2021

It’s cold. It’s always cold. The air is stagnant, feeling a breeze is only a memory. It’s clean, but not like a fresh dew on the grass and air so crisp you can take a long breath and feel suddenly energized. It’s a sterile air, at least while the sun is out. Life in the compound is procedural, centered around labor and production. All individuality has been sacrificed for the cause. Laborers are assigned to the research Lab to find a cure and Producers are assigned an insemination year to help rebuild a longer lasting living population. Laborers and Producers all inherently develop a viral infection in their early adulthood. There is no cure, there is no immunity, except for Them.

Robert taps his Laborer card and presses his fingerprint to a tablet marking the end of another day of production. The walls surrounding him are white, his hazmat suit is white, the sky is white. There’s no relief in day-to-day life, just belief in the system that this will eventually come to an end and return to the proverbial “normal”. Robert’s current reality has become so far removed from how it used to be in the past, a time before Them and the virus has become so distant it’s often questioned and doubted like mythology. An alert is prompted on the tablet ‘Error code 101010101- swipe again, prints unrecognized’ Robert shouts toward the custodian in the enclosed booth to get his attention “Hey man, err- I got an error code”. The custodian dismissively shouts back, “Get outta here will you, you’re holding up the queue--move on”. Robert looks behind him at the long seemingly endless line of production laborers waiting to get off their shift so they could go connect on 'Build Your Connection', a platform used by Laborers to communicate with Producers through avatars; the only illicit form of visual or physical contact. Like a video game.

Frankly, Robert couldn’t be bothered either, as he was eagerly awaiting to do the same. A sudden flash of Clementine’s avatar clouded his mind, her dimples and red hair. He wondered how it might flow in the wind.

“Hey buddy-- I’m not dying before my time because you're holding up the queue and we won't make it in before curfew- move it asshole” another Laborer shouts from the back. Robert looks to the clock, 21:36 TIME TO CURFEW -1 HOUR AND 15 MINUTES.

Robert makes it to his residence, a small flat albeit more than enough space for just one person. Nonetheless, a place to safely rest during the darkness of the night when the virus spreads through the compound, risking early infection and an even shorter lifespan. He checks in, “Lights on”, the brightness fills the starkness of the room. A melodic chime sounds and an automated voice over is heard in the flat ‘Build your Connection -- Logged in-- Connected to Clementine’.

“Hey Clem”, Robert says, trying to remain casual.

“Hi Rob” she replies shortly.

“How's it been lately..missed you yesterday -- you weren’t online”, Robert tries to hide his interest.

“Yeah, I know, I’m alright, just.. you know breathing in, breathing out, I think that’s an accomplishment I can be proud of”, Clementine tries to pass off her hopelessness as banter.

An AD interrupts them from the over speaker “There is no outside world, it doesn't exist. It stopped existing, the virus is real. We are alone. The only hope is to find a cure. Only then can we rebuild what was lost. They have achieved the impossible, They have built families and They are the proof. Together, we can build long and sustainable life like They do.”

Rob exclaims with frustration, “Useless ADs! Why do they need to remind us we’re stuck in this compound like we aren’t being reminded of it every single day?”

“They’re just keeping us motivated to keep working together to find a cure we can't give up, I want to live to an old age and have children to call my own one day, don't you Rob?” Clementine lets out a sigh, not really believing in her own reassurance.

“Says the one who finds success in the ability to just breathe”, Robert teases. He checks his allowance summary deposited weekly after production, “Oh, damn that custodian! I have to go back to the Lab to get my allowance- this error code showed up today at clockout--sorry Clem I’ll catch up with you later” he stresses.

“But Rob- it’s 15 minutes to curfew- you’ll be stopped or worse, you’ll get infected” she worries.

“No Clem, the worst is if I don’t make it back in time before Inspection so I can hear that beautiful voice again, and how will I talk to you without an allowance to top up my account?”

Clementine replies “It’s not worth it, it’s too risky”. Robert shouts back as he closes the door behind him “But you are worth it Clem!--gotta go!” The door shuts behind him, and the lights go dark.

Rob is racing through the streets passing the illuminated AD billboards. “They are working with you to find a cure--We’re all in this together. You are helping to rebuild the families lost by the devastation of the virus”. Robert can’t help but think as he is racing thought the streets, the only people who have long lives and families are Them. The group of elders. They deliver false hope to Laborers and Producers, so They can have their families and live past the infection year while the rest are doomed to genetically inherit this imminent virus! That stark white tower rising above the city is an eye sore and a subtle intimidating reminder that our singular lonely lives have an expiration date, except for Them! Robert is becoming more and more enraged by his thoughts as he races through the street, increasingly becoming more agitated when suddenly---Robert is thrown from his footing, and plummets to the ground, “---- what the?” He looks around to see what tripped his fall “-- a locket?” It’s not common to find jewelry, Robert can’t even remember the last time he laid eyes on a piece of jewelry.

“That’s mine” someone says from the distant shadows in the dark.

“Err--” confused, Robert picks up the heart shaped locket “does this belong to you?” he asks the figure looming in the dark.

“Not anymore” she says.

“Um, O.K. lady, it does or it doesn’t?” He fiddles with the locket, there’s a lock pin. “Hey--does this thing --” he looks up towards the woman to finish his question but she’s gone “--open?” He puts it in his pocket without a second thought and continues racing towards the Lab.

CURE RESEARCH FACILITY is illuminated above the Lab and the clock next to it serves as a reminder to Robert 12 MINUTES 02 SECONDS TO CURFEW.

Robert is pounding on the door in vain knowing he is too late and every one is at their residence awaiting Inspection. Robert hears the sirens surround him ***ALL PERSONS NOT CONFINED TO A RESIDENCE WILL BE SUBJECT TO AN ALLOWANCE PENALTY AND AT HIGH RISK FOR EARLY INFECTION***

Robert hesitates, he might not make it back in time, he’s never been out past curfew. Suddenly a defender appears, “LABORER! RETURN TO YOUR RESIDENCE”, in a panic Robert jolts to run but his escape is halted by an unexpected collision and falls to the ground.

“Rob?!” a voice searches for affirmation.

“Clem?” Robert replies, recognizing the familiarity in her voice. “Did you come here hoping to find me?” he asks hopefully.

“YOU TWO! STOP!” the custodian commands.

“Follow me--quickly!” Clementine quickly leads Robert down a series of maze-like winding streets, evading the custodians.

They arrive at a small residence, with rosy curtains, Clementine leads Robert inside. It's small but filled with warmth, like a real home. Clementine puts on a pot of tea and Robert brings out the locket. They remove the lock pin together and find a photo of a couple with a child, a family. The mother in the photo is wearing the locket around her neck.

“How is this possible?” Clementine asks.

Rob looks puzzled, “the only people who have lived past the infection year are the elders? And they never leave the Tower.”

“Where did you find this?” Clem asks skeptically.

“I tripped over it on the street, and when I picked it up there was a woman, she seemed confused, and then she just disappeared, it was odd. I don’t think she was an elder, she definitely wasn’t a producer, she was old. Like elder old. Older than any of us, I mean, old like in the myths.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t an elder?” she asks.

Robert isn’t convinced, “An elder out past curfew without hazmat or a custodian? Think about it, when was the last time you actually saw an elder even LEAVE the Tower? They show up for our societal public announcements to tell us we're moving closer and closer to a cure and to show up for reproductive assignments- that’s it.”

“Yeah, speaking of assignments, I meant to tell you.. I’ve been assigned.” Clementine says with her head down.

“How can they do that if you haven’t reached your insemination year? It’s one child per producer Clem and they do it right before the infection year, how did that happen?”

“Rob, I wanted to tell you, I requested it. I can’t do this anymore. I hate that we can’t have a family, I hate that your purpose is to research a cure 10 hours a day and that I’m meant to have a child that's taken from me because in a year, I’ll be infected. It’s pointless, I can’t do it anymore. I want to disappear.” Robert’s heart is crushed for Clementine, he looks into her piercing green eyes and kisses her. “Then let’s make a family”, he says.

Robert is awakened by lights streaming in through the rosy curtains. He strokes back a strand of Clementine’s red hair as she rests. She awakes slowly, blinking from the same light streaming in. She feels guilty, “Rob, I haven’t been completely honest with you. I’ve-- uh, I’ve actually already had my insemination date”, she says avoiding eye contact and the defeated look on Robert's face, before he can answer they’re interrupted by three sharp bangs on the door. “INSPECTION” is heard from the outside, the lights are piercing through the window now. “OPEN UP” the custodians command. Clementine’s heart drops, her palms sweat, she immediately feels lightheaded. “We have to go out through the back, we can’t be found together, hurry!” Robert and Clementine immediately grab what they can and climb out through a small window in the back, just as Robert exits he reaches back in the window to grab the locket.

Running into the cold dark night, Robert turns to clem, "what the hell do we do now?”

“You said that woman was in the night and just disappeared right? Well where did she go Rob? People don't just disappear into the night!?” Their anxiety is building, they can hear the custodians close by and see their lights surveying the alleys.

“They do if they get infected” Robert says skittishly.

“That’s it! Where do all the people go after infection Rob? We don’t have a burial, they just disappear! If you’re excommunicated, you’re just removed from the compound!” Clementine’s eyes widen “If we can remove people from the compound, there has to be a way in! Maybe that’s where that woman came from!”

Robert gasps, he takes the locket from his pocket, he opens it, the photo falls out and he sees an inscription on the back, MMXXI “It-It’s an address!” Robert shouts.They’re standing right in front of it. The entrance leads them through a tunnel that appears eroded over time, and they emerge to a vast open area…

It appears at first to be lifeless, clouds fill the sky, no plant life, dust and dirt, but then they feel a breeze. They walk further on and smoke appears, coming from small huts and groups of people harvesting small gardens, women brewing soup over the fire pits. Children are playing in the distance. Robert looks over at Clementine and tells her they’ll start over. Clementine takes Robert’s hand and places it on her belly, “together.”