Alcohol and recreational drugs are prohibited in all Affinity camps. They cloud the mind and interfere with our common goals.
—Internal memorandum from Affinity
“I have a feeling about this place,” Carter said. “Everything’s getting better since we arrived. Andrew’s getting medical attention, nobody is forcing us into something. We have a roof over our heads, food.”
The two were walking up toward the field. Mia was glad Carter was so happy, but she hadn’t expected such a change in his attitude over a voice mail. Mia yawned and decided his emotions could be blamed on the lack of sleep. Any drowsiness she was feeling vanished when the field came into view. There was a group sitting around two men playing musical instruments, children kicking a ball back and forth, and a variety of other activities going on.
“Come join us,” a woman said.
She was seated in the circle around the musician. Carter and Mia headed over and took a seat. The man was strumming and singing a song Mia had never heard before. She was a poor singer, so music had never been stressed for her. Mia wasn’t sure what instrument he was playing; sometimes her mother listened to piano music, but most often the Morrisseys worked in silence. When her sisters were home from finishing school they would entertain the family with whatever music they’d learned. Corinna played the flute; Mia hated the way it sounded. So flighty and alone. The song finished and everyone clapped.
“Welcome to Affinity,” the musician said.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Carter said. “You’re very talented.”
“Do either of you two play the guitar?” someone asked.
Mia shook her head.
“A little,” Carter said.
The man handed over the guitar and Carter repositioned himself. He moved his hand quickly up and down the neck and played. Then he slowed down and started singing. His voice wasn’t perfect, but Mia was impressed. He sang with a twang. Once Carter’s song was finished everyone clapped, Mia especially hard.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Mia said.
“I’m full of surprises.”
He gave Mia a wink and went on to play another song at the behest of the crowd. Mia couldn’t understand where he had even learned this type of music. She only knew the classic slow songs. Someone tapped on Mia’s shoulder and she spun around. Standing behind her was a girl, slightly older than herself. The sun was behind her and Mia couldn’t make out many of her features. She stood up and got a better look. The girl had shoulder-length brown hair and big green eyes. She was several inches taller than Mia. She smiled with perfect white teeth. Mia didn’t say a word before the girl wrapped her arms around Mia in a hug.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said.
“S?” Mia asked.
The girl pulled away. “Yes,” she said. “But you can call me Sarah.”
Emotions overtook Mia. She couldn’t pinpoint what she was feeling: relief, nerves, or a general breakdown. She let out a small sob and the tears started flowing. Sarah wrapped her arms around Mia’s shoulders and led her away from the group who were still enjoying Carter’s musical talents.
“Let’s find a place to talk,” Sarah said.
Mia nodded her head, unable to think of anything she wanted more in the world at this moment.
I’m not normally so emotional,” Mia said.
“It’s fine,” Sarah said. “I’m so happy to meet you, and you’ve traveled such a long way.”
“This place is . . . ,” Mia said. “It wasn’t what I expected.”
“It takes some getting used to,” Sarah said. “But it’s home now.”
“What’s your job?”
“I’m in computers,” Sarah said.
“That’s a little vague,” Mia said.
Sarah nodded. “I rotate between positions,” she said. “I’m not one of the leaders, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Leaders?” Mia asked. This was the first she had heard of them.
“It’s hard to explain,” Sarah said. “There’s no grand commander or anything like that. Everyone here has a say, or the option to have one, but there’s a group of six with the highest positions.”
“Like Dina?” Mia asked.
“No,” Sarah said. “She’s semiretired. Zack actually just replaced her.”
Mia still cringed over the word “retired,” even though Zack had informed her of the different meaning. Mia had picked up on some of the hostility between Dina and Zack, making her wonder if the other version of retired still had a more unpleasant meaning than Zack wanted to admit.
“What do you mean they have the option to have a say?” Mia asked.
“I’ll just explain it all,” Sarah said. “But act surprised when you hear it again.”
Mia nodded.
“There is a board of six people,” Sarah said. “They make all major decisions and report to each other. They each run a section of Affinity: Internal Controls, which is Zack; Internal Maintenance; Internal Software; External Planning; External Affairs; and External Tactics.
“It can get confusing and I have a tendency to babble, so stop me with any questions,” Sarah said. “I’m stationed under Internal Software mainly; I do a little with External Planning sometimes. I’d like to move to that branch permanently.”
“I don’t know what any of this means,” Mia said.
“IC handles our defenses here; IM covers the houses, meals, what we need to live; IS covers constant updates of our computer systems, technologies, makes sure we stay cutting-edge and integrates the new systems. I do a lot of converting things to wireless these days.
“EP works with bringing in the supplies we need, figuring out how to trade and raise money if we need more; they also handle all recruitment, which is how I met you,” Sarah said. “EA deals with the other branches of Affinity, and ET are the ones you don’t want to mess with. All they do is think about ways to take down the Registry.”
“That’s bad?” Mia asked.
“Well, all branches work toward that common goal,” Sarah said. “But focusing on one idea all the time can make anyone a little . . . intense.”
Mia thought everyone here fell into that category.
“So we have section meetings once a week, where the division heads report the goings-on and what we need to work toward,” Sarah said. “Then once a month we have a mass group meeting. It’s here that we’re updated by the other sections. Mainly ET runs the meeting.
“Some people here want to take down the Registry,” Sarah said. “But they’re happy doing their part. They don’t want to involve themselves further.”
“Are you in one section forever?” Mia asked.
“Not at all,” Sarah said. “With the exception of ET, you pick where you want to work, what you want to do—people switch all the time. We have a lot of interactions with each other too.”
“Except for the people in ET?”
“It is considered a great honor to get asked to join ET,” Sarah said. “They have so much information and technology at their disposal. But if I ever received an invitation to that branch, I don’t know how I’d respond.”
Mia didn’t want to hear about any more tactical planning. She changed the subject.
“How long have you been here?”
“Three years,” she said. “I was seventeen when I arrived.”
“What made you come here?” Mia asked.
“My story isn’t as exciting as yours,” Sarah said. “Dina told me, but I want to hear details.”
“I want to know yours,” Mia said.
“I was in a car accident,” Sarah said. “We were in the middle of nowhere. Someone pulled me from the wreck, and then it blew up. I remember seeing the flames with my parents and sister still inside the car. I fainted and my savior took me to his home. The nearest hospital was hours away.
“He didn’t know what the procedure was, never having had any children of his own, so he let me stay for a few days while he figured it out. Then a few days turned into a few weeks. He lived in the Midwest Area, in the mountains. He worked with lambs and goats. My family was moving to the Southwest when the accident happened.
“One day he went into town and everyone was talking about the family that was killed in the car wreck. I was pronounced dead too. He found out I was supposed to go over to the government and they should raise me until I was ready for the Registry, but he liked having me around.
“He taught me so many things. I didn’t even know how to read, and I was twelve. Nobody bothered us or knew I was there. I think he was lonely, and I didn’t know what family was.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asked.
“There’s no real family in America,” Sarah said. “Boys are kicked out so young they think it’s right to throw their sons away. Daughters are seen as dollar signs and mothers are okay with that because they were treated the same way. When that car blew up, do you know why I fainted?”
Mia shook her head.
“It wasn’t because my parents and sister were killed in front of me, it was because I was scared their deaths meant I couldn’t enroll in the Registry.”
Mia understood all too well. Throughout this whole journey she’d never given much thought to her mother or father. Mia’s two living sisters weren’t on her mind much either. Mia didn’t wish them harm; she didn’t care about them one way or the other. She looked over her shoulder at Carter. He and Andrew were her family now, and she loved them more than she thought imaginable.
“My time with Ernie changed me,” Sarah said. “Soon I stopped caring about my appearance and started caring more about what he was teaching me. He wasn’t my father; he was my dad.”
Dad. That was the informal word Carter used to describe Rod. Mia knew it had a powerful connotation. One she’d never experienced.
“What happened to him?” Mia asked.
“He started getting sick,” Sarah said. “We were both in denial over it, but he was older. He could have been my mother’s father. I didn’t want to leave him and he knew I never would. So he set this all up. There was a knock on our door and he told me to open it. On the rare occasion when someone came to our house, I hid in the basement. At first I suspected it was RAG agents and Ernie was turning me over to the government because he couldn’t take care of me anymore. Instead it was Zack.”
“I thought he was born here,” Mia said.
“We used to sneak into America and bring people down,” Sarah said. “The rules have changed though.”
“So you just drove over the border with him?” Mia asked.
“Not exactly,” Sarah said. “He had a huge cargo truck. I had to hide in the back. It was filled with American flags, ceramics, knickknacks. Those things are very popular in most of Mexico. I was terrified when the border patrol opened the back of the truck. They just shined a flashlight and checked a few boxes. Our hearts were beating so fast.”
“You weren’t alone back there?”
“No,” Sarah said. “There were seven of us.”
“So you left Ernie?” Mia asked.
“He came too,” Sarah said.
Her eyes started to water. Mia looked at the ground. She thought it might be a good idea to have Sarah talk with Carter. Maybe she could help him through his grief.
“Why does this place have to exist?” Mia asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The Registry,” Mia said. “What caused it? Mandatory service too. Why does America operate the way it does?”
“After the conflict, or Great War, whatever you want to call it, an outbreak happened in America,” Sarah said. “People were dying. It was bad, but the soldiers returning home weren’t affected. Most of them were men, but not all. Either way the population was very low, between the war and the outbreak. Men outnumbered women at least five to one, maybe more.
“There was a concern that the population would go under. No country could give America any aid; people were scared. Those who’d just gotten back from war were too wounded, physically and mentally, and the ones left home were dying. Chaos broke out. The women who weren’t infected were at risk of getting kidnapped and attacked. It wasn’t pretty.
“There were military women too; they were strong and brave but so outnumbered. It turned out scientists were responsible for the outbreak. The man who was general of the army stepped up and took over the country. General Aaron Miller, or Grand Commander Aaron Miller. The government offered sanctuary. If you were a woman and made it to the capital they would protect you. Most went; their families back home were dead and they couldn’t leave their homes without risk of getting gang-raped.”
“Men aren’t that brutal,” Mia said.
“Not under normal circumstances,” Sarah said. “But these men were scared. Their families were dead too. It wasn’t about power or sex even; they wanted to keep the population going. It started to seem like a woman should be pregnant at all times.
“Once most of the women were in the capital it was decided that those who wanted children would be matched with a partner. It was seen as a duty back then, to carry on the lineage of America. Repopulate the country in a much more controlled manner. Those who didn’t enter the program would never have children or families of their own.
“The logical way to determine which men got women was money. That meant the man could provide protection from those who weren’t matched and the government could start collecting funds to rebuild the country. Women didn’t see themselves as being sold yet.”
“I’m sure some did,” Mia said.
“Would you rather live your life alone and never have children when the population is dying out? Or go live with a man who could offer protection from the unruly mobs?”
“What about the women who had money of their own?” Mia asked. “Or were already married?”
“Most of the married ones fled the country,” Sarah said. “As far as those with money, some ran and the ones who stayed went into protection. By the time they tried to access their money the government told them it was gone. There weren’t a lot of wealthy soldiers anyway.”
Mia thought about having children with Grant. A shudder made its way through her body.
“Keep in mind these people were living in a very different time and in a harsh environment. The capital could barely keep them fed, let alone clean,” Sarah said. “It was a better choice than living out in the world alone, where you could get attacked at any moment.
“Slowly all the women were matched and the country started to pick up a little,” Sarah said. “The government offered free housing and work to all single men who wanted to reenlist in the military, and most did.
“Then as the years passed the government asked that all daughters be turned over to the system,” Sarah said. “It wasn’t like these girls could go on dates. It still wasn’t safe for them outside. Things were better but far from perfect. The population was still way overinflated with men. The government asked that daughters as young as twelve be turned over.
“Most parents objected, but the government gave the incentive of splitting the money the young women brought in,” Sarah said. “Between that and the desire to keep rebuilding the population, it was seen as a duty almost. These girls were matched with the next round of rich men, but the military members grew angry because they weren’t considered as potential husbands. So it became mandatory that a man had to serve in the armed forces to be eligible as a husband.”
“So if a father wanted his son to land a wife, ever, the son needed to enlist,” Mia said.
“That meant everyone made their sons join the service. But America was still vulnerable to attack. Over a decade had passed since the Great War’s end and other countries were starting to rebuild. By this point in time the population was still next to nothing. We had to keep up, to stay a global force. So the enlistment age was set at thirteen, and everyone had to sign up for a ten-year term.”
“The youngest groom was twenty-three,” Mia said.
“Once the men were released from service most didn’t bother going home,” Sarah said. “Their mothers and fathers were a distant memory. What they did remember was a loveless marriage where their father treated their mother like property. So they copied what they saw.
“By the time this generation had their sons some fathers started tossing them out like garbage.”
“Why?” Mia asked.
“Well, just because you could get a wife at twenty-three didn’t mean you were going to,” Sarah said. “They needed to find jobs and make enough money to support their new purchases. The average groom was in his thirties. They saw a baby boy as another mouth to feed that wouldn’t come home to them or bring anything to the family. The idea of family was destroyed, along with the notion of falling in love.”
“When did appraisals come about?” Mia asked.
“So far this sounds like a happy coincidence, right? That the Registry was created by accident,” Sarah said. “It wasn’t. The first grand commander realized right away that men were paying more for the prettier girls. It was the girls who didn’t understand this at first. They were kept in the dark. They didn’t meet their husbands until a ceremony was performed at the capital. Some brides rejected their mates.”
“What happened to them?”
“At first they were never matched again, but rumor is they were put to death,” Sarah said. “It’s not like any of this is written down anywhere. These are stories passed through generations.”
“So marry this man or die?” Mia asked. “I’m guessing the twelve-year-olds were dragged away.”
Sarah nodded and continued.
“Once it became obvious prettier daughters were bringing in more money, and those with appropriate qualities, as the grand commander saw it, parents started focusing on those characteristics.”
“Like cooking and cleaning?” Mia asked.
“Yes,” Sarah said. “There were a million things the grand commander could have done to rebuild the country. He could have screened these women and men and set up genetic compatibilities; he could have hosted controlled social functions for decent men to mingle with women their age. Instead he sold them right out.
“Once the population rose enough, the rules changed. The marriage and enlistment ages were raised to reflect the rest of the world’s standards,” Sarah said. “People became complacent with the way things were done. ‘My parents did it to me so I’ll do it to my children.’ You teach your little girl to only love her husband and not love you and she will. You throw your little boy out and he’ll throw his away.”
“It doesn’t make sense that people still go along with it,” Mia said. “That nobody revolted.”
“The military was huge,” Sarah said. “They would crush any revolt and weren’t about to turn on their superiors. There is always some discontent. Most of the people who make their way down to us are here because they found someone who loves them. Me and Ernie. You and your men.”
“It was my sister,” Mia said. “Not the guys.”
“I just assumed,” Sarah said. “I’m sorry.”
“I do love them,” Mia said. “More that I thought possible. It’s different, too, than the way I thought I would love my husband.”
“Because it’s real,” Sarah said.
She reached out and grabbed Mia’s hand. She gave it a squeeze and Mia’s body relaxed a bit. Mia thought about love. Corinna did love her, or else none of this would have been possible. Mia would have been someone else’s property and happy about it.
Sarah’s response was the first straight answer Mia had received. She needed time to process it all. Sarah recognized Mia’s angst and leaned over, giving Mia’s arm a squeeze.
“Now it’s your turn,” Sarah said. “Tell me about your journey here.”
“After my sister left me an article about the way American women are treated, I recruited my best friend . . .”
Mia knew she should follow Riley’s advice and stick to the main points, but her common responses overtook her training and she was happy to give Sarah every little detail.