by Cameron Jace
I sit next to Ariadna and gaze out the window, thinking about what I’ve just done. The students in the bus to Grand School celebrate like crazy.
I played naïve the past year so no one suspected what I was capable of – which wasn’t that much. Now I am fooling the Summit into believing that I am a Monster to enter the deadly Monster Show that every teenager in our nation avoids at all costs. I couldn’t even tell you the story from the beginning. That’s because I didn’t trust anyone, particularly since Woo died and left me alone in this world. I have to be in the Monster Show today because I think Woo is still alive, and I will risk my life to find him. Even if it’s a mere possibility.
Ariadna socializes while I watch the highway absently. Timmy educates other students about the history of the Monster Show. Sam keeps watching recaps of older games on the iAm with his friends. I can hear the Monsters screaming from his iAm’s speaker. I can hear them scream ‘I am alive’ every now and then.
Again, it’s how the games in the Monster Show work. You have to report that you’re alive every six hours, or you’ll be considered dead, which is reasonable. Why wouldn’t you declare you are alive unless you’ve been killed in the games?
Although the show is broadcast worldwide, the cameras can’t cover every inch of the battlefield that is called the Playa. Woo told me that the Playa is a new name for what the Amerikaz once called Disneyland. It’s located in a neighborhood called Zanaheim, near the capital of Sol.
I don’t understand when people consider the Monster Show a game, because it’s not. This is a ritual our nation believes in. A sacrifice to the gods. To the god we call Burning Man.
The highway to the capital of Sol is beautiful, filled with fancy cars, and lined with palm trees. We don’t have those in the city of Eve. Everyone is excited. We can hear the drone of celebrations from far away. The celebration this year is going to be a special one because it is the tenth year of the Monster Show, which was invented when I was six years old. Every step closer, my heart beats louder, and gets bigger in my chest.
We pass by a huge Burning Man effigy on the way. Students have to lower their voices and heads when passing, paying respects to what we treat as god.
The bus enters the Dizny neighborhood as fireworks blast against the daylight. I see white zeppelins in the sky, occupied with teachers and senior students waving at us. They are last year’s graduates that are greeting us and wishing us a good Ranking Day from the balconies in the zeppelins.
The Grand School dome is a little lower in the sky than the zeppelins. With the sunrays reflecting from its curving surface, the dome seems to be radiating outward. In front of us, dozens of other buses drive slowly toward the dome. Huge, booming speakers are pumping music that sounds like restless heartbeats on a nearby dance floor. To the left and right, girls are dressed in bright yellow latex trousers, dancing with colorful pink scarves in their hands. Beautiful, muscular boys are playing the big drums that are strapped on their broad shoulders. Senior boys tease and take pictures of us. Ariadna poses for the camera instantly. I shy away, but she pulls me into the frame. I plaster my fake smile on and let the flashes hit me. I blink, like always, and mess up the photo shoot.
Hundreds of girls, younger than sixteen, jog next to the bus and throw purple flowers at us. I recognize these flowers. They’re called Passiflora; passion flowers that have ten petals. I told you we’re crazy about the number ten. Orange and green flowers also adorn the buses. Stray, single flowers fly through the windows. Ariadna catches one and sticks it in my hair. It smells surprisingly pleasant. Half of Timmy’s body is out of the window as he waves like crazy at the crowd and blows kisses to the girls. Ariadna tries to pull him back in, but she ends up with one of his sneakers in her hands instead. Faustina, sitting with her legs crossed, is blowing kisses from her hand to the crowd outside as if she were a queen. Sam is silent and unimpressed, and doesn’t take off his shades.
When I look at Eva, my eyes almost pop out. She is dancing on her own, but she is smiling. I admire her enjoying herself even when she thinks she is going to die a couple of hours from now. She doesn’t know she is going to become a Seven today. I would love to see the look on her face when she gets ranked, but I won’t. I will be fighting for my life by then, if I’m not already dead.
Oh. My. God. What have I done?
Have you ever planned for something for months, wished for it to happen, and counted the days? Then when the moment comes and you make your brave move, the one you were so sure was right, you suddenly discover that you were a coward, and not up to what you had planned?
Even though I desperately want to find Woo, I am somewhat regretting my actions. All this celebrating makes it harder for me to stay strong. This emotional euphoria feels like the huge party I have never been to. The one I wish I was invited to if I were ever popular at school. If I had stayed a Seven, I would have been dancing and enjoying this ceremony.
Stay strong Decca. Don’t give in. You can do this! I think to myself.
I see girls waving flags with Faya’s national sign on it. It’s a closed shape of ten sides and ten angels, called a Decagon. This is how Faya is geographically designed. Ten major cities, each one located between two angles. The ten cities are called Noo, Aft, Eve, Sun, Twi, Dus, Mor, Nig, Mid, and Daw. The city in the middle of the decagon is called Sol, the capital.
The buses start to slow down.
“What’s going on?” I ask Ariadna.
“We have to listen to some boring speech from Prophet Xitler,” a boy tells us.
Prophet Hannibal Xitler is like what they used to call a president in the Amerikaz. His name is pronounced Zitler with a Z. The X is a symbol that represents a Ten – which he is not. He is a Nine, but he is the prophet and can do what he likes. We are told X equals ten in some ancient pre-Amerikaz language.
We get out of the bus into a huge circular park-like space in front of Grand School. Thousands of students throng everywhere. Two huge screens, made of flexible fiber, roll down from two zeppelins.
A beautiful woman appears on the screen greeting all teens, reminding us that this is the most important day of our lives. She is a Nine. Her name is Eliza Day.
Eliza introduces Prophet Xitler. “On such a fabulous occasion, and on a day that has shaped the history of Faya, here is a word from our Prophet Xitler!”
Prophet Xitler is ugly. He has a large irregular nose, white stiff hair, and resembles a mad scientist. He is tall but chubby, and loves to chuckle at every silly comment. It is rumored that he has never actually attended college. One of the privileges of Eights and Nines is that they get to attend college. Sevens have to have a scholarship. All the others will not get a higher education because they are the brute workforce of Faya.
Someone claps in the crowd. Slowly, someone else joins in, and then someone else. Dictatorship is like a disease. It doesn’t hit you in the face. It spreads slowly until it grows bigger than you think it ever could.
Finally, we hail Prophet Xitler, spreading our arms making a V sign, imitating the Burning Man’s two arms reaching for the sky.
Prophet Xitler starts his annual speech. It’s the same story we hear every year. The story of Faya, the country that rose out of the ashes of a place that was once called the Amerikaz. He recites how his ancestors, the Xitlers, rebuilt this nation after finding a large wooden effigy of a man set on fire in the Nevada desert, where the remains of Amerikaz’s civilization had been collected in large containers and buried in the sand underneath. The effigy of the man on fire is called the Burning Man. It was more of an x-marks-the-spot sign, as if the few survivors of the last days of the Amerikaz left it for us on purpose. They wanted us to dig and find the containers, which contained everything about their civilization. They wanted us to avoid the mistakes that caused their extinction. They wanted someone to use their experience and rebuild a new Amerikaz after the world had ended. They wanted to warn us of the Bad Kidz who caused the uprisings against the governments of Amerik
az. That’s why we have our ranking system and the Monster Show ritual, so we don’t allow the little Monsters to bring down our nation with their recklessness and irresponsible behavior like in the Amerikaz.
We call the containers the Arc.
People in Faya worship the Burning Man and think of it as God. The Monster Show is the killing ritual that cleanses the nation’s sins, like a human sacrifice for the gods.
“It is an important day for the nation of Faya,” notes Xitler in his gushy voice. “The tenth year since we’ve developed the Monster Show sacrifices for the Burning Man.”
This is the thirty-fourth year of the Ranking system. The Summit developed the Monster Show only ten years ago, when they found out that all uprising attempts were led by teens with ranks lower than Five. Before that, rankings went all the way down to Four, Three, Two, and One. All old Ones, Twos, Threes, and Fours are called Nones now. Nones are not treated as Monsters. They are considered Fives until they die, but we don’t have many more of them left. The youngest None is twenty-six. I don’t have friend that old.
“The Ranking system has made us a great nation that the world looks up to,” rants Xitler. “The growth in economy, quality of living, and our place in the world is at its zenith and it’s all thanks to you, Burning Man!”
Xitler thanks all teens.
The crowd is going wilder and wilder.
“When we first invented the iAm, no one understood its purpose,” Xitler says. “The world wondered and questioned our sanity. They questioned how we could possibly benefit from tracking every teenager’s behavior, everyday life, health, food, thoughts, and mood swings.” Xitler makes a grumpy face, stressing on the ‘mood swings’ phrase. Everyone knows that teens’ mood swings are the worst. “It seemed like an irrational idea; a waste of energy and money in a nation that rose up from the ashes after the Great Disease.”
No one knows why it’s called the Great Disease. It’s just another word for the apocalypse.
“I am proud to announce,” says Prophet Xitler, “that the percentage of Monsters—”
Suddenly, the crowd starts protesting in a low and scary tone. “Boooooo!”
I am surprised Ariadna and Timmy are booing as well. I wonder how Eva feels about this.
Prophet Xitler gestures for the crowd to calm down. “The percentage of Monsters this year is estimated to be only ten percent of our teens. The first year we started the Ranking system, the Monsters were about sixty-five percent.” He pauses as his eyes scan us slowly. “We plan to have no Monsters in Faya in the coming years. Then we shall teach the world that they can have no Monsters too; that we can live in a world of peace without rebels or terrorists.” Again, the crowd applauds. “Imagine a society without Monsters!” Prophet Xitler’s voice tunes into a higher pitch.
“Yeah!” The crowd is in tune with him.
“Many years from now, the Burning Man nation will be…” Prophet Xitler takes his time to finish the sentence as if he is confident of hitting the jackpot. I see him reach for a glass of water, take a sip from it, then wipe his mouth.
Don’t burp, please!
“— a nation of only Eights and Nines.”
This drives everyone crazy.
Ariadna is jumping. Timmy is too, and I start jumping with a fake smile on my face. Sadly, the Utopian idea itself will drive the nation to hate Monsters more, and give them better excuses and motivation to kill them.
Again, what have I done? What will happen to my family when I become a Monster?
Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. I have to do this. I have no choice. Besides, I vaguely remember you both wanted to kill me when I was seven. I owe Woo more than I owe you.
Faustina isn’t quite so enthusiastic about Prophet Xitler’s statement. Where, and what, will she be in a world full of Nines?
Suddenly, our iAms beep. It’s time to step in for the ranking.
Chapter 3
Grand School
We step into a long hallway in Grand School. The sun is shining through a skylight above and the full-length windows on the right. A cafeteria is visible at the end of the hall. Black metal doors, leading to the interviewing rooms, are on the left. Ten doors.
Twenty-four thousand sixteen-year-olds will be ranked today.
A small flying object that looks like a single human eye with a trailing optic nerve floats in the air above us. Those are the latest surveillance cameras, invented by the Summit. They are actual human eyes of dead Monsters from previous games, regenerated and turned into biotech cameras. Monster organs are used in scientific experimentation – if the organ still functions after their death. Each surveillance eye is called an iSee.
I am not disturbed by the iSees. Sometimes I see them in the grocery store or the parks in Eve. We treat them like flies — you can wave them away, and the iSees will leave but they’ll usually come back later.
Other than broadcasting and spying, the iSees do check barcodes and fingerprints, and can identify your iAm. They can do a biometric identity check on your eyes if necessary, which is taking a picture of your retinas to confirm your identity.
Ariadna jumps and screams when we see ourselves on the iScreen. They call us the city of Eve candidates. We cheer louder and louder for our school.
Another teacher comes out of one of the rooms and explains that we will be ranked ten students at a time. The ranking is done in a weird way. Each student opens one of the ten doors and enters a cylindrical room where he connects his iAm to a plug in the wall. Within seconds, you are notified of you rank. If you get ranked, the door opens again, allowing you to go back out and brag to your friends about your rank while another student enters after you.
If the iAm ranks you as a Monster, the door behind you doesn’t open and the cylindrical room acts as an elevator sending you down to the Playa to die.
The teacher calls the first ten names. Faustina and Eva are on the list.
Eva nods at me before she grabs for the door handle. She looks happy, having had fun at the ceremony. I nod back, trying hard not to utter a word. This is my last chance to expose myself. Once she enters, I am as good as dead.
I smile back at her. She thinks I am pitiful. She has no idea that her life is going to change for the better. As for me, as scared as I am, I am determined to enter the show and find Woo.
Sam decides to go to the cafeteria. Ariadna follows him. Timmy throws me a suspicious look. Poor Timmy thinks Sam is flirting with Ariadna. Ariadna and Sam, behind Faustina’s back? What a joke.
I continue watching the events on the screen, with my back to the students.
Suddenly, everything goes quiet in the hallway as if the world behind me has disappeared. Everyone stops talking. Silence floods my surroundings.
I look behind me and see why everyone’s so silent. It’s Leo. He is walking amongst the students again.
Chapter 4
A Boy Named Leo
Since Woo’s death I’ve never felt as curious about someone as I am about Leo.
His lips seem relaxed now, and slightly parted. The tension in his face is gone. His hands are cuffed behind his back, but his legs are free.
Everyone is looking at him. It seems like no one in the hallway can breathe. We watch him push one of those iSees away.
One of the boys stops him, trying to pick a fight. Leo ignores him and keeps on walking.
Somehow, I take a couple of steps forward and stand in his way. What has gotten into me? I stare at him with my chin held up high. He stops in front of me…
All I see is his face. Everything in the world around him is just gone. I feel as if there is a magnet pulling me from my chest toward him. I only see his eyes now, as if we’re both connected through some kind of an invisible tube filled with golden light, the color of the tint in his eyes. I feel dizzy. My eyes shift from his eyes to his lips, and back again. It’s too tense in here. Too hot. I feel like I need to break free from a spell.
“Are you Decca?” Leo asks in a musical voice. Although he so
unds like he wants to punch me, his voice has a certain texture; like fine wool. It has soul, as if sandpaper could sing. It’s just the kind of fine voice that makes you want to brush your cheeks against it. What’s happening to me?
“How”— I clear my throat — “do you know my name?” My voice is so low it might be only in my head.
“Don’t do this.” He says without flinching. For all his beauty he is just so rigid, as if he’s in pain but trying not to show it.
“Do what?” I grin back at him. I hate beautiful boys. They are mostly dumb, but my body betrays me and I find myself leaning forward again.
“Don’t enter the games,” He lets the words pass painfully from between his pressed teeth. “It’s a dumb thing to do.” His eyes move sideways as if he doesn’t want anyone to hear him.
My mouth is hanging open but I am speechless. How does he know? Words refuse to come out.
I feel as if I am in a dream, and someone is calling to me from the waking world. I start surfacing to the real world, reminding myself that other teens exist here with us. We’re not alone and I am not supposed to feel attracted to him like that.
Someone is calling for Leo. It’s the soldiers. He is not pleased, as if he doesn’t want the soldiers seeing him talking to a normal girl from Eve, the same way most Nines do when they talk to me. That look that says that I am a Seven and they are Nines. I could be one of their fans and they could play superstars, but we couldn’t really be friends — except Ariadna. Why is this happening? How does he know my name? How does he know about me switching the iAms? Why doesn’t he want the soldiers to see me with him?
“Stay away from me.” Leo grits his teeth. I have to tiptoe to look him in the eyes. Suddenly you don’t want to have anything to do with me? Boys will be boys. He feels like a monster to me. Ariadna says that all boys, sooner or later, turn into monsters.