The bus turned a corner and entered a beautiful parkway with a center island of grass and flowers so brilliant that they dazzled the eye. About a block ahead of them, Madeline could see a quadrant lined on three sides with large, modern buildings of brick and glass.
“We are now entering Alliance Square,” Judy said proudly.
Stephanie leaned forward in her seat. “Oh, Mother, look at the buildings.”
“What you see before you is the heart not only of our city, but of the entire Alliance.” The bus pulled into a turnaround so the passengers had a clear view. “Alliance Square houses offices for all three levels of government. Those along the north side are the AFC buildings, or the equivalent of the federal level. The square building with the round dome houses the Senate and the judicial offices. The brown brick mansion is where the president, Peter Dobson, lives. As before, all our officials are elected by the people.”
She turned and pointed. “Along the south side here are the Shalev city offices and the Flathead District Council chambers.”
Becky suddenly jumped up and pressed her nose to the window. “Oh, Lori! Look! Look at the water.” She turned to her mother, her brown eyes wide with wonder.
Madeline Lloyd smiled as Judy explained, “That’s the Shalev Fountain. Shalev is a Hebrew word that means peace. As you can see from the sign, the building directly behind the fountain is the Museum of Remembrance. It’s a very special place for us all. It contains a collection of things from the world before Termination—things to help us realize what we are ‘missing,’ such as war, terrorists, crime, poverty, drugs, alcoholism. The museum houses weapons, relics, and documents from those horrible times so that we can teach our children how blessed we are in the AFC.” Again she turned around and smiled at the group. “You see, in Shalev and the Alliance, all of those things have been totally eliminated.”
Madeline looked up quickly. Totally eliminated? How could that be? She leaned forward, noting the amazement on the faces of the others as well.
Judy continued her explanation. “The museum was built to help us better appreciate what we no longer have—or better, what we really do have here. In it is a room for each of the wars America fought. There is a Civil War room, World War One and Two rooms, a room for Korea, one for Viet Nam, and, of course, one for the War of Termination. And we—”
“Eliminated?” Madeline asked. “How is it possible that all such things have been eliminated?”
Judy stiffened slightly, and for the first time her pride seemed to falter. “That is too complicated for me to explain to you here.” She took a quick breath. “That is another reason for your orientation session this afternoon. They will explain all of that to you.”
As she turned the wheel and started the bus again, Stephanie pointed to a long, brick building that occupied the entire west side of the quadrant. “Did she say what that building was?” Though nearly three stories high at the front, it butted up against a low pine-covered ridge. Only a front entrance interrupted the entire expanse of brick. It had the appearance of a brooding fortress with no eyes and one gaping mouth.
“No, ask her.”
“Judy?”
The bus stopped, and their guide turned around. “Yes?”
“What is that building?”
Again, for a fraction of a second, Madeline saw the guide’s smile falter, then snap back into place. “That is where you are going to have lunch in about ten minutes.”
“What is it?”
“That is Central Control, headquarters for the Guardians.”
“The who?”
“The Guardians.” She started the bus, lurching it forward. “Now around the next corner we have the University of Shalev. It is—”
“Judy,” Madeline said clearly, “are the Guardians the men in the orange and blue uniforms?”
She paused. “Yes.”
A sudden chill swept the bus like a blast in a winter storm, and sensing it, Judy fell silent.
Madeline brooded for several moments, lost in the bitterness of memory. Suddenly she noticed four boys waiting at the intersection for the bus to pass, staring up at her and smiling. Then she realized they weren’t smiling at her, but at Stephanie. She turned around in time to see Stephanie smile shyly back at them, which brought a quick wave from the nearest boy.
Once again Madeline felt a wrenching leap in her heart. Stephanie was strikingly beautiful, having inherited her father’s dark hair and her real mother’s finely cut features and slimness of body. And yet in the village there were only three eligible young men.
Maybe Shalev would change all that. The hope swelled inside her, and she would have given it full sway if it weren’t for an ominous sense of foreboding that gnawed at her. War eliminated? No more crimes? Then why are six bodies buried under the pines down near the river? And why are we in Shalev, imprisoned like sheep in a pen?
“Oh, Mother, “ Stephanie cried, “look at their clothes!”
They were passing a group of girls, apparently just leaving school. The women on the bus stared at the soft fabrics, the vibrant colors, the stylish cut, the variety of skirts, blouses, dresses, and pants. And nylons! Madeline almost cried aloud. After eighteen years of homespun and buckskin, hand-knit stockings and woolen sweaters, here were nylons and high heels, sandals, tennis shoes, purses that were more than thick leather pouches, necklaces, earrings, lipstick. How long it had been! How long had she forced her mind to forget there had once been such things? She turned away quickly and blinked back tears when she saw Stephanie’s fingers touching her own rough, homespun blouse.
The waitress was about the same age as their driver, with a short haircut and smiling brown eyes. She came up to Becky and placed a large, round tray of food on the table. “Hi. My name is Molly.”
“Hi,” Becky responded shyly.
“What’s your name?”
“Becky Lloyd.”
“How do you do, Becky. Is this your sister?”
“I’m Lori,” Lori responded, beaming.
The waitress stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Molly. You like hamburgers?”
Both girls nodded quickly.
“Have you ever had an ice cream soda?”
Stephanie laughed. “Even I haven’t had one of those since I was tiny.”
“Would you like one too?” Molly asked. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Yes, I would,” Stephanie replied, a bit embarrassed, but eager nevertheless.
Molly lifted two frosty glasses off the tray and set them in front of Lori and Becky. “Now normally you would have to wait to have your sodas until after you’ve eaten your dinner. But since you’ve never had one, maybe we could let you snitch just one taste. Is that okay, Mother?”
Madeline smiled and nodded.
“Be careful,” Molly said, sticking a straw in each glass. “It’ll tickle your nose.”
“What’s that, Mama?” Lori asked, pointing.
“That’s a straw, honey,” Madeline answered, suddenly realizing how many things had been lost to her children.
“Remember when Eric showed you how to blow bubbles with a reed?” Stephanie said. “It’s just like that, only you have to suck on it.”
Becky took a quick sip, her cheeks sucking inward. As the carbonated liquid hit her mouth, she grimaced and gave a quick shudder. “Ummmmm,” she said, “that’s good.”
Molly laughed with delight at the contradiction between Becky’s words and expression.
“Oh, Mama,” Lori cried, “that is good.”
“Well,” Molly said, “I’m a success. How does a breaded veal cutlet sound to you, Mrs. Lloyd, and…”
“Stephanie.”
“Stephanie. Does that sound okay?”
“Delicious.”
They were nearly through eating when suddenly Stephanie grabbed Madeline’s arm. “Look, Mother, it’s Travis.”
A sudden hush fell over the dining room as every eye turned to the figure in orange and blue and followed it as it moved t
o the platform at the front of the room. The Lloyds were sitting near the rear of the dining hall, but even from that distance it was obvious that Travis Oakes was very nervous. He shuffled, then reshuffled some notes in his hand, then looked up, cleared his throat, and plunged in.
“I have conducted many of these orientation sessions,” he began quietly, “but never has one been more difficult for me personally. I know that if it weren’t for us, some of you would not be sitting here today without fathers, without husbands, without brothers. Nothing I can say will lessen the tragedy of that. But I want you to know that extremely unfortunate circumstances brought about that situation, not deliberate intent. I want you to know that every widow will be cared for, every fatherless child watched over. Shalev cannot bring those six men back to you, but we can try to lessen the impact of the tragedy on your personal lives.”
As he continued, sober, earnest, and pleading for their understanding, Madeline watched him closely, then dropped her glance and continued eating her lunch. She had once hoped this man might be her son-in-law, that he might show some interest in Stephanie. Now all she could think about was Travis’s betrayal.
“—and while it will be difficult for you to understand at this point,” Travis was saying, “very shortly you will see that your coming to Shalev and the Alliance of Four Cities will be the turning point of your lives. Our purpose this afternoon is to orient you to our little pocket of surviving civilization, to show you what we have achieved.
“In a way, your children have grown up in the village with neither the advantages nor the disadvantages of so-called civilization. They have had virtually no experience with television, movies, transportation, modern conveniences, and so on. But on the other hand, neither have they had much experience with crime, violence, pollution, discrimination, greed, war, and similar ‘benefits.’ Their opportunities for education and culture have likewise been extremely limited.
“I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that in the Alliance we are prepared to offer you all of the advantages of civilization, and none of the disadvantages. When I say none, I mean that literally. You will find no crime here. None! I know that seems incredible, but we are not talking about low crime, we are talking about no crime! You can walk the streets of Shalev any time of the day or night and never fear a mugging, an assault, or a rape. None of those things exist here. None! There are no robberies, no burglaries, no shoplifting, no vandalism. In fact, it’s difficult to find locks in Shalev, except for simple ones that maintain privacy or protect small children from getting into danger.”
Becky slurped the last of her soda through the straw, yawned, then leaned against her mother’s arm. Madeline gave her a quick squeeze. Thoroughly bored now also, Lori pushed her plate away and laid her head on her arms. Stifling a yawn herself, Madeline turned back to Travis. Scheduling a heavy lecture after a meal was not the wisest course of action, she decided.
“Because I have come to know you, to respect you, I am thrilled to tell you that in the Alliance of Four Cities, there is no poverty, no unemployment, no drugs, no street gangs, no alcohol, no slums, no bars, no pollution. We have free elections, free enterprise, freedom to grow and be what we want to be. We have art, music, education, trade, business, science, and industry.”
He smiled for the first time. “Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?”
“Speaking of dreams,” Stephanie said out of the corner of her mouth, as she slumped lower in her chair, “I wish he’d hurry up and finish and let us go take a nap.”
“Shhhh!” Madeline said, fighting the heaviness in her own eyes.
“Well,” Stephanie grumbled, “how long is he going to drone on?”
Five minutes later, Madeline was beginning to ask herself the same question. Travis had turned off all the lights to show slides of the Alliance and Shalev. That was all it had taken. Stephanie had now joined Lori with her head on her arms, and Becky had wiggled sideways in her chair until her head was in her mother’s lap. Her breathing was deep and regular.
Madeline looked around. Perhaps Travis was excited about what he was saying, but he was obviously the only one. Over twothirds of the heads were down and several others were tipped way back, mouths open, dead to the world. The soft sound of snoring was evident whenever Travis paused in his narrative. Even as Madeline watched, Rose Browning, who was sitting at the table in front of them, surrendered, and her head dropped forward with a snap.
Somewhere in the back of Madeline’s head, an alarm clanged dully. Something was not quite right, and she tried feebly to sort it out in her head. Some drowsiness after lunch in a dark and stuffy room was normal, but it was barely one in the afternoon. Something was wrong! Then she decided that whatever it was, it wasn’t that important after all, as her own chin dipped lower and lower until it rested on her chest. Travis droned on, lulling her over the edge into a blissful, inviting cloud of sleep.
Chapter 6
Madeline turned her eyes slowly, letting things come into focus. A wall panel with oxygen spouts, a call button, light switches, bars on the side of the bed all seemed so natural and yet so strange.
Suddenly a figure in white loomed over her and spoke. “Mrs. Lloyd? Hello, how are you feeling?”
“What?”
“How are you feeling now?”
With a conscious effort, Madeline considered the question and finally nodded. She felt a dull ache at the base of her skull, but other than that, nothing seemed wrong. “Okay,” she mumbled.
“Good. I’ll be back in a moment. Dr. Abernathy wanted to know as soon as you came out of the sedation so he can start prepping your child.”
Madeline tried to stop the disappearing figure, but her body moved in slow motion, and the nurse was gone. She lay there for several minutes, gradually becoming more aware of herself and her surroundings. But greater awareness brought only greater confusion. She remembered now the conquest of the village, the trip to Shalev, and the tour of the city, but why was she in a hospital? She pushed up onto one elbow, found the call button, and pressed it, coming fully alert now.
Quick footsteps clicked out in the hall, and the door pushed open. Madeline wasn’t sure if it was the same nurse or not, but the smile was warm and gracious. “Oh good,” the nurse said before she could speak, “you are coming out of it now. I’m Mrs. Carter.”
“Hello.” Madeline pushed up further, and the nurse hurried to her side and fluffed the pillow up behind her. “Uh—where am I? Why am I in a hospital?”
“Dr. Gould is waiting to explain all that to you. As soon as you feel up to it, I’ll take you down to the surgery wing. The drug should be pretty well gone in another minute or two.”
“The other nurse—or was it you?—said something about my children.”
Again she gave Madeline a warm smile. “No, that was Miss Rasmussen. She went to tell Dr. Abernathy that they can start prepping your child.”
“Prepping?”
“Yes, preparing for the operation. Dr. Gould wants—”
Madeline sat bolt upright, “Operation? What operation? What has happened?”
The nurse patted her arm. “There’s nothing to worry about. Dr. Gould will explain that too.” She retrieved a long robe from the closet, stepped outside for a moment, and returned pushing a wheelchair. “If you’re ready, we can go.”
Deeply alarmed, Madeline swung her legs out of the covers and over the side. “I don’t need a wheelchair,” she said, but as she stood up her legs nearly buckled, and Mrs. Carter grabbed her quickly.
“Come on,” she soothed, “that sedation can fool you. This is what I’m here for.” She helped Madeline with the robe, then sat her down in the chair and bent over to lift her feet onto the foot rests. Madeline stared ahead, barely aware of the nurse. Child? Which child? Operating for what? She felt as though she’d been dropped into an unfamiliar world, and no one was going to help her identify where she was.
As they moved briskly down the corridor, Madeline’s eyes were wide. It was a
modern hospital in every sense of the word, with the same smell of antiseptic and soap and sickness as every other hospital she had ever been in. Nurses, orderlies, and patients moved here and there, and the intercom chimed and called for this doctor or that doctor. As they approached the elevators, a Pink Lady smiled at them. Madeline felt as if she had somehow been thrust back twenty years in time.
While they were waiting, Madeline suddenly pointed to her left wrist. “What’s this?”
“That’s your wrist computer,” Mrs. Carter said, anticipating the next question. “Everyone in Shalev has one.” She held up her own arm, and the Pink Lady did the same.
“Wrist computer?”
“Yes, it’s like a watch, but more. Much more.”
“But why—”
“Mrs. Lloyd,” the nurse interjected, “I know this is all a little overwhelming to you, but if you’ll just be patient for a few more minutes, Dr. Gould will explain it all to you. Just be patient.”
Dr. Gould, a short, balding man, was dressed in green operating robes and hat, with a surgical mask hanging around his neck along with a stethoscope. He smiled at Madeline as Mrs. Carter wheeled her up, but the smile was brief and only touched the surface of his face.
“How do you do, Mrs. Lloyd. I’m Dr. Gould.” He nodded to Mrs. Carter. “Thank you, nurse.”
Mrs. Carter smiled at Madeline quickly and disappeared back around the corner.
Before the doctor could speak, Madeline’s anxiety took control. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “Why am I here?”
“Mrs. Lloyd, our time is relatively short at the moment, so I’ll get right to the point. A full explanation will be given to you later. But briefly, as an incoming citizen of Shalev, you’ve undergone what we call implantation.”
“Implantation?”
“Yes. A tiny piece of electronic equipment has been implanted at the base of your skull. Please,” he said, catching her hand as it jerked upward, “be careful of the dressing.”