[ WP ] Every person in the world undergoes a `` goodness '' test . It 's designed to give a score from 1 to 200 , where 1 is pure evil , and 200 is an angel in human body . Then the world is divided into 200 zones , where people can live among their own kind .

I'd never been below the 50s before. I had, of course, heard stories of how the bottom 25 % lived, but before today I'd had no reason to visit. I was a 134, and while I was no angel, I certainly did n't desire to delve into the depths of Hell on Earth. But I'd been promoted, which, apparently, meant I'd be traveling to The Fringe twice a week. I could handle it. These people needed dental care too, right? 
 
 We in the 130s were generally the caretakers of the new human race. We were all mostly `` good,'' wanting to save lives and keep humanity going, but we were just `` evil'' enough to know that sometimes you have to get a little dirty to do just that. I wo n't go into the dirty details, but we 130s knew well enough when a life was worth saving, and when it was n't. That being said, I'm just a dentist. I wo n't lie, I get a little pleasure from drilling - I'm a 134 after all, not a shiny 175+ ( I sure ca n't stand those glimmering robes they seem so fond of ). Once a person opens their mouth, all bets are off because now I'm in charge. It's a nice feeling - but I'm also very proud of my work and want to do a good job. For the last 2 years I've been the top of my district in successful surgeries without a patient incident. Maybe that's why I was promoted. 
 
 Stepping into The Fringe is most certainly like stepping into Hell. You do n't notice it at first, the glances, the disarray. It is gradual as you travel into deeper, darker territory. But it is there, lurking like a tumor, waiting to take over. I was thankful for the fact that today I'd be visiting a 46 and not any lower. She needed a root canal done and would be my most evil patient ever. 
 
 As I pulled my mobile-dentistry office up to her home, the smell of burnt hair wafted in through the vents. My assistant had told me before leaving to use recirculate and I'd laughed it off and now my nose hairs were curling, paying the price for my flippant denial of the truth of the matter: this place was rank. But I had a job to do. I grabbed my kit and my protection unit and headed for the door. I'd been assured they'd be unable to hurt me. I'd also been assured they'd likely try anyways. Even with a mask, the putrid smell of rotting seemed to penetrate everything - like I was wading through a soupy pool of waste. Right now, my promotion felt like a punishment. I approached her front door and pushed the doorbell - it was met with an muffled yelling from somewhere in the house. I half hoped she would n't be home. 
 
 When she came to the door, I could never have guessed she was a 46. I had heard stories of how The Fringe looked - their evil twisting them into dark, messed up versions of humanity. But she was beautiful. She was so undeniably perfect that for just an instant, the foul, fetid surroundings did n't exist. She was not a 46. She just was n't. 
 
 `` Good. You're here,'' she broke through the illusion and the sour air drifted right back into my reality. I snapped to, hopefully she had n't seen me pause. I did n't mean to offend her - but she was not what I'd expected in the least. 
 
 `` Ah, yeah. You're Sarah Youngston, ranking 46, routine root canal?'' I read from the note card my assistant had given me. 
 
 She nodded, biting her lip and pulling on the top that I was just now noticing left little my imagination. I gulped, but kept my composure. `` Could you please let me scan your Vita-chip? Just part of procedure.'' She did n't stop pulling at her clothing, but did bare her neck so I could scan below her left ear. It all checked out - she was my patient. It would be good to put her under - I was starting to understand the sort of `` evil'' this 46 may be. 
 
 `` Ok Miss Youngston, for your safety and mine, we'll be doing your operation in the mobile dentistry office today. If you'd follow me...'' I reached for the door handle and she stopped, realizing her tricks were n't working. 
 
 `` Let's do it in here instead...'' she said, sitting on the back corner of the couch. She'd moved now to not just pulling at herself but to softly touching the bits not covered by the almost-threadbare tee. This was not what I'd heard, nor what I'd signed up for - but not entirely the worst thing I had been picturing. 46? 46 was looking a little more angelic every second. But I had a job to do. I was here for a reason. I kept my hand on the door handle, and while my knuckles were turning white, I did n't let go. 
 
 `` Come, let's go to my van and get some laughing gas in you. You'll like it! Plus, that tooth has got to be *killing* you!'' I tried another tactic - bribery with drugs. She sighed and rolled her eyes. 
 
 `` Fine - but you're no fun at all,'' she said with a snarl. She hopped up and trotted towards the door, her lithe frame keeping my eyes occupied. I held the door open for her and she exited. I did n't expect a thank you. 
 
 The surgery was totally uneventful. I popped out the offending tooth and was happy to find her case was far easier than I'd been lead to believe - she would n't require any extensive healing and likely very little pain meds. I would stay with her as she woke up, but then it would be back to business as usual. All in all, The Fringe had n't been so bad, and the lower quarter... maybe not so evil as we thought. 
 
 I'm not sure if it was the knocking or the throbbing pain that woke me. My head was filled with needle clouds and I squinted, trying to find the source of the knocking. It was dark and that same rank smell, sickly sweet like rotting garbage, filled whatever hovel I was waking to. 
 
 `` Oh good! You're awake!'' came a voice, familiar. Sarah. It was Sarah. I tried to talk, but burning filled my throat and nothing came out. `` Oh, that wo n't work!'' she chirped, flitting about the room. I could see her shadow moving in the darkness. A light switched on and after a moment of blindness, I stared in horror and suddenly began to really understand why she was a 46. 
 
 `` You know... it took me a long time to get that tooth to rot properly. You have no idea how long I've been planning this. I was 7- 7!'' she was livid- no longer a shadow pacing in the periphery. Her eyes were like fire and her skin just red enough for me to know she'd been fuming for awhile. I tried to talk, to ask her. 7? What had happened at 7 that could possibly justify my terror in this moment? But my throat burned like fire and nothing was coming out. I struggled and looked at her. 
 
 `` Oh - you do n't know. That's ok. I do n't really care. But I was 7 and took my test and moved to this shit hole. But apparently, someone saw fit to make sure I came here all clean, shiny, and prime for the picking. Do you *know* what they did when I got to The Fringe?'' she stared me down, her eyes probing my soul, erratic but passionate. I kept her gaze and shrugged my shoulders, I did n't know. 
 
 `` First they took away my new clothes. They knew I was an upper-lower. They knew I barely belonged here. Then they held me down and did what big, evil people do best - evil, horrible things.'' she turned away then, overwhelmed. The heat emanating from her hatred was palpable. My heart broke for her in that moment. I knew the lower 25 % lived rough - but I figured they all sort of... liked it that way. 
 
 From across the room, she continued to talk, her back to me, her shoulders shaking as she tried to steady her voice. `` And then, you know what those fuckers did? They tore open my mouth and pulled out my shiny new fillings. They were n't even fucking gold- but they were shiny and I was only 7, I did n't need them.'' She turned around now, and the burning in my throat was replaced by sinking dread and nausea. She held in her hands the largest dental drill I'd ever seen. `` But I do need you. And I've been waiting for you for a long, long time. Nobody here cares about me - nobody here cares about fuck-all. And you sit there, in your shining, disgusting office, probably giving little girls fillings all day long. But now, sweet, sweet Mr. Dentist, this little girl is in charge.'' She pushed a button on the drill and a deafening noise filled the small prison. 
 
 I'd never feared for my life before, but now I had front-row seats to my own murder. She was close now, her maniac eyes piercing my soul. I guess I'd lived an ok life - but this just did n't feel fair. I'd done my job ( that, mind you, I was promoted to do ) and done it kindly, and now I was going to die. Unfair. She was inches away now. I could feel the sweat pooling above my eyebrows, stinging as it fell into my eyes. For whatever reason I could n't scream - but that was probably a good thing, at least I'd die with the semblance of bravery and honor. 
 
 And then, in an instant, everything changed. A siren pierced the air and she fell back, the drill flying through the air. A strobe flashed, but I could n't see the source. I could hear her cursing but I did n't understand. I did n't think I was dead, but what was happening? Had she killed me? Was this something else? 
 
 `` PROTECTION UNIT 134 ACTIVATED. AWAITING EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM.'' A voice filled the dank little room, great and rumbling. I had completely forgotten my protection unit. And now, it was saving me. Nothing could hurt me. I had n't really understood until now. I sighed and let myself pass into darkness. 
 
 -- -- 
 
 `` Good! You're awake!'' came a voice I really *did* know very well, my assistant's. It was bright in this new room, but smelled like cleaner and not at all rotting. I cleared my throat, now pain-free. 
 
 `` What... what happened?'' I managed to mumble. She chuckled. How she found this funny was beside me - but she was in the 130s as well so not really a halo-wearer herself. She raised an eyebrow. 
 
 `` Oh- just the usual. The animals in The Fringe always like to think they can have their fun. They always forget that's just not how this works!'' She chuckled again and handed me a cup of ice chips. `` Really, you did n't do too badly your first trip out, doc! `` she said with another smirk. She left and left me to my thoughts. Thank god we were n't like those animals in the lower 25 %. 
 
 
 

