Free Control by Lydia Kang

frogs and stuff. The docs in my labs always complained about how limiting the laws are.”
    “Exactly, but that’s for direct manipulation of the human genome. There is a corollary to the law that few people know. Any genomes with significant mutations that could potentially alter the evolution of ‘normal’ humans are also outlawed.” She waits for the understanding to show on my face.
    “Any genomes with . . . Wait, you mean people? Even if it happens naturally, from birth? They’re illegal?”
    “Yes. Illegal, and if not fixable by a simple surgical procedure and sterilization, then they are removed from society.”
    “You mean, stuck in this place.”
    Marka’s face grows impossibly sad. “Or killed.”
    I swallow. “Who? Who kills them?”
    “It’s very strict. If you show up anywhere outside of our home, your life is forfeit. It starts with an arrest. After that, you disappear. There are no second chances.” She picks up a bottle and turns it in her hand. “You’re either on the grid, or you don’t exist.”
    “Why doesn’t everyone know about this?”
    “People don’t question what they don’t see. It’s been going on for decades now.”
    The warping of my world order is disorienting. I pull my necklace out of my pocket so I can hold the tiny, cool, black box, letting the familiar mass sink into my palm. I run my thumb along the edge, letting the atoms rub off on my skin. Maybe they’ll strengthen me for the next few questions I have.
    “How many Aureus and Carus houses are there out there?”
    “There’s only one Aureus, but I believe it controls several underground houses. There are only a few unassociated places, like Carus. I know of one in Chicago; possibly another on the West Coast.”
    “So Dylia has some trait we never knew about?”
    “Yes,” she says, lining up the rack of test tubes perfectly parallel to the spectrophotometer. “I promised your father I’d get you both if something happened to him, but I never imagined it would be under these circumstances. Your father never told me that Dyl was gifted.”
    “So he knew? About Dyl?”
    “He must have. How he managed to get her a valid F-TID without being detected by the government, I have no idea.”
    “He should have said something to us. To her. Dyl had a right to know.”
    “He was probably trying to protect you both. He could have told me. Carus is built on secrets. I could have held one more.” Marka’s disappointment rises to color her cheeks.
    “Is Aureus just like this place?” I say, hopeful. Except for surly Cy and the green girl, everyone else seems kind of nice. But then I remember how Dyl was taken. I know the answer won’t be good before Marka opens her mouth.
    “Aureus doesn’t have the same philosophy as we do. I believe our kids have a right to be normal and simply be. Maybe share their talents, if the world was willing to accept them. Aureus has more of an . . . industrial philosophy.”
    “Industrial? You mean, marketable?”
    “Have you ever heard of SkinGuard?
    “Of course.” The ads are everywhere. It’s supposed to make your skin hard, like an insect shell. They use it in combat and on the police force. Only the Neanderthal bullies in school obsess over buying it. “So—Aureus makes that?”
    “Right. Costs a fortune. The public doesn’t know where it actually comes from. Aureus uses a middle agency to be the front and pay people in the government to look the other way. It’s legal because the formula doesn’t tamper with actual genomes.”
    “Dyl isn’t safe, is she?” I whisper. Marka shakes her head. The answer is so awful, she can’t even say it out loud. “But you can get her back, right?”
    “I don’t know, Zelia. I’ve been thinking about it, and I have no answers. Carus’s relationship with Aureus has always been defensive, not offensive. I could risk everything—everyone—and it may not even work.”
    If Marka won’t save Dyl, then who else would battle