No sooner did the Young Women leaf through more mislabeled cookbooks did the bell ring for another mealtime. Though infrequent, these mealtimes were getting sparse despite their alarming familiarity. As usual, everybody was seated, the portions were doled out, a blessing was said, and the long-time members stood behind them, whispering confidential thoughts into their ears.
“Remember what we told you.”
“You can think properly on an empty stomach.”
“You can learn on an empty stomach.”
All this was truncated by the inspiring words of the Living Martyr,
YOU COULD EAT THIS MEASLY PORTION YOURSELF, BUT YOU COULD DONATE THIS FOOD TO STARVING CHILDREN WORLDWIDE. I LIKES THOSE WHO DON’T ONLY THINK OF THEMSELVES. YOUR SEATED NEIGHBOR HAS ALREADY GENEROUSLY AGREED TO SHARE. GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN, PUSHING YOURSELF TO THE BRINK OF EXHAUSTION, THEN GO EVEN FURTHER. IT IS ONLY AFTER PUSHING OUR LIMITS THAT WE FIND OUT HOW FAR WE CAN GO.
After mealtime ended, the Faithful Devoted Servant cast her attention on the Mouthy Woman who appeared lost in thought. “Might I speak with you?”
“Ah wuzzn’t sleepin’! Ah wuz medicating!”
I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating!
“I’ve heard disturbing word that you’ve been making unreasonable requests. Sacrifices have to be made. We are constantly striving to be better than our best selves. There is no greater honor than to act as the hands and feet of someone unable to convey the simplest of actions, doing those movements in their stead.”
“Dahn’t yah git tyred?”
Don’t you get tired?
“With so much to do, how could we ever get tired? Your days will be filled with so much stimulating activity you won't want to sleep.”
“Eh fend dhat herd tuh belif.”
I find that hard to believe.
“It seems insurmountable at first, but after the first three days, it becomes remarkably easy once you get used to it. After then, you begin to wonder how you ever managed to waste so much time every day just lying down doing nothing. Our bodies are changing incrementally every day. We have surpassed beyond the need to eat. If you want to reach our heights, you should refrain from depraved activity.”
“Fen wi’h meh. Eh niffer lecked eht enyweysh.”
Fine with me. I never liked it anyways.
“No, that won't do. You can’t deprive yourself of pleasure if you’re going to enjoy it! That’s not what sacrifice means.”
“Spikin’ ov, uf’v bin wunderin’ ef eh culd git muh uld closhd beck?”
Speaking of, I’ve been wondering if I could get my old clothes back?
“You don’t need to concern yourself with garments concerning your past. You should free yourself from such shackles.”
“Uh stull laiked wirrin’ dem.”
I still liked wearing them.
“What could you have possibly liked about wearing them? Aren’t they reminders of the reprehensible things you lived through just to survive?
“Dzey wir kumfirtible.”
They were comfortable.
“Aren’t the replacement clothes we’ve given you good enough?”
“Dhey’r fyne, bit E’hd stull laik tuh she muh clowsh ugin.”
They’re fine, but I’d still like to see my clothes again.
“Why do you need to see your old clothes anyways?”
“Yew sed Eh needid tuh maek sekrifaicish. Eh went tuh she eht wun lesh tyme.”
You said I needed to make sacrifices. I want to see it one last time.
The Devoted Faithful Servant took a moment to collect her thoughts. “That can be the offering of your sacrifice, burning away possessions tying you down.”
The Young Woman was backtracking the reading history based on the last cover used. The makeup pedicure cover had recipes for crepes and seafood bisques inside, and the book cover for culinary deserts had maps of mining forecasts inside, and the mapbook for mining forecasts had a detailed history of the Black Tower Empire inside.
She was rapidly flipping through the pages of these tomes, despairing of every finding the information she sought until she came across a passage that appealed to her.
“AHA!”
“Aha what?”
“Nothing,” she said, ripping out the page and stuffing it her mouth. “Nothing you’d be interested in,” she mumbled between bites and swallows.
“You’ve got something planned, haven’t you?”
“The rest of you may be content stuffing your heads with knowledge, but I have higher aspirations! I’m gonna latch onto the closest powerful authority figure and never let go!”
“What was she reading?”
“Something about fertility, looking up ONEs who cause rapid pregnancy.”
They took a look inside, and although the cover showed an expectant mother, the interior talked about perfumed scents and oils producing certain aromas. The torn page covered an area concerning oceanic animals.
The Young Woman stood on a table, took a deep breath, then ranted and raved about unfair censorship, attracting unwanted stares from surrounding people until she caught the welcome attention of the Devoted Faithful Servant who was just passing by after dealing with some business involving the Mouthy Woman.
“Something wrong?”
“The book I was reading was vandalized by some unscrupulous censurer who cut off the essential ingredient for the love potion recipe I wanted. Where’s the rest of it?”
“For that, you need to give us the book and page number.”
“I... forgot where I saw it. But I know it exists.”
“It wouldn’t do to share all our little secrets all at once. We need to keep some in stock.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll find more people for you!”
“Nonfiction works have a different requirement.”
“How do I get it then?”
“For that, you need to earn our secrets. If you want the blanks filled in, you need someone to speak on your behalf.”
“I vouch for me!”
“Somebody else needs to speak for you.”
“I’m very enthusiastic! I can do whatever you want!”
Someone came running up, who the Young Woman recognized as the Guide she met earlier.
“Sorry for the disruption,” she panted. “She slipped past my defenses.” She glared at the young rebel. “You shouldn’t have done that. Orthodox men are not permitted to look at strange women.”
“I’m not that strange.”
“You’ve very likely diminished your chances of seeing the Living Martyr.”
“What’s your impression of her?”
“She’s - ” she started, then paused, deciding which descriptive word would best fit while also not being insulting in present company, “...very highly spirited.”
“There you go! Somebody spoke for me! I can go and find some more willing volunteers for our cause,” the Young Woman offered.
“That’s very generous of you, but it’s a dangerous world out there. We couldn’t allow you to go out without protection.”
“Am I not allowed to leave?”
“Too often, those who say they’ll come back, don’t, being too allured by the temptations of their previous lives.”
“I don’t want to go back to my previous life! This place is better than what I had before!”
“It’s a little premature, but you seem enthusiastic for a special project of ours.”
“Are you - ” the Guide started, then paused after a look from the Devoted Faithful Servant. An understanding was reached there and then.
“We’ve been trying to gain funding for years, but need to compensate for our ever-growing number. Every time we get new charitable donors, more sufferers are found, and our wages are split even further.”
“What do I need to do?”
The Devoted Faithful Servant led the Young Woman to an expectant group already waiting, then moved them towards a patch of land that looked otherwise barren, until a door appeared in the distance. Opening it revealed a vast Greenhouse filled with abundant nature that wasn’t there before.
“The Garden you see before you filled with all manner of plants ready for harvesting.”
Their eyes boggled at the sight of flora and fauna that any biologist would give up their left arm for the chance to study, with the possibility of visitation on weekends. Many of them had never seen so many species of plants gathered together in one place, having only heard rumours of The Forest of _______, a place of nightmares only suited for the voluntary, captivity or foolhardy.
“There’s a variety of plants here that can be sold off at the Farmer’s Market. Perishables need to move fast. And there’s a bevy of flowers that can be packaged to sell. Be sure to put on a presentable appearance and smile heavily. The friendlier you are, the more likely they’ll buy one off you.”
“Only one?”
“We’re not selling these quality merchandise all at once. We’ll soak the public for all they’re worth. For repeat customers, sell them at 1 then 10 then 100 kurrants.”
“Bit of a steep price increase there.”
“Each flower comes with a free sample of Bliss.”
“Ah, that would justify it.” They weren’t exactly selling Bliss, which would be illegal, just flowers, which was borderline acceptable with a free sample of a chemical compound which was technically legal, as long as you didn’t get caught. If you got caught, just confess that you had no idea what the free sample was made of.
The Numb Woman took a walk around the compound to take a breather and take the sights in. The surroundings were filled with activity everywhere she looked. There were women doing activities of all kind with no chance to breathe, as if every moment was the most essential part of their life, and chose to enhance it with putting their utmost best into every task, no matter how mundane. She saw a section where various women were guided into a door surrounded by burly men. At first, she thought it was a medical center, considering how several visitors arrived with life-threatening conditions, but changed her mind. The Medical center was further away from here. What was this place for? And then she saw something that caught her eye. In the distance near the entrance where they’d been ferried in were a band of women grouped together, a familiar face among them.
The Numb Woman moved closer, trying to catch word of what was going on, and was barred back by women guards who impeded her progress. She could make out the Devoted Faithful Servant giving instructions to the group.
“Only sleep when you need to, only eat when you need to, keep rest to an absolute minimum, working to the utmost of your ability at all times, never let your guard down, even for an instant. Rest is how the Masters get in and usurp your control. Oh, and you’re not allowed to take any Bliss.”
“I can’t???”
“We can’t afford to eat our profits.”
“I’ll keep a close eye on this one”, the Guide said, clamping a firm hand on the Young Woman’s shoulder.
“Be always alert. The Masters has spies everywhere. You never know where they might be hiding. If you’re going out, at least wear this,” the Devoted Faithful Servant demurred, wrapping a collar around the Young Woman’s neck. “This will inform us of your location and body rhythms, letting us know if you’re safe, and alert us if anything happens to you. Our nearby faithful on close watch will spring up to help.”
“I want one too!” one of the devotees exclaimed.
“Me too!”
“Show that you’ve studied and understood your craft. Then you’ll be ready.”
Even barricaded, the Numb Woman still managed to call out to the Young Woman. “What have you gotten yourself involved in?”
“Just so you know, if you want to know, you need to be in the know. And I’m in the know.”
“What do you think you know??”
“As you know, you’ll never know!”
She watched helplessly as the Young Woman left outside for destinations unknown, the gates slamming with a metallic Klang. She wandered back despondent from the sudden disappearance of one of her closest acquaintances who’d always been there from the start, even though she drove her nuts. Before she could even process the sudden loss, an announcement from the Living Martyr blared;
AN INNITATION PROCESSION OF A SELECTED ARRIVAL INTO OUR GROUP WILL TAKE PLACE SHORTLY. ADMITTANCE INTO OUR RANKS IS A HONOR ONLY ALLOWED TO A SELECT FEW. ALL MEMBERS OF OUR ORGANIZATION ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND AND TO WITNESS THIS RITUAL OF WILLFUL SACRIFICE.
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