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He watched her through the one-way mirror. Even caged, she was fascinating. This was the fifth day. On the third she had started exhibiting curious behavior. She had licked her palms and then rubbed them against the stainless steel walls, covering her reflection with smudges as high up as she could reach. All four walls she had done this to. She had methodically covered each one, making sure not an inch within her reach was clean. When she had begun the one with the one way mirror she had disappeared from his view. He pursued his lips, waiting. The window sat high on the wall for her so she could only cover it halfway, but when she stood directly in front of him she paused, tongue on palm and seemed to stare right at him, through the wall, through the mirror, through to him. His spine began to tingle and sweat dripped slowly from his neck. It seemed as if time slowed down as her crystal blue eyes calmly looked at him, her golden hair presenting a wild frame for her face. She blinked and removed her hand from her mouth, continuing her task until it had been completed.

Then she began to pull out that golden hair, littering the uniform cement floor with shining threads. After her eyes were red with tears of pain and the flood covered in golden stands she requested pen and paper and had been huddled in the corner scrawling ever since. She had not slept; she had not accepted the nutrients offered to her. She had done nothing but scrawl. He had watched her for every moment. He had not slept either. He was arrested by this curious Ethrealite. When a page was filled she would throw it to the ground creating a haphazard mosaic on the floor. He looked on as she filled the final page, letting it flutter beneath her. There was something in her blue eyes that he did not want to look at. But he stared on. She lifted herself and deconstructed the pen, flicking its ink all over her pristine bedding. Then lying down, back towards him, she covered herself in the blue stains as well.

“Sir, may I get you something?" One of the Underlings poked his head in the door.

“Yes, bring me her pages." He responded after a moment. A few moments later two Underlings appeared in the room and began gathering the sheets. She rolled over to see what was happening, silently watching the two men gathering her work. Then she looked straight at him again, as if she knew he was there, watching, allowing it all to happen. There was a glint in her eye of…something. Then she turned again and remained still. The two Underlings brought him the pages. He put his hand on them but his eyes lingered on the slumped figure in the cell. He turned his attention to the stack before him. Some of the pages were wrinkled; some had nicks in the edges, some smudges, and most had uneven writing. A flash of surprise crossed his mind as he recognized the letters-- she knew how to write. He did not know that anyone other than the Officiate and the Officiate in Training knew how to write. They were supposed to be the only ones. She had scrawled hasty numerals at the corner of each sheet and he sorted them.

Glancing up he pondered this strange girl, though it didn't surprise him that she could write, given the other knowledge she possessed that she should never have attained. She remained motionless as if she had poured her life onto these pages. He held them tenderly in his hands as he began to read.

_ “I do not know where I went wrong. Maybe it was the way I spoke to him back on Ethreal when we met for the very first time. Maybe it was what I decided to share with him. Maybe it was in thinking I had the right to share anything with him. Or maybe, just maybe, it was when I was designed. Maybe there really is something wrong with my DNA, my very genetic make-up. Maybe what I have been told my whole life is true. Maybe that is why I am sitting in this cell. Because I am wrong. _

_Perhaps the moment I went wrong was when I decided I was entitled to learn. _

His hand was shaking, causing the letters to blur. He steadied it, looking up at the girl. He was wary of what these pages held.

_ I snuck back into the city smelling like “Mountains in the Fall" and sweat. When I passed by the Sublate, the sky began to whir. Everyone in the square looked up to see a shiny Official Placon Carrier. Everyone watched as this unusual sight landed on the pad, gathering around, curious. I admit I was curious too. _

It was quiet when the door slid open and a ma_n stepped out. I recognized him from the mandatory Updates of Progress of the Species reports that are shown in VR. He was the very genetic elite; the Officiate of Placon; the one who was genetically engineered to run both planets and essentially charged with the responsibility of genetic progression and technological advancement. He had his trademark deadpan expression identical to the one he always had during the broadcast. A murmur went through the crowd as everyone saw him. However there was another, even heavier hush as his companion stepped out into the sun. _

_This was the boy being trained to take over for the Officiate. He, the most genetically advanced human in existence, the model for future generations to be engineered, was a genetic anomaly. The closer I looked the more I could recognize his face, but he was not a spitting image of the one seen on VR like his mentor was. His hair was not brown or black as it should have been, nor was it golden like mine, this boy's hair was red. The shock was palpable in the square as people tried to process what they were seeing. _

_The silence seemed to last but the crowd only had a few moments before the two were ushered into a Placon Official Motorcar and whisked away to the Embassy. Maybe where I went wrong was in thinking I had something in common with this Placonian elite. Maybe that was it. But that was certainly the moment that everything began to change. _

I became obsessed. I researched him, every audio track, every visual image asfar back as I could access. I tried to find his creation records, but they were classified. I ended up having to dungeon dive to get the information I sought. My female Unit disconnected me from VR and I was irritated. But the Officiate and his protégé had come to the Unit's location. They were systematically talking with every member of every Unit in the compound. I was giddy, lightheaded. I was going to get to meet the anomaly, inspect him, question him. I felt that because of his hair color, I had the right to speak to him. In the large meeting room of our living Unit the Officiate was standing, and behind him this flame-haired boy. The Officiate began his rehearsed conversation but I paid little mind to it. I was scrutinizing the creature in front of me, too enraptured to take my eyes from him. The pale Placonian skin the only physical trait he seemed to share with his mentor, he had small dots on his skin and green eyes with his vibrant hair. I felt an affinity with him. I wondered if he experienced the same looks of distaste on the faces of his peers when he went to class, if he was met with stern gazes from his superiors, if he, too, felt wrong.

Once again he stopped and looked at the girl. Had she really experienced that? He would need to record this in his lab reports. He had been taught that everyone in Placon had been designed for the purpose they fulfilled, and that the Ethrealites were the mistakes it took to achieve perfection. This girl had been one of the bigger mistakes and thus her case was being studied further. He furrowed his brow, trying to remember, but there was no basis of sameness with this girl other than a small genetic mutation that, in his case, could be overlooked for the sake of the overall rightness of his DNA. No shared or similar experiences. He ruminated for a moment and then returned to the crumpled pages.

_ When the Officiate stopped speaking I took my chance. I did not address the leader but instead this young man beside him. _

_“Who are you?" I said. _

_“I am the Kairos." He replied. I smiled. I reached out. I grabbed his hand. _

_“I am 24602 but you can call me Myr if you like." He drew back and looked at the Officiate confused. _

“24602, as I was saying earlier, I have brought my apprentice to Ethreal to learn more about the genetic conditions of your people. You are of particular interest to us because your genetics deviate so far from what is acceptable. It is important that he learn how to prevent such cases as yours in the future." I was not fazed-- I had heard this rhetoric my whole life. My eyes never strayed from Kairos. I felt the need to take him in, his presence, his essence. His gaze was emerald steel, his face unmoving and unmoved. “I would like him to stay with you for thirty-six hours so that he may take a sample of your DNA and study it. I have already had a Technician come and add another space onto your living unit. I will also have Watchmen outside the house to make sure no one disrupts him while he observes you. I thank you." The Officiate nodded to him and to my female Unit, then left, this anomaly still stiff on our furniture. He cleared his throat. My female unit patted me on the shoulder awkwardly and smiled at him, then left the room.

“Would you like to see what I like to do in my spare time?" I didn't give him a chance to say anything, the words came tumbling out of my mouth, I was taking a risk, I knew, but I felt an affinity with him. He would understand. Maybe that is where I went wrong. He nodded. I stood and moved towards the door. I felt the heat coming from his body and for a moment I was confused, not expecting him to be warm at all. I turned to him.

_“Tell the Watchmen to stay here. Tell them we will be right back, okay?" Confusion flashed across his face as he tried to process what I was saying. _

_“But they are supposed to escort me where—“ _

_“No. They can't come with us. You need to tell them that we will right back and not to worry." He pursed his lips but nodded. I nodded back. Standing straight, I turned and walked out the front door. Both Watchmen converged on us from the shadows around the Unit. Kairos spoke to them. They obeyed and we left, walking towards the Northeastern corner of the compound. We arrived at the location where I had cut the fence and I knelt down to shimmy under it, standing up on the other side. His hair gleamed in the moonlight, taking on an almost iridescent quality. We looked at each other, the chain link between us. _

There was a soft knock on the door that almost startled him.

“Come in." He stated, clasping his hands behind his back, hiding the pages from view. It was an Underling.

“Sir, the lab results are ready. Would you like me to bring them?"

“No, thank you, I will look at them after this matter is taken care of."

“Yes sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?" He waved the Underling away, already back to the pages.

“Well, are you coming or not?" It took him a moment to realize that I meant for him to also squeeze under the fence. The only comp_laint I received however was a grunt and a grimace when he stood next to me on the free side of the chain link. He had dirt smudged on his cheek, but I decided to leave it there, it was fitting. I grinned and took his hand, once again momentarily shocked at the warmth it held and took off towards the trees. He stumbled behind me, his feet uncertain in this untraversed terrain. Our hands drifted apart but we were still connected, our tether here stronger than it had been in the compound. The air was light and smelled of “Mountains in the Fall" and the moon gave everything a tinge of divinity. _

_“Come on! Keep up!" I laughed as I skipped through the forest, knowing he was following, knowing he would continue to follow. We got to the clearing where my underground sanctuary was. I stopped, breathless, and he did too. His eyes wide with wonder as he rotated, taking in everything around him. His face did not hold its classic mask. It was alight with awe. I felt something as I watched him enraptured with the world I loved so much. It was nothing like the compound, and I imagined nothing like Placon. His chest was rising and falling with the life he breathed in. I reached out and took his hand and he did not pull away. _

He pursed his lips, a fluttering in his stomach, and considered for a moment putting all the pages in the demolisher off to the left. What did these words hold for him? But his muscles would not allow it and he read on, still fascinated with her view of him.

_“Let me show you my favorite place." I led him to the hole in the ground that was really a hole in the roof of a library. I had made a rope ladder that I descended, filled with the excitement I always felt when transitioning into the world below. I reached the end of the ladder and stepped onto the third floor landing of the library. I flicked on the lantern I kept there and waited for him to arrive. He looked confused at first but then I held the lantern over the railing, illuminating the vast expanse filled with my favorite treasure and a soft sound of awe escaped his lips. We walked in silence down the stairs, touring this world without disturbing its peace. His fingers trailed lightly over the spines of all the dormant stories that lined the shelves. _

_“This place is…forbidden." He stood in the light of my lantern, surrounded by my sleeping haven, his immaculate Placonian uniform smeared and his hair radiant. His was smiling, a mirror of my own, despite his words. I knew right then that we had something in common, and at least for a moment we were both something special. However it was just a moment because the awe and wonder was quickly replaced by his cool, impassive mask, his voice stony and official. _

_“I will have to report this location. All of these storehouses were supposed to be destroyed. You should not have found this place. We may have to take you back to Placon for a cleaning procedure." His cold eyes slid onto me and there was a flicker of conflict before they turned icy and I knew I lost him. The flare from the lantern no longer illuminating his face fully, began to cast shadows across his features. Sullen, I began to climb the stairs to the ladder, gathering all of the things I usually left at the base of it in a knapsack and began my ascent. The moon was still bright and my eyes were used to the dimness of below, taking a moment to adjust. Kairos was climbing up and I knew I could take off. I could just run, I wouldn't have to go to Placon, I could live outside the compound, I wouldn't be a freak any longer, and I wouldn't have to face the defeat I felt when I looked into his stone cold eyes. But I didn't run. I stayed and patiently waited for him to climb out of the hole and escort me back to the compound. And that, I think, is where I truly went wrong, I did not seize the freedom that was before me, but instead remained a slave to my DNA. _

_When we arrivde at my Unit he spoke in hushed tones to the Watchmen and then went inside to his quarters. I went into mine but did not sleep. I was loaded onto the Carrier the next day. Kairos and the Officiate were both in stark white uniforms, not a trace of the dirt or smudges he had acquired in our outing last night. The Carrier was not cramped, but small enough that the space in between passengers was uncomfortable. The windows were closed off and the cabin was dark and cool. No one spoke. I fidgeted and that elicited a few impassive looks from other Placonians. Kairos and the Officiate rode in a different section. I was surrounded by stiff men in grey uniforms. They all looked very similar with square jaws and brown eyes, dark hair, wide shoulders. The more I looked at all of them the more they seemed to mesh together, becoming one entity in my mind. The uniformity encroached upon me, making the space around me close in. I closed my eyes and tried to recall the scent of “Mountains in the Fall" but I couldn't. I couldn't smell anything. The cabin of the carrier smelt like nothing, not even the bodies of the people inside it. I rubbed my eyes and looked around dizzy. All I saw were clones in starched grey closing in on me, getting closer and closer with their apathetic expressions. _

I woke up in this cell, nothing but a bed and myself, the steel walls a constant reminder of how much of a freak I am, with my golden hair. At first I just stared. Then I just couldn't look anymore. I smudged everything I could; the clarity of the pristine room had clouded my head. I eventually asked for some paper and this pen, so I could have something to do, to keep me from losing it, but I have been broken. Kairos is not what I thought he was. He will make a splendid Officiate one day I suppose, but I can't help but wish he could have been more. Could have been more than just the Placonian Officiate. Could have maybe been a little more Ethrealli too. After all he is an anomaly. But I was wrong, that does not bond us. If it did, I wouldn't be here. I guess all of us are slaves to our DNA.

There was a slight knock on the door and then it opened. The Officiate came and stood next to him, watching the girl in the room before them.

“Odd creatures the Ethrealites, especially one as misdesigned as this one. Shame to see such waste produced even still. However you have learned much, I think. I came to make sure you were going to dispose properly of all of the trash. I see you have already begun cleaning up. Good work." The Officiate gestured to the room in front of them and left, closing the door behind him. He stared at the figure lying on the stained mattress, willing it to move, to do something, but it remained motionless. The door of her room opened, and men in black uniforms strode over and lifted her by her arms, taking her out of the room.

He stepped to the waste machine and fed the wrinkled, stained sheets into it, all except for one. That page he carefully folded up, edges meticulously aligned, and slid it into his breast pocket. Then he opened the door to begin his next stage of training.