Revolt of the Lamebren

by Manjiri Prabhu

  ‘Yes, I can. But your mother has asked me to feed you your lunch,’ Zinnia reminded him with a calmness she was fast losing.

  ‘I’m not a baby to be fed lunch. I’ll have it, just keep it on the table,’ Marquee retorted.

  Leo’s words came ringing back into her mind. It was true that the Altklugs knew no childhood. Here was this six-month-old who was already on his way to being an adult. His tone and attitude―all spoke of his supreme confidence and growth. Would a six-month old lamebroy speak or react in this manner? A six-month-old lamebroy would not even have begun his speech, leave alone respond in any manner. She remembered what Leo had said―if you want to change the Altklug world, you have to bring back their innocence. Bring back their childhood, bring back fear and insecurity...

  On an impulse, Zinnia pushed past the little kid and jostled Marquee’s hand so hard that he lost his balance and fell. Zinnia turned around, waiting expectantly. Surely he would cry and wail for his mother in fright?

  Marquee, however, rose, brushed off the invisible dust and stared at Zinnia with venom in his eyes.

  ‘What you did just now could send you to the Dissolution Crypt, you dirty lamebirl. But for now, you are fired!’

  Zinnia stared at him in disbelief. This wasn’t a six-month-old, innocent child who needed to be protected and fed his meals. This was a grown-up encapsulating the standards and teachings of the Altklug Ace-world. The hatred in his eyes shredded her belief in seconds. If this was how kids regarded the lamebren, there was no hope for any attitudinal change. Preceptor Amadeus could devote his entire life to transforming the Altklugs in favour of the lamebren, but it would only be a long and useless service. His efforts would remain completely unappreciated unless some fundamental things changed in the Altklugs. Only if the Altklugs really learnt to be children, only if their superiority was challenged by another supremacy, if their arrogance was shuttered with authority. Then, and only then, would Preceptor Amadeus’s theories see the mark of success.

  Manda appeared just then and regarded the scene with suspicion.

  ‘Mama, she pushed me deliberately!’ Marquee related what happened in a few concise words.

  Anger flicked in her eyes. Without a word, she picked up the breakfast plate, and took Marquee by the hand.

  ‘Wait! My padlet...the lamebirl will steal it!’

  Unexpected laughter bubbled up inside Zinnia. Marquee had all the makings of a super, super Altklug. But she curbed the misplaced laughter and watched in silence as Manda snatched the padlet and led her kid into the house.

  Perhaps she had acted rashly, Zinnia thought. Arousing suspicion about her intentions wasn’t her goal. She merely wanted to experiment with what Leo had suggested. But trying to create a child out of an Altklug was certainly not as easy a task as she had thought.

  *****

  ‘Manda was very angry. She has asked me to change her labourer,’ Colonel Kripton informed.

  Zinnia had been called to his office―the same room occupied previously by the earlier Supercustodian. Everything looked the same yet the sterile look of the office had somehow changed. What was the difference? The flowers in the vase! Zinnia raised surprised eyes to study Colonel Kripton. He was pacing the room, a stern expression on his face.

  ‘I have to warn you G23. You are careless and too spirited for a lamebirl.’

  ‘I am sorry,’ Zinnia mumbled.

  ‘You have to curb your impulses which won’t be regarded kindly in this world. Do you understand? What you did today, although unintentionally, accounts to accosting a kid, which is chargeable under Section 21 and can be interpreted as molesting a child. The consequences can be very lethal.’ Colonel Kripton stopped pacing and stared at Zinnia. ‘Do you follow what I am saying?’

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  ‘Good because this is my last warning to you. You may go now.’

  When Zinnia stepped out of the office, she expelled a slow sigh. A simple, harmless push amounted to accosting and molesting a kid. And the actual, deliberate molesting of a lamebirl amounted to nothing? It was only treated as a mere aberration on the part of the Altklug, a mistake...that too only because he was discovered. If he hadn’t been discovered, it would have continued to be enjoyed as an Altklug right!

  Anger whipped through her, as the unfairness of it all struck her. With every passing day the mask of perfection was slipping from the Super-Dome of this Altklug Ace-world.

  16

  ‘Am I glad to meet you all!’ Cheska exclaimed. His face was flushed and riddled with anxiety.

  Reed and Maisie too looked a little disturbed.

  ‘What is it? What has happened? Why did you send us the urgent message?’ Crispin asked, concerned.

  ‘Let’s sit down, shall we? My legs are trembling even at the thought of it,’ Cheska mumbled.

  Camilla looked very worried as she glanced from her twin to Zinnia and Crispin. It was just after lunch when Cheska had sent a crisp message asking them to meet him at the lake as soon as possible. Zinnia, Camilla and Crispin had rushed down the Paramour Path and to the lake. Cheska, Reed and Maisie were already there waiting for them. One look at their uneasy faces and Zinnia knew that something was not right.

  They sat down on the flat black stones by the lake. The afternoon sun lay lazily over the waters turning them into silvery blue. A soft wind had picked up and gentle music rose and dipped with it.

  ‘For the last couple of days, we―all three of us―have been feeling these strange vibrations from the objects around the Cubicle. Everything that we touched, kind of discharged a current. It wasn’t very strong―just like a little jitter of static electricity. We ignored it as something that sometimes happens during Snow Hour due to friction. But yesterday, we were at lunch and the Server had just delivered our plates. I was about to begin eating when the plate gave off such a sharp current that the food flew off my hand. The others experienced it too. Believe me it wasn’t a nice sensation at all. In fact, the current began numbing my hand. I tried to rub some sensation in it, but it just got worse and worse. I was really frightened. I felt as if I was being paralysed hand upwards!’ Cheska appeared so rattled, that he broke off to inhale deeply.

  ‘I felt the same,’ Maisie took up the narration. ‘It was awful and the strong current hit each one of us. It was, in fact, quite crippling.’

  ‘It does sound awful!’ Camilla was horrified.

  ‘But that isn’t all. Cheska, tell them what happened last night,’ Reed prompted.

  ‘We were sitting up late, talking in our room, when suddenly a low wailing sound pierced the night. It was like a low painful cry of a little lamebroy or lamebirl. More than the actual sound, it was the pain and grief in the wail which sent the shivers down our spine.’

  ‘It was something like the Siren of Departure, only this one was definitely made by some human,’ Reed added, almost in a whisper.

  ‘We rushed downstairs because the sound seemed to be coming from below. The wailing was horrendous as if someone was in great pain and it seemed to be coming from one of the locked rooms. A security guard was standing outside the room but he seemed unconcerned with the sound. Either he was deaf or he was used to it. When he saw us, he just turned to us rather coldly and ordered us to leave. The sound stopped just then, so we returned to our dorm. But we couldn’t sleep all night. The mournful screech kept ringing in my ears―it was the most terrible sound I have ever heard.’

  ‘Goodness!’ Zinnia exclaimed. ‘What could it mean?’

  ‘No clue but all I know is that I don’t want to go back to that Ret Cabana again. Something weird is happening there behind those closed doors,’ Maisie shuddered.

  ‘Could it be the sound of an animal?’ Crispin asked.

  ‘If it was, it was in terrible pain. Until now the three of us managed to live away from all of you, in the hope that we could meet like this. We consoled ourselves that at least we were free to do as we please. But after last night, I am beginning to get frightened.’ Reed so
unded scared.

  Zinnia’s mind was working furiously. What could be happening at that Ret Cabana? What did the wailing sound mean? And more importantly, why were some of the lamebren transferred to that place?

  ‘We’ve got to do something. We can’t go on living there,’ Maisie sounded desperate.

  ‘Listen, we’ll think up something. Give us a day or two,’ Zinnia remarked.

  ‘Be strong all of you,’ Camilla spoke for the first time. ‘At least the three of you are together.

  That’s a cheering thought, right? Just keep together and keep us updated.’

  Although she put up a brave front, Zinnia knew that Camilla was torn with worry on the inside. Something had to be done and fast. She had this strange intuition that something terrible was about to happen.

  *****

  ‘But where are we going?’ Crispin asked for the umpteenth time, as the Fountain of Knowledge charabanc travelled speedily over the skyways.

  ‘We’ve forgotten a very important thing that Leo told us. He said that lamebren have their rights and that if we wish to know them we can look them up at the Main KlugBiblio,’ Zinnia replied, excited.

  ‘How would that help us?’ Crispin frowned.

  ‘Think Crispin. We have rights! No one has ever told us this before. Possibly because no one wants us to know about them.’ Zinnia’s eyes gleamed.

  ‘I see what you mean,’ Crispin agreed. ‘But even if we do have rights, will anyone allow us to use them? Will anyone pay heed to us?’

  ‘Listen, until now, we weren’t even aware we had rights, leave alone use them. So until we try, how would we know if the Altklugs would listen to us or not?’ Zinnia argued patiently.

  ‘You are right. In fact, now that I think of it, this may be just the solution that we’re looking for.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Zinnia looked happy. ‘So that’s why we are going to the Main KlugBiblio.’

  Crispin smiled at her. ‘You really are something, Zinnia. You truly care for all the lamebren, don’t you?’

  Zinnia responded with a matching smile. ‘When I was separated from my parents, I was only three years old but I could understand and remember everything―I still do. I was shattered when I had to go and live at the Ret Cabana. I missed them so badly. Then at the Ret Cabana I got close to Lily, Arry, Juju, Jinny and Peeta but again I was separated from them. That was so sudden and painful too. And finally when I arrived here, Iris was the first to befriend me and take me under her wings. Her...departure has shaken me up. I miss her so terribly, I can’t even begin to describe the feeling. Now all I have left is the rest of my friends―all of you are my family. I don’t want to lose any one of you, ever!’

  Crispin observed the lamebirl as she spoke, her face earnest with the strength of her feelings.

  ‘But right now, to tell you the truth, I am seriously worried about Cheska and the others. Something is not right at the new Ret Cabana. I feel that there’s a reason why Cheska, Maisie and Reed have been transferred to that place. I fear for them. I think their lives may be in danger.’

  ‘What!’ Crispin was shocked. ‘Are you serious?’

  Zinnia nodded. ‘It’s just a gut instinct and my inherent distrust of the Altklugs. By now, we know that they don’t do anything without a reason.’

  Before Crispin could reply, the charabanc slowed down. A voice announced ‘The Fountain of Knowledge’.

  Zinnia and Crispin stared in admiration at the magnificent fountain with the jets of water sprouting out of the huge ‘K’, supported by the statues of Altklugs. The charabanc passed the fountain, and within minutes the vehicle halted and the side panel lifted, allowing the lamebren to descend. A tall, statuesque monumental building stretched from one corner of the street to the other. It was so tall, that Zinnia could barely see the top. Everything about the Altklug Ace-world was so fantastic and magnificent! As they stepped through the huge doorway which vanished automatically and reappeared after they had entered, Zinnia was never more aware of how tiny and nondescript they were in this Ace-world. How much the Altklugs had achieved with their techno-advancements! The gap between the lamebren and the Altklugs was insurmountable.

  The smooth, shiny floors and escalators criss-crossing overhead to form a network very much like the skyways, was like a whole new world in the building. Chips lined the walls and cupboards which moved forward on command and delivered the required chip. All sizes of chips were displayed on long tables, each display vying for attention—towers of chips, spiral displays and even tornado kinds, their tops seemed to vanish into ceiling-lined cupboards. Zinnia watched fascinated as Altklugs read from chips on their padlets. The atmosphere was one of overbearing reverence and only the brief commands of the Altklugs punctuated the silence.

  ‘Look, that’s the DNA section that Perceptor Amadeus mentioned where everything since the beginning of the earth is stored in DNAs—forever.’

  Zinnia glanced in fascination at the room, which seemed more like a glass and metal octagonal structure in the middle of the KlugsBiblio. The etched silver words on the Demarcator read “Permanent Memory and History Storers—Entry Restricted”.

  ‘Access only to Altklugs, I can see,’ she observed, drily.

  ‘What did you expect? Must be a world of fascinating truths in there,’ Crispin whispered in awe. ‘Where do we find the Lamebren Rights in this huge KlugBiblio?’

  ‘I’m sure there’s a Rights section or a lamebren Section.’

  ‘Yes, there must be an alphabetical order to it,’ Crispin agreed.

  He was right. Section R was on the fourth escalator. As they traversed the many floors, Zinnia felt transported to a fascinating planet of knowledge and information. They walked to the R section and were amazed at the hundred of chips that lined the walls.

  ‘Lamebren!’ Zinnia called.

  Immediately a section of the wall glided ahead and an automated glass akin to a magnifying glass, moved over the chips, projecting the names: Lamebren and their History, Taking Care of the Lamebren, Lamebren Psychology and Chaos, Lamebren Beliefs and Disbeliefs, A Comparative Study of Lamebren Behaviour, Behavioural Patterns and Disorders of Lamebren...

  ‘I can’t believe this!’ Crispin exclaimed. ‘So much has already been written about us and I had no clue.’

  ‘It is amazing, isn’t it? These chips must contain authentic information gathered over years. Does it get automatically updated, do you think?’

  ‘Seriously, it is beyond me. I’m dizzy even looking at these chips.’ Crispin grinned.

  ‘Look, Constitutional Rights of the Lamebren! Here it is,’ Zinnia pointed, her voice shrill with excitement.

  She extracted the chip and they sat down at the glistening, spotless glass tables with padlet sets. Zinnia inserted the chip into a padlet and instantly information scrolled rapidly.

  ‘Goodness, this is all too much for us. There are so many details,’ Zinnia blinked.

  ‘Perhaps there’s a summarised list of Rights?’ Crispin suggested.

  ‘Summarised list of Rights,’ Zinnia repeated and once again the information scrolled.

  Then, quite abruptly, it paused at a page. Summary of Lamebren Rights. Zinnia and Crispin glanced at each other triumphantly. Zinnia read it aloud:

  As per the Constitution, formed by Governor Seeya, the Lamebren have some basic Rights that the Altklugs cannot deny them:

  1. The right to feed themselves and to clothe themselves.

  2. The right to education and good health.

  3. The right to shelter, good living conditions and to choose their homes.

  4. The right to information and knowledge.

  5. The right to be heard, to opportunities and to excel.

  6. The right to legal justice.

  ‘Wow! I already feel empowered.’ Crispin whistled.

  ‘This is it Crispin. I have always puzzled why the Altklugs at all bother with us―now I know. We are protected by the Constitution of the Altklug Super-Dome. It is because of these Rights th
at we are taken care of at the Ret Cubicles and are being looked after. The Altklugs cannot ignore these Rights, so they have to abide by them. That is the reason why we have special classes...Governor Seeya was a good lady.’

  ‘Yes, but it hasn’t stopped them from putting Termination Dates on us,’ Crispin reminded bitterly.

  ‘That must have started much after Governor Seeya’s time.’

  ‘And I think it has more to do with their own Termination Dates. If they die at sixteen, then the lamebren die, too,’ Crispin added.

  ‘What a piece of good luck, isn’t it? And look at this Right―the right to choose their homes. This is exactly what we need. Cheska, Reed and Maisie can now put forth their Right and demand that they be shifted back to our Cubicle.’

  ‘You think the Commander would agree?’ Crispin was doubtful.

  ‘If the Commander is reminded of the lamebren Rights, then I think he would. Anyway it’s worth a try. Do you see any other solution?’

  He shook his head. ‘Come on let’s go. And please, don’t jump in excitement all the way out of the building. We don’t want anyone to suspect that we’ve just been empowered.’

  Zinnia grinned. ‘Empowered we are. I am so pleased that I could hug you!’

  Crispin looked alarmed. ‘Please, spare me.’

  Zinnia giggled. She felt elated with their discovery. As if no power in the Altklug Ace-world could dampen her spirits now. As they made their way down the escalators, a couple of Altklugs frowned at them in disapproval. Zinnia could clearly read their minds. They were wondering, what were lamebren doing in the Main KlugBiblio? You’ll see, soon enough, Zinnia thought, her mind jumping a happy skip.

  They exited the grandeur of the KlugBiblio and waited by the pavement to cross over to the other side. Signals placed under the transparent road, automatically turned red, green and yellow. Spinners hovered about two feet above and automatically touched the road when they had to stop for the signal. Zinnia and Crispin waited for the signal to change. Just then a black vehicle paused at the red signal and a lady looked out of the window. Something about the way she held her head caught Zinnia’s attention and the next moment their eyes locked. Mama! Shock and surprise reverberated through her body and spirit.