~
Outside, the noises that usually greeted her had subsided. Today was a public holiday, and only the most necessary functions were still running. Sue heard the train come to a halt a few blocks down to the right and an angry couple shouting at each other in a building nearby. Other than that, there was only the wind and the rustling of leaves. Sue didn’t look back as she walked away from the house, passing between the artificial trees on the sidewalk and crossing the street. The grocery store on the other side had a CLOSED sign on the door. She noticed someone moving inside, and smiled. There was always some business to be done, even on Initiation Day; it just happened in behind closed doors.
She passed the butcher shop, the bakery, and the telephone office, without seeing any signs of life. The telephone service was closed, anyway, and even if it wasn’t, the lines were all monitored. She remembered two years ago, when Charlestown got its second telephone office on the other side of town. No one could believe there was a need for more than one, but amazingly, both were still in business. There was always someone with family in the next town or business too far away to go speak face to face. You would think people had better things to spend their hard-earned coins on than telephoning each other, but obviously they didn’t.
The town square wasn’t far, just a few blocks away, and then a wide circle back around, which took her right back toward the train station, located on the far side of the square. This was where everyone was gathered. She glanced up at the three-story building that housed the mayor’s office and saw the Covenant flag flapping in the wind, hanging out above the sidewalk. Mayor Robertson was one of the few citizens she knew, and a woman she looked up to. She had earned her citizenship through Service with the Janissaries, and although there were all kinds of stories about her, Sue didn’t know which ones to believe. All she knew was that she was a fair but stern woman in her sixties, with a granddaughter a year younger than Sue, and she was from here. She was one of them. That counted for something.
The crowd let her through; some smiled and patted her on the back while others remained silent, wearing solemn looks and somber eyes. Everyone knew that many of the kids they saw today would never return, one way or the other. Sue walked toward the officers, who were directing everyone into lines where they would wait to be registered. She noticed a couple from school being separated. Who knew if they would ever see each other again? A mother kissed a boy from her class on the forehead, tears running down her cheeks, before the officers separated them. While the son was taken away, the mother didn’t make a sound. Her lips moved constantly, though, a silent prayer for her son to return. She saw Chas from the advanced class, nodding at his father, both of them wearing determined looks in their eyes.
She joined Vince and Laurie at the back of the line, as the officer directing her turned and went to fetch another. Both were laughing, although she sensed their nervousness. Laurie’s sister had been chosen by the Janissaries last year, and he hoped to join her up north if he was chosen today. Vince on the other hand, had no desire to join his older brother. He’d been chosen for the Corpus three years ago, and no one had heard from him since. They would have heard if he was dead, but if he wasn’t, he would be soon enough, once they had spent him. Sue remembered Vince saying once that it was better to think that he died that fateful day. Better to mourn and move on.
“You nervous?” Laurie asked. Sue just nodded.
“Come on, man, we’re all nervous here,” Vince said. “All we can do now is hope. It’s all decided for us, anyways.”
“You really believe that, Vince?” Sue asked, cocking her head. Vince had been talking to the priest lately, and their belief was that everything was decided by fate. There was no escaping it, and whatever you did to avoid your fate, eventually it caught up to you. Better to accept it, embrace it, and gather strength from it.
“Yeah, I do. I really do. I just hope fate has something better in store for me than my bro.” Sue watched him. A year ago, Vince had started working out, training, in order to be more attractive to the Janissaries. It was the best he could hope for, as the Students were out of the question. Anything but the Corpus. A few months ago, though, Vince had started slacking off, as the faith had started to sink in. There was nothing he could do; the Corpus were just as likely as the Janissaries to pick a healthy, fit young man for Service. And whatever he did, fate would find him eventually.
Sue didn’t know what to believe. She listened to the priests, and there was wisdom in their words, but she didn’t like the fact that she didn’t have a say in it. She had a hard time accepting that her life and death were at the hands of some unknown entity, and that her actions didn’t mean anything.
When they reached the front of the line, an officer scanned and registered their IDs and their retinas, and they were allowed to pass.
“Hurry up and wait,” Laurie said dryly. Sue looked back and watched the lines still snail forward. It would be a while until everyone was registered. She looked around to see if her mother and Jason had come. She didn’t see them anywhere, but she was certain they were there, somewhere. She noticed her neighbor Marie standing just behind the officers, over by the fence, and saw she was looking at her. Sue smiled.
“Don’t bother,” Vince said. “You are a candidate now. Property of the State.” Sue looked around and noticed that they were all surrounded by officers, keeping them away from the spectators. Then she looked back to Marie, her mother’s friend. Did she come here today for her? She would never know.
DAVE
Dave shouldn’t be afraid. After all, there was only one option as far as he was concerned; one that would give him the chance to achieve his lifelong dream. He knew he wasn’t Janissary material, and the Corpus? No, there were too many other able bodies that would last longer in the Service than he would, with his skinny legs and awkward hands. His mind was his foremost asset, and today, it would give him the future so few could even hope for. Dave was top of his class on the Overall Scholarly Aptitude Test and had received merits for Physics. If anyone in this town was ever a natural Student it would be he. The principal had even congratulated him on his last day at school, asking him not to forget about his hometown when he left to make a name for himself.
So why did he feel this nagging chill down his spine as he passed the officers in front of the town square? Was it fear of rejection? The thought that even he wasn’t good enough to be chosen? He looked around and saw familiar faces everywhere. Charlestown was a small community of a few thousand, close to the Belt, separating them from the forbidden areas of the Corpus to the south. It was nothing like the crowded cities to the north, where thousands upon thousands were stacked on top of each other in tall skyscrapers, where you could live your entire life and never know your closest neighbors.
Dave had always liked it here, in this quiet corner of the Covenant. Yes they were poor, but they cared for each other. If someone didn’t have enough to eat, or shelter over their heads, people would help out in whatever way they could. If you stumbled, a friend would help you back on your feet. And there had been no uprisings here since the great one, and that was generations ago. Even then, Charlestown had stayed mostly out of the fighting.
Still, he knew he wouldn’t have much of a future here, and although his dreams were different from many of his friends who had trained for years to be considered by the Janissaries, his dreams were no less dependent on the outcome of this day.
He glimpsed Sue and Vince and Laurie standing in line for registration, and wondered if he’d ever see them again after today. They had grown up in the same part of town and spent their childhood years making all kinds of mischief together. He’d been placed in an advanced class three years ago, so they didn’t meet as often as they used to, but he still considered them his friends.
An officer directed him to the back of a shorter line, and his mind drifted off, while the line slowly snaked forward. When he reached the officer in the front, he started. He hadn’t noticed. He fumbl
ed as he produced his ID, and the officer scanned it. Then his retinas were scanned, and he was ushered past, to more waiting. He saw Chas and Felicia from class standing close by, so he went to join them.
“Hey, Dave,” Felicia said, while Chas just nodded to him.
“Hey, guys.” There wasn’t much else to say. Everyone knew what happened next; they’d all seen it several times before. And now it was their turn. Dave didn’t really suspect any surprises. The three of them were the smartest in class, according to the tests. They would likely all be chosen for the Students, although Dave noticed an edge to Felicia’s voice. Normally, three to five Student Initiates were chosen from Charlestown, but the number varied, and no one could be absolutely certain. And of the three, Felicia was the weakest.
“Let’s get on with it already,” Chas said, jaws clenched. It was no secret that Chas thought this ceremony to be a ridiculous artifact, devoid of any real function. Even though officially, the representatives of the Services would make their final decisions right here, today, everyone knew the lists were prepared in advance. If not, there would have been instances of different Services choosing the same Initiates, and it never happened.
The square was filling up, and finally all the lines were empty. The officers formed a half circle behind them. As of this moment, they were all candidates, to be picked for any of the Services, regardless of personal preference. As soon as their names were spoken, their status would change to Initiate. Initiates were taken away immediately and would not be back for as long as their Service lasted, if ever. The remaining candidates would be asked to volunteer. Normally, the only Service that would take volunteers was the Corpus, always in need of more bodies to exploit for the good of the State. Whoever volunteered for the Corpus would have to be desperate—starving or on the run from something. The Janissaries might also take volunteers, if the losses on the front were exceptionally high. The North was constantly at war, but even if they accepted volunteers, the Janissaries were picky. The Students never took volunteers, though; the few Initiates they did take were chosen long before today.
Screens flickered, and a familiar face beamed before them. Head Servant Alexej Lunde, pure Moon blood all the way back to the Descent, and a few steps behind, his mysterious advisor Mark Novak.
“Welcome, candidates,” Head Servant Lunde said in a rumbling voice.
“On this day of Initiation, the greatest honor of the Covenant, and the greatest sacrifice, is about to be bestowed upon a select few of the young men and women of Charlestown. Today, those with the skills and abilities needed to become our future citizens will be chosen for the highest glory of all, known as Service to the State.”