Author: Kate Leslie
Category: Other
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“That’s not her style,” Ben replied and told her about Mia. “She would never risk losing her job,” he explained.
“So, they didn’t tell you what it was about? They should have. You are worried. That’s not fair.”
Ben nodded. It was their turn again, first Clara, then he. And they went back in line.
“We are not told anything either. Not even why we’re here,” Clara mused. “They could have just as easily sent us home. I don’t believe that story about the rebels. Something else is going on.”
“I think so too,” Ben confessed, thankful he was not the only one with doubt.
“Somehow, most of our classmates seem to be satisfied with the explanation.” She sighed.
“They consider this an adventure.” Ben thought about Daniel, who had no reservations whatsoever.
“They keep us busy all day long. We don’t have any free time,” Clara whispered.
Ben glanced around again before he told her about his concern that they were being spied upon. Clara appeared worried. Unlike Daniel, she seemed to believe him. “Thanks for letting me know.”
They left the shooting range for another class. Daniel caught up with Ben. “You did pretty well,” he said.
“You did even better,” Ben replied. “I heard the instructor praising you again.”
Daniel nodded smugly. “Yes, I did quite well. But that’s not what I meant. I was referring to you and Clara.”
Ben hesitated. Were they that obvious? Did someone see them talking and was now keeping a close eye on them? Could that be regarded as getting into trouble? Ben did not intend to stop talking to Clara. She was observant, did not take things for granted, and arrived at reasonable conclusions. Their conversations had provided each with new insights. They had to be discreet. Their represented views would not please their instructors. Ben hoped that only Daniel noticed them talking. He needed to inform Clara about it.
The class was about more military drills like standing at attention, saluting, marching, the order of ranks, correctly addressing ranks, remaining silent unless spoken to, and so on. You had to always stay focused. No one could allow their thoughts to wander.
Then came dinnertime, shower time, and shortly after, lights out. Considering this morning’s lecture, everyone fell quiet quickly. The underlying threat had its effect.
Ben lay awake. He could not sleep. He could not stop thinking about his sister. Though no one had become loud or angry with him, there had been a dangerous vibe. Ben had felt intimidated. He should have insisted they tell him what was going on. He was certain Mia would not have given up so easily. She was always the more courageous of the two. Again, he lay with his back to the camera. He did not want them knowing he was awake.
19
Mia
Even at breakfast, there had been no opportunity to speak to Max. Again, he sat between his father and Becka and either he had not seen her or was deliberately ignoring her.
Now Mia had kitchen duty. She stuck to her resolve to endure everything in silence, which seemed to take the wind out of Becka’s sails. After some initial criticism, she had peace and quiet. Mia kept an eye out for Max since he had visited the last two days, though not today.
When Mia left the kitchen, someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a small room. The light was switched on and she was looking at Max, who was still holding her arm, though he loosened his grip as soon as she cried out in pain.
“Where are we?” Mia asked merely to say something. The full shelves of jars, cans, and boxes stacked on the floor made it rather obvious.
“In the pantry, which you would know if you had not declined my offer to show you around,” Max replied.
Mia was about to ask a question that was on the tip of her tongue, but she refrained since he was obviously angry with her.
“I just came from Filiae,” he continued. Mia already knew where the conversation was going. It begged the question; how did he know about it. “I saw your face displayed on every news report, together with a short clip from a surveillance camera. The back of a boy with blond mane appeared in the background. It looked like Phil to me.”
“His face wasn’t seen?” Mia exhaled in relief. “I’m glad, otherwise, I could have never forgiven myself.”
“What have you done? Oh, and one more thing, underneath was a statement saying they are searching for you in connection with a subversive attack.” He regarded her with raised eyebrows.
Subversive attack? Making up lies! Mia could no longer remain silent. “I merely inquired about my brother!” She gave Max a brief account of how they had gone to the school, looked up the mother of Ben’s friend, and even went to the registration office.
“How could Phil be so stupid?” Max exclaimed, upset.
Mia grew louder too. “No trust in me to have ideas of my own. Phil is not to blame. I am! He was simply helping me.”
Max sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But he should have stopped you.”
“He tried. I inserted the ID card as he walked away. He saw it and quickly pulled me away before they could come and take me.”
Max sighed. “You shouldn’t have gone there in the first place.”
“I can’t sit here and leave Ben to fend for himself! Could you leave a loved one hanging just like that?”
Max released her arm and leaned against the wall. “No, I couldn’t do that either,” he said resignedly, now calm.
Mia, however, was still enraged. “See! I never thought the train conductor was serious about the entry. Why would he remember me?”
“If you believe you’re forgettable, you’d be wrong.” Though his remark was a compliment, his voice was stern. “Excuse me. I should not joke around.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you yesterday. I usually don’t. I meant to come see you so I could apologize. So far, I haven’t found the right moment. So, now that you know why, I hope you’re no longer angry with me.”
Max ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not angry, I’m worried.”
Something was still gnawing at Mia. “Will you tell anyone?”
Max sighed. “No, though I’m sure it’ll soon make its way around anyway.”
Max accompanied Mia to the van Berg family’s quarters. Phil and Vi were sitting in the living room. Their parents were not home yet.
“Max knows,” Mia blurted out. The others immediately knew what she meant. She gave them a summary of how he found out.
Phil whistled sharply. “Now you’re famous.”
“I could have done without it.” Mia plopped down in a free armchair.
For a brief moment, everyone was deep in thought until Vi broke the gloomy silence. “Actually, it might come in handy.” Mia and Phil stared at her, flabbergasted. “Think about it. Soon, everyone will know Mia’s face and the story, which is completely fabricated. So, we have to find a way to inform the people, while at the same time, reveal what truly happened. Basically, a young girl was searching for her brother, who was taken away while he was in school. That would wake up the people.”
“Vi, I don’t say it often. Then again, it’s not often you give me a reason to, but you’re a genius,” Phil said enthusiastically.
Vi slapped him lightly. “It’s not often I give a reason, you say.”
Phil grinned at her. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid so.” She slapped him again.
They looked at Mia, who had been silent. “What about my brother? What will they do to him? It’s easy to figure out we’re related.”
Phil came over and sat on the arm of Mia’s chair. “I’m sure they already know. I mean, they have your name.” Mia was about to say something, but Phil continued, “Maybe this is the best chance your brother has. Once we make your story public knowledge, they won’t harm him. They can’t afford to, he has to be available, in good condition, at all times, should people start to ask questions.”
Now Vi came and sat on
the other arm of Mia’s chair. She put a hand on her shoulder. “Phil is right. They already know you’re related. Now we must do whatever we can to keep him alive.”
20
Ben
The morning roll call progressed smoothly. Unlike yesterday, they now knew how to behave. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Once Lieutenant Becker greeted them, they saluted simultaneously. Yesterday’s hours of drill exercises clearly had made a difference. The lieutenant was satisfied with the group. “I’m happy to note you understand what it’s about. You look well-rested, unlike yesterday, which is good because you can look forward to another day of training. Maybe it’s still possible to shape you into fine young men.” His gaze went to Daniel. “D-14, you’re doing well in weapons training, keep it up. Now improve in other areas and you’ll go far.”
He eyed them for a while longer before he gave the command to stand at ease. The group saluted again and split off.
Becker was speaking as if this was their new life, as if they would never see their home again. Each day, it became clearer they were being trained for a reason. They were being turned into soldiers. It begged the question, who were they supposed to fight? The rebels? Suddenly, Ben was cold. He did not want to fight. He did not want to kill. But what other choice did they have? He peered over at Daniel, who was walking beside him. Why didn’t Daniel ask questions? Did he already accept this new life? Was his lack of criticism due to the fact that he had found something in which he was good at? Daniel had always been a mediocre student at school. He took everything in stride. It had not escaped his teachers’ attention, who made sure to criticize him whenever warranted.
“Looks like we’re staying a while longer,” Ben prompted him.
Daniel shrugged. “I miss my family and home too, but we have to try to make the best out of the situation.” He seemed absent-minded. Perhaps he was contemplating what Becker said to him. He could go far here, unlike school, where Ben was the good student. Ben also noticed that Daniel was not curious as to why he had been called away at lunch yesterday. Granted, they were constantly monitored; still, Daniel only made one half-hearted attempt to learn something and then dropped it. Again, Ben regarded his best friend from the side. They had only been here for a few days, yet it seemed he and Daniel had already grown apart.
After breakfast, they had another training session. Again, their instructor had them standing at attention for some time before giving the order to stand at ease. The training was strenuous, just like the days before. However, Ben noticed that when he ran laps, he was not so quickly out of breath. Their instructor praised those who were good and whoever was too slow had to run a few penalty laps. Ben made sure to stay in the safe middle. He held his reserves back. He did not intend to attract attention. Good or bad. At the end, their instructor lectured them on what they still had to improve on and again praised those who had performed well. Ben observed everyone’s reactions out of the corner of his eye. Those who were praised seemed to stand a bit taller, whereas those who were reprimanded for poor performance seemed to shrink. Felix, who had been chastised, glanced around uncertain. He probably wanted to see his classmates’ reactions, promptly earning a reprimand for his lack of discipline and made to run a penalty lap. The instructor advised him to be quick about it, otherwise, he would be late for class, which would earn him further punishment. Then he ordered them to stand at ease. Ben watched Felix run the penalty lap. He hardly had anything to do with him at school, barely knew him, still, he could not help feeling pity for him. He studied his classmates on the way to class. He could tell some were also at unease, but those who had been praised did not seem to be concerned about Felix. Could they be that indifferent?
Ben entered the classroom and plopped down in his chair with a sigh. What was to be on today’s schedule? More lies, his inner voice piped up. He did not notice that their teacher had entered the room. But when a shadow fell over Ben, he looked up straight into the cold eyes of their teacher. He was immediately ordered to stand and asked if he did not notice that everyone else was still standing. The teacher found such behavior disrespectful. Ben blushed. He hated being the center of attention and lowered his eyes, ashamed. “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” the teacher’s voice boomed. Ben raised his eyes and looked him in the eye. The teacher studied him silently. Evaluating. “You’ll run four penalty laps before you can go to lunch.” Then he stepped back and saluted the whole class. His salute was instantaneously returned, and they were allowed to sit.
Ben tried to follow what was said carefully. But he could not stop his mind from wandering, again and again. Luckily, they were not asked questions. From now on, he had to be more careful not to attract attention. He put on an impassive expression.
Today, the achievements of their society were praised. It was especially pointed out that they were a society that lived in peace. Violent conflicts were a thing of the past. Society and the government’s goal were to improve the living conditions of everyone. Machines should take over more and more work especially that which was undesirable to people. It would give people more free time.
Unfortunately, that would not apply to natural people, Ben thought. Though it was true that more and more work was performed by machines, what good was having ‘more spare time’ if it was spent worrying about how to put their next meal on the table? What about all the pollution the industrial sector created, which caused lung disease and cancer? What about the constant fatigue from the daily struggle to survive? The lifespan of natural people was declining. Many had weakened immune systems due to the lack of vitamins and nutrients. People had less compassion for one another. Machines not only facilitated life, they also contributed to dehumanization.
21
Mia
Mia had not meant to endanger Ben. She imagined a straightforward inquiry would have been unproblematic. She could only hope Vi and Phil were right. They had to act quickly and as soon as possible, win over the sympathy of the population. Many of them also had children that went to school.
They had spread false news about her via the public monitors placed throughout the city. It was the best way to reach the largest number of people. A tactic that, unfortunately, was not open to them. That would have been a task for Ben. He was good at anything involving computers and technology. Now if they only had someone who could spread their message. However, first, they had to come up with a message. They had not yet given it any thought since they were undecided about how to present it to the citizens. The public monitors certainly would be great for airing a video message. Mia grew increasingly uncomfortable. She had never liked to be the center of attention and always tried to fit in. She had been obedient, had never complaint, too afraid to lose her job on which both, her and Ben, had been dependent. But in the end, it had not been enough. Maybe it never had been. It had probably been the wrong way to start with. One could not always put up with injustice. It was time to rise up against it.
The way Vi explained it, a possible video message would have to come from her. It was the only sensible action they had. By now, everyone knew her face.
Vi and Phil were away taking care of their daily chores. She would have to wait and share her thoughts at lunch. Maybe one of them knew someone who could help.
Mia left early for lunch hoping to find Vi or Phil, but neither was there yet. She heard approaching footsteps from behind and glanced up.
Instead of the siblings, Max stood there. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Absolutely not. Please do.” She tried to smile. Though Max knew about her trip to the city, she was still unsure if she could trust him with their plan. Would he tell someone? Would they try to keep them from further action? If Max was still here when Vi and Phil showed up, she would wait on confiding her thoughts to them.
He sat down opposite her and scrutinized her. She lowered her eyes to the table.
Max took a deep breath and exhaled. “Earlier, I should not have been so rude. I want to apologize f
or my behavior.” When she said nothing, he continued, “I...” he fell silent again. He picked up his fork and started to play with it, turning it between his fingers. “I am... I don’t want to...” He seemed unable to find the right words.
Mia glanced up. Their eyes met. She felt her heart beat more fiercely and quickly looked away again. Now was not the time to deal with all the emotions and hopes she was experiencing at that moment. Fortunately, Vi and Phil appeared at the table.
“Well, look who’s honoring us with his presence,” Phil remarked snappily.
“Phil, don’t be so rude,” Vi admonished him. “Max never did anything to you.”
Phil huffed. “How would you know? Maybe he has already told his father about our trip.”
“Why would I do that?” Max asked calmly.
“It’s what you do. You never do anything without first asking your father for permission,” Phil insisted.
“That’s not true. My evidence supporting the contrary is sitting across from me.” Max winked at Mia.
Phil would have none of it. “An exception does not confirm the rule.”
Mia peered over her shoulder. The two were not exactly conversing quietly. Surely someone at a neighboring table could hear them. Becka was approaching. Mia quickly turned her back to her. The others noticed her too and fell silent. Nobody made eye contact. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.
“Max, may I ask you something?” Becka deliberately ignored the other three.
“Ask away.” Max looked up at Becka.
She walked a few steps away and motioned for him to follow. “Are you sitting at their table for lunch?” They were not far enough away and still within earshot.