Productive

From the beginning #1

4 days after my 16th birthday my mum and I drove to a facility located about 30 miles from home to be tested, “can I turn this up I love this song?” I said reaching for the button, “not too loud, I wont be able to hear the sat nav”, I turned it up enough and started to sing along, I looked to my mum and she was beaming at me, she had always loved my singing she said I have a voice and I should do something about it, I would just roll my eyes at her and laugh.

When the voice on the sat nav said we were about 20 minutes away I started to get butterflies in my stomach, myself and my parents didn’t really talk about the productive stuff until the day after my birthday, they didn’t want my childhood ruined with worry when it didn’t have too because the likelihood of me being productive was slim, I had more chance of winning the lottery. Even though we never spoke of being productive, you still heard the stories and saw the news of how the world was changing, it was a scary place to be when you were a girl.

“I was thinking of making chicken casserole for dinner, it’s yours and dad’s favourite and we haven’t had it in a while what do you think”, “sounds like a plan but I do have plan’s with Maisie this evening, she want’s to go to that new place that opened up on the high street you know the one where you can order your food and then watch it being cooked on the screen on the table”, “sounds weird to me, but knowing Maisie she would love it”, we both laughed in agreement, “we’re nearly there look”, my mum pointed to a tall building just ahead, my mum pulled the car up to a gate and a security guard came out of his little hut holding a clipboard, “name?”, he asked in a bored voice, “oh err Fisher, Elanor Fisher”, the guard consulted his list, nodded and said, “you are to drop your daughter at the entrance over there”, he pointed to the front of the tall building, “you must stay in the car and she will enter the facility alone, you will then drive your vehicle around to the designated parking zone and park in bay number 27, nowhere else only bay 27 and either wait for your daughter to return or a member of staff to inform you that you may leave, put this on your window so it is visible”, he handed my mum a blue card with the number 27 on it then he turned to wave at someone in the hut and the gates opened, she place the card on the dash, she drove to the front of the building and stopped, “I’ll see you in a bit mum” I leaned over and kissed her cheek, she smiled at me “I’ll be in my designated spot”, we both laughed again, I grabbed my phone and bag and climbed out of the car, I walked round to the entrance, looked back at my mum and waved as she started to drive off, looking back at the entrance I saw a man opening the door, “Miss Fisher?”, he asked stepping towards me, “that’s me” I tried to sound cheery but failed, “if you would follow me to reception and we can get you checked in.

I followed him inside and across a large hall to a desk where another man was sitting, “name?”, he asked not looking up from his computer, “Elanor Fisher”, “date of birth?”, “8th June 2059”, “mother. Deborah Fisher Maiden name Owens? Father, Andy Fisher?” he continued to ask still not looking up, “yes that’s them”, he was clicking his mouse and I heard something being printed, “wrist”, I extended my arm and pushed up my sleeve and he attached an id bracelet to me, “if you would please follow Mr miller he will show you were you can change.

Mr Miller lead me to an elevator, the door opened and we stepped in, he pressed the button for floor 6 and the doors closed and the lift went up, we reached the 6th floor and stepped back out of the lift, he turned right and passed several doors and then stopped, “if you could go in and change, there is a gown on the bed for you to wear and place your clothes in the green bag provided, you may leave your shoes on and then wait for someone to come and collect you”, he swiped a card on the door just like you have at hotels and the door swung open, I entered, changed and waited.

I only had to wait a few minutes when someone came to get me, I had swabs taken from inside my mouth and up my nose, then I was hooked up to an IV and they took blood, then I had an ultrasound and then i was taken back to the room and told to wait again, I noticed as I entered the room the green bag with my clothes was missing, I was in the same room wasn’t i? i was then left alone in a cold sterile hospital looking room with a bed and a metal chair, there was no windows or anything to distract myself, I had no idea how long I sat waiting for someone to let me leave but it felt like it was forever, eventually a young nurse with a round face and brown curly hair entered and smiled at me, she handed me a set of white scrubs and told me to dress, I asked her why and when would I be able to leave but she just gave me a sad look and left the room. The panic started to set in and I wanted to vomit, I sat on the bed for a few seconds trying to calm myself then I dressed in the scrubs and waited for the nurse to return, after a couple more minutes she re-entered but she wasn’t alone, a man in his fifties with short grey hair, with small round glasses that reflected the strip lighting of the hospital room, I could make out that he had Grey eyes that matched his hair, he was wearing a white coat and looked like he was something out of a tv medical show, he turned and closed the door behind him.

Gesturing for me to sit on the bed he pulled the metal chair towards the bed and sat, he placed a medical chart on his knee and looked up at me, “first I’d like to introduce myself, I am Doctor Raymond Keat”, looking at his chart and then back to me, “and you must be Elanor Fisher?” I nodded and then finally found my voice, “ye yes that’s me, when can I leave?” Doctor Keat sat regarding me for a few seconds then continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “your test results have been very promising and I would like to be the first to congratulate you on being productive and welcome you to this new and exciting chapter of your life, you are going to be a part of saving the world”, my heart sank, exciting new chapter my arse the stories of what happened to productive girls were something from a nightmare, you would hear stories of families hiding their daughters so they could not be tested and lost to the elite and made to have a baby for the highest paying bidder.