The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo Read Free Book Online Page B

suspect an elderly woman and two sweet little elois.
    The best thing to do was to not get cocky, and to watch my cards.
    â€œForgive me for prying, but how is this even possible?”
    â€œI was born this way. Genetic lottery. Like a family where the great-grandfather was white but his descendants reproduced only with black people. Everyone in the family will have African characteristics, but then out of the blue a baby with rosy cheeks and freckles pops into the world.” Vanna dropped this terminology like an educated masco.
    â€œMorlocks have such a small, dark corner reserved for them in this world that an eloi’s life—even though it’s limited and regulated, too—is positively carefree by comparison,” Aulikki said.
    â€œI don’t think Jare wants to mess up our lives,” Vanna said. I could have hugged her when she said that.
    Aulikki looked at me for a change.
    I nodded. I swallowed. I nodded again.
    Aulikki smiled, but her eyes showed only flinty calculation. “Let’s work on the assumption that something good could come of this.”
    Her expression changed. She was looking at me now, seeing me as a person, an individual, not just weighing me like a chunk of meat. There was even amusement in her eyes.
    â€œJare, have you ever thought you might like to order a few books to read here over the summer? Just for your own edification and education?”
    At first I was perplexed. Then Vanna laughed out loud and slapped her grandmother on the shoulder. They looked at each other and slapped their thighs.
    Then I understood.

GENDER FRAUD IN FINNISH LAW
    1. § Any person who deliberately misleads state authorities with regard to officially defined sexes by altering an inborn neuterwoman’s appearance to resemble that of a femiwoman, whether through surgery or other cosmetic means, shall be charged with aggravated gender fraud and making a mockery of the state. If the neuterwoman herself is guilty of the abovementioned activities, both subject and perpetrator are legally responsible. Punishment for this offense for the subject of the fraud is a term of labor in state rehabilitation facilities and possible confiscation of family property. Punishment for the perpetrator who carries out such a crime is as outlined in applicable Criminal Code on Social Sabotage, § 220, subsection 6.
    2. § Any person who deliberately misleads state authorities with regard to officially defined sexes by altering an inborn femiwoman’s appearance to resemble that of a neuterwoman, whether through surgery or other cosmetic means, shall be charged with aggravated gender fraud and making a mockery of the state. If the femiwoman herself is guilty of the abovementioned activities, both subject and perpetrator are legally responsible. Punishment for the perpetrator who carries out such a crime is as outlined in applicable Criminal Code on Social Sabotage, § 220, subsection 6. Should a femiwoman be found guilty of gender fraud there is no designated punishment, because of the rarity of the crime. Instead the subject shall be referred to a mental health facility.
    Dear Manna,
    Jare and I were co-conspirators , that’s all. You understand that, don’t you? Nothing more.
    Although being discovered by Jare may have been an unavoidable accident, one that was exceedingly useful to me, it was also a problem. In your mind it gnawed at the bonds of our sisterhood. It never even occurred to me that anything could cause a break between us. To me you were always the sweet little sister I loved, and you always will be.
    Because of our shared secret, Jare and I became closer than we had intended. It happened almost by accident. Although Jare continued to obey the rules—living in the barn, washing up in the sauna, eating in the kitchen—the packages of books sent to him every week were like little Christmases for me. Jare would pick the books up from the postman’s truck and leave