I am not saying that I am not looking forward to being back in my hometown; I am saying that everything else involved with this move has been UBERshitty.
I am so ready for it to be done and over with I cannot begin to express it here. It has been one headache after another, and I surprised I have made it this far without medicinal help. WOOT!
ANYway...
I have stories to post and many more to read, so please be patient. We are turning off our cable and internet in a few hours, so I will see you after we make it to the new place.
*cross your fingers that we make it there*
Talk to you soon!
~2
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Forbidden Fruit
Uniformed children lined the halls of the upper level Genetics Ward. It was field day, a nice break away from regular class, but the kids in the hall wore looks of great unease.
“As you are aware, the matching ceremony will take place next week in the grand auditorium on level nine. This is a very important colony tradition, and I expect you all to be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, Counselor Reed,” the class replied.
“I know this is a very difficult time for you all, with the matching and starting your professions. I promise you, we will do everything in our power to make the transition as smooth as possible. The Eden Corporation has had you matched since birth, but this information is not released until you are of age. While the Matching Ceremony is next week, you can have several month of engagement before you schedule your marriage. I do recommend you schedule as soon as possible, because the dates do fill rather quickly. See HR if you have questions.”
Instead of heading to the elevators and down to living quarters like the rest of the class, Jared pushed open the heavy wooden doors of Eden. He smiled shyly at the receptionist, walked thru a door on the other side of the waiting area, and made his way down a long corridor to his grandmother’s office.
“Nan,” Jared said as he rounded the corner into Dr. Betty Dalton’s office.
“Hello there,” her face lit up, “Finish the tour?”
“Yes… thankfully.” Jared replied as he flopped himself into a chair in front of Nan’s desk. She laughed, while her auburn curls bounced. “You look awful. Have you been sick?”
Jared didn’t have to say anything, and Nan let it go. She asked him if he would like to accompany her on duty to which he quickly agreed.
“How many are there?” Jared asked.
“There are one hundred and eight different surrogates.” She stated. Jared liked that his grandmother referred to them as surrogates instead of clones. Her old bedtime stories were of “clone wars” in far away places, and he didn’t like to think of these “surrogates” as vicious killers.
Jared had spent a lot of time with his grandmother on duty. He was mesmerized by the surrogates. They were all so young and flawless, wrapped in soft fabrics, and marked only by small numbers on their earlobes. They slept while classical music played softly in their chambers.
“Nan, how old are they?” Jared asked walking thru the maze of beds.
“Well, these girls do not age like you and me. Comparatively, they are between the ages of 15 and 35. Each incubates one or two children a year until their expiration date.” Nan said.
“Expiration date?”
“At the age of 36 they are retired.”
“Then what happens?”
“They are replaced by their younger clone,” Nan said.
“Are all of these surrogates incubating?” Jared asked.
“Yes. There is another room for recovering surrogates, and the new implants are on another floor being monitored closely.”
They continued to walk around the beds as Nan checked the numbers on flashing machines and wires attached to their delicate bodies. Jared stared into each of their faces and wondered what they had been like when they were “real.”
“Nan,” Jared asked, “Which one is my surrogate?”
“Your surrogate has expired since your birth…”
“I mean which number?” Jared had a gut feeling before the number even left Nan’s lips. He had been drawn to 23 since he first entered the chamber a few weeks ago. He always knew exactly where she was located in the ocean of surrogates.
“Dr. Dalton,” a voice boomed over the intercom, ”You are needed in reception.”
“Be right there,” Nan replied. “I will be right back; wait here,” She said as she hurried out the door.
Jared stole a look at 23 out the corner of his eye and casually headed her way. She was a couple of rows over, so he weaved around numbers 42 and 36 until he was standing beside her bed; staring at her.
She couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Her long dark lashes fluttered slightly as he touched the top of her hand. Without thinking, Jared leaned over and softly brushed her lips with his own. Time seemed to stand still as he lingered and breathed in the air she discarded.
Eyes closed, he hovered inches above her face. One little kiss, and he would go and wait for his grandmother. One kiss, and he would go back to his living quarters and ready himself for next week’s ceremony. One more kiss, and he would put all this daydreaming behind him.
Jared sighed heavily, opened his eyes, and met a pair of ice blue’s staring back at him. He stumbled backwards as 23 began to scream.
Immediately, a number of white coats entered the room and surrounded the screaming girl. They began looking over charts while Jared stood there shocked.
Nan came running through the doors and gave the order. Jared watched as 23 took her last breath. His eyes followed her out of the room and down the hall before he was able to meet his grandmother’s stare.
“Why?” he muttered.
“Protocol,” she whispered and cleared her throat, “You should head home. I will be late.” Nan
turned and walked back out the doors.
A tall man in a white coat led Jared out the double doors of the Eden Corporation. He slowly made his way to the elevator and down to their living quarters.
Jared prepared dinner and tidied their tiny space, so Nan wouldn’t have to when she got home late. His memory of the day was already clouded, but he made an effort to pick out a nice suit to wear to the Matching Ceremony next week. He wanted to get Nan’s opinion before making the decision final.
“As you are aware, the matching ceremony will take place next week in the grand auditorium on level nine. This is a very important colony tradition, and I expect you all to be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, Counselor Reed,” the class replied.
“I know this is a very difficult time for you all, with the matching and starting your professions. I promise you, we will do everything in our power to make the transition as smooth as possible. The Eden Corporation has had you matched since birth, but this information is not released until you are of age. While the Matching Ceremony is next week, you can have several month of engagement before you schedule your marriage. I do recommend you schedule as soon as possible, because the dates do fill rather quickly. See HR if you have questions.”
Instead of heading to the elevators and down to living quarters like the rest of the class, Jared pushed open the heavy wooden doors of Eden. He smiled shyly at the receptionist, walked thru a door on the other side of the waiting area, and made his way down a long corridor to his grandmother’s office.
“Nan,” Jared said as he rounded the corner into Dr. Betty Dalton’s office.
“Hello there,” her face lit up, “Finish the tour?”
“Yes… thankfully.” Jared replied as he flopped himself into a chair in front of Nan’s desk. She laughed, while her auburn curls bounced. “You look awful. Have you been sick?”
Jared didn’t have to say anything, and Nan let it go. She asked him if he would like to accompany her on duty to which he quickly agreed.
“How many are there?” Jared asked.
“There are one hundred and eight different surrogates.” She stated. Jared liked that his grandmother referred to them as surrogates instead of clones. Her old bedtime stories were of “clone wars” in far away places, and he didn’t like to think of these “surrogates” as vicious killers.
Jared had spent a lot of time with his grandmother on duty. He was mesmerized by the surrogates. They were all so young and flawless, wrapped in soft fabrics, and marked only by small numbers on their earlobes. They slept while classical music played softly in their chambers.
“Nan, how old are they?” Jared asked walking thru the maze of beds.
“Well, these girls do not age like you and me. Comparatively, they are between the ages of 15 and 35. Each incubates one or two children a year until their expiration date.” Nan said.
“Expiration date?”
“At the age of 36 they are retired.”
“Then what happens?”
“They are replaced by their younger clone,” Nan said.
“Are all of these surrogates incubating?” Jared asked.
“Yes. There is another room for recovering surrogates, and the new implants are on another floor being monitored closely.”
They continued to walk around the beds as Nan checked the numbers on flashing machines and wires attached to their delicate bodies. Jared stared into each of their faces and wondered what they had been like when they were “real.”
“Nan,” Jared asked, “Which one is my surrogate?”
“Your surrogate has expired since your birth…”
“I mean which number?” Jared had a gut feeling before the number even left Nan’s lips. He had been drawn to 23 since he first entered the chamber a few weeks ago. He always knew exactly where she was located in the ocean of surrogates.
“Dr. Dalton,” a voice boomed over the intercom, ”You are needed in reception.”
“Be right there,” Nan replied. “I will be right back; wait here,” She said as she hurried out the door.
Jared stole a look at 23 out the corner of his eye and casually headed her way. She was a couple of rows over, so he weaved around numbers 42 and 36 until he was standing beside her bed; staring at her.
She couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Her long dark lashes fluttered slightly as he touched the top of her hand. Without thinking, Jared leaned over and softly brushed her lips with his own. Time seemed to stand still as he lingered and breathed in the air she discarded.
Eyes closed, he hovered inches above her face. One little kiss, and he would go and wait for his grandmother. One kiss, and he would go back to his living quarters and ready himself for next week’s ceremony. One more kiss, and he would put all this daydreaming behind him.
Jared sighed heavily, opened his eyes, and met a pair of ice blue’s staring back at him. He stumbled backwards as 23 began to scream.
Immediately, a number of white coats entered the room and surrounded the screaming girl. They began looking over charts while Jared stood there shocked.
Nan came running through the doors and gave the order. Jared watched as 23 took her last breath. His eyes followed her out of the room and down the hall before he was able to meet his grandmother’s stare.
“Why?” he muttered.
“Protocol,” she whispered and cleared her throat, “You should head home. I will be late.” Nan
turned and walked back out the doors.
A tall man in a white coat led Jared out the double doors of the Eden Corporation. He slowly made his way to the elevator and down to their living quarters.
Jared prepared dinner and tidied their tiny space, so Nan wouldn’t have to when she got home late. His memory of the day was already clouded, but he made an effort to pick out a nice suit to wear to the Matching Ceremony next week. He wanted to get Nan’s opinion before making the decision final.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Past, Present, Future
“A lady shouldn’t smoke,” Remy muttered as the camper bumped along down the rough road. She stared out the window and watched the sun setting, painting the desert orange and pink.
“What was that?” Angel spat as she turned her head to glance in the back. Between her teeth she pinched the nastiest of cigars; the sickly sweet smoke filled the camper with a thick fog. Her feet were propped on the dash as she shuffled a worn deck of playing cards. Her face was dirty, her finger nails dirtier, and her scowl made her look more than her seventeen years.
“Nothing,” Remy cleared her throat, “are we stopping before we get back to camp?”
“No stops,” The driver announced.
Both Remy and Angel huffed and shuffled in their seats. “Come on, Tara,” Angel whined, “I want to look through that haul before we take it in. There might be something I ‘need’.”
“I want to get this box open before we get back. I want to see what’s inside it.” Remy said quietly, as she pried at the lock on the front of the old rusty box. “Maybe it’s important.”
Tara laughed, “Important?” she tested, “ It’s probably someone’s birth certificate or marriage license, old tax forms, social security cards…”
“Social what?” Remy interrupted.
“It’s nothing. It’s ALL nothing”
They drove in silence. Remy continued to dig at the lock until a loud snap finally broke the silence, and the boxed opened. “Oh, wow!” she exclaimed.
Tara quickly stopped the vehicle, climbed into the back, and huddled next to Remy; Angel followed.
Remy pulled a crudely bound book from the box; the thickly laminated pages were held together by three metal rings. The pages were grouped into three sections: “past”, “present”, “future”.
“Comic books,” Tara gasped and she lovingly took the book from Remy, “My brother use to have so many of these… before the evacuation. I used to sneak them out of his room.” She was staring at the pages with tears in her eyes.
“I’ve heard of those,” Remy whispered, “My grandmother said my dad used to collect them when he was little, but I’ve never seen one.”
“This isn’t just one,” Tara continued, ”it’s many.” She began flipping through the pages excitedly. “Look, this is the Silver Surfer… and this is Super Man… and this…”
“Who’s that?” Angel smacked her hand on a page of a girl with blue hair, eye patch, and a cigar hanging from her lips “… is that a kangaroo?”
“No idea,” Tara said, “this is amazing; we should keep it.”
“We?” Remy quickly snatched the book from Tara and clutched it to her chest, “I found it. It’s mine.” She had found this book, she had dug it out of the rubble, and she had insisted on opening the box.
“Hey, we are to turn in all findings. You know the rules,” Tara snapped.
Remy was shaking, “You wanted to keep it a second ago!”
“I think we should ALL keep it,” Angel broke in, “it’s not a real book, we can divide it up… share it.”
Remy shook her head, “I found it!”
“We split it up,” came the steady Tara, “or we turn it in.”
It was final. Tara took the book and opened the rings that bound the slick pages together. She removed each section, keeping “past” for herself, handing “present” to Remy, and leaving “future” for Angel.
“I want ‘future’!” Remy whined.
Mischief played on Angel’s face, “Play me for it,” she smiled as she pulled the dirty cards from her pocket.
Hours passed as the girls sat at the make shift table fashioned from old wooden crates. Hand after hand was played, Angel’s pile growing larger than the other two as they played into the night.
Tara stood up from the table and stretched, “We need to call it a night…”
“No,” Remy screeched, “I only have a few pages left. I need a chance to win back my pages.”
“Not tonight, Rem. We’ve lost a lot of time, so we need to get up in a few hours and head on back. They are already expecting us.”
Remy grabbed her small pile of pages and stomped to the front and climbed into her cubby over the cab. The last thing she heard was Angel gloating over her winnings.
Morning came too soon, and the usual groaning erupted from Angel. After a few minutes, groaning gave way to swearing and then anger, as she pushed through the camper looking for something.
“What’s your problem?” Tara asked returning from checking the load preparing to leave.
Angel’s face was contorted and her eyes wild, “Where is she?”
Tara looked around, “what did she do?”
Angel roared as she burst out of the cabin, “Remy!”
Remy was nowhere to be seen. Angel spent several minutes screaming her name and kicking up the desert around their camper before climbing into the passenger side of their vehicle.
“We can’t go after her,” Tara stated.
“Good... because if I find her, I will KILL her.”
“She’s only fifteen,” Tara was disgusted and stared out the window.
“A thief is a thief… she better hope I don’t see her again.”
Tara started the camper and pulled out onto the dusty road. Quietly, she slipped her left hand into the slit in the door to make sure her pages were still there. With a sigh of relief, and a burden lifted, she slowly accelerated down the road.
Remy watched them pull away from her hiding place; an alcove carved into the side of a large rock. She didn’t care. She stared at the pages spread around her; memorizing each one, and began to plan how she would make her collection whole again.
“What was that?” Angel spat as she turned her head to glance in the back. Between her teeth she pinched the nastiest of cigars; the sickly sweet smoke filled the camper with a thick fog. Her feet were propped on the dash as she shuffled a worn deck of playing cards. Her face was dirty, her finger nails dirtier, and her scowl made her look more than her seventeen years.
“Nothing,” Remy cleared her throat, “are we stopping before we get back to camp?”
“No stops,” The driver announced.
Both Remy and Angel huffed and shuffled in their seats. “Come on, Tara,” Angel whined, “I want to look through that haul before we take it in. There might be something I ‘need’.”
“I want to get this box open before we get back. I want to see what’s inside it.” Remy said quietly, as she pried at the lock on the front of the old rusty box. “Maybe it’s important.”
Tara laughed, “Important?” she tested, “ It’s probably someone’s birth certificate or marriage license, old tax forms, social security cards…”
“Social what?” Remy interrupted.
“It’s nothing. It’s ALL nothing”
They drove in silence. Remy continued to dig at the lock until a loud snap finally broke the silence, and the boxed opened. “Oh, wow!” she exclaimed.
Tara quickly stopped the vehicle, climbed into the back, and huddled next to Remy; Angel followed.
Remy pulled a crudely bound book from the box; the thickly laminated pages were held together by three metal rings. The pages were grouped into three sections: “past”, “present”, “future”.
“Comic books,” Tara gasped and she lovingly took the book from Remy, “My brother use to have so many of these… before the evacuation. I used to sneak them out of his room.” She was staring at the pages with tears in her eyes.
“I’ve heard of those,” Remy whispered, “My grandmother said my dad used to collect them when he was little, but I’ve never seen one.”
“This isn’t just one,” Tara continued, ”it’s many.” She began flipping through the pages excitedly. “Look, this is the Silver Surfer… and this is Super Man… and this…”
“Who’s that?” Angel smacked her hand on a page of a girl with blue hair, eye patch, and a cigar hanging from her lips “… is that a kangaroo?”
“No idea,” Tara said, “this is amazing; we should keep it.”
“We?” Remy quickly snatched the book from Tara and clutched it to her chest, “I found it. It’s mine.” She had found this book, she had dug it out of the rubble, and she had insisted on opening the box.
“Hey, we are to turn in all findings. You know the rules,” Tara snapped.
Remy was shaking, “You wanted to keep it a second ago!”
“I think we should ALL keep it,” Angel broke in, “it’s not a real book, we can divide it up… share it.”
Remy shook her head, “I found it!”
“We split it up,” came the steady Tara, “or we turn it in.”
It was final. Tara took the book and opened the rings that bound the slick pages together. She removed each section, keeping “past” for herself, handing “present” to Remy, and leaving “future” for Angel.
“I want ‘future’!” Remy whined.
Mischief played on Angel’s face, “Play me for it,” she smiled as she pulled the dirty cards from her pocket.
Hours passed as the girls sat at the make shift table fashioned from old wooden crates. Hand after hand was played, Angel’s pile growing larger than the other two as they played into the night.
Tara stood up from the table and stretched, “We need to call it a night…”
“No,” Remy screeched, “I only have a few pages left. I need a chance to win back my pages.”
“Not tonight, Rem. We’ve lost a lot of time, so we need to get up in a few hours and head on back. They are already expecting us.”
Remy grabbed her small pile of pages and stomped to the front and climbed into her cubby over the cab. The last thing she heard was Angel gloating over her winnings.
Morning came too soon, and the usual groaning erupted from Angel. After a few minutes, groaning gave way to swearing and then anger, as she pushed through the camper looking for something.
“What’s your problem?” Tara asked returning from checking the load preparing to leave.
Angel’s face was contorted and her eyes wild, “Where is she?”
Tara looked around, “what did she do?”
Angel roared as she burst out of the cabin, “Remy!”
Remy was nowhere to be seen. Angel spent several minutes screaming her name and kicking up the desert around their camper before climbing into the passenger side of their vehicle.
“We can’t go after her,” Tara stated.
“Good... because if I find her, I will KILL her.”
“She’s only fifteen,” Tara was disgusted and stared out the window.
“A thief is a thief… she better hope I don’t see her again.”
Tara started the camper and pulled out onto the dusty road. Quietly, she slipped her left hand into the slit in the door to make sure her pages were still there. With a sigh of relief, and a burden lifted, she slowly accelerated down the road.
Remy watched them pull away from her hiding place; an alcove carved into the side of a large rock. She didn’t care. She stared at the pages spread around her; memorizing each one, and began to plan how she would make her collection whole again.
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