Hello World

Chapter 4 2215

The Eating Room was a fairly large room with linoleum floors that were white specked with grey. Several round tables of different colours stood in it, with no particular pattern in their placement. I sat at one of these tables, watching the long rectangular tables at the front near the kitchen. Soon, it would hold chafing dishes of food and each table would be called to the front and served a rationed amount on a plastic plate. Sometimes it was meat and potatoes. Sometimes it was chilly. Sometimes it appeared to be slop, maybe a mixture of leftovers from every meal that week, maybe... We had no choice but to eat it anyways. Eat it, or risk being hungry. Or, if noticed by one of the Authorities, be taken to the infirmary and placed in isolation. They couldn't have numbers choosing to starve themselves at the border.

"Table 12," an automated voice called out over the intercom. I headed up to the service table, where a woman wearing a white apron handed me a plate of boiled hamburger and a potato. I carried it back to the table, and ate silently, listening to the murmurs of the people sitting next to me.

"Remember, there is to be no talking amongst Numbers." said the automated voice on the intercom. The murmurs turned to whispers.

I stared down at my plate, and took another bite. It was rather bland but I had had worse. I chewed the meat, and rinsed it down with water. The feeling of cold had started to ebb away, and I felt almost warm. The intercom came on again.

"Your meal has generously been provided by the government of Canada." it said.

"Thanks Canada," we replied in unison.

"This Home has been generously provided by the government of Canada."

"Thanks Canada."

"Your existence have been generously allowed by the people of Canada"

"Thanks Canada"

"Protect your home. Protect your country. Protect your people."

"For Canada" We said, standing. We clapped until the familiar music began to play.

"Sing for your country."

"Oh Canada..."

When we had finished singing the national anthem, the voice on the intercom instructed us to head over to Lessons. I looked down at my half eaten plate, and hurriedly finished the rest of it. When I had finished, I glanced around the room, thankful that no one had noticed me. A few of the Cooks were clearing off the service table indifferently. A few other numbers had also remained around the tables. I hurried towards the crowd at the door, hoping to blend in before the voice on the intercom would remind us that Lunch was over, and that leaving was not optional.

As I exited the Eating Room, I was dismayed to see the three men from earlier standing in the hallway, watching us. I hung my head and tried to blend in as I walked towards the Learning Room.

I took a seat at my assigned desk. Like the tables in the Eating Room, the desktops were an assortment of colours. Mine was orange. It had metal legs and wooden edges that were full of holes. I ran my fingers over them absently as I watched the screen at the front of the room, waiting for Lesson to start.

"Before we begin, I would like to introduce Sergeant Tony Kalt. He has generously agreed to be your new Director during Work," said a lady on the screen. "Welcome him." But a few people had already begun clapping, knowing the rules. I looked down at my desk as Sargent Kalt marched to the front of the room. Reluctantly, I began to clap with the other Numbers, my heart sinking. For a long moment, I could feel him staring at me. Then he marched out of the room. The door closed behind him. The lock on the door clicked, and the Lesson began.

The lady on the screen vanished. She was replaced by a map of Canada. As usual, we listed the provinces and territories, starting with British Columbia, ending with Nunavut, the location of the base. Then, the lady reappeared. "Hush," she said, and everyone silenced. "Now I must read attendance. If you are here, say here. If you are absent, know that you will be found out and punished.

"3016, 4581, 2713, 9044, 1243, 1063, 2210..." the list carried on and on. "2215."

"Here," I said, and then listened as she continued to list the Numbers. Once she had finished, a small box appeared in the corner of the screen, listing the attendance stats. According to the figures, the daily attendance rate was 71%, the weekly was 82% and the overall for the past six months was 67%. The lady on the screen then went over the importance of why we were to attend, and what would happen if we didn't. I shuddered as the image of the infirmary rose in my mind. I shook my head to clear the image. I wouldn't think of that, not just now.

I forced myself to focus on the screen, where the map had again reappeared. "We are here," said the lady. A small red dot appeared around Baffin Island. "The border is here" A large oval dot appeared around the line along southern Canada, that separated it from the United states of America. "They are our Enemies," she said as the map shifted to show the United States. A thick red circle appeared around them. "We will destroy our enemy. We will protect our country. We will remain strong and free." The red circle began to drip like blood across the map of the united states until it was completely covered. Then the map shattered into pieces over the screen. "We will destroy our enemy. We will protect our country. We will remain strong and free."

The remainder of the Lesson was spent watching live footage from the border. I forced myself to watch as bombs were thrown from either side. And people fell, both girls and boys alike. And bodies were blown to pieces. "This time next year, you will have the honour of dying for your country." A boy with a missing leg was carted towards a tent, where he would be euthanized by lethal injection, having served his purpose. My stomach turned and I had to look away. When I returned my attention to the screen, it was showing simulations of the aftermath; a world in which there was no war at the border. Because there was no border. Because there was no United States. I watched as ruined buildings made their way across the screen. And a few people wandered through the streets, scrounging through garbage bins for food. One by one they disappeared. The buildings crumbled at an exhilarated rate. And the roads began to degrade. Then it showed the vegetation that would take over the land, where once stood houses and buildings. This would be the global oxygen supply. And the world would have Canada to thank. And the United States as well; they had declared war in the first place.

With that, the Lesson ended. And we were instructed to go to the Thinking Room, where we were to write our thoughts on blank sheets of paper which would would be read and analyzed.

Canada be free, I would write. I, 2215 will have the honour of dying for my country.

A country which I have never seen.

I, 2215 will have the honour of dying for my country. A country which has supplied Work, to discipline me. A Base to teach me. A Home, to reward me with basic comfort at the end of a long day. A country whose people have allowed me, and the other Numbers to exist. Because what would there be without existence? What would there be without a Home?

My mind wandered to one of the previous Lessons, during which we were shown images from the outside world. A world where Lessons taught you math, history, science, art, but never warfare. A world where you belonged to a unit called a family. And you went home to them everyday, and laughed with them, cried with them, had meals with them, went to the beach. A world where it wasn't cold 9 months out of the year, and cool the other three. A world where you could leave your Home at will. And speak to those around you, choose your Work, or choose not to work if this pleased you. A world where you mattered. A world where you were more than a number.

But I knew not to write any of this. Complaining would land a Number in the infirmary, where the doctors and nurses wearing white coats would run a bunch of tests, administer a bunch of pills meant to rewire your thinking, or alternatively lock you in an isolation room until you chose to accept your purpose. Accept your purpose, honour your existence. And if you don't...

A vision of the white tent from the afternoons lesson flashed into my mind. I shuddered.

I love my country, I wrote.