The Adaline Series Bundle 1 Page 15

  "Or maybe a transportation device. Note the wheels." The teacher ran his hand over a small wheel that rolled backward and forward all on its own.

  "One of those Mobiles from Automata?" 42 touched 71's arm and closed his eyes. A thick book popped into the air in front of him and plopped open onto the table. 42 didn't delay in sifting through pages filled with black and white pictures.

  "Oh, yes. Certainly a Mobile from Automata. But where is the steering harness?" 71 hunched over the textbook with his brother and the two mumbled together as they compared the pile of parts on the table with diagrams from the book.

  "It's a Nurse." 62 approached the opposite end of the table. "Or at least, it was supposed to be."

  "Oh." 42 said, eyeing the Boy.

  "Dear." 71 added, looking up from the book at the flailing machine.

  "I wanted to make one appear so that I could practice telling it what to do." A gear spun loose from its axle and flew up into the air, landing square in the center of 62's forehead.

  "I see." Both Men spoke and stood in unison. The book vanished with a puff of smoke.

  62 began to think he was doing something wrong and stumbled around trying to get the spinning gears, whirring sprockets and rotating wheels to stop. "Not that I want the Nurses to do anything for me. I mean, nothing bad or anything. I just sometimes want them to do what I say."

  71 crossed his arms, tucking them under his beard. 62 gently placed both of his hands in the deep pockets of his lab coat. Both nodded, a look of suspicion knitting between their bushy brows.

  "Not that I'd make them do something they weren't supposed to. Or make them let me do something I'm not supposed to." The more flustered that 62 got, the less he was able to focus on the movements of the Machine in his dream. The heap began to wriggle and wrangle against itself until the entire mass was bouncing up and down on the table.

  The two Men stepped back from the table to avoid being knocked over by a string of wires and clamps that might have been a mechanical fist. Neither spoke, and the firm set of their jaws did not change.

  62 felt like he was digging himself into deeper trouble with his explanation, but he wasn't able to stop babbling on. "It's like when they're there and you want them to not be there and so you tell them and then they aren't there but they're supposed to be there."

  The bundle began to hiss and wheeze, steam pouring out of some unseen port. A head formed in the center of the fluctuating structure and let out a deep and haunting moan. The light above the room dimmed. The walls began to glow red-hot.

  62 cried as the Machine, forming on its own in his dream, pulled itself together and got up from the table. It stood so high that its spiked head and glowing red eyes reached beyond the tops of the walls. Long jagged fingers pointed accusingly and the giant Machine hissed, "1124562, you have been a very bad Boy."

  62 turned to run from the mechanical creature but the walls pressed in on him. Tears streamed down his face and he screamed in horror when he found himself trapped in a corner. The Nurse grabbed at his tunic and 62 could feel its molten hot fingers burning holes through the thin fabric.

  "Enough!" 71 stepped forward and placed his hand on the left side of the writhing specter.

  "Quite enough, indeed." The doctor moved to the other side of the Machine and placed his hand on it with a smack.

  Both Men closed their eyes in unison, and raised their off-hand out in front of them. They snapped their fingers, making a noise so soft that it couldn't be heard over the crashing noises of the rogue Machine. Instantly, the wretched thing vanished. The color of the room lifted, the temperature dropped, and the room fell in silence.

  62 collapsed to the floor. A few moments passed before he found the strength to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Th-thanks."

  "Not a problem at all. Just remember, you've got to keep control of these dreams when you're in them. You never know what direction they will take if you let your imagination run away with them." 42 brushed his hand over a line of soot on his jacket left behind by the Machine and it vanished, returning the fabric to its bright white color.

  "Very true, indeed." 71 knelt down in front of 62. "Exactly what is it that you want the Nurses to do for you?"

  "I want them to leave me alone." 62 did his best not to whimper, but a small squeak escaped.

  "I see." 71 looked into his young brother's eyes. "I don't think that's possible. The Nurses are there to take care of us, and to make sure that we are always well. That means they are always there; it's the only way for them to ensure we are good Boys and Men."

  "I've done it before." 62 gasped once the words were out and he saw the look of astonishment on the two Men's faces.

  "Really." The doctor sat down on the floor beside the teacher and his student. "Well, that does complicate things a bit then, doesn't it?"

  "It might, indeed. Well, this brings us to why I've brought the good doctor to you tonight." 71 looked at both of his brothers with concern. "Do you remember the doctor you saw on Level 2?"

  62 nodded and whispered, "Yes."

  "Well, it seems that he remembers you, too."

  CHAPTER 35

  62 AWOKE TO FIND THE doctor from Level 2 standing outside the door to his cube. The Man's gaze was cast downward and 62 knew that he was reading the data stream displayed on the chest of the Nurse standing to his right. 62 closed his eyes tight and pretended to still be asleep.

  "No more anomalies?" The doctor scratched his head. His brow wrinkled in frustration.

  "No, Doctor. No further anomalies have been reported in connection with Boy 1124562. All vitals appear normal and sleep cycles have improved into average range." The Nurse's eyes flashed blue as it relayed the data.

  The terrifying doctor looked away from the Nurse at the cube across the hall. "Have symptoms spread to the surrounding Boys?"

  "Negative. No further disruption has occurred within this section.

  "Within this section?" The doctor jerked his head around to look back at the Nurse. "What about other sections of the pod? Have there been any anomalies reported?"

  "Yes." The Nurse nodded it's head with smooth hydraulic precision. "Another case was reported with Boy 1124999. The subject was animated in the same batch as Boy 1124562. I see they are also being trained in the same class, led by Man 2871."

  The doctor peered into 62's cube and stared for a long time. It was all that 62 could do to keep his eyes from springing open when the Nurse mentioned his brother. The Man and Boy held a silent battle of wills, each waiting to see if his opponent would flutter an eyelid and betray his thoughts.

  After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of breakfast rolling down the tubes began prattling overhead. The doctor looked around, and realizing that the Boys were beginning to stir, he marched quickly away. 62 sprung up from his place on the floor and pressed his face against the grating just in time to see the doctor heading in the direction of the Dressing Hall.

  62 knew he'd have to act fast. He shoved his blanket into its chute. The instant his morning pills dropped through the tiny door above him, he extended his hand. Catching his breakfast in midair, he snapped the pills into his mouth and gulped them down without taking a drink.

  A Nurse approached and began downloading his data. As they did every morning, its eyes blinked yellow and blue as it reviewed his files, and then shone bright green before unlocking the door.

  “You’ve been a very good Boy, 1124562. Welcome to cycle number 3,285. Please make your way to the Dressing Hall and prepare for class.”

  62 was out the door and sprinting down the tunnel before the Nurse finished its sentence. His heart pounded in his chest; he had to find 99 before the doctor from Level 2 did. He rarely noticed how similar all of his brothers looked, but now he panicked with the realization that spotting 99 in the crowd of hundreds of Boys was going to be nearly impossible.

  62 stopped pushing against the other Boys when he reached the entryway to the Hall. Although it was against the rules, he climbed up on
one of the bins near the wall and stood up. From here, he was able to look over the heads of dozens of Boys all at once. Throngs of identical heads of brown hair filled the narrow entryway. A sea of bobbing brown eyes looked up at him while they passed.

  Then, he caught a glimpse of a bright red right cheek weaving through the crowd. It was the same cheek he saw every morning; the remnant mark of a sleeping boy who always slept on the same spot of his extended arm without moving throughout the night.

  "99!" 62's voice cracked as he shouted for his brother. As soon as his voice left his body, he noticed the doctor walking against the tide of Boys in his own search for 99.

  99 looked up at 62's perch and changed his course, slowly parting the sea of Boys and coming diagonally across the hall. The change in his route saved him for the moment as it prevented him from walking head-on into the doctor. 62 jumped down and waited for 99 by the wall, relieved when his brother finally broke out of the mob and joined him.

  "What's going on? Why do you look so weird?" 99 rubbed a piece of sleep from his eye.

  "See that Man over there?" 62 lifted his chin and stood up on his tip-toes to look in the direction of the doctor who was now talking to another Boy.

  "Yeah, is he some kind of teacher?" 99 raised up on his tip-toes too, and as soon as 62 noticed his head bounce above the crowd he pulled him down again.

  "No. He's called a doctor. He's a bad Man." 62 looked around frantically trying to find a way to escape.

  "Men aren't bad. Only Boys are. Everyone knows that." 99 pulled his arm from 62's grasp and got up on his toes again. "What's he doing?"

  "He's looking for you." 62 took hold of his brother's tunic and pulled him along the far wall, ducking down so he couldn't be seen behind the Boys getting into line for the showers.

  "For me? How do you know?" 99 followed less cautiously, only ducking down low enough to keep 62 from choking him from the tight grasp on the front of his tunic.

  "He was at my cube this morning and I heard the Nurse tell him you had an anomaly." 62 stopped near the front of the line and cut in between two other Boys. The Boys moaned sleepily but didn't force him or 99 back out.

  62 turned back to his brother as they both reached for fresh tunics. "Do you dream?"

  99's eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped. "Who told you?"

  62 shook his head. "It doesn't matter. If you dream, that doctor is going to come and try to make you stop. It isn't good. We've got to get to class and tell 71 before that Man finds you."

  The two Boys noticed the doctor turning in circles near the door, confused by the mass of faces surrounding him. He yelled something to a Nurse, and the Machine raised its hand, pointing directly at 62 and 99. The doctor from Level 2 looked from one Boy to the other, then locked his eyes on 62 and smiled the same deviant smile he had when 62 had been strapped to the table in his lab.

  "We have to get out of here, right now." 62 bolted ahead of the line, pushed through the opening to the showers and raced past them into the classroom tunnels. He turned, panting, and grabbed at the air behind him but no one was within arms reach. 99 was nowhere near him. 62 looked up to the showers where 99 had stayed, obediently waiting in line with the others.

  The doctor reached 99, placed his hand on his shoulder, and grinned. 62 watched as the Man spoke to his brother, directed two Nurses to take hold of his arms, and began escorting him away.

  CHAPTER 36

  62 WAITED BY 71'S DESK instead of sitting in his seat like a good Boy. He wasn't concerned with following the rules right now, and didn't care what the other Boys thought of him standing at the front of the class when the tones rang. 71 strolled in just before the last tone sounded and the door clicked shut behind him.

  "Take your seat please, 1124562." 71 fumbled with his tablet and sat down in his hover chair. When 71 looked up again to find 62 still leaning over his desk he responded with a firm tone. "62, I asked you to sit down."

  "You have to come with me. 99 is gone. The doctor took him!" 62 reached across the desk and grabbed at the teacher's tunic. He was ready to pull the teacher from his chair and rush him to 99's aid.

  "Let go of me, Brother."

  71 looked at 62 with such a grave expression that the Boy lost his grasp on his teacher's tunic. 62 took a step back from the desk with tears in his eyes.

  "Why won't you help?" 62 felt a tear trickle down his cheek and he wiped it with the back of his hand. "99 needs us."

  "We can't hold up the rest of the class for this trivial matter." 71 stood up from his desk and pointed to 62's desk, gesturing for him to sit down once more. "Class, today we are going to discuss the basic structure of the Community. Before I begin my lecture, are there any questions?"

  62 trudged toward his desk and sat down with a dramatic thud. Burying his head in his arms, he cried while the other Boys either stared in curiosity or looked away in discomfort. He was consumed by the thought of 99 being taken on a white stretcher through the unmarked tunnels, up into the elevator and into the lab on Level 2. Imagining his brother succumbing to treatments while he and 71 sat in class upset him so much that his crying turned to hiccups.

  "The Community is like a program that you would find written on the memory of any Machine..." 71's back was to the class and he was pointing at a diagram projected on the wall.

  "Hic!" The sound escaped 62.

  "... and as a Machine can not function without a program..."

  "Hiccup!" 62's shoulders jumped.

  "... we likewise cannot function as a group without the Community."

  "Hic!"

  71 turned and shot 62 a warning look. "The Community gives us the parameters of what is good and bad..."

  "Hiccup!" 62 stopped wiping his tears and slapped his hands across his mouth.

  "... and helps us to understand our place in the grand design of Adaline."

  "Hic!"

  "Boy 1124562, are you quite done?" 71's face flushed red and he slammed his hand against the top of his desk. His tablet skipped with the vibration, and the image on the wall flickered.

  "I don't - hic - know how to -hic- make it stop." 62 held his breath until his cheeks burned and his eyes felt like they would burst out of his skull.

  "If you will not compose yourself, I will be forced to call a Nurse. Do you understand?" 71 folded his arms and stood like a tower amongst the Boys.

  "No, I do not understand!" Rage boiled inside of 62. "I don't - hic - understand why we aren't doing something about 99. - Hiccup! - I don't understand why you aren't helping him - hic - the way you helped me - hic. Why won't you talk to me about him?"

  "Enough of this. In the tunnel, now. Boys, I will return momentarily." 71 marched to 62's desk, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out into the tunnel.

  "Why are you - hic - doing this?" 62 was sobbing now and each time he hiccupped a dribble of mucus bubbled and oozed from his nose.

  71 turned away from 62 and looked down the tunnel toward the pods. Then suddenly he spun around, jumped at 62 and yelled, "BOO!" 62 jumped backwards and his heart skipped a beat. The startle interrupted his crying, and he stood staring back at his teacher in shock.

  "That should cure those confounded hiccups. Now, about the rest of it. We are here in class learning about the Community instead of running to rescue your brother because that is all there is to do." 71 paced angrily, each step pounding the floor like a piston.

  "But I saw him leave with the doctor. You know how to get to his room on Level 2. We can go save him the way you saved me." 62 was too worried about his brother to notice that his hiccups had, indeed, vanished.

  "Yes, if 99 had been taken without the proper reporting procedure, as you were, that is something that we could do. But unfortunately for us, that isn't the case." 71 spun again to look at 62 but this time instead of leaping and shouting, he simply looked bewildered. "99 came to me several cycles ago to tell me that he could dream. I was amazed; two boys in one animation batch with the creativity to dream? It does not happen,
unless one Boy teaches the other and 99 insisted that he had no instruction."

  “I wanted to tell him about my dreams, but you said not to trust anyone with my secret.” 62’s teary eyes looked up at his teacher.

  “I told him what a rare gift it was that he had, and that I could help him cultivate his ability if he was willing. But he was not.” 71 hung his head.

  “So he told a Nurse he had an anomaly?”

  “No. I did. He wanted the dreams to stop immediately and asked me to repair him. I filed my report and approval for treatment. He has just been waiting these last few cycles to be retrieved.”

  62 and his teacher stood together, both weary and saddened by what they knew would come next. 71 kneeled down and held 62 in a brief embrace.

  “I must return to class. Please join me and lets fill our minds with more useful things.”

  71 opened the door and entered the room, leaving 62 alone in the tunnel to grieve.

  CHAPTER 37

  62, 71 AND DOCTOR 42 sat facing one another at a small table in a shared dream. The Poa Pratensis grew green and thick between the toes of their bare feet, and the sky shone bright and blue above them. Despite the obvious growth in 62’s creative mind, all three figures sat in grave silence with worry written on their faces.

  “I still don’t understand why he wouldn’t try to dream more.” 62 shook his head and wiggled his toes. Although his heart was heavy with thoughts of his brother, he couldn't help but enjoy the sensation of the prickly spines against his skin. “I mean, dreams are scary sometimes. But they are also wonderful.”

  “Some of us just don’t desire to deviate from the system.” Doctor 42 leaned back in his hover chair and sighed. “I know it took me a long time to come around.”

  “The Community, and all of its systems, are safe. There are no unknowns. Everything happens exactly as it should, in the time that it should. It’s terrifying for someone with limited independence to think of deviating from the existence given to them by the Community.” 71 looked at the doctor and lifted an eyebrow. “What was it that convinced you to open your mind to the possibility of deviation?”