Broken Doll

Chapter Nine

They say the closer you are to something, the less you actually see. That means the most effective place to hide something from someone is in the most obvious places, the places so obvious no one would think to look there.

In order to rid the society of news media not directly issued by the government, all houses built to meet Docharian standards were insulated with newspapers. No one would ever think to look in their own walls for something like that, making it the perfect hiding place.

I opened my bedroom door slightly. I peered downstairs and noticed that my parents were watching a nightly news broadcast on the projector. That would keep them occupied for a while.

I closed my door again softly, slowly twisting the lock and going back to the crumbling hole in my wall. I pulled a single piece of the crumpled paper out and shook off the dust. I smoothed it out on my desk and started to read.

Cape Canaveral attacked, thousands killed

Dockarian officials ordered an attack on the NASA base at Cape Canaveral yesterday, leaving thousands for dead.

After gaining access to thousands of gallons of highly explosive rocket fuel, the intruders ignited the warehouse. The flames then enveloped the nearby headquarters and storage facilities, destroying billions of dollars worth of equipment.

"The sound of the explosion was deafening," eyewitness James Deramo said. "It turned night into day within seconds."

Almost 1,500 workers within the headquarters and countless other workers in the storage facility were killed. Victims' families are still being notified.

The once great base of human achievement now lies in a burned pile of rubble.

"It's a horrible sight when you realize what a huge part of history was lost in this attack," Deramo said.

Only two artifacts were recovered from the site once the situation was under control; a spacesuit worn by Buzz Aldrin and a diary kept by Michael Collins, both from the first moon landing mission.

President Fuller is yet to comment on the incident.

Cape Canaveral was a place I had heard of in Recorded Records history. NASA stood for "National Aeronautics and Space Administration," and was a leader in astronomical innovations, going so far as to even land humans on the moon for the first time.

It was never regarded as a big deal in Lesson, but I always thought it was pretty cool.

They never talked about it exploding though. To them, it just kind of disappeared after a while. Guess they're not smart enough to realize that things don't just disappear.

One word did stand out to me in that article: Diary. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place a definition to the word.

I crumpled the paper and put it back into the wall, then moved my poster of the Periodic Table of the Elements to cover the hole. I would fix that tomorrow while my parents were at work.

I unlocked my door and headed downstairs to where my mother was switching off the projector.

"Mother?" I asked.

She turned around to face me. "Yes, dear?"

"I want to ask you something," I started carefully. "My friend and I were talking today, and she brought up a word that was unfamiliar to me. I was hoping you might know what it was."

"Well let's see," she said. "What word?"

I bit my lip. "Diary."

My mother's eyes widened in alarm for a split second before relaxing once more into her usual calm expression. "That's a very old word..."

"If you don't know, that's okay..."

"No, I do know." My mother looked into my eyes with a clearly forced smile. "A diary is a book that people used to use to record stories or events, usually relating to their own lives. A way of record-keeping, if you will."

"Ah, I see."

"It's against the rules to keep a diary now, since the government takes on the role of recording any significant events in writing."

I nodded. In a moment of rash bravery, I asked, "Would you consider a diary to be special?"

The alarmed look returned, this time lingering much longer than I feel comfortable admitting. "Special," she echoed. "Special..."

"If you can't answer-"

"A diary could be considered 'special' to the keeper, yes. But it is illegal. You do realize that, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Good." She paused briefly before adding, "Don't bring this up to anyone, will you? Not even your father. You shouldn't inquire about such things."

"I know, Mother. Thank you. I apologize, and I promise this conversation will remain between us."

"Yes, very good. Thank you..." She stood and wondered off to her room, half in a daze.

Looks like I found my special book.