The Symbiosis

    In the dim light of pre-dawn, the air was chilly and wet. Tall evergreens rose into the brightening purple-gray sky while the mists swirled around the understory as if alive. Magdalene ran along the path, her long braid swinging, her footfalls quieted by moss and humus. There was no other sound besides her regular breathing and the call of an occasional bird. The woods were awakening.

    Magdalene came to a stop by a huge pine tree just before the path began to ascend a steep hill. This would be the apex of her run, and she needed a moment to catch her breath. She bent before the tree, one hand on its strong trunk and one on the gentle swell of her belly. This got harder every day, but if she timed it right, the payoff at the top was more than worth it. She straightened, nodded to herself, and began the climb.

    Magdalene loved these runs. As she took on the hill, she pondered why most people used the indoor track. To her, running on the track was simply fulfilling SID’s exercise requirement while this, outdoors and alone in the morning air, was pure joy. Running cleared her mind, and the rest of the world disappeared. There was only her body and the immediacy around her. And as long as she kept her heart rate up for the required time, SID didn’t seem to care where she did her cardio.

    As she approached the crest of the hill, the woods fell away, and the path before her opened to a tall bluff overlooking water, precious fresh water, stretching to meet the sky. Dunes rose left and right and the sun broke over the horizon, spilling orange and scarlet onto Kronius’s largest lake. To the west, the moons of Khonsu and Astraea retreated over land in royal blue and amethyst. The scene took her breath and felt like a prayer.

    Later, Magdalene pulled on her dark green Educator’s Jacket and was barely able to button it up the front. Lucia, her dwelling mate, lay in bed and watched with cloudy eyes. “You’re going to need to wear a space blanket pretty soon,” Lucia said quietly. Magdalene made a face.

    Their dwelling was small and open, just a few steps from the beds to the living and dining area, a small counter and sink, and, of course, bathing facilities, but it was adequate for two women in their early twenties. Magdalene sighed, “You’re right. Maybe not for a week or two, but I’m definitely going to need something bigger.” She glanced at Lucia who had not moved. The nagging worry Magdalene had been experiencing over the last several days began to build as she said in an overly cheerful voice, “Hey, Luce, don’t you have to get up?”

    She grabbed her water bottle, shoved it under the spigot in the sink, and tapped in, passing her glowing wrist tattoo over the small sensor on the station. Water splashed into the container as a female voice, smooth and dark as molasses, said, “Hello, Magdalene. Your water container is filled. One half-hour has been credited to your Time Card. You have four fills remaining.”

    “I wish you could do something about these Tap-In messages,” Magdalene commented as she gathered her things for work, keeping half an eye on Lucia. “Maybe when you get your promotion, you can suggest an overhaul. They’re so impersonal, and Harmony’s voice is just creepy.” She headed into the bathroom to pull her thick brown hair into a quick bun. “But maybe that’s the point,” she called, “People need to remember who they’re ‘talking’ to.” She mimed air quotes as she hurried back into the sleeping area.

    “Lucia, aren’t you going in today? What is that, four days? Five?” then, “Damn, I’m going to be late!” She started for the door, then looked back. Lucia was still lying in bed, now cradling her head on her arm. A tear escaped and ran down the bridge of her nose.

    Magdalene crossed the room and sat on the bed. “You’ve got to get up, hon,” she said, gently pushing Lucia’s blonde hair off her forehead. “What’s going on? Are you sick? You know what will happen if you don’t keep up your Time Card. Come on, I’ll help you. Up you go…” She stood and drew back the covers, pulling on Lucia’s hand. Lucia jerked it away.

    Magdalene turned on her heel. “Okay…” she raised her hands in surrender and began to walk away.

    “Magpie,” Lucia said, “I’m pregnant.”

    “You know I hate it when you call me that!” Magdalene said, then stopped short.

    “Wait,” she returned to the bed and sat again. “What did you say?”

    “I said, I’m pregnant.” Lucia roughly pulled the covers back around her.

    “Lucia! That’s great!” Magdalene stifled a squeal. “You had me so worried! Come on, this is good news! You didn’t tell me you’d been recruited. We’ll get to serve the Balance together!”

    Serving the Balance. Magdalene thought it was an odd way of saying ‘getting pregnant and carrying a baby.’ It sounded so clinical. And it was. Sex was encouraged for recreation, not procreation. When Magdalene was called to serve, as many young women were, she went to the Implantation and Extraction Clinic at the Service Center and had a less-than-sexy encounter with the Implantation Team. The Extraction was scheduled as she checked out, and her Time Card was credited each day with the extra nutrition and water she would need as the fetus grew.

    “No, you don’t get it, Magpie,” Lucia sat up now and hugged her knees. “I did not get recruited. I am not serving the Balance. I am just pregnant.”

    The truth of what Lucia said slowly dawned on Magdalene, and her brown eyes grew wide. “But, if you didn’t get recruited, how did you get pregnant?”

    Lucia looked at her in amused disbelief. “Really, Magpie?”

    “Stop calling me that!” Magdalene hissed, “No, I don’t mean how did you get pregnant. But if the wrist implant is supposed to regulate your hormones, yeah, how the hell did you get pregnant?”

    “I don’t know,” Lucia replied, “I think it’s like that quote I read somewhere, ‘Life will out.’ Except they,” her face darkened as she emphasized the word ‘they,’ “won’t let it happen.”

    “Well of course not,” Magdalene said, “They can’t just let everyone go and have a baby whenever they want. We’ll end up destroying this planet, too! They have to keep the Balance!”

    “Fuck the Balance!” Lucia spat.

    Magdalene gaped at her friend. After a moment she asked, “Does Jarod know?”

    “No, what would be the point?”

    “When is your procedure?”

    “This morning.” Lucia lay down in bed again. “But I’m not going,” she said.

    “What do you mean, you’re not going? Lucia, you have to!”

    “I don’t have to do anything.”

    Magdalene ran her hands over her face. “Look, I’ll go with you to the Center. I have time saved up. It’ll take an hour, two tops, and that will be that.”

    Lucia’s voice was flat. “No, Magpie, I’m done. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of them tracking my life. I’m sick of tapping in everywhere I go. I’m sick of eating what they want me to eat, drinking what they want me to drink, wearing what they want me to wear, blah, blah, blah. They control everything, even my body, and I’m sick of it.”

    “Lucia, that’s your hormones talking. Believe me, I know. Get dressed and we’ll…”

    “Magdalene!” Lucia shouted and sat up, “You’re not hearing me! I’m done!” then, in a quieter voice, “I’m done.” She lay down and turned her back.

    Magdalene stared at her friend. “Lucia…” No response. “Lucia, I’ll talk to Gareth. He’ll know what to do. How much time do you have left on your Card? He can do something.” She glanced at her wrist. “I really have to go. Okay, you rest. I’ll talk to Gareth. It’ll be okay.” She leaned over the bed and gave Lucia an awkward hug, then grabbed her briefcase and water container and tapped in by the door.

    “Hello, Magdalene. Your blood sugar is low. No breakfast detected. One hour has been deducted from your Time Card.” Despite her spinning mind, Magdalene quickly calculated her Time Card status: one-hour credit for cardio, half-hour credit for staying within the 7-minute shower limit, half-hour credit for a water fill, and one-hour deduction for not eating breakfast. It would be a one-hour deduction for being late for work, so this morning was a wash. The door latch clicked open and she called to Lucia as she left. “I’ll talk to Gareth.”

    Magdalene arrived at the Center via the Electric Public Vehicle System. The bright silver commuter train looked like a prehistoric serpent slinking its way through the undergrowth of the community. It was free to her as an Educator working for SID, Symbiotic Intelligence Design Worldwide. The massive carved plaque over the entrance said:

“The Great Symbiosis: Keeping the Balance”

    Magdalene tapped in through the security doors at the Main Entrance. “Hello, Magdalene. You arrived thirteen minutes late. One hour will be deducted from your Time Card.” Sunlight streamed through a two-story wall of windows as she made her way through the bustle of people going about their daily business. The Center was a massive building that housed all the main labs and offices of The Symbiosis: Technology, Time Keepers, Tapping Out Services, Public Relations, Implantation and Extraction clinics, as well as the Education Center where Magdalene worked as a Twelfth-year Educator.

    “My, my, aren’t we looking rotund this morning,” said a deep voice off to Magdalene’s side. Gareth, her childhood friend, then recreational partner since puberty, stepped into her path and grinned. He wore the black uniform of a Time Keeper with his name, identification number and The Time Keeper logo emblazoned in red on the front. His amused gray eyes flitted from her face to her tight jacket and protruding belly.

    “Shut up, Clock Watcher.” Usually a playful jibe, she threw the insult at him harshly. “I have to talk to you.” She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to the side of the lobby.

    “You know, you’re going to need a bigger jacket,” he teased as she looked over her shoulder furtively, “Have you decided yet what you’re going to name that kid?” She shoved him against the wall. All amusement left his face. “Maggie, what is going on?”

    “Lucia’s pregnant. She’s in trouble. You have to help,” she said in a low voice. She explained her morning conversation. He listened carefully but didn’t seem surprised.

    “Maggie, you know I like Lucia, but there’s nothing I can do. My team doesn’t make these decisions, we just enforce them.”

    “There’s got to be someone you can talk to,” she said with pleading eyes, “Please, Gareth.”

    He held her shoulders and spoke directly into her face as if to a child. “Maggie, we are given every opportunity to keep our Time Cards full. You know this. And you know the rules. If someone lets their Card run out, it gets canceled, period. There is nothing I can do, nothing anyone can do. The Symbiosis can’t risk wasting our resources on someone who doesn’t contribute to the community and help to keep the Balance. We can’t make exceptions. It’s not fair to everyone else.”

    Magdalene pulled away. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Her Time Card has been canceled, hasn’t it?” she accused, “Her Tap-Out is already scheduled? When? Today?” When he didn’t reply, she said, “I have to go.”

    “Look,” Gareth caught her hand. “They will upload her brain, and she’ll be fine, part of the Symbiosis. She’ll be in a better place.” Magdalene looked up, her face unreadable. Without another word, she walked away.

    “Magdalene,” Gareth called after her. She turned. He gave her a meaningful look. “Work late tonight.”

    A week later, Magdalene finally gave up trying to button her jacket. ‘Maybe I will need a space blanket after all,’ she thought, and a fresh pang went through her heart as she thought of Lucia. She had not spoken to Gareth since the day of Lucia’s Tap-Out, and she felt like she had lost both her best friends. She now did her running, well, walk-running, to be honest, at the indoor track. She hoped again one day she could bear the beauty of the sunrise on the hill, but now even the thought of it made her weepy. Everything made her weepy. She tried to keep her emotions in check when she was with her students, but even then, something would remind her and she would have to turn away so they wouldn’t see her tears.

    She knotted her hair into a bun, then picked up her water bottle. She placed it under the spigot, and as the water poured into the container she heard the usual voice, “Hello, Magpie. Your water container is filled. One half-hour…” Magdalene didn’t hear the rest. She dropped the water bottle into the sink as her hands flew to her mouth. Lucia. It couldn’t be. She ran to the living area and tapped in at the door. “Hello, Magpie. Your blood sugar is low….” Magdalene sank to the floor and let the tears come. She wept for her friend. She wept for herself. She wept for joy and loneliness at hearing her despised nickname reach through the Symbiosis. She wept until she had spent herself and lay on the floor and slept.

    When she woke an hour later, her first thought was panic at being late for work. But she had time built up on her Card, and an assistant to step in, so the panic lessened to just a gnawing in her gut. The baby fluttered inside, drawing her attention away from her thoughts. She put a hand on her stomach and tried to focus on what life would be like with a newborn, Lucia.