Chapter Eleven of Helena, a novel in progress. This work of fiction examines Christian nationalism, political power, and the corruption of religious language.
The transparent shield did not descend.
Helena remained inside it with both hands on the desk. Supervisor Hale stood on the other side, close enough that his breath left a pale mark on the surface between them.
“Resume assigned work,” he told the room.
No one moved.
Hale turned from Helena.
“The witness review is unrelated to your assignments.”
Blue screens reopened in ordered rows. Workers lowered their eyes. Livia’s screen was among the last to change.
Helena’s remained gold.
WITNESS INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACTIVE.
DO NOT LEAVE THE PROTECTED AREA.
At 08:23, two officers entered the workroom.
They wore gray uniforms without medical insignia. The woman carried a narrow case. The man carried nothing.
Hale met them at the end of the row.
“The employee misunderstood a clarification request,” he said.
“The system recorded a material conflict,” the woman replied.
“The conflict resulted from her misunderstanding.”
“Then the review will establish that.”
Hale looked toward Helena.
“She is under my supervision.”
“Not while her testimony is active.”
The woman placed her hand against the transparent shield. A white light moved around its edge, and the barrier descended into the desk.
“Helena Vale,” she said, “come with us.”
Helena stood.
As she stepped into the aisle, she saw Mara’s empty station beside her own. Its barrier was gone. The sealed notice still read:
CASE TRANSFERRED
She followed the officers from the workroom.
The interview room was one floor below, though Helena had never seen it before. There were no windows. A table and three chairs occupied the center. On the wall, the seal of the Office of Civic Integrity appeared without a slogan beneath it.
The man sat across from her. The woman remained standing.
“I am Examiner Holt,” the man said. “This is Protection Officer Saye. Your statement has created a conflict in a pending capital classification. Until that conflict is resolved, you are a protected witness.”
“Where is Mara Venn?”
“You are not authorized to ask questions concerning the subject’s location.”
“I am a witness in her case.”
“That authorizes answers.”
A panel illuminated in the table.
WITNESS STATEMENT HV-11608
RELATED CASE: MV-77241
Her clarification appeared beneath the numbers.
The authorized interpretation attributes a claim to me that I did not make. I found no medical record confirming pregnancy. I found four medical records stating that the subject was not pregnant.
Holt read it aloud.
“Is this your statement?”
“Yes.”
“Were you instructed by another person to make it?”
“No.”
“Did another person direct you to the four medical records?”
“No. They appeared in the revision history during an authorized audit.”
“Why did you select Mara Venn’s case for that audit?”
“The system required me to select a completed case from the list.”
“That does not answer why you selected hers.”
Helena looked at the statement on the table.
“Her case had produced an interface fault earlier that morning.”
“The fault was invalidated.”
“It was confirmed.”
Holt’s eyes lifted.
“Confirmed as invalid.”
“Confirmed as a fault.”
Officer Saye’s case clicked open.
Inside lay a white band.
Helena stopped breathing.
“Extend your left arm,” Saye said.
“I already have a compliance band.”
“This is not a replacement.”
Saye lifted the white band from the case. It was thinner than Mara’s had appeared, almost translucent beneath the room’s light.
“It will preserve your testimony against unauthorized alteration,” she said.
“For how long?”
“Until the conflict is resolved.”
“What happens to it then?”
“Extend your arm.”
Helena obeyed.
Saye placed the white band beside the black one. The two surfaces touched. For an instant, both went dark.
Then the white band closed.
A cold pressure moved around Helena’s wrist.
MEMORY BASELINE IN PROGRESS.
The words appeared on the table and on the wall at the same time.
A series of images followed.
Mara’s civic photograph.
Pastor Ward’s statement.
The four medical records.
Nathan’s civic identity.
CI-204-1187
Helena looked at Holt.
“Why is Nathan Reed part of this review?”
“Answers only.”
The next image was the courtship table.
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.
The white band tightened.
ELEVATED RESPONSE RECORDED.
Holt leaned forward.
“Has Nathan Reed discussed Reproductive Case MV-77241 with you?”
“No.”
“Has he communicated with you through an unauthorized system channel?”
Helena thought of the blank entries in error correction.
Did you see the message?
The white bands are not the danger.
Nathan had not identified Mara. He had not stated a case number. He had not told Helena to open the audit.
“He has never used Mara Venn’s name in any communication with me,” she said.
The white band remained cold.
Holt waited.
“That is not the question.”
“It is the answer I can testify to.”
The table marked her words.
RESPONSE PRESERVED.
For the first time, Helena understood why the system feared the white bands.
They did not make a witness tell the truth.
They made it harder for the government to change what the witness had said.
Holt touched the table, but her answer remained visible.
“Did Mara Venn tell you that she had never been pregnant?”
“She told me there was never a child.”
“Did you believe her?”
Helena looked at the white band.
“Yes.”
The word appeared beneath the others.
RESPONSE PRESERVED.
Holt ended the interview at 09:41.
“You are placed on protected leave pending witness reconciliation,” he said. “You will return directly to your residence. You will discuss this review with no one. Your movements and communications will be restricted to essential civic functions.”
“Does covenant formation qualify as an essential civic function?”
Holt glanced at her black band.
“Your response obligation remains active.”
“Am I permitted to speak with the candidate?”
“Not unless the Office of Covenant Formation authorizes another conversation.”
“And I must decide without one.”
“You have already received two conversations.”
Officer Saye opened the door.
“The transport will take you home.”
The vehicle had no windows.
Helena sat alone in the rear compartment, the white band cold beside the black one. She counted the turns until she no longer knew which district they were crossing.
When the door opened, she was outside her residence.
The wall illuminated as soon as she entered.
PROTECTED WITNESS CONDITIONS ACTIVE.
OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION RESTRICTED.
Beneath the notice, the covenant clock continued.
TIME REMAINING: 18 HOURS, 47 MINUTES
CANDIDATE: NATHAN REED
ACCEPT COVENANT
DECLINE COVENANT
Helena sat on the edge of the bed.
The government had selected Nathan. It had measured their histories, their bodies, their responses, and called the result compatibility. It had required their presence and recorded consent where none had been given.
But it had not made Nathan preserve Mara’s records.
It had not made him challenge the false classification four times.
It had not made him place his finger on the words Jesus Christ is Lord.
And it had not made Helena answer the government’s lie with her own name.
She stood and approached the wall.
The two choices brightened.
She selected ACCEPT COVENANT.
The white band flashed.
FEMALE CANDIDATE CONSENT RECORDED.
The countdown disappeared.
Helena waited.
A second notice appeared.
MALE CANDIDATE CONSENT: DISPUTED
JOINT COVENANT REVIEW REQUIRED.
REVIEW DELAYED BY ACTIVE WITNESS CONFLICT.
The Office had tried to force a choice before she understood what Nathan had done.
Now it could not complete the covenant because she understood it.
A final line appeared.
CANDIDATES MAY NOT BE QUESTIONED SEPARATELY WHILE JOINT REVIEW IS PENDING.
Helena read it twice.
The government had placed a white band on her wrist to isolate her.
Instead, it had made Nathan part of her protection.
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