Blue Eyes

In his heavy panelled suit, the Magna labours toward her.  He is one of the herd of hybrids boarding the ship, but his purposeful step out of the current draws her attention. Gry thinks these laboratory manufactured men look like a swarm of cockroaches - blackened as they are by the residue of the dark stone they mine.  They have been designed to scurry and to gather; efficiency born from engineered strength and limited intelligence. 

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The Magna's are a colony bred by the consortium to work the asteroid belts and fill cargo ships.  The dark stone they gather, feeds the hungry furnaces on Earth; a vital fuel for the depleted planet.  Magnas are slaves, and some say, beasts – disposable creatures labouring to keep the lungs of humanity pumping.  They mean nothing to her – except perhaps, for him. 

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Gry averts her gaze, but the clarity of his abnormal blue eyes has already pierced her heart. She keeps her face expressionless. 'I want give you,' he says and she struggles to conceal her surprise at his intelligent speech.

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The Magna's offering lies in his strong hands, a heart shaped locket that commands her attention. And for a moment, she falters; feeling that rare twist in her stomach. 'Where did you steal that from?' Gry accuses, shaping her voice like a hammer, beating away the softness that tries to creep in. She snatches the crudely fashioned treasure and hides it in her own shaking hand, checking that no other overseer has noticed the exchange.  

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The Magna accepts her harsh reaction – after all, it is all he knows.  Hybrids aren't familiar with kindness or comfort, and as an overseer, she has always been there to manage and discipline. 

As Gry meets the Magna’s stare, he doesn’t look away.  She automatically raises her taser baton, but there is no rebellion in his gaze. 'It for you,' he says simply, stepping away and turning to re-join the thong of bodies lumbering toward the ship. 

​

Gry tries to analyse the situation but finds herself at a loss.  She has noticed this one several times over the last few months of conditioning.  Those blue eyes – a genetic anomaly, seeking hers.  This Magna possesses human responses but has had intelligence to hide amongst his benign cohort. He has concealed himself behind his anonymous face, while preparing a gift and a speech for her.

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Activating the privacy screen permitted for breaks, Gry investigates the locket.  It is made of the same metal that fashions a Magna's armour, yet it has been buffed to a dull silver.  A string of wire connecting the two equal halves is wound around the heart shape to keep it from opening.  It is a crude object of skill, purpose, and emotion.  

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Gry's mouth feels dry as she fumbles to unravel the loops of wire and open the locket.  Inside is a hologram chip – the type used to replay personal messages to loved ones in faraway star systems.  The chip has been stolen.  It bears the consortium insignia and as a result, deactivation of the Magna is warranted. 

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She slips the chip into her communications bracelet and the projection flickers to life in front of her. The Magna had recorded his message in a dorm of sleeping bodies, each identical to his own. 'I'm not same as them. This,' he touches his chest and head. 'More awake.' The image freezes as a time lapse is registered. This time his expression is desperate. 'You see me. I feel…' he searches for the words. Longing, Gry thinks, reading the expression in his eyes. 'You,' he finishes simply.   

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The hologram fades, and Gry finds herself gripping the locket so tight, it hurts. She shoves it into her pocket along with the chip and deactivates the privacy screen. Now, it is her turn to walk with purpose. She pushes her way through the Magnas, using her baton to prod the hybrids in her way. Small among these giants, Gry’s authority is absolute. She has no fear – just a sense of duty.

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Gry speaks into her communications bracelet. 'M42267, halt.'  Instantly, she identifies him by the disruption to the flow. It takes only a second before the others compensate by making paths around him and she marches toward him.

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The Magna turns to face Gry, blue eyes bright with what she thinks is hope. 'Stand aside,' she orders, and he creates more disruption as he pushes his way through the others, to wait at the edge of the gangway. Gry indicates that he should join her in the supply docking area, off to the side of the ship's main entrance and he obeys with the placidity typical of his kind.

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‘Report situation,' her commanding officer barks, and she looks up to see him watching from the immense screen in the loading dock. 'Disciplinary action, Sir,' she answers, keeping her eyes off the Magna's face. 'Divergent behaviour.'

'There's always one that sparks up on loading day,' he replies with a dry laugh.

'The punishment for stealing company materials is a resurrection reset,' Gry states. The M42267 doesn’t seem to understand that this means a painful, reprograming process. Instead, he smiles at her dolefully. Gry raises her baton and activates the taser. If this Magna is as autonomous as she suspects, he may have the capacity to fight back, but as the weapon crackles to life, he remains docile.

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As M42267 is gripped by the electric charge, his eyes bulge and his mouth slackens.  He falls to the ground in spasms, tortured by the currents that ignite every cell in his body with pain.  Gry feels nothing but a sense of duty. 'Terminating hybrid,' she informs her commander as she holds the charge for another ten seconds. 'Request escort to medical for resurrection reset.'

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'Request granted for an MAR and report expected at the end of shift,' the commander replies without further questions. 

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It is accepted that some units will display divergent behaviour and this termination will be regarded as an acceptable course of action.  Gry knows hers is a justifiable response by a senior overseer with an impeccable record. 

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An alarm sounds as the hover stretcher and a medical assistant robot is summoned to duty. The Magna lays still at Gry’s feet. Drool laces down his cheek. She instructs the MAR to follow, using her bracelet to access each new facility section.  She has the Magna transferred to the hard metal table in a medical procedure room. 'Leave,' she instructs, locking the door behind the MAR and activating the room's privacy shields. 

​

Gry stands looking at the M42267, assessing his condition.  Because she had lowered the voltage of her taser, the termination had been avoided. Her eyes sweep over the Magna’s familiar features, but it is not the external that interests her. It is what is happening inside, that is fascinating. Gry touches a cool hand to M42267’s forehead and his eyes open. 'Alive,' he croaks. 

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'Yes,' she answers.

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'You see me.'

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'Yes.'

​

The Magna begins to regain muscle control, slowly moving to a sitting position.  Now that they are at eye level, Gry is sure that the experiment has worked.  M42267 has her eyes, the detail written in the unique ring of brown that circles his pupil.  Her DNA has been used to create this hybrid, and he is capable of both communication and emotion. 'You belong to me,' she says, reaching out to stroke his cheek, and the Magna closes his eyes, relishing the contact.

​

Gry allows herself a moment of triumph.  There had been no way to track the test tube she had interfered with. It had been one of the thousands, sitting in the preparatory state.  To think that the murky liquid had become this Magna, was remarkable.

​

'We belong together,' Gry says, her voice taking on urgency, for they don't have the luxury of time.  She pulls her personal communication chip from the port beneath her hair, wincing as the top layer of her skin tears. Employees of the consortium must turn these off while working, for the chips allow for artificial intelligence neuro connections. Her model – the latest, is designed for direct messaging functions, such as thought syncing with same model devices. Now, she will need to get another fitted as a matter of urgency.

 

'Stay still,' she commands, moving to stand behind the Magna. She parts his thick, protective mat of black hair to reveal his rudimentary port.  It contains a chip installed to emit commands. These chips enable the consortium to control Magnas from remote mining stations within their jurisdiction of the belt. 'Soon, you will hear me speaking to you,' she explains, dislodging his chip and replacing it with her own. 'My voice in your head. You won’t hear the other voices, so you must follow the other Magnas. Always do what they do.’  Gry hesitates, hoping her explanation is not too advanced for his feeble mind.  ‘Do you understand?'

​

'Yes.'

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'Good. We will return to the dock. You will go onto the ship.’  The Magna’s body stiffens. 

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‘Me go you,’ he whimpers.

 

Gry moves to stand before him, cradling his stricken face in her hands. ‘Don’t worry, I will be with you.' She taps his head. 'In here.' 

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The Magna taps his chest.'In here.' 

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Gry takes his hand and traces the shape of a love heart onto his palm. 'Yes.'

​

M42267 gazes at her with adoration and Gry is suddenly uncomfortable. 'Stand and follow me,' she commands.

They exit the lab, moving swiftly back to the loading dock.  His heavy steps echo within the sterile corridors, keeping pace with her heart.  'Go back to them,' she orders, indicating towards the shuffling hybrids with her raised taser baton.

​

As M42267 steps back into the fray, Gry struggles to regulate her emotions.  She reminds herself that the risk of discovery is negligible.  Soon he will be amongst thousands labouring in a programmed routine, only watched from afar. She does a few quick calculations.  The M40000 batch of hybrids will be due for health checks and conditioning in roughly six months.  After that time, her Magna will be returned with his brothers on a cargo ship, loaded with the black rock.  By then, their relationship will be strong after months of inner conversation.  M42267 will yearn to see her again. He will do anything for her – if she asked it. 

​

Gry smiles as the mighty door of the cargo ship closes.  She is confident that M42267 will follow her instructions to disable the ship's communication system and dispose of the crew on his way back from the belt. She is certain he will meet her in Quadrant 58, where the black rock will sell for millions to a fuel-hungry black market.  

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Gry waits for pain of guilt or regret, but she only feels excited to have laid a firm claim to her future. She will be free from a world soiled by humanity. With her millions, passage to the new Earth will be guaranteed.

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Gry makes haste to write her fraudulent report, eagerly anticipating the end of her shift and the embrace of Lomang, her lover.  After all, her success belongs equally to him.  Lomang was the real mastermind behind the execution of the plan.  Still, Gry wishes he hadn't included her blue-eyed gene in his expertly manufactured DNA cocktail.  Seeing the pain and confusion mirrored like that in her eyes, will make the betrayal more personal. 

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As she exits the consortium compound and steps into the hot filth of the endless city, Gry feels for the heart shaped locket. As her hand closes around its rough edges, she decides not to tell Lomang about this tender offering.  Afterall, it was completely unexpected, and he wouldn’t understand.  Plus, Gry thinks it may be best to keep her options open. In the end, her own interests were paramount and love was just another tool in her arsenal.