Within fifteen minutes of eating the caps, Jenny was sitting on the floor in the corner behind the commode, catatonic except for an occasional sharp intake of breath. Jake felt an initial hit of horror, more potent than any emoticon he had ever had, followed by a feeling of well-being that was pleasant but not of the promised or expected overwhelming strength.
Within twenty minutes, he was almost back to normal and wished he had access to a Blue Disappointment to express his feelings. He remembered the pile of caps in Jenny’s pocket but decided to work it out naturally.
The hotel door busted open with a flash of light and a deafening wall of sound, paralyzing Jake long enough for a Gubmint attack squad to reach him, throw him on the ground, tie his hands and feet, and cover his head with a black-out hood. They forced military-grade Blues, Defeat, and Depression down his throat and carried him away.
He knew he was on a long ride but didn’t care about the details, artificially sunk into a morose pit of emoticons. They removed his shackles and hood and left him alone in a small padded room to recover.
They gave him another Blue Defeat and an unfamiliar Purple, but the apprehension he soon felt provided its identity. Five minutes later, two large, serious-looking men in uniform put an iron grip around each of his upper arms and carried him down a hall. They dumped him into a stark metal chair at the end of a stainless-steel table.
His mother and father sat to his left, along with an unknown woman with a badge that read “visitor.” An older man in an expensive suit sat at the other end, staring at Jake with stern patience.
“Hello, Jake. I am Captain Carrera. That is Advocate Tweed, here to make sure your rights as a minor are correctly applied. We called in your parents mostly as a courtesy to them. To start off, I’d like everyone to watch the following surveillance footage.”
Captain Carrera flicked on a hologram and casually pushed it to the center of the table. It flashed an “Official Gubmint Property” seal, then transitioned to a recording of Jake and Jenny as they entered the alleyway across from the theater.
There was no sound, either from the recording or the onlookers, until the focus zoomed in. The image showed a close-up of the multi-colored bag of prohibited emoticons, making Jake’s mother gasp. Three camera transitions followed the pair into the hotel, where a color-corrected scene showed the flash-bang from an officer-mounted mini-recorder and the subsequent arrests of Jake and then Jenny.
“Jenny Morgan is facing a serious situation. She ingested a cocktail of powerful interdicted emoticons and will require at least several weeks in rehabilitation at a psychiatric facility. We doubt she understood that they were military-grade capsules or had a clue as to their strength.
When she recovers, and that is not a certainty, she faces a range of charges that will likely result in years of drip-injections of Blue Shame, Guilt, and Remorse, as well as a denial of Reds and Oranges for life. What a shame, no pun intended.”
Jake’s mother and father sat in stoic poses, but Jake could tell they were in serious need of a variety of emoticons to express their suppressed emotions. Captain Carrera continued to study everyone, keeping a neutral expression honed from years of service.
“Tell me, Jake, how do you feel at the moment?”
“I felt a tinge of Apprehension earlier, and the beginnings of Defeat, but that has passed. Probably because the emoticons didn’t have much to work with.”
“That is an informed theory, and it’s interesting that you are so in touch with your own emotional mapping. The problem is that the strengths you received should have you nearly incomprehensible. You should be feeling crushed and unable to sit still from the Apprehension.
We called in our precinct Pharma agent, who analyzed your blood work and a brain scan. I’m sorry to inform you and your parents that you have a genetic abnormality that minimizes and too quickly metabolizes emoticons from your system.”
Jake wasn’t sure what the consequences of his condition might be, but his father’s features hardened, and his mother looked as if she wanted to cry.
“This makes things a bit more complicated, but we will all have to do the best we can. Gubmint agents have been following a major crime syndicate, as someone has been siphoning emoticons from legitimate sources and profiteering at the expense of sanity and societal stability. The perpetrators have been crafty and careful, so we have been monitoring their auxiliary family-members on the off-chance of catching a break.
Finding Jenny with all those emoticons is enough to roll up the entire structure wing, but, unfortunately, she will be unavailable for interrogation or able to testify for some time. We can’t prove whether Jake willingly participated in her criminal behavior due to his rare condition, nor is he on camera actually receiving any caps. I’m afraid I may need to become unpleasant and use what leverage I can to ensure his cooperation. No, don’t say anything until I’m finished.
Since neither Jake nor the Gubmint can guarantee his emotional stability due to the biological abnormality, his permit for marriage and procreation is, of course, revoked permanently, as is any possibility of Gubmint employment. From this point on, Jake is prohibited from ingesting any form of recreational emoticons, a necessity to protect society from unintended behavioral side-effects.
The good news is that you have somehow reached your current age with acceptable emotional scores. This is even more impressive, given that you achieved this without the proper emoticons' guidance and help. Usually, in the rare circumstances you represent, we would exile you from society and let you live your life in a protected and isolated environment.
In your case, we are open to the possibilities of making you a lifetime ward of the state, fostered to your own parents. On permanent probation, of course. It all depends on Jake’s cooperation or lack thereof. We simply need a statement that may help us bring Jenny’s parents to justice.
I understand you have been engaged just over six months and that the standard rotation of Reds and Oranges would ordinarily prevent you from testifying against her, but given your unique biochemistry, do you think you can break that conditioning?”
Jake’s thoughts were a whirlwind of disconnected threads. Why did this happen to him, why didn’t he notice he was different, how did he come through as normal as he had, what would his future hold, and a hundred other issues fought for his mental focus.
The immediate concern was how to return to everyday life as quickly as possible. So how did he feel about informing on his former fiancé? Jake had to admit that she no longer held the infatuation level as when he first laid eyes on her holo. No, loyalty would not be a problem. But did he know anything that would help the Captain, and thereby help himself?
He had known nothing about illicit emoticons when this horror began. Jenny indeed had not confessed to any sort of conspiracy; in fact, she made it sound like these were everyday experiences throughout her life. If she had been using for who knew how long, there was no telling how messed up her head was or how skewed she viewed reality.
“Sir, I do want to cooperate in any way I can, and you are right; the effects of the routine Reds and Oranges are wearing off rapidly. I’m sorry, though, I can’t think of anything she said that might be of help.”
“I understand, but sometimes even the smallest clue will open up a memory. Did she mention any names, or perhaps who supplied her the emoticons?”
“No, sir...except she did mention that she usually just took them out of what she called her mother’s fun drawer.”
“Excellent! Can you remember exactly what she said? And remember, you are under oath and being recorded.”
“She said she got them from her mother’s fun drawer, just like all her friends. Then she offered me any combination I wanted, and that she did it all the time. I don’t think she believed me when I told her I had never done an unauthorized emoticon in my life, but I really haven’t.”
“Actually, that is very helpful. Sergeant! Commence those warrants and prepare the day squad. We have work to do. Jake, thank you for your cooperation. I need to ask all of you to stay here for a few hours, just until this operation is completed. I am officially handing your case over to Advocate Tweed, who can process the necessary forms as we’ve previously discussed. “
The Captain left through the only door, and they all heard the distinct thunk of the electronic lock. Advocate Tweed activated her work-holo and began to organize the necessary files.”
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