To Form A Stronger Society

“Welcome to the Nursery.” Debera said behind her mask.

“Thank you, I’m excited for my second year as a Healer.” Ava answered behind her own mask.

“I’m glad to hear it. I can tell just from looking at you that the Council chose you well when they assigned you as a healer. Come let me show you around and get you familiar with your duties.”

The older woman led the way. Her figure was healthy with a straight back and black head wrap. Her steps were smooth, as though she was floating through the ward. Ava was less graceful. Full of excitement and anxiety, she felt like she had to run to keep up with Debera's smooth, steady steps.

“As you can see, the floor is not very exciting on its own,” Debera remarked as she gestured to the central desk. Several healers sat in front of screens. They watched the vitals of their precious patients. “Of course, a boring day in the nursery is a good day in the Nursery.” Ava could see Debera’s cheeks rise behind her face, wrapping at the comment.

The ward was beautiful; the walls and floors were crisp white. Large windows let in the warm sunlight and covered the sleeping babies. They stretched and cooed in their little nests as the two healers passed. Ava felt butterflies in her chest and couldn’t help but smile at the adorable bundles. Naked faces were so rare outside of the family unit. She hadn’t seen one since her fourth year of school.

“They, of course, make this boring job worth being assigned to.” Debra repeated, her cheeks rising behind her mask. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, I think so.” Ava replied.

“Very good. We will start with this group first.”

The two healers entered a room with 15 cubies filled with babies. They moved in silence between the cribs as they scanned the bracelets of each little angel. Next, Debera reached down and lifted the first baby from their crib. Ava followed them to a table near the window.

Debera held the baby tight in her arms. She bounced and shooshed softly as she laid the baby on the scale.

“Satisfactory, not too small, not too large, and very mild-mannered.” She whispered.

They continued their work. Take the sleeping babies one by one to the table and record their numbers. It was a surreal experience for Ava. She had never seen a baby outside of the school tablets. Babies weren’t released to their family units until they were six months old. It kept society organized and allowed for family units to create nourishing homes. This was the first step in raising productive members of society. To build a stronger society.

The task was easy; each child snuggled into the healer’s chest for their journey to the table. The noisiest of them only cooed softly as they dreamed. When they neared the final few, Ava started to gain confidence. She reached down for the baby in crib number Fourteen. As soon as her hand slipped behind the child’s head, it began to scream.

Ava froze. The cries had surprised her, and she didn’t know what to do. The tablets said babies sometimes cried but never gave an example. She had expected something more civilized. This was primal. The other babies stirred and cried, creating a choir of whines and screams. Debera came to Ava’s ai,d taking the crying baby from her hands.

“Oh, this one is going to be a Strong-minded, I can already tell.” She said to Ava as she hushed number Fourteen as they moved to the table.

“Why is it crying? Did I do something wrong?” Ava asked

“You did nothing wrong, Dear. Some people are just born… fussy is all.”

“But all the others were so sweet.”

“It’s not your fault, Dear; Fourteen has been giving me trouble for the last week now,” Debera said as she laid the screaming child on the scale. “And it refuses to gain weight; it's amazing; something so unsatisfactory can be so loud, isn’t it?” Debera chuckled as she lifted the baby back to her shoulder and bobbed around the room.

By the fifth day, Ava was doing the rounds on her own. She was in bliss, caring for each of the tiny souls. Almost every one of them was an angel, except for Fourteen. She dreaded interacting with the fussy child. It had crossed her mind on several occasions to skip Fourteen altogether. If it wasn’t for the oath “to form a stronger society,” she would have gladly done that.

She gently placed Thirteen back in their crib. The little baby raised its chunky arms to the sky in a big stretch before falling back into a steady slumber. Ava stood up straight and smiled, satisfied with the child. Thirteen was most satisfactory in every way. Hey never fussed, they suckled their bottle without a fight. Even their diapers seemed to be regular and uneventful.

Ava stroked the good baby’s head one last time. Then she turned to her dreaded patient, Fourteen. She hated the pale little banshee. Its body was so small and frail that it surprised everyone that it could make such a significant noise.

With a long, exhausted sigh, Ava reached down and secured the troublemaker in her hands. Almost at once, it was a fight. Fourteen’s face contorted into a wrinkled mess. Its screams tore through the room, waking the good babies. Its beady blue eyes filled with tears as it swung its scrawny arms wildly. Ava hissed at Fourteen and was reduced to begging for them to hush.

“Please, just stop for once. I’m begging you, why can’t you be like the others.”

Ava was on the verge of tears. Fourteen did not care. The tiny hands continued to strike out at Ava. Twice, the hands made contact, and she could feel the fury in the little hands. Then, after becoming tangled, Fourteen ripped away her mask.

Ava was shocked at the violation. It was illegal for anyone to expose their face after their fifth year. To be exposed like this made Ava’s face twist into a snarl, and her cheeks turned crimson. Before she could yell at the tiny perpetrator, the most amazing thing had happened.

Fourteen stopped crying. They looked up at Ava and began to smile. They giggled and stroked the angry healer's face with their small, soft hands. Butterflies filled Ava’s chest as Fourteen stoked and giggled, seeing Ava’s face for the first time. Embarrassment settled on Ava, and she quickly covered her face. She looked towards the inner windows, fearing someone had seen what had happened.

Fourteen burst into tears. Ava did not waver; she took the baby to the table and placed them on the scale. Still too thin. Fourteen was not satisfactory, with only 3 more weeks until the decision to move them on with their group or send them to an enhancement facility.

The next day, when Ava came to the sleeping Fourteen, she checked that she was alone and peeled down her mask. She placed a gentle hand on the baby's chest and began to rub. Fourteen’s arms shot over their head. They extended their legs to their limits. Then, they opened their precious little eyes and smiled up at Ava’s naked face.

The week passed with success. Ava had found her groove, and her time with Fourteen became her favorite. She would secretly show her face and make silly faces to the delight of Fourteen. As the week ended, Fourteen gained a kilo. Ava’s scheme had been working. She finished her shift, rocking Fourteen to sleep while humming a soft lullaby.

By her third week, Ava arrived at the hospital excited to see her little Fourteen. When she arrived for her shift, she took off her bag and looked at the call monitor. Her name was missing. Confused, she went to Debera.

“My name isn’t on the screen.”

“Oh, There you are; the hospital needs your help with the elders today.”

“But I’m a second year.”

“Yes, Dear, I know. Do you mean to tell me you never saw a second year with the elders?”

She reflected on her first year and remembered seeing the Yellow head coverings on the floor. They were always separate from the first years and said little.

“Don’t worry; your role will be a little different from what you were doing there before. This is one of the most important tasks for ensuring our strong society. You'll make sure that our Elders travel to paradise with safety and dignity.

Ava went down to the first floor and spotted a group of Second-year students with a Master Healer. She passed the First-years without acknowledgement. As she passed the elders in their wheelchairs, she gave friendly little waves.

None of the Elders needed the chairs. Their bodies were still firm and their spines straight. They sat by one another with a friendly buzz of conversation. Ava could hear them laugh and talk about finding friends who had left for paradise the year before. Their joy made her smile.

“The First-years will conduct the necessary injections. You, as Second-years, are to help them and remain with your Elder afterward. We will then help transport the Elders to their necessary destination. Remember the oath you took “For a Stronger Society.” The Master Healer announced to the group of nervous Second-years.

The Elder Ava was assigned to was a sweet man who was very chatty. She had wondered why he hadn’t been chosen to join the colonies in his youth. He was hilarious and had such energy about him that she had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing.

Her First-year was not finding his jokes funny at all. With shaking hands, they took their syringe and tried to stab the vein on the crook of the Elder's elbow. Ava could remember the first time she had to administer such a shot. They were necessary for the journey to Paradise. Thousands of injections later, she became a seasoned pro.

“You’re doing great.” Ava whispered to the First-year.

“You really are it only hurts a little I was expecting much worse.” The Elder said.

The First year didn’t look up, and she didn’t respond to either. After the injection, she set the syringe on the metal tray to bid the Elder a happy journey to Paradise and left. Ava could see the sweat soaking through their mask and knew the feeling they were going through. The First year scurried away weaving as they did.

“Now what.” The Elder asked.

“I think we wait.” Ava answered.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s ok. I’m in no rush. Did you want to be a healer?”

Ava hesitated before she answered. Small talk was not something she was used to. “Yes, I always wanted to be a healer.”

“That’s nice. I was a builder; I built a few wings of this hospital if you can believe it.”

“Oh, which ones?”

“The one on the west side near the forest.”

“I haven’t been in that one yet.”

“It’s beautiful. You can look out those windows and imagine what’s happening behind those trees. I loved building, and I loved making something from nothing. Why did you want to be a healer?”

“I’ve always liked helping others.”

“That’s very sweet. Am I supposed to be feeling a little hot?”

“I think so, yes. It’s the antibiotics.”

“Ah, ok. Can you tell me when you first knew you liked helping others?”

Ava thought for a moment. The memory was so old that she had to dig to find it. “When I was a fourth year, my friend Aiden and I were riding our bikes. Aiden was always a little troublemaker. He had built a ramp to ride his bike off of.” Ava chuckled, remembering the scene.

“Sounds like my kind of kid.” The Elder said with some strain.

“Oh, he was wild. Anyway, he put the ramp at the bottom of a hill. He hit it at full speed and, when he was in the air, put out both his arms like the wings of a bird. Of course, he crashed. I ran over and saw his hurt knee.”

“A little hero.” The Elder coughed.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I just wrapped it with my scarf to stop the bleeding. You know I asked him why he did it, and do you know what he said?”

“What?” The Elder’s voice was little more than a sleepy whisper

“That he wanted to fly like a bird. He was always wild. They labeled him as strong-minded at a young age and even sent him to help at the colonies early.”

The Elder did not reply. A bell from the back of the room rang. The Master healer moved to the front of the room. She instructed the Second years to follow her with their Elders sequentially.

Like a line of ants, they moved down the corridor. At the end, there was a frigid room. They circled inside, and the doors closed behind them. Two Senior-healer hoisted the Elder from the chair. They placed the lifeless body on a metal table and slid it into the wall. The Second-years shifted behind their Elder’s chair. No one spoke a word but stood in silent understanding. Ava’s eyes were fixed on the words opposite her. “For a Stronger Society.”

The next day, Ava couldn’t focus. She held back tears while carrying the babies to the table. She was a Healer. A Healer's purpose was to heal people. But it was everyone’s purpose to build a strong society. Ava rushed through the babies One through Thirteen. She needed fourteen more than ever. She lowered her mask with tears in her eyes; she made a feeble smile before reaching down to wake her little friend.

“What are you doing!” Debera’s Voice exploded like a cannon.

Ava’s hands shot to her mask, hiding her face once again. She could feel her face turning red and was deafened by the cries of the Crying babies. Debera marched to her like an angered sentry.

“I asked you a question Second-year.” Debera hissed.

“Nothing I was- “

“Were you exposing your face?”

“It was an accident.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No, Debera, I”

“You are to address me as Master, Second-year.”

“No, Master.”

“I’ve noticed you’ve been paying a lot of attention to this…Thing.” Debera flew a hand toward Fourteen, who was wailing at the top of their tiny lungs.”

“They are not a thing.” Ava murmur

“It is a thing they are a monstrous little strong-minded thing.”

“They’re a baby!”

“Don’t you raise your voice to me, Second-year. That thing is a blight. It is our duty to ensure a stronger society. Remember your oath and know your place.”

“They’re just a baby.”

“It’s a mistake! It does not belong here, so it has been marked to the Enhancement Facility. Then to either the colonies or Paradise.”

Ava’s heart sank. A buzzing filled her ears, and she couldn’t stop herself. She lunged towards Deber, striking out at her masked face with clawed hands. She clawed like a mother bear protecting her cub and tore the mask from Debera’s face.

Guards swarmed into the room and took Ava by the Arms, ripping her from Debera. Ava’s Eyes meet the old face of Debera. The face was framed with silver hair and cheeks marked with fresh scratches.

“Take this Strong Minded away!” Debera demanded

The Guards lifted Ava from her feet and dragged her from the room. With tears in her eyes, she cursed at Debera, “They’re a baby! They deserve a chance!”

“Quite!” Ordered one of the guards.

“There’s no paradise. Did you know that?” Ava screamed as the guards dragged her through the ward.

“She’s crazy.” The Senior Guard told the Junior Guard. “Quite!”