#equalist

There were no clock hands marking time, no windows through which to look at the sky.

Lin had never hated closed spaces, she had found in the bowels of the earth the type of shelter that no other human can feel, the one that only earthbenders shared, however now that her element had been stolen from her body she felt like a corpse. If they hated her so much because they didn't just end her life? They had become so creative in their ways of torture that Beifong wondered if this little speech about equality was just their way of masking the sadistic desires that inhabited their hearts.

Loneliness was taking its toll on her head, it wasn't the kind of loneliness she liked. She didn't even like being alone! She spent days at her work station listening to the voices of hier police officers, their hurried steps and the jingling of their armor, the cars through the window and, in general, the orchestra that was everyday life. How much could she endure in those four walls full of shadows? She had reached the point of feeling relief when she heard the creak of the door when they came to disturb her. It was human contact! For better or worse, Lin had never been picky about the treatment of others, not even in her childhood did she enjoy a “healthy” environment that made her demanding.

If she got out of there she could thank her mother (or not).

As if the spirits gave him an ounce of consideration, the door creaked. It wasn't the lieutenant! What a joy, that dude had a very special thing for her. The Equalist on duty released the chains from the ceiling and gently let Beifong fall. What was this waste of kindness? The guy took her by the shoulders and once he was sure she could walk, he made her march in front of him. If he thought she was taking too long, he would poke her in the back with a cane. Lin recognized the shape. They were the ones they used in the Riot Police. Sons of a bitch! They were stealing her men's supplies. Didn't they have enough nerve already? Although this time they didn't take her the usual way. They made her climb stairs! If small creatures lived in Lin's body, they would be having a party. Would she see any natural light? She missed it so much.

The euphoria helped her reach the external warehouse, where there were some skeletons of combat tanks hanging from the roof, Lin looked at them out of the corner of her eye, everything was so lit that it looked like an operating room and... Was that Pema? The chief stopped short and the Equalist who was guarding her forgave her, a few meters away Tenzin's wife looked ragged and sickly, her clothes had been changed for a rather baggy gray dress and her hands were chained, it took her two glances before he recognized Lin. Did she look that horrible? Thank spirits there was no reflective surface nearby, as Poppy's good granddaughter always knew how to be somewhat vain.

Pema ignored her guard to run towards the familiar face, her head resting on his shoulder as if they were the closest friends in the world, Lin considered whether she already felt desperate enough to show sympathy to Pema and when she remembered that she was a housewife who had surely been separated from her children, her heart softened and she rested her head on her. The scene didn't last long, someone pulled Pema away so they could both look at their host, not the lieutenant, not a horde of sadists, something more boring: Hiroshi Sato.

He looked impeccable as usual, in his brown suit and with his well-trimmed beard, seen from the side he wouldn't raise suspicions of being involved in an extremist movement, how deceptive appearances could be, huh? Lin kept some attention on Pema, her hair had been trimmed and she had a compress on one of her ears. What had they done to her? She smelled terrible, so they hadn't allowed him to clean himself. And her children? There was at least one who should be with her, no matter how null Lin's knowledge of children was, it was known that a newborn was dependent on its mother... She wish they were still alive.

—Are you listening to me, Beifong? Or should I call her chief to answer?

Lin looked vaguely at Hiroshi and then lost herself in her worries again, her escort wouldn't let her get close to Pema but she would keep trying. Was there something better to do? Listening to Sato was not an option.

A gloved hand grabbed Lin's hair and forced her to look forward. There was a kind of mannequin that resembled no body in particular. It had a series of plates located on the sides and some cables that seemed to be in the back area. Hiroshi adjusted his jacket and sighed like a teacher who was ashamed of his students. —I would appreciate the seriousness of both of you in this, I won't explain it to you a second time, fine?

—We would prefer not to participate— Pema pointed out without giving him time to explain, in response one of the Equalists hit her on the legs.

—We were making a careful selection of volunteers to test what we temporarily called the “Corrective Suit.” Our plans once we manage to establish ourselves as a government is to restructure the social model, for this purpose studies will be carried out, we want to finish ruling out how much your bodies continue to resemble those of a bender now that they have lost their element... And of course, educate from scratch those who still cannot reconsider their values.

—Don't you prefer whips? They are more classic—Lin pointed out, being the one who won the second hit.

—We are not savages like you, we do everything for a reason… And in this case science is, after all, the engine of civilization, we cannot just sit down and celebrate victory, we must move on to the next goal. These suits are designed to go under clothing, they are quite thin plates, designed to adapt to any body, they are controlled remotely, if inappropriate behavior is detected they will be able to distribute an efficient corrective measure to the user, the damage is naturally less than that of canes and gloves, it is not designed to incapacitate, only to... Warn. Do you understand?

—No— Lin said, but the Equalist refrained from hitting her because of the look Hiroshi gave him.

—Both are faces recognizable to the public... Oh, well, one is the face and the other is more of a concept, but the important thing is to show the world through its refinement that it is possible to improve ourselves as a society without cultural or structural obstacles built around the control of the elements... If they know how to be collaborative we could even compensate them.

—How much do four children cost, Sato?

—Beifong.

—Yasuko would prefer payment in cash, you know?

The authorization to hit her came quite quickly, Lin felt the blow on her head and how things shot up in flashes of color, the disconnected threats about erasing the avatar from history and every iota of pride in her body, if she had had the strength she would have scoffed. Did they really believe they had the power to destabilize the world like that? The murmur of the water began to caress her ears, as consciousness returned to her, she was lying on a cold surface. Tiles? She couldn't focus on anything but the light pierced her iris, someone rubbed her skin and from the murmur of her voice he knew that she was still with Pema.

She was so desperate that that fact made her immensely happy.