Prodigy (Complete)

Introduction

Prodigy

Copyright © 2013 by Edward Mullen

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and events are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to any person (alive or dead) or event is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a published review.

Vancouver, BC, Canada

ISBN: 978-0-9880487-6-8

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**PRODIGY IS BOOK 1 IN THE PRODIGY SERIES.

BOOK 2 -- PRODIGY ETERNAL -- IS NOW AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD!!**

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Prod-i-gy - noun

a.) An extremely gifted individual who has exceptional abilities, especially a child.

b.) An abnormality causing someone to have extraordinary intelligence or talents.

c.) An unusually rare person or event that inspires wonder or amazement.

d.) A sign that something extraordinary is about to happen.

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The year 2030 was a significant turning point in human history. It was the beginning of a global catastrophe known as World War III.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive the attacks were met with decades of economic recession, famine, and illness. Staying alive during those times required perseverance and a lot of luck. People grew despondent and any remaining civility had long since eroded.

During the war, there was a total disregard for law and order. Riots, looting, and senseless murders were a routine occurrence in nearly every city. Financial systems unraveled, causing infrastructures to deteriorate. Entire neighbourhoods were completely abandoned as people sought refuge in rural parts of the country where it was deemed to be safer.

When the war finally ended, it was a pyrrhic victory that decimated the majority of the population and left the world in a state of ruin. If there was a positive, it was that the survivors came together like never before. Roughly one billion remained - a technologically savvy group of individuals who refused to be bound by outdated ways of thinking. They had nothing more to lose and everything to gain. With a fierce tenacity, they organized together and vowed to never let the mistakes of the past lead them to war again. They used the Internet to create a true democracy that allowed them to vote on every issue. Humanity had given life to technology, and when they needed it the most, technology gave life back to humanity.

The access to information enabled them to be tolerant of other cultures, educated about the issues, and intelligently discuss different ideologies. They took pride in rebuilding a new civilization because they felt like their voice mattered. Each law, policy, and institution was examined and discussed. Within a relatively short period of time, a new constitution was enacted by the people, for the people. Shortly thereafter, the New World Order was established - a benevolent and centralized government that became the administrative body for the entire planet. They operated with a simple agenda of creating optimal living conditions for all. There were no invasions of privacy and no invasions of countries; the sole purpose of the government's existence was to facilitate the will of the people - the way it was intended by the ancient Greeks.

Once the financial system was put in the hands of the people rather than power-hungry individuals, everything changed for the better. The economy became more efficient and people were no longer at the mercy of cyclical fluctuations and unstable speculative markets.

The educational system of the past was determined to be fundamentally flawed as well. It was designed hundreds of years before and no longer met the requirements of the modern world. The entire world population was now required to be educated according to a contemporary curriculum consisting of ten main subjects: mathematics, finance, science, languages, law, history, philosophy, psychology, art, and athletics. Each main subject could be subdivided into a vast collection of subsidiary subjects. Amongst these traditional subjects were a number of new and important additions to the curriculum. The study of personhood, mind management, and discipline were introduced in an effort to help people better understand the complexities of their egos and to moderate their temperaments.

Each subject would take years to master, but would not be learned in the traditional sense. Now, subjects were broken down into several parts and downloaded directly into people's brains. Once downloaded, there would be no need for tests since the student was able to recall anything they had downloaded at a moment's notice. For the most part, learning the traditional way, through repetition, became obsolete. Nearly everyone on the planet was enlightened, in effect, creating a world of kind and rational human beings.

The concept of countries no longer existed. People were free to live anywhere they wished so that the outcome of their lives would not be so heavily determined by where they happened to be born. Artificial and imaginary borders that kept people separated and divided were now a thing of the past. Individuals from underprivileged parts of the world were offered the chance to receive a one-time location reassignment, temporary lodging, and a full education — all completely free. Nearly everyone accepted and moved into major cities leaving many of the harshest environments on the planet abandoned.

The Child Rearing Act was introduced as a method of maintaining the global population as well as filter out children who were deemed to be a high risk for causing problems in society. Any couple desiring to have a baby was required to meet certain financial, educational, physical, and psychological prerequisites. The Act, and the subsequent evaluation process, was initially contested by a large percentage of the population, but despite the resistance, the law passed. As global populations became more stable, along with receding crime and poverty rates, the resistance eventually waned.

Before all these changes, the world was on a steep descent into depravity and this seemed like the only logical step to take. Any couple who was found to be in violation of this Act was often imprisoned and sometimes sterilized to prevent future offenses. In addition, the baby became the property of the state to ensure it would receive an adequate upbringing. Although the punishment was severe, it was deemed to be the only way to keep the system from falling back into the flawed ways of the past.

The ubiquity of information allowed people to gain a thorough understanding of worldly cultures. As a result, many of the cultural differences between people began to fade. Despite being separated by great distances, people still felt connected to each other in a communal sense. They had no nationality, no allegiance to a flag, and viewed themselves as citizens of Earth. They acted as one conglomerate global super-culture where many old nonsensical customs were abandoned and replaced by rational thinking and empathy. For the first time in human history, there was sustained global peace.