Activated

chapter 3 (There are no programs)

The rudimentary programming class was rather large, being one of the first all program trainees had. It was held in the largest lecture room in the basic training hall. It easily held more than a hundred students at a time. Roll call was thus a long, hastily-delivered process of snapped names that the trainees ignored after their names were noted. Beika was probably the only person paying attention that day to the whole roll call.

The last name read out in roll call was Melancho, of northeast. A musical name, although a rather sad musical name. She watched him at the back of the room. He sat at the corner and kept his eyes on his notes. He talked to no one and called to no one. No one approached him either.

Ah! She would start with that.

She marched up to the back of the room. She sat beside him. “Hello, Melancho. I’m Beika. From yesterday, remember? Maybe there’s something I can help you with?”

He did not even look at her, and kept his eye on his books. “Lan, please.”

She scratched her head. She needed to know him better, before she could be more helpful. “There’s this stall that sells wonderful flavored apples, want to have some with me after class?”

But he did not look up and did not answer.

#

“Did you hear, Beika?” her friend whispered. “A fire programmer went berserk in Diluar!”

“What do you mean?” she asked. 

”

A house was burned to the ground, in seconds! People were inside!”

“Did they find out who?”

“Not yet. So scary, don’t you think? Diluar’s just beyond the gates. What if it happens here?”

Diluar was one of the towns beyond the walled area of the capital. Some of the trainees and citizens went home to it. A fire programmer living in Diluar most likely worked or studied in the capital, was probably in the capital right now. Who knew what would happen if the programmer was unable to control his fire programs while in the capital.

Beika looked up at the last row in her class, beyond the rows of trainees gossiping about the news. Melancho sat at his far corner, his head deeper than usual, the frown deeper than usual. When class finished, he immediately stood up and left.

None of her friends knew anything about Melancho either. He did not have friends or fellow trainees who came from northeast with him. Beika came with several other heal program trainees from northwest of Pendi.

She went to the basic programming hall’s library and read through the heal program books. Most of the words flew over her head; they were too complicated for her, a new program trainee still in the general subjects. She still had to master body parts and health conditions and other things. But the culminating examinations loomed closer by the day, and she had no time.

Maybe if she got some more information out of him, she would better know how to look through the program books. That was what she tried the next day.

#

She brought a strawberry-cream apple with her this time. She found him seated at that tree again, staring at the grass. She sat down beside him, and stared at the blades of grass as well. But there was nothing to see there, not even a line of ants or an interesting bug.

“I think the music programmers have practice today. Do you want to go watch them for a while?” That seemed less boring than looking at grass growing.

“Stay away from me,” he repeated.

“Just this one time?” She stood up and yanked at his sleeve. “If not music, something else?” She scratched her head again. Maybe he was the kind who liked talking about current events? “Hey, what do you think about the burning in Diluar?”