Empty Streets Read Free Page B

that she didn't really know what anyone looked like. All she knew for sure were people's voices, although you could buy software to alter that, too. Was Sal really a boy? "You can't trust anything," she murmured.
    "Hmmm?" Sal asked, eyes on her computer.
    "Nothing."
    Eri typed notes as her history teacher talked, one simulated person staring at another. Boredom crept into her mind.
    She raised her hand, forcing a pause in the lecture. "Will our tests all be multiple choice?"
    Ms. Fritz paused, not used to being interrupted. "No."
    The lecture continued.
    Eri raised her hand again. "Is this material going to be on the Achievement Exam?"
    "Yes, Eri. Is there anything else?"
    Eri's faced burned with the use of her name. She shook her head, looking down to hide her embarrassment. The Achievement Exam was seven months away and would decide everyone's future career. Even though she had always done well in school, she knew her future at the factory or outside of town at the loading stations was pretty much guaranteed. Kids like her didn't end up in any other jobs.
    Ms. Fritz continued, uninterrupted this time.
    "Since the People's Constitution was written, replacing the original U.S. Constitution decades ago, the number of shooting deaths, acts of terrorism, kidnappings and rapes has dropped dramatically. People are safer than they have ever been. You students will be required to know the basic tenets and beliefs of the People's Constitution, as well as the basic political philosophies that existed prior to the rewriting of the Constitution and the structures put in place since. This includes a well-rounded understanding of the Patriot's War, out of which our constitution was written. Um, yes, Eri?" A small breath of irritation escaped Ms. Fritz's mouth.
    Eri had raised her hand inadvertently, caught up in imagining a world different from hers. She took a deep breath, struggling to turn her mental discomfort into a question.
    "Um, I…might a basic belief be that safety is more important than liberty?" Eri asked. She realized too late that her question could be construed as critical of The People and shrank back in her seat uncertainly. No one was critical of The People.
    Her heart raced as the room remained silent, Ms. Fritz standing at the front of the room with her mouth slightly open.
    "I'm sorry, I think what Eri was asking was-would it be correct to say our Constitution was written to guarantee the safety of all citizens?" A male voice emerged from the back of the classroom. Eri started at the sound of her name, and then remembered they could all access each other's log-on names through the Sims. Ms. Fritz exhaled with a large smile.
    "Of course! That is exactly the theme we will be exploring tomorrow." Ms. Fritz laughed a high, tense laugh. "I guess you are a quick group. You are already ahead of me." She laughed again before continuing the lecture.
    Eri stared hard at her desk, willing her fingers to type enough of the lesson to make it appear as though she were paying attention. The words of that other student, the boy, rang in her mind. Safety of all citizens. Safety…of all…citizens. Something about the way he said it made her shiver.
    The bell rang. Her laptop folded up and disappeared as she stood to walk out. She looked around the room, curious about the boy who had said her name. No one made eye contact with her.
    She absently tucked her hair behind her ear as she left the building. She sat down in a patch of bright sunlight, its delayed warmth pushing against her shirt. Grass poked at her legs, the blades all exactly the same shade of green and identical lengths. She imagined the sun was real, that it was the sun she had seen yesterday and this morning, the sun that energized her and left her feeling like she'd swallowed the rays and they had warmed her soul. This sun, this simulated sun, provided her with nothing.
    "Hey," a voice said, as a dark silhouette towered over her and stole her sunshine. She