(This was meant to be the place where all
the castes were outlined, but we realized if we dropped hints about people in
other places, like in line to drop off the forms, we didn’t need this big chunk
of an explanation.)
The
looks on peoples’ faces drew lines down the castes. Ones were the royal family
and all religious figures. The pastors and priests didn’t have tons of money,
but they were respected, as they should be. Twos were all those who served in the
army, earning a place of honor, and celebrities. After the horrible wars that
destroyed what used to be the United States, the first thing people wanted was
a distraction. Now the sons and daughters of the old pop musicians and movie
stars were the remaining big names. Since women didn’t really marry down, this
meant they married a lot of athletes and other big names, and it looked like a
big mess up there. What’s worse is that I could be trained in classical music,
to play an instrument or sing, but if you don’t have the body to play basket
ball, then you just don’t. But you’re up there. So you have to perform. It was
kind of embarrassing to watch, not to mention how terrible some shows and
movies were now with their crappy actors.
Threes
were the intellectuals, the great minds, the inventors, writers, and teachers.
They were the ones who thought up the ways to get our country going again and
had been generously supported by the new monarchy. I wondered where I fit in
that group, since I was in the club now. Fours were the merchants and farmers.
They sold the products the Threes dreamed up, owned shops and such. Even the
vendors in the square were considered Fours. It was no small thing to own your
own shop or show room.
Fives,
my natural caste, were the lower entertainers. Artists, classical musicians,
stage actors, and even the occasional clown. Sometimes, to have my musical
abilities, which no one could deny were outstanding, compared to a person who
shaped balloons into animals was infuriating. Sixes, like Aspen, were
domestics. They did indoor work and paperwork for the upper castes. No one
below them would need it. Aspen went to clean and help with inventory at Kota’s
once a month. Basically, they were secretaries and maids.
Sevens
did manual labor. Trash collectors, ditch diggers, movers, they were all
Sevens. I couldn’t imagine how exhausting it must be to be a girl my age in
that situation. And Eights were Untouchables. People who had been abandoned or
orphaned with no way to prove their caste. And then people who fell into heavy
drug use, the mentally and physically handicapped, they were all unemployable
and left on the streets to beg. They always broke my heart. So many of these
people were left for reasons that ought to have secured our compassion for
them.
But
it didn’t. Not in the way it should.
