Just Blink

With a large mental thud, I strike the small pod over and over, desperately trying to free my baby. The sleeping pod that was meant to protect and to keep us safe, has now sealed with my baby trapped inside. As the pod flies open, Mica’s strange grey skin is revealed. I pick him up and immediately notice he is stiff, cold and unresponsive… he’s gone. A shrill, howl rocks through the room. I notice the sound is coming from me. The room goes dark and I feel myself fall.

That’s the last thing I remember. It’s crazy how in the blink of an eye, life can change so dramatically. Peter says I passed out; that he came into the room in the morning where he found me clutching my dead baby beside the dented sleep pod. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The humans before us died. History tells us a cancer greater than any other ripped through the population and took the lives of many. As the grandchildren of the remnant, we know so much more about health than our ancestors. We are the Trim; the elite. We were trimmed away from the dying population. We live in Kismet, the place that holds the fate of humanity. But today I do not feel like the elite, the Trim, the chosen or whatever you want to call it. I feel like a Mom whose heart has been shattered, whose life will never be the same because to continue on without my Mica is unthinkable.

“I don’t know what happened”, says Peter in his technical, aloof voice. “The pod must have malfunctioned. It should have alerted us if his vitals were off or he needed any resources, but no alarm sounded. The readings on the pod suggest he is still alive”. I turn my back to Peter, trying to ignore every word he utters. Peter works for the government. He’s an engineer at the Wellness Bank. It’s his job to maintain the equipment that keeps our donors cold and unconscious, but alive enough so that if ever we are sick, there are always backup parts growing and readily available for us.

“Why didn’t it notify us? Even if he had a defective heart, we could have easily harvested from his donor and replace it… there must be an error with the sensors”, Peter says, rambling on with some technical jargon about the pod that was suppose to keep our child monitored and alive. We all sleep in pods. They scan us while we sleep at night to ensure that any illness is caught and prevented. We owe our survival to these pods and our Wellness Bank. The pods detect problems and if it can’t be repaired, the Wellness Bank provides parts to replace the defect. It’s a perfect system that has ensured our survival. I’ve been told humans didn’t use to live for nearly 150 years, so I am usually thankful to be born in this century with a long life ahead of me. But not today.

Peter sits down shaking his head. “The Wellness Bank cannot replace a whole baby. We will have the pod replaced for our next one.” I place Mica back in the pod and storm out of the room. Shock melting away, I feel as though I will burst into angry tears at any moment and Peter is the last person I want to be there when that happens. How dare he talk about my child as though he is replaceable! Peter is the mate the government matched me with. We are suppose to be compatible in every way, but I find Peter cold and aloof. He has never understood me and never cared for me. All he loves is his job. His utterly boring job that has earned him great respect in Kismet, but not my respect. Peter’s words echo in my mind “The Wellness Bank cannot replace a whole baby…”

“Well why not?” I sputter into the darkness, clutching the golden, heart shaped locket that hangs around my neck. All at once an idea starts to form. I think of my ancestors who opposed the nation’s move to make clones for extra parts, arguing about the dignity of people and the possible consciousness of clones. One extremist even argued that if the repressed clones were to wake up, in the blink of an eye they could rise against us and destroy us. He called his campaign “Just blink”. Obviously their side lost and here we are generations later with all of us having 5-7 replicas of ourselves frozen in storage, waiting to be harvested to keep us alive. I shutter at the thought we have frozen people. Our donors are simply not talked about in this manner. As I clutch that locket, my courage builds. I will move forward.

____________________________________

That evening once Peter is asleep, I remove my dead baby from his hiding spot and gently place him in Peter’s clunky old brief case. Good thing it is the old model, so it is wide enough to house a baby. I then cram the briefcase into a large backpack and mount the bike in our garage. Just before I push the button to release the door, I pause… second guessing myself. Pushing doubts aside, I remember my son’s perfect little face, his soft brown hair, the sounds of his coos and I know I must do this. I must get my son back.

I race through the shadows to a familiar alleyway where my sister Lisa meets me.

“Are you sure? Are you really really sure?” she asks knowing the stakes are high.

I nod my head. If I get caught, I will die as a rebel of the system. No one will be told, no one will ever know what happened to me. I will be erased from the memory of those close to me. Peter will receive a new mate and it will be as if I never existed. My stubborn refusal propels me forward because as far as I am concerned, I am dead already. I lost the love of my life, my baby Mica and I am trapped in this partnership with a man who doesn’t even care for me, let alone love me. I nod, accepting the uniform and key codes that Lisa passes me, resuming my identity as Dr. Knowles.

____________________________________

Finally I arrive at the main entrance to the Wellness Bank. Head held high, I look forward trying to imitate the arrogant impatience I have observed in Wellness Bank Doctors. The guard eyes me suspiciously, his hot garlic breathe wafting in the air.

“Dr. Knowles”, he scoffs examining my fake ID card. “A fancy doctor like you should at least afford a new ID card”, he barks in his raspy voice. “When were you last here?” he asks, pulling out his tablet.

I gulp silently. Is this as far as I’ll get before they catch me? I stare at the glass skyscraper stretched before me. My baby is trapped in there and I’ll never reach him. This is stupid. What ever made me believe I could sneak into one of the most technologically advanced, state of the art buildings in Kismet? As the guard before me scrolls down his screen, I start to weigh my options. If I run now, could I make it to the forest before the security officials reach me? Impersonating a doctor to break in to the Wellness Bank is a crime worthy of Sector 5. No one comes back from Sector 5. Ever. The guard’s frown deepens as a security camera swivels to face me. No doubt it has detected my stress induced high blood pressure and it’s identifying me as a threat. Beads of sweat form on my brow… and then Alicia walks through the door. Quickly glancing from me, to the camera and the old ID in the guards hand, her eyes widen slightly and she steps forward.

“Dr. Knowles! We are so fortunate that you have taken time out of your schedule to join us.”

“Oh!” the guard stammers. “Ms. Ferguson, I didn’t know…”

“Just don’t let it happen again. That is all “, says Alicia as she dismisses the guard. “Follow me Dr. Knowles” orders Alicia.

When we enter the building, I try to thank Alicia. “Shhh!” she whispers urgently. “Not safe. Don’t talk”, she continues without moving her lips.

“Dr. Knowles, can you remind me again your area of expertise?”, Alicia requests as we enter the elevator.

“Er, Ummm… “ I stammer, as Alicia’s hand hovers over the elevator controls. “Infants”, I squeak.

“Paediatrics it is”, Alicia announces as the elevator door slams shut. We stare at each other in silence. Her eyes burning in to mine, seeming to warn me I should not talk.

When I exit the elevator, I quickly locate the vault holding Mica’s donors. My heart is pounding. I quickly switch babies, unhooking the nearest clone from it’s sensors, hooking Mica up to the sensors, gently placing the clone in the suitcase and slamming the door to the vault with a little too much force.

Just then, the hallway goes black. At first I think I am fainting due to stress, but as I wait for the ground to hit me, I realized I am still standing upright, suitcase in hand. I have to get out of here somehow, but it’s so dark. Why is it so dark? I have limited time. I don’t know how long it takes a donor to warm, but when this baby warms, it… no he… Mica is going to need some hydration and what if he cries before we are out? As I stumble through the darkness, a hand grips my arm. A large hand muffles the blood curdling scream emitting from my mouth.

“Shhhh…. it’s Peter! It’s me, Peter” a low voice whispers. “We have to get out of here now!”

Urgently and without explanation, Peter tows me to the back of the hallway, opposite of the elevator I used. We run down flight after flight of stairs, finally reaching a small door facing the forest. As we step out into the back parking lot, Peter shoves me hard causing me to fall behind a large bush. That was clearly intentional. What a misserable person. Just when I started to think there was a human behind that stone cold mask he wears. At that moment a shadow figure joins us and Peter falls to the ground with a thud.

A loud voice booms, “Peter Gallant, you are under arrest for attempted illegal retrieval of a donor entity. You will not receive trial, you will be immediately transported to sector 5, where you will receive the injection”.

Staring up at the stars, Peter mumbles… “Was worth it stars, always loved you…moonbeam… shining in the sky… they are people too”.

“Pretending you are crazy is not going to get you anywhere”, the guard mumbles as they leave.

Tears fill my eyes. When Peter and I were first matched as mates he called me Stars and I called him Moonbeam. The message was for me. That he always loved me and that Peter finally believes donors are people too. Just then a little whimper starts from deep in my brief case. With the guard around the corner, there is no time to waste. I take off running as fast as I can.

____________________________________

As Mica and I arrived home, I prepare some formula for him. He looks up at me with the most knowledgeable eyes I have ever seen. His body is now warm and it feels like he is thanking me for bringing him into our family. He seems just as much a person as any of us are. As I think of the other versions of Mica frozen away, I whisper “I’ll be back for you little ones”.

In the deep cold depths of the Wellness Bank, a sleeping clone blinks.