Sector 27: Assignment
By J.J. Pasinella
Published by Jed Pasinella at Smashwords
Copyright 2014 J.J. Pasinella
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
1.1 (The Grid)
1.2 (The Grid)
1.3(The Grid)
1.4 (The Grid)
1.5 (The Grid)
1.6 (The Grid)
2.1 (Beyond)
2.2 (Beyond)
2.3 (Beyond)
2.4 (Beyond)
2.5 (Beyond)
2.6 (Beyond)
2.7 (Beyond)
2.8 (Beyond)
2.9 (Beyond)
2.10 (Beyond)
2.11 (Beyond)
2.12 (Beyond)
2.13 (Beyond)
3.1 (Resistance)
3.2 (Resistance)
3.3 (Resistance)
3.4 (Resistance)
3.5 (Resistance)
3.6 (Resistance)
3.7 (Resistance)
3.8 (Resistance)
3.9 (Resistance)
4.1 (Confrontation)
4.2 (Confrontation)
4.3 (Confrontation)
4.4 (Confrontation)
4.5 (Confrontation)
4.6 (Confrontation)
4.7 (Confrontation)
4.8 (Confrontation)
4.9 (Confrontation)
Preview: Next Installment in the Series
1.1 (The Grid)
It was a cool summer evening as Caleb hurried down the sidewalk toward his living quarters. There had been a light rain falling, even since the time he had left at first alarm to head into the Department of Human Advancement to continue his work. He couldn't be sure if he had been there longer than previous days since there was no way to know the exact time. He could estimate by determining if it was dawn, day, dusk, or night. When the second alarm had finally sounded, signaling the end of the work day, he wanted to get back to his living quarters as quickly as possible.
Caleb was somewhere between the ages of twenty-four and twenty-seven. It was hard to keep track of the years, but it could be estimated by the changing of the seasons. His father had told him years earlier that he had been born in January, back when calendars were kept. Caleb was small for his age, about five foot six inches tall, and one hundred and fifteen pounds. If there's one thing he knew for sure it was his height and weight, as it was documented frequently by the Reassignment teams along with a full body work up and strength and conditioning tests.
As he continued moving down the street he looked up at the great expanse above which was now all a single shade of gray. He noticed something peculiar. There was no difference in color between the way the sky looked at this moment and the rest of the world around him. The plaster buildings on either side of him, each the same size, shape and dimension, and the road and sidewalks below him. Everything was almost identical in color. It was as if someone had draped a gray tarp across the grid and pinned it up in a dome-like shape above.
The ‘grid,’ as Caleb had always heard it referred to by his father, was called Sector 27, part of the greater Zone C. Its layout was simple. In the middle of Sector 27 was the Department of Human Advancement, which was the largest building in the grid. Coming from all four sides of the central building were rows of streets and living quarters. Each street stretched about four to five miles before ending at the large barbed wire fences, reaching about twenty feet high with checkpoints scattered along the perimeter. Caleb's living quarters were much closer to the fences than to the central building, so it took him more time than most to walk to and from the department. The sidewalks were used by the workers of Sector 27, while the roads were only used by high ranking officials and military vehicles in the event of an incident.
Caleb's father was a scientist and at a very early age the "Keepers", a term his father used to call the ruling authorities, had selected Caleb for future work in genetics. He was to be indoctrinated and trained as early as they deemed appropriate and sent to work as soon as he was ready. Caleb had excelled in his training, and the information he would require to secure his position in the Department of Human Advancement came very easily to him. Even though his life had been laid out before him, he still got a small amount of satisfaction from his work, at least for a little while.
Previously, the officials had been assigning him research into genetic manipulation to achieve specific behaviors. His most recent undertaking involved replacing undesired traits in an unborn fetus with more desirable ones. This would enable the Keepers to control what kind of people were being born and utilized for work inside of the grids. Caleb hated this particular assignment. He had this deep seeded belief that it wasn't right to change a human being into a vessel used strictly for labor.
Caleb looked up from counting the concrete slabs as he passed over them and noticed one of the Guardians standing off to his right, about twenty feet from him. He was dressed in thick body armor, all black. In the middle of his vest in big white letters was printed, ‘C-27’. An automatic rifle was gripped in both hands and a nylon strap draped from the weapon over his right shoulder. Atop the mass of armor, a big black helmet and a pair of goggles covering his eyes so that Caleb could see nothing but his own reflection. His father had once told him that the Guardians were by in large mercenary soldiers who had been recruited and trained years before the transition had occurred.
The transition was something that happened over many years’ time, decades perhaps. In most cases it took place so quietly that the average person had no idea what was happening before it was too late. They were taken from their cities, towns and villages in train cars and moved into one of the many grids now scattering the states. Those deemed too weak or unprofitable were to be "reassigned". Caleb had always thought deep down that reassignment was, in fact, execution; but he couldn't know for sure. He knew one thing for sure, once someone had been reassigned, he never saw them again.
Caleb quickly glanced back down at the concrete slabs and continued counting in an effort to take his mind off of the presence of the Guardian he was now passing by. He felt his stomach churning. It felt as if someone was taking his intestines and knotting them up into a tight ball. He could feel his heart beating through his chest and radiating to his hands and feet. Momentarily he wondered if the Guardian could hear the galloping heart being echoed out of his body and down the dreary street. He kept his hands in his pockets and his gaze downwards, maintaining the same pace he had from the beginning. His left hand, still in his pocket, slowly traced the outline of a rectangular object. Smooth, cool to the touch with round corners and a small opening on one end, the reason he was hurrying back to his quarters, and the small glimmer of hope he had for what remained of his life. All this lay upon something no larger or heavier than a cigarette lighter. And he had it, right there in his pocket, and he knew it was worth the risk he was about to undertake.
1.2 (The Grid)
Morning finally came after a long night of drifting in and out of sleep. Caleb sat up, slowly shifted his legs out of a flimsy iron bedframe, and rested them on the cold cement floor. He stayed that way, rubbing his eyes until he heard the first alarm sound from a small box in the corner of his room. This signaled the people living in this particular section of the grid to
get up, take their nutrients and head into the department. He let out a discontented groan as he stood up and made his way towards the chute.
Each dawn, small plastic tubes were sent into the living quarters by an underground pipe system delivering a series of capsules. The tubes were separated into five compartments. Each compartment held a series of pills containing the essential nutrients needed by the body each day. Caleb took the tube from the pipe system and walked over to a small table in the corner of the room. He only had four bottles of water left from his last delivery of rations. There would be a work block, consisting of ten days followed by a leisure block, consisting of two days before the new ration would come. Each ten-day, two-day block was one cycle. Each ration contained twenty four bottles, which would give him two bottles each day per cycle.
He took one bottle, opened it, and took the first three series of pills. He skipped the fourth, and then finished the fifth. His father had told him years ago, before he was reassigned, not to take the bright red pills. His father had been one of the chemists working on developing those pills that would alter people’s moods, keep them in a contented state, and essentially turn them into fully functioning shells of human beings. He had explained it to Caleb as "setting the person on auto-pilot." In essence, getting the best possible work output, while minimizing their ability to think freely. The pills, in conjunction with the seminars, kept people completely loyal to the Keepers. There was no real way to know if someone had or hadn't taken the pills, but from a very early age you were taught that without taking them, you would die. Caleb was fortunate enough to have been around and trained by his father for most of his life. He was taught how to act while working and moving around the grid in a way that would not raise any suspicion.
Because of the pills, there was no need to have a heavy presence of authority around the living quarters. This enabled the Guardians to be more spread out through the parallel running streets. There would be a single Guardian every half mile or so, but were seen in much larger numbers by the check points along the fences surrounding the grid. They lived in the barracks by each checkpoint, and they would alternate shifts throughout each cycle. Each check point also contained several armored vehicles with mounted heavy machine guns on top that were used in case of an incident breaking out. Caleb had never seen one come in from the checkpoints since he had been there.
There was a kind of mysterious air about the Guardians. Caleb's father had told him that before the transition, the original group had derived from mercenary cells who would do the vilest jobs as long as there was a payoff. This was back in the early stages of the transition however, and since then Caleb's father could only speculate as to the reasons why they blindly followed the Keepers' orders. He knew that they were issued a different set of pills than the department workers and assumed they must play a role. The Guardians were also given much nicer living accommodations and were given higher rations of water and electricity. The Guardians were also given rations of food, which was something that the workers didn't have. But outside of their barracks, where they lived, Caleb only saw them as a symbol of control and authority.
He finished half of his first water bottle and decided to save the second half for use throughout his time at the department. His living quarters were like all the others in the grid. There was one door which opened side to side instead of out and in. Once inside, to the right was the chute where the daily nutrients were delivered. Above the chute and embedded in the wall was a small monitor. On it was displayed the schedule over the span of four cycles. It almost never changed, but when there was an added activity that was required, it was usually a seminar that his father had referred to as "brainwashing appointments." Across the room to the left of the door was a small metal table with one chair beside it. Above the table and just beside the door was a circular window, just large enough to let in some light even after the electricity had been shut off. Electricity was rationed and controlled by the officials who were appointed to Sector 27. In the middle of the room on the ceiling was a circular fluorescent bulb. On the wall opposite the door was the bed. And to the left of the bed was a small bathroom containing a toilet and a standing shower behind a half-raised wall.
Inside each of the living quarters was a small tube in the wall. It looked like a pipe, sticking out into the room about two inches with an opening in the front. The tube led to the outside just to the right of the door and had an opening there as well. This was used by the Guardians for sending in their snakes. The snakes looked like water hoses with a lens attached to the end of it. They would be let in through the tube and were used to monitor for suspicious activity. Suspicious activities could be anything the Guardians thought to be out of the ordinary. This made it so people weren't under surveillance at all times, but were always at risk to be randomly searched by the snakes at any moment. Caleb himself had only seen a snake once before, around the time his father had been reassigned.
This morning was the beginning of the final work day in the cycle. Caleb put on his uniform, walked over to his bed, felt inside his pillow for the small rectangular object, and made his way towards the door. He took one last look back at his pillow, opened the door, stepped outside and took in a deep breath. Unlike the previous work day, the sun was brightly shining, climbing over the mountains in the distance with nothing but blue sky surrounding it. He let it warm his face for a moment before he started walking.
Quietly he said to himself, "Not much longer now."
1.3 (The Grid)
As Caleb walked down the street towards the department, he counted the concrete slabs as he passed over them, focused on keeping his gaze downwards. Occasionally he would glance up to see if he could spot the Guardians. As he approached the third one, Caleb looked directly at him. The Guardian had not moved or made a sound until Caleb was inches away, at which time he gave a quick and subtle nod. Caleb returned the gesture, then quickly looked around to make sure none of the other department workers surrounding him on the sidewalk had seen it. Then he continued on with his head down counting the passing slabs.
He finally reached the department, passed through the gates and entered a set of large metal doors. They opened slowly before him as he looked at the security camera above. He moved through a brightly lit corridor that was glistening white. He had always found it odd that the officials used so much of the electricity to brighten the hallways which carried people for but a moment, yet would allow close to none for the living quarters. After a short distance travelling down the hallway he came to a door labelled, ‘C-47A.’ This door held beyond its heavy steel exterior the lab, where Caleb had been working since he had been deemed ready. He stepped inside and heard a familiar voice say, "Caleb,” as if someone was acknowledging his arrival.
It was Andrew. Andrew was Caleb's partner in this lab for as long as he could remember. Andrew had come to the lab only a season or two after Caleb had arrived. He had a monotonous tone to his voice, the same as everyone else he had come into contact with around the department. He was scrawny, but very tall. His hair was light brown and messy at most times, like he had just rolled out of bed and come straight to the department. He wore a long white lab coat, the same as Caleb's, with the number 317-47A printed across the left flap. After all this time working with Andrew, Caleb had barely spoken with him, at least, not about anything meaningful. He had tried a few times when Andrew was first assigned to the lab, feeling him out, but the result was the same as with anyone else. It was as if Caleb were talking to a computer. Andrew was brilliant, but because of the drugs, the only conversations that would ever take place revolved around that of their work, or events inside of the grid. Caleb would see nothing behind his eyes when they talked. He just imagined neurons firing and his brain processing information, like it was a machine searching for a pre-loaded response to spit out. This made living in Sector 27 difficult for Caleb, in a social sense. Even when he was around Andrew he felt completely isolated. When he attended the seminars with hundreds of
the other workers it was as if he was completely alone. It was also difficult to determine who, if anyone, he could confide in. If the wrong thing was said to the wrong person, Caleb could be turned in, taken to the Guardians’ barracks, or reassigned. After Caleb's father had been taken, he had become used to the inability to have any meaningful conversations.
"Andrew,” Caleb replied as he walked the metal floors toward his workstation. He flipped on the holo-screen to the left side of his desk to display his assigned research orders.
‘Great,’ he thought, ‘Another strand of DNA to alter.’
Caleb wasn't sure what the officials did with the work he submitted. Were they putting it to use? Was he unwillingly supplying the authorities he despised so much with more resources to tighten their grip?
"Did you receive the information about the seminar for this cycle's leisure block?" Andrew asked in a flat voice.
"Yes," said Caleb, all the while thinking to himself how horrible it would be.
"I look forward to hearing about the new plan for handling the Eco-terrorists," Andrew continued, "Everyone is going to have to do their part."
Eco-terrorist was a name given to the small pockets of people who supposedly lived outside of the grids. According to the Keepers, the Eco-terrorists were halting human advancement forward and continually destroying Sacred Mother Earth. Caleb had no idea if there were any such groups, or if the Keepers used it as another means to keep people from wanting to venture outside of the grid. They described them as savages, bent on destroying all life on earth. The Keepers were chosen by the holy Sacred Mother Earth to defend against the imminent threat they presented, and each inhabitant of the grid was required to offer what they could of themselves.
"Yes," agreed Caleb in a monotone voice, "we are all required to give of ourselves for Sacred Mother Earth."
Andrew driveled on, "Why can't those useless wastes of resources understand that they are slowing our evolutionary destiny into further knowledge and power?"
Sector 27- Assignment Page 1
