"My place," said Linda. She stood over the spot where Larry had lain. Now that he was gone, the room seemed much more open, almost cavernous.
Sarah joined her. "Is this it?" she asked.
"He fell right here next to the coffee table," replied Linda.
"They really are quite efficient. the enforcement program is run so well. "
"It is," agreed Linda, noticing that even the blood had been cleaned up. All that remained was a small stain, barely noticeable, no worse than the tea spill on the other side of the room. But Linda would get all the stains out, the blood, the tea, everything. After all, Miracle Madness was on its way.
"I can stay for a bit," said Sarah, turning on the television. She folded onto the couch, pried her shoes off, and clicked through channels looking for the television version of "Phil's Follies. "
"Stay for as long you can," said Linda. "I'll be with you in a moment. After I change. " the lavender dress was beginning to weigh on her.
In her bedroom, Linda slipped off her high heels and set them in her closet. She then pulled off her dress and hung it neatly on a padded hanger. She lay down on her bed, closed her eyes, and folded her hands over her face. She exhaled, bathing her eyes and nose in the warmth of her own breath. She opened her mouth and made a guttural sound that echoed off her cupped hands.
She rolled onto her stomach, grabbed her stuffed cat, Sally, and pulled her close. She wanted to be a cat. No, a ferret, she would rather be a ferret. Linda slid off the bed and crouched on her hands and knees, almost feral. She could sleep here. She could sleep on the carpet once it was clean. That would be soon; Miracle Madness was coming.
"When clean isn't clean enough," she moaned.
Linda reached under the bed and felt around blindly. She pulled out a shoe box adorned with a lavender bow—a beautiful bow she had tied nine months earlier. She loved tying bows and she was proud of this one, bold and perfectly proportioned. Lavender—she loved lavender. Linda untied the bow and carefully slid the ribbon off the box. She opened the box, pulled out a red card and a small revolver, and finally cried for the first time that night.
Ten With A Flag
by Joseph Paul Haines
Joseph Paul Haines is the author of several stories, which have appeared in magazines such as Interzone, Aeon Magazine, and Abyss & Apex. He is also the editor, with Samantha Henderson, of the anthology From the Trenches, and his short story collection, Ten With a Flag and Other Playthings, came out in November. This story first appeared in Interzone and was adapted to audio on the Transmissions From Beyond podcast.
Newly pregnant women face a great deal of difficult decisions, and modern medical procedures have only made those decisions more complex. Once, women expected to struggle through forty uncomfortable weeks, drive to the hospital, and go through the rigors of labor with their babies' entire future being a mystery. Boy or girl, no one knew. Healthy or ailing, no one could guess.
But today, a woman is confronted with medical technology almost from her first obstetric appointment. Should she have an ultrasound? What kinds of blood tests should she take? Should she ask for maternal serum screening? Is amniocentesis in order?
These are the questions facing today's pregnant woman. What about the mothers of the future? What kind of tests will be offered to them? What kind of choices will they need to make?
Our next story takes us into that future. Here is a world where it is possible to know too much about your baby's potential—or at least, a place where the government knows too much.
Johnnie didn't talk while he was driving. Normally it would drive me a little crazy, sitting there in traffic and not saying a word, but this time it didn't bother me. There was too much on my mind. Truth was, I hoped he wouldn't talk so that I could have some time to think. But when he pulled onto the freeway, I knew I wasn't going to get that lucky.
It only took him a couple of seconds to connect to the traffic web. Johnnie didn't like being out of control, it was one of the things I'd found endearing in him; quaint even. This time though, he didn't even double check the connection. The steering wheel folded and collapsed into the dash, and he turned to face me. "What does that mean, exactly?" he asked. "Did the doctor say anything else?"
I shook my head. "He said he'd have to check, but he'd never heard of the combination coming up before. "
"He'd have to check?"
"Yeah. "
"Did he say anything else?"
"I told you, he said he'd have to check. " I didn't know what to say. It was still sinking in.
Johnnie leaned back in his seat and stared out his window. I could tell he was getting ready to turn around and go back. We'd only been married three years, but I could read some of his expressions like a book. "How's that even possible?" he asked. "I mean, is the baby okay?"
"The baby is fine. "
"Now I wish we didn't know. "
I turned away from him. "You agreed we should get the test done. "
"I know, but. . . damn. "
"Don't you think it's better knowing?"
"How do you get a ten and a flag?" he asked.
"He said he'd have to check," I repeated.
"But the baby's fine?"
"Yes. "
"Are you sure he said ten?"
I nodded. "Ten. "
Johnnie crossed his arms and chewed on his bottom lip. I think he mumbled something, but at that point I didn't want to hear it.
We didn't talk for a while after that. I was contented to sit and watch the other transports as we cut in and out of traffic. It was like watching a school of fish swimming together, weaving at the same time. We rushed along at speeds of over two hundred kilometers with no more than a meter separating our vehicles, our safety in the control of the central traffic computer. Sometimes it was easier to let something bigger than yourself take control. It had a plan, and although you couldn't always see it, you knew you'd never wreck.
It wasn't until we sped past our off-ramp that I began to get concerned.
"Where we going?" I asked.
Johnnie didn't answer. He punched up the navigation screen and sighed. "What the hell?"
"What?"
"We've been redirected. We have an appointment with Human Services. Now. "
"Now?"
"Yeah, they've even rescheduled my work-shift for this afternoon and notified the office. "
"Do you think it's about the test results?" I had expected some reaction from Human Services, just not this quick. I folded my hands in my lap to keep from tapping my fingers. Johnnie didn't like to see me get nervous.
"It doesn't say. "
"Great. " there was nothing else to do but sit back and enjoy the ride. We were just passengers.
Central had control.
"I understand you must be apprehensive," the agent said. He was a small man, this Mr. White, and the huge, empty desk he sat behind made him look even smaller. "Results like these can cause a great deal of confusion. "
Johnnie started to say something. I squeezed his hand before he could. The last thing we needed was to anger a government official, particularly one as high up as Mr. White seemed to be. It was best to remain compliant until he finished.
"The important thing to remember is that your baby rated a ten. Your child will be an asset to the Nation. Only one in fifty thousand couples who go through the procedure come up with these results. It's a credit to the two of you as citizens.
"As such, the state has raised both your rating to eight, effective immediately. Congratulations. "
Johnnie and I stared at each other. Eights? that was two levels higher than our current rating. Eight meant ten hours of work as opposed to forty. Eight meant no more scraping by between allowance periods. Eight meant a much bigger apartment. Eight meant no more late nights while Johnnie stayed at work to improve his production numbers.
Eight meant no more looking over our shoulders.
"Thank you, Mr. White. " But of course, Johnnie couldn't keep his mouth
shut. "I've just one question, though. The flag? How can there be a flag with a rating of ten?"
Mr. White pursed his lips. It was quite an odd gesture, almost feminine and I had to keep myself from giggling.
Eight didn't mean you could just randomly disrespect government officials.
"Well," he said, "there is that question. To be perfectly honest, I've never seen it come up before. But in your case, I don't think it's something to worry about. Your child rated a ten and you are now eights. I don't see how there could be a problem. The government won't, of course, stand in the way if you decide to invoke your option. "
"What if we do?" Johnnie asked. I squeezed his hand tighter but he just pulled his away from my grasp and continued, "What would happen to us?"
Mr. White smiled. There was little humor in it. "Happen, sir?"
"If we use the option to terminate the pregnancy, what would happen to us?"
"Why would you do that, sir? Your child is a ten. He or she will be a great credit to the nation and improve life for all of the citizenry. What citizen would even consider that?"
Johnnie shook his head. "Well, the flag. I'm worried about it. "
"Worried about it?" Mr. White picked up his pen and scribbled something on his tablet.
"Yes," Johnnie answered.
"Your child is a ten, sir," Mr. White repeated. "that should be enough to make you forget about the flag. "
"Well, it doesn't. It certainly didn't keep Central from issuing the flag. Why would they have issued a flag unless there was some concern?"
Mr. White tapped his pen on his desk a few times, and leaned forward. "How much do you know about the CDP test?"
"Central looks into the future and determines the baby's community viability," Johnnie said. "that's really all there is to it, right?"
Mr. White chuckled. "Well, that's not really accurate. Central can't look into the future. That's impossible," he said, chuckling. "What it does do is predict the future based off of the child's cellular past, the parent's cellular past and other environmental factors. You see, once you can witness the cellular history of an individual, you can predict future activity through sheer computational power. Central has an over ninety-nine percent success rate with this test. We don't question the results. "
I knew Johnnie wasn't going to take the hint so I cut him off before he could do more damage. "It's just so confusing, Mr. White," I said, smiling as wide as I could. "Aren't flags usually reserved for children with. . . well, problems?"
"Actually," he said, "the flag is just an indication that the parents will have to make a sacrifice. Sometimes it means that the child will be handicapped, and the parents will have to work additional hours to make up for the extra burden on the State. All we know is that when a flag comes up, the sacrifice necessary from the parents is sufficient to warrant giving them the option to terminate the pregnancy. It's how we protect your freedoms as individuals.
"The State values that highly. " He smiled.
"But our child is a ten," I said. "Tens can't be a burden on the State by definition. They are the ones that make the State better. "
"That's true. Which is why I'm not overly concerned with the flag. And neither should you. Your child will be an asset to the State. You'll have to make a sacrifice, but what parent doesn't?"
I knew I had to phrase my next question carefully. "And there's no indication as to what form that sacrifice might take?"
"You know I can't answer that," Mr. White said. "And you know you shouldn't even be asking. Knowledge of the results can affect their outcome. "
"I see. Well, thank you—"
"You didn't answer my question," Johnnie said. "What happens if we take the flag option?"
Mr. White fidgeted in his chair. "Well, your promotion will be cancelled, for one thing. " He grabbed a folder from the stack of papers and flipped it open. "You're a six now, correct?"
Johnnie nodded.
"Hmm," Mr. White said, flipping through pages. "Did you know that your boss had put in for a rate reduction?"
"Excuse me?" Johnnie leaned forward in his seat. I could see his cheeks turning red. "I work harder than—"
"Says here," Mr. White interjected, "that your boss seems to think that although you spend fifty hours a week on the job, your production levels only account for thirty hours worth of work. He recommended you be downgraded to a five so that you can actually accomplish forty hours worth of work in sixty hours time. "
"That's not right. I work harder than—"
"But you don't have to worry about that anymore, "Mr. White said, smiling wider. "You've been promoted to an eight. "
Johnnie's mouth hung open. It was time to get out of there. "thank you, Mr. White. We both appreciate your time. "
Johnnie was still dazed by the time we got back to the transport. It didn't help matters any that it wasn't the same one we had left in the parking garage. It was bigger. Longer. It was a transport belonging to a couple of eights. There was no driver's seat.
Central had control.
"A demotion?" Johnnie said. "I can't believe that—"
"No," I said, nodding toward the speaker panel on the dashboard. "A promotion. What great luck. " Doubt gnawed at my insides, but this wasn't the place to discuss it.
We sat quietly while Central directed the car onto the freeway. Once again, we passed our off-ramp without slowing.
"Central," Johnnie said. "List destination. "
The soft voice of Central command filled the cabin, "Your new residence, sir. "
"New residence, of course. "
"You have eighteen voice messages, sir, all offering congratulations on your promotion and the impending boon to the Nation that your son's birth will deliver. Would you like to hear them?"
So it was a boy.
Neither of us felt much like celebrating. "Not now, Central," I said. "Just take us home. "
We'd managed to go a full week without appearing in public. The raise meant Johnnie could work from home, so we didn't have to go out if we didn't want but we both knew we'd stayed hidden as long as we could. I'd convinced Johnnie to show our faces at the opera—I'd never been to the opera; it was one of the perks of the promotion and I was looking forward to the evening—but even that had been a struggle. Since we'd come home from Human Services, he'd spent all his free time in front of the computer. He wouldn't even discuss the test results with me.
My wardrobe had picked out a deep-blue chiffon evening gown for me. I dressed in front of the full length mirror and once I was ready, the lights dimmed while the environmental controls chose the scent of roses to fill the room. It was the first time in weeks I'd felt relaxed. A night out would do us good. I only hoped Johnnie would be in a similar mood.
Instead, I found Johnnie still sitting in front of the computer. He hadn't yet started to get ready. "We'll be late," I said.
He glanced my direction and did a double-take. "You look beautiful. "
I crossed one ankle over the other, dipped my chin and looked up at him. "then get up, get dressed and take me on a date. "
He sighed, took a deep breath and said, "I do so very love you, you know. "
"Then get dressed. "
He pushed himself away from the desk and walked toward his dressing room.
"And don't even try," I called after him, "to pick something out yourself. Just wear what your wardrobe chooses. You'd never match this color if you had all night. "
"I'm not completely useless. "
"Oh honey, I know that," I said, smiling as sweetly as possible. "You're only useless when trying to dress yourself. Now hurry up!"
We made it out the door on time.
Our new transport was no where to be seen. An older model pulled up in front of our building.
"I requested a downgrade for the evening," Johnnie said. "I felt like driving. "
I shook my head. "As long as you get us there on time. "
He held my door open and closed it behind me. I waited until we l
eft the parking lot and slid my hand onto his leg. It was good to be out again. Even though the new apartment had plenty of room, it just felt great to get out from behind the walls, to get back into the world again.
Once we'd turned onto the surface streets, Johnnie engaged the auto-drive and leaned back in his seat. "I thought you said you wanted to drive?"
"I lied. I just wanted to talk to you without a speaker. "
My good mood evaporated. "Do we have to do this now?"
"Did you know," he asked without acknowledging my question, "that in the four cases where a mother has died in childbirth over the last ten years, the flag option had been available in every case?"
My stomach turned. "So? that doesn't mean—"
"No, no, it doesn't mean—"
"So why are you bringing this up?" I asked. "Don't you think I'm frightened enough already?"
Johnnie leaned closer to me. "But it doesn't mean it isn't possible, either. We've got to consider it. "
"It could also mean that our son will have a learning disability, and we'll have to work particularly hard to get him through it. " My cheeks were burning. I understood his concern, but I couldn't believe he was going to ruin our first night out together in ages.
He crossed his arms. "And it could mean you're in danger. How are we supposed to know? Who's to say the child actually needs us to be a ten?"
"We can't know. Knowledge of future events can change the outcome. He's a ten. that's all that's important. "
"Bullshit. "
My jaw dropped.
"That's not all that's important by a long-shot. "
"Of course it is. " Instinct made me look around to see that no one was in the car with us. "You don't interfere with something like that. It's almost treasonous. "
"Of course it isn't treasonous. The State wouldn't have given us the flag otherwise. It's our right. "
My eyes filled with tears. "But he's going to be a ten. He's going to be a perfect little boy. "
"Yes, he will," Johnnie replied, taking my hand in his. He brushed a tear from my cheek and added, "But perfect for who?"
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