Season 01 - Episode 04

‘from the top’

Syl is enjoying the easy peace of the park. She has been sitting on a bench for about ten minutes, listening to the birds and enjoying doing nothing. She closes her eyes to the light from above and feels her shoulders drop until a shadow looms over her.

“Off you go girls,” says the woman. “But not too far! Stay where I can see you. Hey, Syl. How're you?”

Syl's friend sits beside her as she opens her eyes and grins.

“Hey, Gho,” she says. They lean in to peck cheeks. “I'm ok, thanks. Just enjoying a break from the madness. How're you?”

“Good actually,” says Gho. “Really good. These two run me ragged of course but I wouldn't have it any other way.”

In the near distance, across the open expanse of perfectly smooth concrete, the girls are chasing tiny birds that flit in and out of existence around them. Even fully grown, the birds are small enough to sit several on the palm of an adult's hand.

“They're so fast!” cries the younger girl in delight. “They go so fast you can't even see them! Zoooom!”

“No,” exclaims her older sister, full of scorn. “Only babies think that! They use magic to teleport, we learnt it at school. Everyone knows that, everyone big anyway.”

Gho turns from the squabble back to face Syl, beaming proud.

“So how's work?” she asks.

“Oh bonkers as ever, you know,” says Syl. “All change for me though. Just found out yesterday, they're moving me off working with the monks. I'm heading up this new cult initiative instead.”

“Really?!” gasps Gho. “What's brought that about?”

“It's the latest big new thing,” says Syl, dismissively. “Some whim, right from the top. The Chief Executive Minister has some kind personal grievance or other, says the cults are getting out of control, need to be nipped in the bud, so off I go. Ten years of being GovCo liaison to the church down the drain.”

“I'm sorry, Syl,” says Gho with genuine compassion. “How did the Abbot take it?”

“I'm just going to see him now actually,” says Syl, rising and stretching. “I doubt he'll be too upset at my leaving. The tantrum will come when I tell him they're not replacing me. He'll see it for the insult it is and get all fire and brimstone. You know what they're like.”

They say their goodbyes and Syl strolls away, across the great expanse of flawless grey. As she reaches an archway at the edge of the park she squints up at the huge floodlights, suspended from the great vaulted ceiling far above.

Then, shaking herself back into work mode, she sets off to meet the Abbot. Striding quickly on autopilot through a maze of broad, high ceilinged corridors, she plans out what she's going to say. Finally and just before she's ready, the great stone arch of the monastery looms into view.

She takes a deep breath and steps into the thick, heavy gloom inside. She treads carefully through the silence, consciously making as little noise as possible. As she slips along the main passageway she passes countless open archways on either side.

Through each one sits a dark little room, filled with monks in heavy robes. Each monk is hunched over a slanting touchscreen, stylus in hand. Beside each is propped open an ancient, mouldering text book or technical manual. Each squints and strains in the thin light, painstakingly tracing out diagrams and text.

Finally she reaches an enormous door, made of some mysterious and archaic substance, hard, veined and brown. She knocks and waits for the low, booming voice within to grant her entry. Slipping inside she nods to the Abbot who doesn't look up from his desk.

“Good afternoon my child,” he drawls, still not looking up. “I assume you're here to pass on demands from your GovCo masters to increase our output again?”

“Among other things, your holiness,” sighs Syl, closing the door behind her. “Among other things.”

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