Ani Was Writing

      I stand before my daughters. It is clear that something happened, but I'm not exactly sure what. All I know is now there is a lot of discord among our subjects all over the planet, and my daughters argue over something they wish to keep between them.      "To keep something in the dark allows it to mold and fester." I remind them sternly. "If we do not deal with your strife, it has the potential to influence other contention around us."     "Tell that to my sister." Winona points her finger at Solaris, her identical twin. I expected them to grow out of this finger-pointing phase, but old patterns take the longest to wither and fall. "If it wasn't for her experiments, the planet wouldn't be covered in-"     "Oh, don't even start! You were doing experiments too. You and your 'good citizens' made things worse." Solaris grumbles, her arms crossed defensively.     I let them argue between them for a while as I l...

      "Hello, Mrs. Coff? Yes, this is Lisa Ala, from the Colorado Child Protective Services. Yes, we did have another child come into the system. They are 10 years old. The name is Jaspal Bachchan. From what I can gather, parents were arrested last night and next closest kin was out of state. Yes, it will only be for a week or so until the next closest kin arrives to retrieve Jaspal. Can you take her in tonight? Awesome, that is so nice to hear! I will make sure she is all ready to go. Thank you so much."     You can hear the conversation clearly, even with the office door closed. The walls of the offices here were always padded with toilet paper; it was hard not to eavesdrop. You sit calmly on the nearby bench with a backpack full of clothes and the weight of a new life inside. This wasn't how mom said it was going to be, was it? She promised you that you were not going to be talking to any more police officers, or anyone who could take you away. But here you a...

 Switch Activated Powering On... 25%... 50%... 75%... Power Established Running Diagnostic Check 20%... 40%... 60%... 80%... Diagnostic Check Complete All Systems Functional Opening Sensory Equipment... Awaiting Command Scanning Area for Recognition... Present: Dr. Hattak, Dr. Snatt, Dr. Ydra, and Dr. Lennek Unknown Entity Detected Searching Facial Recognition Database... 50%... Entity Unrecognized Recognized Voice: Dr. Hattak "X3172" Response: "Yes, Dr. Hattak." Recognized Command: Dr. Hattak "Kill unrecognized entity with Blue Raspberry." Adjusting Parameters... Pulling Up Death Database... Blue Raspberry Protocol Established Dispensing Blue Raspberry Popsicle Force Applied to Oral Cavity of Unrecognized Entity B.R.P. Inserted Beginning Protocol: Blue Raspberry Draining Bodily Fluid 10%... 20%... 30%... 40%... 50%... 60%... 70%... 80%... 90%... Bodily Fluid Drained Dispensing Bodily Fluid Into Research Container 20%... 40%... 60%... 80%... Task Complete ...

    The lights call out to me like sirens, asking to take my mind away to a place of electric red and blue ectasy. If it wasn't for the whooping of the police sirens, I probably would be more enticed to fall into their hypnotic heaven.      "Sir, come back to your senses. You dozed off on us again." The male officer snaps his fingers next to my ear.     I blink and focus on the officer again. It's a little hard to through the haze going through my body, but I can manage it. I take a breath and see my dragon smoke touching the officer's face. The female officer behind him sighs. It's probably about me. I haven't really been on this plane for more than five minutes at a time. My haze has been gracious to me tonight. Thank the universe for that.      "Sir. Do I need to take you to the station?" The male officer asks. Has he been trying to get my attention this whole time?     "Sorry, my dude. I just-" I feel my world do that weird...