The Albanian

A tale of administration and regulation set in a dystopian future perhaps not so far removed from our own...

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10102052:0717
Mary Worth, 33, Class 4. ID: X217467
14 Augusta Compound
IX District

     Administrator Grainger tapped the PDA and wiped a gloved finger across its surface with a tick-tock motion. He sighed and lifted his eyes to the lacklustre ball that laboured at the skyline, its pale light filtered weakly through the standing buildings of Augusta Compound and a faint breeze followed it. Housing Unit 14 stood on the first floor.
     He cast a glance at Senior Administrator Ribero who gestured onwards; the man�s mouth, as always a savage gash in a pockmarked landscape. The lips twitched, it could almost been a smile. �Something the matter Grainger?�
     The younger man shook his head and returned the PDA to the pocket at his side. �No nothing�� he muttered.
     Ribero sniffed and stalked onwards. �Good, I�m hungry, I don�t need to be messing around in there.�

     Grainger rapped curtly on the door to HU14 and waited, his heart thumping in his chest. Silence. The breeze picked up and blew sand across the walkway with a sibilant hiss, a small eddy of blown sand twisted at his feet. Ribero moved suddenly reaching for his weapon.
     �No, wait,� Grainger said quickly, throwing up a hand. He knocked again, louder this time. �Just let me handle this will you?�
     Ribero cursed sourly and returned the firearm to its holster with a look of disgust. He stepped back and turned to stare out across the interlinking blocks that comprised the sprawling Augusta Compound.
     The door opened as Grainger made to knock again. A woman answered, half-hidden behind the door, a bathrobe bound tightly at her waist and her auburn hair in disarray. Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth moved noiselessly.
     �Hello Mary,� Grainger said with a light nod.
     Mary Worth clasped a hand to her chest, her eyes creasing and the corners of her mouth curling ever so slightly. �Frank? My God� Frank? It�s been� how long?�
     �A long time�� He acceded.
     �How are you?� she said, blinking rapidly and exhaling, her relief palpable.
     Grainger set his jaw and raised his warrant card so that she could see. �I�m sorry, can we come in?�
     Mary blanched and her hand tightened on the door frame, her words tripping and stumbling from her lips. �I�I� it�s not a good�. not a good time, Frank, I�m just on my way out� and � and� how�s Judy?�
     Grainger placed a steadying hand against the coolness of the door, his gaze hardening a little. �Mary� we�re coming in.�

     Mary sat on the couch and clutched at her robe, her fingers bunching and twisting the soft material. Grainger sat opposite her, his hands clasped between his legs and his shoulders hunched. Ribero leaned against the far wall arms folded, his fingers tapping impatiently, his mouth twisted into a disagreeable line.
     �Mary,� Grainger said softly, extracting his PDA, �we�ve had a tip-off and you know as Administrators we have to follow up every-�
     She shook her head wildly, exaggeratedly. �A tip-off? What� what about? I haven�t done anything wrong.�
     �You know why we�re here,� Ribero snapped, scowling.
     �I just need to a check a few things, Mary,� Grainger said, ignoring his partner. �You�re a class 4 citizen aren�t you?�
     �No, no� I�m class 3, just waiting for my papers-�
     �Mary, hold out your hand.�
     Trembling Mary held out a hand whilst, Grainger passed the scanner across it briefly. It clicked.
     He raised his eyes to hers. �ID number X217467, Mary Ann Worth� Class 4.�
     She shook her head. �There must be a mistake, but it�s okay, I can go down to the Municipal Sector and get it straightened out this morning.�
     �Where�s Larissa, Mary?� Grainger asked.
     �She�s not here, she�s at her Grandmother�s,� Mary replied swiftly, blinking back big blurring tears.
     �F**k this.� Ribero spat. �This is taking too f*****g long.� He started towards the rooms beyond the living area.
     Mary sprung from her seat, a terrified gasp escaping her lips. As she flung herself before him, Ribero brought back his hand and swatted her from her feet. She crashed back across the couch with a grunt but scrambled to her feet and moved towards him again. Grainger caught her arm and wrenched her back. �Mary no! You know it�s an offence to impede a Administrator-�
     Ribero�s boot crashed against the door.
     �Well, well, well.� He cracked a humourless smile. Grainger moved beside him, already knowing what he�d see, his heart heavy.
     �And who is this?� Ribero said crouching, his dark eyes danced dangerously and his thin smile was mocking, almost jubilant. �You must be Larissa� but you, you shouldn�t be here at all��
     Mary pushed past them both gathering the two children in her arms. One, a girl around six years old, honey ringlets hanging to her cheeks and her green eyes glistening. A coded tattoo marked the inside of her right wrist, a signature, a seal of approval. Wrapped within the girl�s secure embrace, a baby, a few weeks old at best, its azure eyes inquisitive, round and blinking. The girl removed her hand from its mouth, the need for silence no longer required.
     The scanner clicked in Ribero�s hand and he arched an eyebrow. �It seems we have an unchipped child here.� He stared into Mary�s eyes and his gaze tightened.
     �Please,� Mary choked, �he�s not mine� I�m looking after him for a friend, I� I��
     �Then you are harbouring an illegal neonate and liable to prosecution.� Ribero stood and produced his PDA configuring a design upon its screen with a finger. As he did so he tilted his head slightly to speak into the mic at his throat. �Bring me the Albanian.�

     Grainger watched as the door opened to permit the tall man who ducked his head as his entered and removed a wide brimmed hat. The Albanian was skeletal with a waxy pallid skin, stretched like parchment over flat features. His head was bald and domed and his eyes were colourless and bleak. Wordlessly, he set down a black case upon the table and opened it with long tapering fingers.

     Tears ran down Mary�s ashen cheeks as Ribero began to read from the PDA:
     �By issue of the State: citizen�s of the Fourth Class are subject to governing rules in accordance with Para 13a of Article 9 of the Population Bill, 2047��
     Grainger�s eyes flickered between the three, his throat tight and his chest thudding, unconsciously he tightened his grip on Mary�s arm. The Albanian�s emotionless mask was in direct contrast to the horror and anguish that wreathed Mary Worth�s features. Ribero�s eyes glinted as he read on seemingly oblivious of the ministrations of the Albanian�s hands as they moved over the case�s contents.
     �Unauthorised or surplus offspring are deemed property of the State��
     �Please�� Mary said, �please don�t...�
     Her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor.
     ��and are therefore liable for confiscation, destruction or employment if it is considered beneficial to the State.�
     �Please� I�m begging you��
     Ribero lifted his gaze and nodded to the Albanian.
     �Rules are rules, Mary and the law is the law. One child per family unit. You brought this on yourself��
     The Albanian tapped the syringe with a long finger and removed the cap from the needle. And then, looking down at her as if seeing her for the first time, said.
     �Which one do you want to keep?�


.......................

According to estimates published by the United States Census Bureau, the world population hit 6.5 billion on February 25, 2006.
The World�s population is currently growing by approximately 75 million people per year and is expected to hit 9.1 billion by 2050, a rise of 40%.

Author's Note

Effects of overpopulation:
Some problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation:
� Inadequate fresh water for drinking water use as well as sewage treatment and effluent discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-expensive desalination to solve the problem of water shortages.
� Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels.
� Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution. Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline substantially, even as the population continues to grow.
� Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.
� Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming.
� Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification. Deforestation and desertification can be reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful even while the human population continues to grow.
� Illegal (and legal) immigration to the developed world on an unprecedented scale, creating an unprecedented demographic and political problem in Europe and the United States. Even the controlled and legal migration of talented and well-educated people from the Third World to the developed world denudes it of its limited skills base.
� Mass species extinctions from reduced habitat in tropical forests due to slash-and-burn techniques that sometimes are practiced by shifting cultivators, especially in countries with rapidly expanding rural populations; present extinction rates may be as high as 140,000 species lost per year. The IUCN Red List lists a total of 698 animal species having gone extinct during recorded human history.
� High infant and child mortality. High rates of infant mortality are caused by poverty. Rich countries with high population densities have low rates of infant mortality.
� Increased incidence of hemorrhagic fevers and other infectious diseases from crowding, lack of adequate sanitation and clean potable water, and scarcity of available medical resources.
� Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g. rickets). Famine is aggravated by poverty. Rich countries with high population densities do not have famine.
� Poverty coupled with inflation in some regions and a resulting low level of capital formation. Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic policies. Many countries with high population densities have eliminated absolute poverty and keep their inflation rates very low.
� Low birth weight due to the inability of mothers to get enough resources to sustain a fetus from fertilization to birth
� Low life expectancy in countries with fastest growing populations.
� Unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of raw sewage and solid waste disposal
� Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to survive.
� Conflict over scarce resources and crowding, leading to increased levels of warfare.
� Over-utilization of infrastructure, such as mass transit, highways, and public health systems
� Higher land prices.

Reviews

[Nicole Hellene]

Hey sqiptar! I'm albanian! I'm guessing you must be too or at least you know one because you got the description pretty ironically dead on. You've got us portrayed as bad mutha's. Then again, the italians don't mess with us for a reason.

critiques: Let the dialogue stand alone. Good dialogue should always stand on its own and "she put her hand over her chest and answered�" only hinders the flow and annoys the reader. It's okay every now and then but you have it after every quote.

Ease up on the Albanians in the future man aight?

[daftinklings]

If you think about it really, we're not actually overpopulated. If you divide the usable land equally among all people, then I doubt we'd have such huge problems. The issue is the large amounts of land only one single individual owns. But then again, I don't think people are altruistic enough to give away their land. I like your story a lot. Have you read Aldous Huxley. He treats the problem differently. There are no illegal births because all human beings are rendered unable to give birth normally. Instead, babies are cloned and assigned specific stations in life. For example, all blues are grunts, all greens are for management work and such, and all reds are the elites.

[Leah Elisabeth]

Other than the whole Albanian thing, (I have been there and I know lots of really great Albanians), I thought this story was really good. It is very well thought out and quite descriptive and deals with real issues. This will definitely be a consideration for the contest. Keep up the good work.

[Adela Muresan]

A crudely believable tale . The description of a rather ordinary event for that time, makes it even more terrifying, than it would have been if you would have described a political one, because the reader tends to believe it could happen to her.

The music is well chosen, and the ending � sad and shocking.

*****Write.

A.M.

[Alice Bliss]

Well written with a great message in your "notes". You manage to keep the reader in suspense and the conclusion startles in a satisfying way. Very nice character descriptions as well.
After studying conservation of animal habitat and the rate at which human overpopulation is killing off species I made the decision not to procreate a few years ago. Society is not very accepting of a young couple who do not want their own children. No one can understand our decision except my friends who are also in the animal and conservation field. Our doctors won't render us sterile until at least 30. To me it makes perfect sense that there are already children out there that need homes and it is much better off for humanity as a whole if I adopt one of them rather than make more humans which will create more waste and consume more fossil fuels. Of course it's impossbile to convince our mothers why they won't be getting biological grandchildren from us!

[Jennifer Ryan]

I think you wrote this very well but the message you sent was disturbing and quite appaling to say the least. The facts you listed above are quite true I am sure but God strike me down if I ever get to live in a world such as you described.

Beyond my personal feelings this was extremely well written and thought out. Good job.

[Carla (trying to make e..]

Found this piece on myquest list.
Wow i am glad that I am not in Mary's shoes.
Which child would I pick? Who the hell knows?
I could imagine the more recent future being like this story.
Damn, China is pretty close now......This reality would suck!!!!!

Thanks for opening our eyes Howie!!!

Carla

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

Holy crap, this story gave me chills. Whew....nicely written, great job!!!

Heather

[dead]

Strong tale indeed, like a technocratic version of China. Chipped human beings, technically the idea is interesting if you think of crime prevention et cetera; but of course that is never how things work out in practice since whenever there is the possibility of grabbing power someone will and whenever there is technology to be manipulated to have a greater exercise of power it always will happen as such.
The effects of overpopulation is however a secondary problem, the true problem is the poor management we have not just of ourselves but over the world as a whole; so when it comes to fuel, people keep on using oil, we are all well aware that we will run out, we are well aware we need to work on alternatives, there is some research but nothing really serious, we still talk of alternative fuel and here we see the problem ‘alternative’, we should not think of alternatives but of a full replacement of fuel. Also, the issues of globalism, we move all our factories to third world countries but by doing this we create a lot of unrest because basically the only people who benefit are the companies themselves. Is it really chapter to make products in third world countries; yes it is because they exploit the people and the politics there, but does this mean that the finished product is cheaper for people to buy? I do not really think so; what they can get away with they will, and if they can get away with higher turnovers they will. Anyway, the biggest problem is that globalism adds to social instability because it keeps systems of oppression in place and keeps the people down. Public transport is another big problem when it comes to the fuel crisis; I think for the most part there is just not enough effort to create a truly good system of public transportation; so like everything it comes down to poor management , politicians especially are very successful in brushing every crisis away, pretending all is well; even if ever there would be a day without a tomorrow, the politicians still will talk about tomorrow!

[Jared Kardos]

It's never the over-the-top monster that scares you, but the one that has your next-door neighbor's face. Very scary, and extremely possible.

[Greg the Bard]

This is nothing new to those of us that follow what is going on with the world. However you make a great herald for the wrongs in the world. The writing is profound and should be published where the people that should be getting involved have to see it daily and made to answer the question Why. Great read.