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Jean was offered a choice. One option was that she could help develop technology that would likely be used for nefarious purposes. The other option was that she could remain at her present place of employment.
New Plymouth is where Jean currently worked, and she worked as a tour guide. The tourists followed her around a full-scale replicated structure of the buildings at Machu Picchu. While the tourists expressed their awe, Jean was all smiles. When she was addressing them at certain set spots throughout the structure, she was all smiles. She had learned a trick: If she pushed her tongue against the top of her mouth, it was much easier to give a big, broad, smile. If Jean wasn't smiling, she would be given an electric shock.
Yesterday, one family wanted to see the Machu Picchu exhibit. The temperature was far below freezing. Jean was amazed at how many unintelligent tourists she interacted with every day. Jean did her job, but at times her eyelashes froze shut. When that happened, she stopped smiling.
That night she returned to the employees' barracks after that family was through exploring the fake ruins. She skipped dinner, and tried to get to bed early. It took her several hours to fall asleep. In the middle of the night, while she was in a deep sleep - zap! A good-natured Jaybav Nation member named Stone gave her the shock.
Stone worked at the tourist center where several different war reenactments took place. His particular battle concerned the taking of New York City by the Irenshoa tribe. If Stone forgot his lines during this play - which depicted Irenshoa overwhelming the English and Dutch inhabitants - then he would be shocked in the middle of the night. He would get the electrical shock from Jean.
There were Irenshoa children that spied on everyone in New Plymouth, and kept track of infractions. In the middle of the night, the elderly from Irenshoa Nation decided who should get punished. Then one of the elders would wake someone like Jean, and she would have to directly deliver the punishment to her partner, in her case, Stone. The Irenshoa were creative in their cruelty, which generally meant playing one person, or one group, off of another.
The Irenshoa had once revived Jean before the poison from a suicide attempt had completely taken effect. Afterward, they said she determined her own fate, but that if Jean ever did manage to commit suicide, they would kill a pair of people she loved in response.
Today, Jean was told the two alternatives about her future. She could become a tour guide for a full-scale replica of an Aztec pyramid that was under construction. Otherwise, she could join their Nation, and study at a newly-established academy. If Jean became a Irenshoa member, any discoveries of hers would assist their culture of cruelty. If she didn't, her false smiles184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJmstWKXb5
would convey to an artificial world that she enjoyed her present work.
Jean felt that she didn't really have a choice.184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB6bacg9ZK
