Michael is thirty-nine and gay. Like his little niece, Kim, who has a learning disability, he is considered a non-citizen under the draconian Normalcy Laws. Kim’s parents quietly arrange to flee to New Zealand, where the Normalcy Laws haven’t been implemented. As Michael has a good job and has been careful to hide his homosexuality, he doesn’t consider going with them. Instead, he remains behind and goes about his business as normal until one morning when he is confronted by two Black Guards. Hooded, Michael is taken to what he assumes is the Department of Law. Once people are taken there, they never see the light of day again. Elimination is the only punishment in the New World Order. There he is interrogated by The Man, a handsome officer of the Black Guards. In a desperately hopeless situation, is there any hope of surviving elimination? No one ever has in the past, but Michael discovers something about The Man that hints at his situation not being as bleak as it appears. Can he dare to hope there is a way out? Or is he so delusional that his fantasies of freedom have clouded his judgment? Under the oppressive Normalcy Laws, nothing is certain.

Forbidden

As Dan, the skipper had explained, although New Zealand had not adopted the normalcy laws most of the populated world had, including its neighbor, Australia, Michael and Bevan were still entering the country illegally. While the container ship was being moored, Dan had given Michael a handwritten note containing the contact number of a man called Al, who might be able to furnish them with New Zealand identification cards and other essential documents such as passports and tax file numbers. He had locked them into the container and, as before, suggested they create a layer, two or three boxes deep, between them and the door. When he was able to, he would help them out of the port


“The customs officers will be all over this ship and the containers so stay put until I come for you,” he’d explained. “It might be a while this time, but don’t worry. I won’t forget about you.”


Chapter 33