The Superior Inferior

Nora's eyes flew open and she began to violently cough. The scent of burning hair and flesh already filling her nostrils, her lungs fighting to cope with the inhalation of ash. Extermination of The Inferior was off to an early start today. She sat up and wiped bloody mucus from her mouth and grabbed a nearby glass of water. It was full of ash as well, but ashes to ashes, dust to dust; she needed a drink. This was life now, and her rations were running dry.

Nora threw on her tattered denim jumpsuit and left unit GG423. The heart shaped locket she wore batted against her chest as she let the weight of her body carry her down 46 flights of stairs. She flew past small groups of children playing, broken windows, small piles of trash. The Excellence refused to put any money into the Settlements since they took global power in 2034. The Excellence Genome Project ZUES made massive advancements in editing a person's DNA. Suddenly, we had God in a test tube. The only problem was that God comes at a price, and it was a price only the upper echelons of society could afford. The Elites began to alter their children. Each one was given the ZUES cocktail at birth. Immunity to disease, nearly instantaneous healing of injuries, eradication of chromosome or DNA based diseases and abnormalities. The most prominent feature of every member of the Excellence was their opulent, ultraviolet colored eyes. The Eyes of the Gods, as they called them.  They chose between twins that excelled in athletics, able to jump astoundingly high and run exceedingly fast, or perhaps a boy with an immeasurable IQ and with awe inspiring artistic talents. Orphans of The Inferior became test subjects in the empire of perfect human creatures. Technology advanced more rapidly in the past 20 years then in all of previous human history, and Nora knew her time was coming to an end. Only four settlements remained, and from the smell of this morning's sunrise, she knew the population was dwindling.

Nora climbed down a slick ladder into a dark tunnel.  A single BioEnhanced guard stood at the gate beneath the surface. A single guard was enough. Nora genuinely considered herself lucky enough to be a cleaner. This allowed her monthly rations of food, water, clothing, and one bar of soap. More importantly, cleaners got to see areas of the Excellence facilities very few had access to. Nora rolled up her sleeve and showed the capital letter "I" branded on her forearm and the human Mount Everest of a guard allowed her entry.

"One vial is all I need" she thought as she gathered her supply cart and moved towards C-Wing. She thought this every day. She had seen the scientists taking orders from exuberant customers via commlinx, then loading up syringes then delivered to eager recipients. Nora fantasized about the needle piercing her skin, how something so quick and painless could grant her access to a healthy life and bright future. Nora's deep brown eyes flickered around the room. Bioenhanced or not, Nora had wonderful peripheral vision. She watched them daily, attempting to memorized their movements. She dropped a new trash bag into a bin while one researcher dropped a 6 legged rat into an incinerator that must not have made the cut. Nora grimaced. "Hey, eyes to the ground, inferior!" the C-Wing guard snapped. Then there was a loud static crack of a commlinx, and the guard briskly rushed away. In her 4 years of cleaning, Nora had never seen an absence of security. Something must be happening, which filled her with fear... but also, a sense of possibility.

Nora felt the burning sensation in her lungs as a violent coughing fit overcame her. She hunched forward and braced herself against a countertop and while writhing pain, pushed an entire set of glass beakers onto the tile floor.

The voices of the researchers erupted in anger.

"What the fuck is she doing!?"

"Hey! You need to get all of that cleaned up, now!"

"She won't stop coughing, someone call security and get this parasite out of here. She's fucking bleeding! Disgusting..."

"No, no!" Nora coughed. "I'm so sorry, I'll stay until it's clean. I'll make sure no glass is left behind." She hung her head, hoping to disguise the rebellious smile that was no doubt forcefully trying to show itself. "It's my fault, I'm so sorry. I'll take care of it."

"Of course you will, you waste." once scientist said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "I can't wait until these roaches aren't necessary. All they do is cause chaos. I hear the humanoid 5PT units are in final testing phase."  his intense violet eyes shot daggers through Nora, sitting above a pearlescent ear-to-ear smile. He took three long strides closer, leaned in and in a seemingly thunderous whisper told her "Your time here is almost finished, roach. Soon, you will all be replaced." He took a final stride through the door, his fellows closely behind. Nora was disgusted by the feeling of his breath on her neck. They may have God in a test tube, but they had also developed a jeopardizing amount of hubris.

She had no idea why the guard station was still empty, but she knew she had only precious seconds to make her move. She rushed without hesitation to a cabinet, grabbed three syringes and with a roll of medical tape, strapped them to her torso. Her heart pumped so ferociously she could feel the pressure in her ears. She fumbled to zip her jumpsuit, then ran for the trash. She removed a blue glove worn by scientist asshole #1 and carefully turned it inside out, pressing it into a fingerprint scanner attached to a blue glowing freezer they called The Arc. With a quiet beep and a whoosh of fresh, cold air, the door released itself. Hundreds of vials shone beautifully in front of her eyes; each one representing a vastly improved human life.

Nora thought of her mom, the way her outstretched arm gently touched her face and the last words she spoke. "You are meant for more than this, Nora. You carry greatness, please use it for the Greater Good." Nora's mother was the leader of a small resistance who believed that eradication of disease and suffering was a human right. They worked to create hidden labs of their own, they sent missionaries inside Excellence facilities in attempts to steal whatever information and equipment they could. Most never returned, but dedication to the cause made sure the ones who survived brought back a wealth of knowledge. Nora remembered a small blind boy named Micah, and how their small community gathered on his injection day. His vision returned to him, and for 3 days Micah and his family enjoyed the blessing of healing. They flew paper planes and raced tin can boats down the road after a rainstorm. And then it all burnt to the ground; Excellence forces leaving nothing in their wake. As they closed in on their home, Nora's mother had handed her the locket, and told her to run. And she did. "You carry greatness", her mother's voice echoed through her soul.

Nora's attention snapped back to The Arc in front of her. Her fingers trembled as she moved her hand forward, and the unmistakable sound of an opening door caused her body to turn to stone.

"Inferior! What are you doing!?" the voice boomed, nearly shaking the walls. Nora's body ignited into flight mode as she propelled her arm forward, taking the largest handful of vials she could. Carelessly she jammed them into her pocket and began fleeing for the door.

Nora ran towards a table as the guard lurched forward, his fingertips wrapping around the collar of her jumpsuit. Nora jerked herself backwards, tearing the fabric and sending them both falling. Nora slammed palms and knees into the floor crawling under the table towards the door. Flailing into the corridor, one glance over her shoulder revealed another guard on the way. Nora burst into a full sprint down the hallway. She ripped over supply carts, filing cabinets, and anything else should could. The guards footfalls beat the tile floor like a race horse and Nora could barely breathe. She took a sharp left and sunlight through a door window gave her a small sense of hope. She burst through the door and into the alley way, and a split second of hesitation brought her tumbling to the ground, tackled from behind. His laugh sounded like the growl of an angry animal. "That was a fun race..." He breathed "...but you and your kind need to know your place." His fist struck her face. Nora shot her arms forward, attempting to find his eyes with her thumbs. She did so just long enough to stun him. She scrambled backwards onto her feet. In the blink of an eye, the guard was on his feet again, wrapping wrathful hands around her throat and raising her off the ground.

Nora thought she was taking her last breath, when the guard threw her ragdoll body into the wall. Nora screamed, as she felt glass break inside of her pocket, and shards of vial stabbing into her thigh. Worse than the pain was the sense of dread and hopelessness that now filled her. The guard was laughing. This had become just a game to him. Nora ran her fingers down her side and examined the blood seeping from her wounds, and noticed a heavy fragment of pipe she had landed on. Nora felt her soul turn cold. Nora stood to her feet, pipe hidden against her leg as the guard took calm strides towards her, laughing still. Nora screamed and flung the pipe with all of her strength. The guard was not expecting her to have any more fight, but the sound of bone cracking echoed against the brick alleyway in defiance. Nora dropped the pipe, and ran for her life.

Nora ran until Settlement Building E31 looked like heaven on earth. She made it up only 24 flights of stairs before collapsing to her knees. She wiped tears from her face and ran a hand down her side, looking at the stains of blood and test tube fluid staining her jumpsuit. She reached into the pocket to see if any intact vials remain, and pulled away nothing but despair and bleeding fingertips. Nora's cry filled the stairwell and reality consumed her. She thought of how she would survive without rations. She thought of how her death, as with everyone around her, was immanent. She thought of her mother, and how greatly she had failed her. Nora felt overcome with rage and disappointment, and clutching the locket in her hand, ripped it from her neck. Nora screamed towards the heavens, heaved in a sobbing breath and threw the locket into a cracked concrete wall.

"No!" Nora screamed in immediate regret. She ran towards the wall sliding on her knees, and began rummaging through concrete chips and scattered garbage for pieces. A clasp. The chain. Her heart pounded, and tears filled her eyes again. The tarnished silver heart shaped cover. Finally, her regretful fingers found the most important piece. The one that held the photograph of her and her mother. Nora ran her thumb over her mother's face, as she had done a thousand times. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry." Nora wept, as she felt something come loose behind the picture. Nora peeled back the photograph, and suddenly Nora knew what her mother's words had meant. Nora stood and dropped the broken pieces to the floor, and tipped the contents of the locket into her now empty palm. A perfect, unbroken vial of ZUES stared back at her, wrapped in a small note. Nora knew at this moment, the entire world was in her hand.