one time I was going over some of the wreckage with Instine and he said,

               “This is part of the calculating machine.”

               “I heard about this several times. It seemed to predict a few things about me.”

               “Yeah.. when you were injured, some doctors tried to convince Deemeon that your recovery was hopeless, but he checked the calculations of the machine, then discussed it with  Bryane, and when both results were positive, he ran it by Cface.. Fatal was so impressed, that he asked to take care of you himself.”

               “That is why he said that he taught me to speak?”

               “Oh yeah.. he said that?” Instine smiled, “I bet he regretted that later.”

We both had a laugh together.. then I asked him in passing,

               “So what else did this machine do.. was it anything like Cface?”

               “No.. it was intended to do all the work as a machine run by an operator.. that is the mental work of humans.. so that they can get used to it.. and learn things very fast.. the ultimate goal, is to make them totally dependent on it, on the one hand.. and on the other hand, it makes them vulnerable to attacks.”

               “How so.” I was intrigued.

               “think for a moment.. since this machine is destroyed now.. it shall take us approximately two hundred years in order to create a replacement.. if we are depending on this machine for our everyday life.. then we would be screwed.. because our original skills to make a living, or even to make a new machine..  would have been impaired already. See my point?”

               “Wow..ingenious,” I began to realize the significance, “So, it can be used against those who depend on it.. once you disable it for them.. they are lost.”

He smiled and shook his head to agree.. Then I wondered,

               “But this required all these other equipment to be present first.”

               “Yes.. it is a sequential process.. that is why we program those Vinos to learn one step at a time.. it is a long undertaking.. a well planned scheme.. that is also, why Deemeon had Cface made first.. to help us with the systematic production of each piece of equipment and then programming the right Vino person to receive the information.”

               “You mean, not all Vino people are the same?”

The commander of the CCP laughed heartily saying,

               “Of course not.. that is why you don’t find any riffraff here either.. even some Vinos could not receive the knowledge.”

               “What do you mean?”

               “out of every five Vinos.. on average four will die in the process of programming.. some reject it, some cannot endure the treatment and some.. end up with the wrong knowledge which they cannot handle so they go mad and have to be terminated.”

               “Wow.. this is amazing Instine.” I was really fascinated, “So, how many have we sent back to Vino land so far with these programming? How much knowledge do they have now?”

               “Oh, they have a lot of knowledge.. don’t forget.. what we provide is the spark.. just to start the process.. but just like the Cface hybrid.. we used a human brain.. in his case, we just enhanced it to almost full capacity.. but normally, once you provide the initial trigger, the human brain is directed to work in that path to reach almost endless results.. the Vinovians have transporting machines now.. many advanced fighting tools and even explosives.. and their knowledge is expanding fast in many directions.”

               “Explosives?” I pretended to be alarmed

He shook his head sadly saying,

               “Yeah.. yeah.. that is why I suspected sabotage.. and we still must consider it as a possibility.. you see,” He looked around to make sure we were out of ear shot, “between you and me, we say the prisoners escaped.. but there is always the possibility that they might have left someone behind, or even may be all of them stayed with just one forcing the doctor to go out to give us the impression that they escaped.”

               “The thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it thinking.. why would anyone stay knowing they would die.. if they had the chance to run away?” I tried to shake the idea.

               “You cannot put anything past those Vinos, after all, if they escape.. where would they go? They would be in the middle of our territory.. no place to hide?”

The pictures formulating in my mind after his comment,  would make him kill me instantly.. and sure enough I would have to keep them hidden in the deepest recesses of my brain.

With every passing day, I kept going back to these conversations, sometimes I came across Wyee in the halls of BKC.. the animosity never waned, and we never exchanged any words.. she seemed to be scared that any words she said, I would manipulate and use against her.. which added to the nagging feeling I had about all these events since my first meeting in the CCP. What was the meaning of the emphatic assertion of the hybrid that I was “an apostate” ? would that give credence to what Dusky said about me? Then again, now I know that those programmed Vinos, would be returned back with the embedded knowledge to produce the intended turmoil among the ranks of the Vinovians themselves.. so if I were one of those, why was I not returned like the others? And the bigger question would be, if I were one of those programmed Vinos, who else would be like me? Wyee? Instine? Or anyone of the other leaders?

Then my mind went straight to Alore.. he spent almost two years in the Vycee before he was discovered.. how did this happen? How did he do this? For as long as I worked with him in Primore, I would never suspect his loyalty or.. wait a minute.. the bits and pieces were there, but I never paid attention to it.. his words were sometimes intended to check me out, but I couldn’t put it all together.. “Deemeon has ears in the ground” he said the first time we met.. also, his reaction and warning when I got upset seeing him cut himself.. and he never bragged about killing any Vino soldiers in the battle of Primore.. for all I know, he never killed anyone.

Well, this may prove, I couldn’t be a Vino as he called me once.. after all, I killed a lot of Vinos and I proved to be one of the “most crucial soldiers” for Deemeon. Yet, I knew these questions were not going to go away.. and it was exhausting to realize I could not ask anyone to find the right answers.. because whoever I ask will give me the answer they want me to believe.

As soon as Bryane arrived back at the CCP, we had a meeting in the leadership hall, attended by Instine, Bryane, myself and the doctor who replaced Miniee,

               “Doctor Blair is the chief doctor now,” Instine introduced him, “and we are going to have to bring E Porto, head of engineering, later as soon as he recovers from his injuries.”

               “I am pleased to see commander Hort join us here,” Bryane said, “I think his input will be of great importance.. probably better than the input of Cface hybrid.”

I was astonished.. Instine shook his head in guarded approval, while the doctor said,

               “Coming from you Bryane, this is a big endorsement.”

I had to change the topic so I replied,

               “Bryane, do you think Schwaine shall be able to handle the program in DC like you did.”

               “Schwaine was originally in charge of the B&C part of the program.. he has little experience with the direct fire.. but he should be able to manage.”

               “B&C.. you didn’t show this to me.”

As soon as I said this the other two were alarmed, so Bryane hastily answered,

               “Yes.. yes.. we had a lot of discussions together when the commander was in DC.. as for the B&C.. this is the part of the program dealing with what we call “silent killers” which are weapons that do not make too much noise, but can kill large numbers of people.. albeit, not very fast.. like the direct fire.”

Then the doctor clarified,

            “These are biological weapons and chemical ones too.. it involves diseases and contaminations of resources.”

               “You thought about everything guys.. very clever.” I commented

               “I think.. Deemeon has an even bigger weapon in mind.. bigger than what we are working on here in the CCP.” Instine declared.

               “What would that be?” I was very curious.

               “He wouldn’t tell.. not even me.” Instine chuckled

               “So.. we have to start our work in two directions.. I believe.” Bryane said.

               “Yes.. we have to start right away to work on the fourth generation hybrid,” Instine responded, “while at the same time we have to find out the flaw in Cface programming so we can fix it and reactivate him and then find a way to reproduce the flaw in the knowledge sent to the Vinos later on.”

               “Wait a minute guys.. we have to focus first on the repair of the damage___” I started.

               “Yes, yes.. that is true,” Instine shook his head, “But we have to start our work at the same time.. we cannot wait until all the repairs are done.. so we have to move operations temporarily to the above ground buildings of the OC prison building.. this way, it will be easier for you commander Hort to supervise the work on rebuilding the calculating machine and  the fourth generation.. while we can use the undamaged areas here in the CCP to work on Cface problem.”

               “That is true.” Doctor Blair concurred, “As of now it will take us approximately two hundred years to recover and reach the point at which the damage happened.. yet, if we are able to fix Cface..and the calculating machine.. this time frame can be reduced to only one hundred and fifty years or even less.”

               “Well.. this means we need to establish a new system for the security at the OC prison .. somehow we__” I had to bring this up.

               “Of course.. the OC Front will no longer conduct any war activity.” Instine explained, “That will be pushed to UC and PC Fronts. Some soldiers at OC  will be handpicked by you to become responsible for security and the rest will be transferred to the other fronts.”

When that meeting ended, the turmoil inside my head was driving me insane. This was serious business.. I had to take charge and actually participate in the design, production and effective implementation of the program to destroy Vinovia by its own people.. now, why would that be so troubling to me? It is almost certain that I might not be able to live long enough to see this completed.. but I shall have to put the foundation.. and it didn’t feel like the kind of thing I wanted to do.. if only I can find someone to talk to.. to explain and argue .. but days went by and I was getting sick of becoming two people.. the one person appearing to be firm and practical getting things done, and the hidden person who is confused, worried and angry.. without knowing why.. why was I angry or confused?  

After a long day going over all the details of what had to be done in the prison building, I went to my bunker and fell into my bed extremely exhausted and feeling drained.. I didn’t change my clothes or turn any lights on.. I closed my eyes and one image peeped into my brain.. the enchanting forest.. I wished I could find a gateway that would instantly send me there and let me lie down next to one of those trees and only smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers and listen to the babbling water of the brook and singing of the birds..

               “That would be really nice.” His voice was low and clear.

I opened my eyes.. It was dark and I couldn’t see him..

               “don’t try to get up and turn the lights on.. I shall disappear. Just talk to me.”

               “Am I going crazy.?” I said out loud.

               “No.. we talked before.. but now.. it is serious.. far more serious than before.”

               “You are the one who___”

               “On the inside.. yeah.. you see.. now you recognize me.”

               “But you cannot answer my questions.”

               “Wrong.. I have all the answers.. all you need is to ask the right questions.. and.. you know what.. it is also very important  that you have to be willing to accept the answers whatever they might be.. even if you find them outrageous.. or hard to believe.”

               “Is that a riddle?”

               “No.. just ask away.”

               “Well.. why in the world am I put in charge of such a huge project, when I am not an engineer, nor a doctor and .. and above all.. I will not live for another hundred years to see it completed?”

               “Now that .. is the right question.. and the answer will reveal the truth about everything else.. why didn’t you ask that question to the person who put you in charge?”

               “You said you have all the answers.” I objected.

               “I can point you to the place where the answer exists.. Yes, I know the answer but to put it in words.. you must hear it from the source if you want it to be convincing.”

               “so I should ask Deemeon or Instine or.. well any way, I expect the answer to be .. something like.. you are a leader.. an organizer blah.. blah.. etc. and that would not be what I call convincing.”

               “I think they have another answer and they may be waiting for you to ask the question.. you were so eager to be the leader and to be the big shot and they gave that to you.. they don’t care if you live or you die.. the work will be done.. it will be done by the experts anyway.”

               “I think I shall have to ask Instine.. he is more likely to give me a straight answer than his father.. and I see him almost every day.”

               “Yes.. that is true.. talking about his father.. why don’t you ask him about the children as well .. did you ever wonder .. why you never saw any children anywhere in the Vycee?”

               “Yeah.. I.. did .. wonder .. about.. that.”

               “You.. are.. going.. to….” His voice trailed away.. as I fell asleep at last.

Later that week, I put Metz and Shana in charge of the security and let them make the selections of the security force making sure that Asfar and Amy would be excluded from that group. A lot of the work force from CCP had to be relocated to the building and the prison cells had to be expanded and transformed into sleeping quarters for them. The damaged equipment had to be remanufactured on site and the few salvaged ones were transferred.

In an afternoon of a nice day, I sat down to eat when Instine came to sit down and tell me how his father was very pleased with the way the work is being done.. while we were chitchatting I had a chance to bring up the question I wanted to ask him,

               “Listen Instine, may I ask why.. why did you or your father choose me to take charge of this work?”

               “Are you not happy with this choice?” He had a strange look on his face.

               “Of course I am pleased.. but.. you see.. I am not an engineer .. nor am I a doctor.. I am just a soldier__”

               “Exactly.. this position needed a person who can organize, direct and lead.. the best one for the job is a soldier.. one who is a stickler for discipline like you.”

               “Yeah.. yeah.. I expected you to say that.. but I don’t think this is convincing enough.. there is a very big handicap for me.. this work will take a long time .. I shall be long dead be___”

               “Ah.. now you are talking..” His eyes glowed as he interrupted.

               “What do you mean?” I felt a strange shudder go through my body.

He stared at me for a while and then answered very slowly,

               “You heard people during the meeting talk about two hundred years.. or a hundred and fifty years.. it was intended to stimulate your curiosity.. so that you would ask this very question.. now.. You can live to see the completion of the work.. and even stick around to enjoy it long after that.”

I was baffled.. I looked at him suspiciously.. he smiled in a very strange way, then spoke steadily and calmly,

               “Hort.. you are still human.”

               “What? What do you mean? You are not?” I scoffed.. half heartedly.

He smiled ear to ear.. and took his time before he replied..

               “I used to be.. and when Deemeon adopted me.. he converted me to his nature.. you understand.. don’t you? He is very old.. very.. old.. and he made me like him.. I can eat your food if I want.. and.. I can stay without such food for as long I want.. I have a.. a.. a completely different nature from you.. you see me.. and I can travel from one place to another much easier.”

I had to sit back and look at him with unabashed disbelief.. completely dumbfounded.

               “Don’t look at me like that.. you can use the gateways.. right? It is permitted by Deemeon.. and in my case.. I move much more freely.. every spot is a gateway spot.”

He disappeared from me for a few moments.. then reappeared again..

               “You see.. I just went to the north camp and back.. and you can have this .. all this .. and live to see the completion of the work.. but you have to want it.. that is all.”

I was still stunned to hear and see all this..

               “I.. well.. sorry.. I cannot handle all this avalanche of information all at once.” I answered honestly.. I was confused.

               “Look.. there is no rush..you can___” He started but I rushed to cut in,

               “Who else?”  

               “Oh.. Pryade was like me.. Wyee.. several others.” He spoke casually.

               “Pryade? How is this possible? I was about to kill him before Deemeon stopped me.”

He laughed lightly and answered with a big smile,

               “That.. is why Deemeon interfered.. if you had struck him.. he would have disappeared .. he had no other choice.. and his nature would be exposed to you and to everyone around.”

I immediately thought of my encounter with the menace at the top of the mountain..

               “So.. well.. where is he now.. in TC?”

               “Yes and no.. well TC.. yes.. this is another issue .. you would be informed about it..  if you decide to join us.. it is not a big deal.”

I knew I cannot let him know about our latest confrontation, but it was imperative for me that I knew exactly what I had to deal with during that last confrontation,

               “So, If I happen to see him now.. what would it be like?”

               “I’m afraid you cannot see him now.. he is not allowed to come anywhere near humans or deal with them in any way inside Vycee.. he might be able to deal with some humans outsiders.. I mean outside of Vycee.. because he still has the duty to capture all our enemies.”

My heart skipped a few beats.. now the conversation with the monster atop the mountain, had a completely different meaning.. he was not allowed to deal with me.. but he was trying to find out if he should deal with Dusky.. he realized that he might be an outsider but was unable to do anything ..that is why he didn’t follow us when we ran out of the cave.. I stayed silent for a few moments to pull myself together while he leveled an inquisitive look at me.. I had to move away from Pryade as fast as I could,

               “This is quite confusing Instine.. you say Wyee is also like you and like Pryade.. when I defeated Pryade, he was sent away.. but when Wyee was proved to be working against the interests of Deemeon, he is still keeping her around?”

He was obviously uncomfortable.. hesitated for a while before answering,

               “I am not supposed to tell you this.. but I shall make an exception here.. you see.. when you defeated Pryade, you.. in effect became the new.. the new Pryade to be.. as for Wyee.. she is yet irreplaceable..”

I gasped.. I was stunned for a moment.. took a long deep breath and moved to change the direction of the conversation..

               “How about Trapp? And Deborge? and__”

He laughed lightly saying,

               “No .. no..Trapp asked.. he.. he may get it.. Deborge, nah.. he died a human.”

               “Blake?”

               “Oh.. he asked.. but he died a human.. I think his stunt at MEMOC was to impress Deemeon to give it to him.. but he failed miserably.”

So I looked sharply at him.. and asked my next question in a stern unwavering way,

               “So Deemeon is not actually your father?”

               “As soon as you get this gift.. you automatically become his son.”

               “Is this why we have no children in all Vycee? I mean.. regular.. ordinary.. human.. yes human children?”

               “Oh.. but we have children.. and yes.. human children.”

               “Where? I didn’t see any?”

               “Children are collected in a special place.” He shook his head, “You see.. many of the riffraff come with their children.. so they are separated at the border.. we explain that children cannot be soldiers.. and would need a special training.. so they are sent to that place where they receive special instructions.. actually these are very valuable assets to our program.. they are the easiest humans to program because they have no preconceived ideas or training.”

               “How about children from Vinovia?”

He moved a little bit uncomfortably and chuckled saying,

               “No.. Noh.. we don’t have any Vino children.” He smiled adding, “You know Vinovians have to come in willingly to us like everyone else.. and those who do come.. usually are adults.. in rare occasions where a child comes in with a parent or wanders accidentally.. they immediately die.. these children as very fragile.”

He started to feel uncomfortable.. stood up to leave,

               “Think about it.. any other human would do anything to get this gift.. if you ask Deemeon, he shall seriously consider it.. you already know how he values your abilities.. I don’t think you need to prove yourself to him anymore.. and now.” He stood up and came very close to me adding, “you already know about me.. so I don’t need to pretend that I am going to the gateway.. See you soon.” He disappeared from sight.

He was gone.. but the words he spoke were still hanging in the air all around me.. actually churning in my mind like a storm.. so Wyee didn’t come through the gateway like she said repeatedly.. she didn’t need to..  it felt like I was living among liars.. liars everywhere.. and strange beings who pretend to be human but they were not.. now it would be difficult to think every time I see someone whether he or she is human or not.. and oh, just wait..I am offered to never die.. just for the asking? And Pryade..? how shall it be like if I ever encounter him again? and that matter about the children?

Then.. a big question started to flash inside my head .. slowly but surely.. and it was getting bigger and bigger.. until I could no longer see anything beyond it.. If I am still human as he said.. I must be either.. a Vino or a riffraff.. and it is a fact that no riffraff is going to get to be a commander in the army of Deemeon.. How could I miss this simple fact before?