Chapter 1

For as long as I could remember, the ability to change the color of the walls in my room seemed like something whimsical. At the age of five they ended up covered in wild animals, which possessed the ability to dance along the edges. At the age of eleven they took on new life as my studies progressed through chemical biology of the various creatures. Even through the chaos of my teenage years they represented the most fleeting desires or boys, music, and symbols of angst. My walls represented me to the full extent of their capabilities since I could remember.

One thing never changed when it came to managing my moods, the color purple. It always found its way into the dreamscape, shifting from the lightest flicker of a horses mane when I was five, to the common symbol of the carbon atom at eleven, and even in the words “No Adult Entry” sprawled across the main wall to let my parents know my stance on their entry to my sacred temple. Purple ended up a common element in everything I wanted, and so as an adult it seemed fitting that it became the basis for everything I knew.

 

“Team member Garner, Agent #1623454, it is time for morning maintenance as per you signed contract. Please begin preparation for trial 739.” The mechanical voice of the artificial intelligence bound to the inside of my cranium cooed to me. Any kind of escape from the woman’s voice required advanced surgery to remove her from my cerebral cortex. For lack of a better figure of speech, she was a part of me as a much as a conscious thought could be construed to be a part of any being.

“Anything new for this particular trial, Lila, or is this simply another part of the routine the Avalons have set up?” My voice rasped as I spoke, letting me know that even as my eyes took in the schedule that flickered in a light purple on the subpanels that coated my walls, I still needed more time in order to make my motor functions cooperate.

“Agent Reed has received new bio implants that will allow phase disruption in pursuit. This could severely impact the combat scenario that you have become accustomed to. Do you wish to know the theoretical odds of completion for the trial?” Lila’s voice sounded as though it bounced as she spoke.

“Not really, no.” I arched my back and started to pull myself to the edge of the tensile graphene cradled me through out the night. The carbon structure stiffened as I placed my feet to the floor, something that Lila controlled without the need of my conscious thought to make it occur. “Any other variations in the time scape today, or am I still slated for bio graph later this afternoon?”

“The new alignment still remains part of your scheduled 47 hour rotation, Agent Garner.” Lila highlighted the line of purple text on the wall as I felt my feet take on my weight.

“I was certain that the last one was all the Avalons would allow me to have. “

“Each Agent is given a unique structure of devices that are uploaded to the body. Bio graphing is never the same for more than one Agent to ensure—“

“I’m well aware of that, Lila. It was more just me thinking out loud. I appreciate you making sure that everything is in order.” I walked over to the bathroom, one ragged step at a time.

Mornings always seemed to be the hardest part of the day. Lila used constant monitoring of vitals to ensure nothing happened to any of the required systems integrated into every fiber of my body while I slept. Homeostasis no longer belonged to the glands and regulatory functions of my brain, rather Lila took on each task to maintain perfect hormonal harmony. This left my brain left with more free time to worry about muscle control and free thought.

“You have approximately 30 minutes until you are scheduled to meet Agent Reed at the blue mat.” Lila reminded me as I glanced at myself in the mirror.

“Thank you, Lila.” My short blonde hair was tucked behind my ears, revealing the Agent ID and barcode that graced the side of my neck. I dried my face on the towel beside the sink. “I have plenty of time to make it there.”

“Need I remind you that transport to the trials takes ten minutes? You also need an additional ten minutes to suit out.”

“Again, well aware of the time issue, Lila.” I look at the deep brown eyes as they stare back at me. I ignored the tech continually registered the depth, structural components, and electrical impulses of the walls around me. A gift from the Avalons at age 18, one of the first they gave me when I entered the program.

“You do understand the penalty for late arrival at the mat?”

“One of my enhancements will be rendered ineffective until I have made up for the missed time. I am never late, and I have never had to make up time for anything training related.” The clothing designated for normal wear sat in a neat pile beside the door. An Osiet with the task of performing regular household maintenance took care of most mundane functions, leaving me with more time to train and work on the enhancements the Avalons provided. My soul purpose in life revolved around their commandments, and little more was ever asked of any of us.

“Then you are aware that you now have 19 minutes to report to the mat.”

“Now that you say it, yes.” I ran for the door without pausing, letting Lila open it for me and complete yet another mundane task. The hallway is stark white and silent except for the pattern of my feet hitting the cold illuminated panels that construct almost everything in our lives. The revolutionary break through in technology happened years ago, and since then our hierarchy replaced most things that were touched on a daily basis with them. 

I pressed against the violet hand print on the panel at the end of the hall and slid into the narrow tube with no windows. With the seal compressed, the sound of air whirring passed the tube told me in ten minutes we would arrive at the facility.

“Your heart rate is .007 percent elevated, Riley.” Lila spoke to me in a soft tone as I rested my head against the back of the vessel.

“I was running. It’s a normal thing that humans do when they expend an extra amount of energy. That’s nothing new.” I opened one eye to look around before again settling into my cranial darkness. “You said that like you haven’t seen a spike in my biometrics before.”

“Normally you are not about .004 percent. There is a .003 percent increase. I will make a note in your file.”

“Thanks for telling me it’s an off day before it even starts, Lila.”

“I would not be fulfilling my duty should I neglect in making you aware of that your biometrics are fluctuating.”

I don’t say anything else to her as we ride along for the remaining seven minutes. Lila’s access to my body makes her more aware than I am of any serious implications of what she is telling me, and as soon as she is able to establish a link with the facility she will relay my change in respiration. Another perk of being an Agent, constant monitoring whether you are feeling up to it or not.

“Agent #1623454 arriving for trial 739 sublet with Protocol Alpha 1.9987.” A methodical voice interrupted the few stolen moments of sleep I hoped to get in transport. “Nine minutes until trial begins.”

“Nine minutes, Agent Garner. You are going to be late.”

“I’m not going to be late, I’m going to be just in time.” I sprinted down the long silver corridor to the end where and Osiet stood with my helmet in his hands. “There is a protocol code on this trial, Lila. Something I need to know?”

“There is nothing that has been made available about the addition. If I find something I will ensure that you are informed.”

I touched the helmet to signify that I was ready to enter the holding room and don my uniform. I met his brilliant blue eyes as he nodded at me in understanding. Once I tried to talk to him in order to show appreciation of everything that he did for me, but the consequences of the matter ended up hazardous for the two of us. The division of Agents and those who served became clear with a jolt of electricity in the middle of my back.

“Agent Garner, I suggest you step into the room. Your memory of being shocked will not help you in the trial.”

“Out of my personal thoughts, Lila.” I muttered as I stepped into the room.  The door closed behind me and I stripped from the clothing adorned with my ID number printed on the right side. I spread my legs as I made it to the center of the white illumined bio paneled room. With my hands held out to the side, palms forward, a machine dropped from the ceiling and began to paint me with a synthetic material that hardened as it coated me. Heat blasted upward from the floor and the goo that once had looked like a white slime, now became a form fitted jumpsuit.

The Osient came into the room as one of the panels folded down and resembled various body molded, hard pieces that would sit upon my body. The chest, the spine, the throat, and other various musculature ended up covered by the time they were applied.

“Sixty seconds.” Lila seemed unimpressed as I took the helmet from the guy with the brilliant blue eyes, and slid it over my face.

“It doesn’t take ten minutes to dress out, Lila. It takes 7.” I watched as the panel slid open and the blue mat was revealed. As I stepped out of the room, I looked back at the person who helped me. He hadn’t moved, he just stood there watching as though he knew something I didn’t.

I pulled myself from his eyes and looked at the pitch-black room around me. Everything remained hidden until the time of the trial, at which point all the panels would shift and the lighting on everything would come into play. Most things had lights on them now, even our suits. My lighting was purple, the same purple that I adorned my walls with, and had in time become my signature color.

“Agent Garner, so glad you could join me this morning.” Her British accent clung to every sour word she uttered in her helmet. I turned to see Agent Reed standing in a uniform that mirrored my own, only in black.

“I heard that you received new bio implants. I’m here to see if you’ve adjusted to using them just yet. I know they take awhile to get used to, Lila is still making me feel like I have voices in my head.”

“Not everyone is as blessed as you to have an AI swimming around in their skull. You’ll have to ask her if she hacked the database in order to know about the new implants. The Avalons don’t like to have their little surprises spoiled before the big debut.”

“Lila…” I whispered inside my helmet as I stared at the Agent in front of me. “They will deactivate you for stupidity. Please tell me that’s not true.”

“I just happened to find the file while looking at the information on the newest approved implants.”

“Meaning you are making us both look like cheaters in the process.” I sighed.  “Agent Reed, why don’t you do the honor of starting us off. I’ll even throw in a ten second head start to ensure that my AI didn’t give me an unfair advantage.”

“I suppose that would be fair. Losing is losing, no matter how far behind you are when I cross the line of completion. Deal.” Agent Reed took her starting stance.

“Ripley, you are giving her a head start?” Lila almost screamed in my head. “There is a high possibility you will lose this trial.”

“Better to lose the trial than to have you compromised when I go in for bio upgrades today. I don’t need them messing with you when we are just starting to get along.”

“You think that they would do something to me when I have access to everything already without their knowledge?”

“Lila, you are part of my body. If I’m cut open on a table somewhere, you better believe that they have just as much access to you as they do to me. Now, I need you to help me focus. I just gave her ten seconds on me, and I don’t feel like being handed a loss because she has a new toy.”

The track darkened and the countdown began.