QSFer Courtney Maguire has a new queer dystopian book out (gender neutral): A Perfect Heresy.
The City was prosperous once, a beautiful utopia made up of perfect people unplagued by disease or infirmity, existing under the benevolent eyes of the Mother. Its high walls guarded it from the ugliness of the world, making it possible for its Citizens to live by the Mother’s will.
But then, the Outsiders rebelled.
Tired of being oppressed and exploited by the City for their resources, a Resistance rose up against the City’s rule, attacking its soldiers and drawing them into a genocidal war in which there were no winners. Jax, once a City soldier, now a Heretic, is just trying to make xyr way home when xe meets Koi, a sick Outsider in search of xyr last remaining family, a sibling abducted by City soldiers. Jax’s fragile faith will be tested once again as their journey to the City center exposes truths neither of them were prepared for. Can two people from opposite sides of the wall help each other find what they’re looking for?
Warnings: Physical assault, forced pregnancy and pregnancy loss (off page), discussions of eugenics in the context of fictional cultural practices, terminal illness, character death.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1: The Outsider and the Heretic
It’s funny how something that was once a symbol of oppression can turn into a coveted commodity, an irony that never escaped Koi as xe passed up rows of canned goods, toiletries, and various dust-covered luxuries on xyr way to the dispensary tucked in the back of a ruined storehouse. Faded ration tickets crumpled under xyr feet, and metal shelving loomed in the dimness like the bones of a great beast, all but picked clean by scavengers. Koi remembered coming to this place as a child, remembered the City Soldiers in their black uniforms scowling down their noses as they gathered their meager rations or stood in line at the dispensary for the medications vital to their survival. Xe saw them as gods and in practice, they weren’t far off, cold and omnipotent and untouchable.
A familiar dread curled in Koi’s stomach as the dirty glass partition came into view. Xe pictured the sour-faced Citizen that used to stand there, could practically hear the distinct rattle of pills in bottles. The City’s gift to the Rim. How many would xe get this time? Would they be there at all or would xe be turned away with an unfeeling wave of a hand? Medications were always the first thing to go, the first thing they threatened when quotas weren’t met.
The Fall changed everything. A long period of drought meant crops died in the fields and factories didn’t run. But the gods in their City must have their offerings. The inability to meet the City’s demands led to further oppression and eventual rebellion, and the gods sealed the walls of their great City. Nothing went in and nothing came out. But the City depended on the Rim for raw materials as much as the Rim depended on the City for their products. So now they both starved, too stubborn or too broken to do anything else.
Koi swiped at the sheen of sweat forming on xyr brow as xe slipped around the partition and pulled open cabinets and drawers, one after another, tossing the unwanted contents onto the floor. Xe’d been lucky up to now, managing to find what xe needed but xyr luck was running thin. Xyr stash had run out and the ache in xyr chest grew by the day. Xe couldn’t read, but xe was sure xe would recognize the shape of the word when xe saw it. Xe squinted at labels, pushing through the pain and ignoring the shortness of breath that made xyr head light and xyr vision blur.
Xe could have wept when xe found the little white bottle tucked in the back corner of a cabinet behind stacks of office supplies. Pushing a strand of white-blond hair behind xyr ear, xe wrapped xyr delicate hands around the bottle, clutching it to xyr chest. Xe tore the bottle open and poured its contents into xyr palm. Five pale blue pills about the size of a pinhead. Enough to get xem through another week at most.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty one.”
Koi jumped at the sound of a baritone voice. Xe spun around, back pressed to the glass cabinets behind xem to find a tall, barrel-chested man blocking the entrance. A Citizen. Xe could tell by xyr posture. Head high, back straight like one who had never carried the weight of not knowing where xyr next meal would come from or where xe would find a bed for the night. From the looks of xem xe’d given up little more than a regular shave even after the Fall. They were venturing out here more and more, anxious to steal whatever they could use but ignorant to what was truly valuable.
“My knapsack is over there,” Koi said, pointing a trembling finger toward a tattered canvas bag in the corner. “Take whatever you want.”
The Citizen sneered and licked xyr lips as xe raked xyr eyes over the little Outsider’s long, lean body. Koi pressed xemself even harder into the cabinets, praying xe would somehow melt into them as the Citizen snatched up xyr bag and rifled through it. Containers fashioned from tin cans and filled with foraged vegetables clanked against the concrete floor, along with plastic water bottles, crinkled and thin from use. Xyr scowl deepened as xe turned the bag inside out and shook until it was empty.
“Where’s the rest?” xe snarled.
“That’s all I have—”
“You lie, Outsider!” The Citizen’s hand shot out and snatched Koi by xyr high ponytail and spun xem around, slamming xem face first into the cabinets. Xyr vision blurred with the force of the blow. Xyr precious medication scattered across the floor and the glass case shattered, cutting xyr cheek and xyr hands as xe scrambled for purchase. The Citizen pressed xyr body against Koi’s back, pouring stinking hot breath into the crook of xyr neck.
Tears poured down Koi’s face, burning across the cut on xyr cheek. “I swear on the Mother’s name—”
“Now you blaspheme?” the Citizen spat, xyr words thick with disgust. “You really are no better than animals. I should kill you and line my boots with your hide.”
“Please,” Koi whimpered. Xyr vision darkened around the edges and xe squeezed xyr eyes closed. “Please, spare me.”
All at once, the Citizen’s hand disappeared, xyr hot presence against Koi’s back with it, followed by a crash and a string of curses. Koi crumpled against the case as a second person appeared between xem and xyr attacker, brandishing a wooden bat. The Citizen, having been thrown to the floor, scrambled to xyr feet, face flushed and eyes wide. With a feral roar, xe threw xemself at xyr assailant. The newcomer was smaller but strong, xyr leonine frame packed with hard, lean muscle that pulled tight like rubber bands.
The Citizen caught the newcomer’s bat across the chest and they both went tumbling backward through the dispensary door and into the warehouse. The squealing crash of metal shelving and a flat, wet-sounding thud echoed off the concrete. Koi stood frozen in the silence that followed, eyes pinned to the door. Xe pressed xyr fingers to xyr sternum as if to still xyr pounding heart.
Breathe, Koi.
Koi jumped back when the newcomer’s head appeared in the doorway, xyr long, black hair tousled and falling in xyr eyes. Xe leaned for a moment on the door jam, breathing heavily, before raising hard black eyes.
“You okay?”
Koi pulled back tighter against the cabinets, hands clutched in the hem of xyr shirt.
“I’m not here to hurt you.” The dark-haired Citizen leaned xyr bat against the wall and took a step away from it.
Tears burned the little Outsider’s eyes. In a mad burst of panic, xe dropped to the floor and swept xyr hands along the baseboards in search of xyr dropped pills, coming up with only two and a handful of blue dust. From five down to two. A week cut down to a day.
The newcomer watched in relative disinterest, xyr hard expression never changing. The toe of xyr boot knocked against something hollow and xe bent to pluck the little white bottle off the floor. Xyr eyes flicked across the label, the corners of xyr mouth pulling down even lower, before holding it out to Koi.
Koi stared at the newcomer’s hand, dirty and stained with something dark. Xyr stomach lurched as xe noticed the bat colored with a splash of blood. The stranger jerked xyr hand back and scrubbed it on the leg of xyr pants, expression hardening. The muscles in xyr jaw rippled and something caught the light as xe turned to walk away. A flash of sapphire in a cloud of black. A gold earring set with a bright blue stone hung from xyr left ear, swinging lightly as xe moved.
“You’re Citizen, too, aren’t you?” Koi asked, wiping xyr eyes.
“Does it matter anymore?”
“Of course it matters.” Koi stood up and puffed out xyr small chest and gestured defiantly to xyr spilled bag. “Take whatever you want. With my gratitude.”
The Citizen’s sharp features twisted into a scowl. “It’ll be dark soon. You should patch yourself up and find a place to hide.”
Author Bio
Courtney Maguire is a University of Texas graduate from Corpus Christi, Texas. Drawn to Austin by a voracious appetite for music, she spent most of her young adult life in dark, divey venues nursing a love for the sublimely weird. A self-proclaimed fangirl with a press pass, she combined her love of music and writing as the primary contributor for Japanese music and culture blog, Project: Lixx, interviewing Japanese rock and roll icons and providing live event coverage for appearances across the country.
| Author Website | https://www.courtneymaguirewrites.com/ |
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