It was around six years before the collapse of Sapey. Eugene had not yet moved to the Downs Region; he was living in the Phoenix Region with his parents. He had just arrived home from school with the results from his recent examination.

Eugene’s father, Arthur, and his mother, Sophie, rushed towards Eugene as he walked through the door.

‘Did you pass, son?’ asked Arthur as he grabbed both of Eugene’s shoulders. ‘Did you pass?’

‘I pretty much nailed it,’ replied Eugene confidently as he pulled his school bag off.

‘That’s amazing!’ said Sophie as she smiled widely. ‘We always believed in you.’

Eugene enthusiastically handed his father the marked examination paper. Arthur looked at the paper and then sighed in disappointment.

‘Oh, Eugene,’ said Arthur as he pointed at the big red ‘F’ on the paper. ‘This isn’t a passing mark.’

Eugene’s eyes darted from side to side. Sophie put her arms around Eugene to comfort him even though Eugene did not appear upset.

Arthur flipped to the next page. He sighed again in even more disappointment.

‘How did you manage to answer every question wrong?’ asked Arthur as he frowned slightly at Eugene.

‘Maybe they asked the wrong questions to my answers,’ replied Eugene as he confidently nodded his head.

‘That must be it,’ said Arthur angrily. ‘I’ll call the school up and tell them they need to change all of their questions to match your answers.’

‘Suits me,’ replied Eugene as he patted his father on the arm. ‘So where’s my reward?’

‘I baked you a cake,’ said Sophie, as she quickly escorted Eugene to the kitchen. She could see the anger building in Arthur’s eyes.

Later that day, Arthur and Sophie sat down at the dining table to discuss Eugene’s situation.

‘They won’t let him keep repeating modules, especially when he’s making no noticeable progress,’ said Arthur. ‘They will send him away from us. We might lose him forever.’

‘I know he’s smart,’ said Sophie. ‘With just a little more support, he’ll come through.’

‘His biggest problem is his attitude,’ said Arthur firmly as he looked at Sophie. ‘He thinks the world revolves around him. Well, it doesn’t. He needs to play his part, and we need to stop rewarding his failings.’

‘I think he just needs to be inspired,’ replied Sophie as she got up. ‘I’ll go and talk to him now.’

Arthur frowned as Sophie walked away.

Eugene was in his bedroom watching a video of flying Sapes on his laptop computer. Sophie knocked on his door.

‘Would it be okay if I came in?’ asked Sophie as she poked her head around the door that she had just pushed ajar.

‘Hot choco and donuts are always welcome,’ said Eugene as he looked across at Sophie.

‘It’s not time for that now,’ said Sophie. ‘I want to talk to you about something.’

‘Yeah, I bet you do,’ said Eugene as he squinted his eyes slightly as Sophie entered the room and sat on the end of his bed.

‘I think it would be wonderful if you had someone you looked up to and admired,’ said Sophie as she smiled at Eugene.

‘You make a good point,’ replied Eugene. ‘This place is swarming with losers.’

‘Our representative has been elected to governor in the Capital Region,’ said Sophie as she pulled Eugene’s laptop towards her. ‘You should take a look at his social media page. You might feel inspired by his success.’

Sophie typed in ‘Governor Denver’ into the social media search engine. Governor Denver’s profile immediately appeared.

‘Oh, I get what you’re hinting at,’ said Eugene as he tapped his nose twice and winked at Sophie. ‘I’m all over this.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ said Sophie as she stood up.

‘I will need to power up with some extra donuts,’ said Eugene as he raised his right arm slightly while clenching his fist.

‘You’re in luck!’ said Sophie as she looked at Eugene from the doorway. ‘We still have some left from yesterday’s rights package.’

Eugene raised both his thumbs, and then he looked back at his computer screen.

‘You’re one suspicious-looking character,’ said Eugene as he clicked on Denver’s photograph page in his social media account. ‘Well, you’re not going to escape my super sleuthing skills.’

Thirty minutes later, Sophie returned with a mug of hot chocolate and four donuts.

Eugene had gone back to watching the flying Sapes video.

‘Do you feel inspired?’ asked Sophie as she placed the food and drink on Eugene’s bedside table.

‘You’ve got all my gears turning,’ replied Eugene. ‘I’m just waiting on his response.’

‘You messaged him!’ said Sophie. ‘That’s very brave of you. Don’t be sad if he doesn’t reply immediately. He’s a governor. I expect he’s very busy.’

‘Busy, alright, eh!’ chuckled Eugene. ‘I’ve just rocked his world.’

‘Oh, well done, I guess,’ replied Sophie as she left Eugene’s room.

The next morning in Governor Denver’s office. Denver’s personal assistant had been looking through and replying to some of the messages that had been left on Denver’s social media account. She came across a strange message left by Eugene. She sent an alert message to Denver for him to look at it himself.

Denver saw the alert, and he shook his head. ‘I have an assistant to deal with the cranks,’ said Denver to himself. ‘Let’s see what nonsense my assistant can’t handle.’

The message from Eugene read, ‘I like your new phone, righty.’ The message was a response to a selfie he had taken in front of the parliament building.

‘Hmm, my phone isn’t that new,’ said Denver to himself as he looked at his phone. Denver looked at the selfie Eugene had responded to.

‘I must admit, this photograph is really clear,’ he chuckled to himself. ‘He must be complimenting me.’

Denver clicked on a button to go to his main photograph page. His page was full of selfies. He clicked on an older photograph.

‘Oh, the quality of this is not that good,’ said Denver. ‘That’s why he thinks I have a new phone.’

Denver began to flip through the older selfies. ‘Oh my gosh, I forgot!’ said Denver as a look of fear came over his face. ‘I’m supposed to be left-handed. Damn it! He must be onto me.’

Denver quickly got up and rushed out of his office.

Three floors higher up in the building was Representative Collingswaggle’s office. Collingswaggle was having an informal meeting with Pardi Carvaress, the richest Linap in Sapey. They were chitchatting and sharing a box of ring donuts.

Denver burst through the office doors. ‘I’ve been exposed!’ he cried as he leaned on Collingswaggle’s desk. ‘Everything we built is at risk of crumbling down around us.’

‘Here we go again,’ said Collingswaggle as he shook his head.

‘The new ones are always a bit skittish,’ chuckled Pardi as he bit into the donut he was holding.

‘What happened?’ said Collingswaggle as he pointed at a chair next to Pardi. ‘You can tell me what happened.’

‘Look at this message,’ said Denver as he waved his phone at Collingswaggle.

‘It’s last year’s model, and it isn’t even that good,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘Even my disposable phones are more impressive.’

‘He knows I’m not the real Denver,’ said Denver as he quickly turned to look at Pardi.

‘The first few weeks are always like this,’ chuckled Collingswaggle. ‘You just need to build your confidence. No one is really questioning who you are.’

‘If this guy isn’t any good, I know half a dozen guys who would be willing to play the role of Governor Denver,’ chuckled Pardi as he winked at Collingswaggle. ‘I could dispose of this guy pretty easily.’

Denver looked at Pardi in horror.

‘He’s only joking,’ chuckled Collingswaggle. ‘You really need to lighten up. You’re our guy, and you’re always going to be.’

‘I would feel much better if this situation was taken care of,’ said Denver as he glanced at Pardi, who was now looking at Eugene’s social media page.

‘This guy looks completely retarded,’ said Pardi as he scrolled through Eugene’s social media posts and pictures. ‘Unreal, he wants to be a Head Enforcer. I bet his parents wish they had…’

‘Sounds perfect,’ interrupted Collingswaggle as he looked at Pardi angrily. ‘I’ll contact his parents and tell them he has been accepted into our prestigious enforcer training programme. I’ll let them know he will be fast-tracked as a candidate to be a Head Enforcer.’

‘Yes, I suppose that’ll keep him busy,’ replied Denver as he rubbed his chin.

‘Hahaha, that programme will kill him,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘Push this hard. You’ll be doing everyone a favour.’

‘In the meantime, I suggest you start taking more selfies,’ continued Collingswaggle, ignoring Pardi’s comments. ‘Let this photograph be buried. Just remember to use your left hand next time.’

‘Or just flip the image,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘Damn, have you never heard of technology?’

‘Sure,’ said Denver as he picked up a donut. ‘Thank you for your help.’

Denver promptly left the office.

‘Where did you find that idiot? grumbled Pardi as he looked at the empty box of donuts. ‘He really grinds my gears.’

‘He’s my second cousin,’ replied Collingswaggle. ‘I picked him because he’s gullible and easy to manipulate. I’m sure he’ll be a great asset to us in Government.’

‘Seriously!’ said Pardi angrily. ‘The House of Divine Knowledge outnumbers us three to one in Government. Somehow you think putting our support behind this clown is our best option.’

Collingswaggle sighed and shook his head.

Later that day, Arthur received a phone call from Representative Collingswaggle’s office.

‘Good afternoon, sir,’ said the voice on the phone. ‘I’m from the Cellrebrum branch office. We’re calling about your son, Eugene.’

‘Please, I beg you,’ said Arthur, sounding terrified. ‘All I ask is for one more chance for him. He’s motivated now. He can succeed.’

‘Representative Collingswaggle certainly believes Eugene can succeed,’ said the voice. ‘He believes he is exceptional; that’s why we are accepting him into the Cellrebrum enforcer training programme. We want to fast-track him to Head Enforcer.’

‘I… I don’t know what to say,’ stuttered Arthur. ‘I never expected this.’

‘Your son is truly special,’ said the voice. ‘It’ll be our honour to have him.’

After the phone call, Arthur rushed down to the park next to their apartment. Eugene was there. He was trying to ice skate down a skateboard ramp.

‘Son, you did it!’ shouted Arthur as he sprinted towards Eugene. ‘You’re going to be a Head Enforcer.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ replied Eugene. ‘I’m a super sleuth.’

‘You’re going to the prestigious Cellrebrum enforcer training program,’ said Arthur as Eugene landed face first at the bottom of the ramp.

‘I’m not at all surprised,’ said Eugene as he tried to get back to his feet. ‘You can’t hide the cream because it always rises to the top.’

Five days later, Eugene was at the train station. He was packed and ready to go. Arthur, Sophie and Eugene’s younger brother, Freddy, were there to see him off.

‘You’re going to be the greatest Head Enforcer that ever lived,’ said Sophie as she grabbed Eugene’s face.

‘I wouldn’t strive for anything less,’ replied Eugene as he struggled to talk as Sophie was squeezing his face really hard.

‘I know you’ll make me proud, son,’ said Arthur as he patted Eugene on the arm and Sophie released his face. ‘Show them what you can do.’

‘No doubt,’ said Eugene confidently. ‘I have a feeling the student will soon become the teacher.’

‘When you’re gone, I’ll be nicking all your stuff,’ chuckled Freddy.

‘When I return, I’ll be taking you down hard,’ replied Eugene in a stern voice as he rubbed Freddy’s hair.

A few minutes later, the train arrived. Eugene kissed and hugged his family, and then he climbed aboard the train. He ran to a seat where he could see his family. Then he exchanged raspberries with Freddy as the train left the station.

The train journey was only a couple of hours. On arrival, the head trainer greeted Eugene.

‘Welcome to Cellrebrum, recruit,’ said the head trainer to Eugene.

‘I’m going to be the greatest Head Enforcer that ever lived,’ said Eugene proudly.

‘You’ll address me as sir, you miserable pipsqueak,’ shouted the head trainer.

‘Sir, I’m not miserable,’ shouted Eugene. ‘This is the happiest day of my life.’

‘That’s the attitude,’ shouted the head trainer. ‘You already have the makings of a legend.’

Eugene and the head trainer jogged to the training camp. It was one of the buildings in the Cellrebum Rehabilitation Centre compound.

Later that day, the enforcer recruits assembled in the courtyard. The head trainer wanted to brief them.

‘The next three weeks are about one thing and only one thing, and that’s physical fitness,’ shouted the head trainer. ‘I want every one of you moving around like elite athletes. No excuses. Now run five laps around the courtyard!’

The recruits sprinted off. Eugene was by far the slowest. After they had run five laps, the recruits stood back in formation.

‘Did you enjoy your run, recruit?’ shouted the head trainer at Eugene.

‘Yes, but I’m devastated that it’s over,’ replied Eugene.

‘You see!’ shouted the head trainer at the others. ‘That’s the words of a true warrior.’

‘That guy jogged it,’ shouted a recruit named Arville. ‘He’s weak.’

‘I’ll tell you what weakness is!’ shouted the head trainer as he approached Arville. ‘Weakness is jealousy of your betters. He’s going to be a great Head Enforcer. You’re going to be the loser who licks the mud off his boots.’

Arville sneered at Eugene, who smiled sweetly back at him.

‘That’s it for day one,’ shouted the head trainer. ‘Head to the canteen for dinner. I believe we have pineapple rice and chocolate power shake. After that freshen up, we’re showing “Roughhousing 4” in 3D in two hours.’

Eugene happily tucked into the pineapple rice; it was one of his favourite meals. Eugene sniffed the power shake; it was not to his liking, so he poured it away. After dinner, Eugene returned to his room to freshen up for the movie. He pulled out a jar of powder.

‘Now this is a power shake,’ he said to himself as he put a scoop in his mug. ‘Mummy knows what makes Eugene strong.’

After taking a hot shower, Eugene joined the other recruits in the 3D cinema. Eugene watched the movie intently. He felt incredibly inspired by how the enforcers were dealing with the Sape rustlers. Eugene was even more convinced he could become the best Head Enforcer in Sapey.

Eugene woke up before the other recruits and ran five laps around the courtyard. He then reported to the canteen for breakfast. Eugene grabbed a stack of pancakes. He felt full of energy and excited about the day ahead. The other recruits were still a little drowsy, and most were still wearing their pyjamas. The head trainer walked in. He was angry by what he saw.

‘It’s 9 a.m.!’ he shouted as he started to pace in the canteen. ‘At this time of day, you should be doing cartwheels around the yard. This isn’t a Government job where you can just wander in any time you feel like.’

There were a few groans from several of the recruits.

‘Now finish your strawberry pancakes!’ shouted the head trainer. ‘I want everyone down in the courtyard in fifteen minutes wearing appropriate attire.’

The head trainer stormed out of the canteen. The recruits began to stuff their faces as fast as they could. Eugene was relaxed as he dipped his last piece of pancake into his syrup.

Fifteen minutes later, all the recruits were down in the courtyard. The trainers had set up an obstacle course for them to run.

‘This morning, you’re going to train like you have never trained before,’ said the head trainer firmly. ‘I’m going to make you run this course ten times. I don’t care if we’re here until lunch. You’re going to finish.’

The recruits formed two groups. They took turns running the obstacle course. While one team ran the course, the other rested. The course took them between five and ten minutes to complete. After completing the course four times, the recruits were exhausted.

‘Look at you!’ shouted the head trainer. ‘Panting like mad Sapes. Where is your dignity?’

Eugene was exhausted as well, but he put on a very brave face. The groups continued with the obstacles, but they could only finish another two more times.

The head trainer shook his head in disappointment. ‘We’ll take a half-hour break,’ he shouted. ‘Then we will finish the final four. You do not get to give up.’

After the break they continued. The final four runs took them almost two hours to complete, but they all managed it. After crossing the finish line for the tenth time, Eugene collapsed. He was shaking all over.

The head trainer approached Eugene. ‘Well done, lad,’ said the head trainer as he bent down and patted Eugene on the back. ‘Your heart is in the right place.’

After a late lunch, the recruits spent the afternoon in the rehabilitation centre spa. The head trainer wanted them well rested for the next day.

The next three days, the training focused on endurance in the morning and relaxation in the afternoon. On the fifth day, it was back to the obstacle course. The obstacle course was set up differently this time.

‘So far, you have only run half the full course,’ shouted the head trainer at the recruits. ‘Today, I’m going to introduce you to the much more difficult second part of the course.’

Some of the recruits began to groan, but Eugene smiled excitedly.

‘This time you’re going to run it four times clockwise and four times anti-clockwise,’ shouted the head trainer as he smiled at the recruits who were grumbling.

Once again, they formed two groups. The groups would take turns. Each group would run the course clockwise and then immediately run it back anti-clockwise before they could rest while the other group attempted it. This was even more exhausting than when they ran the first half of the obstacle course. Eugene did a good job of keeping up with the others on the first two attempts. but fell far behind on the final two attempts. Despite his exhaustion, he did not give up or even stop. Some of the recruits made fun of how slow he was, but the head trainer forced them to do push-ups.

Finally, the three weeks of physical training had ended. The recruits were given two days rest before the physical test. The test involved running the full obstacle course clockwise and then running it back anticlockwise. To pass the recruits needed to complete it in under twenty-five minutes.

Over the three weeks, the recruits had become considerably faster and stronger. Eugene was the exception. He had only improved slightly and had fallen far behind the others. The other recruits had also become more aggressive. Arville was the most aggressive. He and a few of the others had resorted to bullying and making fun of Eugene. The head trainer stepped in whenever necessary. Eugene was unfazed by the way that he was treated. He seemed to think it was a form of endearment.

The day of the test had arrived. Despite falling two minutes short of the required time just days ago, Eugene was extremely confident. Every ten minutes, a recruit would begin the course.

Eugene was at the start line ready to go. With just two minutes to go before he started, Arville sprinted across the finish line. He turned and screamed at Eugene as he flexed his muscles. ‘You’re going to fail, asshole,’ shouted Arville as he thumped his chest like a possessed maniac.

The head trainer grabbed Arville from behind and pulled him away from Eugene.

‘Don’t listen to him!’ shouted the head trainer. ‘Your destiny is in your hands.’

Eugene smiled and gestured back with two thumbs up. He then looked up at the clock as it counted down for him to start.

The moment the clock hit zero, Eugene sprinted towards the first obstacle; it was the Jacob’s ladder. Eugene cleared it easily and quickly. Next was the low wire. Eugene got down low and crawled faster than he had ever done before. He quickly got to his feet and scrambled to the low wall. Eugene pulled himself over, flipping himself in the process. This caused him to land on his side. Eugene immediately got back up to his feet and continued to the next obstacle, which was the rope climb. Eugene raced up the rope and touched the wood at the top before quickly sliding down. Eugene then ran across the balance beam. After clearing several more obstacles, Eugene had made it to the halfway point. He had thirteen minutes left to complete the run back.

The head trainer was running alongside the obstacle course cheering Eugene on. Despite feeling exhausted, Eugene turned around and sprinted towards the obstacles. Eugene continued to make good progress, but exhaustion was quickly catching up to him.

Eugene was back at the wall. He tried to climb over, but he lost his grip. This caused him to fall back and hit his head. The head trainer shouted at him to get up. Eugene immediately got back up, but he failed a second time trying to get over.

‘You’re a failure and a retard!’ shouted Arville, who had walked over to check on Eugene’s progress.

Eugene leapt back to his feet; he felt an enormous rush of energy run through him. He leapt at the wall. This time, his momentum carried him over the top. Eugene landed hard on the other side, but he got straight back up and then back down as he crawled as fast as he could under the low wire.

Jacob’s ladder was the only obstacle left, but Eugene had less than a minute left. Eugene sprinted up the wobbly beams of wood. He reached the top much faster than he ever had before. Once at the top, Eugene lost his balance and fell all the way down. He hit the ground hard.

For a few seconds Eugene remained motionless. Then, he got to his feet. The head trainer was standing on the other side of the finish line cheering him on. Eugene saw him and began his final dash. Eugene crossed the finish line. He immediately collapsed into the head trainer’s arms.

‘You did it!’ said the head trainer as he held Eugene tight. ‘You made it by a whole eight seconds. It wasn’t even close.’

Arville watched the head trainer gently lie Eugene down. He was furious.

That evening the head trainer invited Eugene to his office.

‘You wanted to see me, sir,’ said Eugene as he stood in the doorway.

‘Yes, come on in, sit down,’ said the head trainer as he gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

‘I requested your medical results,’ said the head trainer. ‘It appears you didn’t have one. That is a violation of this programme.’

‘I know I would have nailed it, sir,’ replied Eugene as he raised his eyebrows up and down.

‘I had a son just like you,’ said the head trainer. ‘He dreamed of being a Head Enforcer, but he had a heart condition. He could not qualify for any enforcer programme.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ replied Eugene. ‘I bet he was awesome.’

‘Just like you, he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer,’ said the head trainer. ‘He trained every day by himself to prove he could do it. He became fit and strong, but that didn’t change the fact he had a heart condition.’

Eugene stared at the head trainer. He had a confused look on his face.

‘He just kept pushing himself harder until one day,’ said the head trainer as his eyes began to water slightly. ‘That was it. I had lost him.’

‘Never fear, Eugene’s here,’ said Eugene as he squinted his eyes slightly. ‘I’ll bring him home to you.’

‘In many ways you already have,’ chuckled the head trainer.

Eugene raised his thumbs and smiled joyfully.

‘Another thing,’ said the head trainer. ‘I noticed you haven’t been drinking the power shakes. That’s another violation of this programme.’

‘My Mummy nailed the perfect formula for power shakes,’ said Eugene. ‘I’m afraid your juice just doesn’t cut it.’

‘I bet she has,’ chuckled the head trainer. ‘Our shakes have something in them, and it isn’t good. Look at Arville! He’s completely off his loaf. Many of the others are acting the same way.’

‘I didn’t want to say anything, but I’ve noticed they’ve all been acting suspicious around the toaster,’ replied Eugene as his eyes began darting from side to side.

‘Promise me one thing?’ asked the head trainer firmly. ‘Nail the detective part of this course. I’d hate to see you end up as a rank-and-file enforcer.’

‘You bet!’ replied Eugene as he raised both his thumbs.

‘That’ll be all,’ said the head trainer. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning.’

End of Part One. Continue this story in Part Two.

---

Images were created with the help of Bing Image Creator

---

Sapien Loop Short Stories

Sapien Loop short stories explore the adventures of some of the characters from the Sapien Loop series. These stories are intended to reveal more about individual characters and the events that have helped shape them.

Currently, two books from the series have been published on Amazon; see links below:

• Sapien Loop: End of an Era
• Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.

Future of Social Media

Captain Hive is here

Remember to catch me on Spectrumecons, click link below.