Unison (The Spheral) (2 page)

First came recognition, then dread as I remembered I lay on a hospital bed, held captive by a body that imprisoned me. I heard female voices from the outside world talking about their lunch plans.
I want to die! Please, let me die!
If my thoughts were audible, they would’ve been loud enough to shatter the dome. I tried to return to the paradise I created, but the darkness pursued. I begged, prayed, and pleaded until the tiniest speck of light materialized in front of me. It glimmered for several seconds before exploding and bathing me in a warm stream of light. As I was ready to surrender my life to the light, a low pitch began to drone, and the blackness returned. “No, I don’t want to stay! Please take me with you!”

I turned to see what was making the droning sound. It was an incubation tank with a baby floating in liquid white light that reflected the colors of the rainbow. I pressed the palms of my hands against the glass and felt a warm vibration. My whole body resonated with the tank like a tuning fork. More notes rang out, delivering the most brilliant chord I ever heard and still haven’t been able to identify to this day.

A female voice called from behind me, “Six begin, Six alone, Six unite.”

I turned to face a woman with light brown skin and large dark eyes. Her black hair cascaded down past her elbows, unbound by the regulation braids of Unitian women. “You cannot keep ignoring me,” she said. “You must remember.”

Such a beautiful creature didn’t exist in Unity, and I couldn’t help but stare at her with my mouth wide open. When I finally found the courage to respond, a baby’s cries awakened me. In the hall, one of the holomonitors at the Overmaiden’s station displayed a crying baby being removed from its incubation tank. I struggled to sit up, and when I attempted to stand, I collapsed. An Overmaiden hurried into the room and helped me back to my bed. I slept until a familiar voice jolted me from out of my slumber. I opened my eyes and faced the doctor who told the Overmaiden I wouldn’t last past the week. When I asked him about his comment, something in his expression kept me from revealing more because I shouldn’t have heard anything; my brain barely showed any sign of neural activity. Not wanting anything to get in the way of my camping expedition, I lied and told the doctor I didn’t remember anything else. He released me three days later, and I returned to my ordinary life in my ordinary world. Because I almost died, Headmaster waived my reprimand for breaking curfew and sneaking into the athletic center, but I was no longer permitted to contact Wade.

When I arrived at the access, the children were all neatly lined up in their camouflage jumpsuits.

Wade waved me to the front of the line. “Why didn’t you call me? No one would tell me what happened to you.”

“I’m not allowed to talk to you anymore.”

“Why?”

“Headmaster thinks I’m a bad influence on you.”

“Going to the center was my idea. I told him that.”

“He doesn’t care about the truth. Only rank matters to him and his army of purple zombies.”

“Maybe Master Franklin forgot to tell Headmaster. I’ll go ask—”

“After we get back. I don’t want to give him a reason to leave me behind.”

Wade nodded. “I hate all these rules.”

“Me too.” I glanced at Master Franklin, who was busy talking with the gate guard. “I better get in formation before—”

Master Franklin spotted me and crossed his arms.

“That old purple zombie must have his eyes sewed on to the back of his head,” I said with clenched teeth.

“Let me handle this,” Wade said as Master Franklin approached us.

We bowed and gave him our best rehearsed smiles.

“Welcome back, Damon,” he said. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you, Master Franklin,” I said.

The guard opened the access door, and the kids rhapsodized about all the activities Master Franklin had planned for them.

“I need you to step away from the line,” he said to me.

“It’s not his fault. I called him over,” Wade said.

“I know, Apprentice Wade. You’re not as clever as you think.” Master Franklin looked at me. “I’m sorry, Damon, you won’t be joining us on this trip out.”

“Why? I’m all better.”

“I know…but I wasn’t told about your discharge. I gave your pass to Apprentice Simon.”

“But I’m here now.”

“So is Apprentice Simon, and he outranks you.”

“Can I go on the next expedition?”

“You’re free to sign up for the lottery again.”

“What’s the point in signing up again if winning doesn’t mean I get to go?”

“Return to the dorm…before you say something that will lead you to another reprimand.”

“I don’t care about rank!” My implant released an electrifying jolt of pain to my head, but my rage was stronger. “I won the lottery! I was supposed to go!”

The color emptied from Master Franklin’s face, and his eyes remained fixed and open.

“Master Franklin?”

He didn’t respond, and I feared my outburst gave him a heart attack that killed him right where he stood.

“Master Franklin!”

He clutched his forehead and then looked at me as though relieved. “You’re okay.”

“No, he’s not.” Wade said.

“How many times must I tell you not to speak out without permission?” Master Franklin said.

“Damon told me he hasn’t been feeling well all this week.”

Master Franklin faced me. “Is that true?”

“Yes, Master Franklin,” I replied.

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

While I was sweating over my response, Wade delivered it for me.

“He told me he had a lot of homework to catch up on and that he wanted to show you how he’s now taking his schoolwork seriously.” If there was a class for the art of manipulation, Wade would’ve easily scored above all Unitian children.

“That’s very honorable,” Master Franklin said to me. “But you also need to focus on your recovery. Without good health, you cannot move ahead.”

Wade smirked at me as Master Franklin lifted his arm and stared into the optic of his holologue. “I’m leaving a message with Headmaster to confine you to the dorm grounds and relieve you of your cleanup duties for the remainder of the week.”

Wade returned to his place in line and gave me the thumbs up. Having a friend in the master’s apprentice rank was beneficial, but I had to return to my dorm, stay there for the rest of the week, and do my homework. Summer was ruined. That seemed worse than a reprimand.

Anticipating my boredom, I headed to an essential shop to buy some game privileges for my holologue. When I arrived, I stopped to peer into the display window, and my eyes immediately focused on a violin. I was pulled into a vision in which I was performing in a theater filled with purple sleeves. I made a mistake during a run of sixteenth notes and ran off stage crying. The vision was so real, I was crying when I came out of it. I entered the store and spent all my remaining credits on the violin because I didn’t like failing, even in a vision.

The violin became my constant companion and kept me from missing Wade. When I first held it in my hand I instinctively knew how to hold the bow and position my chin on the rest. My bowing technique came with little effort, and I mastered all the major and minor scales within twelve weeks. I was also able to tune the strings without the aid of a tuner. Music wasn’t my only area of improvement. Math and science, which I used to find difficult, now flowed as smoothly as my bow against the strings. Complex formulas were answered instantly in my visions that appeared as clear as projections in a holologue. When I began my next level in school, I tested ahead of everyone in my class. My grades even surpassed those in the highest level of the master’s apprentice school.

Master Franklin believed I was cheating, and his inference was justified. From the moment we’re placed in the tanks we’re programmed to serve a specific purpose, and I exceeded mine. Headmaster feared a mistake was made before I was upgraded to the incubation tank. I was admitted to the hospital where I was studied by neurologists, genetic programmers, and psychological engineers. When all their tests failed to explain my fortuitous condition, I was considered an anomaly and released.

I thought my academic evolution would’ve led to an automatic transfer to the master’s apprentice school. When no offer was made, I went to Headmaster’s office and asked why.

“I want a bigger challenge, so I can show the Overseer how much more I can do.”

“You’re not challenged now?” Headmaster asked while twirling his thumbs on his desk. The rest of his body was stiff, and I almost laughed when I envisioned him as a music stand. “Yes…but I can handle more.”

“If that’s true, you’re not putting in your best effort. The Overseer chose your genetic profile to serve a specific purpose. Are you placing yourself above the Prime Wisdom?”

I addressed my response to his gyrating thumbs. “No, Headmaster.”

He removed his hands from the desk and peered at me. “Do you understand why I must deny your request for transfer?”

I was about to tell Headmaster I lied and that I wasn’t challenged, but his icy expression froze my tongue solid. “Yes, Headmaster.”

“In the future, I’d appreciate if you take some time to think before launching a formal request. Complaining about your position shows a lack of gratitude. You must respect the Overseer and Prime Wisdom if you wish to earn the respect of your mentors.”

I left believing I’d never move beyond a green sleeve. To be given these talents and then be denied the freedom to use them seemed more like a punishment than gift. When I returned to my dorm, I took the lift to the roof and hopped onto the ledge. Between the dome above and the ground below, I felt crushed and started to hyperventilate. There was only one way to escape my prison. I closed my eyes and returned to the model world I created while I was in a coma. I spread out my metallic wings and as I was about to fly away, I heard a female voice call out, “Six begin, Six alone, Six unite.”

I turned and faced the woman from my vision. Startled by both the vision and what I was about to do, I ran back to my room. After the shock wore off, I cried over my lack of courage to fly.

THIRTY-TWO REPRIMANDS

M
aster Franklin called me to his office to talk. I entered and bowed to him, not caring why he summoned me. If it was for a reprimand, I’d have to remain at my current level for another year. I didn’t care about that either.

“How have you been feeling, Damon?”

The question, and the sincerity on his face while he asked it, surprised me. I answered him by crying.

“Tell me what happened?”

Master Franklin listened to me, without interrupting, as I told him about my meeting with Headmaster and how my request for transfer was denied. He then asked me something unexpected.

“Can you play me something on your violin?”

“When?”

He eyed my violin case, which I carried with me everywhere. “Now seems like a good time.”

I played the Unitian Anthem, and after I finished Master Franklin became my greatest ally. He plotted to have Headmaster’s decision overturned through my musical ability and asked his colleague, Master Theodore, to privately instruct me on violin. When he refused to listen to me because of my genetic profile, Master Franklin concocted a cunning plan to have me heard. He hid me in a closet during his weekly game of cribbage with Master Theodore. After what seemed like a whole day had passed, Master Theodore finally won a hand and laughed out triumphantly. I quickly rosined my bow in anticipation.