[In Distress 02.0] In Pain

by Caethes Faron

  “What kind of production are we talkin’ about?” Carson asked. “Are they goin’ to be changed on an as-needed basis, or is everyone goin’ to get the new collar at the next Eval?”

  “Neither, actually,” Malcolm said. The confusion on everyone’s faces amused him. “Instead, they’re doing mandatory replacements. They’re calling in all the Zeds to have their collars swapped out.”

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Syrus said.

  Malcolm had never heard anything like it either. He knew the Geneticists were getting more data with the new model, but he didn’t understand the rush. It didn’t seem as if they had any plans to act on the new information they were gathering.

  “Did they give you any kind of timetable?” Carson asked. Since he was the one who was responsible for production, Malcolm could understand the stress lines that already formed on his forehead.

  “They only said that they wanted it done as soon as possible. We originally told them six months in our proposal. I got the impression that they want to replace them as quickly as we can make them.”

  “It was already goin’ to be a stretch just tryin’ to meet the six-month deadline we had planned for. I don’t know how much faster we can go,” Carson said.

  “I already sent a response confirming that we could do it. We can’t let this opportunity pass us by. We’ll do whatever it takes to get it done. Carson, we’re all relying on you, Will, and Rufus to let us know what needs to be done. From here on out, this is priority number one.”

  “I suppose that means I should sit down with the three of you and get started on the scheduling,” Tony said, already pulling out his tab and looking at the calendar for the next month.

  “Well, we best go to the office and see what it’s goin’ to take,” Carson said.

  Everyone looked to Malcolm as if asking permission, wondering if there was any more to the announcement. “Go ahead and get started,” Malcolm said. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”

  Will left with Tony, Carson, and Rufus.

  “Mighty strange behavior,” Syrus said.

  The urgency did bother Malcolm. More than anything, it puzzled him. No sense worrying about it, though. It wasn’t his place to question the Geneticists’ timetable. All he could do was meet their demands and get the collars to them as quickly as possible.

  “Do you think it has anything to do with what we talked about? Do you think the president has some plan?” Nick asked.

  It had occurred to Malcolm. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

  “I don’t l-l-like him. He f-f-freaks me out,” Stu said.

  “I know,” Malcolm replied, “but we’re not likely to get anyone better than him. No one with the motivation, money, power, and will to ascend to the presidency is going to be someone we’d like. What was the reaction to the post you made online?”

  Stu looked to Nick to answer, but when it became apparent that Nick would stay silent, Stu spoke. “It was g-g-good. Most of the people s-s-seem to agree that it’s in everyone’s b-b-best interest to tone down the v-v-violence. There’s a lot of talk about the u-u-upcoming elections.”

  “Yeah, that reminds me, Malcolm,” Nick said, “I’m trying to convince Stu to write some pamphlets. You know, get people thinking about the direction they want the government going in.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea,” Malcolm said. “There’s a lot of ways to get people thinking differently, to get their support for a cause without resorting to blatant sedition.”

  “All it takes is getting people to view Zeds as human beings,” Syrus said. “A good place to start is with the stories of Beta women who have lost their children. It will mean more to people, be more relatable, than our stories. The men in charge like to discard the opinions of women. I know there are some women who believe in the system, that their babies were taken away for some greater good, but there are plenty who don’t. Those Beta women need to be heard.”

  Malcolm had thought the exact same thing. He couldn’t have said it better himself. “I can ask Marcy to help you with that, Stu. You have a gift with words. You could do a lot of good work. I’ve always said the key to our success was truth. It’s time to start getting a little more truth out there. Go ahead and start writing something up. I can help you with it if you like.”

  Stu nodded. “I’ll g-g-get started.”

  “I can start combing through old news stories and bulletins,” Nick said, “see if there are any that could help us out. There are some underground news sites that report on abuses against Zeds. I don’t think we should expose them, but I do think Stu and I can do a nice write-up highlighting some of the injustices.”

  “See if he can find any way to spin the story to show that the treatment of Zeds is hurting the welfare of Betas or Alphas,” Syrus said. “It’s human nature to only care about others when it’s convenient or beneficial to yourself. The way the system has worked from the beginning has been wrong. What keeps it going is apathy and self-interest. We’ll have to address those two things if we’re expecting change to come from the people.”

  “And remember, we don’t need a big change this election. Don’t expect one. All we need is to get people thinking,” Malcolm said.

  “All right. We’re on it,” Nick said as he jumped up and helped Stu to his feet. Both men left the room, their heads already buried in their tabs.

  Once Malcolm was alone with Syrus, he moved to sit next to the other man. “Do you think President Fischer is going to seek another term?”

  “I think it’s likely.”

  Any move to consolidate power or to keep with the status quo was a step in the wrong direction. “The government’s going to keep making our job harder. If President Fischer stays in power, it’s only going to make it more difficult for the voices of dissension.”

  “Don’t sound so gloomy, Malcolm. You just got an invitation from the Geneticists themselves to pull the biggest con that’s ever been attempted. I’d say you’re doing something right.”

  “I take your point, and you’re right. Would you mind searching that memory of yours and dictating some material that might be useful to Nick and Stu?”

  “I don’t know that the general population is ready to hear the stories from my memory.”

  Malcolm grimaced. “Probably not, but I’m sure you can find more than a few tidbits to get us moving in the right direction.”

  “That I can. Are you sure you’re ready for this next step? You’ve been working on this for a long time. I remember Kaleana and I dreaming about a better world. She never told me you were involved with the movement, but it wasn’t hard to see that you were special. I’ve always expected great things from you,” Syrus said.

  Malcolm didn’t know what he had ever done to deserve the faith of so many good people, but he wouldn’t let them down. “I’m ready.”

  Chapter Forty

  Will stared at the spreadsheets, charts, and reports that were spread across the Glass Screen. He had even activated his secondary display, which he hardly ever did. They’d have to shut down production on any nonessential orders in order to produce the necessary number of collars in the time frame given by the Geneticists. It seemed an impossible task, but they had no choice. Ever since Malcolm had made the announcement, everyone had been running on pure excitement and very little sleep. Tony had distributed a schedule to everyone with firm instructions that it was to be followed. He seemed to be the only one to care about such trivial things as sleep and eating three times a day. If it weren’t for his insistence, lunch would’ve been done away with days ago. Carson and Rufus spent most of their time across the divide at Panacea’s plants retooling machines in order to make more collars.

  They had outstanding orders that needed to be filled, but as they completed the orders, those production lines were closed and retooled for collars. Will had done all he could. He felt confident that he couldn’t squeeze out one more collar from Panacea than he already had. Glancing over his final repo
rt to make sure it was accurate, he approved it, digitally signed it, and dispersed it to Carson and the department heads at Panacea. Then he pulled up his messenger.

  Ajax: How is the system holding up with the new collars going online?

  Oculus: It’s doing remarkably well. I’d anticipated more problems. We were well prepared.

  Ajax: I can’t wait until this is all over. Let me know if there’s anything you need or if you notice anything out of the ordinary.

  Oculus: Will do. I can’t wait to see all the data once we have a full replacement.

  Ajax: I know. I can’t help hoping that we’ll find something to help us move forward.

  Oculus: Any idea when replacement will be complete?

  Ajax: A little more than a month.

  Oculus: That quickly?

  Ajax: That’s what we think.

  Oculus: I’ll make sure we’re ready for it. You and Lazarus have done good work. I’ll contact you if there’s a problem.

  The plants at Panacea ran around the clock to meet the demand. There wasn’t a single minute of the day that a collar wasn’t being made. The timeline was strenuous, but Will couldn’t help feeling excited. It was really happening. In little more than a month, all the Zeds in New Cali would have a new collar, a better collar, one the Spark of Life Movement would use to secure their freedom in the future. It was an exhilarating thought.

  Will shut down his computer and stood. He couldn’t look at one more chart or graph or spreadsheet. “I’m going to go check on Nick and Stu,” he told Malcolm.

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll join you as soon as I’m done here.” Malcolm barely looked up from his display. He’d been in constant communication with Nicodemus, the board, and Walken in both official and unofficial capacities. Will had thought they had gone through all the paperwork when the collars had been accepted for the pilot program. He had no idea how many times Malcolm’s signature would be needed in order to finalize the rollout. They hadn’t started the official collar exchange yet, but already Zeds belonging to the DGI and the government were having their collars replaced as quickly as Panacea could turn them out.

  When Will entered Nick’s office, Nick, Stu, and Syrus were all sitting around one computer working together.

  “Oh, Will, good. We have something to show you,” Nick said, nearly jumping out of his seat with excitement. Instead he scooted over while Will pulled a chair in so he could see the Glass Screen.

  “What is it?”

  “We were talking to Marcy and Jess, and they’ve both been incredibly helpful. They’re actually the ones who suggested this. We told them we wanted to collect stories about Beta women who had lost their children as Zeds. Malcolm told her that it was a passing fascination that we have. Anyway, they both said how much it helped to talk about it. They actually have a support group. That’s when Stu got an absolutely brilliant idea,” Nick said.

  “I wouldn’t say it’s b-b-brilliant,” Stu said.

  “Well I didn’t say it was b-b-brilliant. I said it was brilliant, and it is. We’ve been trying to find a way to get information out to the public in a way that wasn’t too disruptive. Since the government raid, we’ve had a shortage of good places online to communicate and meet people who aren’t already activists. So Stu had the idea to create a website that serves as a support group for Beta women who have lost their children, just like what Marcy does, but online. It seemed so obvious after he mentioned it, but there wasn’t one already.”

  “Like I told them, it doesn’t surprise me,” Syrus said. “It’s taboo for Beta women to talk about such things.”

  “So it’s actually going to help a lot of people while also helping us. Brilliant,” Nick said.

  Will saw on the screen a mockup of what the site would look like, complete with stories they had already gathered from Marcy and others. “Where did you get these other stories from?”

  “Oh, that was all Marcy. She asked women in her group for permission to share their stories. Of course, everything is completely anonymous. We don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy. Plus, if the government does see through it, it’ll be harder for them to make a case for sedition if they can’t identify anyone from their stories.”

  It looked like a standard message board where members could register and post anonymously and talk to each other. He also saw that there were some resources available, articles and the like to offer support for these women. “This actually is brilliant. It does exactly what we need it to do, but it’s not at all divisive. It’ll actually reach out the furthest, which means it has great potential. I’d imagine even Betas who support the system still need help coping with the fact that they won’t get to raise the child they had been expecting,” Will said. “You should add a section for women who are expecting. Maybe it would help them to talk about their fears and anxieties and get help from women who have already been there.” Will also thought it might be a good resource for Marcy and those she worked with.

  “That’s a great idea,” Nick said as he jotted it down on the surface of the Glass desk.

  “And I’ve been working with Stu on some more posts for a site they visit on the darknet,” Syrus said. “You should look them over, Will.”

  “Yeah, I’d be happy to. Stu, you should send them to me.”

  A slight hint of a blush crept up Stu’s cheeks. Will suspected he still wasn’t used to getting attention and being praised, especially for his communication skills.

  Beep. Beep.

  A government bulletin was coming through.

  President Fischer will make a live address in five minutes’ time.

  “This is it,” Nick exclaimed as he vibrated with excitement.

  They’d all been expecting some type of announcement about the new collars. The DGI couldn’t very well start sending out notices for all Zeds to be brought in without some sort of public announcement. “I thought Nicodemus would’ve made the announcement,” Will said.

  Syrus shook his head. “The president will want credit for this one.”

  The door to the office opened, and in walked Malcolm. “Do you mind if I watch the announcement with you?”

  “That’s a s-s-stupid question,” Stu said as he moved over, making room for Malcolm.

  “We’re just wondering why Nicodemus wasn’t making the announcement,” Nick said.

  “Apparently this was a point of contention between Nicodemus and the president. I don’t know exactly how they resolved it, but the president was quite insistent,” Malcolm said.

  Nick put the live feed full screen on his monitor. They watched as reporters took their places in front of the podium that had been placed outside of the Presidential Palace on the opposite side from where the attack had taken place. The Minister of Public Affairs made a short introduction, and then President Fischer walked out of the palace up to the podium.

  “Citizens of New Cali, I speak to you today to bring you a message of encouragement, of hope, and to show you the path your government is taking into the future.”

  Will had to control his gag reflex. The man’s voice was as unpleasant as his appearance. His light-brown hair, bright-blue eyes, and gleaming white teeth were too perfect. He looked creepy.

  “Not too long ago, the public peace was rattled, disturbed by extremists, by a fringe element that seeks to threaten our very way of life. I’m here to tell you that we have brought those responsible to justice. But we must remain ever vigilant. Let us not forget the sad lessons of our forefathers. Do not forget how close we came to complete annihilation. The Great Destruction may have taken the land, may have corrupted our DNA, but it did not crush our spirit, and neither will we let it.” Fischer’s fist came down on the podium with stern resolve.

  “We are tasked with a solemn responsibility, each one of us. You may say to yourself that it is the responsibility of the Department of Genetic Integrity to restore our DNA to its pre-Great Destruction order. To say such a thing would be a denial of the responsibility we all h
old to each other.” Fischer shook his head with grim disappointment.

  “That’s why I am proud to announce today that we are taking yet another step forward. We are all aware that for the preservation of the human race we must be sorted. As any good farmer knows, the pruning is as important to growth as is the sowing. It is for such a reason that our forefathers had the wisdom and foresight to put the caste system in place. It is for this reason that it is necessary for some of our population to be classified as Zeds.”

  Malcolm had been right; the man was charismatic, the perfect person to feed people bullshit and call it cake.

  “However, while a Zed may not share the same DNA as an Alpha, they are still a sub-level of human, and it is our responsibility to take care of them. You must never forget that they are doing their part to help save humanity. It is for this reason that Alphas, our government, and the DGI are tasked with housing Zeds and with caring for them even though they cannot hold employment like Betas can. We give them the work that Betas cannot perform. We do this to both look after the welfare of the Betas and to provide something of a meaningful life for the Zeds for as long as they are here.”

  What a fanciful rewrite of history and facts, as if Zeds were some cute endangered animals that shouldn’t be let in the house but should be fed just the same. Will’s blood boiled. He wanted to jump into the screen and stop this ridiculous display. That the general population believed this man disgusted him and destroyed all faith he had in Betas.

  “I do not take this stewardship lightly. Therefore, I’m excited to announce that new advances have been made in the technology of the collars that the Zeds wear. A new innovation from Panacea has resulted in a collar that is thinner, lighter, more comfortable, and even better at sensing any problems or unrest the Zed might be feeling. This innovation is to be applauded. I do not think it is right that any Zed in New Cali should wear an inferior collar when this new technology is readily available. Hence, I am signing an executive order for all Zeds to be brought to their local Eval Centers for the collars to be replaced. I task each Alpha with bringing in his or her Zeds at the appointed time that will be communicated to them by the DGI. This will be done at no cost to you. The government, as a representative of the people, is absorbing the cost. This is just one more step into the future, one more way to show that even though we may not all be equal, we all stand together as the human race to protect those we are given stewardship over. Thank you.”