Heartless

We call them “The Heartless”. Not just because they lack the heart-shaped locket embedded in the skin of their chests like the ones implanted in our chests at birth. It is also because of their cruelty. Their acceptance of nothing less than perfection. As far as I know they don’t call us anything. Because we are nothing to them. And yet, we are everything.



I’ve been told it wasn’t always like this. That countless generations ago, humans co-existed with each other in relative harmony. I’m not sure I can believe that was ever true, but there is nobody alive now who would remember. I finger this locket, cruelly hooked into my skin like barbed wire, sharp and painful with an ever present ache. They put it there so we won’t forget. So we never forget that we are their property and they own us. They are our creators. That we are here by their design and that they can end us at any time and for any reason. I dare myself to open up the locket. Push the button inside and end this all for myself.



It all started with the Great Divide. The separation of humans into two distinct species. That much is certain. But like a bad game of telephone played through the centuries of time, it’s anyone’s guess what the truth of it is. No records exist from before the Great Divide. Just the stories passed down from generations past, swollen and embellished.



Prior to the Great Divide, humans had been advancing at a staggering rate. Science. Medicine. Technology. We were the unstoppable demigods of the planet. It was all innocent until it wasn’t. Or maybe it was never innocent. Maybe this was the point all along.



Genetic testing had been going on for years by that point. People did it voluntarily. People wanted to know the secrets contained within themselves. Their origins. Their health. It was supposed to be helpful. So that humans could learn and grow and conquer their own mortality. Improve quality of life. Perhaps even live forever. That’s not what happened though. Not by a long shot. There were no consequences then.



Nobody really paid attention when it started. It even seemed helpful at first. The planet had been struggling to support the human life on it for a long time. It made sense to test all developing fetuses for viability in the harsh new environment that the Earth was becoming. It made sense to discard the weakest and keep the strongest. It was logical. Perhaps even kind. To argue against it was a crime against society.



Humans are a persistent bunch, with a desire to survive at all costs. So when genetic testing turned to genetic manipulation, it seemed a natural progression. Why discard genetically inferior fetuses when they could be engineered into something useful? This was the birth of my species, Homo Sapiens Servus. The servant species. Engineered for strength and tolerance to the heat of a scorched Earth and rays of a killer sun. A death switch cruelly installed within a heart shaped locket, attached to the flesh of the chest, with the power to shut down the human heart within seconds of pressing the button inside. I chuckle at the sadistic humor of placing this heart stopping button within a heart shaped locket, demanding obedience of the wearer. Controlling by fear. This was the Great Divide that transformed humanity forever. Two human species in parallel and dependant on each other. But not equal.



They’re all underground now. Homo Sapiens Sapiens. The Heartless. Their pale skin and pale eyes can no longer tolerate the surface of the Earth. Their cruelty keeping us afraid. Keeping us caring for their needs. Their power to end us with the press of a button keeping us passive.



They’ll be wondering where I am soon. I should have been back five minutes ago. Their children are like hungry caterpillars. Fat and needy. As I finger this heart shaped locket on my chest, daring myself to press the button inside and end my suffering, I have a revelation. We are not inferior. We are not weak. They engineered us to be physically superior. And they engineered themselves for intelligence. In that pursuit for perfection they lost what made them human. Empathy. Compassion. Kindness. As they strived for ever increasing perfection, they weakened themselves, unable to tolerate the realities of their natural environment, instead hidden underground with their screens and technology. They have made themselves blind to their reality. They have ingrained into us that we are dependent on their need of us for our survival. That we are dispensable.

I feel a change within myself. A spark of something I’ve never felt before. Could it be hope? I feel a change on the horizon. I will be the leader of this change. And the spark. This time, there will be consequences. I finger the heart-shaped locket one more time before heading back underground. This time, instead of fear, it gives me strength.