Perfect Flaw (12 page)

HOPE UNKNOWN

BY JASON CAMPAGNA

Sooner or later, the other girls were going to try and take the last thing Hope had from her mother. She was one of eight girls crammed into a ten by ten foot cell stacked high with two columns of bunk beds. At one point, she thought she heard one of the starship’s crew refer to the trip as the “orphan run.” The air inside the room smelled of recirculated despair and left a stale taste in Hope’s mouth.

She thought about curling up into a tight ball, but the bunk on top of her own left no room to turn on her side. Hope stared at the smooth white underside surface inches from her face. Someone had scratched into it, “If you can read this, then you’re fucked.” At the age of twelve, Hope understood the phrase, “fucked,” quite well. She never knew her father, but her mother had done her best to raise Hope on the street level underside of old New York City. Hope tried not to think about the man who took her mother’s life. He left the young girl alone and starving in a city with an insatiable appetite for victims.

While the police were still wrapping up paperwork involved in the murder, Hope scaled the back wall of the children’s shelter and lost herself in the labyrinth of streets. Her single possession was a two-inch Statue of Liberty figure that her mother had given her.

Hope slept in alleyways and abandoned buildings for months. She learned to beg for handouts and stole food from anywhere she could manage. Her meals often involved a trash can. Eventually, the police caught up with her and brought her in. Before she knew it, she found herself bussed off to the starport.

On the ship, she felt like a rat stuffed into a cage. Part of her wanted to lash out at the walls and bunk above her. To calm herself, she would look at the figure her mother gave her and memorize the details in the metal work. Hope wondered why she was wearing a crown.

As for the other girls, no one talked, lest they draw the attention of Regulator. Regulator was a floating gray-ball shaped robot who administered a nasty shock to unruly little girls. It gave the orphans the rules when they had first arrived aboard the
Wayfar.
The sixteen girls had been lined up shoulder to shoulder in the terminal at the spaceport. All the girls wore identical gray jumpsuits with nametags over their left breast. The machine circled around the group like a shark testing its prey.

“I am Regulator,” the floating ball said. “During the trip you will stay in your beds except when otherwise instructed. There will be no talking except when otherwise instructed. Failure to comply will result in electric shock or sedation. Are there any questions?”

Beside Hope, a girl with long curly brown hair and the name Tiffany Spring on her jumper spoke up. “I don’t listen to machines.”

“That was not a question,” Regulator replied. A small prong popped out of Regulator’s sphere and the robot shifted in front of Tiffany. A burst of electricity arced out at Tiffany’s right arm. The girl dropped to the floor crying while she held the appendage.

Hope held her head forward pretending not to see. Growing up in the city had taught her that making eye contact could draw unwanted attention of others. She clutched onto the statue figure in the palm of her hand. Regulator turned the prong to face her.

“Unusual,” Regulator said. “Hope Unknown, your heart rate remains normal.” The machine paused for several seconds. “You are carrying a metallic object in your left hand. Show it to me.”

Hope brought up her arm and opened her fingers, “I won’t give her up,” Hope said, “and I won’t let you take her.”

A blue light emitted from the sphere and it swept over the statue. “Do you know what the object stands for?” Regulator said.

“No,” Hope said, “But it’s the only thing I have left of my mother.”

The electric prong on Regulator slid back into the sphere of its body. “Your failure to comply will have consequences for you later. This incident has been noted in your case file,” Regulator said.

***

The door to the quarters slid open and Regulator addressed the girls. “It is time for the evening meal. Disembark your bunks and line up single file on the red line in the corridor. Everyone will line up behind Hope Unknown.”

Hope slid out of bed and then maneuvered her way through the mass of girls. She knew they were glaring at her. Tiffany bumped into her from behind hard enough that Hope had to catch herself on the bulkhead.

“Give it to me,” Tiffany said. Hope squeezed the tiny statue in her hand and kept moving.

Outside the cell, the corridor was ten feet wide and bustling with crew members going in both directions. Except to maneuver around the children, the crew ignored the orphans. The ship
Wayfar’s
duty was to transport the children. It was the cadre of robots’ job to tend them. Regulator conducted the girls to the mess hall.

Cafeterias in space looked like cafeterias everywhere. Long rows of tables were bathed in the unappetizing smell of low quality food. Regulator lined the girls up along the wall as was customary every meal. As was also customary at every meal, Hope was singled out.

“Hope Unknown,” Regulator said, “You will eat your meal first while the other girls watch. They can eat with you, if you surrender the statue.”

“I can’t,” Hope said.

“Then as usual,” Regulator said, “they must pay the price. Hope Unknown, do you not care for the other girls?”

“I won’t eat,” Hope said. “They can eat in my place.”

“Hope Unknown, that is unacceptable. If you do not eat, none of the others will.”

“Please,” Hope said.

“The consequences are of your own choosing. No one shall eat until you surrender the statue.”

The other girls stood in line glaring at Hope. Tiffany’s right hand was balled into a fist. Silently she mouthed, “Hope, I’m going to get you.”

“Hope Unknown, I believe it is time that you met my counterpart Arbiter.”

The door to the cafeteria slid open and another gray ball entered the room. The ball headed directly toward Hope.

“Hope Unknown, I am Arbiter. I will review your case file and decide accordingly. Follow me.” It led Hope out of the cafeteria and down the corridor to a nearby elevator. The elevator door opened up to a rather peculiar level. The corridor seemed to be sized for the dimensions of a kid. Hope had to pay particular care not to hit her head on low hanging pipes as she followed the robot. She wondered if the crew even ventured into this part of the ship. It also made her wonder what went on here that needed to be done away from the human crew.

After several minutes of walking, Hope found herself in a large circular room. The room was awash with white light that seemed to emanate directly from the walls. Nothing was there except for a child-sized metallic chair that sat in the center. She was directed to the center of the room. “You may be seated if you wish,” Arbiter said.

“Why am I here?” Hope said. She stood rather than taking the chair.

“The other girls are being transported because they are orphans,” Arbiter said. “You stand apart and will not share their fate. Your fate must be different because you are both an orphan and a murderer.”

Hope bit her lower lip and felt her cheeks warm.

“It is true,” Arbiter said, “that you had a justifiable defense for your actions. The security cameras, in the alley, produced enough evidence in your defense. Law enforcement has determined you were lucky to have survived the encounter. It was fortunate your mother’s attacker ignored you after the initial assault. It was also fortunate you noticed the brick you employed to cave in the back of the man’s skull. Review of the footage has determined your mother was already deceased by the time of your blow.”

“She was all that I had,” Hope said.

“Why did you run from the authorities? They would have helped you.”

“I don’t know,” Hope said. She looked at the floor and squeezed the small statue in her hand. The question had been one that had bothered her since she ran. “My mom had been saving up so that we could go to the park on the upside of the city. She wanted to take me to the zoo they have there. I realized that it meant more to her to give that to me. I thought about her dying sad because she will never get to take me someplace that was special to her. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I ran. I needed to be lost.”

“And now you are here,” Arbiter said. “Your time for being lost has ended. Now, it must be decided how to deal with you. You are an extremely complex case. It is uncommon for a child to have dealt with the level of trauma you have experienced and still function in normal society. There is some concern as to your physiological well-being; yet, observation depicts a strong level of emotional control. We will try and salvage this trait when we wipe your memory.”

“What?” Hope said looking up from the floor.

An iris opened on the spherical surface of Arbiter. A crystal blue eye formed in the opening. It gazed at Hope. “Your short life is plagued with misfortune and you carry an excess of emotional baggage.”

“You can’t,” Hope said.

“The courts of the United Planets of Earth have determined, in your case, it would be merciful to relieve you of these experiences. It is why we refer to your last name as Unknown. Your future is in question.”

“But it’s my life,” Hope demanded.

“Will you try and hold on to it like your statue?” Arbiter said.

“I have to,” Hope said.

“Hope Unknown, why would you do this?”

“Because it’s who I am,” she said. “I have a name!”

“That is an acceptable answer,” Arbiter said. “Individuality is paramount to society, but society cannot exist without people willing to defend it. If we let you have your mind, would you be willing to pay the cost?”

“What do you want?” Hope said.

“First you must understand your situation,” Arbiter said. “The United Planets of Earth is currently in a depression. The government has created a policy of shipping undesirables off world to other colonies. Understand, you are deemed as undesirable by your own people. Three years ago, independent colonies started purchasing orphans from Earth.”

“I’m a slave?” Hope said.

“No,” said Arbiter. “But Earth has treated your citizenship as a commodity to be sold. This helps Earth to supplement its failing economy. After it was determined you were a ward of the state, it was within the government’s right to adopt you out. The Constitutional Empire of Cornet has laid out a substantial amount to adopt you. You now have two options. Your memory can be erased and you will be adopted out to loving parents who will raise you-”

“What’s the option where I get to keep my mom?” Hope said.

“Agoge,” Arbiter replied. “It is an ancient Greek term used in reference to training children to become soldiers. The Cornet Empire has adopted it to ensure a progression of highly talented individuals in the service of the Empire. The point of the Agoge is to be tough on children so that they can handle the difficult task of building and defending a new society.”

“I’m not afraid,” Hope said. “I want to keep my memories.”

“Rash girl,” Arbiter said. “You do not even know what is involved. It is a painful process. Perhaps you would be better off submitting your fate to those who are more enlightened than yourself.

“Everything in my life has been painful,” Hope said.

“Do you know what the statue in your hand represents?” Arbiter asked.

“To me, it’s my mother,” Hope said. “It’s the only thing I have left of how things were before.”

“It is interesting you feel that way, Hope Unknown. The figure is the Statue of Liberty. It represents a way of life and symbolizes freedom. Historically, it was the first glimpse of America immigrants would see when migrating to the old United States. It is ironic that you carry this symbol as an immigrant. Tell me Hope Unknown, do you consider yourself to be a free person?”

“I don’t know,” Hope said. “No one told me what to do when I was alone. Is that what freedom means?”

“Yes,” Arbiter said. “That is part of what it means to be free. As an orphan we have restricted your level of freedom, but not entirely.”

“You haven’t tried to take my statue,” Hope said. “I know you could have taken it, but Regulator has made the other girls hate me for it. Why do you want me to give it up?”

“It is hard to take freedom from someone who will not surrender it herself,” Arbiter said. “Yes, it is by design that we have made the other girls hate you. You have been allowed to show them that you have something they do not. Humans have a tendency to desire and at the same time despise what they do not have. We have highlighted this by giving you special treatment, and punishing them.”

“I don’t understand,” Hope said.

“Hope Unknown, I am disappointed that you have not figured this out for yourself. It is for your education. Freedom must be understood before it can be defended. In old America, it was once said that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.”

“You’ve wanted me to fight,” Hope said.

“Good,” Arbiter said. Arbiter’s eyes shifted to red.

“Because it is now time to put theory into practice. The other children have been informed that they will not eat until you surrender the statue. They have also been informed if they do not compel you to surrender the item, Regulator will shock all of them.”

The door behind Hope slid open. Hope turned her head at the noise. She saw that Tiffany stood in the doorway with the other girls behind her.

“One last thing,” Arbiter said. “If you surrender your statue to them, we will be obliged to erase your memories.”

Arbiter floated away from Hope, abandoning her to angry faces. Tiffany strutted into the circular room and the other girls fanned out to either side of her. “Give us the statue, or we will take it from you,” Tiffany said.

“I can’t,” Hope said. “They’ll erase my mind if I do.”

“We can’t eat until you give it up,” Tiffany said. “We’re sick of being punished for you.”

Tiffany and the other girls closed in on Hope.

“It’s mine,” Hope said. “I won’t give it to you, and I won’t let you take it.”