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variables
that can go wrong.”
    Donovan spread his hands out in front of him
with his palms out. “I can’t help you, Max. Lennox is on the job tonight. That’s
all there is to it. You’re Lead. You know your protocol. Deal with it. These
things are only a formality nowadays anyway. There’s hardly any real danger
anymore.”
    Maxon wanted to correct the director on that
statement, but he knew better and held his tongue. “Well then, sir, if Lennox
isn’t going to be taken off, I’m going to have to respectfully take my name off
tonight’s docket.”
    Donovan gaped at him. He looked shocked,
something that wasn’t normal for him. “Do you realize what you just said?”
    “I do.”
    “Failure to report for a job will result in sanctions
and appearance in front of the Council and once you’re in front of them, you’re
at their mercy.”
    “I realize that, sir, but-“
    “You have a wife and child, don’t you?” Donovan
asked.
    “Yes.”
    “And you would put their existence at risk?”
    Maxon opened his mouth to say something, but was
cut off by Donovan before he could. “You know what can happen to family units
that aren’t complete. The Council doesn’t look favorably on them. You’re still
young Max, you have many capable years ahead. Don’t go do something stupid that
will put your family in danger, especially your young son.”
    Maxon was silent as his eyes drifted to the
floor.
    “My advice to you is to do your duty as you were
trained,” Donovan said. “And I don’t want you coming back in here with requests
like that again, or you will be up in front of the Council.” Maxon nodded his
head while still looking at the floor. “Now go on. Get out of here.”
    Maxon got up and made his way to the door. As he
walked out he could feel Donovan’s stare on the back of his head.
    Out in the hall two workers walked past Maxon.
They were Henrik and Meyers. They were on Maxon’s crew for that night. They
passed Maxon and gave him a nod. He had them on his crew once before. They were
in their first year with the department and had proven to be quick learners of
the protocol. He would have given anything to have two more just like them with
him tonight but, as Donovan made clear, the computer gives and the computer
takes.
    The idea behind random selection was simple, it
allowed for no favoritism. Leads couldn’t use the same crew members over and
over and, as a result, could not have a preference or influence over who was
picked. It also didn’t allow for cohesion among crew members if one of them
wasn’t up to standard, but what system was perfect, right? In the end, even
though Maxon didn’t have a say who was in his crew, he was responsible for them
and seeing through the wreck, and the burden of completion ultimately fell on
his shoulders.
    Sometimes he wondered if life outside would be
better. They were told everyday it wasn’t. The picture painted was one of a
desolate landscape where no one thrived, where hard labor was required and all
the technological amenities we enjoyed were absent. Maxon had grown up with this
image of the outside world but, despite that, a part of him still wanted to see
it and leave behind Elysia. To see a world he’s never seen.
    He knew if he mentioned that to Erica she would
shoot the idea down before it ever had a chance to metastasize. “No one moves out of Elysia,” his wife would exclaim. They were the children of the Project, the
first to be completely raised inside. This was their world. It was all they
knew.
    He lifted up the underside of his left forearm
and tapped it. A small screen, about two by four inches appeared on his skin.
This was the portable bio-link unit that everyone now carried on them. The unit
was embedded in all new births after an edict was passed by the Council. It was
meant as an all-purpose communication and media device. Some of the older
citizens thought it was a way to track people and keep an eye on their
movements, bio