center looked just as normal as anyone else on the
street.
We reached the entrance, where a man
in a tan and grey coat, an InfoCon officer, stood pressing two
fingers to each person's temple. He would nod, stamp something on
the person's hand and wave them inside.
First Dad went through, and then Mom
tapped my shoulder to go next. I stood in front of the man as he
pressed his icy fingertips to my temple. His eyes narrowed, and he
studied me. "Vunjika?" he asked.
I nodded.
His lips pressed into a
thin line, and he took a red marker from his coat pocket. He
grabbed my hand and slashed an X on the back of my hand. A
couple people around us saw it and whispered under their breaths to
each other and stared at me. Mom went in with much the same process
as mine, but her X was black.
I ignored the stares and a few
pointing fingers and followed my parents into a conference room
where a man stood on a podium adjusting his tie. My mother and
father walked ahead of me and bee-lined toward the
front.
Outside the conference center, life
moved about normally. Normal people went about their lives,
completely unaware that the people congregating inside the center
were capable of powers beyond their wildest imaginations. I
desperately wanted to be out there with them. I barely understood
the world that was opening up to me, and I craved some kind of
normality.
We took seats in the second row from
the front. There were names and job titles on the seats. Mom and I
just had our names, but Dad's had 'Chief of Intelligence' under his
name.
"So are you like…the Kinetic CIA or
something?" I asked Dad.
He had his notebook open and was
reading some papers, so he didn't look up. "Yes."
"Nice." I sat back and looked around
at the room filling up with people. I wondered what powers each of
these people had. In the distance I caught a flash of red hair, and
Willow appeared from between a couple groups of people. Her parents
followed closely behind.
I waved at her.
"Hey!" She smiled as she
and her parents approached. "It's so weird seeing you
here."
"It's
weird being here," I said under my breath.
"I wish you were coming on a better
day. It's all silly political stuff this year," Willow said as she
plopped down into the seats directly behind us. Her parents were
both Intelligence Analysts, according to their seats.
"Is it different other
times?"
"Yeah, some summers they have more of
a county fair sort of feel. That's when the Regional Chiefs travel
around the world to each of the conferences and 'spread culture.'"
She chuckled.
I nodded and looked at the people
standing on the podium. The man who had been adjusting his tie was
now looking out at the crowd and waiting for people to finish
getting seated.
"So...what's gonna happen now?" I
asked no one in particular.
-I'll
explain,- said Willow's voice in my
head. I sensed lots of bubbly humor flowing through her link. It
was almost infectious. I smiled while facing the podium so she
couldn't see my face.
Dad apparently hadn't heard Willow's
telepathy.
"The Conference is made so that we in
the governing sectors of the Alliance can keep up to date with
other regions. It is also a way for the Council of Anyan to notify
us of new rulings or decisions," he replied.
"Council of Anyan?"
"They are six people chosen to make
the decisions to guide our people. They tell the Chief Minister,
and the Chief Minister tells the Regional Chiefs and on down," he
said.
A man tapped the microphone and
cleared his throat. The Conference had begun.
-Ok.- Willow
began. -The guy up there now is Jon
Perry. He's originally from the Eastern Canadian Region, but he
transferred down here to work directly with the North American
office in Columbus. He's also the de-facto spokesperson for North
America. He goes to all the conferences.-
After he had introduced himself and
the topics for the conference, Jon Perry motioned for the next
person to come up. It was an elderly man with enough hair on
street.
We reached the entrance, where a man
in a tan and grey coat, an InfoCon officer, stood pressing two
fingers to each person's temple. He would nod, stamp something on
the person's hand and wave them inside.
First Dad went through, and then Mom
tapped my shoulder to go next. I stood in front of the man as he
pressed his icy fingertips to my temple. His eyes narrowed, and he
studied me. "Vunjika?" he asked.
I nodded.
His lips pressed into a
thin line, and he took a red marker from his coat pocket. He
grabbed my hand and slashed an X on the back of my hand. A
couple people around us saw it and whispered under their breaths to
each other and stared at me. Mom went in with much the same process
as mine, but her X was black.
I ignored the stares and a few
pointing fingers and followed my parents into a conference room
where a man stood on a podium adjusting his tie. My mother and
father walked ahead of me and bee-lined toward the
front.
Outside the conference center, life
moved about normally. Normal people went about their lives,
completely unaware that the people congregating inside the center
were capable of powers beyond their wildest imaginations. I
desperately wanted to be out there with them. I barely understood
the world that was opening up to me, and I craved some kind of
normality.
We took seats in the second row from
the front. There were names and job titles on the seats. Mom and I
just had our names, but Dad's had 'Chief of Intelligence' under his
name.
"So are you like…the Kinetic CIA or
something?" I asked Dad.
He had his notebook open and was
reading some papers, so he didn't look up. "Yes."
"Nice." I sat back and looked around
at the room filling up with people. I wondered what powers each of
these people had. In the distance I caught a flash of red hair, and
Willow appeared from between a couple groups of people. Her parents
followed closely behind.
I waved at her.
"Hey!" She smiled as she
and her parents approached. "It's so weird seeing you
here."
"It's
weird being here," I said under my breath.
"I wish you were coming on a better
day. It's all silly political stuff this year," Willow said as she
plopped down into the seats directly behind us. Her parents were
both Intelligence Analysts, according to their seats.
"Is it different other
times?"
"Yeah, some summers they have more of
a county fair sort of feel. That's when the Regional Chiefs travel
around the world to each of the conferences and 'spread culture.'"
She chuckled.
I nodded and looked at the people
standing on the podium. The man who had been adjusting his tie was
now looking out at the crowd and waiting for people to finish
getting seated.
"So...what's gonna happen now?" I
asked no one in particular.
-I'll
explain,- said Willow's voice in my
head. I sensed lots of bubbly humor flowing through her link. It
was almost infectious. I smiled while facing the podium so she
couldn't see my face.
Dad apparently hadn't heard Willow's
telepathy.
"The Conference is made so that we in
the governing sectors of the Alliance can keep up to date with
other regions. It is also a way for the Council of Anyan to notify
us of new rulings or decisions," he replied.
"Council of Anyan?"
"They are six people chosen to make
the decisions to guide our people. They tell the Chief Minister,
and the Chief Minister tells the Regional Chiefs and on down," he
said.
A man tapped the microphone and
cleared his throat. The Conference had begun.
-Ok.- Willow
began. -The guy up there now is Jon
Perry. He's originally from the Eastern Canadian Region, but he
transferred down here to work directly with the North American
office in Columbus. He's also the de-facto spokesperson for North
America. He goes to all the conferences.-
After he had introduced himself and
the topics for the conference, Jon Perry motioned for the next
person to come up. It was an elderly man with enough hair on
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