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Description
My eyes snapped open and I placed a hand over my heart, checking for any wounds. I sat up in my bed and looked down at myself, then ran my hand through my light brown hair and lied back down once I realized it was all a dream. Once my heartbeat slowed I finally opened my eyes and looked around the room. The walls, floor and ceiling were all a dull white and in the shape of a box. The only furniture I had in my room was my bed, my desk and my dresser, all of which were white as well.
I sat up and threw my feet over the side, putting my head in my hands. So many thoughts ran through my mind, and I wondered what the dream could mean. Perhaps I just wanted freedom from this restricted existence, to finally be free and make my own choices.
Just as I thought this a siren rang, loud and clear. It was the Morning Bell, ringing three times to wake the ship up every morning. I closed my eyes for a little bit longer, pretending that I didn't hear it, but finally groaned and mumbled the words, "Lights on."
In response to my command, the entire room lit up blindingly. I stood up and walked over to my dresser, pulling out a dark blue leotard and then zipping it up. I pulled my hair out of my collar and into a tight ponytail, then adjusted my pants before slipping on my boots. I checked myself in the mirror before I opened the door.
Once it opened, I got a full view of the dark sky outside, at the millions of stars, and a smile appeared on my face immediately. The walkway was crowded as people piled out of their rooms and made their way to wherever they needed to be, but I paused to look out the giant windows before stepping out into the busy crowd.
Everyone moved briskly and with a purpose. Occasionally a person glanced down at their watch but no one stopped walking down the corridor.
"Luna!" someone called out my name. I checked over my shoulder to see who it is but didn't stop walking.
I smiled when a black-haired boy came to greet me. "Good morning, Aiden."
"How did you sleep?" he asked me.
I sighed. "Not well. I had a nightmare."
"Really. Well, I'm very sorry to hear that."
I nodded and looked away, someone catching my eye. He was not wearing a leotard, like everyone else, but instead wore a leather jacket, a white T-shirt and jeans. He leaned against the wall, watching everyone else go by, including me.
"Who is that?" I asked curiously, frowning.
Aiden looked over. "Don't mind him. He's a trouble kid. His whole family is trouble. They don't follow any of the rules." A scowl appeared on his face.
I looked away as we entered the main part of the ship, the Civil District. In this place the ship opened up five stories and resembled a city. There were shops on every floor, and streets grew more and more crowded as people filed out of their rooms and came here to do their job, whatever it may be. For now I only went to school, which was across the city. Soon enough I would graduate and assume whatever job they assigned me.
A group of soldiers rushed past us, their armor clanking with every step. I shuddered as I remembered my dream.
"Do you ever wonder why we even have soldiers?" I asked aloud.
Aiden stared at me with wide eyes. "No, but why would you question it? If the Board proclaims it, it must be safe. Right?"
I pressed my lips together and said nothing as I stepped onto the subway and held onto the handrail--Aiden placed his hand nearly on top of mine while the glass doors sealed shut behind us. I watched the bustling city go by in a flash of lights, people walking pointedly and with purpose, giant digital signs advertising the latest women's leotard, and white, glossy streets leading to white, glossy buildings. Aiden spoke animatedly about the latest video game, and I'm quite sure that he invited me to join him and our friends after school, but I nodded absently because a group of people had caught my eye.
They wore soft, colorful clothing as they walked by the only speck of green in the city--the Bio-Garden. They wore organic clothes made of strange fabrics like cotton and wool. One had dyed her hair an artificial color, which was certainly illegal because no salon on the entire ship would ever agree to do it. They laughed and walked down the street, clearly in no hurry to get to school. The soldiers were running up to them by the time the scene had flashed by.
"Their clothes look so comfy," I commented absently.
"Sorry?" Aiden asked and looked towards where I was looking. "To whom are you referring?"
"Oh! No one!" I blinked rapidly and shook my head, the moment lost. Aiden looked at me curiously but I only smiled at him while we came to a stop.
"Stop 4D," the woman's voice announced from the intercom. "Schooling District." I climbed off with Aiden and several other students and we all made our way to class.
There were four schools on the ship--Infancy, Elementary, Junior and Senior. I attended Senior School, see in as I was sixteen. For the first year the mother nurses the child, then sends them to Infancy School, where they attend until they are five years old. Elementary School was for ages five through eleven, then Junior School was for ages eleven through fourteen, and from the ages of fourteen through eighteen you went to Senior School. Once you graduated your eighteenth year, you were handed your job assignment alongside your diploma. The Professions Bureau took a lot of time trying to choose a job you were interested in based on surveys, test results, class, permanent record, and after-school activities. There were times, however, where the Professions Bureau chose your profession at random, or even placed you in a certain profession because they thought you qualified for it more than your first choice.
I walked through the glass double-doors to Senior School as the warning bell rung, and I made my way down the hall to room 16A to see my teacher writing on the smartboard. I greeted my friends and took my seat while the second morning bell sounded, signifying that we should all be at work or school. At that particular moment the board turned on digitally to show announcers before us, smiling.
"Good morning, S.S. Andromeda. Thank you for listening to our morning announcements," he said, as if we had a choice. "Today is the 487,154th day of our journey. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance."
We all rose, put our right hands over our hearts, turned to the flag, and recited the pledge we had known all our lives.
"I pledge allegiance to my mother ship, to my captain, and to my duties as a civilian, for we are all equal and function together as one."
We sat down in our seats and faced the screen once again.
"In today's news," said the female anchor, "We have discovered that there may be a water source on a nearby planet in the UDFg-38135539 galaxy. Astronomers fear that there may be other intelligent life there, however, so they are looking into it."
"That's what they always say," I whispered to Aiden, rolling my eyes.
"In other news," the male anchor took over, "Be sure to go shopping for new leotards later today. Hunter green is the new must-have color, and different patterns are now available for the trims."
"The inhabitants at the Re-Education Center are having a Baked Goods Sale this Saturday," the woman announced. "All proceeds go to re-painting the school hallways white. Please attend to better the community and help the inhabitants better their ways."
"That's all the news for today," the male anchor smiled. "Please have a wonderful and productive day S.S. Andromeda."
The screen blinked off and changed back to the smartboard, where today's lesson was written.
"Alright, class," my teacher clapped her hands together. "Today's history lesson is all about Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. On the night of November 9th, the Radicals, or the Jews, defied the German government and broke the windows of the innocent German citizens. They threw rocks at government buildings and even tried to assassinate Hitler, but were taken down by the brave Nazis. This was a real turn in German history, because the Re-Education of the Jews started then. On that night 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps where they learned to love their government and Hitler..."

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Description
My eyes snapped open and I placed a hand over my heart, checking for any wounds. I sat up in my bed and looked down at myself, then ran my hand through my light brown hair and lied back down once I realized it was all a dream. Once my heartbeat slowed I finally opened my eyes and looked around the room. The walls, floor and ceiling were all a dull white and in the shape of a box. The only furniture I had in my room was my bed, my desk and my dresser, all of which were white as well.
I sat up and threw my feet over the side, putting my head in my hands. So many thoughts ran through my mind, and I wondered what the dream could mean. Perhaps I just wanted freedom from this restricted existence, to finally be free and make my own choices.
Just as I thought this a siren rang, loud and clear. It was the Morning Bell, ringing three times to wake the ship up every morning. I closed my eyes for a little bit longer, pretending that I didn't hear it, but finally groaned and mumbled the words, "Lights on."
In response to my command, the entire room lit up blindingly. I stood up and walked over to my dresser, pulling out a dark blue leotard and then zipping it up. I pulled my hair out of my collar and into a tight ponytail, then adjusted my pants before slipping on my boots. I checked myself in the mirror before I opened the door.
Once it opened, I got a full view of the dark sky outside, at the millions of stars, and a smile appeared on my face immediately. The walkway was crowded as people piled out of their rooms and made their way to wherever they needed to be, but I paused to look out the giant windows before stepping out into the busy crowd.
Everyone moved briskly and with a purpose. Occasionally a person glanced down at their watch but no one stopped walking down the corridor.
"Luna!" someone called out my name. I checked over my shoulder to see who it is but didn't stop walking.
I smiled when a black-haired boy came to greet me. "Good morning, Aiden."
"How did you sleep?" he asked me.
I sighed. "Not well. I had a nightmare."
"Really. Well, I'm very sorry to hear that."
I nodded and looked away, someone catching my eye. He was not wearing a leotard, like everyone else, but instead wore a leather jacket, a white T-shirt and jeans. He leaned against the wall, watching everyone else go by, including me.
"Who is that?" I asked curiously, frowning.
Aiden looked over. "Don't mind him. He's a trouble kid. His whole family is trouble. They don't follow any of the rules." A scowl appeared on his face.
I looked away as we entered the main part of the ship, the Civil District. In this place the ship opened up five stories and resembled a city. There were shops on every floor, and streets grew more and more crowded as people filed out of their rooms and came here to do their job, whatever it may be. For now I only went to school, which was across the city. Soon enough I would graduate and assume whatever job they assigned me.
A group of soldiers rushed past us, their armor clanking with every step. I shuddered as I remembered my dream.
"Do you ever wonder why we even have soldiers?" I asked aloud.
Aiden stared at me with wide eyes. "No, but why would you question it? If the Board proclaims it, it must be safe. Right?"
I pressed my lips together and said nothing as I stepped onto the subway and held onto the handrail--Aiden placed his hand nearly on top of mine while the glass doors sealed shut behind us. I watched the bustling city go by in a flash of lights, people walking pointedly and with purpose, giant digital signs advertising the latest women's leotard, and white, glossy streets leading to white, glossy buildings. Aiden spoke animatedly about the latest video game, and I'm quite sure that he invited me to join him and our friends after school, but I nodded absently because a group of people had caught my eye.
They wore soft, colorful clothing as they walked by the only speck of green in the city--the Bio-Garden. They wore organic clothes made of strange fabrics like cotton and wool. One had dyed her hair an artificial color, which was certainly illegal because no salon on the entire ship would ever agree to do it. They laughed and walked down the street, clearly in no hurry to get to school. The soldiers were running up to them by the time the scene had flashed by.
"Their clothes look so comfy," I commented absently.
"Sorry?" Aiden asked and looked towards where I was looking. "To whom are you referring?"
"Oh! No one!" I blinked rapidly and shook my head, the moment lost. Aiden looked at me curiously but I only smiled at him while we came to a stop.
"Stop 4D," the woman's voice announced from the intercom. "Schooling District." I climbed off with Aiden and several other students and we all made our way to class.
There were four schools on the ship--Infancy, Elementary, Junior and Senior. I attended Senior School, see in as I was sixteen. For the first year the mother nurses the child, then sends them to Infancy School, where they attend until they are five years old. Elementary School was for ages five through eleven, then Junior School was for ages eleven through fourteen, and from the ages of fourteen through eighteen you went to Senior School. Once you graduated your eighteenth year, you were handed your job assignment alongside your diploma. The Professions Bureau took a lot of time trying to choose a job you were interested in based on surveys, test results, class, permanent record, and after-school activities. There were times, however, where the Professions Bureau chose your profession at random, or even placed you in a certain profession because they thought you qualified for it more than your first choice.
I walked through the glass double-doors to Senior School as the warning bell rung, and I made my way down the hall to room 16A to see my teacher writing on the smartboard. I greeted my friends and took my seat while the second morning bell sounded, signifying that we should all be at work or school. At that particular moment the board turned on digitally to show announcers before us, smiling.
"Good morning, S.S. Andromeda. Thank you for listening to our morning announcements," he said, as if we had a choice. "Today is the 487,154th day of our journey. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance."
We all rose, put our right hands over our hearts, turned to the flag, and recited the pledge we had known all our lives.
"I pledge allegiance to my mother ship, to my captain, and to my duties as a civilian, for we are all equal and function together as one."
We sat down in our seats and faced the screen once again.
"In today's news," said the female anchor, "We have discovered that there may be a water source on a nearby planet in the UDFg-38135539 galaxy. Astronomers fear that there may be other intelligent life there, however, so they are looking into it."
"That's what they always say," I whispered to Aiden, rolling my eyes.
"In other news," the male anchor took over, "Be sure to go shopping for new leotards later today. Hunter green is the new must-have color, and different patterns are now available for the trims."
"The inhabitants at the Re-Education Center are having a Baked Goods Sale this Saturday," the woman announced. "All proceeds go to re-painting the school hallways white. Please attend to better the community and help the inhabitants better their ways."
"That's all the news for today," the male anchor smiled. "Please have a wonderful and productive day S.S. Andromeda."
The screen blinked off and changed back to the smartboard, where today's lesson was written.
"Alright, class," my teacher clapped her hands together. "Today's history lesson is all about Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. On the night of November 9th, the Radicals, or the Jews, defied the German government and broke the windows of the innocent German citizens. They threw rocks at government buildings and even tried to assassinate Hitler, but were taken down by the brave Nazis. This was a real turn in German history, because the Re-Education of the Jews started then. On that night 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps where they learned to love their government and Hitler..."

* * *