Prologue
I have always believed that when a secret is exposed, it is the duty of the person whose secret it is to turn the secret from fact to fiction. For every secret has a consequence. The secret will always try to escape from its owner and find a new home. I have a secret. I try and protect it as best I can in my iron built, computer protected prison known as my brain. However there are times when even the most secure prisons experience a prison break eliciting the prisoners to escape in every single direction. But I cannot afford to let my prison security to be compromised. When prison security is compromised the wardens life; my life is compromised.
My job, lets me play God. I have control, control over people, control over their children, control of the future. I am a Spouse Selector (SS). I do exactly as my title suggests. I decide who screws who. Officially. To select a person's spouse, all factors have to be considered: age, race, height, intelligence, etc. Once a man and woman have reached the tender age of 25 they must apply to the Marriage Council (MC). There an application is filled out and the applicant will wait until a perfect match is found by me. This process can take as little as a week to years. I have to make sure the match is perfect so the partners have the potential to produce a child which serves the domed hell hole known as the city of Quomile.
Quomile is one of the thirty-three remaining cities left functioning after the apocalyptic war of 2078. After the war, cities not fully abolished began to rebuild themselves. However this time they were not under the authority of any country. They governed themselves. Each city built a giant dome over themselves. The eternal storm pillaged outside. Travel outside was restricted to the few elites, while the rest were born, lived, and died within eighty miles.
My grandparents along with two-thousand other survivors rebuilt the city, now in 2147 the population has swelled to over ninety thousand, Each year a few thousand people were added to help the population grow. This practice has been abandoned and the population has been kept steady by limiting each family to two adults; male and female, and two children. This systematic wasy of living is what has kept the cities from collapsing, but this lifestyle also severely limits thought.
Chapter One
6:15 A.M. I wake up to the same claptrap lyrics of the Quomilian national anthem. I loathe that nonsensical babble, but I have no choice, it’s the only tune available in the alarm clock manufactured by the state. Like the clock my life moves swiftly, and in an organized routine. Any variations from that routine must be done in secret. The three S’s (showering, sanitizing, and suiting up) were accomplished in quick succession for being late was never acceptable. I bolted out the door. I had an appointment set up with a male newly eligible for marriage. I had an interview set up with him for seven-thirty.
The day like always was beautiful. The sun shining bright on the manufactured sky; the sky was projected upon a screen which was connected to the dome. The environment was always controlled by the climate controllers. Trees had been planted wildlife such as birds and squirrels littered the city. The temperature was always set to a warm 24 degrees Celsius during the day, and a cool 18 degrees during the night. As I stepped outside my apartment building I saw the population, all outside to get to their work destination. Some walk, some on motor vehicles, and a lot on the subway train packed like a can of sardines. I like always took the subway, It took me fifteen minutes to get to my destination.
I entered the Marriage Council (MC) building. The structure itself was a great architectural marvel. The building was a tall cylindrical convex tower all clad in glass. The building signified the importance of marriage. It, along with other government buildings towered above the rest of the city. The stature of the building showed the elevated position the government occupied.
Hurrying through the building and up the elevator I reached my office situated on the eleventh floor. There I found a young man already waiting for me in the chair adjacent to my table.
The time was seven-twenty-seven.
“Hello, you must be Brian”
“Yes, and you are SS Mormeck”
For the next thirty minutes I went through the ceremonial questions, about him and what he wants in his future spouse. As I sailed through the questions I realized his responses to the questions were average. Everything about Brian exclaimed average. His build was average, his looks were average, and his intelligence was average.
When the session was over I told Brian that we would find his spouse very soon. I was not just speaking drivel. The easiest people to find partners for are the ones who are average. They usually do not have high demands and the sheer quantity of average people is always helpful.
The purpose of selecting spouses for the population is so that the state can control the type of children born. Spouses are selected in order to produce the optimum child. Average intelligence is paired together, high intelligence is paired together, and the stupid are paired up with the intelligent; so the child would at least be average in intelligence or so that is what the ruling elites believe.
The ruling elites consists of one main family; the Marteens. The Marteens have been in power since the city was established. Their grip on power has never been weak. There never has been anyone who seriously bruised them, the Marteens cannot be bruised, they are too busy hurting others. The Marteens make all the decrees, and even though Quomile boasts about its parliament the decrees are never questioned but instead always shown the two thumbs; facing upwards.
After my appointment I went to my regular work of mixing and matching dozens of names, and the possibilities they might create. The work like always, was boring and arduous, There never has been a time when I did not want to finish as quickly as I could. It is not something I wanted to do, nobody ever gets what they want to do. You do what the career councillor (CC) wants you to do. I was given this position after a CC determined that I possessed great people skills, the CC believed that I would love this job and would make a great SS. I want to know who hire the CCs because they seem to not know how to do their job.
After finishing my work I skipped out of the MC building, bought a bottle of wine, hopped on the subway and within ten minutes I was at the doorsteps of my beloved, Emma. I knocked on the door, nobody responded. Just as I knocked again someone stepped out of the elevator. It was Emma. Like always she walked with confidence and swagger, swaying her hips side to side as she moved closer to me.
“Did you wait long?” she asked me in her seductive voice.
“No”
She unlocked the door, we went in, drank the wine, locked the door, draped the curtains and went to work.
Chapter 2
Darwish Mystery slumps over his desk. he looks at all the names of people who might show excessive emotion. His ocupation as an Emotion Restirctor (ER) is to restrict and prosecute those who show an excessive amount of emotion. Its believed that emotions are what cause society to breakdown and individuals to act irrationally. The main emotion that are prosecuted include love, anger, and sadness. These emotions are what cause the most damage to people and society. The war of 2078 proved just how dangerous emotions can be. Anger, which caused all the bloodshed and destruction is seen as the most dangerous of all and is clamped down the hardest. Sadness is an emotion which is leads to anger, stopping sadness can stop anger. Love is seen as a root to many problems as it leads many other emotions; such as sadness which can cause anger.
Darwish was a feeble looking man, he had no hair on his head, he donned a black trench coat and round spectacles. He was five feet six inches tall if he was lucky and weighed no more than 120 pounds. He compensated his lack of physical gifts with an extensive collection of guns, five of which he kept on his body at all times.
Darwish stared at the first name on the list. Ivan Rogers - Emotion Exhibited: Anger. Darwish was to pay a visit to Rogers house. His co workers had reported that Rogers was easily becoming frustrated and was showing signs of what seemed to be anger. Darwish was to go and question Rogers about his recent behaviour.
Darwish paged his junior officer Butch to join him.
"Butch, come to my office"
"Sure officer"
Butch knocked on the door and came in.
"Hello sir" Butch whispered in his deep voice.
Butch was a large fellow, he weighed close to two hundred and fifty pounds and was towered at six feet four inches. He possessed a large scar below his left eye which looked like it was caused by a knife, but in reality it was it was a childhood injury. Darwish viewed butch as an insurance policy, if Darwish was ever in a sticky situation he knew Butch would be there to cover him.
"Butch, I'm going to need you to help me visit friend today"
Butch just nodded with compliance.
Darwish and Butch drove on their motor vehicle to Roger's house. It was ordinary. Darwish and Butch stepped out the car and walked up to the door. They looked around the house instinctively and found nothing, they knocked on the door. A thin woman with thin hair and thin lips opened the door.
"Yes?"
"Hello we are from the ER" Darwish said while flashing his badge, "I am officer Darwish Mystery and this is my partner Butch, can we have a word with Mr Ivan Rogers?"
"Sure, would you wait for a moment"
"Actually we would prefer to go in your home" While speaking Darwish and Butch entered"
The woman went upstairs and did not come back down, instead a man appeared. He walked down slowly down the steps, it looked as if he was afraid of falling down. He stood in front of the two men focusing his attention on Darwish rather than look up and face Butch.
"Hello, Mr Rogers?" Darwish asked with complete confidence that it was the man he wanted.
"Yes, how can I help you officer"
"Mr Rogers, how are you feeling"
"I feel normal"
"Is that so? Your co-workers seem to differ from that opinion, they say you seem to be losing control over your emotions, is that true?"
"No...I believe that I have kept control, maybe my co-workers are mistaken" Ivan said this with uncertainty.
"Mr Rogers I will take the word of a handful of people over one, I believe you are slightly losing control over your emotion and you know how dangerous that is, correct, but since this is the first time we are visiting you we will not place any charges, we will however require you to attend some emotion management classes"
Ivan just stood there nodding, not speaking. He had never been talked to by the ER in person before. He knew he was showing too much emotion recently, but he couldn't help it at times, it just showed. Darwish handed Ivan a card which detailed the specifications of the emotion management classes.
"Thank you Mr Rogers, We hope that your don't get another visit from us again"
Those were the last words Darwish spoke before leaving with Butch. Ivan still shook from the experience quickly shut the door as soon as they left, he didn't want to speak to the little man ever again. There was something about him which made him very nervous, his aura exuded something dark and sinister.
"so what do you think about him?" Butch asked as they drove back to the ER building.
"He is no threat, he had fear, its the one who aren't scared we should worry about"
Chapter 3
I laid there on the bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind was blank, thoughts entered my mind but none stayed. The bed provided me with warmth which my body accepted with gratitude. The room was quiet, the only noise originated from the ceiling fan which continuously spun at a moderate pace. It caused me a little dizziness. Emma was cuddled up beside me, she looked like she was thinking hard about something, and suddenly she spoke.
“How long are we going to continue this? You know we can continue this forever”
She was talking about our relationship, I knew it was illegal; a union between people unsanctioned by the state was strictly prohibited, but we couldn’t stop, we had gone too far to turn back. When we were together our emotions just escaped and packing them up again was impossible”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find a way”
I held on to her tightly to comfort her, but I knew it wasn’t doing much to help make her feel better.
I had spent the night at her place, a risk I was willing to take, people often report suspicious acts and we were very suspicious, however nobody from the government has paid us a visit yet. However I had prepared myself for one because I knew they would come one day but I didn’t know when.
It was Saturday, so I didn’t have work to do so I decided to spend it with Emma. I got out of bed, and freshened myself up. I was to cook breakfast today. I made Emma’s favourite: scrambled eggs and toast. We ate in silence while we watched the Hologram TV. The news was on some new discoveries that were made to grow food faster. Food was always grown indoors, where the climate could easily be controlled. Genetically engineered foods insured that the population was well fed while all living inside a confined area.
We were to go to the zoo that day. As one of the very few attractions in the city it was always crowded. People moved slowly and with civility. People had smiles on their faces, positive emotions such as joy are never discouraged but rather endorsed. We walked beside each other, with some space between us.
We walked over to a cage. It contained within it a lion; one of the last remaining in the world. The lion showed its age, his skin was not firm, he was lazy, and moved as if his feet were chained together. There was also a cover over its mouth. It was used to stop it from roaring. The lion emulated the citizens of Quomile. They were both imprisoned in a cage with with locks closing their mouths shut.
Chapter 4
The day seemed to have passed by faster than anticipated as we were approaching dark. Our wonderful day was coming to an end and I can see the magnitude of it wearing on her face. I turn to her, silently begging for her to look at me and with my eyes I tell her that everything will be alright. She nods but with a hint of sadness. I leave it at that, seeing as I'll only make things worse.
As we make our way home, I notice a dark figure in the background. I turn but it quickly recedes away. We continue home, but I can't seem to get that figure out of my head. What was that?
The next morning I decided to finally take action. If we were to escape we needed help and we needed it fast. As last night proved it's not safe for us to be here anymore.
I make my way down to Lucian's peck. There lays a man with the experience and skill capable of helping Emma and I escape. Every since his file was delivered to me I kept very close taps on him, awaiting for this moment. His name is Soran Cti, he once worked for the government as did his parents. He is rumoured to have helped many escape Quomile without getting caught and for that I am hoping he can help me.
I finally reach my destination. There in front of me was a big brass door with intricate cravings. Every curve seem to represents something but I neither have the timeor the patience to figure it out. The door opens upon command. I look around me and I feel as though I have travelled back in time. It no longer felt like 2147. The walls were plastered with post-apocalyptic remains starting from 2012. It was all there. The discoveries, the presidential races, the war. Everything that had happen before my birth even to my grandparent's birth. It was mind-blowing.
"What are you doing here?"
I turn around to see a tall man standing a metre away from me holding a gun. He is in his mid forties, about 6 feet and muscular built.
"My name is Justice Mormeck, and I am in need of your assistance. I hear you help the people of Quomile escape to Fordopia"
"Is that so?" he laughed "Well you're out of luck, i don't do that shit anymore. Too much trouble on my part, not enough benefits. Run along and tell whoever is paying you to ask me this to fuck off."
"No i'm not trying to get you in trouble. I am in dire need off your help. My mate and I need to escape to a place where we will be accepted."
"How do I know this is not a trap?"
"I work for the government as a SS. I have been planning this for many years now. If we get caught I have more to lose than you. Defiance within the government circle is strictly cracked down upon. If you wish to escape, come help me defy Quomile's rules and societal values. Help me bring fear back to the Marteens, in which they have gone far too many years without. Help me bring hope and reassurance for a better future back to the Quomilians. Join along with me.
"I accept your request, but I do need some compensation for my troubles."
"Oh of course, i will give you my life's savings of 20,000 Quom. Half before, half after."
As we discuss our future arrangements, i can't help but revert my attention back to the mysterious walls. I silently remind myself to ask him about it at our next meeting. Maybe a world beyond the thirty-three remaining cities is in God's reach. Time will tell, as we finalized our meeting date. Tomorrow 6:00 am.
Chapter 5
As I make my way through the wooded corridor to meet up with Soran, last night's ordeal replays in my mind.
The door opens without any hesitation as I give it its first knock. Emma who is already dressed for bed welcomes me with open arms as I return the gesture with a soft kiss.
"Emma, I have found someone to help us escape to a better life. His name is Soran Cti and he is to bring us to the border where Fordopia lays. I am to meet with him tomorrow at 6 to discuss our plan in further detail."
With that, her eyes instantly brighten. Her lips stretch across her face illuminating the room with her incandescent smile. She pulls me into the apartment, lust outlines her eyes. My heart chokes with anticipation as I bring her lips to mine passionately. If only my kisses could say what I've been dying to get out. The emotion of it all is at most life-threatening. Clothes become a barrier and are quickly dealt with. The floor vanishes as my back makes contact with the bed.
She smiles.
Minutes later I reach my destination. Soran greets me with a nod before I settle myself down awaiting further instructions. We sit there in silence untill he decides it's time to speak.
"How you doin' Justice? You look like shit."
"Thanks, that's what I was aiming for." This guy really knows how to make you feel special.
"Too much fun with your lad eh?" he laughs at my bewildered expression.
"Enough small talk lets get down to business. I assume you are aware of the dangers and consequences of this mission."
I nodded, fully understanding the serious implications of it all but part of me still worries at the idea of failure. What would happen to us if we got caught. Death is definitely the finale of this psychotic game show called life in Quomile but what about before then. The torture Emma and I would face along this battle, the pain. I quickly disgard this notion as Soran begins to speak again.
"Here's the plan, tomorrow at midnight we will meet back at Lucian's Peck. Awaiting us will be two other men who are trying to escape for the same reasons as you. Your mate must be hidden throughout this time for safety reasons. At Lucian's peck we will gather our equipment and prepare to reach the border.
Out from his pocket comes a piece of folded paper. He unfolds it and places it on the table revealing a detailed map of Quomile. I bring my face closer so that I am mere inches from it. To my amazement there were hidden tunnels and passage ways althroughout Quomile, each leading to the border of the city.
"This is unbelievable, how did you know about this?"
"As you might have already seen from the crap plastered on my walls, my family has a long history with this city. We were fortunate enough to have kept those few reminders of our past intact and hidden away from the government, so that we can reminise our faults and accomplishments. As for my knowledge of the hidden tunnels, my grandparents were close with the Marteen family who revealed this information in a drunken rage. I am the last remaining piece of my family and the only one who possess this information."
I stare at him amazed by his confession.
"So the government and the Marteen's are unaware that you obtain this valuable knowledge?"
"I believe that they suspect it but are unaware that it is me." he laughs, which cause me to shudder. He points to one of the hidden tunnels on the map. "We will take tunnel 184 to reach the halfway point. From there we will take a left to tunnel 67. It's our only option if we want to avoid any government activity. Also, it is crucial for our safety that there is absolutely no talking when going through the tunnels. The tunnels have special hearing receptors that only pick up voices when within. This was put in to monitor the guards who used to work there many years ago."
I nod. "I will assure that my mate, Emma, is aware of this protocol and is accuiped with our plan."
"So it is settled then, tomorrow at midnight. Get ready for the beginning of your life Justice, because things are about to get a shitload of crazy."
Chapter 6
Midnight. Emma and I both dressed in black headed towards Lucian's Peck where Soran whould be waiting. Before entering I stop.
"What's wrong Justice?" I can hear the concern lacing her voice.
"Nothing, it's just... before we start this journey I want you to know how much I love you. If anything happens to me along the way I want you to get to Fordopia. Live a happy life rather than mourn my death."
Several emotions flash through her face. Anger, annoyance, sorrow but she finally settles with a loving face. She takes her hand and caresses my cheek while looking into my eyes.
"Ok, I will " she whispers, but I can tell she doesn't mean it. She believes we will have a better future and it breaks my heart to know there is a chance we might not. We gather our thoughts and proceed on.
We enter Soran's house and two men stand before us. Upon a glance i realized that these two men were men i had worked on as a SS. The one on the right, Lars Nemon, was a short fella about 5 feet 3 inches, balding, a little overweight, had a foot fetish and secretly watches his neighbour get undressed. Weird man, he wanted a woman no taller than him, beautiful, blonde and would love to engage in intercourse with him at anytime of the day. Instead i gave him Ariya Liople, a 5 foot 10 red head with very conservative beliefs. Must have been hell for him. The one on the left, Leer Declan, was a good-looking 27 year old. Fit, muscular, a real eye-catcher but upon meeting him i knew for a fact that he was rooting for the other team. Anyone i would have matched him up with would be torture enough, so i tried for the perfect girl for once. Easy to say i wasn't their favourite person.
Soran enters. "So have you guys introduced youselves yet?"
Lars answers automatically. "Yes, we have" Soran clearly notices the hostility between the three us but doesn't bother to ask. He gives each of us a backpack full of supplies for the journey and for when we arrive at Fordopia. He gives us a little pep talk, reminding us of the rules and protocols before he escorts us to a trap door hidden in the basement. Suddenly Lars grabs hold of my arm.
"You know she's a totally bitch" he said, before entering the tunnel.
I quickly followed suit but not before chuckling at his misfortune. Once we all entered the tunnel, Soran motions for us to follow him. It was completely dark except for the flashlight Soran had to guide us. I grab Emma's hand and we begin to follow. The tunnel space aided little to our comfort, as we were walking mere inches from each other. I can feel Leer's breath on my neck causing me to shudder. Suddenly i feel Emma's hand escape me and the sounds of her muffled cries. I turn to see Leer covering Emma's mouth and the pistol resting on my forehead. Emma's eyes scream with desperation and her screams grow louder. Silenced by the situation i search for Soran but before i could pinpoint his location Emma screams in torment.
I see Soran, Lars and two other men standing beside Leer. I scream Emma's name before my vision is blanked out and my mind falls to a deep trance.
Chapter 7
The room was black. No light seeped through, my feet and hands were bound together by chains, I heard them shuffle. They produced a metallic noise when agitated. I wasn’t the only one who was in the room though. I heard someone else’s movements as well. Naturally I believed it was Emma. So I called out to her.
“Emma?”
There was no response; instead bright lights illuminated the room. My eyes were instantly blinded by artificial miniature sun. I just saw white. It took more than a minute for my eyes to settle and see clear. I saw Emma, she stood wearily, her body being weighed down by the chains dangling from her. She didn’t look back at me. The room was circular and bare; the light was only focused on us while the rest remained in the dark.
While I stood there I realized I had been fooled, Soran was never arrested because he was never guilty. That was his job, to fool people like us. I didn’t hate him for that; instead I loathed myself for being so simple minded.
As we stood there a large booming voice filled our ears.
“Justice Mormeck and Emma Glasdor, Do you know why you are here”
I knew exactly why we were here, but I had no interest in answering. The invisible voice realized we were not going to try and bargain for our lives. So he made the trial short.
“The two of you have been charged and convicted of illegally trying to leave Quomile and illegally having sexual relations. However that is not the only thing which you two are convicted of, you two are also females. Having same sex relationships is forbidden according to Quomilian law.”
The invisible voice rested for a moment but soon came back.
“The pair of you will be sentenced to death by guillotine, your sentence will be carried out tomorrow at noon”
Just as the voice stopped, the light also went out. We were once again in the dark and I miraculously fell asleep.
When I woke up I was tied up onto some sort of torture contraption. I was hanging up in the air; my hands and feet were both spread out and bound. Emma was directly in front of me. We stared into each other’s eyes feeling sorry for our pathetic state. No words escaped from our lips. Our lips were too tightly shut from the pain exuding from the contraption.
We hung there for an unknown amount of time, a pair of men dressed in all black emerged from the door in unison. Both of them carried with them large bags. They removed a bag of rice and a thermos from the bag. The two men forced our mouths open and shoved raw rice down our throats, after that they made us drink hot water, it wasn’t boiling but it was hot, the water burned as it made its way down my esophagus. I didn’t understand why they did it. They next removed a scalpel from the bag, they started to carve on our skin. The concentration their faces while they carved us up was as if they were working on an artistic masterpiece. Pain from the core of my stomach bellowed loudly, the rice was cooking in my stomach. I now understood why they had force fed us the raw rice. Cries of pain echoed throughout the room but the men just continued on, I could feel my warm blood over my body, as they cut me up more I began to lose consciousness. After a while I was completely gone.
I woke up to find myself on a soft bed, I was wrapped in bandages, and the parts not shielded by the bandages were covered with stitches. So the men had cut me up and then sewed me back up. I lay there helplessly for hours, this time Emma wasn’t with me.
Two men once again emerged into the room; they helped me to my feet and led me to a large room with two guillotines and a camera in front of it. The camera would record our execution; we would be used as examples to educate the population on what happens when you try to outsmart them.
Emma simultaneously arrived from a separate entrance. It was as if the whole ordeal had been carefully choreographed.
Our sentences were read aloud once more and our heads placed in the guillotine, I turned to look at Emma who was already looking at me with wide tear filled eyes. I turned my face away from her; instead I stared directly at the camera bracing myself for the impact which could come at...
My job, lets me play God. I have control, control over people, control over their children, control of the future. I am a Spouse Selector (SS). I do exactly as my title suggests. I decide who screws who. Officially. To select a person's spouse, all factors have to be considered: age, race, height, intelligence, etc. Once a man and woman have reached the tender age of 25 they must apply to the Marriage Council (MC). There an application is filled out and the applicant will wait until a perfect match is found by me. This process can take as little as a week to years. I have to make sure the match is perfect so the partners have the potential to produce a child which serves the domed hell hole known as the city of Quomile.
Quomile is one of the thirty-three remaining cities left functioning after the apocalyptic war of 2078. After the war, cities not fully abolished began to rebuild themselves. However this time they were not under the authority of any country. They governed themselves. Each city built a giant dome over themselves. The eternal storm pillaged outside. Travel outside was restricted to the few elites, while the rest were born, lived, and died within eighty miles.
My grandparents along with two-thousand other survivors rebuilt the city, now in 2147 the population has swelled to over ninety thousand, Each year a few thousand people were added to help the population grow. This practice has been abandoned and the population has been kept steady by limiting each family to two adults; male and female, and two children. This systematic wasy of living is what has kept the cities from collapsing, but this lifestyle also severely limits thought.
Chapter One
6:15 A.M. I wake up to the same claptrap lyrics of the Quomilian national anthem. I loathe that nonsensical babble, but I have no choice, it’s the only tune available in the alarm clock manufactured by the state. Like the clock my life moves swiftly, and in an organized routine. Any variations from that routine must be done in secret. The three S’s (showering, sanitizing, and suiting up) were accomplished in quick succession for being late was never acceptable. I bolted out the door. I had an appointment set up with a male newly eligible for marriage. I had an interview set up with him for seven-thirty.
The day like always was beautiful. The sun shining bright on the manufactured sky; the sky was projected upon a screen which was connected to the dome. The environment was always controlled by the climate controllers. Trees had been planted wildlife such as birds and squirrels littered the city. The temperature was always set to a warm 24 degrees Celsius during the day, and a cool 18 degrees during the night. As I stepped outside my apartment building I saw the population, all outside to get to their work destination. Some walk, some on motor vehicles, and a lot on the subway train packed like a can of sardines. I like always took the subway, It took me fifteen minutes to get to my destination.
I entered the Marriage Council (MC) building. The structure itself was a great architectural marvel. The building was a tall cylindrical convex tower all clad in glass. The building signified the importance of marriage. It, along with other government buildings towered above the rest of the city. The stature of the building showed the elevated position the government occupied.
Hurrying through the building and up the elevator I reached my office situated on the eleventh floor. There I found a young man already waiting for me in the chair adjacent to my table.
The time was seven-twenty-seven.
“Hello, you must be Brian”
“Yes, and you are SS Mormeck”
For the next thirty minutes I went through the ceremonial questions, about him and what he wants in his future spouse. As I sailed through the questions I realized his responses to the questions were average. Everything about Brian exclaimed average. His build was average, his looks were average, and his intelligence was average.
When the session was over I told Brian that we would find his spouse very soon. I was not just speaking drivel. The easiest people to find partners for are the ones who are average. They usually do not have high demands and the sheer quantity of average people is always helpful.
The purpose of selecting spouses for the population is so that the state can control the type of children born. Spouses are selected in order to produce the optimum child. Average intelligence is paired together, high intelligence is paired together, and the stupid are paired up with the intelligent; so the child would at least be average in intelligence or so that is what the ruling elites believe.
The ruling elites consists of one main family; the Marteens. The Marteens have been in power since the city was established. Their grip on power has never been weak. There never has been anyone who seriously bruised them, the Marteens cannot be bruised, they are too busy hurting others. The Marteens make all the decrees, and even though Quomile boasts about its parliament the decrees are never questioned but instead always shown the two thumbs; facing upwards.
After my appointment I went to my regular work of mixing and matching dozens of names, and the possibilities they might create. The work like always, was boring and arduous, There never has been a time when I did not want to finish as quickly as I could. It is not something I wanted to do, nobody ever gets what they want to do. You do what the career councillor (CC) wants you to do. I was given this position after a CC determined that I possessed great people skills, the CC believed that I would love this job and would make a great SS. I want to know who hire the CCs because they seem to not know how to do their job.
After finishing my work I skipped out of the MC building, bought a bottle of wine, hopped on the subway and within ten minutes I was at the doorsteps of my beloved, Emma. I knocked on the door, nobody responded. Just as I knocked again someone stepped out of the elevator. It was Emma. Like always she walked with confidence and swagger, swaying her hips side to side as she moved closer to me.
“Did you wait long?” she asked me in her seductive voice.
“No”
She unlocked the door, we went in, drank the wine, locked the door, draped the curtains and went to work.
Chapter 2
Darwish Mystery slumps over his desk. he looks at all the names of people who might show excessive emotion. His ocupation as an Emotion Restirctor (ER) is to restrict and prosecute those who show an excessive amount of emotion. Its believed that emotions are what cause society to breakdown and individuals to act irrationally. The main emotion that are prosecuted include love, anger, and sadness. These emotions are what cause the most damage to people and society. The war of 2078 proved just how dangerous emotions can be. Anger, which caused all the bloodshed and destruction is seen as the most dangerous of all and is clamped down the hardest. Sadness is an emotion which is leads to anger, stopping sadness can stop anger. Love is seen as a root to many problems as it leads many other emotions; such as sadness which can cause anger.
Darwish was a feeble looking man, he had no hair on his head, he donned a black trench coat and round spectacles. He was five feet six inches tall if he was lucky and weighed no more than 120 pounds. He compensated his lack of physical gifts with an extensive collection of guns, five of which he kept on his body at all times.
Darwish stared at the first name on the list. Ivan Rogers - Emotion Exhibited: Anger. Darwish was to pay a visit to Rogers house. His co workers had reported that Rogers was easily becoming frustrated and was showing signs of what seemed to be anger. Darwish was to go and question Rogers about his recent behaviour.
Darwish paged his junior officer Butch to join him.
"Butch, come to my office"
"Sure officer"
Butch knocked on the door and came in.
"Hello sir" Butch whispered in his deep voice.
Butch was a large fellow, he weighed close to two hundred and fifty pounds and was towered at six feet four inches. He possessed a large scar below his left eye which looked like it was caused by a knife, but in reality it was it was a childhood injury. Darwish viewed butch as an insurance policy, if Darwish was ever in a sticky situation he knew Butch would be there to cover him.
"Butch, I'm going to need you to help me visit friend today"
Butch just nodded with compliance.
Darwish and Butch drove on their motor vehicle to Roger's house. It was ordinary. Darwish and Butch stepped out the car and walked up to the door. They looked around the house instinctively and found nothing, they knocked on the door. A thin woman with thin hair and thin lips opened the door.
"Yes?"
"Hello we are from the ER" Darwish said while flashing his badge, "I am officer Darwish Mystery and this is my partner Butch, can we have a word with Mr Ivan Rogers?"
"Sure, would you wait for a moment"
"Actually we would prefer to go in your home" While speaking Darwish and Butch entered"
The woman went upstairs and did not come back down, instead a man appeared. He walked down slowly down the steps, it looked as if he was afraid of falling down. He stood in front of the two men focusing his attention on Darwish rather than look up and face Butch.
"Hello, Mr Rogers?" Darwish asked with complete confidence that it was the man he wanted.
"Yes, how can I help you officer"
"Mr Rogers, how are you feeling"
"I feel normal"
"Is that so? Your co-workers seem to differ from that opinion, they say you seem to be losing control over your emotions, is that true?"
"No...I believe that I have kept control, maybe my co-workers are mistaken" Ivan said this with uncertainty.
"Mr Rogers I will take the word of a handful of people over one, I believe you are slightly losing control over your emotion and you know how dangerous that is, correct, but since this is the first time we are visiting you we will not place any charges, we will however require you to attend some emotion management classes"
Ivan just stood there nodding, not speaking. He had never been talked to by the ER in person before. He knew he was showing too much emotion recently, but he couldn't help it at times, it just showed. Darwish handed Ivan a card which detailed the specifications of the emotion management classes.
"Thank you Mr Rogers, We hope that your don't get another visit from us again"
Those were the last words Darwish spoke before leaving with Butch. Ivan still shook from the experience quickly shut the door as soon as they left, he didn't want to speak to the little man ever again. There was something about him which made him very nervous, his aura exuded something dark and sinister.
"so what do you think about him?" Butch asked as they drove back to the ER building.
"He is no threat, he had fear, its the one who aren't scared we should worry about"
Chapter 3
I laid there on the bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind was blank, thoughts entered my mind but none stayed. The bed provided me with warmth which my body accepted with gratitude. The room was quiet, the only noise originated from the ceiling fan which continuously spun at a moderate pace. It caused me a little dizziness. Emma was cuddled up beside me, she looked like she was thinking hard about something, and suddenly she spoke.
“How long are we going to continue this? You know we can continue this forever”
She was talking about our relationship, I knew it was illegal; a union between people unsanctioned by the state was strictly prohibited, but we couldn’t stop, we had gone too far to turn back. When we were together our emotions just escaped and packing them up again was impossible”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find a way”
I held on to her tightly to comfort her, but I knew it wasn’t doing much to help make her feel better.
I had spent the night at her place, a risk I was willing to take, people often report suspicious acts and we were very suspicious, however nobody from the government has paid us a visit yet. However I had prepared myself for one because I knew they would come one day but I didn’t know when.
It was Saturday, so I didn’t have work to do so I decided to spend it with Emma. I got out of bed, and freshened myself up. I was to cook breakfast today. I made Emma’s favourite: scrambled eggs and toast. We ate in silence while we watched the Hologram TV. The news was on some new discoveries that were made to grow food faster. Food was always grown indoors, where the climate could easily be controlled. Genetically engineered foods insured that the population was well fed while all living inside a confined area.
We were to go to the zoo that day. As one of the very few attractions in the city it was always crowded. People moved slowly and with civility. People had smiles on their faces, positive emotions such as joy are never discouraged but rather endorsed. We walked beside each other, with some space between us.
We walked over to a cage. It contained within it a lion; one of the last remaining in the world. The lion showed its age, his skin was not firm, he was lazy, and moved as if his feet were chained together. There was also a cover over its mouth. It was used to stop it from roaring. The lion emulated the citizens of Quomile. They were both imprisoned in a cage with with locks closing their mouths shut.
Chapter 4
The day seemed to have passed by faster than anticipated as we were approaching dark. Our wonderful day was coming to an end and I can see the magnitude of it wearing on her face. I turn to her, silently begging for her to look at me and with my eyes I tell her that everything will be alright. She nods but with a hint of sadness. I leave it at that, seeing as I'll only make things worse.
As we make our way home, I notice a dark figure in the background. I turn but it quickly recedes away. We continue home, but I can't seem to get that figure out of my head. What was that?
The next morning I decided to finally take action. If we were to escape we needed help and we needed it fast. As last night proved it's not safe for us to be here anymore.
I make my way down to Lucian's peck. There lays a man with the experience and skill capable of helping Emma and I escape. Every since his file was delivered to me I kept very close taps on him, awaiting for this moment. His name is Soran Cti, he once worked for the government as did his parents. He is rumoured to have helped many escape Quomile without getting caught and for that I am hoping he can help me.
I finally reach my destination. There in front of me was a big brass door with intricate cravings. Every curve seem to represents something but I neither have the timeor the patience to figure it out. The door opens upon command. I look around me and I feel as though I have travelled back in time. It no longer felt like 2147. The walls were plastered with post-apocalyptic remains starting from 2012. It was all there. The discoveries, the presidential races, the war. Everything that had happen before my birth even to my grandparent's birth. It was mind-blowing.
"What are you doing here?"
I turn around to see a tall man standing a metre away from me holding a gun. He is in his mid forties, about 6 feet and muscular built.
"My name is Justice Mormeck, and I am in need of your assistance. I hear you help the people of Quomile escape to Fordopia"
"Is that so?" he laughed "Well you're out of luck, i don't do that shit anymore. Too much trouble on my part, not enough benefits. Run along and tell whoever is paying you to ask me this to fuck off."
"No i'm not trying to get you in trouble. I am in dire need off your help. My mate and I need to escape to a place where we will be accepted."
"How do I know this is not a trap?"
"I work for the government as a SS. I have been planning this for many years now. If we get caught I have more to lose than you. Defiance within the government circle is strictly cracked down upon. If you wish to escape, come help me defy Quomile's rules and societal values. Help me bring fear back to the Marteens, in which they have gone far too many years without. Help me bring hope and reassurance for a better future back to the Quomilians. Join along with me.
"I accept your request, but I do need some compensation for my troubles."
"Oh of course, i will give you my life's savings of 20,000 Quom. Half before, half after."
As we discuss our future arrangements, i can't help but revert my attention back to the mysterious walls. I silently remind myself to ask him about it at our next meeting. Maybe a world beyond the thirty-three remaining cities is in God's reach. Time will tell, as we finalized our meeting date. Tomorrow 6:00 am.
Chapter 5
As I make my way through the wooded corridor to meet up with Soran, last night's ordeal replays in my mind.
The door opens without any hesitation as I give it its first knock. Emma who is already dressed for bed welcomes me with open arms as I return the gesture with a soft kiss.
"Emma, I have found someone to help us escape to a better life. His name is Soran Cti and he is to bring us to the border where Fordopia lays. I am to meet with him tomorrow at 6 to discuss our plan in further detail."
With that, her eyes instantly brighten. Her lips stretch across her face illuminating the room with her incandescent smile. She pulls me into the apartment, lust outlines her eyes. My heart chokes with anticipation as I bring her lips to mine passionately. If only my kisses could say what I've been dying to get out. The emotion of it all is at most life-threatening. Clothes become a barrier and are quickly dealt with. The floor vanishes as my back makes contact with the bed.
She smiles.
Minutes later I reach my destination. Soran greets me with a nod before I settle myself down awaiting further instructions. We sit there in silence untill he decides it's time to speak.
"How you doin' Justice? You look like shit."
"Thanks, that's what I was aiming for." This guy really knows how to make you feel special.
"Too much fun with your lad eh?" he laughs at my bewildered expression.
"Enough small talk lets get down to business. I assume you are aware of the dangers and consequences of this mission."
I nodded, fully understanding the serious implications of it all but part of me still worries at the idea of failure. What would happen to us if we got caught. Death is definitely the finale of this psychotic game show called life in Quomile but what about before then. The torture Emma and I would face along this battle, the pain. I quickly disgard this notion as Soran begins to speak again.
"Here's the plan, tomorrow at midnight we will meet back at Lucian's Peck. Awaiting us will be two other men who are trying to escape for the same reasons as you. Your mate must be hidden throughout this time for safety reasons. At Lucian's peck we will gather our equipment and prepare to reach the border.
Out from his pocket comes a piece of folded paper. He unfolds it and places it on the table revealing a detailed map of Quomile. I bring my face closer so that I am mere inches from it. To my amazement there were hidden tunnels and passage ways althroughout Quomile, each leading to the border of the city.
"This is unbelievable, how did you know about this?"
"As you might have already seen from the crap plastered on my walls, my family has a long history with this city. We were fortunate enough to have kept those few reminders of our past intact and hidden away from the government, so that we can reminise our faults and accomplishments. As for my knowledge of the hidden tunnels, my grandparents were close with the Marteen family who revealed this information in a drunken rage. I am the last remaining piece of my family and the only one who possess this information."
I stare at him amazed by his confession.
"So the government and the Marteen's are unaware that you obtain this valuable knowledge?"
"I believe that they suspect it but are unaware that it is me." he laughs, which cause me to shudder. He points to one of the hidden tunnels on the map. "We will take tunnel 184 to reach the halfway point. From there we will take a left to tunnel 67. It's our only option if we want to avoid any government activity. Also, it is crucial for our safety that there is absolutely no talking when going through the tunnels. The tunnels have special hearing receptors that only pick up voices when within. This was put in to monitor the guards who used to work there many years ago."
I nod. "I will assure that my mate, Emma, is aware of this protocol and is accuiped with our plan."
"So it is settled then, tomorrow at midnight. Get ready for the beginning of your life Justice, because things are about to get a shitload of crazy."
Chapter 6
Midnight. Emma and I both dressed in black headed towards Lucian's Peck where Soran whould be waiting. Before entering I stop.
"What's wrong Justice?" I can hear the concern lacing her voice.
"Nothing, it's just... before we start this journey I want you to know how much I love you. If anything happens to me along the way I want you to get to Fordopia. Live a happy life rather than mourn my death."
Several emotions flash through her face. Anger, annoyance, sorrow but she finally settles with a loving face. She takes her hand and caresses my cheek while looking into my eyes.
"Ok, I will " she whispers, but I can tell she doesn't mean it. She believes we will have a better future and it breaks my heart to know there is a chance we might not. We gather our thoughts and proceed on.
We enter Soran's house and two men stand before us. Upon a glance i realized that these two men were men i had worked on as a SS. The one on the right, Lars Nemon, was a short fella about 5 feet 3 inches, balding, a little overweight, had a foot fetish and secretly watches his neighbour get undressed. Weird man, he wanted a woman no taller than him, beautiful, blonde and would love to engage in intercourse with him at anytime of the day. Instead i gave him Ariya Liople, a 5 foot 10 red head with very conservative beliefs. Must have been hell for him. The one on the left, Leer Declan, was a good-looking 27 year old. Fit, muscular, a real eye-catcher but upon meeting him i knew for a fact that he was rooting for the other team. Anyone i would have matched him up with would be torture enough, so i tried for the perfect girl for once. Easy to say i wasn't their favourite person.
Soran enters. "So have you guys introduced youselves yet?"
Lars answers automatically. "Yes, we have" Soran clearly notices the hostility between the three us but doesn't bother to ask. He gives each of us a backpack full of supplies for the journey and for when we arrive at Fordopia. He gives us a little pep talk, reminding us of the rules and protocols before he escorts us to a trap door hidden in the basement. Suddenly Lars grabs hold of my arm.
"You know she's a totally bitch" he said, before entering the tunnel.
I quickly followed suit but not before chuckling at his misfortune. Once we all entered the tunnel, Soran motions for us to follow him. It was completely dark except for the flashlight Soran had to guide us. I grab Emma's hand and we begin to follow. The tunnel space aided little to our comfort, as we were walking mere inches from each other. I can feel Leer's breath on my neck causing me to shudder. Suddenly i feel Emma's hand escape me and the sounds of her muffled cries. I turn to see Leer covering Emma's mouth and the pistol resting on my forehead. Emma's eyes scream with desperation and her screams grow louder. Silenced by the situation i search for Soran but before i could pinpoint his location Emma screams in torment.
I see Soran, Lars and two other men standing beside Leer. I scream Emma's name before my vision is blanked out and my mind falls to a deep trance.
Chapter 7
The room was black. No light seeped through, my feet and hands were bound together by chains, I heard them shuffle. They produced a metallic noise when agitated. I wasn’t the only one who was in the room though. I heard someone else’s movements as well. Naturally I believed it was Emma. So I called out to her.
“Emma?”
There was no response; instead bright lights illuminated the room. My eyes were instantly blinded by artificial miniature sun. I just saw white. It took more than a minute for my eyes to settle and see clear. I saw Emma, she stood wearily, her body being weighed down by the chains dangling from her. She didn’t look back at me. The room was circular and bare; the light was only focused on us while the rest remained in the dark.
While I stood there I realized I had been fooled, Soran was never arrested because he was never guilty. That was his job, to fool people like us. I didn’t hate him for that; instead I loathed myself for being so simple minded.
As we stood there a large booming voice filled our ears.
“Justice Mormeck and Emma Glasdor, Do you know why you are here”
I knew exactly why we were here, but I had no interest in answering. The invisible voice realized we were not going to try and bargain for our lives. So he made the trial short.
“The two of you have been charged and convicted of illegally trying to leave Quomile and illegally having sexual relations. However that is not the only thing which you two are convicted of, you two are also females. Having same sex relationships is forbidden according to Quomilian law.”
The invisible voice rested for a moment but soon came back.
“The pair of you will be sentenced to death by guillotine, your sentence will be carried out tomorrow at noon”
Just as the voice stopped, the light also went out. We were once again in the dark and I miraculously fell asleep.
When I woke up I was tied up onto some sort of torture contraption. I was hanging up in the air; my hands and feet were both spread out and bound. Emma was directly in front of me. We stared into each other’s eyes feeling sorry for our pathetic state. No words escaped from our lips. Our lips were too tightly shut from the pain exuding from the contraption.
We hung there for an unknown amount of time, a pair of men dressed in all black emerged from the door in unison. Both of them carried with them large bags. They removed a bag of rice and a thermos from the bag. The two men forced our mouths open and shoved raw rice down our throats, after that they made us drink hot water, it wasn’t boiling but it was hot, the water burned as it made its way down my esophagus. I didn’t understand why they did it. They next removed a scalpel from the bag, they started to carve on our skin. The concentration their faces while they carved us up was as if they were working on an artistic masterpiece. Pain from the core of my stomach bellowed loudly, the rice was cooking in my stomach. I now understood why they had force fed us the raw rice. Cries of pain echoed throughout the room but the men just continued on, I could feel my warm blood over my body, as they cut me up more I began to lose consciousness. After a while I was completely gone.
I woke up to find myself on a soft bed, I was wrapped in bandages, and the parts not shielded by the bandages were covered with stitches. So the men had cut me up and then sewed me back up. I lay there helplessly for hours, this time Emma wasn’t with me.
Two men once again emerged into the room; they helped me to my feet and led me to a large room with two guillotines and a camera in front of it. The camera would record our execution; we would be used as examples to educate the population on what happens when you try to outsmart them.
Emma simultaneously arrived from a separate entrance. It was as if the whole ordeal had been carefully choreographed.
Our sentences were read aloud once more and our heads placed in the guillotine, I turned to look at Emma who was already looking at me with wide tear filled eyes. I turned my face away from her; instead I stared directly at the camera bracing myself for the impact which could come at...