The Price of Utopia

                  

“Have you ever been to the planet they call Utopia, my flower?”

“Daddy, that’s not a real place.” Isa giggled as her father tucked her covers underneath her chin, the soft glow of her lamp illuminating the small room.  

Outside the viewscreen of Isa’s bedroom hover cars raced from skyscraper to skyscraper, the father and daughter’s apartment sitting far above the trash and decay that lay below.  Isa’s father raised his eyebrows playfully, his brown eyes gleaming in the light. 

“Ah, but are you sure of that?”

“Very sure.”

“And what if there were such a place,” the man’s voice grew serious, his daughter oblivious to his sudden solemn expression. “Would you go there with me?”

Isa yawned as she nestled deeper into her pillow and turned on to her side, her dark lashes fluttering from the weight of exhaustion. “I’ll go wherever you go, daddy.” 

The man smiled, the gesture not reaching his eyes. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Have you ever been?  To Utopia I mean?” A rough voice asked, snapping Isa out of her daze. 

Isa looked up at the man who had spoken from across the aisle between them, the memory fading away.  He sat relaxed in his harness with a devilish glint in his remaining eye, a long gash covering his face where his other eye should have been, his graying hair falling to the side in a feeble attempt to cover it.  Isa, who sat bent over with her elbows resting on her knees, simply shook her head.  Despite her obvious desire to be left alone, the man continued to stare at her as the shuttle jostled the two from side to side, the blue halogen lights that lit the interior of the spacecraft flickering.

“Not much of a talker, huh?”

Isa said nothing and kept her gaze trained on the steel grated floor beneath her boots. 

“You look pretty small to be traveling to a place like this all on your own, how old are you?” The man’s voice was low and gravelly, each word sounding like a strain on his throat.  

Glaring up at the man Isa sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, puffing out her chest a little.The man grinned. 

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to talk to me.  I just wanted to make a friend is all.”

Still glaring at the man Isa pursed her lips. “I’m thirteen.” She said finally, her voice quiet. 

Whistling, the man leaned forward, his eyebrows raised. “Thirteen and you’re traveling to Utopia all alone?  Seems pretty dangerous to me.” 

Isa frowned at the man’s chiding tone and turned her head away but still kept him in the corner of her vision, his gaze still fixated on her.  The longer the girl spent in his gaze the more uncomfortable she grew, fighting the urge to squirm under the abnormal amount of attention. 

“That’s quite the tattoo you’ve got there.” 

Isa’s hand instinctually flew to her neck where strands of ink coiled around each other on the side of her neck, forming a square within a circle.  When she turned to once again face the man she saw his gaze was narrowed, the glint in his eye replaced with suspicion.  Isa’s throat went dry, her heart racing. 

“A family insignia I would guess.”  The man stated his voice low.

“It’s none of your business.” Isa stammered, drawing her jacket tighter around her shoulders.

Before either of the passengers could say anything more the shuttle began to shake harder, bouncing Isa in her too-large harness.  The noises of alarms and warnings filled the cargo bay as Isa closed her eyes and tightened her grip on her seat.  After what seemed an eternity, the spacecraft finally touched down on the planet, jolting its passengers forward as it rumbled down the landing pad.  The moment it went still Isa unbuckled her harness and shot to her feet, slinging her bag on to her shoulder as she walked to the gradually lowering ramp.  Despite her efforts to leave him behind, the man easily caught up to her, his boots pounding on the floor.  Reaching out, the man took Isa by the arm.  Stifling a cry Isa winced as he whirled her around to face him. 

“Be careful, Isa.” He said, his gaze intensely searching Isa’s. 

With wide eyes Isa wrenched her arm free from the man’s hand and stumbled away from him, his gaze still following her as she hurriedly turned and walked off of the landing platform, periodically casting a glance over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t following her.

Finally away from the threat of the one-eyed man, Isa gasped as she froze at the end of the landing pad.  Below it stretched miles of ivory white and gold gilded buildings, the rooftops covered in plants and gardens.  Everywhere she looked Isa saw beauty, not a hint of dirt or grunge to be found.  Stepping into the landing pad elevator Isa tightened her grip on her bag and took a deep breath as the elevator descended.

The elevator halted and the doors opened.  Slowly, Isa emerged from the small space into a vast terminal.  Holo displays lined the walls between decorative waterfalls, potted plants congregated in the corners and light streamed through the glass ceilings.  Bodies crammed nearly every inch of floor space and yet everyone was smiling, sharing laughs as they jostled against one another.  Isa frowned.  Was this reality?

Setting her jaw, Isa strode through the area towards the front desk.  Though she felt very small, the girl’s steps remained determined as she elbowed whatever ribs necessary to reach her goal.  The moment Isa stepped up to the front desk she was met with a broad smile and crinkling blue eyes below meticulously groomed blonde hair. 

“Hello, dear!” The woman exclaimed, her smile never wavering. “How can I help you?”

“I-I’m looking for a company — or anything really — with this symbol,” Isa said, gesturing to her tattoo, her tongue feeling very large and clumsy in her mouth.  Though only for the briefest seconds, the woman’s smile wavered. 

“I don’t know of anything like that, sorry, sweetheart.”Isa frowned at the woman. “You can’t think of ANYTHING?” she asked suspiciously. 

The woman’s lips quivered. “No, why don’t you step aside so I can help the next person?”

Indignation burned in Isa’s chest as she walked away from the desk, defeated. 

“Hey there!”

Isa jumped and whipped her head up to see a man approaching.  He wore a standard business suit and had dark hair and dark eyes.  A grin tugged at his lips but this one didn’t seem so forced.  Isa sniffed.  She was getting sick of talking to strangers.

“Heard you’re looking for that.” He said, pointing a finger at Isa’s tattoo.

Isa raised an eyebrow.  The man’s grin grew. 

“I happen to know exactly what you’re looking for.”

Hope exploded throughout Isa’s whole being, reigniting her determination.  “Really?” She asked, her gaze bright.

The man nodded. “In fact, I was heading that way just now, why don’t you come along?”

Not wanting the man to think her a bother, Isa jabbed her hand in her bag, feeling around for the few gold chips that resided at the bottom. 

“I-I can pay.” She stuttered.

The man guffawed and waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, darlin', everything’s free here.” 

Winking at her he began to walk, beckoning her to follow.  The two weaved their way through the vast terminal until they emerged into a speeder parking area.  Walking over to a sleek blue one the man typed something into a panel by the door and the cockpit hissed open.

“Hop in!” He said cheerfully as he slid into the driver’s seat.

Gradually, the speeder began to rise and entered the traffic above.  Getting up on her knees, Isa pressed her nose to the glass and watched the buildings fly by.

“This place is amazing!” She exclaimed. 

“It’s pretty great, isn’t it?  The executive building is especially gorgeous.  Unfortunately for you, you won’t get to see it.” 

Isa was oblivious the man’s now cold tone as she gazed out the window.  Slowly, he reached for the gun at his side, his gaze still fixed on the path ahead.  Before Isa could ask him what he meant, a thundering noise echoed across the speeder as something struck the hull. Isa screamed and the man returned both hands to the speeder’s control panel as Isa was thrown into the front of the speeder.  Clamoring to her original position, she gasped, her gaze meeting that of the one-eyed man’s through the rear window.  Another shot from the one-eyed man’s cannon pierced the plating of the speeder and Isa and the man were sent reeling towards the ground.  The speeder crashed onto the building's landing pad and skidded across the hard surface, sparks flying as it did so.

Isa’s vision was cloudy as she slowly sat up, the glass dome of the cockpit unhinged with smoke pouring into the speeder. Beyond the flames of the speeder Isa could see the building, a giant circle with a square inscribed sitting near its top, casting its shadow on the rest of the buildings. Coughing, Isa stumbled to her feet only to see the one-eyed man get out of his own speeder, walking towards her.

Screaming, Isa wasted no time in spinning around and sprinting for the nearest doorway.  Crashing through the doors Isa sobbed as she ran through the dimly lit halls.  The girl was vaguely aware of cries behind her, but she couldn’t stop, her legs wouldn’t let her.  As she rounded the corner she ran straight into an armed guard and fell back onto the floor.  Without missing a beat he pointed the weapon at her forehead and she threw her arms up, sniffling. 

“Please,” she sputtered, fighting for air. “There’s a man chasing me.” 

“Get up.” The guard commanded, his stony expression unchanged.

Chest heaving, Isa rose to her feet as the man grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and directed her into a nearby room.  More guards ran into the room panting. 

“We called for her to stop,” one explained, the guard holding Isa still glaring at him.

“Call someone about this.”

A guard by the door shook his head. “No need, Leeren is walking in as we speak, he was right behind the girl as she-”

Without warning darkness covered the room, cutting the guard off.  Alarms rang and vents hissed as the guard that held Isa swore under his breath and re-brandished his gun, another guard turning on backup lights.  Just after a sparse amount of light was returned to the room, the one-eyed man marched into the room, unholstering his gun.  Before any of the guards could react there were several flashes of light and all three lay dead.

Isa simply stared up at the man one-eyed man as he approached, her breath shallow.  The man cautiously knelt to Isa’s eye level as he holstered his gun, the light’s dim room shadowing his hollow eye socket. 

“My name is Triant.  I’m one of the three commanders of the Utopia militia.”

Isa swallowed. “Why did you save me?” She asked quietly, sounding much smaller than she wanted to. “I thought you wanted to kill me.”

Triant chuckled. “Kill you?  My, my, that’s not how I had meant to come across.  I’m sorry if I scared you on the shuttle.”  He smiled and shook his head. “To answer your question, I saved you because I can.”

Rising to his feet Triant extended a hand to Isa. “There’s something you need to see.” 

Against her better judgment — as well as her pride — Isa placed her hand in his.

Isa struggled to calm her racing heart as the two walked through the dim hallway. 

“If this place is perfect, why do you need a militia?”

Triant smiled a sad smile. “Because Utopia is a myth, perfection is truly impossible when pursued by mere men.” 

After rushing down several flights of stairs and shooting more guards than Isa could count, Triant stopped in front of two massive metal doors with several lock mechanisms on it.  Unlocking each one, Triant led Isa through the doors into a decontamination booth.  When the doors of the decontamination booth opened, Isa felt her heart drop into her stomach.  Rows and rows of tanks filled the massive room, and inside the tanks were human beings.  Isa tightened her fingers around Triant’s hand, tears blurring the edges of her gaze. 

“What is this?” she choked.

“This is what runs Utopia,” Triant said, his voice cracking. “Anyone sick, dying or imperfect; as well as one child for every three born.  They call it the child tax. We tell the average civilian we’re sending their child to a special academy made for raising future leaders, and the sick are sent to wellness centers.  They believe every bit of it.”

Isa was speechless.

Triant led her in front of one of the tanks.  Inside was a young girl with wires stemming from her limbs and skull.  She looked around fourteen or fifteen with fiery red hair and clear blue eyes. 

“This was my only daughter,” Triant said softly, tears slowly falling from his eye and dripping from his chin. 

“I-is she dead?”

Triant shook his head. “She’s neither dead or alive.  They’ll hold her in a kind of stasis while her body is slowly broken down.”

Deep and intense sorrow clutched at Isa’s chest, rendering her unable to restrain the shaking in her knees.  

Closing his eye, Triant turned away from the tank and walked deeper into the room.  

It wasn’t until Isa was able to make out the features of the man in the second tank Triant was leading her towards that Isa finally understood.

“No.” She whispered, freezing.Shaking her head, she squeezed her eyes shut. “No.  No.”

“Yes.” Triant whispered. 

Opening her eyes, Isa slowly stepped up to the tank and placed her hand on the glass surface.  Inside was her father, his dark gaze distant.

“He created this, Isa.  He was the mastermind behind this entire system.”  Triant said.

Disbelief flooded Isa’s thoughts and she took a step backwards. “What are you saying?” She managed to spit out.

“Why do you think your family insignia is plastered everywhere?  He created this for you.  You were all he ever talked about, right up until he was diagnosed and contained.”

Sinking to her knees, Isa buried her head in her hands and sobbed. “I don’t want this!” She screamed. “Who could want any of this?!”

Kneeling beside Isa, Triant placed a hand on Isa’s shoulder. “You’re right, no one should want this.” 

“What will I do now?” 

Triant forced a weary smile. “You’ve lost your father, I’ve lost my daughter; I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Wiping away the tears from his face, Triant stood and let his backpack fall on the ground. unzipping it, he picked up the charges inside and began to place them around the room.  Stopping one last time at his daughter’s tank, Triant scooped the trembling Isa into his arms and walked out of the room; the countdown on the charges beginning.