PART TWO
Marilena
Chapter Twelve
The Termination Facilitator
The Year M85. Fifty-six years after the Battle of Engelsbay.
Marilena as usual arose first. Automatically she picked up a recently exposed solar disc and slipped it into her HED. The screen flickered on, and then, accompanied by the rousing national anthem, the familiar map surrounded by a rotating ring of stars appeared. The news was good. It was always good.
The alphega crop was doing well, and a higher than expected yield was expected. Miners had discovered new vast deposits of myrite under nearby Chalk Lake and it was estimated that the supply would last for at least a thousand years. Government scientists were reported to have almost achieved complete automation of the mining and processing of the ore, and consequently, within the next decade all the miners would be able to retire and fully enjoy the incomparable Myrian lifestyle. Once again, our gallant defence forces had repelled an attempted landing by hostile Bellicans.
Marilena was more concerned with the weather forecast and the estimated exposure time for Drylan. A clear sunny day was predicted, with an EET of 80 minutes. This meant that she would be able to start her studies earlier than normal. Possibly, she would even have time to talk with Gramps before the afternoon dream session.
It was obvious from the state of the kitchen that her mother and father had been up to their usual nocturnal activities. A freshly caught hare was hanging from the back of the larder door, and they had picked some blueberries that Marilena used to augment her alphega flakes. The government, after considerable protest, now allowed the Myrians to supplement their alphega diet with wild fruits, or by hunting and fishing, but they didn't tolerate any of the farming techniques practiced by the uncivilised Darsians.
Having completed her only meal of the day Marilena donned her hooded cowl, remembered to place a couple of discs in the sun box, then made her way through darkened passages to the solarium.
She had been trained in the recommended procedure from birth. First, she sensitized her skin by bathing nude in a pool of pale green liquid for five minutes. After this dousing, she chose a suitable exposomat. These were cylinders of various lengths and inner dimensions situated around the edge of the pool. Marilena initiated the photometer, slid into the snugly fitting device, pressed the starter, and soaked up the rays as the cylinder slowly rotated. An alarm sounded when the radiation limit was reached. This was the signal to vacate the cylinder. It was a safeguard against dangerous overexposure. Marilena's sensitization took seventy-four minutes.
Suitably protected she made her way back to her quarters and prepared for the morning lessons. A small rectangle replaced the map of Myr when she touched the screen. She pressed her right thumb inside the rectangle. This, along with her signature on the writing pad and a password, allowed access to her programmes. Like all Myrians, she was addicted to the Entertainment Network, but could only gain access after completion of certain tasks. All citizens were required to answer a series of questions relating to the Alphega diet, correct sensitizing procedures, and the dangers of overexposure to sunlight. If she answered any questions incorrectly, the HED would run a film on Alphega that would be repeated ad nauseum until she supplied correct answers.
For a student it was even more difficult to access EN, as they not only had to complete the Alphega Quiz, but also their assignments for the day. At the age of four, the Education Department registered each Myrian child and assigned a course of study. In the early years, the emphasis was on language. The programmes attempted to ensure that every Myrian child would use their native tongue correctly. Words of non-Myrian origin had been expunged from the language, and correct grammar was expected in all communications both written and verbal. All instruction and evaluation was through the HED. Students communicated with the device either orally through a voice box, or by using a writing pad.
Students began social studies once they attained competence in language. This involved an intensive study of Myrian art, music, literature, and social customs. The political history of Myr and a detailed study of the lands physical and human geography were other major components. A student could choose to take a comprehensive exam in Myrian studies at any time before their sixteenth birthday. Only students who passed this exam were eligible for advanced studies.
The examination was a major hurdle. Failure meant you were destined for some menial job, such as manual work in the mines or alphega fields. A pass, on the other hand, almost guaranteed a career with the MRP, and all the benefits that entailed. Aptitudes shown in advanced studies determined the nature of their eventual career. However, very few students proceeded to advanced studies. The number passing the comprehensive exam was declining with every passing year. The majority of young people just weren't interested in a government job, or in work of any kind.
Marilena was in advanced studies. She had passed the comprehensive exam with the third highest grade ever recorded in the city of Drylan. The Education Department had sent her a congratulatory message, and informed her that she now had access to the Alphega Studies Network. This was a great honour, as success in this programme could lead to a position in the higher echelons of government. Marilena however was not sure she wanted a civil service career.
Her morning studies completed, Marilena made her way down into the basement room that Gramps now called home.
"What kept you so long, Marilena? I've been expecting you for almost an hour."
"Sorry, Gramps, but I was having a lot of trouble with my math course."
"Pshaw!! Math, a lot of good that will do you nowadays. Useless that's what it is. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I've something to show you. Come here."
Gramps beckoned her towards a door leading into a small adjacent room built beneath the stairs. As she entered, he handed her a brass key.
"See that chest over there by the far wall, go and open it, and tell me what you think."
The key turned easily in the well-lubricated lock and a waft of cedar permeated the room as she lifted the lid.
"What's this, Gramps?" she said, holding up a neatly pressed dress suit.
"It's my going away outfit."
"What do you mean?"
"I've just received my official notification from the T.F."
"The T.F.?"
"The Termination Facilitator. Next month I will be one hundred and one."
Marilena blanched, her throat constricted as she choked on a sob.
"Oh, Gramps, I didn't realize it was so soon. Do you intend to go through with it? We could maybe find a way out."
"I think the government might be right for once. It seems to be a good way to overcome the overpopulation problem. I've had a good life and anyway there doesn't seem to be any alternative. I'm told that at my age you only last a matter of days without alphega and that withdrawal can be extremely painful."
"I'm sure we could get you an alphega supply."
"No doubt you could but you would have the MRP breathing down your necks in no time. They have my records. They would cut off the alphega supply to the whole family. I can't have that."
"But, Gramps."
"No more buts, Marilena. I've decided to go and I'm going in style. Have you ever seen anything like it? It's my wedding suit. It's seventy five years old, still wearable and remarkably it still fits."
"But why did you have to cover yourself like that?"
"You have to remember that this was pre-alphega. It was very difficult to keep our bodies warm, especially in the winter months. Also people didn't like to expose themselves."
"How silly."
"Maybe so, but that's the way it was."
"It must have been awful in the old days."
"Who told you that?"
"I saw it on my HED in my social science courses. If it hadn't been for the MRP, we would still be ravaging the environment, burning coal, raising animals for slaughter, drinking the milk of other species. Ugh! I can't bear to think of it."
"At least there was more variety. We used to spend hours over meals. They were wonderful times."
Marilena gave him a condescending look.
"I know you don't believe me, Marilena, but maybe I can show you something that will never show up on your HED. Come here. Put a finger under the near left hand corner of the cedar chest. Can you feel the button? Now press it."
The pressure on the button caused the false bottom of the chest to retract and revealed a treasure trove of memorabilia.
"I'm leaving the chest and contents to you. I really think you should spend some time looking through this stuff. It might change your way of thinking."
"Can I look at some things now?"
"Later. First, I would like you to help me with this form from the T.F."
Marilena snuggled up next to her grandfather on the lumpy couch. He handed her the one page document. She quickly scanned it.
"I see that they are requesting a HED disc loaded with an album of your favourite photographs and a compilation of your favourite music. Have you any ideas on that?"
Gramps opened his arms, raised his bushy eyebrows, and shrugged."You know me and modern technology. I was hoping..."
"So that's why you were so anxious to see me. Where would I find all this data?"
"In the bottom of the cedar chest."
"I see that you haven't answered the questions at the bottom of the page."
"Could you answer them?" Marilena looked at the questions.
At the moment of termination what is the last thing you would like to
(a) See.........
(b)Smell.......
(c)Touch.....
(d)Hear.....
(e) Taste......
"This is morbid."
"Could you make such choices?"
"I would really have to think about it."
"I have been, but still can't decide. Which reminds me, are you thinking of getting married yet?"
"No. Certainly not. I'm only seventeen you know. Why do you ask?"
"Just a thought. Time for a nap. Would you mind having a go at that HED disc?"
Gramps had been sixteen years of age when the MRP introduced their isolation policy. He had also been a diarist. The cedar chest contained journals covering events before and after the introduction of the alphega diet. These journals for the early years were all identically organized. Gramps had used two facing pages for each day, dividing the left- hand page in half. In the upper half, he had written the planned schedule for the day. How he actually spent, the day he recorded in the lower half. On the facing page, he had placed newspaper articles, pictures, and personal comments relating to what he had considered the major happening of the day. This practice ceased in the later journals, probably when newspapers became obsolete.
Marilena could have spent hours perusing these journals and the schoolbooks that Gramps had kept all these years, but dreamtime loomed. She returned all the documents to the secret drawer, locked the chest, placed the key on Gramps bedside table, and stole back to her room.
Sleep was not necessary on the alphega diet, but dreaming was essential. Marilena secured herself in her padded chair in front of the HED and touched the dream icon. Within seconds, the oscillating pattern and soothing music induced a deep trance. Exactly three hours later, she awoke, leaving plenty of time to prepare for the dance.