“Shalene4272” boomed the voice over the loudspeaker.

A young girl stood up, pressed her hands together, fingers pointing skyward in the universal sign of acceptance and gratitude. Her pile of nearby friends, absorbed in their devices, looked up and returned the gesture.

Shalene walked to the door marked EVALUATION. She tried to relax into a state of acceptance, but the worried look on her mother’s face could not be ignored.

As she entered, a Mute handed her a robe and nodded to a small changing area. Shalene took her clothes off, put on the robe and entered the Evaluation chamber.

“Shalene4272 advance to the dais and disrobe.” Said the voice that came from nowhere and everywhere.

The Committee for Conformity sat at a long table, an illuminated panel in front of each assessor.

She stood naked on the dais as it slowly revolved and the committee took notes.

“Look into the light with your eyes open.” Commanded the voice. “Please try again. Look into the light with eyes open. Executed. Eyes closed. Executed. Evaluation complete. Please exit.”

Shalene put her robe back on and saw her clothes had been taken away. So, this was the waiting period. She’d heard some people were notified right away, others had to wait in the Chamber. Shalene wondered if she would see friends also waiting in the Chamber.

Exiting, she entered a long hallway and saw her name on a door. Inside was a chair, a single bed and her beloved entertainment device. At least she’d have some way to pass the time while she waited for her Conformity score.

She’d been in the chamber long enough to be fed twice when she heard a voice announce “Shalene4272 report for your Conformity Verdict”. The door opened and a Mute stood there, pointing the way.

Shalene arrived at the Veridct room without being able to summon any sense of acceptance. She was frightened. .

A beautiful woman with light brown skin, emerald green eyes and thick straight black hair sat at a desk. Shalene relaxed a little as the woman looked exactly like her mother, who had scored a perfect 10 on the conformity scale.

“Please sit, Shalene. You are an interesting case, as you come from a Perfect 10 mated with a non-standard. Our goal is to have every person conform to The Universal Standard. We have achieved the eradication of differences. Your Conformity score is irreversible. . Skin tone – 10, Eyes – 8, insufficient green, mouth 3 due to lip formation. Correctable with Augmentation.

Final decision: Stature cannot be corrected. Negative score. You will become taller, therefore more sub-standard with age.

Hormone therapy is not indicated due to your other deficiencies.

The woman pressed her hands together in a sign of finality and acceptance.

Shalene started shaking from head to foot. She tried to press her hands together to signal acceptance, but found her arms wouldn’t obey.

The woman nodded to a Mute, and Shalene was escorted through the door marked Final.