DAY 1
ATLANTA COLONY – EMORY CAMPUS
“I am a seed of the new society.” The man had a gruff, but friendly voice.
Lisette wrinkled her nose in frustration as she carefully adjusted her headphones. They were too big and kept slipping below her ears.
“I am a seed of the new society,” she repeated in her deepest tone.
“Science is the way forward,” Mr. Gruff-and-Friendly said.
She stretched her arms and legs and pointed her toes upward to form a little tent under the bed covers. “Science is the way forward.”
“We are the seeds of the new society.” The voices that came through the headphones changed often. This woman had a stuffy nose.
Lisette pinched her nose. “We are the seeds of the new society.”
In the dim light, she could see the other girls sitting up in their beds, reciting the phrases of the morning spirit drill. Unit 2A was a long room, and the beds were against the walls. Most of the girls were five years old, like she was. Lisette was glad to see that all the Emotion Meter lights were green. This meant that everyone was happy. If all the EM lights stayed green throughout a spirit drill, they would earn fifteen extra minutes of playtime at recess.
The Emotion Meter fit comfortably over her index finger, and Lisette pushed it down, making sure it was snug. Chandra, her favorite scientist, had explained how it worked.
“The EM measures your skin moisture and pulse. A racing heart indicates you are afraid or anxious. Clammy skin means you are sad. Those are times when the light turns yellow or red. Every Emotion Meter sends a signal to the central control room. If your light changes color, a scientist will turn off the recording and speak to you directly. The signal is also sent to the monitoring station, so I can tell how everyone in the unit is feeling.”
Chandra was on duty at the monitoring station now.
Many of the scientists at the colony asked you to call them “Doctor,” but Chandra was a little different. She had introduced herself as Doctor Ramanathan when they first met and added, “You can call me by my first name, Chandra, or even ‘Mother.’”
Lisette’s mom had died on the night of the purple moon, so she had decided to call her Chandra.
“The future is bright.”
Lisette yawned. “The future is bright.”
She gave a little wave to one of her best friends, Zoe, who was sitting up in the bed beside her. Zoe’s brown hair was long and silky, and she could run like the wind. Zoe could outrun every girl in the unit and even the older boys in Unit 2B.
Lisette kept waving the EM light back and forth because it reminded her of Castine Island. Abby and Jordan would let her stay up past her bedtime so they could all go outside and watch fireflies blinking off and on. She missed home.
“The scientists care for us,” a woman sang.
Lisette lifted her chin high and warbled, “The scientists care for us.”
Just then, a wad of paper landed at the foot of her bed. The “Duck Game” was on. The loser was the one left holding the crumpled drawing of the duck when the spirit drill ended.
Lisette glanced left, thinking it had come from that direction. She saw Emily trying to hide a grin and knew immediately who had thrown it. Emily was a giggler. Making sure Chandra wasn’t looking, Lisette tossed the duck across the aisle to Chloe, the tallest girl in the unit. Chloe flipped it to Lydia, the shortest girl, and Lydia tossed it to Molly. Molly, who could be mean, flung it back to Emily.
