Behind the frail, large tube that brought up the batch of new workers, a smaller, well-kept one was hidden from the public eye. It connected only two levels and passed through several layers without a stop between them. Savan's invitation tasked them with taking it, along with two strangers, on a specific day, at a specific hour.
"Miss it and you are out of the competition", was written on the invitation message in bold.
They were the last ones to get to it, and the other two gained their attention immediately. One was an average-sized, but bulky young man, whose lazy eyes were accentuated by his supple cheeks. Between the boy's metallic, shiny head, Savan's genetically induced inability to grow hair, and the third girl's shaved cuts on each side of her mohawk, the cloppy jokingly thought that "it's going to be a shiny competition this year".
Pat1-"Oh, you can't be serious", spurted the woman at the sight of Savan. She then, indignantly, crossed her arms together and tried to let out a small chuckle, but her gas mask muzzled her voice to the point where she sounded like her vocal cords were three times of the normal size. "Why, oh why, are you also bald?"
Savan -"Ah, it's because I'm a clo…a C.E. My name is Savan Forg, by the way. Are you also going, well, up there?". Savan didn't know if they were connected to the competition, and didn't want to bring any stranger that could kick them out of the R.O.C. The question confused the woman a bit, and she took a second to comprehend what the C.E. was getting at. "What? Oh right, yes, we're also patients. I'm Angie and this sleepy fellow here is, uhm, what did you say that your name was again?"
She tried to wake him with an elbow nudge, but then his body reacted on its own and dodged the light push. Savan gasped in surprise and exclaimed in a high-pitch, raspy tone:
Savan -" A fully integrated cranial motion sensor, right? Where did you get that mister? At what range does it work? Does it hurt to use it? What is the minimum BMI required for a person to activate it?" The rapid-fire succession of each question awoke the boy, then made him aware of Savan, then of Angie, and in the end, of his surroundings. He looked up and down at the elevator, then again at the people around him, and then at his wrist.
Pat2 -" Oh, so I made it on time.", he said nonchalantly. He then, as if by routine, stroked what little facial hair he had on top of his chin, did some stretches, and blurted out a yawn that bent him backward, stretching his green gym shirt.
Marchos -" Yes, hi, hello, my name is Marchos. With a silent h.", he said politely, which surprised Angie.
She knew that both of them were supposed to be her competition, and even set up a personal rule: While she wouldn't mind knowing her rivals, she would keep her company on a tight, but slim leash. But the reality was harsher than expected, as she felt swept by those two little by little. The boy, in the meantime, was looking through the conversation log on his WristCom and tried to politely answer all the questions asked of him.
Marchos -" You seem quite, curious (I think is the right description) for a C.E. You even have your own, custom name, huh? Savan, you said?", he asked, as his log had the inquiries attributed to a Seven-Four. 'Most probably a nickname', he thought to himself. "Yes, I am using motion sensors, but I can not give you more than that. All I can say is that my job requires me to have them and that company rules won't allow me to talk more about it. "
Savan -" Well that's a bummer", huffed Savan. "I didn't get that many customers with that kind of military-grade tech at the office, you know, so I was curious about them". Marchos didn't even make a peep afterward, as both he and Angie were taken a bit by surprise by how easily Savan noticed what type of tech it was.
Angie -" Nice eye you've got there, you sleuth, you. Is that some kind of learning protocol used during the cloning process?", inquired Angie. Unlike most people, she was accustomed to speaking with a C.E. outside work, but she found them either way too formal in their speech or tedious to talk to. While she never understood the normal societal prejudices about the clones and tried to not be aggressive or creepy in their conversations, she often noticed that a C.E. would always keep some kind of distance from people, never trying to connect more than it was required.
Savan -"No, I don't think so. I mean, when I woke up 26 years ago I knew all about the products before that point, but since then I just simply learned about them by myself. I wouldn't have survived for this long if I hadn't done that, to be honest". And there it was, Exactly the type of answer Angie expected from them, she even became a bit disappointed that they got her hopes up. Which quickly dispersed, though, by the next question asked by the clopy.
Savan -" So mister Marchos, why the silent h in your name? The name Marcos still exists and is used by many people, correct?"
Angie felt as if her guard was breached for a second, and just stared in disbelief at how easily they asked a normal question. 'Huh…The little clone is right, that's quite a curious thing. Still, even more curious is that they just asked it.', she thought to herself. Afterward, she joined in on the fun, piling on Marchos about his name, and then giggling together with Savan at the boy's explanation.
Angie -" Are you for real, your family did that because of a bet? So, technically, you are the only Marchos in the world, on paper?", the girl asked incredulously.
Marcos -" Ye..., yes. Can you please just call me Marcos, though?", he was a bit shaky in his voice, not used to someone they just met to tease him. "And yes, I tried to change it, but my fathers and mothers said that it would break their hearts if I did that".
Savan -" Oh, well, it's kinda nice and sweet of you that you care so much for your family, you shouldn't be ashamed of that". It was still a mystery to them if the clopy said that because of their programming or genuine concern. "But you did shoot yourself in the foot a bit with that last one. Sorry…Marhhos."- With that light jab, Angie was sold on Savan, laughing harder because she got caught off guard by a C.E making a joke than the joke itself. Marchos, on the other hand, was sighted in defeat.
Angie -" Yep, I got to agree with one. Well, since we are sharing some moments, it's my turn then. Now, regarding this", Angie said, pointing towards her mask - " and before you ask, yes, it's grafted on the face".
Marcos -" You're a miner then, right? I mean the overalls kinda gave that away, but the mask had me confused a bit. Bedrock miner?".
Angie tried to imitate the old way of stretching the belt loops, but since she used those to tie the uniform around her waist, she just imitated the move in the open air.
Angie -"Yap, you're also some kind of sleuth? Part of the fourth commune, born and worked my whole life under the earth. That's also how I got my pale-looking face even more ghostly, we barely get any lamps, let alone Artf. UV lights. Also, back to the mask- I got it when I was 16, but they failed to mention that it can't be removed."
Savan -"Well, how do you eat or drink then?"
The girl widened her big eyes even more, and with a metaphoric grin on her face, pulled out a toolbox from her backpack, one filled with giant syringes, tubes, and lots of packs.
Angie -"Ta-da", she added as she opened it.
Savan -" Ohhh!", Savan responded with fake surprise, trying to go with the mood.
Angie -" It took months to adapt, but solid food tastes like crap anyway. And I found some spices for this method, so to speak. I can either inject them intravenously, through a breathing tube, eye drops, snort them, or insert them through the backside. Oh, and I can also control the speed at which my body absorbs the nutrients by either injecting them through my legs or higher up the body. Neat isn't it", she asked, waiting with glittering brown eyes to see their reaction.
Before any of the other two could try to avoid giving their honest reaction, the elevator door opened. While Angie and Marc pondered if it was safe, Savan was the first to enter it.
Savan - "We would still have to ride it, right? And my message from the management said that underlined that I'd be disqualified if I missed it."