Ten identical sectors surrounded the central Eye. Each sector had three separate rings. There were four education centers within ring three, two education centers in ring two and a single education center in ring one. The education centers maintained and improved the bodies and minds of the Sectorians. From birth to the age of fifteen, the Sectorians had to live within an education center within ring three. Only after turning fifteen did they have a chance to graduate to ring two. If their performance was less than satisfactory, they had to remain within ring three for the rest of their lives. The only exception was if The Eye required assigned them to a different ring or sector.
Beyond a few other simple amenities, the Sectorians had the protection of the Wardens who enforced The Eye’s mandates. The Wardens lived in towers spread around the entire sector. There was one tower every five hundred meters from the wall of ring three to the outer wall of the Eye as well as interspersed on each street which spanned the width of the rings. Trying to count the exact number of towers was ill advised. Doing so wouldn’t be in direct violation of any of the Mandates, but the Wardens use any means to assure you never repeated such a mistake.
Another factor which made the Wardens an imposing force was their lack of individual characteristics. From what the Sectorians could tell, the Wardens were all the exact same height and of the exact same build. This build seemed to be a powerful male physique with an average height far greater than any Sectorian. Despite their imposing nature, even these giants obeyed the Mandates unquestioningly.
Each of the ten major streets running all the way from the Eye’s outer wall to the outer wall of ring three were lined with transparent houses made out of tempered glass. This glass was slightly tinted to only allow a general shape to be visible when looking into others’ homes. In each block of houses, there were five floors of living quarters which were each divided into twelve individual residences. The Wardens wore glasses which were rumored to give them the ability to see a clear image through the tinted glass, but this was pure speculation among Sectorians. The only obstructions to their intruding vision, if the rumors turned out to be true, were the bathrooms made out of glass lined with dark cloth.
Between the front-porch of the blocks and the street, there was an avenue of Linden trees which was made up of two straight rows of trees on each side of a footpath stretching all the way from the outer wall of ring three to the Eye’s outer wall. A patch of grass surrounded the row of trees all the way. The splash of green from the trees’ trimmed canopy was a welcome change from the otherwise gray or tar of any buildings not for personal habitation. One of the buildings in question was a gigantic Education center which houses almost ten thousand children ranging from ages between zero and fifteen. This particular day was the last in a string of days which made up Trim and Lyn’s last year of education in ring three within sector seven.
Their test-results would come in and their future would officially be set in stone. Anyone who scored in the 70th percentile or higher would be moved from ring three to ring two, and another education center would be responsible for their education up to the age of eighteen. After this, the last process of education – if one passed the final testing in ring two – would give the student the opportunity to move on to ring one.
This lengthy process of education was for the sole sake of gaining entrance into the Eye and for the ultimate dream of becoming a Significant. The symbol of the Eye was prominently displayed throughout the education center Trim and Lyn were attending. Even the entrance to the education center itself was shaped like a gigantic oval eye.
When they walked into the eye-shaped entrance of this particular education center for the last time, there seemed to be a hymn or chant, though nearly imperceptible, which echoed through their minds. Trim raised his head with great confidence, while Lyn cocked her head at him and squared her shoulders. This moment in time was definitively the most significant moment of their relatively brief fifteen years of age, but it was equally critical as the beginning of their magnificent rise.
“Trim, this is it. We are going to graduate to ring two and advance to become true scientists! I almost can’t believe this is actually happening!” Only a small fluctuation in Lyn’s voice revealed a tinge of anxiety, but her energetic statements forcefully overpowered any uncertainty. “…Yes. We will become great scientists together! No matter what happens, we cannot lose our dream.” Trim’s initial uncertainty culminated in an attempt to present a staunch statement of fact, but it lacked the final bit of conviction which normally carried such grandiose statements.
The massive courtyard they entered was cobbled with white marble and was interspersed with oases of neatly trimmed grass with massive trees sectioning off areas in a cool shade contrasting how the overhead sun’s piercing rays were reflected off of the surface of not only the cobbled ground but also the surrounding circumference of looming black walls which greatly contrasted the freeing openness of the courtyard itself.
Trim and Lyn’s hearts palpitated with a mixture of intense excitement and abject horror. Their previous optimism evaporated along with their walk through the massive courtyard. Other students their age discussed in hushed voices as they also traversed the courtyard towards the Hall of Announcements. Their looks were occasionally met, and the tension between the different cliques was palpable. They were all fully aware that only the top thirty percent of students would gain immediate entrance to ring two. The other seventy percent would have to settle within ring three for life unless they somehow got special permission to ascend to ring two. Questions of who would rise above the rest sang out while simultaneously being unvoiced.
Trim attempted to look at Lyn reassuringly, “We are far smarter than these fools. I’m sure they didn’t even work half as hard as the two of us.”
“Right, right.” Lyn nodded, this time completely nonchalantly, as though their entrance to ring two was guaranteed.
Soon, the dispersed students had formed a dense crowd of people shuttling forward carefully. They all knew someone who had accidentally broken Mandate #7, so although a crowd had formed they still retained at least half a meter of space between themselves and others on all sides.
Trim’s mind returned to the familiar pattern of names which floated up from his subconscious every time he thought of Mandate #7. Lisa, Orange, McConnel, Danny, Cera, and Malton. Those used to be people he knew. They had studied biology together, and math. And he remembered actually seeing Danny breach Mandate #7. His initial reaction had been one of a guttural rejection. He had almost thrown up, but barely managed to keep it in.
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Not only had Danny breached a Mandate, but the way he had done it was both spectacular and horrifying. He had actually hit someone. Danny had only been ten, and he had never seen anyone hit anyone before, not to mention actually hitting anyone, so the punch landed like a wet towel on the towering figure of instructor Gale – our physical work and exercise instructor.
When looking back at the reason for the punch, Trim nearly cried out. It wasn’t worth it. Danny had thrown the punch for the stupid, idiotic, and moronic reason of being upset at Gale hurling insults at him while he was attempting – and failing miserably – to lift a weight far too heavy for him.
After that event, Danny had simply vanished. There was no goodbye. There was no pleading. No excuses. The next day, Trim had arrived at the education center to an empty desk right behind him. His interactions with Cole and Jones had whittled down to almost none after that, despite being close with them. It didn’t seem worth it to forge strong bonds of friendship when the people you cared about could be ripped from you without warning. Lyn was the only exception Trim had made. She had always been there it seemed. He couldn’t simply abandon her even if he worried every single day that one day she might be wrested away from him. Then he would really be alone.
Trim was awoken from his daydreaming when Lyn made a clicking noise and gestured for him to sit down. He had been holding back the people walking behind him by stopping in the middle of aisle of seats separated by a good half meter from the next one over for good measure. He nodded to Lyn to express a silent ‘thank you’ while he sat down to her left.
The students now rushing past to make up for the lost time being stuck behind a statue for ten seconds shot Trim one condemning look after another. A couple of them also made the eye-breaker gesture by forming an oval with their index and thumb on one hand and using a finger from their other hand to break the oval. He had just been lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, why were they all so vindictive…? Then he remembered. Of course they were vindictive. This would be the most pivotal moment of their lives, and any impediment to that would be met with hostility.
The efficiency of the students rushing into the hall while also perfectly maintaining Mandate #7 astonished even Trim. This was both exciting and terrifying, because the energy of others could perhaps indicate confidence – and others being confident was not good for anyone. The scores might be higher than usual, which would make it even more difficult to enter the elite thirty percent moving to ring two.
The Hall of Announcements soon settled down from the soft noise of students whispering among themselves. They all desperately wanted to know the outcome of their tests, and no proud Instructor would deign to lecture at all when there was even a single whisper among the students.
The moment the hall had quieted down, a man wearing a black suit to contrast the white stage and gray walls stepped out from a side-door and stood behind the podium while languidly leaning his hip on it.
“Dear students of sector seven’s absolute best education center, I do hope you have enjoyed your time here and that you will make progress in whichever field you are placed in by the power of the All-seeing Eye. You’re already familiar with your student numbers. These will be read up with an additional letter ranging from A to I. To my left there is a corridor with nine different rooms each marked with one of the letters. When I read your student number followed by the letter, walk quietly down from your seat, into the corridor, and into the door marked with your designated letter.”
The tirade of student numbers following Principal Rin was spewed out with a practiced ease. His 17 years as Principal had given him plenty of experience with making his public speaking flow without stop.
Trim and Lyn were both intensely listening to make sure they noticed their own numbers being read. “304-D, 305-A, 306-I…” Trim was student number 407, while Lyn was 390. They had to get the same number. They had to stick together. If Trim didn’t have anyone he was familiar with, he didn’t know how he would be able to hold up in tough times. Would he be able to manage? He didn’t even want to find out.
“321-C, 322-A, 324-B, 325-G…” Trim froze. His throat constricted. Principal Rin had skipped 323. 323 was…that was Orange. There had been rumors going around about Orange’s disappearance, but the general consensus was that he had been Mandate #7’nd. Some talked about how Orange had attempted to climb the outer wall of ring three, but that sounded far too ridiculous to be believable. Mandate #7 was far more likely, at least in Trim’s mind. Many others also thought so. There were still some people who insisted that they had seen Orange trying to climb the massive wall keeping them safe from threats in the Realm Beyond.
A shudder went through his body as even the thought of the Realm Beyond entered into Trim’s mind. Nothing was as horrifying as that place. They were lucky to live in peace within the bosom of the Eye, and not have to endure the horror of – a concept he had recently learned in a class on politics – anarchy. There was only murder, hunger, theft, blazing flames, toxic poison clouds, and constant warfare between a myriad of local warlords beyond the safety of their walls. They were lucky.
“376-I, 377-F, 380-A, 381…” Trim turned to Lyn, who had already been looking unblinkingly into the side of his head. Their gazes held for too long, before the announcing principal called her number, “390-I.” Her sentence had been delivered. Her fate was waiting for her.
Lyn arose wordlessly from her seat and made her way down the rows of seats. She had flashed Trim a smile in an attempt to assure him of her success before she had begun walking. Trim was now desperately hoping that his number would also be in the “I” category. His dream of becoming a scientist hinged on achieving it together with Lyn. If they couldn’t do that together, then he would rather just do anything else together with her. As long as they weren’t separated, Trim was sure that their lives would at least have glimpses of joy. They would have so much fun! Definitely. He knew he was going to be assigned to the same letter. He had to be. Otherwise, life wouldn’t make sense. Nothing would. They deserved to be together. The Eye would surely take that into consideration, right? Right.
Lyn walked down the aisle in a state of disassociation from her own body. It was as though her body moved without direction and she walked without intent. She strode down the small steps and soon found herself at the bottom of the Hall. Then she turned into the corridor as instructed.
The gray corridor was brightly lit with fixtures in both the floor and the roof. It gave Lyn a sensation of walking into her own future. Her steps only halted when she had arrived in front of the door which had a perfect “I” engraved on it. Despite all of the information the students had received regarding the final testing, none of them had any clue which door would lead to which future. All Lyn knew was that the different occupations and lifepaths never remained behind the door of the same letter two times in a row. For all she knew, the fate that awaited her was becoming an artist or a doctor.
A doctor was a kind of scientist, right? She tried not digging deeper into this line of questions and instead pressed down the door handle. It felt like she was touching a stick of ice with how its cold shot through her arm and settled in her spine.
While this thought of lingering cold was still present in her mind, she had already opened the door and entered. Her future had already been written. What met her initially was nothing like she had expected. A blinding white light flashed her to the point of forcing her to shut them in agonizing pain. Her head throbbed. She had felt as though she had been staring into the literal sun for five seconds too long.
After the blinding sun had made her fall on her ass and throw her hands up defensively in front of her clenched shut eyes, she felt something prick her right shoulder and then the intensity of the white light turned black. Her anxious rapid breath smoothed out as her heart slowed. The last sensation she remembered before passing out was a faint smell of ammonia. Then, her grasp on reality loosened and slipped out of the hands she had wrapped around her eyes.