Title: Room 101 Author: Gramarye E-mail address: gramarye@rochester.rr.com Part number: not applicable Rating: PG Hello fellow Moonies! (No, not Rev. Sun Myung Moon—we won’t get into that now.) Once again, it’s Gramarye with another story from my obsessed brain. My thanks go out to all of you who responded to my stories with comments, praise, and suggestions. I particularly en- joyed the one from the person who said (and I quote) of “Apocalypse and Genesis: The Creation of Crystal Tokyo”, “Thank you for coming up with your extremely creative ways of killing off the Senshi. It makes those traditional car accidents and youma casualties seem boring and mundane.” (I really don’t know what to say to that...I’m tentatively hovering somewhere between “Thank you” and “Please don’t EVER write me again”.) Before we begin, I’d just like to say that I do not believe in the censorship of classic literature in public schools. Many excel- lent books such as The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, All Quiet on the Western Front, Johnny Got His Gun, and yes, even 1984 have been banned from schools for various reasons. You can’t protect the inter- ests of every special interest group—otherwise you’d have a society where the job of firemen is to burn books, as in Ray Bradbury’s Fahr- enheit 451. This story of mine is dedicated to the books that people don’t want you to read. (N.B. This does not mean that I support tentacles or hentai or anything like that...if I want my thrills I’ll read some D. H. Lawrence or Oscar Wilde or Danielle Steel. So don’t take it the wrong way.) I would guess that the story takes place sometime during the second season, between the aliens and the Chibi-usa storylines. For a rating, I’d say somewhere in the realm of PG——due to the nature of the subject discussed. But I still had fun making up the new...wait, you’ll just have to read it. Disclaimer—let the faceless ones who own Sailor Moon and all re- lated paraphernalia be warned that I am very annoyed with the American legal system at the moment. A lawsuit would not be in ANYONE’S best interests. If you have a problem with that, you can mail me at gramarye@rochester.rr.com. Come on. TRY ME. My special thanks to George Orwell, who will never let me forget that, “Freedom is the freedom to say 2 plus 2 is four. If that is granted, all else follows.” Room 101 By: Gramarye --------------------------------------------------------------------- “You know what is in Room 101, Winston. Everyone knows what is in Room 101.” --- George Orwell, 1984 “Play the man, Master Ridley. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” --- Said by a man named Latimer to Nicholas Ridley, as they were being burnt alive at Oxford, for heresy, on October 16, 1555 “...the higher and mightier [a thing or person] is in the natural or- der, the more demoniac it will be when it falls. It’s not out of bad mice or bad fleas you make demons, but bad archangels.” --- C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce --------------------------------------------------------------------- “You’re crazy! I can’t do that!” “I dared you, Mina-chan! You can’t go back on a dare.” “Kino Makoto, there is NO WAY that I’m going to run naked around your apartment shouting, ‘I’m the pretty birthday-suited soldier Sailor Nude, the champion of free love and sex games! In the name of all the nudists in the world, I’ll punish you!’” “The rules of Truth or Dare say that you can’t go back on a dare.” “I don’t care. It’s a stupid game.” “You were the one who wanted to play it in the first place.” “That was then, this is now.” “Come on, it’s just the four of us! If Ami gets upset, she can just close her eyes and put her fingers in her ears. Rei could really care less, and I want to see this. Do it!” Without warning, a large pillow hurtled through the air and landed full in Makoto’s face. Startled, she let out a muffled shriek and fell backwards. Rei, who had been quietly watching the argument from the safety of the doorway, flew to catch her before she cracked her skull open on the sharp end of the low table. Minako looked around in astonishment to see Ami’s angry face emerging from behind another pillow. “Enough!” Ami said loudly. “If she refuses to do it, then let the matter drop!” Her voice, so seldom raised for any reason, cut through the small room like thunder chasing lightning. The pillow in her hands was getting a thorough kneading by agitated fingers. “All right, Ami-chan, don’t get so worked up about it,” Rei said worriedly as she helped Makoto sit up. “It’s a sleepover, remember? We’re supposed to be bonding, not getting ready to kill each other.” “Yeah, Ami-chan. We won’t play anymore if it’s bothering you.” Minako smiled gingerly. Makoto, who by that time had disentangled herself from the pil- low, nodded a groggy assent. Ami relaxed, and let the pillow drop. “Gomen, minna,” she sighed. “It’s just that—well, I’ve had some- thing on my mind, and it’s been bothering me lately.” The formerly uneventful sleepover now seemed to take a promising turn. It was just the four of them in Makoto’s apartment. Usagi, un- fortunately, was home and at the mercy of a particularly nasty strain of influenza. Even though the others had offered to take a raincheck until she recovered, Usagi insisted that the party go on. She over- rode all of their protests and entreaties, forcing them to grudgingly acquiesce. “I want you to have fun anyway,” she had said. “Just don’t have too much fun without me!” Usagi’s fears were not justified. It was approximately 9:27 and the four girls were already bored. Having watched a movie, two hours of TV, eaten six bags of assorted candy and cookies, tried out new makeup and hairstyles (including Usagi’s trademark odango on everyone except Ami), and attempted an unsuccessful game of Truth or Dare, the conversation turned to gossip. This wasn’t ordinary gossip, however. This was gossip from the reticent Ami-chan. They all listened. Ami continued in a very low voice, “What would you do if you had to face...if it came down to...the worst thing?” Her words died away into a barely audible whisper. Eyebrows raised all around the room. “The worst thing? What do you mean?” asked Rei. “Do you mean—suicide or anything like that?” said Minako, her blue eyes widening in alarm. “No, no, it’s not like that at all. It’s really hard to ex- plain. Remember when we got our power-ups awhile ago? You know, the Firebird, the Thunder Dragon, those powers?” Three heads nodded in comprehension. “We got them because we were angry at the time.” “Incredibly angry,” Rei said with a scowl. “Then you know what I’m talking about. That horrible moment...I can still remember that feeling, that overwhelming desire to kill, to smash things, to make those cardians pay dearly for what they were do- ing.” “We all felt like that, Ami-chan. It wasn’t a very nice feel- ing, but it served its purpose. What’s the problem?” said Makoto. “Well, a few weeks ago, I was reading an excellent book.” “Has she ever read a really bad book?” murmured Minako to Ma- koto. The latter bit her lip to stifle a giggle. “It was 1984, by George Orwell. I highly recommend it, by the way. As I was reading it, one particular passage really stood out. This man was being brainwashed, and to break his willpower his jailers took him to a special room—Room 101. In that room was his greatest fear——rats. They strapped him into a chair and began to move a cage of hungry rats closer to his helpless and immobile body.” Minako shuddered, and Makoto made a face. “Just before his captors opened the rodent cage, the man mentally snapped. He told them not to get rid of the monster rats, but to let them attack the woman he loved. He wanted with all his heart and soul to put her body in between him- self and the rats, and for them to hurt her instead of him. He stopped loving her because of his own physical terror. That was truly the worst thing in the world...he betrayed her.” As Ami spoke, the others noticed small beads of cold sweat form on her forehead and trickle down her face. She was out of breath, caught up in the emotion of her story. “What...what happened?” Makoto asked in a hushed voice. “He betrayed her. That’s all.” “I don’t see what this has to do with us, Ami-chan,” Rei said. “It’s sad, true, but I can’t find a connection.” Ami bowed her head and spoke so quietly that the others had to strain to hear her. “What powers would we get if we had to face the absolute worst thing in the world?” Dead silence. Ami, her head still bowed, was crying softly. Rei had her medi- tative Shinto priestess look, searching her soul. Makoto was becoming visibly shaken as her mind struggled to cope with the deluge of dark thoughts pouring in. Minako was leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, shredding a stray tissue into minute pieces. Each girl was reflecting on her personal definition of the ‘worst thing’, and what its result would be. They obviously did not like what they saw. After a time, they looked up and stared at each other. Four pairs of troubled eyes locked. “Do you know?” Ami asked timidly. “Yes,” Minako said. “I’ve known for sometime,” Makoto added. “I never thought any of you ever wondered about it, but I cer- tainly know what I’m capable of doing,” Rei joined in. Ami’s shoulders sagged, and she flopped back onto a pile of cushions. She brushed a few stray tears from her eyes. Rei stood up, walked over to her, and gave her a hug that lasted for a long time. Rei whispered to her, loud enough for the other two to hear. “I think we should tell each other what would happen, Ami-chan. It’s the best way to prevent it from ever happening. We can’t keep it hidden, because that might make it happen sooner rather than later. Am I right?” she asked, looking at Makoto and Minako. They answered at the same time. “Sure.” “No problem here, Rei-chan.” Rei took the initiative. “I’ll go first.” “Wait!” cried Ami. “We can’t just say it out loud—that’s like signing your own death warrant. I know what we can do. Let’s write them down on paper. Then we can look at and study each one sepa- rately.” Makoto silently got up and walked into the adjoining room, re- turning a few moments later with pens and paper. She handed them out, and they began to write. One by one, each girl folded up her paper and tossed it into the center of the room. When the last paper landed on the floor, they formed a circle around the notes and sat close to- gether. “You open them, Mina-chan. You’re our leader, after all.” Ami’s idea was agreeable to Minako, and she reached into the pile and pulled out the first slip. She opened it up and set it where they could all read it. JUPITER HIGH VOLTAGE ANNIHILATION. Ami, Rei, and Minako turned toward Makoto, who had a determined look on her face. “I can describe it,” she said. “It’s basically electrocution of whoever or whatever is hurting me. Only it doesn’t just fry them, it vaporizes them. Completely. And...and...” she paused. “What?” pressed Minako. “I’ll die if I use it.” Makoto’s voice shook, and her hands clenched into fists. “Are you sure?” asked Rei. “All of the energy would short-circuit my powers. I wouldn’t survive such a blast.” “Oh.” There was an uncomfortable hiatus. “Next paper.” MARS HELLFIRE IMMOLATION. “I remember reading a translation of Dante’s Inferno at school. Catholics apparently used to enjoy inventing gristly torments for sin- ners. The title is a pretty good description, ne?” Rei tried to make it into a joke, but no one wanted to laugh. “What does it do?” Minako needed more information. “Exactly what it says. It incinerates everything in its path. It’s about a million times worse than the Burning Mandala.” “What’s ‘immolation’?” asked Makoto. “It means to burn something as a sacrifice or an offering,” Ami replied mechanically, her mind on a vocabulary autopilot. “So you will be...” Makoto trailed off. “Yes,” said Rei in a small voice. “It just goes to show you— don’t make me angry!” “Relax, Rei. Next paper.” VENUS SIREN SONG. “I see you’ve been reading The Odyssey, Mina-chan,” Ami said wryly. “We had to. And for a book I had to read for school, it was great!” Minako blushed. “So what is it?” Rei asked impatiently. “I think I hit some kind of really high, loud note that destroys anything in earshot.” “Supersonic waves,” added Ami. “Um, yeah, whatever. Unfortunately...” “You too?” sighed Makoto. “Exactly, Mako-chan.” “Yikes. We’re not having good luck today. Zero for three, one more to go. Last paper.” MERCURY ABSOLUTE ZERO. “What’s that?” Minako was puzzled. “Did you take physics last year?” asked Ami. “Yes.” “How come you don’t remember it, then?” “I failed physics, Ami-chan.” “Oh.” Ami was disconcerted. Rei quickly stepped in. “It’s the lowest temperature possible. It’s so low that every- thing stops moving. Everything.” Understanding quickly swept across Minako’s face. “I think I can guess what it does, and what will happen to you, Ami-chan.” She tugged on a strand of her long blonde hair. “Not a pleasant picture, is it?” Ami picked up the paper and with quiet violence ripped it in half. The others followed suit with their own. Makoto stood up again and wandered into the kitchen in search of more snacks. Minako picked up a magazine and idly flipped through it. Ami began to gather up the pillows from around the room. Rei brushed her long hair off her shoulders and settled down to read a manga. It was some time before any of them spoke. They seemed reluctant to talk; almost afraid of what had just transpired. They all knew that there were incidents and little things that annoyed them or that they disliked, but none could even begin to picture the worst thing in the world. Nor did they want to. “We’re equal in that respect, in any case,” Ami said finally, to no one in particular. “Our powers are all different, but this new dis- covery seems to even us out a bit.” “I once heard somewhere that true power is the ability to in- flict unlimited pain and suffering on another human being,” Minako stated abruptly. Confronted by shocked looks from all parts of the room, she hastily continued, “Or maybe not.” “You know, you’re right, Mina-chan.” It was Makoto’s turn to shock the others. “Once in a while, if I catch a quick glimpse of my- self when we’re fighting, time seems to stop for me. And for a sec- ond, it’s like I’m outside looking at myself, and I think, ‘What are we doing? We’re hurting, and fighting, and destroying, and taking the life force out of other living creatures.’ We’re just as bad as they are, sometimes.” “No.” Ami’s voice penetrated the awful feelings with a quiet assurance. “We don’t hurt human beings. Even if the humans are pos- sessed by evil or under the control of dark power, we always manage to heal them or at least make them see what love truly is.” “That’s true,” Makoto said thoughtfully. “And power isn’t always the best thing to possess.” “Exactly.” Minako smiled. “Even Usagi-chan can’t use the ginzuishou to its full potential, or she will die. It’s not how much power you have, but how you use it.” “Calm down.” Rei jabbed Ami in the ribs. “You’re beginning to sound like one of those sappy American TV shows that has to have a moral screamed out in every other scene. We’re real people with real feelings, and there are bound to be situations we can’t handle, physi- cally or emotionally.” “I just pray that the time when we’d actually have to use those attacks will never come,” Minako said fervently. Ami smiled sadly. “All you have to do is stay out of Room 101.”