Chapter Three: First Meeting

Rachel stepped closer to the blue cylinder. She leaned against the container and wrapped her arms around it in an embrace of love and admiration. Still holding the cylinder, she tilted her head up to gaze at the still figure encased inside. She stared at the slender woman with the placid face, trying to memorize every line and every curve of her. Rachel eyes watered with pride and joy. "She is perfect," Rachel whispered.

Having completed the examination, the glowing sphere floated down from its place at the top of the cylinder. It glided silently down until it was beside Rachel. Again the multitude of voices from inside the glowing light made themselves heard. One voice grew louder over the hums and whispers of the rest. The voice was calm and somewhat feminine. The voice asked, "Is she?"

Rachel ended her embrace and pulled herself off the cylinder. She let a finger dance around outside of container, tracing the shape of the floating figure inside. She turned to the ball of light, smiling a joyful smile. The glow of her face was so strong; it rivaled the aura of her companion. "She is," answered Rachel.

"Why do you say that?"

"She is a perfect system. Everything works so well. All her parts fit together perfectly. Everything functions better than I dared hope. Just look at her. She is a work of art. She is beautiful. She is perfect."

"That's true. Her motor skills are above average. Her ability to comprehend is impressive. Her internal systems - such as respiration, cognition, reproduction - all seem to be functioning astonishingly well. She is indeed a marvel of function. But, there is more to perfection than simply function. She is far from perfect."

Rachel's beaming smiled sank. Her expression changed to one of disappointment. She let her hand fall away from the cylinder as she stepped closer to the glowing ball of light. "Why?" she asked, "What's wrong with her?"

The feminine voice of the sphere drifted away allowing a deeper voice began to speak. "She is highly emotional. She spends most of her time full of fear."

"Yes, she is quite timid. I think the Cleansing Process traumatized her. But, although she felt safe and secure in her sanctuary, I did convince her to leave the safe place and come with me. Her curiosity overcame her fear. Even I didn't expect that to happen."

"She reacted with fear to the other new arrival. The exhibition of fear in this manner is undesirable. In this case, fear of something she does not understand could grow into hate."

"But when I explained to her that the other new arrival was much like herself, she accepted it - putting her fear aside."

"She will not have you to explain things to her when she is on her own."

"I do agree that hatred borne from fear is undesirable, but I'm not willing to agree that she suffers from the undesired trait. Another test needs to be done to understand exactly how she would react to someone different from herself."

The many voices in the sphere began to whisper and buzz to themselves. They seemed to be in a conference, trying to come to a decision acceptable to all. After a moment, the voices died down and the deep voice returned. The voice said, "Schedule a test for her in the garden."

"Thank you, Masters." Rachel smiled, glad that she won the right to give her prodigy another chance to succeed. If the judgment hadn't gone in her favor, the Masters could have decided to destroy Rachel's wonder. Rachel had worked very hard on her creation. She didn't want to start over on a new model.

Then another feminine voice came forth from the glowing ball. "Her low tolerance of pain is also a concern. The stresses of the Cleansing Process were almost too much for her."

Rachel changed to a slightly defiant posture. "But the Cleansing Process is difficult on all arrivals. The process of purifying the body has always been a rigorous procedure. Many arrivals don't even survive it."

Suddenly, the single female voice was joined by a multitude of voices. The voices spoke out loud, with anger to their tone. " Do not lecture us on the rigors of the Cleansing Process. We are keenly aware of the labors involved. Do not forget, the Cleansing Process is our creation."

Rachel immediately bowed her had and dropped to one knee, full of humility. "Almighty Masters, I am awfully sorry. I beg for your forgiveness."

"Rachel, " said the multitude, "your service to us is unblemished. Please stand. You are forgiven."

Rachel stood and raised her nervous eyes back to the glowing ball of light. "Thank you, Masters," she whispered.

From the glowing ball, a single soft voice, almost childlike, spoke forward. "There is one final item of consideration concerning your submission."

"Yes?"

"She is human."

Rachel glanced up at the beautiful figure suspended inside the cylinder and smiled. "Yes, she is. Why? Is something wrong with her being human?"

"The design was once tried and considered a failure. The human model had many unforeseen flaws that we didn't expect. The version was deemed to be without merit. For that reason, the paradigm was terminated."

"That was a very long time ago, Masters. I hope you don't still condemn yourself for their abrupt end."

Rachel waited for the ball of light to respond to her statement, but no answer came. Perhaps the Masters considered themselves above regret. Perhaps they just didn't want to admit their connection to the human design.

Rachel hoped the design would invoke a more positive reaction from the Masters. After all, the Masters were once, and forever would be, linked with the human construct. That bond was there ever since the beginning of time itself.

Eager to get some sort of reaction from the Masters, Rachel took a step closer to the floating sphere. "Perhaps enough time has passed. Perhaps it is time to give the human form another chance."

After a moment, the child like voice responded. "Perhaps."

***

Una woke up screaming. She flailed her arms and legs, struggling to escape from the darkness that was smothering her. Blinded by fear and panic, she screamed and cried in terror, trying to get free. Finally, her panic stricken flailing limbs freed her, throwing the blankets clear off the bed. Una stopped screaming, shocked to realize that she was back in her room.

She struggled to gain control over herself, but it was no use. He whole body was covered in sweat. Her chest heaved in and out at a terrifying rate. Her heart pounded at reckless speeds. The whole room felt like it was spinning, while her mind labored to comprehend what was happening.

An understanding of how she got back to her room didn't seem to matter. The fact that she was back and safe was most important. She tried to focus on that fact, hoping that reality would help her settle down. It seemed to work. Her mind coaxed her body down the long path to calm. Her heart slowed and the room stopped going around in circles. Unfortunately, not everything handled the quick transition smoothly.

Sudden waves of cold tripped across her body, causing her muscles to jump and twitch. Then an intense feeling of nausea washed over her. Unable to control it, she rolled over the side of the bed and heaved. Her stomach clenched and horrific sounds of vomiting came from her mouth, but nothing else. Unable to control herself, her body went through the act four times. Since she had nothing in her, nothing left her. Una had not eaten yet. She had just entered the world only a few hours ago.

She closed her eyes and rolled back onto the bed, rubbing her pounding forehead. Her body and mind were finally beginning to calm, but terrifying memories plagued her. She tried not to dwell on them. She didn't want to get upset again. Instead, she focused on the memories of the cool soothing sensations of the blue liquid. She ran the memory over and over in her mind, allowing a peacefulness to fill her body.

After the memory began to fade, Una opened her eyes and looked around the room. For the first time, she noticed something different; the room was dark. She wondered why. She wondered where the light went. She looked at the window. There was very little light coming from it. She got up from the bed and walked over to the window.

Una leaned out. The world outside seemed very different. A coating of darkness blanked the land and sky. The pale blue dome that covered the land and the bright sun that hung in the sky were gone. In its place hung a large glowing dimpled sphere. Surrounding the sphere were thousands of tiny sparks of light, a shroud of blackness acted as their backdrop. And no longer were there sounds of birds singing or the wind brushing against the leaves. The calming sound of a soft breeze rustling over the grass and through the trees was all she heard.

The dark stillness of the world outside had a calming effect on Una. A cool soft breeze blew in through the window, brushing against her damp body, sending a wave of relaxation to rush over her.

Una sat down on the floor. She picked up the thick soft blankets lying beside her and wrapped them around her bare frame. She laid her head on the side of the bed and gazed out into the quiet night. She let the tranquillity of the night consume her. Warm and safe nuzzled in her blankets, Una drifted off to sleep.

[Chapter 1: Purfication] [Chapter 2: Examination] [Chapter 3: First Meeting] [Chapter 4: Second Test] [Chapter 5: Second Meeting] [Chapter 6: The Begining]