Link to article: Charles and Myrna Had a Daughter Named Alison.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[div class="one column"]] [[=]] + ##990011|2002## [[/=]] [[/div]] The Director of Site-19, Charles Gears, could be heard two hallways away. His cane hitting against the steel was a recognizable sound in the otherwise bleak and monotonous labyrinth. Charles appeared to be in his mid-fifties. However, his name was listed on Foundation documents as far back as the twenties. The cane was a new addition, unadorned, functional rather than aesthetic. Unlike most site directors, Charles kept the lab coat and carried a clipboard. Charles observed the various contained objects without interest, occasionally noting down observations. The personnel saluted, not unkindly, but without warmth. Charles kept a neat and tidy site, but it was clean and calculated, beating with a heart of steel. Even Charles’s kindness, the bonuses handed out at holidays or congratulatory notes, felt calculated. Charles remembered everything about every one of his employees, he remembered every detail of their lives, listed out for him on a file. He knew exactly how to make them work at max efficiency, how to make them happy and healthy workers. Charles Gears, the man with perfect memory, the rumors said that while he does feel emotion, he never shows it. The rumors said that he could bury his beloved wife without a tear, indeed, without even a single change in expression. Maybe he took a bullet to the head when young. Maybe the Foundation made him a cyborg. Maybe he was just born this way. And Charles turned a corner, walking headlong into Researcher Myrna Chao, who apologized and reached out a hand to the fallen site director. [[div class="one column"]] [[=]] + ##990011|2009## [[/=]] [[/div]] Alison Gears remembered very little of her childhood. Much to her chagrin, she did not inherit her father’s perfect memory. At five years old, she began waiting for her dad to come home from work. The glow of headlights signaling the awaited return. Alison loved her dad more than anything, the man who saved the world everyday. Alison waited longingly for the two daily hours spent with her father. He would take her into his study, books lining the wall and a blackboard for teaching. He would teach her reading, writing, mathematics, science. But really, Alison just wanted to see him talk. Alison craved an even deeper connection to the man who knew everything. [[div class="one column"]] [[=]] + ##990011|2014## [[/=]] [[/div]] At ten years old, Alison felt as if she was missing out. She wanted to join her father in saving the world, though now she believed he was a chemist. Thanks to her father’s education and her innate talent, Alison soared above her peers. She wasn’t without friends, as a whole, she was a normal child. Her mother had made sure of such. Where her father had taught her the theory, her mother taught her the practice, kindness and respect as opposed to the simplicity of mathematics and science. And yet, Alison had a superiority complex, after all, she had to be better than everyone else in order to join her father at the top. She complained loudly to her mom, about getting a degree and outperforming everyone. About how she needs to fix the idiocy and irrationality of her peers. And her mom sat her down and spoke softly about respect and understanding. Still, Alison soared, she mastered field after field, always looking up towards her father. One day, she went to the hospital because of lack of sleep. Her mother sobbed and begged her to just take it slow. Her father sat by her side, holding her hand, from when she was admitted to when she left. Alison smiled, as her father told her that she would succeed, that she would do good work in life, no matter what. [[div class="one column"]] [[=]] + ##990011|2020## [[/=]] [[/div]] At sixteen years old, Alison discovered the Foundation. She tailed her dad to work and then tailed someone who left from a similar area and stole their computer. She accessed SCiPNet and discovered just how her father saved the world. Alison had never given up on her dream, but now, seeing her father’s name listed under site director, she had even loftier ambitions. She messaged her father, proudly proclaiming her discovery and requesting a talk. She grinned all the way home. Alison’s dreams were just up ahead. She would save the world, just as she had been trained since birth. This was her promised future. A world of abnormality that she could solve. The proud Alison entered the house and found her mother in the living room. “Where’s dad?” “Cleaning up a security breach at work.” “So, are you going to wipe my memory?” Myrna sighed and took a sip of tea. “No, Charles has been wanting to tell you already.” “It was the right decision to wait till I was mature, otherwise I could have jeopardized security.” “That’s a neat little way of saying you support your father, as usual.” Alison shrugged with a grin. “He’s older and wiser than us.” “Haha. Very good, but your father’s about as emotionally mature as you.” A pause, Alison looked around the house before making eye contact with her mother, noting the age in her face, “so what’s it like?” “It has its moments. I mean knowing exactly what everyone else doesn’t is often liberating.” “It’s for their safety, for them to live in the light.” “Wow, what a good parrot.” “Will I be allowed to work there?” “Undoubtedly, there’s even a program for children of faculty.” Myrna takes her daughter’s hands. “But Alison, this world you’re entering. It’s dangerous, immensely so, and I can’t let you leave without trying my absolute best to make sure you don’t do something terribly stupid. Always remember, you are responsible for your actions. What you just did today made someone lose not only his job, but four years of memory.” Myrna tapped her daughter’s head. “I know you have a lot of stuff up here, but it’s what’s in your hands that matters.” “My hands?” “Your heart is too abstract. Meanwhile, your hands hold your whole future, it’s yours to shape, yours to nurture. Alison, you will be a flower that blooms bigger and brighter than anyone else. But make sure that bloom makes the people around you happy. What else is there? I was young and hopeful once, we all were, Charles most of all. But this world you are entering, it is difficult, moreso than you could ever imagine. Charles finally arrived home and hugged his daughter. He then sent her to bed, no words, just a squeeze on the shoulder, calculated, as always. Alison sat at the back of her bed, sleep impossible. She rested her head on the wall and thought about her future. She then heard the soft voices of her parents. Alison moved to the top of the stairs, listening. “Times had to change eventually, the future catches up to us all. Though perhaps not you. You look just the same as ever Charles.” “Are you upset, Myrna?” “No. Alison has us, and will have us, until she outdoes us both. How about you, are you upset? After all, it’s the day your beloved died. I know you still love her.” “I am upset, but I am ready for change, I am ready for a future with Alison. I am almost finished with the project, the greatest of my career, and Alison will be there by my side. I could ask for no more.” And Alison found herself asleep, despite the beating of her heart loud in her ears. [[div class="one column"]] [[=]] + ##990011|To Be Continued## [[/=]] [[/div]]