Noises reached manuel’s ears as if from a great distance in the dark. He came to consciousness slowly, searching for anything familiar in his mind. Nothing came. His mind was a frightening blank. A dull pain throbbed just below his ribcage.
Manuel could feel his brain trying to panic, but the grogginess overwhelmed everything. He tried to open his eyes to get a sense of where he was. His eyelids felt heavy. Dim light pierced his eyes as he forced them open a crack. A hand hovered over his face, blocking out most of the light.
“Slowly, Mr. Rodriguez.” A woman’s voice, speaking softly.
A tingling sensation ran up and down Manuel’s body.
The hand moved from above his face and rested on his forehead. Her touch was cool against his skin. He forced his heavy-lidded eyes further open, squinting against the light. He saw the woman bending over him. She was smiling, her beautiful smiling face glowing in the light. Her blonde hair was drawn elegantly behind her head.
She raised the head of his bed gently and held a straw to his lips.
“Drink slowly,” she cautioned.
He sipped through the straw. Swallowing was difficult, but the liquid felt cool and sweet on Manuel’s tongue.
“What is it?”
“A combination of electrolytes and other nutrients.”
He frowned. The answer was unexpected; he thought he’d been given fruit juice of some kind. Wasn’t that typical after surgery?
“Do you have a name?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I should have told you already. My name is Akaria.”
“Akaria? That’s a beautiful name,” Manuel said.
She smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
Brief memories flashed through his mind. A pretty, dark-haired woman, holding a little girl. Walking on the beach. A blue house, the same woman standing on the deck. His memory must be slowly returning. The anesthesia must have been a powerful one to blank out so much of it.
The woman turned, tapping quickly on a screen. It was an odd kind of technology; nothing like the computers he was used to seeing. Was that another memory surfacing? He glanced around. Where were the monitors?
He eyed her clothing. She was in a close-fitting body suit made of a smooth, silky cloth. The light blue and silver material reflected the dim light.
“It looks you’re recovering well. Let’s sit you on the side of the bed now.” She gripped his hands, pulling him to a sitting position. Her grip was firm on his, and she was strong enough to pull him up easily.
“Akaria, what was that tingling I felt before?” he asked curiously.
“A neuro stimulant.” She pointed to an intravenous line in his arm. “You haven’t moved your body in a long time. It helps your muscles wake up.”
“A long time?” Manuel shook his head. “What kind of surgery did I have?”
Her dark blue eyes slid away from his.
“Please, tell me what’s going on. I can’t seem to remember anything.”
“You didn’t have surgery, Mr. Rodriguez. This is the cryosleep recovery department. It’s my job to take of people as they wake up after removal from cryosleep chambers.”
Manuel was stunned. He had been asleep in a chamber, unaware in cryosleep for years?
“How — how long?” he croaked. He was afraid to hear the answer.
“Cryosleep was used for human preservation for about fifty years. You were one of the first people who decided to enter cryosleep, and you chose a longer preservation period than most.”
“That’s not an answer, Akaria.”
“I’m sorry. It has been a very long time.”
Manuel took a deep breath.
“Please, tell me how long it has been.”
“You have been in cryosleep for one hundred and fifty years,” Akaria said softly.
Manuel gasped, choking on his own saliva. He coughed violently. Akaria, alarmed, wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“Mr. Rodriguez! Are you all right?”
Manuel nodded, getting the coughing under control. He swallowed and looked up at the beautiful blonde woman.
“You did say one hundred and fifty years?” He hoped, deep down, he had heard her wrong.
Akaria nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry this is coming as such a shock to you. Many cryosleep patients retain some memories of their past, including their choice to enter cryosleep. I hoped you would have at least that memory.”
Manuel closed his eyes. Just some flashes, the same dark-haired woman and little girl he’d seen before, the blue house. Nothing else. He had had a family. Why would he have left them behind? Why would he have chosen to sleep for 150 years?
He wanted to block out the idea of what had happened. Maybe he would find out more from these people, and his memories would start to come back. He looked again at Akaria’s bodysuit, observing her fit physique and how the material clung to her body.
“Am I going to have to wear clothing like that?” he asked uncomfortably. He looked down at his current garb. He was dressed in loose gray pants and a shirt to match.
“Of course, sir. Everyone does. Yours will most likely be a different color. They are coded to each person’s work area.”
Work area? Manuel wondered to what kind of world he had awakened.
“Time to stand, sir.” She held out a hand as he slid off the table and landed on his feet.
“I feel pretty good,” he said, surprised. He flexed his knees. “Whatever’s in that stuff you gave me, I feel like a million bucks.”
“A million — bucks? What are bucks?”
“It’s slang. For money?”
Akaria shook her head. Confusion clouded her beautiful face. “I don’t know what you mean by slang or money.”
Manuel was surprised. “You don’t have money? I don’t remember much, but I know I had money. What happened to it?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, Mr. Rodriguez, sir,” Akaria said. “Now that you’re on your feet, it’s time for you to meet with your ReWake counselor.”
“Okay,” Manuel was nervous. He didn’t know what to expect next.
“Follow me, please,” Akaria said, leading Manuel toward a circular door, which opened automatically as they approached. The room they left was dim, but the hallway they entered was brightly lit. Manuel raised one hand to shield his eyes from the sudden onslaught of light.
The hallway was smooth and round. It was the same silver as Akaria’s suit intertwined with the same pastel blue. The light glowed along the curve where the colors met.
“This entire floor is dedicated to cryosleep personnel, sir. Milocek’s office is this way. He’s your assigned ReWake counselor.”
Manuel followed Akaria along the hallway, which curved continuously. Round doors matching the one they had left the original room Manuel had awakened in were set into the inner wall at even intervals.
Akaria stopped after they had passed several doors and tapped a glowing panel next to one of the doors.
The panel pinged softly, and Akaria tapped it. The door opened and a fit man with dark hair and olive skin stood up behind a clear desk.
“This is Milocek, your ReWake counselor. I must say goodbye now, Mr. Rodriguez, sir,” Akaria said, bowing slightly. “It was an honor to serve you.”
“Th-thank you,” Manny stammered.
She walked briskly away down the hall.
“Please come in, Mr. Rodriguez,” the man behind the desk said in a welcoming voice. “Please, sit,” he went on, indicating a clear molded chair. “Is there anything I can get for you?”
“I am hungry,” Manuel admitted as he slid into the chair. That nagging pain in his belly was increasing, and he pressed a hand against it.
“Of course, my apologies,” Milocek said. He turned to a small panel behind him and pressed a button.
A moment later, there was a small clink! from a slot beneath panel. Milocek slid the slot open and took out a small tray. He turned and held it out to Manuel.
“Here you are, sir.”
Manuel looked at the tray in astonishment. It held a single bright green capsule.
“Um, what is that?” he asked, confused.
“It is a nutrient capsule, sir. Each capsule contains one day’s nutritional needs.”
Manuel took the capsule, staring at it doubtfully.
“Don’t you eat anything?”
“No sir. There is no need. Just one nutrient capsule is all we need each day.”
He looked up at Milocek.
“Aren’t you going to give me a glass of water? How am I supposed to swallow this?”
It was Milocek’s turn to look surprised. “Water, sir?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t drink water.”
“Oh, no,” Milocek smiled again. “The electrolyte drink Akaria gave you in cryo recovery is all we need to keep us hydrated. And the capsule has a coating that makes it easy to swallow.”
Manuel shrugged and popped the capsule into his mouth. He expected some difficulty swallowing, but it slid easily down his throat. He felt full almost immediately.
Manuel eyed Milocek’s silver-and-blue bodysuit. It was just as form-fitting as Akaria’s. Milocek was just as attractive and physically fit as Akaria had been. He really wasn’t looking forward to receiving his own bodysuit. He looked up at Milocek’s neatly styled hair and reached up to feel his own shaggy mop.
“So! Mr. Rodriguez, sir,” Milocek said. “It is my job to explain life in our society to you. When a person is awakened from cryosleep, each is integrated into our society. Most have been sleeping for anywhere from fifty to one hundred years, so it can take some time for memory recovery and learning how our society works.
“Today, we will examine you in medical to treat any medical conditions which were present when you entered cryosleep. You’ll be given a body suit to wear. The first bodysuits people wear before jobs are assigned are silver in color.
“Once that process is completed, you will be assigned your own living quarters, which are identical to everyone else’s. Your nutrition capsule and electrolyte drink are delivered every morning. When your job is assigned, you will be given bodysuits in the appropriate color, to indicate where it is that you work.”
Manuel was overwhelmed. He sat in silence for a few moments. Milocek gave him time to process the information he had just given; obviously he was used to the reactions of the newly awakened.
“Would you like to see a view of our city, sir?” Milocek asked. “It’s quite stunning; most of our cryosleep patients find it quite interesting.”
“Um — yeah, sure,” Manuel stammered. He pressed his hand harder against his abdomen as he stood up. The pain in his belly was really starting to bother him.
Milocek led him farther down the curved hallway; one section of the curve was a large panel of clear glass. Milocek stood beside him as Manuel looked out over an enormous, gleaming city.
“Welcome to Ataxia, sir. Just one of the many identical cities on the planet.”
Manuel felt his breath stop in his throat. Narrow buildings of various pastel colors speared the cloudless sky all around them.
Below, the streets were as white as Milocek’s teeth. Manuel could see signs flashing down toward the streets; Manuel couldn’t make out what they showed.
“It looks like some things haven’t changed,” Manuel chuckled. “Although I can’t imagine what you’d be advertising with no money to buy anything.”
Milocek eyed him thoughtfully.
“Would you find it interesting if I told you the displays on those signs changed to make a major announcement just today, sir? Typically, they just broadcast safety tips and scientific advancements.”
Manuel looked at him, startled.
“They changed today? Why?”
“Because someone very important is joining our society.” Milocek smiled cryptically at Manuel and held out one hand.
“Let’s head down to medical and take care of that pain, sir. I am afraid I have been remiss by keeping you up here far too long.” The counselor now had a contrite expression on his handsome face.
“Milocek, a few of my memories are starting to come back a little. My wife, my daughter. I only get flashes of their faces in my mind for a second, but I can’t help but wonder. Shouldn’t they be waking up today too?”
Milocek hesitated.
“No, sir. The Record says you entered cryosleep alone.”
Manuel grabbed Milocek’s arm.
“Why would I do that? I remember having plenty of money, enough to bring them with me. Why would I come all these years alone?”
Milocek looked down at Manuel’s hand squeezing his arm. “I don’t know, sir. That information isn’t included in the Record. And I don’t what you mean when you keep referring to money.”
Manuel let go. “I’m sorry. It’s just — I don’t understand why I wouldn’t bring them. Please, accept my apologies.”
“It’s quite all right, sir.” Milocek continued down the hallway, and Manuel followed, feeling like a fool.
“Follow me, sir,” Milocek said, leading Manuel out of the medical bay. He led Manuel to another round door and stepped inside a small room.
Milocek tapped a panel on the wall. Many felt his stomach drop and realized they were in an elevator.
When the elevator stopped, they stepped out into another brightly lit hallway. In this hallway, the silver was intertwined with pastel green instead.
“Welcome to the medical floor,” Milocek said.
In the medical room where Milocek led Manuel, two people in silver and that same pastel green were unusually excited to meet him. Both were dark-skinned, with the same beautiful perfection and even white teeth as everyone Manuel had met so far had. They introduced themselves as Parkel and Chantar. Chantar asked him to lie on a bed in the center of the room and scanned him with a small, handheld machines that beeped as it crossed his torso.
“Minor heart murmur and cancer of the pancreas confirmed,” Chantar said.
“Oh, my god!” Manuel exclaimed. “I have cancer? How much time do I have?” His heart sank; he had slept all this time only to die in this strange new world alone.
Parkel laughed out loud, then stifled the laugh with an apology. “Cryosleep patients always panic when they hear their scans and confirmed diagnoses. Memories aren’t restored yet and you don’t remember the illnesses you had when you went under. Please, just lie still on the table.”
Trembling, Manuel stared at the ceiling. He looked bitterly at the person who’d had the gall to laugh.
Parkel positioned a large piece of equipment that began to glide slowly down his body. He felt a slight burning sensation as it paused over his chest. It stopped just below his ribcage. A painful sensation increased quickly, and Manuel fought to keep from crying out. Finally, it subsided.
“Okay,” Parkel said after the equipment had been put away, “you can get up now, sir.”
“Everything is repaired, Mr. Rodriguez,” said Chantar, bowing slightly.
“Repaired?”
“Yes, the heart murmur and the pancreatic cancer have been repaired.” Parkel said with a smile.
“You can do all that with a simple machine?”
“Yes, we can repair all illnesses and injuries, sir,” Parkel said.
Milocek handed Manuel a silver body suit. He indicated a small room where Manuel could change.
Removing his loose gray clothes, Manuel slipped into the body suit. He expected it to be tight and uncomfortable, but it slid over his skin easily. Unfortunately, it clung to his body just as he had suspected it would, highlighting the potbelly he had clearly developed before entering cryosleep. He would stand out like a sore thumb among these fit, beautiful people.
No one looked at Manuel with any sign of judgement as he reentered the medical room in the bodysuit. They all looked pleased to see him again. “It was an honor to serve you, sir,” Parkel and Chantar said in unison as they bowed to Manuel.
“Next stop, body polish,” Milocek said as he led Manuel out the door.
“Body polish?” Manuel asked, following Milocek down the bright hallway.
This hallway had more people walking past them, and Manuel felt awkward. Everyone he saw was in perfect shape, immaculate, and beautiful. His rumpled hair and out-of-shape body were surely shocking to see.
“Please do not feel uncomfortable,” Milocek said, perhaps picking up on Manuel’s discomfort. “Most people coming out of cryosleep feel like they do not fit in here at first.”
He stopped at another door and tapped on the panel. It beeped and opened, revealing a single chair in the center of the room, and a woman with long, shining brown hair cascading down her back facing a screen on the wall to the side of the room. Milocek held out a hand, indicating that Manuel should enter the room. He did not follow.
“I will wait in the hall for you,” he said.
The dark-haired woman turned as Manuel entered, smiling, and inclining her head.
“Mr. Rodriguez,” she said in a mellifluous voice. “I am Latalia. It is an honor. Please, remove your bodysuit.”
Manuel stared at her.
“You want me to take this off? But I just put it on? And what else do you want me to put on?”
Latalia smiled.
“Nothing, Mr. Rodriguez. I cannot perform a body polish if you are wearing clothing.”
A warm flush crept up Manuel’s neck and face.
“You want me to just — take this off and stand here naked?”
“I apologize that this was not explained to you beforehand. Yes, to perform the body polish, you must remove your clothing. Everyone who goes through this is naked. I assure you, I have performed this procedure many times. I am a professional, Mr. Rodriguez, and I would never judge you. I make sure to never treat any of my patients any differently from each other. I also do not speak to anyone of what I do in this room.”
Hesitantly, Manuel removed the bodysuit as Latalia waited by the pastel green chair in the center of the room. She averted her eyes as he stripped down and laid the suit aside.
When he was undressed, she held out a hand to the chair, which was long and padded. When Manuel sat in it, Latalia tapped a screen on the side, and it reclined until Manuel was staring up at her. She tapped on the screen again, and a long bar descended from above the chair and moved slowly up Manuel’s body, starting at his feet.
As he lay there, staring up at the ceiling, the bar completed its journey, ending just past the top of his head. Instead of stopping as he expected, it moved back down along his body, and then returned to its position near the ceiling.
“All done, Mr. Rodriguez,” Latalia said.
“I don’t feel any different,” Manuel said. “I didn’t even notice anything when that bar was scanning me, or whatever.”
Latalia laughed.
“Just go take a look in that mirror,” she said.
Manuel slid off the chair and walked over to the mirror. He half-expected to see himself looking as fit as everyone else, but saw his potbelly and lack of firm muscles were still in evidence. However, his skin looked clean and somehow smooth. It had a sheen to it he’d never seen before. He rubbed his arm and noticed the skin felt very soft. He looked down at himself and noticed that all his body hair was gone. All of it.
He looked back in the mirror quickly to see his face; he was relieved to see the hair on his head was still there. In fact, it had been trimmed and was neatly styled. His teeth gleamed whitely at him when he peeled back his lips. His face looked freshly shaved, and when he ran his fingers over his jaw, felt no stubble.
With a jolt, Manuel realized he was still standing fully naked in front of Latalia. He grabbed his silver bodysuit and pulled it on.
“What did you do to me?” he asked once he was dressed. Latalia looked up at him.
“A full body polish removes all body hair, clears all dead skin and hydrates, renewing live skin cells to their optimum level. You receive teeth whitening and hair styling. Oh, and vision correction.”
“Why all body hair? What if a person doesn’t want all their body hair removed?”
“That’s simply not an option, Mr. Rodriguez. No one in our society has body hair; it’s unsanitary. Your facial hair will no longer grow. You now have perfect vision, just like the rest of us.”
“No body hair? That’s — that’s unbelievable!”
Latalia smiled. “It’s genetic. To be honest, I’m one of the only people in our society who has ever seen a human body with hair anywhere but on the head. I don’t share that information with anyone.”
“Genetic?” Manuel stopped for a moment. The word triggered something in his mind. He felt like genetics was something he was familiar with. A memory danced close; the sensation reminded him of having a word on the tip of his tongue. It hung tantalizingly close, then slipped away. He sighed, frustrated.
“Are you all right, sir?” Latalia looked concerned at Manuel’s reaction.
“No, I’m fine. Just thought I remembered something for a moment there.”
“The memories will come,” Latalia said. “It just takes time.”
She walked him to the door. Milocek was waiting patiently in the hallway. He beamed when he saw Manuel.
“You look wonderful!” he exclaimed. “Latalia, you work magic every time.”
Latalia shook her head and rolled her dark brown eyes.
“Milocek, you say the same thing with each patient. Now, take Mr. Rodriguez here and complete his integration. There’s no one you need to take better care of.” She surprised Manuel with a sudden hug, then apologized and stepped back, bowing her head.
“Goodbye, Mr. Rodriguez. It has been an honor to serve you,” she said. She stepped back into her work room and the door closed between them.
“What did she mean by that?” Manuel said. “I feel like everyone is treating me differently. It sounds like it’s even different than other cryosleep patients. What’s that about?”
“Mr. Rodriguez, there’s something — well, I was really hoping your memories would start to return by now. Many cryosleep patients have started to recover some memories within the first few hours.”
“Well, I haven’t.” Manuel said, irritated. “I’d like to know what is going on.”
“You were a geneticist. A discovery you made started society down the road to what we have become. Everyone here knows who you are. It is an honor for us all to be the ones to assist you as you awaken today and join us.”
“What discovery? I can’t remember anything. This is so frustrating.” Manuel wished he could force his mind to open and free the memories from his life, letting his know everything about who he had been and why he was here.
“I cannot tell you that; the specifics have been lost through time. We only know that your discovery made it possible for geneticists to improve the human to the perfection you see today. Those changes to our physiology and intelligence gave us the ability to create a better world.”
Manuel was shocked. All of this, because of him? He couldn’t imagine what he could have done to create a path that led to this. If only he could remember!
He followed Milocek to the elevator numbly. The drop in his stomach as the small room plummeted down an unknown number of floors barely caught his attention. He closed his eyes, and the images that flashed before him were the same as before: the dark-haired woman on the deck of the blue house, her hair blowing in the breeze as she gazed down at the beach. No, that was longer than before. A small girl dug in the sand, and he stood with his feet in the surf. The woman waved at him, laughing.
The elevator door was opening when he opened his eyes.
“I remember,” Manuel said.
“Your work?” Milocek asked excitedly.
“No. Just more about the woman and the girl. I’m sure they were my wife and daughter. I feel such love for them—I still can’t believe I left them behind.”
Milocek looked disappointed.
“We want to give you an introduction into our society,” Manuel said. “But since you can’t remember much, I don’t think this is the best time. Perhaps if you are simply taken to your assigned living quarters and allowed to rest, more will come back to you. The building where you will be living is just down this street.”
Manuel looked around. They had stepped out into a wide, beautifully appointed green and blue lobby. A beautiful woman sat behind a desk in the center of the lobby. Off to one side waited a man with golden skin and eyes in a silver and red suit.
“Lideton will be escorting you to your quarters,” Milocek said. “You will be working in genetics, of course,” Milocek said. “I hope more of your memories return today, sir, and the ceremony can be held tonight as planned. It has been my honor.”
Manuel frowned as he shook Milocek’s hand. All the bowing and “honor” and “sir” was beginning to bother him.
“Thank you for everything, Milocek.”
Lideton smiled at Manuel.
“Mr. Rodriguez, it is an honor to be the guard chosen to escort you,” he said. Manuel sighed.
“Thank you, Lideton.”
Lideton led Manuel to the exit. The door was round like all the others Manuel had seen, but this one was made of glass. People passed back and forth, dressed in body suits of several different colors. Every single one of them was fit and beautiful. Looking down at his own imperfect body, he groaned internally. He would stick out like a sore thumb.
Together, Lideton and Manuel stepped outside. Several people glanced their way. Suddenly several of them stopped and stared, murmuring to each other. A woman pointed at him. Manuel could feel his face turning red in embarrassment. He had known he would look unusual to these perfect people, but he hadn’t expected to be stared at quite so openly.
As several people in the crowd turned from staring at him to look up at a sign across the street, Manuel followed their glances. He gasped. His own face was plastered on the screen, turning back and forth, the words THE HERO OF ATAXIA scrolling across the bottom of the sign.
“What the hell?” Manuel said under his breath.
Lideton turned, tugging on Manuel’s arm.
“Please come this way, Mr. Rodriguez.”
His legs numb, Manuel followed. As they walked, more people stopped and stared, some with their mouths hanging open. He saw more signs, with his face and the same slogan.
“Lideton, what is going on?”
“Your genetic discovery — because of you, we are genetically perfect and the entire planet has been saved.”
That was far more than Milocek had told him. Manuel felt tight bands around his chest. He couldn’t draw in a breath.
“I — I,” he wheezed. He dropped to his knees and the crowd that was forming gasped.
“Mr. Rodriguez!” Lideton cried out.
Manuel lost consciousness.
• • •
The dim light shone in his eyes again as he blinked.
“Where am I? Was it all a dream?”
“This is indeed still reality, Mr. Rodriguez,” Milocek’s voice. Manuel groaned.
“I should have told you about your fame in more detail. I thought the surprise might make you feel special, and might even jog your memory,” Milocek said.
“I certainly was surprised,” Manuel said. “What did I do to deserve all of this?”
“Your discovery led to a way to manipulate the human genome. It was the beginning of what we’ve become. Because of what you discovered, once we reach adulthood, we don’t age. We are all genetically perfect.”
“But the rest?” Manuel asked.
“The rest?”
“The nutrient pills, the society without money, job assignments …”
“As people continued to manipulate the human genome with your work, society became perfect. No one needs to compete for any reason — no one is better than anyone else.”
Suddenly, memories began to appear in Manuel’s head. He saw himself working in a lab, hunched over a microscope, staring at a slide. Saw himself entering data into a computer. Saw himself tossing papers into the air, embracing other people in lab coats as they all danced around.
“I remember …” he said softly. “I remember solving it.”
Then the woman’s face came to him again. Sofia. Sitting next to him in a hospital bed, tears in her eyes as a doctor told him he had cancer and it was too late to save his life.
He remembered the beach house, the place they were happiest.
He looked up at Milocek. The handsome was clearly trying to control the excitement inside of him.
“Why can’t I remember all of it?”
“It can take weeks for people who come out of cryosleep to regain their full memories. I am so sorry, sir, that you cannot remember everything. It is incredible that you remember breaking the genetic code.”
Manuel sat up.
“Is there anything left except for these cities of … perfection?”
“Left, sir?”
“What’s outside the cities? Where are all the animals? The trees, the grass?” Manuel hoped the results of his discovery hadn’t destroyed the rest of the planet.
“Oh,” Milocek said. “Outside the walls the rest of the planet thrives. We don’t disturb the other animals and the plants; they are left to live without human interference.”
“And how do you get from city to city without interfering with their world?” Manuel asked.
“Humankind built walls around every city, high enough to keep us in and them out. We have solar-powered trains that travel from city to city. Walls surround every track. There is no travel between continents, to preserve ocean life.”
“This world is perfect,” Manuel said softy. “But it is not my world. I feel so alone. Why did I leave my family behind?”
“There is a place, Mr. Rodriguez, that you might like to see,” Milocek said softly. “I have spent some time researching your history and I think it is the one place that will help you feel better.”
“Nothing could possibly make me feel better about being so alone,” Manuel said.
“Please, just come with me. I promise, this will make a difference for you.”
Manuel followed Milocek to the ground floor. Lideton stood back at his post. The crowd outside had dispersed.
“Milocek, why is there security if this is a perfect society?”
“There are occasions when someone who appears genetically perfect has a genetic defect that permits violence or self-harm, and they need taken to medical. We have the capacity to repair such defects, but they aren’t always evident until after incidents occur. Security is needed to assist with restraint.”
Manuel looked at Milocek. “So, not so perfect after all.”
“There is no such thing as ‘absolute perfection’,” Milocek said. “But we are as close as we can get.”
This time, Manuel was grateful as Milocek and Lideton ensured they exited quickly and assisted him in climbing into a small white car with a solar panel built into the roof. Milocek tapped a screen on the dashboard. Soundlessly, the car pulled away from the curb and drove.
Milocek turned to Manuel.
“I’m taking you somewhere very special. I am certain you will be happy to see it.”
Manuel tried looking around at the city, but he found seeing his own face on the signs everywhere too distracting and uncomfortable. His genetic breakthrough, which he remembered had led to cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, had led to this Utopia. But others had clearly continued the work to achieve this level of genetic excellence. It was so strange to see himself considered the “hero” of the entire world.
After driving through a maze of white streets that all looked the same, the car left the city behind. Manuel was relieved to see the round pastel towers falls behind them. He noticed that white walls rose high around the perimeter and extended as far as he could see in both directions. The walls followed the road as they drove along.
It was a long drive with nothing to look at but the tall white walls on either side of the road. Manuel felt distracted and uneasy about where they might be going. While Milocek had said it was “someplace special” where Manuel might “recover his memories”, Manuel was worried it would be yet another facility where he would be prodded and stared at. Milocek tried to ask him several questions about his genetic discovery, but since Manuel hadn’t recovered most of his memories yet, he couldn’t answer them. The other man’s few attempts at conversation soon lapsed into uncomfortable silence.
Finally, the road ended at a gate that closed off the road. Milocek tapped on a panel, and the gates in front of them slid back into the walls. Surrounded by a small enclosure of the same white walls, the blue beach house from his memories stood alone. Manuel climbed slowly out of the car and stood with one hand on the door, staring at the house.
It was just as he remembered.
“How is this still here? After all this time?”
Milocek smiled. “In your honor, sir. This home has been carefully preserved since you went to sleep.”
Manuel walked slowly to the door and stepped inside. He could almost smell Sofia’s perfume, nearly hear Rosa’s small feet running down the hall. But they were gone, lost to a past he’d chosen to leave for a reason he couldn’t even remember.
He walked slowly through the house. Everything was just as their family had left it. Even the refrigerator magnets were in place.
With a sigh, he walked into his old office and sat down at the desk. Pulling the drawers open, he smiled at the detritus of the old life he’d lived.
Suddenly he remembered the hidden drawer. He reached under the center of the desk, and found the trigger, opening the drawer. Inside was a blue envelope with handwriting he instantly recognized. He carefully opened the crumbling envelope and pulled out a laminated letter.
Manuel,
Rosa and I miss you so much. I hope they have the cure for your cancer where you have gone. I know how much you agonized over your decision to go. But if you had not, we would have watched you die.
Never think that we blame you for leaving us behind. This was the only chance for you to live. You will see the world you created with your work. Rosa and I will remain here, as we chose to do. Our goodbyes were painful, but you and I both wanted it this way.
We will leave this house exactly as it is now, and have it preserved in honor to you and the gift you have given to humanity.
I love you, Manuel. I will dream of you for the rest of my life.
Sofia
Manuel placed the note carefully back in the drawer.
As he walked out, he saw Milocek standing outside, looking at the house.
“This is where I want to live.”
Milocek turned around.
“What? This is no place to live!” He stopped, realizing who he was talking to. “Well, it is your house.” He stopped to think. “We can provide you with a car so you can come to your assigned workplace. We will deliver everything you need.”
“I want access to the ocean.”
Milocek froze. He did not even appear to be breathing.
“We protect the rest of the world from humanity. I-I do not how that will be possible, even for you, Mr. Rodriguez.”
“Just the beach. Please, Milocek. I want to be able to walk in the sand, hear the ocean. Just a small door with a window in the outer wall so I can see the ocean from the deck. I won’t interfere with anything out there, I promise.”
Milocek’s lips tightened until they were white with the pressure. Then he walked to the car and climbed inside. He tapped the panel and began speaking rapidly. He appeared quite agitated, and at one point, Manuel could hear his raised voice.
Manuel walked up the stairs to the deck and stood where he remembered Sofia standing and watching their daughter on the beach. He put his hand on the railing and closed his eyes, imagining it was the place where Sofia’s hand had rested. In his mind, he pictured Rosa on the beach, digging in the sand with her plastic shovel, the surf foaming onto the beach behind her.
“Mr. Rodriguez,” Milocek said quietly behind him. He turned to look the handsome man in the face.
“I have spoken to the City Council. After much debate, it has been decided that we will do what you ask and open a small door in the wall so you may access the ocean from this house. You must sign an agreement that you will never enter the ocean water, or pass the boundaries set for you.”
“Thank you,” Manuel said. “That is all that I want.”
It took time, but the city engineers accomplished it. They created a door in the outer wall so Manuel could walk on the beach, feel the wind in his hair, taste the salt when the water sprayed in his face.
His nutrient pill and his electrolyte drink were delivered every morning, and he soon fit into his bodysuit nearly as well as everyone else. He reported to his job in genetics every day.
One day, a car pulled up to the gate and the person inside tapped the panel to request entrance. Curious, Manuel opened the gate. The car parked in front of the blue house, and a young man got out. He stood looking at the house for a moment, one hand on the door. The breeze ruffled his black hair, and his light brown skin creased ever so slightly as he smiled.
He walked up to the door, where Manuel waited.
“Hello?” Manuel said cautiously to the young man.
“Hello,” the man said in response. “My name is Sofiroman. I am your great-great-great grandson.”
“Please come in,” Manuel said.