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Equilibrium Fan Fiction
by David W. Huang
The
Cleric
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1 | 2
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Notes
Once ago...
"Have you
heard the rumors? Hiyah!"
"Rumors?
Hut! Hah!"
"About
Cleric Preston." Loric thought he could perceive a slight stiffening at
the mention of that name in Xian... which could be interpreted as
agitation. But, of course, that couldn't be. Clerics, like themselves,
didn't feel. No one did.
"No gossip.
It's compromising our sparring practice." A kick to the chest that sent
Loric to the ground seemed to drive his point home. Loric shook off the
pain and climbed to his feet, assuming proper stance and resumed both
sparring and conversation.
"He lost one
partner a week ago, his new one had a public outburst, and now they've
both disappeared." His attack was countered and Loric found himself on
the ground again.
"So what?"
His eyebrow was slightly arched. Was he curious? Loric continued.
"The rumors
are that they're sense offenders... and they've been processed." Loric
seemed to get a fast punch through, but Xian cocked his head at the
last moment causing Loric to crash his knuckles into the solid bone of
Xian's skull. He stepped back and nursed his hand.
"Disgusting
thought.", Xian snorted mirthlessly and tapped his bald head. Nathan
detected a slightly different sentiment.
First Class
Tetragrammaton Cleric Xian had the ambition to be the best. He excelled
at the martial arts and physical training. He had an intuitive sense
for command and logistics. And, in fact, was the number one ranked
practitioner of Gun Kata? the very core essence of training for the
Grammaton Cleric. But the highest ranking Cleric was not him. For the
responsibilities of Cleric included non-combative duties such as
investigation, interrogation, and the Intuitive Arts in which he fell
short. There was also the matter of the incident with excessive
force.... Cleric Preston's ranking highlighted Xian's own defects as an
incomplete Cleric. But in Libria, with the salve and salvation that is
Prozium, there would be no concern of an emotion- like jealousy-
arising.
Besides,
Clerics worked in pairs and his partner, Cleric Loric, more than
matched Xian's abilities in combat with his exceptional mastery of
investigation and the Intuitive Arts. Loric was no match for Xian when
they sparred- he would have to work full tilt just to help Xian warm
up- but he used these session to sharpen his own empathic skills. Xian
was perhaps one of the most rigidly stoic of all Clerics, yet Nathan
would try and discern the imperceptible thoughts and emotions coming
from him. Their relationship was highly successful even if not
intimate. Nathan imagined he was a stench under Xian's nose, who only
tolerated him for the many juicy sweeping jobs his instincts turned up.
"You done?"
Loric massaged his knuckles and nodded. "Then we'll do a parry drill."
This was the one thing in which Cleric Loric could offer him a
challenge. Parry drills were the only sparring component of Gun Kata
which directly pitted Cleric against Cleric. The sparring in other
martial arts helped developed a complete warrior, but Gun Kata was
never intended for use against other Clerics so the parry drills were
developed. Parry drills were also the most complete test of a Cleric
because the ability to read and second guess your opponent- who would
be feigning and trying to analyze you as well- factored in almost as
much as pure mastery of Gun Kata. Xian possessed the superior reflexes
and more statistically sound reactions, but Loric could hope to outwit
or surprise him if he could anticipate Xian's moves.
They stood
apart, empty handed, palms in the universal position. No need for
practice guns. If your mind wasn't fast or sharp enough to know when
you've been hit you couldn't be a Cleric. They crossed their right
forearms... and begun. If the pistol crossed your body, your job was to
move it beyond it before the trigger was depressed. If you were
expecting a parry, then you could start your trigger press sooner, but
then it was their job to anticipate that and not parry, causing the
shot to go off before the muzzle crossed their body. And so on. Back
and forth such anticipation, reaction, and expectation had to go on as
imaginary bullets whizzed inches from their bodies. For someone like
Loric, it was like climbing into the opponent's head trying to foresee
three or four moves ahead just hanging on. For Xian, it was almost
purely reactive, taking each situation and trying to shift it towards
his ideal. Their arms were moving faster and faster now even as they
were growing fatigued. Xian was beginning to check Loric's arms with
more force than necessary... strategy or a sign of frustration?
Two guns.
The second hand was now a pistol and the complexity of the duel
increased exponentially. All parries were now being made with an armed
limb, meaning every move had direct offensive and defensive
implications. Nathan could feel it. If he didn't make a mistake and
kept moving at the absolute limit of his abilities, he would have Xian
in a few moments. If he could hang on. Just then he found himself with
his hands slightly to his sides and his partner pointing at him with
both arms. Nathan let out a deep breath and resigned himself to defeat.
Xian threw him a towel.
"Nice try.",
Xian commented.
"Not my
day.", Nate replied.
Just then,
armed rebels came flooding through the door. Too many guns and too
great a distance to take on unarmed. Xian's jaw tightened as the far
wall was lined with rebels.
"Looks like
we caught two live ones." Their commander approached the two Clerics.
"You'll be interrogated and punished for your crimes."
"Hmph, I
won't bother interrogating you. All sense offenders are to be
terminated on sight. Give yourselves up now for summary execution.",
demanded Xian.
"God, you're
so programmed you don't know when you're beat! No... I know you. We've had you under observation. You're the monster
that killed my brother!"
"A weak point. I'm going to draw him out,
Xian... be ready.", thought Loric.
"You'll have
to be more specific. We've killed a lot of people. It's been kind of
fun!"
The
commander's face flared up with rage as he raised his gun and took a
step forward. That was all Xian needed. That step created a blind spot
for two men along the wall that shifted probabilities just enough. He
dove and ducked forward and came up kicking the commander's rifle into
his face. In one spinning motion, he tossed the commander's sidearm to
Loric, stripped the commander of his rifle, and was firing over his
shoulder while using his body as a shield. The commander was shot down
by his own men who died shortly after between the precise hail of fire
from the two practitioners of Gun Kata.
"Cover the
door." Xian reloaded a fresh magazine into the AK and tossed it to
Loric. He picked up a rifle for himself and started strapping
additional ammunition and sidearms onto some borrowed webbing. "The
Monastery's under assault. I'll clean. You sweep." Loric nodded as he
began to gear up.
The present...
"Jesus, are
you crying?!", asked Tia incredulously. Nathan shut his watering eyes
and shook his head in protest.
"Mah teef
are so cold it hurts."
"Wuss. You
don't chew ice cream, Nate." He regained his composure and grinned.
"First time,
sorry. This stuff's fantastic."
"Underground
contraband delicacy once and soon to be a staple foodstuff of the New
Republic.", she laughed. Nathan chuckled along. He discovered this
tactic long ago.
During
interrogations with sense offenders he found that they would constantly
use emotion in hopes of drawing it out of him. Early on, he realized
that if he emulated their emotion the same ploy would work on them. By
seeming to react or have emotion, it encouraged them to talk more. So
Nathan continued to, so convincingly and thoroughly that he had trouble
knowing whether he was acting or feeling. The constant deception made
him feel alien. She continued to smile, brushing her hair behind her
ear. Something leapt inside of Nathan. He shook it off.
"Cassidy,
what will you do when SIMM is dissolved?"
"I think I'd
like to be a teacher."
"A teacher?"
"Yeah." Tia
looked at her watch then pointed out at those passing by. "Look at
them."
"What?"
"Just wait."
Right then roughly half the people stopped for a moment. Most continued
on but a boy checked his pockets before realizing and moving on.
"They've been so conditioned that even without alarms they stop
unconsciously to dose. Especially the children. Sure, they can feel
now, but they've been taught all their lives that emotions are the
enemy. That isn't undone simply by banning Prozium. In a few years,
we're going to have serious problems with the emotionally repressed and
stunted raising the next generation. Meanwhile, the policy makers are
feelers like you and me and unsympathetic to their plight. They see
them as sheep at best or loyal to Father at worst. But I think, they
just haven't been taught any other way... yet."
"So you want
to be a teacher?"
"Yes, of
emotions as well as information. These kids need to learn how to laugh
and cry as much as they need to know how to read and write. Emotions
are natural, but their expression hardly is in this society. In the
Nether, we lacked for food and clothing at times, but it's these people
I feel sorry for. Father mastered psychology for control, maybe I can
help use it for freedom. For now, I'm doing this job to help hold the
pieces together long enough to try.."
"Wow."
"What?" She
took a defensive tone.
"That is so
much better than my answer."
"Which is?"
"Eat ice cream all day until I'm sick!" His partner looked at him for a
moment then burst out laughing. When she finished, she sighed.
"Well, I
hope you can hold down your food... time to go to work."
Nathan's
face smiled, holding back the feeling that he was an empty person.
Hollow of the depth Minister Cassidy had just displayed. What did he
know of dreams? He just wanted to live here. Hopefully his self
deprecating humor would deflect her discernment from recognizing that
hole. Humor, he had found, often worked.
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