The Choice

By Claire Miller

Joanne lives in a Society where children have their DNA tweaked to meet the future needs of Society. At a graduation ceremony they are given a coloured jacket which will denote the role they will have for the rest of their lives.

She has been working with her botanist grandfather, and together they have discovered a breakthrough that

• Language: English
• Publisher: Campsie Hills Books
• Release date: Dec 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9780995645875

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Joanne stood in the queue of students waiting to climb the steps that led up to the graduation stage. She was nervous and excited all at once.

Nervous because the ceremony marked the end of her life as a child of the community, and that meant she was now going into a new future she had yet to explore.

Excited because she could announce to the community the breakthrough she and her grandfather had just made in plant production. A breakthrough which would make everyone's lives better.

Her black jacket had been taken from her to be replaced by a different jacket which would identify her role in the community, whatever colour that was going to be. All her life had led up to this moment. She just knew the jacket was going to be green, just like her grandfather’s, who was a botanist. She would wear that green jacket with pride and work her hardest.

She was looking forward to a future where she would play her role in Society following all the expectations that she knew would lead to a happy and fulfilled life for her.

All around her, the audience was a sea of coloured jackets amongst them: reds, blues, greens, yellows, blacks and purples. Each jacket identified the role that the person had within the community.

She looked around to find her family; they smiled proudly at her when she spotted them. Her dad wearing his blue jacket, space pilot; her mum wearing her yellow jacket, homemaker; her brother Mark wearing his black jacket, student; and her grandfather, his green botanist jacket. She smiled at her grandfather who nodded encouragingly; after all, he knew where her heart lay.

The queue moved slowly forward, and she edged closer to the stage with Society’s mantra, Society looks after you, if you look after Society, written on the wall above it.

Applause followed each student who received their jacket from the Principal of the school—and the applause wasn’t just from the people at the ceremony. The ceremony was being beamed to the whole of Society. Each ceremony, at each school, was eagerly awaited and celebrated.

The moment of role identification was the highlight of Society; everyone loved this stage in their lives and accepted their destiny with happiness. Joanne was determined to be the best botanist she could be.

The students in front of her got to the bottom of the steps. Joanne took a deep breath and began to imagine herself announcing her exciting news to the whole world. Everyone would be so pleased; she just knew it!

'Joanne Crossan,' the Principal called out.

Joanne took a breath, smiled, climbed up the steps, and began walking across the stage. The Principal beamed at her. She prepared herself to begin her acceptance and announce her news.

But her words disappeared when she saw the colour of the jacket in his hand. It was blue, just like her dad's. No wonder the Principal looked so pleased; it was a huge honour to have a space pilot student.

Years of feelings of neglect and resentment flooded Joanne. She looked at her family. Her mum, dad and brother were on their feet clapping, while her grandfather was in his seat, a tear rolling down his face. There was a look of deep sadness in his eyes. His shoulders were down into his body.

Joanne turned back to the Principal, who was now standing with his arms extended towards her, the blue jacket waiting for her. She knew that once the jacket was taken nothing could be changed. She would be unable to do anything else.

She couldn't do to a child what her family had done to her. She wanted to be part of her child's life, unlike her dad, who seemed oblivious to the pain his attitude and many absences had caused Joanne. Joanne’s true father was her grandfather, not her dad.

She walked to the table behind the Principal and selected a green jacket, then returned to stand in front of him. All the clapping had stopped; there wasn't a sound, not even from the people watching on their screens. There was utter confusion on the Principal’s face.

Nodding to the Principal, Joanne turned to her family, who—with the exception of her smiling grandfather—were staring in shock at her, and then she looked forward and walked past the Principal to the other side of the stage and down the steps.

The noise in the ceremony erupted, and for the first time ever, it wasn't clapping and cheering.

Two school staff members met her when she entered the graduation room, where all the graduating students went to after they had received their jackets. The excited chatter immediately fell to silence when they saw Joanne dressed in green She felt everyone’s eyes on her.

Looking around, she searched to see if there were any friendly faces, fully aware her choice of jacket would have been seen on the screen which showed the ceremony to those students who had already graduated.

The student’s bags sat on the shelves at one end of the room, ready for the leaving event which happened straight after the ceremony. All the students went straight off to the specialist schools to begin their training after they had graduated.

She had been certain of her decision in the hall, but was now nervous of how the other students were going to react.

Joanne found her best friend Amy and willed her to understand her decision. Amy looked uncertainly at her and then, after a pause, turned away. Joanne knew Amy understood her passion for botany. All the years they had spent together had to mean something. But despite all of it, Amy continued to avoid looking at Joanne.

They had joked, before the ceremony, that they may both get green jackets and be going to botany school together. Amy had showed as much interest in botany as Joanne had at school. Joanne noted that Amy had indeed received a green jacket.

A wave of sadness passed through Joanne at the thought of what might have been. Her choice of jacket had set her against Society, something she was going to have to deal with without Amy’s help.

CHAPTER 2

The two staff members shifted to either side of Joanne and led her through the room. They stared straight ahead in stony silence and indicated, with their hands, that the students were to move to let them through. There was no need for their actions, because the students parted before Joanne anyway.

She saw expressions of puzzlement and disbelief on most of the faces as she was taken through the room. A few students turned away in disgust.

Tears began to form in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wasn't going to let anyone see how hurt she was feeling. Confident in her decision, she held her head high and looked forward.

By the door, at the end of the room, stood the only student wearing a blue jacket. He shook his head in disbelief and stared at her with a look of pity. She could almost read his thoughts: 'How could she throw away such an exciting opportunity?' Tears threatened to return, and this time she wouldn't be able to stop them.

The two staff members took Joanne to an empty room with no screen and left without saying a word to her, shutting the door behind them with a dull thud.

She covered her face with her hands as the tears fell. The only person she wanted to see right now was her grandfather.

After the tears stopped, she began to think about the other students in the room and what they might be doing. She had expected to be standing amongst them now, excitedly watching everyone else receiving their jackets onstage.

In her head, before the ceremony, she had envisaged discussing her excitement for her future with her friends. Obviously, the school had decided she had no place amongst her friends by placing her in this empty room, separate from everyone else.

She had imagined greeting her family after the ceremony, at the leaving event, and saying her goodbyes before going straight off to the specialist school, along with all the other students and their families. There would be laughter, excitement, and a few tears as parents said goodbye to their children.

She wondered if the leaving event had taken place, but she had no idea if it had, as there was no way of telling how much time had passed in this room.

Amy's face flashed into her mind. Joanne had been looking forward to sharing the leaving event with her and going to the botany school together. But that was never going to have happened, she reminded herself. The blue jacket was to have been her destiny.

She had been hurt by Amy's reaction in the room. She understood why, but wished Amy had supported her. She sighed; she had made her decision and would make it all over again.

Whatever her future was to be, she was pleased about one thing: her DNA was fixed and couldn't be changed anymore. Up until the age of 20, all children went for regular DNA checks and had their DNA changed if it felt necessary.

This practice was accepted and welcomed by everyone, Joanne included, up to this point. She had never realised how little control she had over her life before. She wondered if any other student had wanted another jacket other than the one they were presented with at the ceremony.

She now fully appreciated how much her grandfather had helped her be focused on her passion for botany, after her trips to the DNA clinic, when she had come out thinking of going into space instead of the breakthrough she’d been working on with her grandfather.

Her father's constant absences and dismissive attitude of anything not space related had helped Joanne overcome her obvious and now understandable interest in space. Her future was unknown.

She had never known anyone do what she had done today. All she could do was wait and see what was going to be done with her.

There was one thing she was certain about: the breakthrough she and her grandfather had discovered had to be shared, for it was too important to stay hidden. The impact of the breakthrough would benefit everyone.

Joanne settled down to wait for someone to come and talk to her. Fear crept into a corner of her mind, but she dismissed it quickly. Her decision was made, and she was going to stay strong.

The room door opening startled her out of her thoughts. She saw her grandfather’s face appearing, and she smiled gratefully and began to move towards him.

A slight shake of his head warned her to stay where she was. She stopped and watched her grandfather, her mum, her dad, her brother, the Principal, and the District Administrator come into the room.

They stood in front of her and stared in silence. Her mum looked like she had been crying and sent a reproachful look at Joanne. Her dad was angry. Mark had a look of unbelievable awe. The Principal still looked confused. The District Administrator was furious. Her grandfather was a picture of studied indifference.

She silently took a deep breath and waited to see who was going to speak first.

The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever. She focused on her grandfather, his impassive face steadying her nerves. Her mum looked like she wanted to say something but just didn't know what to say.

Her dad broke the tense atmosphere.

'How could you, Joanne?' he barked at her. 'Do you know what you have thrown away?'

She jumped a little, steadied herself, then looked at her dad. Her mum stifled a sob, and her dad put his arms around her mum’s shoulders.

'See what you've done to your mother,' her dad said accusingly, looking at Joanne.

She swallowed. Her dad was talking to her the way he usually did when he didn't understand why she had done something. He didn't seem to realise that there was any other way to talk to her.

'Just think of the example you’re setting for your brother,' he continued.

Mark smirked just a little, then adjusted his face to look upset. He’d always got on better with her dad. After all, he was interested in engineering and always asked her dad lots of questions about spaceships, when her dad was at home. Her dad always made time to speak to Mark—just never Joanne.

The Principal nervously cleared his throat. 'Why did you refuse the blue jacket, Joanne?' he asked. ‘Do you have any idea how important the job of a space pilot is?'

Her dad snorted in disgust.

'Of course she does,' he said. 'She's afraid of hard work, that's all. She always has been and always will be.'

Joanne fought back the tears that threatened to break her composure. How could he say that? Did he have no idea how long she and her grandfather had worked on their breakthrough? She knew the hours of painstaking research they had put in to get to where they were at now.

She looked at her grandfather and saw hurt flash in his eyes, but his expression didn't change. She had to be strong like her grandfather.

The District Administrator saved her from having to answer the Principal’s question.

'There's the matter of your future to decide,' he said. 'As you know, and we are all painfully aware, you turned down the opportunity to be a space pilot. You were meant to be leaving with your dad to join Victory, the flagship of our space fleet, immediately after the ceremony.'

Joanne hoped no one noticed her suppress her shudder of horror. The thought of being trapped on a spaceship with her dad gave her chills. She wouldn't be able to escape his attention there and he would also be training her.

Mark looked at her enviously, and she knew he wanted to be on her dad's ship.

She listened as the District Administrator carried on talking, 'I have been authorised, as there are no more space pilots graduating just now and it will be next year before anyone else can be ready, to offer you the chance to take the blue jacket again.'

Joanne knew this never happened; someone somewhere really wanted her to change her mind.

'Please Joanne,' her mum said, 'it's for the best. You'll enjoy being on your dad's ship. I know it.'

Joanne looked at her grandfather. He stared at her without a single flicker of emotion. She took a deep breath and shook her head to indicate she didn’t want to. She didn't trust herself to speak and decided that anything was better than being stuck on a ship with her dad.

The District Administrator gave a sigh of frustration. ‘So be it. Go home with your family and stay there until a decision is made about your future. Just because you took a green jacket doesn’t mean you are going to a Natural Science Academy.'

Mark’s face brightened up, and Joanne could see he was hoping that he would be chosen to be the next space pilot when he graduated next year.

CHAPTER 3

The District Administrator walked out of the room, leaving the door open. Joanne's mum gave an audible sob and then buried her head into Joanne’s dad's body. Her dad glared at her. Mark grinned happily; he loved it when Joanne got into trouble from her dad. Her grandfather's expression hadn't changed.

The Principal looked at her and sighed with regret. ‘You'll be glad to know that the student whose jacket you took wasn't penalised because of your actions, but...' he paused, then said, 'they had to graduate without getting their jacket.' He followed the District Administrator out of the room.

It took several minutes for Joanne's mum to stop crying. The atmosphere in the room radiated tension the longer the time went on.

Once her dad was sure her mum was ready to leave, he marched out of the room followed by Joanne's mum, still sniffing, and Mark. Joanne's grandfather followed Joanne.

Joanne picked her bag up from where it had been left in the graduated student's room, as they walked through it to get to the hall where the ceremony had been held.

The ceremony hall was empty, even the screens had been turned off. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the hall as they made their way to the exit.

Joanne risked a look at her grandfather. He gave her a small smile when no one else was looking. She knew she had one friend at least. She hoped it wasn't too long before she and her grandfather could be alone and she could be herself without fear of retribution.

Her dad shepherded her mum and brother inside when they got home. Joanne watched as they disappeared in through the front door.

She turned to her grandfather, who was standing beside her; he smiled encouragingly at her and put his hand out, offering to carry her bag for her. She smiled gratefully at him.

The silence, punctuated by the occasional sniff from her mum, on the journey home, contrasted sharply with the warm, excited atmosphere she had experienced in the ride to the ceremony.

Her dad had even smiled one of his rare smiles at her as they were getting out of the car, at the hall where the ceremony was being held. He had looked very happy after the last minute call with the District Administrator before they had all left the house.

Joanne was about to hand her bag to her grandfather when her dad's voice came out from inside the house.

‘You can carry your own bag Joanne,’ he ordered. ‘You deserve no better.’

Her grandfather withdrew his hand. He looked apologetically at her and then walked towards the house. Tears stung Joanne’s eyes. She wiped them away and followed him in as her heart thumped, wondering what was going to happen next.

Her dad was waiting in the hall for her, while her mum and brother were nowhere to be seen. Her grandfather was standing a little further into the hallway.

‘Go to your room,’ her dad said. ‘You may come out when it's time to eat, and until then, I don't want to hear or see you.’

Joanne gulped nervously; this was her dad at his worst. She walked past him, aware of his angry gaze following her. As she reached her room door, she heard her grandfather say, ‘I'll be in the workshop, if anyone needs me.’

This was her grandfather's way of telling her where she could find him. She just needed to work out when she could get to him.

Sitting on her bed, she stared at the shut door. Her dad had shut the door after she walked into the room. The look on his face had warned her to stay where she was. She had never seen him so angry. He was taking her decision very personally. She had no idea what he was going to do next.

The evening meal was punctuated with the sounds of cutlery hitting plates and absolute silence. Joanne remembered conversations with her mum at mealtimes when she was younger. Her mum had always paid attention to Joanne when her dad was away. One loud and angry conversation between her dad and mum had ended this.

Mark had complained to her dad about the attention Joanne was receiving. Her dad had reminded her mum that Mark was more likely to be going into space than Joanne so needed all of her attention and encouragement. Joanne’s job wasn’t likely to be as important. Her dad fully expected Mark to be following him into space.

Her mum had run past Joanne in tears and never again attempted to include Joanne in family life again. School reports and achievements of Mark were celebrated, while hers were barely acknowledged. Silence at meal times had become normal for Joanne.

Around the table now were Joanne’s mum, dad, and Mark. Joanne’s grandfather had just left the room saying he was returning to his workshop to continue with his work. She had watched him leave, desperate to jump up and follow him.

She began to push her chair back in preparation for leaving the table, thinking it was worth trying to follow her grandfather. A glance from her dad, his stern expression, and shake of his head warned her to stay where she was.

‘Once you've finished,’ he said looking at her, towards the end of the meal, ‘come to my study.’

He got up from the table and walked out of the room. Quickly, she finished what she was eating. It wouldn't do to keep her dad waiting.

She took a deep breath as she stood outside the study door. She could do this. The sooner she went in, the sooner it would be over, and the sooner she could go and see her grandfather. She knocked on the door.

He was standing in front of his screen, talking to the District Administrator, when she walked into the room. Neither of them acknowledged Joanne.

Joanne listened whilst her dad and the District Administrator exchanged pleasantries and their news. Joanne watched nervously, anxious to have the talk with her dad over and done with.

‘Safe travelling,’ the District Administrator said to her dad, ‘and keep me up-to-date with the matter we discussed.’

Joanne had a sneaking suspicion she was the matter they had been discussing.

‘I will,’ her dad said, smiling at the District Administrator. ‘Thank you for calling.’

The District Administrator's eyes flicked to Joanne just before the screen went dark.

Her dad turned to her, his smile disappearing from his face. He regarded her for several minutes, then took a deep breath.

‘I have been asked if you will reconsider your decision about taking the blue jacket again,’ he said.

She gasped in amazement; she was being asked again a question she had already answered. She paused, feeling the pressure of her dad’s stare and the expectation of Society to accept the role that had been decided for her.

She nearly said yes, but couldn’t. The importance of the breakthrough and her love of botany wouldn’t let her. No matter what happened, she would stick with her decision.

‘Well,’ her dad said abruptly when she didn't immediately answer him.

Quickly she shook her head, indicating she wouldn't take the blue jacket.

Her dad stared at her in silence for a moment with a grim look on his face.

‘I'm disappointed,’ he said. ‘You’ve let me down. I was expecting you to set a better example for your brother.’

Joanne pressed her shaking