Inner Man Theatre

Chapter 7  In Truth Alone

    “Welcome to another exciting, surprise event brought to you by the Championship Fighting Alliance.  I’m Ally Horn, and this is my cohost Fiona Sakuro.”

    “Our six young competitors are minutes away from the bout of their young careers.  What will it be, Ally?  Shall they battle it out like in the 64, starting in teams in a gradually shrinking arena until it’s every man for himself?  Is it time for a little MXT, where they’ll have to balance eliminating their own teammates with leaving enough in the game to not get overwhelmed by the opposing team?  Whatever Duplica decides, your two favorite CFA hosts will be right here to give you all the play-by-play.”

    “What are they talking about?” Kammy hastily asks Jocelyn, not liking the fact Duplica’s name was called in the paragraph obviously referring to the kids.  “Are we going to be competing with the CFA girls?  I guess the guys will fight the males in the meantime.”

    “Oh, don’t be silly, Kammy,” Duplica shouts over to her.  “You girls are going to fight each other for your grade, and the boys are going to have a match for their grade.”

    This announcement gets a mix of cheers and whines.

    “Um, not to complain, Lady Duplica,” Faye clarifies in empathy for the sorrowful moans she just heard, “but can you specify how the grading system will work here for those not fortunate enough to progress in the fight?”

    “Simple,” Cat excitingly insists, “you know we can monitor your vitals with the nanos surrounding your bodies.  I’m not saying you have to win in order to get a good grade, but I am saying that if your nano stats show me you didn’t try, you fail.  Basically, this test is about doing the best that you can.  If you can win, don’t be a loser and cheat yourself.  If your body says to quit and you’re lazy enough to give in when the stats suggest you could’ve kept going, we will grade accordingly.  You guys always do your best, so I’m not concerned about you doing a good or bad job.  The only thing I’m concerned about is which of you chumps actually thinks they have what it takes to rise above?”

    “Hey, Mom,” Grace interrupts, “aren’t we still in the middle of a lesson?”

    “It’s almost done,” says Duplica.  “It’s called a fair warning, babe.”

    Hearing this, Faye realizes her own mother’s other namesake is at the announcer table, thus she decides to wave like a little maniac, “So it would seem.  HEY, LADY ALLY!!”

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