Revolution

[a tape recorder; crinkling and crackling static; then a voice]
. . . .
not capitalizing words is more than breaking grammar rules...it is anarchy.
anarchy…a dangerous thing when you do not know what it is.
i do not know how it happened but it did. the unthinkable.
anarchy happened.
and all it took was a little push.
a little creativity.
this is the story. may it revolutionize you.
. . . .

[a memory…another voice…another tape recorder
. . . .
[electronic, computerized]
WELCOME ANDI 697345
THIS IS THE FINAL EXAM
YOU MAY BEGIN
[I am not supposed to be recording this. I am not quite sure why I am recording it either. If I am caught, I will be executed for sure. To come all this way and be executed would be pointless. This is for future students of the government. This is for future pawns of a government game. Maybe they will understand why things have happened.]
. . . .
[I click the little square blue button with the word “BEGIN” on it. A new page appears.]
QUESTION 1: WHO ARE YOU?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
[Click click click click…I type my answer on the keyboard. It cannot move as quickly as my fingers.]
ANSWER: I am no one.
. . . .
[Welcome to my life…I am in school. It has no windows. It has no clocks. It has students, teachers, computers, dorm rooms, a cafeteria, a library, and the assembly hall. There is a gym, but I only went there when I was too young to remember anything. I am sixteen. I am too old for school anymore. I am taking the TEST to find out my future. I do not know what this TEST is about. I do not know what this TEST will tell me. I am ready. I am a shadow. I am the same as you. You are the same as I am. We are all the same. Different is used only for food and locations. People are not different. We are equal. Welcome to the world…Welcome to Earth, where we are all no ones.]
. . . .
QUESTION 2: WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: I am from nowhere.
. . . .
[We are all born at the school, raised here. We are all white. We are all blond. We are all thin. We are all blue-eyed. We are all size sixes, eights, tens, twelves-- according to age, we are all the same. I look into your face and I look back. You wear the same grey sweater as I do. The boys all wear black pants. The girls all wear black skirts that stop four inches above our knees. We all wear black socks and shoes with shiny silver buckles. The girls carry black purses on their left shoulder. The boys all carry black wallets in their left back pocket. We are comfortable in these clothes. We know nothing else.]

. . . .
QUESTION 3: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT: YOUR NUMBER OR YOUR NAME?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: My number is more important than my name.
. . . .
[We have names and numbers. We are named according to where we are born. We are numbered according to when we are born. We are all born in the school hospital. We live in dorm rooms according to our name and number. All ANDIs live in the same hall. We live in rooms in those halls according to number. The halls are circular. We are equal distances from the center. Our beds are all against the outside wall; our bathrooms to the left of the doors; our schedules on the walls to the right of the doors. We are all the same.]
. . . .
QUESTION 4: WHY DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: I go to school so that I can be educated.
. . . .
[Educated people leave the school. We are never done learning, but those who leave have finished school. They learn the world. The school teaches what is needed for the world. The world teaches what is needed for school. I do not understand this, but I do not ask questions. My teachers will not know the answer either. They are here to teach. I am here to learn. I am here to be educated.]
. . . .
QUESTION 5: WHY DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE MATING SEASON?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER:
. . . .
[I cannot answer this question. I do not know the answer. I do not participate in the mating season-- not like others do. Am I Different?]
. . . .
QUESTION 6: WHY ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MATING SEASON?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: I am supposed to participate in the mating season to provide the school with more students.
. . . .
[Being sixteen means being able to mate. The computer chooses your mate according to your name and number and the results of a test. When I took the test, I was not thinking of the boys I have met throughout my schooling. I was thinking of the girl I stand behind in the lunch line everyday. I remember the first time I noticed her. I believe I was a little older than fifteen. She was standing there, black purse over her left shoulder, tray in her hands. Her red apple, circular peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and white milk carton were all in their proper compartments, arranged perfectly yet artistically. Had the computer noticed when she paid with her nickel, she would have been executed for sure. I noticed. That is all that matters. I noticed her. Nothing was the same.]
. . . .
QUESTION 7: WHOM DO YOU MATE WITH?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER:
. . . .
[The answer is obvious, but I cannot answer it. I do not mate with boys. I do not mate. Am I Different?]
. . . .
QUESTION 8: WHOM ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO MATE WITH?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: I am supposed to mate with boys.
. . . .
[I do not mate. I cannot pass my genes on to another generation. If the test were based on that, I would be executed for sure.]
. . . .
QUESTION 9: WHEN DO YOU MATE?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: I mate when I am sixteen.
. . . .
[My schedule told me I was not to go to the Mating. I was to memorize all the tools for making a computer, then to memorize a chapter on farming, then to memorize a chapter on preparing vegetables. I did not go. Everyone else went…I Am Different…?]
. . . .
QUESTION 10: WHY DID YOU NOT MATE?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I am afraid to type my answer. I do not want to be executed.]





I do not like boys.
. . . .
[The computer seems to pause. It continues.]
. . . .
QUESTION 11: WHAT DO YOU LIKE?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [Girls are people. Animals are whats. I do not like just any girl either. Her name is Bailey 283495.] I like a girl.
. . . .
[Bailey 283495 is an amazing girl. I talked to her at a Function. The principal was giving us a speech about the leaving sixteen-year olds. I was very close to being sixteen, I think. She was still fifteen, too. I remember:
         I sat next to her. I smiled at her and introduced myself as ANDI 697345. She called herself Bailey. I cocked my head. Why Bailey? Why not BAILEY 283495? She narrowed her eyes. Ever wonder where these clothes come from? She asked me. I laughed. The school laundry, of course. She shook her head. Do you know what they are made of? Not the school laundry, I can tell you that. I frowned. What are you suggesting, Bailey? She gave me a secretive smile. They are hiding something from us. I felt my jaw drop. Where was she getting this madness? That is impossible, Bailey. They cannot hide anything and teach us everything. It is a contradiction. She smiled. I know. She said. I fell silent. I wanted to know what she was thinking. I did not dare ask. The principal began the speech.
         The next time I saw her was the Informational Meeting about the Mating. She was standing in the back. I moved through the crowd to her. She told me she thought the whole Mating thing bogus. I pursed my lips. Did she feel the same way I did? I can mate with whoever I want to mate with. She said haughtily. I don’t even have to mate. I was shocked. Don’t, I asked. What is don’t? Why can you mate with whomever you wish? She snorted. Andi. My heart lightened. My name was beautiful when she spoke it. Hasn’t anyone ever told you?  I frowned. What? She smiled that secretive smile. Bad grammar is anarchy. I scratched my head. All night I tried to understand this. By the morning, I thought I did.]
. . . .
QUESTION 12: WHO DO YOU LIKE?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I thought this a strange question to ask. Why does it matter who I like?] I like Bailey.
. . . .
[I don’t use the name that the system gave her. I use the name she gave herself. I smile. I remember when she explained to me why she named herself:
         It was at a music concert. All attend the music concerts. The computerized symphonic orchestra performs the computerized pieces that the principal composes. I sat next to Bailey.
         Why do you call yourself ‘Bailey’ instead of BAILEY 283495? I asked her as quietly as I could. She smiled. Because ‘Bailey’ is my name, Andi. Just like ‘Andi’ is your name, not that name and number bogus everybody uses. Who came up with that crap anyway? Her speech continued to amaze me. I had never heard a word like ‘crap’ either. I marveled at her.
         I am different, Andi. She said to me. I was too afraid to say anything in return. What could I say? I am different. I have this mole on my stomach, right next to my belly button. No one else does. And on the inside of my arm, I have a scar. I’ll show you. She did. She slid her shirt up in the middle of the concert. Her pearly white skin gleamed in the darkness. I felt my face heat up. Her taut belly did not jiggle when she patted it. She pointed to the little brown bump to the right of her belly button. Then she silently slid her arm out of her shirt, and a long thin piece of rough white traced itself down her arm and side. She motioned to it, calling it a ‘scar.’ I nodded, learning as much as I could, memorizing as much of her body as I could. Later that night, while I was struggling to fall asleep, I recalled the memory of her perfectly different body. Within thoughts, I was asleep. Bailey was different. Am I Different, too?]
. . . .
QUESTION 13: WHY DO YOU LIKE Bailey?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [The system recognized her! I was puzzled. She didn’t follow the rules, and yet the computer still knows her. No one is different, but we are different in the computer’s system. How can no one be different?] I like Bailey because she is different.
. . . .
QUESTION 14: WHAT HAPPENED TO Bailey?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I should’ve seen this one coming. This memory is all too familiar. It still burns when I recall it.
         I took my Mating test thinking of Bailey. When I got my results and after I did all the things my schedule had me do, I was instructed to go to the Mating Hall. I thought this strange. I was not passing on any genes. Could they MAKE me?
         I entered the room. Bailey was already there. I smiled. Suddenly, I wondered if she had answered the test similarly. She was sullen. She turned those gorgeous blue eyes up to me. I noticed for the first time that she actually had gold flecks in her blue eyes. She really was different.
         Why? She asked me. I frowned. Why what? Her lower lip, slightly fuller than her upper, trembled. Why am I your mate? You’re not mine. I blinked. What? She shook her head. Andi, I like you as a friend. You’re really cool…but…I don’t swing that way. I bit my lip. I don’t understand, Bailey. She swallowed, jaw clenched. I don’t like you like that. I blinked again. Well, I love you, Bailey, and there’s nothing you can do about it. In fact, if you weren’t so…you, I doubt I would have-- Don’t. She interrupted me. She stopped our non-existent relationship with the same word she started it with. I felt sadness well up. My eyes blurred. I was crying.
         She shook her head. I went through with my Mating. Retake the test. Find a mate. Do what you’re supposed to do, Andi. I was confused. She was going against everything she stood for. Why?! I asked. The point is to be different within the system, Andi, not destroy it completely. She said. I blink. I’m too different for you. Nothing like me had ever happened at the school before, at least not that I knew of. You don’t want a genetic dead end, you want a life. You are a hypocrite. I spat at her. She flinched. She didn’t say anything. Well, I’m not changing because you’re afraid. I’m not changing for anyone.
         She took the TEST a couple days later. I never saw her again.] She passed the TEST.
. . . .
QUESTION 15: DID Bailey PASS THE TEST?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I frown. I don’t understand.] She never came back. She left. She passed.
. . . .
QUESTION 16: WHAT IS THE TEST?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: The TEST is the determining factor of whether you get to leave the school.
[Isn’t it? What is the computer saying?]
. . . .
QUESTION 17: BECAUSE Bailey LEFT, SHE PASSED THE TEST?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [The computer is spoon-feeding me something. What is it?] According to the school, yes. [Safe enough? I don’t know. I’m beginning to wonder just how right Bailey really was.]
. . . .

QUESTION 18: ACCORDING TO YOU, ANDI 697345?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I hold nothing back. I want to tell this piece of hardware what I think. Plus, it asked.]
According to me, Bailey was the best thing that ever happened to me. She taught me so many things. She also broke my heart. She is the world’s biggest hypocrite.
. . . .
[The computer will have a field day dissecting that.]
. . . .
QUESTION 19: WHAT DID SHE TEACH YOU?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: Bailey taught me how to be different. Bailey taught me how to love. Bailey taught me how to betray myself. She is an example. I will never betray myself, but I will always be different and I will always love her. I will always love.
. . . .
[The school doesn’t teach emotions. The teachers somewhat teach emotions. The computers don’t even know what emotions are. Most students here are aware of emotions, but how many actually experience them, I don’t know. A handful? A few? A couple? One? Just me?]
. . . .


QUESTION 20: WHO ARE YOU?
TYPE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IN THE TEXT BOX.
ANSWER: [I already answered this one. What does the computer want? I pause and take time to think.
         Who Am I?
         I AM ANDI 697345.
         I Am Different?
         I am a Pawn.
         I am a pawn.
         i am a pawn.

         the school is in charge of me.
         that makes me a puppet.
         Bailey was Different. She was no puppet.
         i can be like Bailey.
         I COULD NEVER BETRAY MYSELF!
         i could never betray myself…
         i could never betray myself
         i will never betray myself.

         Bad grammar is anarchy.
         Bad grammar led to novel ideas.
         Bad grammar led to LOVE.
bad grammar, anarchy, led to LOVE.
bad grammar anarchy is love
love is a revolution.

         I am a revolution.] I am Andi.
. . . .
[The computer screen blinks twice and disappears into blackness. The TEST is over.

Zzzzweeeep. A secret door opens. The brightness hurts my eyes. I get up out of my seat and walk towards it.

I step out into the light. I stop breathing.

The sight is beyond gorgeous. It is breathtaking, spectacular, amazing.

This is the Earth.]
. . . .
[A man wearing a colorful suit approaches me. Behind him, I can see tall structures. I believe they’re called skyscrapers.

He offers me his hand. I shake it.]
Man: Hello.
Me: Hello.
Man: I am Supreme Chancellor of Earth. What is your name?
Me: Andi.
Supreme Chancellor [smiling]: Welcome to Earth, Andi.
Me: Thank you.
Supreme Chancellor: Will you walk with me?
Me [unsure]: Yes.
Supreme Chancellor [walking]: I saw your test.
Me [confused]: What do you mean?
Supreme Chancellor [smiling. I notice he has brown wavy hair that glints red in the sun. When he smiles, the sun glints off his teeth in blues and whites. His eyes are blue, but, when he faces the sun, they are green, even brown. This man is all colors, all power.]: You loved Bailey?
Me [embarrassed]: Yes.
Supreme Chancellor: Well, I’m sorry to tell you, but she was executed.
Me [not too surprised, I had guessed as much.]: That’s okay. All that matters is the love, not the subject of the love.
Supreme Chancellor [laughing a bellowing yet light laugh]: Amen, Andi.
Me [confused again]: Why did I pass? If I am a genetic end, what is my purpose?
Supreme Chancellor: To love, Andi, to love, without distraction, a world beautiful and mystical and make it last forever. To take care of the Earth. To learn what the Earth has to teach you.
Me [interested now]: What does the Earth have to teach me?
Supreme Chancellor [smiling a secretive smile, similar to the one Bailey used to give me; like he knows something I don’t]: The secrets of life, Andi, the truth to life.
Me: What is the secret?
Supreme Chancellor: That is not for me to tell.
Me: What is the truth?
Supreme Chancellor: I cannot tell you that either, Andi.
Me: What can you tell me?
Supreme Chancellor: Congratulations.
Me: For what?
Supreme Chancellor [simply]: For passing the test, and for becoming a genetic dead end, and for being different. Not everyone succeeds, Andi, but you did. And now you are free. Congratulations.
Me: [silence…what do I say?]
Supreme Chancellor [smiling]: Well, I have to go back to the city. You wish to accompany me?
Me: Sure.
Supreme Chancellor: You will like Earth, Andi. It’s a constantly changing place. Don’t get too comfortable. [He pauses and looks me straight in the face.] Don’t. Ever.
Me [smiling]: Thank you.
Supreme Chancellor [confused]: For what?
Me: Acceptance.
Supreme Chancellor: Don’t thank me. [He motions to the world before us.] Thank this.
Me [to the world I see]: Thank you.

…click…]

[the static, popping and hissing resumes; the recording’s end.

another click; a familiar voice crackles:

I will always love
Love is a revolution
I am a revolution
I am you

the voice fades into a roaring ocean, fuzzy, inaudible]



Word Count: 3377