Chapter 313
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One of the few advantages of a post-Febuary 4th world was that people didn't get suspicious if others were sweating, or had panic attacks in the middle of the street. Over the next two weeks Eve and Jamal did their regular jobs as sector police, tried to keep order, broke up fights. Sometimes a shop-keeper reported shop-lifters, but then aid it was a mis-understanding. They were hesitant to press charges when stories circulated of thieves getting their hands chopped off. Eve and Jamal hadn't seen this personnally, but had seen people who were suddenly missing a hand. They took the phone when it was their shift. Eve approached Dr Weber, promised to help him get out of the sector. Anyone could be an informant, but Eve owed him. After all that he'd done for Eve and Hope, she wanted to save his life. Jamal tole people that he trusted. If they were selected, he would help them escape. They promised that if he, Eve, or Hope were chosen, they would help them. For now, they just had to do their jobs, and try to survive as best they could.
Although there was a black-market where people could learn if they'd been selected, things in the sector seemed to get worse. Some sector guards were using the new laws to settle old scores. Informing on people for minor things. Eve didn't have many enemies, tried not to make any at all. People were stoned to death on a fairly regular basis. Some were suspected members of Finis Generatium or the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. Of those executed some claimed they were innocent until the very end, others tried to remain defiant, utter their chants. There were some aquitals. One woman was accussed of conversing with Zoey Allen about suicide. She claimed she was trying to convert Zoey to islam. The theocratic court found her not guilty. Reverand Barnes talked about what the world would be like after ELE. A world without greed, without lust, without suffering, without sin at all. But, to be accepted into this new world, they'd have to create a truley rightous community. And the main three monotheistic religions still couldn't agree on certain things. On Sunday March 23rd one church was singing a hymn called "Something changed." It was about forgiveness, salvation. But, for whatever reason, some believed it was sacriligious. They attacked these parishoners during the singing. Some were arrested for singing old collectivist songs that were not approved by the ministry of culture and spiritul guidance. Last year some movies were available showing pagan sacrifices. The idea had been to demonize paganism and led people to monotheism. Now, these movies were being burned for showing pagan rituals at all. Some muslims were performing a barbaric ritual on young girls known as "female circumcision." Some were with their parents' consent, some without. As far as Eve could tell people wanted to create a community that was acceptable to God, but still weren't sure which ideas would please the lord. The possibility of the three groups fighting frightened many. The jews were a sizeable minority. Having faced persecution and genocide for thousands of years, they naturally feared a christian-muslim alliance against them. And when they started arming themselves, this seemed to give credibility to the anti-semetic claims of some. Eve remembered last October, people allegedly performed pagan human sacrifices, desperate enough to believe this could protect them from ELE. It seemed that the Brooklyn sector was becoming just as desperate.