CHAPTER 37
Locke pulled the keys out before he heard the last sentence. Hamilton said it before but something this time caught Locke’s attention. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Uh-huh. I am,” Hamilton nodded.
“But abortion is just a surgical procedure.” He stood with the key pointing at the lock to the cell, hoping to insert it soon.
“The reason we don’t do abortions is because we view a fetus as a human. It’s alive. And because of that, we believe that humans have rights. And a human shouldn’t be killed because he’s inconvenient or a mistake.”
The killer must be joking. Did he say a fetus--a glob of cells and blood smaller than the size of a fist--was a human? And that word again. Rights.
“A fetus is a human? But it can’t talk, walk, or even look human. How can you classify it as one?”
Hamilton limped to the cell door. “Let me ask you something? When does life start?”
“When the baby is born.” Locke still held the keys in front of him. Maybe he should just unlock the door and force Hamilton out.
“Okay, fair enough. When the baby comes out, it’s still attached by the umbilical cord. Is it alive?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. So, whether the baby is inside Jade or not is the determination of whether it is alive or not?”
“Yes.”
“Even though the baby looks like a human, has a heartbeat, has eyes, feels pain, all of that, it is still not alive? It’s kicking against Jade’s stomach but it’s still not a human?”
“Yes.”
“Does a subject feel pain?
“Of course.”
“Do babies look like subjects?”
“Of course they do.”
“Do subjects have the ability to kick? If they have legs, that is.”
“Yes.”
“Do subjects have a heartbeat?”
“Yes.
“And you know when fetuses are within minutes of being born they have dreams, right?”
“I’ve heard that.”
“Do humans have dreams when they sleep?”
“Yes.
“So, even though this fetus inside a woman, say that woman is Jade, has many of the characteristics of a baby outside of the woman, it’s not a real human? It’s not living?”
Locke opened his mouth to answer then stopped. He was stumped.
Never had questions like these been posed to him. Things seemed so clear cut. In a female, just a thing. Outside of a female, a living baby. “I don’t know--“
Hamilton continued, “See, Govicide Agent Locke,” Hamilton grimaced rubbing his knee again, “we believe life begins at conception. As a result, we don’t believe in killing innocent humans.” Hamilton pointed at Locke, then at himself to drive home the point.
“But, the fetus at four weeks. It doesn’t kick. It doesn’t look like a subject. It’s nothing.” The keys slowly fell to Locke’s side.
“Good point. But then tell me--when does that fetus become a human?”
“When it comes out.” The keys fell farther.
“But, you just said a baby outside the womb and a baby seconds from being born have the same characteristics? That can’t be the answer.”
The key to the cell ended up pointed straight at the ground, along with Locke’s hopes.
Hamilton sighed, “Do you even think about it? Life? Don’t you see the OWG is all about death? Abortions. Sex credits. Executions. Torture. This is what happens when a civilization doesn’t embrace life.”
Anger replaced hope in Locke, and it was rising. “Life? Who is talking to who about life? You killed fourteen Agents.” He almost spit at the murderer.
“And I’m doing my time. Or have you forgotten about these bars?” Hamilton tapped on them.
“But those Agents were innocent. What did they ever do to you?” Anger rose a little more. The cell key became a weapon in Locke’s right hand. He wanted to poke Hamilton in the other eye.
“They have done a lot to people like me. People like that have been doing a lot to people like me for centuries, since the beginning of time. They’ve enslaved and killed billions.”
Locke slapped the bars. “Don’t say that. There was nothing before the OWG.”
“Of course, what am I saying?” Hamilton rolled his good eye. “That’s a topic for another time. But, don’t beat yourself up too bad. Even if you weren’t asking me to get Jade an abortion, I couldn’t leave. You’re right. I killed those Agents and I deserve the penalty. I knew what I was getting into before I did it.”
Locke stuck the keys in his pocket. “Fine. Stay here. Just tell me where I can take Jade. The Guard doesn’t have to die. And I’ll do something else to help you out.” Locke’s anger had dissipated, but he was pleading now.
“You don’t understand, Govicide Agent Locke. Our facilities don’t do those procedures. We don’t perform abortions, period. We don’t believe in them. That’s the way it is. I’m sure one of our people could figure out how to do one, but they won’t because we all believe it’s wrong.”
“You’re serious,” Locke backed up and rested against the wall opposite the cell. “You’re not doing this to harass me. You’re really serious?“
“Deadly.”
Closing his eyes, Locke drummed his head against the wall. If Hamilton couldn’t help, no one could get he and Jade out of this jam. The muscles in his arms and legs cramped as deliberating took its toll.
“What are you going to do?” Hamilton asked after several seconds of silence.
Locke felt like the prisoner, and Hamilton was the Agent. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Confess to Stallings? Take Jade to an abortion facility and take a chance it won’t appear on the System? I’m not sure.”
“Can’t say I envy you, Govicide Agent Locke. At least I’m in here because of my principles. Because of my values. This is where they have gotten me, but I’m content. I knew what I was in for. But you, everything you believe in has gotten you one step away from Govicide Prison. You’re desperate. The ideas you believe in are going to get you imprisoned.”
Locke analyzed this male before him. Here was Hamilton, a male who had an eye swollen shut, a hobbled knee, a bad arm, missing teeth, and who could expect more of the same, and the murderer seemed as comfortable as ever. “Hamilton, who are you?”
“Me? Just a man. Like you, but with different experiences.” Hamilton stretched out his arms, wincing when they reached full extension.
Locke shook his head. “Don’t be coy with me. I followed you. I caught you. I interrogated you. We’ve talked before. You gave me information you didn’t have to. You’re more than that. Who are you?”
Hamilton didn’t answer right away. Five seconds passed. Ten. Fifteen. “I am the way people used to be. I am the way people should be. I am the way people will be . . . maybe. That’s what I would say. Some of the others, well, they’d say I was suicidal, taking on this task even though everyone knew somebody had to do it.”
Locke didn’t get the answer he desired. He didn’t blame Hamilton. No words from the murderer, or anybody else, could make his predicament go away. But, exactly how many more of him was there?
Hamilton backed up to his chair and sat. “You seem disappointed. What did you want me to say?”
“I’m not sure.” Locke stared at his feet, seeing cracks in the concrete, like the cracks forming in his life, breaking the solid foundation he’d tried to build over the last thirty years.
Hamilton’s voice lowered. “You’re pressed for time. The Director might get the news tonight, tomorrow or the next day about Jade’s pregnancy. But if I were you, I would want to go down with questions answered. You have many of them, correct?”
Locke’s conscience told him to run home to Jade and wait for the end. He turned his right foot back toward the Guard’s station. Jade needed him more than ever. He still believed in the OWG and felt loyal to it. It gave him everything. Without it, he was nothing.
But his curiosity kept his left foot still, glued to the floor, like a thousand OWG Manuals pinned it down. An OWG bus couldn’t have moved it. Maybe something Hamilton said could still get he and Jade out of this. Maybe Hamilton would slip and reveal an escape hatch, even if his comrades didn’t believe in abortion.
“Okay, one question.” Locke turned and face Hamilton.
“Great. Fire away. But keep in mind, I can’t answer any questions about the cash or why I killed those particular Agents. It would really mess everything up. You could get caught and I don’t think you’d survive questioning as well as I have.”
“I understand.” Locke coaxed his right foot toward Hamilton’s cell. “What is the Symbol and why doesn’t anyone notice it?”
“Ohhhhh,” Hamilton cackled, “good one. You saw them all around, didn’t you?”
“Everywhere. Even on the tundra up there outside Snow City.” Locke shivered, remembering the weather. Or it could have been because of his current circumstances.
“I heard about that one. Never saw it myself. I think it’s the largest one ever created. Well, the reason no one sees them? Hmmm . . . it kind of started as a joke. Somebody, long time ago, before me even, stated that the Masses never seemed to notice anything besides the OWG and their Goods and Services. Everything else was invisible. Irrelevant. Kind of like they were brainwashed. You don’t realize what that means. But anyway, these guys turned it into a contest. They started drawing little Symbols here and there. Before long, everybody joined in. And they were right. The Masses didn’t notice them. But, we realized we would eventually know when a subject was starting to come around when he started spotting the Symbols on his own. It would show us that the OWG spell was beginning to weaken. And now, I guess, we found out we were right. You saw the Symbols and now you’re asking me about them.”
“So, what is it? Where did it come from? And why did someone draw them on the messages I got? All these sayings about the future and something will be where nothing is. And about my last name.” One at a time, Locke cautioned himself, one at a time.
“I don’t know what to tell you about the messages.” Hamilton shrugged. “Sounds to me like one of us is having fun with you. And giving you really good clues as to where the cash went and what the future holds. But I can’t talk to you about that.”
“Not even a hint?” Locke asked.
“No. And don’t push me.” Hamilton glared.
“Okay, okay. So what is it?”
“It started as a graph. And it--”
Locke interrupted, almost coming out of his shoes. “A graph?”
“Yes. At least that’s how it started.”
Spinning a quick three-sixty, Locke laughed. It felt good. “That’s what Jade guessed.”
“Smart gal. I can see why you two are together,” Hamilton replied. “But the Symbol started over a hundred and thirty years ago. Probably longer ago than that. It’s called the Laffer Curve.”
“A hundred and thirty years ago? Impossible. I thought you were going to tell me the truth.” Locke’s hands went to his hips. His relaxed face turned to a frown.
“Let’s get this out of the way. I tried to tell you this in our first conversation.” Hamilton took a deep breath. He placed a hand on his ribcage, feeling around. Maybe he had a broken rib too. “There was a civilization—many--civilizations before the OWG. To explain would take hours. Hours you don’t have. Suffice it to say that everything you see out there in the OWG, even this building, wasn’t built by the OWG. Someone else built it. Actually, something else built all of it.”
“Footprints . . .” The single word escaped Locke. For a moment, he was reminded of standing in the middle of the Snow City intersection.
“Huh?”
“Nothing.” Locke waved his hand at Hamilton. “Just a thought I had in Snow City.”
“Okay . . . can I continue?” Hamilton queried, obviously confused.
“Please.”
“Great,” Hamilton got to his feet and limped around his chair, his thoughts seeming to give him renewed energy. “I could tell you exactly where the Laffer came from but I’d be using a bunch of words you’d never understand. I take that back. You would recognize the words, but the ways I put them together wouldn’t make sense. Let’s just say it started off as a government credits idea. But over time, what people before the OWG found out was that this Curve represented a bigger idea. More profound. Something that could be expanded to all areas of life. What it really explains is there is a . . . . what would I call it? A sweet spot? Do you know what that means?”
Locke nodded, “I’ve heard the expression.”
“Good. Okay.” Hamilton’s head bent down, seemingly deep in thought. “Well, the Curve represents a sweet spot, the top of that Curve, where rights can be expressed and rights can be protected at the same time. And--”
Locke interrupted. “Rights?What are those?”
He’d come full circle back to where his curiosity with Hamilton started. Not more than two hundred yards away, ten days ago. The first sentence he heard Hamilton speak.
Hamilton’s working eye shot a glance. “Did I use that word? I guess I did. I’ve said it so many times in my life it’s become second nature.” He coughed. A bit of blood came out. “Do I have time?”
“Make it quick,” Locke demanded.
“Well, you don’t believe that humans are any different than animals, correct?”
“Of course not. Humans are only smarter animals.” This was sixth grade material.
“So, you don’t think humans are unique and different from animals. Okay. And you don’t believe there is something bigger than this World. There is some, wow, how do I explain this? You don’t believe there is some Super Being, a God, out there who created humans and everything else on this planet?”
Locke thought the question funny. Everyone knew a huge explosion created the universe, and thus humans. “A Super Being? Like a human who can fly? A subject who can live forever? I’m not sure what you mean.”
Hamilton almost tipped over his head shook so fast, “Not exactly. Rights? What are they? Animals are born into anarchy. They don’t have the ability to form some kind of agreement with other species who hunt them. The fast dominate the slow. The large consume the small. The many destroy the few. Whereas, humans can communicate with each other. We realize we don’t have to live like that. We make agreements that eventually become governments. And the government’s job is to make sure we continue to be human. What makes us human are rights. And the overriding theme of all rights is that no one is a servant to another. Everyone is equal. You can’t force me to do anything for you. I can’t force you to do anything for me. Moreover, something cannot be a right if it forces someone to act. Rights are the opposite of force. The top of the curve marks where rights are maximized but some type of order is kept as well.” In the air, Hamilton used his finger to draw an invisible Symbol. He pointed to the top of it to make his point.
“I don’t get it. Nobody’s ever heard of these rights. And the OWG gets along just fine.”
“You get along just fine, Govicide Agent Locke? Compared to what?”
Locke had no answer, no comparison because the OWG was the only thing he knew. It wasn’t like being able to compare two females. One fat, one skinny. One tall, one short. One white, one mixed race.
Hamilton continued. “This cell. What if this was the only home I knew? For all the years I’ve been alive. I was born in it. Raised in it. Slept here. Fed here. Went to the bathroom here. Like I’m doing now. Would it still be bad? Or, would I accept my existence as the way things were since everyone lived like this? I’d probably accept it as being the status quo, wouldn’t I?”
“Sure. I suppose. You’d probably accept it as the way every human lived.”
Hamilton hobbled his way close to Locke. “And what if I told you, Govicide Agent Locke, the only reason you accept the way you live is because you don’t know a different life? You accept it because you can’t imagine anything else. But even though you can’t imagine anything else, doesn’t mean another way to live doesn’t exist.”
But the Masses were getting everything. Who could want more? “I don’t . . .”
“In your world, the doctor is a slave to the patient, all in an effort by the OWG to get healthcare to everyone. Is the doctor not equal to the patient? Are they both human or not?” Hamilton held his arms out to his sides, palms upturned. “The bus driver is a slave to the passenger. The OWG farmer is a slave to the Masses because they need to eat. The OWG laborer is a slave to the Masses because they need their clothes. Everyone is forced in the OWG to do something for someone else all in the name of Goods and Services. But, that doesn’t make it okay. All it means is that you are all slaves. All of you at the beck and call of the OWG. Of the Exalted Ruler, the Czars, the Govicide Director.”
Thinking about the answer, Locke pinched his lips. The Masses had food delivered to their living quarters like prisoners. The Masses were allowed to use water at certain times due to water conservation, and prisoners had the same restrictions. The Masses were allowed to have sex if they had sex credits but it meant a subject could go a long time without any contact, as prisoners had to do.
A couple of thoughts were enough to cause Locke to question why he didn’t see the similarities before. Locke bit his lip hard enough to bleed.
Hamilton continued. “I see the wheels inside you turning. Are you comparing how you live to how I live now, Govicide Agent Locke? Is that why you’re so quiet?” He cocked his head to one side. “It’s okay. You don’t know any better. At least you can live in some sort of ignorance. Me? I understand there is a way to live which is so superior to the OWG it makes me want to cry. Yes, murderers cry, too. And that kind of civilization used to exist on this Earth—the name for this planet--not too long ago. A little more than a hundred years.”
Locke tasted the blood from his lip. “But the World was in anarchy a hundred years ago.”
“When a government wants total control, it will call anything anarchy.” Hamilton seemed to push Locke’s statement aside like he’d heard it a thousand times before. “I’ll give you an example, Govicide Agent Locke. What’s your girl’s name again?”
“What does she have to do with this?” Locke remembered his race against the clock. But he wanted more information. He needed more information.
“Nothing. It’s just an example. I’m not going to say anything bad about her.”
Locke squinted his eyes. “Her name’s Jade.”
“Okay,” Hamilton leaned against the bars. “I’m going to give you a very real world example, even in this messed up World of the OWG. A real world example of what the Curve represents. Obviously, you and Jade have a good relationship. And both of you have done what it takes to stay together. But let’s say, after you met the first time, you never called her again. Never tried to contact her. Sure, you were interested in her but you never did anything to show your feelings. You wouldn’t be with her now, right?”
“Of course not.” Where was this going?
“Now, say you saw her somewhere. You met her. You liked her. And you went out with her. But instead of ignoring her, you did the opposite. You followed her everywhere. You called her every half hour. You showed up at her work.You arrived unexpectedly at her living quarters. Would you still be a couple?”
“Not a chance. She would never have gone out with me again and probably would’ve reported me to the Local Authorities.”
“So, the absolute hands-off approach doesn’t work.” Hamilton put out one hand to signify the first example. “And the one hundred percent hands-on approach does not work either.” Then, he stuck his other hand out. “You get the same results. What does that tell you?” Hamilton pointed at Locke.
Locke blinked. “I guess the best approach is probably something different. Something in between the two.”
Hamilton slapped his hands together. “Exactly right, Govicide Agent Locke. Exactly right.”
Locke stepped back, Hamilton’s exuberance surprising him. For a second, the murderer looked like a little kid. “I’m sorry, Hamilton, but I don’t understand.”
“In the first instance, there is no control. You don’t contact her. You show no interest. You could call that an anarchical relationship because it’s not a relationship at all. On the other hand, where you try to control her and she sees you too much, you could call it a dictatorial relationship. Totally opposite actions, but in the end they get you the same thing. No relationship at all. When really, the best way to have a relationship, even in a government sense, is somewhere in between. And we believe that the OWG is to the far side of the Laffer Curve. Too much control. Too much OWG interference. Controlling what subjects read. Controlling what subjects watch. Controlling what subjects say. Controlling when subjects can have sex. It’s like being in a relationship with a subject who won’t leave you alone. The problem is that the Masses don’t want out of the relationship because they’ve become dependent. They don’t know how to provide for themselves, so they take whatever will provide for them. And that’s the OWG.”
Locke had a notion to smack his own forehead. The memories over saturated his mind. Flash after flash. Images from growing up. The OWG getting in the way.Images as a teenager. The OWG being everywhere. But at the same time, being told, “You can’t live without the OWG.”
Locke understood Hamilton’s comparison now. He remembered other males talking about breaking up with females, and these females saying, “You won’t be able to live without me.” Of course, it was stupid to say. The males went on living; they found someone else. The same for the females.
That was what the OWG was saying, though. Without its help, humans would die. But here Hamilton had moved on from the OWG relationship and he was fine. He found another relationship. With something else.
Locke’s final flash was a picture of him sitting in his automobile that night in the parking lot watching the two buses go by. The subjects staring down at the floor of the bus. Not giving any attention to the subjects around them. Locke knew what they looked like now.
They all looked like subjects who were in a bad relationship. Beaten down by the fights. The disagreements. The contradictions. The restrictions. But, still believing they needed to survive by continuing to stay in a relationship with whatever tormented them.
But those bus riders hadn’t been beaten down by their girlcomrade or boycomrade. They weren’t just beaten down by one part of their life. They were beaten down by life, period. They were beaten down by their circumstances. They were beaten down by the OWG.
And they had no choice but to follow it.
Locke bowed his head. He gazed at his feet. “But how can that be? The OWG means well. How can giving everything to everyone cause subjects to feel like this?”
Hamilton didn’t reply. Locke raised his eyes. Hamilton stood inches from the cell bars.
“Are you gloating?” Locke asked.
Hamilton shook his head. “We don’t gloat when the Masses start to realize the truth. And we don’t call you Masses, by the way. We call you individuals.”
“I still don’t understand. How could being given everything a subject needs to survive lead to this?”
“It happens as easily as a Govicide Agent wanting to kill a guard because he is in the way of an abortion. You think the guard as expendable because you want what you want. He is a means to an end. You don’t see him as an equal. You don’t see him as human. You see him as just a cog in the OWG machine, replaceable at a moment’s notice. You don’t see him as being unique. Special. He’s an obstacle. You don’t care about his rights. You care about an abortion. Well, the OWG doesn’t care about the Masses’ individual rights. All it cares about is that everyone follows its mandates so it can continue to run everybody’s lives. And the OWG is perfectly willing to provide everything for everyone in return. But, it forces all of you to work for the OWG to do it. The problem . . .” Hamilton stopped in mid-sentence. Was he choking up? “ . . . is that it’s not working.”
“What do you mean?” Locke put his face very close to the bars. “I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Why would you? Over five billion people have died making sure everyone is provided with everything. Time and time again, civilizations have tried one version or another of the OWG. And none of them work. Doesn’t matter what kind of technology, fear, coercion, none of it matters. Eventually, people pick death over continuing, no matter how much stuff they are getting.”
Suicides and homicides were increasing, Locke knew. “Yeah . . .” It wasn’t a word in support of Hamilton. It was more of an utterance of a suspicion.
“But, there’s more. Because the OWG doesn’t believe in human rights, it exists contrary to human nature. Thus, it can’t be a life-giving entity. It can only be a death-giving one. The OWG kills people it can’t feed or house, all in an effort to fulfill the desire to provide everything for everyone. The problem was that when there were three billion people in the OWG, it could only provide for two and a half because its ideas just don’t work. When there were two and a half billions subjects, the OWG could only provide for two. Now there are two billion subjects and they want to get the number down to one and a half billion. How do you think that’s happening, Locke? Where are those people vanishing to?”
“I . . . I don’t know . . .” Actually, Locke kind of suspected given the rest of the conversation. He turned his head away expecting a horrible answer.
“They’re dead. Killed by the OWG. Not all executed. But death by starvation and disease. It doesn’t take long when people expect their Goods and Services to appear on their doorstep and have forgotten how to provide for themselves. People can die pretty quickly without food and water.” Hamilton snapped his fingers. “Poof. Gone. That’s why the first Exalted Leader got rid of the first System, the one using security cameras. They didn’t get rid of those cameras because they were using electricity. They got rid of them because the cameras were recording everyone dying. They were recording Govicide Agents outright murdering people. People committing suicide. All of it was just too tough to cover up. So, they needed a new System where the evidence could be altered or deleted. Thus, the current System.”
All anxiety of getting caught by Govicide disappeared. He felt like he was standing below an air conditioning vent, his mind crisp and alert. Hamilton’s words were what he’d been waiting for since the first Symbol. He wasn’t about to go anywhere.
“But why can’t the OWG do it? Why can’t it provide for all two billion subjects when it was just providing for two billion subjects at some point in the recent past?” Locke heard a whine in his voice and cleared his throat.
Hamilton began limping around the cell again. “Good question. Because forcing people to do something is the most inefficient form of relationship. The person who wants to grow food for everyone will find a way. The person who is forced to grow food will comply, but at the minimal acceptable level. And no amount of coercing, technology, and enticement can change that. Everyone in the OWG is forced to do something . . .or else. Except Govicide, of course. But, Govicide doesn’t feed people, although I’m sure the Director would say otherwise. The only way to run a civilization is for the citizens to figure out how to serve one another through choice. Any other way and people die from perfectly avoidable circumstances.
Locke rested his forehead on the cool bars. “This is all a little hard to believe. I believe you but . . .”
“Let me guarantee you something, Locke. The governments that can be trusted the most are the ones that say, ‘We are here to give you nothing. We exist only to protect, not to give.’ Whereas, the government that comes into power saying, ‘We will give the Masses everything they need,’ will surely be the OWG that takes the most. You’d understand if you knew Earth’s history.”
Locke looked up the hall, realizing he would have to leave soon.
“Is it time?” Hamilton asked. “What exactly are you going to do about your situation?” He retreated to his cot, lowering himself into it with a grunt.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Locke shook his head, eyes at the floor. “Try to convince the female not to talk if she hasn’t talked already? Have Jade get the abortion and hope the System makes a mistake? I really don’t know.” Locke had begun to feel better because of his talk with Hamilton. But now, he felt a lump forming in his throat.
“Well, whatever happens, this has been interesting. Maybe something will work out.” Hamilton lay down on his cot.
“I have to go. And . . . thanks.”
“You take care, Govicide Agent Locke.”
Locke’s shoes tapped on the floor. The distance between he and the murderer became greater with every step. He didn’t want to turn around to glance at the cell. Too much temptation there. Too much to learn. Too much to know.He needed to get to Jade.
“You know better than anyone, Govicide Agent Locke! You can’t evade the OWG,” Hamilton yelled from his cell. “Unless you’re me, of course!”