Curiosities and Corrections

Curiosities and Corrections

      The waves of the lake lapped lightly at the grassy shore. A filthy sheen of blue algae dominated the first few feet of the lake’s surface, ruling out wading. The bluish-brown water bobbed and lulled along the shoreline, occasionally revealing lost trinkets. From the direction of the horizon, a box drifted inland. It was a slick, brown crate with metal trim that ran up the middle. The metal strip made the case look like a brown clam with a silver mouth. The bottom of the case was covered in algae. It neared the shoreline, bouncing off the grass and soil.

     Elijah walked along the lake, whistling to himself. He gait was bouncy and betrayed a hint of elation in each step. There was no one else around this section of the recreational grid, so Elijah felt calm and loose. He wore dark blue poly-covers and had the leg parts rolled up to his knees. He was shirtless and shoeless and, with his over-sized hat, looked like the Earthling boy he had seen last month in his text sheets at school. He stopped every few steps to pull up and chew on some long grass but every blade tasted sour. He wondered how the Earthlings had tolerated it. As he meandered from patch to patch, he would occasionally look over at the water. Today was a good day in the grid. The programming was working better this day than it had in months and Elijah could almost smell carbon dioxide in the lake breeze. The purple sky had almost the right amount of blue in it. After the malfunctions of the past few weeks, he appreciated it. At least some machines in Central are working well today.

    Elijah was 8 years old and was enjoying a break from the Aviation Combine Academy. He was average for his height and he had gray hair, which was also average. Elijah was athletic but lean, and his mind was equally fit, thanks to the ACA. The ACA usually provided recreational breaks for their acolytes. Because the acolytes all performed at the same academic level, these breaks weren't rewards; these breaks were necessary for cognitive growth. The Council, over many years, had devised and instituted the most accurate teaching regimen ever designed. They had created a specific system that was never deviated from and used it to instruct each acolyte in the same manner. For over 300 generations, students had been taught exactly same way. So, though Elijah thought he was enjoying time away from training, he was still training his mind subconsciously. He would spend the next 35 minutes here, as dictated by his instruction, then he would return to formal classes.

     Elijah had just passed another tall patch of grass when his eye caught a shimmer that shone brighter than the reflection of light off the lake's crested waves. He focused his gaze and saw what looked like a box or crate bumping against the shoreline. He walked over to get a closer look. It was an odd thing that he saw floating in there. He thought that it was most definitely a box but it had a long metallic strip that ran up the center and it's strangeness made him hesitate - not to mention it was almost as big as he was. The surface of the box was half-covered in algae but it didn't appear that water had permeated the box itself. As he observed the strange container, he saw what looked like a handles on the sides. He knelt down, reached out to the box, and spun it around to get a better chance at the handle. Once he got a good grip, he pulled the box ashore with surprisingly little effort. He sat back on his haunches and stared at it. Normal boxes were already open. Crates needed to be activated to open them. This box had no terminal, nor did it have a card reader. Odd. He maneuvered the box around and heard the shuffling of things inside. He jostled it and heard more shuffling. He thumbed the handles, looking for a hidden switch. He pressed and squeezed almost every inch of the box, desperate to see what was inside.

     He was nearly finished with his inspection and about to abandon the box when a latch suddenly popped out. He looked at the latch curiously, trying to see how it opened. He pushed the latch back and locked it. He fiddled with it again and got it open but the box was still locked on one side. Elijah undid the other latch and opened the box. The inside of the box was lined with what looked like a very old fabric that had aged poorly. While most of the tattered and rotted fabric was black or gray, he could see traces of a golden yellow in some places; it seemed to have been eaten by something acidic. On the bottom of the case, and the source of the muffled noise, was a small collection of what appeared to be bones.  Some of the them had slime clinging to them.  There was a foul, clumpy muck that settled on the bottom of the box.  It was a thick pool of fluid, definitely not water, that was colored purple, green, and brown.  The skull was the give-a-way. Elijah stood up with an intense look of worry on his face. His mind was sending too many panic signals to his body: stand up/run/scream/throw it away/run/close it/scream, and he found himself immobilized. He simply stared at the remains. Could it be possible that someone was stuck in this box until they died?

     Elijah turned and ran from the box as fast as his legs could move. He made it to the Arch like lightening streaking across the sky. He swiped is Opticard and waited as patiently as he could. The Arch door opened and he was greeted by three towering men with mottled flesh. They were Elites; all three were dressed in uniform and all three looked exactly the same. They looked at him grimly as if they knew what he had done. The Elite in the middle said, "I hope you left some Sunlight for us, boy." The other two laughed as they walked through the Arch and into the grid. The Elite who had spoken tousled Elijah's hair with his hand the way adults do to make children feel like children. Then the group of Elites continued moved around him and over the green grass,  toward the lake. Elijah kept his composure and waited for them to pass.  He forgot about going back to instruction and, instead,  made his way home - to the Solitude Sector - and tried to forget about the bones the whole way.

     Captain Raemus stood, flanked by his two co-captains, Kadrin and Anderson, as he stared at the human remains in the case. He turned to Kadrin and said "How do you think he enjoyed the 'First Class' ride on the Windsol?" and started laughing. His co-captains chuckled along with him. He squatted down and spoke to the bones, "Elias, I am going to toss you into the water, now. I wish you would have listened to reason, brother. Now that you have been corrected, you have been forgiven. Please be sure not to do this again." He rose with a satisfied smile and made a hand gesture over his face. Kadrin and Anderson did the same.

   "We have lost our brother to the Ether," he spoke in a catatonic voice.

   "May his spirit find respite," Kadrin and Anderson replied.

   "And may our Mother watch and guide him through the ages," Raemus said.

   "So they may watch and guide us until the Eschaton brings forth the light," the three spoke in unison.

     Before continuing, Raemus turned his head sharply to the Arch. He wondered what the boy was going to do. How was this going to affect him? This was not part of the plan and he was not happy that this event had been scheduled during an acolyte's training.  This boy hadn't had his gene markers activated and was still free-minded.  It was a problem but he had bigger things to consider. Raemus brought his thoughts to the present, looked down, and kicked the crate back into the water. As the case tumbled, Gellar Elias's bones toppled out. They floated for a moment then sank slowly into the purple lake.

     Raemus took a deep breath, turned towards his comrades, and said, "Now we get Sanchez."

© Christopher Robert Dawson 2000-2013