The Gilded Cage

After rejecting Adam and Ava’s proposal, Felix and Velvet had been imprisoned, placed in a room in the Doll Corps headquarters, a holding cell of sorts. The windows had been barred and it was under constant protection by armed guards. However, at the very least they hadn’t forced Velvet to wear one of those inhibitors.

On the bright side, the room was effectively a gilded cage. It had a very nice bed, furniture, a bathroom, and even some entertainment in the form of a bookshelf and some cards. Meals and tea were brought to the room three times a day. These meals were delicious, nutritious, and varied, prepared by professional chefs with top grade ingredients and completely unlike the scraps and grub Felix would eat back in the abandoned city, and they even came with tea.

The two, despite being prisoners, were being given the royal treatment. It was clear what the strategy was. Adam and Ava were buttering Felix and Velvet up with the hope of getting them to join the Doll Corps. It was a pretty common tactic. However, neither would bend. The buttery, juicy, perfectly seasoned medium-rare striploin steak Felix was currently gobbling down was only fueling his eventual escape. Meanwhile, Velvet tentatively sipped her tea. When it had first arrived, she swore she wouldn’t drink a drop, but it had been so long since she had a cup. She quickly decided to have just a sip, and after that it was over. She held a straight face, but Felix could tell she was ecstatic to finally be drinking tea again.

Of course, this special treatment mattered naught. Escape was their top priority. Unfortunately that was much easier said than done. Security was tight, and fighting the Doll Corps was suicide even without factoring in Ava. The two brainstormed together and didn’t come up with much.

Ava would occasionally come by to talk to them. These talks were mostly fruitless, but she persisted. Her ultimate goal was to sway them, but rather than just making her case she talked about all kinds of things. Unfortunately for her, though, neither of her targets were very receptive.

One day she came in and started talking to Velvet about Gwehrtain.

“Velvet, do you remember the old days when we all lived at Father’s estate together?”

Velvet said nothing.

“Things were so simple back then… I remember when Father created you. He was so happy, his eyes were sparkling. Akira was overjoyed, she gave you a big hug…which you did not like one bit.” She chuckled. ”You tried to throw her off.”

“I don’t remember it like that…” Velvet said flatly.

Ava laughed. “Really? I remember it as clear as day. You were so flustered, but no matter how much you struggled, Akira stayed latched onto you.” After a pause, she continued. “You were always a bit of a recluse. You’d read in your room or go and walk around the courtyard, but all of us would get together every morning, noon, and evening for tea.”

Those were all happy memories for Velvet. Her, Father, Ava, Akira, and even Edea, all together. Father would eat, they would drink tea, but they would all talk. They were a family. However, thinking back now, these memories only made Velvet sad. She could never ever return to that.

The next day, Ava came by and talked with Velvet more, but after some small talk, Velvet finally asked a question of her own.

“Ava, that Adam, he said he was your medium, yes?”

“That’s right. What of it?”

Velvet silently turned away.

Ava sighed. “I know how you feel about all this, but Adam is a good man. For a long time I wandered these lands alone. Until he showed me the light, showed me the bright future that we, the New Republic, can bring mankind–”

But Ava’s speech was interrupted by a sharp scoff. She looked over at Felix who was staring out the window with his arm against the wall, his back facing her.

Ava knew how Felix felt about the Republic, but she didn’t know why. He was born here, wasn’t he? So she decided to just ask him. “Felix, why don’t you like the Republic?”

“Tch. You really are so ignorant. It’s really not that complicated. It’s because you’re all liars.”

“Liars?”

He elaborated, still staring out the window. “You promise so much, but nothing is ever delivered. You talk about freedom, abundance, happiness, but it never came to me, nor anybody else for that matter.”

“What are you talking about?”

Finally turning around, he answered. “Are you aware of what the homeownership rate is? 50% and falling. The rich have been buying up land and houses for decades, raising prices and forcing people to rent.” “Can you really say somebody is free if they’re beholden to somebody else for just a place to live?”

Housing was a big issue in the Republic, but it wasn’t so easy to fix. “What do you expect to be done? Outlaw land purchases for the wealthy? It’s not the government’s responsibility to regulate the market.”

“Oh, really? It’s all just laissez-faire? Even though the government gives special privileges to the wealthy? Are you aware of what the effective tax rate is for the average person? 40%. Nearly half of their income. For a rich person, it’s about 5%. An eighth of what a normal person pays. And want to know why the tax policy is this way? It’s because every reelection campaign of president Aranea is funded by the wealthy. ”

This was all true. Tax rates, political donations, it was all public information. “I understand that there are issues with corruption, but those will be sorted out with time, and it still doesn’t change the fact that we are the freest, safest, and best fed nation in the world.”

“Don’t get me started on that last part. ‘Best fed’? Give me a break. Food is expensive and in short supply. George Sun, the first president, gave a speech fifty years ago proclaiming that people would be able to eat meat everyday in the Republic. Most families are lucky to eat meat a few times a month, and that’s after working sixty, seventy, sometimes even eighty hours a week.”

“That might be true, but it’s still better than what people get elsewhere. Three square meals are a dream outside of the Republic.”

“People could be eating two meals, or even just one a day, and you’d say the same thing.” Felix paused. “Not to mention, this is all without bringing up your treatment of dolls. Living dolls are sentient beings, yet they aren’t afforded even the most basic of freedoms?”

“I don’t like having to use the inhibitors either, but it’s necessary, and it’s our duty as living dolls to serve humanity!”

Velvet slammed her teacup down on the table, interrupting the debate. Her fingers were gripping it like a vice and anger seethed through her poker face.

Felix sighed, deciding to wrap this up. “Look, we live in a difficult world. Nobody expects to be in a palace eating filet mignon and caviar, but people work hard with the promise of a good life, but that’s a promise that’s never been kept.”

“We haven’t forgotten that promise…but we are still a fledgling nation and currently fighting a war! Sacrifices must be made for the good of everyone.”

“See, now this is the core of it all. You preach liberty, but you demand that the individual sacrifice themself for the ‘good of everyone,’ whatever that even means.”

“Do you understand what it’s like elsewhere? There are tribes in the south who practice cannibalism! The tea we import, it’s grown by slaves! Those savages who call themselves the Empire live by murdering and looting!”

“Even if that’s true, the lesser of two evils is still evil.”

Ava clenched her fists in anger. He just didn’t understand. No system is perfect, but in the New Republic, people were much safer, happier, and freer than anywhere else.

***

Edea smirked as she looked upon Paradiso. The Doll Corps headquarters was in sight and the sun was setting. A night attack would catch them off guard, creating chaos and allowing her to cut her way straight to Velvet. It was all as clear as day in her head.

A loud, erratic cackle rang out. Velvet’s fate was sealed. Edea had no idea how Velvet had survived, but this time she would make sure to finish the job.