I turn the paper over, but the other side is blank. There’s no date. No names. No stamp or postmark. Okay, I’ll assume this one is about drugs. What else is kilos used for?
I put it on my right and grab another.
Rep. from Arkansas wins by a twenty percent majority. Confirm.
Are they reporting results or deciding them? That one goes to my left.
Another.
NASDAQ closes down 34. Order holdings rise 54%.
I tap my lip thinking, then put it by my left hip. Finances, I mentally label it.
The next document reads.
Trial A test group subject combative. Will continue double blind with Group B and C.
What are they testing? Drugs? Medications? I put it by my feet.
This one is older, the paper yellowed, brittle. Parchment.
20 head of cattle. 38 chicken. Mildred Swinton.
I stare at that for a long time, reading her name over and over, a buzzing in my ears like angry bees.
The next piece of paper is even worse. More confusing and more unsettling because I’m starting to recognize some of the words.Bond. Mother. Heir.
ARTICLE VII — SUCCESSION
Bonded males may maintain up to three female bonds simultaneously.
Upon authorization for lineage continuation, one bonded female shall be elevated to Mother status. She may receive between one to three Daughters with three preferred to preserve proper generational balance.
ARTICLE VIII — HEIR STEWARDSHIP
Male heirs shall remain under paternal stewardship.
Female offspring shall remain under maternal stewardship until bonding eligibility.
ARTICLE IX — LINEAGE DESIGNATION
Firstborn male heirs shall inherit the paternal lineage name in full, including the suffix designation “-son.”
Upon successful production of an authorized male heir, the paternal Don shall relinquish the suffix designation to the next generation as recognition of completed succession.
Lineage continuity shall be preserved without interruption.
ARTICLE X — REPRODUCTIVE ALLOCATION
No lineage group shall exceed approved offspring allocation.
Violations are subject to Order review and corrective action.
I reread it four times, until my head hurts, trying to understand and failing spectacularly. What are they talking about? Three women. Corrective action? Offspring allocation? Like children are numbers to be balanced instead of people to be loved. What kind of handmaid’s tale, cult-leader, patriarchalnightmare bullshit is this? I stare at the page again, half expecting the words to rearrange themselves into something less insane.
They don’t.
Chapter thirty-three
