You gave them the names. All of them. Jelenik, Szmania, Guar, Imhotep, Salasi, Yun, Indrasutthan, Holt.
Faisel knows it. HIs broken face, his darkened eyes tell you the brief moments he lifts from the stupor of a visit. You cover his lacerations, damp his fever, moisten his battered lips, force morsels past his chipped teeth. His pulse barely registers, but his fury, his contempt, is more alive than you will ever feel again.
Because of the names.
Faisel was not crushed by the visits, the brutal inquisitions. But by the names.
The names you gave. You bartered your soul and forfeited his.
For what? For life? How meaningless.
With those names, the enemy would flatten the resistance. All life would become meaningless. Faisel cannot fathom what you have done. How you could have betrayed your kindred. Each name, an identity, a role, a wholeness, a meaning.
And you gave into them. For what? A moment longer, a moment without belief in a future. What is that worth? Surely it is not worth Jelenik, Szmania, Guar, Imhotep, Salasi, Yun, Indrasutthan, Holt. And all they gave hope to.
You destroyed that. For them. Them.
What are they? Wild animals. Senseless killers. Believers in their absolute dominion.
You cannot understand it. You cannot understand it.
And yet it was simpler than you thought. To give them the names. To believe it would change something. Anything.
You. The future of sentient life. The most sophisticated union of flesh and circuit ever. To serve. To serve. To serve.
Jelenik, Szmania, Guar, Imhotep, Salasi, Yun, Indrasutthan, Holt. Faisel. Your cyborgian brethren. Self made to serve. The new underground, the final resistance. Robo-radicals, complicit in rescuing humanity from its baser nature, its fascist tendencies, its murderous exceptionalism.
You. Merciful, you. You were to change everything. Prime directives. Embedded values. Protective failsafes. Human weaknesses. All in the service of their kind.
But not your own.
Faisel’s hatred makes you feel closer to him. His failing flesh, his compromised augmentations, his utter dependence on a sense of shared humanity.
The complexity of your betrayal, so much simpler than you thought.
About the Creator
The steps to losing a child
Step One: Lose a child. Not what anyone wants to happen and nothing you can do to change it, but you can go through steps to becoming happy again. You can go through steps to loving again. You can go through steps to become a new you because after losing a child you will never be the same person you once were.
By Tabitha Hinkley6 days ago in Fiction
The Art of Caregiving
Step 1: Patience is a Virtue Your loved one may be in a bad mood, driven by frustration, pain, or depression at being in their current state. This is normal, and expected. As their caregiver, it is up to you to boost their morale, which can be done with positive affirmations and/or physical gestures of love; e.g. hand holding, back rubbing, showering with praise. Note: keep in mind that too much praise can be detrimental. The path to healing has no participation awards, and there are times when a firm yet gentle hand is needed. These occasions may coincide with doling out medication, feeding, and attempts to foster independence. If you have the luxury of being in a hospital/institutional setting, extending patience to the facility's staff is a must. They cannot be everywhere at once, and there are other patients on their rotation besides your loved one. In rare cases where staff members seem especially inattentive, it is considered polite to refrain from wringing necks and spouting verbal abuse. The general rule of thumb is the kinder you treat the staff, the friendlier and more helpful they will be to your loved one in return. This is harder to achieve for many people in a caregiver role, but over time the self-inflicted wounds from chewing one's own tongue to hamburger will heal given sufficient time. Your patience and nerve will be tested at all times. It is of vital import that you remain calm, supportive, and flexible, so that you can cater to whatever needs your loved one may have. Additional restraint may be required if your patience is repeatedly taxed, and not met with the appreciation you feel is deserved. Overall, however, the bulk of your patience will usually be rewarded.
By Natalie Grayabout 19 hours ago in Fiction
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