off when he arrived at the fortress, but Gorman decided not to mention it. Everything else about the boy was perfect. This rebellious ring could be removed later.
“Good morning, Leo,” Gorman said.
“Good morning, sir,” the boy replied.
Next entered Iman, the ebony girl, with all the streamlined grace of a Pod Fighter. This child had been given up for adoption by her parents because she grew horns when she was four.
Their loss, my gain,
Gorman thought.
This striking black girl was a brilliant strategist and another very good gunner.
Santos entered next. Santos, the Hawk Boy, with spurs that curved from his wrists. His eyes moved quickly as he took in the details of the office, and for a split second, Gorman felt dissected by his pointed stare. This boy’s intelligence had a razor sharpness that made him an expert problem solver.
Last to come was Colette, the French girl who’d been born without hands and feet. She was a good example of a child who’d once been persecuted for her mutation but was now celebrated for it. Her new hands and feet were silver, and mimicked the mechanics of real bone, sinew, and muscle. They were expertly made and eerily beautiful. Since arriving in the fortress, she’d worn them without skin gloves. Long hairskimmed cheekbones of peaches and cream and hid the analytical mind of a chess champion. Colette was a shy one, but she was one to watch. Chosen from thousands and about to get a lot of money and time invested in her development.
Here were Mal Gorman’s Chosen Ones, the most talented and useful children in the army.
“You look well,” Gorman said.
He took an Everlife pill and crunched it contentedly. Then he looked at Iman. “Do your parents like their new home in the Golden Turrets?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “They think it’s beautiful.”
“That’s nice,” Gorman said. “You’re very special, Iman. Your parents deserve a beautiful home. And how are you, Audrey? What’s it like living in your new enclosure?”
“It’s nice, sir,” Audrey replied.
“Excellent. So you’re all ready to start work?”
They nodded and watched him take another Everlife pill. He put it in his mouth and crunched it with yellow teeth. So many tubes and wires punctured his skin, he looked like an accident in a spaghetti factory: swamped by his machines, frail, sitting among them. The golden light that radiated from his body ran weak into the blue of the machines. His mind was active, but the body that housed it was just barely alive.
He’ll be dead within minutes if we take him without that life-support system,
Mika thought.
Yeah
, Ellie replied.
And he’ll need medical treatment too
.
Maybe we should just take it all,
Leo thought.
Life-support machine, doctors, and half a hospital unit
.
There has to be an easier way,
Mika thought.
How are we going to hide him with all that equipment and medical staff?And what if something goes wrong? We don’t want to risk killing him. The shock alone might do it. We have to keep him alive. He needs to know we’re not like him. That we don’t solve problems by killing things
.
“I expect you want to know what I plan to do with you,” Gorman continued, oblivious to the thought exchange. “You’ve got your crisp new uniforms now, and your new enclosure. You won’t be bored, I can assure you of that. You start your new training today. You’ll continue with exercises to develop your powers and you’ll learn how to use the new equipment that will help you survive on the other side of The Wall. And if you’re doing well next week, I’ll send you all on your first mission. To the factories where they build the animal borgs. We don’t understand the technology and we need more information about how they’re made. However, Mika, Ellie, I’m sending you over tomorrow. I have a special mission for you.”
Mika and Ellie looked at him, startled. They weren’t expecting this. They’d hoped to escape before they were sent on
“Good morning, Leo,” Gorman said.
“Good morning, sir,” the boy replied.
Next entered Iman, the ebony girl, with all the streamlined grace of a Pod Fighter. This child had been given up for adoption by her parents because she grew horns when she was four.
Their loss, my gain,
Gorman thought.
This striking black girl was a brilliant strategist and another very good gunner.
Santos entered next. Santos, the Hawk Boy, with spurs that curved from his wrists. His eyes moved quickly as he took in the details of the office, and for a split second, Gorman felt dissected by his pointed stare. This boy’s intelligence had a razor sharpness that made him an expert problem solver.
Last to come was Colette, the French girl who’d been born without hands and feet. She was a good example of a child who’d once been persecuted for her mutation but was now celebrated for it. Her new hands and feet were silver, and mimicked the mechanics of real bone, sinew, and muscle. They were expertly made and eerily beautiful. Since arriving in the fortress, she’d worn them without skin gloves. Long hairskimmed cheekbones of peaches and cream and hid the analytical mind of a chess champion. Colette was a shy one, but she was one to watch. Chosen from thousands and about to get a lot of money and time invested in her development.
Here were Mal Gorman’s Chosen Ones, the most talented and useful children in the army.
“You look well,” Gorman said.
He took an Everlife pill and crunched it contentedly. Then he looked at Iman. “Do your parents like their new home in the Golden Turrets?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “They think it’s beautiful.”
“That’s nice,” Gorman said. “You’re very special, Iman. Your parents deserve a beautiful home. And how are you, Audrey? What’s it like living in your new enclosure?”
“It’s nice, sir,” Audrey replied.
“Excellent. So you’re all ready to start work?”
They nodded and watched him take another Everlife pill. He put it in his mouth and crunched it with yellow teeth. So many tubes and wires punctured his skin, he looked like an accident in a spaghetti factory: swamped by his machines, frail, sitting among them. The golden light that radiated from his body ran weak into the blue of the machines. His mind was active, but the body that housed it was just barely alive.
He’ll be dead within minutes if we take him without that life-support system,
Mika thought.
Yeah
, Ellie replied.
And he’ll need medical treatment too
.
Maybe we should just take it all,
Leo thought.
Life-support machine, doctors, and half a hospital unit
.
There has to be an easier way,
Mika thought.
How are we going to hide him with all that equipment and medical staff?And what if something goes wrong? We don’t want to risk killing him. The shock alone might do it. We have to keep him alive. He needs to know we’re not like him. That we don’t solve problems by killing things
.
“I expect you want to know what I plan to do with you,” Gorman continued, oblivious to the thought exchange. “You’ve got your crisp new uniforms now, and your new enclosure. You won’t be bored, I can assure you of that. You start your new training today. You’ll continue with exercises to develop your powers and you’ll learn how to use the new equipment that will help you survive on the other side of The Wall. And if you’re doing well next week, I’ll send you all on your first mission. To the factories where they build the animal borgs. We don’t understand the technology and we need more information about how they’re made. However, Mika, Ellie, I’m sending you over tomorrow. I have a special mission for you.”
Mika and Ellie looked at him, startled. They weren’t expecting this. They’d hoped to escape before they were sent on
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