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11

AMITY

Crossingthe border into Canada is much faster than leaving the Peaceful Society. Someone from New England gets on board and asks if we have any questions and that’s it. Privacy is such a thing here they apparently don’t scan you or keep track of your movements.

I’m not sure how they keep everyone safe. Someone could be hurting someone else right now in some unsupervised home in Massachusetts. It used to happen all the time before the Integration.

I’ve heard murmurs back home about this, concern for the weaker citizens in the other territories: the children, the teenagers, the elderly. But all the territories comply with the Universal Accord: they abolished guns, so I guess that’s enough.

I wonder—if men grew up with the old ways, wielding power over other people, reacting with violence when they feel scared or threatened—how will they unlearn those behaviors without Citizen training?

How will they pass on peace to the next generation without government oversight of schools and learning? My mom says they’re just sweeping violence under the rug in New England, and not establishing a new legacy like the Peaceful Society.

At least, considering the lax security at the border, it seems like folks can leave if they don’t like it.

Canada is…different. Canada was consolidated by the Canadian Government Corporation after signing the Universal Accord. They dismantled their military, sure, but they didn’t start regulating tech the way the territories in the old United States did.

You see the difference immediately when we cross the St. Lawrence River. There are big signs outside next to the train, wide and tall, with high-res screens flashing pictures of people laughing and running, and advertisements for clothes, makeup, and vacations.

They’re like the videos the Peaceful Society makes but instead of citizen education, they’re directing people to buy things: a headset, a pair of shoes, a tiny apartment with a virtual reality pod, and a food delivery service all flash on the screen in quick succession.

I turn to Ren. “This is overwhelming.” Ren doesn’t even blink.

“Do you want to switch seats?” they ask. “It’s all garbage, Ami, don’t even give it the time of day. Don’t let them draw you into that nonsense. Vipers.”

“How does anyone have the money to buy that stuff? Where do they put it?” I ask as Ren scootches by me to take the place by the window and we awkwardly change places.

They shake their head. “Most of the stuff never sells. I think people find it comforting to see the ads, have that feeling of desire, the hope that something out there will make you feel better.”

I shake my head in confusion.

“Look, I’m no expert, but most of the money in Canada just gets passed around their virtual marketplace. People pay each other, pay for upgrades, new experiences, trying to feel good. Have you done VR?”

My answer must show on my face.

Ren laughs. “Virtual reality. You can go into one of those pods and live your life in there. They’ll bring you food, they’ll bring you to a bathroom. You can stay there all the time. It’s cold up here. Some folks think VR’s more fun than reality.”

I try to imagine sitting in a pod all day.

“It’s so different from New England,” I muse, trying to fit all the new information into my understanding.

“Yeah, New England’s got nothing. They ripped all the fiber out.”

I’m so confused, even as the train slows to a stop.

“Hang on, when we get to Kingston I’ll show you,” Ren says.

A minute later we stand up and I hand Ren their hoodie that I’ve been clutching since the whole phone-buying adventure.

Ren scoots past me and leads the way up the aisle to the door. We climb down and stare around the station. There are screens everywhere. I’m trying to see where to go, when the train starts to pull away behind us.

“Ren!” I clutch their arm in alarm, but they reassure me.

“Don’t worry, kiddo, we have to switch to the trans-Canada anyway. Let’s look around first, then we’ll catch it later. And it won’t have those guys from the Forge,” they add in a low voice.

That sounds like a great idea. I gaze up and down, trying to take it all in.

“Welcome to Canada, kiddo,” Ren says grandly. “Let me show you around.”