Defective

Defective

‘I can’t be’....

‘Yes you are the test confirms it’.

‘But’.......

‘Your number is 10078’ the officer said. He was dressed in white and plastic, wearing

gloves to protect him.

It was official I had to go to quarantine. I had never been sick before, but now I was

defective, a burden on society and had to be sent away to the Quarantine Zone, which

was across the border.

    My previous identity it didn’t matter, I am number 10078. That’s who I am and I have to

leave my home and go across to the other zone.

‘Take your overalls’ the officer said with a destained look.

I didn’t blame him, I looked at people who were flawed in the same way, as scum,

they had something wrong with them in their genes and now I was no longer part of the

Well-Conditioned Zone.

‘Jug….Jug...whish whish’ the machine screeched, it was a huge device, something

which looked like a tumble dryer,  they had to ensure that my illness was contained.

     A white bus was awaiting at the back of the hospital. It was shiny, crisp with seats

with plastic which could not be soiled with any dirt or disease.

‘10078’ said the driver of the van. He was also dressed in the same manner as the

officer was to ensure that no infection would occur.

‘That’s me’ I said.

I had my overalls on, my family had been notified but now I was to be shamed as

inadequate human being. I was no longer a person but a burden on society, ill and

spreading diseases it was the era of 3356.

    In the thirty-first century due to illness and diseases that were spreading, the country

was divided into two zones : Well-conditioned and Quarantine.

   The Well- Conditioned Zone contained healthy, productive, working human beings

who were contributing to the economy, strength and domination. But if you had a illness

you would be sent to the Quarantine Zone. Ailments: such as  cancer, dementia, colds or

flus which had cost the National Health service millions in the twenty first century were

now dealt with by the Quarantine Zone. This was in order to keep the well- conditioned

healthy and productive, to enhance the economy and keep it booming. Sick leave and

doctor’s certificates were eradicated by the government. The government felt it was no

longer productive to spend money on getting people well so they excluded them instead.

     Some people were re-integrated back to the well zone, but they were ultimately

ostracised by people, ridiculed, bullied and were frowned upon. They had been

contaminated by their illness and were a defective human. They would go back

to the Quarantine Zone.

 I myself number 10078 had a cold, I had never been ill before, the Well-Conditioned

Zone was clean, everyone wore masks, plastics covered everything and a fresh

supply of air was kept circulated. People were screened regularly before entering and

leaving their employer so disease spread was non existent. But I still got a cold, I

was seen as a contagion to affect others, it was a fault in me as a human being

and was no longer part of their zone.

  I could see the green trees, fresh, tall and ripened were disappearing into the

background as the bus disappeared from the territory.

The light was now darkening while the bus bumped along, there were others around,

ashamed with their eyes down, some had colds, flu, dementia or cancer. Serious

illness would cause death as no money was spent on medication, it was about

manufacture and resources.

  It was fault in the genes as the government stated in our era that caused us to be ill, as

the twenty first century money spend on getting people better had ultimately caused

the county to crash and civil wars to occur internally. There was no money so the

government divided two regions to ensure wealth.

Now in the thirty first century no wars happened,  as we had dominated the world due to

the two factions.

  I could see the Quarantine Zone now appearing, there were rows, rows and rows

of little tents, like a refugee camp. Thousands of little huts squeezed together in a

expansive space. This was detention, no one spoke about it, we were ill people,

non productive, a burden on society and ultimately incomplete humans.

‘Off you indisposed this is where you will be’ said the driver. The van would be

incinerated and the officer screened to be able to return back.

    I had no belongings, all my possessions had been disposed due to impurity and to

protect others. All I had were the overalls which were like wearing a sack used to keep

potatoes.

‘No 10078’ your bunker is that red one over there. The lady pointed. ‘Your period

of separation is two weeks’. But I knew that this was my new home and I couldn’t go

back.

    The Quarantine Zone air was rancid, polluted and black like soot which you could

see clearly with the eye. There were some people around but most secluded in their

tents ashamed by their illness. People who had completed their period of clearance

were working as officers welcoming others, and helping the sick and needy

with plant remedies to try to heal or prevent their suffering. Most ill people had

their faces covered by cloths and several fires could be seen in the distance

where humans would eventually be burnt once they had died.

   My tent was a squallor nothing here was clean, hygienic like the Well-Conditioned

Zone, there were machines to clean the roads, even your houses were clean,but here

people were left simply to die, suffer or survive.

‘Welcome 10078’ said the lady who greeted me, she was standing at the front of the tent.

‘Here is your knife, fishing rod, that’s all your get as tools of survival here, though there

isn’t much food around anymore’ she said.

I didn’t say anything, her skin was smooth and white, I didn’t want to ask what illness

she had as it was a taboo subject ‘ I know you have a cold 10078, that is easily

remedied by herbs which you can get from 30,967, who is a white tent, we need

more able bodied men who can help the sick and ill’. She said. Her hair was silky,

smooth and she also stayed here.

‘I was told that I had eczema, I am number 49,0078, though our numbers don’t really

represent anything, I don’t know how long I have been here, I took herbs and now

I am healthy, but cannot go back’ she said.

‘Ok thank you’ I said.

‘You do realise it's their way of keeping the population down, don’t you? Less mouths

to eat, they make you produce and eradicate you to here, it's simple for the government’

she said adruply.

‘What… you are talking nonsense, we are defective’ I said, trying to not to get myself

angry while rearranging the mattress on my rancid bed.

‘How can we get ill, in a world which is so hygienic, think about it, it’s so clean, pure,

machines do the cleaning’......

‘But we are defective’ I said cutting her off before she could finish.

‘That’s just what they want you to believe in tent silver at the back number 60,7763

will tell you that fact, he was government official before he came here, how can a

government man be defective?’ she asked.

 She slipped out of the tent like a mouse, my head was shaking, no it can’t be

I thought, it's rubbish, so I decided to go down to the silver tent, which took me around

ten days in total to get too. The Quarantine Zone was vast, expansive, and forever

enlarging with new buses arriving every so often.

 ‘Number 10078, welcome’ said the man. He wasn’t wearing a sack but still had

his government suit on, like the ones I had seen on the television screen.

‘You are wondering how I am not wearing a sack, it's one of the perks of being ex

government official’ he said laughing hoarsely.

‘Is it true what the lady at the front gate told me… that’

‘Yes. The government makes the defective gene up, it’s a way to control population

numbers and to keep production going through the young driving economy.

You are chosen by random to come here, like me I was told I was defective but I had

created that crap, so I knew I had been made ill during the night by the machines who

clean our Well-Conditioned Zone, they inject you with a illness and then you are sent

here to die.’

‘It can’t be true it just can’t be’......

‘There is nothing actually wrong with your genes, the government created that fear,

to maintain production and economy. Illness is their creation to ensure population

is minimum. I was sent here myself when I created that rubbish there is no escape,

it’s our destiny to produce and then be killed.’

I could not believe what I was hearing, I was nothing short of an animal to be kept strong,

healthy, productive and then in the end to be left to be slaughtered.