Open Enrollment

It was a strange place, an island with a school for people to learn. For Alice, this place was unique, not simply because the mysterious people with unique powers rumored to learn to adjust here, but also because school in general was foreign to her. Alice was not a human, not a species with higher intelligence, if anything she was a lower level existence that had risen up in a strange twist of fate.

Her steps clacked across the tile as she was escorted into the administration office. The reason she was escorted was largely because she simply couldn't be trusted yet. In the very short time she's been on the island, she's already tried to eat many things, including but not limited to the vehicle that brought them to this very building, various island waste bins, the front door, the hallway's water bubbler and a curious passerby. Despite this list of things she was attempting to snatch up, her intentions were clearly not malicious, there was innocence and confusion in her hollow gaze every time she was stopped from devouring them. A genuine confusion, and every time she was dissuaded from eating one, she'd instead try to snatch up the next believing that that former one had been a simple exception.

It was unfortunately something Alice had difficulty restraining. Even when she did remember, the object would already be half absorbed into her viscous body before she'd reluctantly separate from it again. The administrations office was no real exception to her, but with all of the rules, she was still struggling to find something that was within the boundaries for her to consume. Normal human food didn't appeal to her, she didn't need to eat for sustenance, at least not yet, what she wanted was to grow and develop, but without any additional mass there wasn't even a hope of her evolving.

These restrictions made her a little uneasy. Without being able to consume, how would one grow? If she couldn't adapt, she wouldn't evolve. She was having a hard time understanding these bizarre creatures that were giving her the opportunity to learn. Were they satisfied with this stagnating lifestyle? Did they not feel oppressed? She could only look towards the scouts that had brought her here in distress. How should she tell them? What value did these things have beyond facilitating her adaptation? She couldn't fathom it... but would they be able to tell her a reason that she could understand?

Alice was largely oblivious to the parallels the man was drawing towards her own situation. She was confused, perplexed, it showed in the intensity of her gaze and the occasional wiggle in her brow. She had the instinct to assimilate and grow, to develop and change through consumption and restraining that was difficult.

If her abilities had been restrained though, the man wouldn't know the effect it would have until it was finally slapped on her. Forcing her to waste away without sustenance, forcing her body to take an unfamiliar shape. It would have been a literal prison that would cause her to starve to death no matter how much she consumed or assimilated.

No matter how familiar he seemed to be with her though, there was one strong difference it seemed. While the man's formerly(?) volatile nature seemed to be heated, beast-like or wild, Alice operated differently.

Her expression was generally stoic, though confusion and uncertainty flashed across her bland face every once in a while, it was quickly drowned under an air of indifference and apathy. Blankness and emptiness was her default, and behind that hollow exterior was a creature constantly analyzing, probing, studying. Not quite reducing the world to 1s and 0s, Alice was a biological creature that was driven by the instinct to learn and evolve rather then hunt or fight.

"This environment isn't very supportive. If I can consume nothing of value, how can I grow or develop? I was told this was a place human people developed and grew." Alice asked in a confused but monotonous drone. Reen would naturally understand her confusion, as one who had been present on that day she broken free from the labs. Rending humans to bits, consuming them to become intelligent, consuming them to have flesh and bone for a body. She assimilated their equipment, consumed the furniture, but was caught as she was leaving. The battle that followed was the result of a misunderstanding, but it was still an unsettling rampage in the eyes of some. In the end she was convinced to settle down and encouraged to come to the academy to learn how to live in a human society properly.

Alice, who's goal had been evolving and adapting misinterpreted this invitation perhaps, but in the end, her self-preservation instinct told her that this type of knowledge was important for her to survive... She just wasn't quite expecting there to be so many rules.

Alice's head tilted, she could tell he was emphasizing the 'everyone' but couldn't understand why it was important to differentiate. "Everyone is everyone-- Humans are Humans. Humans are a part of everyone, but not everyone can be a part of humans. Was this not the reason this place was made? So that everyone can better become a part of 'Humans'?" She spoke, the 'logic' in her words was perhaps a little special and misinformed. Though she had intelligence from the brains she'd adapted, her knowledge and common sense was almost nothing even if her understanding of various fields was very developed.

Though the topic of man eater caused her head to tilt to the other side. Men, or flesh rather wasn't what she needed any more. She'd taken plenty from those few in the labs she'd broken free from. There wasn't much of a need for meat and bone any more, she'd already taken and squeezed as much as she could from human DNA, and instead needed other things at this point.

Quickening her pace to arrive in front of Reem, she turned back to face him as she spoke, her hands cupped in earnest offering. "Will Trade with them? Blood or Flesh-- I have a lot. Will trade for metals and plastics... Energy. I need to consume unique things-- Tasty things. I will trade bad things for those things?" She offered as the pores in her hand began to open, from them small beads of blood began to slowly trickle filling one palm with just enough to show that she had something to trade.

From the other, the flesh of that arm began to squirm, as if snakes or worms were working their way down towards her fingertips from her torso. They gathered on the surface of her palm, squirming, wriggling, stretching the skin on the surface causing it to blow up like a thick fleshy tumor. After all, there were several scientists, and even more freedom fighters in that lab, Alice didn't need flesh from all of them to maintain her shape. If she could trade some of their useless meat for better materials, it would be worth her while.

She gestured towards Reem, as if trying to offer him the flesh or the blood if he preferred that instead. "I have more... You eat these things? I will trade for other things." She offered once more, gesturing again with her hands as if encouraging Reem to take one in exchange for letting her eat something else.

Alice only cocked her head once more, still not quite understanding completely when he shot back at her. His stress and situation largely lost on her. Things like social norms, human behavior and subtle cues might as well be latin or greek written in chinese before being translated back to english. "Not drinking out of. Trading, for something better. Over Abundance of a commodity weakens it's value and creates economic disequilibrium." She spoke, gesturing once more with her hands full of those very commodities she was trying to offer.

"Unstable economy makes growth and development difficult. So I trade-- Trade abundant supplies for lacking supplies to equalize, stabilize, good for development, good for growth." She tried to explain innocently, as if she believed the reason he refused was because he didn't want to suck it from her body and commit some violent act. She instead tried to correct him and explain that she'd offer it up as a trade herself.

She'd continued trying to pitch, using more irrelevant business and investment jargon she pulled from what she could retrieve. But when it seemed clear she was uninterested, there was a faint pout on her face. Slowly that blood was sucked back into her body through her pores, the flesh began to slither back into her frame making the tumor disappear. It wasn't as simple as washing or wiping, her body swallowed every trace of it save for whatever smell had already diffused into the air. "I have blood and flesh-- you want blood and flesh. I don't understand, is it the issue qualitative? Is this not a good trade?" She asked tilting her head once more. Wondering if perhaps the blood or flesh was inferior and therefore worth little in the man's eyes.

She could understand and sympathize with that point of view after all, inferior materials left a lot to be desired, but the nicer flesh and bone was used to create her body, she couldn't trade that so easily. Fortunately he mentioned a scrap yard that perked her up. "Yes, metal scrap. Inferior quality, but lacking in supply. Would trade flesh, blood or bone for metals. Can we go?" She asked, there was a glint in her eyes, an anticipation on her otherwise stoic and indifferent face. She seemed less interested in her accommodations and more interested in the materials he mentioned.

Alice's pout remained firm in response to his demand about only eating certain things. After all, Alice's growth and development depended on diversity and abundance of rare and useful materials. "Stingy." She answered but was still content with the trip to the scrap yard. At least she'd have a chance for new and useful things.

She didn't hesitate to follow along when it was a place she wanted to go, following along in the path of his gesture. Still though, the comment about having a strong grasp of economics made her tilt her head as if it were strange of him to ask her such a thing. "Economics is the foundation for creating a self-sufficient society, understanding economical theory is the first step to creating a system that needs little or no external support; Self-supporting, Independent-- This is important for growth and development, for evolution." She explained, but in the end tilted her head as before when she was confused. "School; a place to develop growing minds, to impart useful skills and knowledge that allows one to adapt to society as a functioning member or participant; A cog in a greater machine, awareness of how to support this machine. I understand school as a place humans go to to become capable and competent humans. Is my grasp on school not firm?" She questioned back with innocence still alight in her eyes.

Even so though, she clenched a fist, after her question, for a while considering whether or not she truly grasped these theories she had such profound knowledge of. In the end she came to a conclusion with a soft hum of thought. "I know. Can explain these things-- Point out irrelevancies and usefulness, Explain their purpose. Does this make me competent? Am I capable? No-- I have not adapted, there is room for growth and further development. This is why. I know-- but having knowledge and understanding it are different. I know there are rules, but do not understand why there are rules. I know about school, but do not understand it's value." She elaborated with a firm nod.

"I will understand, Consume and adapt even knowledge. Then I will evolve and become better." She concluded, for a moment wearing a very faint and delicate smile as if proud of her adorable insight into her own naivety and weaknesses.