2.13 Family Values

        Zara tried to think positive and present herself well like she had learned to do for the Pageant as Mina led her down the street to the spa, but it wasn't so easy. The streets of Anur were bustling with strange activity, it was like a cross between Culloom, Fina and Lochia in that there were no storefronts, there was a street market, however it was like a farmer's market, unlike the street markets in Fina. Here the stalls were shadowed beneath colorful little tents, the tables loaded with strange things she had never seen before, exotic pots and fabrics, clothing and jewelry, there was even food vendors, cooking their goods, it smelled so good, in spite of the mayhem. Goats, dogs and chickens ran wild, it was like a street carnival, everyone seemed happy, nothing like the Hellias she expected to see, it had to be some sort of trap.

         Suddenly a large metal ring rattled out of the bushes ahead followed by a pack of squealing products, followed by a dog, barking loudly. Zara froze as images of dogons with gnashing teeth and terrifying scenes from the Culloom Disaster flashed through her mind.

         "What's wrong?" Mina queried in search of insight.

         Zara pointed at the children, the dog barking at them. "The Products!" she stammered. "The DOG!"

         Mina glanced at the children, now stopped at the side of the road with their ring, they had noticed Zara too. The dog had stopped barking and was now passively sniffing something on the ground. "They seem fine to me" she assured, curious about Zara's language, it was apparently an Atlan thing. "They're just playing with the ring."

         "I’m sorry…" Zara felt foolish now. "I thought the dog was going to attack them…" The dog was obviously a pet, but only now she could see that. "Where’s their Prefect?" She asked, unable to understand how the children could be left in such danger. "Don't they belong in a school?"

         "They go to school, but they don't belong in one" Mina replied, gesturing towards the village. "We call them children here, not products. This is their school" She pointed to a building close by, surrounded by an amazing garden. "That is their school." She pointed to the Crystal Temple behind them. "This market is their school, too. We all teach the children, we teach them everything we know."

         Zara didn't understand, it wasn't just about being taught. "Who feeds them? Where is their institution? Who will protect them if they're just running free?"

         "They're learning to protect themselves" Mina replied. "Right now they're learning how to communicate with animals" she explained. "They're learning physics, and getting exercise too. I understand that's three separate course modules in Atlan, is that true?"

         Zara didn't understand at all, her head was throbbing again.

         Mina did her best to ease her concerns. "We share our food, no one has to go hungry, we grow, gather, cook and eat our food together, in a communal way" Mina explained, troubled that she had to explain this to every refugee that arrived. "Sometimes people eat at the temple, sometimes they gather at each other's houses, sometimes they go for picnics in the woods. Eating is a celebration around here!"

         Picnics in the woods? Images of the bloody white rabbit flashed by, followed by images of the Culloom Disaster. Struggling with waves of nausea and sweating profusely, Zara walked forward again, quietly with Mina to the spa, trying not to look at anything but the ground. The lies were making her feel like she was going insane, panicky palpitations made her feel light headed. Now she wanted to know why Orien had to go away. "Whose children are they?"

         "They’re ours, of course" Mina replied.

         Of course? "Where did they come from?" Zara demanded, getting angry now. "Where are they produced?"

         "They live with their parents..." Mina replied, struggling now herself with Zara's lack of family values. Had it become that bad in Atlan? Were families completely obsolete? Had Orius failed so terribly to protect the children from Atalon's dividing ways? Was that the real reason he left?

         "You mean Prefects?"

         "No, I mean parents."

         "What are parents?"
         Mina placed her hand on Zara's shoulder, sensing her rising anxiety, it wasn't going to be easy to explain without making her upset. She tried to describe the concept of family life, gently, just lightly touching on how they raised their children in Lemuria.

         Zara couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You get to raise your own Products?" Waves of anger shook her to the core. "You raise your Products as your own?" She couldn't believe it, she couldn't even imagine such a thing. "A family?" That they didn't get to do that in Atlan by choice, was heartbreaking!

         Unwanted images of blood from Orien's severed head filling the Golden Goblet wouldn’t go away now, nor would the flashbacks of Medena wielding her bloody sword beneath the approving face of the great Medel watching down from above with blazing red eyes. As if a blow winded her out of nowhere, she doubled over, clutching her stomach and hurled her guts violently all over the street.

         Mina stroked her back gently as she spat the vomit from her mouth, gasping for breath, gravely concerned. She knew now what this mental illness business was about. Atalon was out of control, Zara wasn't the first to demonstrate that, why hadn't Vikkar sounded the alarm? "Come" she coaxed Zara to her feet, "we need to get you to the spa, it's not much farther, we're almost there."

         The children watched with growing concern as Zara pulled herself together and continued down the street to Nulu's Spa; this one had it bad. They knew who Zara was. She was another refugee from Hellias.