Myki and Ananda were, by this point, goofing around together like a couple of old friends. They had immedietely hit it off after meeting on Ráspia and Reûic's world, as had Daivi and Sandra - and Myki and Daivi often exchanged cheerful knowing looks, glad that, at long last, it seemed as though they'd found love for themselves.
     Ananda and Myki had started off seriously looking around, being careful and quiet, so as not to be heard. Yet they were soon emboldened by the seeming lack of any form of life in the building, and began playing around in the empty corridors. Myki darted ahead of Ananda and hid in a doorway, peaking out as she warily approached. When she had nearly reached the doorway, he leaned out and yelled "b-ZAAAAP!!!!", pretending to shoot her with his finger. She staggered and collapsed, "dying" a particularly spectacular "death".
     And then disappeared in a shimmer of light.
     Myki stared at where she had been. Then stared at his finger, puzzled.
     
     Ananda found herself in a desert. Her hand absent-mindedly in her pocket, she felt something there. She pulled out a folded-up piece of yellowed paper, and in a thin script was written:
     
     You profess peace
     But should the torment not cease
          could you hold true?
     
     You say you love all
     But should they make you fall
          could you keep the hate away?
     
     You claim your beliefs are stronger than stone
          and words will not hurt you
     But should sticks and stones break your bones
          could you hold your views?
     
     True hardship you have never faced
     Death has stayed so far away
     Real persecution has never touched you
     Could you look blind hatred in the eye
          and not return it
          and take the blows
          and bear it?
     
     Ananda read it, re-read it, stood in thought for a moment, reflecting on it... wondering if she could... Then she looked up and around her.
     She was not alone - far from it, in fact. A large group of people were camped out nearby, hiding from the hot sun in ragged tents. As she walked closer in curiousity, a few faces peaked out from tent flaps, some hardly more than children, some older than her grandparents. When she was within ten feet of the nearest tent, someone exited it to stand before her.
     She was tall, about a foot taller than Ananda herself. Her skin was a dark chocolate, though she was mostly covered in a cream-white sari-type wraparound. Her head was covered in a sheik-like headwrap, two brightly coloured feathers protruding from the side. Her eyes glittered intelligently.
     "Who are you?" she asked in a low, commanding tone.
     "I'm... my name is Ananda Daydream. I... come in peace?" Ananda said tentatively, not at all sure what else to say.
     The woman studied Ananda for a moment, then startled the girl by laughing. "It's alright, we won't hurt you, child. My name is R'thay [rih-TAY]. Come, come with me into my tent, and I will tell you what we must do."
     
     As Ananda understood it, the group was about to attempt a confrontation with their long-time oppressors. Or rather, a lack of confrontation. Despite the expected violent reaction, they were to remain passive, and not attack, not even in defense.
     They called themselves the Sry'th'k [srEE-thuh-kay], and were somehow a religious-political-social group, all in one. They believed in one true God, that all people should be treated fairly and equally, that no-one should be killed for anything, but especially not for their beliefs, among other things. In short, they believed in everything Ananda did. Because of their innate belief in peacefulness, there had been no physical resistance to the oppressive regime that had taken over their country. Though the Sry'th'k far outnumbered the Kn-tôc [kin-TOK], the Kn-tôc had advanced weaponry, and had forced their way into the government, beginning a massive attempt at severe oppression, which soon bordered on genocide. Sry'th'k leaders had been imprisoned, beaten, tortured, and publicly executed. Even common Sry'th'k, those who had quietly lived at home, raising their children in God's ways, were discriminated against, and often randomly selected for public ostrization and torture. To show the slightest sign of their belief was to risk death.
     Ananda was, of course, outraged at all this, and asked in amazement if nothing had been done by others to stop this? But R'thay shook her head, smiling sadly, explaining that although other countries had seen the atrocities and had the ability to intervene, none did, seeing no benefits for themselves, and not wanting to interfere in what they saw as something that was none of their business.
     Ananda thought about this, realised that her country had done the same thing often enough, and nodded.
     In any case, they were planning on marching through the capital city in a few hours.
     
     Long before they had even reached the capital, Ananda could see the signs of militant resistance. Troops in light tan uniform stood in military lines atop the city walls, weaponry glinting in the harsh sunlight.
     Some of the Sry'th'k were beginning to get nervous, the younger ones in particular. They had all volunteered, eager to come and prove their faith, stand up for their beliefs and their people.. but it had begun to dawn on some that there was a distinct possibility of them dying that day.
     Ananda was wondering about being there, herself. R'thay had told Ananda that there was no need for her to come. Some of the group was staying back at camp, putting on masks of optimism, saying that they would be there to care for any who should come back wounded; Ananda could easily have stayed with them. What reason do I have to be doing this? she asked herself. I don't know who these people are, I'd never even heard of them until just a few hours ago! She mentally stopped, rewound. I do know who these people are, and I've never admired anyone so much as I admire them. ...I just wish, in a way, that I'd been born on this world, that I might truly call myself one of them. That's why I'm here, because I want to prove myself worthy of even knowing them. Either that, or my subconsious has a death wish that the rest of me doesn't know about.
     Not that Ananda felt she would necessarily die that day. For one thing, the Illuminati hadn't let any of them die in these tests... well, not yet, anyway... Besides, R'thay had said that while they might be beaten, roughed up, maybe even severely, she doubted that the Kn-tôc would kill so many who didn't resist at all while in view of the general public. To do so could risk compassion for the Sry'th'k growing among the other groups of people. And the Kn-tôc were too smart to make any Sry'th'k into martyrs.
     Or so it was hoped.
     
     "Heya, lookie lookie, here they come, black ants with no bite, just waiting to be stepped on!"
     "They don' even have weapons! Whadda they think they're gonna do? Glare at us?"
     The soldiers hadn't yet shown any sign of attack, but looked down on the Sry'th'k from above, taunting and teasing, trying to insult and provoke. Their yellowed-red faces shone in the harsh sunlight, not at all shaded by their stiff upright tan hats.      "Heya, lookie there, a lighty in with the darkies!"
     "A diamond in the rough?"
     "A star in the night?"
     "A light among the demons of darkness?"
     The taunts were primarily directed at a boy with light-brown skin, considerably lighter than that of R'thay and most of the rest, though much darker than Ananda's. Apparently, racial equality was another foreign concept to the Kn-tôc.
     Then one of the Kn-tôc caught sight of Ananda, standing a little ways back from the front, near R'thay. "Hey, lookie lookie! There's a ghola in with 'um, too!"
     More laughter broke out.
     "What, they convert ghosts now too? Can't get any more of the living?"
     "Maybe it's from another planet!"
     "There you go! Hey, you! You from another planet, ghola?"
     What little they really know.. Ananda thought, grimly smiling. "Yes, I am!" she replied. Then fear at being singled out snuck in. "I'm really from Zlotnik, klaatu berada niktu, beam me up!" Hysteria had begun to creep into her voice. Oh please, beam me up, beam me up, I don't wanna die... R'thay put a reassuring hand on Ananda's shoulder. Ananda looked up at her strong face, and calmed back down, soothed by the older woman's unshakable faith that everything would work out for good in the end, as God intended it to.
     Then came the stones, showering down in a torrent of pain. The soldiers on the wall must have had huge stockpiles hidden all the while, taunting first, drawing out their fun. Some were no more than pebbles, others bigger than Ananda's fist, thrown down by the Kn-tôc above, the added height supplementing the force with which they came down on the Sry'th'k, and Ananda.
     There was nowhere to hide, no shelter under which to avoid the stones, falling like so much rain..
     After about ten minutes, the soldiers on the wall seemed to tire of their painful game, and the hard rain abated. The Sry'th'k didn't even bother trying to figure out what would be done to them next, all they cared was that the hurt had stopped.. for now. They regrouped, gathering around R'thay, looking to their leader for strength and comfort. Though she had blood running down her face, her hands and arms cut up and bruised, she kept her poise.
     "My people," she said, stately as ever, though raising an arm to her face to wipe the blood beginning to trickle into her eye. "Remember that we are not to fear what can hurt the body, only that which can damage the soul... and the Kn-tôc are not that powerful. What is pain on the outside, when there is joy on the inside?"
     The Sry'th'k, Ananda included, took heart from this, and though they were sore and bleeding, they tried their hardest to ignore this, and stood firm. If R'thay could take it, so could they.
     Just as they spread apart again, the main gate to the city opened, and a steady stream of Kn-tôc flowed out to surround the Sry'th'k.
     Ananda looked around her, panicked - were the Sry'th'k going to let themselves be surrounded?
     They were.
     Ananda marveled again at their strength and faith...and tried to imitate what she saw. She thought back to the peace marches at home, the protests and equal rights movements, and realised that this was no different. Though she had always wanted to join in, she never had, always lacking the initiative to go out and do it. She admired it, believed in what they believed in, stood for what they stood for...but had never stood with them. She had been there in spirit, but never in body.
     Now she was.
     And she was scared.
     As the Kn-tôc troops neared, their faces became clearer...and Ananda could make out the pure hatred on their narrow features. She was afraid, afraid of what they could do; she was stunned, stunned that such loathing and complete contempt could even exist.
     The Kn-tôc that approached were all male. They were all around six feet tall, thin and bony, sharp-angled and harsh-looking. Their red-brown eyes were narrow, seemingly smouldering in their golden-tinged red skin. Their military uniforms were light tan, straight-angled as the Kn-tôc were themselves.
     And many carried spears and other weapons.
     Ananda was towards the middle of the group when the Kn- tôc attacked. They came on with spears and fists at the ready, some with knives.
     Most of the Sry'th'k stood firm, simply taking the abuse, doing no more than putting an arm up before their faces. For a few, however, the prospect of actual pain that close at hand was too much, and they tried to push their way to the center of the group, hoping to hide behind others, at least for the time being.
     And Ananda was one of them.
     She had managed to stand her ground for a short time, but when the spears came near her...and they beat an old woman to the ground...and a young man was stabbed in the stomach, and crumpled to the ground in pain...and they gored a boy not ten feet away from her...
     Her instinct overcame her will, and her only thought was to get away. But as she reached the centre of the cluster, what she saw stopped her...
     R'thay stood tall, looking straight into the eyes of the spear- weilding soldier headed straight for her. She hardly flinched as he thrusted the spear into her stomach, but she could not help but fall to her knees when he wrenched it back out again, only to slice her dark skin with its sharp edge, again and again. Her once-white robe was now soaked through with blood and covered in dust, the pale sand grains seeming to be trying to hide the dark red that seeped through without restraint...
     Ananda couldn't watch any more, she turned away and covered her eyes, momentarily forgetting her own danger in seeing that happen to R'thay.
     When she looked up again, the soldier had moved on, to join his comrades at the outer edge of the group. The Kn-tôc seemed to have momentarily abated in their attack, and the Sry'th'k that were still standing were crouched over the fallen, coaxing them to stay alive, begging and pleading God to save them...but in an eerie near-silence. They wouldn't give their enemies the satisfaction of loud cries of agony and mourning. Not yet.
     Ananda hurried to R'thay's side, to join several others who had noticed their fallen leader. One woman held R'thay's hand, another tried to clear her face of the blood that stained it.
     R'thay's dark eyes fluttered, opening for a few seconds, then closing again in exaustion.
     "Will she..?" Ananda began to whisper to an older man near her. But her question didn't even need to be finished, they all knew the answer.
     "Ananda..." R'thay whispered.
     Ananda immediately kneeled down at the woman's side, bending her head close to the dying face. "Yes? I'm here, R'thay."
     "Good..." R'thay's voice was weak, her breathing laboured. "I...need you to take my place here today, Ananda.."
     The girl's sky-blue eyes widened, protests beginning to bubble up in them.
     "No, no...I mean it, child. You...were brought here to lead them...they have no-one else...I leave them in your hands...lead them well, Ananda Daydream...God will grant you the strength you need..."
     "I'll try...I will, R'thay...for you, I will.."
     The woman's eyes fluttered shut.
     Her final, loud gasps for breath ceased, and the silence was complete.
     All heads bowed.
     "HEEEEYYYYAAAAHHH!!!!! Whadda ya doin' in there, heya? You're awful quiet for people about to die!" The Kn-tôc's taunt was joined by harsh laughter from his comrades.
     Yet none of the Sry'th'k responded.
     Ananda slowly stood, ignoring the prickles in her feet from crouching so long. She held her head high, and her face was calm...though inside her mind was reeling, screaming, crying, crying out to God, to anyone, in pain, in fear, in sadness... But no-one could have guessed her inner termoil.
     "I...I don't even have words for the loss we have all just suffered..." the girl began, slowly, haltingly. "But..even though I've only been with you such a short time.." her voice began to strengthen, her face resolute, "..I know who you are, I know who R'thay was..and I admire it. And I think it's something to stand up for. And stand up we will. Because it's what's right, it's what we believe in...and it's what R'thay wanted. We will see her again some day, and we'll want to be able to tell her how we stood up today, won't we?!"
     The Sry'th'k cheered, smiling now, full of a renewed strength.
     The Kn-tôc had listened, at first mocking this ghola-girl...but then turning concerned faces to each other, realising that they had not yet defeated these people.
     And wondering if they could defeat these people.
     And then they heard something that was altogether painful to their ears...
     Part of a song had come to Ananda's mind, an old Bob Marley song... took her a minute to recall the words, and then she began singing: "...So now you see the light, stand up for your right.."
     And people near her joined in...
     "Get up, stand up, Stand up for your right. Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight.."
     Finally one of the Kn-tôc commanders realised that if they were going to do something, they'd have to do it quick - the Sry'th'k were losing their fear. "HHHHHEEEEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAHHHHAAAAA!!!!!" he cried, pulling a jagged-edged whip free from his belt, and cracking it in the air.
     "YAAHHHAAAAA!!!" the rest cried, following suit.
     The Sry'th'k turned to face their attackers, completely calm and unafraid.
     Many of the Kn-tôc rushed forward, their whips become fanged serpents, hungry for the taste of Sry'th'k flesh. Yet, a few hung back, unnerved by the resolute placidity in the faces of their intended victims...
     Once again, the Kn-tôc heartlessly attacked the Sry'th'k, this time with their toothed whips, as well as the spears and fists of before. And once again, the Sry'th'k did not even make a fist in defense.
     But this time, the Sry'th'k were stronger. They were scared now, with their leader killed. But they were resolute, knowing that since she had died, the least they could do was honor her wishes, and if she could so placidly accept this death, a protest against evil that was stronger than words, then they would be able to follow her.
     Some of the Kn-tôc who had rejoined the one-sided fight soon felt pricks of conscience at attacking the defenseless, some simply felt that it wasn't worth the effort. And so, the number of the oppressors soon diminished.
     But the number of oppressed had also lessened.
     Ananda still remained in the centre of the Sry'th'k, not knowing which would be worse, to shut her eyes and not see death coming, or to keep her eyes open so she could perhaps duck out of the way... She was on the verge of halting this train of thought, dismissing it as cowardly, and not befitting one of the Sry'th'k, when two Kn-tôc approached her.
     All thought left her mind, save the primal fear of death.
     Yet, as she watched, frozen, the nearer of the Kn-tôc stopped his advance. He stared at this ghola-girl, wonder in his narrow eyes, mixed with..could it be compassion?
     The whip fell from his grip, and he slowly backed away, not breaking his gaze until he had gotten about a hundred feet back. Then he quickly turned his back to her, and marched stiffly - but slowly - off.
     But by this point, the second Kn-tôc was within attacking range of Ananda. He held a toothed whip in one hand, a spear in the other. He flicked the whip, making it seem more like a malevolent snake than ever.
     Ananda was still frozen, thoughts racing but body stone-still. What do I do am I going to die will this hurt how bad will it hurt oh God help me save me someone get me out of here I can't move why can't I move legs move, dammit! why can't I move I am going to die oh God, God..
     The snake darted forward, dragging its multitude of tiny daggers across her quivering skin, leaving trails of blood, like spilled poison, dripping from her now-torn skin. She couldn't keep back a gasp of pain... but looking up at the Kn-tôc soldier standing over her, she saw a blood-curdling, malevolent grin contort his harsh features. And she swallowed her tears and cries of pain before he could see them, hear them, and gloat over them.
     This soldier wasn't going to be so easily deterred, so easily made feel guilty about attacking the defenseless. He struck again and again, with the whip at first, then beginning to put the spear to use as well...the one thought running through Ananda's mind, apart from the pain, was that he was playing with her like a cat plays with a mouse, savouring the moment of killing, drawing it out. At some point she fell to her knees, but wasn't even aware of it...
     Then, between blows, a bright glint of something on the ground caught Ananda's eye. It was a spear, must have been dropped by a Kn-tôc. It lay just a few feet away, near the whip that her first attacker had abandoned.
     Weapons. No, not weapons, self-defense...what good could she do these people if she were killed? Okay, so they were trying to make a point here, but she'd only seen one Kn-tôc affected by their demonstration. One can't make that much of a difference...
     One can make all the difference. Remember R'thay.
     Though her body still felt the pain, Ananda's mind and spirit were now at peace. She knew what was right, and she knew she would do it...she had to, what's the use of saying you believe in something if you won't follow through on it?
     The pain was bad now, the whip had given way entirely to the spear, and the cat seemed to be tiring of its toy...
     And it started growing dark...
     Am I dying, then? Ananda wondered. Is this it?...Illuminati, where are you?! I'll die here if I have to, I can't think of anyway I'd rather go, but that doesn't mean I really want to..!      And it grew darker, and she knew her body couldn't take much more, she'd lost so much blood...
     And just as the darkness had nearly reached its darkest point, it dissolved in a brightness...
     You have proved yourself, child. Well done.      And Ananda was back, and found herself in Myki's arms.
     "Are you alright?!" he asked in grave concern. Worry isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe the emotion in his dark eyes.
     Ananda nodded weakly. "Yeah, I am now...but should anything like that ever happen again...I gleeb you, Mickybabe."
     "I gleeb you, too," he said softly, gently kissing her.

Chapter Notes

Myki's Test...