"That’s something I just have to live with, Gene." She turned from the stove and wiped her brow with the back of one hand. "You and I were born without System Identification Numbers. Mama did her best to take care of us, but without SINs, we didn't count in the system. We couldn’t go to school because teachers wouldn't get paid for teaching us. The social welfare people couldn’t slot us into their programs, and the corporations wouldn’t hire Mama for real jobs. Her jobs were all temporary and never at a real wage.