"Sorter to floor one."
The announcement came out of the ceiling in muffles, calling for my presence downstairs. I swallowed down the large lump that had grown in my throat. The task was difficult. There was rarely ever a voice that poured out of the speakers, it was on the rare occasion, and it was usually when something had gone wrong.
I lifted myself out of my seat, walking slowly around the desk before I made my way down the elevator. As I passed each Watcher and Escort, their wide eyes followed me closely. They knew who the Sorter was, everyone did. I was the best child District A had ever seen, the one that Idols of the facility whispered about and watched as I walked by, the one that everyone assumed was strange.
Holding my chin as high as my fear would let me I approached the front desk in the center of the first floor, the woman glanced up only for a moment before recognizing me. "He wants you in his office," she breathed the command without a second thought, returning to her computer screen before I could even look at her with a befuddled expression.
She needn't remind me of who she had meant by he, there was only one man in District A that no one even bothered to say the name of. Not out of fear, but simply out of laziness. Bahrain was the head of District A, placed in the Exam Facility with his own office. He was fifth in command in the entire New World. His power was unmistakeable. He spoke to few, cared about little, and smiled almost none. His sole purpose in life was to keep control in the Districts, especially his home in A.
I had seen him before, even looked straight into his dark, beady eyes. But I had never spoken to him. I approached his office, inhaling a large amount of air before I tapped lightly on the door with my fist. There was silence, followed by heavy footsteps before the door swung open. I lowered my eyes out of respect. His tall form hovered over me, his face even more uninviting than usual.
"Mr. Bahrain," I nodded slightly, fumbling with my fingers behind my back. He pulled the door all the way open and stepped aside. I slowly entered the office, wondering just how many people had actually set foot inside of it besides Bahrain himself. He lowered himself into his desk chair before gesturing for me to sit across from him.
I slid into the seat, wondering if he had even taken the time to learn my name, or if I was just simply the Sorter of District A. Bahrain cleared his throat, demonstrating his power with his head held high and his shoulders opened broadly, "Miss Sorter, or, Ireland, I think you are called."
"Yes, Sir," I barely breathed the words, feeling the room to drastically be getting warmer. He leaned forwards, clasping his hands together on his desk, "There seems to be a decreasing number of children being sent to the Institutions, when only weeks ago it was skyrocketing. Care to inform me on a possible reason to explain this occurrence?"
I opened my mouth to speak, closing it quickly again as I thought. My tampering with the results had become part of my daily routine. I had lowered the percentages by almost 6% in the last two weeks. Clearing my throat I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "I can assure you that I do not have a reason, Sir. I only place the children where their results tell me to put them. Maybe they are simply getting more brilliant."
He let out a laugh, causing me to flinch. He rose to his feet, beginning to pace the back of the room, "Miss Ireland, Mutts do not have intelligence. They are nothing but creatures with a high level of insanity. I doubt very much that their brains are developing. Most children are Mutts, that is the way our world is shaped. Their sanity levels should not shift so quickly."
"Maybe they can," I whispered the statement, looking up at Bahrain. He stopped pacing, eyeing me closely before he took a step forwards and sat on top of the marble desk. "Excuse me, Miss? Maybe they can?" he chuckled again, "Please inform me on how a Mutt can possess such intelligence."
I leaned forwards in my seat, trying my best to hide my eagerness in sharing my knowledge. "Well, Sir," I clapped my hands together, doing my absolute best to keep eye contact, "The younger the child is, the more chance they have of being classified as a Mutt. I believe that with time, sanity levels do change. Some children just take longer to develop these mindsets than others, which is why some of them manage to be considered an Idol. And--"
"That is enough," Bahrain held up a hand, interrupting my ramble. He smacked his lips before going on, "You are a Sorter in District A. That is a position that very few are offered. In fact, we only pick one every thirty or so years. Your parents were nobodies, and for some reason your test score was the highest we have ever seen out of five year olds, even one of the highest out of all ages." He stood again, examining the globe sitting on a shelf on the far wall. "Our world is a complex one, Miss Ireland. We have very strict rules and even stricter ways of doing things. So, now I must ask you," he turned to face me, placing his palms flat against the desk, "What makes you think your mind is more correct than the minds of millions that have shaped our world for centuries?"
I swallowed, glancing to the floor once again. Bahrain let out a short scoff, "My point, exactly. However, I had not called you in here to hear these rather insane theories you have come up with. Although, I most obviously will keep a sharper eye on you. But rather, Miss Ireland, I have called you into my office to ensure that you are not tampering with the results of our tests. Because as you must be aware," he smirked, his pointed teeth a helpful addition to the intimidating appearance he possessed. He ran his tongue along the front of them, "You must be aware that defying me will be one of the last things you do in District A. There is no reason to care for those Mutts."
I bit hard into my lip as I shook my head, "No, Sir, I would never do anything to defy the Idols. We are more than obviously the better beings."
Bahrain let out a small sigh, "I believe you think to much. There is nothing to think about, your life is wonderful here in District A, as are the lives of the many other people you live by and see on the streets. Do not blink an eye at those creatures, Miss Ireland. It will only weaken your outlook on our world."
I nodded, lifting myself to my feet. "Thank you, Sir," I bowed my head and made for the door. "Miss Ireland," his voice stopped me, freezing my hand to the door handle. "I hope you will not forget our little chat."
"I do not think I could, Sir," I mumbled the sentence before I exited the room. I closed the door behind me, standing still as I put a hand to my mouth. Focusing on the brilliance of the Mutts had almost let me forget the intelligence that also came with the Idols in charge. They would not be fooled by my little charades, and now, thanks to the sickening Bahrain, eyes were watching me.
I made my way back to my floor, collapsing into my desk chair. Results flashed across my screen as they waited for a final placement. I buried my head in my hands, rubbing my face as if that would rid my head of the conversation I had just endured.
"Miss Sorter."
I jumped up, launching my knee into the bottom of the marble desk. I bit into my tongue, placing my hand on top of my aching joint as my eyes caught the Escort standing in front of me. "Yes?" I breathed out, ignoring the pain searing through my leg.
He lowered his head, "I do apologize for startling you. But I have just sent a boy to the far room, please hit the Escort button when he returns. I just thought I should inform you that there was a child on your floor."
I gave my best fake smile to the man, "Thank you, I will make sure to do so."
He nodded and returned to the floor below. I cursed under my breath as I rubbed my knee once more before focusing my attention on the computer screen. Now I had the task of keeping my percentages the same, lowering them and lifting them with each day, no drastic changes.
I waited impatiently for the bell to ring, seeing only few children on my floor throughout the rest of the day. I had managed to keep almost nearly the same number of Institution Mutts and Idols as the day before. The train ride across town seemed slower than usual, like the vehicle was not moving at super speeds but rather in slow motion. The stop came that I would normally take to visit the Institution. I watched as the doors slid open, few people getting out. I continued to stare as they closed back shut, my hand gripping the railing tight.
Going to the Institution almost seemed pointless. There was nothing I could do to save insanity. Bahrain had said it himself. What makes me think that I can change everyone's minds that have been set for centuries? I couldn't just change the world with my will. It would take a lot more than that. Benin's words echoed back into my mind, "It would take a whole fucking army".
And he was right, it would. Defiance was something I lacked, and numbers even more so. You couldn't strip a government of its power with an unrealistic dream, willpower, and a single Mutt feeding you information. It was impossible, practically insane. Maybe I was supposed to be a Mutt. Maybe I was meant to be rotting away in the confinements of the Institution, dreaming of the day where something would change.
But that was just it, that was the thing that put a halt to my motivation. There was no such thing as change. The New World was a place where Idols ran the show, the government of the highest intelligence, the insane our slaves as they spent their lives working for an Idol or losing their minds in buildings with barred windows.
There was no changing that, no matter how many ways I could picture it in my mind. I could go over the numbers a million times, tamper with the results in my computer all day long, or even confront Bahrain day in and day out. I would never get what I and Mutts everywhere sought for. Freedom. Freedom was a word that I didn't really think meant anything to our world, even to the Idols. What was freedom? Being able to walk down the streets and have a Mutt at your beck and call?
Freedom meant so much more than that. The word seemed to slip the minds of millions. Freedom was the power to act, speak, and think as one wants without being told otherwise. It was a right. Our rights were made for us, our mindsets drilled into us from day one, and our actions were posed by our levels in society.
Freedom did not exist. And there was little of me that believed that it ever would. Only a small, whimpering flame within me still had faith in altering everything into a free world. But that small bit of me would never be enough to change the minds of millions of citizens, let alone the intelligent minds of powerful individuals such as Bahrain. Change was only a fantasy that I had invented.
~.~
A/N
Chapter 6! Hope it is at least slightly interesting, please continue reading if you're already here! :D Would make my day for comments and votes, thanks so much lovely readers!
xox
Meah