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Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will meet God.
A hymn burst forth from a choir, The Celebration of the
Homecoming, a hundred blessed voices accompanied by the popular beat-feet
beat. It was a hymn to which people could slam dance if they so chose. Savina
thought it was ridiculous.
There were footsteps coming up the stairs. Savina turned and faced the door,
her heart pounding loud in her ears. The door opened and her mom stepped into
the room. "Are you ready to go, child?"
"I am not . . . I am not going," she said in an unsteady voice. "I wasn't
raped and I am not . . . and I already know I'm pregnant and I don't care . .
. I don't care what the law says, I
am not going to let them take it from me. This is my decision, and
I am not going to back down."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Why did not you tell us this before?"
"I . . . I was thinking of how to break it to you."
"And why now has this boy turned himself in for raping you?"
"I don't know. I guess he thought maybe it would help. Help take the blame."
"Ah now." Her mother sighed. "I'll tell this to you straight out Savina. You
cannot have this baby. It is not right, it is not ethical, and it is not
possible. Do you understand?"
"Well . . . I'm not backing down, Mom."
"Is that so?"
Savina nodded.
"Child, you are too young to have a baby."
"Mom I'll never have a baby if you take me to the M.A.!"
"That is nonsense, Savina."
"Mom!"
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"They do not sterilize you unless it is a voluntary abortion."
"Where did you hear this?"
"I just happen to know it."
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"You're lying, Mom. That's a cruel lie."
"Sterilization is the penalty for giving up a child you do not want, Savina.
That is what the sterilization is for. They do not punish people with medical
problems or young girls who are not making the decision for themselves."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, now you get ready to go." She turned and left the room, and Savina heard
her calling her father's name.
Savina didn't know what hurt more: her mother out-and-out lying to her like
this, or the possibility that her mother knew something that everyone else
didn't. Even if they weren't going to sterilize her, she didn't want to give
up the child. She had never once thought about getting it aborted, she had
concentrated all her energy on finding a way to keep it. It was strange, she
already loved the child. The realization brought on a wave of sadness, and
Savina sat on her bed and cried.
There were heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, her father coming to visit.
Savina rolled herself in blankets and hid her head under pillows. She didn't
want him to see her crying, she couldn't stand the thought, but it only made
her cry harder. She heard him enter the room, felt him sit on the bed beside
her. "I
love you," he said. "I'm sorry."
Savina remained hidden.
He pulled the pillows away, caressed her cheeks. "We have to go," he told her.
"If we don't go, they'll come here and get you.
We can't have that, now."
She opened her eyes and saw his sad face, saw her mother behind him. "Let's
pray," her mom said. Mother and Father bowed their heads, closed their eyes
and were silent.
Savina felt angry that they were praying. If they wanted to help her, they'd
help her, and not submit meekly to the Medical
Authorities. Praying would accomplish about as much as sleeping as far as she
was concerned.
"Come on now it's time to go." Her father pulled Savina to her feet. He had to
shove her out the door and drag her down the steps. Savina was determined not
to go willingly. When they had herded her outside she had to squint to see; to
Savina's amazement it was a bright, beautiful blue-sky day.
They walked several blocks to the subway station, then stood on the platform
for ten minutes waiting for the train. On one of the walls of the station was
a large advertisement:
JESUS IS COMING!
There was a realistic painting under the words showing Jesus smiling with His
arms spread out in greetings, His head outlined by a colorful halo. Under the
poster the caption read: "Watch His glorious return live on JTV!"
There was a warm rush of air and their train came hissing out of the tunnel;
it slid to a smooth stop and opened its doors.
Since the rush didn't start for another hour there were empty seats available.
Her parents guided her into the train and down the aisle to a seat away from
the exits. She sat down and stared at her hands as they lie numbly in her lap.
They had put her next to a window, blocking her in with their bodies. It was
like they expected her to make a break for it. Savina hadn't even thought
about it. There was a long hissing sound and the train slid
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20the%20Beast.txt forward, accelerating into the dark of the tunnel.
The train ran underground for nearly an hour, the only sense of motion being
produced by the occasional light flashing past only inches outside the window.
Then the train emerged on the outskirts of the Depopulated Zone, raising up to
race across the open valley on a concrete trestle. Savina gazed out at the
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open farmland that passed in the distance, and the square miles of green crops
dotted with autonomic farm machinery, and found herself wishing she was out
there, out away from the endless city and all the people and all the public
surveillance cameras. The
Depopulated Zone seemed to go on forever; it was the largest area of reclaimed
farmland in the region, certainly the largest in
California. It passed out of sight as they reentered the city and the train
dipped back below the surface of the earth. In the tunnel Savina felt worse
than ever. She felt trapped. I can't just let this happen, she thought. I've
got to do something. I've got to get away.
They reached the Medical Authority Center just before 5:00 PM
and Savina's parents coaxed her to her feet. Savina felt in her back pocket
for her moneycard --- she had almost a thousand in her bank account, enough to
get her by on her own for at least a little while. She felt a thrill as her
resolve strengthened. She was going to run. She was going to do it.
Her father must have sensed this. He kept a strong grip on her arm as they
stepped out onto the platform, and he held firm all the way to the lobby of
the main building. Savina didn't have a chance to break away.
Her mother filled out all her forms at one of the terminals at the
registration desk, then a human attendant, a police academy medical intern,
led Savina away. The intern was a thin and feminine man with a sway in his
walk and subdued --- but still startling --- punk-resurrection style orange
hair. "So," he said, "your admission says that you already know you're
pregnant."
"My mother put that on the form?"
He nodded. "You came in here voluntarily?"
"Not quite," she said, her voice sullen.
"Well, your parents know what's best for you. Through here please." He
directed her into another hallway.
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