In the After

the white scar that ran across her left cheek and down her neck.
    “That’s bullshit,” a blond girl told her. “You cannot theorize based on nothing; we would just be creating a fiction. This isn’t creative writing.” A few of the students laughed, as did the girl with the scar.
    She noticed me standing by the door. “Hello there.”
    “Hi.” I turned back to Dr. Samuels, but he was already gone. I didn’t even hear him leave. He would have done well in the After.
    “You must be Amy.” The scarred girl stood and came forward to shake my hand. “We’re just in the middle of what we like to call a ‘think tank.’ I’m Vivian; that’s Tracey.” She pointed to the blond girl, then went around the room. “Jacob, Haley, and Andrew, and Hector is the one with his face in his notebook.”
    Hector looked up once again and gave me a half wave. I smiled at each person in turn. I might like being in such a small class.
    “I know you’re probably baffled. I was when I first came here,” Vivian told me.
    “You were out there, with Them?” I asked, examining her face. The scar was not fresh; its raised, white surface had healed as much as it ever would. I’d never seen anyone escape from a Florae once it got its claws in.
    “For a little while.” Vivian looked away, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
    “I’m sorry.” I tried to change the subject. Thinking of the conversation I’d just had with Dr. Samuels, I asked tentatively, “Um . . . what exactly do you do here?”
    “We formulate the ideas that the scientists put into effect.” She motioned me to a table. The rest of the group had already reconvened and were continuing their conversation.
    “So . . . we try to invent useful objects?”
    “Objects, ideas, concepts. It doesn’t even have to necessarily be based on science. We develop the ideas that New Hope scientists implement for the good of the community.”
    “Just the ideas, not the concrete things? That doesn’t seem very hard.”
    “You’d be surprised. First you have to come up with a truly indispensable idea. That in itself gets most people. Then you have to take it further. How will it work, theoretically, of course. But yeah, we don’t have to make a working model. That’s someone else’s job.”
    I was flooded with relief. It wasn’t literature but it was the next best thing: something based solely on creativity and imagination.
    “Where do I start?”
    “Anywhere you want. You can read about technological advances, or you can speak with the others about what they’re working on. Generally we like to share our preliminary ideas. It helps us figure out how to develop a concept to its fullest potential.”
    “That sounds awesome. What have you come up with?” I asked.
    “Tons of things, most of which are filtered out by the higher-ups. Others are in production and one of my ideas has been realized.”
    “She’s being modest,” Tracey said. I noticed their conversation had stopped and they were all listening to me and Vivian now.
    “What was it?” I asked.
    “I conceptualized a fabric that was strong, flexible, and extremely thin. Something breathable that wouldn’t tear and could stop a bullet.”
    “The suit that the Guardians wear?” I asked, stunned.
    “Yes. I came up with the initial idea for the synth-suit. I can give you a copy of my proposal to use as a model so you’ll know how to submit your ideas.”
    “That would be great.” The class seemed like something I might have enjoyed Before.
    Vivian showed me where to get supplies: notebooks, pens, calculators. “Feel free to take a walk too, if you want. We’re encouraged to let our minds wander, try to achieve that ‘eureka’ moment, you know.”
    “Won’t I get in trouble for being out of class?” I asked.
    “No, everything we do is for the good of the whole. There isn’t a need to rebel.” Vivian smiled. “This isn’t like high school.”
    I took my notebook to a desk and stared at it while Vivian rejoined her discussion. I needed to think of something that would benefit New Hope, something for “the good of the whole,” whatever that meant. It sounded like a slogan. I had nothing. Soon it was lunchtime and I hadn’t accomplished anything.
    “Don’t worry,” Vivian reassured me. “They don’t expect you to come up with something every day. They just want us to look at situations from a different angle. The more minds contributing to our community, the stronger we all