"REMINDER: The Ability Ceremony begins at exactly three in the afternoon today, January First, 2215. All unassigned 13 year old children are required to attend the ceremony. If your ability is Superhuman Strength, you will be assigned as a Guard Apprentice. If your ability is Invisibility, you will be assigned as a Detective Apprentice. If your ability is Flight, you will be assigned as a Pilot Apprentice. If your ability is X-ray Vision, you will be assigned as a Security Apprentice. If your ability is Extreme Coordination, you will be assigned as a Driver Apprentice. If your ability is Regenerative Healing, you will be assigned as an Officer Apprentice. If your ability is Tech Reaction, you shall be assigned to work in the lab. All children with the Visionary ability will be terminated, seeing as how Visionaries are lethal to the entire United States. If your ability is Host, you will be taken by the Guards to the President Spire itself, to gain special treatment. That will be all." blared a speaker on the wall.
"Well, that's that, then," a man said simply. "Thomas! Valerie! Get over here, the Ability Ceremony is starting soon!"
A distant reply sounded of "Okay, Dad!" and a twin brother and sister came rushing into the living room. They both had inherited the same thick, brown hair from their mother, Anne. However, they both kept the blue eyes of their father, James. James and Anne had not been expecting twins, but they considered themselves lucky, seeing as how they had planned to have two children total anyway. Valerie was slightly taller than Thomas, giving her good leverage to tease him with. Thomas was slightly disgruntled, but he'd always hoped he'd eventually pass Valerie in height.
"The ceremony starts in about half an hour," informed James hastily. "Hurry, change into your silvers." Thomas and Valerie ran back to their rooms to change. Silvers were part of a law passed in 2198, which stated that people had to wear silvers if they ever left their home. People could wear whatever they liked inside, but silvers were required for outside travel. Men wore silver colored tennis shoes, along with basic silver pants, a silver T-shirt, and a thin, silver jacket. Women wore silver calf-high boots, silver pants tucked into the boots, and a long silver dress reaching from the bottom of their neck to their knees. Thomas and Valerie ran once again into the living room, this time changed into their Silvers. At that moment, their mother, Anne, walked into the room, holding some folded laundry.
"How long does the ceremony last again?" asked Anne.
"It's about an hour long," replied Thomas, heading towards the front door, eager to turn the doorknob and sprint to the ceremony.
"But sometimes, if there are lots of thirteen-year olds in a year, it can take a little longer," added Valerie, who was waiting behind Thomas.
"Well, I guess you'd better get going, then,"conceded Anne. Thomas and Valerie sprinted through the doorway and down the silver streets of Washington City.
But then they realized they'd forgotten to close the door, and so they sprinted back, closed the door, and sprinted forward again.
Washington State had been transformed into Washington City in 2191. The entire state was rebuilt from scratch to make a giant city, full of silver skyscrapers and silver streets. However, the sidewalks are made of copper. Cars could not fly, but they could hover, and the silver roads provide the magnetic pull the car needs to hover. If the car moves off the road, it will no longer have it's magnetic pull, and will fall down to the ground, unusable. This idea was presented to avoid crazy, drunk drivers. Grass still exists in the city, but only in small areas of land, usually off to the side of the copper sidewalks. People's homes still have front and back yards, as well, which were, as Valerie and Thomas had seen, very well kept.
"What ability do you want to be assigned?" questioned Valerie as they ran, the wind blowing cold against their faces. Thomas thought for a moment. He would like to maybe be a detective, but he really liked the idea of flying, as well...and being a Guard would give him one of the highest ranking occupations in the city.
"I think a Guard," answered Thomas. "I'd be able to carry one of those new Tech Guns, and I'd be able to help protect the President Spire, too."
"I think I'd want to be a Detective," admitted Valerie. "Being invisible is one of the best abilities, anyway. Plus, I could sneak up on people. She grinned. Oh, look! There it is!" she pointed to the center of the city, where a giant stage was set up for the annual ceremony. Large groups of children were already assembled below the stage, chattering excitedly about their possible abilities. The twins strolled over and aimlessly wandered around the groups. The wooden stage was surrounded by a nice, lush, grassy area, with benches and a small path wounding around it. Bushes grew in various spots. Eventually the President of the United States, President Lloyd Weatherford, stepped up to the microphone and brought an abrupt silence as he stood just beneath a huge, celebratory banner.
"Thank you all for gathering here today," began President Weatherford. "I hope to see all of you assigned in the next hour. Now, this is how it works; I will call your names in alphabetical order. You will step up onto the stage and step onto the Scanner Podium. It will scan you, searching for your ability, and once it has found it, your ability will appear on the giant screen up there." He pointed to a giant screen set up right above the stage. "These two Guards are here with me in case we have a Visionary which needs to be terminated. At this he glanced behind him towards the guards. "Now, let the Ability Ceremony begin!" He called up a boy named Finn Abrell first. He was assigned as a Pilot Apprentice.
Next up was a boy named Peter Arian. He was assigned as Host, and two Guards carried him to the President Spire for, as they said, special treatment. Thomas briefly wondered what the special treatment was, but then he pushed it out of his mind, too excited at the thought of what his Ability might be. He slipped away into his thoughts until he heard his name called.
"Thomas Frostwell!" announced President Weatherford. Thomas made his way through the large groups of people and up onto the stage. He stepped excitedly onto the Scanner Podium and waited as it scanned him.
"Guard Apprentice!"
"Yes!" exclaimed Thomas. He climbed down the stage and headed to the slowly-growing group of Guard Apprentices, chattering among each other.
"Valerie Frostwell!" called President Weatherford. Thomas wondered what ability Valerie inherited. He watched as she climbed the stage and stepped onto the Scanner Podium. The machine scanned with its yellow light for a minute, and then nearly everyone gasped as the word appeared on the screen. The word that would change everything.
Visionary.
YOU ARE READING
Visionary
Science Fiction[CURRENTLY ON HOLD] January 1st every year is the Ability Ceremony. As soon as kids reach the age of thirteen, they are scanned and their Ability is observed by the President of the United States. However, there is only one ability which is potentia...
