"For his own good" by Andrijana Ignjatovic

For his own good

The darkness was thick in the air and grey clouds covered the sky. The stars barely glistened in that deep dark but the city bustled with activity despite the late hour. Synthetic light had long gone chased away natures own rhythmic beat. Cars hovered on the streets while the pavements where crowded with people racing each other to work. This was indeed the city that never slept. That didn’t really matter nowadays, since man hardly slept either. When entering the new century mankind had been filled with visions, hopes of a better future and a bitter determination to make it come to that, no matter the cost. He wondered if the people on the streets finally thought the cost to great. He doubted it. The man turned away from the window and closed the blinds again. He instead turned his attention to the naked woman lying sprawled in his bed. The darkness almost engulfed her, yet he could see that she smiled. She was satisfied and purring like a kitten. She better be, the man thought to himself wryly. He knew that she only was there because of what he was and because David thought that he needed a woman now and then to let out his frustration. He approached the bed and tossed the clothes at her. The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, but she smiled one of her intriguing smiles and said nothing. She was beautiful, her dark skin the colour of ebony, and the short dark curls framing a face that belonged to an angel.

“Leave!” he hissed. The woman left and once again the man was alone with his thoughts.

Freedom is just like love invisible to the naked eye. Sure, one can see the effect of love. The glow in a lover’s eye, the way a man smiled for no apparent reason, and the way he became soft and gentle where once he was hard and coarse. The man sighed and took in the vision of the place he had called home for the last five years. Just like freedom or love for that matter, the room’s essence was invisible to the naked eye. But he knew where to look, and saw all the small signs that indicated this was not your usual room. All the sharp edges had been rounded and knives and other sharp objects were strictly forbidden. The sheets were designed to tear off at a certain amount of strain. There was no bathtub; instead water trickled down from tiny holes in the ceiling of the bathroom. All measures one could think of had been taken, to prevent Adam from taking his own life. He looked at the barcode engraved in his right wrist and laughed. He yearned for death. Anything was better than this hellhole.

“Another day gone and still I live. How I long for death, but even more so I long to rob them of the precious gift they consider my being to be. Are these the actions of a race that speak of themselves so highly? I was not the cause of their demise, but they seem to view me as the solution. And still their science can’t do anything.”

The voice came from the corner next to the great window. A silhouette sat in the sofa, butterflies of light and dark playing over his face. The light from the window was enough to make out a man in his early thirties. His brown hair was short, and his sculpted face was the very image of beauty. Adam went to the hall and turned on the lights and after that sat on the bed and let out a noise of contempt.

“So, you still read my diaries without my consent, David? The man called David closed the book and raised one eyebrow in surprise. He clasped his hands and looked out at the scenery on the streets. The silence was so thick you could slice it. Finally he spoke.

“You shouldn’t be surprised, Adam. You know what you are and you know the routines.” Adam ignored him and went to the kitchen. The apartment was made in an open solution, so one could see every room clearly. No walls obstructed the view.

“I would have loved to offer you a beer, a whisky, coffee. Hell, even tea. So, what do you prefer, milk or water?” He smiled ironically. David was silent.

“Oh. No answer. Then I guess water will be fine. My milk is precious to me. It would be a waste offering it to the likes of you.”

Adam poured water into a glass, and handed the see through liquid to David. He studied David under silence. The short brown hair had a warm colour and his fingernails were well-manicured. The dark pants and black shirt gave him a serious and somewhat ominous look. Yet, soon you would find out that David could be ominous just by his mere presence. If you didn’t look carefully you wouldn’t notice the small red emblem embroidered on the shirtsleeve, nor the thinly braided bracelet clutching his right wrist. And if those small signs couldn’t convince you, a small tattoo was engraved between his shoulder blades. Just a precaution so that you really knew who you where dealing with. Adam didn’t have to guess, he had dealt with the likes of him all his life. As he looked at David a sudden realisation made his heart jump. A small pin was attached to the collar of his shirt. Quickly he smoothed his features, and gazed at nothing.

David emptied the glass and put it down on the small table next to him. The table was bolted to the floor, and no matter how hard you tried to break the legs, the table didn’t bend. Adam had tried.

“Let me take that glass for you, David. You know that I rarely get company. Even if the company I receive is you, it isn’t a reason to be impolite. Unlike some I have manners.” David ignored Adam’s remark. David was always good at ignoring things he didn’t want to hear, or things he didn’t agree with. Adam returned the glass to the kitchen and as he was about to sit on the bed David spoke.

“You could at least put some clothes on you.” Adam laughed, but it was without heart.

“So, my nakedness bothers you. I’m surprised David. My body is my temple, I think the saying goes.” He smiled a thin smile. “But in my case I think you could say that my body is everyone’s temple. Isn’t that so? Well, just to oblige you this time, I will heed your command.”

Adam turned his back on David and put on underwear, a pair of brown trousers and a green T-shirt.  He faced David once more.

“So, are you satisfied? Why are you here unannounced at this hour? Did the Earth Alliance send you, or has GenCorp finally made some progress?” He glanced at David’s red emblem. “As you work for GenCorp I assume that it is the latter. Maybe you wanted to join me and the lovely Maya, but you just missed us. Or are you just here to torment me with your mere presence?” He almost shouted the last word. Adam was surprised that he had raised his voice. Usually he tried to be well-composed and balanced while having visits. He felt a river of knives clawing at his throat, and tried with force to suppress it, but still it escaped through his lips. The cough sounded like thunder. David suddenly looked alarmed and almost rose from the sofa. Realizing what he did, he instead leaned back against the sofa, took out a palmtop out of his pocket and spoke into the little receiver.

“David Farise, 2554. Cruise. Send a notice to the lab that object 15616, is to have a full health examination in the morning.” Adam moaned and managed to suppress the second cough.

“I don’t need a god damn health exam! I had one last month. This is just the flu, nothing that my wonderfully engineered antidotes won’t take care of. Considering that I am what I am, probably in the next hour or so. “David looked at Adam with an incredulous look.

“We can’t take any chances, Adam, and you know that. Quit acting like a child, this is for your own good.” His voice was cold, and filled with irritation.

“I know. So you say.” Adam spat. “Why have you come? You never answered my question.”

David made a gesture towards the sofa. Adam breathed deeply and sat down next to David.

“I have bad news and good news.” David began. Adam interrupted him.

“Good news for me, or for everybody else? David paid no attention to the last remark.

“The good news is that we have managed to stabilize the K5-gene. The gene lasts 24 hours longer now, than it did in our previous attempts, although the destabilisation can be noticeable after 15 hours. This will also give our scientists more time to learn more about the process of how the virus interacts with the core of the human cells and the gene. This is time that we desperately need. Hopefully we can manage to understand more in depth how the K5-gene destroys the virus. This might lead to us discovering how the gene can be stabilized under a controlled environment, so that it can be reproduced without constant addition to the host gene.”

Adam was silent and once again he looked at his engraved barcode. He ran his fingers through his hair and bitterness lay heavy as he spoke.

“Host gene, in other words me. More tests, tubes and needles. Why do you need more tests anyway? I thought that the god damn virus was under control now. You said yourself that the scientists have made progress, David. You know that I am to be permitted “socialisation with the public” as they put it so nicely two years from now.” Holy mother of God, two more years! Adam was feeling the anger coarse through his blood and his temples throbbed. He rose from the sofa and paced back and forth, impatiently. At last David spoke again, his voice without mercy.

“The reason for more tests, 15616, is because the virus is becoming more aggressive. We fear…we fear that it has mutated.” Adam stopped dead. His throat was dry and he could swear that he tasted the bitterness of blood in his mouth. He turned to David again, panic and horror painted all over his face. “You can’t do this to me... I didn’t choose to have special genes. I don’t know why I have them and not you. Two more years they said.” He realised that he was ranting like a madman.

“You have no rights, 15616. As I recall, you’re not even considered being human.” Adam moaned. It was beyond his comprehension how such a beautiful face like David’s could harbour such a cold and merciless heart.

“You must not forget the greater good, Adam. In the end this is for the best, even for you.” Adam felt his chest tighten, and the burning in his throat increased again. This time the coughing was so violent that it forced him to bend over, and between the coughs he tried to catch his breath.

His eyes found David’s and before he realized it, his hands were around David’s throat. Adam breathed hard, and all anger and frustration that had been building up during a lifetime threatened to engulf him, and with that destroy the very essence of what he was.

“No rights!” He hissed. “I am not the one who wrote proposition 24, I wasn’t even born then! Those bastards created their own demise with the virus, at first denying that they were the ones who created it. And then joy, they miraculously found a young boy who apparently had some sort of protection against the very evil they had let loose.” David looked calm, despite Adam’s hands around his neck. Adam was enraged by the fact that he looked so serene, and the pressure around David’s throat increased.

“As they realised that my genes had value, they made the preposition valid and I was the first child in mankind’s history to be deemed not human, and instead became the product of a corporation. Now they could do whatever they pleased. There was no outcry, half the population was infested and could care less. And you dare call me a nonhuman!”

David looked Adam straight in the eyes, despite difficulty with breathing. As Adam let go of his now sore throat David spoke with a coarse voice.

“You have every right to wish me dead.” Adams jaws were tight and he clenched his fists. “You bet I have a right!” David straitened his shirt and a hand went up to his neck before he continued.

“You have the law on your side. You know that I can’t lay a hand on you without being punished; I can even be sent to jail or killed. You could have killed me right here but you didn’t.”

Adam tried to calm himself down and seated himself on the edge of the bed.

“Don’t think so highly of your self. It would be a shame if my shirt became bloodstained.”

David laughed, as if the fact that Adam had tried to kill him seconds before was funny.

“I have treated you poorly. My duty is that to GenCorp, and to rest of humanity. One fleeting soul is nothing compared to millions of souls.” Adam opened his mouth but David interrupted him.

“Shut up for once and listen! I have told you my reason for this unorthodox visit, but that is not the whole truth. Sometimes certain questions come to mind, and in my case they have more and more often emerged to the surface. With the resent events unfolding about the virus it was as if God answered my question.” Adam smirked.

“I didn’t know that you were religious, David.”

David looked at Adam, in an almost mild way. That was of course ridiculous; David Farise was anything but mild.

“There are many things you don’t know about me, Adam. After all, everything changes. The only constant is love.” He laughed hard. “Or so I hope. Duty is a mistress without mercy and she rides you hard, but sometimes you take control of the reigns. Everything changes Adam, sometimes even people. We are all prisoners of our past, but sometimes opportunities present themselves, and other choices can be made and are made.” He rose from the sofa and turned his back at Adam who just sat on the bed and locked confused. When he faced Adam, David was grim and menacing again, just the way Adam was used seeing him.

“I’m leaving for now. Tomorrow you will have your health exam. I’ll be sending two guards to make sure of that. If they get hurt, I’ll send another pair. After all, it is my duty. Get up and stop acting like a child!” Adam rose from the bed. He didn’t bother replying with a sharp-tongued answer. He felt numb and the dire news about the virus had with bitter determination crushed his sense of hope. Adam followed David to the door. As David was about to leave he faced Adam and took his hand. Adam looked at his face and thought that he saw a flicker of a smile in his eyes. Surely that must have been imagination.

“Remember what I have said today Adam.”

“I will, brother.” As Adam took his brother’s right hand in his, he felt a sharp pang of pain in his palm and let out a quiet groan. David said nothing. He turned his back on Adam and shut the door behind him. Adam opened his hand and saw the small pin that had been attached to David’s shirt collar. For the first time in many years Adam felt gratitude towards his brother.

You cannot imagine with how many objects a human can take his own life with. A small pin with a sharp needle would do just fine.