simply.
“We liked her too.”
“Oh.”
There was a more noticeable pause. “She’s dead now.”
“Oh.” Bunierti didn’t appreciate hearing about an Upholder dying, but it was obviously an intentional act on the other woman’s part, so she couldn’t justify feeling remorse either.
“You shouldn’t fear us.”
Bunierti snorted. “I try not to feel fear at all.”
Another pause. “We feel fear all the time.”
She shrugged. “You’re in prison. You’re safe, if not free. I don’t know what you would fear, other than being forgotten down here.”
“Do you like your government?” they asked together.
“Of course I like
our
government,” she answered, emphasizing “our” to clarify that she did not exclude them from being under its rule.
“They murdered my wife and daughter while forcing me to watch,” the prisoner named Jirit said.
Bunierti shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Of course you don’t believe that yet,” they answered in unison.
“I’m not going to believe it later,” she asserted hotly.
The prison block fell silent. The prisoners stood still, facing across the corridor at each other. After awhile, Bunierti completed another walk along the hall, but the prisoners said nothing and did not move. Back at the door, she looked at the clock in her HUD and willed it to go faster. She wanted to get away, and she was eager to report her findings to her Supervisor. Bunierti was sure that the prisoners of Wolf Block needed to be split up from each other, to disrupt whatever they were doing.
A meal arrived, and Bunierti completed the routine normally, seeing no need to disrupt it now. The prisoners sat in unison, ate in unison, and then stood again in unison. Bunierti expected them to say something or do something more, but they remained motionless and silent. Again she paced to the far end of the hall and back to the door, but nothing else moved. The silence seemed to press in on her. Bunierti mentally scolded herself for thinking that the HUD clock display was slowing down. She felt increasingly weary, and at one point she was tempted to sit down. The memory of finding the other Upholder sitting on the floor gave her a jolt that kept her alert for a bit longer, but it was not long before she again felt regret that the interior-duty Upholder armor did not include a stimulant supply.
“Fine,” she eventually said, irritation strong in her voice. “I want answers. So if you want to share your secrets, go ahead.” The prisoners did not react. “Okay, I’m sorry about Upholder Sriara, although it looked to me like she did it to herself. Now what did you want to tell me?” Still the prisoners did not react. “Look, I’m not going to acknowledge that the government murdered Jirit’s family, at least not without cause. Maybe they did face ultimate collection, I don’t know, but I’m not going to call it murder.” The silence continued.
“What happens when something is broken, out of order?” the prisoner across from Jirit finally spoke up.
“We fix it,” Bunierti snapped, “but if you’re saying the government is broken, you’re not going to convince me based on some claim from a prisoner about his family being murdered.”
“What happens when somebody is sick?” Jirit asked.
“We heal them,” she answered. “What is the point of this?”
“How do we heal them?” Jirit asked.
Bunierti shook her head. “I don’t know, I’m not a doctor! It depends on what they’re sick with.”
“Cancer, for example,” the prisoner across from Jirit prompted.
“We heal the cancer, obviously,” she replied. “I don’t know the details. They get cured, then they’re sent off to a climate where they can recover better. And maybe they have to stay there if the treatment left them too weak to return home.”
“Do you ever see them again?”
Bunierti started pacing next to the door. “Of course. Even if they don’t come home, we vidchat with them.
“We liked her too.”
“Oh.”
There was a more noticeable pause. “She’s dead now.”
“Oh.” Bunierti didn’t appreciate hearing about an Upholder dying, but it was obviously an intentional act on the other woman’s part, so she couldn’t justify feeling remorse either.
“You shouldn’t fear us.”
Bunierti snorted. “I try not to feel fear at all.”
Another pause. “We feel fear all the time.”
She shrugged. “You’re in prison. You’re safe, if not free. I don’t know what you would fear, other than being forgotten down here.”
“Do you like your government?” they asked together.
“Of course I like
our
government,” she answered, emphasizing “our” to clarify that she did not exclude them from being under its rule.
“They murdered my wife and daughter while forcing me to watch,” the prisoner named Jirit said.
Bunierti shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Of course you don’t believe that yet,” they answered in unison.
“I’m not going to believe it later,” she asserted hotly.
The prison block fell silent. The prisoners stood still, facing across the corridor at each other. After awhile, Bunierti completed another walk along the hall, but the prisoners said nothing and did not move. Back at the door, she looked at the clock in her HUD and willed it to go faster. She wanted to get away, and she was eager to report her findings to her Supervisor. Bunierti was sure that the prisoners of Wolf Block needed to be split up from each other, to disrupt whatever they were doing.
A meal arrived, and Bunierti completed the routine normally, seeing no need to disrupt it now. The prisoners sat in unison, ate in unison, and then stood again in unison. Bunierti expected them to say something or do something more, but they remained motionless and silent. Again she paced to the far end of the hall and back to the door, but nothing else moved. The silence seemed to press in on her. Bunierti mentally scolded herself for thinking that the HUD clock display was slowing down. She felt increasingly weary, and at one point she was tempted to sit down. The memory of finding the other Upholder sitting on the floor gave her a jolt that kept her alert for a bit longer, but it was not long before she again felt regret that the interior-duty Upholder armor did not include a stimulant supply.
“Fine,” she eventually said, irritation strong in her voice. “I want answers. So if you want to share your secrets, go ahead.” The prisoners did not react. “Okay, I’m sorry about Upholder Sriara, although it looked to me like she did it to herself. Now what did you want to tell me?” Still the prisoners did not react. “Look, I’m not going to acknowledge that the government murdered Jirit’s family, at least not without cause. Maybe they did face ultimate collection, I don’t know, but I’m not going to call it murder.” The silence continued.
“What happens when something is broken, out of order?” the prisoner across from Jirit finally spoke up.
“We fix it,” Bunierti snapped, “but if you’re saying the government is broken, you’re not going to convince me based on some claim from a prisoner about his family being murdered.”
“What happens when somebody is sick?” Jirit asked.
“We heal them,” she answered. “What is the point of this?”
“How do we heal them?” Jirit asked.
Bunierti shook her head. “I don’t know, I’m not a doctor! It depends on what they’re sick with.”
“Cancer, for example,” the prisoner across from Jirit prompted.
“We heal the cancer, obviously,” she replied. “I don’t know the details. They get cured, then they’re sent off to a climate where they can recover better. And maybe they have to stay there if the treatment left them too weak to return home.”
“Do you ever see them again?”
Bunierti started pacing next to the door. “Of course. Even if they don’t come home, we vidchat with them.
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