Exercise in Character Writing -- a questionnaire as filled out by Sal (others to follow)

Questions take from out_lines

( Shorea Sullivan )

The Antiphon

Written by Tsuke

 

 

 

The beginning.

 

In a city of shadows and artificial lights it is hard to see the truth of anything.

It is strange, he ponders, to die alone.

He can feel grass against his back, grass and mud that stain his clothes and soak the blood from his wounds. There is rain waiting to fall, the clouds are dark and heavy with it, the sun hidden from view.

He smiles.

Inside his head a voice sounds like a broken record "He is attempting to fo- He is attempting to fo-" but he keeps smiling anyway. A broken port has nothing against this, means nothing at all with the sky over his head and the mountains to his right and mud beneath his fingernails.

He has read of dying men closing their eyes and dying as though they have simply fallen asleep. He is not one of those men and will die facing the world. His smile slips from his face as his last moments are taken from him, and the hero dies with a slow, uneven sigh.

A lone limping figure finds him, leans down and closes his eyes with his thumb. He sits against the grass and watches as the first drops fall against the ground, patient and calm. There is no rushing the loss of a friend. He feels no exhaustion, no pain from battle won injuries and so pays no mind to feeling regret of discomfort.

He simply pulls the body towards him, wonders how he will explain the death to his family and feels nothing at all.

The house was quiet.

Sal was terrified. He had his blanket pulled all the way up to his nose, only his eyes peering out from over the top. He squeezes those shut tight when he hears the creaking of floor boards and bites down on his lip to stop the whimper. He didn't mean to wake up, not this late, but there had been a low howling that sounded like the generator fans had been moved right beside his window. Now he was all alone in the dark, his parents slept on the top floor and they were too far away to hear him if he called, his younger brothers shared a suite below his but they were too little to be any help.

He heard another crash, this sounded like glass breaking and Sal threw his blankets from his body and himself directly off the bed and onto the floor. His heart was pounding in his chest. He ducked and rolled under his bed, hoping it would offer some protection against whatever it was that was trying to get in.

After a moments silence a sickening feeling overcomes him. His family is all still asleep. His little brothers can't defend themselves if anything gets in and tries to hurt them. He hates his brothers, but he can't let them get hurt. He steels all his courage and takes a deep breath, pushing himself out from underneath the bed. He rolls to the dresser and digs around for a shirt. He doesn't want to die shirtless. But then there is another noise - quiet this time, a whisper maybe - but it spurs Sal into movement. He forgets the shirt, lets it drop from his fingers and races out into the hallway. His feet skid on the floors but he runs anyway, as fast as he can until he reaches the elevator at the end of the hallway. He pounds in the code for his brother's floor and then locks himself in.

His eyes are wide as the numbers tick down. He's old enough to know that he and his family have reason to be afraid. There are rebels who wish to hurt them, wish to make them suffer. He doesn't understand why, not yet, but he doesn't much care to know. All he sees are evil men with evil faces trying to bring down a loving family.

The doors slide open and he tumbles out, near tripping over himself in his haste to get to his brothers room. The door is unlocked - they always forget to lock it, he thinks, before pushing himself in. They're both again, two perfect angels asleep in their beds. Sal doesn't waste time. There's another whisper - they're on the floor below? above? They're close. Whoever they are.

"Wake up!" He hisses, shaking Gabriel "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

The boy murmurs and blinks open dark eyes "What?" He says in a drowsy voice "It's late, Sal, go 'way"

Sal shakes him harder "I can't go away! Someone is in the house!"

Gabriel sits up with a start, looking afraid "You better not be teasing, Sal, or Father'll be real mad!"

"I'm not! Get up, hurry. We've gotta get to Father's room. Wake up Michael!"

Sal yanks his brother's sheets back and watches nervously as Gabriel tiptoes over and jerks Michael out of bed. The two take each others hands and cling desperately, fear on their small faces. Sal has to be brave now. He nods and then puts an arm, pushing them behind him as he advances on the door.

"Okay, stay behind me. We're gonna run for the elevator. We have to wake up MRA first. He's on floor one. Then we have to get to Father. Ready?"

They nod, trusting him entirely in a way they never usually do.

Sal takes another deep breath and checks the hallway quickly before bolting, checking over his shoulder once to make sure they are following. He punches the numbers and pushes them in first. They move to the back and Sal is just about to type in the codes when he sees a shadow. Three of them, at the end of the hall. The shadows look up (and Sal sees that they aren't shadows, just men in black) and begin to run. Sal lets out a cry and punches the buttons again, not caring where they go as long as it is away.

Gabriel and Michael are crying, but they're too young. It's okay. Sal wraps his arms around their shoulders, wanting to cry himself.

"Hey, stop crying. We're Sullivans, they can't touch us"

Sal wishes he believed his own words. They all wait with baited breath when the elevator doors slide open and Sal hardly checks to make sure the room is clear before tugging his brothers out into the open. MRA's room is near the front of the building and the three stumble, the twins to afraid to do much and Sal struggling to get them forward, towards his quarters.

Suddenly there is another shadow, directly above them and Sal cries out "The roof!" Before shoving his brothers harshly down and telling them to hide. He ducks and darts but there are more, men everywhere and he can hardly see. Where are Michael and Gabriel? He thinks furiously and sees them cowering beneath the long table. He jerks his eyes away not wanting to draw attention to them but the shadows have already seen them. The leader - he assumes - grins and gestures and three of the men with him descend on the two boys, ripping them from their hiding place.

Gabriel screams and Michael thrashes but they're small and are hardly any trouble at all. Sal lets out a battle cry and lunges forward.

"Don't touch my brothers! Let them go! You'll be killed for this! LET THEM GO!" He manages to dodge the first man that comes at him, slips through the fingers of the second and lands a solid kick the thirds groin before arms are wrapped around him. He fights, desperately, biting and kicking and thrashing.

The man holding him curses but doesn't let go and Sal is crying, shouting and swearing for them to let him go, to let go of his brothers and then -

The arms around him go slack, Sal feels something wet against his face before the man drops to the floor, a thin dotted line of red against his throat. Sal stares and raises a shaking hand to his face, his fingers come away bloody but its not his own.

The men look around, nervous now, not quite panicked and then - another drops, then another.

"Take the boy!" One shouts "Take the children and get the hell out of here!"

Sal sees his brothers, gagged and blindfolded being hustled towards the window - smashed and broken, this was their entrance - and lets out another cry, lunging forward. He's confused and isn't sure what's going on, just knows he has to make sure they are okay.

A battle has erupted around him. Intruders are dying, their blood staining the carpet and Sal is glad his brothers can't see, waits for his turn to die. The leader sees him and there is such hate in his eyes that it makes Sal feel cold all over.

"You" He sneers and Sal starts to walk backwards "You little bastard, who did you alert?"

He grabs Sal by the shoulders and his gloves feel rough against Sal's skin, he shoves him back hard against the wall and Sal lets out a cry of pain. He wishes someone would help him, wishes he had just stayed in bed and pretended he couldn't hear.

"I'm going to make sure you are useless, your father will never be able to use you for his cruelty!"

"I don't think so"

Sal knows that voice and he nearly sighs with relief when he hears it, sees MRA standing behind the man. The rest of the room is quiet, bodies litter the floor and Sal realizes that it was MRA who did this, who saved him. His brothers are on the stairs, clinging to each other but safe. Not even bruised. Sal wants to cry and shake and he wants his mother to hold him. Everything's going to be okay -

Fingers dig into his arms and Sal lets out another cry. It's not over yet.

"MRA!" He says, trying to convey his fear with his eyes, lest he upsets the man holding him more. He doesn't know what he did, or what he means and he doesn't care to find out.

"It's alright, Shorea. This man is not going to hurt you. He is going to peaceably come with me. There is no need for more bloodshed, Sir"

The man snarls and laughs but it is a broken sound "Like hell I am! Do you know what the man up there has done to us, to our planet. He deserves death and whatever else comes to him!"

MRA is patiently calm, standing there with his arms at his sides.

"I will not deny or agree with your claims against Master Sullivan. But you are not holding Master Sullivan, you are holding a little boy who has done nothing to deserve cruelty"

"He's the son of that bastard and he deserves whatever I choose to give him!"

Sal will remember what happens after this for the rest of his life. He sees MRA's look of horror, maybe even fear, remembers the way he started forward but wasn't quick enough, remembers his brothers on the stairs, remembers the blood on his fingers, dripping against his face, remembers the shattered glass and bodies against the floor, the red against the carpet and the sound of sirens in the distance.

The man holding him has something in his belt and he jerks it forward and pushes it against Sal's face. Sal lets out a guttural scream of pain when something is pushed into his eyes, it feels like needles, thousands of them and he can only struggle against the man weakly before he stops feeling anything at all.

"SAL!" He hears and he doesn't know who has cried it. He can't see anything. Nothing at all. He feels carpet beneath him, or maybe it's a rug. He hears a squishing sound, a grunt and then a thud. He can't bring himself to move, just stare blankly out into the blank. He feels cold hands against his body now, lifting him up.

"Sal? Sal, can you hear me?"

It's MRA, his voice still sounds calm but Sal can tell that he's afraid. His voice wavers just a little on the S of his name and the last E.

"You called me Sal" Sal hears himself say. He feels numb.

"Yes I did. Tell me if you're alright"

Sal is quiet before speaking "I can't open my eyes"

He hears a sob and surely that can't be MRA, but no, it's a woman and - his mother? How much time had passed?

The voice that speaks next is strained "No, Shorea. You"

Sal understands before the person can finish (Is that his father?) "Oh. I'm... I can't see"

The adults around him are talking now, and Sal merely lies there in MRA's arms, waiting for this numbness to fade away. He turns half into MRA's chest, wanting to be reassured that someone is there.

MRA's arms tighten slightly "Master Sullivan, it appears that the procedure was done... efficiently. Your son is not experiencing the pain or usual trauma of such an operation. It appears he is under an anesthetic for the time being, but he should be moved to a hospital"

Sal doesn't know what his father says to that, or anything else, just feels that he is being moved, still safe in MRA's arms. There is a pinprick sensation against his arm and then he hears nothing at all.

When he wakes (he thinks he is awake, he's not sure about anything) much later, he finds that he's in a bed, hooked up to a machine, with a single  presence in the room.

"Father?" He tries.

"No"

MRA then. Sal turns his head in the direction he thinks MRA is, but he's not sure about anything. He bites his lip, afraid again. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to save his brothers and everything was supposed to be okay! MRA was there, he was - why did it happen like this?

Sal didn't notice that he was saying it all out loud until MRA was close enough that Sal could feel his artificial breath against his face. Hands press against the sides of his face and he suddenly finds himself enveloped in a hug. MRA is hugging him and Sal makes a quiet confused noise.

"You were not supposed to be harmed, Sal. I had foolishly thought him to be incapable. He did not seem - I'm sorry. I should have protected you"

Sal finally reaches out with his own arms and wraps them around MRA too "I. I'm sorry I came downstairs" He sobs "I just w-wanted to protect them. I thought... I thought.."

"Shh," MRA soothes "You were extremely brave, Sal. You made your father very proud. Michael and Gabriel are safe. They were here to see you earlier, but you were asleep. They would not be alive if you had not gotten them from their room in time"

Sal doesn't know how true that is, but he doesn't care. He likes to think that he had helped, a little. "Why would he do this? Why didn't he kill me?" Sal buries his face against MRA's shirt.

"Because humans are cruel, Sal. I had hoped you would not learn this for a long time. You don't need to be afraid. I will protect you, never again will anyone ever touch you. Do you understand? I will not leave you alone again. You will never have to fight again"

"I.. I understand."

"Good. Would you like me to go get your Mother? She told me to alert her when you awoke"

Sal nods, shakes his head, nods again "No, yes... I... don't leave, please"

"I won't. I'll be beside you for as long as you need me to be"

Sal smiles and MRA who can see his bruised face, red still stained against his cheeks, eyes unclear and unfocused, swears loyalty to the boy for all eternity.

They will never be apart.

"Sal, I know you can't hear me. But I have something I need to tell you.... "

When Sal was eleven his father had called him into the study. He hadn't been frowning and Sal remembers that fact most of all. His father had touched a large hand to his shoulder and gestured with his other into the hallway. Standing there was a thing. Sal knew immediately it wasn't human if only because it didn't have a single flaw at all. He - like all small boys when faced with something fascinating - gaped and stared, eyes so wide they all but popped out of his head.

The thing didn't move, just stood in stony silence. He had skin so light that Sal could swear he saw the pale blue of lights beneath it, as though his veins could shine right through. His hair was cut short, stopping at his jaw and feathering, fringe coming forward- a style that Sal recognized from his mother's pictures (pictures of performers and those who held great money and power - gorgeous people) - and black, jet black as though someone had spilled ink across a canvas.

He had soft features, as though whoever had made him (and Sal was certain someone had) had not wanted him to stand out but simply exist, exist and be beautiful. There was almost no colour to his face, his lips matched the rest of him, blending nearly away but his eyes -

Sal would remember this about him for the rest of his life.

They were clear. As though they were windows, behind them electric blue lines etched around the iris faintly shone through and Sal was mesmerized.

The thing blinked.

"What are my orders?"

Sal was so excited he could hardly stand still. It could talk, it was talking and his voice sounded smooth, unaffected and then -

His father moved in between them and did an odd gesture with his hand "MRA, blend, please. I wish to see the extent of your abilities"

"Yes, sir" Within seconds he was changing, his eyes falling closed as his body seemed to glow but he wasn't, it was just colour. The white slowly faded to a more natural tone, his cheeks flushed enough to give his face the appearance of boyishness and his mouth became redder. Sal shivered because those eyes were still the same and it was even more ghostly when he looked normal.

"Your eyes!" He squeaked and immediately regretted it when both the thing and his father turned to look at him. He would swear on his grave forever that the thing smiled then, the tiniest quirk of a lips before he closed his eyes. When he opened them they were gray.

"This is MRA," his father said after a pause "He is a modified response agent. I hired him to protect the family from the Underground. As we are influential I fear that they may attempt to kidnap or otherwise harm my sons, or attempt to coerce them to their ideals" The first part was addressed to Sal, the second to him. The thing. MRA.

Sal grinned "So are you like... a robot?"

MRA did smile this time "I'm an android. Is this your daughter, Master Sullivan?"

His father laughed and patted Sal on the head, Sal on the other hand glared "This is my eldest, Shorea. He's to inherit this house and all the duties that come with it. I shall introduce you to his brothers later. But for now - Shorea, I would like you to take MRA to the guest quarters. He will be staying with us under guise of being a family friend."

Sal made a face "Of course, Father"

The office door didn't slam when his father left and that felt oddly poignant.

"You're not allowed to call me 'Shorea'" Sal said quickly, almost puffing up at the very idea.

MRA raised an eyebrow "Why not? Shorea is a noble name for a noble son"

"Call me Sal or I'll forget to charge you at night"

Did the robot just laugh? Sal was quite sure that he had "You're not allowed to laugh either!"

"Oh, my apologies" MRA was mocking him, he was sure of it. He half pouted and then grinned.

"So you're... like... my body guard now?"

"Hm, I suppose you could call me that. I'm much more efficient than a body guard. I'll be protecting you, and your brothers, at least"

Sal looked vaguely disgusted "You don't have to protect my brothers, they're like seven years old and already smarter than I am. Twins aren't that special"

MRA had a concerned expression on his human face now and he knelt down on one knee so he was the same height as Sal. He reached out and ruffled his hair "Your father has named you his heir, Shorea, it goes against all logical conclusions that he would find you anything but brilliant. He has a legacy to uphold"

Sal wasn't quite sure how to answer that, still shocked by the fact that the robot had touched him. He didn't know robots were allowed. It took him a bit longer than necessary but after a moment he caught on and growled "Hey! I said to call me Sal! Oh wait... do you have a name? I mean, besides M-R-A?"

There was no mistaking the softness in the androids eyes then, but Sal was far too young to see it "I do. I'll tell you one day"

"Why not now?" Sal demanded, impatient.

"Secrets are not meant to be told to children"

"When I'm big then? When I'm a man, you'll tell me?"

MRA gave him an indulgent smile and for a moment, a flicker of his natural eyes appeared "I promise"

"I made you a promise, once. You have refused me for so long, refused the knowledge I wished to give you. But now..."

"Now you are a man"

"Sal?"

"My name is Rai"

About an underground rebellion in the future, where the population is blocked off from things that could be considered 'nature' everything is electronic - but connected through a database called, ironically - the database. The internet has been out of use for centuries but still runs through the illegal channels.

and anyway, the underground rebellion have been installing ports in their youth - walking talking storage and connection devices, that are human obviously, but have electrical implants. They are hard to track and catch. So they developed a series of androids called MRA - Modified Response Agents, who have human emotion and are able to logic jump the way people do, track down the resistance and stop them from creating a full scale rebellion among the people.