The door slams open while the men in black shuffle into the room. Disgruntled voices mutter as the subject stirs, blinking his eyes in adjustment to the flood of light. A hand grasps the subject’s arm, pulling him out of bed. Another hand holds out a grey jumpsuit and a nod of the head motions to put it on. The subject hesitantly abides, pulling it over his slim hips and shoulders. He finishes dressing and his lips twitch in preparation to speak, but the men in black hush him.

​

The room itself is dark - there is no furniture other than a twin bed. He can't see much, but glances around for any distinct markers. He's never been here before. His eyes become frantic - he doesn't know where he is or how he got here. Before he can process his thoughts further, the hands around his arm clench harder, pulling him stumbling through the door.

​

The group from the room walk swiftly down a long, brightly lit hallway. Two men in black guide the subject on either side, accompanied by two additional men in front and behind. The hallway continues past several rooms, each with barred windows and high security locks. The linoleum floors are pristine, seemingly mopped in preparation for the event. The subject looks around in confusion, his eyes wander from door to door, straining to see what’s behind them. His steps are unsteady, the support of the men in black guiding him. 

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The hallway takes a turn. As the group rounds the corner, other pods of men in black with a subject in the center come into focus. The others in front turn their head to look at the man joining them. Smiles spread across faces and some wave in excitement to the newcomer. Everyone seems to be happy, ecstatic really, about what is going on. The subject continues to look around uncomfortably, his arm twitching periodically to test the strength of the men in black in case an escape route presents itself. New pods arrive until eventually no more patters of footsteps can be heard. A silence falls over the crowd in anticipation.

​

Large, grey doors barely within the subject’s sight screech as they begin to part. It reveals a large dome opening in which all the grey jumpsuits in the corridor strain to look. A ball of light can be seen, similar to the headlights of a train as it barrels through a tunnel. As the line of pods begins to shuffle through the doors, the sounds of a cheering crowd swallow them. The subjects continue to make their way, pouring out into a stadium field surrounded by tens of thousands of people.

​

“Welcome, welcome! Let’s give a round of applause to the newcomers.” The crowd erupts into even louder applause, bouts of screaming and whistling coming from every angle. The subjects look around in awe and some even wave. They make their way to the middle of field and line up shoulder to shoulder in rows of ten. The men in black place the grey jumpsuits in position and retreat to the sides, watching their assigned person attentively. As the pods of people continue to get into position, the subject tries to yell over the noise to the person to his left, "What is going on?" The neighbor lets out an abrupt "SHHH" and continues watching the stage in front of them, "It's about to start!" The subject tries to talk to others, but everyone and everything around him is chaotic.

 

“We,” the MC begins, “have been looking forward to this day for decades. Welcome, newcomers, to your first day as a member of the Republic. We welcome you with open arms. Now, as we are united as One Country, One System, we stand together. Yesterday, we were bound by the contracts of our elders, but today, today we join on our own free will. Today is the first day of our freedom, a new and prosperous way of life, and a day that will go down in history. Today, we transform society as we know it, building a new way and structure of life. Today, we rejoice, for the Rebellion is no more!" Whistles and claps erupt from the audience. The MC raises her hand to quiet them, "And as you make your way to your assignments, just remember, The Handover is your freedom.”

​

The crowd echoes, “The Handover is our freedom.” Those standing on stage retreat off and are replaced with a group of men in uniforms similar to the men in black, but with badges. They disperse evenly next to three flagpoles, two of which have raised flags. Slowly, the two raised flags – one consisting of a solid background with a centered flower and the other having the same solid background but with five stars – are lowered to the ground at the same time a duplicate of the starred flag is raised. Once the two have reached the ground, the crowd erupts one last time as the MC exclaims, “Today, we are united as one!”

​

The subjects, clapping and jumping in excitement, are then escorted to the escalators, where they are told to follow the men in black to each stop to receive their assignment.

 

Once on the escalators, the subjects look at the world around them in awe. Signs for shops and restaurants are scattered as far as the eye can see, with crowds of people bartering and laughing in the streets. Buildings tower above the roof of the escalator, each floor a different store. Most stores along the escalators are small restaurants and specialty boutiques with other shops scattered throughout. Groups of school children hold hands as they make their way to a small park at the edge of the city to watch the elderly practice tai chi next to the fountains. It is mid-day, the sun is peaking out behind a group of thick, white clouds. It looks somewhat like heaven: bright, colorful, and perfect.

 

The escalators themselves resemble a tunnel, with steps on either side of the flat, moving surface that is packed shoulder-to-shoulder with subjects. Some opt to use the stairs, excitingly hopping them two at a time on the way to find their assigned destination. There are multiple points in which the escalator breaks at a concrete platform to allow riders to exit if needed. At these points, men in black scan the arm of the subject, fit with bar code tattoos, to direct them with a “Please exit” or “Please continue on” instruction. As the escalator continues to rise farther up and away from the central city, the number of subjects severely dwindles. The subjects look around at each other, trying, but failing, to hide the worry on their faces - what happens if they reach the top?

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Approaching the second to last stop, the remaining subjects audibly inhale while they get scanned. One by one, the men in black instruct them to “Please exit.” The tension in the air depreciates with each person sent until the last subject reaches the platform. His arm is scanned: “Please continue on.” The subject hesitates and tries to exit platform, but the men and black forcefully escorts the subject back on the moving walkway.

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As he rises away from the stationed men in black, the warmth of the sun can no longer be felt and the sounds of the city fade away in the distance. When the subject arrives, only one man in black comes onto the platform labeled “The Peak.” The scanner beeps in recognition of the bar code, and the man in black relays the words the subject has been longing to hear, “Please exit.” The subject hurries off the platform and down the stairs. They take the subject to a winding sidewalk where nothing can be seen through the thick trees. Walking along, birds chirp in the trees and the wind rustles the leaves.

 

Finally, the subject approaches a large building with gold doors. It's dome-like roof and tall pillars tower over the scrawny, grey-suited man. Before he is able to knock, the door swings open.

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“Subject 247, we’ve been waiting.”