Amatka Read online

  The company hadn’t given Vanja extra credit for clothing, but her general disinterest had led to savings substantial enough for all the clothes she’d picked out.

  —

  The pharmacy was a couple of doors away. Products were stacked according to category on the shelves, most of them packaged in the red and white of the commune. A couple of dispensers were busy serving customers at the back of the store. Vanja walked slowly along the shelves, reading labels. The range was virtually identical to Essre’s, but the proportions were different. Amatka’s inhabitants apparently suffered from skin problems: a whole section was devoted to eczema, fungal infections, and other skin conditions. The general-hygiene section was sparse in comparison. Vanja grabbed all boxes not decorated with the commune’s colors and filled in a requisition form handed to her by one of the dispensers.

  “Do you import any independent products from Essre?” she asked, as the dispenser, a young woman with her hair in a tight bun, packed the items into a brown bag.

  The dispenser paused with her hand in the bag. “No. I don’t know why we would. We can barely get rid of the stuff made locally. By the independent businesses, I mean. So I don’t know how something from Essre would do.”

  “Why don’t people want them, d’you think?”

  “You’re not from here, are you? It’s new. People don’t like new. It never turns out well.”

  The dispenser bagged the last of the items and rummaged for something under the counter. She brought out a couple of pamphlets and stuffed them into the bag.

  “Take these, too.”

  —

  Vanja lugged her heavy load back to the house. She put the bags down on the kitchen table and found some coffee powder in the pantry. It looked homemade, stored in a jar with a mismatched lid. Ivar probably brought coffee mushrooms from work and dried and ground them himself. Vanja filled the pot halfway up with water, added a couple of spoonfuls of powder, and put the pot on the heat. While it simmered, she emptied her bag and went through the bottles, jars, and tubes, arranging them on the table. All in all, she’d brought back thirty-two products from two different manufacturers. When the coffee had finished brewing, it came out of the pot a pale yellow color. Vanja retrieved her notebook out of the satchel and started taking down the names of manufacturers and products, as well as content lists. It was soothing work.

  A sudden laugh made her look up. Nina stood by the kitchen door, eyebrows raised. She looked at the jars and bottles covering the table, then at Vanja and then laughed again, not at all in an unfriendly way.

  Report 1. Initial Report on Products and Manufacturers

  * * *

  The following is a preliminary report on the occasion of my first visits to stores and the pharmacy, in addition to a few short interviews. I am still awaiting a complete list from the commune office, but have so far identified two independent manufacturers in the hygiene sector. Both specialize in products more expensive and of higher quality than the commune’s own. They are not in direct competition with each other, as they have targeted different product areas.

  Several persons with whom I have spoken express a dislike for products not the commune’s own, but give only vague explanations as to why this is. A common expression is that they simply don’t want “new things.”

  Amatka’s First Independent Chemist

  * * *

  Hygiene products of high quality that cost extra credit. The products contain extracts of plants and fungi. The packaging is elegant, in muted colors. According to the pharmacy, this is the most popular alternative product range.

  Product Names and Descriptions

  Quality Belt. Holder for menstrual liners. 1 per package. A girdle for fastening around the waist, with loops for attaching menstrual pads. The material is somewhat thinner and softer than the commune’s own girdles. Girdle and pads are washed normally.

  Quality Pad 1. Short menstrual pads, extra thin, 4 per box.

  Quality Pad 2. Medium-length menstrual pads, extra thin. 4 per box.

  Quality Pad 3. Extra-long menstrual pads, thin and highly absorbent. 2 per box.

  Hair Soap 1. Hair soap for greasy hair and dandruff. The ingredients do not differ significantly from the commune’s own.

  Hair Soap 2. Hair soap for dry hair. Contains extract of cave russula.

  Hair Treatment. Softening treatment for hair. Contains extract of slime truffle and soybean oil.

  Quality Soap. Liquid soap. Contains extract of cave russula.

  Quality Cream. Skin cream. Contains soybean oil and extract of slime truffle.

  Cosmetics by Olbris’ Lars

  * * *

  Products associated with beauty care. Cost extra credits, except for when prescribed by a physician. The range consists mainly of foundation creams, covering creams, and skin powder. The very wide range of covering creams to hide scars, superficial veins, and cold damage is noteworthy. According to the pharmacy, the products are bought by men and women in equal proportions.

  Product Names and Descriptions

  Foundation Cream 1. Light foundation cream.

  Foundation Cream 2. Medium-colored foundation cream.

  Foundation Cream 3. Dark foundation cream.

  Covering Cream Red. Covering cream to hide blue areas, such as bruising or dark circles under the eyes.

  Covering Cream Yellow. Hides red areas, for example eczema, scars, and acne.

  All-cover. Thick covering cream for hiding sores, superficial veins, etc.

  Acne Soap. Specialty soap for greasy skin and acne.

  Acne Stick. Stick for individual pustules.

  Shaving Soap Rich. Shaving soap for dry skin.

  Shaving Knife Extra Light. Slender shaving knife that weighs less than the commune’s own. Sold with whetstone.

  I have attached an assortment of local products along with a copy of the requisition. Also attached is the pharmacy’s self-care recommendation pamphlet. As you can see, the instructions differ from Essre’s on several points, especially with regards to frequency of washing and cold weather advice.

  Best,

  Brilars’ Vanja Two

  Attachment: Hygiene Pamphlet

  * * *

  Publisher: Amatka’s communal pharmacy

  Washing

  Hands, feet, and armpits should be washed with soap and water every morning. Crotch and face should be washed every morning with water only. Hands should also be washed after every toilet visit and before each meal. Baths should be taken once a week. Excess bathing should be avoided, as it may damage the skin’s protective layer of natural oils. This is especially important for individuals prone to eczema.

  Shaving and Trimming

  Men with beards should trim it once a week. Men who shave should do so once a day. Men with dark beard growth may if needed consider one additional shave in the afternoon. The pharmacy discourages all citizens from shaving other body parts.

  Intimate Hygiene (for Men)

  Genitals should never be washed with soap, but with water only. When washing, gently pull the foreskin back to make sure the area underneath is cleaned. Air-drying is encouraged to lessen the risk of itching.

  Intimate Hygiene (for Women)

  Genitals should never be washed with soap, but with water only. When menstruating, pads and holders manufactured for this purpose should be used. Pad should be changed every fourth to sixth hour. A used pad is soaked in cold water and then washed in the same way as underclothes.

  Dental Hygiene

  Teeth should be brushed with brushing powder morning and evening to prevent cavities.

  Miscellaneous

  Talcum powder may be used to prevent extreme sweating and odor. Rub extra-rich cream onto face and hands in cold weather to avoid eczema and cracked skin.

  THIRDAY

  Vanja was once again woken by thunder and unable to go back to sleep. She pulled a sweater and trousers over her sleep clothes and went down into the kitchen. According to the schedule on the refri
gerator, both Nina and Ivar had morning shifts at work and would need breakfast. Vanja took a pot from the bottom cupboard and checked the pantry. Two bags of porridge flakes sat on the middle shelf: the everyday black bolete and the slightly milder pale polypore. She scooped bolete flakes into the pot and filled it up with two parts water. While the porridge simmered, she made new coffee from yesterday’s leftover grounds.

  “Hi.” Nina had wrapped a large green shawl over her overalls.

  She went to the fridge and took out a plate. “Here, we can fry up the leftovers.”

  They stood side by side in silence, stirring the pot and frying pan. Nina’s sleeve brushed gently against Vanja’s arm as she poked at the leftovers in the pan.

  Ivar came down in time to eat and set the table for three.

  “It’s not as strong as yours, Ivar,” Nina said, sipping the coffee. “I might even avoid a stomachache for once.”

  “Coffee can never be too strong,” Ivar retorted.

  “Amatka’s coffee consumption is five times higher than the other colonies’,” Vanja said.

  “How do you know?” Nina asked.

  “I proofread a report on coffee consumption once. I tend to…pick up facts.”

  “Ha,” said Nina. “Five times, eh? And Ivar makes up half of it.”

  “I’m self-medicating. I couldn’t face the mushroom farm without it.” Ivar downed the rest of his coffee and poured himself another cup.

  “Ivar doesn’t do so well with darkness,” Nina said.

  Vanja pushed her porridge around with her spoon. “Can’t you change jobs? Don’t you have rotations?”

  Ivar shrugged. “Officially we do. But no one’s been allowed to change jobs for years now.” He rubbed some yellow gunk from the corner of his eye. “The committee says there aren’t enough citizens for rotation to be feasible.”

  “I’m sure they’re doing their best,” Nina said.

  Ivar rose. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  Nina poured herself more coffee. Vanja tried to eat some more porridge. It had gone cold and stuck to the roof of her mouth.

  “I get so angry with Ivar,” Nina said eventually. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do. He’s down there in the dark, day after day, and gets worse and worse. He could probably get something else to do if he just spoke to the committee. If he just tried a little harder.” Nina jabbed her thumb at the door. “It’s like he’s given up.”

  Vanja shifted in her seat. “Well, that’s none of my business.” She scraped the remains of her porridge back into the pot. “I thought I heard thunder this morning,” she said. “Outside.”

  Nina blinked. “What? Oh, that. It’s the ice melting.”

  Vanja slowly set the plate back down on the table. “Ice?”

  Nina explained that the lake, which lay just beyond Amatka’s eastern border, froze over at night and thawed in the morning. Things had been that way for the last five years. When the sky grew dark, ice formed on the water. After an hour or so, the ice would be thick enough to walk on. The air didn’t get colder than usual; whatever it was only affected the water in the lake. And at dawn, the ice broke up again. It was the noise of thawing that Vanja had heard. Nina nodded when Vanja asked if she’d seen it with her own eyes.

  “Of course, going there to look was forbidden at first,” Nina said. “But when it had been going on unchanged for six months, the committee decided that we should call it a ‘normal variation.’ So that’s what it is now. A normal variation.”

  “You must have wondered if someone had, well, done something.”

  “Of course. And maybe someone had. But I don’t know anything more about it. And nothing else has happened since.”

  “Just the lake?”

  “Just the lake.” Nina got up. “Time to go to my shift.”

  Vanja had another cup of coffee and washed the breakfast dishes. Then she put on her new undergarments, tied her hat on, and went outside. She walked without an actual goal in mind, slowly ambling in a northeasterly direction, toward the colony’s outskirts. The air was damp. Breathing in so much moisture felt unfamiliar. The buildings and people walking between them were all covered in a wet sheen.

  Vanja eventually reached the plant houses in the outer ring, their oblong domes translucent, the plants inside a faint green. Planters slowly moved between the rows, watering and weeding. A mumble of voices and song could be heard from inside. Beyond the plant houses, the tundra. Sky and earth blurred together in the distance; for a moment it was as if the colony floated on an island in the void. The thought made Vanja’s stomach contract. She turned around and walked back into the colony as quickly as she could without breaking into a run. When she’d made it past the residential ring, she walked into the first public building she saw, oblivious to the words on the facade.

  She entered a hallway with coat pegs along the walls. The gray door at the far end was marked DOOR TO THE LIBRARY. Vanja hung her anorak and hat on one of the pegs and opened the door.

  The room was small and lined with bookcases, with just enough room for a reading table in the middle. Behind a small counter next to the door sat a plump, bespectacled man with an auburn beard and curly, thinning hair. He was filling in small index cards.

  When Vanja closed the door, he put the pen down and looked up with mild brown eyes. “Welcome.”

  “Thank you.” Vanja remained where she was and looked around the room.

  “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

  “I’m a visitor,” Vanja said. “From Essre.”

  “And you’ve come here.” The librarian brightened visibly. “Are you familiar with Amatka’s authors?”

  “What? No.”

  The librarian rose and walked over to a bookcase in the middle of the far wall. He cocked his head and scanned the shelves with his index finger until he located a thin volume. He pulled it out and brushed the cover gently.

  “Poetry,” he said. “If you want to get to know Amatka, you must read our poetry. This one was written by Berols’ Anna. Very concise, very typical of our culture.” He offered Vanja the book.

  She turned the book over in her hands. About Plant House 3 had been published twenty years ago: three hundred and sixty-five poems describing Plant House 3 in minute detail. Vanja opened the book to a random page.

  at five twenty-two among the beets

  the shift from blur to acuity

  the long furrows of chalky earth

  the sound of water absorbed by roots

  “Is it popular?” Vanja asked.

  “Very, very,” the librarian replied. “Not as popular as About Plant House 5, that’s the most popular one by far, but it’s on loan at the moment. But you can read them in any order you like. They’re written so that the reader can start anywhere.”

  According to the endpaper, the series consisted of eight books, each one describing a plant house in the outer ring.

  “It took Anna ten years to finish the series,” he added. “The final book is the most advanced. Extremely dense. Extremely dense,” he repeated, nodding for emphasis. “I recommend starting with one of the others.”

  Vanja held on to the book as she walked along the shelves. The selection was very similar to Essre’s. Most of the shelves were filled with nonfiction, histories of the colonies and biographies of the Heroes: citizens who had excelled in their service of the colonies through their actions and sacrifice. Vanja took down About the Colonies, For Children from the shelf. They had read from it in class. Vanja had always wanted to go see the other colonies. She had fantasized about sitting on the shores of Balbit or seeing the great factories in Odek.

  Colony One, Essre, is the administrative center of all the colonies. Here, the main committee makes decisions that affect all of us. The committee is made up of delegates elected by the people in all the colonies.

  Colony Two, Balbit, is a place of science and research; our scientists work tirelessly to find safe and sustainable ways of advancing our quality of life. Balbit
sits on the shore of the Southern Ocean. Your teacher will provide any necessary information about the Ocean.

  Colony Three, Odek, is the center of industry. Here is manufactured everything a citizen might need: furniture, clothing, tools, and much more.

  Colony Four, Amatka, is the agricultural center. Mushrooms of many varieties thrive in the caverns below the colony. Depending on species, they can be used for everything from paper to food.

  Colony Five was once the second agricultural center, which exported grains to the other colonies. This colony has suffered catastrophic failure and no longer exists. Your teacher will provide any necessary information.

  Vanja turned to the poetry section. It had no equivalent in Essre. Berols’ Anna’s poetry cycle was just one of many. Other titles were About Eight Mushroom Chambers by Idars’ Ivar, About Bodily Variations by Torus’ Britt, and a thick volume bound in red and marked only with the words About Trains.