Project Pandora

QUICKFIRE

When I reached G-18, a soldier immediately handed me a basket which I carried on my back. This basket is as huge as my back and even much thicker than my torso. I need to fill a dozen of these baskets to reach my quota for today.

The moment I entered the door, I noticed that some soldiers are also walking inside. There are roughly twenty of them at the very least. They stride at a hurried pace as if they are in a rush to do something important. Hence, I step aside and let each one of them enter the Garden of Eve first.

Once I notice that the coast was clear, I too decided to go inside. But just as I was a few meters away from the door, my eyes suddenly caught a familiar face. The more I walk towards him, the more his face becomes clearer; now, I cannot be mistaken—I am sure that I know this guy.

It is Paul. He is one of my roommates together with Yuri. He is already thirty years old, with a tall and buff appearance. He used to reside in Hiraya for quite some time because of his intellect. However, his fate changed when he was caught up in an accident involving a failed experiment that blasted off his right arm and blinded his right eye. For that reason, he lost his worth to be part of Hiraya.

I like Paul’s personality, he is just a quiet type of guy. Sometimes, he does not pay too much attention to what I am saying not because he does not want to talk to me but maybe because he thinks that I have lost my mind. He would choose to believe that I am just being silly by spouting ideas such as going out of this forsaken place. Looks like I am lucky, this will not be a boring day after all.

“Leo? How are you?” he greeted me when he also noticed my presence.

“I’m fine,” I replied casually.

“You’re almost late,” he pointed out with a hint of judgment in his voice. Well, he is right anyway.

“You never saw me late, right? And I’m sure that will never happen,” I said with a smile.

I can feel his concern for me but he should not worry because I still know how to manage my time. I have never come late in our tasks and receive a warning before.

“You have a point…” he manages to agree with me.

A few moments of silence stretched for a while before I broke the ice. I really like talking to Paul because I can say whatever I want without fearing that he would report my ideas to other people.

“This job really sucks, huh? We need to harvest tons of these things without even having the luxury to stuff our mouths with it—well unless we want to die of course,”

“Shh, keep your voice low, the soldiers might hear you,” Paul warned me.

“Don’t be too serious all the time, Paul,” I replied in a playful voice as a smile crept into my lips. He also manages to smile back.

He did not say anything after that and we just continue to walk.

You can rarely see Paul smile but I can still make him smile sometimes. With everything that has happened to him, I know that it is hard for him to live his new life here in Balwarte. He still probably longs for his life back in Hiraya. That is probably the reason that renders him in absolute loneliness every single day. However, it is also something that I cannot ask about because I do not want to open his past wounds. Well, who would even want to live this kind of life, anyway?

We are already near the gate. I immediately fumble the bottle in my pocket and fished a piece of the capsule before swallowing it.

“What’s that for?” Paul asked in confusion.

“I have a brain tumor,” I answered.

I have wished to be a variant my whole life. But this dream of mine remained a foolish dream when I discovered that I have this illness when I reach the age of 8. I dreamed of something that will transform my life into happiness but I was given this tumor instead which apparently made my life even more sorrowful and shorter. I wished to have powers but in the end, I am nothing but a defective human being.

Every time I have an episode of headaches, I could not help but feel an unbearable pain as if my head is being split apart. It was too painful that sometimes it drives me to immobility and eventually faints. Sometimes it hinders my peaceful slumber, and there are also those times when I feel extremely nauseous.

I can feel that this tumor is continuously growing as time passes by. Maybe one day, it will eventually devour my whole brain.

But I can still consider myself lucky since the majority of residents here in Balwarte have worse conditions than mine. It was such a brutal sight to see a certain part of their body being devoured by a large tumor. Some have swollen limbs from the tumors and others have their whole face completely gobbled by the tumors until they eventually die from complications.

This is probably one of the consequences of developing variants. For some reason, only non-variants were the ones who experience such complications.

For that reason, the scientists in Bughaw were forced to concoct a certain drug that will inhibit the symptoms of people like me since many of us experience these cancerous tumors all over our bodies.

However, I know that one day, they would eventually stop giving these medicines since they do not have the intention to waste their resources to cure people who are already past the curable stage. They would rather prioritize the younger individuals.

That is why I am doing my best to conserve the remaining capsules that I have so I can still use them if I happen to experience severe headaches in the future. It can’t be helped since the primary goal of the government is to create as many variants as they can. They wish to create a new humanity that is solely comprised of variants alone. But it seems like they are still far from that goal based on what I can see now. To be honest, I don’t really know why they are very inclined into making and discovering variants despite having no clear knowledge as to how they can propagate this species.

If variants did not exist, then the life here at the bottom should not be this hellish. They are the reason why The Box was divided and I sometimes blame them for all the ordeals that I have experienced.

It is funny how we walk in the same place and even breathe the same air but the way each side is treated is extremely different; they reign this world while we kiss their feet.

Every single person here is a result of the experiment from Bughaw. We were not conceived traditionally, because the moment that they discovered the existence of the variants, was also the time when human reproduction took a rapid turn.

Everything that I know about the variants is from the Guardians back when I was still in Bughaw. From the moment we were born, a scientist was assigned to monitor our well-being and all the probable events that may transpire as we stay at the laboratory. These Guardians are gender-neutral in nature who sport a white mask and monotonous voice which is made possible by voice-changer devices. In addition, they also often wear lab coats and green gloves.

They are the ones who mold and influence the kids to reach their fullest potential to be a variant. Their only job is to be a catalyst to our probable powers until we reach the age of eight. They will go to extreme lengths just to trigger the kids’ variant abilities and that includes exhausting us both physically and mentally even if it can drain us to death.

According to the Guardians, there are three pioneer variants. They are the first batch of variants that were born in The Box. Their names are Archos, Obsidian, and Leech.

The three classifications of variants were also named after them. Before these three pioneer variants died, the scientists were able to preserve their sperms to utilize them scientifically. They believed that they are the seeds that will sprout out more variants to inhabit The Box in the future.

I, myself am from the preserved sperm of Obsidian but it does not mean that I am special from the rest of the people here. Because many people here are also the experimental descendants of Obsidian but they also did not end up being variants like me.

Meanwhile, my biological mother is a fifth-generation Leech-variant but I never really had the chance to meet her because she only served as a vessel for reproduction. The concept of pro-creation in The Box is nothing sentimental. The carriers and sperm donors are always variants, hence, the idea of love and family do not really exist here.

They have also once tried to use non-variant carriers but it appears that there is no chance that they would ever produce variant offsprings. Furthermore, they have also tried numerous patterns and combinations of different variants to pro-create a more powerful variant species but to no avail; they often failed in the end just like my case.

I am the last batch of sperm of Obsidian and the last hope to replicate the pioneer variant—but it failed.

It means that variants are now in the face of extinction since the Scientists are still oblivious as to how they can effectively propagate this species and what their actual origin was. Based on what I heard, the population of variants is declining as time passes by.

To be honest, I don’t really care since it does not really concern me. I would even be the first person to celebrate if those variants have officially ceased to exist. That event might even lead to equality for the citizens of The Box.

In our batch, out of almost two hundred children from Obsidian, I was one of the fifty persons who were chosen to live because of my physical stamina which is suitable to tolerate vigorous training. Until the original fifty people eventually fluctuated into seven survivors because of how ruthless the training and tests were.

In the end, only one of us became a variant.

Throughout the years, the limited information that the Scientists discovered about the nature of variants is that every single one of us was actually born to have a variant cell but it is not that strong to instantaneously provide a person with powers. Thus, the only way to know if a person is a variant or not is once they reach the age of eight. An unexplainable phenomenon happens once a person reaches the age of eight. Because it is the time where the variant cell will fade out only to be replaced with tumor or cancer cells. As for variants, this will mark as the start of the incubation stage of their variant cell until they can finally be developed into a true variant that possesses special abilities.

However, the Scientists of Bughaw did not stop there. Due to the experimentations conducted by Guardians, they were able to exploit the variants’ powers even before they reach the age of eight.

This is what they call Priming.

When we reach the age of three, they submerge us into a tank of water while we cannot see anything and numerous tubes and needles are injected all over our bodies. In this manner, they believed that the variant cell may be concentrated and eventually trigger our probable powers. They do that to us eight hours a day. They will also inject some chemicals into our bodies through the needles and tubes that are pierced into our flesh which gives an excruciating pain.

We were also forced to run the whole day until there is no strength left in our bodies. What’s more, they would also go as far as to deprive us of food and water for a few days and sometimes punish and hurt us without knowing the reason why. That is how we were raised in Bughaw.

Until now, I can still remember all the sufferings that I have been through; the hellish life that I had to endure. We were raised like an animal waiting to be slaughtered for the sake of Science and pro-creation. We have learned to fight for our lives the moment we were born. The idea of being variant swept us into a belief that it is the only way for us to escape from the torturous life ahead of us.

I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of blood that I have lost, the number of needles that were pierced into my skin, and all the potent and foreign chemicals that were thrust right through my veins—all for the sake of unraveling their idea of the true essence of my humanity.

Each one of us here in Balwarte has the experience that nightmarish life—some may even have it worse. Lucky are the ones who were able to manifest early signs of being a variant because it means that they can leave the tribulations in the hands of the Guardians.

But if not, they will have to face the full-blast agony that most of us experienced.

I glanced at Paul.

“Aren’t you tired of this life, Paul?”

“Why did you ask?” He replied with another question.

“Nothing. It’s just that, this life is very tiring—if you ask me,” I said.

“Are you sad right now?” He asked, his forehead crumpled in confusion.

“How would I even be happy in this situation?” I asked him back.

Paul smiled at me. I know that he would probably say some advice again which he thinks would help me.

“You know, it’s just as simple as this: if you still want to live, then breathe. But if you can’t take it anymore, then just laugh. You know why?” He asked me.

“Why?” I curiously answered.

“Because sometimes, laughing can be a way to escape all the pain and bitterness from our memories. If tears are meant to ease the sadness, then laughing is the cure to forget,” he uttered in pure wisdom.

“But I don’t really see you laughing, does it mean that you don’t want to forget?” I fired another question because his words confused me.

“No, I just don’t want you to be like those people who killed themselves or have been killed because they don’t want to forget,” a smile crept into his lips again.

“And what made you think that would happen to me?” I cannot help but feel irritated with his idea about me. “Why would I even laugh if there is nothing funny at all?” I asked another question.

I am not sure if what he is saying makes sense. Besides, I think he sees me from the wrong perspective.

He did not answer and just look at me.

I just smiled at him and pretended that I understand him.

“It’s just that life is like a cycle of these things—it’s exhausting,” I tried to break the silence again.

“That’s the reason why you need to laugh. Because life is a big joke,” He said before turning his back on me.

A smile crept into my lips as I stared at his back.

“Do you want to hear something new?”

“What is it?”

“I have devised a plan,” I immediately replied.

Confusion is visible on his face. “Plan? For what?”

“I want to get out of here,” I whispered, making sure that he is the only one who can hear me.

“You can get out of here if you reach your quota and fill on those baskets,”

I smiled at him. “What I meant is that I want to escape from The Box,” I whispered once more.

Silence enveloped the two of us until Paul decided to harshly nudge me with his basket.

I yelped in pain. “What’s that for?” I asked indignantly.

“Are you trying to be dumb or you’re just really dumb?” Paul asked which I am unsure if I would answer or not. Fear was laced in his eyes as he stared at me.

“Perhaps in the middle?” I retorted.

“You’re aware that what you are saying is prohibited and just downright impossible, right? Are you using your head?”

I expected this reaction from him. It is part of the laws here in The Box to prohibit us from expressing any desire or plans to escape or else, death will surely await us.

But sometimes, I just want to take the risk and go against the flow despite all the people who are telling me not to. Maybe I am just different from them because this has been my mindset ever since I came here to Balwarte.

I trust Paul not to put me in danger.

“Let’s continue this talk later,” he whispered while casually looking in front of him.

I did not notice that we are already in front of the soldiers who will give us the instruction about the task that we will do today in the Garden of Eve.

I saw a Commander standing in front of the other soldiers and us.

“You know what you have to do in G-18. Just harvest the ripe fruits, that’s all,” The Commander, who probably with the same age as me, ordered.

“Sixteen baskets for the whole day, no funny business,” he informed again.

“You will return the basket with the fruits before you go,” he said in a loud and authoritative voice.

“Do you understand?!” He asked again.

“Yes, Commander!” We all answered in agreement with what he said. He finally turned his back on us after that.

He is Elio, the youngest among all the Commanders in The Box. He also happened to be the most violent one. He is wearing black pants and a shirt that compliments his buff physique.

He is also wearing a black glove in his right hand. On his back drapes a thin, white coat with a length that extends until his knees. It has buttons that exclaim his position here in The Box and on the back of it, you can see an imprinted number that says, 10.

Objectively speaking, Elio is quite good-looking—it is just a shame that his personality is trash. It was only last year when he was promoted as the Commander of 100 soldiers. He is also an Obsidian-variant like me. We have the same father, the only difference is that he has a power that I do not possess.

He can control fire. This is his power as a variant. The gloves that he is wearing is friction sensitive, it can ignite a fire on his hand.

Yes, he can manipulate fire but he has no power to actually start a fire. This is his weak point as a variant.

He is cold-hearted to the people here in Balwarte. The more I see him every day, the more anger I can feel within me—I feel like it is enough motivation to kill him. I want to kill him in the most brutal way possible if I could only have the chance. I cannot begin to count how many bodies he has burned throughout this entire year of being in-charged here. Until now, I can still see flashes of those memories; how those people begged for their lives as he ruthlessly devoured them with his fire.

He calls himself, “Quickfire.” Every infant that is being born in The Box has a numerical-based name, you can only have the luxury to have a second name if you are a variant and an alias if you are a commander. In Balwarte, it is illegal to have our own name especially if the commanders will overhear us calling each other such names which we only invented ourselves. But I do not really care about that, anyway. Besides, they are not really that strict in upholding that law because a lot of us are actually using our self-made names. I just want other people to know me by the name Leo and not OB-825. I did not name myself, it was my former friend who gave that name to me because he thought that I was going to be a variant too but unfortunately, he was wrong.

Meanwhile, we started to harvest the fruits in the Garden of Eve. If there is an ancient memory from the former world that The Box also has now, that would be towering trees in front of me.

For the people of Bughaw, the most important place here in Balwarte is this garden because this is the place where we get our necessities like food, air, and water for all the citizens of The Box.

They have a special technology that allows these plants to grow abundantly. G-18 is different from any other place here in Balwarte. There is a yellowish iridescence that glows from a huge orb that is fixed in the ceiling.

I can still feel the heat from its rays… caressing my skin despite standing a couple of meters away from it.

They call that thing Valgus. That is the reason why these plants survive here. It produces synthetic sunlight for plants. However, I am still oblivious as to what source of energy enables it to function until now. There is just a lot of information that the citizens of Bughaw do not want us to discover.

I can also smell the odd air that these trees produce. Unlike many other places, it is easier to breathe here. Probably because these trees produce fresh and unfiltered air.

This is the only place where I can stand on genuine soil—but I wonder if this is really genuine?

Everyone who dies here in The Box ends up being a fertilizer in G-18. There is a section here in Balwarte that is located to the rightmost part of the Garden of Eve which they call the Desecration Area. That is the place where they collect the bodies of animal and human corpses to be burned and transformed into fertilizer. After that, they would then blend it into the soil of the Garden of Eve to provide nutrients in the soil. So if I’ll think about it, this soil that I am currently stepping on is actually composed of various desecrated corpses.

However, over the years, I have noticed something strange here. I don’t know why but yearly, it is evident how the number of fruits that we can harvest is gradually fluctuating. Moreover. I can see that the plants and trees here are also decreasing in number too. Nevertheless, I still like this place. Some people may think that this place is hell since they cannot eat these fruits and vegetables but I can endure that. Because this place brings me a profound sense of connection with nature. I sometimes wonder if it also feels this way outside The Box.

There is an air coming from the diverse varieties of plants—is this how the people lived before?

I finally decided to start harvesting. I have developed a strong immunity against hunger so it is not hard for me to withstand the temptation of these luscious fruits.

I was concentrating on finishing my task when I suddenly heard a high-pitched scream which most probably came from a woman. After that, I heard a gunshot. I saw two women from Balwarte who look bewildered by the sounds that we heard. One of them has long hair with a slender body while the other one has short hair with a body that is missing a left arm. They are only a few meters away from me and I can clearly see how they try to scan the area… trying to find some information about what happened. They tried to walk to the part where they heard the strange noises earlier.

A few minutes later, we heard another gunshot which made the girls bow in fear. Whatever or whoever that is, that person must have eaten the forbidden fruit and I cannot do anything about it and I do not really care about it at all. There are a lot of cameras here in the Garden of Eve so no offenders can escape the bullet of law. Sometimes, I just can’t help but feel like the people here in Balwarte are not using their heads, however, I cannot blame them for it.

Maybe, they intentionally eat the fruits so they can die for a justifiable reason. At least, they were able to eat fruit before they die. I have also considered doing that since I entered this place. They say that it is easier to die than to live. But that principle just does not easily fit with me. I have attempted to finish my life in this manner but I just can’t totally do it. It is like a certain voice whispers within me… saying, What if there is a way to change everything? What if my abilities do not end here? What if tomorrow has stored a promising future for me? Sometimes my mind just clings to the word: Hope.

But then, from that word also springs up grief. It made me wonder if hope is a blessing or a curse.

I just shrugged it off and just resume my task but then a hand suddenly tap my back. I glance and saw a beautiful lady. She has a white complexion, a pointed nose, expressive eyes, and her shoulder-length hair fits her features perfectly. She is a bit taller than me, probably because she seems older too—perhaps she is in her twenties. The lady is wearing a laboratory coat which indicates that she is from Bughaw.

I noticed the fear and exhaustion in her facial expression.

“Help me,” she said.