The worn face of Jarmel sis Nep was followed by that of Yives, his wife. A tall man with hazel eyes, he was bowed by the need to provide for a large family. He also sported the same brown hair as his wife and daughters. Unusually for here the two were a love match and were happy together.

“Good morning children,” came quite naturally from their father, followed by their mothers greeting as they walked to the table. Both had been awake ever since they had heard the rest of the family moving about in the apartment but if they knew of the spat between Dar and Cami, they gave no indication of it. As this was the last day of the weekend off for Jarmel, the breakfast was in the proper formal style.

All the family first took their paces at the table which they first bowed to followed by bows to each other. Dar, Cami noted, bowed with indifference while she and Tremma took pleasure in the ritual. The two younger girls bowed with youthful enthusiasm as did Damma who enjoyed such doings.

Bows completed, Jamel sat down at the head of the table while Yives took her seat at the other end and each of the children found their proper places. Dar sat to the right of his father while Cami sat to the right of her mother. The rest sat by age, boys on one side and girls on the other.

As she took her seat, again Cami wondered, who first did this, this manner of families taking their seats in this complex and formal manner. They didn’t do this at school, or in other public places, so why do it at home. These thoughts went into the long catalogue of questions that puzzled her, angered her and that she wanted answers to. When young, Cami had carefully broached the subject with her mother once, just once. She was told that was how things were done and not to ask again. Later, when she was older Cami had seen in school what happened when a student in her class showed rather more inquisitiveness and much less common sense than was wise. This had occurred a year earlier and Cami had taken the lesson to heart.

*********

Madam Reter had just finished conducting a review of an ancient but relatively peaceful period of the planet’s history when student Jil ses Anouk asked what, to Camis way of thinking, was a reasonable question.

“This is when we had to start wearing the hats and coats, wasn’t it Madam Reter?” Jil was an ordinary looking girl with shorter than normal black hair. Slightly overweight, she wore the standard school smock, long socks and what are called sensible black shoes. Coming from different areas of Libus Re, Cami and Jil weren’t friends and didn’t know each other except to exchange a nod or two went they passed one another in the school.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Madam, I’ve read over the material and I don’t see anywhere why?” Jil continued. “I’m confused!”

“How can you be confused, child. All you need to know is there!” The teacher snapped.

Jil flushed and stuttered a reply. “I was just wondering …” she started, “Why we all had to ...”

“Have too what? Ask stupid questions?” Madam Reter was clearly getting angry. “Stand up girl!” The class watched in morbid hypnotised fascination as slowly and clearly embarrassed, Jil did as she was told. “Now girl, do you need to know what our leaders’ were thinking back then, so that you can question their motives?”

“No Madam!”

“What about their intelligence?”

“No Madam.” Jil whispered, now frightened with the direction of the questions.

“So why do you need to ask why?”

“I don’t Madam.” Jil was now staring down at the floor.

“What did you say girl? Get your head up!” Jils head snapped up, eyes wide with fear. Camis’ stomach churned for Jil although she barely knew her, but even now at age twelve she knew better than to show any emotion, especially at a time like this. She also knew that no one in the school would talk to Jil now. Any friends she may have had were gone. By raising such questions, even as innocent as they were, the teacher’s reaction had clearly branded her as a possible trouble maker and someone to avoid.

“No, Madam.” Madam Reter glared and Jil swiftly continued. “I mean I don’t need to ask.”

Madam Reter’s sharp eyes scanned the class, “Sit down girl,” she said, less harshly now, “we have wasted enough time.” To Camis relief she turned to another student. “Nanna, read the next passage from where we were up to. Quick now,” Madam Reter urged.

Nanna fumbled at her comm. “The peace of The Ostia Resources held all through the following century …” Her droning voice filled the room. Jil sat quietly, not moving, head down.

*********

Eating quietly, Cami wondered again about Jil. Surely Jil’s indiscretion had not been as bad as the teacher had made it to be, but the effect on Jil had been extreme. While she had come back the next day, the last school day of the week, she was still subdued and silent, not even trying to talk to anyone. When school resumed, Jil was gone and Cami never saw her again.

To Cami, the lesson was clear, don’t ask any questions that the teachers might interpret as questioning the leadership, the teacher or what they taught. The trick was deciding on whether a question that you wanted to ask was going to fit into one of these categories.

Cami was wondering about this when a jolt in her side brought her attention back to the family breakfast. Giving a glance at Koral, she frowned slightly before realising that her mother was looking at her rather quizzically.

“You are very quiet, Cami,” Yives said, “something on your mind?”

At Dars laugh, Cami threw him her usual glare as she decided to reveal part of what she was thinking about.

“Last year we had that girl, Jil, who got into trouble when she asked a teacher a question. She was gone by the next week and I was just wondering what happened to her.” Cami finished with a shrug.

“Was she a friend of yours?” Yives inquired gently.

“What questions did she ask?” Dar sat straighter.

Cami decided to answer her mother first.

“No mother, I hardly knew her, she lived near the catchment area I think.” That was an area with a large number of apartment blocks and a strong patrol presence.

“I see.” Her mother said thoughtfully. The rest of the family was listening attentively now. “It must have made an impression on you.”

“Not really mother.” Cami gave a rare smile. “I think that serving the Madam and her guest the chilled water brought it back for me somehow.”

“So why was she in trouble?” Dar interjected. Cami knew that Dar had recently left school and was working as a cleaner in commercial buildings. She also realised that the hard work and low pay, combined with not being able to get a recommendation to get advanced training of any sort, had built a sense of grievance in him. He often asked smart questions so she knew that he was intelligent, but she also realised that his aggressive attitude annoyed others as well as her, and that, as it often did, made him angrier.

Cami hesitated, as much as she enjoyed baiting Dar, she didn’t want to start something that could end up disrupting the family. She decided to compromise and tell just a little more of the story, not the whole story. That way she hoped to keep Dar from going off on one of his rants which would end up upsetting her parents.

“Well, she asked a question about why we wear what we do and Madam Reter got mad at her in front of everyone. Jil came to school the next day, but after the two days off, we never saw her again.”

“She went to another school?” Jarmel asked with a frown. Dar was also frowning.

“She must have Da,” Camis slim left shoulder rose and fell in a shrug, “as I said no one as far as I know saw her again.” Her father gave a non-committal grunt as Cami finished. “We were all afraid to ask, at least I was.”

“You were afraid?” Dar’s question was framed in tones of disbelief.

“Well, the teacher came down on Jil pretty hard and none of the rest of us wanted to be treated the same way.”

Koral and Kinna nodded in agreement. “I bet no one talked to her afterwards either.” Koral put in.

“That’s it, that’s the way they control us.” Dars hand smacked down on the table hard enough to shake the dishes causing even Damma to stare at him.

“What is?’ Kinna asked, puzzled.

“Fear, fear of being different, fear of being singled out!” Dar sat back and shook his head. “It is so simple, I never saw it.”

Jarmel gave his son a sideways look. “Care to explain yourself, Dar?”

“Yes da,” Clearly Dar was happy to be the center of attention for a change. “Fear of being different, of standing out as I said, but most of all, of losing status.” Cami watched her brother as he talked, the way he was animated and happy that everyone was listening to him. Impressed, she listened as she ate and at the same time, watched the rest of the family. Tremma appeared to be impressed while Koral and Kinna were less so. Damma just went back to working at his breakfast while her mother appeared to be unimpressed. Her father listened intently however and seemed interested.

“I don’t understand.” Kinna said a puzzled look on her face. “Everyone knows that status is important.”

“It is only important because someone, hundreds or thousands of years ago said that it was and everyone went along with him.”

“Him?” Cami showed her skepticism. Koral giggled, a display of emotion that had their mother frowning at her.

“Yes a man, Cami.” Dar smiled, “Unless you think that a woman is responsible?” The smile grew broader, “I am quite ready to shift the blame.”

As Cami stiffened and opened her mouth to respond to Dars challenge, their father stepped into the breach.

“Well Dar, I don’t think that it matters who thought of the idea but I also don’t see why it matters or what could be done about it.” Jamel frowned in thought. “The only way we could change now is by a huge popular movement and I don’t see that happening.” He looked sideways at his oldest son, “do you?” Jamel didn’t need to mention that any such movement would be accompanied by a lake of blood.

“I don’t know Da, I haven’t talked about this with anyone.” He looked down at the table. “I guess that I am afraid too.” He finished, raising his head and glancing at his oldest sister, Cami giving a tentative smile back. Tremma nodded in silent agreement while the two youngest girls were now looking rather bored at all this political talk.

Jamel grunted. “Good, don’t talk to anyone about this. You never know who is an agent of the Grays!” Dar nodded, he also was aware of the dangers involved and was not, at this time, prepared to risk the families’ status. New to working life, he was still uncertain about his standing with his coworkers.

Satisfied that his oldest son was not about to do anything reckless and so jeopardise the family name, Jamel turned to his oldest daughter. “Cami, I take it that you still want to go to Girls Group with your friends?”

Eagerly, Cami nodded, “Yes da, with Leda and Ava. We will be going to the Middle Club at the Girls Room in the Collective Hall.”

Approval given, Cami left the table and danced off to the girls room to change knowing that her mother probably watched in disapproval at this unwonted display of emotion.

“You are going to wear that again?” Koral asked with an unspoken challenge in her voice as she entered the room after Cami. Cami held the athletic strip against her body. Indeed it was tighter and rather more revealing that the school uniforms they usually wore, but not a great deal more!

“Of course, but only when racing, I will change in the girls changing room.” Cami replied. “It’s like school, we have a whole building to ourselves. No boys allowed! No male coaches either, just like no male teachers!” Koral grunted a reply, not satisfied.

“I don’t think that it’s fair, I should be allowed too!” She finished as Cami removed her smock to change. Although the program that the athletic club ran was approved by the school, it was not strictly part of the school curriculum, so the school uniform was not worn. Selecting outdoor clothes that were suitable, but not those kept for special occasions, Cami changed. Like all lower classes clothes, those she selected would easily be read and showed her class and status.

“Well Koral, when you are older and are allowed to join a girls club, then you can come with me.” Cami replied, adding a careful “Maybe.”

This did not satisfy her sister whose complaints continued although diminished slightly.

Ready, her gym strip, along with a towel, soap and spare clothes in a bag, Cami said her goodbyes and left her parents’ apartment with Tremma accompanied her to the stop where she would catch the transport to the Collective Hall. He or Dar would also meet her when she returned. Another thing to annoy me, Cami thought, I catch transport to school without escort as do Koral and Kinna, so why do I have to be escorted now?

As she boarded the transporter, Tremma called to her. “Be careful Cami!” She smiled and waved.