2084: Slavery Resurgent

“All children were to be begotten by artificial insemination (artsem, it was called in Newspeak)”

George Orwell (1984)

“Level Two closely resembles Level One with the exception of its smooth walls. Since it was tunneled twenty-four years after Level One, the drillers did it in one day using a massive boring machine nineteen feet tall,” the Assistant Director informed the group as everyone clustered around a projection depicting the event. “Directly ahead of us you see a no longer utilized Recreation Room that dates from the days when our employees worked a week on followed by a week off. Nowadays, thanks to shuttle air flights connecting Area 51 with Las Vegas, they work eight hour shifts and are able to spend more time with their families. Because we are running short on time, we are going to bypass the Recreation Room. At the time it was built there were no women at this facility. Some of the men brought in porn films to watch at night. Over the years, they accumulated until the porn filled an entire bookcase. But when Mary Ann Lynde became Director, I decided it was time to dispose of the collection. I had it boxed up and was about to have it burned when the Director caught wind of it and told me to place it back in the bookcase and lock the door to the Recreration Room. It seems she considered the porn a characteristic of an era, not to be admired, but a bona fide part of history nonetheless. Totalitarian nations such as the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany attempted to rewrite history. We, on the other hand, preserve history to enable us to learn from the past.”

“In my Freshman year at Yale I came across a scholarly work about 2,000 year old graffiti etched into the Coliseum in Rome. I found it vulgar. I suppose that is similar to what you are trying to get across?,” asked Congressman Udall’s aide.

“Somewhat,” muttered the Assistant Director as he turned and led the tour down the corridor. Thirty yards later he came to a set of double doors bearing a sign which read “BIOGENESIS”. Though a window the group could see men in white lab coats engaged in various activities with what appeared to be titanic stainless steel cookie sheets which were stored in tall wheeled racks. “In this room GLAD grows synthetic human organs that are refrigerated and shipped to hospitals nationwide – soon to be worldwide – for surgical transplants. I’m very proud of what we do here. My older brother’s life was saved a year ago by a liver transplant. That liver came from this Biogenesis Lab. Our transplants save millions of American lives. I am sure you can appreciate that it does so while generating billions of dollars in profits which have permitted the federal government to initiate massive tax cuts. Americans pay less taxes than Scandinavia, Great Britain, and the European Union while receiving bigger and better government benefits. Everybody wins. According to numerous polls, this effort has a 97 percent approval rating. A month ago, Congress voted on a bill to privatize Biogenesis. It received eight votes in the House and only two in the Senate.”

“I want to make it perfectly clear that none of the votes in favor of that horrible bill came from Republicans. If by some chance, it had made it to the White House, President Snodgrass would have vetoed it. The Republican Party has the voters’ interests at heart,” Congressman Udall exclaimed.

“Duly noted. It is indeed an honor to be hosting Congressman Udall on this tour,” the Assistant Director ingratiatingly replied. “Moving right along, let’s proceed to our next stop.” The group readily complied with the exception of George 99,689,794 who lagged behind as usual to take photographs of the procedure.

Thirteen automatons roped to each other and led by a security guard passed the group in the corridor without any greeting or conversation taking place. Franklin thought it a bit creepy, but was reluctant to say anything about it. Congressman Udall did not have that issue. He took a step forward and confronted the Assistant Director, saying, “Why were they chained together? I was told that the primary incentive for felons to volunteer to be transformed was to gain a measure of freedom. That looked to me like a chain gang.”

“It wasn’t a chain gang,” replied the Assistant Director, backing away from the Congressman. “They had been reprogrammed which occasionally results in temporary blindness and were on the way to their next destination. What you saw was pieces of rope, not chains, loosely joining their wrists to prevent them from wandering off and getting lost. The ‘rope’ is a quarter inch twisted fiber florescent polyester composite. I probably should have referred to it as twine rather than rope. GLAD’s goal is to rehabilitate, not punish. George 99,689,794 is an outstanding example of the positive changes we make. He no longer bears the stigma of having been convicted of a heinous crime and is a productive member of the community. We are glad – no pun intended – to have him back with us today.”

George 99,689,794 turned towards Franklin, rolled his eyes, and screwed up his face. Franklin bit his lip in an effort to keep from laughing.

The Assistant Director did an about face, checked the time on his cellphone, and herded the group along the corridor. Soon, the natural drab rock walls of the tunnel transitioned to painted luminescent gold, twinkling beneath enhanced LED lighting. It seemed unreal, as if they were walking along the Yellow Brick Road in the Kingdom of Oz. A short while later, they came to a seemingly bejeweled door with the letters “QC” flashing above it.

“What’s with the theatrics?,” growled Congressman Udall.

“′QC′ is an acronym for Quality Control. It is the last hurdle for automatons before they rejoin society. Those that pass a final inspection go on to be productive members of the community and the few who fail are sent back to prison. A psychiatrist in a government funded study suggested the Wizard of Oz theme as a way of boosting morale,” replied the Assistant Director.

“Did it work?,” asked Congressman Udall.

“Since they ran out of funding, there was no follow-up study,” offered the Assistant Director. “GLAD has no way of knowing.”

“What exactly happens to those who pass?,” inquired Franklin.

“There is a graduation ceremony where I welcome them back to society and give them a heartfelt motivational speech. Then they get an all-you-can-eat prime rib dinner and are issued six new jumpsuits and a toiletry kit. Afterwards, they return to the barracks on Level One where we began the tour until they are sold at auction on the internet and move on to their new lives,” explained the Assistant Director. “If you need further specifics, George 99,689,794 can give you a first hand account of all the details.”