Lily in the Past
"JONAS, JONAS, JONAS," the community commenced, saying the boy's name, the boy who had never existed and whom had stolen many of the Receiver's memories. He would be forgotten, and no One would receive his name ever again…
Lily was thinking of her bicycle as she said the name loudly with the rest of the community. It would continue to get softer and softer, until the name was meted out. She did not care that her brother was gone, for the concept of love was unknown to her. Offhandedly she wondered if Mother and Father would receive a new son, to take place of Jonas. That would delay their retirement to the Home of Childless Adults. What a blinderific—
She stopped herself from thinking. "Blinderific" was against the rules of clear expression. Lily had no idea where the word came from. It just popped into her mind. Thank goodness no one around there could see what was contained in people's minds. Wouldn't that be an interesting concept? Knowing what Aida was thinking at lunchtime…
Aida was Lily's best friend. She spent a lot of her volunteer hours at the Building for the Old. She looked up to Fiona. But she seemed secretive about something at the midday meal. Like she knew something Lily didn't.
"Jonas, Jonas," the community went on, relentlessly. His name was disappearing. He had stolen Father's bike, along with some victuals. He had taken Gabe, the newchild who was supposed to be released last week. Jonas was misguided. And now he was lost to the community.
Finally, the repetition of Jonas' name ended. Nobody could say it anymore. It was Taboo.
Lily went to bed that night without a care in the world. Her parents and herself had talked about how she was feeling. She felt an animosity toward Jonas and wanted to see him punished.
But when she woke up, she saw that she was in a strange place. A bunch of plastic people were on her bed, females wearing clothes that didn't cover their limbs, and males with odd coiffures. A small, round table was in the center of the room, with some peculiar tubes of cylindrical shape. Something that looked like a comfort object was on the floor. She picked it up, and dropped it abruptly. It was so warm! But how could that be, unless it was organic? And then, it started making the most alarming noises: yip! Yip! Yip! She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She had been gagged.