O.C.L.T. by Aaron Rosenberg

Author:Aaron Rosenberg [Rosenberg, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: supernatural, thriller, science fiction
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2021-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Sofia watched as the odd pair departed, but although she had backed into her office she did not immediately return to her desk, or the chair behind it. Instead, she stood, hands compulsively tugging at each other, still staring off in the direction they had gone.

That had been one of the stranger interviews she had participated in, though to some degree it was a familiar one. Growing up during the end of the Soviet era, and then working mostly in Russia, she had learned something very important about the difference between public appearance and private reality, between official policy and unofficial practice. It was always necessary to follow the exact letter of the law, at least on the surface. One had to appear to be a properly loyal and obedient party member, after all. Beneath that, behind closed doors and out of sight, you could set aside many of the official strictures to do what needed to be done—but you’d best be sure you could don them again at a moment’s notice, should a party official come calling.

That was exactly how this had felt. Petya Kushnir was not anyone Sofia knew, but it was clear she worked directly for the Minister and she seemed very much like some of those same Russians Sofia had been forced to encounter in the past—not a scientist, not a director or manager, but a pure bureaucrat, dedicated to the system and its ideals and, more importantly, its appearance. She was the Morale Officer, the Thought Police, whatever you wished to call it—the person who made sure you were behaving as the party dictated, being a good little puppet and following your orders without a single original thought in your head.

It was the first time Sofia had seen such a thing here—one aspect she had liked about the Cossack Hetmanate, right from its formation, was that it seemed far more interested in results than appearance, and in modernity and innovation over tradition. Not that they did not value their past—the nation’s name was proof of that! But they did not allow that to hinder them by keeping them from adapting and trying new things, new ideas, new ways of life. So, to have Ms. Kushnir here now, giving one and all the stink-eye every time they so much as hinted at anything that did not follow the party line, was disconcerting as well as disheartening.

Of course, there might be another reason for the woman’s presence, Sofia realized. Perhaps it was less about appearances and more about clearance. Was that why she had frowned so when she had first mentioned the children, or revealed that Flew Away was in fact a gene therapy? Not because she had potentially tainted their image but because she had given away privileged information? Yes, that made more sense, and was in some ways a relief, for she could and did respect the need to not divulge proprietary knowledge.

In this case, however, she felt it completely necessary. These people had been sent to help, after all.

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