White Room 2/6

Another fragment's of my earliest memories were dug up.

"Take your time and state your name." 

The brain processed the instruction and transmitted a signal to the throat.

"Kiyotaka." I answered a simple sequence of letters. A symbol that was a name. 

All of us White Room Students were taught names as a way to identify individuals based on a simple or long sequence of letters that would be a symbol of our identity. However when we were young, we weren't told our surnames, all of the instructors would call us by our first names.

It wasn't till later that I would learn that this was a rule based on the fact that surnames were an unnecessary component to our education here and as such had been removed from it.

When we were 3 there had been newer curriculums which had begun to be implemented one after the other.

The most important of these was a written test.

"Now then let us commence the test." 

All of the students straightened their backs and faced the paper laid out in front of them. 

The test itself consisted of the basic writing systems, hiragana, katakana, the alphabet, numbers, simple kanji. 

Since we had already spent the last year being thoroughly taught reading and writing when we were 2, there was no hesitation in their fingertips movements as they held the pen.

The students were penalized if they didn't achieve a certain level of performance in the time we had been allotted to do this test. In addition, the students would also have points deducted should their hand writing be poor. Even if your handwriting was good, you won't receive points if the answer was wrong.

Therefore we were careful with our hand movements. No one at this facility asked whether or not we could solve the problems we faced.

Those who couldn't were dropped out of this facility at the age of 2.

Our generation of the White Room was the fourth having 100 students at the start but by the time we were 3 13 of us had already dropped out making the current number of White Room students of the fourth generation 87.

The written tests at this place were usually 30 minutes long, but there was enough time to complete it in about half to two-thirds of the time limit if we weren't hesitating to answer the questions.

This was true for previous written tests held in the White Room and even ones which were held in the future.

Solve the equation and move on to the next. Determine the answer and write it down. At the same time, you reviewed the previous questions to see if any mistakes had been made.

Once I was done I raised my hand up to signify that fact. After signifying that I was done I turned the paper over.

Getting the maximum score possible was the minimum requirement. At that same time you were required to be a speedy and neat writer.

This was the 7th written exam since I turned 3 years old and, I've achieved first place 5 of those times. The first time I took a written test I got 5th place, the second time I got 2nd. It took me 2 attempts to figure out how these things worked. It was logic and efficiency.

Once I solved that such tests became meaningless to me. I was improving rapidly compared to the other students of my generation and I have never been overtaken by anyone. The gap between me and 2nd place finisher kept widening, and now that gap was about 5 minutes or 300 seconds.

Regardless of if I got a perfect score or not, I would never be praised by anyone. 

When everyone finished, we moved onto the next part of our curriculum. 

"Now we'll start Judo. Everyone please change and follow the instructor to another room."

Martial arts. That was another curriculum that was added when we turned 3. Same with the written test.

I've already been taught Judo for the past 4 months. While being trained in the basics, we had progressed to a stage where we had to fight in actual combat.

"Haa!" 

Mi vision shook and a strong pain shot was felt from my back as it collided with the ground. In this confrontation with the instructors, children would always made to taste the bitterness, I was no exception.

"Get up!" 

The relentless slamming into the floor, making it impossible to breathe, would not earn you a break. Even for a split second. You had to stand back up quickly and be prepared even at the moments notice. 

I was slammed into the ground yet again, as I tried to catch myself fully barely managing to put my arms on the floor just enough to get back up quickly. Yet I couldn't absorb the damage fully.

While I was getting back up similar occurrences were happening all over the place. All of the kids were crying and sobbing as some no longer found the strength to continue but stood back up anyways. 

"I can't.... I can't stand up...!" 

Came the weak voice of Mika who clung to the instructors legs as if she was begging for forgiveness. 

"Still, get up!" 

The young 3 year old girl was forced to stand back up as the instructor forcibly shook off her hands, yet her body seemed to too weak to continue. The fact that they were a female wasn't being taking into account here.

"I told you to stand up!"

The girl was kicked, spun around and around on the floor, and sprayed vomit all over the floor from which she landed.

Of course these people weren't kicking seriously but even so every single one of can tell that the kicks performed here were unbelievably strong.

"I don't give a damn, even if you are a kid! You already know that!"

The average mind would probably have some kind of resistance to hurting children this much wouldn't it? But the instructors that have been called to the White Room weren't ordinary people. These were the kind of people who had no qualms about killing children and woman. 

"No one will give a damn if you disappear! Stand up and face it on your own," 

Even if the words the instructors use were cruel it was necessary to make us grow. In this place as long as you could prove that you were strong you would win. The core of this world devoid of colour was to win. No matter the costs, methods or sacrifices. 

Mika, convulsing and unfocused, put her hands on the floor and attempted to stand up.

"Yes! That's it! Show some spirit!" 

"Uh, uuu...ugh.. gh..!" Yet the only sounds that came out of Mika's mouth were ones of struggle. Right before she had collapsed to the floor once more. The kick she had taken was aimed at her solar plexus and as such left her critically injured causing her to lose consciousness as soon as she began to fight through the pain to stand back up.

"Damn. You gutless basterd. Get her out of here." 

I looked at my own instructor who I was still fighting for that entire duration.

"Is that one new?" I asked. "He doesn't seem to control his emotions yet." My main reasoning was that. Normally the instructors of this facility were a lot more composed.

"Yeah. Now stand back up."

As I was talking to him he had slammed me to the floor again. I immediately got back up as Mika was forcibly removed from the White Room.

Do you believe such a scene was tragic? 

If so, you wouldn't be able to survive in this place.

This was merely the beginning.. Excessive reactions like Mika's was decreasing day by day, and even the expression of pain was slowly fading. 

Even human instincts were eliminated by the brain as superfluous functions. It was natural to have difficulty breathing. It was natural to hurt yourself to the point of sobbing. And even thinking about it was a waste of time. 

The only way out of this situation was to reduce the number of times you got thrown within that time limit. Or get used to meeting the floor, trying again and again to desperately avoid it. 

One way I discovered to do this was to breath through my nose and not my mouth allowing for better oxygen exchanges between my lungs and activating the parasympathetic nervous system in the process. 

Of course the most ideal scenario was to defeat your opponent. Yet the opponent was far superior in terms of skill, experience, strength and size. The gaps between children and adults were too massive that it wasn't easy to bridge it like that.

After being forced to fight intensely and breathlessly, everyone rose to their feet - except for me who had already been standing up - battered and bruised. At the end of the lesson we were obliged to engage in hand to hand combat with three other people.

Which was why the children of this facility never looked tired.

I've learned that any prey which seems weak was doomed to be hunted by the strong.

As it stands currently this'll be my 145th fight with 127 wins 17 loses and 1 yet to be decided. Currently I was on a 50-fight win streak.

The fights were rotated between female and male opponents, but Shiro stood in front of me his face unmoving as he waited for the signal to begin. He observed me attempting to find weakness in my stance which he could exploit.

Me and Shiro had played twice before this point 1 win 1 lose. Today would determine a tie breaker. He had an extremely good record of 135 wins and 9 loses. He also had the best Judo skills in this room so far. 

Because he was such a formidable opponent, he was able to sharpen his sensitivity even more. 

Shiro has also always been aggressive and took initiative quite often in fights against others, but today, in his 1st match he took a wait and see approach. He was aiming to counter my attacks.

This was welcomed by me at the time because I wanted experience in attacking such a strong opponent.

I made my move first and fast. I rushed forwards first aiming at his midsection which was blocked yet he didn't expect me to use the opportunity to grip the blocking hand in my own. Breathing in through my nose I pulled him towards me.

"Haa!" 

My voice was let out as I jabbed his solar plexus before launching a flurry of calculated precise strikes across his body. He was left defenceless from my strikes yet attempted to block as much as possible. 

I then performed an Ippon on him. 

The fight ended just like that win or lose however we moved on to the next lesson as if nothing happened.

Karate was a martial art that started somewhat later.

Here the students were subjected to more direct blows from the instructors then in Judo.

The variety will probably increase when we were 4, 5 and beyond that.

01001010

By the time I was 5 the number of children dwindled to 50 leaving about half of us here.

No one cared. There was no time to care.

Here, the only thing they went was your ability to grow. There was no end, if there was then it would more than likely be death. Yet if there was another end to this, it was endlessly far away.

Once you faltered, you'll never be able to catch up again.

Did you find this extraordinary? Because to me this was normal. It was everyday life to me.

One day stood out the most to me when I was 5. After lessons had finished, we were taken to the lunch hall.

The meal was being served with everyone present. During this meal, the instructors would leave us children alone. However we never talked to each other. Never had a direct conversation before. This whole time I've only heard their voices through the instructor. So why didn't we talk to each other?

It wasn't forbidden by the instructors. 

It was because we had no reason to talk to each other. Why talk when there wasn't a reason to in the first place?

We knew each others names through the instructors through the instructors, we knew how good each of us was academically, and how we all did physically. All of our inner abilities were laid bare for all of us to see and perceive. 

There was no food that they dislike or like. The rule of eating only applied to the children. All of them. 

In other words, there was no need for unnecessary dialogue regarding the meals.

There was no sense of friendship, camaraderie, or fellowship. The others' presence never helped nor hampers us, is just somehow, no different from the blankness around us.

"I don't like this." 

A girl named Yuki was heard by me as she always sat in front of me whispered to herself.

It wasn't problematic behaviour, since we weren't forbidden to talk to each other during this time. It was just that no one else felt the need to do so.

I had thought that since no one responded to her she would stop talking.

"Do you like it, Kiyotaka?"

She asked me if I liked or disliked the carrots in front of me. How should I respond to such a question? Do I even expend the energy to answer her at all?

To begin with I have never thought the concept of liking or disliking something to begin with. Which would translate to the carrots in front of me.

In fact I had only considered necessary nutrients that we should be consuming as the main nutrient they contained was called Beta-carotene which becomes vitamin A when digested inside the body. It was effective in preventing cellular aging and maintaining healthier skin and mucous membranes. It is also extremely important against viruses.

"I don't like them either." The answer didn't come from me but Shiro who had sat to my left. Yuki was surprised that he answered instead.

While they talked I checked the surveillance camera and then the hidden ones. 

Of course the instructors were watching us eat our meals on a daily basis. There was also no way they couldn't have picked up the nose since this room was wiretapped. Since there was no response from the instructors, and they aren't criticising us or anything, this type of conversation must be allowed.

How curious we've never been asked to engage in dialogue before.

As long as there was no merit in bothering to engage in this act with each other, there was no need to follow their examples. Yet a though crossed my mind.

What if I did join in? 

As soon as that thought came it disappeared. I mean why would I engage in such useless actions.