can’t keep up with you. Uh…yes, I believe she did say she was bringing
a guest. Why?”
“Nothing,” I
say quickly. Too quickly? “No reason. She’s just…a California person.”
“Ah.” Warren
nods knowingly. Relief washes over me. “Right. Those Hollywood types. She
probably fits right in with Lainie and her…taste.”Warren
pats my hair, then pulls me in for a bear hug. “I love you.”
“I love you,
too,” I whisper. I want to tell him, I really do. But I can’t. “Be down in a
minute.”
He leaves with
one glance back at me to be sure I’m not totally losing my mind.
I turn to Jana
angrily. “Why did you say that?” I ask.
I close the
door softly. She’s not leaving until I know what she knows. Oh, God, and Carmen
might be coming to my house. “Why did you call me that?”
She smiles,
swings herself casually onto the bed again. “The part where I said you were
Perpendicular?”
“Shut up,” I
hiss at her. It feels like she’s shouting, although I know she’s not. “Stop
saying that.”
She is suddenly
quiet, and stares at me with solemn eyes. “Sit down a minute.” She pats the bed
next to her. Reluctantly, I sit. “I’m not laughing at you. I just know what
it’s like to pretend to be something you’re not.”
“You’ve never
pretended to be something you’re not. You’re a rebel, you get in trouble, you
do what you want.”
Jana nods
slowly. “Remember in fifth grade, when they separated the boys and girls and
had The Talk? About Perps and Parallels?”
“You mean that
stupid cartoon about the genes and chromosomes? Kind of. Why?”
She glances at
me. “They said that Perpendiculars had some defect in their genes, that they
caused all society’s problems with unwanted pregnancies, abortions, crime,
instability. That’s why they’re in the minority. Like, nature selected them out
because they’re dangerous and cause all these problems.”
“Yeah, yeah, I
remember. ‘Conscious Continuation Makes for a Peaceful Nation.’ So?”
“You’re not any
more mentally unstable than anyone else. So…what if they’re wrong? What if
Perpendiculars really aren’t causing all the problems, but they’re easy to
target because there are fewer of them?” She licks her lips and inches closer. “And
what if there are fewer of them because the Church and the government want them
gone?”
“That’s crazy.
That would mean that everything we’ve ever believed is wrong. That all the
people we know are murderers. That the Bible is wrong too. And the
Constitution.” It’s too much to take in at once. “There must be reasons. I
mean, if nature selects Perpendiculars out of the gene pool, isn’t that proof
that there’s something wrong with them?” I stare at Jana, who shakes her head
and smiles at me as if I’m an adorable puppy.
“I’m not
surprised that you don’t know anything about it. Everything is filtered, so
nobody has the real information.” She paces to her window, stares out at the
straw-yellow field. “They kill them, Chris. Torture them Parallel. The church
owns the government. Church donors contribute almost 80 percent of the money to
secular campaigns. And since the Anglicants are the
Senate, and they contribute a lot to the Representatives, who do you think runs
things, really?”
“But you’re
talking about people being thrown away, just locked up without anyone knowing
where they are!” Even for Jana, this all sounds crazy. “Do you really think
they could get away with that?”
She stares at
me, unblinking. “They get away with it every day, because nobody believes they
can get away with it.” Jana sits on the edge of her bed, breathes heavily, and
then says, “David is part of it. He knows. He knows what they do.”
“I can’t
believe that.” I sit on the floor at her feet. “I mean, he’s…he’s a jerk, but I
can’t believe he’d allow torture.”
She shakes her
head again. “You don’t get it. To them, it’s not
a guest. Why?”
“Nothing,” I
say quickly. Too quickly? “No reason. She’s just…a California person.”
“Ah.” Warren
nods knowingly. Relief washes over me. “Right. Those Hollywood types. She
probably fits right in with Lainie and her…taste.”Warren
pats my hair, then pulls me in for a bear hug. “I love you.”
“I love you,
too,” I whisper. I want to tell him, I really do. But I can’t. “Be down in a
minute.”
He leaves with
one glance back at me to be sure I’m not totally losing my mind.
I turn to Jana
angrily. “Why did you say that?” I ask.
I close the
door softly. She’s not leaving until I know what she knows. Oh, God, and Carmen
might be coming to my house. “Why did you call me that?”
She smiles,
swings herself casually onto the bed again. “The part where I said you were
Perpendicular?”
“Shut up,” I
hiss at her. It feels like she’s shouting, although I know she’s not. “Stop
saying that.”
She is suddenly
quiet, and stares at me with solemn eyes. “Sit down a minute.” She pats the bed
next to her. Reluctantly, I sit. “I’m not laughing at you. I just know what
it’s like to pretend to be something you’re not.”
“You’ve never
pretended to be something you’re not. You’re a rebel, you get in trouble, you
do what you want.”
Jana nods
slowly. “Remember in fifth grade, when they separated the boys and girls and
had The Talk? About Perps and Parallels?”
“You mean that
stupid cartoon about the genes and chromosomes? Kind of. Why?”
She glances at
me. “They said that Perpendiculars had some defect in their genes, that they
caused all society’s problems with unwanted pregnancies, abortions, crime,
instability. That’s why they’re in the minority. Like, nature selected them out
because they’re dangerous and cause all these problems.”
“Yeah, yeah, I
remember. ‘Conscious Continuation Makes for a Peaceful Nation.’ So?”
“You’re not any
more mentally unstable than anyone else. So…what if they’re wrong? What if
Perpendiculars really aren’t causing all the problems, but they’re easy to
target because there are fewer of them?” She licks her lips and inches closer. “And
what if there are fewer of them because the Church and the government want them
gone?”
“That’s crazy.
That would mean that everything we’ve ever believed is wrong. That all the
people we know are murderers. That the Bible is wrong too. And the
Constitution.” It’s too much to take in at once. “There must be reasons. I
mean, if nature selects Perpendiculars out of the gene pool, isn’t that proof
that there’s something wrong with them?” I stare at Jana, who shakes her head
and smiles at me as if I’m an adorable puppy.
“I’m not
surprised that you don’t know anything about it. Everything is filtered, so
nobody has the real information.” She paces to her window, stares out at the
straw-yellow field. “They kill them, Chris. Torture them Parallel. The church
owns the government. Church donors contribute almost 80 percent of the money to
secular campaigns. And since the Anglicants are the
Senate, and they contribute a lot to the Representatives, who do you think runs
things, really?”
“But you’re
talking about people being thrown away, just locked up without anyone knowing
where they are!” Even for Jana, this all sounds crazy. “Do you really think
they could get away with that?”
She stares at
me, unblinking. “They get away with it every day, because nobody believes they
can get away with it.” Jana sits on the edge of her bed, breathes heavily, and
then says, “David is part of it. He knows. He knows what they do.”
“I can’t
believe that.” I sit on the floor at her feet. “I mean, he’s…he’s a jerk, but I
can’t believe he’d allow torture.”
She shakes her
head again. “You don’t get it. To them, it’s not
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