THE MARGINALS

The Sorting Stations

"Yes, you will know them when you see them, put them on the list in Cursive. Show them the Cursive. Then convince them to meet me here in two days."

"TWO DAYS? That's not enough time!" she thought.

Mabel jack-knifed awake. It was still dark in the hallways of the cell block H22. A long snake-like corridor filled with cells of new Marginals from all over the galaxy. These Marginals were like Mabel, human forms, all younger, mostly the 'under -13's'. The next cell block over was cell block Na and it was filled with the 'over-80's'. These Marginals suffered the most. Some were found collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Some were not able to carry their own weight anymore and had hover-wheels to bring them to and from their testing stations in the mines where they would taste test the Sokeri crystals before export was approved.

They were in these dark mines for 18 hours a day until it was time to get back to their cell. There they were 'erased' and 'started' over again the next day. It was gruelling work. Everyone held their head down. Everyone followed orders. Everyone was a hologram of their former self.

All Mabel and the others ever saw was the inside of their thoughts and the shadows cast on the floor by  their cell mates bodies moving under the flickering fluorescent lights lining the narrow corridors.

Mabel only knew of two other cell blocks, cell block C12, and cell block O11. People wore their numbers tattooed on the inside of their wrists. At the sorting tables, situated  below large neon signs saying "Sokeri is JOY" and "Sokeri is LIFE",  you could see the blue ink tattoos glowing on their wrists as they passed the crystal dust from one hand to the next.  Sifting through the grains of dust to find the perfect sized crystal of Sokeri.

Cell block Na worked in the test sub-station separated from the big sorting station where Mabel and thousands of others her age sorted Sokeri dust. C12-H22-O11 was one big sorting station and Na was adjacent, just across the tunnel. This was the testing site where all the sorted crystals were tested before going up to the communal 'Zekial factories where they were refined and processed into 'Food" TM for the Zekellians who lived in the Skyways of Zelial. These cloud cities were described in all the lore of the times ,as the 'Paradise of all the Planetary Systems'. Everyone coveted the sweet lifestyle of the Skyway Zekellians.

And then one day Mabel decided, quite out of the blue, to sing a song from her childhood. She hummed it under her breath. The drone of the fans in the sub-station were so loud that no one could hear her melody. It was a memory of a song her father often sang to her when he would visit, once in a blue moon.

'When Eirinn's Eyes are Smilinn"

Mabel  suddenly remembered this lost time on Earth vividly. Like a searing memory of bright light piercing through the overhead tunnel ceiling and entering her mind's eye.

There he was, as clear as day, the handsome Padraig Archibald Zinn McTeer , standing in front of her with his arms extended. "Come for a hug sweetheart. Come to your ol' Da!" He was beaming, high cheekbones, aquiline nose, dark complexion - an imposing Moor with blue-grey eyes and jet black curly hair. "Come give your Da' a kiss!"

What little memory she had of Padraig was always welcome in this dreary place, under the ground,  for he was a musical, humorous man from a Land that believed in Fairies and Magic. Mabel's mother would often scowl at the stories Padraig would sing to Mabel as a child but Mira's protests always ended with them all laughing and giggling and singing along together.