Friday Black

Content Warning: This story references substance use and addiction, discussions of suicide, and bullying.

“The Era” takes place in a society where people have developed the technology to manipulate their children’s genes and strengthen key attributes before they are born. Because the process is imperfect, it is optional. Optimal people look down on those who are born with physical distortions or heightened emotions. This also resonates with the widespread belief that emotion clouds truth. As a result, people speak freely to one another, regardless of whether those statements might be taken as offensive.

The story begins when Mr. Harper, a HowItWas teacher, explains the cultural underpinnings that resulted in the Water Wars and how their current wars are better because they’re honest and unemotional. After class, Ben, who narrates the story and wasn’t optimized before birth, goes to the nurse’s office to receive an additional dose of a mood-enhancing drug called “Good”—he already received a first dose that morning. On the way, he encounters his sister, Marlene, who asks why he isn’t going to eat yet. Marlene is optimized, but rather than receiving an even spread of personality traits, all of her personality points went into the ambition category. This is considered suboptimal and the reason why Ben’s parents chose to leave him “clear-born.” Deflecting the question, Ben proceeds to the nurse’s office. Later, in the cafeteria, a group of bullies throws a drink at Ben, but it hits a girl named Leslie, who was also not optimized at birth. Ben offers to buy her lunch to play along with the bullies’ joke. Leslie is grateful, but no one at the table notices.

Later that night, Ben’s parents accuse him of taking extra Good and express their disappointment in him. Ben is bullied by his family as well as his peers, and his father tells him, “[Y]our clear-birth was a mistake and you are only alive due to your mother’s irrationality brought about by maternity” (39). They hide their home supply of Good, which causes Ben to experience withdrawal symptoms. Ben’s mother administers Good to relieve him.

The next day, Ben discovers that his parents have also restricted his access to Good at school. He goes to the cafeteria, where Leslie wishes him a happy birthday and invites him to her house to celebrate. While he initially rejects her invitation, his Good withdrawal and his family’s apathy prompt him to visit Leslie’s family, the McStowes.

The McStowes live in an area that Ben associates with poor people. He makes rude comments about their living conditions, but the McStowes’ jovial attitude stops them from being offended. However, when Ben alludes to Leslie’s twin brother, Jimmy, who died by suicide in their home, Leslie’s father scolds him for hurting his wife’s feelings. He advises Ben to think of other people for a change. After they share some birthday cake, Ben asks them for Good. Leslie’s father tells him they keep no supply of the drug as they have chosen a lifestyle that makes Good unnecessary. They invite him to join a rehabilitation program in their community called The Era, but Ben leaves the house in frustration.

The following day, Ben’s mandatory dose of Good stops working through the morning. He tries to sit with his bullies at lunch, but they punch him. Leslie accompanies Ben to the nurse’s office. The nurse prepares to give him an extra dose of Good, but Marlene arrives to remind the nurse of Ben’s restriction. She is still prepared to give Ben the dose, but Ben thinks about it more and shakes his head. The nurse abandons the procedure, and Ben looks to Leslie and repeats a joke her father told him.