The Secret of Zormna Clendar by Julie Steimle (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📕

“It is like comparing a dolphin to a shark. They look a lot alike. But one is a fish with almost no bones, and the other is a highly intelligent mammal. Human beings share about eighty percent of DNA with a squash for pity’s sake!”

“You’re saying what? Darwin is wrong?” Jennifer felt the upset swell within her. “Humans are not descended from apes?”

“For the record, Charles Darwin did not exactly say that humans were descended from apes—but basically…yeah. His evolutionary theory, in regards to human origins, is incorrect.” Zormna chuckled as she thought about it, shaking her head. “We encouraged that lie, actually.”

“But why?” Jennifer exasperation grew. “It has been, like, the core of—”

“I know. I know.” Zormna waved it off. “It messed with religious teaching, and led people to believe they were insignificant specks in the grand scheme. And I’d normally feel guilty for it—except I did not invent that theory.”

“Who did?” Jennifer demanded.

Zormna shrugged. “Some Alea ages ago. The idea was to convince people to not investigate their true origins. They never even considered the religious repercussions.”

But Jennifer only stared. “What do you mean religious repercussions? If your people did this to prevent other human beings to know they really aren’t even from Earth, then what do you care about religion for? People would stop believing they came from Adam and Eve if they knew we really came from Mars!”

This time Zormna stared. “What?”

“Have you not listened at church on Sunday at all?” Jennifer snapped. “Or did you always ignore it because you knew there was no God?”

Zormna’s eyes went even wider. “No God? Where did you get an idea like that? Of course there is a God.”

Jennifer gave her a dirty look. “You are pulling my leg.”

But Zormna shook her head as if stunned. “No. My people have a strong faith in the Supreme Being. We call Him the Father of our Souls. We have an entire caste devoted to leading religious worship.”

Jennifer was stunned. And questions about that flooded her. What other castes were there? What did the Martians believe about God?

“That is why, when you mentioned a prophecy the High Class believe about my family bringing about then end of the world, it bothered me so much. Because they could be right.”

“Right?” Jennifer pulled back, blinking at Zormna. “In what degree?”

Sighing, Zormna shook her head. “It is not like I or my family are planning to destroy the universe. But we believe in prophecy. Before the cataclysm that had destroyed life on our world, it was prophesied that our people would fall from grace and end up on this world—your story of Adam and Eve.”

Jennifer stared, eyes wider.

“I’m not saying I know that is what the story in your Bible really means, but our home was paradise before the fall,” Zormna said. “And history says we were deceived by…we called them ‘The Snake’.”

“So there are lizard people,” Jennifer murmured.

Zormna shrugged. “I never saw any. And historical record is extremely sketchy about ‘The Snake’. It could have been a mafia type organization. Snake symbols tend to crop up among organized crime. The thing is, I came to tell you what upset me this afternoon. Because I know you will not let it alone, and I need you to.”

“To leave it alone?” Jennifer frowned. She hated being kept in the dark.

“You see, Jafarr…” Zormna looked immediately to the ground. “Today he used the crowd as a distraction so he could…could touch my shoulder to see if the mark was real.”

Jennifer drew in a breath.

“You understand?” Zormna said. “He saw it, and…I’m scared. I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“Because he is dangerous,” Jennifer said.

To that, Zormna shrugged. “He is a different kind of dangerous.”

“He won’t bring about the apocalypse?” Jennifer asked wryly.

Zormna wearily hung her shoulders. “I won’t!”

“Whatever…”

Sighing, Zormna plowed on with her explanation. “I told you about how your parents and I are different castes, but I did not explain the connection the…brothers have with us. But you need to know, so you can stay away.”

Jennifer nodded. At least having an informed reason to stay away was better than remaining entirely in the dark.

“Ours is not a happy people, no matter what your parents say,” Zormna said. “They see peace because they were at the top.”

Jennifer frowned. It was not something she wanted to be reminded of. But Zormna persisted.

“Below the High Class are five other official castes,” Zormna said. “The names of them sound silly in English—”

“Say them anyway,” Jennifer said.

Shrugging, Zormna recited, “Social Work Class, Labor Class, Guard Class, Servant Class, and Seer Class. It doesn’t matter for you.”

They did sound silly. But Jennifer, respectfully, did not say anything about it.

“It is custom for each cast to mark their bodies with the symbol you saw on my shoulder. Most of them have it tattooed in specific locations to indicate their caste. For example, I knew your father was High Class by your family name. So I already knew that he had a tattoo on his left shoulder. I am sure your father defaced his when he came here to protect you. And your mother probably had hers removed.”

Jennifer nodded, knowing her mother had some distorted skin on her left shoulder as if there had been a tattoo there once.

“Those that do not use tattoos are branded with the symbol when they are infants,” Zormna said. “Only the Guard Class, Servant Class and….” She rolled her hand, finally gesturing to herself.

Just the thought made Jennifer ill. Branding a child’s skin as if they were cattle? It was sick.

“The thing is, there are two unofficial castes in our society,” Zormna said. Her eyes said more. One had to be the Tarrns. She had not mentioned them at all. But what was the other?

“Jeff and Alex?” Jennifer asked.

“People born into a caste are privileged.” Zormna shook her head, not answering. “But they only constitute about a third of the society. Two thirds don’t have a mark at all.”

“What?”

Meeting Jennifer’s gaze, Zormna explained, “Those without a caste mark are considered rats. Rats are regarded as vermin. Expendable, yet also useful. And they are the majority of the population.”

“What? But if they are the majority, why don’t they just revolt?” Jennifer asked.

Zormna snorted. “Spoken like a true American.”

Jennifer shot her a dirty look.

“What I mean to say, is that it is not so easy.” Zormna shook her head apologetically. “The High Class are like the one percent in the U.S.—the powerful and in control. Those that work for them are the Social Work Class—just a bit lower than them and very well fed with lots of reasons to maintain the status quo. Within their influence is the Labor Class who benefit from the stability the High Class gives them, and the minor autonomy they have, as the Labor Class controls most of our food production. The rest of us are at their mercy.”

“But you are in their military?” Jennifer protested. “I mean, there are military coups all the time, right?”

“Ah,” Zormna laughed wistfully. “If only….” But seeing Jennifer’s disbelieving gaze, she explained, “We have two militaries. One is like the Gestapo—called the People’s Military. And they use Gestapo-like tactics. The other is…more like a…” she searched for the words, “…large orphanage—where the children go in and become reconditioned. The Surface Patrol.”

Jennifer stared.

“The best way to control a population is through manipulating the minds of the young,” Zormna murmured, almost thinking over it as a puzzle. “Though not all of us buy into it.”

Leaning nearer, Jennifer whispered, “Does that Kevin guy—?”

“No,” Zormna sharply replied. “He is Guard Class. But he will not rock the boat either. He believes he is protecting the population my maintaining loyalty to the government—even while lying to them.”

“Lying?”

“He hid me, a Tarrn.” Zormna shook her head. “That would be considered treason.”

Jennifer’s eyes widened. “If it’s treason, then, why did he hide you?”

Zormna shrugged. “He’s my father’s friend? He knew my parents? I don’t know. But he and his son have known what I am for years. And they haven’t told a soul. Nobody else in the Patrol knows. To everyone else, I’m just another anonymous Zormna Clendar.”

“Anonymous?” Jennifer made a face. “A name like Zormna?”

Chuckling, Zormna shook her head. “The name Zormna Clendar is as common over there as the name Jennifer Brown is here.”

“Ok…” Jennifer nodded. Her mind went back to the previous question. “So, you were going to tell me about Jeff and Alex. What about them?”

Nodding, Zormna said, “That’s right. I was. Al. I don’t know much about him, except he grew up in the deeper parts of the undercity with Jafarr. And though Jafarr is technically one of the casteless like Al, he’s actually half Seer Class. That’s why he has black hair and those eyes.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! They’re not brothers?” Jennifer gaped.

Zormna shook her head. “Nope. Best friends. Classmates. Fellow rebels, but not brothers. Both are only-children and Jafarr is….”

She did not continue, as if even thinking about Jeff overwhelmed her.

“What about his eyes. You mentioned Jeff’s eyes,” Jennifer prodded. “Dark blue eyes aren’t normal for your kind?”

Zormna shook her head. “No. It is a Seer Class trait—and extremely rare even among them. But then his family is entirely rare.”

His family. That seemed to weigh heavily on Zormna’s mind. What had she said before? Jeff took after his mother? But his father was blonde? What else?

“He has lots of scars, but no tattoos,” Jennifer murmured. “Did his dad really beat him?”

“No,” Zormna whispered. “Jafarr’s scars come from run-ins with the People’s Military…and me.”

Jennifer stared.

“You see, his family is from a long line of rebels.” Zormna now spoke so low that Jennifer could barely hear her, “…since the foundation of our nation after the cataclysm, as ancient as it is. You asked ‘why don’t they just revolt?’ as if it were a card game you can just play. Our people live underground. In a contained space. All the government has to do is shut off the air, water, and end the supply of food. Over the millennia, the rebellion has learned how to navigate the cracks in the between the walls and ceilings of our underground city. But they still don’t have the forces to unseat the High Class.”

“Underground city?” Jennifer blinked. Holy cow. That explained a lot. No wonder Zormna and Jeff were so pale and the Mars probes never found anything but rocks.

Zormna set a hand to her head. “Yeah. I let that slip.”

Jennifer choked on a chuckle.

“Anyway.” Zormna waved it off. “That aside, this is why I want you to stay away from him. If I mentioned his family name, and your parents heard it, they’d try to kill us both.”

Jennifer pulled back.

“That’s right.” Zormna nodded earnestly.  “His family is infamous. Your parents would see him as a terrorist. Which is why you need to stay away from him.”

“Is he a terrorist?” Jennifer meekly asked.

Zormna shook her head, smirking. “No. No more than Thomas Jefferson was. Or George Washington…. Or Elvis.”

That notion made Jennifer feel dizzy. Who would have described the founding fathers as terrorists? And what was that about Elvis?

“You must understand your parents’ perspective,” Zormna said. “Their people want to keep the status quo, which they see as peaceful and prosperous. But Jafarr’s family represents and fights for the oppressed majority.”

“Then why does Jeff touching your shoulder freak you out?” Jennifer leaned back.

Immediately sobered, Zormna shook her head. “Because, I was the only thing between him and escape for long time. And even though I was only doing my duty, he will never forgive me. Besides, though he may hate our government, see them as cockroaches, he regards Surface Patrol officers as fleas. And though he knows I am not here as a soldier, but in hiding—he did not know I was a Tarrn.”

“O…K…?” Jennifer was still waiting for the scary part.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Zormna shook her head, staring at the ground again. “If there really is a prophecy about my family causing the end of our world—being half-Seer Class, Jafarr would know about