Error woke to the sound of Cold screaming in her ear. His voice was tinny and small through the speaker of her headset, but it really wasn’t making the dull throb of a headache that was forming right above her left eyebrow feel any better. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, the metal grating that made up the floor digging into the palms of her hands. She could only imagine the interesting pattern that it had formed on her face.

“—ror, where the hell are you?! Do you read me?! Error! For the love of—“

“I read you, Cold,” Error groaned, adjusting the small headset so that the microphone was closer to her mouth. It must have gotten jostled when she fell, “I’m here.”

“Error! Thank God! What happened?! “

Error couldn’t help but smile at the relief in her twin brother’s voice. Though his mother hen attitude never ceased to drive her a little crazy, she appreciated his concern. Ever since their father had been—No. Not now. Focus on the problem at hand. She twisted her arms in their sockets, trying to work out the sharp dagger of pain that lingered there. “Knock out gas, or some other nerve agent. I must have accidentally tripped some kind of security device or something.”

“Security device?! What—“

“Don’t worry, I don’t think that they’ve detected me,” Error interrupted, rubbing the side of her face that had been lying on the grated floor. Her fingers traced the deeply lined triangle imprints that the metal had left. Just great. “If they had, we wouldn’t be talking right now, because I would be in custody. It was probably just a—“

“Probably just a nothing,” Now it was Cold’s turn to interrupt, “You need to get out of there. We’re aborting this mission.”

“No, Cold,” Error stated, moving her hand away from her face, “we’ve come this far, already, it would be useless to go back, now.”

“It would be useless for you to get caught, Error,” Cold insisted, “Just because they haven’t come running to arrest you yet, doesn’t mean that they don’t know they you’re there. They could just be biding their time. Watching to see how you proceed.”

“Well, then I better get moving then, huh?” she stood, groaning a bit as the feeling returned to her lower back. Pins and needles shot up her long, stick-like legs as she brushed herself off, “I’d hate to keep the welcome party waiting. It would just be bad manners.”

“Error—“

“I’m not discussing this with you any longer. You can either do your job and lead me through this damned maze of a building or I’m turning off the headset and doing it blind. Either way, I’m going forward, capiche?”

Cold sighed. He knew better than to argue with his sister when she used that tone. It was like talking to a wall; only a wall would be more compromising. “Alright. Fine. But I’m doing a scan of your vitals to make sure that that agent didn’t do any irreparable damage. How’s the package?”

Error felt automatically for the small flecked crystal orb she wore on a chain around her neck. It was warm to the touch. A comforting, rhythmic vibration flowed through it every few seconds. “It’s fine. We’re good to go. Which way is the—“

“Just hold on a second, I haven’t started the scan, yet.”

She made a slight scoffing sound in the back of her throat, “I find it interesting that five seconds ago you wanted me out of here as quickly as possible and now you’re making me wait around to do some stupid vitals scan that isn’t even really necessary. I can move. I can walk. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you’re real fine,” Cold muttered in that distracted tone that told Error he was concentrating on something, “You’re real fine until you collapse in a seizure because whatever knocked you out has started rewiring your brain.”

“It’s not rewiring my brain.”

“Just hold still, alright? This will just take a second.”

“Fine,” she sighed, slouching her shoulders a bit and slipping her hands into her pockets. She absently played with the small key ring on her left side. As she felt the cold tingle of the remote scan pass over through her body, she looked around at her surroundings.

She was in a dull, metal-lined room, not unlike all of the other dull, metal-lined rooms that filled the base. A strip of pale yellow track lighting ran along the length of the walls, presumably in case of an emergency black out. Another strip of lights ran the length of the ceiling, illuminating the space below. Aside from that, the room was completely empty. Devoid of life. Error couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of being tripped up in a room that represented everything that she and her brother were fighting against: the lack of humanity, of life in the world at large. The dullness of everything around them. The emptiness of their existence.


A hundred and eighty years before, there had been an explosion. This explosion caused another explosion, which caused another and another until the entire world burned with ice blue flames. No one knew who started it; though, initially, many fingers had been pointed many different ways. However, when the flames finally dwindled and died and all that was left was ash and soot covering charred bodies and homes, the world at large realized that finger pointing was useless. It didn’t matter who had started it, because, in the end, the devastation and destruction was the same for all. The stories of tragedy and loss was the same from one side of the world to the other, and, in this similarity, a new world order was founded. People came together and helped one another. Nations and races who had been enemies for thousands upon thousands of years helped each other to rebuild homes and schools and lives. Out of the ashes of war came peace. And from this peace came the realization that it had only been people’s differences that had driven them apart in the first place. Their uniqueness that had been so celebrated, before, had proven to be their final downfall.

And so, in order to correct this problem of differences causing differences, the world’s remaining Scientists came up with a plan. They began work on a virus that would alter humanity’s genetic code, causing the differences in human appearance and action to simply fade away. It was not an instant change, but rather a slow draining of everything that made humans unique, everything that made them real and whole. It was released upon the world, a vampiric plague, stealing souls in the place of life blood. Many fell ill and died from depression and a feeling of purposelessness. Still others writhed in agony in the street as their features and bone structure warped and reshaped themselves into the Scientists’ vision of perfection, and then were silenced as their thoughts and feelings merged into one and were erased. Children were born into this world reimagined, their legs and arms long, thin, stick-like, their skin the colour of creamed coffee, their hair a dark blue-black. These children were born emotionlessly to mothers who did not cry out during birth. They were cared for out of social duty, not love. They were products of Science. They were unique in their sameness. They were the new generation of the One.

Within thirty-five years the world was stagnant. It was unchanging. It was perfect.

It was then that the twins were born.


“Alright, the scan is complete,” Cold stated Error’s headset.

“And? Is my brain rewriting itself? Is my pancreas going to climb out of my throat and shake hands?”

“I’m pretty sure that pancreases don’t have hands.”

Error sighed, rolling her eyes. It wasn’t fair for him to out smartass her. “Just tell me the verdict, will ya?”

“You’re fine. No pathogens, no long term nerve damage, no nano-technology. You’re clean.”

“Fine. Good. Great. Can I go now?”

“Yes. You may go. Just be careful. I don’t need another heart attack because you’re not watching where you’re going.”

“Yeah, yeah, love you, too, bro. Which way?”

“At the end of the corridor, turn left.”

“Got it.”

Error turned down one cold, dull, steel plated hallway, and up another, the Package pulsating warmly against her chest. Absently, she wrapped her hand around the small, glowing orb as she walked. Who would have thought that something so small, so miniscule, could be so important?


“This is all that’s left of humans as they used to be known,” her father had told her, pressing the crystal into her hand, “Sixty elements. Dried. Cystalized. Drained. This is all that is left. This is what they took from us. This is what we must give back.”

“Give back?” The twins were eight, now, old enough to realize that they were different from the other children. That they were Wrong in the eyes of the One.  Their emotions were a flaw in a perfection so carefully orchestrated. And so they were hidden away, placed in a special facility created for those who could overturn the balance of the newly born utopia. Cared for by a former Scientist, excommunicated from the Order when he refused to undergo the final Treatment, the twins grew, learning about the world that came before.

It was their twentieth birthday when their father was taken from them, pulled from his bed by masked guards, a bag over his head, his voice muffled by stifling cloth.

A week later, the twins escaped.


“Cold?”  Error turned another corner, this time finding herself face to face with an unexpected dead end. She must have made a wrong turn, somewhere while lost in her own thoughts. She pressed her right against the transmitter in her ear, “Cold? Come in—I managed to get myself lost.” Her voice was met with only static. “Cold?” She sighed, leaning against the cold steel wall. She must have wandered into a dead zone. It really was amazing that the connection had lasted as long as it did. Rubbing the palms of her hands over her eyes, she took another deep breath, wondering where she needed to go from here. She couldn’t stay where she was, that was for sure—the longer she stayed in one spot, the more likely that it was that she would be caught. Retracing her steps really was her only option.

She pushed herself off of the wall, counting her steps as she walked. She knew that she had made a wrong turn somewhere. Or was it that she was supposed to have made a turn, but didn’t, not realizing that the signal had gone out? She really could only go back so far, knowing that the surveillance equipment that Cold had hacked into was back online by now, the access codes most likely regenerated to be even tougher to crack this time. If only the Scientists cared about such things as décor, maybe every hallway wouldn’t look so damned—

A flicker of movement out of the corner of her left eye pulled Error from her thoughts. She approached it, cautiously, her right hand hovering over the grip of the small pistol that lay holstered at the small of her back. The flickering originated from what Error had originally thought was just another panel in the never ending steel hallway. However, it seemed that the panel had just been a façade created by a holographic force field.

As Error approached the doorway, the force field gave one last flicker and then died, entirely, leaving a ominous black hole where it had stood. The Package grew warmer against Error’s chest. It was a trap. It had to be. They knew that she was here, and this was a trap. She should just ignore it, turn around, retrace her steps, and try to make it back to an area where the connection was stronger so Cold could tell her where the hell she was in this blasted labyrinth.

But then, what if it wasn’t a trap? What if luck and coincidence were in her favor, and she just happened to be at the right place at the right time to breech their security a little sooner than expected?

One last look around and she entered the darkness.


The room was lit by the running security lighting that lined the floor, causing shadows to run across the ceiling and metal walls from the beakers and tubes littering the tables. At first, the room seemed empty, but a sudden movement from the far corner caused Error to drop to a crouch behind one of the tables, her hand poised over the small gun at her waist. Staying in her crouched position, she moved closer, crab walking between furniture and unmarked barrels of liquid.

In the corner of the room stood a man in a pristine white lab coat heating a beaker of a glowing amber liquid over a small flame. Wiping beads of sweat from his brow with his sleeve, he turned down the flame and lifted his bug-like safety goggles away from his face.

Error’s mind screamed in protest as she heard a gasp escape from her mouth. On her feet in an instant, she crossed what was left of the room in three long strides, throwing her arms around the tall blond man.

“Father! Oh, Father I knew you were okay, I knew it!” There were tears on her face, ones she hadn’t shed when he had disappeared that night, “Cold didn’t believe me, but I knew you were okay!” She pulled away, grabbing him by the hand as she turned back towards the holographic doorway, “Come on, we have to get you out of here.”

She took a step towards the doorway and then stopped as she felt a resistance. Her body went cold, her blood too loud in her ears. She turned back towards the man she called Father the majority of her life, “Father, what—“

He slowly pulled his hand from hers, his face neutral, unchanging as he turned back to the mixture he had been preparing. Error’s stomach was a void.

“Father, what, what are you doing? We have to get you out of here.”

He picked up the glass vial, slowly shaking it to further mix the contents within. Error moved to his other side, putting her face between his and the beaker.

“Come on, this isn’t funny,” Her nose burned with the pressure that was building behind it, her throat suddenly becoming thick, “It’s me, Error. Don’t…don’t you recognize me?”

Not even a glance as he pulled himself away from her, turning to the table behind him. He fit the glass container into a small vice.

Growling under her breath, she grabbed the man by his shoulder, turning him roughly to face her. “Damnit, Dad, what the hell is—“ She met his eyes. Her voice failed her. His eyes, once reflections of kindness and warmth were empty, cold. They stared blankly, unrecognizing. Error’s grip lost its strength and the man went back to his work as she stumbled a few steps backwards, shaking her head in disbelief.

“No….no, they couldn’t have. There isn’t a way, there isn’t a…” A shadow moved, and she noticed a large red mark on the man’s neck, formed as a perfect circle of pinpoints. He had been Injected.

Error had always known that there was a possibility that the Scientists could remove their emotions using a special Serum they had concocted that didn’t cause the same physical changes as the original virus had, but still had the same psychological effects. She never thought that they would use it, however. Especially not on one of their own.

Error’s hands shook as she pulled her gun from its holster, training its sight on the man who has raised her. He wouldn’t want to live like this. This was a mercy killing, she told herself. It had to be. He wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t—

Tension in her hands and then the kickback of release as a dull roar filled the small metal room. The man dropped instantly, his legs no longer needing to hold him upright. Acid rose in her throat as she vomited onto the floor, retching over and over until there was nothing left but bright yellow bile which bitterly coated her tongue. A noise flitted in and out of the back of her consciousness, blaring sirens, screaming alarms. The gunfire had alerted the security systems. They knew she was there.

She was running out of time.

The Package burned against her chest as she leaned down to close her father’s eyes. There was nothing to cover him with.

Footsteps in the hall alerted her to the guards’ presence as Cold’s voice crackled back to life in her headset, “Error, what the hell?!” her brother shouted, “What the hell is going on down there?”

She couldn’t feel her feet as they slammed against the metal floor, skidding around corners in a direction she hoped to be right, “Cold, I—“

“Nevermind,” her brother interrupted, “You’re almost there. Make the next left turn and you should come to a large chamber. This is the reactor core.”

“Cold, listen—“ Her chest ached, every breath a labor.

He wasn’t listening,“When you reach the reactor, there will be a small panel in the center of the core. This is where you have to put the Package. If I’m right, this should cause the reaction we need. That will end this. We’ll be free.”

“Cold—“ Error skidded to a stop as she rounded the final corner.

The reactor filled the room with pulsating amber light, tubes filled with what looked like the same liquid her father had been studying snaked through the walls. Her headset was filled with static. The room itself was silent, the sound of the alarms disappearing in the vast emptiness that emanated from the machine. Her footsteps echoed dully as she crossed the mental gangplank to the center of the reactor.

She pulled the Package from around her neck. The crystal glowed a light, warm blue. She put it to her lips, kissing it gently, the warmth seeming to flow through her body. Carefully, she inserted it into the small hole in the center of the reactor.

Suddenly, a clear metal door slid over the hole, slamming into place. Error’s vision was obstructed as glowing amber walls rose before her, crackling with energy. She threw herself against the force field, the voices in her head screaming as she watched the crystal catch fire, melting slowly into a puddle of amber that flowed together with the rest of the liquid in the reactor. Everything that her father had worked for, everything that they had fought to protect, gone in an instant, lost within the cold perfection of the One.

“You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that. I suggest that you cease.” Stated a monotone voice behind her.

Panting, Error turned, her twin pistols at the ready. On the other side of the glowing barrier stood a tall, dark haired man surrounded by armed guards. His face was a motionless mask.

“Who the hell are you?” Error demanded.

“I am the voice of the One. And seeing as how you were so kind as to destroy the last of what was left of the Old World, we have decided to give you a choice.”

“How did you—you knew we were coming! You set us up!” Her hands tightened on the guns, the joints in her fingers creaking painfully.

“Your father’s mind told us all that we needed to know about his crystal and how damaged you perceive our Perfection is. We are not responsible for you being, as you call it, ‘set up’, however. For that you must look elsewhere.”

“What are you….”

Her words were lost as a figure was pushed forward by one of the guards. Her arms lowered limply, the adrenalin draining from her chest. “Cold…what? I, I don’t understand. You said that if I did this, that we would be free…”

“We will be free, Error. We’ll no longer be different. We’ll be part of the One.”

Error took a step backwards, shaking her head as she tried to understand what her brother was saying, “We’ll be…but we can’t be part of the One, Cold. We’re all that’s left of humanity! If we succumb—“

“I’m sorry, Error,” Cold interrupted, “I know that you don’t understand, but they didn’t give me a choice. They promised that if I helped them they would give us back our father. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but you must realize this is for the best.” His eyes, so like hers, pleaded. Her nose burned.

“Cold….” She sighed, her chest tight, “Cold, Father’s dead.”

Now it was her brother’s turn to stagger back a step, visibly shaken, “What do you—“

“I found him in a lab. He…he had been Injected. They made him one of them. I had to…I couldn’t just let him stay like that, he wouldn’t have—“

“…You killed him?” Cold interrupted, “You killed our father.”

“I couldn’t just let him—“

“Damnit Error!” He struggled against the grip of the guards, wanting to strike out in his anger, “You ruined everything! I made a deal to keep us safe! All of us! And you—“

Her hands were shaking, the tightness in her chest becoming a hard, solid thing, “I ruined everything? I did? Oh you are just rich, Cold. I didn’t kill our father. They did. There was nothing left to keep safe, Cold. He wasn’t there. He was gone. I saved him. You, however, damned us all.”

Her brother’s eyes became cold mirrors, reflecting back her own.

“We give you a choice, Female,” the Voice stated again, “Become part of the One. There is no need for anomalies. You are a flaw. You must be fixed.”

Errors focus turned from her brother, her grip once again tight on the handles of the guns. “And if I don’t?”

“Then you shall be destroyed.”  The words hung in the air, the even monotone in which they were presented echoing across the chamber.

Error smirked, chuckling a bit under her breath. “You’ll destroy me? Okay, then. I surrender.” Her eyes once again met her brothers’. He slouched, seemingly relieved. She didn’t recognize him. He was a stranger.

Fingers tightened on triggers as she threw herself forward towards the crowed, a scream rising in her throat, her aim centered on the Voice on the One.

Cold’s scream matched his sister’s as he watched the glowing barrier fall as the guards surrounding him fired. As the bullets riddled her thin body and she was thrown backwards against the metal grating of the floor he felt a sharp pinprick of pain in the side of his neck, cold liquid flowing into her veins. Suddenly he no long recognized his surroundings. There were people surrounding him. Fifty feet away lay a girl surrounded by blood.

His face was wet.

He had no idea why.

A guard walked over to the body, kicking it over the side of the gangplank. It disappeared from sight.  They turned away as Cold wiped the mysteriously salty liquid from his face.