We headed toward the library to access computers there. The library was huge! It was filled with clean, hardcover books. Shelves full of them! Lines of computers traced the walls. We walked swiftly to a computer in the corner of the room, almost hidden behind the shelves of books. A perfect place to hide. I plugged the rusty hard drive into the side of the computer and opened the "System EX" folder. It was full of videos, hundreds of them, all but one took place in the same white-walled room.
"Where do we start?" 121 asked.
"How about this one," I pointed to the odd video out.
121 nodded as I clicked the video. It was a man at his desk with the white purity flag stitched to his shirt. He spoke directly into the camera, speaking softly.
"System EX is a revolutionary system that keeps Purity pure and functioning. I created this system myself, and I am quite proud of my work. So what exactly is System EX, you ask? Well, the "system" disposes of individuals that have disobeyed the law in Purity. Now, you might see this as an extreme measure, but I assure you, it's necessary. Just think of it as removing the "stains" in our society to keep everything clean and pure. The following videos are of the exterminations of the individuals that broke our law."
We were speechless. The dark side of Purity was being revealed, piece by piece as we watched video after video. The volume on the lowest setting as the screams of the 'renegades' drowned out all of our other senses, and we watched, transfixed.
Each killing was preceded by the victim stating their name and wrongdoing. The offenses were not worthy of death. Crimes such as breaking curfew (one woman was two minutes late to her dwelling), questioning the government, and profanity.
It was ironic, wasn't it? The murderers, the ones who had committed the real crimes, were being rewarded with raises and paychecks while the innocent suffered.
A man and women stood in the same place as everyone else in the other videos, holding hands. They looked familiar, but I don't ever remember meeting either of them. Their crime was stated:
"Mr. and Mrs. Balue, you have violated our law by creating and birthing two children without being designated breeders, your offspring exceed the beauty and intelligence standards in purity. They don't belong with the rest of the citizens of Purity and will be sentenced to the Outer Circle of Purity. You will be condemned to extermination after you watch your children receive their brands and be thrown to the Outer Circle."
We watched two children enter the room, a boy, and girl. The parents sobbed holding each other. A tall man dressed in white grabbed the boy's hand while another man grabbed the girl's arm. A red box was placed over each of their arms. The tall man pressed a button, and the children screamed as smoke rose from the box. The parents trembled watching their children branded with numbers. The man lifted the box, revealing numbers "121" and "602".
Pausing the video, I turned to look at 121. She was in shock staring at the screen.
"I... We... That..." I couldn't piece my words together.
I hesitantly clicked play on the video. We watched our younger selves being thrown out into the outer circle, then picked up by 324. 324 looked as though he was waiting for us like he knew we were going to be thrown out on that very day. Then our parents were injected with a purple serum, and they both fell flat. They were dead. They died because of us.
YOU ARE READING
The Forgotten Numbers
Science Fiction602 and 121 are sent on a mission to save the so called "utopia" of Purity but end up learning so much more about their past and who they really are! This story will take you on an adventure filled with twists and turns as you follow along through t...
