Project Alpha

Chapter 14

I gasped in the dark. The floor hummed and I curled my fingers into fists as the screen on the wall began to glow.

"Don't forget to keep your eyes on the monitor and your feet in place." The attendant's voice was back again, and just as quickly it was gone.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of movement. With a flutter of its delicate wings, a butterfly landed in the centre of the screen.

Zooming closer, the image became less a wing and more a honeycomb of color, its individual cells undulating from blushing crimson to earthy ochre, regal indigo to bottle green. As the pattern repeated itself, faster and faster, sparks flew behind my eyes and notes began to play, in time with the rhythm of changing hues.

The music wasn't coming from a speaker within the giant egg; no, it bloomed and flowed inside me, like the colors were teasing notes out from a dark hiding place deep inside my brain.  Six months had passed since I began seeing music, and now I was hearing color, too.

What's happening to me?

My heart beat fast as the melody began to play with greater intensity, notes dancing, soaring, diving and building to a crescendo as a kaleidoscope of color swirled onscreen.

Then, with a click, the monitor shut off, plunging the egg back into darkness, cutting my brain-song off at its melodic knees.

"Thank you for your patience. The scan's over now and everything went just fine." The attendant's voice scraped against my tender brain and I placed sweaty palms over my ears to try and dull the sound. "In a second I'm going to lift the lights and open the doors so you can move on to the next station."

Warm light spread through the compartment and the panels on either side of the egg made a whooshing sound as they came to life. Opening up, they revealed the line of students moving through the stations along the corridor.

Blinking, I shook my head and stepped out of the compartment.

Stepping back in line, I spotted Gracie across the hall. Her brow was furrowed, a stark contrast to her usual wide smile. I wondered what she'd seen inside the egg to make her frown.

"Over here, please." A third attendant called me over, her birdlike features complimented by a cap of cloud-white hair and bright blue eyes. She sat at a small table beside an interactive kiosk. Another student was standing in front of the booth's monitor, their left hand resting flat on a ledge beneath the screen. Before I could take a closer look, the woman waved at me to sit down.

"Hi there, I'm June. Can I see your wristband please?"

Raising my wrist as I'd done twice before, I let June pass a device over the band until it beeped. Turning the gadget over to read its screen, she paused for a minute before resting her eyes on me.

"Ok, dear," she smiled warmly. "Before heading to the kiosk, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Please sit down."

"Ok?" I settled into the seat in front of her and clasped my clammy hands together.

"Not to worry — there's no right or wrong answer. The questions just help us get to know you better by telling us what's important to you. Is that okay?"

"I guess." Shifting in my seat, I looked down at my lap as June lifted a tablet and stylus from the table.

"Good! Onto our first question, then. Is there a situation in which you would you ever steal?"