The Dissenters

by Lauren M. Flauding

  Yesterday, my friend Regis broke his leg on purpose in order to get Amplified. Things are really getting out of hand. The Community is approving Amplification for broken limbs, dyslexia, obesity, depression, diabetes, and dozens of other conditions. A number of people have accidentally killed themselves trying to become eligible for an Amplifier. About a quarter of the population is Amplified now, and there is great discrimination against those who are not. Those who are Amplified receive all the best labor positions and are the most prominent in the Community. It's wonderful that the Amplifiers are improving people's lives, but I'm worried about the divisions and violence they're causing. We might have been imperfect before, but at least we had peace.

  I'm starting to feel a little nauseous. These are details they conveniently left out of the history films they showed us in school. I search through the pages until I find the last entry of the journal.

  It's been several years since I've written, and I probably won't write again. Last week they passed the Equality Movement, which means that everyone can become Amplified if they submit to certain conditions. However, the other sectors had different ideas on how best to achieve equality, and they wouldn't compromise, so they're separating from the Community. The East will have equality through physicality, the North decided on equality through resources, and the West chose equality through freedom. Here in the South sector, we'll keep Amplification as equality through ability.

  We've been ordered not to speak of the other sectors as they have defected, and I could be sent to prison for writing about them, but I feel that maybe sometime in the future, this information will be important. Someone should know the truth. I fear this division will bring about the downfall of our Community.

  ____________

  "Have you read this?" I demand as I slam Lucia's journal down on the table in front of Miles.

  "Yes," he answers simply. "All of the Dissenters have. It's the only evidence we have of the other sectors. That's how we knew anything about the North before they started attacking."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "I was about to, but then you shot me."

  I blow my red hair out of my face in frustration. Why can't he just let that go? I think. It's not like I killed him.

  "Plus," Miles continues, looking pointedly at the journal, "it's probably better that you found out from your ancestor."

  I sigh and fall into a chair opposite Miles. Dinner smells delicious tonight, but I'm not hungry, which is saying something. Eating real food has been one of my favorite aspects of being here at the Dissenter base.

  "So where are these other sectors?"

  "Our best guess it that they're to the east, north, and west," Miles responds, "but no one really knows for sure. If the East and the West still exist, then they must be really far out there. We've gone on a few expeditions looking for them, but we didn't find anything. The only reason we know the North is still around is because they so kindly came to war against us. We still don't know where they live, though. It might be beyond the Outer Reaches."

  I shiver. I hate thinking about the Outer Reaches. It seems so desolate.

  "Well, that's an awfully long way to travel to drop bombs on us," I remark.

  "Nobody is in those air ships," Miles states.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The Community's soldiers have only been able to take down one of the North's airships. When they looked inside, there were only wires and buttons. The ships are controlled remotely."

  I'm processing this bit of information when I see Sabrina enter the dining hall. Her nose is definitely broken. She looks at me with distaste and I glare back at her. For a moment it seems like she might come over, but instead she sits down at a table with Blaine. Miles follows my gaze and sighs heavily.

  "You shouldn't be so hard on Sabrina," he comments. "I know she can be a little intense, but she's given up a lot to join the Dissenters."

  "Like what?" I say testily, wondering if I really care to know.

  "Well, her full name is Sabrina Plenaris. She's the Governor's niece."

  Chapter 18

  My calves are burning. I'm usually great at endurance exercises, but this particular lunge position that Miles has been making us hold for the past 10 minutes is killing me. We've spent the whole morning of training doing strength and resistance activities. They remind me of some of the games my mom would have us play. Sabrina comes by and fixes my position. I want to tell her off until I realize I feel a lot better.

  "I can't feel my legs," Jacqueline whispers to me. She's stayed pretty close to me ever since I saved her from Sabrina the other day.

  "Consider yourself lucky," I whisper back.

  Two weeks have come and gone and the committee has been too distracted to worry about me, so I'm still in Dissenter limbo. In the mean time, they've moved me to a more permanent dwelling space, they've issued me the black Dissenter uniforms, and I've stopped having to ask what all the different food is during meals. For the most part, life is good. Although, I still get queasy whenever I see Miles and Sabrina together, and the North is slowly destroying the Community.

  Every day we watch surveillance of more buildings being demolished by the North's bombs and gunfire. The nutrition stores have still not been replenished, so they're cutting rations again. I feel a little guilty. We have plenty of food down here at the base while people in the city and in the compounds are almost starving.

  "All right," Miles announces, "you guys can rest."

  I collapse on the floor, breathing heavily. Jacqueline is lying next to me, looking exhausted.

  "I thought it would never end," she exclaims as she stretches her legs out. "I almost wish we could go back to fighting."

  I glance over at Sabrina. She's lecturing a boy who kept falling out of the lunge. Her nose has healed a bit, but you can definitely still see the bruising. I wish she hadn't sacrificed position, prestige and family to be here so I could dislike her without feeling bad. I watch as Miles joins her to talk to the boy. It looks like the boys responds much better to Miles, probably because he's far more tactful. Then Sabrina puts her hand on Miles' shoulder and I have to look away.

  I turn my attention back to Jacqueline, who is still recuperating on the floor. She looks up at me and smiles. She looks like someone I know, but I can't quite figure out who.

  "Jacqueline, where's the rest of your family?" I ask. It's a bold question, but she doesn't seem to mind. When you're a nine-year-old in a secret rebel organization, I guess you have to develop a certain level of grit.

  "My parents are in prison and my sister was sent to another compound about a year ago," she responds.

  I want to ask her more, but suddenly we hear a lot of noise coming from down the hall.

  We all walk out of the room to see what's going on. They've projected one of the surveillance feeds on the wall, and a large group of Dissenters has gathered to watch. At first it doesn't seem like anything is out of the ordinary; the video shows people reconstructing buildings in the city. But when I look more closely at their faces, it's clear that these people are working against their will.

  One man lifts a block of cement that is far too heavy for him. An older woman runs back and forth, carrying debris to a trash receptacle. A few soldiers are drilling so close to each other that I'm surprised they all still have their toes. Their expressions range from anger and panic to fatigue and apathy. In any case, it looks like they've been working too hard and for too long.

  I watch as a skinny girl who's probably about 20 years old struggles to carry a massive wooden plank. She falls down over and over, but her body continues to get itself back up and attempt to carry the plank again. She looks miserable. Finally, she falls down and does not get back up. Her eyes glaze over and a shiver runs down my spine.

  "They're working themselves to death," I murmur in horror.

  "Why can't they just stop?" Jacqueline asks, her eyes wide.

  "It's the Override Program," I explain. "Nearly everyone in
the city is on it. They're using the Override to make people rebuild the city, but there's also not enough nutrition left, so they're taking this opportunity to kill the weak ones."

  As if to validate my statement, another older man collapses underneath a thick metal rod. A Restrainer picks him up off the ground and throws his limp body into the back of a nearby truck. Beside me, Jacqueline starts sobbing. I reach up to my face and realize that I also have tears streaming down my cheeks.

  I hear Roxy's voice coming from somewhere in the front of the group.

  "This is why it's so important that we destroy the Override machines," she announces gravely. "The Community is already using them for awful things like this, but imagine how much worse it would be if the North came into possession of them."

  I shudder. During the few times I was Overridden, I detested hearing someone else's voice in my head and the feeling of my body acting against my will. It would be a nightmare if nearly everyone in the Community were controlled by the North. Although, looking back up at the screen, I wonder if the North is really the worst enemy.

  ____________

  I'm expecting the library to be empty, as it always is, so I'm surprised to see Talina sitting at one of the tables near the back. She's so immersed in her book that she doesn't notice when I come in.

  "Hey Talina, I haven't seen you around much," I announce, startling her.

  "Yeah," she responds, closing her book, "That's because I've been trying to avoid you."

  I must look hurt from her blunt comment, because she quickly gives more of an explanation.

  "It's just that hardly anyone here knows me from my life before, so it's kind of awkward explaining the transition."

  "I won't ask you about it then." I pull out a few books from the geography and maps section and sit down in a large armchair to look through them. I've been wanting to see just how much there is outside the Community.

  "It was after the North attacked the air barge during your Training last year," Talina whispers.

  I look up from my pile of books. I hadn't even opened them yet. Talina must be talking to me, but she's looking at a spot above the door. She continues.

  "When Governor Plenaris denied the attack and then forced me to confirm his statement with his personal Override, I was livid. I was being forced to lie. I'd worked really hard to get to the head trainer position, but when the Governor used me against my will, I knew I couldn't be a part of the Amplification Program anymore. Two months later, I joined the Dissenters."

  I nod in understanding. Having the Governor's shrill voice in your head, telling you what to do would be enough to drive anyone away from Amplification.

  "When did you have your Amplifier removed?" I ask her.

  "That's the interesting part," she sighs. "I'm still Amplified."

  "But then, how — "

  "The committee thought it might be a good idea to have someone here who's Amplified, in case of emergency. I can't use it here, obviously, it doesn't work outside of the Community's boundary. But if the Restrainers ever infiltrate the base, I'll be able to access the signals from their embedded transmitters."

  "Embedded transmitters?"

  "Yeah," Talena says, giving me a condescending look that makes me feel like I'm back in Training. "All of the Restrainers receive a transmitter in their enhanced implant so that they can use their Amplifiers anywhere."

  "Oh," I respond sheepishly. "I never knew that. So you haven't used your Amplifier at all?"

  "Not since I've been here," she confesses, "and I miss it. But Governor Plenaris is going too far. I didn't want to get caught up in his madness."

  There's an odd glint in Talina's eyes which makes me a little uncomfortable. I stand to leave, but I have one more question for Talina.

  "Hey, how did become a Dissenter? I mean, who brought you here?"

  Talina raises her eyebrows at me.

  "Miles," she responds. "He recruits all the new Dissenters."

  Chapter 19

  Stepping on to the Mall-cruiser is like being slapped in the face. After being at the Dissenter base for almost a month, coming back into the Community is quite a shock. People have become significantly more reserved, and their faces are thinner, bitter, and anxious. The arenas on the Mall-cruiser are less crowded, but that doesn't mean I'm any less intimidated when we walk into one of them.

  As part of Dissenter training, the new recruits are supposed to be able to pass as Amplified people, and the test is competing in the arenas on the Mall-cruisers. When Miles explained it to all of us, I thought he was joking. Fight against the Amplified? It sounded like suicide. But here we all are, dressed to blend in, about to get pulverized by the Community's most confident and skilled citizens.

  We don't attract much attention, which is lucky. We look like a bunch of Amplified teenagers, even though technically kids our age who are Amplified should be soldiers in Service right now. The fighters in the arena are performing impressive maneuvers as they attack each other, and the surrounding crowd rallies them with shouts and jeers. It smells a little bit like blood.

  "Why didn't Miles come?" I whisper to Sabrina. She looks at me as if I'm the stupidest thing she's ever encountered.

  "He never goes into the Community during the day. At least, not as himself. It's too dangerous."

  "What does that mean?"

  "He's the Community's most wanted fugitive. He can't just go around showing his face in public."

  She didn't really answer my question, but there's no time to clarify. Suddenly Sabrina pushes me into the middle of the arena.

  I gulp. The woman facing me is muscular, with a severe face and fierce eyes. And she looks hungry. Literally. I drop my entrance fee into a tray off to the side of the arena: 2 nutrition capsules. It seems like a waste of resources just to prove yourself. I curse Sabrina for making me go first; I would have liked more time to concentrate and prepare.

  The moderator sounds the bell for us to begin, and the woman gives herself a command through her Amplifier.

  "Madge, knock the girl off her feet."

  The thing about Amplifiers is that you lose the element of surprise. Because you verbalize the commands, your opponent knows what you're planning to do. But even with a head's up, I still don't move my feet fast enough to get out of her way. Before I know it, I'm flat on my back, peering up at the woman hovering over me.

  "Madge, smash her face in."

  For an Amplified person, she's not very creative with her commands, I think. Luckily, this time I scramble back to my feet before her command takes effect. She stumbles forward on to the spot where I used to be, then twists violently to grab at me.

  "Mari, deliver a side kick to her stomach," I say loudly and obviously, pretending I'm Amplified. I tilt away from her and bring my leg up into her abdomen as she's reaching for me. She doubles over in pain but still staggers forward, backing me up to the crowd. I'm running out of room.

  "Mari, roll over top of her."

  I leap forward and turn in the air, landing with my back on hers, then roll off the other side and run across the arena, putting plenty of distance between us. Madge straitens and stares me down.

  "Madge, rip off her ears."

  I guess she can be creative, I think regretfully. She charges, looking enraged. I panic and say the first thing that comes to my mind.

  "Mari, do a backflip."

  Dang it! Why did I say that? I can't do a back flip! But it's too late. I have to try and follow through with my fake command. I bend my knees, then spring backward, arching my back and kicking my legs up. My foot hits something solid and throws me out of balance, but I'm able to correct myself as I push off of my hands and land, incredibly, on my feet again.

  I'm amazed that I actually did the backflip. I guess I've done them so many times before that my body just automatically knows what to do. However, I'm even more amazed to see that Madge is lying unconscious on the floor.

  ____________

  "Why did you do that?" Sabrina
demands.

  Do what? I thought this was the goal," I reply.

  "You weren't supposed to win, just pass as an Amplified person!"

  "And what, lose my ears in the process?"

  "Now you're expected to fight again!"

  "Oh, I didn't know that," I say sullenly.

  "That's the problem with you! You don't think! You just act!"

  Sabrina has a point, but I never thought those particular aspects of my personality were a problem before.

  After my unexpected victory, Sabrina rushed me and the other recruits out of the arena. I didn't even know how I'd won until a boy explained that I'd kicked Madge underneath the chin while I was doing my backflip. Apparently it knocked her right out. Now we've joined the younger recruits who weren't allowed in the arena. They were waiting next to one of the many capsule bars on the Mall-cruiser.

  "What happened?" Jacqueline asks, looking concerned.

  "I ... I won."

  "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

  "No," Sabrina cuts in. "They'll be wanting Mari to fight again soon, so we all have to get off this Mall-cruiser now."

  "And go where?" I argue. "We're in the middle of nothing right now, we'd have no place to hide!"

  Sabrina doesn't respond, but I can tell she knows I'm right.

  I hear a gasp behind me and turn around, expecting the worst. What I see is not the worst, but it's not necessarily the best either.

  Brexlynn is standing there with her mouth open and eyes wide, but it's not me she's staring at. I glance back at the group of Dissenter recruits and see Jacqueline wearing the same expression. The exact same expression. Suddenly, it all comes together. Parents in prison, Brexlynn sent to another compound ... Jacquelyn and Brexlynn are sisters.

  The two girls run toward each other and embrace, seeming to shout and laugh and cry all at the same time. I'd be touched if I wasn't worried about them causing a scene. We really don't want to draw attention to ourselves right now. Just as I'm about to try and calm them down, two Restrainers walk out of the bar. They regard Brexlynn and Jacqueline with disinterest, but when they see Sabrina, their eyes light up with recognition.