The wave of gray pushes me forward. Each one of us taking a step further into our future. Our destiny.
Today is the Third Ceremony. Today 17 year olds from all over Newbrook, all over the island and our world, will get assigned their marked careers and take one step further into Completeness.
It’s definitely not as fancy as Lexi’s Fourth, but that’s just because it is not the final one. We’re already inside the Third Hall, a simple, white and round building with a massive room to greet you once you enter. There are no doors on any walls to help you escape from this blinding colour. It takes several continuous deep breaths to not go back to my panicked, claustrophobic mind. I look around me and realize it’s strange that I’m worried about the space in this room when it’s actually so big. It’s just the feeling of being enclosed, trapped with no way out, that’s what forces my chest to heave in on my heart.
There is a glass box placed in the middle of the room, and as the crowd moves forward one more person goes inside as a Second Stage Citizen and comes out as a Third. Around the box, which we’ve grown to call the ‘Scanner’, we are in circular lines going around the room in a seemingly never-ending spiral. I’m almost there, and I can now start to hear the shrills inside me trying to break the silence that’s been reigning the Hall.
In front of me I see Skylar approaching the centre of the room. He’s walking very slowly, trying to hide or control his trembling knees. The door to the Scanner slides open as it sensors him. He pauses before going in, clenches his hands into fists and closes his eyes. Once he’s inside you can see the glass light up in numbers and words. His two Numbers appear on the screen in their familiar fluorescent green form. Codes and images of his brain and DNA scroll down the glass, and in seconds a new number materializes. Everything apart from the three numbers vanishes from the glass. Out of nowhere, two words appear underneath: Solar Resources. Then everything goes back to being transparent and I see Sky stepping out from the box, now a new person with a new life ahead of him. A member of Authority approaches him, I can see his jaw clench and I feel my own stomach tying itself in and out of knots. After each Assignation you have to respond formally to a couple of questions, like an oath, in order to keep your responsibility a promise. We all know what the questions are and how we’re supposed to answer them.
“Skylar Hale, Number 17, now Number 177, you have been officially assigned to the Solar Resources career based off of your brain and DNA traits and responses. Do you accept this new responsibility to render your society as perfect as it is and to start giving back to your neighbours and community?”
I solemnly swear I will work hard to give back to my society and take on my duties like a full pledged member of our community.
It takes me a second to realize that those words actually never came out o his mouth. I was just repeating what he should have said in my mind, while in reality silence still echoes through everyone’s ears, awaiting his response.
His jaw clenches and it’s as if he’s trying to stop his teeth from shaking. He takes a deep breath and opens his mouth.
“Why not?”
Gasps fill the air around us.
***
My heart pounds in my ears. My eyesight is completely blurred, yet I feel no tears on my cheeks. No. Instead, it’s as if the room around me is spinning, zooming in and out, taking me with it. My head pounces at the same rhythm as my heart, and I feel myself losing balance.
I’m next. Veve is already being assigned her career in front of me, but I hardly take note of that. My mind races with questions, trying to process what just happened. Why couldn’t Sky just answer like everybody else? Did he somehow forget? But that’s not possible, we’ve been learning these answers since we were in Junior school. I desperately try pushing these thoughts away from my mind but they urge to pull themselves back in… What if this has something to do with his secret group? Images flash back to the Infernal Forest, Kole warning him about something he was going to do, something which would put himself in danger. Were they talking about this? Was this all planned out? I know the answer, but I refuse to think it.
I don’t even know why I’m so scared. I’m scared of not knowing. I’m scared because technically, Sky didn’t do anything wrong. But he didn’t do what we was supposed to. I’m scared because I have no idea what’s going to be of him, what they’re going to do, what are the repercussions? All I know is that they took him away. They whispered something into his ear, took his arm and carried my best friend away. Don’t know where. Don’t know when I’ll ever see him again. I don’t know anything.
A sudden emptiness flows through me. I feel utterly weak. I am helpless. And I hate it.
Anger slowly fills this empty hole that’s been forming inside me. Why didn’t he trust me? Why hasn’t he been telling me anything? All these secrets he’s been keeping from me, they’re not taking him to very pleasant places. How is he so selfish too? He’s not only putting his own life at risk, he’s risking his whole family, his group… me. Did he even ever stop to think for a second?
A white fuzz is standing in front of me. I focus my eyes and see myself staring into a member of Authority’s glasses.
“Are you ready?” She asks me, indicating that I’ve been probably standing here for longer than I should have.
“Yes, sorry.” I manage to get out into a shy whisper.
I touch my hand to my forehead and realize it’s dripping with sweat. I need to calm down.
My numbers are scanned and I enter the box. Everything around me lights up. It reads me, too fast for me to understand the numbers and pictures that have been appearing on the glass. Not long passes before a new number appears.
I am now Citizen ‘136’.
Block fluorescent green letters tell me I’ve been assigned to the Greenhouse Department. I can’t say I’m surprised, many are assigned the part-time job they had as Second-stage members.
I step out from the Scanner. Should I feel any different? I still feel that overflowing fear, the anger and the emptiness. Nothing changed, just a new label on my skin. I look at my collarbone and see the new number forming after the ‘3’.
The Authority Member approaches me, and asks the same question they asked Sky and will ask everybody in here. I take two deep breaths, uselessly trying to relax, and finally speak the words out loud, careful not to hesitate, stutter or make any stupid mistakes.
“I solemnly swear I will work hard to give back to my society and take on my duties like a full pledged member of our community.”
It’s as simple as that.
It’s done. Over with. I’m now officially a Third-stage member. Why does it have to be so complicated with Skylar?
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
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Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
This seems to be a pretty interesting story, with a relatively original idea. I'm also finding myself being drawn to your main character - so many first-person narrators have a ridiculous amount of structure to their spur-of-the-moment thoughts, but she has a refreshingly realistic voice, which I greatly appreciate and enjoy reading. That being said, there are a fair amount of relatively minor errors, the fixing of which would greatly benefit the overall flow of your story.
"Each one of us taking a step further into our future. Our destiny."
This bit is rather dramatic, but it fits the tone of the story, so it isn't much of a problem. However, it would read better if you inserted an "is" between "us" and "taking."
"...a simple, white and round building with a massive room to greet you once you enter. There are no doors on any walls to help you escape from this blinding colour..."
The first part of that sentence is very heavy on adjectives without having a lot of substantial imagery. I'd recommend expanding on it a bit, maybe with more details about the architecture to help your reader picture the building. Also, the second-person "you" is generally frowned upon, even though you're reading this from a relatively informal perspective.
"...as the crowd moves forward one more person goes inside as a Second Stage Citizen and comes out as a Third."
There should be a comma between "forward" and "one."
"...we are in circular lines going around the room in a seemingly never-ending spiral."
This sentence would have a great deal more coherence if you added "standing" between "are" and "in."
"The door to the Scanner slides open as it sensors him."
You've run into a bit of word choice confusion here; a sensor is an instrument that senses, not a verb. It seems that you were trying to say something more along the lines of "senses" or "analyzes."
"...you can see the glass light up..."
Again, replace the "you" with "I" to preserve narrative clarity.
"His two Numbers appear on the screen in their familiar fluorescent green form. Codes and images of his brain and DNA scroll down the glass, and in seconds a new number materializes. Everything apart from the three numbers vanishes from the glass. Out of nowhere, two words appear underneath: Solar Resources. Then everything goes back to being transparent and I see Sky stepping out from the box, now a new person with a new life ahead of him."
"Numbers" probably shouldn't be capitalized, unless it's being used to indicate formal importance or something along those lines.
"Materializes" is an odd word to use in relation to a computer. While it might work technically, the connotations are more fantasy-esque; when most people think of something materializing, they imagine someone appearing in a cloud of smoke, rather than a number popping up on a screen. "Appears" would probably be a better word choice here.
I would also replace "apart from" with "but" just to streamline the sentence, but that's more of a subjective judgement, so I'll leave it up to your discretion.
Finally, "everything goes back to being transparent" reads rather oddly. I understand that your narrator can't be expected to constantly think eloquently, but the stilted-ness of that sentence is rather jarring to me as a reader. Something like "the Scanner reverts to transparency" would be better.
"After each Assignation you have to respond formally to a couple of questions, like an oath, in order to keep your responsibility a promise."
This use of "you" actually fits in with the structure of the narrative, so I'll let it slide. However, grammatically speaking, there should be a comma between "Assignation" and "you."
"It takes me a second to realize that those words actually never came out o his mouth."
First, you have a pretty minor typo here: "o" instead of "of." Additionally, this would probably read better as something along the lines of "he never actually said those words."
"I’m next. Veve is already being assigned her career in front of me, but I hardly take note of that. My mind races with questions, trying to process what just happened. Why couldn’t Sky just answer like everybody else? Did he somehow forget? But that’s not possible, we’ve been learning these answers since we were in Junior school. I desperately try pushing these thoughts away from my mind but they urge to pull themselves back in… What if this has something to do with his secret group? Images flash back to the Infernal Forest, Kole warning him about something he was going to do, something which would put himself in danger. Were they talking about this? Was this all planned out? I know the answer, but I refuse to think it."
This block of text breaks up the flow of the narrative. I'd recommend splitting it between "...happened" and "Why," and again between "group?" and "Images."
"I’m scared because I have no idea what’s going to be of him, what they’re going to do, what are the repercussions?"
"Be" should be replaced with "become," and you have a comma splice of "what they're going to do" and "what are the repercussions?"
Additionally, the use of "repercussions" feels rather out of place with the narrator's voice - you could replace it with "consequences" to preserve the meaning while staying consistent.
"I can’t say I’m surprised, many are assigned the part-time job they had as Second-stage members."
The comma here should be replaced with a semicolon.
"...overflowing fear..."
"Overflowing" should be replaced with "overwhelming."
"...like a full pledged member of our community."
You should either change "full" to "fully" or hyphenate "full-pledged."
I'd like to close this review by saying that the concept behind this story is one I've been waiting to see for a while - the protagonist actually being comfortable in (what I presume to be) a dystopian society. I feel like insta-rebels have been overdone in this genre, so your story is a refreshing change of pace, and I'm interested in seeing where it goes from here!
Thank you so much for all your corrections and suggestments! I will look into them and edit my work as soon as possible! Glad you like my idea
You're very welcome, and I'm glad I was able to be of assistance!
You're very welcome, and I'm glad I was able to be of assistance!
Hola Writer Girl! I couldn't wait to read this!
And you definitely did not disappoint! Skylar is being really difficult about every little thing when it comes to the big moments that his society go through. For example, his Assignment oath, he couldn't even say two sentences without seeing it as complying to the system! I am worried that he will affect those around him, and she has a point to be worried as well. I wonder where he has been taken! D:
You do mention that this all has been planned before... but would he really plan when it is just a simple matter of not answering the sentences properly? For me, that small an act of rebellion wouldn't necessarily need planning; perhaps just a moment or two of thinking about it before he actually puts it into action. Planning would be if he had something bigger going on as well. So maybe change that?
Eh small typo! But other than that, there is nothing else. You really read through this well, don't you?
I guess it isn't too surprising if you show an interest in a part time job and then it's selected for your career as well. We know a bit about the Greenhouse Department, but what of the Solar Resources. It might not be anything important, but I am curious to know what it includes :3 Also, what happens to people who can't stand their career choice? Maybe there was a case like that before, and she can compare that situation to the one with Skylar and worry he will suffer the same fate. (Whatever that person's fate was
Hm, I know she is busy worrying about Skylar, but I wanted to see a bit more of her nervousness. You do tell us that she is scared of feeling suffocated and claustrophobic although she is in such a big room, but is she not worried about the career she will have to spend the rest of her life in at all? Or is she thinking that it will probably be the Green House department and that calms her some? I wanted to know what she was feeling a bit before she was actually face to face with the Scanner machine.
Okay, at first I thought they all gasped and then left him alone... But then halfway down into the next section you mention he was dragged away. Maybe you should say after the gasping directly in the next scene that she watched as two men latched onto his friend and marched him away. And that Skylar seemed to be walking himself, or was being dragged or he was kicking and fighting, whichever he did. Otherwise it seems like it was added as a kind of afterthought, which it shouldn't be because this is pretty important in this chapter!
Hm, I think you need 'I's in front of those 'don't's that start the sentences. But if you want to be more general though (I think you do), you could make it something like: Who knows where? Who knows when I'll ever see him again? I don't know anything.
But really, this was a great chapter. It showed him rebelling more, her thoughts and worries about him doing this. It showed us some more insight into the society and some of there rituals... post more soon! I can't wait to keep reading. ^.^ Don't forget to tell me as well :3
Deanie x