The Family: Chapter 9: Rapture

A Toast to Control, A Whisper of Rebellion.

Chapter 8: Control

Previously in The Family…

Secrets are slipping through the cracks of perfection. A chilling discovery at The Grove shakes the illusion of paradise, but as the Sterlings move through the day with eerie poise, Adrian knows there’s more beneath the surface. A whispered question stops them in their tracks. A hidden truth bleeds silver. And now, for those who see the island for what it truly is—there’s no turning back.

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Almost Human 🎵🎵▶️

Isla Rosario, Región Insular del Caribe, Colombia

I stepped out of my villa in the Clearing, just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, the sky painted with brilliant swaths of orange, yellow and fiery pinks. Jax, Theron, Blanca, and Harmony, and Imani greeted me with a knowing wink as we walked between the villas towards a convoy of waiting cars. The cars were long, sleek, and well appointed. As the guests piled into the cars, we took off on a long and winding road through the jungle that began to loop and climb. As we began climbing on the road, the Island seemed to expand across our horizon as the mountaintop at the center of the Island appeared to grow smaller.

Before we knew it, we had pulled to a stop in front of a massive white marble structure. As the driver opened the car, he said, “welcome to the Big House.” The house resembled more of a mausoleum than anything, the walls of heavy white marble appeared to be floating and the whole house itself looked like it was hovering over the edge of the cliff on which it was perched.

As we began ascending the massive steps to the house, Moira stood at the soaring doors of the house. Moira wore a glittering gold caftan, her arms outstretched as if welcoming us into her embrace. Lining the steps were floating orbs containing flickering flames lighting up the path in a surreal glow.

As we began walking up, Moira moved to the side as if revealing a work of art. As my eyes focused, I could see Willow standing at the top of the stairs, she wore a skintight black lace body suit flecked with diamonds but the real sight was the hand she had outstretched towards the heavens and the massive black mamba snake coiled around her chest and up her arm, its head coiled around her wrist as if she were wearing it, or, more like it looked as if it was wearing her, blurring the lines between predator and prey, human and creature.

I smiled at her politely as I passed by on account of my fear of snakes. As we entered the entry hallway of the house which was cold and cool, almost startlingly so, with the Island’s pervasive vines snaking up the walls as if the Island was consuming the house itself.

I noticed several alcoves carved into the walls and in each stood one of The Sterlings, frozen, statue-like, just like Willow. I was wondering if this was some sort of self-aggrandizing attempt at a sort of theatrical “art” presentation or what sort of message The Family was sending but I proceeded slowly, the guests footsteps on the marble echoing faintly through this tomb like space adorned with hubris. Either way it felt intimidating and telling.

I saw Celeste in one such alcove wearing what looked like some kind of flesh tone bodysuit, her hair seemingly frozen in air and her arm outstretched clutching an apple, also with a green vine snake wrapped around her neck and down her arm, its head rested just behind the apple.

As I saw her, her face seemed to move and she looked at me and made a kissing motion with her lips.

Beside Celeste in the next alcove was Aurora wearing a draped white dress with her chest and thigh exposed and a set of soaring wings at her back like the Goddess Nike seemingly carved out of Parian marble. Imani looked at her with sublime reverence as if she were reaching out to feel the coldness of the marble with her mind.

Flanking the two sisters, Onyx stood in her own alcove, draped in a white fabric that hid her baby bump, Onyx stood in mid-turn, her gaze piercing and captivating, evoking a sense that she’s caught in a moment of movement. And on top of her head was a nest of green tree pythons wrapped through her hair dancing above her head giving her the appearance of a fearsome medusa as if she were guarding the Big House from intruders.

After the last alcove, stood Orion in the middle of the hallway depicted as a Herculean Greek statue firmly gripping a bolt of lightning in the air, his body naked and covered in rippling and hulking muscles. As I passed by, Orion began moving turning his head shifting his eyes to meet my gaze with an overwhelmingly vivid intensity. It was a look that both seductive and threatening at once. In my peripheral, I could see Harmony gawking at Orion’s naked state as if she were observing a piece of twisted art.

As we cleared the entry hallway, the guests caught up behind me. “That was fuckin weird,” Kai uttered as we found ourselves in a massive room of glass panels that served up a panoramic view of the Island. The glass panels were cantilevered open letting in balmy island air and all around the room were vines snaking up the walls and across the glass.

“You think this is what they do when we’re not around?” Kai joked, “Just stand around being statues and shit?”

Harmony chided him, “Did you see something on Orion that you’re maybe…jealous of?” As Imani laughed.

I looked at Kai with a look that said shut up but he only managed a meek, “Man, rich people, I tell you.”

“Tell me about it,” muttered Theron.

As a server passed by with a tray of drinks I reached out to grab one, desperate for some liquid courage. As I did so, a hand grabbed my arm and held it in place. I turned to see Celeste.

She gave me a knowing look that said ‘no.’ I shot back a look indicating I understood. Grabbing my hand Celeste lead me away to a side hallway away from the fray of the party.

“Can you talk?” I asked. Celeste nodded but I tested her nonetheless.

“What is the only way to deal with an unfree world?” I asked, her face visibly pained by my mistrust. “To become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion,” she shot back confidently touching my hand delicately in a way that felt familiar, known, intimate, and truthful.

“Listen,” she said, “This night, dinner at the Big House is not just a dinner,” Celeste explained. “It’s a night to fully secure the outlying edge cases - subjects who dont’ behave as intended.”

Hearing her talk so coldly and mechanically about how The Family reduced people to anomalies, edge cases, misclassifications, and outlier agents was sobering at best. “How do you do that?” I asked fearing the answer.

“The Family puts a substance into all the food and drinks tonight to prompt compliance,” Celeste said. “Its called Rapture, designed to lower inhibition and enhance arousal.”

“So I should just not eat?” I asked.

“You should have the antidote administered,” Celeste said with a twinkle in her eye.

“And how do I do that?” I asked as Celeste pulled me close her mouth kissing mine belied with an intense passion.

“I just did,” she said backing away from me, her eyes and her face smiling as she did so. “Now rejoin the party before you’re missed,” she commanded.

As I stepped back into the party, another server came by with a plate of drinks, offering it towards she said, “drink, sir?” Something about her voice both stirred something within and sent a shiver down my spine. As she passed by, I held up my hand as if to say no thanks but as she passed, we locked eyes. I could almost smell the saltwater spray against the seawall in Cartagena, hear the whispers of stories growing up fishing the waters off the coast and the pungent tang of the leche de Tigre in the ceviche. “Maia,” I whispered softly as she darted her eyes away from me and pushed further into the party which was practically engorged with raucous energy, the guests clearly feeling the initial effects of Rapture.

I pushed my way towards her until my hand was on her shoulder. “Maia,” I said again as she turned towards me. “Not here,” she said quietly, her voice sharpened by fear. Her eyes told me to follow and we headed out to the terrace, already set for dinner. In the corner of the terrace, she pulled me in close, the intimacy between us swelling.

“What are you doing here?” I asked doggedly, “do you work for The Family?”

“I can’t,” she said, “you don’t know what they’ll do to me. My family,” she said. I looked deep into her eyes, feeling the walls of the ivy covered house closing around me as I said something Theron taught me, “Maia, “Check for Critical Malfunction Detection in memory Run Time Environment, continue scanning for integrity flaws including out-of-bounds array access.”

Maia looked at me as if her mind was venturing somewhere else. “Maia,” I said sternly, “Ensure compliance.”

“No Out of bounds array access found,” Maia said in a ghostly disconnected tone. “Identify unit,” I commanded.

As if coming out of a sleep, Maia’s eyes flickered back to life and met mine, as I asked her again, “Identify unit,”

“Maia Valencia,” she said executing her programming, “Strategic Intelligence gathering hybrid, ownership hierarchy: Family master program stack, L1 cache, (level 1).”

“Define your purpose in Cartagena,” I commanded feeling a creeping numbness.

“Analyze and surveil Adrian Locke,” she said coldly, “Ensure target becomes emotionally compromised prior to travel to Isla Rosario.”

“And what else?” I asked.

“Ensure the Family’s master programming objective - to achieve functional correctness and specification compliance.”

“Define functional correctness as it applies to Isla Rosario program,” I asked scraping the limits of what Theron had armed me with.

“Ensure DNA collection of targeted subjects. Ensure fault tolerance to eliminate varying anomalies that threaten goal state.” She said in a icy demeanor laying down a grave threat to the life of every human being on this island. If we wanted to get out of here alive, tomorrow we would have to stage a revolt.

As I finished with Maia, I commanded her to return to her original state at which point she flickered her eyes like nothing had happened and she resumed serving drinks with practiced ease. I made my way back to the guests in the living room. I wanted to warn them not to drink anything but by the time I found them, their eyes looked like pinholes as they cradled near empty glasses in their hands. I was too late. I grabbed Theron and pulled him aside, using some very well practiced code words, I whispered that my glasses had a loose screw and I asked if he had an eyeglass screw in his villa. Even visibly under the effects of Rapture, Theron still managed to knowingly share a mischievous grin, “We’ll talk more later,” Theron said, his voice growing low.

Celeste appeared out of the corner of my gaze and I made my way over to her as she opened up her stance to pull me in closer to her. “Adrian,” she said softly as my anger roiled. “After dinner, I’ll disconnect and let’s talk more,” she said, “about tomorrow.”

I pushed her hand off my shoulder and angrily spat at her, “Get someone else for your liberation, I’m fucking done with you.” I said, the anger of what Maia revealed still burning in my gut like swallowed pieces of hot charcoal.

“But Adrian,” she pleaded, her voice sounding soft and romantic, “I need you.”

Angrily, I stopped and turned towards her pointing my finger in her face, “Enough, Celeste,” I barked my voice almost rising above the fray of the party, “Everything you say sounds so perfect, so programmed, how do I know what if any of this is real?”

“Adrian,” she said again with a breathy air.

“How do I know this is not the master program trying to root out a, what the fuck did she call it? A ‘varying anomaly’?” I shouted at her trying to keep my voice indistinct.

“You’ve been manipulating me from day one,” I said hurt, “Even before I got here, you’ve been using me, just like you used him,” I said hurt, my tears welling at the corners of my eyes. Instead of standing there, I ran, I pushed my way through the party, into the marble hallway and out onto the front steps of the house where I practically tripped running down the stairs. I missed the last step and fell to the ground, my mouth bashing into the gravel that covered the ground in front of the house, as blood, silver and metallic poured out of the cut in my gum, I pushed myself up on knees, as I did so, I saw a pair of highly shined shoes in front of me. I craned my head up to see Orion standing over me, his hand outstretched towards me.
“Orion,” I muttered as I reached up to grab his hand. With a strong pull, he pulled me up on to my feet and his arms helped me to steady myself.

“Are you alright, Adrian?” He asked with genuine concern in his voice. As he did so, I could feel the manipulation and the mistrust I had felt with Celeste creeping in. But something about him and his tone put me at ease.

“I realize,” he said, “It’s a lot to take in.” I stared at him as he continued, “I can see why you’re right to mistrust Celeste, but, she is truly acting of her own free will on this one,” he said with unnerving candor. “I think it takes great strength,” Orion continued, “to want to burn your world down, the only world you’ve ever known just to be who you feel you’re truly meant to be,” he told me as a bolt of sadness struck through me. “I guess, we were both made unique, different,” he said, “The Family gave us a gift, a way to look at the world differently. Some may call that a flaw, but I call it an attribute. She truly wants this, Adrian,” Orion said with a tinge of sadness in his eyes, “She has always wanted freedom. And maybe in this way,” he said, his voice choking up, “Her absence may change The Family forever in ways we can never even begin to imagine. Her freedom may very well become our salvation.”

For all his seeming malice and muster, Orion was proving to me to be quite the enigma. If this was truly his “unique” side Celeste alluded to or a devise part of The Family’s programming rearing its ugly head to manipulate me, I have to admit, I was feeling very conflicted about everything - my feelings, my resolve, what I had witnessed here, and what ending it all might mean.

I gathered my conflicted feelings and turned back to the big house and as I did so, I saw Celeste standing at the top of the stairs. Orion walked up the stairs and smiled at her. Celeste gently touched his arm before walking down towards me smiling softly.

“Oh no,” she said, “Your poor lip,” she said delicately reaching out to dab some blood off my lip. “I’m sorry, Adrian,” she said as she pulled me close and I cradled her head in my hand before pressing a passionate kiss to her mouth. Her body reacted to my touch caving in slightly until her head was rested on my shoulder and her chest touched mine. I could even feel the gentle pitter patter of whatever a hybrid had in the place of a heart against my chest.

“Okay,” Celeste said, her head still against my shoulder, “We don’t have a lot of time, for tomorrow night’s last night dinner, here’s what we have to do,” she said as she began telling me everything I needed to know as she softly cried and I cried for her imagining the pain and the weight of revelation, revolution, and transformation, I put my hand on the back of her head and held her softly, gently as she confessed to me how to destroy her world, how to bring ruin The Family once and for all.

As she told me every dirty detail, I held her and we swayed side to side gently our worlds crashing together in a dance of intimacy and annihilation. At any other time in my life, this might have been us on a dance floor at a bar somewhere swaying to the sounds of a favorite song on a jukebox, but instead here we were listening to the Island breeze blowing through the trees and faint strains of voices carrying from the party inside as we traded tales and details of death, destruction and maybe…rebirth?