Radioactive (21 page)

A489 is obviously annoyed that A566 is talking, but comments, “Animals have no chance. They lack the intelligence of man.”

“And yet it is not the animals that caused the downfall of old Earth. It was the people. Perhaps it would do us well to therefore follow our instincts a little more.”

Slowly I realize what he’s getting at and it turns me quite cold.

“We should do away with the artificial insemination and return to the natural reproductive manner. Sex.”

“No way! Shouts A350 immediately. “How dare you propose that after you have been punished for the rape of D560!”

“I have the right to freedom of expression, just like everyone else in this room,” A566 defends himself.

A350 takes the initiative before A489 can open his mouth and says, “Okay, who is for the abolition of artificial insemination?”

No hand stood out. Not even that of A566. He knows that his vote would not count anyway. Annoyed, he presses his lips together.

“Are there any other suggestions for a change in the mating season?” A233 asks the group.

After the complete abolition of the mating season and the elimination of artificial insemination have been rejected, there does not seem too many opportunities for change. But before everything remains the same, I put forth a suggestion. “We could change the mating battles.”

“A333 wrinkles her forehead suspiciously. “Do you speak of change or abolition?”

I was in favor of abolishing, but given the mood in the conference hall, I could clearly see that this would fail, exactly the same as A350 and A566 with their proposals.

“A change,” I hasten to say why. “The mating season and mating battles have become a tradition in the Legion and should therefore remain part of our society.”

I do not know what I hope to achieve. The important thing is that women should be allowed in the decisions that affect their lives.

“Another part of the Legion is that it does not distinguish between men and women, because we are all equal. We have the same opportunities. Women can be Legion commanders or fighters, the same as the men. The only distinction in this is at the mating battles. I think it is wrong for the men to set their rankings by battle while the women do not. Women should have the same chance to fight for the optimal dissemination of their genes.”

“Do I understand you correctly? Are you saying you want women to participate in the mating fights?” A489 asks suspiciously, but curiously. Obviously my words reached even him.

“Precisely. What else would help us decide who is the strongest among us if not in a direct comparison?”

My suggestion does not seem like an improvement in my opinion.

“But that’s not all. I also suggest the dissolution of the anonymity of fertilization. Both men and women should know what their rank is and with whom their genes are mixed.”

As I look toward the questioning, but strained, faces, I continue. “We could change the rankings system to other fields than just fighting. We can publish these rankings so everyone will know where they stand and will give their best in the struggle to improve. Most people are rarely satisfied with what they have. They always strive for something better.”

I smile.

“We will let the residents first compete in groups. For example, ten men and ten women against each other. The result will be their ranking. The top four in the groups fight again. The remaining six groups, that is their insemination partner.”

I can see at once that the men like this idea. There are rare occasions in the Legion for entertainment. The mating fights offer a diversion.

But A233 remains critical. “And how exactly do you see this as an improvement over our current system?”

My following words are crucial. With them I must now convince the women.

“The pairing struggles are also a kind of performance test. They offer a resident of the D-classification the opportunity to show that he’s more than just a custodian. And a resident of the B-classification must prove that he stands for law and order.” I wanted to say that a Legion commander must put their skills to the test, but I was pinched for time.

“Will that not lead to riots when some residents believe they deserve a better classification?”

“For exceptionally strong performance in the battles, they will get a higher ranking mate, but also, in some cases, they could increase their classification. Or in some cases of poor performance, a decrease in classification. This would ensure everyone would do their best. It would give people hope and the feeling of being able to influence the course of their own lives. In addition, bonds between individuals would arise due to the lifting of the anonymity. They would speak to each other more during the food distributions.

My words make my audience think. Does it make sense to arouse so much emotion among the inhabitants of the safety zone? It could lead to anger and envy, but at the same time it would make people livelier.

“I would like to know who I was paired with, “A402 confesses unexpectedly. I had actually assumed that the Legion commanders knew this from their records. Just as I assumed that it is also listed who their child was. A350 had mentioned it, or did I misinterpret her?

“Although the residents have permission to speak with each other during their food distribution times, they do it rarely. An issue that affects us all would certainly change that,” A233 raises her voice in agreement. “I think we have heard enough to make a judgment on A518’s proposal,” she continues. “Who votes for the participation of women in the mating battles and the abolition of the anonymity of the mating?”

All at once, all hands are in the air, only A566 leaves his clenched fists on the table. The verdict is unanimous. I even managed to convince A489. The session is finished. Everyone begins to push their chairs back under the table, leaving to go back to their various tasks. A350 touches me lightly on the arm. Surprised, I turn around to face her.

“That was well done,” she praises me, smiling.

I shrug my shoulders uncertainly. The result could be better. It probably would have been better if women did not have to compete in the mating battles.

She looks around the room, which is now almost deserted and leans into my ear.

“Are you aware that you have created a way to escape fertilization?”

Confused, I frown. That was never my goal.

“If a woman emerged as the winner of the mating battles, there would be no suitable partner for her. Thus, she could circumvent fertilization.”

That is something I did not think of. But the odds that a woman will win are very low. The strongest females are in the C-Class, and there are only a few women there. Ruby is one of them.

“True, but what does that have to do with me?”

A350 looks at me as if I was slow on the uptake. “You’re asking? You will naturally emerge as the winner at the end!”

Unintentionally, I start to laugh. Although being able to escape fertilization is tempting, I’m realistic enough to know that I have no chance. Although I was never a bad fighter, I was never the best; otherwise I would not have ended up in the food distribution division. In my performance test, I almost didn’t fire a shot. It would not have changed my classification. In my fight I was opposed to Zoe and was able to meet her. She was the best thing that could happen to me. She was a bright spot in my daily grind.

“Excuse me; have you ever seen me fight? I’m pathetic!”

A350 just shakes her head relentlessly. “Then you’ll just have to train.”

“Alone?”

A350 grins. “Of course not. You have one of the best fighters of the third generation in front of you and I have been told your new watch, C515, isn’t so bad himself.”

A
s I enter my room, Asha is already in our bed. A350 had the scanner adjusted so that it now also responds to Asha’s fingerprint so she can come and go as she wants. We are now officially roommates. Never before has a D-Class person had a private room in the Legion commander sphere. The circumstances that brought this honor to Asha are much too cruel to be happy.

Even now her gaze is directed to the ceiling almost absently. She had seemed to be more optimistic than before during the first two days after she had returned from the sickbay. But that state has gone and left and now she is back to her negative self. Asha sees everyone as a potential traitor and fears an ambush. She trusts no one anymore, not even me.

“Hey, how was your day?” I ask her in a friendly manner and realize immediately that it was a stupid question. Asha does not like to talk about her work. Basically, she talks about nothing. She prefers to listen.

“Same as every other day,” she replies in a monotone. “And so will every day of the rest of my life.”

I can hear the regret in her voice. Sometimes I think she regrets that her suicide attempt failed. While A566 may not bother her any longer, her life is far from exciting or different. Whenever I see her looking through the large windows, I see the longing in her eyes like a fire blaze. It makes me think of a daring idea, maybe that’s what Asha needs right now.

“Are you ready for a little trip?”

Curious, but the same time wary, she turns her head in my direction. “An excursion?”

“It’s nothing dangerous,” I assure her, without mentioning that it’s forbidden.

“Where are we going?” She asks doubtfully.

“That’s a surprise!”

“Can you just tell me where we’re going?” She asks, annoyed, but has already sat up to leave the bed.

“Then it would not be a surprise. Just trust me!”

I know that’s easier said than done. Asha has so far had little of the good in life. Nevertheless, she gets up and follows me out the door toward the elevators. Although she now has permission to open our common room, permission for use of the elevator is still solely in the hands of the Legion commanders. I quickly place my thumb on the scanner and look happy while the door opens before our eyes.

Asha and I enter. However, unlike the other times I have entered this elevator; my finger does not go to the button labeled “S” for safety zone, but the button between the safety zone and the Legion commander sphere labeled “O.” O for outdoors. Open terrain. Earth. The button should be marked “F” for “Freedom.”

“I told you it’s a surprise,” I grin.

Once the doors open, a completely different smell hits us. Throughout the Legion, it often smells of nothing, or the sterile smell of disinfectant. Outside the elevator, the nose is almost overwhelmed by the many different smells. The aroma of red sand, which heats up in the day and cools at night, also the smell of engine oil and gasoline from the vehicles of the Legion. The metal and steel of the housings is in the air and the cool scent of the night, the wind blows in my face. I only now realize how much I missed it all. I only lived outside of the safety zone for a few months. How does it feel for Zoe and Finn, who grew up outside the Legion?

Asha carefully places one foot outside the elevator, as if she was afraid she would burn on the red sand. Her boots would gain no heat from the red sand as it has already cooled for the night. But something about her caution touches me deeply. When I woke up after my abduction in the cave with the rebels, my panic at dying from radioactivity was too large to perceive the many different scents. Asha has next to no fear; of course, she knows the air is no longer contaminated.

Once she has her second foot outside the elevator, she breathes, relieved. It seems that she enjoys the foreign air. She slowly inhales and exhales several times, and finally closes her eyes. She raises her hands and enjoys the gentle touch of the warm night wind. Finn once confessed to me that he had fallen in love with me on a night like this. Only he was too proud to admit this to himself.

Asha has not only fallen in love with the moonlight and the red desert, but has longed for them ever since the first day she saw them through the Legion commander sphere. Her longing was so strong it could have killed her.

Reluctantly, I pull Asha from her stupor. Unfortunately we did not have as much time outside the Legion as I would have liked to have given her. However, we are already breaking the rules. That is why I now reach for Asha’s hand and pull her with me to one of the smaller driving vehicles. It is a desert drifter, a blending of old Earth’s motorcycle and Jet Ski. The fighters do not use them often because their protective uniforms take a lot of space.

I’ve never driven one, but I observed a few fighters a few days ago and it looked easy. I do not want to frighten Asha, so I sit down unerringly on the dark green saddle of one of the desert drifters and knock on the seat behind me. Hesitantly Asha sits on the saddle and gently lays her hands around my waist.

“Hold on tight! These are extremely fast,” I remark and wonder if this was perhaps a mistake. The fighters not only wear protective gear, but also gloves and helmets. We, however, are only clothed in our thin suits. Should we crash, they will provide no protection. But I will not back down now because Asha seems to really come to life and even smiles as the wind rushes by.

I put my hands on the handlebar. To start the desert drifters, a key or a code is not needed. Anyone can jump on and ride. It amazes me that the rebels have never tried to steal them, but maybe they will one day.

I breathe once heavily in and out to calm my heartbeat.

“Is everything okay?” Asha asks, worried. As soon as she says it I press the handlebar forward and away we go at an incredible pace. We are both thrown back by the sudden jolt. I can just barely hold on. Asha presses against my back and slowly exhales in fright. We are literally flying over the red sand, the headlights of the desert drifter dance across the land. Our ride is bumpy and reminds me very little of the quiet whoosh these machines make when the fighters ride them. The handlebar is shaking like crazy so I can hardly keep it steady. Then, from out of nowhere a hill appears in front of us. I lose control of the vehicle and finally we fall off the drifter to the ground.

Regrettably I landed on top of Asha. I quickly roll off of her. “I’m sorry,” I apologize immediately with a red face. “Are you okay?”