This is a continuation of a story started earlier. Lydia has always lived in the Establishment, where each action, word, and moment are exactly identical. Now she has an idea about leaving or changing the Establishment. She thinks it’s worth the risk of her life. Eager to discuss it with somebody, she breaks the rules and speaks with her Visiting Partner, Charlie. He is reluctant to admit that they need change but is willing to hear her plan. The next day, Lydia has already come up with the plan, readying herself for escape. She would go to the Head of the Establishment and through the Great Discard Chute, break the pane of glass which separated the Establishment from the world, and jump free. She shared it with Charlie, who refused to go with her. Lydia decided to go without him, and waited until night came.
Are you new to this story? Welcome! Make sure you catch up on the action by reading the last three parts, listed in order below.
When she was sure that the correct amount of time had passed to ensure that the Head of the Establishment was asleep, she crept out of her Person Cage. She considered bringing food, but she had eaten it all for that day. Besides, the Head of the Establishment was also where they stored all the food needed until the next import of supplies, and it would have plenty in case Lydia got hungry. She just carried the lightbulb, which lit the way in front of her.
Tremblingly, Lydia came to the place where the Lifting Portal was. She had been instructed on the usage of the Lifting Portal during her time at the Growing Facilities. Even though she probably could have operated it in her sleep, Lydia’s finger quivered as she pressed the button marked HEAD OF THE ESABLISHMENT.
In ten second’s time the Lifting Portal came to a smooth stop and Lydia stepped out of it. For her entire life, she had been used to sound—the shrill ringing of the alarm, the thump of her new Daily Provisions package against the door, the routine speaking during Visiting Period, the hum of her Food Platform, the sound of her own footsteps.
But now, silence reigned like an iron shirt she was forced to wear. Lydia moved sluggishly though the Office and to the Grand Discard Chute, fighting what the silence did to her.
Even her own feet seemed reluctant to add its own drumbeat to that of her heart.
She was reaching the end of the Office. A row of books lined the wall on her right. She glanced at them while she passed, reading a few of their titles as she beamed the lightbulb at them.
Advice for the Head of the Establishment
Which soaps clean the best? A catalog from the Shipment Company
Simple Leading: How Unity Improves our lives
Then, at the edge of the shelf, lay two thick volumes stacked sideways.
The Old Way of Life
The New Way of Life
Lydia picked up the second book. It held diagrams of the Establishment looked at from different angles. There were designs for the People Cages, the Food Platform, their Toiletries Kit, their Clothing. Down to the recipes for the food, the plans for the Establishment were there.
She put it back, knowing that she had wasted precious time, but not willing to leave until The Old Way of Life was also explored. She took it down and opened it. There were lists and descriptions of different holidays, and some of them seemed wonderful. There were designs for dwellings, not People Cages, but houses. Cozy, colorful, beautiful, dreamlike places. There was a list of places you could go and have fun. Lydia had never had fun. It sounded lovely. There were pictures of great mountains and rippling ponds. There were People! People who looked different. Different colored hair, different colored clothes and different colored flesh. There were lists of what you could name your baby. Baby. What was “baby”? She looked at the list of boy’s names. Charlie. Right there on the page. Charlie.
What had he said to her that first day she had ever thought of this plan? Was it only last Earth Rotation? What had he said? Charlie…
“Greetings, Visiting Partner Lydia,” came a voice behind her.
She spun, book in hand. “Charlie!” Her lighted sphere showed his outline to her.
He gestured at the book she held. “What’s that?”
“What we’ve been missing,” she explained vaguely, holding the book out to him. He flipped through the pages.
“Is that what we’re going to get if we run away?” he asked, pointing to a picture in the book. It was one of the houses, but inside there were shadows of several People sitting inside, arms around each other.
Lydia pointed the lightbulb at it for a long time before she shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if these places even exist anymore. All I know is that we’ll be leaving this,” and she gestured to a window which displayed a panoramic view of the Establishment. It was awash with thick darkness.
Then she felt something disturbed within her. They needed to at least tell the other People. “Charlie?” she advanced tentatively, suddenly shy in front of the boy who she had shouted at not long ago.
“Change of plans?” he guessed.
“How well you know me,” and her smile flickered faintly. “We need to let the other People know that at least they can leave if they ever want to,”
“I learned about how they make Announcement Papers,” offered Charlie. Announcement Papers were sometimes included with the Daily Provisions. They were often used to explain minor events—maybe a certain Toiletries Kit item would not arrive immediately due to a delay in shipping, or People should not discard their food wrappers until a certain time because the Grand Discard Chute was being repaired. “You put the paper you want to be copied and delivered in this little basket, and it will be copied and delivered automatically.”
“Are you sure the Head of the Establishment won’t notice?” asked Lydia nervously.
“I don’t know. But the Department of Construction and Rebuilding puts papers in there sometimes without asking the Head and I doubt he looks at them very hard,” explained Charlie.
In reply, Lydia ripped the picture of the house and the People out of the book. She set the lightbulb on a desk to illuminate her work. Reaching for a Writing Utensil on the desk, she asked Charlie, “What should I write?”
“Write something about the announcement above the picture,” began Charlie. Lydia wrote, “An Important Announcement to all the People.” Below the picture, she wrote, “Anybody who wishes to leave the Establishment to seek a new Way of Life or for any reason can exit by request to the Head of the Establishment or, if this request is declined, at night by way of the Grand Discard Chute. After receiving this Announcement please hide or destroy it. If any assistant to the Head of the Establishment has any questions for you concerning this message, say honestly that you do not have the Announcement.”
“How grown-up that sounds!” marveled Charlie.
“Thank you!” laughed Lydia. “Now, if you please, do you care to go with me?”
“Gladly,” responded Charlie. Together they walked down the Grand Discard Chute. It was free of its used items, as nobody threw anything away at night in the Establishment because everybody was asleep. Almost everybody.
They walked to the glass window and looked out eagerly, but it was dark and they could see nothing. “Your light,” suggested Charlie. When Lydia held out the light, however, the electron signal would no longer reach it. It lessened to sickly yellow and then blinked to darkness. They had only time to see that there was the ground no more than six feet below them. It was brown dirt and had little pebbles here and there. Lydia used the dark lightbulb to smash the glass. She broke it around the edges after she shattered it so they wouldn’t cut themselves on the ragged edges. They both leaned out and looked down.
“I wonder how many people are going to leave the Establishment,” mused Charlie.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything. All I know is that, for us at least, there will be change. Good? Bad? I don’t know. But change is something I want.”
“Me too,” agreed Charlie.
And then they jumped out of the Establishment.
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