Nano Bytes

I regretted my decision. I just wanted to see Earth again. I had given up my last days there. I felt cold steel through the thick material of my jumpsuit as I leaned back on the utensil board. The small room was suffocating. I jumped and hooked my suit on a knife when a recorded voice suddenly sounded in the room.

«Staff Member 252, water is required in Room 1.»

My heartbeat sped up as I struggled to unhook my suit from the knife. They didn't tell me that I would be serving Room 1. I couldn't believe that I would be allowed into the control room, the room where…Would I be serving water to Cedric Geyston? I scrambled to fetch a flask and three water refills. Metallic clangs reverberated throughout the room as I bumped around in the small area. Holding the flask and water, I almost ran into the kitchen door before it sensed I was there and opened obediently.

In the corridor, I slowed my frenzied pace to a calm march and tried to look official. I knew exactly where Room 1 was, everybody did. There were few other people in the corridors, but the ones that were there were marching just as crisply as I was. I passed people, turned corridors and ignored the chunky metallic walls and the pale light panels that cast an unnatural light on everything. My boots thudded on the floor and the rhythm of my steps helped me to calm down. As I walked, I repeated words in my mind, hoping to get my thoughts in order. I was not the first one to serve water to Cedric Geyston, it was nothing special.

I was still nervous when I reached the door to Room 1. The security guards standing next to the door didn't help to calm my nerves. I wiped my left palm (my right hand was holding the water) on my jumpsuit and cleared my throat hesitantly.

«Water for Room 1?» I ventured. One of the security guards nodded and pressed his palm to a panel to open the door. I stepped forward nervously and the door shut behind me. I was inside another metal room with the door through which I had just walked behind me and another door a metre in front of me. I heard the sound of metal on metal and spun around just in time to see a thicker door shut over the one I had just walked through. I turned back to the other door and straightened my back, wiped my palm on my jumpsuit again and turned the handle.

As I entered the room, my mind went into panic mode. I could see the familiar outline of our leader against the glowing screens. The room was large enough to fit many people, but he was the only one there. Something was wrong. He always had bodyguards with him. I took a closer look at him. He was shaking, trembling all over.

«Are you alright?» I called, terror setting fire to my thoughts. I started to jog towards him, but froze when he spun around to face me. A shadow of a man peered up at me from the depths of the chair.

My eyes took in his trembling form, his sunken eyes that shifted skittishly to different parts of the room, his clenched hands and tired, sour mouth. He was a haunted man, and comparing this figure to the shining example of confidence from all the vids, I couldn't accept that they were the same man. His features were distorted with an image of rage, but I could see that all he really felt was emptiness and bitterness.

«What are you doing here?» he snarled.

«I," I searched for words,«I brought water.» He rubbed a hand over his face. «Damn health scanners, telling me what I need.» His hands stretched out to the table beside him and grasped a vintage glass bottle that didn't contain water. I became aware of the smell of alcohol in the room. The room was dark and the air was dry and stale. I looked at what had unmistakably been Cedric Geyston and noticed that he wasn't completely undone. He was clean shaven and his suit was ironed. His misery must have been something recent. I wasn't sure what to do, so I stepped forward to put the flask on the table and he lunged forward from his chair, holding the glass bottle threateningly.

«Don't move!» he rasped. He stared straight at me. «Do you want to kill me?» Dread simmered in my mind as my eyes widened. I had to get out of there. He was crazy.

I started backing away, but he shouted, «Don't move!»

I just wanted to get away, anywhere but there. It was absolutely silent in the room as we stared at each other. He looked away and started muttering under his breath. «Wasn't supposed to…messed up…» I caught only snippets of what he was saying. I kept a wary eye on him as he continued his talk until he looked like he had come to some sort of conclusion. He lifted his head and looked me in the eye in a manner that I recognised from his former self. «Europa isn't real," he said.

«Please can I go, I won't tell anyone anything," I gushed, desperate for escape. «I will leave you here, or bring you anything you want, please — "

«Did you hear me?» he asked, incredulous, but I kept ploughing on.

«Is there anything you want? Anything you need? I am very good at keeping secrets — "