Cobalt Slave

by Walker, Jon

  Mark looks at Mr. Snider in amazement, “So have you found any of these places?”

  Snider answers, “No, that is what we want you to do.”

  Mark just stares at him in shock before finally answering, “Why me?”

  "Well, you have some really good shit,” Snider answers with a shrug.

  Mark, totally confused, “My shit.”

  Snider says, “We have quietly studied you. We quietly study everyone. Your body does a remarkably good job of holding on to essential vitamins -- something that will be important if we send you to Goliath to look for bugs.”

  “So it is just because I shit well?” Mark answers, looking disappointed and slightly disgusted.

  Snider shakes his head before answering, “That is only part of it. We need someone of the right age to pull off our plan. We need someone we know will be loyal and dedicated. We need someone who is strong and has been hunting before. We want someone who won’t be entirely out of place in the wilderness.”

  Snider puts his hand on Mark's shoulder and looks him right in the eye before continuing. “Life isn’t like what you see in the movies. In real life there is never a magical chosen one. There is never some child of prophecy who alone has a special power to right all wrongs. In real life there are just moments and people who try to make the most of them. There are rare opportunities that come up, and if someone with the right skills exploits them, they can make a huge difference. That is how real heroes are made. Soon such a moment is going to happen. We will have a chance to overthrow the Public Health Department. There are only about 400 Public Safety agents, and many of them are just spoiled scions that do nothing. We believe we can take them in an open fight, but unless we have found an alternative source of cobalt, it will all be for naught. They can lock themselves in the Palace and wait for us to run out of cobalt, just like Director Parker did. There is no point in winning physical control of the valley or Ararat if it results in everyone dying a few years later. The whole plan hinges on you helping us find an alternative source of cobalt.”

  Snider pauses for a deep breath to add extra gravity to this final part, “What we are asking you to do, Mark, is to risk everything for a chance to save everyone else. Can you use this opportunity to be a hero?”

  Mark looks at Snider with both awe and determination before answering, “I can.”

  Smiling proudly, Snider responds, “Good, you have a lot of studying to do before we need you to fail your placement exam.”

  For the next hour, Snider carefully teaches Mark about each of the different insect species, pointing out their unique color, smell, taste and sounds. He explains their habits, how they make their nests and where each is likely to be found. Mark does his best to commit every sight, sound, taste, and fact to memory.

  While studying the insects, Snider also gives Mark the details he still needs to know about how they'll get Mark and a few other young individuals like him secretly to the main continent to hunt for bugs. Finally, after pushing the limit on the amount of time they could stay below ground without raising suspicion, Mark dons the obnoxious headphones and eyemask again for an unpleasant wheelbarrow trip back to where his father is waiting for him.

  David and Mark then quickly leave the plant in silence and slowly walk back to the city.

  CHAPTER 14

  The following morning is excruciating for Mark. The combination of excitement, anticipation and having absolutely nothing at all to do is extremely unpleasant. All he can think about is his upcoming journey to Goliath, but there is not a thing he can do to prepare for it. He can’t even talk to his father about it, so he just replays the conversation with Mr. Snider over and over again in his mind.

  Mark feels energized to change the world, but first he has to visit ever more businesses and continue to feign interest in what they do. The task was boring before, but after his meeting yesterday it is downright painful. Mark is a man ready to embrace a great destiny, but right now he needs to pretend to care about the running of a local butcher shop. Mark’s one saving grace is that his official placement exam is tomorrow, so after Mark and his father grab a quick lunch of street meat, he has an excuse to go back to his cousin’s apartment for the rest of the afternoon to “study” for the exam.

  It is back in the privacy of the empty apartment that Mark informs his father that he has been instructed to fail the exam but can’t say why. David is instinctively disappointed to hear the news at first. After a lifetime of telling your children to do well in school, the mantra is too ingrained in his mind to let go of immediately, but David quickly comes around to accept it must be necessary, even if he can’t know why. They then spend the rest of the day mostly in an awkward silence, watching two very old wilderness survival movies. One is set in the Australian outback, the other set in the frozen forests of Canada. Mark gives his father the excuse that he wants to watch something that won’t make him feel trapped in by all the people in the city. The real reason he selected these movies is two-fold. First, it pains Mark to not tell his father what he is going to do, but he hopes to give him a clue. If David picks up on it, he is too reserved to indicate it to his son. The second reason is that Mark hopes to possibly get some useful survival tips from the movies. Unfortunately, they both turn out to be mostly useless. It is either stuff Mark already knew, Earth-specific information that will do him no good, or obviously stupid ideas added for dramatic value.

  The awkward afternoon transitions into an even more awkward evening when cousin Paul comes home from work. All three of them share a simple and very awkward last dinner together during which they fill the silence with polite, meaningless conversation. Afterwards Mark spends another restless night tossing around in the small guest bed, since his father made a big show of taking the couch, assuring Mark would be well rested for his big exam the next day. Mark can’t stop thinking about the secret tunnel, the bugs, his mission, and the exam. He mentally plans and prepares for a dozen different scenarios before finally passing out to get just a few hours of sleep.

  Early in the morning, David not so gently wakes his clearly still tired son. After a quick shower to try to wake himself up, Mark joins his father and cousin for a simple breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. All three eat quickly and silently. Once they finish, Mark and David say their final goodbyes to Paul since they will be taking the afternoon train back. With backpacks on, Mark and David begin walking to the Department of Education headquarters. It is located a few kilometers away from the harbor and the traditional downtown. When the colonists planned the city, they assumed the headquarters of the Department of Education would eventually serve as the nucleus for a massive, sprawling university campus. Currently the University of Ararat is still a rather modest institution compared to the size of some of the grand old universities that existed on Earth, but the people who run the University of Ararat have grand visions for it.

  As Mark and David approach the university grounds, they see the place is a splendid but chaotic mix of buildings. After the first wave of prefab structures from the slowship started the project, the subsequent generations of Department of Education leaders could never agree on a single overarching look for the university. Many wanted to make this jewel of their fiefdom a replica of the old Ivy League schools from Earth. Others thought the campus should be a celebration of classic Greek design to match the mediterranean climate of Prime. For a while a powerful faction fought to have the university serve as the testing ground for a whole new indigenous school of architecture, unlike anything seen on the old world left behind. As a result, the grounds contain dozens of individually impressive and mostly beautiful buildings but few that naturally go with each other. Almost every one was the pet project of some well-connected individual, with whom the building permanently shares a name. Yet even in the clashing, chaotic battle of styles there is the semblance of structure. The lack of a single theme meant that the designer of each new building had free range to come up with something unique to best the previous structures. By def
ault the overarching characteristic simply became greatness. It was an ongoing competition to be bigger and better. Taken as a whole, the campus served as a giant museum chronicling changing tastes, relative positions, and the vanity of the great families.

  After five minutes of a confusing but impressive walk through the campus, David and Mark finally find the testing center -- a large, shiny glass shrine to knowledge. Just outside the massive glass doors David takes his son’s backpack and gives him a hug. David goes to give his son his standard words of encouragement but mid-sentence realizes that is a mistake, causing him to stumble over his words, “Do your best… I wish you…Make me proud?”

  Mark gives his dad a knowing look while answering, “Thanks, dad. I know what to do.”

  David responds with a nod and says, “Go on. I will be waiting here when you get back.”

  Mark walks inside the building, into an airy and bright lobby. The ornate pattern on the polished stone floor is illuminated by a skylight in the high pitched ceiling. In the center of the otherwise empty lobby is a circular desk with a well-dressed young lady sitting in the center. Her bright orange dress is new and in the latest fashion. Her incredibly expensive real gold earrings indicate she must be at least part of one of the minor branches of the great families. Only the connected can wear jewelry made from the precious metals that are brought down from Abel.

  Before Mark can get a full word out, the woman at the desk interrupts him. Her tone is dripping with boredom, disdain, and judgment, “You're here to take the placement exam, correct?”

  “Umm, yes…”

  She cuts him off again, “Go down that hallway. Wait by the second door on the right with the others.”

  Mark is about to thank her, but she dismisses any further interaction with several flicks of her wrist.

  Down the hall Mark sees seven other boys and girls his age standing outside a door labeled TESTING ROOM 1. From their clothing and posture all of them look like either the children of farmers or small shop owners, but he doesn't know any of them personally. A few exchange a pleasant nod or wave with Mark, but otherwise the kids keep to themselves. Several are fidgeting or chewing on their nails.

  After ten minutes of waiting, the door opens and a serious looking older gentleman waves them to come in as he speaks. His words are crisp, firm and unhappy. His tone suggests he has given this exact same speech dozens of times, and it pains him to have to give it again. “Welcome to the placement exam. This exam will determine if you are qualified to attend university or get placed in a position with one of the departments. You will notice there are eight cubicles with screens. Everyone please select a cubicle and use the fingerprint scanner to log in. Any talking, looking at another participant's screen or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. I along with others will be monitoring you the whole time. The exam will begin in roughly 6 minutes, your screen will indicate when. Good luck.”

  Mark sits silently staring at his screen, listening to the heavy breathing of the other participants for what feels like hours until his screen suddenly comes to life with a question and a quiet beep. Taking a test with the intent of failing is a strange and unpleasant experience for Mark. In some ways it is even more difficult than taking a test with the goal of acing it. He can’t just quickly answer all the questions wrong because that would be suspicious. He still needs to try to get some of the questions right, just not too many.

  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one’s perspective, failing the exam doesn’t prove to be very difficult for Mark. Among the standard questions about calculus, biology, and history are things that Mark was never taught about in school -- subjects he never would have had a chance to learn, no matter how good of a student he was. Many of the questions are about equipment and programs that only the most connected children of Department officials would know. There are questions about driving a car, the layout of a shuttle, how the moon mining operation on Abel is run, and the organizational flow chart of the different Departments. Part of the exam includes simulations of medical and aeronautic equipment Mark has never even seen in his life.

  With each new question Mark reads, he grows angrier and angrier. Not long ago Mark might have just accepted this as normal, even natural. The idea that children of top Department officials would inherently have a huge advantage in the process of determining who is qualified to potentially lead the Departments in the future at one time made sense to Mark, in the way he would expect the sons of farmers to inherently know more about crop rotation or the children of butchers to know more about breaking down a dernbeast. Since finding out the truth, though, Mark sees this exam for what it is. It's just another way for the connected to keep everyone else below them, a tool for them to add the veneer of legitimacy over their illegitimate control.

  Mark finishes question 53 about the Roman empire, and immediately the exam displays question 54. It is about some minor Public Health Department internal filing program that no one outside the Department is ever allowed to use. The blatant unfairness and absurdity of the question makes Mark’s blood boil, his heart race, and his face turn red. After reading question 54 he forces himself to stop to take a few deep breaths, but after his second breath he has to fight to keep from bursting out in laughter. He realizes he is getting upset that Department of Education made a test that is almost impossible for him to pass, even though he wants to fail. It is stupid to get mad at them when they are unknowingly helping him.

  Taking a step back and accepting the irony of his situation, Mark calms down. The unfairness of it all, the injustice that is being committed on the others in the room, still bothers him. But by personally separating himself from it, Mark is able to focus on his task of trying hard not to succeed.

  After two hours the screen suddenly goes red and flashes the message, TIME HAS EXPIRED. The test proctor immediately stands up and says, “The exam is now over. Remember to take all of your personal items when you leave. Results will be sent to you in fifteen days. Thank you all for your hard work and please make your way out of the door.”

  Looking around the room, Mark sees a few of the other test takers are visibly upset. One girl seems to be on the verge of crying. The majority, though, simply wear a resigned look. Mark has no desire to stick around with these people to commiserate about the exam. As soon as he can he makes a beeline for the door and heads outside. Out front his dad is leaned against a tree, taking a nap while using their two backpacks as a pillow. Mark goes over to wake him.

  David looks at his son as he is getting up and asks, “How did it go?”

  Mark thinks about the right answer to use in such a public place and finally says, “About what I expected.” This earns a knowing nod from David.

  Mark puts his own backpack on and says, “Let’s get home. I miss it.”

  David is already walking towards the train station when he answers. “I know. I miss it too.”

  While walking back to the train station four different beggars approach them, but they politely turn them all down. At the train station they grab lunch that they eat in silence as they kill time. When they finally board the afternoon train ride home, David again gives Mark the window seat, but Mark avoids really looking outside until they are well clear of the city and back in farm country. While he knows many of the things in Ararat are objectively beautiful, everything in the city is tainted for him. All the needless suffering, abuse, and waste makes him sick to think about. The only thing that gives him comfort is the knowledge he is soon going to change all that.

  CHAPTER 15

  Right after lunch with his family, John Snider grabs his bicycle made from high strength plastic to head up to Leo Madison’s estate. Normally, John prefers to inconspicuously walk everywhere, but given the distance involved and the remote location he reluctantly decides the bicycle is the better choice. It is at least a very ordinary looking vehicle with a sloppy paint job and a mismatched set of wheels to purposely make it look older and even less impressive than it really is. Sin
ce it is the weekend, instead of wearing his uniform Snider is in a boring Earth-toned t-shirt and a thin pair of long grey pants. The personal clothes are clean, simple, and easily forgettable, just like John always strives to be.

  After 20 minutes John arrives at the gate of the estate alone and slightly sweaty. The house staff makes him wait outside for ten minutes, but John doesn’t mind since it gives him a chance to cool off in the shade a bit. Eventually, the butler arrives to lead him to his meeting with Councilmember Madison.

  The butler is a slightly chubby, balding, middle-aged man with a thin mustache. The salt and pepper hair he still has is meticulously combed back. He looks like a character out of period piece movie set in Victorian England, which in all honesty was probably his main source of information on how to be a butler.

  He possesses an air of quiet indifference combined with a polite but unfriendly tone. His face is emotionless without seeming braindead. The butler is incredibly frugal with his words, never using more than the absolute minimum necessary to provide the required level of courtesy and to get the guest to go where he is supposed to. He uses a graceful hand gesture instead of words whenever possible.

  John is deeply impressed after the few minutes he gets to study him. This bulter seems like a man who sees everything, knows what to forget, and talks about nothing. With body language alone, this man could probably make himself imposing or as overlooked as an end table when he wants to. He is the kind of person who is seen only when he wants to be seen.

  John’s path for success in this dangerous world was to play the role of competent but overly focused simpleton. This man has instead chosen to be the nearly invisible mute, and he plays it very well. While John considers it an easier and less rewarding part to play, he respects anyone who knows how to work the system and wasn't just born into privilege.