Same Room

I wasn’t sure if I’d misheard Rina. ‘You want me to do what?’

‘Tell me your darkest secret,’ Rina replied. She stood before the blast door, her pose confident, as if she knew something I didn’t. ‘We need the Damp system to work.’

‘And you think a secret will help?’

‘True assertions and a meditative place. If we don’t align our thoughts, it’ll shock us again.’

Phantom pain coursed through me at the memory.

‘It can’t be an ordinary truth,’ Rina continued. ‘Last time, I screwed up. I said the sky was blue, but it isn’t; not to me, at least.’

What? I thought, wondering if Rina was colour-blind.

‘We may as well try,’ Rina said.

‘Wait—’

‘D-A-M-P activate.’ She shut her eyes, like before. The imagery in the window vanished, replaced a moment later with the same picturesque lake and waterfall surrounded by a rainforest. But this time, she took a deep breath. ‘I have lied to everyone who has ever cared about me,’ she said. ‘I have no real friends and I do not know if I love my family or think I’m supposed to love them.’

…

I didn’t know how to respond.

Rina waited for me. I couldn’t, right? I barely knew her. Plus, I didn’t have a dark secret. ‘Kenji,’ Rina whispered. No. A person like me—claiming to not having a secret meant I was in denial. I’d come too far. I’d been selfish; I needed to think about Rina. She gave up a secret, and that warranted doing the same.

I closed my eyes and envisioned a polar desert. ‘I liked being Junko’s Source and I seriously thought about letting you die so I could continue having a simple life. Also I had sex with her.’

‘Not sure the last part was necessary, but okay.’

A mild pain twitched in my head. It felt like invisible, ill-fitted gears grinding against each other.

‘What is that?’ Rina asked, massaging her temple. ‘You’re picturing snow or something?’

‘I like the cold.’

‘Yeah, well, I don’t.’

‘I hate the water,’ I retorted.

The pain got worse. The gears threatened to burst apart. Any second now we’d hear: Synchronisation failed.

Rina braced herself against the wall and panted. ‘Imagine we’re…back to back…and I’m facing the ocean…while you face the ice.’

We shut our eyes. I felt a faint warmth at my back, as if Rina were really there. Two images flickered behind my eyelids, like overlaying translucent slides on a projector. When I “opened” my eyes, I truly stood among ice. Cold numbed my feet and a breeze cooled my face. Over my shoulder, Rina faced the ocean.

I blinked. The image vanished, replaced with my room. The robotic voice said:

‘Synchronisation successful. D-A-M-P system engaged.’

I closed my eyes, but I didn’t find blackness. Colour, light, and sounds replaced my reality. I saw what Rina saw, heard what she heard. I felt the concrete wall against her shoulder. Sensed her heartbeat and sweat dotting her brow.

‘Guess it worked,’ Rina said.

I didn’t respond. I still tried to process the new sensory information. From my new state, I was glad Rina hadn’t killed the researchers. Once again, I’d been selfish, unable to view her perspective. Really “being” there, killing them—I shouldn’t have wanted her to do it.

‘Your truth was subjective,’ I said.

‘Yeah, yeah, blah-blah, lots of people have mixed feelings about their family.’

‘What you said about having no real friends. You could argue I’m your friend.’

Rina didn’t respond, but I sensed the rhythm of her breathing changed. ‘What about your truth?’ she asked. ‘I could argue you didn’t actually like that life, but you were too scared to do something.’

‘…Maybe.’

‘A-Anyway, let’s just—yeah, let’s move on.’

‘Agreed.’

Rina turned to the blast door and made a “tearing” motion. The Fulcrum glowed. I opened my eyes, regaining my normal senses, and pulled the Fulcrum. Initially, I thought I’d applied too much force, but it was the Damp system. It made the Fulcrum easier to use.

Metal groaned against metal. Rina grit her teeth and persisted. I didn’t stop, either. The massive doors began to slide open. Inch by inch. We saw a sliver of the hall beyond. Just a bit more. The metal shrieked and the mechanism gave out. The doors slammed apart.

Rina clutched her knees, panting. I matched her pose almost exactly, our breathing synchronised. Gecko had started to regain consciousness, but we didn’t have time to explain. Rina helped her through the doorway and into the hallway beyond.

The hallway had fewer lights than the rounded one. Their spacing left wide shadows between. The concrete walls were rough, the lower half painted green, upper an untouched grey. Metal grates lined the floor’s edges.

Rina dragged Gecko along. I closed my eyes, returning to Rina’s sensory information. The hallway creeped me out, so with two minds focused on the same information, I hoped we’d be more alert. We couldn’t let our attention falter. We hadn’t reached the exit. Chances were high that we approached more guards.

Or…someone worse.

#

Out of the formless shadows a dark-clad figure slinked. She had a fitted compression top, sleeves going to the mid-bicep, and showing her midriff. Black leggings had a criss-crossed pattern along the sides. She stepped with confidence, a cocky swagger, and blocked our path, arms crossed. In the light, I got a better look at her face. Dark red eyeliner formed sharp wings beyond the corners of her eyes.

‘Shit,’ Rina thought.

Junko.

‘I told them you wouldn’t leave without your friend,’ Junko said. ‘They’re up there, scurrying around, wasting time, and here you are. Do you want to know how I knew?’

‘No,’ Rina replied.

Junko ignored her; she liked being in control. ‘It happened at your school. After you killed Johnny, you stepped between your friend and me. It was an unconscious reaction. Those are the ones that matter; those reveal a person’s real personality.’ She smiled, tapping her boot on the metal grating. ‘I saw your soul, for a second. You’re a good person. Take it from me; perceptive people are more reliable than the cleanest mirror.’

‘There should be another exit,’ I said.

‘I’m not afraid of her,’ Rina thought back.

Good for you, I thought.

‘I don’t hate you,’ Junko told Rina. ‘You’re clearly capable, not to mention brave. Hot, too, which helps with recruiting Sources. If you agree to help us, I’ll convince the higher-ups to give you a chance.’

‘I know what you do here.’

‘Good, that’ll speed up orientation.’

Rina’s lip curled. ‘Can’t say I want to help with organ harvesting and slavery.’

‘How about getting paid millions to recycle?’

‘Shut up.’ Rina widened her stance, raising fists.

‘We harvest organs to appease the Outsiders. The manual labour is voluntary. Sort of. We need it, since the androids went dark, to get more Conduits and Sources. You know how hard it is to produce a stable pocket dimension?’

Rina advanced with gradual, measured steps. ‘What Outsiders?’

‘You’ve off the Mizu-Hydro, aren’t you? The wrinkly freaks. Those’re Outsiders, or aliens, or monsters. You can call them whatever.’

‘You’re feeding them?’

‘No idea. Just know they like organs. Either we hand them over, or they take.’ Despite having Rina closing the distance, Junko didn’t look threatened. ‘We wanted to grow organs in pigs, but legislation and public pushback messed it up. Plus, the organs always turned out sorta weird. Then again, relying on organs from shut-ins is like relying on fossil fuels. Limited but effective. Doesn’t matter to me; I’ll be dead before it’s a problem.’

‘You talk too much,’ Rina said, a couple meters away. ‘Step aside.’

‘Think for a second. Sacrifices need to be made. We aren’t strong enough to beat the Outsiders. We appease them, let them think they’re winning, and then we’ll strike back with an army of Conduits. If we stop providing, the Outsiders will glass the planet and fuck off to the stars.’

Rina shoved her hands forward. The Fulcrum glowed. I pulled out of reflex, not thinking about the consequences.

Junko stumbled back a step. Just one step. She’d uncrossed her arms, palms aimed at the ceiling. Her lips pulled into a lazy smile. ‘You in there, Kenji?’ she said. 'Wanna see a Source's real power?' She shoved her hands forward.

Rina rocketed down the hallway.