Amalie Naska, 18 years old, overpopulation era, Toruń
{MMM} As always, I can’t help but purr at the artificial smell of freshly ground coffee beans and hot chocolate. I smile involuntarily before I realize that it is 7:00 AM and in an hour I start the first day of my test. I remove the scented alarm clock from my nose and put it in the decontamination box. This is the best thing I got as a gift. [EHH] And today I have to prove myself.
“Reveal and tilt,” I say lazily, and the obedient system shows me a yellowish mist crawling on the dome of Toruń outside my window.
I wash my face and untie the bun from the top of my head, and my blonde curls run down like a waterfall, stopping at the waist. I’m putting on a tight, black, Slayer T-Shirt and matching gray jeans with large thigh pockets. The bumbag will go great with cargo pants, and this day will be a real battle for me. I have to be ready for anything. I look at my complexion and apply delicate nude makeup. I eat baked leaves of hundreadleaf with spinach paste and drink coffee. My mother obtained these grains especially for my testing days. [YUM] Eventually, more than just a smell! I brush my teeth and look in the mirror one last time.
“Face the slayer!” I speak to my own reflection, stick out the tongue and show the sign of the horns.
Nothing motivates me to fight for my own as much as metal.
Song author: Slayer
Face the slayer:
(…)
I am alive, you can’t kill me It’s not a fight to death
I will survive eternity I’ll live life to the full
(…)
You are running through the endless maze In my head
(You) Turn and I’ll be there I’m always there
A force too strong for you to fight I’m not giving up to stress
You think you can destroy (me)? You’d better think again I am like the Angel of Death
(…)
I put on a leather bolero, a signet ring with a tiger, and walk confidently out to an uncertain day.
I stand in front of the Office for Human Phantoms and look up to look at the domes of the laboratory protruding from the gray envelope of the official facade. The science lab sits like a little matryoshka in a large government parent institution. The entire structure is surrounded by a transparent barrier reaching up to two meters with visible electric wires inside, forming golden branches, like small lightning trapped in glass. It’s better not to touch it. I look around nervously and I already see Useless looking at me as at breakfast.
“Look at the yellow scanner,” I can hear the command given in a military tone.
I obediently turn my eyes to the device, which after a while makes an accepting sound. The robot, that I thought was a post so far, comes to life and opens the gate for me, much to my dismay. As soon as I cross the crystal barrier line, the gate is locked behind me with a loud click. [UH] A terrifying creature, where’s some good morning?
“Good morning?” I say cautiously instead, uncertainly entering the office.
“Here pleazzzz,” I hear the answer from the window on my left. “Signature, pleazzz. Walk straight and pick the last door to the left.”
I follow the instructions, and behind the door I suddenly walk into a completely different world. I leave a soulless office filled with concrete and plastic plants and squint my eyes against a sudden attack of whiteness. A young woman in a white ankle-length garment runs over to me, revealing cream, latex five-toes shoes. Apparently they are very healthy for feet, but somehow weird. [HAHA]
“Hello Mrs. Amalie, we have already prepared a room for you today. Follow me, please.”
The woman smiles pleasantly at me and grabs my arm encouragingly. Strange… such a sudden change in attitude. I don’t trust such nice people, but I try not to show it. We go through a bright corridor that brings to mind a luxurious but strangely sterile hotel. On the walls behind round glasses hang paintings, showing some incomprehensible shapes. I bet this is a view from under the microscope. I also see diplomas and photos of joyful people, all in glass dots on the walls.
“I hope you’re not nervous. The first day of the usefulness test checks your emotional intelligence. They always give cool tasks for this test day,” the guide winks at me.
“A little bit. Will anyone be guarding my body?”
“Of course, Mrs. Amalie! The whole object and every nook and cranny of it is constantly monitored by an enormous staff of people, and we put a bodyguard next to each body until it wakes up. We never lack employees.”
That wink again… Does this woman have a tick or is she just hiding something from me? The room she led me into is tiny. It only houses a gel bed and a treatment apparatus enclosed in a glass semicircle on the wall. I feel a pleasant warmth and a fresh scent of aloe.
“Lie down, the bed is extremely comfortable and the gel is sterile.”
“Should I take my shoes off?”
“It’s better to run around the city in shoes than barefoot, don’t you think? Besides, it’s not fresh linen, but an antibacterial gel.” The woman is sending me a suspicious smile.
“Okay, where’s the bodyguard?”
“Behind the glass, honey. This room will be closed during the test. Now make yourself comfortable.” The woman puts colored stickers on my body. One lands on the forehead and one on each palm. “The forehead sticker is a phantomizer that will make your soul a human phantom. The ones on the hands will monitor the physical condition of the body. Now the less pleasant part. I have to plug in the liveler. It will only hurt a little bit. It will provide you with nutrients and hydrate the body.”
With an electrifying pain that I feel all over my body, I give in to an unconditional, powerful impulse. Suddenly I stop feeling anything and see the strangest view on Earth right in front of me. I look at myself lying on a gel bed with my eyes closed and a small device attached to my heart. [UHH] This has already happened. I am a phantom! I look at my hands. I check if I have a complete body by looking around it and touching.
“Relax, Mrs. Amalie. Everything is fine, the operation was successful. You can talk, walk and do everything you usually do, detached from your physical needs.”
“How is it possible”-I come closer to bed-“my body is there!” I point to the inert genetic material I had just used. “And it doesn’t move its mouth!”
“But your stress still affects your physical condition. Your heart is just galloping like mechanical horses under the hood of a speeding car. This is not healthy, but the liveler will alleviate the symptoms of soul stress so that it does not damage the body.”
A woman approaches me in attempt to drive me away from looking at myself. It is such a strange feeling that I can’t stop. I compare my current hand with the one on the bed and see that they are the same, only the one I can move is like a light reflection. Moving it, I no longer feel the cooperation of muscles, bones and tendons. Movement is smoother and lighter. A woman in strange shoes wraps her arm around me and leads me towards the door. I feel her touch normally, as if nothing has changed. I am surprised to see myself in the mirror and a brighter wave of light runs through my phantom self.
“Stress, surprise, pain and effort will manifest itself in such flashing. Thanks to this, it is easy to know the feelings and impressions of the candidate, because the reactions can no longer be hidden by the body.”
[WOW] Compared to this woman, my features are so smooth and my silhouette is luminous. As if I were a deity. [HAHA]
“It’s time.”
“Well, I’m ready.”
I leave my body, lying calmly on the gel bed, trusting that an invisible bodyguard will look after it for me. The woman directs me to the exit from the laboratory, which is on the opposite side of the building, to the entrance.
“On your right wrist instead of a phone is a map of tasks prepared by the Polish State for the citizen’s usefulness test. You have destinations pointed there that you must visit today. After reaching the appropriate location, a task will be displayed and you must complete it within a given time. When the time is up, you will be prompted to proceed to the next task. As I mentioned, your emotional intelligence is being tested today. The government has prepared several tasks to test it, but any Useless Citizen can contribute his task to his own purpose. I must inform you that these citizens get points for obstructing the test day and these points are converted into money. The same citizen can only make one attempt and please remember that as a phantom we feel pain, but no one can physically damage our body through hurting phantom. At the end of each day of the test, you will write a report on the events and your thoughts on them, so please remember your own reactions. I will present the exact method of submitting the report when you return in the evening because you will do it after recovering the body.”
Task 1. Organizing a trip with the family.
The map that just appeared on the inside of my forearm, leads me to the Piernikowe District. At 52/255 Goździkowa Street a family is waiting for me. A countdown timer is displayed in the upper right corner of the message, from which precious seconds are already elapsing. I feel a tingling sensation in my stomach. I am always stressed when I see the passage of time. I take a deep inhale and exhale. I can’t stress all day because I won’t survive these tests. Anyway, a task? This is a pleasure! Maybe thanks to it I will create a nice holiday plan for myself.
I sit cross-legged on a block drone, which takes me to the sixty-fourth floor. In the elevator shaft I pass dozens of people flying up and down like a colony of buzzing wasps. Each of them has a different technique, some are sitting, waving their legs and looking down, others are standing straight as poles, settling matters over the phone in the meantime. Children like to lie down on the drone head down, hanging limp and free with all limbs. Their favorite fun is to stop a few centimeters from the ground at the end of the journey down. Every now and then I hear their loud laughter. It’s good that when you sit on this flying device, you get shocked by the delicate omega radiation that keeps you in place. Otherwise this shaft would turn into a blood-red hell, like from the cover of Slayer’s Hell awaits.
I’m going down from the drone straight to the open door of the apartment 255.
“Hi”-the tall man reaches his hand out to me-“I’m Artur. You must be Amalie Naska, right?”
“Yes, hello.” I shake his hand.
“This is my wife Kamila,” he introduces a beautiful brunette with large black eyes and dark complexion, and we shake hands in a friendly gesture.
“Hi Amalie, I’m very happy to be part of your test today. Our Karolek still has a lot of time until this day, but we hope to learn more about emotional intelligence through this event. We want to be prepared as best we can when his day comes. He has already passed the child’s intelligence test, his IQ is at a very high level but we know that this does not guarantee life success in these difficult times,” she floods me with a stream of polite welcoming speech, then turns and heads towards the living room.
I see a boy playing with blocks on a fluffy rug with a colorful, checkered pattern.
“Karol, come and say hello to Amalie. We will organize holidays together.”
“But Mom”-the boy gets up and runs to Kamila, clinging to her like a little monkey-“I’m building a spaceship!”
“Amalie will show you a real voyager ship, which we will take us to another dome!”
“Really?” The boy pays all his attention to me, staring with the big eyes he inherited from his mother. “I love ships!” he screams in my face. “Let’s go to work, compatriots!” Eight-year-old with crazy movements and screaming runs up to the computer.
“He heard this text in a fairy tale,” says Arthur, explaining his son with an indulgent smile.
“I have two hours to finish the task,” I say timidly, glancing at the deadline on my hand.
Kamila and Artur exchange suspicious looks.
“How do you like being a phantom?” the woman asks very kindly.
The man, however, does not let me answear, “I had a difficult test experience, I felt like on the battlefield!”
“Yes, yes, dad! Tell me again how you fought the Useless army!” The boy enchanted by the colorful screen comes to live again.
My nervousness begins to take on a reddish aura of rage. I recall sharp guitar riffs to calm down. The child begins to hit the table with his fists, pretending to be a drummer.
“I would love to hear this story”-I speak loudly enough to break through Karol’s noise and I put my hands on his shoulder-“but perhaps another time. Now we have to get to work because we have little time left.”
Seeing Karol’s sad eyes, I add, “We have to catch this voyager ship! Come Karol, we will start looking for a suitable flight.”
Surprisingly, the young listens to me and sits down politely in front of the computer.
“In that case”-says Arthur, looking at his wife and then at me-“we’ll prepare a list of hotel requirements.”
“Do you prefer live images of still life, or rather new technologies?” I ask, choosing the two most common travel themes.
“This time we want to show the young something that will develop his natural intelligence.”
“Sure thing.”
This is something for me. I was planning a trip to the African dome in Poznań myself. I will quickly find a ship and write a list of attractions. I go to the page of national voyagers and play a movie showing the inside of the ship, describing its operation for the boy. Karol follows the action on the screen with fascination, drooling his index finger. I’m going to Artur to obtain more data.
“The list is under preparation, Amalie,” Kamila says flatly.
I am calmly getting other information I need regarding the date of departure, available financial resources and the length of planned vacation. I let the young choose seats on the ship and book a convenient flight. I go to the Africarium site, which covers the entire southern part of the city. Before the rivers were poisoned, the Poznań dome and the African dome formed one city. Now, both domes are divided by the poisonous Warta, and Africarium is a way of Poznań’s citizens for business. They placed phantoms of African animals there with a module of wild behavior patterns, of course without aggression towards people, and planted miniatures of plants that once overgrown Africa, on the cotton industrial wool. I have never seen crops of live plants and I’m fascinated by extinct felids, and in Africa there were once a lot of them. I give the ready list and tickets to the newly-met couple, an hour after starting work.
“Okay. I see that you have not forgotten about protective suits and chose Karol a window seat. But how do we get to the departures area?”
“Oh yes, I will add a number to a trusted drone company that will drop you off,” I say apologetically, grinning.
Artur reads a list of attractions:
“Laboratory savanna,” he pauses and looks at me expectantly.
“It’s a very large area looking almost natural. Miniatures of real plants are planted there, although there were not too many of them in the savannah, they are apparently impressive.”
“Pixel waterhole for elephants.”
“Water is digital there and pixel squares are visible. Apparently it has a beautiful, azure color.”
“Wildebeest migration.”
“They were ungulates that traversed Africa in search for water, which in these dry areas was the guardian of life.”
“Hippo bath in the mud.”
“These great animals cooled their bodies in the mud and thus formed a protective barrier against the sun.”
“Lion’s family cave.”
“Lions were the only cats living in family prides. They have a phantom male there, five females and nine kittens.”
“Leopard hideout.”
“Leopard was also a big cat, but a loner. It loved to hide in the treetops.”
“Cheetah race.”
“Cheetahs were the fastest land animals in the world. This phantom cheetah shows their sprint technique and beautiful shape.”
“Giraffe’s fight.”
“It’s supposed to be a pretty funny sight, because giraffes had extremely long necks that they used to hit other giraffes during a fight over a female.”
“High jump with the serval.”
“Servals were the best high jumpers among cats and had the most sensitive hearing. Their flexibility certainly can amaze.”
“Hyena’s cabaret.”
“With hyenas Africarium focused on the funny chuckle they made, but their interesting pack behaviors are also shown.”
“A walk with the sand cat.”
“It was a small kitty with large ears, which was adapted to live in constant drought. It didn’t need water to survive.”
“Nap with the caracal.”
“Caracal was a beautiful cat with funny tassels on the ears and an interesting coat color.”
“Meal with the black-footed cat.”
“This kitty was inconspicuous, but it had the best killing efficiency among wild cats. It killed a dozen small animals every night, amazing performance!”
“Lesson of magic with the African golden cat.”
“People believed in its divine powers. Maybe because it changed the fur color from silver to gold?”
“History lesson with the chaus.”
“This cat, in turn, inspired artists to create statues of the goddess of love.”
“Impressing, Amali! Karolek particularly likes hyenas, he likes their laughter. If he puts this on his little shaggy head, he can pretend to be a hyena all day,” says Artur with joy. “You’ve managed to gather an amazing amount of information, I’m really impressed.”
I was able to get a list of hotel requirements. However, I don’t get carried away and I finish the first stage by adding the promised number to a drone company, so not to forget.
I soon relise, however, that the price range is not very realistic in terms of quality, and I have only a quarter of an hour left until the end of time. I quickly negotiate the price and after raising the value to the upper limit of the family’s budget, I manage to complete the task a minute before the end of time. [UFF]
After the nice words of farewell, I give in to the strength of radiation from the block drone and slide down the shaft. Quite a nice family, though they irritated me a little. They probably had it recommended in the task specification. I turn my hand inside out to see what it is displaying now. The next task is in the same district, I will reach my destination on foot.
Task 2. Interview for a Pushover position.
[UHH] Horrible, I hate people applying for this position, and I will have to pretend to be one of them. Who has so much mindless martyrdom to serve people seen as better than themselves? And to be willingly humiliated by them? What a life failures.
The position with the compelling name “the Pushover” was invented by the Useless who wanted to serve the Useful, I read the displayed description.
Contrary to popular belief, such a position was never required by the Useful, and was created at the request of the Useless and in the shape they invented, for their good. Part of the society of people excluded from reproduction, sees in this position their chance to contribute to humanity and is proud of that role. They allow bosses to vent their anger on themselves and they fulfill all their whims, so that they could raise children with love and develop the economy in the most effective way possible.
They behave like blinded, uneducated slaves. Cool, I can pretend to be one of them. I know what this job is about. My interview will start in a quarter, there is a vacancy for the Pushover position in a company manufacturing drones. I wonder if this task is to prepare me for being Useless, or rather motivate me to take a more significant position in society?
The Dronebeast company is several floors high and looks like a large, glass cylinder. Through the glass I can see the backs of people sitting behind the desks, and in front of their monitors there is another layer of glass, behind which drones are flying wildly. Upon entering the main hall, the receptionist greets me and calls the recruiter. I seize the opportunity to look around the company and I am immediately fascinated by the view of drones flying in the glass cylinder behind the glass ceiling. At the entrance of a new person, a demonstration of synchronous flying of billions of tiny prototypes is initiated in a non-random color order. The small devices sparkle and spin in the sky, dance of fabulous engineering.
“Good morning, Mrs. Amalie. My name is Michał Nowojorski.” An elegant man in a suit with a cartoon pattern bows to me. “Please, call me by name.” He invites me with the gesture to the conference room.
I return the greeting and follow the recruiter, wishing I had dressed more properly. [EYY] Come on, Amalie, this is just a test, not a real job interview. I smooth my black T-shirt, which always gives me courage and enter a small room with glass walls. I sit on a chair opposite to Michał and I can’t get rid of the impression that someone locked me in a beer bottle. [HAHA] The guy corrects his red braids and puts a wide smile on his face, which causes his nose to fold up into a bow.
“Can I also call you by your name?”
“Sure,” I reply, feeling relieved of fake respect.
“Okay. You came here today to apply for the Pushover position in Dronebeast,”says Michał, laying down more comfortably in his armchair. “What made you choose our company?” Man with aquiline nose puts his foot on his leg, folds his hands and starts piercing me with black eyes.
“I’ve always wanted to work in a large, innovative company to be part of a modern environment and a helpful cog in a machine developing our economy,” I answer confidently.
“What position did you have before?” Michał squints his eyes suspiciously.
“I was a pushover at a medium-sized footwear company.”
“What kind of experience did you bring out?”
“I was at my boss’s every call. He was obsessed with shoes, so I cleaned and polished them three times a day during his meetings. Of course, he had them on at the time, so I learned many secrets of running a company. In addition, I downloaded Instagram graphics for him, which I uploaded on his smartwatch with an e-ink display. He browsed them while waiting in traffic jams and later used to create designs for e-paper layers of shoes. Of course, I also swept the floor, handed him toilet paper (because he had such a small fetish) and brewed coffee for him. Of course, everything in the right office outfit. I always had high heels and never wore pants.”
“And how did you help your boss deal with his emotions?”
“I allowed him to offend me, showing restraint. I have always reacted calmly with composure, I have a lot of stamina. This is my greatest achievement in life, no insults will make my blood boil, and I’ve heard a lot of them in my life. I believe that thanks to me, my boss’s son was brought up in a healthy environment, free from negative emotions.”
“What about relationships with other employees?”
“I focused very much on all the details of their work, I was very thorough in checking the tasks assigned by the boss. I never had my own ideas and I didn’t let my subordinates have them.”
“So what are your disadvantages?”
“I can’t maintain good relations with Useless Citizens. I openly admit that I have a problem with them and feel a great urge to discriminate them. That’s why I want to change my job to one where I won’t have contact with them. I think that they are not worth my help, but I also do not want to create conflicts in the workplace.”
“Why should we hire you?”
“I am flexible and dedicated to my employer. I will meet his every need. I know my flaws and work on them, I’m not afraid of criticism.”
“What you’re interested in?”
“I’m always interested in what I should be. I let the company profile shape me. The design was quite interesting, I’m willing to open to drones.”
“How many hours a day should a person devote to work?”
“As much as needed. I’ve always stayed as long as my boss in my previous job. I couldn’t leave him without help.”
“Sell me this entertainment drone,” he says, placing a tiny purple flying creature on the table.
“I would ask the boss about his vision of selling first. I would ask the salesman for a list of device specifications and remembered the selection of words used by the copywriter employed in the company. I would talk to the technician who assembled the equipment and only then I could answer this question, combining the informations obtained.”
“Would you prefer to be attacked by one large block drone, or a hundred small entertainment ones?”
“One. Small ones could get caught in my hair”-I stroke my phantom curls-“that would be awful”.
“Oky. I see that you are aware that the position of the Pushover requires sacrifices, you are open and you are not afraid to talk about your flaws. You showed great compliance with the rules, subordination and lack of own initiative required in this job. You have shown self-control and strange questions have not taken you off guard. You would get this job, if it was a real recruitment. I couldn’t detect whether you were lying or not. If you are actually looking for a job, maybe we’ll meet again.”
“Great,”-I rise from my chair clapping my hands in the process-“I’m glad I had the opportunity to look around the Dronebeast. Maybe we’ll meet again, but I hope for a different position. I could show You that I can be creative and know quite a lot about marketing.”
I’m leaving the place light and joyful. This was my first job interview. Although fake I did well. For sure, however, I will never be the Pushover. I like to have my own opinion and interests, but I acted pretty well like a desperate Useless. It’s sick what these people believe. Or maybe they do it only for money, not for beliefs? Or they like to pretend that they live in family districts… that they are Useful… Never mind. Time for the next task.
Task 3. Illegal phantom fights.
Are they crazy? Should I really go to the men’s district to play in the middle of an illegal fight? What am I supposed to do there?! They crossed a line with this task. If I wasn’t a phantom, nobody would let me in there. Well, well! There is even an exact address. So they know where the illegal fights of modified phantoms are organized and the only thing they can think of to remedy this is to send an eighteen-year-old girl there! Unbelievable. With this rage my walk is very fast, so I get to the First Rubinkowo District on foot. The armed security guard at the entrance gate just nods his head and lets me pass. It turns out that the fight takes place just below his feet, in the basement of the first apartment block. Just how do I find a descent? There will be no sign saying: Illegal fights. I have a hint on the map in the form of a symbol. I find the entrance in the elevator shaft, hidden under a crown-shaped hatch.
I can barely lift the hatch, everything here is so crude and angular. I’m going down into the dark, and the metal gate slams over my head. After a few steps I start to notice a soft light and begin to hear voices.
“Siemana, baby,” a young guy, maybe two years older than me, greats me downstairs.
I think he was waiting here for me. Please let it be the right guy and not accidental Useless who wants to gain some money.
“Hi. Do you have a task for me?”
“Yes. Come, you have to talk to the Lord of the underworld.”
“Okay… but, what about?” I say in a slightly shaky voice.
“He has an offer for you.”
I follow my guide to the arena where a big guy with a thick mustache and heavy obesity stands.
“Amalie, isn’t it?” the man says to me, spreading his arms wide, as if he was counting on me to throw myself in his arms. “Our Sunshine! You have fallen from the sky!”
“Do we know each other?”
“You don’t know me”-man put his hands on his heart-“but we know You! Rafał managed to get on the list of guides for test tasks for teens so that I could make you a lucrative offer for both of us, Amalie.” The man uses a tender, fatherly tone, ending with a slightly harsh punch line.
“Is this conversation really my test task? Because I don’t have time to talk otherwise.”
“I see you are a fighter. And smart in addition! Your task is only to look at the fight, but we can just as well talk during the fight.”
“Well, it won’t hurt me,” I say with a shrug.
We sit on chairs in front of the arena and the presenter announces the fight between Mojito and Krypel.
“Mojito is a polar bear phantom led by Eryk Burczewski. Eryk is working on enlarging Mojito to the size of its natural model, which was up to three meters high and 700 kilograms heavy! Wish him failure, because with such sizes, bear would crush every player!”
Not as scary, a half-meter Mojito jumps on the ring, stands on its hind legs and after few seconds, hits his entire phantom body against the ring, then repeats it twice and roars.
“Krypel is a Siberian tiger phantom led by Adam Mord. Adam uses violence against his protege to increase its aggression. He uses its mechanism to protect its owner. This tiger was the largest subspecies of the big striped cats. Its body length was also three meters, but with a tail and these cats reached a weight of up to 300 kg. They were much more athletically built than polar bears. This predator clash will be really interesting! Get your asses ready for a wild ride!”
“Amalie, since the fight has begun, we can finally talk. Aren’t phantoms cool? Maybe you would like to have both a family and such a friend for the rest of your life?”
“Nice idea, but unreal. I don’t have as much money to buy a phantom. Besides, I don’t even know if I will pass the usefulness tests to be allowed a family.”
“I am able to offer you a positive test results in exchange for a small favor. You see, some of my phantoms don’t feel good in the pack. I have a whole bunch of them and I don’t like watching them tease each other. If you took care of one, I’d get you a positive test result.”
“But, how?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, I’ll handle it. You will not be bothered with stupid government tasks. That is agreed. Alejandro!” screams a talkative Mustache Man in an unspecified direction.
“I do not agree!” I explode after a minute of accumulating courage.
“Nonsense, Alejandro is coming here with your new phantom. You will take it home and in the evening you will receive a message about passing all tests.”
There is an uproar when a slightly sluggish bear crushes the tiger to the ground and crushes his insides. I get up stimulated by crowd’s emotional outburst, fueled by my own rage.
“What do you imagine?! I won’t be warmed into some illegal business!”
My courage at this moment dissolves under the strength of the Lord of the underground’s eye and my soft legs begin to carry me towards the exit. Fast. I push the hatch, which now seems lighter than before, and I jump out to the back of the block. [OOPS] Looks like I chose a different hatch.
“Well, you’re here at last my doll! I’ve been rotting here for an hour, the whole fight will pass me by, because of your slowness!” I am surprised by the hoarse voice of a bony guy in the hood, leaning nonchalantly on a large metal trash can.
“Get lost, I’m leaving now,” I say, feeling the black fog of terror overwhelming my phantom self.
You’ll be fine, Amalie. You don’t even have a body, what can he do to you? With these thoughts I try to pass him to get to the main street.
“Attack,” I hear after a moment.
Wait, where’s his phantom? A question runs through my mind, which immediately becomes out-of-date when a lion jumps at me from behind a huge trash can. The big cat knocks me down and bites my leg as if it wanted to bite it off. It can’t succeed, but it doesn’t know it, and the pain is terrible.
“Kitty, leave me alone!” I scream in a hopeless attempt to free myself.
The lion with a stifled snarl begins to bite other parts of my body, looking for a sensitive spot. My hand gets crushed by a large paw equipped with sharp claws and my face is covered with bristles of a thick mane, while the lion applies a final bite to the neck.
Despite the knowledge that my body is safe in the laboratory, I am overcome by a terrible fear of death. After a while, Useless recalls the phantom, which leaves, trampling me along the way. The guy gladly counts the points he just received for slowing me down, and I roll towards the wall to lean back. The pain is beginning to disappear, but fear is giving me physical pain. I don’t have a body that has painful wounds but my soul is terrified.
I’ve always liked wild cats, and those mean people use them as weapons. It’s terrible.
After all, lions were exceptional cats. They were the only ones to form family prides, getting emotionally involved. Females were able to work in full synchronization during hunting, sneaking in the yellow grasses of savanna. The roar of the male patrolling the territory rolled for eight kilometers, and the lush mane gave it royal dignity. The lion was called the king of animals. Male received the best cuts of meat for defending the land and pride members, and did not have to hunt. The lion families loved to laze around and loved the rain that brought relief in the hot African climate. How much would I give to see a live two-hundred-pound lion basking in the sun… Of course from a safe vehicle.
These idiots distort the true image and beauty of these extinct cats. It is so sad. I have to flee from this district before more Useless people gather around me, but somehow my motivation left me.
I would like to have my own phantom. For me, a fawn cheetah with black dots would be perfect. This is the most beautiful animal imaginable. Sporty figure, penetrating gaze… and those young ones looking like punk rockers. [HAHA] The baby cheetahs had such a lovely white mane that stretched from the head to the end of the spine, looking like a large Mohawk. Besides, they were fastest land animals and I love to run along the train tracks myself. It’s my way to relax. Cheetahs could not hide their claws and used them like spikes in sprinter shoes. During the run in two phases they had all the limbs in the air, making very long jumps. They held their head steady, staring at the target, spreading extremely flexible bones. Their tail was like a rudder, huge lungs and long legs ideal for intense but short effort. Delicate loner, making strange bird-like sounds. Maybe their tweet should not be surprising, since the cheetah spent more time in the air, during the sprint, than on the ground?
Task 4. A session with a psychologist.
I raise my hand to say goodbye to the bodyguard, finally leaving the male district with my head raised. A total change of scenery awaits me. I hope it will be more pleasant in the Skarpa District.
From the First Rubinkowo District is quite close to Skarpa. I follow a long straight road towards Supermarket OBI looming on the horizon, filled with the heads of passers-by. I’d rather scuffle on the sidewalk than squeeze in urban transport. When I run along the train tracks, I see these faces pressed into the windows, looking jealously at my freedom. Only along the tracks there is enough space to develop more speed. Sometimes someone yells at me, but I run with loud music in my ears, so I don’t know what they want from me. [HAHA]
Right behind OBI there is the transition to the women’s district. Of course, with the guards at the gate, obviously. It really is different here, especially when I look at phantoms. Women clearly prefer small animals. Bunnies, red pandas and puppies dominate here – how sweet. I hope they don’t force their friends to fight like guys? That would be gruesomely comical. No. I bet all they do is look for colored skins and take millions of selfies a day. [OHH] I roll my eyes. I just realized that I don’t belong in any district. I wonder if the government foresaw this when creating the test?
The session is on the ground floor of a block of flats that is worn away with age.
“Are you going to the psychol?” I am accosted by a short, slightly wrinkled brunette with a black phantom of a domestic cat in her arms.
“Yes,” I answer, studying her poncho and eyes damaged by life.
“So, I’m your guide.”
I follow the Cat Lady to the back of the building and I notice the doctor’s plate at number one. Ok, I would find it myself. The Cat Lady opens the door for me and lets me in first. I walk through the threshold and bump into the closing door when I try to make a sudden retreat. It’s a trap! I hear the woman laughing and the door closing shut. I stand on the edge of the abyss. It looks like a sinkhole inside a building! The ground collapsed, absorbing the floor but leaving the walls standing. [UHH]
After many minutes of panic, common sense begins to reach me. Amali, no one would allow such a building to remain unsecured. Maybe it’s just a visualization? Maybe this Cat Lady is a smart programmer who did not want to have a family? I try groping for the ground under my feet in a place of a visible hole. However, a very realistic visualization turns out to be only a phantom of reality. I knew it! And the cracked tiles under the picture even added realism to the entire trap. It’s good that I’m smart too.
Finally, I am in the office, where a small group of women has already gathered. Of course, I don’t find my Cat Lady among them. It was just plain Useless who wanted to earn easy money. The patients sit cross-legged in a circle on small, spherical, multi-colored pillows with Hindu patterns. They all have their hands on their knees, and phantoms of cats sit in the space between their legs.
“Welcome in today’s session,” I hear a hurried greeting of a woman coming from behind me who, to my deep surprise, I know. So as the cat who strides proudly after her with its tail raised high.
I look in amazement and forget that I should say something or at least move. Was it a planned government test or is this woman sort of a double agent?
“Are you lost, girlie?”
“My task was to have a session with a psychologist, are you my guide?”
“It’s not a school to have someone to lead you by the hand.”
“I’ll stay,” I say firmly, sitting down with a stout face on a free pillow.
What a terrible woman.
“Maybe I will start, because I think I got worse,” says obese woman with thin, straight hair reaching her jaw line.
Useless holding the floor, looks at the cat between her legs having corners of her mouth falling down.
“Today I cried by the Pampers commercial.”
The mean therapist opens her mouth, “Why did you have a family television station on, Ewa?”
“I know I shouldn’t. I know we’ve already talked about it, but I couldn’t help myself. Only there can I look at the smiling faces of small people.”
“Thank you Ewa that you respect the rules and do not pronounce the forbidden word,” all women speak in chorus.
[WOW] Strange group. They behave like a sect. For them, children are demons who are not allowed to be spoken of directly, and yet they meet to talk about their desire to raise them. The alarming response of the patients made my skin crawl. Ewa, however, smiles, showing crooked teeth and wide, sad, gray-green eyes.
“I was walking along the fence recently. I just wanted some fresh air,” says a slim woman with an aquiline nose and a slightly protruding, pointed chin. “I noticed a mother with a small person on the other side…”
“Thank you Adalia, that you respect the rules and do not pronounce the forbidden word,” women speak in chorus again.
“… and I made a beeline for them along the fence. It was an unconditional reaction! The security guard stopped me at the gate.”
“Adalia, if you need to satisfy your instincts, try to buy a big stuffed toy. Hugging it can bring you relief. To prevent such situations, I recommend you such a treatment every evening. You know it’s no shame.”
“Alright, psychol. I trust you.”
“I know girls that the phantom only helps a little. It requires no care and we need to look after someone. It’s our maternal instinct. I have prepared you something that you may want. American scientists have proved that phantoms also have feelings. The best way to make them feel good in our homes is to use energizers. See for yourself what I am talking about.”
The woman gets up and distributes colorful mats to each patient. I also get a set, but without an inspired smile to match.
“Three energy mats are included, on which you are to put your phantom. In the morning it should spend an hour on the blue mat, at noon on the yellow, and in the evening on the green. They charge their positive vibrations and feelings.”
Women squeal with joy and delight at the new idea. They are screaming to one another where they will put the mats and each one already pulls out her wallet to pay for those items.
“Phantoms are best served by routine. Let them get used to one agenda, and they will be grateful to you,” the psychologist says with a smiling and excited tone, not forgetting about the appropriate gestures.
“Thank you girls for your honesty today and see you at the next meeting.”
“Thank you for your honesty and motivation to work on myself,” the women suddenly speak in chorus again, reciting the words that end this crazy session.
Songwriter: Korn
Text found here: http://tiny.cc/9stlcz
Coming undone: I’m falling to the bottom
Keep holding on In this crazy world
When my brain’s ticking like a bomb Will I go crazy if I don’t pass the usefulness test?
Guess the black thoughts
Have come again to get me
(…)
I’m trying to hold it together Mentally
Head is lighter than a feather I fly away
Looks like I’m not getting better
Not getting better
Wait, I’m coming undone This stress sometimes won’t let me live
(…)
The meeting ends, so I give my mat set and run away from this sad place. These women seemed crazy, like residents of rubber houses. They should probably lock them there. [EHH] What can a woman become with unsatisfied maternal instinct? Gives me creeps. I feel a bit sorry for these women, but on the other hand, people who are mentally weak should probably not pass on their genes to the next generations. Maybe the next ones will be stronger and smarter. People should have planned more carefully when it comes to starting a family. Why the pressure to have children? After all, nature invented wise mechanisms. Female Canada lynx did not allow fertilization during periods of low prey availability. If cats could make rational decisions, why couldn’t people do that? Admittedly, people did not allow children to die because of their parents’ irresponsibility, but they led to overpopulation and ecological disaster. The female Canada lynx were screwed because males did not help in raising their young. And the snowshoe hares did not hunt themselves! These cats relied on the population of these animals to survive. They were very funny in appearance with longer hind legs but wider front paws, thick fur, really short tail, beard and tassels on the ears. These are not popular phantoms these days, just like lynxes themselves could never somehow get enough interest and care.
[EHH] I got distracted again, but luckily it’s over. Completion of the first test day flashes on the wrist. [UFF] All I have to do is meet the Lab Toe Lady again. [HAHA] And get my body back.
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