The Resistance

immediately easing into a smile, and Peter rushed over to pick her up in his arms, before lifting up Ben and holding him aloft. Ben’s skin was impossibly soft and he immediately broke out in giggles as Peter nuzzled his tummy with his nose. He wished Dr Edwards could see this; to see why really being young was so much better than Renewal. No drugs or synthetic proteins could create the youthful excitement and abandonment that came so naturally to Ben.
    ‘So how was your day?’ Anna asked, stirring what looked like soup.
    Peter shrugged and put Ben down. ‘It was good,’ he said noncommittally.
    ‘You saw Pip?’ Anna mouthed the words and Peter nodded.
    ‘And?’
    ‘Nothing,’ he mouthed back. ‘Nothing new.’
    Anna nodded. ‘No, come here. Oh, you naughty boy.’ Ben was crawling towards the kitchen door and Anna left the stove to chase after him, scooping him up. ‘He needs more space to move around,’ she sighed, as she returned to her cooking. ‘I wish we had a bigger garden.’
    Peter grinned. ‘Say it a bit louder and they might hear you,’ he said mischievously, then leant down so his head was nearer hers. He breathed in the smell of her hair, felt the thrill that always shot through him when he was close to her.
    Ben cried and Anna pulled away to pick him up. He had crawled under a chair, knocking it over in the process and was now trapped with the chair on its side.
    ‘Oh, Ben, oh little man. Oh, come here. It’s OK. It’s OK,’ she soothed. ‘He’s been grizzly all day. I think maybe he’s tired.’
    ‘You think you should put him down to sleep?’ Peter asked.
    Anna shook her head. ‘If he goes down now, he’ll be awake at the crack of dawn. I’d rather wait. And he hasn’t eaten yet.’
    Peter picked up the chair and sat down on it heavily, his eyes resting on the gnarled wood of the kitchen table in front of him, the marks and knots that had appeared as the tree it was made from had grown. The table was old, inherited from Anna’s parents. It was made from oak, a solid thing. Oak trees lived for hundreds of years, he found himself thinking. That wasn’t wrong. It was natural. Were there different rules for different species?
    ‘I think maybe Ben’s hungry. I might give him a little snack before we eat. Can you turn off the stove?’
    Peter stood up and flicked the switch absently.
    ‘There we go. Lovely yogurt,’ he heard Anna say. Then she lowered her voice. ‘So what did Pip say?’
    Peter shrugged, trying not to resent the fact that he never seemed to get her full attention these days. ‘Oh, nothing really,’ he mouthed dismissively. ‘Don’t worry about it. So, any post today?’
    Anna pointed to a pile on the table; a pile she’d left untouched, her mind preoccupied with other things, with Maria, with the Surpluses up and down the country. Peter rummaged through it, discarding half of the letters as junk without opening them. Then he started slightly.
    ‘We got these today?’ he asked, picking out two large envelopes with the distinctive logo of the Authorities stamped across them. Anna’s eyes widened; she hadn’t even noticed them.
    Peter took his and turned it over in his hands. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’
    Anna said nothing, but the look in her eyes suggested that she was. Slowly, Peter slipped his thumb under the flap, ripped the envelope open and pulled out the letter.
    ‘Dear Peter,
    As you are approaching your sixteenth birthday, I am delighted to enclose the Declaration for you to sign. As you will know, signing the Declaration entitles you to take Longevity ™, prolonging your life indefinitely.
    The Declaration is an important document, and I hope you will take the time to read it carefully. Longevity ™ has changed the world for humans, allowing us the freedom of limitless time and limitless health. It is a truly wondrous thing, but there is a cost to be born . . .’
    Peter felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. This was it. This was the letter.
    He scanned it quickly, taking in only snatches. ‘. . . by signing the Declaration, and thereby benefiting from a prolonged, healthful life, you agree to take all necessary precautions to ensure that you do not bring any Surplus life into the world . . . Should you discover your responsibility only when a Surplus life is born into the world, it is imperative that you contact the Authorities . . . cooperation will reduce any sentence imposed . . .’
    It was signed