I'm a teenage girl in a deeply hierarchical society obsessed with genetics and bloodlines. Family is all.

Luckily, I have a sister--a twin, which is important. If she were older, I'd have to defer to her; if younger, talk down to her. That's the rule.

But a twin's my equal--and in my society, ONLY twins and clones can be completely relaxed together. They share all genes and are raised together, so theoretically they're considered the same person: they can predict every thought. And predictability, sameness, is all our people trust.

Fraternal twins are sort of ignored; the assumption is all twins are identicals. Most can pass, since we're so damn inbred. All that cloning...

But our situation is unique: we're twins, but we're not even full fraternals: only half-sisters! Our mother slept with two men, and each fertilized one egg. It's supposed to be impossible--both our trust, and our very existence.

We have fewer shared genes than ordinary sisters, but just because we were born together, we're allowed to be close--and DO trust each other as much as true identicals.

Our society's obsession with shared heritage, with sameness, is wrong. You CAN trust people different from you.

We know. We do.

NOTES

• Hierarchical society:
  1. Stratos, the clone-based matriarchy in David Brin's Glory Season, valuing stability and conformity over all else.
  2. China between the World Wars, as portrayed in Jung Chang's heartbreaking Wild Swans.
  Not so different! Hierarchy pits even people of good will against each other. Cultures and languages that define you by your status leads to sniping and jealousy as well as conformity.
• Our different fathers: Jung Chang's mom was raised by a gentle Manchu doctor; her genetic father was a warlord she barely ever met.
• Who's my own half-twin? Dreams, I think. A very different nature, but I grew up treating her as just like me, trusting her, and disover that trust is what matters, not similarity. And that's the lesson, I think.
• ACTION: Quit looking in waking life for friends and lovers sharing your interests... and just seek people you trust.

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