Hidden Face
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Balancer Cortis rapped her fingers along the broad, sparten gleam of her brushed aluminium desk. It was, she realised, bare even for the clean and neat ethics of the Balancers, but she was more fastidious than most. She stood up and abuptly sat back down realising it wouldn't do to betray anything but perfect harmony. She was impatient and sick of waiting for those in the petty bureaucracies and hierarchies to decide on whether to grant her permision. Looking out of her window, over the urban sprawl of Thoth, she allowed herself a smile. Soon, she will know soon. Relaxing and letting her mind drift around the complex web of pasts and futures, dancing and weaving the story in her mind. She saw her place in the etheral strands and knew she would die because of it. She didn't mind, she knew her duty and she was /terribly/ neat.
A harsh beeping broke her trance and she looked up annoyed. Manipulating the control surfaces on her desk, her eyes lit up as she saw the message was from the governmental body that was supposed to liase with the Balancers. She had her permission. Her faint laugh escaped her thin red lips as she brought the shadow cloak over her shoulders and around her face, leaving only those lips showing. Pulling on her tight, grey leather gloves, she left her office as sterile as when she first arrived.
***
John Sullin hated the Balancers. From his position outside their building he could see many of them coming and going. Their white, grey and black cloaks hid their faces. Matching tight shirts, trousers and gloves covered any distinguishing marks. They looked alike, only their garb's colours provided any way to tell them apart. That made John hate them even more. 'Legions of Legion' as some of the more vocal put it. They never remained vocal for long.
Looking up from his seat he saw the implacable ranks filing in and out, doing what ever it was they do in their chambers. John snorted, he wouldn't be surprised if it included cannibalism. Worse yet, even though they were hated and treated with barely grudging acceptance, they commanded respect and that respect made everyone behave. While the police forces may be the body of the Law, the mind and soul rested firmly with the Balancers. No one dared to challenge their authority, but some of their judgements seemed random and reckless.
'Not for us to know, I guess,' he muttered as he leant forward and looked out over the sea of people in front of him. Unfocusing his eyes, he felt a more complex tangle of threads hovering about 4 metres away. Opening his eyes he saw a girl of barely 16 standing there. She was dressed in a simple, blue dress and looked no different to the other people in the crowd around her, at least to normal vision.
'Samantha!', John cried as he walked over to her, 'How...'
Samantha interrupted him, 'Stop. Something is happening but I don't know what.'
Hesitating for just a second, John pulled a black stone from his pocket as he saw the concern in her eyes. Glancing into the stone he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
'Are you sure?' he asked as he gripped her shoulders. He was disturbed to find she was shaking.
'Yes I'm sure! I just don't know why!'
A harsh beeping broke her trance and she looked up annoyed. Manipulating the control surfaces on her desk, her eyes lit up as she saw the message was from the governmental body that was supposed to liase with the Balancers. She had her permission. Her faint laugh escaped her thin red lips as she brought the shadow cloak over her shoulders and around her face, leaving only those lips showing. Pulling on her tight, grey leather gloves, she left her office as sterile as when she first arrived.
***
John Sullin hated the Balancers. From his position outside their building he could see many of them coming and going. Their white, grey and black cloaks hid their faces. Matching tight shirts, trousers and gloves covered any distinguishing marks. They looked alike, only their garb's colours provided any way to tell them apart. That made John hate them even more. 'Legions of Legion' as some of the more vocal put it. They never remained vocal for long.
Looking up from his seat he saw the implacable ranks filing in and out, doing what ever it was they do in their chambers. John snorted, he wouldn't be surprised if it included cannibalism. Worse yet, even though they were hated and treated with barely grudging acceptance, they commanded respect and that respect made everyone behave. While the police forces may be the body of the Law, the mind and soul rested firmly with the Balancers. No one dared to challenge their authority, but some of their judgements seemed random and reckless.
'Not for us to know, I guess,' he muttered as he leant forward and looked out over the sea of people in front of him. Unfocusing his eyes, he felt a more complex tangle of threads hovering about 4 metres away. Opening his eyes he saw a girl of barely 16 standing there. She was dressed in a simple, blue dress and looked no different to the other people in the crowd around her, at least to normal vision.
'Samantha!', John cried as he walked over to her, 'How...'
Samantha interrupted him, 'Stop. Something is happening but I don't know what.'
Hesitating for just a second, John pulled a black stone from his pocket as he saw the concern in her eyes. Glancing into the stone he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
'Are you sure?' he asked as he gripped her shoulders. He was disturbed to find she was shaking.
'Yes I'm sure! I just don't know why!'
