Progtopia: Book 1 of The Progtopia Trilogy (19 page)

Thirty-four

The Year: 2173

The burden of defending herself and three others from death was all consuming for Thatcher. The responsibility, the finality of it all if she failed, was overwhelming. Lying on the prison’s uncomfortable cot, she stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling defeated by a trial that had barely even started. Questioning every move she had made up to this point, she thought she must have been insane thinking she could take on the State. She had no resources—no allies. Everyone in her life that she loved was either dead or had betrayed her.

The State, mocking her for believing in times before the Crash, supplied her with an old-fashioned yellow legal pad and pen for her trial prep. With no access to archives, books, or research materials, she was useless in devising a logical defense for the three lives in her hands. In stark contrast, Thomas and her brother were able to use computerized archive systems providing them with any fact, video, or audio that could help build their case. She started to despair. She had nothing. Thatcher’s eyes filled with tears, and they started to flow freely down her face as she drifted off to sleep.

She awakened to a familiar voice, coaxing her. “Thatcher, you need to get up.” Someone shook her arm. “Come on, honey, you need to get up. We have a lot of work to do tonight.”

Thatcher opened her eyes to Fitz standing in her cell, puffing away on his pipe. “How did you get in here?” she gasped.

He stood there inhaling his pipe, then removed it from his mouth and said, “I’m not really in your cell, but I am in your brain. The pill, remember? We have a long night ahead of us if we are going to make any headway in trial tomorrow. Think of me as your research assistant.”

Thatcher sat up, feeling a sliver of hope that possibly she could pull this off. “I was feeling pretty doomed tonight, not sure of how I was going to get through tomorrow. At least now I have a slight chance against Goliath—well, then again, let me see how good of an assistant you are before I get too excited,” she said sarcastically.

They both laughed. “I’m a winner. Never forget that!” Fitz said as he put his arm around her. “What you need to realize,” he said while looking her straight in the eye, “is you can do this. You are strong, smart, brave, and persuasive. Nikolai always thought you could be the one.”

“The one?”

“Yes, the one. The one person who could lead an open resistance. I think this is our best chance to enlighten the world about the value of the individual human being.”

“I think we first need to start with enlightening me about Margaret Sanger, eugenics, and anything else that will help my client for tomorrow.” Fitz stood there staring at Thatcher while he puffed away on his pipe, then he started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Thatcher asked, irritated. “You do realize we are all facing death. This is no time to laugh.”

“Thatch, I don’t think any of this is funny, but your intensity is amusing. Take a deep breath and live for a moment.”

“I will live for a moment when this is all over. So let’s get to it. We have a long night ahead of us.”

Thirty-five

The Year: 2033, Pittsburgh, PA

The FBI agent awoke for work, not feeling well, but
nothing a shower and a strong cup of coffee couldn’t beat
, he thought. His Labrador, eager for his food, met him with the early morning energy only a dog could possess. The agent, slowly rolled out of bed, fed the dog, and got ready for work.

Traffic was moving at a snail’s pace. With perspiration building and muscles aching, the closer he got to work, the sicker he felt. He was freaked out when he started to cough up blood. Scared, he made a detour to an emergency room. By the time he pulled into the entrance, he was delirious. Security took one look at him and knew he was sick. They called for help and rushed him into the hospital.

The FBI agent, burning up and barely awake, felt them pushing him past the rooms filled with patients on monitors, oxygen, and IVs. As they rounded the corner and passed the nurse’s station, he was put into his own room, waiting for someone to help him.

Once the doctors entered the treatment bay, the FBI agent was drenched in sweat and shivering, consumed by a sickness he’d never felt before. He thought he was dying. His whole body was hurting with a burning pain.

The team saw the patient’s vitals on the monitor and knew he was going south fast. In a coordinated effort, they worked together, placing IVs, pushing fluids and meds, all trying to stabilize him.

Despite their best efforts, blood started oozing around the IVs and central lines—from his nose, eyes, and ears. Then, his heart stopped. Stunned by the gruesome scene, the doctors immediately started CPR, but each chest compression forced more blood from his nose, eyes, and ears. They couldn’t save him. No one standing in that room had ever witnessed such a horrific end.

Not one person in the room was aware that Project Renaissance had just claimed its first victim, and they would be next.

Thirty-six

The Year: 2173

Quiet chatter filled the courtroom as everyone waited for the first witness, Dr. Mark Higgins, to settle into the witness chair. He had a swagger about him as he raised his right hand while the court stenographer asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you?”

“I do.”

The strong, youthful-appearing black man sat there in his finely tailored gray suit, contrasting quite nicely with his red tie. Relaxed and at ease, his directorship over the world’s life factories had only augmented his already arrogant personality. Thatcher observed him from the corner of her eye while waiting for Thomas to begin his direct examination. An air of superiority and self-importance dripped from him.
How fun it will be to take him down,
she thought. Thomas arose from his chair, adjusted the button on his jacket, and approached Dr. Higgins. Stopping short of the witness, hoping the camera would capture the doctor’s confidence, he asked, “Dr. Higgins, can you please state your name and occupation for the court?”

“Yes. My name is Dr. Mark Higgins, and I am the director of the world life factories.”

“What are life factories?”

“Well, sir,” he said, a smile forming on his face, “it is where human life comes from—the State, under my direction, creates all human beings.”

“Can you please describe the process of how the State goes about creating human life?”

“Sure. When superior humans reach puberty, they are chosen to undergo what we call
the harvesting
. As most of you already know, we take the cream of the crop from the Recipient Class State Schools and harvest their genetic material to create life. They are then rendered infertile, given their permanent identity number along with their biochip, and sent to their permanent destination.”

“What happens when you create life?”

“We place the newly formed life in specialized incubators, monitoring their development for any abnormalities.”

“And if there are any, what you call, abnormalities, what is done?”

“Well, our specialized incubators have the capacity to detect any deviation from normal development, including genetic defects, and so on. If that happens, an alarm sounds, alerting the staff scientist to evaluate the embryo and determine whether or not it can be saved. If it cannot, then the scientist is required to cease the development process.”

“What gives you the authority to do this?” Thomas asked.

“Sanger’s law.”

“Can you please explain the origin of Sanger’s law?”

“Yes. Sanger’s law is named after Margaret Sanger,” he said, staring upward, proudly. “She had the foresight to recognize the virtue of eugenics. You see,” he said as he shifted in his chair, “eugenics comes from the Greek words combining
good
and
origin
. Its concept became wildly popular with many of our progressive brothers and sisters in the early twentieth century. Basically, the movement advocated for creating a human race that was strong, smart, and without deficiencies. Our Prog predecessors thought one way to achieve this was to permit only the strong, healthy, affluent, and intelligent humans to procreate. They wanted to eliminate the ability of the poor, physically and mentally challenged, to get pregnant. They wanted to purify the gene pool. Margaret Sanger advocated achieving this through access to birth control.”

“You said birth control was one way of achieving a superior race. Was there another?”

“Yes. Eugenics taken to the extreme is genocide. Hitler killed close to seven million people to purify his race, whereas Stalin wiped out close to thirteen million in one year, give or take a few million, to purify his ideology,” he said matter of fact without feeling.

“Is that the vision of our State? Hitler? Stalin?”

“Of course not. We are humane, not like the barbarians of the twentieth century. They were so Neanderthal—unevolved.”

“How do you know that Margaret Sanger believed in eugenics?”

“Quite simple. She wrote about it. She was known to have penned articles, letters, and books about the urgent need for sterilization and segregation of whom she considered to be bad for the gene pool, including, among others, the feebleminded.”

“Feebleminded? Like stupid?”

“Yes and no. Included in that group certainly were the unintelligent, but she used that word to brush broad strokes. She targeted the groups who brought down the intelligence of the gene pool like the unenlightened, the poor, certain immigrants, and of course, those with genetic defects and illnesses,” he said flippantly.

“Oh, I see. Defectives.”

“Yes.”

Thomas did not want Margaret Sanger to come off as heartless, so he tried to direct his witness in a positive direction. “What was her cause? Was it solely eugenics?”

“No, she spent her entire adult life advocating for open access and availability to birth control. That was her method of stopping the bad stock from reproducing. She wanted all women to have the ability to prevent pregnancy. During her time, the only way to end a pregnancy was to have an abortion.”

“What were her thoughts on abortion?”

“She was not an advocate of abortion because the procedure placed the mother in danger. Her goal was to prevent pregnancy from happening in the first place.”

“I see,” said Thomas. “So she wanted birth control to prevent pregnancy in general?”

“Partially. She wanted all women to have access, but she really wanted it for the women she considered unfit. Her goal was to eliminate certain types of people from the general gene pool.”

“Was she successful?”

“Yes and no. She was well known in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as working to supply birth control to women. Her true vision of eugenics never quite took off as many healthy, rich, and intelligent young women used the services as well as the poor.”

“Did she do all of this as an individual?”

“No, she enlisted her progressive allies to assist with her goals, but she also pushed hard for the government to take a part in the process of eugenics.”

“How did she want them to be involved?”

“Well, in 1932, she wrote about her plan for peace for the world, imploring the government to take part.”

“What did she want them to do?”

“She wanted the United States government to give its defective citizens a choice.”

“What choice?”

“Well, to submit to sterilization, preventing them from having any more children, and/or be relegated to farms controlled by the government, where they would work for the remainder of their lives. Her goal was to remove the ill and feebleminded from the gene pool and improve humanity. We do that today, just on a more high-tech level,” he said proudly.

“Dr. Higgins, why was Sanger’s vision so important to the success of our world today?”

“It’s simple. Society cannot bear the burden of the defects. In Margaret Sanger’s time, humans developed inside of humans—not under controlled circumstances where we can detect, and sometimes repair, developmental issues. In her time, if there was a birth defect, the baby was born. If it lived, the child became a burden to the family, community, and society. There were millions of people who were born mentally retarded, socially inept, mentally ill, and so on. The amount of time and resources spent on those defectives only detracted from the progress of the human race. Those defectives led to social problems, were useless, and contributed nothing to the world. Since the State adopted Sanger’s law, there has been an acceleration in technology, life span, and overall condition of the human race.”

“Your Honor, I reserve the right to redirect my witness, but I will now leave him to cross-examination.”

Thatcher did not stand, wanting the focus of the audience to be on the witness, not her. “Dr. Higgins, it sounds as though you have considerable knowledge of Margaret Sanger’s history and the times that she lived. Is that a fair statement?”

“It is. As part of my directorship, I was given an education on her.”

“Was this education in the form of quanta cogs? Or were you able to review her actual writings and literature of the time?”

“It was in the form of quanta cogs. I have not read any of her original materials.”

“Well, that’s a true shame.”

“Why is that a shame?” the doctor asked, curious.

“Because all of your knowledge depends on what the State wanted you to know. That is why. How about I ask you some questions to see if the State gave you all of the correct information on Margaret Sanger?”

Thomas shot straight up from his chair and vehemently objected. The Judge, turning to Thatcher to hear her response to his objection, listened to her argument.

“Your Honor, I’m not sure what the prosecutor is objecting to—me asking the witness questions?”

“Your Honor,” Thomas stated, “I’m objecting to the defense’s attempt to testify.”

“Well, I am going to have to overrule your objection,” he stated, irritated, not wanting to rule in her favor. “She has not even asked the question yet.” But the Judge was worried. He knew Sanger’s original works were in his library at home, and he wasn’t sure what Thatcher really knew about Sanger.

Thatcher, surprised her father had ruled in her favor, celebrated her minor victory and continued. “Dr. Higgins, can you paint a picture for the audience of what the world was like during the early twentieth century when Margaret Sanger first embraced eugenics? What were the main advances in technology? What were the politics of the time—things like that?”

He sat back in his witness chair impressed with his intelligence and answered. “Sure. Back in the early 1900s in the United States, there continued to be hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming to the country seeking a new life for themselves and their families. Electricity was just starting to be used in people’s homes while some still relied on kerosene for their light. Horses and wagons were slowly being replaced by motor vehicles. There were many people who lived in disgusting conditions and who were very poor, and—”

“Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Higgins, but were these poor people stuck in their class? Or were they able to work hard, save money, and eventually make things better for their families?”

Dr. Higgins looked confused, unsure of how to answer. He looked toward Thomas for help, but realizing he wasn’t going to get any, he said, “I’m not sure.”

“Wow, I’m shocked the State never supplied you with that information,” she said sarcastically. “How about I help you out? Everyone was able to work hard, pick any job they wanted, and move into any class they worked toward. They weren’t forced into a class by some State bureaucrat, like now. Back then, you at least had a chance to make it.”

“Objection, Counsel is testifying,” Thomas shouted.

“Sustained. Please ask questions only.”

“Let’s go to another subject,” said Thatcher. “Do you know if women of her time had the right to vote, become educated, or use birth control?”

“From what I understand, when Margaret Sanger started advocating for birth control, she did not have the right to vote and speaking about birth control was illegal.”

“So what you’re saying is that the State, in its infinite wisdom,” she said, mockingly, “limited discussion of birth control and access to rights that men of her time had.”

“I’m just telling you how it was during her time. I’m not making any comment about the State,” he responded defensively.

“You don’t have to, Dr. Higgins. The facts stand for themselves. Are you aware she was arrested and put on trial, and at one point, found guilty?”

“I am aware of that,” he replied while rolling his eyes, trying to intimidate Thatcher.

“What would happen today if Margaret Sanger was arrested and placed on trial? Would she have been placed back into society after serving time in jail or subject to reeducation camps?”

“I am a scientist, and I cannot comment on the legal system.”

Satisfied she made her point, she decided on another direction. “Let’s switch gears for a moment, shall we?”

The doctor, his arrogance slowly eroding as he shifted nervously in his chair, awaited Thatcher’s next question.

“Did Margaret Sanger believe in placing defectives, as you call them, on work farms?”

“Well, they didn’t have the technology we have today, so that was the best option.”

“So, that is a yes?”

“It is,” he said, leaning forward, proud. “She advocated for the United States government to set aside land to house the illiterate, poor people, unemployables, as she called them, and make them work there for the rest of their lives.”

“Just those people or were others to be at these farms, as she called them?”

“Well, anyone with a genetic defect or illness would be placed there as well, unless they submitted to sterilization.”

“Didn’t Adolf Hitler have, I think he called them, work camps? Didn’t he make good use of them for people he thought tainted his gene pool?”

“Objection!” yelled Thomas.

“Sustained,” said Judge Kelleher.

“Did Adolf Hitler believe in sterilization?”

“Objection!”

“Sustained. Now Thatcher, you are treading on dangerous waters. You need to stop.”

“Stop what? Comparing her farms where people would be prisoners sealed off from the general population to Hitler’s work camps?”

“Adolf Hitler and Margaret Sanger are not on trial here,” stated Judge Kelleher.

“I disagree. You hold her up as some saint when, in reality, it appears she had ideas not too different from a madman who annihilated millions of people. A barbarian, as your witness just called him a few minutes ago.”

“You stop this line of questioning this very instant!”

“Oh, you’re right, Judge Kelleher,” she said disrespectfully. “It was that mean Hitler who killed people, not her. She just wanted to imprison them for life on work farms because she thought they were not good enough for society. My apologies. I now recognize her compassion.”

He banged the gavel as the courtroom echoed with laughter at her ingenious way of getting the information in.

“I understand, Dr. Higgins, she was an advocate of reproducing only the worthy and intelligent?”