Goodbye Rome, Part 1

As I have mentioned previously, I wanted Part 2 of Rome's Revolution to have a split narrative structure. Rome was to go on a mental journey while Rei was to go on a physical journey and they'd meet up near the end of this section. In order to do this, it was necessary to break up the couple (sniff, sniff), that is, boy loses girl. To facilitate this split, Rome has to go undercover and pretend to not want to be with Rei any more. Yesterday, I wrote about the reintegration process itself.

Once Rome is injected with the artificial genes and reconnected to the Overmind of Deucado, it is now time for her to get Rei out of there so that a) he is not in danger and b) she can do her work which is to say do battle with the Overmind. She had hinted at this just short while before, when she told Rei she would always love him even though it seemed out of context.

Here is part 1 of how she dismissed him:

     On the table, Rome took a deep breath and then her whole body seemed to relax. The two technicians holding the plates lowered them and set them down on the floor. They loosened her restraints. Rome lay there, not moving at all. One technician removed the cuffs around her arm and leg but left the telemetry sensors in place.
     “Sweetheart?” Rei called out, leaning as far forward as the guards would permit but there was no reaction on Rome’s part. One of the technicians patted her cheek lightly with no response. They removed the restraints altogether and jostled her gently. Rome still showed no reaction. The two technicians turned toward Pegus who nodded slightly.
     Each of the technicians took an elbow and coaxed Rome’s body into an upright position. They remove the adhesive sensors. For a moment, Rome sat straight up but then her head fell forward with her chin resting on her chest. She stayed that way for a long while.

Tomorrow, part 2 of this pivotal scene.