Before Ivano went to the clinic, his father had tried to reassure him: once you are registered on the Programme, you can relax. Credits are standard for everyone, it depends on your journey through life, but he already knew how to deal with things, and he expected a reasonable figure. A figure which would have left him free.
Ivano however was busy imagining what it would be like when he got home.
There would be sermons. There would be too much attention. Yes indeed, his father would not miss out on this opportunity to draw yet another picture.
They didn’t want for anything. It was just that there had never been a remote possibility of being able to travel.
The outside world was something which was distant and unknown. His family had only even visited a few areas of their own city. This would have to be enough for him.
The world was just too dangerous to be enjoyed to the full. All trips were controlled by the Programme and only a few lucky ones were allowed to leave their own Area of Competence. That was the case for him and his parents and probably for all of his friends and acquaintances.
Ivano was walking down the street, going past the few shops which were still open. They were almost all greengrocers selling fresh food. He was tempted to secretly make the first purchase of his life. Who knows, it could even have just been a candy. Deep down he knew however that his father would be furious with him if he did. He would have ruined his Price birthday. His father might even have complained to the System Tutors and got them to impose a spending limit.
To really be an adult and to please those around him, he would have to behave properly and not give in to silly little whims. In reality not much had changed in comparison to the past. He couldn’t do anything before and now he could do even less. All he could do was to wait for the right moment to invest in something of his own. Certainly not on a whim or on childish things like candy.
He would have to wait for his father to check how many credits he was worth. He quivered to think about how much they had recognised his commitment, his work and basically his whole life.
He trusted in his father, but it was not a blind trust. He remembered that he was not infallible, he could still make a mistake in his calculations somewhere. He even feared that his companions could be worth much more than him. He was ashamed.
He started to walk faster, nearly home now.
Ivano rang the bell. He had never had a set of keys. His father ran to open the door. He was free that day, just like any other father on their child's Price birthday.
“Ivo!! Has it happened?! You are back!! Come in, come in!! So? How do you feel? Do you feel like a grown-up now? Sit down, I have a surprise for you!”
His mother brought in a tiny cake with a huge candle on it.
Now everyone was sat at the table. Well, not really everyone. The rest of his family was missing. But since the Programme did not provide extra credits for presents or holidays, nobody celebrated anything anymore.
As soon as Ivano blew out his candle, he wanted to go straight to his room. He could forget about that though.
Ivano's father got out his mobile phone and solemnly pointed it towards Ivano's head.
“Are you ready? Do you want to know or not? Aren't you curious? All of these years that I have been here, guiding you, giving you advice. All it takes is one little click to know! Ah! Did someone assess you already on the street? Or were you so ungrateful as to ask a passer-by to do the favour? What do you say Ivano? Shall I do it?”
His father pointed the phone at him and found out what he wanted to know straight away. At first he looked serious and worried. Then he relaxed.
“Just as I thought. Exactly as I thought. I never get it wrong, not me. Isn't that right love? Look at that!”
His father was right. In his heart, Ivano was hoping that it would be a good deal higher. There was no real reason. It was just a dream. He dreamed of being better than the crude reality had made him out to be. One can dream too much however. He had taken too much from the world of literature; in his head he had written a novel with a happy ending. Now all he wanted to do was to go and rest. He had a headache, his sense of balance was not quite back to normal. He had felt better while he was walking compared to now that he was sitting still.
The cake was rancid. It was because of those hyper-preservatives they used these days. You had to drink three glasses of water just to swallow a piece of cake. His mind wandered to the cream that they used to have, once upon a time.
Ivano and his father sat down in the living room. His mother was only interested in her housework as usual. Looking after the kitchen, cleaning, little jobs like that. Her husband had power of attorney when it came to credits as she had always been an awful student. This fact had always depressed her and she had felt humiliated throughout her adult life. She didn't play an active role in decision making in the family, even if her husband, albeit in the privacy of their marital bedroom, did ask her questions, as for her opinion and for advice. Her responses were usually short and elusive. That was enough to make her husband happy. She missed her own family, but nobody knew why the ties between them had been severed. At least officially nobody knew. There was just a myth about one of her relatives being arrested, and that was it...
Ivano's father worked in maintenance at a local play ground, the only one which still existed in their Area of Competence. The park itself was enormous and had an extensive infrastructure. So it needed constant checks and supervision, as did the technology which was necessary for it to run. Ivano's father had become one of the people responsible for that sector.
For Ivano, the joy of going to a park had understandably diminished with the passing of the years. Nothing was ever new, nothing was ever brought up to date, it was all exactly as it had been on the day it was created. Thus, he had lost interest in going. His father didn't blame him for that, he knew that the place was for families with small children. He knew 100% that Ivano's children would be able to go there almost for free as often as they wanted to, thanks to his being there. That made him happy. Just a small privilege that he could be proud of. Ivano's father needed incentives to spur him on, even if they were only small. It stopped him thinking about other things which were less pleasant.
Back in the living room, Ivano was listening to his father speaking, his words were full of wisdom, but at the same time melancholic and unnerving.
Don't buy anything that is not strictly necessary, your university fees include the meal of the day at the canteen, eBooks, handouts, video lessons and everything else.
Ivano's behaviour would not have to change at all. He would continue along the same path he had taken throughout school. It had now become imperative to get the highest grades possible. That would take four years of intensive and continuous work on his part. He never asked for anything else. Now he had moved on to the next step.
He remembered that not all of his friends had had his good fortune, they had not all had his abilities. Recognition was necessary for everyone and everything. Recognition that you are privileged and middle class and relying on this recognition to maintain your position. To maintain your position in society.
Ivano had heard the same stories for almost half of his life, but this time they sounded disgusting to him. He was daydreaming about escaping from the living room and jumping into bed, even if he couldn't sleep he could put his headphones on and listen to audio dreams.
He tried, but he couldn't listen to his father's monologue any longer. He was trembling and felt a sort of paralysis which was making him break out in a cold sweat. His mother had been coming in and out of the room but said nothing as usual.
“Okay, go and rest. I know that the operation itself wasn’t too bad, but I remember when it was my turn, I stayed in bed for a week. We thought about claiming on the guarantee. Then everything went back to normal. Just like with any other update.”
Ivano stood up mechanically. Luckily there was still a hand rail on the stairs for him to hold onto. Finally he made it to his own bed.