[Thursday, 16 December, 2258 | A Christmas Movie]
It’s that alarm again. Virginia wakes up, feeling like she hadn’t slept at all the night before. Or day, for that matter: her cell has no window, no way of seeing the outside world, and no way for the sunlight that manages to break through the city’s smog to make its way inside.
“Hey, Nanny, what’s the time?” Virginia asks.
“It’s 2:30am, Virginia,” Nanny replies.
Virginia wonders what the hell kind of regime this re-education camp is running, but doesn’t dare speak her thoughts aloud for fear of another infraction. And surely, infractions in the re-education centre are taken fairly seriously.
The cell door screeches open, and Ms. Nagal enters. She brings with her a restraint chair, which Virginia does not think looks at all comfortable. There is some thin padding, but the real flourishes come in the form of straps: straps for the head, the shoulders, wrists, lap and ankles.
Ms. Nagal grabs Virginia and effortlessly tosses her onto the chair, despite the child’s physical protests, which don’t faze Ms. Nagal in the slightest, to the point where Virginia wonders what enhancements she’s been gifted. Each strap wraps it around Virginia tightly, ensuring that the young girl is unable to move, or for that matter, breathe easily. The woman then takes a VR headset from the back of the restraint chair and places it over Virginia’s head.
“Ow!” the young girl snaps as the headset pierces and stretches the skin around her eyes, forcing them open.
Ms. Nagal punches away at the touch screen on the back of the chair, setting up today’s viewing for the girl.
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