Hello World

Chapter 5 Hecate

My parents were sitting side by side –together- on the couch, which they rarely ever did. Their eyes were fixed on the television set in front of them. They looked so synchronized. For a brief moment, I wondered what they were thinking.

The reporter was announcing another list of recalls. I could remember a time when I would sit on the floor in front of the screen, expecting to see my code on the list. I would imagine being outcast, living in the woods off of roots and berries, sneaking into town to steal the basic necessities. I would imagine the satisfaction I would feel at having once again evaded the watchful eyes of society.

Samantha was holding the piece of paper. I watched as she subconsciously rolled it around her fingers, the way you would a five dollar bill. I stood staring at her, trying to figure out what she was feeling, if she was feeling anything at all.

My eyes trailed to the floral patterned wallpaper that had enveloped the wall for as long as I could remember. I could recall lying on the floor, staring at it. I would point out constellations of flowers to anyone who would listen to me.

"Look, there is a dog! That looks like Willow!"

"Catie, are you flawed?" Samantha would ask.

"We should call the GEC clinic!" my brothers would chime in unison. "923-2474" They would chant the number over and over.

And I would quickly look down. Examine my shoes. Count the bricks on the fireplace. Look for shapes in the clouds which blotched the sky on the other side of the window. Eventually, I became silent.

On the television set, the reporter was explaining the important of testing potentially flawed GECs.

"Catie!"

Suddenly, the Television was switched off.

"Catie!" My parents were both staring at me intently. "Catie, sit down", Samantha said, and I sat on the floor next to willow. 

"Not on the floor Catie," Ferdinand said, shaking his head. 

I remained put. 

"Catie, your father and I received this in the mail." Samantha handed me the crumpled piece of paper. I straitened it out, and squinted to decipher the small print. It read:

Dear Samantha,

We are writing in response to your recent inquiry regarding your potentially flawed product. We regret to inform you that there may have been a mix up with your product. We would like to fix this immediately. In order to be certain, we require that the product XYZ321 be presented to the GEC testing clinic on November 15th at 3pm for testing. For farther information, please call 9232474 extension 6. 

We apologize for the mix up and are looking forward to making it right.

Yours truly,

Evelin Dash, JoyMaker Ltd.

I looked up from the letter, and looked back and forth between Samantha and Ferdinand. 

"I am not flawed!" I said indignantly. "I am not flawed!"

A surge of emotion rushed through me. I could feel tears rolling down my cheek and fought hard to restrain them. 

"Catie, you may not be flawed, but..."

"What?"

"You were not what we expected. I mean, you are nothing like her..." Samantha's voice trailed off and she began to sob. She reached into her pocket and handed me a faded photograph. On it was a little girl laying in a hospital bed with tubes in her nose.

"This was Kativa," said Samantha. "She was my first born. Your older sister, I suppose. We submitted her DNA for your design. They insisted that they would need to alter it in order to eliminate the genes related to cystic fibroses. But we hadn't realized how much they would alter. We did not realize how different from her you would be. I thought they could do it... I thought they could bring her back."

I stared at her, the words were swimming around in my brain though not quite sinking in.

"Remember last summer, when you..." Samantha's voice trailed off and she shuddered.

"If you are referring to what happened to Joel, I already told you that I did not mean it. It was an accident."

"We both know that is not what Rowan and Joel said happened" growled Ferdinand.

"You may not have meant for it to happen, but it did. Maybe you lost your temper, or maybe it really was an accident. But I know in my heart that if it had been Kativa, this would not have happened."

"I am not flawed," I said, almost shouting. 

"Well we are better to be safe than sorry... and there is something else Catie. You may not even be the product we ordered."

"I am a person," I said angrily, though I knew it could not be true. 

"There were two infants. We kept one, the other went to serve our country."

"What?" I asked?

"We wanted to bring Kativa back. We needed to bring Kativa back. And this was the only way we could afford it. I am sorry Catie."

"What will happen to me?" I asked.

"I don't know," Samantha said. "But I assume they will make it right... I assume they will bring back Kativa."