The House of Marcellinus

Interlude

After they returned to Markus's room, he immediately plopped down on the couch, letting out a grunt as he sank farther into the cushions than he expected. Alexia placed the cash-filled jacket next to the work desk by the window. She was going to have to find a new hiding place for her money.

Markus had decided to reward himself by finally playing his ill-gotten game. Alexia's reward was a late start on Markus's overdue history essay. The teacher required all homework to be hand-written, to discourage students from turning in computer-generated work. He had admitted to the class with a sigh that while he couldn't stop them from using an app to do the writing, he could at least make them copy it all out themselves, in the hope that a few facts might stick in their heads.

Markus hadn't considered using an app any more than he had considered doing the work himself. She had been writing his essays for him almost as long as she had been employed. He was delighted to find out that she was intelligent and articulate enough to earn good grades for him, but this was secondary. His main motivation was pure boredom and laziness.

It was a subject near and dear to the heart of any commoner– the history of the implementation of Universal Basic Income and Universal Basic Services; or UBI and UBS for short. This was how you got clothes, food and a place to sleep if you weren't one of the lucky few born into billions. And if you weren't a criminal. And were at least 20 years old (Alexia was not). She placed the pencil down over the essay.

"Markus, what's going to happen to Merrick now? He said he has a family, right?"

"Oh, nothing, probably. He'll either be transferred, or quietly let go. We can't very well hand him over to the police, now can we? They'd love to use it as an excuse to investigate us."

That was good enough for her. Merrick deserved to face the consequences of his actions, but being forced into the slums would be a death sentence for a man of his age. Losing his job would mean he just went back on UBI, equivalent to an early retirement. Assuming he didn't have grandchildren who still depended on his income.

So for the next hour, she sat at his desk by the window, penning out his essay, enjoying the palatial garden view and trying to ignore the squeals of "Nyan!" and "Yes, master!" every time a maid changed outfits. Halfway through she hazarded a glance at the TV to see Markus was trying to unlock the 'police girl' uniform. She turned back to the essay, determined not to check again, no matter what she heard.

She penned out her concluding paragraph, being careful to stick to the "official" histories and leave out any reference to the hard truths of the real world. It seemed that was the secret to academic success– you just listened to what the teacher said and regurgitated it back to them in different words, showing you had absorbed the information. She wrote:

In conclusion, the implementation of UBI and UBS through the instruments of 'Universal Public Authorities', carried out under the leadership of Administrator Medici and the late President Smith, at once resolved the problems of extreme mass poverty and social unrest, and demonstrated the corruption and impotence of the previous system of democracy, which had failed to address the growing disaster for over a decade. Entrusting these implements of public power to the newly ennobled houses ushered in an age of stability and prosperity which we enjoy to this day. So long as these powers remain in the hands of the competent few, secure from the fickle masses of voters, we ensure the continued good governance of our country for generations to come.

She had just finished when a knock came at the door. Markus sprung up from the couch with his usual enthusiasm and answered it before she could react.

"Jeorge! Glad to see you again! I take it my father would like to have a word with me?" asked Markus with a beaming smile.

"Uh, no, young master. Actually I had a matter to discuss with Alexia."