"And that's why you picked this job?" he grinned.
"Yeah, you're right. I haven't had a vacation in almost a year. I miss home."
"I miss it too, and it won't get better now that we're overseeing Szcky's Subjects.
"Didn't you pay attention to The Manager? He said it would be easy peasy for us."
He swayed and chuckled.
"I hate when he says that. I have learned that it usually means it will not be easy," said Mckcy.
He agreed completely and swayed again.
It was a great evening and he looked forward to seeing Mckcy the next day. He would get a chance soon for The Manager had called a spur-of-the-moment meeting with all Overseers.
"I have some exciting news," he said as they settled down. "I have a promotion to report."
It was highly unusual. No one was scheduled to be promoted, thought Ickcy, looking around.
"First, let me tell you that this candidate has worked very long and hard."
"Don't we all?" asked someone from the back of the room.
The Manager continued, "I know, I know. Many of you do work hard, but he worked with Dr. Lctch." There were a few grunts of admiration.
"Dr. Lctch said he was not a drawback and that he could be considered a plus. Anyone who knows the doctor knows that that is high praise. Anyways, you are all aware the previous Forest Sector Leader retired a month ago. At first we were not to going to replace him, but after some consideration we have decided we need someone in that position. Ickcy, you will be the new Forest Sector Leader."
He couldn't believe it. He didn't want it. Mckcy was the obvious candidate for that position. She had the most Subjects in the Forest Sector and she was several months his senior. He looked at her and she was staring at the table.
He knew the promotion had come between them. Worse, it had come because of a lie.
Chapter 20
Suki watched the white suit make his way to the cabin. She didn't move from her chair. He pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. Neither said anything for a moment as they watched the lake.
"Did you go back to the village?" he asked finally.
"Yes."
"But you don't seem as happy as before."
"No. I like this guy, but he thinks I am not human."
"What? What else could you be?"
"An alien like you."
"Oh," he said, but it was obvious he didn't understand.
"He cannot understand why I would be allowed the freedom to go anywhere while others are being punished for doing so. He thinks I must be working for you."
"Oh, like a traitor."
"Yes," she sighed. "How are things with you?"
"The lie we concocted got me a promotion."
"Ouch," she said. "I'm sorry. You must feel bad about that."
"Others would have congratulated me, but I see you really understand."
"Good things don't come from lies," she stated.
"The worse part is that I think it also cost me my friend."
"That is worse."
After another moment of lake contemplation she said, "You have to tell them the truth."
"It will mean my job."
"You seem to be smart. You can get another job."
"It's not only the job. They will punish you."
"Yeah, I guess I expect that. I don't care anymore. The experiment has failed, as it should. Humans are social creatures and they should not be forced to live alone."
"I will talk to Dr. Lctch when I get back to the ship. I owe it to her to tell her the truth first.
He arrived to Dr. Lctch's office and asked for a moment of her precious time.
She agreed to give him a few moments since he was her 'favorite' Overseer.
He knew that was going to change after he talked to her. "Dr. Lctch, there is something you need to know about Subject #78."
She didn't even turn towards him. She was busy looking at something on her desk.
"Aren't you interested in knowing the truth about that Subject?" he asked.
She glanced at him. "Truth is what you make of it."
"Truth is truth I don't think you can put a spin on it."
"And that is why you are just an Overseer."
She was making it quite difficult to be honest.
"Dr. Lctch, Subject #78 has not been alone."
"There are many levels of aloneness, Ickcy," she said still not looking at him. "Alone is defined as unaccompanied or being by yourself. Am I alone? Why yes in the pure sense of the definition. I work alone and even when there are others physically with me, I am alone in my intellectual level."
So she was alone now, thought Ickcy. He wondered where she was heading with this.
"Alone also means being lonely, feeling isolated or abandoned. Am I that definition of alone? Of course not and neither is Subject #78. In some little way, both of us are similar in that respect." She turned to look at him finally. "I am aware she is not alone. Oh, and I heard about your promotion, Ickcy, congratulations." She turned away.
He turned and left her lab. Apparently, she didn't want to know the truth.
Chapter 21
"You asked to see me, sir?" asked Mckcy politely. She was standing stiffly in his office.
He hated that she called him sir and he hated this wall between them. She had barely acknowledged him even when they passed in the hallways.
"Yes, Mckcy I wanted to tell you that I tried to rectify things," said Ickcy. "I told Dr. Lctch about Subject #78 not being alone. She didn't listen."
"Hmm, that is what happens with lies. Rectifying them is much harder."
"Mckcy I hope you know that I didn't do it to get this promotion. I just didn't want Subject #78 getting into trouble."
She sat down. "And now? Why are you telling Dr. Lctch about it?"
"Both you and Subject #78 told me to and I realize it is the right thing to do. Subject #78 said she was prepared to take the consequences." He told her that #78 was depressed after visiting some male human in the village. "Apparently she had some feelings for him and they are not being returned."
"That is interesting," said Mckcy. "One of my Subjects in the village is also acting depressed. I am worried about him since I know he has done rash things before."
"Are you talking about Subject #30?"
"That's him."
"I thought he had formed a liaison with the new female we placed in the village, Subject #56?"
Mckcy swayed. "That is what I thought and that is what the Overseer of #56 thought as well. They spend a lot time together."
"It would not make sense for Subject #78 and #30 to have any feelings for each other. They have barely spent time together."
"Yes, maybe I am wrong."
"On the other hand I have found that you are rarely wrong," said Ickcy.
She smiled.
"I hope things have not changed too much between us," he said.
She looked down. "I am sorry, but they have. I would never go out with my boss."
Things were getting worse every moment, he thought.
"Anyway," said Mckcy. "I guess you will not be the Overseer of Subject #78 anymore."
"You're wrong. They gave me the promotion, but I will still have all the Subjects I had before."
"You are doing two jobs?" She looked like she was about to smile.
"Go ahead, laugh. I guess I deserve it. You should have gotten this job."
She smiled. "No thanks. Why would I want to work two jobs? Do you even get two pay checks?"
"No. I did get a 3% increase."
She laughed then and left his office still chuckling.
Suki waited standing outside the cabin. Ickcy was on his way and she would find out what her punishment was. As soon he was close enough she asked, "What is going to happen to me?"
"There will be no punishment."
"What? Are you sure?" she asked.
"You sound as if you wanted a punishment."
"Well no. I am not masochistic
. I am just surprised. The guy in the village told me you punished the others when they did what I have done."
"That is true. Some of Subjects have been deprived of their favorite foods. The worse offenders were transferred to other locations where they had to start again. It all depends on the degree of their crime.
None of those punishments seemed that bad, thought Suki.
"There have also been some Subjects that have been put in isolation for a short period of time," he said.
Suki smiled. "But I'm already there."
"I guess that is true. The guy in the village you mentioned, is that Subject #30? He has broken rules before."
"I have no idea if that is his number. His name is Enrico."
Ickcy swayed.
"By the way, what is my number?"
"You are Subject #78."
"Why is my number so far from his number? Our ages are similar."
"That is an interesting idea. You think we give you a number based on your age?"
She shrugged, "It was a theory. I was wondering about your numbering system."
"It has to do with the experiments," he looked at her. "You have not known Enrico too long so you should get over any feelings you have, right?"
She nodded. "Ickcy do you have feelings?"
"Yes."
"So you know about trust and jealousy and greed?"
"Well, we know trust and a lot of other feelings, but jealousy is strongly suppressed and greed does not exist."
"Oh, so you are more advanced than us. I mean I knew your technology was, by the spaceships and all, but I didn't know if you, as individuals, were more advanced."
He didn't comment on that.
"How are things with your friend?" she asked.
"Not so good now that I am her boss."
"Yeah, even on Earth it is not a good idea to date your boss. Hey, if you are a boss now, why are you here?"
Ickcy explained the situation and she also laughed, just like Mckcy. "So you are doing two jobs now."
"Well, I am leaving now," said Ickcy. "If you want more bread, you will need to give me something to barter with. I'll pick it up tomorrow."
"Thank you Ickcy. By the way, do you think of me as #78 or as Suki?"
"As #78," he lied.
Chapter 22
Suki noticed something wrong as she approached the cabin. The lights were on and she did not remember putting them on. The one time Ickcy came when she had been out, he had waited for her outside. Maybe it was a different Overseer. Maybe they had decided that since Ickcy was the boss, he couldn't oversee her. That would be bad, she thought as she walked into the cabin expecting the worst.
Enrico was sitting at her kitchen table. She froze.
"Hello Suki."
"Hello," she finally said. "What are you doing here?"
"I escaped. I had to see you since you don't come around any more."
"You made it clear you didn't want to see me."
"I did. I don't know what to think about you."
"What do you want to know?"
"Do you work with them?"
"No. I mean they help me with the food and I am getting bread from someone in exchange for vegetables, so they help me to keep me alive."
"They help all of us that way. Why weren't you punished for crossing the two mile limit?"
"Did you know that one of the punishments is isolation? I am already there."
"Isolation? I didn't know. What about the people that have disappeared?"
"They were relocated and had to start over in a new location."
"Are you sure? So they are still alive?"
"We are valuable to them and there are no more humans coming. Apparently you and I are in different experiments."
"You know an awful lot about them."
"I talk with my Overseer. You better get back to the village before they notice you are gone. Not all Overseers are as understanding as mine," she said.
He stood up and headed towards her and the door. "Can I come visit again?"
"I'll come to the village. It is safer. You have already have a reputation as a trouble maker with the aliens."
He stopped in front of her and gazed into her eyes. "I do make trouble." He kissed her good-bye.
It was not a casual kiss and she stayed transfixed long after he left.
Wow, she thought finally.
Ickcy was not going to do anything about it. At the usual time, the viewer had shifted to view Suki. He was surprised to see that she had a human visitor. It had to be Subject #30 by the way he talked. Who else would break the two-mile rule and go visit Suki?
He listened to them for a while and then he saw them kiss. It clearly affected Suki who stayed in place for a while. She obviously had feelings for the male.
He had been wrong. They had not known each other for a long time, but that had not seemed to matter. It seemed these two had developed feelings for each other quite quickly.
Well, he was not going to do anything about it. As far as he was concerned, all the Subjects could visit each other, corrupt the data, and he didn't care. He was too tired and was feeling overwhelmed by his work.
Worse, it was he that was feeling alone. Alone, alone, he thought, in the definition of loneliness, solitude and unaccompanied. He matched all the definitions.
He looked at the files accumulating on his desk. How had the previous Forest Sector Leader handled it? Well first off, he had only had that one job and second, his manager had not gone on vacation.
Earlier that day, The Manager had come by his office. He was almost jovial and that should have been a hint of what was to come. "My vacation has been approved," The Manager told him.
"That must be nice," said Ickcy.
"It is, for me. I think they saw that you are here now so the work will be done while I'm away."
"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand."
"The Forest Sector Leader can stand in for me, if I take a vacation."
Ickcy was stunned. "But sir, I am doing the Forest Sector job in addition to my old job."
"Yes, I did realize that could be a problem, so I have a solution. You have nine Subjects, right?"
"Yes."
"You should give two of them to Mckcy."
"Mckcy?"
"Yes, she is quite competent and should be able to handle eight Subjects. If you like I can tell her."
"No, that is quite all right." The bad news better come directly from him. "Isn't there someone else I can give Subjects to?"
"There is Drvky, but..." He thought for moment. "Yes, Drvky should be able to handle your easy ones. Give him the two Subjects in the Tropic Village. They live near to the others he oversees."
Ickcy swayed. That left him one Subject in the Tropics and he didn't dare give that one to Mckcy. It would increase her workload too much.
"See, your problems are solved," said The Manager. "You are down to six Subjects, including Subject #5. You will remember I am taking care of her since she is old and about to die. I am not sure how much longer she will last. Your task now should be easy peasy."
"Well, five Subjects in the Forest Sector does make it easier, but I still have one Subject in the Tropics, #71."
"Ah but Subject #71 is part of the Alone Project. You do so well with the alone Subjects I recommend you keep that one."
"Right."
"I'll start sending you some files that need to be reviewed in the next days and remember you are now in charge of the weekly meeting so you should come up with an agenda."
He barely swayed feeling stunned.
"Oh and here is The Manager Crown, it should fit you nicely. Try it on."
Ickcy put The Manager Crown on and it squeezed his head. It didn't fit well and he already hated it.
"It looks good on you," said The Manager. He seemed too happy to relinquish it.
Chapter 23
"Ickcy?" Mckcy was at the door of his office. "I'm sorry, but you didn't answer when I whistled."
He had not h
eard her whistle at the door, he must have been dozing. "Oh, that's all right, what do you need?"
She looked concerned at him. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, of course. I was just reviewing?" He didn't remember what he had been reviewing. "Go ahead."
She came in and sat down. "I have heard some disturbing news." She stopped.
It must have been disturbing; she usually wasn't at a loss for words and she had forgotten to call him 'sir'. "Yes?"
"It is about your Subject #78."
Oh no, he thought. What else could she have done? She had not seemed to be a problem.
"The Experimenters want to dissect her brain."
Ickcy didn't understand the words for a moment and then it hit him. They wanted to kill her. He was speechless.
"I can see you are as shocked as I was when I heard," said Mckcy.
"Why?"
"She is so unique. They want to see if her brain is different from the others and if that explains why she is happy being alone."
"It is the lie again. But I told Dr. Lctch she was not alone."
"I don't think it is up to her anymore. The Board of Experimenters has decided. They reviewed the data and came to that conclusion this morning."
Ickcy couldn't think.
"I'm sorry Ickcy," said Mckcy getting ready to leave. "I thought you should know."
"When is it scheduled for?"
"I'm not sure, but it will take several days to set it up. They have to get many approvals before that."
It had not been done before. Killing a Subject had never been done. Well it was not going to happen on his watch, he said to himself. The Manager was going to be gone for a week so he had total control of the Forest Sector. There had to be something he could do.
The monitor in front of him switched Subjects on schedule and it showed Subject #78 on the planet. She was on the dock and she started sprinkling crumbs into the water. The fish must have known she was there and they started to snap at the bread. Sometimes a fish would jump up and catch a crumb before it even hit the water. It made her laugh.
Not on his watch, he thought.
"Hi," said Suki as she saw him.
"You seem happy again."
"Yes," she smiled. "My friend came to visit. He was born in Italy you know."
"I didn't know that, he was picked up in the United States. I did see him here.
"I knew you would, since you gave me your viewing schedule, but just in case, I thought I should tell you."
Ickcy swayed. "It was wrong of him to come."
"Yes, but it was nice." She smiled again. "He must like me enough to take a risk for me."
"Aren't you worried what might happen to him?"