When I arrived near the platform on the west side, where most of my groupmates were gathered, the noise and commotion were typical for this kind of pseudo-political meeting—except that for once in history, it wasn't being used for a political faction, but for an experiment on teenagers or young adults.
We were under a tree, standing, as were most of the people around us, though some preferred to sit right on the ground; others lay down to "listen better." That's what they claimed, but the reality was quite different: they wanted to impress everyone else with their so-called courage, or with their so-called "revolutionary" movement—yet at the mere sight of the nuns and the high-ranking officials, they would all straighten up like slumping dogs.
I noticed quickly enough that all the young ladies from our group were missing. I immediately scanned the distance, hoping to find them, or at least catch sight of them. I even wondered why I was doing this—but the answer was swift: control. After about ten seconds, I spotted a girl… lagging behind four other girls; so it was her, standing exactly opposite to us. A faint smile crept onto my face. Léonie possessed a fickle nature, much like birds… and yet, her timid disposition certainly couldn't help her be liked by others, let alone understood. Isolated from her own friend—how amusing. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Pierre let out a short laugh, muffled by the surrounding noise. All the youths were talking or looking toward the platform where Doctor Dupont stood; he was conversing with the Professor, and the discussion appeared quite serious, judging by the way they stared at each other.
A cohort of nuns was lined up beneath the platform to prevent any kind of outburst. There were some on the stage as well, though very few… I didn't dare turn around, but I knew there were some behind us too—how many, I couldn't tell, but enough to kill us all. Looking closer at the nuns standing beside the high-ranking officials, I recognized a few: Sister Marie, Sister Julie, and Sister Angela—the highest-ranking ones, or the strongest…
Doctor Dupont and the Professor seemed to be in disagreement, or at least that's what I thought I saw from where I stood. There had to be some complication for… ha ha—so the true leader is neither the director-general nor Doctor Dupont, but good old Professor.
What is bothering them so much? And where is this famous problem?
Their discussion ended rather quickly. Doctor Dupont stepped back up to the microphone while the Professor sat back down in his seat. Dupont still wore that small, cheerful smile as his eyes swept over the young men and women gathered before him, and then spoke in a calm, confident voice:
"Well, I hope—and indeed, I strongly suspect—that you must have a great many questions regarding all these sheets, or even more broadly, about this entire situation. You have each been assigned a number out of fifteen; as there are fifteen groups of ten in total, along with, of course, a sixteenth group that was supposed to consist of six people but, due to certain circumstances, now finds itself with four. There is no need to feel sorry for this group, as I have been informed that it will be filled by six new individuals from an outside group. Furthermore, five new groups will be taking part in our adventure."
At those words, a roar of noise erupted—no one understood anything anymore.
"Starting with new groups?!"
"We already have to suspect everyone, but if you go and add new people from God knows where, we're definitely going to die!"
Everyone was shouting; some were hurling insults; a few people were even starting to exchange blows—utter chaos. Then…
"Baaang!!!"
The sound was so unexpected that everyone stopped speaking, and for a moment, even breathing. Our wide eyes were all staring at the exact same spot, at the exact same object. A pistol—plain and simple, a gun. It was pointed upward; the hand holding it was slender. She looked back at us with an almost inhuman indifference: Sister Marie.
Doctor Dupont offered a few claps, then resumed speaking as if this event had absolutely never happened:
"The five new groups will be joining us shortly, so make sure to give them a warm welcome… Come now, more enthusiasm! This is the only time in our lives we'll ever get this much adrenaline—so you ought to smile. Why all these fear-paralyzed stares? I understand that gunshot startled you, but you were starting to scatter far too much; someone had to rein you in. On pain of killing you all, a single shot instead of a bloodbath—isn't that better?" He smiled heartily at his own joke—but was it really a joke? "Well, enough with the little pleasantries. They will be arriving momentarily, so be sure to welcome them properly!!"
From the side, a group of nuns arrived with students who were more or less tall, or even older; there were about fifty of them, perhaps a few more, marching in a pack, lined up like soldiers. In their eyes, you could see a certain fear, or a definite anxiety, but also a form of contempt toward us—and at the sight of them, we looked back with contempt and hatred.
The nuns halted near the middle of the area where we stood and, with a rather clear hand gesture, dispersed among us. But every group was more or less suspicious—so when the new arrivals approached, they stepped back to ensure they were clearly visible to everyone. A group of six was still with the nuns.
"Before beginning all the explanations for what comes next regarding your stay here, I would like the four individuals who do not yet have a group to step forward, to finalize the twenty-first and final group."
His gaze was calm, but a certain excitement crept into his words. The four stepped out from their positions to move toward the base of the platform. There were two boys I didn't know, and two girls—one of whom was Morgane. At this sight, a smile formed on my face; but at that exact instant, Maxime's gaze snapped violently toward me. His eyes were locked onto me; he was staring hard. My smile vanished quickly enough to avoid drawing his attention any longer. It lasted less than two seconds, then he composed himself again.
When he returned to his initial stance, my breath was cut clean short. I had to catch my breath while making sure not to draw his attention—but what the hell did he want from me? All this because I had told him I hadn't said anything to Morgane. The plan was truly at risk of becoming much more dangerous if he started constantly watching me like this.
I barely had time to recover my senses before Dupont started up again on his end.
"Right then, there we have it—the entire group is now gathered. I will ask you to follow the nuns to sign everything in peace and quiet, and to give yourselves a moment to talk things over as well. Naturally, at the end of your little meeting, I will come and pay you a personal visit to tell you the exact same things I am about to tell them. So, see you in a moment."
The group of ten followed a nun who led them inside the orphanage; they vanished instantly behind the door, which shut the moment the last one had crossed the threshold.
"Now, on to us! Let me present the situation to you once more—though without making any further apologies for it. Initially, there were one hundred and fifty-six of you; now, you are two hundred and ten. To me, that is merely a number, but to you, it might mean more competition. Rest assured, however: there will be no competition whatsoever… Certain games, admittedly, but they will not be graded. So put your minds at ease, there is no danger here." He smiled genially, then pushed on with a sudden surge of momentum. "You will be with us for these next two weeks before moving on to what comes next… The remainder of this stay will be paced by my upcoming instructions. When the name of your group is called—meaning by the numbers that have been distributed to you—you will discover your designated master of the premises, and then your new rooms. Of course, the rooms are divided in two: a girls' side and a boys' side. Then, after all of that, you will once again discover your schedule. It will, of course, be vastly different from the ones you had in high school or higher education, but it will outline what you must do to survive what follows. Your schedule will take effect starting tomorrow, which is perfect, as tomorrow is the first of September. Once you have found out everything regarding the schedules, you will all have a special class with teachers assigned to each group. Naturally, our resources are not unlimited, so you may have teachers who cover several different groups. Then you will eat around noon, only to resume your sports classes at one o'clock, which will last until six-thirty in the evening. Of course, this schedule is exceptional just for today. I hope you will come to love this place as much as I love and admire it."
He smiled, then walked off to join the others at their seats. In the end, only Doctor Mathieu remained, observing us for a few moments longer before likewise turning to join his new colleagues.
Sister Marie approached the platform alongside her two companions. Arriving before the microphone, she took a few moments before speaking, then looked at them and said:
"In just a few moments, I will call you forward one by one. But for now, I would like you to look to your sides, or even behind you. Behold the immensity of our power within our jurisdiction."
At these mystery-laden words, we all turned around. A mysterious fog had rolled into this place so full of life; no one could move—not out of fear, but rather paralyzed by a strange sense of incomprehension.
What was this fog doing here? Just moments ago, we could see the green grass, the trees, and even the chapel—we could make it out perfectly clearly, even from our distance. But now, if we step into this fog, we wouldn't be able to see more than two paces ahead of us.
Then, all at once, the fog began to shift violently. A strange wind had made its entrance—it was fierce; it whipped up the fog and drove it moving in our direction. The fog was swift yet violent; I had to thrust my hands out in front of me to keep from crashing to the ground. It lasted less than a minute, but when we realized it was over, something had changed in this place we knew only too well.
Everything had changed. Gardens that were once not so large had become gigantic; the chapel had turned into a church. Everything had become bigger, more beautiful—but the worst part of all this… was that plenty of new buildings had appeared, and substantial ones at that.
Six buildings had materialized. How was this even possible? It was inconceivable, unimaginable—they had managed to warp the physical laws of this world. So this was it, their so-called grandiose power…
We all turned around to question Sister Marie about it, or at least to manage to get her to yield a few small pieces of information—but when we turned around, the orphanage had changed too.
It was far, far larger and more imposing than it had been just a few minutes ago. Its windows were large and commanding, yet they were so beautiful and so brilliant. There were even a few statues—of both animals and humans—that were absolutely magnificent… How could one describe this thing, this building? You could write nursery rhymes about it, or why not fantastic, heroic tales, or even more classic stories in the style of Balzac. So many indescribable and magnificent things to say over and over again.
Yet within all this beauty, there was also dread and fear—the fear of everything that is unknown. All these enormous things that had occurred: was it even conceivable to our simple minds?
Amidst all the commotion, a voice rang out through the microphone:
"I welcome you to your new life!! Welcome to you all, to this vast world that surrounds you today. Discover, grow in a world that is just waiting for you! But for now, take care not to get lost. And above all, listen to me for the next few minutes."
Sister Marie smiled and looked at us, thoroughly amused by the situation we found ourselves in.
End of this episode.
Thank you for reading.