Sapien Loop Short Stories: Welcome to Cellrebrum

Around eight years before the collapse of Sapey. The Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre had just opened. Pardi Carvaress had been invited to meet with Octavius Spiro for brunch to discuss future investment opportunities. Pardi travelled in his own private carriage on the Sapien Loop Express from the Capital Region.

Pardi was sitting in his private hot tub, staring angrily at a picture on the wall of the carriage. His assistant entered from the adjoining carriage carrying his morning coffee.

‘Why is this painting on the wall of this carriage?’ asked Pardi angrily as he gazed at his assistant.

‘It’s a painting of your… of your son, Orcille,’ replied the assistant in a jolly tone.

‘I know who it is,’ said Pardi angrily. ‘I don’t want to see his face. Even as a boy, he looks too much like his mother.’

‘I see her loss still greatly pains you,’ said the assistant as he gently placed the mug of coffee beside the hot tub.

‘It’s the betrayal that haunts me,’ replied Pardi as he pushed his head back. ‘I see it in her… his eyes.’

‘I’ll solve this problem for you, sir,’ said the assistant as he carefully removed the painting from the wall.

‘Stay a bit; talk to me,’ insisted Pardi as he gestured towards a chair facing the hot tub.

The assistant placed the painting down facing the carriage wall and then sat in the chair Pardi was gesturing towards.

‘I know you’re new here,’ said Pardi as he leaned forward slightly.

‘I’ve worked for you for ten years, sir,’ replied the assistant.

Pardi put his hands over his face and then slowly dragged them down as he clenched his eyes closed. There was an awkward silence, and then Pardi opened his eyes.

‘I have this terrible flaw,’ said Pardi as he stared at his assistant, who was now looking nervous. ‘And you immediately exposed me.’

‘Well, there are ways to compensate for a bad memory,’ replied the assistant, who was deeply hoping that this was an appropriate response.

‘First you corrected me,’ replied Pardi as intensity grew in his eyes. ‘Then you insulted me. Yet, I allow you to remain in here. I didn’t call in my guards to drown or even have you thrown off this high-speed train.’

The assistant stared back at Pardi, too afraid to speak.

‘I’m too kind!’ said Pardi in a slightly raised voice. ‘My employees take advantage of me. My own, now deceased, wife cheated on me with an inferior being. What am I to do?’

The assistant stared back at Pardi, not knowing how to respond.

‘Please, tell me something,’ said Pardi as he shook his head. ‘Advise me, or should I say assist me.’

‘You need to be less kind,’ replied the assistant as he nervously nodded his head.

‘You’re a genius!’ shouted Pardi. ‘You know how to parrot.’

The assistant was about to get up when Pardi grabbed him and then pulled him into the hot tub with him.

‘Help me!’ shouted Pardi as his head went under the water and then popped up again. Please, help me!’

Two guards rushed in. They grabbed the assistant and pulled him out of the hot tub.

‘He tried to kill me!’ gasped Pardi as he pulled himself upright in the hot tub. ‘Please get him away from me.’

The two guards were about to escort the assistant to the next carriage when Pardi interrupted them and said, ‘Don’t take him that way. Boot him off the train.’

The guards dragged the assistant, who was now whimpering in intense fear, to the exit of the carriage. One of the guards pressed a button to open the carriage door. The door opened, and they both shoved him out. They quickly pressed the button to close it again.

‘That was savage and quite shocking,’ said Pardi as he stared at the two guards.

‘I always knew there was something up with that guy,’ chuckled one of the guards.

‘Yet, you let him in here when I was vulnerable,’ said Pardi as he stared angrily at the guard who just spoke. ‘Now get out!’

The expression on the guards’ faces changed from content to slightly afraid. They both quickly rushed into the next carriage.

Thirty minutes later, the train arrived in Cellrebrum. Collingswaggle and a dozen enforcers were waiting at the station. Pardi casually alighted from the train. A few seconds later, the enforcers grabbed the two guards that threw Pardi’s assistant off the train. They wrestled them to the ground and handcuffed them.

‘I got your message,’ said Collingswaggle as he approached Pardi. ‘I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.’

‘It’s one thing after the next,’ replied Pardi as he lowered his head slightly. ‘It’s like the whole of Sapey is out to get me.’

‘I want you to know you have a friend in me,’ said Collingswaggle as he placed his hand on Pardi’s shoulder.

‘That’s great,’ said Pardi as he pushed Collingswaggle’s arm off him. ‘So where is this new state-of-the-art prison I’ve come here to see?’

‘It is right over there!’ said Collingswaggle as he gestured towards a large, luxurious-looking compound.

‘I can’t see it,’ said Pardi as he shrugged his shoulders. ‘That massive resort is in the way.’

‘Maybe I should’ve told you this, but we’ve moved on from prisons,’ said Collingswaggle as they both began walking towards the lift. Behind them, the enforcers could be seen dragging the guards by the legs to a service lift. ‘They’re now called rehabilitation centres. They will be far more effective than the old prisons.’

‘This is all wrong!’ said Pardi angrily as they both got in the lift. ‘You should not have allowed a hotel tech mogul, whatever he is, to design a prison.’

‘Trust me, this place is truly revolutionary,’ replied Collingswaggle as the lift doors closed. ‘This new system and the technology behind it unlock the root causes and the true motivations of the perpetrators. Besides, we still have the fallback of a secret out-of-region facility that will maintain the old practices if we ever need them.’

‘It’s just that I had my hopes up on seeing some desperate, sad, and tortured prisoners,’ said Pardi as the life doors opened again on the ground floor. ‘Why should I be the only one who has to suffer?’

‘Brighter days are definitely on the horizon,’ said Collingswaggle as they both got out of the lift together.

Cortex and Crane, who were standing by a self-driving minibus, greeted them. Cortex and Crane were part of an experimental program that integrated the brain with technology. They both had chips implanted in their brains, which enhanced their ability to perform certain tasks. This enabled them to interact with the new technology installed in the rehabilitation centre.

‘Good morning, Representative Collingswaggle and Mr. Carvaress,’ they both said at the same time. ‘We are here to give you a brief tour of the new Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre.’

Both Collingswaggle and Pardi nodded politely and climbed into the minibus. Cortex and Crane climbed in after them. A few minutes later, they arrived at the rehabilitation centre. The huge gates opened, and the minibus entered the compound. In the outer courtyard, there were around a dozen prisoners. They were wearing virtual reality headsets. They appeared to be acting out different scenarios.

‘What’s he doing?’ asked Pardi as he pointed at a prisoner who was moving his arms above his head.

‘He is rock climbing in a virtual world,’ replied Cortex as the minibus came to a stop. ‘I can make his climb more interesting if you like.’

‘Sure, why not?’ said Pardi as he shrugged his shoulders.

Cortex pressed a button on his electronic pad. The prisoner began to wave one of his arms around frantically.

‘What happened?’ asked Pardi.

‘I made the rock under his right hand crumble,’ replied Cortex. ‘He is now desperately trying to cling to the rock face without falling off. Look at this.’

Cortex showed Pardi the screen on his pad. It showed the prisoner’s perspective from inside the virtual reality headset. It also included his vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure.

‘It’s like he really believes he’s going to fall to his death,’ chuckled Pardi.

‘Of course, that is the whole point of this exercise,’ replied Cortex as the minibus continued.

They drove a lap around the main buildings. Cortex pointed out various sections of the buildings and their purpose. Eventually the minibus stopped at the main entrance to the building.

‘Before we proceed to brunch, I would like to take you up to the Observation Room,’ said Cortex. ‘This is where we control and observe the whole rehabilitation centre.’

The four of them got out of the minibus and entered the main building. They walked across the lobby and entered a lift. The lift took them to the top floor. They exited the lift. They walked down a short corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large, heavy door. Just as they reached it, it opened automatically. The four of them walked through the door to enter the Observation Room. The walls of the Observation Room were lined with dozens of screens. Below them were control panels.

‘Wow, this is fancy!’ exclaimed Pardi.

‘From here, we can observe any part of the entire complex,’ said Cortex, sounding quite proud. ‘We can observe any inmate. What they are doing physically as well as what is going on inside their head.’

‘I’d like to see inside one of the cells,’ asked Pardi.

‘Of course,’ replied Cortex. He walked over to a control panel and pressed a few buttons. The inside of a cell appeared. ‘The cells more closely resemble apartments than typical prison cells.’

‘That makes no sense,’ complained Pardi as he frowned at Cortex. ‘If you can create a virtual world, what is the point of fancy apartment-type cells?’

‘It makes perfect sense,’ replied Cortex. ‘I can give you many reasons why it is necessary. Prisoners cannot live in perpetual virtual reality. They need a place to escape the stress of some of the exercises. After all, our aim is to release well-adjusted residents back into our communities, not nervous wrecks who could snap once again. We also need the space and controlled facility that can help with our virtual worlds. Their minds might be transported somewhere else, but their bodies remain in this world.’

‘Excuse me, I don’t quite understand,’ asked Collingswaggle. ‘They are only wearing headsets; why do they believe the virtual world is real?’

‘They’re obviously drugged,’ chuckled Pardi as he jokingly slapped Collingswaggle on the back.

‘No, absolutely not,’ replied Cortex. ‘They are given the exact medication they need to fully enhance their experience. In some cases, the medication alone can create the experience we require to observe responses to certain stimuli.’

Pardi looked at Collingswaggle while raising his eyebrows up and down, and Collingswaggle frowned back at him.

Cortex took them on a quick tour of a standard cell using the many different cameras that had been discretely placed inside them. Collingswaggle looked quite impressed, but Pardi grumbled under his breath about it being too extravagant.

‘Traditionally, a violent criminal would be locked away in a standard prison for many years,’ said Crane as Cortex changed the camera view to the internal courtyard where several inmates were having a casual conversation. ‘Here, nobody is expected to stay longer than three years.’

‘You are just going to let violent criminals walk free after less than three years!’ exclaimed Pardi in shock.

‘That is a maximum duration,’ replied Crane calmly. ‘Some might be released in a matter of months or even weeks.’

‘Now that sounds a little crazy,’ said Collingswaggle as he defensively raised his hands.

‘When someone is guaranteed to no longer be a threat to society, what is the point of keeping them?’ replied Cortex as he looked up from the screen where the inmates who had been talking to each other appeared to be having some form of fit.

‘It’s a little thing called punishment,’ said Pardi angrily. ‘If you break our laws, you must suffer horribly for the rest of your life.’

‘What makes you sure they will never be a threat?’ asked Collingswaggle. ‘What if they are still dangerous after the three-year process?’

‘Well, I have good news for you,’ said Cortex. ‘Octavius Spiro is now arriving. I will take you to the brunch room. He will answer any questions you might have.’

‘I’ve been dealing with Spiro Company for years,’ whispered Pardi into Collingswaggle’s ear. ‘Not once have I met him or even seen him.’

‘I haven’t either,’ whispered Collingswaggle into Pardi’s ear. ‘Rumour has it; he’s a bit of a freak.’

Meanwhile, both Cortex and Crane stared at them.

‘We will have time to chat later,’ said Crane. ‘Now please, follow us to the brunch room. We must enter before Mr. Octavius.’

A few minutes later, the four of them entered the brunch room. In the middle of the room was a large and high table. On the table was a great spread of various different flavoured pancakes, puff pastries, cannolis, sweet breads, jams, and tropical fruit. Around the table were high stools, and on the side of the table next to the window overlooking the courtyard was a huge beanbag.

‘Make yourself comfortable,’ said Crane as he and Cortex sat at opposite ends of the table. Pardi and Collingswaggle sat down facing the window.

A few moments later, the door to the brunch room swung open. It was Octavius Spiro. Pardi and Collingswaggle stared wide-eyed at his enormous size. He was at least twice their height and many times heavier than either of them.

‘Welcome, my guests, to the Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre,’ said Octavius in a booming voice as he made his way around the table to the giant beanbag. ‘I’m sure you have lots of questions, but first tuck into this marvellous spread prepared by the amazing staff of this centre.’

Pardi and Collingswaggle immediately stuck into the food. Pardi piled up chocolate pancakes and bananas on his plate, and Collingswaggle chose the puff pastries and sweet breads, which he then slathered in apricot jam. Octavius grabbed just one large cannoli and placed it on his plate. Neither Cortex nor Crane took any food. They were interested in watching Pardi and Collingswaggle.

‘This is an absolutely amazing spread,’ remarked Collingswaggle. ‘We are deeply grateful for your superb hospitality.’

‘Thank you for your kind words,’ replied Octavius. ‘It was no problem at all. We have a large modern kitchen run by professional chefs. We want our guests and inmates to have the best and most appropriate meals.’

‘You’re not telling us that you’re giving these criminals pancakes for breakfast,’ retorted Pardi as he shoved another piece of pancake into his mouth.

‘The pancake mix is both affordable and high quality, and everyone loves it,’ replied Octavius, shrugging his shoulders. ‘So, why not save money and have happy, healthy inmates?’

‘Do you know why I’m the richest in Sapey and you’re only the second richest?’ asked Pardi as he smiled smugly at Octavius.

‘Does it have something to do with fraud, embezzlement, blackmail, bribery, insider trading, etc.?’ asked Octavius as he smugly smiled back.

‘It’s about being a winner,’ stated Pardi firmly as he raised his left hand and pointed his index finger upwards. ‘It’s about making the highest returns possible on investments. It’s not about pampering criminals who will inevitably destroy your business model.’

‘I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve heard you spend very little time running your businesses anymore,’ replied Octavius calmly. ‘You appear to dedicate most of your time wallowing in self-pity or in chemically induced comas. According to Wolf Magazine, you’ve also slipped to fourth richest in Sapey.’

‘You don’t know what it’s like to suffer a horrendous betrayal,’ said Pardi as he took a bite out of a banana. ‘I live in unimaginable emotional pain.’

‘Tales of your self-proclaimed suffering have not escaped me either,’ replied Octavius. ‘That’s one of the reasons I invited you here. The other reason is that you’re still one of Sapey’s greatest minds. I strongly believe we can help each other.’

‘See, he knows I’m a genius,’ gloated Pardi as he turned to look at Collingswaggle.

‘I’m still deeply concerned about prisoners who are not reformed after three years,’ questioned Collingswaggle as he ignored Pardi, who continued to stare at him.

‘Three years is the absolute longest timeframe,’ replied Octavius. ‘Most will leave here within a year.’

‘How can you make such claims?’ asked Collingswaggle in a serious tone.

‘This centre is a technological wonder,’ replied Octavius. ‘This technology enables us to know absolutely everything about every inmate. Take this table and the plates in front of you. The plates can determine the nutritional value of everything on them. It feeds this information to the table.’

Octavius rubbed his hand on the table, and a screen appeared. It displayed the nutritional value of all the food they had eaten as well as what was still on their plates. Octavius swiped the table with his hand. The screen then displayed the potential health impacts of eating the same food for brunch every day of the year.

‘This is not a great outlook for either of you,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘However, if we just tweak it a little. Then adjust for the other meals and include a basic exercise program. We can obtain a range of potential health outcomes. If we were to run some tests on you as well as factor in your genetics. We can narrow that range. If we then observe your performance for a couple of months, we can really zero in on a formula that will guarantee the health outcome you or we are striving to achieve.’

‘I get you can determine physical outcomes, but what about fully understanding and then adjusting the mental state of someone so that they can be a useful member of society?’ asked Collingswaggle.

‘Our virtual reality simulations will provide those answers,’ replied Octavius. ‘Our latest simulation technology is not bounded by time.’

‘I don’t get you,’ said Collingswaggle with a perplexed look on his face.

‘We can run virtual reality simulations in their sleep,’ replied Octavius. ‘It will be possible to run over a virtual year in a matter of hours of sleep. In a matter of weeks, we will have data on their responses to almost any scenario they could encounter. We can then stimulate their minds so that they behave more favourably to the scenarios that have the worst outcomes. Only the positive responses will be reinforced in their memory, and the negative ones will be wiped. We continue until we are a hundred percent satisfied that they will never reoffend again.’

‘Why not just turn them into zombies?’ suggested Pardi as he raised his hands and wiggled his fingers. ‘It’ll be much cheaper.’

‘That might be cheaper, but it won’t give you the best return,’ replied Octavius. ‘After all, that’s what you claim makes you a winner.’

‘Tell me how this is such a great return,’ chuckled Pardi.

‘Sure,’ replied Octavius. ‘Cost per day per inmate is four times higher than in a traditional system, but the average length of a sentence is more than ten times shorter. The number of repeat offenders will be eliminated, thus further reducing the number of future inmates by more than half. The combination of shorter sentences and no repeat offenders means we can close all other prisons. This will save an enormous amount of money. On top of all that, the technological advances from this centre can be reapplied to other ventures. For example, in the entertainment and tourist industries.’

‘Is there any fallback plan for inmates that fall short of your guarantee?’ asked Collingswaggle.

‘Well, your Government opened the door on that,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘

‘Gone case!’ said Collingswaggle, sounding slightly hesitant.

‘Exactly,’ replied Octavius. ‘If we determine that an inmate is beyond help, we designate them as a “gone case”. They are officially taken off the records. We perform the necessary medical procedures. They will leave us and unofficially continue their journey as fruit pickers in the north section of the Central Agriculture Zone.’

‘Woo, zombies,’ said Pardi as he contorted his face.

‘Any more questions?’ chuckled Octavius as he smiled broadly.

‘I can’t think of any,’ said Collingswaggle. ‘However, I would like to say how nice this complex looks. The old prison was an eyesore nobody liked. With your help, I have fulfilled my promise of removing the old prison, and soon the other regions will be paying us to take their criminals. This will be a welcome flow of revenue that will keep me in office for a long time.’

‘Mr. Carvaress, have I managed to convince you that my rehabilitation centre is worth investing in?’ asked Octavius. ‘I have already made deals with Ripe, Rezif, and Aivr companies.’

‘The sight of this resort-like prison makes me sick,’ replied Pardi as he gritted his teeth. ‘However, I see this as an opportunity. Carvaress Company is a leader in experimental technology. Whatever you’re doing now, with my help you’ll soon be doing it ten times faster.’

That’s great, but what about financial investment?’ asked Octavius, sounding a little impatient.

‘In exchange for too small favours, I’ll give you as much as you need, whenever you need it,’ said Pardi as he began to smile.

‘What might those favours be?’ asked Octavius as he glared at Pardi.

‘I feel it would be more appropriate if we discussed them in private,’ chuckled Pardi.

Cortex and Crane, would you mind taking Representative Collingswaggle on a short tour of the internal courtyard?’ insisted Octavius. ‘It looks beautiful at this time of day.’

Collingswaggle got up from his seat and walked towards the door. Just as he exited, he looked at Pardi, shook his head, and frowned.

‘My dear Octavius Spiro, you are an unnaturally large male Linap,’ said Pardi as he leaned forward smiling.

‘I like my food, and my size is from my family genes,’ replied Octavius. ‘Now, let’s move on to those favours you mentioned.’

‘I have no doubt size is in your family genes,’ said Pardi as he grinned. ‘Like yourself, your father, and your grandfather hid from the public eye. I’m guessing they were as monstrously big as you.’

‘Like I said, it’s in my family genes,’ replied Octavius in an angry tone. ‘Shall we move on?’

‘It’s in your family genes because it has been put in your family genes,’ said Pardi angrily as he slammed his fist down on the table. ‘You’re a damn fool if you thought I would not question your absurd appearance.’

‘You have no right to insult me,’ said Octavius angrily as he stood up.

‘Tell me the truth or I’ll make sure that everyone knows what you really look like,’ said Pardi as he grinned smugly. ‘You’ll be all over the media before you could even get back in the Spirocopter.’

Octavius’ face turned red in anger as he plonked himself back down on his beanbag.

‘That’s better,’ replied Pardi as he leaned back on the back support of the stool.

‘Have you heard of the Sentray?’ asked Octavius

‘The mythical creature that once dominated Sapey,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘I’ve heard the tales.’

‘They are not tales, and it’s not a myth,’ replied Octavius. ‘They existed. My ancestors experimented on themselves. The Sentray genetics cured the diseases of our species but also caused us to grow into giants. It was both a blessing and a curse. The loneliness I have suffered makes me feel the curse outweighs the blessing.’

‘How did you get hold of Sentray DNA?’ asked Pardi as he frowned at Octavius.

‘We got it from frozen Sentray eggs in the far north,’ replied Octavius. ‘We don’t have any more.’

‘Tell me where I can find more of these eggs,’ said Pardi firmly as he stared angrily at Octavius.

‘I don’t know,’ replied Octavius.

‘Stop lying, I’m not a fool,’ shouted Pardi. ‘Your ancestors did not experiment on themselves. It was you all along. And I know that you know where to find more eggs.’

‘Okay, it’s always been me!’ shouted Octavius. ‘I’ve lived a very long time. The Sentray genetics do that, but it hasn’t been worth it. For several hundred years, I have been unable to hold the shape of a normal-sized Linap. This has forced me into isolation.’

‘That is terrible, I’m so sorry,’ said Pardi in a fake sympathetic tone. ‘Now where can I find these eggs?’

Octavius began to rub his face hard in frustration.

‘I have the best genetics lab in Sapey,’ said Pardi. ‘If I can get hold of this DNA, I can use it to cure all the sick Linap. I will also be able to help you return to your original size.’

‘I can’t say for sure, but the Sentray went out into the great ocean,’ said Octavius as he looked across at Pardi. His eyes were now a little red. ‘If the Sentray survived, there is a possibility you might find their eggs on the faraway islands.’

‘That wasn’t hard, was it?’ said Pardi as he smiled at Octavius. ‘Now, for my second favour.’

‘You still ask for more,’ said Octavius angrily.

‘I need test subjects for my genetic experiments,’ said Pardi. ‘I want the “gone cases” sent to my laboratories in the Capital Region.’

‘That is barbaric,’ replied Octavius. ‘Besides, there will be very few “gone cases”. My methods will work.’

‘I have no doubt your methods will work,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘I need some inmates to be deliberately failed. The sacrifice will be worth it if it means I can develop a cure to all diseases without turning us all into you.’

‘You are something else,’ replied Octavius as he grabbed the table hard.

‘I’ll give you all the money and technology you need, and I’ll protect your little secret,’ said Pardi. ‘You just need to send me my fill in “gone cases”, and of course, you better not be lying about the Sentray eggs, or I’ll completely expose you. Do we have a deal?’

‘Fine,’ replied Octavius in a booming voice.

‘Great,’ chuckled Pardi. ‘Mind if I grab a few of these cannolis? My… my son loves them.’

‘Please leave; your presence is upsetting me,’ replied Octavius as his face turned even redder.

Pardi grabbed half a dozen cannolis and then quickly scurried out the door. A few seconds later, Octavius roared in anger. His roar was so loud that it shook the whole building.

A few minutes later, Pardi walked out into the internal courtyard. Collingswaggle had just tried out the virtual reality headset.

‘It’s truly amazing,’ said Collingswaggle. ‘It feels so real. No wonder the prisoners lose track of reality.’

‘Looks like they gave you something a little extra to enhance the experience,’ chuckled Pardi as he winked at Cortex.

‘Oh, that wasn’t necessary,’ replied Cortex. ‘The vibrations from the headset were sufficient to create disengagement from reality.’

‘These cyborgs are hilarious,’ chuckled Pardi.

‘We’re not cyborgs,’ said Cortex. ‘Our brains have been integrated with chips designed by Direct Robotics.’

‘Direct Robotics,’ chuckled Pardi as he pointed at Cortex. ‘We should call you Dr. Cortex. It’s a part of you, and it is only fitting for it to become part of your name.’

‘That sounds like a wonderful idea,’ replied Cortex and Crane together.

‘You seem remarkably upbeat all of a sudden,’ said Collingswaggle.

‘For the first time in a long time, I feel I have something to be excited about,’ replied Pardi as he rubbed the back of Collingswaggle’s head.

‘Is it this place, or was it just seeing your old friend Collingswaggle?’ chuckled Collingswaggle as he raised his eyebrows up and down.

‘A combination of things,’ chuckled Pardi as he looked up at the Spirocopter, which was just taking off. ‘You are definitely the icing on the cake. Come join me in my private carriage for the journey back. I have some very nice frocks for you to try on.’

‘Now, you’re talking,’ giggled Collingswaggle as he rubbed his hand down Pardi’s chest.

‘We’ll drive you back to the station,’ offered Dr. Cortex.

‘That’s okay, I think we’ll walk,’ chuckled Pardi as he grabbed Collingswaggle’s hand.

‘You won’t believe this, but they’re planning on turning Jeed into a region dedicated to helping and rehabilitating troubled youth,’ said Collingswaggle as they re-entered the main building to exit the complex. ‘Crane will be running this operation.’

‘I think we’ll have our fill with this place,’ chuckled Pardi as they walked down the corridor towards the main entrance. ‘I have a new adventure planned.’

‘It’s been so long since I’ve seen that twinkle in your eyes,’ remarked Collingswaggle as he squeezed Pardi’s hand.

On the train journey to the Capital region, Pardi and Collingswaggle had great fun playing dress-up in Pardi’s private carriage. Pardi also convinced Collingswaggle that it was in his best interest to spend more time in the Capital Region if he wanted to become a governor. Collingswaggle agreed: he wanted to rule Sapey with Pardi by his side.

Three weeks later, Pardi’s two guards were released from Cellrebrum.

‘Here you go, your guns, security passes, and your mobile phones,’ said Dr. Cortex to the two guards. ‘You are free to return to the Capital Region.’

‘Thank you so much,’ replied one of the guards as he looked at the other guard, who was smiling at him.

An hour later, they both boarded the train to the Capital Region.

‘I can’t believe they let us out so soon,’ chuckled one of the guards.

‘I know, it was more like a holiday than a prison sentence for committing murder,’ replied the other guard.

‘We were just following that pervert’s orders,’ insisted the first guard.

‘Thinking about Pardi Carvaress, how about we pay him a visit?’ suggested the second guard.

The first guard raised his eyebrows up and down and smiled innately.

The next night, the two guards waved their security passes as they entered Pardi’s apartment building. The guard on duty nodded and let them in. They walked into the lift together. The first guard pressed the button to take them to the top floor. A few seconds later, the lift door opened. They walked out of the lift together and headed to the door at the end of the short corridor. They looked at each other and smiled. The first guard knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Orcille opened the door.

‘Oh my gosh, where have you been!’ exclaimed Orcille. ‘Daddy has been a nervous wreck without you.’

‘We were a little tied up in Cellrebrum,’ said the first guard as they both entered.

‘He’s in the lounge watching sports,’ said Orcille. ‘Follow me.’

Orcille led the two guards into the lounge. Pardi was leaned back in his favourite chair drinking from his favourite mug. Orcille left the room to continue preparing their dinner.

‘You’ve been missing for weeks; anything could have happened to me,’ said Pardi angrily as he turned towards the guards. ‘This is unacceptable. I treat you so well, and this is how you reward my kindness.’

Both guards began to chuckle.

‘You think that’s funny!’ continued Pardi as he leaned forward in his chair. ‘You’ll both be on half pay for the next three months. How funny is that?’

Both guards pulled out their guns.

‘We’ve come here to tender our resignation, shithead,’ said the second guard as they both opened fire, peppering Pardi with bullets.

The impact of the bullets caused Pardi to fall out of his chair and onto the floor.

The two looked at each other and began to laugh.

Suddenly the room went dark. Headsets were removed from their heads. Dr. Cortex stood in front of them. He was frowning.

‘I’m afraid you have failed,’ said Dr. Cortex firmly. ‘You have been designated as “gone cases”. You’ll be transported to the Carvaress laboratory in the Capital Region immediately.’

Two Cellrebrum security guards came up behind them and tasered them in the neck. Then they grabbed them and dragged them into cages to be loaded up into the cargo carriage of the next train to depart for the Capital Region.

The guards were the first two ‘gone cases’ to be sent to Pardi from the new rehabilitation centre. After their watching simulation, Pardi ruthlessly conducted barbaric tests on them. They both suffered tremendously for the remaining six months of their lives.

Pardi sent out several teams to explore the far north and several exploration vessels to explore the great ocean. The first year of exploration yielded no results. Pardi’s new optimism quickly faded. Governor Lily and the House of Divine Knowledge’s rise to success and power was another huge blow to Pardi. He sunk back deeper into depression. Once again, he resorted to ingesting chemicals to induce fantasies that removed him from his world.

Despite the surge in popularity of the House of Divine Knowledge, Collingswaggle was able to remain as a representative for Cellrebrum. He knew the Business Sector's political support needed to be rebuilt. He took up Pardi’s offer to live in the Capital Region.

After mutilating and transitioning Orcille into a boy, Pardi had reached a new low in his cycle of depression. Collingswaggle loyally stood by him. However, Pardi’s spirits took a significant bump when one of his expedition teams came back with Sentray eggs. His newfound motivation helped him reclaim his status as the richest in Sapey.

Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre did not turn out as Octavius Spiro had intended. Most inmates did go through the full program. Instead, they were very quickly designated as ‘gone cases’. Many of them were sent to Pardi to be tested on for various new experimental drugs and procedures. Most of them died in unimaginable pain. The other ‘gone cases’ were sent to the Central Agriculture Zone to pick fruits. Before they were sent, they had a number of medical procedures performed on them. Their brains were intentionally damaged to reduce their intelligence, and they were given drugs to make them placid and growth hormones to increase their size and strength. They were now indistinguishable to the Sapiods.

Dr. Cortex and Dr. Crane continued to be upgraded. The extensive upgrades both enhanced and damaged their brains. Their intelligence had greatly increased, but they had become disconnected from their innate emotions. They had become psychopathic. This led to them becoming extremely cruel to the inmates. Their focus had turned to meeting the needs of the Carvaress, Ripe, and Ueban companies and not that of a functioning and effective rehabilitation centre.

Dr. Crane was transferred to run the Jeed Region rehabilitation program for troubled youth. Jeed was run differently than Cellrebrum. The entire region was dedicated to the program. It was portrayed as a wonderland for youths. However, certain leaders of the House of Divine Knowledge had much darker plans for the region.

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Images were created with the help of Bing Image Creator

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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.

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