12-18-2019, 03:16 PM
Unknown Location, Shen
18th December 2019
Fu Hao sat in the corner of her cube, curled up in a ball. She had her eyes closed, not that it mattered in the absolute darkness. Though she was still cold, she didn’t shiver, or even move perceptibly. Though she sat in the uncomfortable, cold cube, her mind was thousands of miles and many years away, remembering her childhood. It had not been a pleasant childhood, filled with Aurora training, but she remembered it fondly nevertheless…
*
Aurora Centre, Kerlile
25th January 2005
Kiera sat on her chair nervously, looking around the room at her fellow trainees. They all knew what this new class would entail, and their expressions ranged from mild nervousness all the way to abject terror. Not a single one of them looked forward to what was to come. Next to Kiera, Kayley sat rocking back and forth nervously.
“How bad do you think it will be?” Kara, who was seated behind the pair leaned forward to ask. Of the three of them, she was the least nervous looking.
“I heard from Jacqueline,” whispered Kayley, naming one of the girls in the year above, “that on the first day they beat you all to see how long it takes you to cry.”
“Jacqueline always makes things sound worse than they are,” scoffed Kara. “She’s a Shuell-assigned. That’s probably what they do in the advanced class.”
“You and I need to take the advanced class,” pointed out Kiera. “So, I really hope not.”
“Well, I heard Janet say that actually…”
“Silence!” a woman called, walking into the room, and immediately every Aurora trainee in the room fell silent and faced the front. “Good. Now, I imagine you are all nervous, and the older girls probably told you all kinds of stories about what would happen to you today. They are most likely untrue. Kiera, come up to the front, please.”
Nervously, Kiera stood, feeling the eyes of the other girls watching her as she walked shakily to the front, bracing herself for whatever pain was about to come.
“Hold this, Kiera,” their teacher said, handing her what appeared to be a golf ball.
Kiera reached out, nervously, expecting it to be burning hot, or covered in something itchy. It was not, it was an ordinary golf ball. She looked up at the teacher, confused.
“Thank you, Kiera, take your seat,” said the teacher, motioning to Kiera to sit down. She obeyed. “Now, do you all see how Kiera reacted, there? She expected something painful, something torturous. So, she flinched, and shook, and hesitated, and worried. I didn’t need to do anything to her. How are you feeling Kiera?”
“I feel… afraid, ma’am,” confessed Kiera. “I keep expecting something terrible to happen.”
“Do you feel strong?” asked her teacher.
“No, ma’am,” she said, looking down at her desk.
“I doubt any of you feel strong right now. Which is a problem. You all came here, listening to the tales of the older girls which they were told to tell you, expecting to be tortured. And in anticipation of that pain, you abandoned your strength in favour of fear and worry. It made you weaker. And, as a result – less able to cope if you had been tortured. Lesson one – do not let fear rule you. Welcome to Basic Interrogation Resistance, please take out your notebooks. You are not ready for any practical exercises yet.”
*
Nearby, in another room in the facility, the 12-year-olds were practising martial arts. Jacqueline faced off against Janet, while nearby Jane and Jade fought. Jacqueline was focused on her own fight, however. She was neither the best nor the worst in this area – she was far better with weapons than in hand-to-hand combat. Janet, however, was easily the weakest in their class.
Jacqueline saw the look in Janet’s eye that the girl always made before she was about to attack, and as soon as Janet moved, she quickly countered, managing to knock the other girl to the ground.
“¡Mierda!” Janet shouted as she fell.
“¡Necesitas practicar más!” called Jane from where she was still in a very evenly-matched fight with Jade.
“I don’t know what either of you are saying,” shrugged Jacqueline, walking over to the side and grabbing her water bottle. She sat down on a bench, watching the two other girls fight. Janet, grumbling, sat down beside her.
The pair sat silently, watching the other two. Jade and Jane were exceptionally well-matched, by the time it was finished, the pair were both exhausted. In the end, Jade emerged victorious.
“I can’t imagine you’ll find much occasion to do this when you’re sent to LOM,” remarked Jacqueline to Jade.
“I can’t imagine you’ll make it out of Shuell alive,” muttered Janet, causing Jacqueline to turn around and glare at her.
“The younger ones will be starting resistance class today,” interrupted Jane, changing the subject.
“Oh yeah, so they will,” laughed Jacqueline. “They’ll all be terrified. I’m telling you, I bet a good half of our class would still break if they were tortured for real. You would, Janet, I’m almost positive.”
“Hey! That’s… probably true,” Janet said, blushing a little.
“Not me, though. They said I was the best they’d trained in a long time,” boasted Jacqueline. “I’ll never break, not ever.”
*
Unknown Location, Shuell
18th December 2019
Alina Kaufer lay in her cell, eyes closed, tears staining her cheeks, remembering her childhood. It was so hard… so hard to focus. She knew she had to remain strong, she couldn’t talk, couldn’t talk, couldn’t talk. There had been so much. Humiliation, pain, confusion, hurt, hopelessness. She was tired, exhausted, fed up. She just wanted to go home but she never could. Never, ever, ever.
It was over, she was as good as dead. But they wouldn’t let it end. She was so strong, once. She couldn’t remember how that felt. It was over. Over, over, over, over. She wouldn’t break, she couldn’t. But why? Why not? Why not end the suffering, what did it matter? She was as good as dead, so why was she fighting? No, she had to fight. Had to, had to, had to.
Alina Kaufer let out a scream of anguish as her mind continued to spin.
18th December 2019
Fu Hao sat in the corner of her cube, curled up in a ball. She had her eyes closed, not that it mattered in the absolute darkness. Though she was still cold, she didn’t shiver, or even move perceptibly. Though she sat in the uncomfortable, cold cube, her mind was thousands of miles and many years away, remembering her childhood. It had not been a pleasant childhood, filled with Aurora training, but she remembered it fondly nevertheless…
*
Aurora Centre, Kerlile
25th January 2005
Kiera sat on her chair nervously, looking around the room at her fellow trainees. They all knew what this new class would entail, and their expressions ranged from mild nervousness all the way to abject terror. Not a single one of them looked forward to what was to come. Next to Kiera, Kayley sat rocking back and forth nervously.
“How bad do you think it will be?” Kara, who was seated behind the pair leaned forward to ask. Of the three of them, she was the least nervous looking.
“I heard from Jacqueline,” whispered Kayley, naming one of the girls in the year above, “that on the first day they beat you all to see how long it takes you to cry.”
“Jacqueline always makes things sound worse than they are,” scoffed Kara. “She’s a Shuell-assigned. That’s probably what they do in the advanced class.”
“You and I need to take the advanced class,” pointed out Kiera. “So, I really hope not.”
“Well, I heard Janet say that actually…”
“Silence!” a woman called, walking into the room, and immediately every Aurora trainee in the room fell silent and faced the front. “Good. Now, I imagine you are all nervous, and the older girls probably told you all kinds of stories about what would happen to you today. They are most likely untrue. Kiera, come up to the front, please.”
Nervously, Kiera stood, feeling the eyes of the other girls watching her as she walked shakily to the front, bracing herself for whatever pain was about to come.
“Hold this, Kiera,” their teacher said, handing her what appeared to be a golf ball.
Kiera reached out, nervously, expecting it to be burning hot, or covered in something itchy. It was not, it was an ordinary golf ball. She looked up at the teacher, confused.
“Thank you, Kiera, take your seat,” said the teacher, motioning to Kiera to sit down. She obeyed. “Now, do you all see how Kiera reacted, there? She expected something painful, something torturous. So, she flinched, and shook, and hesitated, and worried. I didn’t need to do anything to her. How are you feeling Kiera?”
“I feel… afraid, ma’am,” confessed Kiera. “I keep expecting something terrible to happen.”
“Do you feel strong?” asked her teacher.
“No, ma’am,” she said, looking down at her desk.
“I doubt any of you feel strong right now. Which is a problem. You all came here, listening to the tales of the older girls which they were told to tell you, expecting to be tortured. And in anticipation of that pain, you abandoned your strength in favour of fear and worry. It made you weaker. And, as a result – less able to cope if you had been tortured. Lesson one – do not let fear rule you. Welcome to Basic Interrogation Resistance, please take out your notebooks. You are not ready for any practical exercises yet.”
*
Nearby, in another room in the facility, the 12-year-olds were practising martial arts. Jacqueline faced off against Janet, while nearby Jane and Jade fought. Jacqueline was focused on her own fight, however. She was neither the best nor the worst in this area – she was far better with weapons than in hand-to-hand combat. Janet, however, was easily the weakest in their class.
Jacqueline saw the look in Janet’s eye that the girl always made before she was about to attack, and as soon as Janet moved, she quickly countered, managing to knock the other girl to the ground.
“¡Mierda!” Janet shouted as she fell.
“¡Necesitas practicar más!” called Jane from where she was still in a very evenly-matched fight with Jade.
“I don’t know what either of you are saying,” shrugged Jacqueline, walking over to the side and grabbing her water bottle. She sat down on a bench, watching the two other girls fight. Janet, grumbling, sat down beside her.
The pair sat silently, watching the other two. Jade and Jane were exceptionally well-matched, by the time it was finished, the pair were both exhausted. In the end, Jade emerged victorious.
“I can’t imagine you’ll find much occasion to do this when you’re sent to LOM,” remarked Jacqueline to Jade.
“I can’t imagine you’ll make it out of Shuell alive,” muttered Janet, causing Jacqueline to turn around and glare at her.
“The younger ones will be starting resistance class today,” interrupted Jane, changing the subject.
“Oh yeah, so they will,” laughed Jacqueline. “They’ll all be terrified. I’m telling you, I bet a good half of our class would still break if they were tortured for real. You would, Janet, I’m almost positive.”
“Hey! That’s… probably true,” Janet said, blushing a little.
“Not me, though. They said I was the best they’d trained in a long time,” boasted Jacqueline. “I’ll never break, not ever.”
*
Unknown Location, Shuell
18th December 2019
Alina Kaufer lay in her cell, eyes closed, tears staining her cheeks, remembering her childhood. It was so hard… so hard to focus. She knew she had to remain strong, she couldn’t talk, couldn’t talk, couldn’t talk. There had been so much. Humiliation, pain, confusion, hurt, hopelessness. She was tired, exhausted, fed up. She just wanted to go home but she never could. Never, ever, ever.
It was over, she was as good as dead. But they wouldn’t let it end. She was so strong, once. She couldn’t remember how that felt. It was over. Over, over, over, over. She wouldn’t break, she couldn’t. But why? Why not? Why not end the suffering, what did it matter? She was as good as dead, so why was she fighting? No, she had to fight. Had to, had to, had to.
Alina Kaufer let out a scream of anguish as her mind continued to spin.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax