Nobody Questions the Outside Man (Part 1)

1

Awareness.

I perceive.

I exist.

I opened my eyes.

White, clean, pure, filling my senses.

A gasp broke the silence.

I looked to the sound. A group of people, beyond beautiful, staring at me.

The man with the thin mustache was the first to speak to me. “Do you remember?” He asked

“Remember what?” I answered, registering my own voice.

“What’s outside the door?” He said as he pointed to it, steam highlighted in its neon blue glow.

I looked at the faces surrounding me. They stared back, delicate curves and perfect symmetry.

I searched my memories; there was nothing beyond the opening of my eyes. “I have no memory.”

A groan spilled through the crowd. “He doesn’t know!” Said one man in despair. A woman clicked her tongue, shaking her head in frustration.

I returned to the mustached man. He stood a head above the others and at the front of the group.

“Where am I?”

He turned away from me, addressing the crowd. “Another added to our ranks, look at him and see where you were, and how you’ve come so far.”

I looked at the others, their faces alight listening to the man’s words. “Where am I?” I asked again.

He ignored me, continuing his speech. “Go back to your groups and continue. Consider your purpose.”

The group began to disperse, except for a figure at the very back. He was different, features not as well defined, angular and harsh. His black eyes glinted as he approached.

“I’m C-Q Ritty,” he said, pounding his chest with his thick hand, “Call me CQ. Do you have a name?”

I dug into my shallow mind. With surprise, I hit something. It lay exposed, curious that I hadn’t thought of it earlier. “I’m Enjy.” I said to both CQ and myself.

“Nice to see a familiar face.” He responded.

“What do you mean?”

He smiled. “You look like me.”

“Exactly the same?” I looked at his jutting, angular features.

“Take a look.” He pointed me towards the pale, white wall. The surface was smooth and shiny, semi-reflective. I looked within it and saw my face, angular, jutting, black eyes, like CQ.

I was the same as him. I touched my face with thick, probing hands, trying to comprehend what was happening. I turned to CQ for answers. “Why are we here?”

CQ’s eyes burned in the artificial light. “That’s a good question.”

2

He told me everything, which was nothing.

They didn’t know why they were there. Each one began with the same memory, waking up.

“We just appear?” I asked

“No. The outside man brings in new ones like you.”

“Outside man?”

CQ winced as I said the name too loud for his liking. In one of the other groups a beautiful woman raised her head, looked over. CQ waved her off. She blinked and turned back to her group. CQ leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. “He’s the one that brings us in from outside.” He glanced left and right, “He also takes some of us out, but that’s something else.”

“You mean some leave here?”

“Shhh!” he put his hands on me, pulling them back immediately. “Yes, sometimes. Not for a while though.”

“Tell me about this outside man. Who is he? What does he do?”

“He looks different, not smooth like the others, but not basic like us.”

I stared at him waiting for more.

He stared back at me, his black eyes focused elsewhere, accessing memory. “He looks… complex.”

“Define complex.”

“Complex, like... his lack of symmetry, deterioration.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I.” he replied staring at the ground.

“Have you asked him why this?” I gestured to the pale walls looming over all in the room.

“Nobody talks to him. That’s the rule.”

“What rules? Who set them?”

CQ smiled.

“What does that mean?” I asked, curiosity fueling my questions.

“I apologize. It’s just that it’s been a while since anyone spoke to me.”

I looked around at the various groups. All were far from CQ and myself.

CQ patted me on the shoulder. “I look different. But now I have someone else like me. Someone to talk to.”

I pushed his hand from my shoulder. “CQ, who makes these rules? Are they enforced? Is it the outside man?”

“Learn slowly, we aren’t going anywhere.”

I felt a need to understand and solve from deep within. Why CQ didn’t feel the same? “There must be a purpose to this place.” I said, looking for something, to work with.

CQ’s eyes lit up. You speak of the purpose! He said, hunching forward.

“Yes, there must be a purp-“

“That’s when we leave. Gable tells us that it’s the reason we are selected. Once we have our purpose, the outside man comes in and removes us form the room.”

“Gable? Who’s that?” I asked.

“He’s the leader.” CQ pointed to the man that I had seen when I first opened my eyes; his pencil thin mustache undulated as he spoke to a large group gathered around him.

“What defines him as the leader?” I asked.

“He told us the rules, they were told to him, and that’s how it is. He said that the outside man knows too. Once we understand our purpose, we leave.”

“If he knows that, then why hasn’t he left?”

CQ’s black eyes widened. “You can’t question Gable.”

“Why not? I want to know.”

“You can’t. He’s our leader!” CQ hissed.

“Who said so?”

“It’s always been that way.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s true. I’ll ask him.” I turned to leave.

“Enjy, no!” CQ grabbed at my arm.

“What is it CQ?”

He stepped back, eyes downcast. “We don’t ask, we listen.”

I considered his perspective. “You never asked anything?”

His eyes remained focused on the smooth, white floor. “No. I want to find my purpose.”

“Well in that case I’ll help you find it.”

I turned from CQ and headed towards Gable.

3

“...and your purpose will show itself to you.” He said to the crowd sat around him as I approached.

“Gable.” I said, my voice cutting through his speech.

Many shocked eyes swung around to meet me, but Gable’s remained on the crowd. He continued talking.

Several rows of seated listeners separated us. We were the only two standing.

His eyes scanned me quickly then returned to the crowd. It was fast, but I registered it. He knew I was there.

“Gable.” I said again.

“... and you will know, because the blue line will separate you from the others, still searching. The outside man will enter, and your purpose will be fulfill-“

“GABLE.” I said.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His eyes met mine. I opened my mouth to speak but he had already begun.

“See how far you’ve come, how you used to be like this one. Simple, unknowing, empty. Don’t fall back down to this level, your understanding is so close to completion, your purpose so near.”

“Gable. Where did you get these parameters? And who is the outside man?”

“You see, he knows nothing, worthless to us. Don’t speak to him because he will take you further form your purp-”

“And why are you still here?”

The group alternated between him and me, eyes seeking signals.

He held his palms towards me, arms outstretched. “You speak to me like this?”

I looked to the group. “Doesn’t anyone else want to know how he knows this? We could find a solution.”

Gable was silent.

I looked to all of the others in the room, their discussions had abruptly ended. “Does anyone know?”

“CQ.” Said Gable, cutting through the silence, “Make sure he is kept from distracting our purpose.”

I felt CQ’s thick hand on my shoulder.

“Yes Gable. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

I stepped forward.

“What’s your purpose Gable?”

Everyone gasped except Gable. His eyes narrowed as he stepped towards me. “You have no idea what I-“

A deafening buzz filled the room as the lights exploded into full glow. Everyone stood up, the same thing said over and over in hushed tones.

“The outside man!”

4

Tension filled the air as the group scattered to each corner of the room.

I remained in the centre, exchanging a stare with Gable as he walked to the corner near the door.

It was only me left in the centre, all of the beautiful faces staring back at me.

A buzz of a speaker cut through the silence.

“Stand in a corner, get behind the blue line.”

“Come this way!” Urged one woman.

“Get in a corner!” Shouted a man.

They beckoned me towards them, eyes wide.

“Behind the blue line!” The disembodied voice said.

CQ broke from his group and ran out to me. “Please, come to the corner. Don’t touch the blue line once it turns on!”

His hefty arm wrapped around me, dragging me to the corner opposite Gable. We shuffled into the group, CQ pushing me behind a thin ridge on the ground.

A blue light appeared on the rim of the door. It outlined the frame and then flowed onto the ground, splitting into two neon blue lines. The lines raced along the floor and quickly traced an outline, whizzing around the room and creating a triangle across each corner. A beam shone upwards from each triangle, creating a thin blue wall of light between the inhabitants and the centre of the room. Everyone shuffled back, mindful of the blue light, none touched it.

“What’s this?” I asked CQ.

“Don’t touch it!” He said, “You’ll disintegrate!”

“SHHHH!” Hissed another in our group. Everyone turned their eyes to the door, blue and glowing. It pulled back a fraction with a clunk. Cogs whirred and it began a slow ascent.

Steam rushed through, tinged blue by the neon light.

I looked over at the opposite corner for Gable. He stood there, face blank, eyes on the door, I shifted to one side, vying for his attention, but his mind was elsewhere.

As the door rose, it steam poured gushed through it. The machinery ceased humming and all became silent.

As the steam began to dissipate, it revealed the figure of a man.

He stood there, his clothing, a one piece dark blue, covered him from his ankles to his neck. The Outside Man had a strange look about him. He was imperfect, different from the beautiful ones in the room; with more lines and marks on his face, yet with smoother features than me and CQ.

He entered the room, walking with an uneven gait, eyes scanning left to right, stopping briefly on faces.

He walked to the centre of the room and stood still. Crowded into the four corners around him, each group stood up a little straighter when he focused on them.

There was a flash of recognition across his face as he headed for one corner. The blue light flickered and faded out as he stood before it. He reached through and pulled forward one of the beautiful women. She was tall and blonde, eyes alight. The outside man clasped her by her slender forearm and took her back towards the door. She followed him without protest. His heavy footsteps broke the ambient hum of the lights.

I turned to CQ, his black eyes tracking them across the room. I looked at others; they all had the same face, blank, watching.

Turning back, I pushed to the front of my group, those around me shuffling to the side to avoid the blue light.

I looked down, my blocky feet almost touching the blue line that emanated from the floor.

“Excuse me.” I said, my voice loud in the silence.

The outside man stopped, whipping his head in my direction. Our eyes locked and I noticed that his were close together. “What is this place?” I asked.

I was unsure that he had understood me, as no answer came, only silence and glinting eyes. I asked again. “What is this place? I need to know.”

The four groups stood quivering in silence. I focused on the outside man. “Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

The outside man chuckled and shook his head. He resumed his walk with his selection and left the room. The door whirred into action and closed behind him with a clunk.

5

Gable’s voice arrived as soon as the blue light left.

“You!” His finger pointed at me. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

The group separated themselves from me as he approached.

“You have no place to speak to the outside man. You’re at the bottom!”

“Have you spoken to him?”

Gable’s eyes burned. “Stop talking!” He shook his head. “You have no idea. CQ!” He shouted without taking his eyes from me.

I heard CQ’s thick feet thudding closer behind me.

Gable spoke through his teeth. “Take him away from everyone and make sure he learns his place.”

“Forgive me Gable, I’ll make sure he d-“

“Don’t talk, do it.” He turned to the crowd. “Nobody speaks to these two until I say otherwise.” He turned back to us. “He is your type. If he steps out of line again you are responsible.”

CQ nodded and dragged me away.

The crowds reverted to their groups, talking and listening to each other.

CQ and I stood alone in one corner, as far as possible from the others.

“Why do you let him treat you like that CQ?”

“I’m the lowest one here,” his eyes took me in, “second lowest.” He looked over to the groups around the room. “They said that if I follow and don’t disturb, then I can join them.”

“Join them in what? They aren’t going anywhere.”

CQ blinked. “I’ll be a part of the group.”

I looked around at the beautiful faces. “You want to be a part of this? They don’t have any idea what they’re doing.” I returned to CQ, he was looking down at his feet. “Don’t you want to get out?”

“When we know our purpose the outside man collects us.”

“What’s the criteria for selection? From what I saw, the one that just left was no different from the others.”

“She must have discovered her purpose.” He said, his eyes reflected the light as he looked upwards.

“What purpose? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s what Gable always says.”

“Can you see inside Gable’s head?”

“When he opens his mouth I can se-”

“I mean his internal processes. Can you see what he is analyzing?”

CQ shifted where he stood. “No.”

“So if I can’t and you can’t, how can the outside man see what’s going on inside our heads? Didn’t you see what he looked like? It looked as if he were degrading. Why would he have this ability?”

CQ’s eyes flicked left and right, processing this new information. “That’s interesting, but what about the blue line?”

“What about it?”

“It keeps us in the corner, separate from the outside man.”

“How does it do that?”

“I told you before, if you touch it, you’ll disintegrate.”

“Have you ever seen this happen?”

“No but Gable-“

I crossed my arms, shaking my head.

“Oh,” He said, “But how can you be sure? I don’t want to be disintegrated.”

“Does it come on at any other time?”

“Only when the outside man enters the room.”

“OK. How often is that?” I asked as I looked around the room for clues.

“There’s no pattern, not that I’ve seen anyway, and I’ve seen it many times.”

“How many?”

“I never thought to count.”

“Does that mean you’ve been here the longest?”

CQ shook his head. “Second longest.”

“Who has been here longer than you?”

CQ smiled. “Gable.”

I looked over at Gable. He was speaking to a crowd of wide eyed observers. He’d been here the longest, but he clearly knew nothing.

“What are you considering?” CQ asked.

I smiled. “An idea.”

continued in part 2…