After being detained overnight, Alex woke up and stretched her muscles. Evidently, her body needed more time to adjust to the uncomfortable bed and conventional way of sleeping. Without an oxygen-infused hyperbaric sleep chamber, she definitely did not feel one hundred percent refreshed.
Alex paced back and forth like a caged animal, trying to exercise her mind. That was the only way she could feel free. Her mind recalled books and music for entertainment, mathematics for problem solving, and beautiful imagery for creativity. At the same time she did that, she began doing calisthenics to maintain her strength. For over two hours, she performed jumping jacks, squats, sit ups, and pushups until a voice came over the speaker system and interrupted her workout.
"We need everyone to leave their cells immediately and form an orderly line."
Just then, Alex heard a mechanical locking mechanism unlatch and her door slid open.
Sweaty and exhausted, Alex began to take deep breaths and slow exhales to reduce her heart rate. She had worked up a ferocious appetite and hoped it was time for lunch. Reluctantly stepping outside her cell, she took her place in line among the other detainees. She looked around and caught the glimpses of some inmates staring at her, but made sure not to make eye contact with anyone. It was her first time seeing the interior of the modern prison in daylight. It looked more like a university campus from the beginning of the 21st century – back when they had university campuses. The natural skylights and stainless-steel details actually seemed pleasant.
Unsure what to expect from prison life, she embraced it as an opportunity to gain valuable life experience.
"This way please," a prison guardian instructed.
The inmates marched past a row of cells then down a steel staircase. Once on the ground floor, they continued to be herded though a long corridor toward a large open area that contained rows of tables and a cafeteria-style kitchen at the far end. The ceiling was about forty feet from the floor and was comprised of a special glass that allowed natural sunlight to pour in during the day, but could also simulate natural light in the evening or in times of poor weather conditions. They were installed all over the common areas of the prison because it had proven to be effective for rehabilitation and morale.
Alex looked around to get acquainted with her new surroundings. Based on the layout, she figured if she were to drill a hole in the back of her cell, she would overlook the entire cafeteria.
Once everyone was in the cafeteria, the inmates maintained their single-file line to receive their food. Several guardians were stationed around the cafeteria to enforce order.
Alex grabbed a tray, filled it up with unappealing grub, and found a seat, alone. She kept her head down mostly because there were a lot of very intimidating-looking women. They had a way of making her feel like a plump fish that had been dropped in the middle of a shark tank. Alex knew a lot about human psychology and realized if any of the other inmates sensed even a hint of weakness in her, they would surely exploit it, instinctively. However, displaying too much brazen confidence early on would similarly incite the primal instincts in the other women and cause them to get territorial. She figured her best strategy was to go unnoticed.
"Is this seat taken?" a friendly voice asked.
Alex looked up and saw a familiar face looking back. "Mara, hi!" she said excitingly. It was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic, because it caught the attention of some of the other women. Alex immediately corrected her excitement and slumped low in her seat. This seemed to satisfy the women as they turned back around.
"Don't tell me, you're here to break me out?" Mara joked.
"Not quite," Alex laughed shamefully.
"It's so good to see you," Mara said, "but what are you doing here?"
"It's a long story," Alex replied.
"Why don't you start at the beginning?"
"The beginning? How far back would you like me to go?"
"As far back as you can remember."
Alex proceeded to tell her mother all about her life. She started with her first memories inside the Facility – how it was difficult not having parents around. She told the story about how she and Milo met at a young age and became best friends. She glossed over most of her scholastic achievements and said one difficultly had been making friends since many of the other kids her age were very immature.
Other than school, Alex did not really have much else to talk about. She eventually arrived at the part of her life story where she moved into the pyramid, met Aris, and hacked into the government database.
"Why were you hacking into a government database?" Mara asked.
Alex paused for a moment, not too sure how her mother would react to what she was about to say. Then she remembered the sign language message and realized her mother anticipated she might eventually watch it someday.
"I wanted to find out more information about you."
"What did you find?"
"Well, not much, but I did manage to locate a video file using my birth name and birth date."
Mara made the connection immediately. "I'm so sorry, Alex. That must have been very hard for you to watch."
"It was, but I also learned a lot. Do you remember that night at all?"
"Are you kidding, I think about it every day of my life."
"So you remember the sign language message you left me?"
Mara smiled then said, "Of course."
"It meant a lot, thank you."
"I didn't know what else to do and I needed a way to send you a message to let you know that I loved you. I had heard stories about women being separated from their children and then having their memories wiped."
"Is that what happened to you?"
"No, fortunately not."
"So there is one question I'm dying to ask you," Alex paused, fighting back her emotions.
"What is it honey?" Mara said, placing her hand gently on Alex's shoulder. It was the first contact they had had in over eighteen years.
"Why did you not try to contact me?" Alex said as her chin quivered. Her emotions were too much to handle and tears came flooding out. Again, this attracted a lot of attention, but this time Alex did not care.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry for the pain you must have gone through," Mara said, as she held Alex tightly. Alex began to cry even harder. Her mother rubbed and patted her back and told her everything would be okay.
"My sweet child, I'm so sorry." Alex remained sniffling in her mother's arms. This piqued a few guardians' curiosity, but not enough for them to intervene. "When you were ripped away from me, I was hauled off to prison. I received notification shortly after that you had died due to an infection. I didn't exactly have you in the most sterile conditions so I believed it. After that, I dedicated my life to revolting against the system. For years, I led a crusade to fight against the tyranny. Ironically, through some mysterious force of the universe, that was what reunited us again. Maybe it's true what they say, everything happens for a reason."
Alex felt a lot better after receiving this new piece of information. She peeled herself from her mother's warm embrace and looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
"Even though I had no idea where you were," Alex sniffled, "somehow I still felt connected to you. It was as if you were talking to me in my thoughts."
"I was."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked with a puzzled look.
"Regardless of where in the universe you were, I still wanted to communicate to you and let you know that I love you."
"How did you know you could do that?"
"I didn't know, but I just believed I could. I started communicating with you for many years, sending you prayers, until one day, you answered back. It was the weirdest feeling and I didn't know how to deal with it at first. I thought for sure I had gone crazy," she laughed. "But I could feel you telling me you were okay."
"I did, I was saying that!" Alex said.
"That's a relief; so I'm not crazy?"
"Well, I didn't say that!" Alex joked, as they both laughed.
Their reunion was cut short as lunchtime came to an end. The prisoners were instructed to form single-file lines according to their block categorization.
"I'm in the A block so I have to go now," Mara said.
Alex looked down at her shirt, taking notice of a large letter 'C'.
"To think, this whole time I thought I was the team captain," Alex joked.
"You're smart, pretty, and funny. I'm so proud of how accomplished you are."
"Accomplished? I'm in prison!"