Peace Out (The Futures Trilogy Book 1)

by G. M. Whitley

  Pitchman: Is Pawpaw talking to the tree again?

  Pitchwoman: Does Nanny smell like stale urine?

  Pitchman: Does that crazy guy panhandling near Tompkins Square give you the creeps?

  Pitchwoman: Then we’ve got the product for you!

  Pitchman: Peace Out works like magic! Just pour a little on and shazam!

  Pitchwoman: Cures Pawpaw’s Alzheimer’s!

  Pitchman: Solves Nanny’s incontinence issues!

  Pitchwoman: Keeps the streets nice and clean!

  Voiceover: May have unintended consequences. Keep out of reach of children.

  Saturday Night Live Sketch, 6/13/2028

  The summer was nearly over. Anna’s flight to Newark left in two days. She was surprised to realize that she would miss Scott. Anna had never tired of him, and as far as she could tell, he had never tired of her. But it wasn’t worth it. Even if they tried for long distance, Scott would never be her Mr. Right. He was a devout agnostic and wanted his kids raised that way too. There would be others to take his place. Anna recalled flirting with a student working at the library at the end of the semester. What was his name? She couldn’t remember. She had been with someone else at the time, so it had been left at flirting. Anna was very strict about her monogamy. That guy might be a good replacement, she thought. She wondered if he still worked at the library.

  Anna was looking forward to her last night with Scott. He had something special planned. A surprise. Anna generally hated surprises, but decided to go with it. She had one for him too. She and Marissa had gone to the Pleasure Chest together and picked out some naughty little outfits.

  “Dom is going to have a heart attack,” Anna said.

  “If he does, he’ll die smiling,” Marissa replied.

  “Are you guys going to stay together?” Anna asked.

  “Yes,” Marissa said. “He’s coming to my house for Thanksgiving. I’m going to his for Christmas.”

  “Sounds serious,” Anna said.

  “Don’t tell anyone, but we’ve kind of looked at rings.”

  “What! But you’re so young!” Anna exclaimed. “Do you really want to get tied down so soon?”

  “When you meet the right guy, it isn’t being tied down, it’s getting to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. Why not start as soon as possible?” Marissa held up a lacy white teddy. “What about this?”

  “Too bridal,” Anna said.

  “Maybe this?” Marissa pointed to a black leather outfit with lots of straps.

  “I don’t know if he’ll be able to get you out of that one,” Anna said.

  Marissa found a turquoise and black bustier with matching panties. “What about these?”

  “I like them,” Anna said.

  “What are you going to get?”

  “Maybe this.” Anna selected a black satin teddy and a pair of black thigh highs with a seam up the back. “I can wear it under my dress tonight.”

  “I take it you two aren’t staying together,” Marissa said.

  “No,” Anna said. “We’re just having fun.”

  Nina Jenkins collected their blue coat, badges, and tablets. There was a big farewell luncheon in the dining hall. The interns had a chance to get up and talk about their experiences and thank their mentors. Then Nina made the announcement that Peace Out LA was proud to be making offers to 100% of the interns. Everyone cheered at that. Patrick had given Anna the details in his office

  “As a second summer you can have your choice of geography. Of course, I’d like to have you back here, but you should feel free to try another city. Wherever you go, you will have more responsibility, handle intakes, participate more in Facilitation.”

  “Thank you Patrick,” Anna said. “Working for Peace Out is what I’ve wanted since the career fair my first year of college. Now that I’ve done it, though, I don’t know if this is the right job for me. It is so much pressure. What if you hadn’t noticed how that guy was with his mom? I didn’t pick up on it until you pointed it out. What if he’d just stayed with her for the week and Peaced her Out? I don’t know if I want that kind of responsibility.”

  “That is why you receive so many years of training before you are allowed to handle a Facilitation solo,” Patrick said. “Our protocols involve so many safety measures and double checks because we don’t want anyone using Peace Out for the wrong reasons. I know that the Thibodaux experience was traumatic for you. I’ve seen how you are with our new intakes, very vigilant, very cautious. It just makes you better.”

  “I appreciate that, Patrick, I really do. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who can accomplish anything. But I don’t think I can do what you do.”

  “Give it some time,” Patrick said. “You have until the end of January to accept the offer, so don’t reject it now.”

  “OK,” Anna said. She knew she wouldn’t change her mind, but she didn’t want to disappoint Patrick.

  Anna took the rail home by herself. Scott was supposed to pick her up at seven. Anna put on her special purchases and eyed herself in the mirror. She checked to make sure the seams were straight on her stockings. She pulled the stretchy black dress over her head. It had a deep cowl neck, dropping low in the front and back. Silver heels completed the ensemble. Anna applied some lipstick and waited for Scott.

  The doorbell rang promptly at seven. Scott was wearing the suit he had worn the first day they met.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You look pretty good yourself.”

  A black convertible waited at the end of the driveway.

  “Nice car,” Anna said.

  “Thanks,” Scott said. “Some friends from Stanford were coming to LA so I asked them to drive it down for me.”

  “Five years on BL?” Anna raised an eyebrow.

  “Then my mother got a job as an executive assistant and married the executive.”

  “Ah,” Anna said.

  Scott took her to the only three-starred Michelin restaurant in Los Angeles, a sushi place called Hiroko. Anna had never been. The food was amazing, as was the sake. When they got back into the car, Scott programmed the autopilot.

  “Where are we going now?” Anna asked.

  “That’s my surprise,” Scott said. “It will be a little bit of a drive, so get comfortable.” Scott and Anna made out blissfully, through tacit agreement keeping it rated PG. There was so much of the night left to them.

  The car pulled into a little bed and breakfast north of San Diego. The proprietor was a plump woman in her mid-fifties. Scott gave her his thumbprint and she gave him a key to the room. It was on the second floor of the old house, with a huge four-poster bed and a window overlooking the ocean.

  “This is beautiful,” Anna said.

  “My bid to get you to stay with me,” Scott replied. He gave Anna a sideways glance. “Just kidding.”

  Anna let it go. “I need to use the restroom,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Anna closed the door and shimmied out of her dress. She unbraided her hair and it tumbled around her shoulders. She checked herself over in the mirror a final time. When she emerged, Scott was looking out the window.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  Scott turned around and smiled.

  MARTY AND JENNY

  “Thank you for coming today. My name is Ned Strauss, and I represent Peace Out and Clara Thibodaux. This is a truly tragic and heartbreaking case. To put it simply, Clara’s son Jackson wants her dead. He wants her money, and he is willing to go to any lengths to get it. He first tried to force her into a Peace Out Center. The Facilitator saw through Jackson’s ruse and had him removed from the premises. The Facilitator helped Clara return to Marietta, to an Enclave in her hometown, to start a life free from her despicable offspring. Jackson has now sued Peace Out for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit fraud. These ludicrous charges will not stand. Clara, would you like to say something?”

  “I can only hope and pray tha
t the court doesn’t let my son use Peace Out to murder me. Not after they saved my life.”

  Excerpt from Press Conference at Marietta Enclave, 8/15/2075.

  Marty and Jenny had argued over who would drive, but Marty won that one. He pointed out that insurers charged more for teen drivers for a reason. Jenny pointed out that she got a discount for being such a good student. Marty said that brains had nothing to do with being a good driver. Jenny said if that were true, then he was definitely a better driver than she. Marty had chuckled at that one and still insisted on driving. The trip to Marietta wasn’t far, just long enough for them to disagree about music.

  “No guarantees, Jenny,” he said, pulling into the Enclave entryway.

  “Just go into it with an open mind,” she said. A young man wearing a dark grey suit and a nametag opened her door and Jenny got out.

  “Ma’am” he said, “Sir. Welcome to Marietta Enclave. Are you here for the tour or the press conference?”

  “Press conference?” Marty asked.

  “Yes sir,” the man said. “On the Thibodaux case.”

  “Never heard of it. I’m here for the tour.”

  “Check in with Shana at the front desk, please.” The man held out a pad and Marty gave his thumbprint. “Thank you, sir.” The man whistled and another young man in a suit came from around the corner to valet the car.

  Shana at the front desk pulled up Marty’s information. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Lawson,” she said. “We are still waiting for a few other people to join your tour. Feel free to wait in the lobby. Your guide will be here in a few minutes.”

  Marty liked the look of the Enclave. It was in one of those old plantation style mansions, like those fancy boutique hotels Diana used to like to stay in. Lots of old paintings on the walls. Crystal chandeliers.

  “This might be a little too fancy for me,” he said. “I feel like I should have dressed up.”

  “You look fine,” she said. “Want to sit?”

  “We’ve been sitting a lot,” he said. “Let’s walk around a little.”

  “OK,” she said.

  Marty admired the craftsmanship on some of the wood furniture dotting the lobby. Then they walked past a double door leading into a room packed with people.

  “That must be the press conference,” Jenny said. “I wonder what it’s about.”

  “If you want to know, look it up,” Marty said.

  “Nah,” Jenny said. “I don’t care that much.”

  The conference room quieted and a man and woman took the stage. Marty stared intently at them. “I know her,” he said. “That’s Clara Simmons. Look up that case, would you?”

  Jenny took out her tablet and searched. “Clara Thibodaux,” she said. “Her son says she is certified to be Peaced Out and a Facilitator at Peace Out LA kidnapped her and shipped her to Marietta Enclave.” Jenny looked up. “She looks fine to me, but maybe it’s a mental thing.”

  “She married Jackson Thibodaux,” he said. “That’s it.”

  “Jackson is the son’s name too,” Jenny said. “Clara claims her son was trying to force her to Peace Out.”

  “Clara Simmons,” Marty said, lost in thought.

  “How did you know her?” Jenny asked.

  “We went to high school together,” Marty said. “We dated all of my senior year.”

  “What happened?”

  “I graduated,” Marty said. “We just drifted apart. I went to Tech. She ended up going to Georgia. She met Thibodaux there. I read about their wedding. It was a big deal. Jackson Thibodaux is old money. There are buildings named after his grandfather.”

  “You should go talk to her,” Jenny said. “After the press conference.”

  “I don’t think so, Jenny,” Marty said. “I don’t even know if she would remember me.”

  “Of course she would. You always remember your high school sweetheart.”

  Marty shook his head. “Let’s go back to the front desk and see what is taking our guide so long.”

  The Enclave tour took three hours and involved lunch. Marty really couldn’t complain about anything. The food was excellent. The rooms were all one-bedroom apartments with a living room, bathroom, and small kitchenette. He could bring all of his own things and arrange the room however he wanted. He could buy in for the rest of his life based on a health exam and actuarial tables. Or he could pay monthly. It was more expensive that way, but he could afford it. The sports bar was wall to wall with screens. The Enclave had its own fantasy football league. There was even a Tech alumni club that met every week. Marty recognized a few names on the member list.

  “See?” Jenny said. “Would this be so terrible? Just try it out for a few months. Keep your house. They even have furnished rooms so you wouldn’t have to move your stuff. If you hate it, go home. At least you tried. But if you like it, you could look at buying in. I know my dad would help you with the move.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Marty said.

  On the way out, Marty couldn’t help but take one more pass by the conference room. It was empty. Chairs askew, empty stage and podium, and one lone man in a suit vacuuming.

  EPILOGUE

  Sammy and Becca learned the full truth about their brother when they were in high school. They both checked the Peace Out Directive box when they registered to vote. They went to college together at the University of Washington. Becca studied nursing and works at an Enclave in Seattle. Sammy studied economics. After three years at Crystal Technologies, also in Seattle, her boss sent her to Wharton for business school, where she met her husband Ben. At the wedding, Becca met Ben’s younger brother Adam. They married a year and a day later.

  After their parents passed of natural causes, Sammy and Becca sold the Bishop property to Peace Out Bellingham. The money paid off their respective mortgages and fully funded the college educations of their six children.

  Ned never went back to Australia. He handled many more cases for Peace Out, including the Bishop suit over Peace Out Education permission protocols. A year later, he and Olivia married. They sold the home she and Joe shared and bought an apartment in a high rise overlooking Lake Michigan. Olivia went to ballet recitals, school plays, cello, piano, violin, flute, oboe, and French horn concerts, football games, and cheerleading competitions. She and Ned happily spoiled grandkids whenever their parents wanted a night out or a weekend away. Olivia also opened a small dance studio and gave private lessons to couples in their golden years. She even managed to teach Ned a few moves.

  After eight and a half years of marriage, Olivia died in her sleep. Ned joined an Enclave in Evanston. His adoptive children and grandchildren visited periodically. He took up with a feisty lady named Phyllis. They never married, but were together until Ned had a stroke two years later. He Peaced Out under directive.

  Anna declined her offer from Peace Out. She and Scott kept in touch over the years, but never got back together. In graduate school, Anna met a good Christian boy named Logan. Fourteen months later, they wed on a beach in Malibu. Scott was in attendance. After graduation, Anna joined a small private practice in Hollywood. She reduced to three days a week after her first child was born. She quit entirely when her second child came along.

  Logan serves as a Deacon in their church and Anna teaches Sunday School.

  Marty joined the Marietta Enclave after Jenny left for college. He reconnected with Clara and they discovered the old spark was still there. He was by Clara’s side when the court shut down her son once and for all. They celebrated by going to a Falcons game, where Marty proposed. Three years later Marty started to forget things. He asked for Diana. He asked for Josh. He had no directive, but Clara made the decision for both of them. They Peaced Out together a week after he forgot who she was.

  Jenny kept in touch with Marty until the end, visiting in the summers when she was back in town. After her junior year she landed an internship at Peace Out Atlanta and fell in love with a med student doing a summer fellowship. The feeling was mutual. His name
was Scott.

  We are all terminally ill. Some of us just have longer than others.

  Daniel Keller, Peace Out Founder, 2027.

  Questions and Topics for Discussion

  1. What was your opinion of assisted suicide before you read Peace Out? Has your opinion changed?

  2. Which storyline did you enjoy the most? The least? Why?

  3. Under what circumstances, if any, do you think Peacing Out could be the right decision?

  4. Peace Out never uses the words assisted suicide or euthanasia. Why do you think the author chose to do that?

  5. In the same medical situation, is there a difference between choosing not to administer life-saving medical measures (feeding tubes, dialysis, resuscitation, etc.) and taking steps to end life when the final result is the same?

  6. Do you have a medical directive that sets forth your wishes when it comes to end-of-life decisions?

  7. Do you have a personal experience with a loved one's end-of-life where Peacing Out would have been a tempting option for any of the people involved?

  8. Do you think the elderly or ill would feel pressure to Peace Out to avoid being a burden on their families?

  9. Assisted suicide for terminal cases is legal in several states with more trying to pass similar legislation. Do you believe this is good or bad? Why?

  10. Is it selfish to Peace Out?

  11. If Peacing Out were legal, what restrictions would you place on it?

  12. Would you let your children participate in Peace Out education?

  13. Do you have a bucket list? When will you start fulfilling it?

  14. When you are no longer able to care for yourself, how do you want to be cared for?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  G.M. Whitley is the Chief Operating Officer of the Whitley household, where she manages the lives of her husband and four young children. She taught at the University of Chicago and practiced intellectual property law in Los Angeles before accepting the amazing offer from her husband to serve as COO. She currently makes her home in Anchorage, Alaska.