THEY — Chapter 14 — Gone
This is chapter 14 of my book “THEY”. If you are finding it for the first time, please begin with Chapter 1 (or check the INDEX )! When you’re done, check out more of my stories on my MEDIUM profile: Caralynn Scott — Medium
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CHAPTER 14 — Gone
The weeks began to slide by; The endless lessons, the lectures, the meals, and sleep, broken only by the occasional exercise or entertainment. Instruction had a strong emphasis on history, but not a complete history, rather a particularly bias towards how humanity reached an “amazing” state of eusocial utopia, how it was only right and natural to be this way and how everyone should agree. Anyone who believed humanity should take a different path was “deluding” themselves and needed to come on board and enjoy the benefits of the community. Although it would never be stated aloud, the implication was clearly that those who did not agree were not welcome to be part of society.
It was a lecture similar to this that Jennic found herself listening to this morning. The entire population from the facility had been gathered for this one.
“In the 18th century,” the white coat pontificated, “An individual named Thomas Malthus predicted a problem. They theorized that humanity would reproduce to the point where humankind would consume all of the earth’s resources and eventually the species would die out from starvation. In Malthus’ time, there were only one billion people on the planet.” A few of the students looked at each other, amazed there could be such a small number of human beings on the planet. “Only four centuries later, the population had grown by an order of magnitude. 10 billion people walked the earth and Malthus’ predictions were beginning to seem hauntingly real. The species was indeed in danger.
“The world, however, embraced science, and technology stepped in, increasing the yield of food supplies, and finding ways to manage the waste of billions in congested cities with ever greater efficiency. But their solutions were only temporary. In fact, the solutions themselves began to threaten the planet, causing it to become warmer. Weather patterns began to change. It was as if the earth itself were buckling under the weight of the human presence. It became increasingly difficult to provide sustenance from the ground alone.
“Only a few hundred years later, it became clear that uncontrolled procreation in the dominant species was untenable. Measures had to be taken to correct the problem or our very existence would be threatened.”
Jennic had heard similar speeches many times before, but somehow today she found herself paying more attention. Perhaps the historical references had caught her interest, but it may also have been the detailed description of the sexual diversity of the species at the time.
“The species was primarily divided between two ‘sexes,’ called male and female. Often times, two individuals would become partners even as we do now, though the coupling, often called a ‘union’ or a marriage, typically happened with one female attracting one male. Their relationship was more complex than a life partnership, however. There was a sexual component to the union which created an imbalance and a power dynamic which usually ended badly for the pairing.” Jennic tried to think through the list of ancient books she had read. Many did have conflicts between individuals in a union, but there were entire genres that were completely the opposite. She thought she remembered them being referred to as ‘romance’ novels.
“The sexual connection that was created,” the speaker continued, “bred division between them. One of the two in the union, usually the larger, physically stronger one, would typically dominate the other. Some of the smaller ones could learn to be manipulative out of a need for survival. Improprieties, jealousies, and indiscretions became typical and caused a great deal of fighting, even culminating in wars that extended far beyond their individual relationships, tearing apart entire social groups. The perceived inequalities frequently broke households apart.
“Today, of course, we consider partners to be equal and a coupling of individuals to be of benefit not only to the unit, but to the greater coalition of humankind.
“Sexes were not the only division, however. Humanity divided itself in countless other ways as well. Often one arbitrary category of the species would consider themselves more important than another, allowing them to claim dominance. Less dominant groups would frequently rebel against their oppressors, leading to further divisions, fighting, and wars. Millions were murdered for the sake of these disputes.
“At the same time, rampant breeding was happening randomly and uncontrollably, often resulting in unwanted and unloved children who themselves found themselves outcasts. Society was in total chaos.” Jennic felt uneasy about these explanations, partly because she felt she was part of the group that the speaker was vilifying, but also because she was starting to see the logic in what they were saying. The rhetoric was enticing. But something seemed missing. Was hatred and war really a by-product of natural procreation?
“In 4968, Rosenklempt and the One World Government introduced the initial planet wide breeding restrictions — a ban on copulative conception as a means of procreation. It was met with a great deal of disdain at the time; however, it laid the foundation for the more natural and manageable approach we have today; only lab conceived, genetically selected and filtered, nurtured, wanted and consistently developed children, supported by stable groupings of individuals and communities.”
“Humankind finally learned the lesson some of the most ancient species on earth already knew. For example, the insect world has known for millions of years that the perfect society is eusocial. Colonies of Bees and Ants have but one progenitor, and all the remaining individuals in the colony are neutral, working equally for the common good.”
Just then, a soft tone interrupted the speaker, marking the end of the lecture. Students began to gather themselves together, ready to leave. The instructor was unphased and although they could not continue the lecture, began wrapping things up, “Please complete the reading on Rosenklempt and the assignment; a 2000-word essay on the similarities and differences between an Ant Colony and our society — it is due by tomorrow morning.”
Jennic could not escape the lecture hall fast enough, though it was clear she was not the only one. The rush for the doors caused a traffic jam that lasted several minutes.
“Do you believe that crap?” Xania asked, bumping into Jennic. Xania was prone to outbursts, often denouncing the lectures they heard. It was part of the reason she had been given the nickname ‘stinky’. Jennic was always interested to hear what she had to say but was nervous about where she was saying it. She looked around for Fenlow who was usually close by Xania but did not immediately see him. Without his calming influence, Jennic felt it fell on her to try to moderating Xania’s impending outburst. “I don’t know… I don’t like it, but it all sounds so reasoned, doesn’t it?” Immediately, Jennic knew she had just poured fuel on the fire.
“So, you’re just going to accept what they are serving up on a silver platter for you, eh? Not me. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to simply accept the shit they are feeding me. I am going to think for myself, and what I think is that they need us to believe this filth to keep us in line.” She paused for a few moments as she gathered the fire for her next outburst, but suddenly she whispered loudly in Jennic’s ear. “I’ve heard things.”
“Xania!” Fenlow warned, finally catching up with them from behind, “watch your language — and what you are saying. You know you have to be careful” Then, turning to Jennic, “Shit is a word that means…”
Though she didn’t really appreciate how he did it, Jennic was relieved that Fenlow was finally there to calm Xania down. He could be very abrupt at times and liked to explain things to them as if they knew nothing. In this instance, she cut him off curtly, “I know what shit means — excrement, body waste — and I take Xania’s intent, but what kinds of things are you talking about Xania?”
“Things that would make you curl up in a ball and cry your eyes out; things that would scare you so bad you wouldn’t sleep for a week, and when you finally did, your nightmares would haunt you.” Jennic could not help but think of the frequent nightmares she was having since arriving at the facility, and the terrible feelings they left her with, even when she could not remember the specifics of the dreams.
“Don’t scare Jennic like that.” Relyn chimed in. “And if you keep talking like that you know it’s only going to get you in trouble.”
“Why shouldn’t I talk like this?” Xania exclaimed, “Jennic needs to know the truth.” Then in a louder voice to the broader crowd, “Everyone needs to know the truth. And when I get out of here, I’m going to make a point of making sure everyone knows the truth about what’s really going on.”
“Shhh…” Fenlow tried to calm her down again, looking around to see who was paying attention. “You’re just paranoid, Stinky. Now let it go, will you? Before we all take the heat for your running off your mouth.”
Surprisingly, Xania did calm down, almost immediately and she said no more, but her rant had watered a seed that had already taken root in Jennic, and her concerns only grew. All day, she thought about it: through lunch and through her mathematics lesson in the afternoon. She made a mental note to question Xania more about it when they met again at dinner and could have a more private, casual conversation.
There was one more class before mealtime arrived. Xania’s words echoed in Jennic’s mind as she worked her way through the essay that had been assigned in the earlier lecture. The conversation had made it even more difficult to write the paper and justify the lecturer’s case, but Jennic was a brilliant academic and managed to write a good argument, in spite of herself, before her time was up.
Making her way to the table where the friends had become accustomed to sharing meals together, she looked around for the feisty character, but didn’t see her anywhere. “Where’s Xania?” she asked, taking a seat beside Fenlow and across from Laybo. Relyn sat next to Laybo with her head down, studying her meal, experimentally moving pieces of it back and forth around the plate with a fork.
Fenlow looked at Relyn, at Laybo, and finally Jennic. She could clearly see the pain on his face. With damp eyes, he stared deep into her soul and hissed the words, “Forget about Xania.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Look, just forget about them.”
Jennic knew Fenlow could have a temper at times, and clearly, he was incredibly angry about something. But she could see that his seething was pushed far down inside himself. He was doing an incredible job of controlling it. Jennic knew she was only seeing a small, controlled release of his emotion. He pushed himself away from the table and stormed away like a thunderstorm moving off slowly in the distance.
Relyn continued to examine her food. Jennic looked around, but it seemed no-one else was surprised at Fenlow’s outburst. She had not missed the fact that Fenlow used the pronoun ‘them’ when talking about Xania, there were no white coats within earshot, and she had never heard him refer to her that way unless they were. She was sure it meant something.
Laybo turned and looked compassionately into Jennic’s eyes. It seemed like the entire room melted away. “Xania has been taken… away. We won’t see her again.”
It was slowly dawning on Jennic what had happened, but she refused to acknowledge it was even possible. “Where did she go? Did she go back to her family?” Even as she spoke the words, she knew it was not possible. In her gut she knew the awful truth, but she could not bring herself to say it. Not aloud. Not even to herself. But she felt it. She knew the truth.
“No.” Laybo answered slowly, quietly. “We have seen this before. She has been taken for surgical neutralization, but she will not be going home. She will be taken to the camps. We will not see or hear from her again.”
Jennic sat there, stunned for several minutes as she let this sink in. She replayed Xania’s outbursts in her mind, including the events of this morning. Xania’s tirades had been growing more frequent lately, more visible. “Was it… because of what Xania said this morning on the way out of the lecture theatre?”
Laybo looked at Jennic with a mix of empathy and fear. He did not have to say a word. Jennic knew the answer was yes.
Another week passed. The friends sat together for meals, but there was little conversation. Each of them grieved Xania’s absence in their own way, but no-one was prepared to talk about it yet. Jennic knew they were all afraid of what might happen to them if they openly expressed any kind of sympathy for Xania’s opinions, She also knew all of them were hurting, especially Fenlow, who she worried about the most. He was the closest to Xania, and in spite of their bickering and teasing, she knew there was a connection there deeper than either of them had with any of the others in the small group.
It dawned on Jennic that this was why Fenlow was so harsh with Xania. He was being protective. He did not want her outbursts to get her in trouble. It also explained why Xania would calm down so quickly when it seemed he was being so manipulative. She understood the dangers. She was probably even thankful for Fenlow’s help.
One evening, two weeks after Xania’s disappearance, Fenlow pulled Jennic aside, leading her to a set of sofas tucked in a far corner of the common room. “What do you think about the stuff they have been feeding us Jennic? That being neutral is the only way we should be, and that we need to become that way too?”
Jennic was unsure what Fenlow was trying to ask. She had been wrestling with that question for some time now, and she was growing more fearful that the same fate might happen to all of them if they chose to rebel against the dogma. Did Fenlow fear this as well? Did he want her to agree or not? Was this some kind of test? She decided it would be best if she was reserved in her reply. “I… I don’t know.” she managed.
“So, you think they are right?” Fenlow slumped resignedly back on the couch, looking disappointed.
“No, I didn’t say that…”
“So, you think they are wrong? “ Fenlow asked tentatively, sitting up straight again, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“Are you sure we should be talking like this?” Jennic asked cautiously. “We don’t want to disappear like Xania, do we?”
The sadness returned to Fenlow’s eyes and Jennic felt a pang of guilt for having brought up Xania in such a direct and unsympathetic way. “Look, Jennic, I’m afraid we’re all going to disappear eventually. It’s just a matter of time.”
“What?” Jennic could not believe they would go to all the trouble of running this facility, providing education and all of their needs, just to toss them all aside in the end. “But the facility… they take care of us… they are teaching us, feeding us. Many of them seem so kind.”
“How many times have you been allowed to visit your family?” Fenlow asked abruptly.
“Just the once, but I expect we’ll see each other again soon.”
“It’s been a month and a half Jennic. It’s not going to happen.” Fenlow became more animated as he invested more in the topic. But he kept his voice low so as not to attract undue attention. “It’s just a matter of time. Those of us who have been around longer have seen it a half dozen times. Nobody goes back to their families. They take everyone and surgically ‘neutralize’ them and then send us all to the ‘camps.’ That’s what they call them you know, like it was some kind of summer filled with fun.” Fenlow waved his hand around, indicating the room, “All of this is just for show, you know? Not for us. It’s for the general population, so parents feel like the government is trying. So, everyone will think we can be ‘helped’, and when we are finally thrown away, the facility can say they tried. It is all to give false hope to our families and gain their trust, so that when they do toss us aside, they accept it thinking it was just their child that they could not save, but maybe the next one they can…”
“That can’t be true. It just can’t. How do you even know all this? It’s not like they can come back and tell you.” Jennic reasoned.
“I know. I have been told by someone from… well, someone on the inside. Someone who is sympathetic to us. Someone I trust and who I think can really help us Jennic.” Fenlow paused, considering what he was about to say very carefully. “Look, you don’t need to do anything right now. Just don’t say anything to anyone… can you do that?” Jennic nodded and Fenlow continued, “Do you trust me? And can I trust you?”
Jennic considered everything Fenlow had told her and nodded again, more slowly this time.
“Good. We have a plan. Things have been happening in the background, both inside the facility and outside. When the time comes, things might happen quickly, so I need to know… Are you in?”
Jennic wrung her hands as she considered the implications of what Fenlow was telling her. He and the others were good to her. They were, perhaps, the first real friends she had ever had. She trusted them. But did she trust them with her life? It seemed like everyone wanted her to trust them with her life. But it was her life, and it was her choice to make. Would she live the way everyone else felt she should live? Or should she forge her own path? Except now it seemed like forging her own path meant either following the path of the White Coats, or Fenlow.
His question seemed genuine, and in a delusional, paranoid sort of way, it made sense. But in her heart, all she really wanted was to go home.
Jennic had never felt right about being neutral, and at those times when she was most completely honest with herself, she could not see herself changing the way she was. She’d always known that, but now she was certain. She could not go back. And if she would not, or could not, it was even more certain she would be made to disappear just like Xania. The only way forward was to trust Fenlow. Even if he were lying, perhaps she could deny her involvement. She had nothing else to lose. In the end, it was inevitable. If things remained the same as they were now, she would meet the same fate as Xania. But at least this way, there might be a chance to change things.
Jennic took a deep breath and with a hoarse whisper answered, “Yes… I’m in.”
Fenlow took her hands in his and smiled slightly. For a few moments he studied Jennic’s resolve, as if reading her inmost thoughts just to be sure. Then he nodded, rose, and walked away casually as if they had just concluded the most ordinary and mundane of conversations.
