28. Blue Bitch

        Distracted from the game on hand in King Atalon's chamber, Dell tossed the dice back and forth as the king and general sparred opinions with one another, thoughts a mile away... Thoughts were with the plans laid out on the meeting table for The Time. He eyed the new title block with contempt, noting which of the gods had signed it. He didn't like the new Crystal Program, it was a whole can of worms, they weren't set up for it at all, they were starting with junk DNA and moving way too fast without even considering any sort of fallout let alone failure. It wasn't a great time to speak his mind, either. Something else was bothering the king today, before Halios showed up Atalon had been staring out the window towards Lemuria, for almost an hour. 

         As if reading his mind, Atalon stepped away from the debate and returned to the game table, gesturing to the Crystal Program plans on the table beside them ashe took a seat. "So? Are we all excited to move forward?"

         "It looks good..." Malodon generalized.

    "looks can be deceiving" the king winked, offering some brotherly advice. "I want the truth! Do you think this is a good plan? Dell, you have crossroads across your face. Spit it out!"

         Dell stiffened in the spotlight, choosing his words carefully, it wasn't all bad. "I am just a little concerned about the transition" he offered. "It's a bit rushed, is all."

         "The transition? Why?" Atalon hadn't conceived of any glitches, the stars had laid out these sorts of plans and he had complete faith in them.

         "You may end up with more malfunctioning Gens than functioning Crystals, then what will you do?"

         "Why?" Atalon echoed, obviously in disagreement.

         "Transitions are a delicate matter" he tried to remind gently without making the scab bleed. "New races can turn out like a psychological freak show, historically speaking. Just for example's sake, imagine if they all turned nto Aquilla's?"

        Atalon shifted his gaze to the dice in Dell's hands, twisting and turning in his sweaty palms, revealing the professor's genuine fears. "Why? Give me a reason!"

         Dell paused for a moment to gather the research in his mind. "I’ve noticed a pattern with the disappearing gens, they have some sort of genetic memory that gets triggered before they disappear, and it is accompanied by a passel of symptoms."

        "Such as?"

        "Well..." Dell began. "They begin to malfunction, they ask difficult questions, they bring up discarded topics, out of the blue, do you know how many times the Phoenix and the Golden Egg has been rented from the library lately?"

         Atalon's face lit up. "Really?"

         "Really!" He waved the research folder in the air. "It’s not good, don't be fooled. It's a glitch in the programming, I’ve seen it too many times now for it to be a coincidence."

         Atalon disagreed with him on multiple counts now. "It still doesn't explain how they are disappearing."

         "No" Dell agreed. "Not how, but it may be why. They are two separate issues, we shouldn't automatically connect them simply because they are happening at the same time."

         "You don't think they are connected?"

         "I doubt it, I think Aquilla is responsible for their disappearances somehow."

         "Then we ought to be able to control them better with the Crystal Gen program, don't you agree?" Atalon argued. "If we can control them better, then fewer will end up disappearing. Malodon has proven the Crystal Theory is real, I saw the lights go on with my own two eyes! You and I both know from Malodon’s scientific experiments that it works. If we can program their thoughts using these crystals, we would control these malfunctions altogether, that's the whole point! Imagine if we could eliminate the TLS Program all together! Mighty Medel, we could even lose Culloom and just expand Lab 6, we would never lose another stinking aribu ever again!"

         Only minutes after the Closing Bell rang out across the campus of Fina U, the sound of drumming filled the square, announcing the start of the first lashing of the year. As the drummers marched out of the temple, herds of students swarmed from all four corners of the campus to watch. As the drummers took their position around the post, the Chair of the Student Council arrived carrying a scroll, followed by Athenia, goddess of Finias, dressed in a sleek leather outfit, clutching a very scary, heavy and worn looking whip, followed by an aribu carrying a portable podium.

         The crowds hushed as the aribu placed the podium and the cast took their positions before the fountain, eagerly anticipating the dramatic story that was about to unfold. Everyone wanted to know: What had she done?

         The Chair untied the red ribbon and unfurled the scroll to read. "Greetings my fellow students, and Welcome to Fina U!"

         Cheers and whistles filled the courtyard in celebration.

         "I would like to take the opportunity to welcome all the new students here with us today!" He gave a lengthy welcome speech and ran through the list of Fina bylaws. 

         "... As most of you already know there are rules and regulations in place to ensure our fine city remains the number one University Campus in the Atlan Empire!"

         Once again cheers and applause broke out from the crowd.

         "We have been granted an early opportunity to demonstrate the importance of the dress code in Fina today...." he afforded the crowds a moment to wonder... "Zara is an example who decided that she did not like the Fina dress code!"

         The crowd booed and began throwing garbage at her.

         "Firstly, Zara dyed her golden suits red. Then she didn't like them so she stole her roommate's blue clothes! Not only that, she then BLAMED it ALL on her poor roommate!"

         The crowd booed and hissed even louder, some of them even began throwing stones at her, some were chanting "BLUE BITCH! BLUE BITCH! BLUE BITCH!"

         The Chair stepped back and read from the scroll. "It is therefore Due Order to punish Zara of the Serpent Year with TWELVE lashes so that she can be salvaged from her sinful ways and earn credits for a replacement wardrobe."

         The crowd cheered, and whistled, they began to chant "ZA-RA! ZA-RA! ZA-RA!"

         Zara bit her tongue so hard trying not to cry she could taste the blood in her mouth, it was unbearable, she wished he would just hurry up and get it over with. Thoughts of Zoran consumed her mind, was he safely in the Promised Land? She was beginning to wonder if perhaps he got the better deal after all. As Athenia held up the enormous black leather whip, ratted and knotted from decades of use, Zara prayed to join him.

         "I now command Athenia, Goddess of Finias, to teach Zara a lesson, and set an example to all of us."

         The drums rolled, cheers and whistles erupted from the crowds as Athenia approached the lashing post, smiling and waving the whip to the crowd. She curtseyed to the Chair and swung the whip, wielding it around in a show of might, held tightly in her hand, snapping it loudly in the air. 

         Whistles blew hard amidst the cheering as the goddess handled the whip with professional expertise, accompanied by a galloping roar from the drums.

         Zara clenched her eyes shut, she could feel Athenia behind her and screamed as she violently tore the back of her blue suit open, exposing her bare skin. 

         Once again the crowd roared and whistled, throwing garbage and stones at her. A hot tear slid down her cheek, Zara held her breath, already tortured by the crowds chanting louder and louder.

         "Whip her… Whip her…. Whip her….."

         SPLAT!

         Zara screamed in agony. The whip tore into her back, like shards of glass stabbing her body, knocking the wind out of her chest.

         The crowd roared and whistled in delight, chanting even louder. She barely caught her breath when...

         SPLAT! The whip slashed her back again, she could feel her stomach revolt, the world spun around her as the din of the crowd blurred in and out of consciousness.

         SPLAT! Her knees buckled, stars flashed, the pain was unbearable, the screams and whistles blurred into a sickening drone. She could no longer support herself, her arms wrenched from their sockets as she collapsed by the pain, suspended now from the tight rope around her wrists.

         SPLAT!