|
Prologue
|
Or you can email me: |
|
My fellow Radical compatriots, It's amazing any of us survived that year. I firmly believe my young age held the soldiers back from executing me outright. Since I appeared a mere girl with a rebellious streak, they simply gave me a slap on the hand and sent me home to my parents. Unbeknownst to the men in gray fatigues though, my hippie parents were the ones who dragged me into the bloody protests to begin with. I'm getting ahead of myself though. This recorded history originates well before the riots of 2746, and survives through these chronicles. Those of us who managed to outrun and outsmart the newly created Criminal Justice Guild have only hope to guide us through these next few cycles as we rebuild and organize. The conflict began long before the riots and rendition; in fact, no one alive today knows for sure what happened since the official record can paint whatever picture those in the Central Government deem appropriate. We do know a Great War occurred some time in the 21st or 22nd century. It devastated the entire planet. One day the global economy thrived as countless countries met and traded with one another; and then the next, we found ourselves shut off from the rest of the world trying to rebuild what was left of civilization. Everything east of the Mississippi river (where the national border wall now resides) fell within hours as the bombs hit. Only those in the west, in less populated areas, managed to survive the initial attack. After the bombs stopped falling, people began organizing and gathering in settlements close to Cheyenne Mountain - the new home of the centralized government. What used to serve as an ancient military outpost now served as the source of control and power for those who managed to survive. Centuries passed as we regained a hold on life once more (with the help of England - who we now found ourselves a sister-nation with after iron-clad treaties arose from the fledgling governments and the ruling families leading the two countries). With basic governments forged from the ashes of the previous regimes, senators from both countries debated in the sister senates as to the best solution to rebuild the two countries into the sovereign, robust world leaders they once were. From this arose GERA - The Genetic Enhancement and Repopulation Act. The Act's inception can be considered the first blow against our kind - the catalyst for centuries of oppression and turmoil. On the surface GERA's intentions seemed admirable. "...to repopulate the dwindling populations of our sovereign nations in an effort to become world super powers once more." It reversed previously-held conservative views on genetic manipulation and pre-natal DNA examination. While the broader goal of GERA intended to increase the population's fertility, the underlying initiatives within this legislation contained sinister intentions that brought repercussions for centuries. To understand the extent of the damage, one must first realize how things are now and how things once were. Prior to the Great War, people with varying races, ideals, and persuasions lived together. Despite their innate differences, they managed to work within the existing governmental framework to resolve their differences. When the country faced the possibility of annihilation however, these principles were thrown to the way side in lieu of what was considered necessary. In the passage of GERA, fundamentalists close to the ruling family convinced them and others in their reign to seize the opportunity in front of them. In doing so, they could mold and shape the future of the country in the way they and others saw fit… and so it happened. It’s how we arrived at the Central Government’s idea of utopia. In ensuring the re-population of the country, government scientists began experimenting with genetic manipulation to make potential parents as well as unborn children genetically predisposed to be more fertile. Breakthroughs came slowly at first, but once scientists made their first big discovery the rest came fairly quickly. Posters appeared nationally promoting booster shots to inoculate the population against diseases previously thought to be terminal and untreatable. The national birth rate skyrocketed. All seemed well. A less publicized set of events took place simultaneously with the introduction of these genetic changes. Although subtle, a few people noticed individuals and groups changing. At first the alterations were subtle; though after a few decades of genetic manipulation, the changes were so large scale they couldn't be ignored. Debates and civil protests occurred, coinciding with demands that GERA's usefulness to society should be reviewed. Despite outcry, the genetic inoculations continued. Many people in hiding refused to accept the inoculations, wanting children unchanged by governmental interference. Additionally, a percentage of those inoculated began cropping up that remained unchanged after birth. In attempting to circumvent Mother Nature, mankind tried to accelerate the population faster than the species was ready to propagate. In turn, Mother Nature retaliated. Through the course of those centuries, the handful of dissenters increased through both natural births and through births with inoculation immunity. Two entire subsets of people emerged by the end of the twenty-seventh century that began petitioning the Central Government for recognition. In 2746, the organized protests took a turn for the worse. Although the genetic minority grew exponentially over the course of a few centuries, the Central Government was simply too much of a force to overcome. In this particular cycle, peaceful civil protests became bloodbaths within days after the Central Government established the Criminal Justice Guild. In essence, the CJG was nothing more than a death squad. It dispersed armed troops into the streets of every major city to break up riots, arrest protestors, and to restore peace. Within a few weeks following the inception of the guild, the situation became much bleaker. People began disappearing; families would see their loved ones go to work in the morning and not return in the evening. Fear set in. Within months, the entire genetic minority movement seemed to be crushed. As government-issued history books tell the story, the minority protests (or Radical movement, as it was later coined) were quelled by the end of the 2700’s. When 2800 dawned, the government introduced new legislation through the Senate deciding how history would remember those that died in the riots of 2746 and after. Most school children learned about the conflict only in the vaguest of terms. The high leader called the period a “comma in history, nothing more.” They played it down as a momentary disagreement, like children quibbling over a toy. Parents adhered to the legislation and taught their children accordingly. The Central Government glossed over the historical record nearly perfectly, not caring that they'd flagrantly committed genocide. That's why I'm creating these chronicles. If we don't document what actually happened, these events (much like those during the Great War) will be told through the eyes of the Central Government, and the truth will be buried. Though I was only five during the 2746 riots, I know they were much more than simple misunderstandings. I know my parents were gunned down for a worthy cause (right in front of my young eyes). I know this cause is worth fighting for. We know from experience that brute force alone won't win this battle or the inevitable war; knowledge of our own strengths and history in addition to our enemy's sordid past will be our best weapon in turning the tides. Take this knowledge and build a movement...a new government where the principles of freedom and truth aren't simply words on a page. Embrace your culture, your history, and the entirety of the Radical Movement. Veronica Quibs |
|
The Radical Chronicles is Copyright © 2009 by Tim Peacock.
