Celadons: Finish the Story Contest #61

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The story begins with @brisby's evocative narrative:

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Skin Deep

by @Brisby

"Our company stands by our satisfaction guarantee!" beamed the processing clerk with her row of brilliant white teeth.

Arnav returned her smile with a tight one of his own. That hadn't answered his question. Before he could repeat it again, the woman raised a pale green arm and gestured to the hallway on her left.

"Please proceed to the end of the hall to begin your procedure. We thank you for choosing DermaTru." Shimmering, the glass partition darkened as she turned from the console. Punctuating a blunt end to the transaction.

Arnav blinked, debating if he should knock on the blackened separator to demand a better response. Anxiety from the thought of creating a scene thrummed a timpani beneath his ribs. Lara would never forgive him for an embarrassing display in public. Besides, the blatant avoidance of his concerns had told him what he needed to know. There wouldn't be any going back.

Flickering screens aligning the hall were alight with a dazzling rainbow of customers. Each one a testimonial touting appreciation and joy for their operations. Waiting beside the iridescent number four in line, Arnav focused on one he hadn't seen before. A teary-eyed blue woman, Bonnie, was thanking DermaTru for giving her back her life.

"After my accident, I hid away." Sympathetic music underscored the images of a crumpled car and her body mottled with burn scars. "People would stare at me in the stores. I couldn't stand the looks in their eyes." The music swelled into inspirational notes as she continued, "Then I found DermaTru." Azure hands clasped over her heart as she stared from the screen, "They gave me more than the skin of my dreams, they gave me my life back."

A pneumatic hiss drew his attention as the door next to the screen slid open. Arnav's stomach flipped, readying to paint the floor with its own colorful mix of pastrami and bile. Closing his eyes, he forced down the nausea with measured breaths. There wasn't a reason to get himself worked up over this. There hadn't been a single case reported of nanite rejection. It was a simple and safe procedure performed by professionals.

His tremoring hands and quaking knees refused to acknowledge his attempts to calm himself. How like his life, even his own body ignored him.

But, all that would change after today. One quick injection and Arnav would have his wife smiling at him again. His Lara would be happy again. His hands fisted. He could do anything so long as it was for her. His knees eased their quivering. Anything to have her look at him again with something other than disappointment. His eyes opened.

Rallied by the thought of seeing love in Lara's eyes, Arnav stepped forward into the implantation room.

The story ends with my dark interpretation:

Celadons

by @agmoore
They had met in the Resistance. Her passion was greater than his. But so long as he was willing to follow her lead, she could accept his passivity. However, as years passed, his complacency grated on her. Resentment grew. Not until the children were born, however, did resentment turn to contempt.

He wanted the children to be safe, to be indoctrinated and absorbed into the system. She wanted them to be taught alternatives, to become part of the Resistance. He could not risk the children. She was willing to risk everything.

The chasm between Lara and Arnav loomed like a voracious black hole. Love was beyond reclamation. Until now. Now he had the opportunity to redeem himself.

Biologists in the Resistance had been working on a serum. It would destroy the Celadons, the green-hued members of the ruling caste. What the Resistance needed was a cadre of dedicated agents who would volunteer to be instruments of biological warfare. The volunteers would have to submit themselves to the DermaTru procedure. Once the nanites were injected, these particles would act as catalysts for release of deadly hepatic antigens. Deadly to anyone who carried the Celadon mutation.

Of course, the volunteers were doomed. The internal process of converting the serum would be catastrophic in their own bodies. Their livers would disintegrate when the catalysed serum attacked the biliary ducts. For it was these ducts that were source of Celadon green.

Generations before, benign mutation of an essential biliary duct gene had led to the greenish hue of the Celadons. This mutation first appeared among a few children who belonged to the ruling elite. In order to protect their children from ostracism, the elite declared green complexion to be an advancement in human development, a sign from nature that the first Celadons were favored.

The mutated gene was dominant, so the number of Celadons rapidly multiplied. Gradually, green-hued Celadons separated themselves from the Pale. A generalized segregation arose ,until it was impossible for the Pale to live in certain neighborhoods, go to certain schools, rise above a certain station in business or government.

If green was the only thing that separated the privileged from the underclass, then green could be monetized. It could be induced, artificially, and overnight, lives would be changed. Pedigree papers could be falsified, for a fee.

Green clinics became an underground industry. Palms were greased. Authorities looked away. Rumors spread about deaths and disfigurements. But no official reports were filed, because technically, the clinics didn't exist.

Arnav braced himself for the nanite injection. He knew, if he was lucky, he might see Lara once more before he died. But that would be with dignity, and love restored. She had encouraged him to volunteer.

Biliary catalysis would take place a few hours after infusion. All across the land, volunteers were submitting to the same procedure. They would be released into the population at the same time. This sudden, overwhelming attack by germ warfare would exterminate the Celadons.

The Pale would rise up, and rule, as was their right.

It was a delight to write this edition of #finishthestory, to come up with an idea worthy of @brisby's beginning. She threw us a thoughtful piece, that was also very entertaining. My idea was formed almost immediately, but life intruded and prevented me from posting. I'm up against a deadline :))

Please take the time to read the other entries in this week's contest. The authors have applied themselves with originality and skill. It's an honor to be among them.

The contest is sponsored by @bananafish. There's a style of story to suit anyone's interest. Try it sometime. You'll have fun.