Part II of the Alchemist series.
Hasp stands on a bridge, studying their reflection in the water below. They’re in front of The System HQ, the government’s giant headquarters towering over the center of the city. It overlooks everything, from the intricate, condensed web of districts, canals, gardens, hives and businesses in the middle, to the dams and dusty mining lands on the outskirts. At the farthest point is a dark line encompassing it all – the wall.
The System controls everything within the city walls- maybe even without. Hasp was taught that nothing existed out there, but, despite pretending otherwise, they know better. Hasp remembers the trees. Though the System failed to erase the memory, they succeeded in keeping Hasp within the walls. As they succeed in most everything, maybe that’s all they intended to do. They decide on gender or lack thereof. They decide what hive you grow up in, what job you get, and what community you work and live with, and today, Hasp and their best friend Arjun are assigned to their grown up jobs- Arjun to the lithium mines, and Hasp to the Census Bureau.
Hasp reaches into their pockets and pulls out two eye droppers. They have two drugs to choose between before their interview inside- an upper or a downer. They decide on RLX drops, drop three drops in each eye and instantly feel calmer. They blink away the excess liquid and look back at their reflection in the water, a little blurrier than before.
They adjust their blue jumpsuit collar, unfolding and re-folding it, testing what looks more professional. Unfolded says “cantankerous and rebellious.” It’s too masculine. Folded, it makes Hasp look agreeable, conforming, and slightly feminine, even with their bright yellow, spiky hair. Though neither Arjun or Hasp are gender assigned yet, Hasp has always been the more masculine and intimidating of the two. Hasp takes Arjun’s regular advice and decides to tone it down a little. They fold the collar neatly. Hasp usually ignores Arjun’s annoying, anxious advice, but today is different. Hasp wants a decent role in the Census Bureau, or at least, one that gives them access to the right files.
They abandon their reflection, cross the bridge and ascend the many HQ steps, amazed at the massive fortress before them, mostly because it’s even bigger than they remember. They were there, once, as a child. It’s a memory they wish The System would erase. The exterior is entirely pristine without a soul in sight. There are surveillance drones cameras hovering around, moving fast and stealthily, silently, like hungry birds hunting. In fact, it’s entirely silent here.
Hasp walks through the big, automatic door, which doubles as an x-ray machine. The door beeps cheerily, signaling that Hasp’s body is clear of illegal paraphernalia. A second set of giant doors opens and Hasp walks through into a magnificent, white hall lined with seemingly endless offices stretching from floor to ceiling.
Contrary to outside, the place is brimming and buzzing with people. For a second, Hasp feels their curious glances, likely appraising their tattered blue jumpsuit. Hasp flips up the collar. These people look different – special. They’re older, cleaner and have more color in their cheeks. They smile more – constantly in fact. There are no bots in sight, but Hasp sees a few people wearing headsets, likely exploring the city through electronic eyes from here. Everyone’s dressed in yellow. One of them, a small woman spots Hasp and gestures to them to follow into a corridor. Hasp obliges. There are more office rooms behind the ones off the main hall. Hasp notes that the building is bigger than it looks from the outside. Finally, the long corridor opens to a spacious waiting room. It’s empty except for a giant fish tank with exotic, colorful creatures Hasp has never seen. There’s a pleasant smell of lilacs and birdsong coming from somewhere. The woman opens the lonely door and leads Hasp to sit at the desk inside. Hasp sits, and she leaves without a word.
There’s a thin, yellow folder on the desk. Stamped across is Hasp’s name. They look around the room. It’s sparse but for one other chair. There are no camera. Hasp tears the file open, thumbing through all the papers inside. They find all their information, from blood type to a short report on their failed escape attempt with Arjun years ago. Ominous red letters are stamped over the report text:
RESET (Successful)
To Hasp’s disappointment, there isn’t much more information besides school marks and many false negative, routine toxicology tests Hasp has forged. Arjun always begged Hasp to stop modding, worrying that their tests would come back positive and get them reset again, but Hasp never did get caught.
Hasp never believed they were simply a clone like everyone else. They often had dreams of being in a family – with a mother, father, and a baby brother. Where did those visions come from if not from reality? When they started avoiding the Hive food, the dreams got more vivid and frequent. At first they lost a lot of weight, but then they discovered underground rebels selling illegal lab grown fruit breeds, mostly free of hormones, in the clubs. The dealers had all sorts of drugs too, some to curb hunger, others offering superstrength, and everything in between. The more Hasp modded, the more alienated they felt from those around them. Hasp always wanted to find the family they dreamt of so often, but now, they want to find them even more. Hasp laughs to themself- they are probably the last person qualified for a government job. Maybe The System doesn’t know as much as they let on.
A small woman, even smaller than the one before, walks in. Hasp shuts the folder awkwardly and looks up at her. They’re skin crawls- it’s the System agent from the electroshock Reset. She’s even wearing the same coat. She looks the same age as Hasp, which can’t be possible, because she was an adult during their Reset. Could this be a clone of that person?
She speaks in a high-pitched, yet commanding voice:
“Welcome, Hasp. My name is Veronic,” she taps her nameplate.
She sits at the desk and glances at the folder, “I see you’ve looked over your folder. As you know, your compliancy scores are impressive. You seem to have a solid grasp of our mission of collective collaboration, don’t you?”
Does Hasp sense a hint of sarcasm? She continues without giving Hasp time to respond:
“It’s imperative to discourage archaic behaviors of old. You know how dangerous and divisive they are. They used to have warring countries, religions and races, such outdated concepts- don’t you agree?”
Hasp nods, “Yes, of course.”
Veronic talks over them, almost looking through them and methodically tapping the top of the folder, “Your task here is simple: make sure everyone’s paperwork complies with this mission and that any red flags are brought to my attention for monitoring. You’re highly capable of recognizing forgeries and suspicious activity, don’t you agree?”
Hasp pauses for a moment. Is she insinuating that she knows about their forged paperwork?
She blazes forward, with no change in her cold, sarcastic tone, “Do you agree you fit this position? Any questions or comments?”
The questions seem rhetorical. Veronic has barely taken a breath between syllables this entire meeting, so now, with the silent extending past an awkward pause, Hasp can’t think of what to say. They shouldn’t have used so many Relax drops. Finally, Hasp nods.
“Great,” she smiles and reaches out to shake their hand.
She leads Hasp out of the office, back to the very front of the building. Everyone stares as they walk by, forcing wide smiles. Hasp can’t tell if they’re smiling at them, or at Veronic. She seems to ignore them.
They step outside, followed closely by two burly guards Hasp didn’t notice before.
Unexpectedly, she invites them to back for a work party at dinnertime.
“Come hungry,” she says, “Hive food is full of chemicals anyway. You’re special now.”
Hasp feels their palms and face flush as the agents turn away and disappear behind the big door.
Hasp rides the bus back to their hive and arrives to Arjun waiting in their dorm.
“Hasp! How’d everything go?” Their excitement turns to embarrassment when they notice Hasp appraising their dirty, disheveled appearance, “I’m beat! They barely asked for my name before having me sift through mud all day.”
They exchange stories, surprised by the drastic difference between their experiences. Arjun is even more surprised that Hasp saw the record of their reset.
“I wonder if mine was successful or not,” Arjun’s brow wrinkles. They’re always worrying about something.
Arjun leaves to clean up, and Hasp thinks back on their day. Although Arjun is the closest thing to Hasp’s family, everything is bound to change soon. Arjun is a lowly laborer now, still full of hive hormones. Hasp is a government agent with access to top secret information – they’re “special”.
Hasp wouldn’t even be here if they hadn’t gone back for Arjun during their escape.
Oly is a music artist, writer and yogi. Check out her projects here.
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