“What type of situation is this?” My eyes shake, looking at a tall blonde woman in a pink lab coat and white heels who has mysteriously appeared in my room. The blonde smirks snapping her fingers as two masked men appear with a large metal cart throwing me inside and sealing it shut. “Let me out!” I scream, though deep down, I knew it was all in vain. There would be no reason for my captors to take pity on me.
After a while, I find myself in silence for an extended period. I try to push on the door one more time, this time, opening it. “Say no to holding chambers! We’re getting out of here!” Yells an elderly woman in a patient robe with her butt exposed. The grandmother grabs onto her walker, scooting away. I laugh, knowing she will not get far. “What are you laughing at, newbie!?” The lady turns to me, hitting a button on her walker. Turbo engine jets fire at the wheels while she flies towards me at supersonic speed and is now crouched over and inches away from my face. “I ain’t your average grandma baby!” She smirks, the guards running towards her. “Ms. Meadows, please return to your room and stop scaring the new recruits.”
“Me scaring the new recruits?” Look at this place! First, you kidnap these poor brilliant minds and shoot them to the moon.”
“The moon?”
“Yeah girl, the moon! Come on out.”
“I exit, taking in the world around me. Illuminations of pink lights detailed this strange place. Looking past a large tower of conveyor belts, I could see numerous laboratories. I turn, and out the window, I see Earth smiling back at me and that the moon’s surface was this building’s front lawn. “Looks like I’ll be seeing her in the medical ward!” I hear Ms. Meadows speak. The stars begin to spin, and I hit the ground.
“Nanaaa, you can’t sleep the whole day away. You are my first recruit,” I hear someone whining as well as poking me.
“Leave her alone, Bethany. You don’t want to cause her to become erratic.”
“You mean like what happens to you when the sun goes down?”
“Baby, I will knock you into the next solar system. This ain’t what you want!” I hear Ms. Meadows yell. I Open my eyes, revealing the blonde from my house, or I guess, Bethany.
“Please tell me what is going on?” I whisper.
“Look! You already ruined her; she has no energy left─”
“Ms. Meadows please!” Bethany whines. Ms. Meadows throws up her hands, leaving the room.
“Sorry about her, she is a long-time resident of The Shard and can be a little uneasy.”
“The Shard?”
“That is what we call this place. I work for a company called Doodle, and this is our top-secret headquarters. It houses a residency, labs, a school, even an artificial park, and numerous spaces for extracurriculars.”
“So, what does your company want with me? You said something about a recruit?”
“Basically, everything that you have ever seen in a sci-fi movie or superhero movie, we have already invented it. But we need a constant flow of new minds to keep inventing, and we can’t just put out an ad in the paper. So, unfortunately, we must kidnap those we think would be good job candidates.” Bethany awkwardly smiles.
“Wow, ok. But why the secrecy?”
“Simple, great power in the wrong hands can cause more damage than good. I know you saw the movie with the snap.”
“That’s a good point. So why do you all think I would be a good recruit, and what if I decline?”
“Well, if you decline, we erase your memory. However, if you stay, you will be entering a world you can only dream of, literally. We pick you all by your dreams.”
“Well, forget privacy!” I scoff.
“Yes, it is quite invasive, but before we dream scan anyone, we watch your patterns for an extensive period, yes still an invasion of privacy, but better than a mind scanner. Then once the 5moons deem you worthy, you are scanned, and we bring you in to create inventions.”
“Wow.”
“Wow, that’s all?” Bethany shrieks, but that is the only reaction I can manage. A part of me still feels like I’m dreaming, and another part wishes I were, but that’s what got me in trouble in the first place. Or could it be? I have been looking for a new job for ages, but no door seemed to budge; Could this be why? Was God leading me here?
“Nana are you okay, Is the altitude getting to you?”
“No, the altitude sickness or moon sickness, whatever it’s called, passed a while ago.”
“Well, if you decide to stay, we do give cash advances. For your talent and thoughts,” Bethany pauses, pulling out a little black book, “you will receive a $20,000 cash advancement!” She claps! And before I knew it, I found myself clasping her hands, “Deal.”
Did I sell myself for money? Honestly, it wasn’t the $20,000 that piqued my interest, it was the idea of having: purpose. Back home, there was nothing for me. But here, I finally found more, or so I would hope.
“Feel a little better?” Bethany asks, brushing the shoulders of my padded pink blazer and tucking my curls back into place.
“Oddly enough, I’m good. But do we have to match?”
“Oh, come on, you look bright and cheerful. All the other recruits will be so drab. Alright, shoulders back and stand tall. We take no prisoners!” I nod my head, following her out the room down a corridor adorned with orange neon lights and metal doors with numbers on them.
Numerous well-polished recruits begin to exit their rooms, followed by their seasoned mentors. I feel my hands trying to tremble, but I remember Bethany’s words, stand tall! I push my shoulders back, showing no fear. As we continue down the hall, we reach a large silver door engraved with a floral scene. We stand in three single-file lines of five, but Bethany and I were the most colorful in line, splitting the sea of black in our pink and white getups. “Hey, did you steal this idea from the movi─” “Shh! the doors are opening, now we must be on our best behavior.” Bethany winks.
A strong smell of lavender grows with each step I take; until I find myself standing in the middle of a lavender field. Further in, there were five thrones made of flowers, and that is where the 5moons sat. I knew it was going to be strange, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this. Nor was I expecting the council members to look so hip.
“You have Mori, Tay, Meisha, Leo, and Vincent. Tay is the leader and CEO of Doodle.” Bethany whispers. I look at this man named Tay; he was a very handsome young man with bright eyes that shine like the moon. “Alright, good evening all. Let’s jump right in and start. Newbie, your recruit will go first.” Tay speaks, turning all his attention to us, as do the other recruits.
First!? Though we stood at the back of the line, we suddenly are pushed front and center. I peak at Bethany, who is grinning. She tells the council how great of a person I am and the change my dreams will bring. I blush, as I have never heard anyone speak so highly of me.
“Are you ready dear?” Meisha asks, placing a soft touch on my shoulder, bringing me back to the situation at hand. I nod, clenching my fist and taking a deep breath. I look back at Bethany, who winks at me. Meisha takes me to the other side of the room, revealing a metal center stage. “All you need to do is stand in the middle, and the pink crystal above will project your creation.”
“So, I just think?”
Meisha lets out a small giggle. “Technically, yes. But, put a little purpose into your thinking as well.”
I nod, taking one last deep breath stepping center stage. The stage was dark and cold, I could no longer see the other recruits or the 5moons, so I close my eyes. Purpose, I found myself murmuring repeatedly. As a person who has no purpose, what could I possibly think up?
No! they said my thoughts were worth $20,000. So, there must be something inside of me, even if I cannot see it. “Thank you, Nana. You may step down now and head towards the exit. I open my eyes, the room is black, and the crystal no longer glows a bright pink from above. All I can see is the orange neon glow of the exit sign on the other side of the stage. I lower my head, slowly walking towards the exit.
“Nana, you did great!” Bethany squeals in the hall on the other side, wrapping me in a tight hug.
“But nothing happened?”
“Well, if you had opened your eyes silly, you would have seen your amazing creation floating above you!”
“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to open my eyes.” I laugh. “So, what did I create?”
“Simple. Purpose. Or technically a purpose finder. As far as how it works, that’s up to you.”
“Up to me!?”
“Yes. Remember I told you we nurture your creations and supply the resources. You have to build it and give it purpose,” Bethany snorts, “pun intended.” She says, punching my arm. I laugh awkwardly. Guess I should have known they wouldn’t give $20,000 to me just for thinking.
For the next couple of months, I got used to my life on the moon. Though I spent most of my time in the lab, trying to create this Purpose Finder. And being an inventor was as hard as I thought it would be. I was using quantum physics and math equations that were so long they deserved to be in novels. Thankfully, someone invented an education downloader that uploads information to your brain. Though, I still had to go to physical classes so my knowledge wouldn’t be too artificial. And finally, in my 5th month on the moon, my invention was complete. I held it in my hands for an hour just staring at it. I couldn’t believe I had done it.
I couldn’t wait to put on my best pink ensemble and present my invention, and soon that day arrived. Bethany and I held hands as we walked to the presentation room. However, this time was different from the first. The 5moons were in attendance, but so was a group of businessmen and women. “Investors,” Bethany whispers, “But they are only holograms, so don’t be too afraid.”
“I won’t be,” I say, walking towards the podium. I begin with the specs, and from there, I felt a rush as I started speaking on how great life will be if everyone knew which direction they were supposed to be taking in life. In the end, I couldn’t help but smile, and to my surprise, so was Tay. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long as he and the other members began to talk amongst themselves.
In the end, I failed.
I suppose a world where everyone knows their purpose is too perfect. Just like the people of Babel, was my invention reaching dangerously too close to the heavens? With shaking hands, I hold my tiny creation close, walking down the ramp of hell, or whatever the council called this place. I was ordered to throw it away. So, without looking back, I threw my Babel into the fire.
“I don’t think it would have mattered if they had produced it anyway,” Bethany says as we sit on a bench outside the destruction room. “People wouldn’t have listened to their true purposes. Doing this job, I learned one thing; humans rarely choose what’s best for them, especially when it’s presented loud and with flashing lights.” Bethany says, making fake alarm sounds, and I can’t help but laugh, seeing that some things never change, as we manage to find laughter on the dark side of the moon.
