Overture to War

Chapter 3

It all went down ten years ago. Bastien, a proud fourteen-year-old since the week prior, along with his father, Isaac made their way down the belt to pick up his mother at the Agricultural District. It always became crowded by the countless other families reuniting after work. She had worked late that day, so Isaac swung around to pick him up from high school first before heading out to meet up with her as well. Going home together as a family had always been something akin to a family tradition ever since Bastien started walking. The memories came to him as if everything had happened yesterday.  

“How’s your day been, Bastien?” Isaac asked, tired. The man was covered from head to toes in orange-tinted dust and warning everyone to try and stay clear of him so as not to get it on themselves. For Bastien, it just meant missing out on the usual hug his father always gave him. 

“Pretty interesting… we studied Oldworld history today,” Bastien responded.  

“Oh? Which part, exactly?” Isaac asked.  

“The Great Depression of the... 1930s… and how it led to the Second World War.” Bastien said, stumbling a bit to remember the years.  

His father turned around and smiled toward him. “I keep forgetting how much you’ve grown. You’re just about done with history if I remember correctly from my days in high school. If they haven’t switched things around, next year you’ll learn about the third one and finish the matter.”  

“Such a shame; History and Eugenics are by far the best stuff they teach us in school. I wish I could have lived during those old times. So many things used to go on in the world, now it’s all boring. Nothing interesting ever happens down here,” Bastien said, casually. Much to his complete surprise, the words seemed to have a powerful effect on his dad. A bolt of what seemed to be dismay raced across the engineer’s face. “Did I say something wrong?” the boy continued, visibly concerned.  

His father, realizing how apparent his demeanor had been, purposefully ignored the question and forced a carefree smile on his face. “Oh, really? And what would you have liked to be?” Isaac said, genuinely curious to know the answer.  

What could have made his father so uncomfortable? Isaac was among the most optimistic and easy-going people in the entire city. The expression attached to his face a few moments prior had seemed to break the man’s features, making him almost unrecognizable. “A jet pilot, or an astronaut, or anything that got to look down at the Earth from far, far up,” Bastien said, paying extra attention to his words and scrutinizing his dad. Isaac had been working a lot recently and spent a lot less time at home, so the boy didn’t want to upset the man in the few moments they still spent together. “Do you think we’ll ever manage to fly again?” he asked, trying to push away the feeling of uneasiness that had installed itself between the two.  

“A good question,” his father said, pondering for a second. “It depends on how clever we can get with technology. The topside conditions are a lot worse than back then, I really don’t know.” 

Bastien looked disappointed and stared into the distance. 

“Hey, don’t let this get you down. How about this, you get high marks on your New History exam, and I’ll see about getting us a look at one of the airships.” A difficult promise to keep, and the engineer knew it. Phobos’ grounded fleet was among if not the most strategic asset the city possessed. The smile this put on his son’s face made it worth the trouble.  

New History was the first subject new high school pupils took. Everyone needed to understand how and why they ended up where they did. Lesson one explained the extinction level event responsible for wiping out their predecessors. Next, the course detailed the vision of the few scientists: one day, once the dust had settled, mankind would once again walk on the earth. It showed how the world fought them at every step, preventing them from entirely achieving their goals. A year later, the first Eugenics lesson would go on to explain how the new genome was built on top of the old human construct. How the old DNA had been altered and enhanced to create far better resistance to natural and human-made threats. Unfortunately, the Oldworld geneticists never managed to complete their work.  

The course also taught them about the Initial Awakening of the Saris artificial intelligence, triggered when the old world went up in flames. That’s how the underground city of around 20 square kilometers in diameter came to life. The A.I. then created the first sons and daughters of Phobos, the men and women who would become the first overseer council. Presided over by Overseer Hark, it led the push to retake the surface one day. This panel of ten overseers then decided on the population numbers to start the colony: how many scientists and auxiliary support personnel like doctors, farmers, miners, and engineers would be artificially grown in the VAC tubes.  

“I still don’t understand why we need to learn basic physics or chemistry,” Bastien said. It’s not like we’re ever going to use it. Besides, the imprint will know everything we need to know about all the technical stuff anyway.”  

Isaac chuckled. “That may be, but it won’t live out your life for you. I remember you mentioning difficulties in making friends in high school last week. Trust me; you don’t want to try human interaction in a city as brainy as Phobos relying only on your imprint.” He took off his glasses and attempted to wipe them down. It was useless; the red dust just stirred around on the lenses. “Forsaken Topside Institute,” he sighed, putting the glasses in his pocket. “Besides, the memories you’re accumulating now will be among the fondest ones in your life, trust me. They will also serve to insulate you from any dormant imprint personality by developing your own.”  

“How is it, having the imprint? I heard kids at school saying you can hear the person the imprint is based on if you listen long and hard enough. Did you ever hear yours?” Bastien said.  

“And that’s why you need education,” Isaac replied. He continued to smile, however, a shadow seemed to pass over his face. “There are a lot of old tales about how people lived in harmony with their imprint, but it’s all nonsense.” 

“Why are you so sure?”  

“You’ll learn about this next year, during the Advance Eugenics class if I’m not mistaken. The teacher will explain the details of it far better than I can remember but the point is this: the imprint has already lived his life. This is your shot at it and the choices you make need to be yours alone.” He took out another handkerchief from his pocket and sighed when seeing it filthy as well. “As for how it’s like having your imprint, you don’t even know it’s there. The knowledge set it gives you feels as natural to you as if you had learned everything by heart yourself. You just can’t remember ever doing it, but you get used to the feeling.”  

They jumped off the belt in front of the big stylized stone arch that marked the entrance to the Botanic District. This section of the city provided food for the tens of thousands that made Phobos their home. On the stone arch, there stood a fresco depicting a man and a woman collecting the harvest in wooden baskets. Above them stood the Latin proverb “Aegroto dum anima est, spes est.” Michelle strolled back and forth right next to it, so busy checking her PDA she didn’t even notice them approach.  

“Hope we’re not interrupting something vital to the survival of mankind, miss Hughes!” Isaac said, just close enough as to be sure he would startle her. She shuddered, looked up and for a moment, and seemed to be suppressing the urge to chastise him for his little prank. Finally, she let out a deep sigh, and a broad smile came over her face as she stepped forward and hugged Bastien.  

“You listen to me Bastien, if you act like your father, I’m going to end up being the only significant woman in your life. So, don’t!”  

Isaac laughed. “Don’t listen to your mother, boy. I’ve been like this ever since I was about your age and I still got the prettiest one of them all!” he said, winking at Michelle.  

“You are incorrigible!” she said, trying to look upset but failing to conceal her smile and blush. Even after all those years, Isaac’s compliments still made their way directly to her heart. She got up and crossed her hands over her chest while looking at Isaac. “Well? What happened to you? Did they finally reassign you to the mining district?” she said, looking at the sorry state of Isaac’s clothing.  

“No, but they might have well done so. The Topside Institute needs a lot of people with a lot of brooms and fast. This red dust is so electrically charged it sticks to anything with even the smallest magnetic field around it. It turns out it sticks to people especially well.”  

“Don’t they have special apparel to protects against it?” she said.  

“Yes… they do, and I wish I would have known before I refused the one offered to me,” he said.  

“Hard-headed as always,” Michelle said, laughing. “Let’s go home; I’ll make you your favorite dish, Bastien: steamed cricket legs with tomato sauce.”  

“Awesome! Can we have extra sauce this time?” Bastien asked.  

“Sorry, Bastien, I’m afraid we’ll need to save up as much of the tomato-based products as much as possible,” Michelle said. “This year’s tomato harvest doesn’t look too plentiful due to the new parasite. Fortunately, it's not having any impact on the bugs we're feeding the leftovers to. At least the protein harvest should be just fine.” She stopped for a second and looked at both of them straight in the face. “Not a word to anyone about any of this, got it?”  

“Yes, mom.” 

“Yes, ma'am!”  

They hopped on the belt and headed back toward the residential areas of the city. Isaac stood behind them, hands resting on both their shoulders.  

“Listen, I’ve got some exciting news. I may have gotten something for my troubles at the Topside Institute,” Isaac said.  

“You mean something besides this red dust that never goes away?” Michelle said, grinning.  

Isaac looked embarrassed. In his excitement, he had forgotten the reason why he had not touched either of them up to this point. Now both his wife and son had a stylish imprint of his palm on their coveralls. He sighed and continued, “They said it does come off after the third wash. But, more importantly, listen. I impressed someone there so much he offered to take us all up to see topside.” 

“That’s amazing!”, Bastien said. Michelle looked incredulous.  

“Hold on there, junior! It’s a one-time thing, and only adults can go,” Isaac said.  

“Not fair! Seeing topside would be the greatest thing ever!” Bastien said, half frowning and half begging.  

“Yup, and that’s why we’re going to wait. Consider it your reward for becoming an adult and,” winking at Michelle, “what your mom gets for putting up with me.”  

“Are you sure he didn’t just overpromise in the heat of the moment?” Michelle said.  

“No, no. The guy has the authority to conduct team surveys on his own responsibility. We won’t go anywhere far, but there should be no problem just taking us up past the seal. Anyway, are we done here?” Isaac asked, turning toward his wife.  

“Almost, I just need to check something inside the main storage building, it shouldn’t take too much time.”  

Something seemed to change in Isaac’s behavior upon hearing this. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow? I’m hungry coming from work, the boy is hungry coming from school. I think going home would be better today.” 

“Don’t be silly, it will only take a few minutes. Then we can go. If I don’t do this today, there’s going to be fallout tomorrow. Now come on.” 

The primary food storage building was by far the biggest, most prominent building Bastien had seen by this point in his life. As the belt took them toward the building’s entrance, it began to occupy his entire field of view. It looked like it could be the home of some of those prehistoric giants mentioned in ancient Oldworld sources.  

“Should me and the boy wait for you outside?” Isaac asked as they reached the main entrance.  

“Come on in, I want to show off my gorgeous family to all my colleagues,” Michelle answered, gently caressing his face while at the same time looking fondly toward Bastien. “It won’t take long honey, and we can all go home and eat after, alright?” she asked, more in Bastien’s direction.  

“Yes mom,” Bastien responded. He hated being paraded in front of other parents but understood it mattered for his folks, so he didn’t put up much of a fight. It’s not like either of them would take “no” for an answer, and the thought of his favorite dish had softened him up even more.  

“Ladies first, then,” Isaac said and made a polite gesture toward the entrance. Michelle took out her PDA and led the way, with Isaac and Bastien following behind her. 

“Michelle! How good to see you! Looks like you’re doing well for yourself!” the woman at the reception desk said.  

“Hello Berth and thank you very much!” Michelle responded.  

“Are these the two important men in your life?” Berth said, eyeing Bastien first and then moving her eyes to Isaac.  

“For better or for worse,” Michelle said, smiling back.  

“Don’t be so modest, Michelle! They seem absolutely lovely. You have no idea how much the girls here envy you,” Berth said. “Administrator Shevchenko is waiting for you in room nineteen,” she continued, and then, noticing the concern in Bastien’s eyes quickly reassured him, “Don’t worry, it’s just a routine check. You’ll be out of here faster than you can say ‘pie’”.  

Room nineteen sat at the end of the base floor corridor so at least they didn’t need to climb any stairs. All around them people headed in their opposite direction as the workday winded down. It felt weird for Bastien to see how many of the people going past them stopped to say hello to his mother. He realized then for the first time in his life a lot more people regarded Michelle in a very different way than he did. For them, she represented a highly respected Botanical Engineer, not the woman who made dinner and kept the house clean. It did, however, mean it took lot longer for them to reach the last room on the corridor than expected. Isaac seemed to become increasingly anxious. Even at that young age, Bastien could tell by the giveaway gesture his father tended to do when uncomfortable: scratching the back of his head. The man seemed to become fascinated with his watch, constantly looking at it.  

“Just a few more minutes, Isaac. Why don’t you take an example from Bastien? Look how patient he is,” Michelle said. 

They had just passed chamber fifteen when the doors to the adjacent elevator opened. A hooded figure dressed entirely in black leapt out and bolted past them. Around the face, a black scarf concealed the face from the eyes down. Bastien only caught a glance, but it was telling. No doubt a woman, her eyes revealed sheer terror. Bastien’s focus then turned to the woman’s hand which took out a shiny metal object from her pocket. The fabric of the world seemed to tear itself to shreds in the moments after.  

“No! Stop!” Isaac shouted as the woman ran frantically toward the door. Looking up at his dad’s face, it seemed to have frozen in time. “Michelle, Bastien, get down!” he shouted, before throwing them both to the ground and himself on top of them. 

Explosions erupted all across the storage areas. Rivers of flame, seemingly disregarding the laws of physics, engulfed the entire building, running alongside the walls in every direction. Bastien found himself pinned down to the ground as his parents threw themselves around him to form a shield. Agricultural compounds stored in various other rooms continued to add to the chain of explosions. As the floors above them started to give way, rivers of rice joined in the impossible scenario, falling through the cracks and on top of where he and his family huddled together. He could feel the heat on his face and the sweat running down it. As the world in front of his eyes tore itself apart, he fainted out of consciousness.  

Unsure how much later, unable to see much around and still pinned to the ground by his parents and debris, he heard voices approaching them. The air around him made him sick. If there had been anything in his stomach for him to throw up, he would have. The charred remains of his father’s dirty glasses laid right next to his face alongside the handkerchief Isaac had used to try and clean them. He stared at them for what seemed like a really long time, coughing from the heavy scent of potassium bicarbonate in the air. He remembered the scent from one of the fire drills they had done in schools. It was probably what they had used to put out the flames.  

“What a mess…” someone said. The voice seemed to be relatively close.  

“I can’t believe they actually did something like this” the response came.  

“They’re beyond insane! I can understand trying to blow up Inquisition infrastructure, but these people were just botanical engineers. The fallout is going to hurt regular citizens the most, how can this make sense to anyone?”  

“My guess, probably just trying to stir the waters, they don’t care who gets hurt.”  

Bastien had been listening with his hand next to his mouth, not knowing who or what the intentions of the two people. As his lungs fought to push out the dust that had gotten in, he couldn’t hold back a cough.  

“Inquisitor! I think there’s someone alive over there!” another voice shouted.  

Multiple people swarmed around him immediately and gently lifted his parents off him. More footsteps made their way toward him, and as he raised his head. None other than Overseer Hark made his way toward him. It was the first time Bastien saw the chairman so up and close. Most people only knew Hark’s face from the newsreels. But even while watching those there was no denying the overseer had something distinctly inhuman about him. All the recordings in the world, however, couldn't have prepared him for the disjointed figure looking at him now. It seemed only to mirror humanity vaguely.  

Hark walked in a very peculiar way with obvious measured steps, shoulders pulled back and head thrust forward. His posture, coupled with the unusually long neck, gaunt facial features excepting the large bleached blue eyes and a very prominent fleshy nose, conjured up the image of a condor. His uniform looked no different compared to the regular inquisitors: black and tan adorned with crimson leather straps that secured the g*n holsters. The black boots made the biggest impression: they shined impossibly bright. Only Two golden collar buttons differentiated his uniform. They had some minuscule text stamped on them that had always been the stuff of gossip around the city. Nobody had ever stood close enough to him to read it.  

He remembered what he knew about the overseer from school. They weren't people in many regards: made already adults, had multiple genetic implants compared to the regular citizens, and, unlike ordinary people, the A.I. Saris was the one responsible for bringing them into this world. Every century or so, a new batch would be artificially grown with the new overseers replacing their predecessors. The process ensured the shepherds of New Society never lost sight of their goals. It also meant that for each generation the urgency of getting work done would be the same as for the very first.  

“Can you hear me? What's your name?” Hark said. His face expressed nothing. No compassion came through those cold blue eyes. The man might have well asked him what his meals had been that day. Bastien didn’t answer anything, and his eyes went back down toward the glasses lying next to him. He noticed for the first time one of the lenses had shattered.  

“His parents?” Hark said, rising to his feet and turning around his men who continued rummaging through the building.  

“Gone, sir,” one of the men responded.  

“Such a shame,” Hark said, then turned around toward Bastien and got down on one knee. “What’s your name, son?”  

Bastien looked into the man’s deep blue eyes.  

“Bastien, sir… My name is Bastien Hughes, son of Engineer Isaac Hughes and Botanist Michelle Hughes.”  

Hark nodded his head, seemingly pleased. “How old are you, Bastien?”  

“I’m fourteen years old, sir.”  

Another nod from Hark. “I’m sorry for this Bastien, but I’ll need you to come with me.”  

Bastien spent that night at the Inquisition Headquarters crouched in the corner of a small room. A legate came in and brought him a small plate with steamed cricket legs. It was a typical dish in Phobos, but the way Michelle made it had transformed it into his favorite. Realizing he would never eat it again cooked from her loving hands hit him like a punch in the stomach. No matter how much he wanted to cry, however, the tears refused to appear.  

The legate who opened his room the following morning found him in the same place where he went to sit down the night before. He looked at the untouched food on the table and Bastien’s weary, tired face then sighed. Sitting next to Bastien, he said, “Hey kid, try to listen to me,” but Bastien didn’t turn away from facing the wall. “I’m here to take you to them. You’re getting your imprint today whether you like it or not. There will be trials to test you, understand? Hard trials too, trust me, they designed those trials for someone of sixteen years old, not fourteen. You’re in no shape to overcome this.” He placed his hand on Bastien’s shoulder. “If you don’t pull through this, who is going to remember your parents? Try living for their sake. From what I heard they died so you could go on and live. Just… think about it. Okay?” The man got up and punched something on his PDA. “I’ve moved up your appointment six hours, it’s all I can do. Just think about it, alright? Eat and get some rest while you can.” The legate left and locked the door behind him.  

Bastien waited for a couple of minutes after the guard left before opening his hands and looking at the pair of cracked glasses. The motto on the stone arch of the botanical gardens sprang into his mind. It roughly translated to “Where there is life, there is hope.” Continuing to think about what had happened to his life in just the last twelve hours, waves of desperation and rage flowed over him. When they subsided, a single thought shinned brightly within his mind: revenge. He placed the broken glasses in his jacket’s left pocket and started eating as fast as he could. Afterward, laying down on the bed and facing the wall, he resolved to overcome what stood in front of him at all costs before finally falling asleep.  

“Wake up, Bastien, we need to go.” the guard said. “It’s time.”  

Bastien snapped to his feet instantly.  

“Go wash your face with some cold water,” the guard said and handed him a fresh towel.  

Coming back from the sync, a cup of hot soy coffee stood on the table.  

“It’s from my daily ration, go on, drink it, you’ll need all the help you can get,” the man said.  

Bastien tried to drink the black liquid and found it to be the bitterest thing ever to touch his lips, his face convulsing into a sour grimace. The guard smiled.  

“Yeah, it’s not the greatest at first, but trust me, you’ll get used to it. Drink it all; we need to go.”  

Bastien nodded affirmative and forced himself to gulp down the entire cup while wondering how his father managed to drink it regularly. “Thank you, sir,” he said. While the taste still made him nauseous, it had indeed woken him up and made him incredibly alert.  

“Call me Kafka,” the man said. “It’s what everyone calls me. I’m not used to this whole ‘sir’ thing. Now come on, we need to get going.”  

They reached the queues at around two o’clock in the afternoon.  Crossing over into adulthood got the parents the day off from their regular activities. Naturally, most of them came to support their children during this crucial day in their lives. The whole human spectrum of emotions presented itself: from anticipation and anxiety of families hugging, kissing and wishing their children good luck to ecstatic families welcoming their children back as fully-fledged citizens of New Society.  

The only one there for him was Kafka who walked stiffly next to him as they skipped the lines to get in front courtesy of his escort flashing papers around.  

The legate opened the door and held it for him. “This is as far as I go. It’s your show now, Bastien. Make everyone proud!” 

Bastien nodded and entered the institute, continually wiping the tears from his face. A chill ran down his spine as the door closed behind him. White flashing markers pointed the way toward the waiting lobby. He hesitated only for a moment before opening the door. A technician holding a large PDA saw him approach and came up to him.  

“Please say your full name, the name of both parents and age, please.”  

“Bastien Hughes, Isaac Hughes and Michelle Hughes,” he said, then, hesitantly, “fourteen.” Saying the names of his parents sent a bolt of hurt through his heart, but he managed to keep himself from bursting into tears.  

“Alright, you are scheduled to start in five minutes, please take a seat and wait to be called in.”  

Bastien sat down amid fifteen other teenagers also waiting to be called in. They seemed to all be part of the same class and were too busy talking between themselves to take notice of him. Finally, one of the girls hinted toward him, causing the others to turn around briefly. Nobody said anything for a couple of seconds before resuming their discussion. However, this time they kept it to a whisper.  

“Mr. Hughes, the committee is ready to see you now. Please, come in,” the same technician from before said, keeping the door open for him while continuing to look at his PDA. Hearing the technician calling him ‘Mr. Hughes’ made him wince. That had been his father’s moniker less than 24 hours ago. As Bastien got up and walked in, the voices of the group of teens had all of a sudden gone mute.