Kira looked at the sidewalk, studiously avoiding his eyes. You dont think theyre going to lower the pregnancy age again?
So soon? asked Marcus. It hasnt even been nine months yetI dont think theyd drop it again before the eighteen-year olds even come to term.
They would, Kira said, still looking down. They would, because the Hope Act is the only way they know how to deal with the problem. They think if we have enough babies, one of thems bound to be resistant, but it isnt working, and it hasnt worked for eleven years, and getting a bunch of teenagers pregnant is not going to change that. She let go of Marcuss hand. Its the same thing in the hospital: They take care of the moms, they keep everything sterile, they record all the data, and the infants are still dying. We know exactly how theyre dyingwe know so much about how theyre dying it makes me sick just to think about itbut we know absolutely nothing about how to save them. We get a bunch of new girls pregnant, and all were going to have are more dead babies and more notebooks full of the same exact statistics for how those babies died. She felt her face grow hot, tears coming behind her eyes. Some of the other people were looking at her as they passed on the road; many of the women were pregnant, and Kira was certain some of them had heard her. She swallowed and hugged herself tightly, angry and embarrassed.
Marcus stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulder. Youre right, he whispered. Youre absolutely right.
She leaned into him. Thank you.
Someone shouted through the crowd. Kira!
Kira looked up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Madison was weaving through the press of people, waving excitedly. Kira couldnt help but smile. Madison was a couple years older, but theyd grown up together, practically sisters in the makeshift family theyd formed after the Break. She raised one hand and waved back.
Mads!
Madison reached them and hugged Kira excitedly. Her new husband, Haru, followed a few steps behind. Kira didnt know him well; hed been in the Defense Grid when he and Madison met, and only transferred into civilian duty when theyd gotten married a few months ago. He shook her hand and nodded solemnly to Marcus. Kira wondered again how Madison could fall for someone so serious, but she supposed everyone was serious compared to Marcus.
Its good to see you, said Haru.
You can see me? asked Marcus, patting himself in sudden shock. The potion must have worn off! Thats the last time I give my lunch to a talking squirrel.
Madison laughed, and Haru raised his eyebrow, confused. Kira watched him, waiting, until his lack of humor was so funny she couldnt help herself and burst into laughter as well.
How are you guys doing? asked Madison.
Surviving, said Kira. Barely.
Madison grimaced. Rough night in maternity?
Ariel had her baby.
Madison went pale, and her eyes drooped in genuine sadness. Kira could see how much it hurt her, now that she was almost eighteen. Madison wasnt pregnant yet, but it was only a matter of time. Im so sorry. Ill follow you back after the meeting to say hi to her, and see if theres anything I can do.
Thats a good idea, said Kira, but youll have to do it without mewe have a salvage run today.
But you were up all night! Madison protested. They cant make you do a salvage run.
Ill grab a nap before leaving, said Kira, but I need to goIve been falling apart at work, and I could use the change of pace. Plus I need to prove to Skousen that I can handle it. If the Defense Grid wants a medic on their salvage run, Ill be the best damn medic theyve ever seen.
Theyre lucky to have you, said Madison, hugging her again. Is Jayden going?
Kira nodded. Hes the sergeant in charge.
Madison smiled. Give him a hug for me. Jayden and Madison were siblingsnot adopted siblings, actual birth siblings, the only direct genetic relatives left in the world. They were proof, some said, that RM immunity could be inherited, which only made it more frustrating that so far none of the newborns had done it. More likely, Kira thought, Madison and Jayden were an anomaly that might never be repeated.
Jayden was also, as Kira often informed Madison, one of the more attractive human beings left on the planet. Kira glanced impishly at Marcus. Just a hug? I could pass along a kiss or two.
Marcus looked awkwardly at Haru. So. Any idea what the meetings gonna be about?
Kira and Madison laughed, and Kira sighed happily. Madison always made her feel better.
Theyre closing the school, said Haru. The youngest kids on the island are turning fourteen, and there are practically more teachers now than students. Im guessing theyre going to graduate everyone into trade programs early, and send the teachers somewhere they can be more useful.
You think? asked Kira.
Haru shrugged. Its what Id do.
Theyre probably going to yak about the Partials again, said Madison. The Senate can never shut up about those things.
Can you blame them? asked Haru. They killed everyone on Earth.
Present company excepted, said Marcus.
Im not saying they werent dangerous, said Madison, but its been eleven years since anyone has seen one. Life goes on. Besides, weve clearly got bigger problems now. Im guessing theyre going to talk about the Voice.
Well find out soon enough, I guess, said Kira, nodding toward the north; the coliseum was just visible beyond the trees. The Senate had its own building, of course, in an actual town hall, but town hall meetings like this one, where the entire city was asked to attend, were held in the coliseum. They rarely filled it, but the adults said it used to fill up all the time, back in the old days when theyd used it for sports. Before the Break.
Kira had only been five years old in the Break; most things about the old world she couldnt even remember, and she didnt trust half the things she could. She remembered her father, his dark face and his messy black hair and his thick-framed glasses pushed up on the bridge of his nose. They had lived in a split level houseshe was fairly certain it was yellowand when she turned three she had a birthday party. She didnt have any friends her age, so there were no little kids, but most of her fathers friends were there. She remembered shed had a big toy box full of stuffed animals, and shed wanted to show it to everyone, so shed puffed and strained and pushed it down the hall; it seemed like a half an hour or more in her mind, but she knew it couldnt have been that long in real life. When shed finally reached the living room and shouted for everyone to look, her father had laughed and chided her and taken the whole thing back to her bedroom. All her effort, gone in seconds. The memory didnt bother her; she never thought of her father as mean or unjust. It was simply a memory, one of the few she had of her life in the old world.
The crowd was heavy now, pressing together as they passed through the trees around the coliseum. Kira held tight to Marcus with one hand and Madison with the other, Haru trailing off the back like the end of a human chain. They wove a path through the mass of people and found a row of empty seatsnear a door, like Marcus wanted. Kira knew he was right: If Senator Kessler got off on another rant, or if Senator Lefou got talking about shipping schedules or whatever boring thing he was on about this month, theyd need an easy way to slip out. Mandatory attendance was one thing, but once the important stuff was over, they wouldnt be the only ones leaving early.
As the senators filed onto the dais in the center of the floor, Kira shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wondering if Haru would be right. There were twenty senators in all, and Kira recognized just about all of them, though she didnt know all their names. One of the men, though, was new: tall, dark, powerfully built. He stood like a military officer, but his suit was simple and civilian. He whispered something to Dr. Skousen, the Senate representative from the hospital, then slipped away into the crowd.
Good morning. The voice boomed through the massive stadium, echoing through the speakers and off the ceiling. The center of the coliseum lit up with a giant holo-image of Senator Hobb. There were twenty senators, but they always let Hobb take the lead in town hall meetings, delivering the opening remarks and most of the announcements. He was definitely the most charming.
This town hall meeting will now come to order, Senator Hobb continued. Were very glad to see you all here; its important that you take part in your government, and these town hall meetings are the best way for everyone to stay connected. At this time wed like to offer special thanks to the Long Island Defense Grid, specifically Sergeant Stewart and his team, for hand-cranking the generators all night here in the coliseum. As we have pledged to you, these meetings have never and will never draw electricity away from the community. There was a light smattering of applause, and Hobb smiled kindly while he waited for it to die down. Well start with our first order of business. Ms. Rimas, if youd please join me on the stand?
Its the schools, said Kira.
I told you, said Haru.
Ms. Rimas was the head of the East Meadow school system, which had dwindled over time to a single school for which she now served as principal. Kira listened with her hand on her mouth as the old woman spoke proudly of the work her teachers had done, the success their system had shown over the years, and the great things accomplished by the graduating students. It was a send-off, a triumphant look back at their hard work and dedication, but Kira couldnt help feeling sick about the whole thing. No matter how they spun it, no matter how much they tried to focus on the positives, the ugly truth was that there simply werent any children anymore. They were closing the school because they had run out of students. The teachers had done their job, but the doctors hadnt.
The youngest human being on the planet, as far as anyone knew, would be fourteen years old in a month. It was possible that there were survivors on other continents, but no one had ever been able to make contact with them, and over time the refugees on Long Island had come to believe that they were alone. That their youngest was the worlds youngest. His name was Saladin. When they brought him onstage, Kira couldnt hold back her tears.
Marcus put his arm around her, and they listened to the string of heartfelt speeches and congratulations. The youngest students were being accelerated into trade programs, just as Haru had predicted. Ten were accepted into the pre-medic program Kira had just completed; in another year or two they would begin interning at the hospital just like she was. Would anything be different then? Would infants still be dying? Would the nurses still be watching them die and recording their stats and wrapping them for burial? When would it all end?
As each teacher stood to say good-bye and wish their students well, the coliseum grew quieter, almost reverent. Kira knew they were thinking the same thing she was. The closing of the schools was like the closing of the past, the final acknowledgment that the world was ending. Forty thousand people left in the world, and no children. And no way to ever make more.
The last teacher spoke softly, tearfully bidding her students good-bye. The teachers were joining trade schools as well, moving on to new jobs and new lives. This final teacher was joining Saladin in the Animal Commission, training horses and dogs and hawks. Kira smiled at that. If Saladin had to grow up, at least he could still play with a dog.
The last teacher sat down, and Senator Hobb rose and walked to the microphone, standing calmly in the spotlight. His image filled the coliseum, solemn and troubled. He paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, then looked up at the audience with clear blue eyes.
This didnt have to be.
The crowd murmured, a rustle of movement rippling through the stadium as people muttered and glanced at their companions. Kira saw Marcus look at her; she grabbed his hand tightly in her own and kept her eyes glued on Senator Hobb.
The school didnt have to close, he said softly. There are barely twenty school-age children in East Meadow, but across the whole island there are more. Far more. Theres a farm in Jamesport with ten children almost as young as SaladinIve seen them myself. Ive held their hands. Ive begged them to come in, to come here where its safe, where the Defense Grid can better protect them, but they wouldnt. The people with them, their adopted parents, wouldnt let them. And just one week after I left, a mere two days ago, the so-called Voice of the People attacked that farm. He paused, composing himself. Weve sent soldiers to recover what we can, but I fear the worst.
Senator Hobbs hologram surveyed the coliseum closely, piercing them with his earnest stare. Eleven years ago the Partials tried to destroy us, and they did a pretty damn good job. We built them to be stronger than us, faster than us, to fight for us, in the Isolation War. They won that war handily, and when they turned against us five years later it didnt take them long to wipe us off the face of the earth, especially after they released RM. Those of us who survived came to this island with nothingbroken, fragmented, lost in despairbut we survived. We rebuilt. We set up a defensive perimeter. We found food and shelter, we created energy and government and civilization. When we discovered that RM would not stop killing children, we passed the Hope Act to maximize our chance of giving birth to a new generation of humans with RM resistance. Thanks to the act and our tireless medical force, we grow closer to realizing that dream every day.
Senator Hobb nodded to Dr. Skousen, sitting beside him on the dais, then looked back up. His eyes were shadowed and solemn. But along the way, something happened. Some of us decided to break off. Some of us forgot about the enemy that still lurks on the mainland, watching us and waiting, and they forgot about the enemy that fills the air around us, that fills our very blood, killing our children like it killed so many of our families and friends. Because some of us have now decided that the civilization we built to protect ourselves is somehow the enemy. Were still fighting for what is ours, only now, were fighting with one another. Since the passing of the Hope Act two years ago, the Voice, these gangsters, these armed thugs in the mocking guise of revolutionaries, have been burning our farms, pillaging our stores, killing their own flesh and bloodtheir own brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and, God help us, their own children. Because that is what we are: We are a family, and we cannot afford to fight one another. And whatever their motivations are, whatever they claim to stand for, the Voicelets just call them what they are: barbariansare simply trying to finish the job the Partials started. And we are not going to let them. His voice was hard, a force of pure determination. We are one nation, one people, one will. He paused. Or at least we should be. I wish I had better news, but the Defense Grid found a Voice strike team raiding a supply depot last nightdo you want to know where? Can you guess?