Mistakes: Chapter 6
Chapter 6
A School of Shock
Mrs. Gonsales hurried Danny out through the institute entrance. She warned Danny: “I'll take care of this. That poor girl is in a state of shock after seeing you. Her name is Lily, and she's actually one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. She just needs to recover and I'll come out here after I take her to her room to calm down.”
Danny barely noticed what Mrs. Gonsales was saying, as his mind was trying to comprehend what the girl had said. She must be one of the kids his mother had viciously beat up all those years ago. He felt really sorry for her, as even if her, her brother and her mother deserved the punishment his mother gave them (he was starting to think otherwise), they should have at least got it without pain. That day still haunted him, even over 9 years later. He still had hatred for his parents, while having left them on his destiny, for many events that happened like that day.
Danny waited for a few minutes as he stared at the old-fashioned but active city and wondered what the people of the place thought about the country of his birth. He would find out soon, and he was nervous to death about this fact. Finally Mrs. Gonsales came out, but she had a worried look on her face. She quivered as she stated: “I think we may be ready. But Lily is very nervous and very scared.”
“I am too,” Danny replied.
Mrs. Gonsales regained her composure and expressed her true feelings: “I know it is uncomfortable to come here, but the Lily's feelings are more profound and justified than yours. Your mother directly caused the “workering” of her mother. What the UAPA calls workering is one of the worst human rights abuses of our modern time.”
After what the sailor said, Danny was not surprised by Mrs. Gonsales' view of workering. However, his fears were confirmed and worsened about the event 9 years ago. “I'll be very nice to Lily. I'm on her side,” Danny confidently stated.
Mrs. Gonsales nodded and Danny went into the institute with her. The outside of the institute looked old-fashioned, but the inside looked plain ancient. There was no nanotechnology! There was just old laptops, books, chairs, and desks. Mrs. Gonsales offered Danny a seat near the front of the room as a noticeably petrified Lily and a young, seemingly excited man that looked like he was in his twenties came into the room.
“Ok, I know this is tough, but let's begin,” said the young man. I'm Don, and with Lily and Mrs. Gonsales I run the institute.
“Hello,” Danny replied, “I just want to tell all of you that I am deeply sorry for my mother's actions on that day 9 years ago. I didn't, and still don't to an extent, understand what she was doing and thought it was fine for Lily and her family to be at the park. I was very young when it happened.”
“Thanks, I understand that you didn't have any control over it,” Lily spoke in a trembling voice, “My mother would have liked me helping you, as you are a 'mistake'.” She was wiping away tears as sadness overwhelmed her, and walked away to the corner of the room.
“That was powerful and I'm still very sorry,” Danny stated. Lily slowly walked back to the table and nodded in recognition.
“Ok, let's get the teaching started,” Don interjected with excitement.
As the words of the three people in front of him sank into his head, Danny realized that another perspective of the world was valid. They talked about how the UAPA's government was formed by a group of elites in reaction to peaceful protests my the masses that wanted positive change. Instead, the elites created a type of “caste” system where the richest, most famous, and most powerful people, not necessarily the smartest and most virtuous, gained all the luxuries of the world and were called “celebs” and “leaders”. The majority of people became second-class “advancers”, who had to work tirelessly in intellectual fields and were the real shapers of society. However, they were discriminated against by higher classes and faced brutal punishment if they opposed the government in any way. Finally, there were two solutions for the kinds of people the government did not like. Protesters against the government, blacks, Muslims, LGBT people, and non-genetically modified people (called “mistakes”) were lucky if the got to the islands, which were places that the UAPA government unsuccessfuly tried to make lawless messes. The other solution was “workering”, which was wiping the brains of humans clean to make them mindless and disposable slaves.
Danny tried to take this new perspective in, but for now he could not comprehend it. He was in a state of shock. He wanted to find a way to talk to Ronny and Nina, however unlikely being able to call them was. Mrs. Gosales led him to a bed in the upstairs of the institute, and Danny ended one of the most eventful days of his life.