Sargasso - is a serial short story that will be released here over the next three weeks. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to follow my blog in order to get the latest. - Peter-John
"Sargasso"
by Peter-John Campbell
Prologue
There
are 137 articles to the Government Mandate, to date, but the foremost
rule is that the Mandate must be obeyed.
Article
41 states that:
1:
All females of conceiving age, 16 to 35, must produce a minimum of
one child every two years. Any female who chooses to conceive beyond
35 is granted a 1% tax decrease for every child they produce after
their required time.
2:
Any female who is unable to find a suitable male to breed with will
be provided one by the State.
3:
Any female or male who refuses to participate in the program will be
considered an enemy of the State and treated in like manner.
Chapter
1
 |
| Picture art courtesy of Six Wings Studio |
Glancing
out the window she could see in the distance the large green
billboard that hung high up on the Ministry of Population's building.
The
Citizens Growth Meter
was emblazoned in yellow across the top. It gave the people a real
time account of their population. The number of men, women, the
medium age, employment and of course how many have died and were
born. The numbers weren't looking good today; deaths up by 10%,
births down by 7%.
Hearing
voices outside, So-young's heart jumped with the pounding on the
door. “Lamb So-young!” It was a man's voice, harsh and annoyed.
“This is the Authorities! Open your door!” She winced, closing
her eyes tightly in a vain hope that they would disappear. “We know
you're in there, Madam!” the voice shouted again. “We can see you
with the scanner. Open the door!” He pounded again.
So-young
took a deep breath, stood up, and went to the door. Putting her hand
on the knob, the red glow from the bio scanner lit up her thumb.
Beep!
The door unlocked. A thin man with black horn rim glasses met her. He
wore a charcoal trench coat with a government patch sewn on the left
shoulder. Five armed soldiers stood behind him filling the narrow
hall. The door wasn't even open and the thin man was reading from his
small electronic pad.
“You
have violated the terms of the extension. You must come with us.”
He didn't even look at her.
So-young
held her stomach. She felt dizzy, her black hair emphasizing how pale
she looked. “I don't understand,” she said weakly.
He
looked at her over top his glasses. “You filed for a six month
extension, no? And you failed to appear at your required check up at
the hospital yesterday. So you must come with us for questioning.”
Questioning,
never
meant questioning. It was the polite way, the proper way, the civil
way of telling one that they were leaving forever.
So-young
leaned against the door jam. “Can we just do that here? I'm not
feeling very well.”
The
thin man seemed irritated by this request. “No, we cannot do the
questioning here. Now please put some proper clothing on, we must
go.” So-young closed her eyes, attempting to brace herself from the
relentless pain in her stomach. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead
as she began to shiver. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
The thin man knelt down in front of her and spoke quietly. “We can
take you by force if necessary.”
“I
know,” she said without opening her eyes.
The
thin man sat for a moment clenching his jaw. He took out a
handkerchief and began to clean his glasses, a nervous habit, one he
did when he needed a moment to think. “The
Minster will have my head if he hears about this,” he
thought. “Sargent, give us a minute?” The soldiers moved down the
hall, still blocking the exits. The thin man sat for a few minutes
reading So-young's file. Finally, after a long silence he spoke in a
cold un-emotive tone. “It says here that your husband was killed in
action on the North Frontier, two years ago?” Article 2: All
males of 18 to 30 years of age are required to serve in the People's
Army.
She nodded. “And prior to that you and he did not conceive?”
“We
were unable to.”
“Have
you attempted since his death?” She did not answer. His speech was
stark and condemning. “You realize that you are in serious
violation of the Mandate? You have filed three extensions, and were
permitted a six month mourning period after he died.” So-young
didn't move. “Have you not found yourself a suitable mate?” No
answer. “Have you tried?” He looked back down at his pad. “Dr.
Lee wrote that he believes you are barren.” Barren.
That
word hung on her like a crushing weight. It was bad enough that she
had to bear that pain of feeling less than. But to live in a world
where your own body makes you an enemy of the State. Not your
thoughts or opinions, but when your body rebels, what is one to do?
“You
have been put in a special program to see if that could be corrected.
You know, since there are so few women, it is your duty, for the sake
of your country and the people that you conceive. And failure to
comply with this makes you in conflict with the Law.”
So-young
glanced down at her watch, it was 8:45. “It's
only been half an hour,”
she thought. “The
woman said it needed an hour before it would work.”
The
thin man now spoke in a patronizing tone that one uses when
disciplining unreasonable child. “Now you need to come with us. You
can either leave in your sleeping cloths or you can change into
something proper but you must leave with us.”
“I'm
pregnant.” A lie. She said suddenly, it even started herself.
“Pardon
me?” His tone immediately shifted.
“I'm
pregnant. This morning sickness is overwhelming.”
The
thin man picked up his pad again to take down some notes. “And when
did this take place?”
“Um,
a couple weeks ago. I only realized it this morning when I got sick.”
He
wrote his notes skeptically. “And why didn't you keep your
appointment with the hospital?”
“I
was afraid...”
“Afraid
is for the weak.” He spoke the words as if it was a mantra. “Who
is the father?”
“I
don't know.” Another lie.
Annoyed,
“You don't know? That is unacceptable. We must have it for our
records.”
“I
met him in a bar. One thing led to another...” A third lie.
The
thin man wrote quickly. “No matter, we will resolve this in a few
weeks with the DNA test. Hold out your hand, I must corroborate your
story.”
She
hesitated for a moment looking at her watch. “Oh
God, please...” she
thought. He pulled a small tube like device from his pocket and
pricked her finger. Several moments passed and the light turned
green. So-young internally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Congratulations.” The thin man said flatly, putting the device
away. Pulling his pad out, he began typing something.
So-young
turned and looked out over the city.
She
could see the The
Citizens Growth Meter through
the wall of windows in the hallway, its numbers adjusting and moving
along its sliding scale. There were 655 pregnancies. Beep,
the thin man finished his report. The board changed. It now showed
656 pregnancies.
“I
want to see you tomorrow morning at the Ministry for further tests.
With your complicated history I would hate to see this child lost.”
He stood up slowly then reached his hand down to help her up. “Take
these.” He handed her a packet of pills. “It will help with the
morning sickness.”
So-young
slipped back into her apartment. A soft beep-beep
indicated
that the door locked. Quickly she made her way to the bathroom and
vomited. A few minutes later her agony was over. The trick worked,
almost too well. For a moment So-young nearly believe she was
pregnant herself. She opened the vanity mirror and pulled out a small
bottle with two small pills in it. It had cost her three months
salary on the black market. She had hoped it would buy her more time.
But it didn't matter now - tomorrow the jig would be up. The mirror
drifted shut, reflecting the mountains beyond the skyline of the
city. Beyond the mountains lay the Northern Frontier. Beyond that,
So-young was too afraid to think. But she knew she had no other
choice left.
Sargasso by Peter-John Campbell ©2012
