Velvet Dogma About 3300 wds by Weston Ochse

course."
    "Of course."   Rebecca crossed her arms.
    The irony of that conversation struck Rebecca as she stood in front of a sign that read *Sunset D-Pens* with the words Helping the Young Through Sacrifice scrawled neatly beneath. The sprawling low-slung building looked more like a K-mart than an old folks' home, nothing like she'd expected.
    When she'd been little and a Brownie they'd gone to some of the homes to help the elderly, play games with them and sometimes to just sit and talk. She remembered the buildings as usually being dark brick, with lots of aromatic wood, carpeted floors, carefully manicured green grass, immaculate flowerbeds and meandering sidewalks wide enough for wheel chairs. Old men had played shuffleboard. Women rocked in chairs on the shade of the porch.
    This place looked more like a retail outlet, a place where at any moment the intercom would announce a sale on livers or a run on spleens. Heavily tinted floor-to-ceiling windows comprised the entire front of the building. Red metal walls met a dark gray roof that peaked just enough to urge rain away. Cars filled the parking lot. Drink dispensers stood ready to serve near the double entrance doors. If the inside was anything like the outside, how impersonal it must be.
    She turned to Andy who He shrugged helplessly, looking none too happy. "I don't like it either, Bec. This is a horrible way to go."
    "They're literally waiting for her to die, aren't they?"
    "Yes."
    She set her teeth against her lip and scowled. "Monsters."  
    "They think they're doing a service," he said, then quickly held up his hand when she started to retort. "Not that I'm defending them Bec, but I thought you might want to know. I used to date a girl who worked at one of these places. She loved the sense of duty the job provided to her. She really felt that she was doing a service, recycling the organs of the dead and providing them to the living."
    "But what about the dying? What about my grandmother ?"
    "They're supposed to be taken care of right until—"
    "—they get pushed over the cliff."   She crossed her arms defiantly.
    "I've heard stories," Andy admitted. "Let's hope this place is on the up and up."
    Rebecca still had the idea that she might spirit her grandmother away. She'd planned on staying with Olga—presumptuous, but necessary—but that wasn't an option any more. She'd worry about that later. Now she needed to see what was going on, and how best to rescue her grandmother. Worst case scenario, they'd all be on the run.
    "We need to be careful when we go in."   He touched her elbow. "We're not going to have a lot of time, anyway."
    "Why? What's going to happen?"
    "I'm not sure. We could have an hour or a minute. It depends on who's looking for you and how badly they want you. There's the police to remember, but what about the Black Hearts. Are they willing to go public? Can they hack into the D-Pens?"
    "Wait," she said anxiously. "You're going too fast—slow down."
    "This is a facility that's regulated by the Global Allocation System. See their logo?"    Andy pointed to a sign etched into one of the windows. It had and image of a scalloped flat earth with the letters G.A.S. over the top. "There are sensors at all exits to ensure their patients don't just up and leave. Likewise, when anyone with a levy enters, it records the date and time, as well as the health of the organ."
    "So when I go in—"
    "—there might be bells, sirens and dancing bears."   His grin was a little thin. "But I doubt it. My guess is that whoever wants you will come and get you themselves."
    "I never thought about it," she said slowly.
    "That's why you need me, Bec."
    She twisted her mouth into a mock frown. "It's about time you started pulling your own weight."   Then she was heading for the door. He caught up to her just as she reached it, and together they entered. The door sssked shut behind them.
    They stood in an enclosed entryway. Faces with wraparound glasses peered down at