The Official stares coldly at each of us. “Tomorrow will be your first chance to truly prove yourself to the Officials.”
Every girl in the room solemnly stares back at her. It’s not like we haven’t heard this before.
“Ellen loves the Gratitude Ceremony, especially the Opening Speeches. After all the work you’ve put into them, surely you want to do a good job.”
The past several weeks we’ve slaved away at these speeches. We wrote them. Revised them. Rewrote them. Revised them. We’ve even practiced presenting them out loud, one of the few times noise has entered the Circle Rooms.
“You, the fifteen years, will be presenting them to the rest of the fifteen years. The sixteen years will be presenting them to the other sixteen years, and so on. The eighteen years will be presenting their Opening Speeches to Ellen and Derek Windsor.”
They don’t mention how the Officials will be watching all of our speeches.
We’ve known this for a while, but they are intent are repeating everything. Nothing can go wrong tomorrow. Not with Ellen and Derek Windsor, the Heads of the entire Complex, watching.
“That will be all. You may read through your speeches a few more times.”
My eyes scan the words I’ve typed into the hologram in front of me. The words are filed away on to my MCC. Micro-Compression Chip. It’s the only thing I get to take with me to the Opening Speeches to help me. It doesn’t matter. Every single word has been ingrained into my memory. Exactly what Ellen wants.
After a few minutes, an Official says, “You are dismissed for Late Meal.”
Before anyone moves, a sniffle echoes through the silent room. Each of us stays perfectly still, but our eyes search for the source of the noise.
The Officials march through the rows, glaring separately at each girl. I keep my eyes glued to my hologram, hoping the Official doesn’t see my hands shaking.
There’s another muffled sniff. This time the Officials are ready. They swoop down on a girl a few rows ahead of me. As soon as she knows she’s caught, she breaks into tears. Her words escape with her sobs, “I’m just so scared. I can’t present in front of the Officials.”
I watch her sadly because she’s forgotten the unspoken rules of the Officials. The rules that have been haunting us since we were six years.
Don’t speak out. Don’t disagree. You’ll disappear. No one knows where you go, just that you will never return. The only thing left of you is your memory in other people’s minds. We call it the Unknown.
That’s where the girl will be by tonight. Did she think the Officials would actually be sympathetic towards her worries?
The Officials calmly surrounding the girl pull out a syringe. Dark green liquid sparkles inside. The Officials slides the syringe into the crook of the girl’s elbow and empties it into her bloodstream. The girl collapses into the Officials’ waiting arms.
A different Official speaks coldly, “You are all dismissed.”
I hurry from the room without wasting another second. I can’t allow them to find anything against me.
I’m only a few steps out into the steel halls when I realize my mistake. I stumble a half step before regaining the required flawless posture.
YOU ARE READING
986 (Complex Series, #1)
Science Fiction-first book in Complex series- In the Complex, where everyone is emotionless perfection, a young girl discovers through forbidden friendships the frightening truth behind her seemingly flawless world. (the lovely cover was created by @clarkethevirus)
