The Orville by Seth MacFarlane

Author:Seth MacFarlane [McFarlane, Seth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2022-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ed and Kelly had prepared for this moment under the guidance of a specially selected team of Union psychiatric authorities, but now, when presented with the reality, it was hard not to feel a little helpless. As the artificial environment of the concentration camp pixelated itself out of existence, leaving only the bare, silver-toned interior of the environmental simulator, they witnessed something akin to a nonhuman mammal having a petrifying subjective mental experience the emotional particulars of which were impenetrable to any outside observer. The exploitative installations that were once called “zoos” had been abolished for centuries, but seeing the abject animal terror on this man’s face in this moment gave Ed and Kelly a taste of what it must have been like to see a tiger trapped in a cage. He wondered how humans had ever been able to suppress their compassion and to derive pleasure from the sight. The unpleasant recollection of the Calivon incident flashed across Ed’s mind. He and Kelly knew all too well how it felt to be on the other side of those bars.

Wide-eyed and panicked, Adam darted his gaze about, birdlike, until he became aware of Ed and Kelly cautiously approaching. He scrambled to a corner, his breathing fast and heavy, beads of sweat popping out along his brow. He pulled the robe tighter, obviously aware of his nakedness beneath, his SS uniform now gone along with his world.

“It’s all right,” Kelly said softly, her hands outstretched in the universal gesture of peace. “You’re going to be okay. I know this is scary, but I promise you, everything is going to be okay.”

Without warning, Adam lurched forward and vomited onto the floor. To his obvious astonishment, the mess instantly vanished, its molecules efficiently appropriated by the computer.

“Mercer to Finn,” Ed said, tapping his comm. “We need you.”

The simulator doors opened, and Claire entered, her green field uniform instantly providing a subtle sense of relief to Ed. Claire had requested assignment to the Orville because she had felt she could be useful to a new and untried captain with a less than perfect record—that she could be an essential guiding force, as opposed to the nagging ship’s doctor that a crew avoided like the plague. At first, Ed had been privately irked by the presumption that he needed an adviser or counselor to help him do his job, but in the past few years, he had come to trust and rely on Claire as no one else. He could not imagine captaining the Orville without the ever-present security of her watchful eye.

Adam pressed his shaking form even more tightly against the wall, as if trying to move through it as the simulated bullets had moved through his torso. Claire approached with watchful guardedness, slowly opening her medscanner and taking great care to avoid any sudden moves. She scanned Adam, who seemed both petrified and mesmerized by the little device with its glittering lights and glowing screen.

“He’s in shock,” Claire said, at last turning to Ed and Kelly.

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