Pure

I can still remember it clearly. The day that my life changed was like any other day. There was nothing in the atmosphere –nothing to warn me that the path I tread was going to change so drastically.

You see, the society that we lived in, the society that has evolved, is a Caste Society. Unfortunately, I was born in one of the lowest caste. No-one and I mean no-one, escapes from their caste. You live in your caste and you die in your caste. No one escape. There is no Choice. You see Choice equals freedom. My Caste did not have Choice. Only a few in the Executive Caste are given a Choice, and even then, it’s few and in between.

You always hear stories, from Management, about getting promoted to another caste but it never happens. It is one of those things that are said to keep the masses in check. To give you hope. Although I do not know why they do it anymore. Everyone is aware that it is a lie. You dare not say it less you are demoted to the End Caste or worst cast out in the Wilderness. The End Caste, if there is a God and he resides in Heaven, then End Caste is adjacent to Hell and the Wilderness is Hell itself. We were taught all about the Wilderness and the Castes as children in Introduction. Introduction, is where we all learn about our Society, your caste, the other castes and the rules to follow.

But I digress…

My family unit grew up in semi-poverty; we were always on the bread line. From the time I was designated as an adult and given my job in the Factory. I thought ‘this is it for the next forty or so years’, until I die to make way for the next generation.

That day, as I made my way from work, from another day that had no meaning and would eventually blend into all of the other days (or so I thought), I turned unto my street and saw the crowd first. I pushed my way through them, trying to make my way to my housing unit – as always head down and trying to avoid eye contact. I vaguely wondered why they were milling around but I did not want to speak with anyone so I carried on to my unit.

As I entered the small non descriptive unit, I mumbled a few words of greetings to my parents. I was trying to make my way to my room without having to make small talk but my father called me into the living room. ‘Living room’. I always thought those two words were ironic – it is one of those words that survived from the ‘Old Days’. It used to mean something. But now it held no meaning, not when you live in the lower caste. As I entered the room, both of my parents were standing by the table. My father had an expressionless face and my mother was wringing her hands nervously. In the centre of the table was a monetary chip for $20,000 and a black note book.

My mother said, ‘they were here. They left them for you’. She did not have to explain who ‘they’ were. I already knew! Everybody knew who ‘they’ were. Trembling fear filled me and I whispered, ‘why?’

My father responded, ‘you were seen. They did a reassessment, and the results are in the book. You are the only one allow to open and see the result’.

I looked at my mother and said, ‘I did not do anything. I swear I did not do anything wrong. I followed the rules like they said’. By now, I was slowly backing away from my parents, the black book and $20,000 as if by doing so the situation was going to disappear. But deep down I know that there was no escape from this situation. The last person I knew who had a reassessment was no more. I vaguely remember her monetary compensation was not as large as what was left for me. She is gone. But I was not like Donna, I followed the rules, I did not make waves. I did everything they said. Why did they want to send me out of the Society?

Desperately, my brains ran through my actives throughout the last few days, weeks, months trying to find out what I did wrong, who did I offend? The days, weeks and months blurred into one. I could not find anything.

‘Mom, what should I do?’ I swear I did not do anything wrong. I followed the rules. I followed the rules’. Weepily, my mother slowly walk to me and hug me. ‘It’s OK’, she whispered, ‘we will ask for another reassessment. We know you are a good girl’.

I inhale sharply and pull away from her, shaking my head as I trembling said ‘No, no, no, you can’t! You just can’t! They will take you as well, you know what they will do’.

We all know what they will do. The Society maintains order by ensuring everything is in its place. Everybody is taught where their place is – nothing is ever out of place. If you are seen as displaced you are sent to reassessment. The goal is to ensure you conform to you caste and you are an asset to the Society.

Management does not entertain any assault on the rules. A broken rule can lead to the death of people and the Society. Those who had tried to challenge the Society are usually thrown out – whole families - they are now gone. Now, out of fear, nobody questions the results of the assessments.

My father sighed deeply and came and stand next to my mother ‘Alex, we both know we are not much as parents but one thing we do know is that you are a good child. We know that you will not go against the rules. This assessment is wrong we will stand with you and fight it. Even if it means that we will be taken and thrown in the End Caste or Wilderness as well’.

Still shaking my head, I tearfully said, ‘you know you can’t fight it’. I walked over to the table and turned back to them. I tried to smile shakily, ‘the best options is for you to use the money to have a better life. I could do this much for you. They usually give us 30 days before they execute the assessment so at least I know that you both will be fine’.

I turned back to the book on the table. I knew that my life had already changed, part of me had already accepted it. Once I opened the book I will see the written results. It was so strange that we were discussing the results in the book when we have not open it yet. The thing is we already knew what the result was. This same situation had happened so often that everybody knew the results- they did not have to open the book.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped the tears from my eyes and open the book to read the results;

‘Pure Rear Blood - Promoted to Executive Caste – All Access Choice’

I stare at the words in utter unbelief and shock. I hurriedly wiped the tears again from my eyes and face and reread the words to ensure I was not seeing things. I faintly heard my mother asking what the result was but I was in a state of shock and did not answer.

I am a Pure Rear Blood.

During the last Great World War, biological warfare were used on the entire world’s population. As a result, there are few ‘pure’ humans anymore. Almost everyone has been contaminated in some form or the other. At birth you are tested to see how ‘pure’ your blood was. You are given a caste based on how clean your blood is. To avoid further contamination, there are no mixing of the caste; no mixing of the blood. I do not know what went wrong at my birth test but it appears that I was allocated to the wrong Caste; this type of error is unheard of in the Society.

The Rear Bloods are people who have no contamination what so ever- pure humans. Hardly any children are born which are pure blooded, much less being born to parents who are not pure bloods. The purer the blood, the higher your caste. The more contaminated your blood, the lower your caste. Those who are seen as too contaminated are thrown out in the Wildness. If you break the rules you are demoted to the End Caste. Depending on what rules you break you can be thrown out to the Wilderness.

‘Rear Blood’, my mother whispered in disbelief. I did not even know when they came to my side and read the result as well. ‘Alex, you are a Rear Blood. This is unbelievable, a Rear Blood. They are nearly extinct, and full Access and Choice as well. This is truly unbelievable. We are saved, we are saved’.

Both my parents were hugging me and each other in happiness but I did not know what to do. My brain was slowly letting go of the fear that had held me so tightly in its grip and was taking in this new assessment results. I was slowly reassessing my whole life. A life that has been, until this very moment, stagnant and without purpose has now been blown open and now have ‘All Access Choice’. The juxtaposition was too much to digest.

Now, for the very first time in my life, I have true freedom, true choice, to do absolutely what I want. I am, can be, the own master of my life.