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“Hurry up! You’re going to make us late!”
Eli’s hand was poised over his left foot, a white sock dangling innocently as he sat frozen, staring in wonder at a large bird on his windowsill. It was a rare sight, and he’d been afraid any sudden movement might startle it.
“What’s taking you so long?”
His sister’s voice rang out from the intercom.
Eli shifted his gaze to the green light on the speaker near his bedroom door, scowling at it.
“You’re going to scare it,” Eli hissed under his breath, knowing the stupid machine wouldn’t pick up such a faint whisper. When he turned back, the bird was gone.
Eli tried to sear the sight into his memory. Black feathers, reflecting purple and blue like the oil slicked ponds of the dead zones. The way it cocked its head and gave him a knowing look. He would cherish every detail, only regretting that the experience had been so fleeting.
He finished shoving his foot into his sock and stood, marching to the door which slid away at his approach. He glared accusingly at the place where it disappeared into the wall before shouting down the stairs.
“I was busy! And why do you insist on using that stupid thing all the time? I can hear you just fine without it, it’s not like this place is so enormous or anything.”
Eli and his sister had been placed in corporate orphan housing almost two years ago, but it still didn’t feel like home. The automatic doors, as well as many other amenities, had been touted by their parents as a wonderful upgrade when compared to their old home in Gables. But he would have given almost anything to go back to their “low tech” home in the suburbs.
At least they’d been together there. At least they’d been a real family.
“Maybe I just don’t want to shout, unlike some people!” Mabel retorted, appearing at the base of the stairs. She had one hand planted on her hip, the other holding up a somewhat floppy-looking sandwich with harried expectancy. Her sleek curls bobbed as they brushed against her shoulders, mirroring her impatience and reminding him of the shimmering bird with the way they caught the light. Eli deliberately took his time coming down the stairs, bringing his foot down hard on each step to underscore his displeasure. Childish, perhaps. But he was irritated, and he wanted her to know it. He snatched the sandwich from her waiting hand and took a bite, glaring at her all the while. Large brown eyes stared back at him, unwavering, until at last his will to argue drained away. Mabel had an uncanny ability to rile him up and calm him down again whenever she pleased. It seemed almost a game to her, sometimes.
“Saw a bird,” Eli told her through a mouthful of what tasted like mostly bread, brushing past her as he hunted for his shoes. “On my windowsill.”
“Oh yeah?” Mabel tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to where the toe of one sneaker stuck out from beneath the white sofa. Her voice sounded distracted, but with a hint of genuine interest. “What kind?”
“Crow, I think.” Eli turned the sandwich over in his hand, looking for a good place to take a bite. “Raven maybe. Anything on this, or did you just put two pieces of bread together and call it a day?”
Mabel gave an insulted sniffle and stuck her lip out in a pout. “You’re welcome.” Her tone was haughty as she grabbed the back of his head with one hand and forced him in the direction of the shoes he’d been continuing to ignore. “And it’s got cheese. We have to make everything last till the stipend comes in on Thursday, so just try to be grateful.”
Eli shrugged. “I’m trying,” he insisted, eyes widening in an expression of feigned innocence. “You just don’t make it very easy, that’s all.”
She gave him a playful punch in the shoulder as she smirked. “Come on, you can eat on the way. I’ve been ready for ages!”
It was already hot as Eli and his sister stepped out their door into the exterior corridor. The air was dry, and he could hear the drone of insects even from three stories up. He didn’t mind the heat, and he liked the insects. There was so little animal life left in this section of the colonies... he would take what he could get. Besides, the constant insect noise was certainly preferable to silence. Eli had visited the Dead Zones with his parents before they had been transferred overseas. The stillness and quiet had been eerie, oppressive. It had felt like the place itself was sapping the life from his body. Even after they’d left, that feeling had lingered for a long time.
“I thought the only benefit of living on our own was not having people boss us around,” Eli complained as they descended the stairs, shoving his now-empty hands deep into his pockets and wishing for another sandwich. “But with you here, it’s like mom never left.”
“Oh, get over it. You’re just grouchy because it’s Ross Day.”
“Of course I am. And why the hell do we need a holiday for everything? What are we even celebrating?”
“The famous Antarctic expedition of James Clark Ross, naturally.” Mabel quipped. “The one that led to the founding of Values International? But you knew that. And anyway, you’re only hurting yourself by pitching a fit about it every single year. Well, yourself and me, since I have to deal with you and your lousy attitude. It’s not like we can go back in time and change things. This is our world, Eli. You’re going to have to accept that eventually.”
Eli made a hmph of disdain but did not reply. Everything about their existence was ironic. That a corporation with the audacity to call itself Values International ruled the world. That not only did people accept this fact, but even went so far as to celebrate it. Each year on Ross day, people from all walks of life turned out in droves to honor the man who had stolen their freedom from them. Thanks to the great James Clark Ross, their country had been dissolved before it ever truly had a chance to find itself.
“Ninety-one years!” Eli blurted. Mabel rolled her eyes, no doubt anticipating his oncoming, familiar tirade. “That’s how long the United States of America managed to cling to its fragile independence. We were on our way to do great things. And what happened? Squashed beneath the foot of the corporate regime. It boggles my mind, Mabel, that instead of resentment at the death of our promising nation, people throw parties and bow down to the very cause of our destruction—Val Int.”
“Hey,” Mabel nudged him with her elbow and pointed to a nearby poster, her not-so-subtle way of changing the subject. “You keep complaining about my cooking...maybe I should sign you up for one of those. Increase our stipend and give me more to work with!”
Eli glanced over at the attractive, cheerful people in crisp white lab coats on the poster, poised with clipboards and medical instruments in hand. Bold black lettering inquired, “Are you a candidate for one of our clinical trials?” As they drew closer he was able to make out the smaller words beneath the creepy, smiling figures. “Volunteers always needed at Cedar Grove Innovative Technologies. Compensation guaranteed! Get paid to do good. Cedar Grove...a Values International Subsidiary Company.”
“Sign yourself up,” he muttered, not amused. “I’ll make my own lousy sandwiches.”
Mabel gave a dramatic sigh. “Oh, come on. I’m only joking around.”
Eli stared at her, frustration making his temple throb as he felt his hands balling into fists in his pockets. “This is not a joke, Mabel!” he spat, a little louder than he’d intended to. “You think it’s coincidence that those posters are all over the corporate orphan ward? They’re trying to entice the poor and ignorant into selling their bodies for money. It’s sick.”
“All right!” His sister cast a nervous glance around the empty street. “I get it, okay? I’m sorry. Just, keep your voice down.”
“Why should I?” Eli shot back. “Corporate orphans are people. We’re people. Not lab rats. And I don’t care if anyone hears me say so. They ignore the facts every day, it’d be refreshing to be heard for once.”
“Well there’s nothing refreshing about going to prison, so just shut it.” Mabel narrowed her eyes in her best approximation of anger. She wasn’t very good at it. “I said I’m sorry. You know I agree with you, Eli. Just...just keep it together.”
Biting his lip on the very real desire to continue shouting, Eli scuffed the toes of his shoes along the sidewalk as they went. Weak, pathetic-looking trees lined the walk, their scrawny trunks giving way to similarly scrawny branches just a few feet above Eli’s head. The spattering of sickly, yellowing leaves did not shade their travel. Very little could be grown here without intensive care, and no one cared enough to make the effort. The inhospitable growing conditions were one of the biggest reasons that this place had been transformed into a housing district. It wasn’t good for much else.
A thick silence hung between the siblings as they walked, punctuated only by the unceasing chorus of insects. No one else was around—it seemed that, unlike Eli, all of the other people in the neighborhood actually cared about the festivities. Free stuff, lots of flashy presentations, demonstrations of cutting-edge tech...of course it was appealing. He didn’t fault them for being attracted by the allure of shiny new things and a complimentary meal. It was this same appeal to humanity’s base nature that had gotten them all into this situation to begin with. Always something new and exciting. Always something to make life easier. But the cost had been so much higher than any of them could afford.
Up until a few years ago, they’d lived in a poor section of Gables, but the poorest city dwellers had faced ever increasing rent in a bid to drive them out. Unlike most of the corporate orphans in the ward, Eli and Mabel had had the opportunity to experience life in the city for thirteen years, albeit on the lowest rungs of the social hierarchy. Seeing both sides of the coin had been eye-opening for Eli, and one that left a bitter aftertaste that had yet to fade.
Because Values International controlled the vast majority of the world’s economic markets, they also controlled the wages. There weren’t a lot of options out there for normal folks.
High paying jobs were reserved for people with connections or who came from rich families living in the inner city. Even though there was no law preventing one from raising above their station and gaining such a position, it just didn’t happen, regardless of education or ability.
Eli’s parents’ meager wages were not enough to sustain their family, forcing them to accept jobs far from the city to repay their debt to Val Int and to provide food for Eli and his sister.
“How’s your apprenticeship going?”
Mabel’s attempt at distracting him from his silent fuming was predictable, but welcome. He had a tendency fixate on injustice, the myriad examples branching out in his mind like a spiderweb of misery and hopelessness. These events left him drained and depressed for days. Mabel, perhaps, knew him better than he knew himself.
“Fine. If you call cleaning up after a madman, fetching his lunch and listening to him prattle along about how inept I am as good apprenticeship. All the while not getting paid.”
“Apprentices don’t receive wages.” Mabel gave him a coy smile. “Besides, it can’t be that bad, you did really well on your placement test, having gone to an actual school. That’s more than most corporate orphans can say.”
“Yeah,” Eli scoffed. “And what a great mentor I got as a reward for my brilliance. Doctor Farway is an idiot.”
The Maglev station was scarcely livelier than the barren streets outside, with just a few other stragglers waiting on the platform for the next train to arrive. When it did, gliding soundlessly up to the platform, Eli boarded behind his sister. The conductor waved them past with a smile and an exclamation of “Happy Ross Day!”
Though Mabel returned the greeting enthusiastically, Eli’s only reply was a sharp look of disdain. This same conductor would normally greet them with an outstretched hand and a hungry look, eager to take their fare and get them off his train as fast as possible. Exorbitant fares tended to be a good deterrent from the poorer wards entering the city. Corporate orphans on their way to job assignments didn’t need to go all the way into Gables, and the cost of those shorter hops were much less prohibitive. Most of the industries that employed kids like Eli ringed Gables in a wide circle, leaving a healthy gap between the factories and the wealthy.
But on holidays, everyone travelled everywhere for free. How generous of Val Int to facilitate such festivity and joy, Eli thought bitterly. Mabel, always the more outgoing of the twins, found them a seat and soon struck up a conversation with an older lady sitting across the aisle, leaving him to ruminate in peace.
Disembarking at Central Station, Eli hesitated. Being here felt wrong. Once it had been home, but now the city felt alien. They’d driven him out; why hadn’t he had the good sense to stay away? Mabel, absorbed in her conversation, wasn’t looking where she was going and bumped into him when she reached the base of the steps.
“Hey! Outta the way, Eli, there are people behind us, ya know!”
“Sorry.” He stepped down onto the platform. Central Station was crowded, people streaming in all directions, their garish festival attire all vying for his eye’s attention. The interior of the enormous building was decorated in the customary Ross Day fashion. Personally, Eli found the scene gaudy and unappealing, but Mabel squealed with delight and rushed past him, straight into the river of people. He struggled to stay close, but it was like being caught in a riptide, feeling himself being pushed and pulled by the flow of the crowd. The cacophony of excited chatter crashed over him, drowning out his thoughts.
Eli wasn’t concerned so much with losing track of her as he was with being unable to reach her. The throng of people seemed endless, and pulsed as if it were a single, massive organism. His hopes that things outside would be more tolerable were dashed the moment they reached the exit.
“Oh yes,” Eli commented sarcastically as he forced himself past a rather large woman who had just spilled a potent red liquid down the front of her dress, “This is much better.” Mabel gave him a mischievous grin and pressed on.
The crowd and the oppressive heat began stirring up Eli’s anxiety. “Why does it have to be so hot? With all this technology, they can’t make it any cooler?”
His sister didn’t speak much on their way toward the main event. She was too busy looking around at the brightly colored people. Fortunately, Eli was only made to go to the city on holidays. Although he would have been more than happy to avoid it all together, he didn’t feel right letting his sister come to a place like this on her own. It wasn’t violence he was worried about—crime rates in cities were extremely low, a fact that Val Int touted like a medal of honor. It was a sense of foreboding, a sense that they were not wanted, not welcome. Mabel didn’t seem to feel it, and that made Eli feel all the more protective of her.
They were getting closer to the epicenter of the Ross Day festivities. He couldn’t see City Hall yet, but he could hear the indistinct sound of voices being piped through the public speaker system. All around them, great buildings rose up into the sky, behemoths of glass and steel that seemed far too heavy to be able to stand so tall. The carefully tended streets here had no spindly trees with sparse leaves; their path was dotted with well-manicured planters and commons covered in lush green grass and colorful flowers. Eli found his gaze lingering on the plants, the same ones that had given him a false sense of hope as a small child. Things couldn’t be that bad. Not if such beauty still existed in the world.
But it was only a facade.
More excited voices tore his eyes from the green oasis he’d been studying, drawing them upward toward unseen speakers. The presentations had begun. He saw Mabel cringe out of the corner of his eye, knew she was disappointed to have missed the opening statements. He attempted to reign in another tirade on everything that was wrong with the world, but it was hard. He couldn’t help wondering how his own sister could be so taken in, after everything they’d seen and talked about. After everything their family had been forced to endure, still she didn’t get it. It seemed as if Val Int’s promises were honey, drawing the people like flies. How was it that Eli was the only one smart enough to see through the deception? How did no one else realize that the honey was poisoned?
The unintelligible rumble of the speakers soon became strong enough to be heard over the buzzing of the crowd, forming words as they drew closer. “...Belenus will be a light in the darkest corners of the earth, enabling us to live and grow in areas we never thought possible!” This statement triggered an exuberant round of applause.
“Aw,” Mabel pouted, “see? You made us miss the opening presentation!”
“Who cares about living and growing in new places?” Eli hissed irritably under his breath. “What about all the old places we can’t live and grow in? You know, because they’re either deserts or under water now?”
“You’re such a spoil-sport,” Mabel whined, cocking an eyebrow at him. “I forgive you, though. They always save the best for last. Let’s go look around!”
She took him by the hand and pulled him forward. For the next few hours, Eli grudgingly allowed himself to be dragged from one stage to the next, watching demonstrations and holding a bag bulging with the free trinkets Mabel was collecting from the booths as they went. City Hall was surrounded by a wide promenade that spanned several miles, and on occasions such as this it was packed to the brim with boastful representatives of all manner of Val Int subsidiary companies hawking their wares.
Eli tinkered with the contents of the bag each time Mabel paused to listen to a speaker, trying to distract himself from the inane presentations. There was a tiny vial of pills that claimed to be a nutritionally complete meal replacement. (“A three days’ supply!” she had gushed. “Bet you’ll be wishing for one of my sandwiches after three days of nothing but that, eh?”) and a personal atmospheric controller that went from an innocuous cube that fit in one’s pocket to a wearable amalgamation of wires that attached to various body parts and allowed the user to experience “cool comfort, anytime, anywhere.” Mabel beamed at him. “What’d ya know, your wish came true!”
She immediately set to work on putting one on. She’d tried to wire Eli up to his but he’d refused. “You do realize that Values International is responsible for the unpredictable weather patterns to begin with? Why should I...”
“Will you just stop?” she snapped. “Besides, your pride won’t keep you from sweating in this heat. But go ahead and suffer; at least I’ll be comfortable!”
“I’m just saying,” Eli shrugged, knowing he might regret this decision later but too stubborn to back down, “that of course it’s a marketable item. They made the market!”
“That’s it,” Mabel crossed her arms over her chest. “Just go home. You’re obviously miserable. I’ll check out the rest by myself.”
Eli felt a wave of relief wash over him, torn between wanting to agree wholeheartedly with this arrangement and wanting to stay to keep an eye on Mabel, when something caught his attention. A flash of shimmering black, with hints of blue. His head whipped around to his right, searching the sky for its source. How had it gotten there? Had it followed them from the wards all the way to the city square? Perhaps he was mistaken...but no, there is was. Eli pointed excitedly.
“Look! There it is! The crow!”
Making his way through the oblivious crowd, this time it was Eli’s turn to drag his sister, holding tightly to her wrist so that they wouldn’t be separated. It was easy to spot the dark contrast of the crow’s feathers against the pink and white blossoms of the small ornamental trees as it flitted from one to the next with dignified grace.
With a powerful stroke of its wings, the bird took flight again, disappearing from view as it soared upward and then dove. “Come on!”
Eli forgot himself, forgot where they were, as the thrill of the chase took over. Wildlife sightings were few and far between in the residential sectors. It was rare everywhere, but more so where the people lived. There just weren’t enough animals left to be bothered to try and make a life amongst their enemies. They stuck to the wilds, or what remained of them.
Eli pulled up short. He had shoved past a throng of people and come to the edge of a large semi-circle of onlookers. They were all gazing, awe-struck, up at the platform before them. On it, a tall man with a wide smile was holding his arm aloft, the crow perched neatly on his wrist. The banner stretched across the back of the stage proudly proclaimed, “Shift Labs, Preserving the Past by Looking to the Future!”
“As you can see,” the man was saying in a loud, amiable voice, “there’s room for all creatures in the future Values International has envisioned for us. Through the powers of cloning and genetic preservation, we at Shift Labs have successfully stored DNA from thousands of species once believed gone from the earth forever. Shift Labs has had successful trials reproducing everything from the red fox to the giant panda. As we work with other Values International businesses to construct suitable habitats, we’ll once again have safe, unobtrusive homes for these magnificent beasts so that all of mankind may enjoy them. Several other murders of crows just like this one have been released throughout the areas surrounding Gables to begin establishing themselves as part of our ever evolving community.”
It was too much. As the people around him clapped and gasped with amazement, Eli gave a derisive laugh. Mabel shot him a warning glance, too late. The man onstage had caught sight of his scowl, and turned his wide, fake grin toward Eli.
“What’s this, now?” His voice took on a tone of surprise. “An unsatisfied consumer? Is it that perhaps you feel that the old flora and fauna have no place in the new world? Because I assure you, the Colonies would benefit from—”
“The Colonies would benefit from Values International leaving us the hell alone!”
The people around him fell silent, staring at him with shock and apprehension.
“We wouldn’t need your stupid laboratory to clone extinct species if they hadn’t gone extinct to begin with,” he continued, unconcerned with those around him as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Everyone but Mabel had taken several steps back from him, not wishing to associate themselves with such nonsense. “It’s Val Int’s fault,” Eli railed, undeterred. “All of this. Why don’t you understand that? Why doesn’t anybody understand?”
“Come on, Eli,” Mabel begged in a strained, quiet voice. “This isn’t the time for—”
But Eli continued, shaking his arm free of her grasp so that he could whirl on the crowd. “Values International keeps offering us solutions to problems we wouldn’t even have if it weren’t for them! Are you all so blind?”
“Eli, stop. Please.”
It was the fear in Mabel’s voice that gave Eli pause. He felt his anger waning, drawn back into the little bottle in his gut that usually remained corked. He looked around at the appalled faces, and then back up at the stage. The man still held the crow and still wore his sickly-sweet smile, but his eyes now showed a hint of condescending pity.
Eli scowled again, then turned his back on the stage. “Come on.” The crowd parted as he walked, as if they were afraid to touch him. How long before Val Int came up with a brilliant treatment to cure nonconformists?
Oh wait, they had. It was called prison.
Mabel followed without argument, taking quick steps to keep up with his longer stride.
Neither spoke on the train, but when they reached the apartment Mabel collapsed heavily onto the sofa, sinking deep into the familiar beige cushions and burying her face in her hands. “Eli,” she began.
“I know, I know!” He’d spent the whole ride home trying to psych himself into a state of contriteness, to no avail. “I’m sorry, all right? I just...it makes me so mad. I snapped.”
“You could get in a lot of trouble. You could get mom and dad in trouble. What do you think will become of us, if they lose their jobs because their son is some sort of...insurgent?”
Eli knew she was right. She was always right. He frowned, perching himself on the arm of the chair across from her. “It won’t happen again, Mabe. Okay? I just...it makes me so furious. It’s like no one gets it at all. No one cares!”
“You aren’t going to be able to make them care all by yourself,” Mabel sniffed. Then she let out a sigh, her expression much more sincere then Eli’s own. “But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have made you come today. I know how you get. I should have known something there could trigger you. You can’t help it—you’re a passionate guy.”
This made Eli chuckle, and Mabel gave a hesitant smile in reply.
“I think most of us are,” Eli said conspiratorially. “Insurgents, I mean.” He puffed up his chest a bit, trying to make himself look more impressive. “In other news, fifteen-year-old insurgent with a passion for the truth saves world...” He mimicked one of the stuffy reporters from the radio. His impression was cut short by a pillow being thrown in his face. It fell away, landing on the floor with a soft plop.
“Knock it off,” Mabel chided him. She yawned, stretching, then glanced out the window. “I’m going to bed,” she announced. “I’m beat.”
“Yeah, me too.”
It was still quite early. The Ross Day extravaganza would still be going strong long after sunset, many of the revelers trickling back to their homes only hours before dawn. Still, it seemed like a good idea to cut his losses. “You wanna eat first, though?”
Mabel raised her eyebrow, turned around and riffled through the bag on the sofa. Turning back to Eli, she tossed him the tiny vial of pills and winked. “Bon appetit.”
Then she disappeared up the stairs.
Eli eyed the pills with suspicion. He turned them over and over in his hand, reading the miniscule printing on the vial. Serendipity Agrotech, it read. A division of Values International.
“Yeah, no kidding,” he muttered to no one in particular, unscrewing the cap and popping one of the tasteless blue capsules into his mouth. “The whole world’s a division of Values International.”
Sleep proved elusive that night. The sun had faded but the streetlights strained against the window shades, pooling around the edges of the frame and burning their bright outline into his vision. Eli pictured the crow sitting on his windowsill, but the feeling of comfort it instilled vanished as he remembered the man on stage. It made him sick to think about that majestic creature on the arm of that Val Int shill. Eli had nothing against cloning technology; he didn’t hold it against the crows that they had been born in a lab. But he did hold it against Val Int that such a thing was even necessary. Why does it have to be this way? he thought bitterly. Why do they make us celebrate the devastation of our world? It’s like a sick joke. And why don’t more people care?
Yet there didn’t seem much hope of convincing anyone else when he could not even convince his own twin. Mabel, sweet and spirited though she was, didn’t truly understand. She tried, she did try. She sympathized with his anguish. But he didn’t want sympathy. He wanted justice.
They’d been born into a world defiled by corporate greed. Already past the point of no return. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.
Eli fell into a fitful sleep, the Shift Labs representative with his eerie smile trailing him into his dreams.