This is one of those dystopian, sci-fi stories that I really enjoyed. Not too make-believe or too outrageous to be true.
The story is set in the future where couples who want to have kids need to get a permit from the government. Population is tightly controlled that any unauthorized births should be terminated. Slips are those unauthorized births or any illegals that have managed to survive beyond their second birthday and are viewed to be a threat to national security. In theory, this may seem like a very good solution to control population but then moral questions also arise like the value of human life.
Like most theories setup to control something, it is good in writing but then when the application and the real situation arises, it is an altogether different scenario. The whole story revolved around the issue of enforcing your duty and protecting your personal interests, specifically, your family. Which is more important, your immediate family or keeping your job? The same question was also answered in this story and I agree with answer. Nothing is more important than life and family. A job can be taken away anytime. No one is irreplaceable. Everyone is as good as his last shift. But family is family. There's no other. They cannot be returned nor exchanged, much less replaceable. This perfectly exemplifies as to how far and what length would a father or a parent will go to protect his son.
For a dystopian, this was not so grim. In fact, it was hopeful. It has probably more to do with one of the characters, the very influential head of PopCon as a main participant in making the whole you-and-me-against-the-world plot work. In most stories, this influential figure is supposed to be vicious and hell-bent on enforcing the rules, but it was not to be in this story. The fact that the same person entrusted to enforce the law was actually the one breaking it and he had good reasons. His motives were well-founded and if I were in his place, I'd do the exact same thing. Protect my family. Keep my job so I could protect my family better. A very smart move.
I give the story 5/5 superhero wrist watches. This story has a cast of very strong characters. A loving and protective father. Friends who are loyal and very resourceful. The main character Benson Kelly is a smart and lucky boy. Lucky because of his background, where he came from, which contributed to his character formation. He is lucky to have great friends who stuck with him even if their lives were also in danger. This story doles out a lot of lessons. Aside from the obvious moral lesson and sanctity of life, it also stresses the importance of friendships and family.
Thank you again, David Estes for the copy.
But that's the thing about memories: The ones you never forget are either the ones you hate or love the most.
- David Estes, Slip -
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