“We won’t be able to keep this up much longer. I’ve been running the data. The number of occurrences has nearly doubled in the last four years alone. I’m afraid we’re on the verge of an epidemic. And that’s not all, I think some Southenders are starting to notice. They’re calling them mystery arrests.”
“Is anyone important asking questions?”
“Not yet. I’ve been careful to only pick citizens with no public standing and no connections. The kind of people no one will miss. I don’t know how much longer that can last, though.”
“If all goes according to plan, it only has to last one more round. Just do as you’re told and bury the evidence.”
It is with these principles in mind that your ever-dutiful Council has called on Haven’s most promising scientists and scholars for assistance, and together have designed a magnificent system in which to ensure our success and the success of future generations.
Six months from now, every citizen of Haven between the age of sixteen and twenty will have the honor of participating in the first Genetic Fitness Evaluation: a series of three tests designed to evaluate their intelligence, physical fitness, and genetic background. It is with these three tests that the Council will be able to determine whether a citizen is fit to bestow their genetic material upon the next generation. Participation in The Genetic Fitness Evaluation is mandatory and will repeat every four years.
-Council Address, reign of the Council, Year 40
John returned to his apartment alone that night—a single room on the top floor of a dilapidated building. A sole candle flickered on its base, casting a faint glow as John leaned his bike against the wall just beside the front door, its thin frame taking up most of the room’s remaining open floor space. He silently reprimanded himself for leaving the candle burning—again—but it was only half sincere. John hated coming home to darkness.
The apartment was small, a square space without any dividing walls or rooms, so the bedroom and kitchen—if one could call a sink and single cupboard a kitchen—were mere feet apart. The plumbing worked though, a rarity in Southend. More importantly, it all belonged to John, and he couldn’t have been prouder to call it home. The bed was pushed against the far wall, flanked by built-in sconces that did not work anymore. Books crowded every shelf and table surface, spilling onto the floor when there was no longer any room, forming stacks that had taken on the role of nightstands and other types of furniture themselves. The same books had been his only form of education for so many years.
Reaching into his pocket, John pulled out two silver bands, one large and wide, the other thin and delicate. He had purchased them the day before and spent all of today carrying them around, excited to finally be able to give Morgan a wedding band and wear one of his own. Now, he couldn’t stand the sight of them. He tossed the pair of rings carelessly towards his dresser, not even checking to see where they landed, before snapping the medical ID bracelet off of his wrist and collapsing onto his bed.
Someone knocked at the door. John sighed as he begrudgingly rose from his bed and opened it to find Morgan standing in front of him, a white handkerchief in her hand. Waving the handkerchief, she said, “I come in peace.”
John didn’t laugh. “What are you doing here?”
“I know you don’t want to see me right now, but I couldn’t leave it like that. I came to make it right.”
“Did you tell your family?”
“No.”
“Then you can’t make it right,” John said, turning back into his apartment. Morgan followed.
“Look, I know I disappointed you. But I’m not as brave as you, John.”
John wasn’t sure if this explanation was sincere or an excuse. Either way, he wasn’t in the mood.
“What’s this?” Morgan asked, and John wheeled around to see Morgan standing with the wedding rings in her hand.
“It’s nothing,” John said, embarrassed. He reached to take the rings from Morgan, but she withdrew her hand.
“Are these for us?” she asked, slipping the smaller of the two bands on her left ring finger before John could even answer.
“Yes,” John said, his anger softening just a little.
Morgan smiled and held her hand up to view the ring in the light. “No one’s ever given me something like this before,” she said.
“Do you like it?” John asked sheepishly.
“I love it,” she said in almost a whisper, her eyes slightly moist. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Wrapping his arm around Morgan’s waist, John pulled her in, his lips pressing against hers. Their soft kisses slowly built and became more desperate by the second.
There was another knock at the door, but it sounded far away and quickly slipped John’s mind as Morgan wrapped her hand around the back of John’s head, tangling her fingers in his hair. Her other hand gently pushed against his chest, pushing him down until she was lying on top of him on the bed, their bodies pressed against each other. John wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tighter. Even though almost every inch of their bodies was touching, it was not enough. He wanted to be closer to her, closer than was allowed. His hands slid from her back down her hips and back up again, feeling the curve of her body and longing for the softness of her skin.
Morgan’s lips wandered, her kisses moving from John’s lips to his neck. He groaned softly as her hand slid under his shirt and around his back, her fingertips softly pressing into his shoulder.
“I love you, John,” she whispered.
John sat on the small bench at the foot of the bed, Morgan’s head resting on his knee as she sat on the floor in front of him. Their clothes were strewn about the apartment, adding to the mess of books and articles Morgan had sprawled out in front of her. Wrapped in blankets, the two read in silence, John from his most recent novel, and Morgan from an old law book, intensely studying its content. She let out a sigh, rubbing her temples in a circular motion with her fingertips.
“You all right?” John asked. He reached down and began to massage her bare shoulders.
“I don’t know how anyone can be expected to remember all this stuff. The dates and names are starting to run together.”
“Do you want me to help you study?”
“No, thank you,” she sighed. “The last thing I need is to feel worse about myself while you recite every Council address by heart.”
“I don’t know them all by heart.”
“Right. And how does the twenty-sixth Council address go again?”
John shrugged his shoulders, pretending for a moment he had no idea. “I don’t know, something along the lines of ‘Plague, warfare, insanity, no matter what form the enemy may take, we as a society have the right to protect ourselves. In the same way we rid our streets of criminals—’”
Morgan grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at John, hitting the side of his head.
“Thank you, I feel much better now.” Morgan chuckled. “I’m telling you, you should be the one on the Council.”
“Nah, I don’t have much interest in politics.”
“Another testament to your intelligence. I think I just need to take a break.” She closed the book in front of her and sat next to John, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry again about dinner,” she said. “My family can be a little too candid at times.”
“Does it ever bother you, what they said? About my education? About not ever being able to provide for you the way your father has?”
“Not at all,” Morgan said, “because you have ambition and passion, John Hunter, which is one of the many reasons I adore you. There are plenty of people who are well educated but never actually accomplish anything. You can succeed without an education, but you can’t succeed without ambition. My mother told me that.”
“Your mother said that to a seven-year-old?”
Chuckling, Morgan replied, “Well, not those exact words. I just remember her teaching me I can accomplish anything as long as I know what I want and never
stop working for it.”
John kissed her on the forehead. He grinned. “So that’s why you kept pursuing me. You saw something you wanted, and you went for it.”
“Oh, yes, I saw this specimen of a man with messy hair in a stained, blue lab coat, and I just had to have him.” The two laughed together. “I’m pretty sure you had even skipped a button on your jacket that day.”
“Give me a break. You made me nervous.”
“I recognized you right away, did you know that?” Morgan said, looking directly into John’s eyes.
“I recognized you too,” John said.
Morgan smiled and began absentmindedly twirling her fingers around a lock of dark brown hair behind John’s ear. “How is work going, by the way? Did you ever hear back about the promotion?”
“I was turned down. Same old story. But it’s all right. I think things may start turning around soon. All that extra work I’ve been doing for Bren lately is finally starting to pay off. He’s even talking about giving me more responsibilities soon.”
“John, that’s amazing!”
He wrapped his hand around the back of Morgan’s neck and gently pulled her towards him until he was kissing her softly on the lips. “Thank you for not letting me give up,” he whispered, his forehead resting on hers.
“You are the most brilliant person I know, John. It’s only a matter of time before everyone else sees it too.”
Taking Morgan’s hand in his, John raised it to his face and gently kissed the back of it. He turned to the window, the sun was beginning to rise from behind the trees, casting a pink hue over the city. “It’s morning. I’ll walk you home before anyone notices you’re gone.”
Morgan moved closer to John and rested her head on his shoulder. “I wish I didn’t have to go,” she said.
“Me too,” he replied. As Morgan looked up at him, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. She had the most beautiful eyes and, in the soft morning light, the deep gold flecks in her brown eyes gleamed as if on fire. “I hope all four of our kids get your eyes.”
“You mean all three of them,” she corrected.
“Of course. All three to four of them. I can picture it so clearly. Sitting on the porch of our little house with you, the kids playing in the yard.”
“Somewhere near the edge of the city, so they can play in the trees.”
“A little baby in our arms.”
“Of course, all of this is after I’ve secured a seat on the Council, right?”
“Of course,” John laughed.
“It sounds like heaven,” Morgan sighed, a wide smile on her face, but her smile soon faded.
As much as John hated to admit it, the future they had pictured together seemed far away. They both felt it.
“My family is never going to come around to the idea of us, are they?” Morgan said, sounding defeated.
“Of course they are, Morgan.”
“No, they aren’t. They did the same thing to Charles two years ago, remember? He wanted to marry that girl Katherine, but they kept throwing up obstacle after obstacle until she finally left. She wasn’t even from Southend. They just didn’t think she was good enough to be a Loughlin. That’s how my family is. All smiles and social niceties on the outside, but they’ll eventually wear you down until you want to leave.”
John always knew he would wait however long it took if it meant he could be with the love of his life. Grow old together, watch their children grow, just like they had fantasized. But tonight, that future felt more distant than ever, as if it was always going to be just out of reach. He hated it.
“I can promise you right now that no matter what, I am never going to leave. I don’t care what anyone says or does. They could throw stones at me for all I care. I love you Morgan, and no matter what I will never stop fighting for us. But you can’t give up either.”
“I’m not giving up, John. I just wish it didn’t have to be this difficult.”
John brushed a strand of hair behind Morgan’s ear. “Do you remember what I told you the night I proposed? I said you are the most amazing, intelligent, beautiful woman I have ever met, and I absolutely adore you. And since that night, those feelings haven’t diminished at all. If anything, I feel it more now than ever. I adore you, Morgan, and I am completely, hopelessly, wholeheartedly yours. And only yours. You can take as much time as you need until you’re ready to tell your family. I promise I’ll never pressure you before you’re ready ever again.”
Morgan stared straight ahead, seemingly looking at nothing. “Let’s do it. Right now,” she said.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. I’m done being afraid, John. I’m done hiding, I’m done lying, more than anything I’m done waiting to spend my life with you. Let’s go right now. We’ll walk into the house and tell everyone we’re married.”
“What if they get upset?” John asked. He wanted to make sure Morgan knew what she could be getting herself into.
“So what if they get upset? Whether they support it or not doesn’t matter to me anymore.” Morgan had that resolute look in her eyes she got when she had made up her mind about something. And he loved it. “As soon as we tell them I’ll pack my bags and I can move in here with you today. That is, if it’s all right.” Morgan asked.
“Of course it’s all right.” He beamed, wrapping Morgan up in a bear hug and tackling her against the bed. Was it all right? It was everything he had ever wanted, everything he had been picturing every day for the last year. Reaching to the end table, Morgan grabbed the silver band and slipped it on John’s ring finger.
It was finally happening.
He and his wife were finally going to be a family.
The Genetic Fitness Evaluation is, at its core, a tool to stop needless suffering. Degenerates, imbeciles, and the terminally ill alike spend their whole lives suffering and, if allowed to reproduce, will pass that deficiency on to their offspring, dooming them to share the same bleak fate. I ask you, citizens, is this fair? Is this the best future we can provide for our children? For our city? If we have the knowledge and the power to stop future generations from a terrible fate, is it not our obligation to do so?
-Council Address, reign of the Council, Year 40
As John and Morgan walked up the long street towards the Loughlin manor, hand in hand, John could barely contain his excitement. It was finally happening; Morgan was finally choosing him. Yes, she had technically chosen him once before when she said, “I do,” but this felt just as momentous, if not more.
The maid answered the door. “Good morning, miss,” she said, obviously a little confused that Morgan was at the front door instead of in her bed. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is wonderful,” Morgan beamed. “Is the household awake yet?”
“Not yet, miss, but I can fetch Master Loughlin for you if you like.”
“Fetch Evangeline too and tell them Mr. Hunter and I will be waiting for them in the foyer.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said and disappeared into the house.
John was just about to follow Morgan into the house when he noticed two men walking up the street towards them. Morgan noticed them too.
“Good morning,” Morgan greeted them, a tentative smile on her face. “May I help you?”
“We’re looking for someone,” one of the men stated. “We haven’t been able to reach him at his home but were informed we might find him here.”
“Who are you looking for?” Morgan asked.
“Jonathan Hunter,” the guard replied.
John stiffened at the mention of his name and his mind went blank, racing with a thousand thoughts all at once but unable to hold onto a single one of them. He heard himself answer, but his voice felt foreign as he muttered the words, “What is this about?”
He feared he already knew the answer. This was the visit he had hoped would never come. He had been so distracted, so blissfully, beautifully distracted last night he hadn’t even realized what the
knock on his door probably meant.
Morgan’s hand tightened around John’s just as Loughlin and Evangeline appeared in the foyer.
“Good morning,” Evangeline said, wrapping a shawl around her shoulders to cover her nightgown. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”
“We are looking for Jonathan Hunter and were told we might find him here.”
John pulled his hand away from Morgan’s. “Stay inside, Morgan,” he said. He didn’t want her to see this. She shouldn’t have to see this.
“John, what is going on?” Morgan said.
More faces began to emerge from the house, drawn by the commotion, and soon at least a dozen members of Morgan’s family stood in the doorway behind her father and mothers, all curiously watching the spectacle taking place on their front lawn.
“Are you or are you not Jonathan Hunter?” the officer asked again, raising his voice.
“Yes. I am John Hunter.”
“You need to come with us,” the man said sternly.
“On what grounds?” Morgan said, but one of the officers had already wrapped his hand around John’s arm and was pulling him away. “You have no right,” she protested.
“We are here to arrest Mr. Hunter and relocate him to Emerson’s Asylum for the Unfit and Criminally Insane.”
There it was.
“No, no, no,” Morgan said. “There has to be some mistake.”
“No mistake ma’am. Jonathan Hunter has failed the Genetic Fitness Evaluation and as of this morning has been officially declared unfit. It is our duty to take him to the asylum to be committed while he awaits sterilization.”
The conversation felt like it was miles away, but John could hear Morgan’s family murmuring amongst themselves. They had been right all along. John felt another hand roughly grab his shoulder as the men began to lead him away.
“Do something!” Morgan cried, turning to her father, but Loughlin remained silent, refusing to even make eye contact with his daughter.
Do something, her cries echoed in John’s head. Please, do something. The plea felt all too familiar. He had screamed it over and over again at his father the summer his mother got sick.
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