2. Livestock

They got off and headed to dinner. Night had fallen. Streetlights came on one by one. As they walked and talked along the main street, they passed a small alley.

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Such passages between buildings were usually unremarkable. But Ruka caught sight of something. She stopped and stepped alone into the dark alley. David looked reluctant, but followed.

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“Huh? What’s that?” Beside a large trash bin, Ruka vaguely saw a figure sitting. By the time she came close enough to see clearly, it was too late to regret. Her body reacted first. She vomited across the ground, then clung to David and screamed. It was the first time Ruka had personally encountered a body after Them had fed.

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The existence of Them and their attacks on Paradise were common knowledge. But apart from cases where people were dragged underground and vanished without a trace, corpses were usually dumped in hidden places. The government cleaned them before discovery. Ordinary citizens rarely had the chance to encounter one.

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David had experience with such things. He still did not want to stay. He pulled Ruka, intending to leave early so the dinner would not be ruined. Ruka hesitated.

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“Please wait.” Ruka took a deep breath, gathered courage, and stepped forward. The brief glimpse of the corpse had felt familiar. When she reached the body, she suppressed her trembling and looked at its face. The gouged-out eyes left only hollow sockets, but the contours of the features were still barely recognizable. A boy. Fourteen or fifteen.

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Looking carefully, Ruka remembered. One of the apprentices who had just finished his internship at the ranch a few days earlier. He was about to receive his occupational assignment. His grades were good. Ruka had thought highly of him. She had predicted he would grow into an elite at the ranch. She had never expected Them to destroy him so cruelly.

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“Why are you still looking? Did you know him?” David urged her, but out of worry. Such things happened often. As citizens, they could change nothing. They could only keep struggling to survive and contribute to Paradise.

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Ruka seemed struck by the scene. She did not know that ripples had already risen deep in her heart. One day, they would swell into great waves. She forced down her racing thoughts, ordered the AI to notify the government to clean up, composed herself, and turned away. “It’s nothing. My first time seeing this. I was just curious.”

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“Miss Ruka. Your brainwaves and heart rate were unusually active just now. Shall I contact a doctor for you?” After notifying the government, the AI offered advice. Ruka did not want to dwell on it. “No need. Thank you. I want to enjoy tonight’s date.”

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To mark the important day, they chose a special place for dinner: an exclusive dining hall where each person had only one reservation per month. Experienced chefs selected rare ingredients and cooked before the diners.

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AI could handle most ingredients, but it could not innovate or perfectly automate taste. Chefs remained one of Paradise’s professions. They brought people food infused with soul—something machines could not replace. Residents worked hard to protect humanity’s continued civilization. To enjoy food with color, aroma, and taste was the best spiritual comfort.

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During the meal, David spoke of the future. “The couple next door received a new child today. So cute. I’m already looking forward to living like that with you after we marry.”

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Men and women paired at marriageable age. It was custom. It was duty.

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“Is that so? I love taking care of children.” Ruka forgot what had happened earlier. She threw herself into dinner and imagined such happiness arriving soon. To help raise children, without distinction between yours and mine, best represented the spirit of Paradise’s great harmonious society.

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All couples received a child after giving birth. Not their own. Every newborn was sent to the hospital for examination, then delivered to another couple’s home. In return, they received another couple’s child.

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The Paradise Government believed humans struggling to survive should not be limited by bloodline or family. All of Paradise was one family. After birth, couples received another child from the hospital in a one-for-one exchange and raised it as their own until it left at five to board at school, study, and grow. Human care was warmer than machine care.

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As a ranch supervisor, Ruka shared her workday with David, hoping it would help him get promoted.

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“It was close today. The mother pig needed help giving birth. Luckily nothing went wrong. Watching the piglets fight over milk was so cute.” Machines could not handle sudden situations. Human assistance was often required. But Ruka also assisted the machines by teaching interns things only humans could handle.

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Under the great cause of continuing human civilization, no herder had ever thought their profession—helping raise livestock—was no different from caring for human children.

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Taking a step back, was Paradise not just a large ranch? Citizens studied, worked, married, and had children according to regulations. They could be preyed upon by Them at any time. Were they not living lives of livestock?

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Before today, Ruka had been one of them. But after personally witnessing her student’s remains, a spark of hatred for Them had ignited. Enough to give rise to the thought of refusing to be Their livestock.

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No one had ever considered this since Paradise was founded. Perhaps no one had even had the slightest thought. Since ancient times, humans had striven to revive civilization while living under fear of Them. Toward Them, there was only unknown, unmentionable fear. Resistance was the military’s responsibility. Citizens only needed to work hard and maintain social stability.

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