Melissa put the STS on Elizabeth Rasper’s coffee table, set it recording and then cleared her throat as an indication that the official interview had begun. “MT72, Ohio District 45, Educational Services Division,” she was talking a touch louder than her normal speaking voice, “interviewing Elizabeth Rasper, OH-B07F-62138, Mother of Cameron Rasper, IL-B30F-563213.”
Melissa looked at the older woman across from her and thought of her aunt. There was a similarity around the eyes, and it made Melissa feel a little sorry for Elizabeth Rasper. The woman was clearly nervous about the interview. “Mrs. Rasper you lived for many years in Chicago is that true?”
“Most of my adult life, yes.” She said.
“A little over two years ago you moved back to Akron, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“What led you to make that decision?”
“You’re joking right? There were bodies piling up in the streets. Between the hunger and the violence we felt we had no choice but to leave.”
“In Chicago your daughter Cameron attended a Catholic school?”
“St. Anne’s, yes.”
“But after the move you decided to homeschool her, correct?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth said.
“Why did you make that decision Mrs. Rasper?”
Elizabeth thought for a second. “St. Anne’s was a good situation for us, it was like the kind of school I went to when I was Cami’s age. It was a day school, so she stayed at home and we could see her every night. That’s important to me. When we moved out here we couldn’t find a school like that so I started homeschooling her.”
“Which schools did you consider Mrs. Rasper?”
“Most of the private schools were beyond our means, but I did look at some work schools in the area. They were farm schools which I thought might appeal to Cami, but the contracts had some clauses that I didn’t like, so that left homeschooling. It seemed like the best option.”
“You didn’t consider sending her to one of the Christian Nationalist schools?” Melissa asked. “They’re free.”
“Oh I know, and I would absolutely consider it, I would, but I like having Cami at home. Back in Chicago she saw some pretty horrible things, things a girl her age shouldn’t have had to see, and it left her traumatized. She’s been through a lot and I thought it was important to keep her close and create as normal an environment as possible. I couldn’t send her away to school, let alone sign away all rights to see her.”
“Many parents sign those contracts Mrs. Rasper. Many good people who love their children.”
“I know, I really do. I don’t blame somebody for sending their kids to a CNP school or a work school. If it’s between signing away your rights as a parent or seeing your child starve to death, of course it’s better that they live. I have a lot of friends that did that and I don’t blame them one bit, but my situation is different. I’m employed, I can take care of my daughter.”
“Please state for the record where you are employed.”
“Karsh Materials Incorporated, glass and plastics division.” Elizabeth said.
“And this is a full time job?”
“Sixty hours a week.”
“And your pay?” Melissa asked.
“I am paid in limited transferable credits which can be redeemed at certain food stores and with the housing authority. Our company, I’m sure you know, has only two clients, the Federal Procurement Agency and the Christian Nationalist Party.”
Melissa took a moment to think before she spoke again. “Mrs. Rasper, I am the Educational Services Officer for Ohio District 45. That means it’s my duty to see that every child in the district under the age of sixteen is receiving the best education possible for them. I am here as an advocate for Cameron. I want to help get the best for your daughter. My concern in your situation is that you work sixty hours a week. I don’t see how you can work that kind of job and give your daughter the education she deserves. I just don’t see that it’s possible.”
“I get up at four AM every morning and grade my daughter’s assignments from the day before. My daughter is up by five and we go over her work and I assign her reading and worksheets for the day. I can track everything she does on our network, so I know if she’s been unproductive. If you were to test my daughter I’m sure that you would find her in the top ten percent of kids her age. I take her education very seriously.”
“What time do you leave for work Mrs. Rasper?”
“I’m out of the house by six.”
“You’re up at four and out by six, so by your own admission you’re only dedicating two hours a day to your daughter’s education…”
“Yes but…”
Melissa held up her hand to keep from being interrupted. “It’s simply not enough time for Cami. It would be different if she were living in a two parent household. I watched the STS from the interview you did with my predecessor last year. She raised many of the same concerns that I did and you assured her that your husband would be joining you shortly and would be helping with Cameron’s education.” Melissa looked around the room as if expecting to see Mike Rasper somewhere. “That hasn’t happened has it?”
“No, we’re very worried about him. He knows where we are and he would’ve gotten word to us by now if he could’ve.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“In Chicago before we left. He’d lost his job you see, and he faced arrest under the employment laws, so he joined a work crew headed to Atlanta. My sister arranged for my job here, and he was going to join us as soon as he could organize work papers for travel.”
“You never heard from him?”
“No.” Elizabeth said.
“Michael Rasper was arrested in Atlanta on May 16, 2039. He is currently in detention, did you know that?”
Elizabeth Rasper shook her head slowly. “No.” She said. “But he was promised work in Atlanta. If there wasn’t any work he could’ve gotten trapped through no fault of his own. Was he charged with unemployment?”
“There were no charges,” Melissa said, “he’s being held as a terrorist. He threw a rock at a policeman.”
“That’s terrorism?”
“What would you call it Mrs. Rasper? It was an act of political violence directed at an innocent civilian who was just trying to do his job.”
“I’m not defending throwing rocks at policemen, I’m just surprised it’s considered a terrorist attack.” Elizabeth rubbed her hands together, betraying a nervousness that Melissa was trained to look for.
“When you were living in Chicago with your husband and daughter, were you a part of any group or collective?”
Elizabeth assumed that she already knew the answer to the question, so lying wasn’t an option. “Yes, we were part of a non-political food collective, organized through our church. If we hadn’t participated we would have starved to death sometime in ‘38 like so many others.”
“You pooled your resources to obtain canned food and the like?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, “and we started small-gardening initiatives and traded labor for food with other farmers.”
“I assume the food was gathered and stored somewhere safe?”
“There were a number of storage areas.” Elizabeth said.
“They were well-guarded?”
“There were roaming gangs of starving people in the streets.” Elizabeth said. “Of course they were well-guarded.”
“By people with guns?”
“Of course.” Elizabeth said.
Melissa picked up her small-screen and placed her thumb on it, unlocking the virtual curve-screen display. She moved a couple of files around and then typed an entry into a log, checked her work and shut the whole thing off. “I’ve come to a decision Mrs. Rasper. I think Cameron should go to the Christian Nationalist school. I think that’s the best option for everyone involved.”
“No, please,” Elizebeth was trying to keep the desperation out of her voice, “I’ll enroll her in one of the farm schools i
nstead, I’ll do it tomorrow. Please, not the Christian Nationalist school.”
“Why do you object to that particular school?”
“It’s nothing against the party, I’m a member myself, a community coordinator too, it’s just that I’m afraid I’ll never see her again. They give the kids new names and new identities. I couldn’t bear to lose Cami. Please, no, I’ll take her to the farm school right now if you want.”
“I understand that it can be difficult for a parent to accept that their child would be better off without them Mrs. Rasper, but try to see the bigger picture. Look at it from Cameron’s point of view. She deserves a clean slate doesn’t she? At the Northern Ohio CNP school we have kids whose parents are senior officials in the party and kids whose parents are in jail for rape and murder, and you know what? They’re treated exactly the same. A person can be arrested for associating with a terrorist right? That’s a crime. Well Cameron’s father is a terrorist, and associations don’t come any closer than that. Why should she suffer for her father’s crime?”
“She hasn’t seen her father in years.” Elizabeth said.
“But what about you Mrs. Rasper? You’ve admitted that you were part of an armed collective…”
“It was non-political!”
“Any group of people is political Mrs. Rasper. Would you want your daughter to be punished and stigmatized for your crimes? Is that fair?”
“But…”
“She’s eleven years old, she’s not going to forget her birth name or you. You need to let her become a part of this country’s future instead of being imprisoned by its past. Like it or not, she’s part of generation zero.”
Elizabeth Rasper was crying silently. “Please.” She said.
“Where is Cameron now Mrs. Rasper?”
Elizabeth wiped the tears from her cheeks and sat up straighter. “She’s at my sister’s house across town.” She said.
“She’s not at your neighbor’s house next door?”
Elizabeth was silent.
“Lying to a state official is a crime Mrs. Rasper, but I understand how hard this must be for you so I’m willing to overlook it. Some parents are selfish enough to turn their kids into fugitives rather than give up control of their education. There is an agent with Cameron now, if you cooperate I’d be willing to take you to the train station so you could say goodbye to her.”
Elizabeth shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll go get ready.” She said. She went into her room and changed her shoes, thinking of all the ways she could’ve escaped with her daughter. She’d had a good chance a few months earlier, when a friend from work had told her about a guy she knew who made good fake passports that could get them into Canada. She declined, thinking Mike would never be able to find them again if they left the country. Now escape would mean doing something desperate and far more dangerous, if she could manage at all.
The idea that she could actually lose Cami was something she had to face. There was a party official with her daughter, and they certainly wouldn’t leave before she was on the train. Once she left, Elizabeth would never see her daughter again, she knew that. She went to her daughter’s room and looked around, knowing that Cami wouldn’t be allowed to take any clothes or a bag. She wanted to give her daughter something, anything, to remind her of her family and identity.
Her eyes fixed on a spiral-bound notebook that her daughter had been filling with drawings for the past year. When they were living in Chicago Mike had come home with a box of spiral notebooks he’d found in a dumpster. They’d explained to Cami that this was what people used to write and do schoolwork on. Since then Cami had always kept one, mostly for drawings, but some writing too. Elizabeth thought she’d grown more attached to the notebooks after her father had left.
She tucked the notebook under her arm and went out to the living room where Melissa, the young CNP official waited by the door. There was an Education Division van out front and Elizabeth could see her daughter sitting in the back and a man sitting in front, entering coordinates on a small-screen.
Melissa opened the front door and waved to the man and the van pulled away. Her daughter was looking back toward her as it drove off. Melissa looked at Elizabeth, serious and reserved, like someone who had done the right thing even though it was difficult. “Come on.” Melissa said. “I’ll take you to the train station so you can say goodbye.”
Elizabeth almost said ‘thank you,’ but caught herself. The CNP Educational Services Officer drove a Korean electric mini-car. Melissa clicked her small-screen, opening the doors and starting the engine, and the two women got in. She put her small-screen in the dock and the doors shut and the car began to move. Elizabeth had her daughter’s notebook on her lap and Melissa glanced at it as they started up the road.
“I see it as part of my job to try to make these difficult situations a little easier.” Melissa said. “My predecessor in this position, the one who interviewed you last year, she wouldn’t have taken you to the train station to say goodbye. I think it’s important to show that the party isn’t heartless in these things. We simply must do what’s best for the child, regardless of how the parent feels. It’s not easy sometimes.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do without my daughter.” Elizabeth said, barely above a whisper. “She’s my only reason for living.”
“She’s not dying!” Melissa said. “She’s going away to school. You can continue to live for her, she has a bright future, like her whole generation. The country is stabilizing, and the terrorists out west wont fight forever. Eventually things will get back to normal and your daughter will find you. I don’t think you realize just how lucky you are Mrs. Rasper. Your husband is an enemy of the state and you were part of an armed collective. You could be in prison for either of those things, but luckily for you, you seem to have fallen through the cracks. It’s a good thing you’re employed.”
Elizabeth felt a cold presence in the car and wanted to dispel it somehow, but was at a loss. “Yes,” she said, “I’m lucky.”
Melissa had been trying to elicit a thank you from the woman, who reminded her so much of her aunt, but she settled for the agreement that she was lucky. They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the station, Melissa turned to face Elizabeth Rasper. “You’re going to wait here while I go and arrange for Cameron’s travel. I’ll explain to her what’s happening and come back and get you before the train leaves. You can say goodbye on the platform.” Melissa looked down at the notebook. “You wont be able to give her that. She can’t take anything with her to the school -you’ll have to leave it in the car.”
When Melissa left, Elizabeth looked at the notebook on her lap and felt like ripping it into a thousand pieces. She looked at the wire spiral, twisting its way down the notebook’s spine. She picked at the top and pried part of the wire free. She patiently pulled and loosened the wire, until she had gotten it completely free of the notebook. She stretched it long and then coiled it loosely and put it in her pocket. She put the unbound notebook papers on the seat next to her and wondered if she would ever feel anything again.
Melissa came down the stairs and waved for Elizabeth to join her. The child was standing next to the agent on the platform, crying panicked tears. The agent seemed to disapprove of Melissa’s choice to let Elizabeth Rasper say goodbye to her daughter. Melissa was new to her job and felt the disapproving look of the agent more acutely than she knew she should’ve. Melissa outranked him and could do as she saw fit. After all, she was brought into the ESD to make some changes. People had to see that the party wasn’t full of ice-cold bureaucrats who went around tearing up families.
Elizabeth Rasper went to her daughter and fell to her knees and embraced her. They were both crying and clutching each other tight. An older couple on the platform took in the scene and shot Melissa a look, but she ignored it. Elizabeth stood, lifting her daughter, and scanned the edges of the platform with desperate, animal eyes. Melissa tensed, knowing the woman wanted to run, but
the agent took Cameron Rasper out of her mother’s arms before she could make a move. The chimes sounded, signaling that the train’s doors were about to close.
The agent nodded to Melissa and stepped onto the train. The doors shut and Elizabeth Rasper stood there, staring at her daughter for a moment before the train finally left. Elizabeth slumped and swayed on her feet. Melissa went toward her to help, but the woman staggered past her and lurched toward the stairs by the ticket booth. She grasped the rail and climbed down to the parking lot.
Melissa followed and found Elizabeth Rasper beside a bus, doubled over and vomiting onto the concrete. Melissa went to her and gently put a hand on the woman’s back. She didn’t acknowledge Melissa’s presence. She was dry-heaving and sobbing at the same time, and Melissa couldn’t help but cry herself at the sight of a mother’s grief.
Elizabeth’s sobs subsided a little, and she became aware of Melissa, standing beside her in the empty parking lot. Melissa saw a hint of understanding in the woman’s expression, a hint of acceptance, and she was glad. There was something in the woman’s hand and it caught the light with a flash. Melissa realized it was some kind of wire as it went around her throat. She started to scream, but nothing came out. She tried to grasp the wire but it was digging into her neck and she couldn’t get her fingers under it. She pushed at Elizabeth, but she needed oxygen and the effort put her on her knees. She looked into Elizabeth Rasper’s eyes and saw no anger, no hate, not even determination, just nothingness.
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Leda and the Swan