Servo 6:1
Servo 6:1
We arrived at school exactly fifteen minutes late. Of course Suz was to blame. Besides taking way too long in the bathroom, she complained incessantly about breakfast. Rory and I had destroyed every crumb of food on our plates and asked for more. I think Grandma was flattered by our lavish praise for her cooking. There was not enough bacon in the world!A teacher’s aide showed us to our “classroom.” It was tiny. I’d seen broom closets in our school that were bigger. The man shoved open the door and motioned. “Take your seats.”There were three desks lined up in a row facing an ancient looking television. Where was our teacher? We filed in and sat down. The aide closed the door and left us. “This is deplorable,” Suz said. “Small, filthy, and with such a tiny window. How can they expect us to learn in this environment?”I wanted to tell her to shut up, but held my tongue. Instead, I got up and looked at the TV. Did I dare push the power button? Was this our teacher? Some sort of electronic babysitter? As I’d pondered before, what could they possibly teach us? Suddenly the door behind opened. I spun around and was face to face with a woman who looked a million years old. She even made Grandma look young. Her dress was pale blue with darker blue flowers, and she wore black shoes with a thick blocky heel. To me they barely looked womanly. Her blue eyes were tired, matching the deep age lines on her face. And her hair was white as snow, fairly short, and held a bit of curl.“Good morning, students. I am Mrs. Graham, your teacher.”“Hello,” I managed to squeak as I slid back into my chair. There was no room for a teacher’s desk, so she simply took a seat in a rickety old chair in the corner.“I’ve been told that you children are from the Inner States.”We nodded.“Then this may be something of a wakeup for you.”“What can you teach us?” Rory piped up.She studied him for a moment. “A lot, you will see.”“Yeah? Like what?”Mrs. Graham smoothed her dress down her legs. She noticed our desks were empty. “Have they not issued you tablets yet?”“No,” Suz replied. “And Grandpa said there’s no internet here.”“The local government is working on it. But there has to be a vote to decide to allow it.”“What’s not to allow? All the information of the world can be at your fingertips.”“It’s not that easy.” She gestured to Suzette. “And what is your name?”“Suzette Blackburn. And this is Rory and Jonah.”“And what brings you here?”I leaned forward slightly in my chair. “Our parents are dead and they sent us here to live with our grandparents.”“Abe and Eliza?”“Yes.”“They came from the Inner States, you know.”“And what’s the big deal about that?” I wasn’t trying to sound condescending, but my patience was wearing thin. Was this woman going to teach us or not? Perhaps I shouldn’t have cared, but for some reason I did. Education was important to me. And considering what I wanted to do for a living, it was vital. I just couldn’t fathom what I could learn out here. “The big deal, Jonah, is that technology was the downfall of this country.”“Not the way we see it.”“No, no, you’ve lived a different life, and you have different views. But as much as you want to deny it, technology was a contributing factor of the demise of this great country.”Rory decided to join the conversation. “Was it because of the battle bots?”Mrs. Graham nodded slowly. “That’s only a small part. But there is much more.” She laced her fingers. “How much have they taught you about the Great Separation in school?”I straightened up in my chair. History was something I relished and considered one of my best subjects—well, except for advanced computer programming and robotics. “We were taught that the states in the east became wealthy and used their wealth to advance society. They embraced technology, robots, genetic manipulation, and healthy living. The west didn’t see a need for the technology and decided to remain as they were.”“But why the split? And why did it become violent and cause such a rift?”“Well, those in the west didn’t like what we were doing. They didn’t like that the government wanted to impose more rules and restrictions for their own good.”“Their own good?”“Yes. Why do we need guns? In the Inner States there is very little crime. The political council deemed guns were a major cause of crime and outlawed them for our safety.”The old woman nodded slightly. “Do you really know the cause of crime?”“Bad people?”“What makes them bad?”I shrugged my shoulders. “Just the way they are born?”“Social status. The Inner States, because of their vast wealth and power, forced out those who were not as affluent as the rest of the population. With the poor gone, crime was greatly reduced.”“The poor had the guns.”“It wasn’t a matter of guns. The rich wanted the poor out of their perfect world, and that was the excuse they used to bring in the battle bots to put down the uprising.”“So what’s wrong with having a society of rich? Everyone should strive to be wealthy.”“Not everyone can be rich. Do you think it was right to force those people out of their homes? Off their land?”“There seems to be plenty here to go around.”Mrs. Graham narrowed her eyes. “Do you think it was right to be sent here after your parents died?”“No!” Suz blurted. “We wanted to stay in our nice apartment and go to our school.”“But you were made to come here, right?”“Yes.”“Then you have an idea how all those people felt when they were forcibly displaced.”“It’s not the same.”“Isn’t it?”“We have money,” Rory said.“If you take away the money, what do you have? Three children without their parents involuntary moved to a place they don’t want to be in.”“I hate it here,” Suz grumbled, resting her chin on her hands. “I want to go back.”“But you can’t—not right now. How does that make you feel?”“Horrible. This place is horrible.” Mrs. Graham nodded. “And there you have it.”
We arrived at school exactly fifteen minutes late. Of course Suz was to blame. Besides taking way too long in the bathroom, she complained incessantly about breakfast. Rory and I had destroyed every crumb of food on our plates and asked for more. I think Grandma was flattered by our lavish praise for her cooking. There was not enough bacon in the world!A teacher’s aide showed us to our “classroom.” It was tiny. I’d seen broom closets in our school that were bigger. The man shoved open the door and motioned. “Take your seats.”There were three desks lined up in a row facing an ancient looking television. Where was our teacher? We filed in and sat down. The aide closed the door and left us. “This is deplorable,” Suz said. “Small, filthy, and with such a tiny window. How can they expect us to learn in this environment?”I wanted to tell her to shut up, but held my tongue. Instead, I got up and looked at the TV. Did I dare push the power button? Was this our teacher? Some sort of electronic babysitter? As I’d pondered before, what could they possibly teach us? Suddenly the door behind opened. I spun around and was face to face with a woman who looked a million years old. She even made Grandma look young. Her dress was pale blue with darker blue flowers, and she wore black shoes with a thick blocky heel. To me they barely looked womanly. Her blue eyes were tired, matching the deep age lines on her face. And her hair was white as snow, fairly short, and held a bit of curl.“Good morning, students. I am Mrs. Graham, your teacher.”“Hello,” I managed to squeak as I slid back into my chair. There was no room for a teacher’s desk, so she simply took a seat in a rickety old chair in the corner.“I’ve been told that you children are from the Inner States.”We nodded.“Then this may be something of a wakeup for you.”“What can you teach us?” Rory piped up.She studied him for a moment. “A lot, you will see.”“Yeah? Like what?”Mrs. Graham smoothed her dress down her legs. She noticed our desks were empty. “Have they not issued you tablets yet?”“No,” Suz replied. “And Grandpa said there’s no internet here.”“The local government is working on it. But there has to be a vote to decide to allow it.”“What’s not to allow? All the information of the world can be at your fingertips.”“It’s not that easy.” She gestured to Suzette. “And what is your name?”“Suzette Blackburn. And this is Rory and Jonah.”“And what brings you here?”I leaned forward slightly in my chair. “Our parents are dead and they sent us here to live with our grandparents.”“Abe and Eliza?”“Yes.”“They came from the Inner States, you know.”“And what’s the big deal about that?” I wasn’t trying to sound condescending, but my patience was wearing thin. Was this woman going to teach us or not? Perhaps I shouldn’t have cared, but for some reason I did. Education was important to me. And considering what I wanted to do for a living, it was vital. I just couldn’t fathom what I could learn out here. “The big deal, Jonah, is that technology was the downfall of this country.”“Not the way we see it.”“No, no, you’ve lived a different life, and you have different views. But as much as you want to deny it, technology was a contributing factor of the demise of this great country.”Rory decided to join the conversation. “Was it because of the battle bots?”Mrs. Graham nodded slowly. “That’s only a small part. But there is much more.” She laced her fingers. “How much have they taught you about the Great Separation in school?”I straightened up in my chair. History was something I relished and considered one of my best subjects—well, except for advanced computer programming and robotics. “We were taught that the states in the east became wealthy and used their wealth to advance society. They embraced technology, robots, genetic manipulation, and healthy living. The west didn’t see a need for the technology and decided to remain as they were.”“But why the split? And why did it become violent and cause such a rift?”“Well, those in the west didn’t like what we were doing. They didn’t like that the government wanted to impose more rules and restrictions for their own good.”“Their own good?”“Yes. Why do we need guns? In the Inner States there is very little crime. The political council deemed guns were a major cause of crime and outlawed them for our safety.”The old woman nodded slightly. “Do you really know the cause of crime?”“Bad people?”“What makes them bad?”I shrugged my shoulders. “Just the way they are born?”“Social status. The Inner States, because of their vast wealth and power, forced out those who were not as affluent as the rest of the population. With the poor gone, crime was greatly reduced.”“The poor had the guns.”“It wasn’t a matter of guns. The rich wanted the poor out of their perfect world, and that was the excuse they used to bring in the battle bots to put down the uprising.”“So what’s wrong with having a society of rich? Everyone should strive to be wealthy.”“Not everyone can be rich. Do you think it was right to force those people out of their homes? Off their land?”“There seems to be plenty here to go around.”Mrs. Graham narrowed her eyes. “Do you think it was right to be sent here after your parents died?”“No!” Suz blurted. “We wanted to stay in our nice apartment and go to our school.”“But you were made to come here, right?”“Yes.”“Then you have an idea how all those people felt when they were forcibly displaced.”“It’s not the same.”“Isn’t it?”“We have money,” Rory said.“If you take away the money, what do you have? Three children without their parents involuntary moved to a place they don’t want to be in.”“I hate it here,” Suz grumbled, resting her chin on her hands. “I want to go back.”“But you can’t—not right now. How does that make you feel?”“Horrible. This place is horrible.” Mrs. Graham nodded. “And there you have it.”
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