Generation M (7 page)

With clouds of dust from the ferry terminal explosion lingering, Dawson headed off to see Admiral Samuels. The streets were eerily quiet, as if the evacuation were complete. The first sign of life he came upon was a crew of ensigns roping off a sinkhole that had opened on Fifth Avenue.

Three blocks later, he reached Trump Tower. He pushed through the revolving door, into the lobby, and sprinted up the stairs to the sixth floor. He entered Admiral Samuels’s outer office, where crates were stacked on the floor and several filing cabinet drawers hung open. Ensign Parker was packing up.

The same thought flashed across Dawson’s mind every time he saw the admiral’s aide. How did they let a fifteen-year-old join the Navy? Dawson knew that Parker had actually enlisted after he had attended college; he just had the boyish face of a middle school student.

“You’re early, Lieutenant,” Parker said. “The company leaders’ meeting doesn’t start for two hours.”

“I want to see the old man alone,” Dawson said.

Parker gestured to the closed door of the admiral’s office. “He doesn’t want to be disturbed now.” The ensign crinkled his brow. “This morning, the admiral shuffled through here like this.” Parker glued his chin to his chest.

Concerned, Dawson blew out a puff of air. Admiral Samuels perennially kept his broad shoulders pinned back and strutted around with his broad chest thrust forward.

“We spoke earlier by radio, and he sounded …” Dawson searched for a word. Depressed came to mind. “… tired.”

“Maybe you should disturb him?” Parker said.

Dawson rapped on the door and pushed it open. The admiral stood by the window.

“Permission to enter?” Dawson asked.

He said it again, louder.

The admiral seemed deep in thought.

Dawson entered, saluted, and closed the door behind him. “Sir, the ferry terminal demolition was successful. Lieutenant Mathews and I worked together as a team.”

The admiral turned and locked eyes with him, looking as if Mathews’s involvement was news to him.

The old man lost focus. His expression went blank, and he lowered his eyes. “Good job,” he said flatly.

Dawson’s blood chilled. “Is everything all right, Admiral?”

Samuels turned and stared out the window.

Dawson moved beside him. “As you know, sir, I worked at the Alpharetta pharmaceutical plant. I helped maintain machinery, and I supervised the shipment of the pills to Atlanta Colony for redistribution. I understand the processes. If you speak to any of the CDC personnel who worked with me, I’m certain they’ll vouch for the contributions I’ve made. If you assign me to the plant, I will hit the ground running.” He slipped in a quick, deep breath to steady his voice. “I’m prepared to step down as leader of Biltmore Company.”

The old man still stared into the distance.

“Sir, I’m making a formal request. I’d like to be assigned to the Alpharetta plant.”

The admiral arched his shoulders and thrust his chest forward. The change in his demeanor and posture was both sudden and dramatic, as if someone had flicked a switch and sent electricity surging through his body. “Who gives the orders around here?”

Dawson pulled his shoulders back. “You do, sir.”

As if suffering from some unseen wound, Admiral Samuels seemed to crumble. He looked away and mumbled, “Do I? Dismissed.”

In History of Science, Lisette looked out the classroom window at the leafy trees and thought about which boys and girls she would let wiggle her tooth at recess.
Charlie. Molly. Zoe. Tad. No, not Tad.
She didn’t want a nose-picking finger to wiggle her special tooth.

Lisette squirmed in her chair. The countdown clock showed she had to wait fifteen long minutes before recess.

Doctor Martin was reading to the class. “By the start of 1856, Darwin was investigating whether eggs and seeds could survive travel across seawater ….”

He looked especially silly today, with his dark brown hair sticking up on one side of his head.

Doctor Hoffer entered the classroom. “Excuse me, Doctor Martin. I need Lisette Leigh to come with me.”

Lisette drew in a sharp breath, afraid of what he wanted. The other students eyed her with jealousy, and she knew they wished Doctor Hoffer had called out their name instead so they could leave Doctor Martin’s boring class.

“Remember we have a quiz tomorrow,” Doctor Martin told her as she followed Doctor Hoffer out of the room.

“The communication link to Colony East is working again,” he said. “Doctor Perkins would like to hold your evaluation meeting a little earlier than planned.”

As they walked across the campus together, Lisette remembered the desperate cries of the survivors clinging to the fence, and trembled.

“Doctor Perkins is very busy, and I expect your evaluation will be short,” Doctor Hoffer said. “Either you’ll become a member of Generation M, or he will order your removal from the colony. Doctor Ramanathan mentioned that to you, right?”

Lisette nodded as her heart thumped wildly.

Doctor Hoffer led her to Mendel Hall and into a room on the first floor, which had big windows looking out on Medical Clinic 3. Chandra, who was already there, gave Lisette a huge hug and told her that Doctor Perkins and Doctor Droznin would join them soon on the television.

Lisette sat in a chair in the middle of the room, facing two televisions. One showed a live picture of a room at Colony East. The TV beside it showed a picture of her, with Chandra and Doctor Hoffer sitting at a table to her left.

A grunt came from the TV speaker, and a woman with thick, reddish-brown hair hobbled into the room at Colony East on crutches.

“Good morning, Doctor Droznin,” Doctor Hoffer said.

Doctor Droznin nodded and looked at her computer.

A moment later, Doctor Perkins entered the room and sat beside Doctor Droznin.

Soon, Doctor Perkins’s face filled the entire TV screen. Round glasses were perched on the bridge of a long, narrow nose, and his brow furrowed. “We have quite a mess on our hands. We are evacuating Colony East.”

“What?” Doctor Hoffer exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

“We’ll be sending all the Generation M children to Atlanta,” Doctor Perkins said. “I’d like to propose that we cancel today’s evaluation and focus on the evacuation. I’ve reviewed 944’s profile, and she doesn’t qualify as a member of Generation M.”

Lisette felt like grasshoppers were hopping around in her tummy.

“I disagree,” Doctor Droznin said. “We should have the evaluation.”

The TV speaker went silent, and the two scientists spoke to each other. Lisette could see their lips moving. Doctor Perkins gestured with his hands.

A moment later, the sound returned.

“After deciding 944’s status, we’ll discuss the evacuation plan,” Doctor Perkins said. “Let’s begin.”

The Atlanta Colony TV showed a close-up of Chandra.

“Nine four four is five years old.” It sounded funny to hear Chandra use her Colony ID instead of saying her name. “She arrived March sixth….”

“Yes, yes, yes, we all know her background,” Doctor Perkins interrupted. “Please display her aptitude scores.”

A colorful picture with numbers appeared on the screen. “As you can see, her test results in math and science are somewhat poor,” Chandra said.

“Extremely poor,” Doctor Perkins said.

“Lisette started her coursework three weeks ago,” Doctor Droznin interjected. “We should consider these results as a benchmark. We can retest her again in three months.”

Doctor Perkins tapped his fingertips together. “Nine four four’s intellect ranks in the lowest percentile. Additional testing will not change that.”

“How do Lisette’s scores compare to the pre-comet population?” Doctor Droznin asked.

“She has an IQ of 134,” Chandra said. “That would have put her in the top two percentiles of the general population.”

Doctor Perkins cleared his throat. “The pre-comet population is irrelevant now. The society of the future demands we nurture only the best and brightest. The average IQ for Generation M at Atlanta Colony is 155.”

“May I see the Torrance results?” Doctor Droznin asked.

Lisette did not understand what the scientists were talking about, so she kept an eye on Chandra. If Chandra looked afraid, Lisette would think the evaluation was not going well, and she would become even more afraid.

A new screen appeared with a line shaped like a mountain. The mountain had a green dot placed near the peak. “Nine four four is one of the most creative children in the colony,” Chandra said.

Lisette understood that, and she felt proud for a split second before her fear returned.

Doctor Perkins spoke up. “We need to develop engineers, mathematicians, physicists. The arts and humanities are a lesser priority.”

“Creativity is essential in science,” Doctor Droznin said. “Einstein played the violin. Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest scientist of his time, was also the greatest artist of the day.”

“Albert Einstein had an IQ of one-hundred sixty,” Doctor Perkins said. “Creativity, combined with an average IQ, is worthless.”

Doctor Hoffer raised a finger. “We believe 944 has other promising attributes.”

“Can we please expedite the evaluation?” Doctor Perkins said. “Show us 944’s mating profile.”

The faces of three boys, along with their ID number and location, flashed on the screen one at a time. The first boy from Colony East wore thick glasses. The second one from Colony East had a devilish grin that made Lisette think of her friend, Timmy, on Castine Island, and the last boy from Colony West had freckles and a spiky cowlick.

“There are three optimal pairings, two from Colony East, and one from Colony West,” Chandra said.

“Only three?” Doctor Perkins leaned forward. “Future generations are as critical as the present one. It’s the reason we set a benchmark of
five
potential pairings.”

The speaker went silent again. Doctor Perkins and Doctor Droznin seemed to argue. Doctor Droznin’s face reddened. As Lisette watched the two scientists, she placed her tongue against her tooth and pushed it forward. It was so close to falling out.

The sound returned and Doctor Perkins said, “Please continue.”

“We made the following field observation during a free-association period,” Chandra said.

Lisette’s jaw dropped when she saw herself with a bright red dot above her head. A blue dot hovered above a group of kids standing close to her. They were in the free-association yard where recess was held.

The scene came to life. Ernie, from Unit 2B, pushed Molly to the ground. Lisette remembered that happening. Ernie had tripped Molly to be mean. Lisette watched herself approach Ernie and wag a finger in his face. Ernie lowered his head and went over to Molly.

“From post-incident interviews, we know that 944 made 912 apologize to 468,” Chandra added.

“Lisette Leigh has leadership potential,” Doctor Droznin declared.

Doctor Perkins let out a long sigh. “Nine four four, you’ve been sitting there so quietly. It’s my job to determine who will remain part of Generation M. Despite having only an average intellect, you have made quite an impression on my colleagues. Of course, I understand Doctor Droznin’s motivation for having you remain in the colony. You are an important test subject. Frankly, I find myself on the fence.” He took off his glasses and looked at a sheet of paper. “Several references are made to your stubbornness.”

Lisette flushed with excitement. “My family has a stubborn gene. Abby told me that.”

“I’m glad you mentioned family. There was an incident at the morning spirit drill. Tell me, 944, do you believe that your brother and sister are dead?”

The words washed over Lisette like ice water. Chandra stared intently at her, nodding. Doctor Hoffer also nodded. They both wanted her to tell a white lie. Because if she lied, she could stay at Atlanta Colony and she could see her friends again.

Lisette, her heart beating so fast she heard a humming sound inside her head, looked directly at the TV and shouted, “Abby and Jordan are alive!”

Doctor Hoffer dropped his chin to his chest, and Chandra covered her mouth with her hand.

Doctor Perkins nodded. “Nine four four, you leave me no choice but to expel you from the colony. I can also tell you without a doubt that your sister is dead. She drowned in the Hudson River while trying to escape the colony.”

Lisette ignored the sob rumbling in her chest and jumped to her feet.

“That’s a lie! Abby knows how to swim. She’s alive!” She marched up to the TV and put her hands on her hips. “Abby is alive! Abby is alive! Jordan is alive. Abby and Jordan are alive.” She shouted until her throat became too raw to make noise.

“Will someone please escort 944 to the processing center?” Doctor Perkins said.

Lisette felt an arm around her shoulder. Chandra kneeled beside her, and Lisette buried her face in her white lab coat.

“Let’s not be hasty,” Doctor Hoffer said. “I have a procedure that will help Lisette forget about her brother and sister.”

“I don’t want to forget them,” Lisette said in Chandra’s ear.

Chandra pulled her closer, and a long moment of silence followed. Lisette twisted her head and saw that Doctor Droznin’s and Doctor Perkins’s lips were moving at the same time.

Lisette did what she always did to feel less afraid. She pressed her ear against Chandra’s chest and counted the beats of her heart.

The TV speaker came to life with Doctor Perkins’s voice.

“Doctor Hoffer, your procedure is still in the experimental phase.”

“Yes, but I believe it’s safe,” Hoffer replied.

“Fine,” Perkins said. “Go ahead, perform your procedure. I’ll look forward to seeing the results. In the meantime, 944 will remain a provisional member of Generation M. We’ll conduct another evaluation in three months. Now, let’s discuss the evacuation.”

“Please take Lisette to Medical Clinic 3,” Doctor Hoffer said to Chandra.

Lisette dropped to her knees and curled into a tiny ball, which made her feel safer. Every muscle was twisting tight with fear. Tears blurred her vision, and she took tiny sips of air, which was the only way she could breathe with her chest frozen. Chandra draped an arm over her back and said, “You won’t feel a thing, I promise. Come with me.”