Unrecognized doubles, like my brother, lead a normal life. Something wealthy people might easily chose for their children, to avoid Selection, by having one of them cosmetically altered, alongside any records suggesting the existence of doubles. For the poor, this is not so easy but also possible. As those who either have no birth records or have paid to have them disappear, might even disfigure one of the doubles, so they cannot be identified as such. But for most, My fate is the more reasonable option. A chance at a different life, where their children are judge only on their abilities, where they neither suffer or live in excess.

Extras is a term sometimes used to described doubles in general, specifically the unnamed, and more specifically triplets and higher. To surrender extras to the government, they must be between the ages of two and four. The government has their existence expunged, for all intents and purposes it is as if they never existed. This is considered the most preferable outcome to having any more than a pair of doubles. As it allows one child to become Elite, with the sacrifice of another, while sparing the rest, with the weakest often offered up as the sacrifice. Then as if they had been born alone or perhaps as a pair, our others go on to live their lives… normal or otherwise, and we become The Numbered.

It is said, however, that not all of us were born of this system, though most are extras. Other orphaned children are believed to be consigned to this fate as well. It is certainly true, that the government no longer sponsors orphanages, and that very few are still in existence. Mostly, those that remain cater to older children who lost their parents sometime after the age of four, and had no relatives to take them in. Most of these orphanages operate as public boarding schools. These “Schools” have become the subject of scrutiny in recent years. Mainly, because it has been rumored that they take in doubles, who have been reported to have been eliminated through Natural Selection. Which is why I find myself here today, as a special investigator on the Selection Affairs Task Force. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that some of the people who work at these schools were themselves orphans, once upon a time. However, in the course of my investigation, I have found that it has taken a somewhat unexpected turn.

As one might imagine, it is most likely that any doubles which may have been delivered to these schools have little to no connection to anyone living in the local districts. They are most likely smuggled in from across the country. Making it difficult to track any direct relations. However, older survivors often become publicly known figures, and I have found a striking resemblance between one of the employees here and the fashion model Emillia Isles. I recognized her, despite her understated appearance, because I am something of an interested party when it comes to Ms. Isles. Meaning I have spent extensive time studying her every detail, and have more or less memorized her face. Though I’d admit, that I have had no such fantasy which would match up with this current predicament. In fact, I now find myself at a dangerous crossroads about what I should do next. My duty, of course, would be to expose and take custody of the double… a Ms Sasha Founders. Once known as the founder’s child, as she was taken in with special interest, by the Founder of the School. One Sasha Harrison. The school itself had once been a government run orphanage. It was turned into a public boarding school, to preserve it, after considerable effort by Ms. Harrison. Who was all of 19 at the time, and had only just started working at the orphanage. Though she had been a former ward herself, having lost her mother at child birth, and her father years later to drinking. Ms. Harrison was said to have been an incredibly kind woman, and treated the child who liked her name as a daughter. Ms Harrison had passed recently, but Ms. Founders had long since taken on the role as school matron. Her job was to cater to the children’s psychological health, in a subtle and proactive manner. In other words, it was quite literally her job to “care” for them.

Now on the other hand, it would seem that exposing Ms. Founders would cause considerable harm to the school and the children they looked after. Or perhaps that was just an excuse, for the fact that I felt strongly against such an action. Who would know after all, and if they found out, it could be excused as an oversight. Ms. Founders was especially kind to the members of the SATF as well. though it was possible, this was for the benefit of herself and her children, it did seem to me a genuine kindness. Often I have felt as if she has wanted to pull the masks from our faces. Of course, the mask are custom fitted to our faces, and not so easily removed. They are designed to leave our lower jaws exposed, so that they never need to be removed, wrapping around the rear corner of the lower jaw bone. The masks are strapped at an angle, over the ears and around the back of our skulls, just above the neck. The soft, cool, contouring under-structure, supports the rigid formless surface of the masks. Yet, when she looked at me, she seemed to see only my eyes, while most people never look us in the eye. She is actually far more beautiful than her double, and it is likely no one else would ever think to compare the two… or so I tell myself. I hope I am right.