When the first baby was born wearing a mask, he was immediately taken into care and observation; Eva felt as if they took away her stomach. The studies have shown that the studies were right; The human organism, perhaps the most sophisticated survival mechanism in nature, had evolved and adapted to the virus. The virus mutates, man too; same old familiar story since the first unicellular creature had emerged.

Until the scientists bring her baby back, Eva asked Lucia, her delivery-room neighbor, if she may place her newly born son on her chest; it was like holding God in the palm of your hand.

In order not to impair the normal development of the object of research, the researchers had allotted Eva with several minutes a day in its presence. During those limited moments they had shared, Eva had meticulously examined the bizarre turquoise object, that covered her son’s glowing face. White rubber bands were stretched to the back of the tiny ears, and a thin layer of membrane fused them into the soft skin. Microscopic particles of plastic were embedded into the nasal cartilage, which was no larger than a button. When the child asked to breastfeed, the elastic membrane stretched downwards, like gills, and Eva served him with her nipple.

She refused to admit it, even to herself – but Eva couldn’t help being disgusted. The obstetrician, on the other hand, was fascinated by the level of accuracy of the mutation – nature had imitated almost perfectly the mechanics of the mask. Hadn’t he known better, he’d be tempted to believe it were the works of an intelligent designer.

The human Epsilon species were more protected, less sick, with longer longevity. As it always is with natural selection, some organisms had evolved faster than others. During the year following the first Epsilon birth, about sixty percent of babies were born with a mask on. Studies have shown that babies of the old breed are carriers of new mutations of the virus, and the World Health Organization had recommended a series of tests that any future mother will undergo, for early detection of the Amaskial Syndrome.

Two years later, astir Maria and Joseph arrived for their first Ultrasound test.

For five whole years they try. Fertility treatments, a note on the Western Wall, thistle seeds boiled in nettle soup. As fate would have it, on the eve of Maria’s fortieth birthday, Joseph stooped her from behind, she was as ripe as a peach and Bam, it was hooked, probably something about the angle.

It doesn’t hurt, said the nurse, and applied the cool gel to Maria’s stomach. It was even rather pleasant. Holding each other’s hand, they gazed at the soundwaves translated into a black-and-white blur, that looked like the universe. Maria burst into tears and Joseph laid a soft kiss on her head.

On the eleventh week, it was possible to determine with an accuracy of eighty-five percent the existence of a standard mask, according to the size of the fetus’ jaw. The Maskial translucency screening – the doctor had explained – does not provide with an unequivocal result, but presents data that can then be compared to the results of thousands of other women. After entering the data into the software, the software then calculates the chances of the fetus to suffer from an Amaskial Syndrome, so that the chance of fetal defect can be statistically predicted.

Maria had wrapped her belly with her arms.

There’s nothing to worry about, the doctor reassured, among many women, even when the result indicated a high risk, the fetus is, in fact, healthy. He had recommended Maria and Joseph with a series of additional tests, just in case, and handed them a document, that Maria held on to like a baby holding his father’s finger.

The vaginal method for Chorionic Villus Sampling is less painful than inserting a needle through the abdominal wall. The placental tissue are essentially the cells that make up the placenta, and they carry genetic load identical to that of the fetus. According to this approach, the doctor inserts a conductor through the vagina, while watching an ultrasound. A catheter is then inserted through the conductor, with which a small amount of tissue is aspirated. It’s a bit inconvenient, mild pain may arise. After collecting the sample, one examines whether the placental tissue contains microplastic particles that were shed from the mask, and thus the regularity of the pregnancy may be determined with almost certainty. Rare side effects include light bleeding, congenital malformations in the fetus’ fingers, and naturally abortion, however the great advantage of the test over the Amniocentesis (in which Maskial microplastic particles are monitored within the fluid surrounding the fetus) is the time of the test. Amniocentesis is performed during the second trimester of pregnancy; In this case, if the result obtained is abnormal, the pregnancy must be terminated by induction, a challenging procedure both medically and emotionally. This is while in case of abnormal results in Chorionic Villus Sampling, which is performed during the twelfth week of pregnancy, the pregnancy can be terminated by scraping – a much simpler procedure.

That does it, said Maria.

With or without a mask, she had no intention of turning the miracle that’s becoming within her into a scrambled egg. She started crying, literally sobbing, the doctor winked at Joseph, stay cool it’s the hormones, and then explained to Maria, the risk of miscarriage due to the test is low, between a quarter percent and three percent, depends on who you ask, Maria wanted to go home but Joseph had some convincing arguments, Mi Amor, a life without a mask is a hard life, not only the medical risks, they’d pick on him in class, how will he find a job, Mi Amor, think of the burden it’ll be for us, the doctor had agreed with Joseph and besides she had a document in her hand, Maria chose the vaginal method.

The pregnancy was progressing well. At week thirteen, Early Fetal Ultrasound, at week sixteen, Triple Test, at week eighteen, Amniocentesis, just in case, at week twenty the baby kicked for the first time, and Maria burst out laughing, at week twenty-two, Late Fetal Ultrasound, at week twenty-six, Oral Glucose Challenge Test, at week thirty, Third Trimester Ultrasound Test, at week thirty-five, Culture Perinatal Screening GBS.

It was a marvelous journey.

For five whole years they’ve been wanting it so badly, without even knowing why, and there, a new story is about to begin, even though we all know how it’s going to end, amid all the preparations Maria had nearly forgotten the new life knocking on the doorway, nearly forgotten all the loves, the pains, all the disappointments and wishes that are growing inside her stomach. Luckily, the doctor had noted since the first moment, Escitalopram is a pill from the SSRI family, and is considered safe to use during pregnancy.

Only the birth remained; during normal Epsilon births, the ministry of health recommends a double amount of Epidural Anesthesia, due to stimulation caused to the cervical wall by the mask. After twenty-four hours in the delivery room, with ten fingers, ten toes, and a standard mask, Alexandra was born, and Maria was born together with her.

Alexandra learned how to walk, and talk, went to school, then to university, got married and pregnant, went through a series of tests, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Meanwhile, natural selection had continued operating its operation.

In the next generation of the Homo-Maskaritous, the mask had received the skin color of the baby. The membrane had been assimilated a tiny bit more towards the chic and chin, and the white rubber bands behind the ears appeared like no more than protruding veins.

Alexandra’s daughter was already born with a thin layer of crust, stretching from the forehead to the beginning of the neck, clinging to the oral cavity, enabling to eat and drink with no gill activity, while still maintaining all the virtues of the mask.

The evolutionary mutation continued to perfect itself, and once Alexandra’s granddaughter – Maria’s great-granddaughter – was born, the mask was no more than a microscopic biological membrane, a thin and transparent layer covering the entirety of the head, stretching from the back of the neck, through the top of the head until the front of the neck, almost invisible, so thin that it was no longer possible to tell which was the face and which was the mask.

*

Generations passed.

The world to which Sophia – Joseph and Maria’s great-great-grand-child – was born, had almost eliminated the Amaskial Syndrome. Most were scrambled before they had a birth date, and the ones who weren’t, were sent to special educational institutions. During her forty years of age, Sophia only heard about the rare syndrome once or twice, in biology class, and didn’t know too much about it.

It wasn’t a futuristic world, in the sense of servant robots or flying vehicles. True, the internet was a bit faster, but you still had to disconnect and reconnect the router when there was no reception, the bread was still stuck in the toaster and it burned your finger, and the rice was still scattered all over the table when you opened the bag.

Sophia woke-up every morning, took the bus to school, smiled to the other teachers, made herself a cup of coffee and set down for small talk. Impatiently she awaited the bell ring. When she heard it, she hurried to class to meet the children, who were the one and only reason for her choosing to be a teacher. She has long since given up on adults, especially men, who knew how to manufacture five G’s, ten G’s, a hundred G’s, but couldn’t locate one small, sweet G that resides within her.

She’d rather do it all on her own, but science still hasn’t found out how – without choice she paid a visit to the sperm bank. It took a few attempts, probably something hereditary, but thirty tests and nine months later, Sophia gave birth to a baby boy. She refused to admit it, even to herself, but when the tiny lump of light rested on her chest, the stern feminist raiment had melted, she was no longer a teacher, barely a woman, and Sophia only felt that those very three kilograms of gentle tissue are the supreme purpose of her life, that more than anything she is one thing and one thing only – a mother.

Already after two weeks, Sophia knew there was something unusual about the child. True, all the moms in the school believed their child was special, and all of them had maternal intuition. But for Sophia it was different. She didn’t care to brag; actually, she didn’t even believe that our children our ours, if anything we are theirs, and this child, whether he was hers or she was his, was different. Adam sobbed each time Sophia talked on her phone or watched TV, spent hours gazing at Max the cat, barely responded to voices and noise.

Above all, it was the gloss he had in his eyes.

Adam grew up and went to kindergarten. Every morning in the circle, the teacher sang ‘Hello children’, and instead of replying ‘Hello teacher’ like everyone else, Adam farted. The children burst into laughter, and Adam was sent to the quiet corner. When he laid his eyes on a toy he liked, he immediately grabbed it, whether it was on the floor, whether in the hands of some other girl or boy. He was then sent to the quiet corner. He told the other children he doesn’t have a dad and asked them if they’ll share their dad with him, and in return he will share his mom with them. But the other children didn’t want to play with him. Adam would scream and shout, then calmed down, and went back to play with the cubes.

The teacher summoned Sophia for a talk but had nothing new to tell her – Adam had told her everything every day after getting back from kindergarten.

The teacher wants us to move to another kindergarten, Sophia told Adam, and Adam only said, she’s not a teacher, mom, she’s a singer.

In elementary school, Adam was reciting poems while everyone else tried to study. When the teacher scolded him, he told her, don’t worry Ms. Edelman, one day you’ll find a daddy, and to the sports teacher he said, you keep caressing your bald head.

In junior high, Adam met Louisa. She had short blonde hair and ripped jeans, and Adam loved her like the sun loves the trees. He approached her and said, Louisa, I love you, I love you like the sun loves the trees. Louisa was silent for a few minutes, and then walked away.

Sophia tried to explain to Adam, such directness may sometimes deter young ladies, but Adam said, she’s not a young lady, mom, she’s a princess, and Sophia caressed his head. He didn’t know that Louisa had tried to find him on Tic-Toc when she arrived home, unsuccessfully.

He failed almost every single subject during the first year of high school. During math test he made up a puzzle and solved it, during English test he wrote a limerick, and during history test he drew a portrait of Adolf Hitler. Despite his poor achievements, the youngster had shown growing interest in political theories, different religions, and philosophy. For his birthday, his mother bought him Emanuel Levinas’s “Totality and Infinity”, even though she didn’t understand a word of what’s written there.

After calling the teacher ‘a warder’ in front of the entire class, and saying that she’s a bitter old woman, who, instead of observing inwards and meeting the pain she carries from childhood, uses the oppressive hierarchal nature of the structure she represented to unpack psychological frustrations on every student who doesn’t obey her, Sophia had received an official letter from the school board. Many words were written there, but in the bottom line, either she takes Adam for diagnosis or he’s out of the school.

The doctor placed a pack of documents on the table.

Sit on the bed, lad, he said and sticked some device into Adam’s eye.

Ms., what’s your name again, Sophia, yes, Sophia, said the doctor and smiled at her behind his mustache, are you sure you’re his mother, you seem like his sister, so tell me for a second here, did you go through all the tests with the lad right here? Don’t tell me you’re one of those natural birth-givers? Who oppose science?

Sophia didn’t know what he’s rambling about, she went through all the tests, the results were perfectly normal.

Have you noticed anything unusual about him? Having a hard time in school? Unable to interpret social situations? Says peculiar things?

Sophia didn’t have to answer, her eyes said everything.

Well, Ms., I’m afraid your son suffers from an Amaskial Syndrome.

This is an extremely hazardous, extremely contagious syndrome. I’ll explain. The Maskial Membrane is the organ in charge on the regulation of the mouth and all its functions, including eating, drinking, and speaking, as well as on focusing the vision. Persons who suffer from Amaskial Syndrome are characterized by blurry eyesight, stemming from enhanced gloss in the eyes, like in your son’s case, unlike my eyes for example, who are covered by a thin grey layer of crust. The doctor approached Sophia, and expanded his eyelids with his fingers: here, look.

Without the Maskial membrane, viruses skip from one face to the other, as if they were toads hopping between them. Those viruses may cause changes in the behavioral patterns of every individual who comes in contact with the patient, for example difficulty of studying or working in normal frameworks, waning the ability to interpret social situations, etc. My recommendation would be a Maskial transplant. Meanwhile, lad, you’ll have to wear this.

The doctor placed a transparent jellyfish of the table.

Just notice that the nostril hole is placed in the front and not the back.

You’re not a doctor, said Adam, you’re…

Thanks doctor! Burst Sophia.

She paid the secretary and they left.

I don’t want to wear a mask, said the son to his mother when they were back on the street.

Put it in your pocket, she said, just in case.

Prof. Shalev reviles, said the biology teacher in a monotonic tone, that the up-to-date data regarding complications during pregnancy as a result of Amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling, are somewhere between 1 to 500 and 1 to 800. Last Monday, medical research was published, indicating an even smaller risk, almost zeroed. Evidently, the method used to determine the risk up until now was, to say the least, inaccurate…

Adam raised his hand.

Yes, Adam, the teacher said reluctantly.

Adam stared at her with his bright glossy eyes and asked, teacher, why do I have to learn this?

A few giggles and whisperings were heard throughout the classroom. One girl started to scratch her chin, and another boy rubbed his eyes.

Adam, I don’t have time for your nonsense, said the teacher.

No, I’m seriously asking, if new research is always showing that the previous research was false, why then should I trust the new research, and not those crystal ball fortune tellers, those witchdoctors who performed false researches, since the appearance of the first Homo-Maskaritus until last Monday?

Two youngsters, who always sit in the back vandalizing the class table, had listened carefully, and started stretching their cheek crust.

Yeah, asked another young lady, why do we have to study this? Why can’t we paint, or play music, or go to the beach?

Adam turned around, and saw it was Louisa.

That’s how science works, said the teacher, each time we get better, until we get to absolute understating of everything it’ll take a few years more.. Young man, where is your mask? In your diagnosis it was clearly specified that you are obliged to wear the mask if you want to continue being a student in our school, and according to the gloss in your eyes I believe you are once again not following the rules and putting all the other students at risk.

I don’t want to wear a mask, said Adam, and the teacher kicked him out of the class.

That’s very dangerous, she thought to herself.

Reports of additional cases of Amaskial Syndrome were received in the news channel studios. The scientists were working around the clock in order to find an explanation to the phenomena, according to the laws of natural selection, since this selection, the natural one, will do anything, but anything, in order to survive, its paths are devious and winding, they aren’t always easily deciphered, however one can be certain that, one may count on the scientists, to find a worthy explanation, to why the selection did what it did in the name of survival and in its name only.

Meanwhile, the president went live and explained: a healthy society cannot function without masks. Citizens who suffer from an Amaskial Syndrome are kindly requested to set an urgent appointment for a maskial transplant, or, alternatively, wear the jellyfish. I mean the mask. Listen closely – the police shall fine any maskless Amaskial resident, but the cops can’t make it to everyone. That’s where you come into the picture, the normal citizens, law-abiding Homo-Maskarituses. As from this moment onwards, every salesclerk is a police officer, every cleaning lady is an inspector. I wish I could have granted all of you with a special police badge, he joked, well here, he said, and presented the camera with a golden badge. I implore you – don’t let the Amaskials shop at your stores, ride your buses, walk your streets. They put you and your children in great danger. You are either with us or against us. They can be identified by the gloss in their eyes.

The next day, Adam wasn’t allowed to enter the school. He came back home, bitterly weeping, and the weeping turned into a great smile when he saw a message from Louisa on the screen, it was a photo of her holding a jellyfish in her hand, with a caption, I took off my mask, come to the beach?, apparently it’s pretty simple to take off the mask, she googled it and found out that until the age of eighteen you can simply retrieve it from the top of your head, like a nylon bag, there’s an entire cult of parents who believe in natural births and take the mask off the baby right after birth, for a minute there Adam imagined how all of the boys and girls take off their masks together, and stay just like this, just as they are, Adam wore a bathing suit, took a book and hurried out, he passed through the flower shop, wear a mask, said the vendor, I don’t want to wear a mask, he went to the chocolate store, wear a mask, said the vendor, I don’t want to wear a mask, never mind, Adam thought, I’ll give her Levinas’ book, he went on the bus to the beach, wear a mask, said the driver, I don’t want to wear a mask, Adam started walking, his eyes were shining more and more, the people in the street sticked to the side of the pavement as he walked, he’s not wearing a mask, wear a mask, he’s not wearing a mask, wear a mask, I don’t want to wear a mask, what’s the problem with wearing a mask, you’re putting us all at risk without the mask, I don’t want to wear a mask, wear a mask, said an artist who advertises a bank, wear a mask, said a feminist supermodel, wear a mask, said a cashier who wanted to be a ballerina, wear a mask, said a programmer who hates computers, wear a mask, said a Yogi who wanted to be enlightened, wear a mask, said a philanthropist billionaire, wear a mask, I don’t want to wear a mask, wear a mask, I don’t want to wear a mask, they gained some inexplicable joy from doing the same thing that everyone else did, it doesn’t really matter what that thing was, as if that very pathetic partnership of destiny, expressed by an insignificant act such as wearing a mask, may end the loneliness to which they were sentenced once taken from the ashes and kneaded into a separate body, and remove the partition between them and the world, boy, wear a mask, they said, I don’t want to wear a mask, they realized that together they are stronger than him, it was pleasant, wear a mask, they crowned him, I don’t want to wear a mask, he fell to the floor and they surrounded him, wear a mask boy, I don’t want to wear a mask, one of them saw the jellyfish protruding out of Adam’s pocket, wear a mask, there he has a mask in his pocket, wear a mask boy, they floored him, wear a mask, held his arms and legs while he’s twisting, I don’t want to wear a mask, they put the jellyfish on his head, wear a mask boy, he fought but they pinned it, I don’t want to wear a mask, Adam was struggling to breathe, but the air wouldn’t go through the mask, wear a mask, I don’t want to wear a mask, the people held the mask around his head, until he did not struggle anymore, Emanuel Levinas’ book dropped to the pavement next to him and opened, it was written there, you shall not murder is the first commandment of the face, there is in the face, that is fully exposed, something threatened, that as if orders an act of violence, and at the same time, it is the face that forbid us from committing murder, Adam was lying there on the floor, without any resistance, the people looked at him, and just as they’ve requested, he was wearing the mask.