The Resistance

great. But it doesn’t mean everyone has to . . . It doesn’t mean that Opting Out is the only way.’
    Anna’s brow wrinkled in incomprehension and she pulled Ben to her. ‘But I don’t see how it isn’t,’ she said. ‘Signing the Declaration means agreeing not to . . . It means you extend your own life in place of new life. It’s against Mother Nature. It’s . . . it’s wrong, Peter. It’s because of the Declaration that there are Surpluses. It’s because of the Declaration that there are Catchers and mothers crying themselves to sleep because their babies were taken from them. It’s because of the Declaration that Grange Hall exists . . .’
    Her voice had grown smaller and her face was hot. Peter took a deep breath.
    ‘The thing is, Anna, sometimes people don’t have a choice. And that changes things.’
    Why was he so weak, he chastised himself. Why couldn’t he just tell her?
    ‘Everyone has a choice,’ Anna said. Her voice was still quiet, but there was steel in it.
    ‘Not everyone.’ He cleared his throat, which had suddenly grown tight. Ben started crying, and Anna stood up, jigging him about and soothing him.
    ‘Is that what they told you at Pincent Pharma?’ she asked darkly, not meeting his eyes. ‘Is that what your grandfather said? You can’t trust him, Peter, you know that. You can’t trust anyone. Not even the Underground. Not necessarily.’
    Peter stared at her strangely then remembered his argument with Pip the night before. He wondered how much she had heard of it.
    ‘Do you trust me?’ he asked. The tranqua-smoothie’s effects were beginning wear off; Peter could feel his muscles tightening, could hear his voice becoming slightly strangled, insecure.
    Anna nodded. ‘Of course I do. I trust you completely.’
    ‘You’d sign the Declaration if I asked you to?’
    ‘You’d never ask me,’ Anna said, looking intently at Ben. ‘You hate Longevity. You hate Pincent Pharma. You hate . . .’
    Peter looked at her, at her pale translucent skin, at the fiery determination in her eyes – the same determination he’d fallen in love with the first time he’d seen her. Even within the confines of Grange Hall, she’d managed to retain an air of dignity, of authority; now, he couldn’t bear to be the one to strip it away, and he dropped his head into his hands.
    ‘What I hate is that you don’t know the truth. Anna, we don’t have a choice,’ he said. ‘The Underground lied to us.’
    ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Anna said, shaking her head firmly. ‘We have to Opt Out. We are the Next Generation and we’ll be the parents of the generation after us. We’re going to live for ever through our children. That’s how it’s meant to be, Peter. It’s what you said. You know that.’
    ‘Anna, we can’t have children.’ He said it almost silently, and afterwards he couldn’t be entirely sure that he’d spoken the words at all. Anna was looking at him helplessly, confused. ‘We can’t have children because of the Surplus Sterilisation Programme,’ he continued, finding the courage from somewhere to look her in the eye as he spoke. ‘I found out about it yesterday. I . . .’
    Slowly, Anna’s face changed from incomprehension to disbelief. Peter pulled out the report, the report he’d stolen from his grandfather, and handed it to her. She put it on the table in front of her, staring at it blankly.
    ‘There’s nothing we can do,’ Peter continued. ‘The Authorities did it. At Grange Hall.’
    ‘No.’ Anna’s voice was unrecognisable. ‘No, it’s not true.’
    ‘It’s OK, Anna,’ Peter found himself saying. ‘Because we’ll still be together. And we’ll have for ever to make a difference.’
    ‘I don’t want for ever,’ Anna whispered. She was shaking; her eyes were slightly glassy.
    ‘You just need to get used to the idea, Anna,’ Peter said quickly, grabbing her hands to try to calm her. He had to make her see, had to open her eyes to the possibilities so she could see things as he did. ‘Longevity’s amazing – it’s incredible, actually. And we’ll have time to do everything you’ve ever wanted to do. We can go to the desert. We can travel around the world. You can read every book that’s ever been written, and write a million, too.’
    ‘I don’t understand,’ Anna said, her voice barely audible. ‘Why are you saying this?’
    ‘Anna, you have to know the truth. I was angry too, but it happened. Even Pip knew about it.