The truth behind Alice in Wonderland
Chapter 4
“You can do it…I believe in you.”
A tearful face. A rough hand on his cheek.
Victory carried the memory with him like a
scar. When the black shuttle came, and the Sisters of Mercy waved their
handheld Void dosimeters over the children, a high positive Void Coefficient flashed
on the screen for Victory.
“Positive 85…” The stern face veiled in a
black cowl, body draped in black Zaku-Ten silk, was stunned by the number.
“Come along, little boy. You’re special.”
Victory could vaguely recall, his mother bidding
him farewell. He could also remember seeing his father, surrounded by a gaggle
of his brothers and sisters, and his father’s eyes flickering an artificial
electric blue, as the corporate executives accompanying the Sisters of Mercy wirelessly
transferred a significant amount of Terran credits to their family.
The hand he held was scaly and wrinkled. He
could still remember the harsh tang of the incense hanging on the Sister of
Mercy, who led him onto the black shuttle waiting for him.
“WAIT! WHAT ABOUT MY SON? TAKE MY SON TOO!”
“Your
son is hardly anything special. His Void Coefficient is positive 25. How
painfully average.” The Sister of Mercy said dismissively, waving the mother of
the other child away.
Victory was the only child from his slum
selected by the Sisters of Mercy. When the black shuttle roared into the sky,
the final memory Victory had of his home, was of the trash-filled river, and decrepit
home-steads shrinking into nothingness. And of the wretched people waving from
a distance, whose memory served as a burning ember, when things grew dark.
****
“Victory…Over here.”
“Victory…I’m here….”
BANG BANG BANG!
Victory jolted awake. From the dream of
haunting whispers and pulsating indigo light.
“Victory? You have a visitor.”
“Yes, Aunt Lily.”
Victory opened the door. Standing next to
the short stout figure of the dormitory matron, who had looked after him and
his fellow rookies all their lives, was a tall figure in OBC uniform.
“General Dante Shaw. Sir. It is pleasure to
see you here.” Victory snapped to attention, and saluted Dante.
“At ease, pilot.” Dante paused, to give Victory a once-over.
Pale skin stretched tightly over taut muscles, raven hair wild, bulging eyes
blazed with a restless fire.
“Victory…that’s not your real name, is it?
How did you come to be known as Victory?”
“Because in all the academic competitions, all the capture-the-flag tournaments, I always led my team to a convincing win. Thus,
I came to be known as ‘Victory’, sir.” Victory replied, a tinge of pride in his
voice, hands clasped behind his back.
Dante stared Victory straight in the eye. “But
you didn’t lead your team to victory during the Tartarus exercise, did you,
Victory?”
“My team-mate made the ultimate sacrifice. I
will forever be grateful to her. But it was my high positive Void Coefficient that
allowed me to survive that simulation, sir.”
Dante sighed, and rubbed a hand over his
face.
“It’s true. The psychic and psychological
stress of piloting a VANTAR is so great, even a practice simulation could prove
fatal. Having a high positive Void Coefficient counts for much. Do you know how
you came to have such a high Void Coefficient?”
“I don’t know sir. I was born in a slum
outside Neo-Gyureong Do. That’s all I know.”
“Neo-Gyureong Do…” Dante heard of the place. It
was well-known for being the location of many a kichijon on Mars. He
wondered who Victory’s father really was. But he cast all extraneous thoughts
aside, and looked at Victory.
“Time is short. I shall be brief. I was impressed
by your performance against Tartarus. I’d like to promote you to the ranks of
the Silver Foxes.”
“Thank you, sir, I’m honoured.” Victory
straightened, and stood a little stiffer. A faint smile crept along the corners
of his lips.
“There is no time for the usual induction. The
recent ambush by Sino-Tech gutted the ranks of the Silver Foxes. Only Gravity
Dragon and Golden Sun are left, and even those VANTARs
are in need of serious repair and maintenance. The pilots of those VANTARs are
currently recuperating in hospital. We need you to pilot an experimental
VANTAR, code-named X, to complete a mission of utmost importance.”
“Now…sir?” Victory looked alarmed. Beside
Dante, Aunt Lily looked sad and surprised at the sudden news as well.
“Yes, now. Pack your things. You shall move
to the Silver Foxes Barracks, today. I will wait for you at docking bay 94.”
“Yes sir.”
Dante moved to leave, but spun on his heel
to ask one last question.
“I had
a peek at your file. My memory fails me. I can’t seem to recall your real name.
What is your real name, Victory?”
“Song Hyun, sir. Lee Song Hyun.”
“Victory sounds much better.” Dante turned,
and left, leaving Victory to pack his things.
****
“Victory?”
“Yes, Aunt Lily?” Victory turned around. His
bag was fully packed, and he was about to leave for the docking bay.
“You’ll probably have some fancy
professional chef cooking for you at the Silver Foxes Barracks. You’ll forget
about me in no time. But here’s some food for the journey.”
Aunt Lily held a tin towards Victory.
He accepted it with a grateful nod. Even without his psychic abilities, Victory
knew what was inside: At the top level, his favourite seaweed and tofu soup. In
the middle level, breaded pork cutlets with curry, and at the bottom level, warm
white rice. A spoon was latched at the top of the tin, everything was prepared
for Victory’s immediate consumption.
“No professional chef, no professional cleaning
crew could ever replace you, Aunt Lily. You were the bedrock of our dorm,
amidst the harsh discipline of the Sisters, and the VANTAR instructors. My
fellow recruits and I wouldn’t have survived a day without your love and care.”
“Yes.
Now go. You don’t want to keep the general waiting.”
“Farewell, Aunt Lily. Take care.”
As Victory left, he could hear faint
sobbing behind him.
****
