The Hand Of God (4)
CHRIS "Bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice." The LED on the synthesizer lights up "PROCESSING…" and a couple seconds later the meal is produced. Chris opens the door, looks at the tray and notices the absence of utensils. He shakes his head and giggles under his breath before placing the tray on the table behind him. Chris turns back around and once again approaches the synthesizer, presses the button, and enters his order. CHRIS "Fork, Knife." The LED lights up again "PROCESSING…" and then after a few seconds displays a red "INVALID" on the screen. Chris repeats the action again. CHRIS "Fork, Knife" Chris waits and again the synthesizer repeats "INVALID". Chris presses the info button and the computer speaks. SYNTHESIZER "Cutlery is available only in designated dining areas." Chris breathes a sigh of frustration, turns, drinks his orange juice in a single gulp, and throws the rest of his meal in the trash receptacle. Chris runs his fingers through his hair as he walks away from the kitchen. As he makes his way into his living room an intercom beside the couch breaks the silence. BEN "Chris? You up yet?" Chris briefly examines the intercom and presses the button to answer. CHRIS "Yeah, I'm up. Come on in." Chris presses another button that opens the door and allows Ben into his room. Ben walks through the door and over to the couch where Chris is sitting. He takes a seat in the chair across from Chris and hunches over to speak with him. BEN "Sorry I had to hurt you." Chris feels the bump on the back of his head and acknowledges Ben's apology. CHRIS "It's ok. I went a little nuts." Ben puts his hand over his mouth and begins to snicker. CHRIS "No pun intended." Chris smiles and sits back on the couch. BEN "You seem better today. The drugs must finally be working." CHRIS "Drugs?" BEN "Oh, yeah. The whole ship is pumped full of them. They make you feel a little more carefree. It's a manner of controlling us so there are no outbreaks like yesterday." CHRIS "Huh. I wondered why I didn't seem to care that my balls were cut off." BEN "You do care, but all of your cares are suppressed." CHRIS "You know, Ben. I don't care." The two have a short laugh and Ben begins to rush Chris. BEN "Well, we had better get you ready to go. You have a big day ahead of you. Follow me and I'll show you how to use everything in the bathroom." Ben escorts Chris from the living room into the washroom where he begins to go over everything that he needs to know to get cleaned up. BEN "Ok," Ben walks over to the shower and pulls back the sliding door. BEN "Here is your shower." Ben starts pointing out all of the different buttons below the dispensers. BEN "You've got your soap, shampoo, conditioner" He closes the door and focuses on the sink. BEN "Again, we have a soap dispenser, a towel dispenser, a towel receptacle, a toothpaste dispenser, and you can order anything else from the synthesizer." Ben looks at Chris. BEN "Got it?" Chris shakes his head in accordance before spitting out a quick question. CHRIS "Umm, shaving? Where is my cream dispenser and razors." BEN "Oh, yeah." Ben focuses his attention back over to the sink and points out a facial-like impression beside the mirror. BEN "Good luck getting a razor. However, this is much easier and less painful. Just select a facial hair style using this screen." Ben points to a small color screen beside the impression that shows different styles of facial hair. BEN "Then you just push your face into the impression like so." Ben presses his face against impression in the wall. BEN "And press the button." Ben presses the button and green lights fire out from around the impression as it scans Ben's face. The impression then sinks in and forms to Ben's face and then releases him with a nice clean shave. BEN "See? Told you it was easy." Chris looks at Ben and with little enthusiasm asks Ben to leave. CHRIS "Well, I guess I'll have a shower now." BEN "Ok." CHRIS "By myself?" Ben finally clues in. BEN "Oh, of course. I'll just wait out here." CHRIS "Thanks." Ben steps outside the bathroom and Chris disrobes before stepping into the shower. Ben turns on the shower and begins to wash as Ben talks to him through the door. BEN "You know this will probably be the toughest day that you will have to deal with." Chris responds over the sound of the shower. CHRIS "How's that?" BEN "I can't say. You will have to see it for yourself. All I can say is that you can't let it bother you. Today is the day that they will test you and see exactly how easy or difficult it will be to break you." CHRIS "Break me?" BEN "Yes. They will try to break you down enough so that you don't care. The more you object to the move they make, the longer the game takes. That is why you have to stay strong. If you think any move they make is illegal by their rules then object and you will be given time to make a ruling." CHRIS "But the book is so big." BEN "I will have the computer set up a copy on your stereo so that you can listen to it. It makes it a little easier. Also, the computer will alert you to any move that may be illegal." CHRIS "So why do I have to read the book?" BEN "The computer will only help you identify the illegal move. You will have to find the ultimate ruling. If you cannot find a rule that will overturn the move then the move will be made. Sometimes it isn't pretty." CHRIS "Sounds stressful." BEN "It is stressful. Suicide is not uncommon." CHRIS "Which would explain why I cannot get a knife or razor in my room?" BEN "Precisely. Don't let that fool you though. It isn't that they don't want you to commit suicide, they just don't want it to seem like they want you to commit suicide." CHRIS "What?" BEN "Well, whenever a mediator commits suicide they have free reign until another mediator reaches maturity." CHRIS "Which is what age?" BEN "Eighteen." CHRIS "I'm eighteen." BEN "I know. But mediators are only born every eighteen years. If a mediator commits suicide then they must select the next most mature mediator. Since you are just eighteen that means that a new mediator was just born. The new mediator will not reach maturity for another eighteen years." CHRIS "And?" BEN "And the human race would not last a year let alone eighteen if you were to commit suicide." CHRIS "I'm not going to commit suicide." BEN "Good. Just keep telling yourself that. And keep cool. Now hurry up, they're waiting." INT. HALLWAY IN FRONT OF "THE GAME ROOM" Ben and Chris walk towards the game room where Chris will have his first day of duty. They stop in front of the door and Ben turns Chris towards him. BEN "Remember what I told you." CHRIS "No problem, just keep cool." BEN "Ok, just stay calm." Ben presses the button on the intercom and speaks into the speaker. BEN "He's here." The voice of ZhulHar sounds from the intercom. ZHULHAR "Good, send him in. Thank you Ben" The door in front of the two opens and with a pat on the back from Ben, Chris enters the room. INT. "THE GAME ROOM" Chris walks slowly into the room and rounds the corner where the two aliens sit. He approaches the gaming console and pans between the two. ZHULHAR "Christopher. Please sit down. It is not a long day today we will just go over some of the common commands of your console and allow you to ask any questions that you might have." Chris walks over to his seat behind the console. CHRIS "Thank you." ZhulHar takes a deep breath and begins to show Chris some of the command options of the console. ZHULHAR "This button here allows you to raise your gaming screen." ZhulHar presses the large black button in front of Chris. A laser-like noise erupts as the holographic screen appears in front of him. ZHULHAR "This button allows you to object to any move that is currently in play. The button will only stop play if the computer concurs that there may be an infraction." ZhulHar then points to two buttons on top of each other and continues to explain. ZHULHAR "These two buttons allow you to scroll through all moves currently being made. They will appear on your screen and you can select any move by pressing the button to the right of the scroll buttons. When you have selected a move the exact location will appear on the Central globe." ZhulHar points to the holographic globe in the middle of the table. ZhulHar explains the final button. ZHULHAR "If you would like to preview a current move then you press the button to the extreme right. This will allow you to determine whether or not the move is acceptable by the ultimate outcome." ZhulHar turns to Chris to ensure that he absorbed all of the information. ZHULHAR "I'm not going too fast for you am I Christopher?" Chris looks back at ZhulHar and responds and points out all the buttons. CHRIS "No, not at all. Raise the screen, Object, Scroll, Select, Preview." ZhulHar claps his hands and praises Chris. ZHULHAR "Very Good Christopher" ZhulHar looks down at his screen, presses a few buttons and then turns back to Chris. ZHULHAR "Are you ready for an example?" Chris sits back in his seat and looks cocky. CHRIS "I'm always ready." ZhulHar punches a few more buttons and then instructs Chris. ZHULHAR "Ok, press your scroll button until you reach the top of the screen." Chris continually presses the scroll button, moving through the current moves in the database. He finally reaches the top of the screen where he is not able to advance the cursor any more. ZhulHar praises Chris and continues his tutorial. ZHULHAR "Good, now press the select button." Chris reaches down on the console and presses the select button. Upon pressing the button the move statistics are shown on the screen. In the top right hand corner there is a box labeled "Move Status". In the box, there is a green word stating "ACCEPTED". Chris pans through the rest of the screen. The screen gives the latitude, longitude, a move number, a game piece number, etc. Chris looks near the bottom of the screen and finds more information. Tears begin to fill his eyes as he sees the words across the screen. Name: Charles Creemore D.O.B.: 748378200198 Creator: Mofdo Move Description: Termination of Mediator Parental Unit Move Status: Active in accordance with rule 15.4.432 Chris peers at ZhulHar with anger in his eyes and calmly speaks. CHRIS "No." ZHULHAR "I am sorry Christopher but the move has already been accepted." CHRIS "Not by me." ZHULHAR "Christopher, you cannot contest a move unless the computer tells you that you may do so." Chris becomes more vocal towards ZhulHar. CHRIS "Then why am I here? You obviously don't need me." ZHULHAR "Technically, no. However, rules state that a neutral mediator must be appointed to oversee the events and fairly deal with any objections." Chris slumps back in his seat and remains quite. ZHULHAR "You must understand that this is just a beginning. If you cannot handle what you see here then you can be replaced. Are you declining your position?" Chris remembers his conversation with Ben: "The new mediator will not to reach maturity for another eighteen years." Chris immediately sits up in his chair and grits his teeth. CHRIS "No, I'm not declining my position. I just…" ZhulHar pipes in, interrupting Chris. ZHULHAR "You just don't think it is fair, right?" CHRIS "Right." ZhulHar slightly raises his voice showing Chris his first bit of anger. ZHULHAR "Well I don't think that it is fair that I am behind in the game by one piece because you don't want me to complete a move that is perfectly legal." Chris looks at ZhulHar with disgust. CHRIS "Go ahead then." ZhulHar immediately continues with his tutorial. ZHULHAR "Now press the preview button." Chris reaches down and presses the button at the far right of the console and the screen in front of him lights up. A video begins to play. EXT. CHURCH AT NIGHT The church bounces the moonlight off the metal steeples and almost glows in the dimly lit night. Trees surround the church flower gardens that line the walkway to the front door. Two figures emerge from the church. One turns and locks the door before they walk down the walkway. The lamp-lit streets are relatively void of people. CHRIS(VO) "Dad, you idiot. You shouldn't be there so late." As the two figures enter the light of the street lamps the second figure emerges as a police officer. CHARLES "Well Sargent I appreciate all your help." POLICE OFFICER "Not a problem Reverend. I am sure that we will come across Christopher soon enough. It is typical in runaway cases that the child shows up a day or two later. If you haven't seen him by then please let me know." CHARLES "I'll do that." POLICE OFFICER "Thank you for the picture. I am sure that this will really help us out." CHARLES "You’re welcome. Please let me know as soon as you come across him." POLICE OFFICER "We will. Goodnight Reverend." CHARLES "Goodnight" The officer climbs into his cruiser sitting at the curb, starts it up and drives off. Charles turns in the opposite direction and begins to walk home. Charles sticks his hands in his pockets and slightly bows his head as he makes his way down the vacant streets. He nearly reaches the end of the block when he hears a rustle in the bushes to his left. He turns and looks towards the bushes and, from behind him, a young thug runs up and hits him over the head with a pipe. Charles falls to the ground as another man rushes in from the bushes wielding a gun. He points the gun at Charles, who manages to roll over onto his elbows and rub the back of his head. GUNMAN "Give us your wallet!" Charles, wincing with pain, replies. CHARLES "No." The second thug winds up and begins to kick Charles in the midsection. Charles curls up as he is being beaten and starts to cough up blood before the thug stops kicking. THUG "Give us your wallet!" Charles looks up at the gunman and peers at his face. CHARLES "I know you." The gunman looks surprised at his reply and barks back. GUNMAN "No you don't. Just give me your wallet." Charles continues to identify the gunman. CHARLES "You're Esther Paul's son. David, right?" The gunman looks over at the thug and then back down at Charles. GUNMAN "Look you don't know me, ok?" Charles tries to negotiate with the criminals. CHARLES "Come on, David. You don't want to do this." The gunman becomes more violent. He kneels down and pushes the gun onto Charles' forehead. GUNMAN "Look old man. You don't know me. Just hand over your wallet and this will all be over." Charles becomes sarcastic with the young gunman. CHARLES "I guess I don't know you, son. I remember David as being a very nice boy, not some thug." The gunman becomes agitated with Charles and shakes the gun at him. With a slip of his finger the gun goes off and fires a round into Charles' chest. Charles rolls over in agony and blood starts to run onto the sidewalk. The two thugs start to panic. THUG "Oh Shit, what did you do man?" GUNMAN "It just went off!" THUG "Grab his wallet and let's get out of here." The gunman leans over and takes the wallet from Charles' back pocket and they run off back into the bushes (Slow Zoom Out) Charles lies on the street quietly calling for help. CHARLES "Help me. Somebody help me." The blood slowly forms a large pool on the sidewalk and Charles passes out, dead. INT. THE "GAME ROOM" (Zoom In) Through the holographic video screen Chris' stunned and horrified face emerges. (Pan Around Chris) Chris now looks at a still image of the last breath of his father. In the middle of the screen are two computer prompts. Once reads "ACCEPT" and the other "OBJECT". Chris stares blindly at the screen as ZhulHar chimes in. ZHULHAR "Now, to accept this move, highlight the "ACCEPT" button using your scroll key and press "Select". In the event that a move may be illegal you can also select the "OBJECT" option. However, since this is a perfectly legal move the "OBJECT" button is not available for selection." Chris does not respond. He sits and still stares into the screen. ZHULHAR "Christopher! Select the "ACCEPT" button using your scroll keys and press "Select"!" Chris leans over to the console and does as he is told. The screen lights up with the words "MOVE ACCEPTED" and then turns back to the main display. ZhulHar presses the intercom button on his console and calls for Ben. ZHULHAR "Ben, please escort Christopher back to his quarters. We are finished for the day." ZhulHar turns to Chris and excuses him. ZHULHAR "You may go Christopher." Chris rises from his seat and makes his way to the door. INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OF THE "GAME ROOM" Chris regains his senses and his anger mounts as he exits the "Game Room". Ben waits for him outside the door but is snubbed as Chris leaves and walks right past him. Chris walks quickly down the hallway and Ben jogs to catch up before trying to engage him in conversation. BEN "Chris, are you ok?" Chris looks to his side with an angry gaze. CHRIS "Don't even talk to me, Ben." Ben looks puzzled. BEN "What?" CHRIS "You knew what was going to happen in there." BEN "Yes, I did." CHRIS "Why didn't you tell me?" BEN "I can't. If you knew what was going to happen they could tell by your reaction. If they found out that I was preparing you for the game then the game would be forfeited." CHRIS "So. Then they start over." BEN "No they don't. They simply scrap the entire game and move on. They wipe out Earth leaving it uninhabitable."
Copyright © 2001 Brent Paine |