Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Eighteen

Living in a hyper-accelerated world certainly had its drawbacks as Alex was discovering. Not having her access pod was unbearable. Like an addict not getting their fix, she struggled to find ways to occupy her time and keep her mind stimulated. On the outside, there was no shortage of stimuli; there was always a constant bombardment of sense data available at a moment's notice. But now her life had slowed down to a crawl and it was proving to be a difficult transition. She knew the feeling would eventually pass with time, once she adjusted to her new environment.

Periodically, she would try to maintain her strength by staying physically active. As a result, she was gaining a lot more muscle than she would otherwise have. When she was not exercising, she would simply lie in her bed and contemplate the decisions she had made in her life that had led her to being where she was. Her life had had so much promise and then almost instantly, it had fallen apart. Being locked in a cage did not even seem real to her, it was as if she was in a bad dream and could not wake up. Unfortunately for her, that was not the case.

In a strange twist of fate, being locked up in a prison was the one place that allowed her to connect with her long-lost mother. It was as if some mysterious force in the universe had orchestrated the events in her life so that her and her mother could be together once again. She questioned whether her choices had any impact at all or was she just a passenger along for the ride. It was not clear how being locked up in a cell fit in with her life plan, but she trusted it would somehow work out in the end.

***

After a buzzing noise, Alex's cell door slid open.

"Come on, let's go. Get up," one of the prison guardians demanded.

Alex stood up and joined the train of prisoners. The line snaked around the upper level, growing longer as it collected more people. Once everyone was in line, prison guardians herded them into the cafeteria. The prisoners maintained their single-file line and accepted their allotted food rations, one by one. In some ways, it was like growing up in the Facility, except with stricter rules.

Alex shuffled along in an orderly fashion, minding her own business. She filled her tray with food and then brought it to the same table where she always ate. She sat alone, but was hoping her mother would soon join her. Alex's eyes scanned the crowd looking for her mum, but she inadvertently caught the attention of a scary-looking prisonmate. Like a deer caught in the headlights, Alex froze for a second.

"What are you looking at, runt?" the burly woman said.

Alex looked up at her and said, "Nothing... I was looking at nothing."

"Are you saying I'm nothing?" the woman said in an instigating tone.

"No, that's not what I meant at all. I'm sorry if I affronted you."

"Affronted? Are you using fancy school words to impress me?"

"No... I was—"

"I don't care much for fancy school words."

"I'm sure you don't... sorry, that came out wrong."

"Are you calling me dumb?" the woman asked.

"Of course not, miss."

"Don't call me miss. The name's Olga, and you'd better learn it really quick."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance, Olga. My name is Alex."

"I don't give a rat's behind what your name is."

The woman approached Alex, getting right up in Alex's face in an attempt to intimidate her, but it did not seem to be working. On the surface, Alex was calm and poised without being confrontational, but inside she was terrified. Alex had downloaded volumes of different martial arts techniques – everything from Jiu Jitsu to Krav Maga – but had never used it in a real combat situation before. She preferred to use her words to talk her way out of any mess rather than using force. Besides, Olga was nearly twice her size and was with her friends – hardly a fair fight.

 Olga's rage escalated to the point of physical contact. She shoved Alex so hard that it caused her to fall backward off her seat. The primal chants of, "fight – fight – fight," filled the air as the crowd gathered around for some midday entertainment.

Alex quickly rose to her feet and stood her ground. Olga approached closer and slapped Alex across the face. The slap was heard around the cafeteria, which now had a sizable crowd gathered around the scuffle. The commotion, combined with the yelling and screaming attracted the attention of the prison guardians, but none of them were stepping in to help. Experience had taught them it was better to allow these sorts of squabbles to play out rather than stopping them. Suppressing the issue often acted as a pressure cooker, making the situation much worse over time.

Alex could feel the stares from a thousand eyes fall upon her. It was at that moment she realized her strategy of going unnoticed had failed and she now required a new strategy. Interpreting the situation, she applied the principles of game theory. There were only two ways to act: passively or aggressively – fight or flight. Alex made a number of calculations and determined that in the long run, acting passively had a higher probability of producing a favourable outcome – so that was the choice she went with.

Olga was receiving adulation from her peers, so she continued to torment the newcomer.

"Come on, fight back," Olga demanded as she slapped Alex again. The assault was more humiliating than painful.

Olga came forward, backing Alex up against the wall. She grabbed Alex by the throat with her left hand, made a fist with her right, and then cocked it back. Olga held her fist for a moment to play to the crowd and then slammed it into Alex's face, causing her head to snap back and hit the cement wall. The crowd cheered louder for Olga and encouraged her to continue to dole out her punishment.

Alex was in a daze as her head felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer, but she continued to resist the urge to fight back. At times, she thought she may even be able to beat Olga. As a master of controlling her emotions, Alex subdued the rage she was feeling because she ultimately believed it would be for her own good.

Olga still had Alex pinned and had no intention of letting go. Olga delivered a deflating blow to Alex's midsection, causing her to keel over in pain and wheeze for air. The crowd cheered.

Alex struggled to get back to her feet, but within seconds a swarm of people began punching and kicking her. Her only instinct at that point was to turtle up in a ball and protect herself as much as possible. She must have absorbed a dozen or so kicks and punches before the onslaught abruptly stopped. The crowd gasped, causing Alex to think that something horrible had happened to her. She reluctantly opened her eyes and checked for any grotesque bones protruding from her skin, but there were none. Just then, Olga collapsed onto the floor beside her with void eyes staring at nothing. She had been knocked out cold. Before Alex knew what was happening, she was being helped up.

Once on her feet, she brushed the hair out of her face and could see her mother standing beside her. Mara was holding a metal lunch tray with a sizable dent in it. Olga was lying unconscious with blood trickling out from some undetermined location.

"Are you okay?" Mara asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Everybody, listen up!" Mara shouted amongst the hundreds of stunned onlookers. "This is my daughter, Alex. If anyone so much as touches her, there will be hell to pay!"

Indecipherable murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd as everyone went about their separate businesses. The show was over.

Although Mara was relatively new to the prison, her reputation preceded her. She knew a lot of people on the inside and had garnered many people's respect. For anyone who did not have respect for her before, they certainly had it now.