox, for the removal of Neogeneis from their nutritional supplements until they at last replaced the latter with regular food to keep them from turning into obedient eager to please human robots.
Which meant that Jarod had to prevent some from tying the Sweepers shoe laces together, starting fights — very dangerous when the other one has a gun — and keeping them from making weapons out of the Centre electronic equipment.
He admired the improvements. The children slept on real beds and the DSAs, in color, proved that. Their rooms or quarters were clean, contained radios which of course only broadcasted what the Centre wanted them to know for now. They had books and DVDs, and CDs. They had visitors, usually one or two individuals from a particular organization or occupation. Of course the visitors did not know that the boy or girl or boy and girl he saw was Centre property, and not free. With the new clothes, the guests assumed them the sons and daughters of the staff and that Jarod was home schooling them.
But at least, the boys and girls got an idea of how the outside world worked. And each one or each couple got an hour outside every day on the Centre grounds. This area, like most of the Centre estate was surrounded by walls and since the Centre was built on a no fly zone –except for Centre aircraft— no one knew the children were there. But at least, they got a chance to go outside, something Jarod never had or never remembered.
Someone, Jarod did not know who — certainly it would never occur to any of the sweepers or to most of the staff – had constructed an outdoor gym and it was not the usual monkey bars, swing, and teeter totter set. The kids using this had to be able to jump from one area to another, about the size between rooftops in New York City. The swing set flew at a right angle and the one on it had to be able to jump off it to a patch of ground two hundred yards distance. Jarod walked around, checking to see if someone had signed it, but no one had.
"So what's this?" asked Tina who was a girl about six years old.
"A play set."
"What's a play set."
"An exercise establishment for young ones to train them in physical endurance," said Jarod.
"So it's to train me for fighting?"
"Yes. You have an hour. After that, I will take you back to your rest location. You will then study the approved book and DVD."
"On what?"
"You are not allowed to question my decision or the decision of the Advocate and Miss Parker."
"I apologize, Sen Jarod." She nodded and climbed on the set.
After an hour of jumping and play fighting with Jarod as the pretend adversary, Tina and Jarod opened a white door that went into an elevator to sublevel twenty. When she was in her room, Jarod took a few minutes to prepare for the next young Pretender or rather two.
They still did simulations, but now Miss Parker and Lambourni were in charge or rather Lambourni and Miss Parker. The Triumvirate was no more. The only reason that no one had opposed it for so long was because the leaders were African Negroes and the old Centre did not want to get in the way of political correctness.
However, Lambourni was different. He grew up in working class district whose population lost jobs because of affirmative action. So when the Centre first recruited him, he worked behind the scenes to remove the Triumvirate's influence. Whether it was for justice or revenge no one knew, but it was the correct thing. Now the New Centre was free of any outside influence except for those the Tower chose.
Many of the simulations could be used for evil, and Jarod did protest but with no avail. He soon found that these simulations had to be done twice and wondered why until one of the Sweepers brought him a newspaper article: "Police in Carters County foil Terrorist plot" and the article below saying, "the children at Hoover Elementary school can rest easy now. Plans to introduce arsenic in the water was foiled…" So that was the reason for the other man watching the second attempt at the simulation gathering, proof thought Jarod, he was a law enforcement agent. He did not know what branch.
Jarod was beginning to think that the Centre was now in the entrapment business.
The rule book said that the children would be taken up to the next level on their ninth year. However, since this was the twentieth level, Jarod figured they would be twenty-eight or later when they reached the main floor until he read through the rule book, and found that they moved to another level half year later. Anyway, Miss Parker arranged it so that the young Pretenders would be between fifteen and sixteen when they moved to the main level and by that time, they knew enough to go out in the world.
Right now, the children were taught the basics, but because of enforced isolation, did not know anything about culture so Jarod taught them in little bits. People went traditional shopping in the month before the great snows (Thanksgiving), for instance . People went traditional taking off from work in the months after the flowers bloomed on the trees (Summer holidays).
The sublevel twenty-one contained the Pretender nursery and it had a white elevator leading to the outside. However, this area was in another outside section of the Centre and the children did not see it. The nurses took good care of the children and the Pretender mothers knew that once the children were old enough, they would never see them again. Jarod, remembering his own loss, wondered how they would feel.
So he arranged that the older children could come and help take care of the babies and relieved the nurses and the mothers.
There was also a church or rather the back of each quarter had a one way mirror that extended along the whole seven sections. The children could see the pastor, the pastor could not and Lambourni, whose idea this was, was careful in selecting only those Christian denominations that taught of God and the Bible, none of the trying to save the world, none of the social events such as Bosnia, Iraq, and such. Pretenders were to simulate without being influenced by the outside world.
Since no one or nothing was to influence the simulator's decision, the Pretenders were not taught about local customs, fads, and cultural events. In Jarod's case, he did not know about even regular holidays, marriages, etc. and in the latter, he had relationships with women without even knowing that the sexual act might result in pregnancy or not. And he doubted any of these young Pretenders who just mated knew that in five to seven months, they'd get a batch of four little ones. However in the rule book, it said they should know and Jarod used to giving orders and doing dangerous things, balked at this. No matter, Miss Parker just sent down Miss Batlowsky who enlightened the youngsters.
Anyway even though the nurse wasn't a Homo Dominant, her stern demeanor was enough to scare the kids into listening.
"Now children, this how you make babies. You no want babies, you no do this!" And she'd glare at the two kids who nodded in unison.
The three holidays they were allowed to know about were Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter since most businesses slowed down during that time. That also entailed them receiving presents, not much, but Jarod saw the itemized list, a pen, a classical CD, an orange. It was more than he got. He knew they were in California in December, but they were so busy trying to catch Dead Beat that no one thought much of the holiday season.
. They also knew that Sundays were off and in some religions, Saturdays and Thursday. The latter was so they'd know they wouldn't expect an order for simulations from Tel Aviv on Saturday, etc. Other than that, things went on as usual.
Unlike him, these Pretenders knew they were Centre property, i.e. slaves. They also knew they had to obey or else. Right now, punishments were not as severe as he had gone through and none of them asked why no one cared for them. Often times, Jarod wondered whether he should have felt guilty about his simulations as he did before he changed completely into a Homo Dominant. Part of the guilt, he realized, was because he believed he had full control on the outcome. It was easier now, knowing that had he refused, he might not be standing in front of these children, instructing them. He would be a pile of ashes, after taken from his cell, stripped, and burned in the Centre incinerator.
Most of the simulations were new ways of doing or solving something and most of the dangerous stuff kept to the minimum. This was rather surprising when the elevator from above wheeled down a gurney with a corpse encased in a body bag accompanied by a message from Miss Parker.
"The children are not allowed to do autopsies." Jarod told the sweepers.
"This is an exception. Miss Parker wants to know who this is, how the person died, whether natural or by hands of another. She also wants to know who did it, when, and if the victim is related to anyone in the Centre or Blue Cove," said one of the sweepers.
"Here's the key to the room showing the necessary DNA samples," said the other sweeper. "You may take one of other assets with you. Also this key is for the equipment meant to set up the simulation. A dummy has been provided, since you Pretenders go all out in becoming the actual people. Miss Parker doesn't want any unnecessary deaths."
"The room?"
"On Sublevel 8. We're here to conduct you and your assistant."
Jarod got one of the older boys to go with him and together they went up the elevator to Sublevel 8.
It took three trips to get the material for the simulations down. The sweepers were very helpful in that they carried the photographs of the first Margo Parker's death scene. It took less than an hour to construct a simulation of the room where Miss Parker's grandmother had met her demise. Of course, Jarod had no idea who the victim was or why Miss Parker wanted to know. He assumed that this was someone whom the relatives had asked how she died, and that the Centre must have had a back log of simulations. Of course, this was before Jarod was old enough or even born.
The older boy, who was called, Zed, was not allowed to act out the simulation, but had to help with the autopsy and DNA identification. It took some time examining the body and determining that she was a woman in her thirties, had died of asphyxiation and starvation. It took longer to determine who she was.
"Now we'll compare her DNA with Mr. Parker's."
"Matches," said Zed.
"All right with Miss Parker."
"Also matches."
"So that leaves her out as being a relative of Catherine Parker or her mother."
"Mr.Green or Mr. Broots?" Zed was puzzled..
"Get them and compare."
"Yes, Sen Jarod."
They didn't. Jarod was at a loss. "Do we still have Raines and Edna Raines?"
"Yes Sen Jarod."
Raines's matched but Edna's didn't. "At least that proves that Raines was Miss Parker's father. A horrible thing to live through. Now we'll narrow the search. What do you have this time?"
"I have the female corpse matches Mr. Parker and Raines, and also Miss Parker and Lyle. It matches Jeremiah Angela, but not you."
"All right, get the DNA sample of the others in the Centre who existed at the time of this woman's existence."
He did so. "She matches none."
"What is your conclusion?" asked Jarod.
"I have none."
That required another set of rules. Jarod thought for a while, imagining this woman who was probably married to Mr. Lamech Parker, and what the former head of the Centre might have done to his grandparents as well as the ancestors of the Pretenders imprisoned here.
"Zed, get the DNA sample of Lamech Parker, compare it to those of Mr. Parker and Raines. Then write an essay on how you arrived at that conclusion. I will be in the other sector." He left, locking the door behind him.
The other young Pretender, called Allan, had finished the pretend of Lamech killing his wife. "I know I've been hard on you, but I've been under a strain." He shut the door and turned on the controller that activated the dummy voice inside. "Lamech honey, why did you lock the door?" and more frantic, "Lamech, please." He continued adjusting the controller until it registered a woman pounding on the door. He then turned to Jarod.
"The human female was locked in by her true mate and the air left the room, the lack of food and water did the rest. There was no sign of physical injury."
"Very well, Allan. You may go back to your studies."
"Yes Sen Jarod."
Jarod and Zed cleaned out the simulation room and called for the sweepers to take it back to Sublevel 8. This time the sweepers came with two older Pretenders after Zed was safely back in his room. It was not his time to go to that level yet. He had more to learn than eating cookies, cake, and watching old documentaries.
Jarod now had to tell Miss Parker that the female corpse had once been the wife of Lamech Parker, and the grandmother of Miss Parker who was her namesake.
"No wonder that Mr.Parker didn't want anyone to know his daughter's first name. She was named after his mother and he probably was told later that she ran away," said Jarod. "I've got to tell Miss Parker." He got the cell phone and made a call upstairs.
"Have you finished, Jarod?"
"Yes. The woman is your grandmother. She died of asphyxiation and starvation, I believe simultaneously if not a minute or so apart. I will need to see the real door to see if the fingerprints still remain, but I believe her husband locked her in."
"Thank you. I'm sending Sam down to bring you up. Ted will take over."