Blank Slate

by Integral Archer

Chapter VIII

Years later, when the doctor and the overmare and the janitor whom we have just spoken of were dead—that is to say, when none of the inhabitants of Stable 2 remembered the work of the doctor, his hallway, and his rooms—the electrical engineer’s apprentice, a young earth pony with light blue, almost white, fur, dark blue eyes, a mane of golden bronze, whose legs appeared to be compelled to jump whenever they touched the floor, stumbled upon the door near the psychiatrist’s office. With that sense of exploration peculiar to colts, he ignored the rust and the faded sign above the door and entered the hallway.

Even before he stepped through the threshold, Copper Chromite knew that it was going to be a good day. He remembered a time, a few years back, when the thought had occurred to him that he had explored every single hallway and room in Stable 2. When he reflected on this, it made him sad. Going down this new hallway made him smile.

It was a long walk. Perhaps, he thought, it’s longer than the floor of the stable if it were laid end to end. He didn’t mind. In addition to feeding that thirst for knowledge, which his teachers called “insolently incorrigible,” this walk down this new frontier also gave him an opportunity to think. He liked thinking; though he didn’t really have the time for it during his normal day-to-day activities. Whenever he got the opportunity to think, he relished it.

He enjoyed sleeping; or, rather, he liked that moment when the lights were turned off and he had just shut his eyes. He liked the feeling of the thoughts that passed, one by one, through his head, a million in the span of a second.

When he came to the end, he did not stop in his tracks at the sight of the steel doors, as every other had done before him. He walked merrily on, content, if not ecstatic, at finding another door to open.

He went through the room on the right first.

How pleasant! was his first thought. All this space, being used for nothing, known by nopony, just for me. It’s even got a window to the next room. Though that other room looked strange to him. Why are there pads instead of wallpaper?

Going into the second room was much more shocking than the first. He had thought his eardrums had collapsed. Upon further exploration, no, he concluded; it was just sound-insulated. It was sound-insulated! it struck him when he thought about it the second time. Complete silence! It’s a miracle!

On his return, the electrical engineer scolded him for not telling him where he had went and for being away for so long. A long lecture was given. Copper Chromite didn’t hear any of it, but he nodded when it seemed appropriate and apologized sheepishly whenever he perceived a break in the engineer’s speech. He saw himself still in the hallway, his mind delving deeper into the possibilities now open to him in proportion as he moved back to the steel doors. He saw wires in place of the padding, a room where oscilloscopes, voltmeters, and ammeters reigned supreme. Though the engineer yelled at him, he heard nothing, silence. He saw a new domain open to him, far away from everypony else, far away from the overmare, far away from the problems of the stable—just him, his ideas, his equipment; and, eventually, the radio.

Comments

[Twi-Guy]

Not bad. While it was a good exposition chapter it lacked the creepiness that the previous chapters had. Ten bits says the next chapter will be about Littlepip and Copper in the radio room during the present.