The Boy with No Name (Part 1 of 'A Tale of People and Apples' Trilogy)

Chapter 12: Rebirth

57 years ago.

Along the road was the military, and at the front, Felix's father.

Samuel lowered his smoking pistol which he just fired in the air as he marched towards his son and sister, his soldiers following him and keeping the people at the side of the street on the perimeter. His warning shot was directed towards the lottery winners who remained motionless on the ground, hands in the air and faces down in the dirt.

The rifles and pistols which Samuel and his military held, constructed two years ago from Samuel's fear of the night animals that had attacked his son, were entirely in the hands of Samuel's military and police force which the populace had half-heartedly agreed to after seeing the damage they had inflicted on Felix. The construction of war weapons was the first promise Samuel had revoked, and even Mayla who was notoriously anti-weapon relented, noting that there had to be a defense for those venturing out of the safety of the Ring to conduct research.

But the weapons which were intended to only be for researchers in dangerous places spread like wildfire amongst Samuel's military. An 'over-manufacturing error', as Samuel called it, and the military and police demanding weapons to more effectively do their jobs, resulted in their wide dispersion within the government. This haunted Felix, who of all people knew how opposed his father and aunt were to the construction of weapons. How could they go back on a principle that they held so dearly so quickly?

Felix adored his father, but he knew his rule must end. The power was poisoning him. He yearned for his father to become a retired citizen and come back to reality, away from the burden of ruling. The new Election Assessment was a week ago to the day, and the results were released at midnight. Some of the strongest supporters of Samuel were somewhat hopeful for a change, the construction of weapons acting as somewhat of a tipping point.

Many predicted Ffion to win this year, her scores only increasing the last two assessments and only narrowly losing to Samuel three years prior.

Felix was almost certain Mayla could win on her Intelligence scores alone. She won in the Intelligence category by a landslide the last two Assessments, but her scores were woefully low in other categories like Governing and Sociological Principles. He was convinced Mayla purposely did poor on these portions of the test, which was a crime to underperform on purpose. Leading simply seemed of no interest to her, and to Felix it seemed she was capable of abandoning her principles to keep doing what she loved. Exploring.

"My son, sister," Samuel said as he met them and hugged them. "Any revelations from beyond the walls?"

"Nothing to report, but significant progress," Mayla said to him, diverting her eyes feet-ward.
Samuel nodded smiling at the two of them. "Well, keep up the good work and update me when you find something. I have exciting news for both of you, please come with me."

Samuel began to turn and march back towards the centre of the Ring, Nighthawk, when he snapped and turned back around, pretending he had forgotten something, pistol in hand. Felix was uneasy as he unloaded his lab supplies. Mayla appeared to share the discomfort.

Samuel signalled for his soldiers to form a tight line along each side of the road to shield the view of the onlookers. He crouched down next to the laying people, and picked up a red ticket and thoughtfully inspected it before throwing it back to the ground.

"My sister and son, out of the goodness of their hearts, while conducting valuable research for the good of all of you," Samuel began yelling, pointing at everyone along the streets, "have brought back delicacies for your enjoyment. Delicacies you do not need. Delicacies that I've told them make us weak as a people. Nevertheless, I relented and allowed them to bring these treats to you all, hoping some rewards for all of your hard work and discipline would bring back some gratitude. And how do you repay them? You crowd their vehicle and risk contaminating their research and progress."