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ALEXA WAS OVERWHELMED by the number of new faces and “names” to learn. Trying to keep track of M356 versus D958 was impossible for her addled brain, so she silently began giving nicknames to those who spoke to her most. M356 became Murphy because he reminded her of her grandmother’s overweight Labrador of the same name. They both had the same warm, hopeful eyes and people-pleasing demeanor.
A string bean of a woman constantly stood at Murphy’s elbow, reinforcing everything he said with a nod, sigh, or cluck of her tongue. Her name was D958. Alexa named her Deedee.
Usually, being the center of so much attention would overwhelm her, but riding high on drug-induced happiness, Alexa was more thrilled than anxious. A creature from a backwater planet made one an object of fascination. They found something else intriguing, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. The Residents moved around her like a bubble of oil in water, never quite touching her, never looking away, as if they regarded her as a bit too dangerous.
Most of the Residents followed in a loose crowd behind Alexa as Murphy pointed out all the finer points of their room. While Murphy explained the game area and the library, Alexa couldn’t help but notice some of the Residents had yet to approach her.
One huge, bug-eyed woman stared at her with a look of horror until a Guardian approached and placed one of the gray pills on the woman’s tongue. Another sat at a table by himself, tablet in hand, pretending not to stare but unable to hide his confusion. And one tiny resident who looked more like a child than an adult scrambled over to a Guardian and demanded in a rush of words to be taken out of the room at once. They were also given another grey pill and were soon crouched over a table, drooling.
“What’s their problem?” Alexa giggled, amused by the varying reactions. She stared at the one who sat alone at a table. Through her Blinders, he appeared to be an older man, perhaps in his fifties, with an unkempt beard.
“We all have our prejudices.” Murphy shrugged and waved his fingers toward the older man. “That there is Z128. He has been here the longest of us all.”
Z128 shook his head once and returned to his tablet. A Guardian approached and tapped his shoulder, murmuring something into his ear. Z128 immediately forced a grin and said in a booming baritone, “Wrapped up in my book. This part is my favorite.”
Alexa wanted to give him a name too, but Murphy quickly ushered her to another part of the General Populace room.
“And here is where we play digital experience gaming when the network is functioning.” Murphy waved to the blank screens on the wall. “You have to sign up for those privileges ahead of time. However, the analog games are first come first served.” He pointed to the scattered items left on several tables. They were a mixture of games that reminded Alexa of cards, chess, dice, and mahjong.
“Looks like fun.” Alexa picked up a plastic card, the various symbols reminding her of Egyptian hieroglyphics. “You’ll have to teach me.”
“That would be our pleasure.” Deedee bobbed her head, clutching her hands to her narrow chest. “We are so excited to have a new arrival. And one so exotic.”
“And brave.” Murphy bounced on his toes. He glanced around once before leaning in and whispering, “So, is it true?”
“Is what true?” Alexa also leaned forward as more and more of the other residents clustered tightly around her.
“Did you destroy a Bright One?” Deedee, eyes wide, licked her thin lips as if hungry for the truth.
Despite the drugs fuzzing her brain, Alexa flinched. Even on the other side of the multiverse, she couldn’t escape Una. The surrounding Residents seemed to hold their breath in anticipation of her answer but she had no idea what to say. She didn’t like the idea of being considered a killer.
“Residents, we are gathering too close together.” The Guardians, at the end of the room, circled the crowd. “X485 will be with us for a while. You do not have to ask all your questions at once.”
The Residents smiled and nodded to the Guardians, doing as they were told without complaint. Everyone drifted away to what they were doing before Alexa arrived. She instinctually followed Murphy and Deedee. They were pleased to add her to their circle, taking up the plastic cards Alexa had fingered moments before.
The Guardians returned to their posts, eyes flicking from one side of the room to the other. Even though the Residents had returned to their activities, many continued staring at Alexa.
“Does the attention bother you?” Murphy laid down two cards, causing a large man with thick lips and a narrow nose to laugh. The big guy dropped his head into his hands as he chortled wetly. Alexa noticed a significant dent in the back of his bald head. “If you’re anxious about all the attention, the Guards will give you another dose of Serenity whenever you want it.”
“Serenity? Is that what you call it?”
“Happiness above all else.” DeeDee sighed and laid down her own set of cards.
The large man giggled again, wiggling on his seat like a toddler.
“I was such an unhappy creature before I came here,” DeeDee said. “Always fighting. Always warring. Now I have order in my life and endless contentment.”
“And I was constantly blowing up buildings.” Murphy slowly shook his head. “Such a waste of happiness.”
“Why did you blow up buildings?” Alexa found the idea absurd. Why blow up anything? It only hurt others and made a terrible mess.
“Who knows,” Murphy said. “I am so much happier playing games and spending time with my friends. It no longer seems important.”
Alexa sat and absorbed the card game’s progression, sensing a subtle organization in her chaotic thought patterns. Her state of bliss flattened, leaving her to see the room she sat in with clear eyes. She was a prisoner surrounded by dangerous alien creatures, and there was no way out. No end in sight. She was at the beginning of a truly horrible nightmare, far from her family and everyone who loved her. A tight knob formed in her throat, and her breathing hitched. No one at the table appeared to notice the change. They continued to play their card game joyfully.
Someone passed behind her, so close she could smell their sour breath. Alexa glanced up and over her shoulder. The grim-faced Z128 stared at her for a sharp moment, his eyes intelligent and bright while the others’ eyes looked clouded with drugs. He pretended to study the card game.
“Who is winning?” Z128 crossed his arms over his chest.
“I have no idea. I don’t understand the game.” Alexa glanced across the room to see if any of the Guardians noticed her shift in behavior. One with a large black “G” on her chest smiled when their eyes connected. Thankfully, another wave of Serenity crashed against her rising anxiety. Alexa gave a grateful sigh and waved to Guardian G. The Guardian returned a tight smile and continued surveying the room.
“I am sure M128 will be happy to show you how to play.” Z128’s dark, intense eyes had intimidated Alexa a moment before. Now she wondered why he had to be so severe. Didn’t he want to have fun like everyone else?
“Oh, yes, would you like to learn Save, X485?” Murphy, now excited, leaned forward, showing her his fan of brightly-colored cards. “It is very, very simple. Even C299 can play, and he has significant brain damage from when a group of MGA agents tortured him for six whole months!”
Alexa blinked, the drug haze clearing once more. “Tortured?”
C299 was the giggling man with a dent in the back of his head. His round body, lopsided grin, and unfocused eyes reminded her of the Three Stooges. Why not call him Curly? His giggling was infectious, and Alexa couldn’t fight her own wave of pealing laughter. Soon, everyone at the table but Z128 had burst into laughter.
“So, this is the Bright One killer,” Z128 murmured so low Alexa barely heard the rough sandpaper of his voice.
Alexa’s giggling simmered into the occasional snort. “Killer?”
Z128’s smile made Alexa uneasy, but another gentle wave of joy slipped over her itching brain, suffocating her worries. So what if the wizened man’s gaze penetrated her very core? He couldn’t hurt her. Her days of looking over her shoulder were over. She was caught, trapped, and locked up far from home.
“Oh, we’ve all done our share of murdering and torturing.” Murphy shrugged, handing out a new hand of cards to everyone in the circle. “Right, Z128?”
“Welcome to the edge of the universe, Earth human.” Z128 patted Alexa’s shoulder. “You’re stuck here like the rest of us. Until the end of your days.”
“Till we die!” Curly bellowed, tears pouring down his face.