The Determining

Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Grous

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Rebecca Grous

2874 Duane Plaza Apt J

Bellevue, NE 68123

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Cover designed by Scarlett Rugers Design
www.scarlettrugers.com

Formatting by Polgarus Studio
www.polgarusstudio.com

The Determining/ Rebecca Grous. – 1
^st
ed.

For Printed copies ISBN 10: 1500704490 13: 978-1500704490

Charlotte eyed Harland Prep’s institutional grey exterior, nerves making her stomach roll. She pushed up the right sleeve of her designer dress jacket, revealing the creamy skin of her wrist. Her fingers traced over the small section of raised skin, outlining the microchip beneath. The bump wasn’t any larger than a square inch. That’s what life balanced on. A single square inch and the Determining.

Charlie sighed, pulling her sleeve back down. In the humidity, the fabric of her dress suit clung to her sticky skin. The moisture in the air and the dark sky overhead warned of the coming storm. Any minute, she knew, the heavens would open and release their pent up stores of water. Though her appearance didn’t make a difference for the Determining, she knew that showing up soaking wet would garner disapproving looks. And if her mother found out, she’d never hear the end of it.

Resigned to the inevitability of the meeting, she ascended the school’s stone steps. She pulled one of the twin glass doors open and stepped into the air-conditioned lobby. The heavy, outside air seemed to follow her as she made her way to the main office. Her heels clacked against the marble floor, mirroring her erratic heartbeat with every quick, uneasy step. She tugged at her clothes as discreetly as possible. In her mind, she cursed her mother for insisting she dress up. Rather than giving her confidence, the uncomfortable ensemble made her self-conscious. Charlie took a deep breath then opened the office door.

The secretary, Mrs. Holbrook, looked up from her computer, smiling. “Good morning, Miss Grey. Have a seat. I’ll let the headmistress know you’ve arrived.”

Charlie thanked her, her breath hitching. She watched as the older woman retreated down a short hallway to the headmistress’s office. She couldn’t keep her thoughts from wandering to Mrs. Holbrook’s own Determining.
Had she always wanted to be a secretary, or had she longed to do something else with her life? Could the smile she flashed be false, or did she look on her life with happiness and contentment?
These questions, and all the others that had bothered her for the last few months, seemed close to boiling over. Her fingers tapped a nervous rhythm against her leg as she waited.

As the seconds ticked by, the anticipation made her stomach churn. She would be sick. Right here in the office, all over the freshly waxed wooden floor. Before her breakfast could reappear, Mrs. Holbrook returned with the headmistress. Although she didn’t stand much taller than five feet, Mrs. Taylor possessed an unnerving air. Her serious expression, made more severe by her tight knot of greying hair, did nothing to alleviate the anxiety bubbling in Charlie.

Mrs. Taylor smiled, which looked a few wrinkles shy of a grimace, and extended her hand. “Are you ready, Miss Grey?”

Charlie took the woman’s weathered hand, giving it a firm shake. “Yes.” Her voice resonated strength, despite her mounting nausea. She swallowed the bile caught in her throat, meeting the woman’s eyes.

“Can I get you anything before we begin?”

Charlie didn’t know how much longer she could wait. She shook her head, declining the offer. With a silent nod, Mrs. Taylor led her down the hallway.

An ornate mahogany desk dominated the elegant room. Behind the desk stood a wall made entirely of glass that provided the headmistress a perfect vantage point from which to watch the students in the courtyard below. Bookshelves housing hundreds of rare tomes and priceless sculptures covered the remaining walls. The first time she’d been to the headmistress’s office she’d been impressed with its grandeur. Now she looked past all the excess to the small silver device sitting on the desk. Its presence sent her heart galloping. As she approached, its mechanical hum filled her ears.

Keeping an eye on the offending scanner, Charlie lowered herself into the plush chair across from Mrs. Taylor. She longed to cross her arms over her chest, to shield herself. But her mother’s voice sounded in her head, keeping her from giving in to the desire.
You’re a Grey and a Grey never shows weakness.
Escaping her mother’s criticism was nearly impossible. Though it pained her, Charlie settled for discreetly slipping her hands beneath her legs.

Mrs. Taylor sat straight, as if someone had tied her to a board. “I’m sure you already know today’s procedure.” The headmistress eyed Charlie, waiting for confirmation before continuing. Charlie nodded. “Good. As you know, the chip implanted in your arm at birth has kept a running record on you. Everything from your grades to the food you eat is monitored in order to give us the most accurate picture of who you are. This information will be analyzed and used to direct you to the most appropriate path for your life.

“After your chip is scanned, you’ll receive an official document indicating the next steps to take. Once this decision is made, it cannot be undone. This is a binding contract.” She paused, her fierce expression softening for a moment. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Charlie croaked.

The headmistress nodded toward the small silver box teetering precariously close to the edge of the desk. “Place your wrist under the scanner.”

Again Charlie noted the scanner’s almost imperceptible hum as it waited to read the chip implanted just under her skin. It seemed absurd that this tiny, unimpressive device would change her entire life.

With a tentative look in the headmistress’s direction, Charlie placed her wrist below the scanner. Nothing happened. Time seemed to slow, taking each agonizing second to torture her, prolonging her anxiety. The scanner’s hum crescendoed to a whirr. The sound sent shivers racing across her skin. The red light flashed three times before projecting itself onto her wrist. Her heart stuttered and she had to force herself to remain still. In the split second it took to scan the chip, her mind traveled back to her graduation’s commencement speech.

The woman addressing Charlie and her fellow graduates appeared content, even happy. Her skin glowed under the stage lights as she spoke of her own experience with the Determining; how nervous and even apprehensive she felt until the moment the chip “freed her from worry.”

“I always wanted to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps and pursue a career on the stage. As a child, watching her perform gave me such a rush that I couldn’t imagine anything more exhilarating or exciting for my own life. But, of course, the chip knew the perfect plan for me.” She smiled down at her wrist affectionately before going on. “It set me on a different path than the one I anticipated, but I am grateful every day for the guidance I received. Thanks to my chip, I’m now head secretary for the CEO of a major manufacturing company here in the city. I couldn’t have dreamed up the life the Determining chose for me, and I’ve relished every moment of the journey.”

The speaker directed her eyes on the back of the room. For a moment her expression seemed painted on, then her easy demeanor was back though her eyes remained fixed. “You may think that the future you’ve imagined is the only road that leads to your happiness. But, I urge you to remember that through this system, there are no mistakes. The life you’ve envisioned for yourself is a shadow of the life awaiting you after the Determining. Although you may not understand the future laid out before you, rest assured that the chip knows you better than you know yourself.”

Thunderous applause followed the speech. Despite the overwhelming approval the commencement garnered, Charlie couldn’t help but feel skeptical. The chip could monitor everything from blood pressure to bank accounts. But what about human emotions and thoughts? The program couldn’t account for them. Did that make them moot?

The scanner emitted a high-pitched beep, pulling Charlie out of her memories. Looking down, she watched the red light fade to a dim glow. The whirr decrescendoed until the device only emitted a faint hum. This was it. The moment life as she knew it would end, replaced by a future tailored-made for her.

Mrs. Taylor retrieved a small tablet from a port on her desk. “Congratulations, Miss Grey.” Her expression remained impassive and her tone clinical.

Charlie didn’t hesitate to reach for the offered device. She did, however, pause to take another calming breath before looking down and reading the words displayed before her. She skipped past the contractual garble to the crux of the document, the results of her Dermining.

University: University of Kansas

Major: Business

Minor: Economics

All the nerves she’d felt moments before drained away, leaving her empty. Almost like her consciousness hovered outside her body.
This can’t be right.
She’d always known that her father’s life, his business, was the exact opposite of everything she had worked for, everything she ever wanted.

Mrs. Taylor interrupted her thoughts. “If you would sign at the bottom.” She indicated to the tablet.

Numbly, Charlie scrolled down to the bottom, reading the words above the space intended for her signature.

In accordance with the law of the Confederation of America I, Charlotte Anna Grey, do swear to abide by the decision made by my chip during the Determining. I recognize this as a binding contract and do hereby pledge to submit to the path the Determining has chosen for me.

“I will send copies of the file to you and the University. If you would just sign,” Mrs. Taylor urged. She clearly had better things to do than wait for Charlie to work through her disappointment. But before she signed her life away, Charlie needed to ask the one question that bounced around inside her, begging to get out.

“What happens if I don’t sign?”

Mrs. Taylor’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Her blatant stare made Charlie squirm.

Attempting to regain a sense of composure, Mrs. Taylor cleared her throat. “Why wouldn’t you sign it?”

Charlie’s hands shook. She felt like an utter fool. “What if this isn’t the path I’m meant to take? What if this is a mistake?”

A relieved look spread across Mrs. Taylor’s face, accentuating her wrinkles. “The chip never makes mistakes, Miss Grey.”

Now that she’d broached the subject, Charlie couldn’t keep herself from voicing the concerns stewing within her. “What if it did this time? This can’t be what I’m meant to do with my life,” she declared.

The relief on Mrs. Taylor’s face melted into an irritated grimace. “And why isn’t this the path for you? Your future is playing out perfectly. The outcome of your Determining has set you up to take over your father’s company when he dies. Your future is bright and clear.”

“No, it isn’t bright. Nor is it clear.” She moved to the edge of her chair, leaning in toward the headmistress. “I planned my life knowing this wasn’t the path I wanted to take. I’ve made every choice with the Determining in mind, calculating every move. I can’t believe everything I’ve done to fight this outcome was pointless.”

“You can’t fight it. As I said before, there are no mistakes, Miss Grey. This is the path you were always meant to take. This document may be displayed on a screen, but it might as well be printed with your blood. There is no other future for you. You
will
sign the tablet. You
will
abide by the law of the Determining.” Mrs. Taylor’s hard expression sent chills running down Charlie’s spine. Still, she wouldn’t be swayed.

“No.” Her voice sliced through the tension in the air.

The headmistress sat in silence, staring as the blood drained from her face. The sudden change surprised Charlie. She sat stupefied. The only sound she could hear was the frantic beating of her own heart as the seconds ticked by.