She turned away from watching the pale silver thread that moved across the sky. Glancing at her watch, she noticed that the daily transport was taking off late today. It blinked out of sight as it engaged its orbital drives.
Marisa-6 walked slowly, with her hand wrapped around the precious object in her pocket. She could still hear the Bishop admonishing her for being simple-minded and foolish. "Backward," he had announced when he refused to sign her procreation permit. True religion was long dead, but convention still insisted that spiritual leaders had the final say when it came to bearing children.
Simple-minded. Backward. Foolish.
The insults rang in her ears.
Was there something wrong with longing for the sound of crisp fall leaves beneath your feet, the fresh smell of a spring rain or the satisfying feeling of creating something with your own two hands? What was so backward about wanting a different lifestyle than the sterile, impersonal and computer-driven one that most of society embraced? She sighed as the wind caught her long skirt and pulled at her hair.
Having a child without a permit was dangerous. Caught pregnant without the proper documents would result in her imprisonment and a forced termination. Even now, her heart sped in her chest when she thought back to earlier that day. When she slipped away from work to meet the woman who quietly sold her this special little box. The fertilization kit contained a living human embryo, with a tiny life-support system. The vial inside would remain usable for only 8 hours, so she had little time to dwell on her decision.
Once she was with child, she would start to show in a few months. By then, she would have to find a way out of the city so that she could have her child without fear of punishment. It had taken Marisa-6 nearly 4 months to locate someone who could sell her this kit in the first place. She wasn't sure she would have enough time to pull off the second part of her plan. She should have waited until her escape plan was complete before buying this embryo, but she feared losing her underground contact once she had located her.
Marisa-6 was pulled from her daydreaming by the harsh voice of the entry scanner. So wrapped up in her situation, she had forgotten to wave her hand by the lens. She was a little surprised by her carelessness. She had her ident read more than twenty times a day, and getting scanned was second nature. Marisa-6 would need to focus better than that if she hoped to escape.
Later than night, she used the kit. Lying in bed, she imagined she could feel the very first stirrings of life inside of her. While there was a chance she might not conceive, full-embryo fertilization kits almost guaranteed success. As she faded off to sleep, she though about a name for her future child. She thought Serina-2 was very pretty, if it was a girl.
For the next 2 months, Marisa-6 slowly arranged her passage to freedom. She had decided that the colony in the Euphrates system was her destination. They had declared themselves free and independent from the Oligarchy many years ago, and have rejected the technological mind-set of today's society. Of course, transport to such a "rogue" outpost isn't easily obtained. But by using some of the illicit channels she had already discovered, Marisa-6 was able to buy a new ident that would put her on ship headed to Euphrates.
The day finally arrived. She felt that everyone on the platform was watching her. Did her hand tremble too much as she passed the scanner? Did her loose clothing not hide her growing waistline? Once aboard the Euphrates passenger ship, she would not likely be scanned again. It was only moments until she could consider herself free. Only moments.
Then Marisa-6 realized that 2 men were in fact watching her. She grew cold and terrified as they approached her. They each took one of her arms and insisted she go with them. Though they made no claims against her, she knew that she had been caught. Unlawful pregnancy and ident forgery were serious charges, and though she faced innumerable years of imprisonment, Marisa-6 thought only of her little baby. This poor child would never be born, never grow up to feel the warm sun.
Suddenly exhausted, all she could think of was the desperate unfairness of the situation. She had come too close to fail! All her hard work, careful planning, and constant fear had come to nothing. It was not right.
Marisa-6 didn't pay attention to where they were taking her, until they arrived in a small maintenance room under the platform hanger. A small blonde woman in a pilot's jumpsuit was sitting on a bulkhead. She smiled openly when she saw Marisa-6.
"Hello," she said, "my name is Chrysobal and these two fine gentlemen are Henrick and Sutton."
With such unusually short names, Marisa-6 was certain that these were not Oligarch Enforcement officers. It lessened her fear only a fraction. She was still in a strange and possibly risky situation.
"Speechless, are you? I guess being hijacked off the platform is a little intimidating. Please sit." Chrysobal gestured to a pile of boxes near her. Marisa-6 sat down and tried to look unafraid. Chrysobal continued.
"I'll get right to the point. We are members of a group who feel that the human race is slowly but surely dying. Life is being strangled by regulations and is losing its soul all the while. Mankind cannot survive under the rule of the Oligarchy. So many people have no thirst for knowledge, no desire for challenge, no craving for adventure. These sheep deserve their fenced pasture. But those who still have a fire in their hearts need to be free. We are hand-picking the finest sheep from the flock."
She raised her eyebrows at Marisa-6.
"You, my dear Marisa-6 are exactly what we are looking for. Our cause is growing rapidly, and has threaded itself through many levels of government and society. We've watched your progress since that day you bought an embryo-kit from one of our members. Our little Euphrates colony is just a front, acting like a beacon for independent thinkers like yourself. "
Marisa's head spun as she finally found her voice, "So why grab me off the platform here, where Enforcement could catch us all? Why not wait until I was at Euphrates?"
Chrysobal smiled even wider, "Where's the fun in that?"
