Gene. Sys.

1   The world is supposed to end in about a year. My dad says that things are going to be very different. He won’t tell me why, but he said that it’s the reason I was created. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. At least since I found the ladder that opens to the roof. It’s tucked away in the back corner of the library and I came across it when I walked in searching for books on creation and the end of the world. I like the library because it contains real books. I could look up everything I wanted on tablets, but the way the plastic felt on my fingers as I turned the pages made me feel like I was a part of the story being told. I also liked that the library was always empty. Nobody ever came in here so I would often come to escape and read. My dad said that it was more of a museum than a library, but I liked it either way. The electronic catalog at the front of the library told me to search in the philosophy section in the back of the library. I read everything I could. Everything seemed to have a different answer. Most of the books weren’t much help and the books marked as religious texts were so broad that they only gave me more questions. I had gone searching for a different corner to perch up against when I saw the ladder. I climbed up and opened the door that was at the top. Fresh air hit my face and I stepped out onto the roof. I looked around and saw the entire compound. I saw the walls surrounding the compound and I saw the hundreds of drone guards patrolling the walls. The guards all looked exactly the same; carbon copies of one another. The sky looked different from atop the roof. It seemed bigger. That was the first time I saw beyond the walls. I couldn’t see much because the walls are about thirty feet tall, but when I turned to the west I saw it—a triangular rock formation jutting out from beyond the wall. I must have stared at it for three hours before I realized that I was shivering. All I could think about was how much I wanted to go beyond the walls and see what else was out there. Dad told me that it was very dangerous beyond the walls of the compound and that I was not allowed to go out there under any circumstance. He did tell me though that what I saw beyond the wall was the Great Pyramid of Giza. So naturally I read. I would bring the books up here and in two nights I had read everything there was about the pyramids and the ancient Egyptian culture. I imagined I was one of the pharaohs. I believe that I have the same olive complexion and light eyes that they had. I’m definitely taller. I’m the tallest person at this compound, so I can’t really believe there are many people who are closer to the stars than I. I wanted so badly to be one of them. Their life seemed free and therefore this pyramid became a symbol of freedom and it only made me hungrier to see this 5000-year-old wonder. I did some quick geometry and figured that the pyramid was only about two miles away. I could run there in about six minutes. I had it all figured out but then I started to think about what else might be out there. What else are those walls hiding from me? Will the end of the world affect them? For eight straight days those were the questions on my mind, but not tonight. Different thoughts are occupying my mind. Tomorrow I am supposed to meet Ev for the first time. We were created at the same time but the only time I remember catching a glimpse of her was two months ago when I was released from my incubation tube. They were carting me away when I rolled my head over and saw her floating in her tube. They released her the next day. Dad and the other scientists did everything they could to keep us separate. We were trained and schooled separately. They ran tests on us separately and they always had drone guards making sure we never crossed paths. I would always try to steal a look or sneak around to see her, but they were very careful. Now, I wouldn’t mind if they pushed the meeting back a couple of days. I’m nervous and scared. I wonder what she knows about me. Is she nervous and scared too? Is she having trouble sleeping right now? I wonder if dad told her about the end of the world as well. These thoughts dominate my mind as I lie down on my blanket and stare at the stars. I close my eyes and before I know it the darkness of sleep has overtaken me. I wake up shivering. I don’t really know how long I’ve been asleep but the sky has become lighter, so I know that daybreak is coming soon. I climb down the ladder to the library and walk out into the hallway. A few drones walk past me. Their cold, black eyes glance at me and quickly look away, but not before I feel the loathing they send my way. I duck into my room and, without turning on the lights, I crawl into my bed. I barely have time for my nightly ritual of barricading myself with pillows before I fall back to sleep. I dream of standing alone in a vast, white abyss. It’s cold and the ground feels hard and slick like ice. The sky is also white and the only reason I can tell that there is a difference between the ground and sky is because I see a figure out in the distance. I run towards the figure and as I get closer I can tell that it’s a girl. Her long, blonde hair reaches down to the small of her back. She is thin and fairly tall. Her back is to me so I reach out to touch her. Right before I do I call out “Ev,” but she doesn’t turn. She vanishes and reappears in the distance. I walk back up to her and the same thing happens. The cycle repeats itself until I’m woken up. The knock at the door shocks me awake. I sit up as the door opens and the silhouette shades me from the bright light wanting to enter the room. The silhouette’s hand reaches to the side and flicks on the light. The brightness burns my eyes and I retreat under my blanket. “Turn it off!” “Time to train,” says the deep voice. I know without looking that it’s Grant, my weapons and combat instructor. I like working with him. He pushes me really hard and he is the only one who seems to be able to keep up with me when I run. “Fine,” I look out from under the covers and his dark skin and jump suit make him appear as though he is still a silhouette. “Dungeon, ten minutes!” He tosses me a protein pouch and walks out. Grant is never one to be anything less than direct. I sit up and tear open the protein pouch. I’ve never liked the way the goo feels as it travels down my throat but at least I got a good flavor today. It tastes like a mix between orange and mango with a hint of vanilla. I look around my room. It’s small with no windows. The bathroom is to the right of my bed and the closet is to my left. I have a nightstand on each side of the bed, but both are stacked with books, most of them on ancient Egypt. I stand up from my bed and instantly feel dizzy as a pain shoots to the front of my forehead. I know it has to do with falling asleep on the roof. I walk to the bathroom and splash my face with water. I’m hoping the protein pouch will help alleviate the headache; otherwise it will be a brutal training session. I slip into a green jump suit from my closet and head out the door back to the hallway. Something feels weird about my walk to the dungeon. It’s located under the library so I have made this walk many times before. Today seems different though. It’s not until I’m in the elevator heading down that I realize what it was. I didn’t see a single drone in the hallway. There are almost always three or four keeping an eye on me. I can’t recall a day when I didn’t see at least one. The elevators open on the ground floor and the second I step out I am hit in the head with a fifteen-pound leather ball. I fall effortlessly to the ground. Whatever hope I had of losing the headache is now gone. “Get up!” I hear Grant yell from across the room. I know that I am supposed to be prepared from the second I step off the elevator, but the disappearance of the drones had me preoccupied and I lost track of where I was. Grant has trained me to always be prepared and ready, but today I lost focus for a brief second and, because of that, the left side of my face burns and my head hurts more than it did ten minutes ago. I look up to see another ball flying towards my body and I quickly roll out of the way and pop up to my feet. I assess my surroundings and see that Grant is hiding behind a giant rock formation. The entire room is a red rock desert landscape with boulders and a few dead trees scattered about. The heat of the sun blaring from the sky causes beads of sweat to form on my brow. I look down at the ball that hit my face and see that it is actually a boulder. I pick it up and hurl it at Grant, forcing him to duck further behind the rock formation. I use the opportunity of being out of his view to pick up the other small boulder and run up a different rock formation. I quickly analyze the options he has. He can look out from either side of his rock formation, he can climb up his rock formation or he can run for cover at one of the two other rock formations. Looking out won’t do him any good and climbing his formation will leave him vulnerable since I am already at the high vantage point and can hit him with the bolder before he can find his balance at the top. The only option he has is to run. “You were late,” he says. I know he’s trying to pinpoint my location so I stay quiet. My eyes stay fixed on the area between the rock formations where I believe he will run to. I see his head poke out briefly in my peripherals. A split second later he is running from his cover. I hurl my boulder at the area in front of him; he stops to let the boulder land in front of him. “You missed!” The moment he takes his eyes off me to watch the boulder land, I bound off my perch and charge at him. He turns just as I lower my shoulder into his torso and drive him into one of the dead trees. I ram my forearm into his neck, holding him in place with my arm. “No I didn’t,” I say as I look into his eyes and watch them bulge as he struggles for air. His eyes shut and I count, “One, two, three.” I let go and step back as he falls to his knees and struggles for air. I know I shouldn’t take pleasure in this, but it has only been recently that I have been able to beat him. I have endured countless beatings at his hands, so it feels good to be able to repay the favor. I stick my hand out to help him to his feet. As he struggles to regain his senses I can see his true age. He is rapidly approaching 40. Still, at over twice my age, he is a worthy opponent. “I’m proud of you,” he says as he places his hand on my shoulder. “You used both physical and mental abilities to beat me. It’s important to remember that. A good plan will always take precedence over brute force.” “Can we get out of the simulation?” I ask. Grant always preaches using both physical and mental prowess. I don’t mean to cut him off, but my mind has returned to the oddity of the drones not being around. He snaps me back into the moment when he answers my question with one of his own. “Would you like to do the honors?” I know that it’s a very simple thing but I have wanted to do it since the simulation training began. I take a deep breath and say, “Apokalupto.” He told me that the word means to reveal in Greek. I look around to see the desert landscape disappear around me. The dead trees turn into padded support beams. The rock formations turn into big stacks of mats and pads. I pick up the weighted ball closest to me and walk it over to the rack holding other weighted balls.