Aberrant: In the Beginning - Preparation [Complete]

[z-Wei Fang]

[OOC: For the record, this occurs on the day after Jay left Æon. It should have been written long ago, but better late than never, I assume.]

Fang dodged around a young white couple, so engrossed with each other that they failed to notice her. She pressed herself to the glass as they walked past, his arm tight around her in an gross display of public affection. Couldn't they see how improper that was?

After they'd passed, she checked her list. She didn't need to, not since becoming a New Person, but old habits remained strong. First, to the grocer to pick up some real food; Æon had good Western food, but Fang wanted a taste of home. To get it, she was going to have to cook for herself.

The store was well-stocked, though all of the fod was frozen. Fang found herself missing the wet market with its fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. She did the best she could, selecting from what was available.

Next, she took the red bus across town to a bookstore she'd heard about. Inside, she silently handed the man a list. He looked at her for a moment and said, "You're serious."

"Very," Fang said with a smile. "I'd like these books, bound in brown paper, please."

"That's quite a list," the shopkeeper said, his voice doubtful. He began to pull out photocopied book and wrapping them in the requested paper. "Planning to forward the Communist agenda?"

"Absolutely not," Fang replied, picking up a book next to the counter and glancing inside it. She quickly put it back when she saw it was boring. "Communism requires humanity to be altrustic and capable of putting others first. In communities of larger than 200, that proves impossible. Humanity will have to learn to expand its capacity for care before true Communism will work."

"Well, then," the shopkeep said. "Here's your books." He handed them over, and accepted the cash she paid for them without surprise or question.

Fang left the shop and walked to a nearby park. She sat on a bench, and began to read. It went incredibly rapidly; she scanned an entire page in mere minutes, yet retained complete knowledge of what she had read. It would take time to assimulate all the knowledge, but it was in her head now.

When she was done, she took out the matches she'd bought and burned the books in the trashcan. She didn't want people to know she'd read these; her homeland had taught her a great deal of paranoia. Still, she suspected that Æon wouldn't be happy to know that she'd been studying such books as the Alchemist's Cookbook.

Her last stop today was to an investment broker. He'd been prepared to assist and advise the petite Chinese woman who came into his office, but she surprised him by having a portfolio prepared. All she needed him to do was actually invest the money, which she presented to him in a certified check. It was Katalyst's money as well as some of her own; Fang planned to make good on her promise to increase his money.

On the way back to Æon, she considered the future. It would be a long, hard trek, but Fang would make the sacrifices and touch choices, to bring about a safe, secure future for her people, the New People of Earth.