Designer Evolution

 Prologue:"We are one, but we are many"- I am Australian.  

Aged 10 

'The polls show that the Nervadi's are leading by 7 points, is it possible for the Körper party to catch up? Joining is our election correspondent from the Körper party Joseph Guiles'  

My feet are cold on the tiled floor, so I'm marching on the spot, my breath coming out in a white mist. We are gathered in the living room as every family in our apartment complex and likely the world would be, watching the election of the newest high chancellor.  

My father and mother are sitting on the couch whilst my little brother sits on the ground to their side all watching with rapt attention, even my brother who I don't think even understands what's happening. I think he can feel it though, the dark anticipation, the fear and resentment cutting through the room like a knife. 

The holo-screen flicks over to a tall rather muscly man, even by Körper standards, standing beside a giant computerised polling booth. 

I sneak a look at my father his face is set, like stone, in a grimace staring at the holo-screen, the dull florescent light flicking shades of red and blue over his shallow drawn face. 

Ominous much? 

We live in a sociala compound so we already know who our representative will be and by the same logic we know the results for every other party compound. Because well... who's going to vote against themselves? 

What we're listening for are the results of the rift cities.  

Rift cities allow anyone Körper, Nervadi or Sociala. Most of the population is made up of those rejected by their compound so you never know if they'll vote with their people or with someone else out of spite. They're considered a neural people. 

Although I still find it odd to imagine a Nervadi genetically modified at birth with coding for memory recall and intelligence and with an engorged head to prove it too suddenly jump ship and vote for a hulked out comparatively brain dead Körper.  

Generally elections are a battle between mind and body: the Nervadi and the Körper. They make up 75% of the global population between them. Our party the socialas makes up a meagre 5% and the remaining 20% are the rifters.  

We know we can't win, so we are rooting for the Körper's, my mum even brought me a red ribbon to wear to barrack for them. I got it knotted in my black birds nest hair and had to cut it out. I salvaged what I could though and pinned it to my brother's coat. 

"Annnd as expected Nervadi has won the northern Nervadi compounds of Cantabford and Vienna." Droned the host in a mechanical grating voice. 

I hold my brothers hand as my father growls obscenities.  

I don't understand why it matter's so much to my parents whoever wins is only going to be in power for 5 years.