Page 118 of Star-Born Anomaly
“Yes. Your existence caused confusion and discord. We attempted many methods to manage you, but all failed.”
“Manage us,” Wynn repeated, the words tasting as dry as dirt.
There was a pause, then Galloway said with more feeling. “We admit our mistake. We are trying to fix it. Sector Ten is where you belong.”
So many questions hovered on the tip of Wynn’s tongue, but the next one seemed most important of all. “But why would you send us away?” Why hadn’t they cared enough? Why had they discarded children like space trash?
“We did not know how to attend to you,” Bondar answered.
“You were anomalies, your needs different from ours,” Sweeney added.
“None of you were content.” This came from Wiseman. “We failed in our efforts.”
Then Galloway finished with, “We believed sending you outward would unite you with others more like yourself, humans who could understand you.”
Iax’s arms flexed around her.
“Some of us were just babies,” Wynn whispered, the ache in her chest widening. She thought she would be angrier, more enraged to face this truth, but all she felt was profound sadness for all of them.
“Your emotions surged unpredictably.” Wiseman’s eyes glinted when he turned his head slightly. “It affected everyone, causing strife.”
“This is not contentment,” Bondar agreed. “We always strive for contentment, for tranquility.”
Frustration bubbled up her throat like a fount. “Life isn’t about contentment,” Wynn gritted. “It’s about love and loss and pain and pleasure.”
Behind her, Iax rested his chin on the top of her head, and gave her a small squeeze.
Wynn swallowed and went on. “No one is content a hundred percent of the time. That’s an impossible task.”
“Yet Calypsons would have achieved it. Except for the anomalies.”
“Sorry to break your perfect record.” That feeling of not fitting in, of being different, existed here too. Wynn guessed it would never be possible to shake, but at least she had Iax at her back.
What had happened to the others? Her stomach churned with dread. “How many have you collected so far?” She needed to meet them, to see with her own eyes that they were okay.
“You are the first,” Sweeney declared.
That dread morphed into a ball of terror. “But you know where they are, right? You said you’ve sent others.” Wynn dug her fingernails into Iax’s arms.
“We are searching.” This came from Galloway. “We are using all our resources to accomplish the task. We sent one of our kind to retrieve you.”
“Iax,” she said reflexively. “His name is Iax.”
The only response she received was the viewers above them lighting up again. The images were different: stars, and stations, and moons, and planets.Colonies. Then some interior views too, both CORE and Tellusian from the look of people’s clothing.
Was this everywhere they were searching right now? There were so many.At least twelve?
Wynn shook her head, unable to fathom having that many Calypsons sent out in the system searching at the same time. After what had happened to her and Iax, it couldn’t end well. She may have stopped Iax from commandeering an entire Guardian, but who would stop the others from making similar decisions?
One particular viewer caught her attention, an image of a baby just being born from the view of a doctor or nurse in the delivery room. It reminded Wynn of what she’d seen of her own lost memories.
She swallowed around the tightness in her throat and met Briar Galloway’s gaze head on. “You were there when I was born.”
The viewers flickered off one by one, their screens blank.
“Yes,” Galloway agreed, the word clipped. “I am present for all Calypson births.”
A momentary surge of relief spread through Wynn. It was quickly chased away when she realized she hadn’t asked the correct question, the one that would ease the insidious suspicion tormenting the back of her mind since her time in the white box.
