Chapter 2
Jan tried to collect herself as she was dragged along. She wasn't quite sure what had just happened, or if she'd be pulling weeds for the rest of her life. When they reached the landing, the young man paused and she tried to catch her breath. She managed a “Whaaa” before he lunged towards a closing door and stepped inside. They were pressed against the wall next to the door. The class was filled with young children learning universal code. Jan swallowed her questions. She had a terrible feeling in her stomach, as if a frog were trying to jump out of it. She pulled towards the door but the young man did not release his grip on her arm. She didn't know what to do. She felt oddly naked without her eyepiece on, and the young man confused her.
She looked up at him. Most startlingly, he had no eye piece. His hair hung very long into his into his eyes at a most inefficient length. There was something silver hanging off his ear. If it weren't for his grip on her arm, she wouldn't have believed him to be real.
He was twitching oddly, cocking his head and moving his shoulders. He seemed to get slightly taller and then strode to the teacher, with Jan helplessly stumbling along behind him. He bowed his head to the teacher, who ignored him, by some miracle.
Jan noticed with horror that he was trying to interrupt her class. She moaned involuntarily at the idea of how deeply her score had sunk by these actions. Jan was surprised to hear the noise come from herself.
She reflected on the actions which could destroy her chances of teaching Ancient English. Her eyepiece broken, the conspiracy boy and the School Coordinator had seen her up on the wall planters, then missing her required class to interrupt a language class for the younger children. She guessed they were level 1 students. The interruption might decrease their scores. Jan was overwhelmed with guilt. Here she was with some conspiracy spy who was probably going to blow up the school or something. It was as if she were in a simulated excursion malfunction somehow. Perhaps it was all a simulation.
The young man coughed and said, with much effort, a greeting in the universal code. Jan realized he had been speaking in Ancient English before.
The teacher was still, remarkably, ignoring him. After a few moments pause, he turned to Jan and asked desperately, “What am I doing incorrectly? I need to get into this class.” Jan wrenched her arm and he let it go with an , “oops”. Jan started at the incoherent expression. She was missing her own class and interrupting another. She felt rising panic and fear. She would never be so disobedient, so stupid. Her small rule-breakings were all pre-planned and harmless. Her score was, generally, left intact or improved. She looked at the young man again. Though he was wearing a jumpsuit, he behaved like a grunting animalistic human of barbaric times. Jan was at once fascinated and disgusted. “What are you?”, she barked. But of course it was obvious. He must be some sort of agent sent to test the effectiveness and order of the school system, Jan thought. She just wanted to hear him admit it to her, as he had included her in his crimes.
The young man's face relaxed and he dropped his shoulders gently. Then he stuck his hand out at Jan. She reached for it, excited to experience the custom. He shook her hand and said in Ancient English, “ Paul. Can you help me get into this class? I need to improve my universal code.” Jan dropped his hand. This couldn't be a simulation. Her worried flared again about her Score and propriety.
Paul touched her shoulder and said, “Umm.” She figured that anyone who could cause so much destruction must be some sort of agent. The confusion and asking for help must all be an act to gain her assistance. But Jan wasn't so easily taken in as that. He smiled and she squinted her eyes in distaste. Jan whispered,“I'll help you do whatever secret mission you have to do, but only if you answer my questions. I don't have much to loose, thanks to you, but I'll make you pay for that later.”
She glared at him and looked at his jumpsuit to see any bulges for bombs or remote controls or something. His inability to speak universal code fluently must be a guise to gain her sympathy and trust. He had appeared without notice or ceremony. He had been talking to a government official, who had come incognito on a barge, instead of government issue speeders. Jan mulled this over as she critically analyzed the young man. Her attention was briefly caught up on the long hair and oddly balanced look of an eyepiece- free face. The bit of silver in his ear must be some sort of communicator or data-file. Immediate danger, in a classroom of small children, would not come from a data file.
Jan looked for a detonator or container of some kind hiding in the folds of his jumpsuit. She did notice a bulge, but it seemed to be the natural kind. Her face flushed briefly, which startled her, but she tried to appear intimidating. Jan remembered the actions of aggression which she had seen in old movies. She tried to imitate the action and clenched her fists and growled. The young man stepped back in surprise. Jan was thrilled as if she had gotten a bonus score. It had worked. She was triumphant for a very short time, however, because he had tripped as he stepped back and consequently fell into the teacher.
Jan gasped as she realized she would surely be incinerated for aiding the crazy and somewhat incompetent spy. Her dreams of teaching ancient cultures disappeared in the crash of the two people falling over.
Paul apologized and helped the teacher up, who seemed to be broken. She gusted out short yelps of laughter. She became severe upon standing up and stood directly in front of him, about a foot away. She didn't try to talk to him, but mimed instead. Her message was very clear. Paul giggled nervously and timidly backed into a chair at which the teacher was pointing. There was a cubicle station with a screen. He could only see the teacher if he stretched his neck, and it was impossible to see other students when sitting down.
The teacher stood waiting. Jan stepped into position for communication. The teacher leaned in a bit and noticed that Jan's eyepiece was missing. She straightened her uniform and took a deep breath. “ JAN0314772 is assigned to assist DGW3837280 re-assimilate and adjust. Returned from illness-leave. Increase his score to acceptable level in 100 days. JAN0314772 must repair eyepiece and acquire DGW3837280 eyepiece at earliest opportunity. All relevant information is accessible on eyepiece unit.” The teacher pointed to where Paul had sat. He was trying to disturb the student seated next to him. Jan walked over briskly, aware that the teacher would be recording their actions on a manual system to be scored at the end of the day. She was thinking that it could be possible that he had tricked the information on the regional database somehow. She could play along with his ploy for now and figure out his plan. She stood behind Paul and looked incredulously at his attempts to comprehend the system. It didn't seem to be an act. Jan figured she could manipulate his weakness in Universal code to her advantage, once she discovered his plan.
Paul reached back and touched her arm. “hey”, he said. Jan twitched at the touch and maneuvered herself so her face was directly in front of his. His half turned sitting position seemed to discomfort her. Paul gulped and raised his eyebrows then pointed to the screen. Jan looked at the test sheet. “What?” she asked. Paul ducked his head and tried to figure out the technology, remembering that children could use it. He wished for pencils under his breath.
Foreign script and a great deal of numbers crowed the screen. A larger, brightly colored font was in the center. Paul noticed a glass and metal straw by his screen and picked it up. It changed from purple to green when his hand touched it. He held it over the center font and peered nervously over his cubicle at the teacher, who had recommenced chattering to the class in a language he didn't fully comprehend. There were a few words and phrases he had learned and he had taken classes in universal code, but immersion was quite a different matter.
Unsure, he rolled the stick between his fingers impatiently. His screen flashed and moved to a new image, with phrases. Some bits looked familiar. His reading comprehension had been much better than listening. He glanced over at the girl he'd found in the bushes. She regarded him stoically. He turned and tried to smile, holding up the glass straw and shrugging his shoulders. The tool clicked by slight pressure from his grip. He repeated this a few times and noticed an expression of rising horror on the girl's face. He paused and glanced around. Nothing. Jan grabbed his head and pointed it towards the screen. He didn't understand. She put her hand on his face and pushed the hair above his eyes. A line of numbers was whirring in the center of the screen and a row of phrases traced in red glowed menacingly.
Paul figured he had clicked on some wrong answers. He thought it was a bit weird the girl had seemed so horrified. He leaned in to the screen and tried to remember what some of the words meant, so he could accurately answer the next question. He was about to click his tool when he felt his head jerked back. Jan positioned him to look at the ceiling, where his screen was displayed. The tool moved a green dot around the image. Jan took the tool from him and pushed him aside to type something on the screen. She placed his hands on the screen. He glanced down and she jerked his head upwards again. Paul grunted in frustration. “Look”, he whispered, “ I don't know this keyboard by memory, alright?” Jan found herself shaking her head. She really didn't understand. He must be the worst spy in modern history.
She assisted him with the very basics of universal code, explaining things as best she could in Ancient English. He knew some of the code already, a mix of the Ghoster language and calculus. Ghosters were extraterrestrials who had invaded the planet with unprecedented ease, on account of their imperceptibility to human eyes. It took some time working behind the scenes as “Ghosts” who guided key human officials and inventors before they were recognized as a powerful mass of intelligent, and difficult to perceive, entities. The population guided humans to develop many technologies for communication and improved efficiency. Relations were peaceful and the Ghosters discovered an ether-dense planet to which many migrated to in order to colonize.
The class ended before the Paul finished his lesson, and he was frustrated to see the screen go black as the door clicked open. The teacher approached and stood to his left. Jan prodded him to stand up and turned him to face the teacher appropriately. He stood and bowed his head. “I am sorry,” he said in Ancient English “ repeat?” he asked in universal code. The teacher tilted her head quizzically. She moved what looked like a black stone above his screen. She spoke in the universal code, “This has recorded DGW3837280's score for this class. DGW3837280 must improve 85% to meet the class standard. I am deducting 55 points for DGW38372800's misbehavior earlier. Additional work will be transmitted through home screen when DGW3837280 is assigned living quarters. DGW3837280 needs to get an eyepiece.” She turned to Jan and bowed her head slightly. Jan did the same.
Chapter 3
Paul picked up the duffel he had left just inside the door. Jan hadn't noticed it. As the children filed out, the whispered excited to each other and glanced nervously over their shoulders to look at Paul and Jan, who obviously didn't belong in their class. As he exited the classroom, Paul took the lead, and grabbed Jan's hand again so she was dragged behind. They settled on a bench in one of the lower courtyards. He seemed to know the layout of the school well enough, even if he couldn't get through a basic language lesson on his own.
Jan remained silent and stoic. “Look”, he said, “ What is your name? The School Coordinator said some goobledeegook but I bet you have a real name. I mean, you seem like the only person here with any humanity left”. Jan considered her strategy. It would be a good idea to pretend to play into his hands so he trusted her with details of his overall scheme. But she figured it would seem odd if she suddenly changed her mood. She asked her own question to fill the silence and give her time to think. “Why did so many people use 'Look' as an introductory clause. What does it mean? I'm not sure at what you wish me to look or why it would help me better understand your request.” Paul laughed. “ I am so relieved that you speak English. I thought you were mute for a bit there. Look, is there any food?” He glanced around. Students had abandoned the courtyard. He smelled something smoky on the air flowing down one of the halls. “Like that” he said, and tried to stand to pursue the scent. Jan tugged him back to the seat with surprising force. “you did not answer the question” she said warningly. Paul rolled his eyes and pattered on hurriedly, “Its just a turn of phrase, a synonym for examine. 'Seeing things my way' like. Sight was identified with reason and truth when people needed their eyes to prove something, and it just stuck.” He managed to escape Jan's grip but cautiously remained seated. . “You were supposed to be giving me lessons, though”, he said.
Jan reached up to her temple to save to file a video of the agent to be analyzed later. But her fingers brushed the dial button on her temple to no avail. There was no image on her screen. She was reminded again of how she nor the young man sitting next to her had eyepieces on. He didn't even have a mount on his temple. Jan felt like she was in a movie. Rather, like a character from a movie was trying and failing to adjust to her boring, regulated life.
Jan was still confused and felt exhausted by what had happened in the last few hours. Perhaps she had gone mad and her small deviations had taken over and produced an hallucination, a figment of her crazed imagination. She reached out to touch his arm. He was there. Or maybe she only thought he was there. She had an idea. If he was a dream, she might as well be enjoying it. She had shaken hands, why shouldn't she try to copy other customs from historical movies before she woke up? Jan leaned up close to his face quickly and pressed her lips against his. He jerked back and nearly fell off the bench. “Ah,” He squeaked and regained composure, “Nice to -ahem- to meet you too, but ...ah..name?” Jan turned away and brought up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, thinking. If she were crazy, her brain was tricking her into believing that this guy was real. So Jan returned to her theories of why he was at her school.
Jan decided it was time to ask some questions. She wanted to get past the charade and down to the details of his plan. “The teacher said that your name is DGW3837280.” He sighed, exasperated, “Well that isn't much of a name, is it? My real name, my... what do you people call it? My Ancient English name, is Paul. I'm sure you have one too.” He added hopefully. Jan watched him carefully. His mouth pulled up at the corners. For some reason it relaxed her and she echoed his expression. Jan waited. “Look,” Paul said after a while, “ If we are going to be working together, I need something to call you. Something normal, not your weird-ass code thing.” Jan blinked her eye in irritation. She regretted not being able to record his manner of speaking. She stood and warily extended her hand, “ you may call me Jan” she said.
Paul sighed and hopped up to stand beside her. “Well now Jan, that wasn't too hard was it? I'm glad we've been introduced. It seems we both need eyepieces. Oh. And lunch. I think that is much more essential. Where can we get some sandwiches or something?” Jan was perplexed. “Lunch is at 1200 hours” she said. Paul ducked his head and leaned forward, “Yeah. So?” Jan laughed, because she didn't really understand what he was trying to say but she did not want to show an actual weakness. “We cannot eat lunch food unless it is time for lunch break.” Paul just laughed. “Why not? Zombies gonna get us?”he responded. Jan scrunched her eyebrows, trying to understand. Paul seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of words, which he strung along a melodic and rhythmic pattern which was quite entrancing.
“Why can't you eat now? Has your mouth stopped working?” he asked. Jan smiled slightly. “No” Jan answered. “Well,” Paul continued, “Is the food locked up so we can't get it until lunch time?” “No,” Jan responded. She started thinking about it. “I suppose,” she said, “well, I suppose with an old definition of 'lunch' the vague and imperfect kind, it just means a midday meal. I suppose one could bend the interpretation of midday and have lunch at almost any time.” Paul tapped his feet on the ground, “Riiight” he agreed. “And with our eye pieces broken, we don't know the precise time, so...” his tone ended in a long upturn. It was as if he was waiting for Jan to catch up with his line of thinking. He obviously applied to some system of values more relative to ancient cultures than the efficient and strict regulations of the one he was trying to demolish. Jan would have to play along and let him think he was in control until she could gain an advantage. After a brief pause, to make Paul think she was a bit slow, Jan said, “We could have lunch right now!” Paul jumped up happily and raised his hand in front of Jan, “High Five!” he said. Jan bit her lip and lifted a trembling hand. She moved it into a high five and repeated the gesture a few times. Both of them laughed. Jan didn't particularly mind pretending to follow his lead.
Paul started walking and Jan followed. “So,” he asked, “Where does one find some food around here?” Jan stopped. Paul realized she wasn't following him and turned to face her. Jan bowed slightly to initiate conversation, though he was some feet away, “Paul, you must have an eyepiece. It is too irregular to be without one”. Jan thought that if he wanted any chance at succeeding in bringing destruction, he would have to blend in. “After lunch” he interjected. Jan frowned. “Just because we can eat lunch now does not mean that we should. Prioritize and improve efficiency. Scores increase by .34 percent when one consumes the regulated nutrition at the appropriate time.” Paul's face dropped. “you sounded a bit like a robot there with 'prioritize and improve efficiency'. I almost forgot I was marooned in this crazy place for a moment. What if,” he said, pacing, “ What if I don't want to get an eye piece? What if I want to eat lunch now because I am hungry now? Who gives a flip about scores?” He yelled hideously in frustration and pounded his fist into a wall. Jan was surprised by his anger. She walked down the path towards the tram station. There was an eyepiece repair staition on campus, but to get a new lens for Paul, they would need to go to a manufacturer's laboratory. Jan figured he would follow her. If he wanted to communicate with anyone, he'd have to get her help. She even had trouble understanding his way of talking and she was the best student of Ancient English. Jan hoped he would realize that. If he decided to wreak more havoc, at least she would no longer be involved.
Paul punched his fist into his knee. Why did he ever think he wanted this? He wanted to be part of the larger world, the modern world, but it was filled with people who didn't know how to be people. If others were as machine-minded as Jan he was sure he'd go mad. Perhaps take her idea of blowing up the school. Well, he thought, at least that is a similarity between 'them' and 'us'. Paul wasn't sure where he stood between those two categories. He hadn't been completely exiled from the commune. Paul shook himself. It hasn't even been a full day, he thought. His stomach grumbled again and he remembered the last time he ate, which only made him more hungry and homesick. He had no choice. He'd have to stay here for at least 125 days, he might as well try to make the best of it so he'd have stories to bring back.
Paul jogged after Jan and looked for her on the walkways. He had studied a few 3-D maps before coming, but he didn't know much about the customs or daily practices of the people here, like where they distributed food and how one was to acquire it. Paul growled at the thought that he didn't have any money. He almost regretted having grown up in the commune rather than the standard city sections of the planet. But he was glad to have his humanity. He thought of Jan's wooden expressions and shivered to think of growing up like that. He looked around but he couldn't see her and didn't know where she was going. He even peeped in some of the wall planters on the off chance that she hid in them regularly.
Jan turned back and walked quickly. She wondered if he'd make a battle cry, or kill someone. She thought of historical reports which speculated raging hormones and testosterone imbalances as reason for emotional misbehaviors. Back when people still believed in medicine and psychology. It was very difficult to find historical records of these mythic-based practices. The new order had removed them to prevent confusion in modern times. Jan was excited by the amount of emotion he displayed. She was amused by his obsession with lunch. Whatever he was, dream or agent, she would learn more about him when she could repair her eyepiece and access the information the teacher had said had been sent to her.
Paul was glad that the hallways were relatively free of people. Everyone had the same jumpsuits and haircuts. He wondered if he'd even be able to recognize Jan if he found her. They both heard each other's footsteps at the same time. Paul waved and smiled sheepishly. Jan laughed at the incongruity. Such an ancient gesture was out of place in a jump-suited student on her school campus. She approached and guided him to the tram station.
No comments:
Post a Comment