Superversive Short Fiction — And To The Republic by Rachel Kolar

Hey folks,

A special treat: an alternate history Superversive story by author Rachel Kolar (who explains that early attempts to write this story with a Christian protagonist didn't work.)

 

And to the Republic 

by Rachel Kolar

I tried to keep my face calm as I read the attachment, even though on the inside I was screaming curses to Jupiter. I couldn’t send Antonia an email from work about the problem – centurions had access to the work computers of Republic employees, everyone knew that, and even though I’d been a model employee for my entire life you never knew when they were going to do a random sweep – so I waited until the end of the work day to call her. I didn’t hurry out the door, since that would raise suspicion. Instead, I stopped at the shrines as I always did, lighting my incense to Mercury for a safe commute and to Washington, Lincoln, and the paters patriae for the health of the Republic, before sliding behind the wheel of my car and punching my sister’s number into my cell phone.

“Hello?” Antonia’s voice was cheery. That wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, it’s Lavinia.” I unclipped the badge with the fire of Vesta from my jacket and slipped it into my pocket. “We need to talk.”

“We’re talking now.”

“Toni.” I tried to keep the annoyance from my tone, and the fear. “You’re being inspected next week.”

“What? Why?” There was a jagged edge of panic to her voice.

“I don’t think anyone suspects anything. I’d never have been allowed to see your name on the list if they did. This is a random inspection, and as long as we get your shrine up to date before Monday, everything should be fine.”

“How do you know it’s random? Maybe they’re testing you. Maybe the vestals bugged your phone.”

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