Author: The Perfect Drain ([email protected])

Disclaimer: All Animorphs references are references to Animorphs, which is written by KA Applegate and her lil' ghostwriters. Copyright belongs to those guys and Scholastic and all, I have nothing to do with them. What's mine: Steven, the bad ideas, and the super-duper toaster.

Please review. I'll send you mental chocolate chip cookies.

My name is Steven.
I don't know quite why I'm writing this- it isn't a strange, heroic story or anything, like the ones that were banned by the League. It isn't even really interesting.
However, if anyone found out that I went out of the City… I would be in big trouble. I may even be denied a Pass.
I'm not writing on a dare, or anything like that. I just think this needs to be told.
Last year, I broke the rules. I ventured out of the City. Not only that, into the Suburbs.
The Suburbs used to be large and sprawling, filled with families and gardens and wolf-like creatures that made a menacing "arf" sound. With "hoses" (long, thin tubes for dispersing water) and "cars" (similar to the Everywhere Bus 30, but not nearly as safe), and most of all, people.
These people were much like Citizens, albeit with wrong ideas. They read books that hadn't been approved by the League, they used dangerous products, like toasters…
It was a humid night. It was winter, but it was 71 degrees in the City. In the past, the winters had actually been cold, but with fluctuating temperatures, life was more difficult. The City had installed internal heating and cooling a while back.
I don't know why I did it. I was too young for a Pass, and even if I had one, I wouldn't have been allowed out of the City. Perhaps I wanted prove something to myself.
The only way to the Suburbs was through access tunnels located under the wall around the City. I had been shown one of these once by my friend John. John had been sent away for Punishment shortly thereafter. After I snuck out of my apartment without disturbing my parents, I took the Everywhere Bus 30 to the City wall.
On the way there, I looked out the portal in the Bus at the setting sun. The City was large and had towers that almost scraped the dome. I never really considered it beautiful- it wasn't. But with the orange and red and yellow streaked behind the tall buildings that appeared as no more than shadows, I decided that if the City were ever beautiful, it must be only at particular times… and that this was one of them.
The Bus stopped and the computer's voice announced the stop. I got a couple of strange looks for getting off the Bus at the City wall, but I ignored them. I waited till the Bus had floated away out of sight, then turned and almost immediately found a small hatch in the wall.
The access tunnel was small and disused, but well lit. It wasn't dangerous, of course, precautions were taken to safety proof everything. It must have taken me around fifteen minutes to come out on the other side. It was surprising that the City, with all its barriers, had left it open. Then, I was there.
The small cute homes that were taught about in history books were gone. Where they had been, there were ramshackle huts, seemingly tossed together out of debris. I was curious about their inhabitants, but I stayed away from them. It was nerve-wracking enough to be standing on an old concrete street, when I was so used to the floating Bus and the automatic walks. There were old trees that were twisted and gnarled, as if they had been there for years and years. I could also see stumps of trees that looked like they had been even larger than the ones left standing. They must have been very majestic. The sunset was more clear now that I wasn't seeing it through the dome. There were old "streetlights" that were broken and burnt out. Looking down the road, you could still see one or two that persisted in their function, even though it had been a very long time since anyone had tended to them. Another thing I noticed was that it was cold. Very cold. At least compared to the temperature in the City. My one-piece uni-suit was equipped to handle temperature change, just in case, so I didn't become too chilled, although the cold air stung my lungs.
I saw no sign of other people, and was relieved. I had been imagining them to look like monsters or be mutated from the years they had spent outside the safety of the City.
I had been looking around, staying away from the dwellings, investigating the strange items littered about, left over from the old days. I had found several interesting items, and was planning on looking them up when I got home, if they happened to be in the encyclopedia. Most old-time things had been left out, being obsolete and more often than not, somewhat dangerous.
Then I saw it.
One of the entries to a house had been left open. The red sunlight glinted and reflected off something inside. I then did something very idiotic. I went closer. And closer. And then I could tell what it was.
A toaster.
The toasters had seemed like a great invention, back then. They had worked well, when used properly, and almost everyone had one. There were a few burnt fingers, but for the most part, toasters were great. But then the super-duper toaster was invented.
The super-duper toaster lived up to its strange name. It produced the best toast, not burnt, not moist. But it worked too well. Someone that leaned over their toaster when the toast was popping up was blinded by the hot bread. That was when the City outlawed not only the super-dupers, but all toasters. I had never seen one before, just pictures.
I dared not go further towards it. I wanted to see it closer, maybe even touch it, but the hut was probably occupied… I turned to leave the Suburbs, and go home, and ran straight into something.
I only barely kept from screaming. It was a man… and he didn't look like a Citizen. He wasn't very tall, and had dark skin. His hair was black, maybe brown, and was streaked with gray. He was dressed in a strange attire of a rather torn black jacket and pants that were made out of a woven blue material. He looked at me oddly, and spoke.
"Were you wanting to look at the almighty fearsome toaster?" he said, with a wry grin.
I didn't speak for a moment, but then managed, "Sorry, I was just...looking…" I quit when I realized how stupid I sounded. The man just looked at me.
"You're from the City."
"Uh...yes. I am a Citizen." I tried to take a step back without it appearing as if I were going to run. The man simply looked at me some more. I felt as if I were simply a test sample, and he a bio-scientist.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
I didn't know what to say… I didn't quite know, myself. I opened my mouth, but closed it again. He just sort of turned away from me slightly, and walked toward the dwelling where the toaster sat. He motioned for me to follow. I did.
The inside of the small hut was as strange as the outside. Besides the toaster, which I now saw was sitting on a small table, there were also small shiny disks fastened to the wall to reflect sun or moonlight, and brighten the interior. It created a strange blinding rainbow. I looked closer at one and saw it had writing on it, but before I could figure out what it meant, the man asked me-
"Do you want anything?"
I stupidly tried to think of what I wanted, but suddenly realized he was being hospitable, not wish-granting. "Um… water, please." When he set a glass down in front of me, I looked at it warily before remembering my manners and thanking him.
"No problem. What's your name?"
"Steven. Steven Phelps. I'm from City sub-unit 78, Apt. 9." I rattled it off without thinking, but suddenly realized that perhaps I shouldn't be telling him this. He lived in the Suburbs, after all. He just nodded, and turned away to fix himself something, without even giving me his name in return. I sat down on a chair and looked around. There was normal looking furniture, although somewhat worn and the worse for wear. I saw some other strange items, some of which I remembered being taught about, some I didn't recognize. I yearned to look at them closer, but I already felt somewhat uncomfortable. I watched the man instead, going about making what seemed to be some sort of sandwich. It was very strange… In the City, we don't prepare food ourselves, we purchase it pre-made and properly sterilized, directly from the Vending machines... I was caught off guard when he spoke again.
"What do they teach you? About the old days?"
"They… teach what needs to be taught."
He turned around. The expression on his face was unreadable. His voice was a murmur. "And what is that, exactly? Who decides what needs to be taught?"
"The...the League. They approve all curriculum, and-"
"I thought so." He then turned back to his work, without a glance at me. I felt as though I had let him down somehow, but I didn't see why that should be. It was just...the way things were.
"Why- I mean, why do you live here? The League was allowing the people from here Citizenship a couple years ago…"
He was silent a moment. "I stayed here because… because I wanted to remember. The City, for all its so-called safety, makes you forget. And now you'll ask, 'forget what?' Right?" I nodded.
"There are things that the City, the League, deems dangerous. Sometimes it is… sometimes they're just afraid of change. Change back to the way things used to be." He paused and sat down, taking a bite of his meal. "What does the past mean to you? What do you think of it?"
I thought. I thought for a while. "The past, before the City? I suppose...well, we're taught that it was dangerous, that there were things that are better now. I don't doubt that. But sometimes, I feel as though it wasn't so bad. At least not as bad as it is now." I sighed. "The City is… boring. I mean, it's supposed to be, but it's just- I don't like it. When we're hearing about the old days, it's much more exciting. Like why the City was created. Why all the Cities were."
The man looked at me and smiled. "Cities? Plural? Were you taught that?"
I grinned sheepishly. "Not quite."
He nodded and left it at that. "Why were the Cities created? Do you know?" he asked.
"Um, something bad happened. An invasion, that no one knew about till it was almost over. We got help from outside, but once the enemy was gone, the people decided they wouldn't let it happen again, and created- the Cities. Where everything was safe. Not just from the Invaders, from everyone….and ourselves, as well. That's why they won't let us read some books and watch some movies and things."
He nodded, with a faraway look in his eyes. "I remember."
"You remember?? You were there?" I was astonished. "You look… too young!"
The man was amused and let my somewhat rude comment pass. "We had the potential for the City all along… but it was the invaders that made us create it. Probably to have an easier time of stifling us, our freedom. It didn't take them long. And after the invasion was over, we were dependent on the Cities. Some couldn't cope without it, anymore... so…" He paused. "The Cities have only been around for about thirty-five, forty years. I remember before." He fell silent again.
I was excited and shocked. "They made the Cities? You remember? What was it like, the invasion? Tell me more!"
He laughed, and cleared up the remains of his meal. "What do you know about the invasion?"
"There were these aliens, like parasites. They wanted to control us. And… we didn't know about it. We got help, though. From another alien species. And together we drove them away...and that's it. At least… that's what we were taught." I said, remembering just who had made the City.
The man nodded. "Yes. That was a lot of it. There was more though. But that's all you know-"
I caught my breath and interrupted him. "What about … the Animorphs?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know they teach about the Animorphs."
"They...don't. Not really. I had one class, though, where they used them as an example of misguided youth and failure to follow protocol. It was interesting. I tried to research them, but the League had banned their journals..." I trailed off, but added, "I always sort of admired them."
He was silent. Then said, "'Misguided youth', hmm? Figures. Well, they were, I suppose. 'Misguided' to risk their lives." He paused and grinned. "Downright INSANE, in fact." The man winked at me.
We sat in silence for a while. I was trying to work up my nerve to ask him something.
"Do you think...do you think things will ever go back to the way they were? Before the City?"
"Maybe. I almost hope so."
I thought. I looked up and was about to speak, but suddenly my eye caught something glinting, and it wasn't the normal rainbow light. I peered through a window in the wall that was yellowed and almost opaque, and was surprised. Not only had it gotten dark outside in all this time, but-
"It's...snowing! Right? That's what that is?" The man looked out over my shoulder, and nodded.
"Yes, that's snow. I suppose you've never really seen it."
I shook my head. "I...I remember once, when I was very little. I think I saw it then…." It was snow! I thought. It was white, and fluffy, and… cold! It was amazing! It fell from the sky and it glistened, even though it was dark outside.
The man looked at it for a while with me, then told me, "You need to be getting home. That snowstorm will cover up those access tunnels soon. Then you'd have to wait till morning."
"Yes… thank you. For talking. You know, talking about… stuff."
The man turned and shook my hand. "No problem. And… remember."
I started toward the door, then turned and sort of waved. I went home.
A few weeks later, I went to the Suburbs again, but the hut where I had talked with the man was abandoned. There was no trace of where he had gone… and no trace he had ever been there, save a single rainbow-disk that had fallen on the floor. Everything else was gone. I picked up the disk. The writing said, "The Invasion." Underneath that was scrawled, "Remember."
I put the disk in my pocket, took one last look around, and left.
And… that's all.