DECEMBER FIFTH
ANNIE O’CONNOR
PLANET EARTH
YEAR 2100
Annie had opened the calendar that morning.
She had opened it the evening the previous day as well.
Ross had told her to be patient, to wait a day so he could speak the man who came up with the plan. She still didn’t get it, but he had promised that she would if she let him explain properly.
She told him that she would be back in a day.
“What’s this?” Annie had walked into the kitchen, where her mother sat. Annie wondered if she ever moved when she was ‘at school’, or if she just sat there and waited for her to get back home. She looked tired, like she had barely slept. Annie hoped that the money would make her able to buy medicine, or at least allow them to visit a hospital to find out what was wrong with her.
Annie lay the calendar on the kitchen table. Where a 5 was yesterday, there was now a badly animated something that Annie had never seen before.
“Is that a deformed human?”
Her mum smiled. “No, Annie, it’s a pig.” She looked up at her daughter, saw her confusion and continued. “It’s an animal, people ate it at christmas.”
“They ate animals?” Annie repeated, couldn’t fit the idea inside her head.
“Yes, what did you think they were for?”
Annie went quiet. She rarely thought about the things her mum had teached her about the past.
“Well now you know,” her mum said. Then smiled. Then coughed. “Off to school now, love.”
When Annie stopped at the scanner that day, she didn't even have time to open her mouth before the cool voice said; “Annie Eileen O’Connor. Please speak to Niall Ross, head of employment. You are allowed at a limited area of the NASA headquarter, old London.”
“Thanks,” Annie said, took her cap of and walked through the door.
Ross was already at the screen, along with another man Annie had never seen before. She supposed that he was the one who had came up with the plan, whatever it was.
“Annie O’Connor,” the stranger greeted her as she sat down. “My name is Roger Matteo.”
“Nice to meet you, Roger Matteo,” Annie said without thinking, just as her preschool had teached her you was supposed to greet people above you. This Matteo man was definitely over both her and Ross, she could easily read his clothes to understand that.
He smiled, slightly. A smile that told her that he wasn’t a man that smiled naturally.
“So, Annie, you want to… help us?”
She met his viritual eyes. “If I get paid.”
“Oh you will,” he said, then turned to Ross (Annie could see that they too wasn’t in the same room, talked through screens). “How much have told her?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Perfect.” Matteo turned back to her. “Annie, do you know anything about the riots?”
Riots? Annie barely knew what the words ment. She only knew that it was a lot of people being upset with the government. In fear of appearing dumb, she just asked; “What riots?”
“A riot,” Matteo bagan to explain, and Annie realised that he probably had a scanner that read facial expressions very well. “Is when a lot of people storm the government in some way. Sadly, riots have happened not far away from here. People are protesting against the anniversary.”
Annie was tempted to tell him that she agreed with the people rioting, but knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea. Helping NASA would get her paid, rioting against them wouldn’t.
“People are upset,” he continued. “They’re unhappy, and we want to bring them happiness; we want to bring them christmas.”
“Okay…” Annie was sceptical.
“We will, in collaboration with the government, celebrate a traditional christmas publicly. We will decorate the plaza - we already got some snow -, we will play christmas songs. It will make people happy, don’t you think?”
“I suppose… What am I going to do?”
He smiled again, that uncomfortable smile.
“You will help with the preparations, of course, and spread our word. Tell people about it. Tell them that it’s amazing, that it’s the best thing that could have happened, that NASA and the government are good people for doing this.”
She opened her mouth, but Ross spoke before she had the chance.
“We will pay you.
“Okay,” Annie said again, then asked. “Am I the only one?”
“Of course not, but that’s irrelevant. You start today, it’s already on the news. The Mayor will hold a public announcement about this in two days. You are going to be there, in the crowd. If someone starts talking about rioting, you will convince them not to. After the announcement, you will get your first payment. Do you understand?”
Annie took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
“Terrific,” another forced smile. “Now leave.”
Annie put her cap on and left.
