Part 1: Star, Swirl, Spider
The walls were grey and the floor was grey. Grey corridors stretched on, seemingly never ending, with classrooms every twenty steps. The sky was grey, the air was grey, the mood was grey. There was no light, no hope, no relief.Â
Everyone was grim, blank faces staring straight ahead. There was no life in their eyes, no joy or sadness or anger. Just cold blankness.Â
At 6.30, everyone was lining up in school, school uniform neatly pressed, shoes polished until they gleamed and fingernails trimmed. My nails that were bitten raw drew a raised eyebrow. I feigned ignorance.Â
The blue robed educators ticked off everyone present and passed each person a handful of large fat pills and a cup of sickly sweet orange liquid. Everyone took theirs silently, cup in their left hand and pills in their right.Â
The largest pill was half white and half dark green. It had a disgusting taste, iron like, similar to blood. After that there was a fluorescent yellow pill that hurt to look at. At least that one didnât taste of much. This was followed by two pills, both pale shades of blue and red, a pale imitation of the real shade, not that I was supposed to remember colours. They tasted like chemicals. Finally, there were three small grey ones that were almost chalky in texture in the shape of round orbs. One would almost think that they were the same if they didnât each have their own unique indentation.Â
The one with a star tasted salty and sour, almost putrid. The one with a swirl was mild, with something like grass or herbs. The one with a spider was actually good, tasting sweet and juicy somehow. I always kept it for the last even though we were meant to eat it first. It wasnât possible to tell which grey pill was being eaten anyways.Â
(Star, swirl, spider. Pillars of The New World.)
After each pill was consumed and all liquid drunk, students were escorted into their classrooms, marching on obediently, quietly. Then we were seated, placed in front of a dozen high-tech, state of the art government built computers and allowed to type strings of code. We built and deconstructed, instinct taking over. The only sound in the room was the clattering of keyboards.Â
Every child knew the consequences of failing. The government had spent money on this. There would be repercussions. I had three scars on my right wrist to prove it.Â
After 3 hours we got to stand up and stretch, blinking to get used to the flickering artificial lights after staring at our screens for too long. Then we sat through hour after hour of dull work, English, Mathematics and Science, letting the educators drone on.Â
At 13.00 there was Art and we were allowed to put pen to paper and draw. There were pictures of galaxies, clear night skies. Systematic patterns, complex interconnected webs. Dark masses of strings that pulled and twisted and contracted. Soft music played while we drew, luring us into a state of hypnotisation. It was the only time I felt truly at peace.Â
(Star, swirl, spider. Pillars of The New World.)
Then there was half an hour of compulsory exercise. We were let loose into the dull courtyard of yellow weeds and stone bricks, cracked from attacks. Some of us regained our senses long enough to kick a football around but most simply walked around in circles obediently, breathing in the stale, musty grey air. I tried my best to copy them, to not cough or sneeze.Â
Classes only ended after PE. We were herded back down, even further down than the classrooms and brought to our dormitories. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted to do.Â
Everyone headed straight for the Computer Room.Â
Straining our eyes and typing some more, we remained glued to our seats for so long that our legs felt like jelly, unstable when we tried to stand up. We typed and we worked and we swallowed our saliva to quench our thirst.Â
At 6.30 on the dot, we were herded out to the dormitoriesâ main room. It was long and stretched for what seemed like eternity, a trestle table and two long wooden benches the only things inside of it. Everyone sat down on their assigned seats in unison, an inch apart. I had never learned how to judge distance even after so long.Â
On the walls were the three symbols drawn in thick black ink. They drew everyoneâs eyes to them, like a moth of a flame.Â
(Star, swirl, spider. Pillars of The New World.)
While we listened to the usual bleak news, we were given plates and cups for dinner. Small nutrient cubes in violet lay for us to swallow. Their taste was terrible. Accompanying our meal were more cups of orange liquid and the three grey pills. I squished each nutrient cube and dropped them into the drink, gulping down in one mouthful. Nobody could leave until everyone was done. Tall muscled Securities in black robes stood by every entry point, faces stern, hands pressed behind their back. They had a shiny metal gun in their leather holsters, each loaded with a fresh round of bullets.Â
When we were done, everyone stood up and filed themselves into straight lines, going straight to the dormitories. We crawled in between the shabby sheets and closed our eyes, trying to fall asleep before the first wave hit. I rarely succeeded, even with the same alluring tunes played in the room.Â
Tremors, thousands of them, hit the ground, penetrating even as far down as we were. The earth shook and grumbled and more stone bricks cracked. I shook in my thin sheets and wondered what would happen if I died. Would anyone even remember me? Or would I just be another dead subject? Breathing heavily, I pretended I was out even as I traced the scars on my wrist.Â
(Star, swirl, spider. Pillars of The New World.)
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