I am a thirty-five year old woman. I used to live with my husband and
three
children in an isolated house far above the city. It was a good life, and
we were greatly respected. For that reason, I was only a Prime
sympathizer. Sure, I wanted a cee-process which didn't rely on status and
hierarchies; which didn't have laws limiting the
number of reclonings a person was allowed. But like all sympathizers, I
expressed approval of the Primes only privately; I did not want anyone to
know. I did not want to risk discovery.
My father had no reason to expect the verdict. His ten lives had been spent rather calmly, after all. He died only one reckless death, and that was due to an accident when he was a hoverbus driver years ago. But the C-10 trials are nonsense: whether someone passed and is allowed over ten lives is only partly about how they've lived their past lives. The Beyonders constantly show favoritism towards their own family members, while denying their enemies C-10 status. They deecee those they dislike, and allow themselves to be bribed into passing those who don't deserve it!
One of the three Beyonders presiding at my father's C-10 trial had had a wife who'd died in the hoverbus accident. That was all it took. Bye-bye, daddy. He killed himself soon afterwards - people often do after being deeceed. It was his last life, and so he felt that vulnerability which comes from knowing that you won't get another chance. That is one option that those who are deeceed often take.
Others, like my husband, lock themselves in their homes, terrified to take a risk of going outdoors, lest there be an accident resulting in an untimely death. It had been a case of mistaken identity - Rafe was not the one who had embezzled the credit. But the Beyonders didn't care about that. They needed a scapegoat; they found one.
And then came the children. Because both my father and husband were deeceed in such a short period of time, the family file was momentarily flagged. When two or more relatives of a family are deeceed so closely together, the family file is brought to the forefront for a while. Unfortunately, it had occurred during weeding season: what we Primes call the month when the Beyonders need to skim the excess surplus off the population. My children, having both father and grandfather in bad standing, wound up with all rights to a C-10 trial being revoked.
That was when I decided to join the Prime underground. Ever since then, I have been an active member. That was five years ago. My father is dead; my husband died from a stress-related heart attack. Like a man hoarding his last credit, he died because of a constant fear of losing his last life. My oldest child is a grown C-6; but no respectable girl will marry him knowing that he has no chance of going beyond his tenth cloning. The other two children are too young to fully comprehend the implications, but it will not be long now.
And I? I died twice in various escapades during my time with the Primes. Yet the Beyonders don't know of the association.
I just passed my own C-10 trial. I never felt more like crying than I do now.
Last Modified: 5/2/98
Wendy Elizabeth
Kemp