Chapter Eleven: The Prime Directive

The days that had slowly passed by were vaguely the same. Every morning the bright screen would flash on as he woke up, and it would only dim when he put his head back down on his worn-down pillow, that had, in his opinion, seen much better days than inside of the frigid prison he was forced to stay in. Though it could be worse, he could be completely and utterly alone. Now that he had found someone to talk to in Nadia, things had brightened up, slightly. Though somewhere in the back of his mind he felt that the blonde woman would show up and separate them just for spite. It was annoying in the sense that he didn't want to turn it into some kind of romance 'war' story. 'Ah yes, two young teenagers, trapped unjustly by their captors, both building their strength from each others will to survive...' man...it's certainly not like this is the holocaust...' He thought to himself tapping away at the keys. For the past couple of days, Nadia was removed from her room in the morning to be taken to whatever it was they did to her. It was at that point that he began to doubt that it actually was rape. In a real-world scenario, capturing and raping women in this day and age [at least in America], to Hiro, this seemed highly unprofessional, and unlikely that they'd continue having sexual pleasures for months on end. It was just that he had a hard time understanding how shaken and utterly helpless Nadia sounded. Yet he couldn't bring himself to actually ask her what it was they did to her, so he just struck up a conversation as if they were two friends just strolling in a park; usually it was unrelated to their current position. It definitely helped pass the time, while they waited patiently for something to happen. Anything. Anything to happen at all. Good or bad, just let this monotony end already!

Partway through his usual morning routine of typing in codes and swiveling in his chair [not too much as he does get motion sickness easily]. He was in the middle of waiting for Nadia to return so he could have something to do other than look at these awfully plain monitors all day. It was then that the screen suddenly began to spew out large amounts of text as it scrolled from the bottom of the screen to top. What?! Do they except me to type this in? He thought as the letters raced through, in till finally they stopped and then the screen turned to a dark shade of blue. Ah! It's the blue screen of death! Their computer system must have crashed! What...what do I do? Did I do that? I followed their instructions didn't I? His mind raced as he tried pressing some keys [such as ctrl+alt+del] which didn't do anything. It wasn't like the computers had power buttons, or even visible power supplies, they were actually hooked up to the wall by a very confusing line of cords that Hiro didn't feel comfortable messing with. Then a date appeared on the screen, at the top in white letters. "What...hold on, it's Wednesday?" he asked leaning back, and counting from the time he was captured meant that he had spent less than a month in this place [contrary to how long it actually felt]. Then just below the date in bold letters, Hiro read:

The Prime Directive Commencing
 
Before he could analyze just what the 'Prime Directive' was, the screen flashed again and then it looked as if he was staring at some kind of surveillance feed, that was in till the camera he was looking through was fixated and the blonde woman was looking at him through the computer screen and there was an immensely unsatisfied look on her face. "Whoa! that's unnerving..." He exclaimed in surprised as he wasn't sure what exactly was happening and the overbearing woman usually had nothing but bad news to give him. "Ah just the person I was hoping to find. Mr. Hero-whatever your name is. You have a new job got it?" She was saying, and unlike the previous encounters with the blonde woman, this time around she sounded very irritated and a little sarcastic. 'Great, they're relocating me again? I wont even get a chance to say goodbye to Nadia...' He thought. "The new instructions will appear on this monitor, but the real focus will be on the second one. No screwing around you hear? I'd hate it if something bad were to happen to your new little friend next door." She said quietly turning back to yell at someone 'Stop hovering back their Sen! I'm telling this stupid kid what's got to do!' 
'Great. Now I'm the stupid kid. Thanks blonde bitch, you really make me feel good about doing your dirty work.' He thought annoyingly. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, we thought it'd be nice for you to have someone to talk to, but yeah it comes at a price. So uh, don't do anything retard okay? Like press the wrong buttons on purpose. That would really be bad for her. We wont bother hurting you, 'cause if you haven't figured it out yet, you're kinda our scapegoat if shit ever hits the fan." With a pretend, overly unnecessary cute wave and smile, the screen blacked out and Hiro leaned back and sighed.
 
He started to wonder. They already held all of the cards. Why would they need to threaten him like that? It's not like he had any reason so far to stop them...if what she said was true, and that they really did let Nadia move in next door so he could have someone to talk to, then that would practically mean that they were ones who showed him that they were actually bad. Although kidnapping him was also wrong in his opinion, it didn't seem like what he was doing for them was actually bad, it didn't make him feel guilty just pushing buttons on a computer.
The instructions then appeared on the monitor, capturing his attention. 
The Prime Directive: You will be given six different computer screens that reflect a live feed or what is occurring inside the facility. It is your duty as the operator of this facilities secondary functioning computer to input the codes by hitting the enter key. Once each code is verified by hitting enter, the action will then be carried out and will appear on the live feed for your personal review. You must hit enter without much delay as commands must be entered promptly. Please do not alter the codes in anyway, this may cause an undesirable effect throughout the structure. If there are multiple consecutive failed inputs, the system will automatically read and enter the codes automatically within 1 second of appearing.

"Huh...this seems like pretty detailed instructions..." He leaned back after reading it, and then from there six different rooms popped up on the screens in the form of live video feed as well as a small entry bar underneath each. It was instructed that he enter in the code whenever the code flashed inside of that entry bar. It was his goal to keep up with each of the six rooms so that the directive could be followed. Each of these rooms were quite different: there was a hallway, a lobby sort of entrance, a couple of larger empty rooms, and then a bright room which caught his attention. He noticed a girl sitting alone in the room on a reclining chair. A blindfold was placed over her eyes and there were some people moving around next to her. Because he had never seen Nadia before, he couldn't help but wonder if this girl was in fact her. He watched as a doctor looking person came up and inserted something into her arm which reminded him of an IV that would use at a hospital or something. The doctor backed away, and then he seemed to walk over to something off screen. It was then that the code appeared on his screen. He knew he had to hit enter, but he hesitated for a moment. What would happen?
He had heard of pyschological tests where someone was given a button to press, and if they pressed someone out of sight would scream in horrible pain, only later to find that the person screaming was just an actor. He couldn't help but think that what he was going to do would somehow hurt Nadia, but what other chose did he have? If he didn't do it, they might do something to her right there and then! But would they really? At least this computer wasn't transmitting any sound, so even if there was a horrible scream he wouldn't have to endure it. He closed his eyes and hit enter and then slowly opened them to see if anything had happened. The girl was still reclined in her chair, as if nothing had happened. There was a doctor hovering about, watching something off screen. Hiro sighed with relief. It seemed as if nothing had happened, at least not right away. Who knows what kind of thing they were injecting into that girl's body? It made him shiver slightly.









That was all that had happened in his morning. It wasn't in till around noon that he heard a familiar racket of his next door neighbor returning. The girl was thrown fiercely into her room. He looked back at the other screen and noticed the other girl he had thought may have been Nadia was still there. 'So it wasn't Nadia after all...who is this girl then? He thought to himself watching as the sleeping girl would occasionally twitch in her reclined position. "Hiro...are you there?" Nadia called through the vents. "Yeah...I'm here." He stated focusing on the screen waiting for the new command to come in. "How're you holding up, Nadia?" He asked, still distracted by the monitor, wondering when the next code would come in. "I'll live..it's not too bad." She said quietly. "No...it doesn't seem like it..." He replied looking at the other relaxed girl. He had came to the conclusion that THIS was the treatment they were giving the girls, rather than resort immediately to rape; this made more sense. Test subjects in some awful experiment. "Wha--what do you mean?" She asked. "What they do here...it doesn't look so bad. I've got a live feed here..." he replied.

"You what?!" She exclaimed. "You...saw me?" She asked quietly. "No...it's some other girl they've got her hooked up you know?" He asked, his eyes were always drawing back towards her. 'It's not she's naked. She's still dressed.' He thought as his mind was comparing this to rape. Nadia was silent. "You don't understand..." She said finally. "Of course I don't. I've never been hooked up to such a thing." He replied. "Then don't say it's pleasant!" She retorted. "Ah-sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." He replied. I better not tell her that I'm controlling it then. She might...convince me to stop. But I wanted to tell her what they're forcing me to do, but now I can't. Damn it. I'm trapped by my own consciousness then... He continued to watch on the monitors in till he noticed two more people enter what appeared to be a main lobby area. "It almost looks like some kind of movie theater entrance, they have some kind of booth there." He stated leaning forward to get a better picture. He noticed the boy moving up to the booth and gesture with his hands, indicating at this Japanese girl for a moment, and then there was some kind of exchange, like the boy was handing the man at the booth a card or something. A new command suddenly appeared, and he was torn from there other scene as he went back to the sleeping girl. He wasn't sure what they wanted him to do, but he hit enter almost immedately, and then he noticed the girl jolting suddenly.

"What the hell did I do?!" He couldn't help but shout. "Huh? What, did you make a mistake?" Nadia asked and he wasn't sure what to say. "The..girl...this girl just suddenly began to tweak out." He explained feeling a wave of guilt rushing through his viens, as if he was responsible for her sudden seizure. "Oh...she must be a newcomer then...it's always like that the first time... you aren't used to it..." Nadia was saying. What the hell is going on? Why am I shaking? At first this felt like...this was a simple game, but these are real people I'm dealing with! I mean...what can I do? What can I do... He didn't know what he should do. 'Should I ask Nadia? I mean...I am controlling the thing that's torturing her...but what if she's not really being tortured? What if she's really on their side? That blonde woman does seem to be the kind to set something like this up... but, what if they come after me? I can't be selfish like that! That's not how the hero is supposed to act...wait...when did I become the hero? Aren't I an accompolice in this crimnal organization now? It's not too late to back out, is it? I have try something...because that woman didn't give me the order directly she might not actually be here...I just need to decipher the code and find a way to manipulate it in my favor, if I can do that...then I might be able to get out of this! 


 He was starting to feel the pressures of what he was doing. The psychology of his situation was really starting to grow on him. how many more times would he have to press the button? He thought back to when they first apprehended him. That woman said he had past the test...was this just another game? They could have set this entire thing up, and maybe he was a fool for following their orders. 


Suddenly on another screen there was a sudden emergence of someone walking down a hallway. They were wearing a gas mask. For some reason he thought for a moment that it was one of the bad guys. "Who...who the hell is that?" He asked himself as he eyed the screen closely. It appeared that he was carrying a gun out, which meant he wasn't supposed to be there. Another code appeared in the bar underneath there, and he pressed it wondering what would happen. A doorway directly infront of the intruder suddenly closed, and locked, or that is what Hiro deduced as the man turned around expertly pointing his gun at different angles. So what?! Now they have me moving this guy through their maze like building, and injecting strange serums into innocent girls? What the hell...I can't... 

"Wait, did you say, you did it? Are you doing something that is making that girl...?" Nadia suddenly asked after the long silence. Damn it! I didn't want to say anything about that. "Yes. That's correct Nadia." He stated with resolve. "I'm the one who is in control...In control of the entire building." He added. I am willing to sacrifice myself...I think...if there is anything worth writing about...it should be this. I am Hiro Reder! I am the one who is going to save the city of Stadweld! I will stop these bad people from hurting anyone else. There is a way....I can make it work! He thought, as he continued to press in the commands for the new man who had just appeared.
"What...what do you mean?" Nadia was asking sounding frightened. "They gave me the controls Nadia." He replied. "In order to keep you safe, I am going to be following their orders, whatever it may be." He stated. There was a pause for a moment, before she finally responded. "You...you don't need to do that for me.. be strong! I can endure the pain, please Hiro! You are the only one who can save everyone else. Even...even if it means..." She was trying her best to sound brave, and he wondered if he could live with himself afterwords if something truly horrible happened to her. Could he continue on? Would life be the same? He was quickly regretting his previous wish for change. "I'll try to figure out the code their using, okay? Don't worry...I'll do something to save us." He said filled with new motivation. I just have to figure this out right, let's see here...
The codes that continued to appear for the intruder with the gas mask looked something like this: 

EX23b-c://enter[phase]close[phase=end]

He didn't know what the beginning meant, but when he entered the code, a door would close. He had a feeling then after a while that the first part was sort of like a map, which would lead to a certain part of the dome structure. Just moments before the door closed, he quickly typed in,

EX23b-c://enter[phase]open[phase=end]

Lo and behold, the door that had just closed opened, and this definitely confused the man who was being led on like a mouse trapped in a maze, who turned around, wondering if he was supposed to go back the way he came, or if he was expected to continue on, if another door opened.

He tried to make another code: 

EX22b-c://enter[phase]open[phase=end] 
Changing the number before b, he thought it would command a different door.

He watched carefully but nothing happened. Was it an input error? Or was it that a door was opening off screen? He couldn't tell, but then when another command  appeared that he had successfully entered didn't work he began to grow afraid of what was really happening. I am losing the controls already? That's right, I forgot...they did say I would eventually lose control if the system thought the wrong inputs were being made...Then another directive appeared for the girl. This code didn't make nearly as much a sense as the door commands did.

Ai1212-2312-12-12code=cord1x(1,2)rtc(34,5.4.3)/end seq12-12.

He had a feeling it had to do with some kind of cordinate system, but he had no time to figure it out as the machine automatically hit enter for him. After a while, one of the screen blacked out and was replaced with the blonde haired woman. "Oh my hero...you're pretty bold to go against my orders. Trying to decipher the code?" She asked with a bright smile. "Too bad. You aren't going to make it after all. I had so much hope for you...but there's still a chance for you perhaps. But let's see how Nadia's doing, shall we??" She smiled cruelly and blinked out and the screen returned to how it was before. He couldn't help but freeze with fear. "I'm sorry..." he said, trying to tell Nadia. "What? Hiro? Did something happen?" She asked and he couldn't get himself to respond. I'm a failure...I can't save anyone, I can't do anything, it was helpless from the start...what, what have I done?! I should have just stuck to their plan. I should have kept my head low...damn it...Nadia...Then he heard Nadia's door open, and there wasn't any sound for a while. He thought he had heard her gasp, but he wasn't sure. 

Then there was the most painful scream he had ever heard in his life. It was the kind of scream that only came from the core of one's being. He wanted to hold his hands to his ears as it radiated throughout the vents. In long, low silent repititions he could hear her overwhelming scream pierce his ears and drive tears to his own eyes. The pain in her voice so tangible, he thought he could almost feel it himself."Stop it damn it!" He screamed back, but there was no reply expect for a few painful sobs, before the scream started up once more. "Stop! Stop! Damn it! damn it, damn it... damn it...damn it" He slowly stood up, feeling tears pour down his face as his entire body shook with a full range of emotions coursing through his body. I...I can't continue on...I was wrong to think I could...in just a few hours...everything, everything I thought I could do...I...I'm...
"I'm no longer your slave!" He screamed picking up the chair in both hands and with incredible force he smashed it into the computer over and over and over again in till it was nothing but cracked shell on a table. Almost instantly after he did that the lights turned out and he stood there panting as the screams continued to drive out from Nadia next door. His face was covered with tears as he slowly curled up in a ball in the corner. I ruined her life...I ruined everything, everything...what I am going to do...? 


His body felt numb. He slowly fell over and rested his head on his pillow. Eventually, his mind went numb too, as the screams were slowly replaced with heavy sobs and then silence.