Random Story 4

Jaz wandered into the kitchen. He liked it there.

Cooking wasn't a chore for him. He'd grown up around food and had always shown a keen interest in trying out new things.

He shared the apartment with his twin brother Jez.

Jez was due back anytime soon. He worked in the construction industry. They were fortunate to live on the south coast and with all the recent underwater living development he had a good career ahead of him.

In the years since the turn of the millenium new ways had to be found to cope with the threat of global warming and overpopulation. Birth control had helped to turn the tide in western countries, but the war-torn, corrupt countries of the Third World still showed no sign of social responsibility. Thankfully, someone came up with an innovative method of harnessing geo-thermal energy and instead of building hideous monuments that ruined the skyline most new development was now concentrated on building underground habitations. This was of benefit to Africa because they had one of the most stable continental plates in the world and they were rapidly usurping the middle east in terms of energy supply to the western world by running long trenches and insulated pipes to the rest of the world. Hopefully this mean its long term social development would become more stable as well.

Architects rushed to make something of beauty out of this utilitarian concept and thus Riverside living was no longer the fashion. Instead it was Underbay areas that fetched the highest prices on the market. Jez had found a niche here specialising in watertight roof windows that allowed the penthouse Underbay to have views directly under the marina. The water in these new bays was now barraged and filtered to give it an extra clarity in the bright sunshine and afforded spectacular views to those able to pay for them. Jaz thought it was a bit like living in an aquarium.

He looked up as Jez wandered in. Tonight was a special night. Their 21st birthday.

The meal that had taken most of Jaz's time to prepare this evening would soon be ready.

As Jez flopped on their sofa his brother came and sat beside him.

"You look shattered." Jaz said. There was something he wanted to talk to his twin about, but he knew he had to guage his mood first.

"Yeah. We had to vaccum seal the penthouse and then pump the work area dry so we could prepare the roof to accept the first window tomorrow."

"That sounds...involved."

"It's a klick's worth of checklists is what it is. We can build underwater houses, but we can't build a reliable pressurised construction drone to do the dirty work."

"I thought those drones were quite sophisticated now?"

"They are, but down there, the inconsistency of the light through the water plays havoc with their optics. That big collapse in Dubai a couple of months ago was caused by a drones inability to accurately see depth in detail. Sonar can only do so much but the optic recognition program wasn't sophisticated enough."

"Just like the old days huh? 'To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.' "

"You been spending the day reading. Again?"

That was the moment Jaz realised they wouldn't be able to talk about it. Tonight would be their last night.

"My studies are nearly done. I was kind of hoping that I would get to finish them sooner."

Jez shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the future.

"Why have you wasted all this time on something so dumb as anthropology? The world is getting better. We passed the period of environmental short-sightedness years ago. We're in a new dawn of human achievement."

"And what price have we paid for this achievement, Jez." he looked at his brother. They'd had this conversation before. The decision to be made was an impossible one, and it was not in their hands.

"Can I smell something burning?" Jez ended their little chat and turned toward the TV screen that was unfurling against the main wall.

Jaz got up. The food was fine but when Jez didn't want to talk, he just didn't.

He stopped briefly by a mirror on the wall and looked deep into his own eyes, trying to search for some answer to their problem. For some other way. Although they were twins he looked only vaguely similar to his counterpart. There was a definite similarity but they had both developed in different ways. Both physically and emotionally. Jez was by far the more masculine of the two and Jaz, the more sensitive.

The political culture which had brought about the changes that Jez was so enthused over was an unlikely combination. A movement with the voice of the Moral Majority but with Liberal tendencies had finally risen up and drowned out the tired bleatings of socialists, centralists and conservatives. Grass roots frustration with career politicians had finally coalesced into something that worked for everyone. It started in the UK and was now taking hold across most other major democracies in the world especially those with the most disillusioned populace.

With it had come a push for a change in the status quo. With a mandate from the people who put them into power, there were more sweeping changes made than had been since back in the first months of the Blairite government. The old guy even gave his guarded approval to the new movement, which he felt was a natural progression of what he'd tried to do. The UK was now more of a meritocracy than ever before. The class system was disappearing, the welfare program had been all but dismantled by making sure the country had a framework that was sustainable in supporting its citizens and that society had a place for everyone. At 21 is when you became a full citizen.

Jaz drifted over to the cooker and moved things around, finishing off the last few parts of the meal. Their big day was here.

With the cooking done Jaz added a last garnish to Jez's meal and brought it to the dining table.

"It's ready." He announced.

Jez tore himself away from the screen where he was watching a football match from the latest round of the World Champions League. It was a classic grudge match between Liverpool and Barcelona. Barcelona were leading one-nil partway through the first quarter.

"I can't believe Jones got herself sent off in the first five minutes!" Jez complained as he sat at the table facing the screen. "We're down to ten on the pitch now until the second quarter. They're gonna hammer us."

"Eat your food or it'll go cold", Jaz said without looking up.

"Alright, Alright."

Jaz waited until the first quarter of the football match had finished before trying to speak again.

"Jez. I was talking to a man from the Office of Citizenship the other week. He thinks I'm not going to make a full citizen."

Even though there was nothing to distract him, Jez didn't meet his brothers eyes. His voice was downcast as he spoke.

"What did you think would happen, Jaz. You can't just waste your life anymore. This isn't the bad old days."

"Waste my life. That's ironic. I'm not going to be a full citizen Jez."

"Its the way things are. Its how they work now. Everyone has a responsibility for everyone else to a degree, but ultimately you're responsible for your own contribution to society."

"You've bought it hook, line and sinker haven't you."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, you know you're going to get yours and your not going to jeopardise it. Not even for me."

"Hey! I earnt mine! I didn't look for a free pass." The brothers were simmering and the heat was about to go up further.

"I know but I've got a plan. I need your help."

"No."

"You're central to it. I've learned from you. I want to be like you."

"You what?"

"I haven't been doing my anthropology studies for a few weeks now. I've been taking a crash course in Geo-thermal Residential Construction."

"A job! You want me to get you a job! The assessment is tomorrow morning. Graduation is in the evening. There's no way I can get you a...a...ack!" Jez clutched his chest.

"I knew you'd react like this. I'm sorry." Jaz stared across the table at his brother. "I'm not going to die Jez. I've got things to do. A world to change. You're going to help me do that."

"Wh..Whegghh...What...are you...talking about?"

"I don't like the system, Jez. Life isn't all about work. Life is about freedom. Somewhere along the way our liberal oppressors forgot that. In my studies on anthropology I found out what happens to people with power. They start off with good intentions, but power corrupts them. Liberalism should always be in opposition to the status quo, because the status quo tends toward conservatism and it always needs someone to knock the hard edges off it."

"Jaz..." his brother's voice was a strained cry for help as he reached across the table.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let it be me. I'm going to change things. For the better. The system works because they kill those who aren't good citizens. They're like the old Soviet Union now. They got mixed up and crossed eugenics with euthanasia. As they loosened the requirement for euthanasia they tightened their control on the birth rate. This is how they created your brand new dawn. They have a mandate from the people too, a democratic mandate, to kill off the opposition because they cause too much friction to the smoothly oiled cogs of our shiny new society. I'm 21. My life should be beginning not ending. Someone has to stand up. Something has to change. Jaz died today. Of a heart attack. Stress probably. That's all they'll ever know. But now the life that you would have had becomes mine and I'll do more with it than you ever could. And to think they were going to kill me instead of you. It's just institutionalised murder. There's no justification."

Jaz moved around the table, his brother had fallen to the floor. He knelt beside him.

"I loved you my brother, but sometimes change requires sacrifice. Things that are dear to you can stop you progressing. You can appreciate that I'm sure. We started off with the right intentions. We got rid of things such as cars, we reduced our reliance on fossil fuels and we made progress. Well now it's time for the next step."

He put his hand gently on his brothers face.

"Rest in peace, Jez. Rest knowing that if anything I deserved to live longer. And i'll make it work. In your name and for your memory, this world will change so that a tragedy like this never has to occur again."














Character: counterparts Plot: longer Resolution: mandate


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