by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.3. I'd like to say I'm on schedule to post Ch.4 next work but sadly I'm only half done with it. Unfortunately, Real Life has interfered with this story and I've been really busy. Sadly I might be real busy for the next couple of weeks now too. I'll try to finish 4 to have it up next week but any other chapter might be delayed a bit after that. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

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3:

“Benjamin Daniels?”

The secretary behind the desk was Alpha pretty. She didn’t have the height or athletic build, of course, but she was still a knockout. That’s all I noticed about her though. I was just too nervous to really pay attention to anything else. This was it after all. This was the moment I’d been waiting for ever since my grandfather’s first story. I was finally on my way to achieving my lifelong dream. Ok so it was technically only the first step but it was the first step of my future.

My first human step.

I stood up from the hardback chair, taking a deep breath as I did so.

When I first arrived nearly an hour ago, there had been seven of us. Now there were just two. The other kid was Mark Ross. He and I were mutual acquaintances. Well technically all of us were acquaintances. We all had the same classes together after all, except for PE of course. Even then, though, there was only an invisible line dividing the girl’s half of the gym from ours. I never understood why we had separate classes actually. After all, we did the exact same things. The only thing that really needed to be different was our locker rooms.

Even then, there was some debate.

Mark looked through the vid screen in front of me, nodding as he did so.

I nodded back before I followed the secretary through the door she opened. She stepped aside and stopped, apparently not going any farther.

“First door on the right” she said as I stepped past her.

As soon as I started down the hall, I heard the door close behind me. I was a bit nervous as I followed the hall. When I got to the door, I paused before entering. I’d had quite a few physicals, actually. In fact, it was standard for us to have one every six months. I knew this one was a bit different though. There were certain qualities that the Sentinels were looking for. It wasn’t just physical stuff either. I needed to have a proper mental state as well. Being a Sentinel wasn’t just about patrolling the perimeter of the Cube. I had to be in peak physical and mental condition.

I had the advantage of having my grandfather to tell me what to do.

I took another deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the small room. Inside I found another chair, this one cushioned.

“Take a seat,” said a voice in my ear.

It was always a bit unsettling when the Administration could access your Bio whenever they wanted.

I did as I was instructed, dropping comfortably into the large chair.

A moment later, a panel in the ceiling opened and a console slowly dropped down in front of me. All very routine.

Physicals were done a little bit differently now. I knew from history class that something like this would have been overseen by a medical professional. But with the invention of Bios, most medical professionals were obsolete. Sure we still had them but most of it was lab work now. Medical science was now a hybrid field with computer and biological sciences. The Meds worked closely with the Bio division to find ways to better advance the Bios’ performance. A hundred years ago when Newton Cross invented the Bio, he changed the course of human history. I single device that could tap into an individual’s brain and in essence, their very core self.

The Bios of course had advanced quite a bit since the first version.

Now human beings couldn’t function without them.

“Insert the tube please,” said the voice, referring to the “tube” that came out of the side of the console.

I grabbed the thin, black cord, then slowly inserted it in the little port under my left earlobe. Whereas the right ear was for communication, the left had a tiny hole or “port” for medical reasons. It might seem a little weird and I’m sure when they were first implemented people probably freaked, but now it was how the world worked. I suppose you could say that with the port and the Bio, human beings weren’t really fully human anymore. Add Alphas to that equation and well that was a whole new ball game.

A moment after inserting the tube, the console in front of me lit up. A second later, a small holographic representation of myself appeared. A blue dot appeared near my left ear then slowly started to trail its way through my body, following my central nervous system, lighting up as it went along. I followed the first blue line for a second but lost track of it a second later when it split into several different directions. After less than a minute, the holographic me was all blue lines. It was kind of freaky.

I shifted in my seat.

“Sit still please”

Sighing, I tried not to move anymore. Of course, I started to get an itch. I decided to concentrate on holo me again.

The blue lines remained and a red line started. I watched it for a moment as it followed my blood stream. After that, a yellow line started highlighting my internal organs. Then purple started to highlight my skeleton. Finally, green started to highlight my muscles. When it was all done, holo me looked like a little rainbow man.

“Thank you for your patience” said a voice a moment after the green line finished.

“You’re welcome,” I said, even though I knew the voice couldn’t hear me.

“You may remove the tube now but please remain seated.”

I took the tube out of my port. As soon as I let it go, it quickly recoiled back into the console. A moment after that, a mechanical appendage appeared. Nearly identical to the arms of the auto dresser, the only difference being this one had a syringe. I flinched, guessing what was next.

“Raise your left arm and remain absolutely still.”

I did as instructed.

The arm stuck me fast. I flinched again. Then watched as it drew my blood.

It was kind of funny actually. All this advanced tech and they still used old school syringes. I suppose if something isn’t broke, there’s no need to fix it. After my blood filled up the syringe, the arm quickly retracted back into the console. A few seconds after that, the console returned to the ceiling.

I sat and waited for my next instruction. I didn’t have to wait long.

“Please report to room 213, down the hall, second door on the left.”

I left the tiny room and followed the hallway again. My nerves had subsided some but I knew the hardest part was about to come.

Physicals were very straightforward because Bios never lied. My grandfather had told me that much. According to him, what really mattered was making a good impression during the interview portion of the process. All Placement processing exams were the same. First, there was a test you took the year before. If you passed that, then the following year, you got an appointment. Last year the test had been a joke. Then again, I had a good coach. Unfortunately, now there was nothing I could do to prepare for this next part.

This was all me. No pressure.

I found room 213 easily enough. Not sure what to do I knocked but no one answered. I knocked a second time but finally convinced myself there was probably no one on the other side. Taking the imitative, I opened the door. Sure enough, I was right. I found myself standing in an empty, well, one devoid of people anyway. In the center of the room, I found a table and a single chair. Other than that, it was pretty barren. It was kind of creepy actually. Even creepier because it didn’t even have a window.

I tried to look like I belonged there by quickly making my way over to the table. I took a seat in the chair, hoping that I wasn’t wasting my time in the process.

As soon as my butt hit the seat, my fears subsided.

A holographic image of a man--- wearing the white uniform of a Sentinel---appeared in the middle of the table. The 14-inch high holo-image flicked only once before stabilizing. The figure was middle aged but well fit. I could just make out the insignia of Sergeant on his left shoulder.

“Mr. Daniels?”He asked, I nodded. “Good to meet ya, Sergeant Philips, I’ll be your Orientation Officer.”

“Orientation?” I asked, surprised. “Does that mean I’m in?”

He gave me a look. “You were in, son, the moment you stepped through the door.”

Shit.

“You’d be surprised how many kids your age never bother to take that step. We monitor that hall and out of the seven of you today, only three of you opened the door. You should be proud of that, son.”

I had passed a test I didn’t even know existed.

I suppose it made sense when you think about it. If someone didn’t have enough courage to enter a room without being told to do so then they had no point being there. Well ok, so maybe courage wasn’t the right word, confidence might fit better. Grandpa taught me to be confident a lot time ago. I might be a self-appointed loner but I wasn’t afraid to be myself. I knew who I was and that’s all that mattered. I was confident in who I was too.

“This is awesome,” I said, unable to contain my glee.

Philips smiled. “You’re very privileged, not many kids your age make it into the Sentinels.”

I knew all about that too.

Out of all the potential Sentinel Probates, less than half actually made it out of their first years. Even if you did, things were hardly easy. As soon as I become an Upper next year, I’m going to have to spread my time between school and Sentinel Academy. The Academy was no walk in the park either from what I’ve heard. There was a rigorous training program that a cadet went through. It was the program that caused ninety percent of the washouts. I was ready for it though.

I was ready for it all.

I would not quit.

I would not fail.

I would make my grandfather proud of me.

“You’re Murray’s grandson aren’t you?”

The question took me by surprise. Grandpa only made it to Sergeant rank in the Sentinels. He told me he was happy there. He used to operate the gate on the south side of the Cube. Other than that, he really didn’t talk much about his work. Sure, he would share some interesting stories but the day-to-day stuff was pretty boring according to him.

“You knew my grandfather?”

Philips laughed. “By reputation only.”

Reputation?

What the hell did that mean?

I wanted to ask more but he already moved on.

“Now an orientation with the Sentinels is not easy. There’s a lot of hard work involved. If at any time you feel it’s too much, you let me and we can make other arrangements.”

A washout, not likely.

“I know what’s involved and I’m ready for it.”

“Good, just the attitude I wanted.”

Sergeant Philips spent the next several minutes telling me everything I would need to know. Most of it he said would be covered in the manual they would send me later tonight. After that, he asked me a lot of questions. Most of them I’m sure he already knew the answers to, but he was testing me again. I answered as best I could. After all, I wanted to make the best impression I could. While we were talking, my nervousness began to fade but something else started to replace it. I started to feel the itch about halfway through our talk. It actually wasn’t all that uncommon for me.

I’ve had blood drawn before and each time afterwards, I always started to itch.

I think I had allergic reactions to whatever process they used.

It was no different this time.

I scratched my hand a few times, then tried to ignore it.

Thankfully, the Sergeant didn’t notice or if he did, he was polite enough not to say anything.

When we finally ended our conversation, he stood at attention and saluted me.

“Probate Daniels” he said, making me straighten up a little. “It is my honor to welcome you to the Sentinels.”

I smiled. “Thank you sir.”

I did it, Grandpa.

I’m a Sentinel.

I stood and returned the salute. After that, the Sergeant’s holo disappeared, leaving me alone. I let out a final great big sigh then itched my hand again.

Things were finally starting to look up for me.

The house was quiet when I got home, which wasn’t a surprise at all. I couldn’t remember the last time one or both of my parents were home. Sure Mom made appearances but most of her life was her work. Dad was the same but at least he could work out of home if he needed. He had converted our garage into a workshop a few years ago. My parents weren’t bad parents, they were just really busy. It helped a lot when grandpa was here. He was more of a parent than either one of mine. Like I said though, it wasn’t that Mom and Dad didn’t try. They tried real hard but often saying something and doing something for them were two completely different things.

Hey, they were only human after all.

“Carrie” I shouted, dropping my bag near the door like usual.

More than likely my sister would be in the den. The den had the bigger of the two vid screens and my father’s vintage collection of old movies. Carrie liked to hide away there every day after school. I used to do the same. It was kind of cool to watch some of those oldies. The graphics were a joke and there were no holograms but they were still pretty entertaining. Even the 3D effects were decent if you could get over how flat looking, they were. Dad seemed to enjoy them. Then again, he enjoyed anything vintage. He was a bit of a collector. He had a lot of really cool stuff actually. His pride and joy though was the vintage 2040 Ford Vector. It was the last combustion engine vehicle ever produced. There were only four left on the whole planet.

Dad pulled a lot of strings to get it too.

Unfortunately, it was illegal to drive or else I’m sure he’d be tearing up the streets right now with it.

“Carrie” I called again, making my way to the kitchen.

As soon as I stepped inside, the lights turned on.

I walked to the island and brought up the console there then brought up the holo interface. Scrolling through the fridge, I was hoping to find something quick and easy for dinner tonight. With Mom and Dad pulling another all nighter, it was up to me to feed us again. I continued to scroll, trying to decide what I might be interested in. The fridge was well stocked today. Mom must have reset it before going to work this morning. She even put in Burger King and Domino’s. She must have been feeling really charitable. She usually left the fast food places out of the weekly rotation.

“Carrie” I shouted, hoping I’d break through to her finally.

Third time’s a charm.

My sister appeared a minute or so later, Toby trailing behind her.

“What” she asked, annoyed.

Eight years old and an attitude already.

I turned to look at her, wondering what fashion forward guru she was emulating today. Carrie liked to be hip and fresh. Every day she modeled her outfit off of one of the vid star’s latest looks. Today was no different. Her dress was pink, her hair done in pigtails. I was just glad the dog wasn’t pink too. Toby was looking very fashionable today though, I heard Siberian Huskies were all the rage lately.

“You want Domino’s?”

She shrugged. “Whatever is fine with me?”

“Are you this much of a bitch with Mom too?”

She shrugged. “Wouldn’t know.”

Burn.

The sad thing was it was the truth.

Eight years old and already so wise.

Scary too.

“They leave an ETA this time?”

“Probably” said Carrie, feigning disinterest. “I’m going back to the den, my show is back on.”

She left just as quickly as she arrived, the dog stayed behind.

Man’s best friend, loyal to the end.

I ordered up the pizza then headed up to my room. Toby followed, keeping at my heels. This was routine with us, too. He stuck with Carrie until I got home then he was my pal for the rest of the night. It was how he was programmed actually. His subroutines could be changed at any time but I kind of liked it that way. Of course, when Dad was home, he always liked to tamper with him. I loved Toby, I loved the fact that he would be around forever but I think I would have much preferred a real dog. It was a shame that they didn’t allow them in the Zones anymore. There were still some places out in the rural areas who still had real ones but it was a dying fad.

I mean who would want a real dog when they could design their own.

Man, this society was messed up.

Entering the room, the lights immediately turned on. I also noticed that the indicator light on my wall vid was blinking. Ignoring it for a second, I dropped onto my bed. I just needed a moment to myself. Toby jumped up next to me, laying his head on my chest. I laid there, petting his head and staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t help but smile, too. I did it, I was a Sentinel now. So Ok, I wasn’t even a Cadet yet, but I was in. If grandpa was still alive, I’m sure he’d want to celebrate. I thought about calling my parents, telling them the good news but I don’t think they’d care. Neither one of them was too keen on the idea in the first place. Dad thought I should have followed Uncle Frank and gone into politics, mom wanted me to be a writer of all things.

Neither one of them knew me at all.

I wanted to be like grandpa, the man I idolized.

Why couldn’t they see that?

“They’re clueless Toby,” I said, which caused him to cock his head.

I laughed then sat up, groaning as I realized that someone wanted me to be social.

I took a moment before I answered, though.

Glancing around my room, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before I gave this all up for a place in the Cube.

I was happy and sad at the same time.

I had a lot of good times in this room.

But I’m not sure I was going to miss it.

Sure, it was my room but it wasn’t very personalized. Carrie’s room was much more decorated to fit her personality. Mom had even let her color change the walls pink. Me, I liked the steel gray of my walls. I also liked the lack of personal things that I had going on. Sure, I had some pictures and my desk but nothing really stood out as being specifically me. The pictures were framed holos of me and my family. The desk had a lamp sitting on it and my console. My cabinet on the far wall had a few books but most of them I had read half a dozen times. I watched vids but not as much as my friends and definitely not as much as Carrie. The only thing I ever really cared about was the Sentinels. Well, that and my grandfather’s old badge. It was also one of the very few possessions of his I still had. I wore it on a chain around my neck, keeping it with me always. It made me feel like grandpa was with me everywhere I go.

My eyes fell on the wall vid and the blinking light.

Sighing, I brought up the interface and waited as it came to life. The typical System logo and message played first followed by a quick scroll of the top news stories. I ignored all that of course. A moment later, Joe’s face filled up the screen.

“Dude, about damn time” he said, feigning annoyance.

“Sorry, I just got home.”

“So how’d it go?”

“I’m in” I said, smiling.

“Of course you are” he said with a laugh. “I got in, too.”

Joe wanted to be in Comms like Mom. I wasn’t the least bit surprised that he got into that.

“What about Ted?”

Joe shrugged. “Not even sure what he was going for?”

Ted was a weird friend. Sure, he was my best friend but he was a very private person. The three of us used to be really close but lately he’d been kind of distant. At one time, he wanted to be a Sentinel like me but something changed. He never really said what and no matter how much we tried, we could never get him to confess the reason. Now neither Joe nor I knew what Ted wanted. Our friendship was a bit on again, off again, too. It was almost as if he was developing a weird mental illness. One minute he’d be just like good ole Ted, then he’d be this complete stranger the next minute. The only problem with my theory was that mental illness was obsolete now thanks to the Bios.

No, whatever Ted’ thing was it, it was all him.

Screw him.

I was tired of trying to figure him out.

“So” said Joe, bobbing his eyebrows up and down. “What’s this I hear about you and Maddie?”

Holy shit.

“How the hell did you know about that?”

“Melissa Jackson has an audible app, she kind of heard you two today.”

Shit, Melissa was a nasty gossip.

So now, everyone knew.

Which meant my good buddy Ted did as well.
Great.

“That girl needs to get a life” I said, shaking my head.

“Ted is pissed.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t see him making a move. I waited; he fumbled so I went for it.”

Joe laughed. “Oh he made his move last week.”

“What? Really?”

Joe laughed even louder. “Oh yeah, it was pretty epic. He came, he saw and he crashed. Maddie busted him up pretty bad. It was fucking hilarious.”

Shit, I had no idea.

I couldn’t help but laugh though.

I had to hand it to him though; I never thought he had the courage to do it. I knew he talked about it a lot but he never actually did anything. I can only give him points for trying. It sucks that she rejected him though. I suppose that would explain why he’s so pissed off at me right now. I had actually succeeded where he failed. That was definitely not going to go over well. I just knew he was going to try harder to top me somehow.

“This is going to be a pain in the ass,” I said.

“Ted is the least of our problems,” said Joe, lowering his voice. “I’ve been following the news, still no manifestation.”

Damn it.

This was bad, this was really bad.

After a Ratio died, it usually took a day for a manifestation to occur. The new Alphas were usually picked up, reported and in the news by the end of the second day. Here it was nearly two days after Crystal’s wake, nearly four days after her death and no new Alpha yet. This was scary business indeed, especially for us guys in the fallout zone.

“How big is the FZ this time?”

“Including you, me and Ted?” I nodded. “Forty six in this zone. I suppose it’s possible the manifestation could occur in another Zone but we both know that’s pretty rare. No we’re looking at forty six potential future Aphrodites.”

Shit.

“You gonna get the shot?”

Shit, not that bogus crap.

The “Shot” was horse crap. It was some homeopathic garbage someone cooked up to make an extra buck or two. According to the latest Vids, this shot was supposed to keep people from manifesting. It was complete crap of course but a lot of morons fell for it. The government was totally against them, too. They kept warning people that the shots were bogus and were a waste of your money but that didn’t stop the idiots. Some people even got two just in case.

“Don’t tell me you believe that crap?”

Joe showed me his arm, where a small band-aid was present.
“Done.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“Hey I’m not taking any chances. Aphrodites may be hot but that doesn’t mean I want to be one. Boobs are great and all but as long as they’re on someone else.”

Hell I didn’t want boobs either but I wasn’t stupid enough to throw my money away on stupid crap.

“Joe, you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

He gave me the finger.

We both had a good laugh.

“You know,” he said, after our laughing fit. “You might actually be hot. You’ve got the bone structure and look your hair is already long enough so it wouldn’t have to grow all that much. Slap you in a dress, you’d make one hot chick.”

“Go fuck yourself” I said, laughing.

Joe joined me.

“Let’s make a pact, right here and now,” he said, getting serious. “If one of us turns, the other gets dibs on asking her out.”

I started laughing but stopped when I realized Joe hadn’t joined me.

Sometimes I really worried about me.

“I’m going to eat now” I said, annoyed.

“You’re not agreeing to the pact?”

“Cya tomorrow Joe.”

“That is so cold.”

I clicked off the vid, laughing again.

Idiot.

As I started out my bedroom door, the itching in my hand came back. I cursed, trying my best to ignore it. Whatever the hell they used this time, it was really starting to piss me off. I’m going to have to see if I can get some cream for it or something. If not, this fucking itch was going to drive me insane.

I found myself absently itching as I walked down the hall, cursing when I noticed my skin starting to turn red as well.

Great, now I’ve got a rash.

Fucking Med Centers.

I just hope it’s not contagious.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF