The Regency

When the ocean levels began rising from the flooding of the artic, civilization collapsed. As the southern lands were surrendered to the hungry ocean, insufferable heat pushed surviving populations to safe districts spread throughout the world. One of those safe havens in North America was what was once known as Pittsburgh. However, safe from the environment was not equal to safe from the trauma of global warming. Populations were flooded with refugees from the south and small wars over territory and resources broke out between survivors. This led to the emergence of the Regency.

The Regency’s laws went into effect when I was only eleven years old. With the distinct possibility of societal death rearing its ugly head along with the prospect of severe depleted resources, the Regency appeared. Our government leaders had already abandoned us to the fate that our naivety and greed wrought us. Company men scrounged the last of the wealth and fled to the respective safe houses and bunkers. The common populace threatened to turn on one another if something did not change quickly.

Their rules were absolute and society was desperate. We willingly followed because those who did not they were exiled into the waste of the crumbling world. We even helped them exile the independents. We needed to hope that somehow we could survive the mess that previous generations condemned us to.

The Regency demanded only four things from us for shelter, food, water, and companionship. Rule One was we must wear their uniquely designed uniform. The clothes themselves were not constricting or form fitting nor were they uncomfortable but they were complete. They covered every inch of your skin and came with a breathable cover hood. Even your hair, face, and hands were covered. The reasoning for this rule; Differences in race and gender were ultimate players in the near destruction of society. Therefore, in our new community, we would remove those factors. In your own home, you were allowed to exist outside of the uniform. However, in public, you forfeited that right. It was a difficult process at the beginning to learn but eventually we all grew into it. Friends were made easily once we let our biases fall to the wayside. Intimacy was the only real struggle, which brings us to Rule Two.

As much as the Regency wanted the population to forget such issues as vanity, you simply could not force that upon people. The population was starting to take a toll when people would try to become intimate in their private spaces, only to reveal their true faces and be disappointed with each other. Rule Two came into effect the year that we had the lowest birthrate ever. The Regency would identify compatible appearance matches based on your own appearance. No one was forced to stay with their match, or for that matter, prevented from being intimate with one of their matches. It was not full proof by any means, and you could appeal the decision, but ultimately this increased the birth rate significantly.

Rule Three was less tricky than the first two. You perform your assigned task. Upon donning your uniform for the day, you went to a morning meeting, and received your task. They rotated and changed them out so if today was your day to go compost, you likely would not have to do it the next day. No one was happy about it but they could not argue against the fairness of the system. You did not move up in the society aside from becoming one of the Regency elects. You may be assigned supervisor one day but the next day you would be doing the job you supervised the day before.

The Regency was clear in its goals. Ultimate and complete equality. Which brings us to the last rule. Rule Four was the unforgivable rule. If you were to break this rule, you were immediately exiled. There were no second chances, no moment to grab any of your belongings, no breath in which to save yourself. Rule four; you may not harm another person in any manner. A simple slap would get you removed. Whether they were a child, spouse, or general stranger. Any physical harm was grounds for removal.

So there we are. The Regency in a nutshell. Something we needed during the world’s transition.

All noble intentions reach a breaking point when factoring in human nature.

My name is Clementine. I am a first generation Regent elect and therefore have a designated daily job unlike the rest of the populace. I look at unaltered pictures of people’s faces every day, judge them, and give them an assigned appearance rating. Bone structure, eye shape, neck definition, weight, nose size, jawline, lip lushness; all mathematically calculated to put people into categories for reproduction. The matchmaking department does that more difficult part of scheduling these individuals into certain work groups so they meet, talk, and hopefully show interest in one another. The birth rate suffered 6 years ago extensively as people seemed less interested in mating with the designated picks from their category. We call it the Exile Year. We had 19 people exiled for domestic violence and one murder of a spouse. Our system was failing. Thus, I created the mathematics we use now to determine better matches. More exact levels of attractiveness. Within the first 3 years, it drastically changed everything. They were good years. Clementine was a name everyone in the Regency knew and adored. I helped save people, increased their overall motivation and satisfaction.

I continue running the math, rating people, and fall into my normal track. What do they look like when they smile? It’s a constant thought of mine. I should be happy my program is working. I should be happy people are no longer being abused or killed. Nevertheless, as I assign a calculation to each of their faces… I just feel empty.

The evidence is there. We all are slaves to our human nature. We can’t bring ourselves to look past a person’s worst physical feature. As I close my eyes, I see Darren. I was a lucky early case. Our relationship worked well. Our two girls did not have to grow up with the transitioning issues that we had. We are not just content. We found happiness. I know his smile. What about these people though? Do my calculations bring them happiness?

I am tapping my pen on the old wooden desk. I could have something nicer but this was my mother’s from before the reform of society. She would tap away at the desk while writing in her journal. The furniture always smelt of pine-sol, a retro cleaning supply. Our small apartment in Pittsburgh was sticky with the increased heat intensity but with so many states suffering extreme droughts or weather disasters, this felt like a blessing. Until the days of little began. With only 10 states remaining as habitable, the refugees flooded into the city. My mom stood at the tiny balcony of our apartment, chain-smoking her Marlboro Reds, a mass of anxiety. I can imagine the thought now. What could she, a single mother, do to protect her child?

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to see a uniformed face looking back. You learned to depend on voices to tell people apart in this world.

“Clementine? Do you have another group done? In addition, the latest birth rate numbers were released to the Regency. We have a meeting in 5 minutes about it. It seemed urgent.

The voice belonged to Opal, one of the orators of the matchmaking department.

“Opal. I had heard. I will have this group done after the meeting. Some of these new generations are requiring a bit more work.”

My legs were asleep as I stood up and I realized I had been working on this same group for 6 hours. I may as well have been asleep. Opal’s voice seemed to agree with that assessment.

“Are you sure you are feeling alright? It was a pretty small group today.”

“No, yeah, I am fine. I was somewhere else this morning. I will finish it quickly when we get back.”

We walked down the halls of what was Penn station. The old building was one of the few that withstood the wild temperature changes and became a large portion of the new Regency community. We walk in silence, shoes tapping on the tile in unison. Opal was a diligent worker and one of the newest additions to the regency through inexplicable and indomitable willpower. The only Regency elect to not be recommended by the retiring Regency that they were replacing.

I sighed heavily at our awkward silence and thought aloud, “Why the urgent meeting, I wonder.”

Opal rubs their temples and responds “It is probably due to the match making departments lull. We have had a lot of trouble arranging schedules to accommodate the appearance program. Forcing some of them to move to a different district has been ridiculously difficult. I mean if it is for the betterment of our society, it should not require convincing.

Opal was young and ambitious. While being under Regency rule has vastly improved our ability to survive, not everything is about surviving. “I am sure your couples will come around. Having the plenty that we have in this city is more than enough to convince people we are doing something right.”

Opals nods to me, “Of course I defer to your judgement on this matter. You have saved our city from ruinous chaos many times now.”

Savior, huh? Is that what I am doing?

We approach the great open-air hall and take our seats on the old wooden train benches. We all wore our suits with a simple white pen on our chests to mark us as Regency. It was simple and was only supposed to separate us from the populace to avoid daily meeting assignments. As everyone took their seats, the oldest among the Regency stood. The elder’s name was Neal and he was a decade my senior.

“To business everyone. I apologize for the lack of pleasantries but we have a serious issue at hand. The latest birth records from all 7 hospitals in the city is 12 for the last 3 months.”

Everyone in the room gasps. I feel my eyebrows furrow in anxiety. I will have to change the formula again. Break down all their attributes again. Stare at their solemn expressions and bone structures again….

A small cry escapes from my mouth and I quickly calm myself before others begin to panic. After all this, we have almost lost all of our hard work in a simple 3-month span. Why? The matchmakers watch the couples to see if they show any public issues and there have been no report disturbances from neighbors. They simply are not engaging sexually.

I start wringing my hands tightly. I lost so many nights on the formula before. Lost so much personal time with my children’s smiling faces. The worst part of that is... I don’t know how I can tweak the formula again.

I have changed small parameters to make sure that I had accounted for every physical attribute. Spent so much time understanding how people found each other physically attractive. Where could I have gone wrong?

“Everyone calm down. We need to address this head on. Clementine, do you have any ideas? You have saved us a couple of times and we have complete faith in your abilities.”

I feel the warmth of anxiety creeping up my neck and look up at Neal. “I will need some time to think.”

It was all I could manage to say. He curtly nods and then begins addressing the matchmaking department.

“You will all need to assist Clementine in whatever is necessary. Our current death rate is about 20 a month. We might have a large population now, but this is in great jeopardy. No time to lose. Our communication department, we need you to go out and talk to couples. Find out what is happening on the ground floor. Interviews need to be conducted with couples that have no children. Education, we need to check with the rotating teachers and see if they have noticed any trends. This is an emergency people!”

The meeting breaks and I am alone, aside from this group of masked individuals just staring, hoping that I have the answers and directions. They need busy work so I can leave and think. “Let’s get some percentages on how many paired couples are still together from the past few months through our chosen matches. Look back at the failed matches and let us dig into that a bit. I am going to look into the algorithm.”

It was not a lie so much. I was going to look into it. Just not sitting in this ancient building surrounded by their worried whispers.

The sunshine was raining throughout the spaces of the buildings. It was an illogically beautiful day for the dreaded fear of population decay that hounded the people. They had good years but rarely did the births outweigh the deaths. The harsh environment the previous generations had left, even in the safety of the city, still caused us the occasional issue.

My shoes tap on the pavement of the crumbling sidewalks as I move towards the apartment building where I often took solace. My mother’s apartment still stood where it always had. We had turned the place into a collection area of unwanted items that could be used for fires or maintaining barriers. It was normally not a designated work area and because of that, it was secluded.

I climbed the concrete stairwell up to the third floor. The old green carpeting could still be seen to some degree underneath all the soot and debris. I glided my hand up the cold stone, tracing the familiar path. I came to a poorly maintained wooden door with rusted numbers that read 327. Shoving myself through the door, I smelled that old cigarette smoke that was caked into every fiber of this apartment. Not even time had managed to erase my mother’s vice.

The countertops were old cheap brown laminate with the top plastic sealed layer peeling off. I leaned my back against the countertop bar, and slid my way to the floor. I slid my hooded mask off to breath in the stale smoky air. We could not keep living like this. Changing formulas over time, interviewing, nay, scolding people who were not providing the necessary population we needed to survive. There must be an unknown reason as to why we continue to lose focus and interest.

I thought back to all those serene faces that I see every day. Barely a glimmer of joy. The Regency life may have taught us to survive, but we lost something in that. I just can never manage to nail down exactly what it was.

There is no need to argue against their reasoning for full suits. Equality was rarely found throughout humanity’s history. After reading hundreds of historical books and representations of various people, they were sound and just in the demand for uniformity. Also in those fine lines were thousands of accounts of large population booms, though. We are barely surviving on the backs of the original population left standing, and cannot force people into reproduction. If we break things down anymore, we may as well be machines.

A soft tapping sound awakens me from my pondering. Amidst the rubble, a low rapping sound echoes on the door of my apartment. They must have followed me out here. I hurriedly pull my hood back over my face and rise from the floor to walk over to the doorway. As I open it, a smaller suited individual waltzes in and closes the door. The mask is removed and my eldest daughter’s dull gray eyes are staring back at me. I relaxed and removed my hood once again as we closed the door.

“Grandma’s apartment. I figured. The elder read the numbers on the communication tower so you were bound to be hiding out here.”

Lacey was a near replica of her father. Those gray eyes, golden brown hair, defined nose and jawline. Not an iota of me in her appearance wise. The stubbornness, quick wit, and analytical skills though, that was all me.

“Am I that obvious?”

She chuckled at my question and stated, “I’m here aren’t I? In a large settlement where people are glaring at you for the answers, you typically favor hiding over being trapped by their stares.”

I looked hard at her and sighed. “They will want me to tweak and change the math. We are at a point where that is simply not possible anymore.” I looked back up at her furrowed brow of worry and internally reprimanded myself. She is far too young at nineteen for this conversation. My mother could not protect me from harsh realities, but I can certainly try to protect Lacey. “I will come up with another answer. Don’t you go filling your head with these issues.”

Suddenly I realized the date.

“Today was your first matchmaking session wasn’t it?”

She searched her daughter’s eyes but only found what could be described as disappointment.

“Yes.” She answered quietly.

“Were you not pleased? What did you not like?”

“They introduced me to a man around my age named Bray. He was certainly handsome.”

“But….” I pushed on

“Mom. Maybe the math is too simple.”

I internally agreed and coaxed her on.

“Go on.”

“He was handsome and a good fit for me. They even took into account my love of brown eyes. However, being stuffed in a room for 8 hours gives you a lot of time to talk. What would we do after we had kids together? What would we do in the alone time?” She paused and looked up at me.

“What is missing Lacey? We let everyone make their own choices from their appearance brackets. You have time to decide.”

“I don’t think he needs to be attractive in the way your math calculates. I think he needs to be attractive to me.”

He needs to be attractive to me. Maybe… just maybe.

“What?” Lacey looks at me as if I am a maniac. Which is understandable since I was grinning like one.

“My dear clever girl. Your generation may be the best of us.”

I slip my hood back on, give my wise daughter a quick hug, and strode out the door.

The sun had hit its bitter late afternoon heat and despite my desire to get back to the Regency, the sweltering heat kept my pace humble. As I came up to the building, my huddle that I had sent on busy work was waiting on the entrance steps fanning themselves with various items.

Opal asked aloud, “Clementine?”

They had probably asked a hundred people today if they were me. I chuckled at the thought accidentally aloud.

“About time! You would have thought that you of all people would be worried sick about everything.”

“Opal, you’re quite young right? In all your matchmaking efforts, do you have someone?”

The suited individual scuffed their feet on the pavement. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Why? You get to see the entire bracket you are assigned well before anyone else. Why haven’t you chosen?”

The hood looked over their shoulder at the rest of the group. “I have tried. They all felt… wrong.”

“Because there is more to it? You don’t just care about a pretty face? Opal, the answer has been staring at us all along. Your generation has completely lived this Regency lifestyle and cannot fathom anything else. You don’t see people’s faces normally and you have no conception of what society considers attractive.”

Opal did not say anything but seemed stunned. “The numbers you assigned never really made sense to me.” They finally said.

“Exactly. Let’s go see Neal.”

It must have been a sight, seeing this large group of masked orators jogging down the large train hall down to one of the booths where the elder was located. When we shoved into the doorway, he were pacing up and down a small stretch of carpet, clearly lost in thought.

“Neal, want some good news?”

Surprised out of his pondering, he turned towards the group of us. “Anything to drag me from my own piles of bad news.”

“Remove the attractiveness module.” I stated loudly so there was no loss of clarity.

“Clementine, I am all for trying new approaches, but let’s not throw years of hard work out into the street for the fun of it.”

“Neal, I am serious. You and I have been here for years, the first generation to replace the original Regents. We saw the years of the Regency implementation. We adapted as issues arose in intimacy. Our way worked at the time, but it can’t anymore. Just like our previous generations doomed us, we are dooming our children.”

“No reason to be dramatic, Clementine. What is it that you think you have found?”

“This generation has grown up without seeing anyone’s actual faces. They don’t understand what society used to label as attractive. However, they all still have their own versions of what is appealing to them. I think it’s time to remove Rule Two, Neal. I think this generation is above their own vanity.”

“Clementine... we may be old friends, but you know that we tried that. We also would have been extinct if we had continued on that path.”

“Elder, if I may?” Opal chimed in.

Neal looks over as if just realizing the others were there. “Yes, yes of course.” He leans against the desk that is behind him as if trying to lull his exasperation.

“Clementine may be right. I am twenty-one and have never understood the numbers that were assigned to the faces. I have not even had my first try at a matchmaking. However, I do know I have enjoyed the company of various people outside of my bracket. If we are out of ideas, then could it really hurt to try?”

Neal looks back and forth at the small group, then hesitantly pulls back his hood. His face was etched in hard wrinkles and his eyes were a rare hazel color. His hair was stark white from his years but that was not the reason he removed his hood. All along his jawline, cheeks, and mouth were vivid red burn marks that seemed to stretch completely down his neck. He smiled, “Go ahead and reprimand me Clem in the records. This is my first time removing my hood in public, so I think I am safe. What do you see Opal?”

They did not seem affected by his performance what so ever. “Wisdom, kindness, and gentleness. A man who has clearly always put the needs of others above himself. Someone who has seen the ugliness of the world and became a beautiful person despite that.”

He eyes Opal, still smiling, and places his hood back on. “All right. Let’s get started in removing a clearly outdated rule then.”