Chereads / The island 2289 / Chapter 4 - Four

Chapter 4 - Four

This concerns all people that are in the range of these two barriers. Absolutely everyone.

Every morning from six to eight is the designated time to answer questions. If someone forgets to do this activity due to various reasons it's possible to correct it at six to eight in the evening. This is also today's case with Henrik. The touch hand asks questions and the said person has to answer only yes or no. Upon a correct answer the small mirror- touch hand turns green and if the answer is incorrect, when a person is lying, then it turns red.

In this case the system asks the question again. If even after the correction there's a red light then the said person can expect a visit. The agents won't take long. In essence it's kind of a lie detector and telephone in one. After eight in the morning it can be used as a telephone and a connection with the centre.

It's coming up to six in the evening. Henrik has just finished the dinner brought to him by an atomised system resembling a magnetic board. It's a strange combination of vegetables and cooked rice. In this station there are lots of chefs working here from the entire world. Obviously sometimes they can't understand each other. Those who came to Europe don't know Eureka very good. They cook more intuitively and try to accommodate their cooking style to the European standard.

Henrik placed his hand on the small hated mirror. It turned green. There was a beep. After a few seconds there a woman's voice could be heard:

"Are you Henrik Ultured? Have you been accommodated here for exactly 11 days? Did you have a dream tonight outside of the centre? Who did you meet in the dream?" Describe the person in the dream.

Did your dream have any political significance? Did you see technologies that aren't currently available in your dream?..." Henrik answered all of the questions correctly and the "mirror" was green all the time. After this boring action he placed himself in the seat in the middle of the room and shifted into a laying position. He turned the speaker on night music and closed his eyes.

The next morning Thea woke up with difficulties from the uncomfortable position she fell asleep in the evening in the seat in the centre of the room and without switching to the night regime. She looked at the touch hand and then at the clock on the wall. It was something after six, she still had some time.

There was a buzzing sound at the door… they opened up and there was the magnetic food carrier. Breakfast was quite good. For the most part there were cereal with a kind of synthetic juice of a red colour. After breakfast she dressed into the yellow bodysuit and with a disgusted look gazed at the touch hand. Today she really wasn't in the mood for these incomprehensible questions. As a doctor of psychology she knew the significance of questions of a different character, but these questions from the centre were sometimes really crazy. She placed her hand on the mirror and it turned green. There was a beep, which was a sign of activation and connection between the person and the centre.

"Did you make any contact with a new person since you've been in the centre? Did you talk about the imperfection of the world system? Did you attempt to use your psychological tactics in order to influence the thinking of this person? Did this person tell you any information that they're hiding from the centre? Did you urge someone in your vicinity to perform subversive activities against us?"

She answered all the questions correctly as always. The whole time there was a green light and so everything proceeded in order.

Later she was wrote something down in her diary. After eight she again came up to this miracle on the wall. She placed the palm of her hand on it again…

In Henrik's room the touch hand began to shine and a voice could be heard. It was Thea's voice.

"Henrik, we'll meet in the middle of the station like yesterday, in about ten minutes. I'll bring some papers, we can at least try to teach someone Eureka, I can't think of any other activity for today."

Henrik gazed intently at the wall and answered: "Okay, I'll be there, I just have to contact the centre and ask them something."

"Okay, do what you have to and I'll wait for you."

Thea slowly went through the crowd that spread in this centre like ants in an ant hill. She was heading to the big screen where an "educational" documentary of the terrifying past was being played again.

There were about four places free. She sat down, placed the papers on the table and looked at the boring documentary…

"Eureka? Eureka?" Thea heard somewhere behind her back.

She turned around and there was a young Asian girl addressing people, which meant she wanted to learn Eureka. Thea waved at her and signalled that she'll take this activity up. The young woman, about twenty, sat opposite of her and smiled at Thea.

"Eureka?" she asked and looked at the papers in front of Thea. "Well of course Eureka."

Thea handed her a paper with pictures on it. The young Asian woman took it and gradually pointed at the pictures. The first one was a table, after that there were clothes, toys…

The Asian pointed at the images and Thea said the names, which the young woman then repeated.

Table-tablo, toys -igra, clothes- dresna, glass-gla, water-ner… and many others. The whole training took about 15 minutes. Occasionally some random passer-by joined. They said the names together, pointed at pictures also to the people that stopped at the table for a few seconds. This is how life is in the centre if someone thinks of an activity that doesn't bother the centre and passes time.

Henrik came to the table with a disgusted expression and sat opposite of Thea. She looked at him and asked if he didn't like today's questions. Henrik looked at her with surprise. "No I didn't. They get on my nerves, I contacted the centre and wanted to know when they were planning to let me back into Oslo. I'm not in the mood anymore to stay here even for one more day. They didn't answer me. As always, if it's something that doesn't suit them, they don't answer. It's terrible to be somewhere like this place and not know when you'll leave." Thea thought deeply.

"Look, you won't trick the system. It's automatized for a hundred percent. Personally I think that we have never had the honour to talk to a live person. This damned system holds the whole planet in a leash."

At that moment people started to gather near the main exit.

"Something's happening, let's go there," said Thea and they both headed towards the crowd.

"What's happening here?" Henry addressed a thin man who was leaning against the wall.

"Well the centre released a new guideline that every day at 2 p.m. we'll be able to go for a two-hour walk around the island. I guess they don't see a threat in us." After he finished the sentence, the door to the centre started to open. The people gladly went outside despite the fact that it was bitter cold. The yellow bodysuit enables to exist also in extreme conditions so it's no problem to spend the two hours of walk. Today it's minus 24 degrees and snow is rushing on this dome as if someone tried to cover it forever. The wind is howling from all sides.

In these conditions it's impossible to talk to someone, so everyone just wonders with their own thoughts in their head. Everyone will take from this walk what they want. Some went down to the shore and simply looked at the water crashing against the boulders on the coast. For sure there's one crucial question in the mind of everyone, how did we get onto this harsh island of nothing.