Stimulus (BOOK 1 OF 3)

SEVEN

As the remainder of the names were being called, I stared at my folder. Was I supposed to open it? What was inside of it? Why did I have to stay behind everyone? Who else had to? I was sure that, out of so many people, I couldn't have been the only one to have received a white folder.

Viktor had just left, after being given a yellow folder. He gave me an apologetic look and patted my arm.

"I'm sure we'll meet back up. It's not like this building has thousands of classrooms, right?"

"Right," I said, hating the tiny shake in my voice. Viktor patted my shoulder again, readjusted his guitar, and jogged over to the yellow group. Despite only knowing him for a couple of hours, I dreaded him leaving.

Name after name was called, none of which contained a white folder. As my heart sank lower and lower, the woman handing them out caught my eye and smiled reassuringly. This only made me more uneasy.

The man got done calling names; the bag was empty. I looked around.

Along with myself, three other people were left, each holding a folder identical to mine. A chubby girl with short black hair, a tall girl with flowing blonde hair, and an attractive man with soft-looking brown hair. We all surveyed each other cautiously.

"I didn't expect this many of you," the man said. He looked at each of us for a moment. "My name is Jackson. I'm the leading scientist of this endeavor."

"Why do we have these folders?" The tall girl asked boldly. Jackson raised his eyebrows, surprised at her courage.

"You four were not chosen because of your test scores."

"Then why?" She pushed. She really had nerves of steel. Annoyance flickered very briefly in Jackson's eyes before he answered; it was clear that he didn't like being ordered around.

"Each of you were nominated by an official of your sector for a variety of reasons." He looked at the smaller girl.

"Maria Yeta," He began. "You were nominated because of your gift with technology. You created an entire aircraft from memory."

I looked at her with a deeper level of respect and awe. I'd always been extremely average with technology, given the limited experience I'd had with it in my sector. I couldn't imagine creating a functioning engine larger than my fist, let alone a whole aircraft.

"Alessandro Everet. You were nominated because of your extensive knowledge in multiple sciences. You developed a universal cure for paralysis. You also created a new material stronger than graphene."

I balked. Cure for paralysis? A material stronger than graphene? How smart would you have to be in order to do that?

"Lillith Saranda. You were nominated, too, because of your extensive knowledge in multiple sciences."

He couldn't know. There was no way.

"You discovered a way to irrigate crops with nutrient-dense water that you developed yourself. It is because of this water that the plants that absorb it can survive the disease for periods of time longer than we've ever seen, therefore producing more food."

It didn't surprise me that he new about that. I'd been experimenting with water in school; it wasn't long before I found that I could integrate just a tiny fraction of a plant already affected by the disease into it to give the soil a temporary immunity. It was the first building block leading to my creation of my new plants. Relief swelled in my chest when he said that; it made sense.

"You also created a plant that can potentially withstand the disease altogether."

As the other three looked at me with varying levels of shock, my world began to shrink.

Impossible. Not even I knew about this possibility until just a week before I was taken away. Were they monitoring me that closely? Because of some water I'd developed?

As he explained the tall girl's nomination, my brain frantically sorted through possibilities. I was more than certain nobody watched me create those plants. I was equally as certain that nobody saw them grow.

So how did they know?

Approximate word count: 670

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