The Monarch Effect (DISCONTINUED DRAFT)

Chapter 4

"Her name, if you care, is Claria Rose. She's 22, a student here, and likes to put her nose in other people's business."

"Too many questions, I presume?" The man speaking raised an eyebrow.

"I guess... Inside her head," O'Malley snickered, but D-Alpha-K, code-named Spencer, remained stoic. He wasn't much for emotion, which helped him with his work. What he did was completely classified, and completely real.

"I set everything up for ya, drugs and all."

The door of the elevator opened to reveal a darkly lit room with an operation light beaming directly overhead a woman with black and white tennis shoes, jeans, and a red blouse. She was strapped by her wrists and ankles to the bench she lied down on.

"Chloroform?" Asked the odd doctor.

"Yeah. She came into the office today, probably hoping to find something out about our little secret." O'Malley patted Spencer's back so hard, he stumbled forward. "I trust you know what to do."

"Yes, of course."

"Good," said O'Malley smiling. "Now, go do it. I got patients upstairs; don't want to see this one in any of my rooms. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," said the monotonous science doctor.

"Right." The psychologist waddled up back to the elevator to ride up, leaving the doctor to do as expected. Spencer wondered how a man like him could get so fat, but it hurt his head just to do so. Thinking was always hard for him to do, so he found it relieving to know his boss would set up for him. He walked up to the woman to watch her wake up. He studied her, mapping out each internal organ. He could take some out to use for study, transplants, or other, more legally unsavory activities, if that were the assignment. He knew the price of everything, but adding them was hard. Eventually, the woman stirred, so he switched.

Alpha-Inferior(A-I), one of a few subservient parts of Spencer, was needed. The alter was ready, and came close to front. Now inside the real world, he watched everything on a large screen, with "the Hypnotist," a nickname given to him by O'Malley, standing a few feet to the right of him. As far as he knew, the Outside was a mere simulation. On his throne, which was built on an automatic rotating platform, had a microphone to remind the fronting alter of what he needed to do. With just a push of a button, he could give commands. Behind him were the others, standing silently in their spots. The main platform as a whole was large, spacious, and high-tech, as the screen was like one of a 3D movie. This way, he would remember what was about to unfold.

"Where's the fragment?"

"Right here," said a steel-built guard on the left. He was holding a child, about ten, by his shoulders. He pushed the fragment towards Alpha-K, almost falling, but had used him to stay standing. Looking up, he saw the King staring down at him. He was tremendously tall, wore a black, leather trench coat that felt cold to the touch, and had golden hair that formed into upward curls at the front. His face bore no emotion, caring more about the success of the assignment than the fragment holding him for support.

"Let go," he commanded. The fragment did as told. "Your job is not to hug people. Your job is to sit and recall everything, every minute detail, including the exact time by the second." He slowly bent forward at a 90° angle with his hands behind his back. "And if you don't?"

"I go to Hell." The terrified fragment didn't know much about anything, but he knew that Hell was a place that anyone went to if anyone made a mistake. While terrible, it was necessary to keep everyone inside the castle walls in working order. He didn't know where Hell was, but he overheard some of his sibling fragments say it was what lit up Oz, the planet they lived on. However, he never knew what that looked like, and he feared he'd go blind if he tried. He had to stop thinking and focus on his task with ease.