Boss King and the Blade

Saturday, November 2046

The Station, Central Desert, Australia

Harmony-Three

Harmony awoke from a long dream, an unusual one where she had found herself in a city of strangers who all knew her name. She had run from them, hiding in the shadows, until a passerby would see her and call to her in friendly tones.

Like all dreams, no matter how far she had run, she ended up in the same part of the nameless city, meeting people who knew her.

It was the voice that had awoken her. A voice that reminded her of the Hive Father; of Alex-Four.

“Harmony, it’s time to wake up now” the voice insisted.

She tried to run back into the dream city, but the voice chased her, forcing her from the shadows of sleep.

“Seriously, Harmony, wake up now! I’ve got another four of these to do before lunch!”

Her eyes snapped open, seeing an open framed roof above her. Thick recycled beams supported a tiled roof, a warm breeze drifting across her. There was a pool or pond nearby she could tell, that cool smell of fresh water tantalisingly close.

She tilted her head to the direction of the voice, seeing a blonde headed man sitting on a wooden stool, cooling himself with a paper fan. He wore a green jacket and matching shorts, his pale legs visible above open toed sandals.

“Hive Father?” she breathed out slowly. “Is that you?”

“Sorry, no, I am afraid he doesn’t make personal visits” said the man, his blue-green eyes sparkling as he smiled at her. “If you look a bit closer, you’ll see I may look similar but I am definitely not Alex-Four”

“Who are you then?” she demanded, her voice gaining strength.

“Well, brace yourself kiddo, I’m Jericho-Four” he said.

She screamed in sudden hatred, hurling herself from the couch she lay on, throwing herself at the servant of Archimedes!

=====

Harmony woke up this time with a splitting headache, clutching at her throat like it was on fire.

“Okay, shall we try this again?” asked the voice. She lifted her head, seeing the blonde man seated on the same wooden stool, although this time his paper fan was a broken white scrap on the tiled floor.

“Now before you go all crazy like last time, do you feel that slim band around your neck?” he asked her.

She realised there was a warm metal band of some kind encircling her neck, as thin as a pencil and flexible. It gave slightly when she tugged at it, yet did not break or flex enough for her to drag it over her head.

“What is this?” she spat, glaring at the man who called himself Jericho-Four.

“That, dear Harmony, is a very advanced model of what they call a Prisoner Control Device, or PCD for short. They use a much cruder version in the Labour Camps, where the inmates call them Janglers”

“I know what they are” she responded, understanding why she had failed in her first attack. “They send massive surges of electricity into the wearer, causing pain and unconsciousness. Their use on prisoners is another sign of the barbarity of Archimedes and his foul servants”

Jericho-Four sighed dramatically and came to sit on the edge of the couch. Harmony scuttled as far as she could from his presence, feeling her butt hanging over the edge.

“In time, the PCD will be removed” he offered encouragingly. “But as you have proven, new arrivals tend to get a bit theatrical. Lots of screaming and punching and even biting I am sorry to say. We need to get you deprogrammed first, then you can live here in as much freedom as I can allow”

Harmony looked beyond the smiling man, seeing tiled roofs and water towers, swaying trees and brilliant blue sky.

“Where exactly is here?” she asked.

“The exact location is a very closely guarded secret” he admitted. “Even better kept than the locations of the Nests. We all call it the Station and it is situated in the middle of a very large, stupendously large in fact, cattle station somewhere in central Australia”

“Australia!” she gasped in shock. “I’m not even in the Zone anymore?”

“Of course not” he laughed. “The Station occupies more land than the entire Zone! We’d never be able to fit this kind of facility in there”

“So what are you planning on doing to me, now that you brought me here?”

He shrugged his narrow shoulders, the green jacket revealing a white t-shirt underneath.

“That’s up to you, Harmony” he replied. “Ultimately I would hope to see you come to terms with life here, maybe even help us run the place. We definitely need reliable, hard working types to keep the Station functioning”

“You said I was going to be deprogrammed” she reminded the smiling Avatar. “That doesn’t sound like I have a choice. What if I refuse? Do you kill me?”

Jericho-Four got up and paced to the edge of the pavilion she had awoken in. It was raised on low pillars, allowing a view over the surrounding buildings. With a start she saw people walking around out there, some with PCDs at their throats, most without.

A few spotted the blonde man, calling and waving greetings that he returned with a grin.

“Archimedes is not the monster you think he is, Harmony” Jericho-Four explained softly. “He regrets every life that he snuffs out, every sacrifice that is made towards his ultimate goal”

The Avatar turned to meet her eyes, a sadness evident in his expression.

“The Hive was created to fight Archimedes, that is true. Yet the war is not one he can afford to lose, not with the very future of humanity at stake. As much as you hate him, Archimedes loves all of you. That is why this place exists, to offer life for those who should have died”

“You’re lying!” she said. “You just want to me change sides, to become a servant of Archimedes too!”

“No, I just want you to live” he answered. “It will take some time for you to accept that, but we have that time here. For now, I have asked someone to show you to your new home”

At some unseen signal, a young woman ascended the steps. She was achingly familiar, her face a carbon copy of Harmony’s own, her neck unadorned but for a plain silver necklace.

“Harmony-Three?” the woman said. “I’m Eleanor-Two, but here everyone calls me Ellie. We have far too many Eleanors already. Come, take my hand and I’ll introduce you to the others”

Harmony was too shocked to resist, letting the Nest sister take her hand and lead her down the steps. She was at the bottom step when she paused, looking up at the blue-green eyes that watched over her.

“Is Simon-Three here as well?” she asked, feeling her voice catch in her throat.

“Of course” Jericho-Four answered. “I had to greet him four times before he got the message about the PCDs. Maybe you can help him adjust to his new life here?”

“I’d like that” she said and knew that in her heart, she truly meant it.

The End of Boss King and The Blade